Chapter 9
The next day, I had a day off and I needed time to clear my head and do something fun. I decided to go for a walk around town and then go rock climbing. It had been ages since I went rock climbing.
I had my phone sat nav and it was guiding me to the rock climbing centre. I walked along a busy street, my white cane tapped on the edge of a pavement, I pushed my glasses down and saw that everyone else was crossing so I crossed with them. As I walked across the room, I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sorry."
"You think sorry is enough?" They shouted.
They had a deep voice so it must have been a man.
"Hey! I said I was sorry so back off. In case you didn't notice, I'm blind you dick!" I shouted back.
"Huh?! You think you can talk to me like that?"
I then felt him grab hold of my arm, his grip was so tight it was starting to hurt.
"Get off me!" I shouted and tried to pull free.
Suddenly someone pulled on my arm roughly from behind.
"Get lost. If you have a problem with her, you can take it up with me instead." Soryu snarled.
"Soryu?" I questioned.
He pulled me behind him and stood in front of me. I could smell his sweet scent, I could feel the heat coming from his body. We stood so close, our bodies were practically touching.
"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was walking. I'll be going now!" The man said and I heard him run away.
"Thank you." I said.
"Eisuke finally let you go. He didn't set you free so you could get into trouble with some punk, you know." He said.
"He didn't set me free, he no longer had a use for me."
"Is that what you really think?"
"Yes." I said firmly.
What else was I suppose to think? He was such a jerk to me.
I heard him sigh "He can be reckless and sometimes so cruel it even gives me the shivers. Sometimes I think I can't put up with him anymore, but.."
"He's a jerk. If he didn't want me around anymore, he could have just asked me nicely to leave." I said.
"He's not the kind of man who would hurt someone for no reason." He said firmly.
Why was he telling me this?
"I thought you understood that? Lots of things have changed since you broke up with Eisuke right? And is it all bad?" He asked.
The only thing that had changed was that I had started going out with Takahiro.
"When he cuts ties with someone, he's way more ruthless than he needs to be." He continued.
He was defending Eisuke but I didn't care, it was no excuse for what he did or how he acted. But I knew he wasn't a bad person deep down, he was a kind person when he chose to be.
"He said the room service coffee doesn't taste good. Y'know, this really isn't like me. Poking my nose in other people's business." He said sounding awkward.
I missed seeing the guys, even Baba and Ota.
I couldn't help but smile, Soryu was a nice guy. Even if he was a mobster.
"Did you fancy getting some coffee?" I offered.
"No."
"Oh come on and besides, I was heading there anyway and I need someone to escort me." I said and held up my arm.
He sighed but took hold of my hand and lead me across the road. We walked a couple of yards and he pushed me through a door, a small bell rung as we walked through the door. I took my glasses off, I made out a blurry scene of a small café. It was quiet, I couldn't hear many voices around me. Soft gentle music played in the background as we walked in.
"What would you like?" He asked.
"A cup of tea please." I said.
He led me to a table, I reached out and touched the back of a chair and sat down. I heard him walk away but he quickly returned with a pot of tea for me and a coffee for him. He really liked rich coffee, I could smell it before he even sat down.
I wondered how long it had been since I had seen Soryu, a couple of days. I wondered how the others were doing?
I poured myself the tea and happily drank it.
"Thank you for what you said, earlier."
"What will you do now?" He asked. "Although, if things don't work out between you and Eisuke, I can always push Carolina back on him." He said with a sniggered.
I giggled "That's a shame, I think you and Caroline would have made a cute couple."
"You want to disappear before you get to see Eisuke again?"
I laughed again "Bring it on Mr mobster. You know, I'm surprised you just walk around town like a normal person."
"What's that suppose to mean?" He asked sounding shocked.
Oops, did I upset him?
"I dunno, I just thought you would ride a fancy car everywhere or something."
"I was actually tailing someone and unfortunately for him, I had to dispose of him." He said coldly.
Dispose? He meant kill right?
"Oh right ok, fair enough. You know, you try to hide it but you're actually a really nice guy Soryu." I said.
"You must really not value your life every much, that's twice you've insulted me."
He was threatening me but he spoke in such a relaxed tone, I knew he was only joking.
"How are the others doing?" I asked.
"They're fine, loud as usual." He said and sipped his coffee.
I missed being with them, in a weird way. They were all idiots but they were quite funny. I thought of Eisuke, near the end we were starting to form a good relationship.
When we first slept in the same bed, I woke up to find Eisuke's arms wrapped around me. He was holding onto me so tightly, as if he was scared to let me go. His warmth breath tickled the back of my neck, his heart beat softly against my back.
At first I was unsure of what to do. Did I stay like this or leave? But weird thing was, it felt kind of nice being in his arms like this. It was so comfy and warm.
I felt him stir and sigh.
"Morning, are you awake?" I asked and turned inwards to face him.
I wanted to reach out and touch his face but I resisted the urge.
"You're ridiculously warm, you know that?" He said.
"I am? Umm... I don't really know what to say to that." I said.
He let go off me, I felt him turn and stretch his arms up above his head.
"The air conditioning in here is too cold. Sleeping with someone like you is just right. You can sleep in here sometimes, be my body pillow." He said in a cheeky tone.
I couldn't help but giggle but when he didn't laugh I realised he was being serious.
It was moments like that, that made me think that Eisuke was a nice guy but he had this amazing ability of being nice, and then following it through with being a complete dick.
"You thinking of Eisuke?" Soryu asked.
"No." I said sharply which made him laugh.
"What are you doing after this?" He asked.
"Rock climbing." I answered.
"Would you like me to escort you?" He offered.
I smiled "Thanks but no thanks. I've got my mobile sat nav."
"Just don't run into any more punks. I won't be around to come to your rescue again."
"Ok first things first, you didn't need to come to my rescue. I had him right where I wanted him and secondly, he ran into me." I stated.
He laughed again "If you say so."
"I do say so!"
"You're very defensive aren't you?" He noted.
I just shrugged in reply and continued drinking my tea.
When we both finished our drinks, we parted ways at the café.
I walked to the rock climbing center and when rock climbing for a few hours. It was so much fun, especially being blind as it made it more of a challenge. One of the climb instructors would belay for me and shout out instructions if I was struggling but I often managed on my own. It was so easy, sighted people must get so bored with climbing. I loved not being about to see what route you could take, I just had to feel for the grips and do my best to reach the top.
A few hours later, I returned to the hotel. My mobile sat nav told me that I had reached my destination, I pulled my headphones out and put my phone back in my handbag. I moved my white cane to the left and it hit the steps of the hotel.
"May I have a word?" Voice said from behind me.
They had a deep voice so it must have been a man, I didn't reocgnise the voice.
I turned around "Hi, may I help you?" I asked.
"You're Mr ichinomiya's girlfriend, aren't you? I've seen you around the hotel."
I had a bad feeling about this guy, what did he want? There was a weird darkness to his voice. And how dare he just walk up to me asking me that kind of question.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Akira Nikaido, a friend of Ichinomiya's. We've known each other a long time through our connections."
Eisuke never mention him and I didn't recognise his name either.
"Um look, I'm tired and I need to get home. If you want to talk to Eisuke, I suggest you talk to him during one of his parties. Or just go to the hotel. Ok?" I said.
I turned around and walked towards the hotel entrance, my white cane banged against the first step so I knew when to lift my leg. I headed straight to apartment. I opened the door, dropped my handbag on the floor and went into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.
God I desperately needed a shower, I was covered in sweat and smelt terrible.
As I waited for the kettle to boil, I heard a knock at my front door. I opened it, I could make out a small blurry figure in front of me.
"Hi, may I help you?" I asked.
They didn't answer, they just stood there for a moment before they then jumped towards me, pinning me to the ground.
"Hey! No! Help! He-"
They clamped their hand over my mouth muffling my screams, I then felt something cold against my throat. Was it a knife?
"Shut up. If you cooperate Miss Well, you won't get hurt. You're coming with me." He snarled.
It was the same man that spoke to me outside the hotel.
I only nodded.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet and dragged me out of the my flat, and outside the entrance of the staff apartments, there was a car waiting. I could hear the car's engines humming.
"Get in." Nikaido ordered.
I heard him open a car door before I was pushed inside, I landed on my hands and knees on a leather seat. It must have been a fancy car, it stank of cigars and whisky.
Not this again, seriously?! How many times in a year can someone kidnap me? Why does this keep happening to me?
"What do you want from me?" I asked.
"Shut up." He ordered.
The car shot forwards, where was he taking me? What could he possibly want from me?
How was I going to get out of this?
We seemed to drive for ages when the car came to a suddenly halt, I shot forwards and my face hit the chair in front of me.
"Ow!"
Nikaido then grabbed my arm and started to drag me out of the car.
"Let go of me!" I shouted and struggled.
I fell out of the car, I landed on my back but Nikaido continued to drag me along the ground. He then pulled me up to my feet and the cold object returned to my throat.
"Be careful Miss Wells, you wouldn't want to lose that pretty neck of yours." He said.
I stopped struggling and he pulled me with him.
After Eisuke's company, Nikaido was the largest food company in Japan. They were rivals of Eisuke, and I heard rumors that they were trying to get into the hotel business.
We walked through a doorway, down a long set of stairs. As we walked down the stairs, the temperature started to change from warm to ice cold. I clung onto the banister as he pulled me, scared that I would fall.
"Slow down! I'm blind, I can't see the steps you asshole!" I shouted but he didn't listen.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, he threw me onto the ground. The ground was cold and hard, where was I? I couldn't smell anything in particular.
"Tie her up." He said.
Men appeared from behind me, one held me against the floor whilst the other tied rope around my wrists.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" I asked.
"You are the bait to get Ichinomiya to come here." Nikaido said.
"Why?"
"That deal Ichinomiya made with Bucci, I had a bid in for it too. That little brat used the I.V.C to jump the gun on me. So now, my only choice is to blackmail Ichinomiya into breaking off the deal with Bucci. Even Eisuke Ichinomiya will come running to save his girlfriend." He smiled confidently.
That's why he kidnapped me? Then I didn't have a hope in hell in getting out of this, Eisuke wouldn't come.
"I'm not Eisuke girlfriend. He won't come, he probably doesn't even care if I'm alive or dead." I said.
He didn't seem to hear me. I heard the pressing of buttons that belonged to a mobile phone.
"I just called him, I'm sure he'll be here any minute. I can't wait."
I sighed and hung my head, this was hopeless. There was no way I was getting out of this alive, I was never going to see my parents again or any of my friends.
"Hmm... he's taking a long time." Nikaido said.
"Like I said before you idiot, I am not Eisuke girlfriend. He won't come." I said.
"I doubt that, he sounded pretty worried on the phone. He'll be here."
Just then, I heard a loud crash of a door swinging open.
"You've got a lot of balls calling me here." Eisuke said with disgust.
Eisuke came? He actually came here?
"You finally came. Sorry for calling you out here. So have you decided? Will it be your business or your woman? Of course any man would chose his w-"
"There is nothing to decide." Eisuke said.
He sounded as cold as ever.
"That woman means nothing to me." He said coldly.
I knew it.
"W-what? Isn't this woman your girlfriend?"
"To be more specific, I used her as my girlfriend. And I got what I needed from her. She was nothing more than a disposable pawn to me." Eisuke said.
"W-what? Damn it! I thought she was going to seal this deal for me. But now my plan is.."
Eisuke snorted with laughter.
"If you want to deal with Bucci, shall I arrange a business partnership for you?" Eisuke said.
"What?" Nikaido said sounding confused.
"Dealing with the Italian mob alone is dangerous, even for me. I was just thinking about how I'd like a little... insurance."
"I see... I didn't consider that.."Nikaidosaid. "You're a good negotiator for being so young."
"I brought a business contract along. That should take care of things."
"You know what they say, strike while the iron's hot! I'll sign it." Nikaido agreed.
They both continued their business conversation, completely unconcerned with my presence. But once they signed the contract, what would happen to me? Maybe I was going to get out of here alive after all.
"I just need to sign and stamp my seal here, right?" Nikaido asked.
"That's right."
"Now we're partners! I hope this means we can be friends." Nikaido said.
They both laughed and chuckled.
But then the happy atmosphere instantly turned cold.
"Ha! I was just waiting until you let your guard down after I signed the contract."
I heard Nakido's men move quickly before Eisuke's cried out in pain.
What were they doing to him? They were hurting him!
"Eisuke? What's going on?" I shouted.
"Get away!" Eisuke shouted in a sharp voice.
Eisuke's groans of pain were breaking my heart.
"Stop hurting him! Please! Let me take his place, just leave him alone you asshole!"
"Don't be stupid!" Eisuke snapped.
"I understand how you feel, but you're useless to me, woman. The one standing in my way is Eisuke Ichinomiya. That's enough chatter. Eisuke Ichinomiya, with you gone the Ichinomiya group will be no more! And Nikaido Holdings will rise to the top, even without this contract!"
Just then, I heard the man next to me move and the ropes around my wrists fell to the ground.
"Huh? What?" I gasped.
"Sorry if your arms hurt Freya." the man said.
I knew that voice, it was Baba!
"Baba?" I questioned but he moved away from me before he could answer.
"What are you doing?!" Nikaido gasped.
"Saving the day of course!" Baba beamed.
"Alright, nobody move. Put your hands up." A voice shouted as the door opened again.
It was detective Kishi.
I heard several other footsteps, one I recognised which was Soryu's.
"Aw man, I really worked hard on that mask. You took it off so you could show off huh?" Ota asked.
"If you would've been more careful, we could've used it again. Such a waste." He said.
"Making a scene was more important." Baba replied.
"We could have taken care of this much faster without cops." Soryu said.
I sighed with relief and led on the floor. They were all here, I was safe and Eisuke was safe.
"What took you so long?" Eisuke demanded.
I heard more footsteps before one of Nikaido's men cried out in pain.
"I don't wanna see your filthy face ever again." Eisuke said.
"W-who are you?" Nikaido asked.
"You've got a long way to go before you can take me down, Nikaido." Eisuke said smuggley.
"Dammit! But we still have this contract, so the business deal is final. I won't terminate this contract."
Eisuke didn't even seem phased.
"That's only if your seal was valid." He said casually.
"What?!" Nikaido gasped.
"Sakurai Corporate has bought out Nikaido Holdings." Eisuke stated.
"Sakurai corporate? Sakurai is my vice president.. No!"
"Oh yes, he took over your company. And told everyone who works for you, about your money laundering, embezzlement, and all your other illegal business transactions. You were dismissed from your position as company president in this morning's shareholders meeting." Eisuke said.
I then heard what sounded like a piece of paper being torn.
"In other words, this contract is nothing but trash."
"You set me up?!" Nikaido asked.
"Just as you tried to do, but of course I was much more clever than you."
"Dammit!" Nikaido shouted angrily.
"You must have a death wish if you tried to take on Eisuke." Ota commented.
"You are under arrest for kidnapping, the police car will be here any minute." Kishi said.
I assumed he put handcuffs on him.
"Mamo, is that police badge for real?" Baba asked.
"Of course it is." Kishi said.
"Kishi looks more like the crook here." Ota laughed.
"Yeah, yeah. See, this is why I hate being a cop." Kishi said.
He hated being a cop?
Heavy footsteps approached me, a sour scent then filled the air.
"Are you ok Freya?" Eisuke asked.
He placed his hand on my shoulder, he knelt down in front of me. I could feel his breath on my face.
"No I'm not ok! I've had enough of kidnapping to last me a lifetime. Why are you here? Did you come just to save me?" I asked.
"You belong to me. And I always take responsibility for my things." He said.
He then took hold of my hand and pulled me to my feet "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"What?" I said.
I had never heard him apologise before.
"Why were you willing to risk your life for me, after I abandoned you?" He asked.
"Uh.. Because it seemed like the right thing to do." I said with a shrug.
He then let go of hand.
"Mamoru, the usual got it?" He said.
"Roger. Ahh.. What a pain." Kishi sighed.
I then heard Eisuke's heavy footsteps start to disappear.
"Is he going? Where's he going?" I asked and took a step forwards.
Another hand took hold of my arm and pulled me back.
"You can talk later. You're allowed back up in the penthouse now." Soryu said.
"It's been a long time since we've had so much fun! And we even got to see Kishi pretend to be a detective!" Ota laughed.
"I am a detective, you idiot!" Kishi snapped at him.
"I can't believe the woman Eisuke had around lately was the VP of Nikaido's company." Baba said.
"Who? That skank- I mean woman that was with Eisuke when I was last in the penthouse?" I asked.
"Yeah, nothing happened between them. He only talked business with her. He hasn't had any women around since he let you go." Baba said.
"Really?" I asked.
"Are you smiling?" Ota asked.
"No, shut up!" I said and covered my mouth with my hand.
"I knew things would turn out like this." Baba said.
"He could have taken down Nikaido without saving Freya. Yet, he came all the way here which means.. Well you can figure out the rest." Kishi said.
Was he talking to me? But he was right. Eisuke came here to save me. It was all so confusing, one minute he was nice and then the next minute he was a jerk.
"It's pretty amusing seeing Eisuke find a woman who's special to him." Soryu said breaking my train of thought.
"And now we have something to tease him about, I can't wait." Ota laughed.
He laughed like a child, these guys were crazy.
Baba then sighed "Why does boss always get all the cute girls?" Baba asked.
Was he talking to me?
Everyone kept happily away but then, their voices were drowned out by a police car siren in the distance.
"Cops are here. You guys go out the back entrance." Kishi said.
"Freya." Soryu said before he took hold of my hand and lead me along.
"Where are going?" I asked.
"The fire exit, there's a car waiting out back." He answered.
The moment we stepped outside, I was hit by a light evening breeze that made me shiver. I was still wearing my rock climbing kit, I was only wearing a thin vest top and ¾ length gym trousers.
I then felt a soft jacket being placed over my shoulders, it felt like someone's coat.
"Here." Soryu said as he placed it over my shoulders.
"Oh, thank you."
"The car is this way." He said and pushed me forwards.
I heard the car door open and I climbed in, I reached forwards and felt the soft leather seats as I moved along them. Soryu climbed in next and sat next to me.
