IMPORTANT: The website is acting up so the update isn't showing for everyone :( , so I took the new chapter down and will put it up again in a day or two, sorry for any inconvenience.
I'd like to mention that I'm not aware of how an actual Police interrogation works except from what I've read and watched. So if I get some facts wrong, do let me know so I can rectify them though I've tried to stick to more shallow waters so that I don't make a complete mess out of it.
DISCLAIMER: Hiro Fujiwara is a star, this is her hardwork, no rights.
When Asahi Takamiya strut into the Police Station at 2PM two days later, looking completely at ease as if he had nothing to do with the current situation made Takumi's hand itch to punch him again. He didn't know how or why, but if there was one thing Takumi was sure of, it was that the bastard had something to do with Misaki's disappearance.
Minako's arm around Sakuya's tightened involuntarily as she held her husband back who she knew wanted a chance to meet the red-haired boy in an alley just so he'd have an excuse to beat him up and get away with it exactly as he had harassed their daughter and gotten away with it.
What Sakuya Ayuzawa wouldn't do to be a part of an influential family.
But as he watched Tora Igarashi approach the other man, he felt as if his prayers had been answered. He glanced around and saw that all of Misaki's friends were starting to stand up, watching the exchange taking place between the Igarashi heir and Takamiya. Ten minutes since he had first walked in, Sakuya had recognized all these kids who had become close friends with his daughter immediately. First came Tora Igarashi; who owned a multi-billion corporation and was soon going to be crowned the head of the company his Father was currently heading. Next came his fiancee, Chiyo Sakurai, who was the heiress to the Sakurai's Hotels and Resorts Then came her Cousin, Kuuga Sakurai; leader of the Indie pop band; Uxmishi whose parents owned clubs and casinos all around the World. Hinata Shintani's family were in the same business as the Sakurais and were in fact, business partners with each other. Kanou Soutarou's Father who was a well known wrestler and an Olympic gold medalist now owned some of the best Dojos all around. Then ofcourse came Takumi Walker: rumored heir to the Walker Corporation with an established career as a popular model who also might be Sakuya's boss one day.
The amount of supremacy in this one Police Station could've attracted a mob of journalists but those who held that much authority were also obviously good at hiding it.
Asahi walked past Tora who had just approached him and instead pulled a chair out from beneath an empty desk. He sat down, casually throwing his legs atop the desk that was stacked with papers, nudging them aside with his shoes as he leaned back in his chair, craning his neck back to look at the rest of them "Well, I understand that it's quite a sight but if all any of you were going to do was gape, I could've just sent a picture instead of showing up myself"
Chiyo, her cousin, her fiance, her three bestfriends and two close girlfriends all had the same urge to kick him off that chair and give him a soundly beating.
Tora scoffed as if he couldn't believe the garbage he was being forced to put up with "We have a few questions for you after which you can go have a photoshoot with anyone who's interested in filming and spectating filth"
Asahi looked up sharply before waving his hand in an offhand manner as if to dismiss Tora- as if to dismiss the Tora Igarashi "I'm only answering questions that are going to be asked officially"
"Very well" Tora conceded, gesturing at one of the Officers present to start with the official proceedings.
Once the initial formalities had been covered, Tora casually leaned on the edge of the desk next to where Asahi was now sitting, his arms folded as he looked down at the red-haired boy "Well, you certainly took your sweet time showing up when you confirmed that you would've been here two days back, why is that?"
"Like I said, I don't care about your petty questions. I'm here because you managed to get an official letter specifically to have me cross-checked. Doesn't mean you also get to do the questioning"
Tora's lips turned into a ghostly smile as he looked over his shoulder at the Officer watching the exchange between the two men "Why are you two days late? It's a matter of kidnapping and time is of the essence, shall we hold it against you?" The Officer chided once he understood what Tora had asked for.
Asahi looked at Tora first, then at the Officer, gritting his teeth as he answered "Not everyone is free. You might need my absolute punctuality but I also have things I need to take care of while I come here to give my statement regarding a kidnapping I have nothing to do with"
"How about you let us decide that?" Tora asked, twirling a paperweight between his fingers "Busy with things like what?"
Asahi rose an eyebrow.
Tora looked at the Officer.
"Things like what?" The Officer echoed.
"We're starting a new branch of our company, in Seoul" Asahi shrugged "And I'm going to be the Head there"
Tora snorted but coughed to cover it up as Asahi continued, now answering through his teeth "The rest of the details are strictly confidential"
The Igarashi heir nodded along "As they should be" He stood up "Well then, how about you tell us about your relationship with Ayuzawa-san?"
Asahi glared as Tora loosely crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not answering anything that-"
"Answer the question" The Officer interrupted.
The flame-haired boy rounded on the Officer, the anger visible in his eyes "Just because he has money and power doesn't mean you do his every bidding!" Asahi savagely spit out, pushing his chair back and making a move to stand up.
A hand clapped down on his shoulder, forcing him back down in his chair "Isn't that what you did?" Chiyo asked, her voice eerily quiet "Use money and power to avoid punishment?"
"Who the hell do you think-"
"Only speak when spoken to" Chiyo warned "Sit in your damn chair and answer the goddamn question"
Asahi sensed that it was better not to cross ways with the Igarashi couple and so he huffed soundly before answering "I met her when she was in her third year of middle school" He paused "At a manga fair I think"
He recounted the entire story; calling Misaki overbearing, jealous, insecure for reasons unknown to him when he had given her no reason to make her feel that way. He cleverly concluded the story when Misaki had caught him red-handed; cheating on her because he was tired of his shrew girlfriend and carefully avoided mentioning the kidnapping "Nothing happened after that?" Tora asked, his eyebrows raising.
"I got the help I needed for doing whatever happened after" Asahi cautiously answered.
"And what did you do?"
"You damn well know what I did"
"As I knew the rest, but we still need to hear it. For, official reasons"
Everyone inside that room knew that Tora was purposely pushing his buttons but if there was one thing Tora knew he could count upon, it was only this "I..." Asahi exhaled soundly "..took her with me" He quietly admitted.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Tora questioned, tilting his head sideways as if he hadn't already heard what the other man had said.
"GODDAMMIT!" Asahi burst out, past his limit as he finally stood up, his anger escalating as Tora merely rose an eyebrow at the outburst "Any other questions you may have, we'll do it in the presence of my Lawyer"
"Alright" Tora agreed, nodding along.
When that only ticked Asahi off more, he took a threatening step toward the Igarashi heir, making the Officer stand up to step in if things got messy. Tora held a hand up toward the Officer, shaking his head as Asahi seethed "I'll get back to you for this, Igarashi"
At that instant, when all Tora did was smile, Asahi's arm rose with the full intention of getting back at the Igarashi heir right at this moment. He never got a chance to fulfill his wish to punch Tora, instead he was swung around to face deadly oceans of emerald "Who do you think you are?" Takumi's voice shook as he clutched Takamiya's collar tighter "Don't get ahead of yourself. I could choke the life out of you without blinking" He whispered ominously.
"I don't know what stupid notion all of you've perceived but I have nothing to do with Misaki's kidnapping" Asahi grit out, thankful that he was wearing full trousers or his trembling knees would be on full display "I don't know where she is"
Takumi lessened his grip on the collar but held his gaze, his menacing gaze unnerving Asahi even more than the grip on his collar had "That better be true. Because if it isn't," He took a step closer to the red-haired man making him step back "You better start praying that I won't find you because when I do" He paused, whispering for the sake of the others present, his tone just as threatening as the look in his eyes "I'll kill you"
With that he let go of Misaki's ex-boyfriend who stalked out of the Police Station unceremoniously reminding them that he would only answer questions in the presence of his Lawyer next time.
Once he was out of the door, Takumi sank down in a chair, sighing heavily. Tora who had been the closest and clearly heard everything Takumi had told the other man put a hand on his friend's shoulder "You good?"
"Honestly, I don't know" He exhaled and grabbed a hold of his head "What if Misaki is actually with him and I made things worse?"
"He has a temper, alright" Tora nodded "How they let him out of the facility in London already is beyond me, which is something I'm looking into. Meanwhile, there's something disturbing yet elating in this next news I have for you" When Takumi could only raise an eyebrow, Tora revealed "Asahi has been in Japan for the past two days"
That made Takumi perk up a little as his attention was restored "What do you mean? Didn't he just say he got here today?"
"He got to Tokyo today, that's correct. He has been in Japan for the past two days and had been staying at his family's residence in Hakone"
"Why would he hide that?"
"Beats me. Maybe, he really had business to take care of" Tora shrugged "Or maybe he just wanted to piss us off, which he was successful in doing. Either ways, he didn't arrive today"
"Are you having someone tail him?" Takumi questioned, his vision momentarily distracted past Tora's face and toward where Minako was frantically leaving the room with Chiyo in pursuit.
"Twenty-four seven" Tora confirmed "But he hasn't left his residence in the time he's been here except to visit his friend twice"
"His friend? Where?"
"Kawaguchiko. Highschool friends, lives in some high rise building" Tora paused "Besides that, he hasn't gone anywhere"
Takumi's spirits that had soared were finally reaching the ground "He was in Seoul, when Misaki got kidnapped. There's no way around that. We can't explain that"
"Yes, we can" Tora pointed out and waited till Takumi had turned to look at him "Did it ever occur to you that maybe he hired people to get things done in his absence?"
"It did. But, wouldn't he have directly shipped her off to Seoul then?"
"I'd say that could've been the plan but we could've thwarted his plans by getting the Airports put under surveillance and maybe he never got a chance to-" His phone started to ring so he held a finger up, indicating that their conversation was on hold but not over.
Takumi took that opportunity to look around. Misaki's Father was also talking on the phone, Suzuna was sitting between Shizuko and Sakura who were trying their best to keep her attention anywhere but on her sister. Chiyo was just walking back but Mrs. Ayuzawa wasn't with her. Chiyo caught his eye and walked toward them when he beckoned her closer.
"Is she okay?" Was the first thing that escaped him when Chiyo was within hearing range.
"She.." Chiyo hesitated "..needs some time to herself. It's not an easy time for her, for anybody here. She upset herself further when she remembered that Misaki's birthday is today"
Right. Takumi thought, his stomach dropping and his throat choking up all over again It's Misaki's birthday today. And she's not even here. Instead she was somewhere; suffering, alive or otherwise, in pain. Gulping, he nodded "Well, we'll ask Sakuya-san to check on her later"
Chiyo nodded the same time Tora got off the phone "Asahi is flying back to South Korea tonight. He said he'll be back in two days and then we can interrogate him"
"That bastard-" Takumi cut in.
"Which is, " Tora kept speaking ".. a good thing" He finished, crossing his arms and shrugging.
Takumi and Chiyo gave him matching looks of disbelief "If he's in Seoul and managed to get Misaki there somehow, we'll be the first to find out. I already have a team tracking his movement there since the first day" He elaborated.
"We can't be sure he won't be too careful" Chiyo pointed out "Maybe he's going to take her elsewhere. Maybe, he's going to Seoul as a distraction?"
"They can't take her out of Japan on air. We'd know. Doing it by water is too risky. He's gonna lie low" Tora lay down the possibilities "Besides, he's not going to go to Seoul in the first place for us to even worry"
"What do you mean?"
"He's gonna be right here in Hakone, just like he had been" Tora stated, now settling down in a chair himself.
"How are you so sure?"
"He can't keep track of Misaki from another country as well he can from here. It's as simple as that. Plus, now that he's riled up and furious, he's bound to jeopardize his plans" He fished his phone out of his pocket and started going through his messages.
"You know something, don't you?" Takumi asked carefully, noting that Tora looked a little tensed but relaxed at the same time.
Tora's hand froze but he waited a moment before looking up "Yes, yes I do" He admitted "I don't want to give anyone here any kind of false hope so I'm not saying anything"
"False hope is all we have right now" Takumi replied, a little desperate for any kind of positive hope wherever Misaki was concerned "What did you find?"
"Asahi wasn't released from the medical center in London by the Doctors. His parents got him out, he never served the entire time he was there. Which is why, they forbid him from coming back to Japan unless absolutely necessary. That means when you went to his parents' place, spoke with him on the phone after his Mother said he was abroad, that's no lie from the parents' side but we can't be too sure. Meaning, he hired someone here to do the kidnapping after all so that he'd have a classic alibi. But he's impatient and his anger is not under control, neither does he have complete control over it" He paused for a moment, trying to remember if he was forgetting anything but shook his head "He's a valid suspect but he has a pretty strong alibi"
"Have I made things worse for Misaki then?" Takumi repeated.
"If I'm not going to sugarcoat it and if she's with Asahi, then probably yes"
"What about his so-called friend? How much of that is true?" Chiyo asked when Takumi looked like he had a lump in his throat he was trying to swallow.
"It's true, alright. We're gonna go talk to him soon"
Misaki didn't know what day it was. She was assuming her birthday was long past.
Her attention was past that fact anyway. She had felt the anger burning through her last night when Asahi had visited and had resolved that she'd get out of her on her own. She didn't need anyone to come save her, she would die trying if she had to.
She had been constantly been fingering the knot that she had shifted from near her mid-back to her left hand. She was torn between whether it was a figure-eight knot, a sheet knot or a simple overhand knot. Maybe it was all three, maybe it was a fisherman's knot. She didn't know! And the frustration was driving her closer to the brink of insanity. She had tried craning her neck over her shoulder but that increased the pressure around her mouth and made spots appear behind her eyes. Her headache was increasing with every passing moment and now it had escalated to the point where she felt like someone was hitting her with a hammer.
Momentarily closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate. Her focus had to be solely on escaping. Nothing else. Not the pain, not the overwhelming sorrow, not the fact that she could possibly fail in her try for escape. She didn't care. She was done trying to play out these games the way Asahi wanted them to turn out. He had no right to do this to anyone. No one deserved to go through this level of torment.
She stiffened when she heard the door unlock, her eyes darting to the Sun rays falling in through the window. She lowered her gaze when the same two men entered, the ones who'd been thrust with the responsibility to force water down her throat. Misaki had long given up hope trying to seek their help. There was no way they would betray Asahi to help his captive, it was not their business to interfere.
When the 2nd man retied her gag, he shoved her head forward, entangling her hair even more, that in turn pulled on her roots and made a fresh set of pain shoot up her spine. She groaned in pain but that only resulted in the other one thrusting her head sideways "Quiet!" He snapped, unbothered that the gag had left her skin chaffed.
Misaki's head remained drooped till long after the door had shut behind them, just staring. Staring at her bandaged feet she felt tears starting to burn in her eyes, dampening them till she couldn't see properly anymore. Long after her tears had stopped falling, she kept staring at the (now) brown bandage that Takumi had tied around her feet that she had retied after their paintball game together. Back then she had convinced herself that she was retying a used bandage only because the inside dressing needed to be changed and she saw no reason to change the upper one as well but she knew. She had known all along that she'd done it to keep a feeling of him close to her, to feel him near her whenever he wasn't. To replicate the warmth he radiated. No, she thought solemnly as she wiped the tears on her shoulder to replicate the warmth that was him.
As she resumed her discreet attempt to untie herself by digging her nails into the knots and trying to prance them apart, her mind firmly opposed to even thinking that something had also happened to Takumi, that Asahi's madness led him to do something terrible to Takumi. Her heart dropped when she thought of Asahi inflicting harm on Takumi and she frantically and desperately tried to untie the rope faster. Her heart was beating in short, tortured beats until she finally calmed herself down, realizing that she wasn't even breathing properly ever since she first started to entertain the idea. He's okay. She told her herself repeatedly Everyone's okay. Infact they're probably looking for me right now.
If Asahi had lay a single finger on any of her friends, she'd shoot him with his own gun.
Her fingernail was hooked on to a particular loop and she wildly pulled on it, trying to unfasten it, loosen it, hook a whole finger in to pull it apart, anything. She refused to stay down and let anymore damage be done to herself or anyone else Asahi had dragged into this.
She hooked her entire ring finger into the intersection, the rope roughly rubbing against her finger as she pushed through it, trying desperately to hook her finger into it.
She found an opening and pulled it apart.
"You want one?"
Takumi looked up when a can of orange juice entered his line of vision. For a starstruck moment, he stared at Misaki's younger sister, almost mistaking her for the older sister and half rising out of his seat "Yes, yes I'd like one" He accepted, extending his hand for the orange can he thought she was offering him.
Suzuna pulled it back, threw a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the the vending machine "Get your own, then"
Takumi stared at her, momentarily dumbfounded into complete speechlessness which was dangerously edging toward annoyance before Suzuna tossed the can to him and he caught it on reflex "Don't look that murderous, I was only kidding" She smiled.
The absurdity of it all made a smile break out on Takumi's face that had done nothing but frown ever since Asahi had left the Police Station that blasted afternoon two days back "Thanks" He replied, gratefully.
"It's alright" She waved it off, producing another can of orange juice "May I?" She gestured toward the bench that Takumi was occupying by himself in the parking lot of the Police Station.
"By all means" The blond replied, shifting to one side to make space.
"You're Takumi-san?" She asked, her focus on opening her can of juice.
"That's me. And you're Ayuzawa-chan" He wasn't asking, he knew.
"Suzuna" Misaki's sister corrected. momentarily looking up before resuming her task of popping the can open after Takumi nodded in acknowledgement "You're my sister's boyfriend?"
The orange juice that had been making a safe passage down Takumi's food pipe decided to make a reverse trip toward the entrance as he forced the beverage down, coughing once he had successfully gulped it "N-No" He choked out "Why do you ask?"
Suzuna lifted her index finger before rounding it around his face, in the air "You look like it" She shrugged "Your face gives it away"
A momentary reprieve from his constant worry and immense stress made Takumi turn toward the youngest ravenette in the Ayuzawa family with little amusement "Pray tell. What does it give away?"
"Your sorrow over my sister going missing. Your rage that you withheld from unleashing on Takamiya that day. Your yearning for my sister and the helplessness is ..." She pondered over it for a second before finishing "making you seriously consider doing heavy physical damage to Takamiya"
The accuracy of it would've unnerved Takumi but he figured that with his guard down and the worry basically etched into every part of his being and on full display, it might be pretty easy for everyone to read it "Is that so?" He mused, taking another sip of his juice, the taste not registering in the slightest.
"Mhm" Suzuna mused along, both of them falling silent after that "Don't worry" She quietly reassured, a while later.
"Your sister is kidnapped, it's a pretty valid reason to be worried"
Suzuna turned to blond gentleman, refusing to believe his outrageous display of calm serenity when he was in such a turmoil on the inside "Look me in the eye and tell me that someone is capable of hurting Misa-nee"
Takumi also turned to her, fully intending to do exactly that when the sheen of tears in the young highschooler's eyes made him clamp his mouth shut and suddenly he couldn't meet her gaze "No" He quietly, if dishonestly, replied "No, they aren't"
That seemed to make the ravenette feel better and she nodded "You seem like a nice guy"
"Not a very astute judgement on your part"
"Well, I'm taking Misa-nee's word for it"
"She talked to you about me?"
"Yeah" Suzuna shrugged, trying to brush it off as something trivial "Sometimes"
Takumi smiled at her attempt to cover it up "What did she say?"
"Secret"
"Spoilsport"
"If you bring Misa-nee back, I'll let you in on some explicit stuff"
"Do we have a deal?" Takumi asked, trying to keep it as lighthearted as he could manage, extending a hand toward the younger girl.
"We do" Suzuna nodded, clasping his hand tightly, hopefully.
Takumi held her gaze, wondering for one impossible moment what he would do if he couldn't keep his side of the promise. Luckily, he didn't have much time to ponder over it because Tora was approaching them, quite fast too.
"Here you are" Tora breathed out "Come on. I need to talk to you" He gestured toward the Police Station "Inside" He added when he registered Suzuna's presence. Takumi turned to look at the younger ravenette who nodded when he excused himself, understanding the situation and the need for them to be discreet in her presence.
It was only when they were a safe distance from the young highschooler did Tora start speaking "Two things I need to tell you. Before that, you tried calling Asahi this morning?"
Takumi nodded as they climbed the steps to the entrance "Yeah, but he didn't pick up" Then something struck up "How do you know?" He hadn't told anyone that he had tried apologizing to Takamiya for his behavior the other day, hoping that might change his mind about imposing any harm on Misaki.
"The Police has tapped everyone's phones, for the meantime" Tora informed, offhandedly "Anyways. First, Asahi's private jet landed in Seoul this morning"
"So, he's in South Korea right now?"
Tora shook his head, stopping just before entering the main office "His jet is. He's in Hakone"
Takumi's eyebrows shot up and Tora nodded "Misaki's right here, in Japan"
"But where?"
"Asahi will tell us, himself" Tora grit out "The man is giving me a migraine"
"You said you had two things to tell me, what's the second?"
"Asahi's so-called friend who lives in Kawaguchiko, is on vacation. Brazil"
"Then..are you telling me-"
"Yep" Tora interrupted, his line of thought in the same direction "Recklessness" He concluded "If he hadn't been riled up and if we hadn't added fuel to his fire, he might have chosen to actually go to Seoul to have a suitable alibi. But now he's going to blow his own cover" He held his friend's gaze for a moment and had started speaking again but his phone ringing interrupted whatever it was he was going to say "Excuse me. You go on ahead" He turned and picked up the call.
Takumi walked further into the Office, his eyes scanning faces that were present. Chiyo looked like she was explaining the same thing to the Ayuzawas because when he caught Minako's eye she smiled hesitantly and hopefully. Hinata was entering the office, balancing pizza boxes in both his hands and Kanou got up to help. Kuuga entered behind him, holding what looked like milkshakes for everyone with Sakura in tow. Shizuko had gone home to change into fresh clothes and hence, was the only one missing.
Hinata approached the blond gentleman first, holding a chocolate milkshake in his hand "Tora told me what he found out. Cheer up?" He held the milkshake out for Takumi to take.
Takumi shook his head "Anything I force down is only making me sick" Hinata seemed like he understood because that made him retract his hand and instead sip on the milkshake.
"You know" He mused "This is my favorite milkshake" Hinata informed.
Takumi nodded, distractedly.
"It tastes like sand being forced down the wrong pipe"
Takumi decided not to comment, only hoping his friend understood that his lack of response was not ignorance but distraction "What I'm trying to say is" Hinata elaborated "Everyone here is equally worried about Misaki-san. Doesn't mean you need to beat yourself up about it in private and blame yourself for something you had no control over. There's so many of us for a reason, to share the blame as well as the pain collectively"
Takumi nodded, the gratitude evident on his face "Thank you" He said, simply.
"Anytime. You feel an urge to have some muddy rocks being shoved down your throat, come ask me and I'll give you one of these. We have plenty for everyone" Takumi managed a small smile as Hinata walked away, urging the Ayuzawas to also eat something. Takumi watched as he managed to make Misaki's parents smile after cracking a joke, successfully managing to make them eat something. His vision tunneled when Tora stalked back into the room and straight toward him.
He got straight to the point "Asahi is flying to Sicily tonight"
"Business class?"
"On a Diplomat's plane. I'm still trying to find out whose. And you know protocol, no one checks their baggage"
"You're kidding" Takumi's panic increased tenfold "I'll call the bastard, tell him we have an official warrant for him to stay in the country-" He fished his phone out "I'll tackle him down on the Airport myself if I have to"
"Takumi, wait. Listen to me-" Tora objected, trying to stop Takumi.
"No, he can't leave the country. Even you know that" Takumi argued, his finger hovering the call button when his phone ringing made him freeze for a fleeting moment.
Asahi was calling him.
Misaki was waiting. That's all she could.
Something told her that Asahi had been irked more than normal the day before yesterday. Which had led to the whole additional starving torture. Her eyes glanced toward the ruined McDonald's happy meal box through which she could now smell the faint rotting. After this, things would only get worse, which only indicated that she'd have to get out of here as soon as possible.
Yesterday they had skipped giving her water at night. Today, at 3PM again no one had come in. Her gut told her it meant Asahi was going to arrive today.
Like always, including all those times she'd thought she was in trouble, being stalked, around Takumi or about to mark a wrong answer during an exam, her gut was right. Just as it had been that morning of the Sports Festival.
Except he arrived earlier than she had anticipated.
Asahi walked in when Misaki felt she could pass out from the pain in her body, the ache in her head and the rage in her soul. He was on the phone, that much was sure from the hushed talking he was doing. None of his guards entered with him, it made a chill run down her spine which made the fact that today was the day he was going to exercise his power over her crystal clear.
Misaki kept her head low, trying not to give anything away as he approached her, still on the phone, now listening instead of doing the talking. He obviously thought that she was sleeping because she felt his fingernail scrape across her chin, lifting her head up making her raise terrified eyes to him. A sinister smile spread across his face, as if the mere sight of her terror gave him pleasure beyond anything else. He held her gaze and then pursed his lips, shaking his head signalling her not to cry in the way adults did to infants when they were trying to comfort them. The irony almost made Misaki want to take turns in laughing, crying and kneeing her ex-psycho-of-a-boyfriend in the crotch.
"I understand" Asahi spoke in the phone, tracing his fingernail upward toward her cheekbones "No, no that won't be an issue" He further added, now murmuring as his finger reached her temple, moving upwards and tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear "No" He laughed, suddenly turning around pocketing the hand "You've already been very kind" He spoke, moving toward the only window in the whole room "Yes, tonight" He seemed to be confirming, making Misaki's head snap up to stare at his back in the fading light of the Sun.
Was he leaving? Was he going to let her go? Or was he going to leave her here for his men to finish up with?
Or, her blood chilled, was she leaving with him?
It was now or never. She told herself as the ropes around her arms came loose and she quietly stood up, balancing on feet that hadn't been exercised much since the night before when she had finally pried the whole thing loose. Misaki turned, picked the chair up with no sound as she had practiced several times and carefully approached her unsuspecting captor.
Asahi did sense something going on. So much so that, for one impossible second he was actually terrified of the notion of turning around before he laughingly told himself that he was being ridiculous. Maybe, a little tryst with his unwilling captive would make everything just right "Yes" He told the Diplomat who was returning a favor in turn for the numerous favors his Father had done for him in the past "Thank you for all your help. I will contact you once I land"
"Please do. Have a safe trip, Son"
That was his cue to hang up. He pulled the phone away from his ear, his finger hovering over the 'End call' button when a shadow crossed across the wall in front of him and he turned swiftly.
Misaki hit him straight across the face with the chair.
Asahi dropped down to ground, clutching his face and unable to fathom what just happened "For fucks' sake!" He cursed loudly, looking up at Misaki who had the chair raised and ready "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK-"
She hit him across the face a second time making him pass out.
Even as Asahi lay there with his split lip, head bruise and the cut near his eyebrow, Misaki stood over him holding the chair poised above his head- ready to strike if he got up again. She stood in that position for a couple minutes before taking a step closer and nudging his torso with her foot to find out whether he was only pretending or had actually been knocked unconscious.
When she was assured that she had a few minutes to herself, she carefully looked around the room before walking toward the door first and making sure it was bolted. There was no way she could walk out of here, Asahi's bodyguards would just recapture her. She'd have to find another alternative. Now that she was finally free and it wasn't completely dark, she walked over to the window and peeped out. No, she didn't recognize the place she was in. From the looks of it, she was on the fifth floor or above. She couldn't escape through the window, that fact she'd registered much earlier when she'd first noticed the rails on the windows. The building was probably new and mostly unoccupied otherwise she'd been causing a racket here since Day 1 and anyone could've heard her.
No, she'd have to find some other way out of this.
Turning toward Asahi again, Misaki crouched and hooked a hand under each of his shoulders and dragged him to a corner of the room. Then she got up and went to take the ropes she'd been tied with, returning with them and tying his arms and legs securely. She was in such a hurry and so terrified that she hadn't even realized that the gag was still secured around her mouth and she immediately untied it, balling the cloth in her fist and throwing it across the room with as much energy as she could muster. She crouched low again, searching Asahi's pockets. First thing she found was his Gun, on the inside pocket of his blazer and she placed it next to her ankle where it was the farthest from him and resumed her searching. Next she found his phone and breathed a sigh of relief as she fell back on her heels and sat down on the floor. She switched it on only to find the phone locked and she cursed herself for thinking that things would ever be easy for her.
When Asahi regained consciousness a half hour later, he noticed Misaki sitting in front of him, her legs crossed and his phone in her hands. His shirt was tucked out and torn at the side which he assumed was used to gag him. His arms and legs were tied, undoubtedly her doing. Her expression was carefully neutral, her posture relaxed and that struck him as odd until he noticed his Gun in her other hand.
"Let's get straight to the point" She was saying but through the red of his blood falling in his eyes and the throbbing in his head, he could barely comprehend anything "What's the passcode?" She asked, holding his phone toward him.
Asahi closed his eyes when the light of his phone was too bright for the room until he got accustomed to it and then looked past the screen at Misaki's dimly lit face "Three seconds" She said "Three chances before I shoot you. We'll keep repeating this unless I've emptied out the magazine here. Let's start. What's the passcode?" She moved forward and lowered his gag only for him to start screaming.
Misaki punched him square on the jaw making his head snap sideways "That's one chance lost" She said, ill at ease and losing her patience dangerously fast "Let's try again. What is the passcode?"
"Don't think you can scare me with my own Gun. You don't know how to use it-"
Another punch landed on the exact same spot earlier, making him groan in pain as his vision started to get blurry "Wrong answer" Misaki declared, moving back and loading the gun and holding it over his arm "Last chance before you lose an arm"
Something about Misaki's no-nonsense tone told Asahi that this time she wasn't joking and that she actually did know how to use a Gun "Twenty-five-oh-six" He mumbled before his head lolled back and he passed out a second time.
At the back of her mind Misaki registered that for someone who only caused pain and humiliation to his parents, it was ironic that his phone's passcode would be his parents' anniversary date but she paid no heed to it, eagerly unlocking the phone and going straight to the call icon. She was dialing in her Dad's number when her eyes fell on the recent call logs and a tortured moan escaped her as she pressed on the contact.
Takumi Walker.
Every single ring was like a death bell until she felt someone pick the phone up. Her breath caught, her heartbeat picked up its tempo as she waited for someone to say something.
"Hello?"
Takumi's deep baritone made her knees buck out from beneath her and her waterworks released as no other sound seemed to escape her but those "Hello?" Takumi repeated after he heard her sobs and the deep breaths she was heaving in "Hello?" He repeated a second time, the urgency evident in his voice "Misaki?"
"Takumi"
That single word, that name, his name brought over a rush of overwhelming emotions as he heard her sobs and tortured breaths "M-Misaki? Wh-Where are you?" He urgently demanded, thinking he was dreaming and that if he woke up only disappointment would be waiting for him.
"I don't..I don't know" She croaked out "I-It's dark a-and I-I'm in some building b-but I don't know where"
"Don't worry, Princess" Takumi tried to reassure, rapidly tapping Tora's shoulder and signalling him to get one of the Police Officers "S-Stay on the line. We are- we are coming to get you soon! Nothing's going to happen, we're already on our way and- and we'll find you very soon! Nothing will happen, y-you'll be okay!" He realized he was ranting and immediately shut up, taking in a few deep breaths before resuming to speak "Is Asahi with you?"
There was a small beeping sound from her side before Misaki resumed speaking "Y-Yeah, he's unconscious though. Will be, for a while I think"
Takumi decided not to question why that was the case and instead focused on her voice, her breathing and the fact that she was alive and probably sane right now was more than he could bear as he settled down in a chair "Keep talking to me. A-Are you alright?"
"Alive, hanging in there" Misaki replied.
"How can you joke in such a situation?" He stressed as everyone surrounded him, waiting to hear something good from him.
"It's better than having to cry"
"No more crying for you, I promise. We're coming to get you"
"You promise? To come get me?" He heard her sniff and then some more muted beeping on her side.
"I promise" Takumi firmly replied "Do you want me to bring some instant noodles for you?"
"Whose the one cracking jokes now?"
"I'm sorry, I was only trying to cheer you up"
She sniffed again "Just talking to you cheered me up plenty" She whispered and Takumi's heart slammed against his chest "Takumi, I think his phone is about to die" She sounded like she was going to start panicking "I-If you make it in time, the Police might still be able to track the phone"
Takumi looked up and searched for Tora's face among everyone crowded around him and when the Igarashi heir nodded, Takumi resumed speaking "They're already on their way, Cupcake. You'll be with us very soon"
"I want nothing more than that right now" She admitted, her voice choking up making it sound like she was going to cry again "I-I'm probably on the fifth floor or higher" She hiccuped "It's a new building but I don't know-" Hiccup "-where. I'm not even sure. Asahi's guards are standing outside this- this room or whatever it is, s-so b-be careful. Asahi is inside here with m-me but I d-don't know how much time I have before-"
The line went dead making Takumi's heart drop as he blinked once, twice "Hello? Misaki?" He looked up to see everyone's worried faces looking at him and he inhaled a large breath, his first relaxed breath in days "S-She's..she's okay" He revealed and then made eye contact with Minako "I-I'm sorry, h-her phone..t-the phone died or e-else I would've..I mean, you should've talked to her and-"
Minako reached forward and clasped his hand, shaking her head "All the same. If you're telling me she's alright, nothing tops that" She gulped as if the words wanted to escape her but couldn't "Thank you" She whispered making Takumi's hand tighten around her as he nodded.
"There's already a group of Officers on their way" Tora informed "Like we had suspected, she's in Kawaguchiko"
"C'mon, let's go" Takumi stood up, making his way past the group, checking his pockets for his car keys when Tora clamped a hand on his shoulder.
"They'll get her back safely, Takumi" Tora assured "We don't need to go there in person to make sure of it"
"I need to" Takumi pleaded "Please"
Even Tora wasn't proof to the look in those emerald eyes but he still put up a tough stand, trying to win but eventually gave in anyway. Not because he had planned on doing so from the start but because he had seen and was witness to the torment that had plagued Takumi all these days and how much she had started to mean to him "Surely, Sakuya-san would like to go with you then?"
"I'm coming too-" Chiyo piped up, starting to walk forward when Tora clamped a hand on her arm to stop her.
"No" He denied with the finality of a death penalty but when Chiyo looked ready to argue with him about it, he explained "Someone has to be here when she gets back. I want you to stay here with Minako-san and the rest. Hinata and I will go with Takumi"
Something about the look in Tora's eyes told Chiyo not to argue with him on this one so she acceded to his request as Takumi led Sakuya out to his car with Tora and Hinata in tow.
As Takumi passed Suzuna, he nodded at her "Your sister is going to be okay" He assured her.
"What'd I tell you?" Suzuna shot back, smiling.
Takumi had to resist the urge to bite on his nails.
His anxiety was beyond control as he waited in front of the building that had shown Asahi's phone present there as the last location. The building was newly constructed, like Misaki had said. Night had fallen already so the only light around was that of the headlights from the Police cars, his own car and from the lights inside the building. Kawaguchiko was still more of a town so this tall building was almost out of place. Still, it was closer to Hakone than it had been from Tokyo, They'd arrived in Kawaguchiko in a record time of 57 minutes only to find out that the Police had reached there only a few minutes before that and had gone inside the building already. The apprehension gripping Takumi throughout the ride from the Tokyo Police Station to Kawaguchiko was escalating with every passing minute they spent outside this place. He couldn't wait to lay eyes on Misaki; to finally put his mind at ease which had not known one moment of rest since she'd been taken and he couldn't wait to get his hands on Asahi; to choke the life out of him.
A little commotion made his head snap up and he noticed the hoard of Officers exiting the building. He stood up straighter from where he had been leaning on the bonnet of his car and tried to peer above the helmets of the Officers, trying to locate Misaki among the crowd of people leaving the building. Unable to control his curiosity any longer, he rapidly started walking toward the Head Officer to find out what had happened when a mob of black hair among the swarm of Police who were escorting her toward him made his steps falter.
The Police Officers parted to reveal a deathly pale and skinny Misaki who had bags under her eyes, bruises on her arms and legs, near her mouth and neck but was still managing to stand tall and straight and regal.
Like the Princess she'd probably been in her previous life.
She saw him too. Exhaled and then managed a small smile as she approached him, the same time he resumed walking toward her.
"Did we win? The treasure hunt?" She asked, when he was within hearing range.
Takumi couldn't believe that after all this, after 5 days of complete torture on both sides, the godforsaken treasure hunt was what she was worried about. Then he realized that the Police were soon going to hoard her with their official questions anyway and she didn't want to answer the same kind of things for him "We forfeited. Unlike what Kanou had said, we're gentlemen after all" His voice sounded foreign to his own ears, he wasn't teasing her. He was merely playing along, trying to lift her mood. And his own.
"That doesn't sound right" She shot back "I'm pretty sure the girls defeated you"
He gazed at her, trying to convince himself she was right here after all, alive and pretty and as stubbornly sassy as ever "They defeated us, alright" He conceded.
"I really want to retort by saying something smart but I'm hungry"
"You should've agreed when I offered to bring you instant noodles. But no, you chose modesty"
To his mortification, Misaki's eyes started to dampen after his statement and she furiously strove to wipe her tears with the sleeve that wasn't torn "I-I'm so sorry. I-I was only-" He started forward with no idea of what he intended to do but Misaki moved toward him the same time, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him, softly crying into his shirt "I want this to be the last time I cry for a while" She told him as his arms latched around her tightly, hugging her.
"It will be" He reassured her, patting her head gently, feeling the heavy weight leave his chest almost immediately once she was in his embrace.
"I like it when you assure me" She mumbled, her hands loosening around his waist as consciousness started to abandon her "Believing you is easy"
Takumi swung her into his arms. That was the last thing she remembered before she slipped into oblivion.
"Andddd he's awake" Kuuga grinned as he entered the room, the other boys and Chiyo right behind him.
"Please don't scream" Takumi pleaded, clutching the side of his head, making a move to grab his specs "I don't think I can bear it and might fling something on you. Pillow, book, bottle of water or an injection. Take your pick"
"Lift your hand and point the exit to me, please" Kuuga grinned but lowered his voice "If you can do that, I'll be happy to tell you I pick the pillow"
He ducked when Takumi flung a pillow at him "Why am I even here?" He asked, directing his question toward Tora who was laughing.
"Because Misaki-san isn't the only person with deteriorating health at the moment. You ate next to nothing in five days"
"For which I've been treated. Can't I go home now?"
"Nope" Tora smiled "Not until tomorrow afternoon atleast"
Takumi turned his pleading gaze to Chiyo who pretended to inspect the flowers she'd brought with her "Nope" She finalized without looking up "I'm going to be of no help, so don't ask"
"Stingy" Takumi accused, turning to Kanou who shook his head and Hinata who threw a whole a bag full of snacks at Takumi making him grunt when it landed on his lap.
"Not all that stingy" Hinata laughed "Infact, consider yourself lucky. In a hospital bed, with cute nurses to do all of your bidding and feed you when you're hungry. What are you so impatient and restless for? You slept for 18 hours straight" Takumi threw a pointed look at the chocolate-haired boy before turning to Kanou, opening his mouth to direct his question toward the quiet boy.
"Misaki-san is doing good. She slept for much longer. Because they couldn't feed her, they had to inject it into her system. She woke up a few minutes back" Kanou informed before Takumi had a chance to ask.
Takumi opened his mouth to counter-attack it but realized it didn't matter "Where is she, right now?"
"Answering questions that the Police have for her"
The blond model's jaw clenched as he grit out "Couldn't they have waited till she was better?"
"She insisted on it" Tora cut in "She wanted to get it over with once and for all. They won't pester her after this anyway"
"What do you mean?"
"Asahi has nothing to protect himself against. There's way too much evidence that supports Misaki's claim. He's undoubtedly going to jail"
"When?"
"Gone already" Chiyo informed.
"What? When?" Takumi thundered, his gaze flying from Chiyo to Tora.
"This morning. They found him unconscious in the same place Misaki was being held captive. His bodyguards testified against him to save themselves. Also revealed all the information from the very beginning, everything from where they'd picked her up and how they'd brought her to Kawaguchiko when they failed to take her out of Japan" Tora revealed, his hands finding his pant pockets as he steadily returned Takumi's gaze "Even his parents can't get him out this time"
"Pitiful. I need to go see him once though. Just to appease my appetite for doing physical damage to him"
Chiyo laughed at that "Misaki did that for you. She hit him with her chair and punched him too. He was found lying senseless because of that reason"
Takumi's eyebrows shot up at that information and he found himself smiling "When are the Police going to be done with her?"
The Igarashi heir pushed the sleeve of his suit-jacket back and checked his Rolex "In the next..twenty minutes after which we will leave you alone to go meet her"
"I'm coming with-"
The five people present in his Hospital room, answered in unison as if they had planned it (or rehearsed it) "Nope" They chorused.
That momentarily rendered Takumi speechless before he found his voice and asked "Whyever not?"
"You can't leave that bed till tomorrow"
"That's insanity-" Takumi started, throwing his coverlet off his legs before he noticed Hinata hold up what looked like a switch "What is that?"
Hinata looked at Tora who was trying not to laugh "Please, kind Sir. Do the honors"
"It's your restraining order" Tora joked making the others guffaw "It's for you to stay in bed. Its a switch for the Nurse"
"Your very personal harem" Kuuga whispered through the quiet room, throwing an exaggerated wink toward an annoyed Takumi.
"You can see her tomorrow" Chiyo patted his back, feeling sorry for Takumi amidst all of the boys who couldn't stop teasing him "Like it or not, you need the rest just as much" She thrust a hard disk at him "Here. All your favorite movies to keep you company"
Takumi wanted nothing more than seeing Misaki again but he owed her coming back to his friends and so he decided to do as they asked for one night "Alright" He accepted, tucking his feet under the blankets again.
All his friends looked surprised and let it show "I thought it'd take much more than that to make you agree" Kuuga admitted "I'm surprised"
"I owe you one" Takumi explained "All of you. Especially you" He said looking directly at the Igarashi heir who scoffed.
"So now we're keeping count of such things? That way I could claim your life. All of yours" He quipped but all of them knew that his gratitude was too much for him to put in words.
"It's yours for the asking" Takumi played along, grinning when Tora cringed and rubbed his hands over his arms "Calm down. I'm not trying to give Chiyo any competition here"
"You'd win. Hands down" Chiyo assured making Tora's face turn nonchalant.
"Ofcourse I would. I mean, hello? Look at me"
That outrageous statement caused Chiyo to roll her eyes and turn around "I refuse to hear another word of this" She plead, making a beeline toward the exit "I'll see you later!" She called out as the door shut behind her.
"What are you going to do about this one?" Takumi asked as Tora's attention returned to him.
"Marry her like my parents want me to. Why, you got better plans?"
Takumi fought the urge to roll his eyes but he pulled a face for Tora to see nonetheless making Tora lightly punch his arm "How you feeling?" He asked.
"Much better than the stupid Doctor has you guys believing. How much longer do I need to stay here?"
"They're shifting you to a common ward soon. So you'll have company when you spend the day here tomorrow. You can go home day after" Hinata chimed in, distractedly as he went through the bag of snacks he'd brought for Takumi "What do you want to eat? Chips or wafers?"
"How did you even manage to get all this inside here anyway? Don't they have rules against this?"
Kanou, Kuuga, Hinata and Tora gave him matching smiles and Takumi clucked his tongue "My bad, I forgot"
"Well, we're gonna go meet Misaki-san now so enjoy yourself" Kuuga chirped, grinning and ducking as another pillow was thrown his way.
"Don't do anything stupid" Tora warned as they walked toward the door together.
"How can I? You're taking Kuuga and Hinata with you"
"Ha ha ha" Kuuga replied in a sarcastic laugh as the others laughed and softly closed the door behind them.
Takumi stared at the door a moment after they left before slowly lying down. He was wide awake, staring at the ceiling, going over the events of the past few days in his head.
He closed his eyes and pictured Misaki punching Asahi and hitting him with a chair.
He fell asleep with the hint of a smile on his lips.
"Mom..you're talking too loudly"
"It's because the room is empty-"
"-Not completely empty. You need to keep that as well as the time it is in mind"
"I feel like the daughter in this relationship"
Takumi's eyes that had opened a few seconds back, blinked to adjust to the surroundings. First thing he registered was that he was no longer in the same room his friends had left him in. Meaning he had been shifted to the other ward like Hinata had said. Second, the voice was like Minako-san's and ..Misaki's.
His friends, those cunning, evil-
The curtains were pulled all across his bed, on all sides except the only one that was a wall. He couldn't see anything but white and while he was itching to find out how Misaki was faring, he decided not to interrupt and just lie there, involuntarily eavesdropping for a while.
"Honestly Mom. It's nearing 12. Aren't you going to rest?" Takumi could almost picture Misaki sighing.
"I don't feel safe leaving you here by yourself" Minako replied.
"I'm not alone here. There's Doctors and Nurses and patients everywhere. Besides, Takumi is right here too"
That made Takumi smile and nod along as he continued eavesdropping despite his conscience constantly reminding him how terrible it was to do that and how he should stop but he still picked up the book lying upside down on his bedside table and skimmed through it, his attention everywhere but on the book "You're right" Minako agreed "Having him close to you is equivalent to having an army of personal bodyguards"
"Mom!" Misaki hushed "Lower your volume! You don't want him hearing all this, do you?"
"Nothing he doesn't know, baby" Minako laughed softly "Trust me, he knows"
"How do you know what he does know?"
"He told me"
Takumi hand's froze and he almost cursed out loud in favor of stopping Minako from spilling the truth.
"And what did he tell you?"
There was a soft screech of a chair being scraped back followed by some clatter of things being shuffled around on a table "Ask him yourself" Minako teased "Not now when he's possibly sleeping. Later"
"That's it?" Misaki burst out but then as if she realized her place, she lowered her voice "That's it? You're going to leave me in suspense?"
Takumi inched his face closer to the curtain that seemed to be separating the two sides of the room to hear Minako's response clearly and immediately pulled back and threw his head down on the pillow when he realized Minako was directly on the other side, closer than he had thought "Yep" Minako replied in a laughing tone "Besides, it's between the both of you. Not my place to interfere"
"B-But he told you, didn't he?"
"I wouldn't put it that way" Minako admitted which was followed by a heavy pause in which Takumi was terrified for his well-being for an impossible moment when he thought both the women on the other side knew that he was awake and were only messing with him "Don't beat yourself up over it, sweetie. It'll work out for the best" Takumi heard Minako say "I'm going to send Dad here to keep an eye on you and I'll bring Suzuna with me when I come tomorrow, okay?"
"You mean much later but today. It's 12:10. Dad doesn't need to come, I told you guys this, didn't I? You need more rest than me"
"No, honey. I'm sorry that all this happened to you-"
Takumi plugged his earphones in. He wouldn't intrude anymore than he had.
When he heard the door swinging open and then softly shutting a few minutes later, his eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling. Was Misaki already asleep? She was next to him, he could always find out if he just peeked toward her side and then he could talk to her normally, asking her how she was and things like that.
He could talk to her normally right?
Takumi blinked once, twice before sitting up. Was he actually fretting over talking to a girl? Him? What was he so worried about? Saying the wrong thing? But he never said the wrong things. He was always careful, very precise and always sure of what to say. Right, he was. All he had to do was pull the curtain aside and if said girl was awake, he'd strike up a conversation. He was only momentarily distracted and offguard because she'd been kidnapped and was probably a little shaken so he was worried about saying something offending or wrong. Yep, that was the reason.
No it isn't - His conscience laughed - You're embarrassed because you overheard her Mother and her talking about you.
Bullshit - Takumi scoffed internally - Embarrassment and Takumi Walker don't go in the same sentence. Watch me.
As if to prove a point to himself, Takumi threw his legs off the bed and lifted his hand to pull the curtain aside the same time it was pushed aside and he encountered surprised amber eyes looking back at him "O-Oh" Misaki stuttered "I-I didn't think you'd be awake. I was just-"
"-peeping at me secretly?-"
"-switching your lamp off"
If the Gods want to hit Earth with a meteor as big as the one that had wiped the Dinosaurs out, I'd welcome it with open arms.
Misaki bit back a smile as she completely pushed the curtain aside and sat back down on her bed "Hi" She chuckled.
Takumi turned to pick his specs up from the bedside table to buy himself some time as he inhaled and composed himself "Hi" He replied, sitting on his own bed across her and trying not to look embarrassed in the slightest as he put his specs on.
That only made her smile wider as she crossed her legs and tried to catch his eye when he seemed to avoid her gaze "How long have you been awake?"
"A couple minutes. I was..uhm, thirsty" To go through with his lie, Takumi picked up the jug and started pouring himself a glass of water. Misaki didn't say anything, only watched him as he took his sweet time gulping down the water, fully aware of how flustered he was. Takumi, who was mentally thrashing himself frantically looked around as a distraction and his gaze fell on the flowers sitting on his bedside table "Aren't those the flowers Chiyo brought?" He asked, gesturing to said flowers.
Misaki stopped watching him with a grin that was growing wider every second and looked where he was pointing "Yep. She got me some too" She craned her head sideways, revealing a similar vase of flowers on her table behind her "She even wrote you a note" Misaki informed.
"She did?" The blond reached forward and plucked the card out from between the flowers. He opened the two fold and read what was written.
Dearest Takumi,
Forgive us for the surprise, We thought you'd like being actual roommates with Misaki-san for a day atleast.
Love and kisses and snuggles.
Takumi turned the note sideways and tore it into two after which he rubbed his arms to calm his goosebumps. He had read that in Kuuga's voice.
"What happened?" Misaki asked, surprised by his violent reaction.
"It's nothing. The note was definitely not from Chiyo" He shook his head, laughing.
"Is it that embarrassing to share?"
"Not at all. But the contents are confidential"
"I'll take your word for it" She smiled. With a little jolt, Takumi realized that she was doing a lot of smiling today.
"I'm hungry, are you?"
"I don't know" She laughed "I haven't fed myself but I'm not feeling starved"
Takumi smiled and picked up the bag lying next to his bed "Well, take your pick" He offered, handing the bag to her.
Misaki took it from his outstretched hands "How did you get all- nevermind. The guys sneaked it in, didn't they?"
"Yep. Comes with the package deal of being friends"
Misaki looked up and smiled when she realized he remembered what she'd said all those weeks back. She rummaged through the bag a little more before starting to laugh as she dug her hand deeper to present what she'd found to the blond.
Takumi curiously peered at her over the rim of his glasses "What is it?"
Misaki held it out for him to see making him laugh too "Really?" He asked "Out of all the ready made things, this is what you want to eat?"
Misaki nodded "There's a water purifier outside. It also gives hot water" She confided, smilingly.
"You know we could get caught"
"As if someone would dare cross the Takumi Walker"
"That's outrageous" Takumi shot back "Outrageous and abuse of one's power"
"So you do admit that you have that power?"
"I'm just.." Takumi shook his head, smiling involuntarily when he realized he was losing this argument "Gonna go get it" He put on his slippers and walked past the beds toward the door "If I get caught, tell them I sleepwalk"
He shut the door when he heard Misaki burst out laughing.
A few minutes later, Takumi pushed the door open with his shoulder, carrying in four cups of hot water "I wasn't sure how much we'd need so I brought as many as I could carry" He jut his foot to stop the door from violently swinging close and when he finally looked up, he realized Misaki wasn't even aware he had come back.
She was bobbing her head and swaying her hips as she added tastemaker to the cup of noodles. As Takumi walked closer he noticed that she was wearing his earphones and hence, hadn't even heard him come in or speak to her. For a moment he watched her tap the packet in accordance to the beat of the song she was listening to, making sure she'd emptied out all the contents and when it was only her shoulders going up and down to the rhythm of the music, Takumi finally stepped forward, placing the cups of water next to the cup of noodles on the nightstand.
"Oh, hey. The music was still playing so I thought I'd unplug it but it was oddly catchy so I decided to listen to the song" Misaki explained, pulling out an earphone "Sorry, I probably should have asked"
"It's alright" Takumi assured her as he added water to the cup noodles "What were you listening to?"
"I'm not sure. I've never heard this song" She held out the earphone for Takumi for take but seeing as to how he was occupied, she held the earpiece close for him to be able to hear.
Takumi strained his mind to figure out which song it was during the tune from what he could hear "I think that's Far East Movement" He informed, inching closer to the earphone.
"No no, don't fill up that much water" Misaki stopped him by gently pushing the 3rd cup of water away "Makes it soggy for no good reason" Her face scrunched up as she placed the earphone in Takumi's ear, fiddling with it till it was completely adjusted in his ear before turning back to the cup of noodles and separating it with the plastic fork provided.
"You're obviously the cup noodles expert here"
"I should become a brand ambassador" Misaki agreed "They lie on the cover. Waiting for four and a half minutes gives us just the noodles we want. Not two"
Takumi chuckled as he placed the extra cups of water aside "Well, let's figure out which song this is till then" He picked his phone up and rewind the song "It is Far East Movement" He checked as the intro started playing "And Marshmello feat Tinashe and Chanyeol"
"You need to send this song to me. It's oddly catching and soothing at the same time" She sat down on her bed.
Takumi chose to stand. He was tired of the bed "Will do" He promised and together they fell silent after that, just listening to the edm music with its soothing vocals, catchy rap and mellow and resonant background.
When the World stops spinning, I'll know it's you.
Takumi had no problem talking to Misaki. That wasn't the issue in the slightest. The real deal was that in the 5 days that she'd been gone he'd thought of so much to say to her when he saw her again, so much he wanted to tell her and share with her before it was too late that he didn't really know where to start from. His emotions were strewn about, his mind was lost and probably his heart too. He had been to hell and back, he was dangerously close to committing murder because he couldn't fathom how he could have let something like this happen to Misaki under his watch. Especially when he had promised to keep her safe. When he had told her that nothing would happen since the last time it had. He wanted to apologize, wanted to hold her and make sure she was safe and secure himself. Wanted to hold her hand and never let go, wanted to keep her by his side and always always protect her. These last few days of complete hell had given him a glimpse of what his life might be like if Misaki wasn't in it.
And he hated it. He hated the black and white canvas his life was without Misaki's splash of color to dye it.
I'm all yours when you really wanna take me there.
Don't let me go nowhere.
Misaki's hand found Takumi's hand as if she'd heard everything that was going on in his mind and stared at their hands before looking up and smiling into his shuttered eyes, softly shaking her head.
He wasn't the only one who had gone through hell, Takumi chided himself. Misaki had gone through much worse but look at her, shining bright like the Sun after a rainy day, reassuring him when it should've been the other way around.
For Misaki, whose driving force had been reuniting with her family, friends, with Takumi was so thankful to have them all so close to her now, where she could be with them. They were her safe place, her comfort zone. She didn't have to worry about anything as long as she'd all of them with her. When she'd gotten this close with her extended friend circle was beyond her but she'd still volunteer to be trapped in their place if it meant they walked away safe. The only thing that had kept her going all these days was that whenever she felt like giving in, felt like she'd had enough of Asahi's games and there was no way out, she'd remember Takumi's eyes from when he'd promised to keep her safe, his eyes from when they lit up as he teased her, flirted with her or simply looked at her. How she had not noticed the underlying meaning beneath those long lashes and the most beautiful pools of emerald was beyond her but having him close to her like now reminded her that having him close made her forget everything and everyone else; all her pain, her agony, her suffering. His presence filled up all the emptiness that occasionally surrounded her heart, his eyes lit up all the dark corners in her life. She owed him too much but she'd keep piling it up if it meant he'd be close, if his warmth would always surround her like this, if he would always look at her like she was the only one he saw.
I'd give it all up for you, I swear
Only f'real love.
Together they intertwined their fingers, tightening and holding it there.
Close to each other.
All credits to Far East Movement, Marshmello, Tinashe and Chanyeol for their song "Freal Luv". I love this song so so much.
Now,
Look, I know. Misaki saved herself, what the hell. As someone who adores cliches, I was disappointing myself too but I didn't want that type of an ending for this kidnapping. When I thought of this ending, it fit all my requirements for later chapters perfectly. And while we all collectively hate Asahi and wish Takumi had snapped his neck, I think Misaki did a pretty good job too right? All hail Queen Ayuzawa. We'll have tons of Knight in shining armor moments for Takumi later so don't worry.
A guest asked me if Kuuga and Chiyo were Cousins in the actual manga. I don't think so. They have the same surnames though so I thought no harm in making them relatives when I realized it.
Someone asked me if I have ever gotten emotional when I read the manga. Yes, yes I have. Even when I read it the first time, I cried when Misaki confessed. I also cried when Takumi and her are dancing together on the day before they are supposed to come home from England. And the night before that when she calls him Takumi (MY HEART EXPLODED, I KID YOU NOT). One of my favorites is the Valentines special where the school has a showdown to win Usui's sentiments and he doesn't accept anyone's chocolates but Misaki's? IF THAT AIN'T A1 LOVE, I DUNNO WHAT IS. I was 12 years old when I first read the manga and I'm naturally very emotional about such happy moments. I wept like a bitch when they flew away on a Helicopter after their wedding. Plus, even though I didn't cry I was so emotionally invested in Tora as well that when Chiyo finally managed to get his attention, I felt like I had won. It felt amazing. Some stories just touch your heart, don't they?
Also, now that we're talking about it anyway - (I feel like a terrible person but I have to xD) HAVE I EVER MENTIONED THAT HIRO FUJIWARA NOTICED ME ON INSTAGRAM? SHE LIKED MY COMMENT CONGRATULATING HER FOR HER MARRIAGE AND I CRIED THEN TOO. It was a given xD I have the screenshot incase any of y'all are interested. I'll upload it on my profile pic here till my next update incase any of y'all wanna see.
Also, is cussing in the review section allowed? Uh, that's totally up to you? But, be respectful to each other. And all my characters. You can drag Asahi if you wanna.
Guest - PGGV - said that it's not the anime where Misaki can break the handcuffs, yes! That's true! It's anime, that's our demon Prez and such things are acceptable but in reality its physically impossible for Misaki to be able to do that.
Once again, thank you for your wonderful support you adorable human beings! I love and adore all of you tons and I'm wholeheartedly always grateful for all of your support!
Thanks for reading! (I tried to keep this as short as I could manage)
XOXOXO
~Tear