I was about to turn at a corner with a vending machine close by, until I heard this suspicious conversation between Kurosaki and some guys who looked like they were frequently involved in shady businesses.
"We need your skills, Kurosaki. You have the ability to hack into computers, and this will give us private information such as credit card numbers from people. You'll make us rich. Also, it's not like you have a choice anyways. If you don't join us, we'll just make you pay for it, either with your life or with someone else's."
I couldn't believe what I just witnessed, and the last thing I observed was the sight of those criminals grabbing Kurosaki and dragging him into the elevator. It was clear to me that Kurosaki wouldn't decide to join them in their evil doings. At this time I knew that it was my obligation to save Kurosaki immediately, otherwise I would lose him just like my brother Soichiro. I didn't want to experience this nightmare of losing someone again, so I was secretly following the strangers and Kurosaki, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.
The moment I stepped out of the elevator, I barely caught a glimpse of them leaving the building and turning left. I was worried to lose track of the dangerous criminals since this area was still quite unfamiliar to me, but at the same time I didn't want to run after them because it would be too obvious that I was spying on them. My heart was racing like a 12-cylinder Ferrari and I felt like I was suffocating in my own negative thoughts, not knowing what to do next. My ability to control the nervousness rising in me to calm myself down was only limited, and on the edge of disappearing. With all of my energy and strength, I went ahead and increased my speed just by a bit. They were going straight until they reached this alley. So far, my approaches were successful as I was pretty close to them, but Kurosaki didn't notice me because he wasn't turning around.
At that alley, they opened an old-looking back door of a building. The door conveyed an impression that it would probably fall apart soon. As they went in and closed the door, I stood right before it to eavesdrop and to determine when the time was ripe enough to enter the building.
"You have about 10 minutes to decide what you want to do. As mentioned earlier, you can either support us or we will make you regret that you have even existed. And don't forget that you haven't got many options, Kurosaki."
There were strange noises, almost like ropes or something similar. My assumption was that they probably also tied him to a chair, to make sure that he can't just escape. After only about one minute I noticed by the sounds of their steps how they were going further away from Kurosaki. I was willing to risk my life, and I also had some pepper spray with me, like I usually do when I travel alone in rather personally unknown areas. Trying to breathe quietly, and with all my courage, I opened the door slowly and entered, knowing that this could possibly be dangerous. The room was grotesque and looked like a 1000-year-old prison for runaway slaves from the 11th century; I would definitely say that a room such as this would be the perfect setting for a horror movie to take place. As of now, I felt like in a horror movie anyways.
And just as I expected, there was my Kurosaki, helpless, tied to a chair. I would probably never see him like this again, unless I decide to become a SM-fanatic one day. The moment I looked at his face I knew this was the way he would've looked like if he discovered that I shaved his hair while he was sleeping, and in all honesty I can't recall witnessing this type of astonishment ever before. His eyes were far open, comparable to the wide fangs of a hungry wolf catching a little helpless lamb. The filthy wretches were not in sight, as expected, and it seemed like they went to a different area through the backdoor of this room. My heart was not racing like a 12-cylinder Ferrari anymore, but it actually felt like an imaginary 100-cylinder Ferrari when I heard the voices behind that backdoor more clearly than before, as if they were slowly approaching. Kurosaki and I were both well-aware that every noise we make could potentially be the indicator of our bitter end. I tried to untie Kurosaki, and I knew he wanted to say something badly, but of course he had to hold it back now. That blondie and I were good to go anyways.
Everything was going too easy to be true, and maybe I shouldn't have thought about that for a certain reason. While I was trying to escape with Kurosaki I forgot that there was a level difference between the door and the ground, and there I was, lying on my belly with a sprained arm. This was probably the worst thing that could happen at that time, and above all, my panties were showing clearly. I tried hard to hold back my crying, and I felt like I was in a war of my physical pain versus my mental state of mind. My fall was obviously loud, but within a matter of seconds, Kurosaki instantly bent down to me, and grabbed me carefully, trying not to make my injury any worse. Without wasting time he ran as quickly as possible, and behind us were those ruthless criminals with their pea-sized brains, chasing us like Tom and Jerry would do. We finally arrived at a place with lots of people, it was crowded enough to scare the villains away. Now again they would try to look like the most innocent beings on earth, like saints that just recently had descended to planet earth.
As we finally had the freedom to produce sounds, I was weeping non-stop because my pain would not decrease at all, and my arm was swollen and bruised. Without even pausing or saying something, Kurosaki went to his Jeep that he parked right in front of the building where he worked at, and slowly put me in the back of the car. He shut the door and drove to the closest hospital, trying to pass every car just to arrive as soon as possible. There was this ongoing silence, and I started to feel more like a burden than a hero, but I was glad to be that close to Kurosaki after all. He picked me up once more and I was transferred to the emergency section of the hospital in no time.
After only a few hours I was relaxing in one of those hospital beds, with a temporary cast and the urge to sleep. I heard somebody was knocking the door and to my surprise, Riko and Rena were visiting me with some very nice looking flowers and my favorite sweets. Kurosaki also entered, holding a cute balloon and a little package.
"You sure look tired, Teru! Kurosaki told us everything, I hope you feel better soon", said Riko with a worried expression on her face.
Rena handed me some candies over, but I didn't feel like eating them at that time. After some word exchange, Riko and Rena left the hospital, leaving me behind with this blondie. That guy, he really makes my days so much brighter.
"And now Teru... why the heck did you leave the room even though I told you that you shouldn't? I wanted to tell you that I knew about their plans and how to answer properly, I just couldn't explain the whole situation to you at that time because we had to be silent. I wasn't able to tell you that you should run away as fast as possible and that I'm fine."
"Well... I was curious and I already had a feeling that something shady was going on. I don't regret following you, and now you and me are both in safety, so who cares about what happened? You saved me, I saved you, everything's just alright, let's move on being two little happy human beings who like good food."
"Since you're Teru, I won't even try to argue with you about that otherwise this might end up being some really messed up conversation. You really amaze me every day, you know that, right? I keep falling in love with you over and over again, for being so brave, strong, and responsible... and a shameless little girlfriend that hopes I become bald as soon as possible! Oh and I hope you like my present for you."
I quickly grabbed the package and opened it like there was the potion of immortality inside it, and the first thing I saw was a super adorable and soft stuffed animal that looked like a yellow little bird. As I pulled the plush toy closer to me to cuddle it, he started caressing my head while giving me a cheeky smile that I just truly loved. I could feel how my cheeks were becoming red as a tomato and my temperature starting rising in seconds, I was pretty much like a living volcano that was just about to explode. And to my surprise, the package contained shaving cream too.
"Why would YOU give me shaving cream, blondie? This is even shadier than those wretches from before, yes, yes!"
"Since you always want me to become bald for some reason, I thought I would give you shaving cream to cheer you up after those incidents. I owe you something and see this as some kind of compensation. To put it in other words: You can shave my hair!"
This moment was bizarre, how would he even come up with this idea of letting me shave his hair? Was this really happening? I was starting to doubt that this was actually the good ol' Kurosaki. Maybe Riko brainwashed him or so.
"Thanks for that, I like your idea, but I would rather prefer if you quit smoking, to be honest. Now that would really be a surprise, you know..."
"Continue dreaming, Teru! And just by the way, you'll be living with me until your arm completely heals."
I was astonished and I instantly changed my mind about Kurosaki being different because he is still a stubborn delinquent. Did he really just say that I was going to stay at his place for maybe 2 or 3 weeks? So he would come back home too, finally? Concealing my happiness to appear serious didn't work for me, which was no wonder.
"Well, I can take care of myself, you know, there is no need-"
"Nope, don't even continue trying to find an excuse, there is need to, and even if there wasn't, I'll officially make it necessary."
In reality I was exploding from joy, but I was suddenly too shy to admit that. Maybe that was a trait I got from him over time.
"I got to go now, but I'll visit you tomorrow and I'll pick you up in two days. While you're here I'll also fix that problem with the criminals. Sleep well, cheeky little brat!"
Kurosaki came surprisingly close to me. He gave me a tight hug and left the hospital afterwards. At this time I noticed how big he actually was, and how much he had to bend. It reminded me of the moments he picked me up and carried me almost like a child and I was starting to feel kind of embarrassed for that. All those simple thoughts were in my mind while I was trying to sleep and I was wondering what he was going to do as soon as I stayed at his place. What surprises would await me?
A/N (May 31, 2015): Coincidentally, today is World No Tobacco Day, but Kurosaki still didn't quit smoking...