This has probably been the longest time between my updates, so to those of you still reading, thank you!
It took so long because there's a lot happening in these chapters and I wanted to make sure it made sense. I also broke them apart a bit more than I usually do to hopefully make them easier to read. Also, I've been busy lol.
I hope the 4 chapter updates make up for the time since my last update!
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or its characters.
A tiny foot tapped in an agitated manner as thin arms folded against an ample chest. The woman's brown eyes were locked onto the steel door in front of her, as if her angry gaze would be enough to bore a hole large enough to allow her a visual of the other side. She knew her efforts were futile, but she didn't see the point in giving up before she ruled the absurd idea out completely.
Who knows? Maybe today will be the day that I find out I've secretly always had super powers and can zap the damn door open with my x-ray vision or crazy shit like that.
E sighed and drifted her eyes to the small window that was currently concealed with a metal plate. She knew it only opened from the other side of the door, but again she was hoping she might get lucky and discover she had some kind of superhuman ability that allowed her to move small objects.
Maybe if I'll get lucky and catch the next time it pops open to reveal another circus freak… Who I'm now positive is my fake lover's fake family.
The woman growled and pulled her hair slightly. "I'm so stupid! This is why I choose to stay single. I have terrible judgement when it comes to men!"
She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. "Maybe I need to embrace the curious side of myself and start dating other sexes…"
As her thoughts drifted off to possibilities of starting a relationship, romantic or otherwise, with a non-male individual, she found herself thinking about two men she considered to be two of her closest friends despite not having seen them in what felt like centuries.
E shook her head and squished her cheeks together. "Stop that! It would never work with either of them! From Creed's texts, it sounds like they're far too in love to ever look in anyone else's direction."
She didn't bother to investigate the implications that her attraction to Creed and Train acted as further evidence to her terrible judgement in men. However, the unfortunate circumstance of her interest in both of them had nothing to do with either of them being bad people;\. What made the situation so lamentable was the fact they were clearly only interested in each other.
E continued squishing her cheeks together, as if she was going to discover she had fire breathing abilities and melt the door. "Honestly, thinking of them is a bit of a distraction from my current situation... It'd be rather hot to see them in action..."
She laughed boorishly at her own comment, throwing her head back and clutching her stomach as she cackled. "Oh, I am just too much! I'll have to remember to ask Creed for pictures of them in compromising positions. He seems like the type that might go for that sort of thing, but then again he also seems a bit possessive of Train, so maybe not."
The woman snickered at her memories with the cat and how brightly he blushed every time she flirted with him. "I think Train would be mortified if Creed did that."
She slowly stopped laughing, lowered her head, and tapped her finger on her chin as she stared at the floor in thought. "I wonder if I offered them money if that would sweeten the deal. I'll have to ask Creed when I see him. They might be more open to the idea if I pay them."
E frowned as she lifted her head up and locked her eyes back onto the thick door. "That is, if I ever get out of here…"
The petite woman growled and threw her hands up in the air, dropping insipidly to the ground in annoyance. She crossed her legs and leaned her elbows on her knees, shoving both of her fists into her cheeks, emphasizing her pudgy face. The plumpness of her face always bothered her since, other than her breasts, the rest of her body was quite small. She hated how no matter how much she exercised or dieted, her face never lost weight.
E pinched one of her cheeks and pulled the skin, a peculiar, but instinctive reaction she always had whenever she was nervous, bored, or anxious. Considering she was experiencing all three of those emotions at the moment, she didn't stop her hands from inflicting minor pain to her face.
As she attempted to pull her chubby flesh off, she frowned at the small window embedded in the door. "My therapist says I do this because I'm self conscious about my cheeks and I'm trying to subconsciously remove them."
She continued pinching her cheeks, speaking to no one in particular since she was the only one in the room. Having one-sided conversations with herself was just the best way she found to stave off boredom and bang her head through the concrete walls.
"Then again, guess if I did that I'd be able to break out of here. But, I'm sure my therapist would find something wrong with that as well."
E chuckled and she squished her cheeks again. "What the hell does she know?! She also said I should try to settle down and find a relationship, and look where that got me!"
She threw her hands up in the air, gesturing around the room as if that was proof enough to the therapist who was not in the room. "WELL?! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF NOW, DR. JONAS?! LOOK WHERE YOUR ADVICE GOT ME!"
She threw her body back and stretched her arms out to the side, splaying her body on the floor as he stared at the banal ceiling. "...I need to get a new therapist."
As she laid there, E moved her head in a circular motion, taking the room in again for what felt like the millionth time, trying to see if there were any cracks or holes she could claw her way out of. Not that she really had the upper body strength to accomplish the task. It was more a matter of refusing to give up without a fight.
"And I'll be damned if I let them keep me here…"
With that thought in mind, she sat up on her elbows and looked around the room again. The walls were excessively and painfully white to the point it actually hurt her eyes to look at them. She actually found herself squinting slightly as she searched the room, stopping momentarily to rub her eyes.
When she took her hands away from her face, her gaze landed on the bed that was bolted to the wall, a thin white sheet and thin white blanket resting on top of it with a lumpy white pillow on one end of it. Across from the bed was a toilet and sink, the silver hue of the objects rather relieving to the eyes and she was grateful for the slight break in color scheme.
E glared as she spoke. "Not that it makes this situation any better…"
As her eyes finally landed back onto the door, she made another angry noise, thrashing her legs and arms like a child throwing a tantrum when she realized there was still no way out. "Not even a damn window! I know if there was one I probably wouldn't be able to break it, but still, would it hurt for them to let me see the sun?!"
The fact that she couldn't tell if it was day or night only added to the boredom and insanity that had been slowly creeping up her spine and encompassing her mind. That, combined with the fact that she had no idea where she was, what they planned on doing with her, or even why they had chosen to take her prisoner made it nearly impossible to keep her mind and body settled.
E stopped whipping her body around on the ground and rested her head in her hands. "What the hell is so special about me that they'd want to take me hostage?"
When she first woke up in the room, she thought she was in a lucid dream. Then, when she slowly realized it was reality, she quickly began looking for a way out, even going so far as to call out to the man she believed to be her live-in boyfriend.
She laughed bitterly as she recalled the memory that could have happened either a few hours ago, or a few days ago. "...Well, he did come for me when I called. But, I guess I was calling the wrong name."
E shut her eyes behind her hands, allowing the memory of when she woke up in that achingly and inordinately alabaster room to play out in her head. It wasn't like she had much else to do.
As the bantam sized woman slowly regained consciousness, she released an agonizing moan and shot a reflexive hand to her throbbing head. E squeezed her eyes shut and groaned even louder, blasting her other hand towards her forehead as well in an attempt to help her other limb alleviate the pain that was coursing indecently through her brain.
"Oh, God, did anyone get the name of that truck that hit me?"
She tried to sit up, but found the pain only got worse when she moved. Deciding that laying down was the least painful option, E settled her head back into the pillow beneath her, keeping her hands over his face as her lips discharged another excruciating moan.
She massaged her forehead with her fingers as she spoke. "What the hell… I don't remember drinking last night. Why do I feel like my head's been through a blender twice then slammed through a pane of glass?"
She took a deep breath, trying to relax the rest of her body since her head seemed intent on attacking her. Despite knowing it was going to hurt, she raised the volume of her voice in hopes the other occupant of the house would hear her.
"Kraig, can you get me some pain killers and a glass of water?" She moaned again and twitched from the pain, not hearing how slurred her words were.
As she rubbed her head, E tried to sigh and realized how much the rest of her body ached as well. "Actually, scratch that. For this monstrous pain, I think we need to break out the morphine."
While her ears were relieved to be greeted with silence, she was a bit annoyed that she was going to have to speak louder in order for the man to hear her, and she was pretty sure that was going to hurt her head even more.
E swallowed thickly, realizing how dry her mouth was as she nearly shouted. "KRAIG! PAINKILLERS AND WATER, PLEASE!"
Once again, all she heard was silence and she was beginning to grow agitated. She really didn't want to get out of bed with the headache she was experiencing. Especially since she was sure standing up was going to make it worse.
She smacked her lips a few times, then frowned deeply at the drought in her mouth. "Ugh… Come on, answer me! I don't want to get up!"
She kept her voice low that time, hoping against hope that she would get lucky and Kraig would hear her megear cries for help.
E moved her hands to her temples and massaged her skull in a circular motion, her eyes still shut tight as she mumbled to herself. "Is he even home?"
She tried to think back to the conversation they had the previous night to remember if her boyfriend mentioned he'd be stepping out at some point, but the last thing she remembered was eating dinner with the man and discussing their plans to meet his family. After that, everything was a blank.
"There's no way I was drunk last night since I only had one glass of wine. And it was small. And I am not a lightweight. Maybe I'm just misremembering?"
She twitched painfully again and moaned loudly, deciding the pain wasn't going away and since her boyfriend was nowhere to be found, she had to get up.
E took a deep breath and prepared to move her body, tensing up at the mere thought of changing positions. But, she thought maybe if she sat up quickly, it might make the pain pass quickly.
"Well, here goes nothing!"
As soon as the woman tried to shoot her body up, she immediately fell back down and let out a loud scream. When she hit the mattress, she gasped for air and cursed under her breath, gripping the sheets tightly as she let out another moan.
"Oh, God, what the FUCK is going on?! Did I run too far yesterday?! Is this the result of pushing my body too hard?!" She moaned and covered her eyes with her hands. "No... I didn't run yesterday. Then what the hell is going on?"
She came to the conclusion that choosing to sit up rapidly was not the solution to her predicament. So, instead of expeditiously bolting her body up, the dark haired woman moved slowly, choosing to keep her eyes closed just in case the shades to her window were open. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she didn't want to risk the sun's tyrannical rays assaulting her eyes and causing her more pain.
"Shit…" Her words were still slurred and her tongue felt as though it was swollen. "Did I discover a new allergy? What the hell did he make for dinner?"
To her knowledge, she didn't have any food allergies, but it was possible there was some kind of spice her boyfriend used that made her body react negatively. While that may have explained the headache and swollen tongue, it didn't explain the soreness.
E scrunched her face as she pushed herself up on her hands, taking in several deep breaths as she slowly sat herself up. "Ugh, this is the last time I let him cook…"
As she moved, an unceasing flurry of pain stabbed every inch of her body, causing the dark haired woman to let out yet another vociferous wail that bounced obstreperously against the walls. The simple task of bending her body was almost more than she could bear since it felt like she was being gouged in the gut with a dull dagger.
"God damn…" She muttered as she continued pushing herself up. "This is absurd! There's no way a run, alcohol, or even food poisoning could cause pain like this."
Once she was finally sitting up, she let out a long sigh, proud of herself for completing such an easy task. "This better not be because I'm getting older. If that's the case, I may as well off myself right now."
She tried to shake her head, but stopped immediately when she realized how much it hurt. "Now, now, E. No need to be so dramatic. You probably just caught some rare cold that makes you feel like you're dying. You'll be better in no time."
Once she had finally caught her breath, E slowly opened her eyes, but kept one hand in front of her face. She was hoping the shades were still drawn, but didn't want to put herself in danger by accidentally gazing at the oppressive sun.
She slowly opened her eyes and removed her hand, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the bright room. However, as soon as she could see clearly, she blinked in confusion. "What the hell…?"
The woman rubbed her eyes, hoping she was simply misinterpreting what she saw. When she opened her eyes again, she blinked rapidly, perplexity devouring her mind as she jolted her head back and forth to take in the mysterious room she found herself in.
"Am I hallucinating? Was there some kind of special ingredient in the meal Kraig made?" E did not realize the irony of her joke, nor did she realize how close to the truth she was.
As she snapped her head back and forth to fully take in the room, she felt her pulse pick up and uncertainty take over. The only good thing about her confusion was that it allowed her to ignore the pain assaulting her body and shooting through her head that were made worse from the quick motions she made.
"Kraig? Kraig, are you here?" She attempted to stand up, but felt her knees buckle and fell instantly back onto the mattress.
As soon as her rear hit the bed, she turned around and began to panic when she realized it was not her bed. "What the fuck is going on?! Where am I?!"
Without another thought, she pushed herself up off the bed again, that time steadying her feet and balancing her body so she wouldn't fall. Once she felt like she was able to stand without much effort, she slowly undertook the difficult task of taking a step forward.
E shoved aside the pain that churned through her nerves as she took another step, making her way towards a door she spotted on the other side of the room. She thought maybe if she could get to it, she could call for help.
As she shuffled to the door as quickly as she could, E's eyes scanned the room around her, trying to decipher where she could possibly be.
"Am I still sleeping? Is this a dream?" As she took another step forward and let out another harrowing groan, she rolled her eyes and twitched at the pain it caused her head. "If this is a dream, it sure is a terrible one. Even a nightmare wouldn't let me feel this kind of pain."
She let out several rapid breaths and continued dragging her heavy feet towards the massive steel door as her eyes continued scanning the room. Other than the bed, sink, and toilet that were pressed against the walls, there was nothing else for her to observe. The room was disturbingly empty, making her think she was in an insane asylum.
"Is it possible I've actually been in an insane asylum my whole life and the drugs only just started working and I'm realizing what reality has always been?"
She couldn't help but laugh at her own joke despite the darkness behind it. "Wouldn't that be a twist to the crazy whirlwind that is my life?"
When she finally reached the door, she leaned both her diminutive hands against the smooth surface and took a moment to catch her breath. As she huffed and puffed, she pressed her forehead against the door as well, allowing the cool steel to chill her slightly sweaty skin.
"How ironic is it that I work so hard to stay in shape, yet walking a few feet from a bed to a door has me panting like a dog in heat?"
Once she felt like she had the strength to lift her hand, she banged on the door as loudly as she could. "HELLOOOOO! IS ANYONE THERE?!"
As she drummed on the door, she lifted her head and noted the small window that was there. She stopped her knocking for a brief moment so she could try to open it.
She reached her hand up and pressed it against the small box, attempting to push the metal pane to the left, then the right and growled in frustration when it didn't move. Wanting to cover all her bases, she decided to try moving it up and down as well, praying that would do the trick.
She growled again and punched the window, then whimpered painfully when it made contact with the hard steel.
She shook her hand and pressed her head back against the door as she shouted. "A GOOD CAPTOR WOULD AT LEAST INTRODUCE HIMSELF!"
She paused, thought about her words, then decided to correct herself. "OR HERSELF! I'M FULLY AWARE A WOMAN IS CAPABLE OF KIDNAPPING ME AS WELL! PROBABLY MORE CAPABLE!"
"Oh, you're awake! What a relief! I was beginning to worry I had given you too much, Darling."
E's ears perked and she lifted her head when she heard that voice, recognizing it right away. "...Kraig?"
Her eyes jolted straight towards the small window as soon as it slid open, revealing very familiar eyes. Eyes that she had woken up to every morning for the last month and a half. However, there was something different about their dark depths. Something more sinister, more duplicitous and deceitful that sent cold shivers down her spine.
But, at the same time, there was a glimmer of triumph in his gaze. As if he was proud of himself, as if he had accomplished something quite fantastic. The way his black eyes bore into her skull was more than unsettling and made her feel like he was trying to peel her skin off with his gaze.
He smirked and adjusted his glasses, which, other than the demented look in his eyes, was the only thing she didn't recongize about him. "Glad to see your strange sense of humor is unchanged from the drastic change in your environment. You're quite a strong woman. I should have given you more credit."
Her instincts told her to step away from the door, but her courage forced her feet to stay put. "What the hell is going on, Kraig? Where the hell am I?!"
The man she thought was her boyfriend snickered and adjusted his glasses again, the light glaring against the object's clear surface, obscuring his eyes for a moment as he spoke. "Call me Kanzaki, or Doctor, if you will."
He took a step closer to the door and widened his smirk. "As for where you are… I don't really see the benefit in telling you that."
E narrowed her eyes and pressed her face against the window, chomping down with her teeth as if she would be able to bite through the small glass frame that separated them. "So, you're really a doctor? Or was that another lie?"
Doctor's smirk turned into a smile. "Clever girl, you've caught on quickly. But yes, that part was true. I have a degree and everything. I have to say, I'm surprised at how well you're adjusting to the idea of our whole relationship being a farce."
E spit at the glass, not caring that it wouldn't hit its target. "I'm not an idiot. Based on this prison, it's clear you were a jerk all along."
Doctor chuckled and watched the woman's spit slid down the window. "A jerk, huh? Funny. I was expecting a more colorful word from you when you found out the truth."
E growled and punched the door over and over again. "YOU WANT MORE COLOR?! I'LL GIVE YOU MORE COLOR YOU PIECE OF SHIT FUCKWAD MICROPENIS ASSHOLE DICK FACE! JUST LET ME OUT OF HERE AND I'LL SHOW YOU JUST HOW STRONG I AM, YOU SKINNY FUCK!"
Doctor continued to chuckle as he watched the woman attack the door. "That's more like it. I'm happy to see you not only still have your sense of humor, but your spunk as well."
E kicked the door a few more times, ignoring the pain that shot throughout her body and stopped to catch her breath yet again. "...What the hell do you want from me? I know it can't be sexual considering…"
She shivered, remembering all the nights she shared with the man she just learned was a psychopath. She locked her eyes with Kanzaki, making sure he saw the fury boiling in her eyes. "What the hell could I possibly offer you? A nobody from the middle of nowhere…"
Doctor smirked and adjusted his glasses once more. His constant fiddling with them was directly aligned with his happiness at being able to see clearly again. "As useless as you may appear to be on the surface, your existence is really all I require of you."
E blinked in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"
Kanzaki took a small step away from the window. "You'll find out in due time."
E glared at the man and punched the door again. The rage she felt at the moment was making it easy to forget the pain she was in. "Why won't you tell me?"
She gestured to the room around her. "Clearly, you know what you're doing and this isn't the first time you've kidnapped and locked someone up. Do you really think I could escape even if I tried? And do you really think the police would believe me if I was able to get to them?"
Doctor began to chuckle again, increasing the volume of his voice as it slowly turned into a perverse snicker. "Oh, my Darling E, the police are the least of my concern."
E grumbled a few acidic words under her breath, then spoke in a low growl. "Then why the hell not just tell me why you brought me here? Is torture your kink?"
Doctor thought about her words, then shrugged and seemingly spoke to himself. "I guess maybe a little mental torture won't hurt… But, I can't hurt you physically. We need you in one piece for the main event."
E blinked again. "We? Main event?"
Kanzaki ignored her as he bent down and slid open another door E did not notice before. It was thin and much lower, really more of a slot than a door. The woman watched as a tray of food was shoved through the slot and she stared down at the silver platter, dumbfounded at the sight.
"What the hell is that?" She asked with an incredulous tone.
Doctor spoke in a sarcastically cheerful voice. "Food, my dear!"
E frowned at the food and tried to swallow, realizing how much it hurt to enact such a simple task. The gruel the madman was attempting to pass off as food did not entice her at all, it was the water that peaked her interest.
As if sensing how uncomfortable the woman was feeling, Doctor wiggled the tray a little, taunting her with the way the life saving liquid sloshed.
E licked her dry lips, then quickly yanked the tray out of the man's hands and watched the small door close shut. She sat on the floor with the tray and ignored the food in favor of the large bottle of water. The woman unscrewed the top quickly and began chugging.
Doctor's eyes appeared back in the small window, grinning down at the evidentially thirsty woman. "I had a feeling you'd be thirsty with how long you were out for. Guess I did give you too much."
E gasped and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Too much of what? What exactly did you give me, Asshole?"
Doctor's only response was the same grin he seemed to have tattooed onto his face. "Be sure to eat all of that. You'll need your strength for the big day."
E stared up at the man, frowning in confusion as she spoke. "Why do I have a feeling the big day isn't a wedding?"
Kanzaki chuckled and shut the window without another word, leaving the woman alone and clueless as to what her fate would be.
E shot her eyes open when she heard a familiar snapping sound coming from the door. She quickly learned that sound meant the small window had been opened, and she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to berate someone with questions.
I've become like a trained dog!
The woman sat up so rapidly she felt a little light headed, but ignored it in favor of the chubby face she saw staring down at her. E pushed herself up off the ground and ran towards the door.
"Hey, Fatso! You here to finally give me some answers?!"
Maro growled at the woman. "Who you callin' Fatso, Old Woman?"
E ignored his insult in favor of her questions. "What the hell harm does it do telling me why I'm here? Or at least who you are and why all you miscreants keep looking at me like I'm the circus freak?!"
Maro frowned at the woman, ignoring her insults as he responded to the rest of her statement. "Doctor didn't tell you?"
E narrowed her eyes at Maro and answered his question with one of her own. "Why am I here?"
Maro rolled his eyes and disappeared from the window as he slid the slot for her food open, slipping a tray inside. "If Kanzaki didn't tell you, then I'm not telling you. Especially if those are orders from Charden."
E watched as the man dropped the food on the floor, not at all caring that he spilled her meal. "Charden? Is that asshole not your leader?"
Maro slammed the food slot shut and went back to the small window. "Why the hell would Kanzaki be our leader? He's got more screws lost than a poorly assembled cabinet!"
He specifically chose not to mention how unstable Charden was since he didn't want the woman to know how fragmented their group had become. Not that she'd be able to do anything even if she tried. She had no Tao or special skills to speak of. She was just an average woman who just happened to be close to the Black Cat.
E glared at the man as she took an aggressive bite of the stale bread on her tray. She may not have been there long, but she learned quickly that they weren't poisoning her food since they had no intention of causing her physical harm, just physiological. Luckily for her, she was a stubborn woman who refused to be broken.
"So… This Charden guy is your leader?"
Maro glared at her. "That's none of your business."
E laughed between bites of food. "Well, that answers that question! Now, if you'd just tell me why I'm here, I'll feel much better about my imprisonment. I might even cooperate a bit more."
Maro rolled his eyes again. The woman was beginning to annoy him almost as much as the Black Cat did. "Cooperate with what, exactly? It's not like we've asked anything of you. You should just be grateful we're taking such good care of you."
E laughed a little louder, then scooped up some of the slop on her tray with her spoon and aimed it at the small window. "Yeah… I'm suuuuper grateful to the awesome care you've been taking of me! In fact I'm so grateful, I simply just have to share some of this wonderful food you've been so graciously providing me with!"
Maro jumped even though he knew the gruel hitting the window wouldn't collide with his face. He growled as he watched the woman roll on the floor and laugh, reminding him all too much of a certain golden eyed jokester.
"How is it possible you're still this obnoxious after being locked up for so long?"
The dark haired woman frowned playfully at the man since she could tell he hated how carefree she appeared to be. And while she knew it was all an act, that she was actually scared out of her mind, she didn't want her jailers to know that.
E shrugged and shoved some of the mush the freaks holding her prisoner considered food into her mouth. "Eh, I figure what's the point in sitting in my own filth and depression? Speaking of which, will I be permitted a shower soon? I'm starting to get a bit too grody for my liking."
She watched as the man scowled at her, then gave him a cheeky smile. "You and the other freaks can watch if that's what will make this coveted shower happen."
Maro growled and punched the door with his large fist. "SHUT UP, WOMAN!"
The cheeky smile infuriated him and for a quick moment, he could have sworn he was looking at the legendary gunman.
E opened her mouth to speak again only to be interrupted by a new voice. One she hadn't heard before.
"That's enough, Maro. Did you feed the woman?"
E watched as the large man known as Maro turned his eyes to the side, stepping away from the door as he spoke. "Yes, Sir."
The man moved quickly out of E's sight, leaving her to assume whoever was speaking must have shooed him away. Considering the frightful look on the fat man's pudgy face, she was able to easily piece together who the owner of said voice must have been.
A handsome, cream colored face appeared in the window, steely blue eyes glowering down at her. If it wasn't for the fact that his eyes looked so lethal, she might have found him attractive. But, it was really hard to find beauty in those callous, fatal azure orbs.
E continued eating her meal as if nothing was wrong. "I take it you're Charden?"
The blonde man did not answer her question. "We're moving you."
E blinked as she swallowed a spoonful of gruel. "Oooh, that's exciting! May I ask where to? Or am I not privileged enough for such knowledge?"
Charden narrowed his eyes and pulled out a set of keys. "You weren't kidding, she really is a lot like the Black Cat."
E cocked an eyebrow as the man at the door spoke to someone else. "Black Cat?"
"She doesn't know that name yet, Charden-sama. You wouldn't want to confuse her more than she already is, would you?"
E clenched her fists at that voice, knowing exactly who the comely man was speaking to. However, she did not wish to engage that man in any form of conversation, so she decided to continue shoveling food in her mouth, keeping her eyes locked onto the door. She was trying to subtly prepare herself to run the moment it opened.
Charden glared at the man standing next to him. "You haven't told her anything?"
E heard the man known as Doctor snickered. "No."
Charden sighed as he began unlocking the door. "Any particular reason why?"
E could tell Kanzaki was shrugging. "Not really. It just seemed more fun to leave her in the dark."
Charden rolled his eyes as he finished unlocking the dooring. "You're a sick man, Kanzaki."
E launched herself into the air the moment the door opened and ran as fast as she could towards the exit. She didn't make it far since the blonde man's arm wrapped around her waist and effortlessly hoisted her into the air and onto his shoulders.
She kicked her legs and flailed her arms, but found it impossible to move the moment she felt an immense amount of pressure being applied to her body. Her arms and legs fell limp against the man holding her, her head dropping forward as she released a low growl.
"What… The… Hell…?"
Charden frowned. "You didn't tell her about the Tao, either?"
Doctor shook his head and smiled. "Why would I? She has no reason to know any of that."
Charden kept his eyes on the scientist for a moment longer, then turned to Maro whose hands were outstretched towards E. "Take the woman to the location we discussed earlier today. We've going forward with the plan."
Maro nodded, then smirked. "Can I tell the others?"
Charden glared at his subordinate and dropped the woman, not showing the slightest bit of sympathy at the painful grunt she let out when she landed heavily on the hard floor. "No. I will tell them as soon as she's settled in her new location."
Maro nodded and lifted the woman up, releasing her from his Tao as he flung her over his shoulder. "Yes, Sir."
As they walked away, E felt her body become lighter and began to struggle again, even though she could tell just by looking at the sumo-sized man her petite body would never be able to escape his embrace. Still, she decided to try by punching, kicking, and even biting him over and over again.
"THIS MAY BE A CLICHE THING TO SAY, BUT YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! I HAVE A FAMILY THAT WILL BE LOOKING FOR ME!"
She could hear Doctor's twisted laugh coming from behind her. "Don't worry, Darling. They think we're on a vacation together. And they totally understand that you won't have a signal where we're going."
E clenched her fists and laughed bitterly, realizing the man must have taken her phone and been in contact with her family. "Oh, you shouldn't have, Dearest! What a sweet gesture from such a loving spouse!"
Kanzaki laughed again as he walked behind the large man carrying the small woman. "Anything for you, Love…"
E hated how the man went along with her playful banter and began punching Maro again. "GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF ME!"
"OUCH! STOP STRUGGLING, WOMAN!" Maro shouted as E dug her teeth deep into his skin.
E screamed as the man tightened his hold around her waist, but somehow managed to smirk behind the pain. "Oh, what's wrong? Big man can't take a little nibble from a little cat?"
Maro grumbled and flicked her forehead as he muttered his next words. "You're not the cat I'm worried about…"
E groaned painfully, catching her breath as she slumped against the obese man's shoulder, realizing it was pointless to fight against someone who was literally ten times her size.
As she lay sluggishly against the heavy man's plump shoulder, she thought back to what Kanzaki and Charden said earlier, along with the comment the fat man just made.
"Black Cat…?"