Chapter Text
Midou Torao had another woman on his arm again. No surprise there. A different woman than the night before, all big brown eyes and soft wavy hair. Smart enough to find herself in his company, and not smart enough to realize she didn't want to be there.
He smiled at her, and it was the smile of someone who'd practiced every day in the mirror since he'd turned six.
She smiled back, and honestly, it fit her face just as well as it did his.
She dragged a finger up his arm. Coy was not a good look on her, but she played it anyway. "This is such an interesting scar. Where did you get it?"
Sharks smiled with fewer teeth than Midou Torao. "A couple years back, I walked in on a man mugging a woman. Of course I couldn't just leave her there. When I stepped in to help her, the guy pulled a knife on me. He managed to swipe me with it before I got it away from him."
Liar.
Midou Torao acquired that scar at the cheerful young age of 11 — though if you could ever convince him to tell you the real story, he'll claim he was 6. He thinks it makes it less embarrassing if he was younger. He's right.
Midou Torao was 11 years old, and like every boy his age and younger, he was a big fan of sentai anime. Midou Torao also got everything he asked for.
Picture, if you will, our young wannabe-hero. He's holding the brand-new action figure (it's an action figure, not a doll, he would tell you) of his very favorite character. Across the room, the theme song for his very favorite anime (home to his very favorite character) begins to play. Midou Torao, age 11, is overcome with excitement, and runs towards the television.
He trips.
He falls.
He lands directly on his new action figure.
The toy breaks. His skin breaks with it. Shiny red of a different shade stains the toy.
There were tears. There was snot. There was a trip to the hospital and seven stitches to seal the wound closed. The doctor called him brave, and young Midou Torao had preened despite his watery cheeks.
Cut to the present, and the girl stroking Midou Torao's arm.
"Wow," she said. Her eyes were doe-wide and shining. They'd look innocent if she were capable of such a thing. Instead she just looked coquettish. "You're so brave."
"I know." Hook, line, and sinker. "What do you say I buy you another drink?"
She went with him, of course. Midou Torao always got what he wanted.