CHAPTER 37
This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. I'm dreaming. Yeah, that's it. I'm dreaming. There is no bag over my head. I'm not being abducted by these gangsters who are pointing guns at me. I'm going to wake up safe and sound in my bed. Matsuri will still be alive and so will Misao. I won't be a junkie or a whore. Just Kagami. Kagami Hiiragi. Because that's who I am. I AM Kagami Hiiragi.
No matter how many times Kagami recited those words in her head, it still didn't magically pluck her from the back of the van and place her back in her bed as the vehicle continued to speed down the road. They had been driving for more than an hour but it might as well have been a whole day. Every second that passed Kagami contemplated asking what was going on, but she gave up on that after she was abducted and they threatened to kill her if she said another word.
Paranoia surged through her and although she remained quiet, she still couldn't help but dread what was waiting for her at the end of this ride. The possibility of a grisly demise was ranking number one on her list so far since it was clear she was kidnapped by the gang that Yuka Miyakawa was at war with. She tried to remain optimistic. For the sake of her baby she tried to keep telling herself positive thoughts. Maybe they just wanted to know where Yuka was. Kagami never killed anyone and certainly didn't take part in that gruesome murder of that poor boy who was a part of this gang. She begged and pleaded for Yuka to stop torturing him, which earned her a black eye from Ryuji. Maybe she could really convince them that she was indeed pregnant. Since she was abducted, she tried to get a bead on who her abductors were by the conversations they had.
She was able to stop her crying and sobbing about half an hour ago as the initial shock wore off, but the piercing terror remained. As long as the ride was, she was able to hear a few things the gangsters were saying. They talked a lot about Yuka Miyakawa and how she was proving more difficult to find since she had gone into hiding. Kagami was also surprised to hear that the police led a raid on Teasers, effectively putting that sordid epicenter out of business, which she was grateful for and knew that innocent girls would be safe now that it was gone. However, it made Kagami fear for her family's safety knowing that Yuka escaped.
One thing that continued to stick out to her was that the gangsters kept mentioning someone named Junichi. From what she was able to figure out, it seemed that this Junichi character was this gang's leader. With everything they were saying about him, it almost sounded like he was a very sharp individual. Their words painted him as some great military commander who was leading an army against a hostile force, but Kagami could understand that if Yuka Miyakawa was his enemy. Still, the more she listened to them, the more she wondered how deep she had gotten herself in.
She didn't know much about these "gangbangers" as Yuka always called them. All she knew was that they were her rivals in the drug arena and that they were supposedly at war with each other over territory, but a lot of that didn't add up to Kagami. There had to be more to the story but Kagami never had the courage to ask, especially when all the talks of guns and violence arose. She wondered if what she was overhearing was true. That this Junichi guy was a great leader, a visionary, a man of few words but vast intellect and spirituality, and if he was going to finally be able to carry out his plan once Yuka Miyakawa was taken out. Kagami gulped, thinking that there still was a possibility that she was going to meet someone worse than this guy's female rival.
The van suddenly hit the brakes and it came to a howling stop. Kagami started hyperventilating again as the gangsters shifted and grabbed her by each arm and hoisted her up. She stepped out of the van onto a gravel road. The air was much cleaner and smelled like pine so from the little intel she was given, she was out of Saitama and in the countryside somewhere. Depending how far they were, it would explain why Yuka and Ryuji were having trouble finding the gang members and their leader. But still, if this really was a war over territory to sell drugs, why would they be based so far away from the city?
In her darkness, Kagami was forced to stop and listened to another gangster open a metal lock and slide a metal door open. She was pushed in again, still trying to keep herself from crying. Her weak resolve was broken again when she was stopped and her knees were kicked out from behind her, making her fall to the floor and land on her kneecaps.
Suddenly, the bag was ripped off and Kagami's vision cleared. She jolted her head around as fast as a gecko's to survey everything around her. She was being held inside an old, decrepit warehouse that might have been used as a storage facility at one point. The ceiling was high and made of old metal, a few windows lined the ceiling and the top of the walls and a few ropes and chains dangled from the steel rafters. Sunlight struggled to shine through the dirty windows covered with dust and grime.
She heard more metal mechanisms click and she looked before her and saw another gangster locking and loading a military rifle. Breathing hard, she looked up to her left and right, and also saw two other gangsters also bearing the same rifles. A door to Kagami's right opened at the other end of the warehouse and three more gangsters entered and to Kagami's surprise, they had another hostage. A young man who also had a bag over his head with his hands bound behind his back and he was still putting up a struggle as they pushed him closer to Kagami.
When they stopped before Kagami, she still stared up with watery, panicked eyes. One of the gangsters ripped the burlap bag off their prisoner's head and Kagami's jaw fell open and her pupils shrank to incomprehensible dots. Ryuji Katsumoto, the cousin and crime accomplice of Yuka Miyakawa and the one responsible for the worst and abhorrent treatment of young women, was standing before Kagami. His face was beaten and bruised from obvious repeated blows as blood leaked from his cuts and mouth and his left eye was swollen shut.
"Ra-Ra-Ree-Ryuji…?!" Kagami cried. "What are you doing here?!"
"Same reason you're here, Hiiragi. To die." He replied coldly.
Kagami once again resumed panicking. "Wh-What?!"
"That's right. It's been cool knowing you and by the way, thanks for letting me fuck you that one night. You were asleep when I did it, but thanks anyway." He bit with venom in his tone.
Kagami's mind was too focused on that previous death statement. Her worst fear was coming to fruition. That time in the van was her last ride. She wept, "No! Anything but that! I'm pregnant! Please don't let this happen!"
"Quit your bitching!" One of the gangsters yelled in Kagami's face, making her eyes drip. "You two will have plenty of time to reminisce in Hell!"
"Bring him over here!" A new voice thundered.
Everyone turned and saw another figure standing in the open doorway where they brought Ryuji in. It was a young man and fairly tall with a thick upper body. His thick arms were crossed against his chest in a condemned gesture. The dark shadows draped around him hid his identity but the gangsters sure knew who he was.
"Bring him here now!" He thundered again.
"Right, boss!" The gangsters who held Ryuji replied and dragged the struggling and kicking criminal over to the dark figure.
Kagami watched everything from her place on the ground while the other gangsters guarded her. Through her blurry vision, she was able to see the gangsters push Ryuji down to his knees. She could barely hear their conversation from the distance.
"Trust me, it goes without saying that we've been looking for you for a long time." The shadowy figure snapped at Ryuji as he looked down at him.
"Oh I believe you, Watanabe. But trust me, it goes without saying I don't give a fuck." Ryuji snarled.
The shadowy figure shook his head. "Defiant until the end. I don't even know if you're brave or just stupid. Anyway, tell me where we can find that cousin of yours. I've got a .50 caliber bullet with her name written on it sitting at my house that I've been dying to put inside her for a while."
"Eat shit and die, Watanabe!" Ryuji yelled. "The next time I see you, we will both be in Hell!"
The shadowy figure nodded slightly before reaching for towards his right hip. He pulled something away from his hip and raised it towards Ryuji and said, "After you, Ryuji."
A deafening bang echoed in the room in conjunction with a flash of light in front of Ryuji's head. The criminal's head suddenly exploded out the back and painted the floor behind him red and pink. Kagami screamed her lungs dry when she saw the spectacle and Ryuji's body fell backward with a splat, still dripping the contents of his skull cavity. It was all Kagami needed to see to know that she and her baby were going to die in this warehouse in the middle of who the hell knew where. The gang leader stepped from Ryuji's dead body and into the light, carrying a Desert Eagle pistol chambered for a .50 caliber bullet.
She slumped forward and wailed loudly while keeping her eyes sealed shut. She cried, panted, and gagged on her own raw terror and the sound of approaching footsteps made it worse. Apparently she had just seen what kind of leader Junichi Watanabe was. He was one that carried out his gang's own brutal style of justice and was no different than Yuka Miyakawa. A degenerate who thrived on the blood and deaths of others.
The footsteps grew louder until they stopped before Kagami. Kagami continued to weep and was too scared to look up.
"Hey…don't I know you?" His voice said from above her.
The question was enough to rouse Kagami's mind and she slowly opened her eyes while sighing a confused hum. She was suddenly torn. None of the gangsters were forcing her to stand to face her execution, but the gang leader didn't say anything more. What was this? Kagami had no clue. Was this trick? If so, what would be the point? They already had her exactly where they wanted and had the tool to finish her forever so why the sudden stall and question?
"Look at me." The gang leader said calmly and more, well, human, than when he was talking to Ryuji.
Kagami inhaled a deep breath and slowly pulled herself up and looked up. The gang leader towered above her like some great skyscraper and he still held the powerful pistol on his hand. Kagami noticed how muscular he was and how many tattoos were covering his arms. His hair was short and spiked and he was dressed like the rest of the gangsters. Like they were geared for war. His face though was very soft, as if he himself was a student at Ryoo High School the same time she was. Hell, he looked like he was still in school.
He slowly crouched down to her, making Kagami pant again but she kept staring at him through her crying eyes. Their faces now separated by two feet of space, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you…Kagami Hiiragi?"
She stopped breathing heavily and her mouth opened again. At first she was convinced that her ears had lied to her. This boy, a person she had never met before and had just murdered someone before her own eyes, knew her name. If her ears were in fact being honest with her, she couldn't tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Her throat was like cotton and her tongue like sandpaper as she grunted for her first response. After a few more attempts, she wheezed, "Ya-ye…yes…I am Kagami Hiiragi."
The boy tilted his head again, as if he was struggling to comprehend a work of art in a museum. Kagami didn't know that that was exactly what the boy thought he was looking at. A work of art. However, it was a piece of art that had been tarnished and desecrated by animal thugs. The beauty was still there, but it just needed to be uncovered again.
"Daughter of Tadao Hiiragi?" He asked.
Kagami's confused emotions now teetered towards scared. She already knew that Yuka Miyakawa knew where her family lived, but now that these heavily armed gangsters knew who her father was, she jumped to the worst case scenario she could concoct. That scenario detailed this boy yelling to "bring them in" or something similar, and then all of Kagami's family members would be dragged in, equally terrified and scared. Kagami would then be forced to watch the execution of her family one member at a time until she would be saved for last. In a strange turn of fate, destiny soon showed Kagami that that was not what was instore for her.
"It's okay. Please don't be afraid, Kagami." He said and to Kagami's relief, put the gun in his hip holster. "I know your father, Tadao Hiiragi. I…I actually have a history with him."
Kagami sniffled. "You…you do?"
He nodded. "He was a spiritual mentor of mine a few years ago and has been a real voice of reason for struggling youths." Before Kagami could respond, the boy stood up. "Stand her up and untie her."
The gangsters helped Kagami up without a single negative word and one produced a knife that he used to cut the cord binding Kagami's wrists behind her back. She held her wrists in front of her and rubbed them and looked up at him. He had a considerable height over Kagami, as well as a very muscular build.
"Get rid of that piece of shit." He ordered his men, referring to Ryuji's bleeding corpse. They obeyed again and he turned back to Kagami. "I'm sorry you had to witness that, but believe me when I say he had it coming, just like his cousin. I'm sure you agree with me."
Kagami was still too stunned to fully comprehend that she wasn't in any danger. All she could do was watch the gangsters as they gathered around Ryuji's body and callously drag it out the back door by his legs. She continued to stare, her pupils still small.
"Kagami, are you going to be okay?" He asked.
Kagami turned back to him. "So…you're not going to hurt me? Or my family?"
He shook his head. "I wouldn't even dream of it. In fact, I was hoping that one day our paths would cross. I've always wanted to say I'm sorry about your sister and your friend. I read about them in the newspaper."
Kagami felt her eyes constrict and she looked away. "I…I guess if you know about that, then I guess you know about…me…and all the horrible things I've done since they passed."
He sighed. "I have heard of a few mistakes, but we're all human, Kagami."
Kagami batted her eyes. "You're…you're treating me so kindly…and I don't even know you. Why?"
It suddenly dawned on him. "You're right. That was presumptuous of me and I apologize for getting ahead of myself. My name is Watanabe. Junichi Watanabe."
Despite the setting, Kagami couldn't help but acknowledge how well-spoken he was considering what seemed to be his job title. She asked if he was the one leading a gang against Yuka Miyakawa.
"I am. Our relationship has been, well, on edge for quite some time until we decided to sever our ties with her and push her out." Junichi replied. "First thing I would like you to know is that, contrary to what Yuka may have told you, this war isn't about drugs or territory."
"It's not?"
"No. In fact, it's about quite the opposite actually."
Before Kagami could respond with her words, her stomach did it for her. It growled so loud that it echoed in the vast warehouse and Kagami quickly glowed red and tried to hide behind her long hair. Junichi formed half a grin.
"How long has it been since you've eaten?" He asked softly.
Kagami gulped. "Not since breakfast this morning. I've been apartment hunting and I dropped my groceries on my way back to my motel when your men well, you know."
Junichi nodded. "Again, my fault. But in their defense, they were following my orders. I ordered them to find everyone linked to Yuka and bring them here. But please, come with me, Kagami. I'll see to it that you get a nice meal and shelter for the night. When you see outside, I also imagine that you'll have more questions about where you are."
He turned and began to walk towards the door he first came in. Kagami stared at his shrinking figure and suddenly realized she was standing at a strange crossroad. Would she follow him or run? It screamed in her head not to follow this boy that she just watched execute someone. Granted, he was right when he said Ryuji had it coming. He was after all the man who first introduced heroin and prostitution into Kagami's world by taking advantage of her emotional state after she lost Matsuri and Misao. God only knew how many other girls were pimped and turned into junkies by him, but still, could Kagami really trust anyone who could so ruthlessly kill another person then have a casual conversation like nothing ever happened?
Her stomach rumbled again and then she realized that her baby was hungry as well. Whenever she went hungry, so did her child, and that was something that Kagami could never allow. She gulped again and stepped after Junichi. Following him through the warehouse, she paid no attention to the large puddle of blood that once was Ryuji's head and made her way outside into the warm summer day.
The sun was bright and after being inside darkness for such a long time, her eyes stung from the adjustment. When her vision cleared, she was surprised to see a neighborhood before her. The warehouse sat on a street's dead end in a field but the neighborhood was on a single street with houses lining each side. The houses were small but still seemed habitable and Kagami was surprised to see people walking out and about. Even children were playing hopscotch in drawn squares on the street while younger boys were playing catch with each other on the yards in front of the houses.
It was strange, if not ominous to see something like this for Kagami. Where was she? How could such a place exist after everything Yuka was telling her? Kagami squinted and saw Junichi now walking away from her on a sidewalk and she had to do a quick sprint to catch up to him.
"Uh…Watanabe-san?" Kagami asked.
"Please call me Junichi." He replied.
"Okay…Junichi…uh…I can't even right now."
Junichi chuckled lightly. "I bet you're wondering where you are and what this place is."
Kagami nodded. "Among other things, but let's start with that."
He nodded back. "All the people you see here were once homeless, even the children. Especially the children. All of these people are the victims of either domestic violence and abuse or have lost their homes do to whatever circumstances. Poverty mostly. Yuka Miyakawa and her cousin took advantage of their situations and scooped as many of the young girls and women up as possible. They got them hooked on drugs and forced them to sell their bodies after they built that horrible club."
"Teasers." Kagami murmured.
"Exactly." Junichi said. "I couldn't stand idly by and let her and Ryuji do all of that. Not after, well, I have a connection to the Aku District after all."
Kagami squinted at him. "What kind of connection?"
Junichi looked up at a house where a middle-aged woman was watering her flowerbeds. "Mama-Sanae! We have a guest who could really use a good hearty meal if you have the time."
The woman looked up. She had a very soft and delicate face like a grandmother and her smile was contagious. She saw Kagami and replied in a loving tone, "Oh another guest to our lovely homestead, how wonderful, dearie. I would be more than happy to whip up something special for such a lovely young lady."
Kagami's cheeks tinted a bit. Normally she would be humbler and politely turn down the offer of a banquet in her name, but her baby was still on her mind. The woman smiled at Kagami again with a twinkle in her eyes, as if she saw something in the young shrine maiden that no one else did or could. She then turned and went into her house to start cooking.
"Come, I think we should have a talk." Junichi said and started walking down the street again. Kagami once again followed.
As they walked, Kagami remained silent and took in everything she was seeing. The people were of all ages and both genders and it seemed to be just another normal neighborhood. Kagami looked up the road and suddenly saw something that stood out. A long stretch of road reached for the horizon but Kagami could see more armed gangsters at the edge of the neighborhood, as if they were guarding it from something. The people didn't seem to care that there were young men with military style weapons patrolling their streets. They just continued on their merry way as if they didn't even exist. It was such a surreal sight, something Kagami didn't think was possible. People being around armed men who weren't any form of legitimate law enforcement and they weren't panicking.
Another thing that presented itself to Kagami was exactly how many people went out of their way to greet Junichi. Some stopped what they were doing and called his name while waving while others took the time to approach and shake his hand and thank him. Their reasons varied from either helping paint their house, fix the insulation, help raise money to send some of the older kids to school, or for birthday presents he bought for them. It was soon apparent to Kagami that the conversations she heard in the van were true. She was in fact in the presence of a real humanitarian. A humanitarian that killed other humans.
They finally reached the last house before the long strip of road led to the horizon where a few guards waited at the neighborhood entrance. It was a simple single story house with humble décor.
"This is my place." He said.
Kagami looked at it. "Homey."
He nodded. "I like it that way. Please come in. It's hot out so can I offer you some lemonade?"
Kagami nodded. "I…I would like that."
He led her inside the small house and Kagami's earlier statement regarding the house was accurate. It was surprisingly homey. It had a simple living room with a TV, a small kitchen and dining room, and a single bedroom and bathroom down the hallway. However, what grabbed Kagami's attention was the massive bookshelf that towered over the TV, something she didn't expect to see, especially in a young man's house. She didn't even see a video game console plugged into the small TV.
She approached the bookshelf and stared at all the titles. Junichi's collection ranged from almost every topic imaginable but he had a strong concentration in history. Not just Japanese history, but history the world over. Other topics included political thinking and sociology, as well as theocratic schools of thought. She selected a book entitled Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant. Never reading it herself, she had heard of it and thumbed through a few pages.
Junichi returned from the kitchen with two glasses of lemonade. Kagami heard him and closed the book and put it back in the shelf. "I'm sorry. I just didn't expect to see, well…"
"Books in a thug's house?" Junichi asked with a smile.
Kagami cleared her throat. "I wouldn't have phrased it like that but, yeah actually."
He nodded and handed her a glass. "It's okay I know it looks strange."
Kagami thanked him for the lemonade and took a sip, finding it sweet and refreshing. "So…you said you knew my father?"
Junichi nodded. "I do. To give a quick backstory, I used to be in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces for four years and it…well, changed a few things about me. When I was discharged from service, I felt lost and unfulfilled with what I was doing with myself. I was born in the Aku District…and believe it or not, it wasn't always like it is today. I returned from military service to what Yuka and Ryuji had turned it into, so I sought out spiritual guidance. I met your father three years ago when he led a groundbreaking ceremony for a youth center in the Aku District in the hopes that it would steer teenagers away from drugs and violence."
Kagami took another sip, getting into the story. She never remembered her father ever speaking of Junichi, but then again the Hiiragi family was well-known in Saitama for their shrine and they met a lot of people every year for their annual festivals and holidays. It went without saying that they didn't talk about every person they met while working at the shrine.
"I started visiting the shrine regularly and met with him a few times. I asked him about the notion of 'loving thine enemy' and 'turning the other cheek,' as I understood he was a man who encouraged the pursuit of diversity in religion. I asked him about these things as Yuka and Ryuji started taking over and one night, burned down that youth center." Junichi added. "Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to help someone or something, but you couldn't? Whether that was by circumstances or by other means; you just couldn't help, as if there was a glass wall between you and the people you wanted to help or make right."
Kagami shifted her eyes away, knowing that feeling all too well.
"Anyway, he encouraged me to seek answers in education. That's why I have all those books." Junichi finished.
"And what exactly are you looking for in those books?" Kagami asked, finishing her drink.
Junichi sighed and glanced away. "I'll make a deal with you. When I find the answer, you'll be the first one to know."
Kagami smirked. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not hurting me…and showing me kindness. I…I don't have a lot of options myself…and I feel like an outcast myself. I don't even have a home anymore. Just a crappy motel room." Kagami sighed.
Junichi stared at her. "I understand you're not on good terms with your family right now."
Kagami huffed. "That's putting it mildly."
He nodded. "Well, Mama-Sanae has a spare bedroom in her house. You can stay with us for the time being until you get back on your feet and back with your family."
Kagami shot her head back up at him. "I…I couldn't ask you to do that for me."
Junichi chuckled. "Then it's a good thing you didn't because it's already done."
She was speechless. After spending so much time in the streets, in and out of Teasers and Yuka's apartment, and having her body ravaged and trashed by the lowest forms of life imaginable, life simply wasn't this good to be true. As Kagami stared up at him, she thought she saw Junichi staring at her in more ways than just seeing her. He was seeing her in her entirety. The work of art that was still hidden underneath all the graffiti.
"I…I'm pregnant, too." Kagami uttered, not really knowing why she said it now. It was blurted out so bluntly, as if Kagami was warning him what he had in store if he let her stay.
Junichi's eyebrows raised. "Oh, I see. Well we can help you with that too. Mama-Sanae used to be a nurse before she came here so she'll help you through the pregnancy."
Before Kagami could react once again to this stunning display of generosity, a rapping came on Junichi's door. They turned and saw a little girl no older than seven standing in the doorway with a giant smile on her face. Junichi walked over to the door and opened it. She practically leapt into his arms and he held her.
"Junichi-kun, Junichi-kun! Mama-Sanae says that our guest's dinner is ready!" She squealed.
"Very good, Mina-chan. Thank you for telling me." Junichi said and walked over to Kagami. "Mina-chan, this is our new friend, Kagami Hiiragi."
Kagami stared dumbfounded at the child, her mouth agape and her eyes wide, nearing tears. This little girl, all full of youth and innocent energy, was a spitting image of Matsuri Hiiragi. The eyes, the face, even the hair color and style. It made Kagami want to cry and ask to hold the child.
"Hi, Hiiragi-chan!" Mina squealed again. "Say, are you Junichi-kun's girlfriend?! Huh?! Huh?!"
Both Junichi and Kagami flushed red as Mina continued to laugh. Kagami giggled uncomfortably while Junichi cleared his throat and sat Mina down. "No, Mina-chan, she isn't. She's just another guest so treat her like your big sister, okay?"
"Okay!" Mina bubbled and took Kagami's hand. "Come on, onee-chan! Let's go, let's go!"
Mina was surprisingly strong and pulled Kagami out the door as Junichi followed. When they arrived, Kagami wasn't able to control her tears. A feast as big as a Thanksgiving dinner was presented to Kagami, along with more hospitality when Mama-Sanae would not take no for an answer over Kagami staying with her.
As Kagami reluctantly but slowly ate the meal, Junichi sat down with her. She was able to brush away her tears and ask Junichi more about the place she was staying in. It was a long story.
