CHAPTER 2: Her Benefactor?

The place smelled of urine and rotting food. She had to minimise her breathing so that she wouldn't puke in disgust. Also, the dark surroundings were scary. It made her think of how her parents had died in a car crash. She gasped when the vivid images played out in her mind without her consent until-

"Hey, Snark, is the girl awake?" a man with a deep voice drawled. Mikan heard a glass bottle breaking against the hard concrete floor. He was possibly a drunk then. "She should be. The chloroform that we used could only have knocked her out for an 2 hours," a gruff voice replied. "Oh well, I'll go check on her." Mikan heard a chair being pushed and nearing lumbering footsteps. Mikan didn't know what to do, so she closed her eyes tightly and attempted to regulate her breathing when the man named Snark stood in front of her and observed her face closely. He prodded her leg with his big toe.

Seeing no reaction, he grunted, then lumbered back. "She's still knocked out. Such an adorable thing, don't you think? I bet the boss will be happy with her. The daughter of the woman who betrayed him."

"Yeah, and we should bring her there soon." The first man reminded his unexperienced and annoyingly talkative accomplice. God, why must he get a partner? He would rather enjoy the quiet peace of the night and drinking alcohol before it was time to bring the girl to his boss.

Mikan, still with her eyes closed, felt large hands lifting her from the floor roughly and the swaying movement as he walked made her dizzy. When the men had reached the van, Mikan was thrown into the boot which was small but large enough to fit her in. Then, they closed the lid. Complete darkness. Mikan felt panicky and claustrophobic. She was hyperventilating now, her eyes dilating in fear. Desperately, she tried to pull free of the ropes which still very tightly bound her. The effort was futile and she felt only the same searing pain of rope burn as before. Squirming in the car boot, she tried to find any object with sharp ends. Her left hand landed on something small and pointed. She thought she had found a penknife. But she couldn't be sure. Mikan foolishly tested it by slicing one of her fingers against the end of the blade. She cringed. The end was quite sharp and warm, rusty-smelling blood was flowing freely out of the tiny cut she had made on her finger.

The car doors slammed shut. Knowing she had no time to lose, she held the blade between her two hands tied together and tried to cut the ropes repeatedly. It was a difficult task and the movement of the car did Mikan no justice. Without warning, the car would accelerate or ascend a slope and Mikan would involuntarily roll backwards; and the car would slow down and jerk to a stop where her body would be thrown forward and rolled slowly back again. After 20 minutes, the rope had been severed by the seemingly harmless but potentially lethal blade. Mikan got started on the ropes on the rest of her body: her mouth with the gag, those bounding her thighs, knees and ankles. Mikan calculated her chances of escaping. It was quite good. She made a mental plan of her escape: when the men opened the boot gingerly, she would leap out of the boot without giving them any chance to carry her. She kept the blade in her right hand which she would use when one of the man attempts to hurt her in her escapade.

As the car rolled to a stop once again, Mikan tensed, waiting for the car to start and throw her backwards where her spine was tingling from hitting the back of the boot countless times. But the car didn't start again. Instead, she heard the distinct sound of doors opening and slamming. This was the moment when she would carry out her plan of escapade. Just as she guessed, one of the men was manually unlocking the boot just in case she should try anything and the other was keeping a guard for people who would witness the scene. The hood of the boot rose hesitantly, then it rose completely. Mikan abruptly but unsteadily stood on the car boot and tried to find a spot to land on. The man called Snark grimaced then sneered at her. "So, you have woken. And you have found her way to cut the ropes," he observed. Suddenly, he swept down and made a grab for her legs.

But Mikan was faster. She leapt cleanly into the air where the man's stubby and clumsy hands couldn't reach and landed on the ball of her feet. Then, without looking back, she ran and ran without a care in the world, except to escape the man.

"Melvin, she's escaping!" her temporary 'guardian', Snark hissed, as he turned his head back to inform his partner. "Oy, stop running, we'll catch up to you anyway," Snark spat in front. Mikan turned around and saw the two men running after her and that they were catching up. Fast. Mikan continued running harder still, albeit her legs screaming with the lack of oxygen, her feet so hot along the insoles of her shoe that she knew she was going to get a blister. Sprinting continuously for five minutes, her energy level was depleting quickly and she slowed down by quite a bit. She could also hear the men huffing and cursing after her. Melvin, the one with the better stamina, was 2 metres behind her. He closed the gap between them with some effort and reached out his hand to grap her one of her pigtails. Mikan screamed as he head was wrenched upwards by the Melvin's pull of her hair. Without looking at where she was running, she tripped on a rock and rolled down the road which sloped downwards, pulling the man along with her. Snark had caught up with them and he helped Melvin up while they both gripped Mikan by her arms.

Her head had hit the road pretty hard. Mikan felt dizzy and the last she saw was the two men scooping her body up from the floor. The darkness that she utterly disliked now seemed comforting as it overtook her.

A slim silhouette of a man in dark suit with long hair could be seen from the dimly-lighted alleyway. "What are you doing to that girl? And who exactly are you people?" The voice of this man was utterly dreamy, velvet smooth and deep-down irresistable. "Put her down at once." His tone changed from a low one to a ringing one, as if commanding orders and his eyes glinted dangerously. The men swallowed, their cheeks flushed. They felt an irresistable urge to comply to his request and very drawn to this feminine-featured young man. Slowly they lowered Mikan to the ground, then looked at each other and fled.

Narumi bent forward and inspected the young girl's injuries. He decided that they weren't all that severe and scooped her up gently in his arms. As he accidentally touched an open wound on her leg, she moaned softly.

This girl sure had a long night. But she was going to be all right.

Narumi headed in the direction to the school.