Placing a tracker on an executive of the Port Mafia hadn't been as challenging as I'd expected it to be. Not as challenging as locating him. That had taken months of hacking into the mafia's server and sifting through all their information to find even ONE of the five executives. It seemed like jumbled nonsense at first, but I broke through it and found this one. Following him around now proved to be hard and boring.
My glasses slid down my nose as I checked the map on my phone. Where is he going? Some secret Port Mafia base? Rounding the corner of the alley, I realized his wasn't there. This is a dead end…
Oh no.
"Not good," I mumbled. The red dot on the map bleeped in place. Did he ditch the tracker?
"Not good, indeed," His voice hissed in my ear.
Whirling around, I took a few steps back to put some distance between us. His file had told me a lot about him. Chuuya Nakahara: The best martial artist in the Port Mafia, and had gravity manipulation for his ability, not that he'd need to use it with me. I had no special skill. When I finally looked up, his expression surprised me.
Chuuya smirked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Why do you look so frightened, little kitten. You placed the tracker on me, didn't you?" With each step he took forward, I took one back. "So, then, why run away now?" This had turned into a game.
A cat and mouse game.
Clearly, I was the mouse.
My back hit the hard brick at the end of the alleyway. Dammit! I should have paid more attention to where we were going. This was my first real mission away from my computer. My muscles tensed in fear, and no words came to my mind. Is he going to kill me?
Chuuya closed the distance between us, one hand clasping around my neck. "What shall I do with you now, hmm?"
Those words sent a shiver down my spine and my hands shot up to grab his wrist. No air was coming in. I knew the Port Mafia was intimidating, but I was petrified in this moment. This was a bad idea. I should have taken more precautions! The lack of oxygen caused me to pass out.
When I came to, the first thing that was painfully obvious was that my wrists were chained above my head, making my arms ache. The cool rock behind me made me shiver. This is a dungeon. The panic set in. A dungeon. I screwed up so bad! My head snapped up when someone started laughing.
"You're the one who trailed Nakahara? That's hilarious. You're so… normal." He laughed. "And small. You can't be over 5'1. This has to be a joke. I don't know if I can torture a little thing like you. Seems unfair. I mean, I'd hate to get blood all over that pretty white flower dress." His amber eyes scanned my body. "Should we start?"
My body recoiled back against the slab of rock.
"Where you going, sweetness? We're going to get to know each other so thoroughly right now. I'll start. I'm Tachihara Michizo. Let's have your name." Tachihara said, gripping the bottom of my dress, and ripping it up to my stomach. "Times up." He grinned, taking out his gun.
"W-wait!" Shit, he's gonna shoot me? The more I struggled, the more I couldn't control the panic setting in. I didn't come here to be tortured!
The barrel pressed into my inner thigh. "Hey now, hold still or I might hit your artery," Tachihara said, pushing against my chest with his free hand to hold me still.
"Michizo!" Chuuya said angrily. "She's my prisoner. Take your hands off her."
"You don't need to waste your time—"
Chuuya looked terrifying. "Get out." Michizo complied with an angry sigh, climbing the stairs out of the room. Chuuya's gaze returned to me, changing from a frown to a smirk. Sauntering up to me, he twirled a piece of my hair between his fingers. "Hm… I'd say you look relieved to see me, kitten. That's a first." He laughed and looked down at my ripped dress, raising an eyebrow. "Does your bra also have little foxes?"
My cheeks turned bright red, and I turned my head away, squeezing my legs together in an attempt to hide my fox patterned underwear. It's not like I planned to show anyone my underwear! His chuckle sent a strange feeling through my body. Suddenly, it was like I became really aware of how close this man was to me, and how vulnerable I was.
"I can't let you down until you answer my questions," Chuuya said.
"Let me down?" The words came out before I could stop them. Was he serious? He wasn't going to kill me?
Still fiddling with my hair, he nodded his head. "Surprised? You have no gift, or you would have used it back in the alleyway, and your fighting skills are nonexistent, so I think it is safe to assume that you're no real threat to Port Mafia." He clicked his tongue like he'd forgotten something. "But there is that pesky hacking you did, but I'll deal with that later. How about you tell me your name, kitten."
My name? "K-Kura…" My voice came out like a whisper. He's making me so nervous! Shouldn't I feel relieved that he isn't going to kill me?
"Kura," he repeated my name like I was a child who needed a scolding. "Why did you place a tracker on me, of all people?"
I blinked. No point in lying. This is why I came here. "I'm looking for my brother."
His eyes narrowed, confused. "Your brother?"
Nodding my head, I replied, "All I know, is that he works for Port Mafia. But when I hacked the system, I couldn't find any information on him, so I was going to come here and find him." This was my last option. With our parents' dead, he was my only real family left. It had been a long time since we'd seen each other.
"Who is he?" Chuuya reached up and unlocked the cuffs, freeing my arms.
I rubbed my sore wrists. "Dazai… Dazai Osamu." The recognition of Dazai's name crossed his face, giving me hope that he knew him. "I-I-I'm sorry for the way I got here, but…"
"Kura."
The idea of him being so close made me so happy. "Just… I just need to talk to him. Then it'll all be better—"
Chuuya grabbed my arm, turning me to face him again and took my face in his hands. "Kura," the strong tone in his voice made me go quiet. Is that… hurt I see in his face? Anger? It was hard to tell as he peered down in to my brown eyes. Our noses almost touched with how close we were. What is so urgent?
"Dazai… is dead."