Hunted

Bowling. Kyun was rarely convinced to play, but it was hard to turn down suggestions from Kiyoshi. Especially because it'd allow watching that cute body every roll without being caught. At least he wouldn't get caught by the guy himself; and Choi - their friend and third player - was discreet about things like that.

The line was short, only one group of four people ahead of them, and they seemed to be almost ready to finish up; they already had their shoes and was about to be assigned a lane. A loud bunch, two of them rough-housing and whacking each other with their new community shoes. Though before the money could be exchanged, one of the calmer of the group spoke up, voice filled with uncertainty. "Excuse me, but there's a problem with these shoes."

The guy behind the counter – an unshaven middle-aged man with little to no concept of soap – gave the customer a bored stare. "Oh yeah? What is it – they too big for you, kid?"

"Uh, no... Well yeah, that too. They stink. Bad." The little guy tucked a lock of purple hair behind his ear and placed the shoes back on the counter. "I'm sorry, but I spend all day on my feet, and can't risk getting stuck with anything that could be lurking in there."

"There's nothing in them, they're perfectly clean. Be a good little princess and go play with your friends so I can check these other people in." The guy snatched the cash, and put it in the register before typing into a computer. As he opened his mouth to tell them which lane, he was cut off.

Reasonably more insistent, the small voice was sounding much more stubborn. "I just want another pair, that's all. I can't play in these."

"Then you don't play."

That attitude couldn't possibly be good for business, could it? The purple-haired guy glared at the clerk, not seeming inclined to argue further or get out of the way. After a while of that, Kyun was out of patience and stepped up to the counter. "Come on, give him a clean pair already," he started casually, "we've waited long enough here."

A surprised pair of eyes landed on him for a moment and then returned to the creep behind the counter. With a slight pout, the smaller guy compromised, "I'll pay extra if it's really that much trouble."

That had no effect. The dick appeared to be enjoying himself. He leaned back in his seat and took a sip out of a Styrofoam cup as he assessed the two of them. "And who are you? The knight in shining fucking armour? If I give the princess another pair, he'd just find something wrong with that. This is about principles."

Principles? Maybe the place had a poor reputation to uphold by way of dirty shoes. "Knight? You're funny." Kyun's sarcastic voice implied he considered the guy anything but, then quirked a disbelieving brow. "You have a business to consider here, don't you? The guy even offered you extra money. If I were you, I'd take that offer before he changes his mind."

After a brief sigh and a resentful shrug, the creep took the shoes and got another pair from under the counter. When he reluctantly accepted the extra cash being happily offered, he rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer. "You're lucky I've got other customers waiting, otherwise, you'd be out on your ass. Since you two make such a cute couple, I'll let you stay real close to each other. You're in lane 4, princess, and I'll give the knight lane three."

"Thank you." The words were directed at Kyun as the purple-haired guy took the shoes and flashed an apologetic smile before he walked off to rejoin his friends.

Luckily, the pairs offered to the three orientals weren't stinky, but were nicely of the right size. They settled down at lane three. It got a bit cramped with seven people, but they'd get by. Kyun slid a finger under his white bandanna to reach an itch, silently wondering what kind of dorks that little guy was with, not bothering to check how their friend was doing.

It didn't take long for their level of idiocy to be established. One of the little guy's friends looked up at the scoring monitor and smirked at his two idiot pals – who were still amusing themselves slapping each other with their shoes. His patronizing gaze drifted over to the quiet purple-haired guy busy tying his well earned non-stink shoes. "Looks like you're up first, Jules. Now these things may be heavier than you're used to, so try not to let the ball roll away with you."

"Thanks for the tip." Despite the sarcasm in that tone, the little guy's smile was genuinely cheerful. When the shoes were safely double-knotted, the guy got up and walked over to the waiting bowling balls to choose one, and gave Kyun a curious, brief glance as he picked up a bright blue one and turned back to his friends. "This is heavy."

"I told you so."

Kyun was tempted to meddle again, but resisted as he moved over to find himself a ball as well. Perhaps the clerk had agreed so quickly because he realised what a pain in the ass those guys would be. Then he shrugged. He was there to watch Kiyoshi - the impossible prospect - not to look after some random stranger with bad taste in choosing friends.

Another glance his way. The little guy seemed to be unable to hide his curiosity, but nonetheless, he marched forward toward the lane and stopped in the right place. He stood there a short while, seemingly shifting the ball between hands as if testing the best way to roll it. When he finally did – not without a fair bit of trouble – it almost immediately landed in the gutter.

The two in the midst of shoe-wars broke into mocking laughter, and the other one was grinning ear-to-ear. "You managed to let go and stay standing! That's a success all on its own. Good job, Julian."

Realising he had just missed Kiyoshi's first throw annoyed Kyun more than the situation itself, but at least he got to high five his friend after the strike. He knew already that he was going to lose, but at least Choi and Kiyoshi would refrain from that kind of teasing - probably.

When the larger Korean had taken his turn, it was time to try knock over some of those pins. Kyun wasn't quite sure whether it was a year or more since last time, but he didn't feel all that rusty. The first ball rolled off a little to the side, only knocking down three pins, but the second came rather close to scoring him a spare.

The biggest jerk in the group next to them was eyeing Kyun for some reason and his grin was completely gone. He walked over to snatch a ball as he muttered coldly, "Mister Hero can't even land a spare? And here I was hoping to watch a good game somewhere along the line."

"Stop it, Rick." The little guy had taken a seat between the two others, effectively stopping the battle of the footwear.

That was amusing. The smaller Korean forced a roll of his eyes along with his smirk as he gazed lazily at the idiot. Probably had an ego larger than his skills in several areas, but he doubted there was enough money in the guy's wallet to bother with him. Kyun made a living through gambling with people like that, but a few bucks never tempted him. There was always a risk; the gain had to justify that.

The big moron faked an insulted frown. "Stop what? I was just making conversation. I thought after he stuck up for our gopher, the least I could do was be friendly." He shrugged and made his way toward the lane. With a seemingly effortless underhand swing of his arm, he sent the ball sailing into the pins, knocking down all but one, and easily taking that one out in his second go. "See, that's how a spare is done, kiddies."

The one they called Julian was smacking away a shoe being shoved in his face, and quickly got up to find somewhere else to sit. Once away from the irritating dorks, he chuckled and shook his head, "Okay, now that you've successfully bent over and kissed your own ass, can we play without the teasing?"

No signs that Rick cared about that. Casting a glance over at Choi, just in case, Kyun noted the lack of annoyance in his friend's expression. Good... if there was going to be a bloody nose, he wanted to inflict it himself, and for now, it was better if things stayed civil. Even if the idiot deserved a punch, he'd rather not see Choi get involved.

Kyun was happily noting that whereas he and his fellow Korean would struggle to match that moron, Kiyoshi had no such problems - which hopefully meant he didn't have to watch that Rick guy have a go at the Japanese. If that happened, there was no way he could keep his calm for long.

As one of the other idiots took their turn, Rick leaned against the ball feed and smirked as he studied Kiyoshi. "You're really good. Now that's at least something I can respect. After you're finished playing with that child, how about we book a few hours at a motel?"

Kyun's eyes narrowed instantly. People weren't supposed to be hitting on Kiyoshi, and especially not condescendingly! The fact that it wasn't really any of his business until the Japanese took obvious offense didn't help the slightest bit either.

Gazing over at his friend, he saw none of the annoyance he had hoped for. Apparently the guy was better at zoning out morons than he was. Not that it took much; ignoring people had never been one of his skills.

"Let me ask ya something, cutie." The creep paused as he watched the little guy carefully select a ball, and then the attention returned to Kiyoshi. "Have you ever got it on in the back of a Hummer? I got one of the babies waiting outside, so here's your chance."

The purple-haired guy muttered as he made his way to the lane, "Get laid and single-handedly pollute the city. Sounds like a plan to me."

"Shut your trap, shrimp."

As he moved over towards the lane, Kiyoshi gave a light sigh. His voice was almost apologetic when he raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Sorry, I don't fuck big people."

Well, that was at least something - Kyun would be forgiven for butting in now, right? So as his Japanese friend returned, he asked casually in the guy's mother tongue, "did you mean his body or his mouth?" The laughter and thumbs up that earned from the attractive youngster cheered the Korean up no end.

Anger was apparent in the prick's glare, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a cheer. Apparently 'shrimp' had knocked down all but two pins. Rick rolled his eyes, shooting a quick, "It was a fluke, gutter boy," and then turned back to focus his anger on Kyun. "What the fuck did you say?"

Smiling broadly, Kyun leant over to judge the guy's expression better. If there was going to be money in this, he'd have to be careful. Owning a Hummer was not a guarantee for being rich, but it was close enough. "Not a linguist? No, I guess bowling is pretty much all you can do, isn't it?"

The guy seemed to mellow a bit after that, as if he just thought of something amusing. "You almost sound like you're jealous. I'm sorry, boy wonder, it was wrong of me to give an offer like that to your friend without considering your feelings. You're kinda cute too, so I guess if you really wanna be bent over my hummer's backseat instead, I can be generous."

"... I hit them." The little guy sighed and trudged over to the other two of his friends to find a seat. Definitely sulking. "I got a spare, guys... Did you see?"

"Nice one!" Kyun called out over to the purple-haired youngster, before shifting his attention back to Rick. "Guess I was right. One track mind, one skill guy. Too bad, here I was thinking we could make a bet." He shrugged and went over to do his throw. The guy seemed simple-minded enough, but he still had no idea what to make the bet about.

"A bet, huh?" The guy laughed and his two dumb friends sniggered on cue. "What kind of bet would that be? I already could beat your ass at bowling, so I assume you mean something else. Chinese checkers?"

There was a pause, and Rick seemed to be considering making another ignorant comment. After a moment, Julian's stubborn voice piped in. "How about basketball? I saw a court just across the street."

That was not taken well. "And have your puny ass drag us down? No, if I make a bet, I want to win it." The creep eyed Kyun before quickly adding, "Even if it would just be money on the line. I don't give a shit about money."

"I won't drag you down." The little guy insisted, "I'll be on their team instead, if they don't mind."

There was something about the way that was said that gave the smaller of the Koreans the good gut feeling he needed to go through with a bet. If the purple-haired fellow didn't know how to play, he would never have suggested that. "Not giving a shit about money? I'll bet you a grand, basketball three on three."

"Three-on-three? Alright, you have yourself a bet." Rick sneered and turned back to his two buddies with his arms crossed. "Easy money. The only problem will be trying not to step on the little ones. Not too hard anyway. I want to get laid eventually so we'll keep the shrimp in one piece." He smirked condescendingly at Julian. "Your sisters would never spread their legs if we let you get hurt, so maybe we should get you a helmet before the game."

That very visibly hit a nerve, but the little guy said nothing. He got up to his feet and started away toward the take out stand. "I'm going to get a drink."

Almost too easy to be true. But he didn't want to push his luck and pull in Kiyoshi or Choi. Ideally, he wouldn't play himself either, but he wouldn't risk the bet by trying to call in two. One would have to do. So he flipped out his cell phone, quite happy with himself.

"Hello?"

"Hi Luo," Kyun started in Korean, "I hope you don't have plans for the coming hour or two?"

"I do. What's up?"

Well, that was inconvenient, but he knew his vain friend wouldn't pass up this chance if he insisted. "Made a bet for a grand with a big asshole. Basketball. Cancel your plans, I'll give you ten percent when we win."

"When we win, eh?" Luo hesitated for a bit, then sighed lightly. "Alright. Where and when?"

"I'm at the local bowling hall right now. I guess we'll start in about half an hour, but get here as fast as you can."

"Okay. Should I bring Takuya?"

Kyun chuckled lightly. It was such a relief to be able to turn down that offer, even if it would've made the bet all the more certain. "No... circumstances mean our third is a fellow I don't know."

It took a few moments for Luo to get his head around that. "You are going to play basket for a grand? And with a third you don't know? You're nuts, Kyun, nuts."

Ah yes, nothing like complete confidence... he forced himself to laugh, even if his gut feeling was a little disturbed by now. He couldn't afford to lose that bet, and backing out was not an option. Biting back an imagined request for bringing Takuya after all, he took a few seconds to stabilize himself. Him, nervous? Damn, that wasn't too common...

"Just come over." He said as straightly as he could, putting away the cell phone and gazing up at the monitor. It was his turn, and probably had been for a while, so he moved over to grab himself a ball.

"What's wrong? Having doubts already?" Rick laughed cruelly at him and leaned against the ball feed. "Well, there's always time for you to back out, no hard feelings. Believe it or not, I take no joy in stomping on cute little boys. Or we could make the bet smaller, like, say, put your friend there on the table instead."

In his mind, Kyun punched him out, but in reality, he just blinked slowly. When he reopened his eyes and swallowed, he looked the guy over, finally smirking. "You really do have a one track mind, don't you? I guess we'll end up finishing the game three on two while you're hitting desperately on random passers-by..."

That earned a sarcastic smile. "I can hit on 'passers-by' and cream you on the court at the same time. Maybe we should put a stepping stool near the hoop to give you a chance, small fry. I mean, how dumb are you to make a bet like this with people like us? I'll give you some advice," Rick glanced back at his returning purple-haired companion, before addressing Kyun again. "When you put money on the line, it would be smart not to let someone who can barely lift a bowling ball on your team."

Julian had overheard. He approached them, taking a long sip out of his cup. After a thoughtful tilt of the head he flashed a sincere smile at Kyun. "Don't pay attention to him. The grand is as good as yours."

Why wasn't that reassuring? The Korean flashed him a quick smile, before moving over to make his throw. With his mind completely on the basket game already, he only knocked down one pin - but that neither surprised nor annoyed him. He had to figure out how to avoid taking more shots than necessary, without giving away that they didn't need to block him...

"Trying to comfort him? Grow a foot or two, Jules."

The quirk of the brow and nonchalant shrug made the little guy's confidence obvious. His attention seemed to be on Kyun but his words were directed at his own bowling companions. "I don't need another foot or two to cream you guys on the court."

Looking over Rick's two companions, Kyun was reminded of what brought the gut feeling in the first place. No way would those two take anything seriously enough to be a threat. But it was probably good to stay silent on that topic. Wouldn't want Rick to bring in someone good.

Both of the moronic followers of Rick got up and stood on either side of their more dominant friend. "How are we going to split the money?" One of them asked, voice high with excitement. "Shit, with a grand we could stay with Julian's sisters for a month." They grinned at each other and one whacked the other with one of the shoes. "Those fairies are going down!"

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260