*WHAP!*
The next hit was NOT playful. It echoed through the air, louder than the night waves.
"You absolute IDIOT!" Kendo snarled.
Dante didn't move. He just kinda sat there, shocked, with his fingers covered in melted vanilla ice cream.
Then—
*THWACK*
She enlarged her hand and punched his shoulder, making him nearly fall off the wall.
"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?"
*THUMP!*
The next hit, she made her fist small again and punched his chest. It didn't hurt, she barely even put any power behind it.
"You disappeared! You ghosted me! That one message wasn't enough, Dante!"
*SLAP!*
The side of his head jerked from the blow. Still, he didn't say a word.
Rinji sat there frozen, mouth agape, eyes wide. He had no clue as to what was going on right now.
Kendo's fists trembled as they hovered midair. Her breathing got shaky. Another hit — lighter this time, like her strength was slipping.
"You didn't call. You didn't message. You just vanished and told me not to chase you. As if I didn't matter to you." Her voice cracked.
She struck his shoulder again. And again. But slower. Weaker. Then one last time, a push more than a punch and her hand slid down his chest.
"I thought I'd never see you again." She whispered, eyes welling up. "I thought you were gone and I was too late—"
Tears spilled down her cheeks and she pressed her forehead into his chest, hands gripping his scarf.
Rinji didn't move. He looked too scared to speak, but even more scared to leave. He just held his tub of ice cream tightly against his chest, blinking fast.
Eventually, Kendo calmed down.
Kendo wiped her eyes on her arm, breathing heavily. She pulled away from Dante, gaze sharp but tired. No longer yelling. Just trying to understand what happened.
She stood there, anger slowly turning into confusion. Her eyes scanned over him for the first time — his hair was way longer, tangled and matted, his body looked pale yet more defined, he had more scars, his posture was slouched and worn as if he was an old man.
Then she looked to the right.
"…You… have a kid?"
Dante blinked, the first sign of consciousness he'd made in minutes. He looked at Rinji, then back at Kendo.
"He's not my kid. I saved him and he hasn't left my side since." He said quietly.
"Where have you been?" She asked, jaw tightening. "You look like you've been living in the damn sewer."
"Funny you say that actually…"
Kendo's expression faltered.
She took another step back, crossing her arms tightly, steadying herself.
"The sewer? Are you serious?"
Dante nodded.
"Eugh,"
"I have been showering."
"Right…"
"No I have."
"Sure…"
"Kendo I swea—"
"Then why the hell do you look like… THAT?!"
Dante looked down at himself, his hand was covered in ice cream, pale skin, tattered red body scarf, long greasy hair, long finger and toe nails, dirty and scarred.
"Uhhh… so, basically right, uhh…"
Kendo slapped her lips and grabbed his scarf.
"What are you doing?" Dante asked, hesitantly.
"You're coming with me, I'm going to clean you up." Kendo replied, her voice determined.
Rinji didn't know what to do.
"You come too." She snapped.
Rinji nodded quickly.
But Dante didn't go quietly.
Even as Kendo was dragging him down the sidewalk by his scarf.
"Let go of me."
"No."
"I'm serious, let go."
"No."
Rinji jogged behind them, unsure if this was some kind of weird domestic argument or an arrest. He kept stealing glances at Dante, hoping for some signal that this was okay. He didn't get one.
By the time they reached Kendo's house / hair salon, the sky was already pitch black, streetlamps were now fully on against the silence.
She slammed the door shut the moment they stepped in.
"My mom is working overnight," she muttered, kicking off her shoes. "So I can scream at you without being bothered."
Dante stayed standing in the entryway, he didn't know what to do, he was just kind of swaying.
Kendo didn't give him a chance to talk again.
"Sit. Now."
He blinked. "Sit wh—?!"
She shoved him into a salon chair and then grabbed her mothers clippers.
"You're disgusting," she muttered, pulling out a drawer and grabbing scissors. "And your hair looked like it fought a bear and lost."
She ran a comb through his tangled, greasy hair, making a disgusted face.
"You've got gum in here. Gum, Dante."
Rinji sat awkwardly on a wooden stood nearby, hugging his closed ice cream tub like a lifeline.
Dante flinched as she yanked the comb harder.
"You're being dramatic."
"You've been gone for so long. You smell horrible. And this?" She held up a clump of his hair between her fingers. "This is absolutely unacceptable."
*Snip.*
The first clump hit the ground.
Rinji blinked slowly at Dante. "Who is she?"
"She's my friend from school." Dante muttered.
Kendo rolled her eyes but kept working. As she cut, she glanced between the two boys in the mirror.
"So then. Start talking. Where have you been?"
Dante didn't answer. He stared into the mirror, watching pieces of his hair hit the floor.
Kendo's voice dropped a little. "You've been gone, Dante. I'm sure everyone has been worried about you, especially me. So please, just give me some comfort here."
"I'm sorry." Dante muttered. "I just can't come back to school, not for a long time."
Kendo snapped. "Why? Is because your gym burnt down?"
Dante looked at her coldly, murderous intent flickering for a second in his gaze. "Careful. I'll talk to you about that some other time, don't mention it infront of the kid."
Feeling a shiver run down her spine, Kendo immediately changed the subject. "So, who's the kid exactly?"
Rinji straightened. "My name is Rinji."
"He was kidnapped." Dange said flatly. "I found him in an underground bunker, had the craziest fight of my life, I nearly died."
Kendo's hands slowed.
"Jesus…"
"I took him with me. And I've been training him since."
"You should've gone to the cops," she muttered, snipping faster now.
"There were cops there, but this kid ran after me and wouldn't leave my side. Besides that, I'm kind of a wanted vigilante now."
She couldn't argue with that.
A few minutes of silence passed, broken only by the rythm of scissors.
Kendo finally leaned back, brushing some hair off of Dante's shoulders with a hand towel. "There, I think you look way better now."
She walked around to face him, grabbing his chin and tilting his head to inspect her masterpiece.
"…hmm."
"You ruined it, didn't you."
She flushed red and looked away, "Nope, it looks perfect."
She then shoved him toward the hallway.
"Shower. Now. No arguments."
"I've been show—"
"Now. And use shampoo."
Dante dragged himself down the hall and into the bathroom. The door shut with a soft click.
Kendo turned to Rinji. "You too. You can wash up in the bathroom after him. I'll find something clean for the both of you."
"Okay…" said Rinji obediently, a little worried about his ice cream.
"I'll put that in the freezer for you." Kendo said, grabbing his ice cream.
Rinji brightened. "Thank you."
While Dante washed up, Kendo tossed his filthy head untouched laundry. His scarf—once a cool dark red, now near black with grime — she washed by hand in the sink, scrubbing hard like she was angry at it for being symbolic of how Dante had lost himself.
When Dante finally stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, she tossed him a bundle of neatly folded clothes.
"Here. My dads old stuff."
He caught the grey sweatpants and black T-shirt midair, giving her a weird look.
"I have clothes you know…"
"I don't wanna hear it." She snapped, glaring at him.
He grunted. "Fine."
Dante stepped back into the bathroom and when he stepped out, hair damp, wearing a clean shirt a size too big, he looked more like a normal person now. His hair was a little fucked up and his skin was still ghostly pale but that's fine.
Kendo looked at him for a long moment, hiding her flushed face behind a balled fist. Then nodded quickly and turned away.
"…Better."
Rinji stepped into the room next, heading for his turn in the shower. The house finally quiet.
Kendo leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms.
"Now that the kids gone, tell me what happened. All of it."
Dange didn't answer right away.
He just nodded.