TW: Sexual Assault
Chapter 06: Interrogation
Two Days Later
Kyoko sat by the window clad in a pair of black flannel pants and a black, long-sleeved Henley shirt. Both were obviously made for men and as such hung loosely on her slender form. With her knees folded and held close to her chest, she cupped her cheek with her palm and continued to admire the world outside. Winter was in full bloom now as small specks of white fell from the grey, bland skies over the city. As she watched people clad in heavy cloaks and warm hats scramble around the streets below, her heart ached with loss and melancholy.
Oh, Sho… If I had known that you would be taken from me like this… Kyoko closed her eyes as warm tears fell down her smooth skin. I should have run away with you. Then at least you'd be alive, and I wouldn't be captive to a gaijin monster.
As the young woman recalled the warmth of Sho's hands upon her face, the tender yet vehement way he had kissed her in the onsen, the shape of his smile, and the gleam of his eyes, she began to recall the first time she had noticed him. When they were children, they would play in the courtyard all of the time, but as adolescence approached, she began to notice the dimples in his cheeks. The strength of his arms when he helped with errands around the oiran. The deep and comforting sound of his voice. Sometimes when he would help out in the kitchens, she could recall the scent of his shampoo and cologne that lingered in his wake, the tingles it sent down her spine and the warmth that flooded her belly. The littles things that had drawn her to him, that made her love him so dearly, were all she had left to hold on to now.
No thanks to that Hizuri…
Just as she whispered his name, he unlocked the doors and stepped into the bedroom. He was clad in black jeans that hung on hips, and a plain, V-neck, cotton, black t-shirt. Kyoko turned her head to him in surprise. Placing her hands beside her on the cold floor before the window, she closed her mouth and swallowed back a lump of fear. Then his gaze found hers, holding it intently.
"I understand," he said simply into the cell phone held to his left ear.
Her heart began to palpitate faster and harder, to the point that Kyoko felt it would burst from her chest and flee. She watched carefully as he turned to the doors, closed them, and locked both the bottom and top latches. He then placed his right hand on the door above his head and leaned against the frame, dropping his head as if he was tasked with a great burden. The young woman instantly recognised the aura that began to emanate from him. Fuwa-san permeated a similar atmosphere when he prepared to punish the servants, or anyone else whom he felt had caused him disrespect.
Kyoko shivered and began to breathe heavily.
"I will do whatever it takes," Kuon replied into the phone softly. "Nothing is more important to me than this, Sawara-san." Gritting his teeth, Kuon began to fall into his most useful character.
"She is a kind and innocent young girl, but she was also Fuwa Sho's prised jewel. If there is anything to learn of him, she will know it."
"Hmph," scoffed Kuon. "Anyone who has the ability to love a Fuwa is just as guilty as they are."
"I understand," Sawara said, empathetically. "While I know that you must do whatever is necessary, do not forget her value."
After a few more words, Kuon disconnected the call. He then removed the battery from the cell phone and dropped both pieces to the floor, apart from one another. Slowly, he turned around and walked towards Kyoko.
Kyoko crawled away from him until her back collided with the wall. Pressing herself into the solid wood, she stared up at this approaching villain and prayed for protection from whatever kamisama was watching over her… if there even was one.
When Kuon walked past the window, the natural light revealed to her that his appearance had changed, causing her to gasp. His hair had been dyed the darkest shade of black with eyes a piercing shade of ice-blue. Wholly mesmerised by his fresh look, she failed to realise that he had stopped before her.
Kuon knelt and held his hand out to her. "Please, you shouldn't be on the floor like this." His voice was quiet and warm, inviting even.
Kyoko looked down at his large, open palm before meeting his eyes, which were just as kind as his words. Utterly confused by his actions, she remained still.
"I understand that you are afraid of me, but have I done anything to hurt you yet?" Kuon inquired.
Kyoko shook her head slowly.
"Then please, let me help you."
"W-why would you want to help me?" Kyoko asked bravely, her heart's rampage returning with full-force. "If you really w-wanted to help, wouldn't you r-release me?"
Kuon smiled handsomely. "You're right, I would release you." Dropping his hand, he sat down comfortably in front her with his legs crossed and continued. "I brought you here because I didn't want you to get hurt. At least… at first."
"At first?" She repeated.
He nodded once.
"A-and now?" She probed.
Before she could react, Kuon reached out and grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into his arms. He brought his mouth to her ear and lowered his voice even more. "And now, I want what I paid for."
With unbelievable speed, Kuon pulled himself off the floor. Gripping Kyoko tightly, he forced her to rise with him. He then twisted about and threw her onto the bed roughly. He took one step backwards, keeping his eyes locked on the woman who scrambled to get away, reached behind him and tugged on a small chain. It released the black blinds, which fell to the floor, drowning the bedroom in complete darkness.
"No…" he heard her gasp.
Kyoko struggled to see as she tried to navigate her way off the bed. Feeling around, she was abruptly greeted with the edge and she slid off the bed. Her knees hit the floor harshly with a crack. Small fingers poked and prodded around the bed's bottom. Laying flat, she slid underneath. From her position, she took steady, deep breathes to calm her overwhelming fear.
SHHIIK
The room suddenly filled with a soft, luminescence.
"Hiding won't help you," Kuon said nonchalantly as he lit one candle, and then another and another, all around the room. He walked around lighting them as the fire burned down the tiny stick. After the last one was lit, he shook out the flame and discarded the match on the floor behind him.
Kyoko tried to drag herself across to the other side of the bed, furthering the space between her and her captor. But her plans were thwarted when he grabbed her ankles and roughly pulled her from her hiding spot.
"No!" She shouted, kicking her legs, and trying to find a way to hit him. But his speed once again outmanoeuvred her.
Kuon Grabbed Kyoko by her hair and pulled her to her feet, her yell mutated into a scream of agony. He shoved her onto the bed, grabbed the fabric around her calves, and violently yanked the flannel off of her body. He tore them in half down the middle and then climbed on top of her. Tossing the two pieces of fabric over the headboard, he reached into his back pocket, pulled out a syringe, used his teeth to take off the protective sheath, and then jammed it into Kyoko's side. A few moments later, her strength begin to wane. Kuon tied each of her wrists to the frame with the torn pieces of clothing and sat back, straddling her.
"Wh… why…?" Kyoko mumbled as her head became fuzzy. Her veins felt as if they been injected with ice and she began to tremble anew.
Throwing the used syringe onto the floor, Kuon then took a couple of minutes to admire the woman beneath him. Her long, ebon hair was a woven mess across her face. The buttoned Henley had ridden up against her, revealing a small portion of her abdomen. The red panties she wore were vibrant against her pale, smooth skin. Delicately, he brushed her hair off her face and took in the soft features of her complexion. Her natural lips were parted, taking in air in more relaxed gulps. Kyoko's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes hooded with intoxication from the drug.
While this was not his first time interrogating a woman, nor was it his first time resorting to such demonising tactics, his heart went out to her. She looked so young and fragile. Innocent, as Sawara had mentioned, and gullible. Kuon knew that if he did not change himself, completely, he would not be able to complete the task at hand. Closing his eyes, he took one deep, steady breath. Then another. One last one. This time when he opened his eyes, they became icier, the blue dissipating with Kuon's conscience.
As he leaned forward to tower over Kyoko, his fingers pulled out a knife from his other back pocket. The blade was roughly nine inches long and an inch and a half wide, and breathtakingly sharp.
"Please…" Kyoko pleaded in her weak and intemperate state, "please don't do this."
"I paid 10 million yen for you, darling," Kuon replied, huskily. "I have every right."
"But, that was for your father."
The assassin chuckled. "My father does not have any interest in a woman that isn't his wife."
Kyoko opened her eyes a bit more, even though the effort was quite challenging. Furrowing her brows in confusion, she opened her mouth to inquire further, but was silenced when Kuon kissed her. His mouth fit upon hers perfectly, lips full and soft. Her tongue defied him as he tried for a taste. Shutting her eyes, she quickly turned her face away from him, breaking the kiss. "Don't," she said angrily. "Don't you dare take the only thing I have left of him." A single tear rolled down her face into the pillow beneath.
Kuon rested his head against her neck and inhaled slowly. "Why hold on to a bastard like him?" He asked, amuse, and relishing the fresh fragrance of her.
"You don't know a goddamn thing about him" Kyoko shouted, her grief and rage threatening to overwhelm her. No matter how much she tried to reign in her emotions, she found she could not. Her inner most thoughts threatened to spill out of her like a flood, without her consent. "You took him from me. The only bastard here is you."
"He deserved it!" Kuon said through clenched teeth. He lifted his head, grabbed her chin, and forced her to look at him. The strength and the grief behind his stare stole her breath. "Him and his sonofabitch father deserved everything they got. They deserved more! Much more." Unbeknownst to him, his brows had furrowed, and his face flushed with ire. A picture wheel of his mother's funeral and his father's alcoholism spun over and over in his mind.
"You're hurting me…" Kyoko muttered as she continued to gawk at the play of expressions on Kuon's face.
"Good." He added.
"Your fight was with his father, not with him—"
"My fight is with every fucking Fuwa that has lived and every single whore that chooses to love them." Kuon spat. Bringing his mouth to hers again, he could feel the brush of her breath against his lips. His skin felt hot.
"You killed them both. What more is there left for you? What is left for you to want from me?!" Kyoko's hand balled into fists as she tugged at her restraints, chafing her wrists in an attempt to loosen them. "I find it difficult to believe that you'd want to have sex with someone who's loved a Fuwa."
"There's a fine line between sex and fucking, isn't there?" Kuon retorted with an evil smirk.
"I hate you…" she whispered.
Taking his knife, Kuon placed the tip beneath the first button. "Besides, Fuwa never got his chance, did he?" Slight pressure and the button snapped off, the fabric parting slightly. He moved to the next one. "Neither father nor son ever got their chance to fuck you. I'm assuming that's why you were sold for 10 million yen." Another button flew off. Next.
"Please, stop… I don't want to hear this." Kyoko closed her eyes and looked away once more.
"Fuwa-sama would have much preferred to have a gaijin like me or my father to take your virtue than to hand it over to his bastard of a son, wouldn't he?" A third button flew.
"No! I don't want to hear this!" Kyoko yelled. The depth of his mirth resonated in her ear and she began to shake all over. Each nerve felt colder than ever, and she felt dizzy. "No… Fuwa-san wasn't…. he'd never, not a servant like me…" Kyoko rambled forgetting for the briefest moment that she wasn't alone.
"Yes, he would." Kuon stated matter-of-factly. He pressed the flat side of the blade against her and forced her to look at him once more. "Are you frightened?"
Kyoko swallowed as her pulsed quickened. Their eyes locked for an intense moment as one tried to gauge the other's intentions. How far would he go? How much would she fight?
"Tell me," he asked again, impatient, and eager. "Are you frightened?"
"Please, don't do this to me." Kyoko pleaded.
"Answer me," he whispered.
"Yes." She gave in. "I'm frightened."
Kuon smiled charmingly. "Good." Looking down her body, he sat up a bit more and placed the knife at the bottom edge of her shirt. "Let's play a little game then. I'll ask you a question and you'll give me an honest answer. If you don't answer, or if you lie to me, I'll cut something off. If I have no more clothes to cut off…" Kuon glanced to her eyes and grinned. "I will fuck you in ways you cannot imagine."
"You're a monster!" Kyoko struggled against her tethers even more boldly now, wriggling her body beneath his, anything that would help her obtain her freedom, but to no avail.
"I don't have to be," he said. Placing the knife on her abdomen, Kuon stripped off his back t-shirt and threw it aside. "There. Now we're even. See, I don't have to be a monster." With that, he picked up his toy and began his interrogation.
