Crossroads
"Standing at the crossroads
A moment of indecision,
One choice can change your life.
If there was one thing she hated more than anything else, it was running away. She was headstrong, stubborn and hated the thought of being a coward. But there was times, crucial times, when running away seemed to be the only solution. This was one of those times, and running was what she intended to do.
The decision had been made on a whim, inspired by random thinking and alcohol. But it was right, she had convinced herself, therefore it was. She couldn't find anywhere in her random thoughts a reason to believe it wasn't so. Any woman in her position would have done the same thing.
It wasn't as if she had loved him, far from it. She hadn't loved either of them. They seemed to think otherwise.
Well, she thought cynically, she hoped they lived the rest of their lives happily blaming each other for her departure. That was what kept their relationship so close, the constant arguing and finger pointing. She had certainly had enough but she knew, no matter what it was or how long it lasted, they would always find something.
"Sora?" His voice was gruff, as usual, and it made her flinch.
She had been caught
"Where are you going?" She turned to face him, neither afraid nor ashamed at her position. His eyes looked pleading, but no amount of puppy eyes were going to change her mind
"I'm leaving," She stated, picking her suitcase up and walking away from him
"But Sora," He pleaded, catching her shoulder and turning her to face him, "Why?"
"Because," She replied, meeting his gaze boldly
"But, I thought everything was going good."
"Well, Tai, you thought wrong,"
"Are you going to Matt?"
"No." His grip on her shoulder lessened enough for her to break it. She turned and, without looking back, left.
Saying she didn't feel any guilt at her cold leaving would have been a lie. She did feel guilty, and his momentary reflection in the glass door ahead of her only aggravated it. The way his shoulders slumped and that look of pure loss and misery wormed its way into his usually vibrant eyes. She had let him down, but he had let her down harder, and more frequently. And that knowledge was enough to keep her going.
She hailed a taxi, slid her suitcase onto the backseat before sliding in herself. The driver had a moustache and one eyebrow and when he asked her where she wanted to go it took her a moment to answer. There weren't many places she could go, weren't many places that would still accept her. Friends had become a rarity in her life.
There was still one, not really a friend, more of an acquaintance. It would have to do for now, Rika may have been cold and heartless, but she had a big apartment.
After giving the driver the address she settled back into the seat and watched as the city rolled bye.
As desperately as she tried to quell them, thoughts managed to find a place in her mind. It was times like these, when the thoughts made her question her actions, she wished her mind would remain blissfully blank. Unfortunately she had to be blessed with thought and every building that zoomed by made her heart labour with guilt.
By the time the taxi pulled up next to the large, expensive looking apartment complex she was on the verge of asking the taxi driver to turn around and take her back. His demand for money repressed the thought enough for her to exit the cab and watch as it pulled into the traffic of the mid-Tokyo street.
Breathing a deep sigh she turned toward the largely extravagant building. It had to be the biggest and most comfortable building in the whole of Tokyo. Unlike the stereotyped, cramped apartments she had often stayed in, one apartment in this building had enough room to sustain at least three people contentedly.
Sora was loath to remember what Rika did to afford such a luxurious apartment; especially considering she shared it with no one.
Ignoring the intercom usually used to ask permission to enter one's apartment; Sora bypassed the door man and hit the button for the elevator. It did take too long for the elevator to arrive, and when it did it was empty. Hoisting her suitcase Sora entered and pushed the button for the penthouse. Again, she cursed everything her mother had told her at the thought of how Rika managed to afford the penthouse.
Sometimes, she thought dismally, the world just didn't work like it was supposed to.
When the elevator doors sprang open she walked over to the unlabeled door, suitcase in hand, and knocked politely. Voices could be heard from inside, but they were too soft to be understood. A few moments later the door opened slightly and Rika's face appeared in the crack. She looked both extremely irritated and surprisingly relieved.
She swung the door open and an uncharacteristically bright smiled erupted on her face.
"Sora, what a pleasant surprise." Sora could easily see past her act to the deceptions hidden in the depths of her icy purple eyes. She was surprised nonetheless at Rika's apparent bubbly attitude.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Sora asked unnecessarily, glancing past Rika to the two men standing in the sparsely furnished living room.
"Of course not, please come in." Rika's smile betrayed the happy hostess image she obviously fought to uphold, "Here, let me help you with that," She grabbed the suitcase and practically threw it into the apartment, her smile instantly disappearing at the effort.
"Let me introduce you," Her voice was still as bubby as it had been before, only now the act was slightly less convincing, "Davis, Joe, this is Sora. Sora, Davis and Joe."
The one named Davis, with the short cropped burgundy hair nodded at her and rested his hand on his blue haired, bespectacled partners shoulder.
"We were just leaving." He informed her, but his eyes were locked on Rika's.
The room fell silent and the two appeared engaged in a staring contest. Joe watched intently as they stared each other down and when Davis looked away he quickly covered by addressing Sora
"It was nice meeting you." He began to leave and Davis followed silently.
As they exited Rika gave them a simpering smile and, mockingly, waved at Davis. Once the door was closed, however, she leant one hand up against it and let out an audible sigh.
It didn't take her long to remember Sora's presence and she turned toward her, her eyes as icy and emotionless as Sora remembered, and asked:
"And what do you want?"
Before Sora could answer Rika turned her gaze to the suitcase which was thrown haphazardly on the lounge room rug next to the coffee table.
"Did Tai finally kick you out?"
"No, I left." Sora replied simply, trying to keep the guilt out of her voice. Rika shrugged and walked past her into the kitchen
"About time, I'm surprised anyone could stay with low-life like him for more than a minuet." This time Sora shrugged, "And what about Matt?"
"I don't know." Sora replied thoughtfully, she didn't need interrogation right now; she didn't need remember why she left, or why she had been there in the first place.
"They're both low-life." Rika looked about ready to continue, but stopped herself. Instead, she poured herself a shot of tequila which she swallowed greedily.
Without speaking, she began to survey Sora which, in turn, made Sora incredibly uncomfortable. At length, she asked
"Do you want to stay here?" Her face was a mask of stone and her eyes held as much emotion as a block of ice, but her voice was sincere. Sora had obviously done something to receive such hospitality from Rika, whatever it had been eluded her.
As graciously as she could, she answered
"Yes."
Rika nodded and poured herself another shot. Once she had swallowed that one she looked Sora squarely in the eye and explained
"Those two men were drug dealers, usually the type Tai and Matt would frequent. They were hounding me about a delayed shipment, saying their customers were unhappy. I would have killed them if you hadn't interrupted, which would mean less business. They are the best this town has to offer and loosing them would be a shame. You can stay here for a month." Without another word she brushed past Sora and disappeared into the hall which led to the rest of the apartment.
Sora was left alone in the kitchen confused and guessing. She knew Rika's social position, and she had heard a lot of rumours about her ruthlessness, but she had never really let it register. They way she had talked so nonchalantly about killing those two men unnerved her. She certainly didn't want to get on Rika's bad side; she would probably be dead in less than an hour.
Rika was, among other things, a trained and very deadly assassin. Sora didn't know much about her background, in fact, she knew nothing. There were only a few things she knew about Rika and one of them was she was amongst the top of the organized crime hierarchy. There was nothing she couldn't get and no where she couldn't go. Basically, she was royalty in their fair city.
And when Sora thought about that phrase her mother had so often used after catching her shoplifting or car stealing, "crime doesn't pay," she could only scoff and wonder how her mother could be so ignorant.
As she retrieved her suitcase and made her way to one of the large guestrooms which looked out over the glittering city she wondered idly what her mother would think if she knew she was staying in the penthouse of the most prestigious building in the whole of Tokyo. Then she wondered what she would think if she knew she was staying with one of the top of the organised crime syndicates of this city. She couldn't help but giggle slightly to herself at the thought. The knowledge that her mother had been wrong for so many years gave her immense satisfaction.
After a week at Rika's apartment Sora suddenly understood why it looked so bland and unfurnished. Rika never spent any time there. She only ever used it for sleeping; she never ate there, never watched TV, never invited people over. She would appear somewhere between the hours of Three and Four AM, sleep, and be gone before Sora woke up in the morning.
The thing which surprised Sora the most was the many luxuries which the house had. An entertainment system which Sora could only have dreamed of, the cupboards were always full of food and in the master bathroom there was a spa. It seemed to Sora that Rika either only had half of those things because she simply wanted them, or in case she decided to spend some time in her apartment. And she didn't worry about the fact that Sora used everything.
Every night when Sora went to work, she would come back and the food would be restocked, the beds made, and the house as clean as if no one had lived there at all. At first it had unnerved her, but she adjusted accordingly.
On one of the rare nights Rika returned before midnight, and Sora had been there, alone and drinking, she had sat down and tried in her most friendly voice to ask Sora questions. They were strange to say the least, but Sora had answered the best she could. It was the least she could do
"Where do you work, Sora?"
"At the Cobra, it's a bar in downtown Tokyo."
"Do you dance?"
"Sometimes,"
"What do you do most of the time?"
"Serve drinks."
"How much do you earn?"
"Three hundred a night, maybe five hundred with tips,"
"Are you working on Saturday?"
"Probably,"
"Not anymore," Rika handed her a packed of matches, but Sora couldn't break eye contact with Rika to study the packet, "Be there at Nine, I have a job for you."
She stood up and left Sora baffled and slightly shaken. She didn't know what kind of work Rika expected from her, but she wasn't going to sleep with any 'business associates'. After coming to that resolute conclusion Sora glanced down the matches. The name of a popular night club was printed on the front and the address and phone number on the back. Sora shrugged and continued drinking in silence.
When Saturday came Sora had already exhausted half of her stay at Rika's and still had no desire to search for her own apartment. After staying there nothing would ever be good enough. Still, she cursed herself for her attachment to it, places like that were way out of her league and she should have known by then that something as good as it was fleeting. All good places, people and things she had ever known were fleeting; the only constant in her life was despair. But she had seen worst cases and knew to count her blessings, because there were some who got none.
So, after careful consideration, the decision was made to comply with Rika's wishes. Though, now that she thought of it, defying Rika wasn't really a choice; but she complied silently and gracefully.
Rika had left her an expensive and revealing outfit, which she donned without much fuss. She had never, in her life, worn something so classy; consequently, her confidence was boosted tenfold.
The club was as classy and difficult to get into as a five star restaurant. But Rika, being the feared and influential person she was, had no trouble getting them in. If Tai had done anything right in his life, it had been his drug addiction. If it weren't for that otherwise abhorring habit, Sora would have a snowballs chance in Hades of getting into this particular club.
Once inside, Rika grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the throng of moving, sweating bodies to the ladies toilet; which, Sora noticed, was just as classy as the club. Rika didn't pay the appearance of the bathroom and heed; she locked Sora in that unbreakable stare of hers and began to speak
"There is a man I want you to meet; a man who, if he doesn't get what he wants, will kill just about everyone I know, including you." She pulled a hair clip and a packet of contacts out of her purse and handed them to Sora, "You will pretend to be me for the night,"
Sora stared blankly down at the items in her hand; then asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to have sex with him," Rika made to leave, but Sora stopped her
"I'm not a prostitute,"
"Neither am I, if you accomplish this task you may stay at the apartment as long as you please." Again she made to leave
Sora wanted to scream, wanted to throw objects at Rika's head until the girl was dead or unconscious on the bathroom floor. She didn't need to be reminded of what it was like to be paid for sex, especially with people as obviously dangerous as this man. But the offer was too good to pass up, so she called for the red headed woman to stop and asked:
"How will I recognise him?" If Sora wasn't mistaken she saw a smile flash briefly across Rika's countenance, but as soon as it had come it was replaced with the cold, blank features she so frequently wore.
After quickly rummaging through her purse Rika pulled out a photo and threw it on the floor at Sora's feet.
"Do not fail," She said before turning to leave.
For a moment Sora only stared at the place Rika had once stood, unbelieving at what the woman was asking her to accomplish. She hadn't had paid sex for years, and frankly she didn't know if she was capable of satisfying someone whom she knew would kill her in a heartbeat; especially if he discovered she wasn't Rika. But she was stuck between a rock and a hard place because if she didn't fulfil her duty to Rika she would most probably be killed; so either way she would probably never see it through the night.
The odds of coming out alive after defying Rika weren't quite as good as if she obeyed. Plus, there was a consolation prize.
She picked the photo up off the floor and studied the picture. A red headed man with the darkest obsidian eyes she had ever seen and a smirk that could be read as either cynicism or laughter stared back up at her. He didn't looks too outstanding, in fact if she hadn't related this picture to Rika she would have simply thrown it away.
Shrugging, she turned the photo over and read the name "Izzy," scrawled on the back in messy handwriting. She tucked the photo into her purse with a sigh and proceeded to dress herself as Rika.
The club was huge, dark and packed full of people. Walking was hard, finding someone was harder. Unfortunately for Sora, Izzy didn't seem to have too much trouble finding her, or Rika as he liked to believe. She was quite surprised he actually believed her disguise but she wasn't complaining, hopefully he would believe it enough to spare her life.
"How about we go find somewhere quieter?" He said over the thump of the music. She nodded hesitantly in reply and he took her by the arm and led her out the back door.
She was afraid to talk in case he figured out she wasn't actually Rika, but when he asked her questions she couldn't not reply. She was glad Rika's apartment was so nice or she would have smacked him out and ran as far she could.
"So, Rika, I haven't seen you for quite some time, what have you been doing?"
"Nothing much,"
"Ah, you're always so modest." He chuckled to himself and Sora forced a wan smile, this had to be the most awkward situation she had ever been in, bar none.
It was quite obvious from the way his tie sat on his shoulder and the dirty ally he led her down, arm in arm, that Izzy wasn't a romantic man. And she still wasn't quite sure weather Rika had been joking about her having sex with him or not because she wasn't about to do it in a dumpster and the ally didn't seem to be leading anywhere but to more alley's. But he led her nonetheless as if he were taking her through a park or on the beach, asking idly questions about her hair and clothes.
Along the ally were several doors which, inevitably, led to the buildings on which they bore themselves. A lot of the doors were shadowed by stairs or over hangings. If someone had stood in there they would have become invisible against the black. That thought alone unnerved Sora, when a groan emitted from the shadows of one particular doorway she hardly suppressed a scream.
A man emerged and, in the dim light, she knew instantly he wasn't about to kill them. Far from it. His shirt was half hanging off his shoulders, his hair was plastered to one side of his head and when the wan light that filtered through the ally caught his eye a glint that could easily be mistaken for insanity flared there. She knew it was drugs, she had seen it before.
Izzy was just as shocked by the man's appearance as she was, scared even. Seising the opportunity, Sora wrestled her arm free and approached the man. This received a small groan of frustration from Izzy and the man to practically scream in fear. There was no doubt, he was on drugs. Kneeling down in the dirty ally she extended a hand to the man, smiling slightly. There was absolutely no reason for her to be doing this, but it beat having sex with Izzy.
Slowly, the man began to advance once again. When he moved into a puddle of light emanating from about one of the nearby doors, Sora gasped along with him.
"Sora?" He stood up but not before she had already begun backing away, "Sora, what are you doing here?"
She could feel Izzy's questioning gaze on the back of her head, and the dishevelled man's intense stare. This night couldn't get any worse.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, my name is Rika."
"Don't play stupid with me Sora; those contacts and hairspray aren't going to fool me."
"What is he talking about?" Izzy asked, stepping up beside her boldly
"And who's this, another one of your phases? You were always a bit of a slut weren't you?" He looked ready to continue, but as Izzy advanced on him, fists raised, he stopped. Sora knew that look, the look he got when there was tension in the air. They were going to fight, and something told her Izzy would come out on the bad end.
Well, she was wrong, the night could get worse, but this would surely have to be the pinnacle.
It didn't take long for the two men to become completely engaged in a fist fight. Or more to the point, Izzy to be pinned to the ground, being completely pummelled by the other. Sora would have done something to stop them, if she hadn't seen this as the perfect chance to escape. So she turned on her heel and began walked back to the club.
She had only walked a few steps when his voice rang out through the alley
"Walking away again Sora? That is so like you." She sighed, stopped, and turned.
"Kazu, look, I really don't have time for this. I have approximately twelve hours to live and I want to make the most out of it."
"And so dramatic, having your boyfriend beaten up isn't the end of the world."
She shook her head and began to leave. She didn't need to explain everything to him, he meant nothing to her. Not anymore.
"You can't just leave me anymore," He said, grabbing her shoulder and turning her back around to face him, "I won't let you just walk out of my life again. I at least want an explanation."
"Fine, you want an explanation, you got one. I'm dressing up as a famous crime leader so I can have sex with that man you just beat up so he won't kill everyone. Now that he's nearly dead in an alley, the likelihood of me having sex with him is slim. Once Rika finds out, I'm dead. Simple, she will see to it personally that my death is as painful as it can possibly be. So, if you will, I would like to go get blind drunk so I can forget everything."
Kazu was stunned into silence, giving her an easier exit. Or so she thought. Another two steps away and his hand was on her shoulder once again. She wanted to slap him, get him away from her; he meant nothing to her anymore. She had run away from him, she didn't need him to follow. But somehow, she knew he would come back. Somehow, what they had was too good to forget. Somehow, she wanted him to follow her, wanted him to stop her.
And somehow, he did.
"Sora," His voice was a silk as she remembered. He had a voice that cared, not a voice burdened with a life that had given him nothing but sorrow. It had been a while since she had heard a voice so pure. But pureness was a myth in her world, an act. How could she be sure?
"Sora let me help you." She shuddered with apprehension. He was wooing her again.
"I don't need your help." She replied gruffly. And she was running away from him again.
He would follow, he always did. Their relationship had always been a dance. She would advance, and then back away, and he would follow her every step. It had been that way ever since she met him, and knew it would last a lot longer.
"But I want to help you, doesn't that mean anything."
"Yes, it means a lot, but I don't need you to get involved in all of this."
"But I want to get involved." She sighed at his persistence. It wouldn't be that bad having someone to drink with. She had learnt a long time ago that drinking alone wasn't the best of ideas. So she relented, and he followed her yet again.
There was a bouncer at the back door, unlike there had been before. One look at Sora and he stepped aside and nodded them in. Kazu looked like he had been accepted into heaven; Sora didn't notice how suave the club was anymore. She simply wanted to drink until there were no thoughts left in her head. She accepted her fate; it had to come one day.
She ploughed her way thought the moving throng of people and made a beeline for the bar. She sat down on one of the stools, between a tall blue haired man and a ditzy looking girl with bright pink hair. Kazu stopped behind her, but she ignored him and ordered the strongest drink she could. The bartender gave it to her with a wink.
She had almost forgotten she was playing the part of a ruthless member of a renowned crime syndicate. Almost.
Kazu became impatient with standing and tapped the girl who sat next to her on the shoulder. Over the music he began to talk to her
"My friend thinks you're really hot, he wants to talk to you but is too embarrassed." He pointed vaguely into the crowd and the girl's eyes followed
"Which one?" She asked, her voice excited, bordering on hysteria
"That one," Again Kazu pointed into the crowd.
"You mean the one with the glasses?"
"Yeah, that one. Go say hello." The girl smiled at him and removed herself from the bar seat.
Kazu was about to sit down when she turned back and asked
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, go ahead." He winked and she giggled. When she finally disappeared into the crowd he sat down with a sigh.
Sora could suppress a smile. He had always been that way, lying to get what he wanted. That had been one of the main reasons she had left him in the first place. She didn't regret it as much as she thought she did, she didn't have time to regret things now. She needed to get drunk.
Time and idle conversation passed at an agonisingly slow rate. Waiting for death was more painful that she had expected. But it didn't bother her as much as she had expected either. There was that part, the small part that had begged her to commit suicide so many times, that relished every moment she endured. After seven drinks she was thoroughly confused as to weather she wanted to die or not.
The man beside her, with the pale skin and long blue hair, began to talk.
"So you've completed the task?" His voice was as emotionless as a tree and he didn't look at her when he spoke.
"No," She replied at length.
"I see,"
"He was beaten in the alley." The man stood up at her comment and left.
Kazu was too busy chatting up the girl who sat next to him to notice her brief conversation. And the return of the pink hair girl, arm in arm with a short man with glasses, distracted them both enough to forget the man's exit.
"Kenta, this man said he was your friend." The girl said pointing to Kazu, Kazu blinked owlishly in response.
"I've never seen him before," Kenta answered vexedly. Sora watched the scene unfold with a half drunk amusement
"What do you mean? He said you two were friends."
"I didn't mean him." Kazu stood up and pretended to study the crowd, "Oh no he must have left. Seeing you with another guy. Wow, am I going to be in trouble when I get back."
Sora missed the rest of the conversation when Rika sat down in the seat the blue haired man vacated.
"You failed?" She asked. The bartender looked at her as if she had grown another head.
"Yes," Sora replied, sighing
"Tell me,"
"He took me down an alley and he was beaten up."
"Is that it?"
"Yes,"
"You left him there?"
"Yes,"
"I see." She made to leave, but Sora stopped her
"Are you going to kill me?"
"No," She left
Sora finished her drink and, too, made to leave. Kazu stopped her
"Sora darling, these people are curious as to where you live."
"It's none of their business," She wrestled herself out of Kazu's grip and began pushing furiously through the crowd of dancing people. She needed to find Rika, needed to ask her the importance of her having sex with this man. Needed to know if she was still welcome in her apartment.
Unfortunately, once outside Rika was nowhere to be seen. There was no telling where she had gone, she was as predictable as a madman. Sora shook her head dejectedly and began to hail a cab. Kazu appeared at her side and she failed to care.
Only one thought occupied her mind at that moment, and for a change it wasn't selfish. She was worried for Rika, for the jackal herself. Something important was supposed to happen that night, and she had destroyed everything. She wasn't sure how she knew, but it was clear from the tone of their voices. Rika and the blue haired man. She needed to settle something once and for all. She needed to get the hell out of Rika's life.
And that was exactly what she intended to do.
**
AN: Confusing? I hope so. This is just a little tribute to my two favourite straight couples. Don't worry; there will be more chapters if you hadn't figured that out already. But I'm not quite sure when they will be up. My writing patterns are sporadic and phases change like underwear. Anyway I don't own digimon and the quote at the start is from a play called Purple Dreams.