Chapter Fourteen – Simple Foreplay
"Are you okay?" Miaka went to Nifei and held her up. She seemed to be too weak to stand.
She glanced up at Miaka's face and smiled. "Thank you, I'm okay," she said quietly.
The former Miko hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything."
"It's not your fault... none of this is your fault," she sighed.
James had stomped out of the room a few moments after the announcement to go to the communications room, hoping to catch the two escaping. Miaka was glad he was gone. Earlier, when she had been so enraged that her aura appeared, she had been able to feel his chi and it was evil. When he touched her, the evil that overflowed from his very skin had so shocked her that it sent her reeling. She hadn't been able to let down her guard since, which was tiring to say the least.
"We need to get out of here," the russet haired girl decided. "And I know just how to do it."
"Is that wise?" Nifei asked, straightening her clothing and trying to comb down her long hair with her fingers. "What if he finds us again? We'll only be hurt. He's powerful..."
"So am I," Miaka said confidently. "You want to get out of here too, don't you? Are you going to help me, Nifei?"
"Yes, of course," she said, her eyes sliding sideways briefly.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Well... I don't want to make him mad. What if... what if he tries to hurt you too?" she bit her lip, shoulder shaking slightly.
Miaka hugged her again assuringly. "I know this is hard for you, believe me... I know. But we have to get out of here. At least there we can hide. Here, we're just open to him. Now come on, here's what I want you to do..."
Nakago smiled as he ran through the hall, butting any pirates they saw with the back of his sword and occasionally checking to make sure Muji was still behind him. It seemed that the reluctant young man had decided to play the role a little more whole heartedly. He had given up his worries and was now running with complete abandon behind the blonde. Nakago figured that he decided he had nothing more to lose. Plus Nakago had decided that he knew who was trying to kill him and that meant that Muji was off the hook, so he was feeling, understandably, quite a bit more lively.
"Where exactly are we running?" Muji panted from behind. How was he so fast!
"Back to my room," the blonde replied.
"What's in your room?" he questioned.
"Miaka will be shortly, I'm sure. Obviously, after realizing where we were, whoever is in charge of this little operation will have decided to go to where he believed we would remain, or at least head in that direction. He thinks that my room is the last place I will go, because that's too obvious, which is why we're going there. Also, getting him to chase us in the wrong direction leaves Miaka free to escape."
"Don't you think they'll have guards?" Muji questioned as they entered the VIP deck. He seriously doubted Miaka's ability to take down the bouncers he was sure were stationed at the door.
"Grunts," Nakago pointed out. "Miaka will handle them. Trust me."
"Will she come here?" the younger man asked.
"Without a doubt," Nakago said as they arrived at the room, opening the door. He had never been more thankful for his uncanny ability to predict people's actions.
Muji made a soft sound of shock as they opened the door and discovered five men, armed with knives and guns, sitting on the couch of the common area. The men were large and as soon as they saw who was at the door, haughty, evil smiles curved across their ugly faces.
Nakago simply smirked.
Yui had it all figured out, except for one small detail. She decided to relay the events and see what the others thought. She took a deep breath and began. "I went to a number of people and asked questions about Tamahome. The first thing I found out was that Tamahome kissed another girl while he was chaperoning that trip to America three years ago. I found that out from his friend Subaru. He directed me to another friend of Taka's who couldn't give me much information except that Tamahome's family was poor because he apparently used to work for a big law firm but he did something to offend them and the president of the company swore he'd never practice law again."
"A law firm?" Keisuke asked. "Did you find out the name of it?"
"Yes," she shook her head. "But be patient, I'm getting to that. So after that I went to find a friend of that guy. He was pretty useless, except that he directed me to a professor of Taka's – a government teacher who is the son of a lawyer. Oddly, one of the numbers fifty-five, was the number of the man's office—"
"So Tamahome really was leaving clues in the journal?" Tetsuya interrupted. "That's so like him... always obsessed with numbers."
"Don't interrupt me, Tetsuya," Yui snapped at her boyfriend. He looked severely chastised and shut his mouth. "Anyway," she continued, glaring around and daring anybody to interrupt her again. "The professor told me that his father had also worked for the same firm and that he had been involved in some secret scandal that he never discussed. He gave me his father's address so I went to see him. He was useful. He told me that many years ago, a woman by the name of Kaede had accused the head of the firm of sexually harassing her. She went to another lawyer in the firm and complained. The lawyer's name was Sou Kishkou, Tamahome's father."
"So somebody was trying to get back at Tamahome's father by killing Tamahome?"
"Not exactly," she replied. "Remember earlier that somebody said something about blackmail? Well, it turned out that the head of the corporation had been blackmailing Kaede, who I hope you by now realize is Tamahome's mother. I found out from the next person I visited, a woman named Emi, who was a co-worker of Kaede's, that Kaede had been in the escort business, if you know what I mean. The head of the firm had first met her through that business and had unknowingly filmed their encounter. He offered her a job so she could go straight, but after a while he began coercing her into performing sexual favors. That's as far as I got, however I'm sure you can deduce what happened. Tamahome's father fell in love with Kaede and she threatened to accuse the head of sexual misconduct, but he leveled the photos at her, and since Kishkou was involved threatening to defend her, he fired both of them and told them they'd never work again if he had anything to do with it. Somehow, those photos must have resurfaced and somebody used them to threaten Tamahome into doing what he or she wanted, though what they wanted is unclear."
"No, it's not," Keisuke blinked. "They wanted him to leave Miaka alone. Whoever this is is obviously in love with her, or obsessed at the very least. But who is it?"
"Whoever it is had to be somehow involved with the company," Tetsuya said. "Otherwise how would they have found out? It was buried before because neither party wanted accusations raised so they all just let it drop. It would take some seriously inside information to discover such a well hidden secret."
"Somebody in the company? A son?" Yui asked.
"Maybe," Keisuke replied.
Meanwhile, Hani, the pretty nurse, had been paying not so much attention to the story and deductions therein, but to the piece of paper on the table, with six numbers remaining unchecked. Those numbers looked familiar – very familiar. She closed her eyes and tried to think of where she had seen them. Suddenly she stood up, releasing a cry of triumph, and grabbed up Tamahome's chart from the table. "I know what these numbers mean," Hani declared. She opened the chart and pointed accusingly at the guest roster. Beside the name Xi Mei was the six remaining numbers. "It's a street address."
"I guess we're heading toward the train station," Yui stood up.
"Wait, one more thing, Yui," Keisuke questioned. "What was the name of the group?"
"Sui Law Firm," she replied, desperately wondering why that name sounded so familiar, but assuring herself that they would probably find out shortly.
Nifei released a piercing cry and the door slammed open. Two guards came storming into the room. Their boss was gone, meaning there was no reason for the girls to be screaming. The men opened the door and saw Nifei sitting on the floor, her skirt pulled indecently high. She blushed. "My leg... it hurts... can you help me up?"
The men stared stupidly at her exposed leg and before they knew what hit them, Miaka had come flying through the air, kicking one in the face and elbowing the other in the crotch as she hit the ground. The men groaned in pain and wobbled into each other. "Come on, Nifei!" Miaka kicked them in their behinds so they fell over and grabbed Nifei by the hand. The young woman jumped up and ran after Miaka.
"That was brilliant, where did you get that idea?" Nifei asked as they ran.
Miaka blushed lightly, thinking back to a rather similar maneuver she had pulled in the prison in Kutou when she had first arrived. She grinned, thinking that Nakago would have probably been impressed with her tactical planning.
"I don't know, I just thought of it off the top of my head," she responded. "But that's not important right now. Let's get out of here."
The two girls ran like crazy. "Where are we going?" Nifei questioned.
"My room. I know that's where Nakago is," she said confidently.
"How do you know?" the younger woman asked.
"I just know," the former Miko replied firmly.
James stormed down the corridors, his handsome face dark and violent as a thunderstorm. This was not going according to plan at all. Nifei was turning out to be quite a challenge to his plans, and Miaka... Miaka was more than a challenge; she was a disaster. He went to the communications room and looked around. There was a note on the console, reading:
"Too slow! Better luck next time.
P.S. Check on your captives, my friend."
The leader of the pirate group roared and ordered his minions to check on Miaka. He reset the communications system while he was in there, allowing the radios to come back online, and waited for report.
"Sir," a nervous voice said, afraid but glad to be on the other side of the ship. "The hostages... they're gone."
James closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm. "Very well. Meet me on the VIP deck, and tell the rest of the men to hurry up and get into that vault."
He thought to himself as he headed briskly toward the VIP deck that this day could not possibly get any worse.
Nakago stared down the men in his room. He had stepped toward them and they immediately jumped up to encircle him. Muji shrunk back against the wall, knowing that this fight was utterly out of his league. The five men that stared down at Nakago were huge; towering over Nakago's substantial self. Muji was amazed that the blonde looked absolutely calm, though he could have sworn he saw something akin to excitement in the man's blue eyes.
Muji bumped into a stand against the wall, sending a flower pot crashing to the floor. It hit, sending glass spraying in all directions, and in the second it took for Muji to realize what had happened, it had begun. The men seemed to descend upon Nakago like scourge, obscuring him between their massive bodies. First flew and Muji heard grunts of pain and cursing, though not a sound from Nakago. He heard somebody crumble to the floor and looked up, expecting to see Nakago.
Nakago was definitely not on the floor. One of the men was laying flat on his back, not a mark on his body, though the former shogun had unsheathed his sword. Another man went to the floor, followed by a third. Two men stood before the blonde.
"Eager to follow your comrades to unconsciousness, are you?" he taunted coolly.
"You're going to die, gaijin," the man taunted ruthlessly.
Nakago only smirked. His sword flashed and the man who insulted him crumpled to the ground. "And then there was one," Nakago said appraisingly.
Muji tried not to blink. It seemed that the last time he had blinked, he had missed whatever happened. It was obvious, however, that Nakago was not exaggerating his skill. He could honestly believe, after seeing him in action, that he had been a great warrior in a previous life. His skill was spectacular.
Nakago sheathed his sword and simply touched the other man, and he fell to the floor. "You shouldn't touch the gaijin," he shook his head slightly. "You don't know what you're getting into messing with foreigners."
"How...?" Muji stammered from his corner, almost frightened. "You barely touched him."
"I seem to have regained my Seishi strength," he looked at his hands thoughtfully. He went over to the mirror and pushed his bangs from his face, expelling his power slightly. Sure enough, the blue symbol of Kokoro flickered to life on his forehead. "How odd."
"How did you drop him like that?" Muji asked, approaching carefully.
Nakago dropped his hand, allowing his hair to cover the glowing mark. He allowed his power to fade. "I overloaded his system with my energy. I pushed my energy into his body at an incredible rate, which overloaded his nervous system and caused him a bit of sensory overload. He'll be fine, though he may find he has a slight problem with static electricity from here on out," he smirked, amused at his own power.
"Help me dispose of these," he said, going to the dog pile of pirates on his floor and lifting two over his shoulder at once. Muji followed suit, but instead dragged one by the arms toward the hallway. Nakago deposited the men into the next room and after they were all inside, welded the lock in place with a burst of chi. They would have fun trying to escape from there, of that much he was certain.
"We have company," Nakago said again, handing Muji his sword. "You go stand guard by the stairs and get Miaka and Nifei when they come. I will handle the rest," he said.
Miaka and Nifei ran at full speed toward the stairs. They had made it without much incidence. It seemed like every soldier had deserted their post. The halls were completely devoid of life. The girls got to the stairs and opened the door, only to meet the cold eyes of James, standing there and waiting for them.
"Now, you didn't think I would let you go so easily, did you?" he grabbed Miaka by the neck and pressed her body against his own. She shrieked and he covered her mouth, so she bit him. He cursed at her but held fast.
"Stop it now, or your friend dies," he said quietly in her ear, nibbling it lightly. The girl shuddered, but stopped screaming, looking at Nifei, who was pinned by the man's free arm against the wall. She was clawing helplessly at his hand across her neck.
"Stop!" Miaka cried. "Leave her alone, I'll obey," she resigned, hanging her head.
"Good girl," he said, releasing Nifei, who slumped against the wall, gasping precious air into her deprived lungs.
"Now, come with me..." he said, pulling them up the stair cases.
"Why are you doing this?" Miaka asked calmly. "Why are you really doing this? What do you have against Nakago?"
"That mutt..." he growled. "He must be exterminated."
"What did he do to you? How do you know him?" she questioned.
Nifei watched the exchange with wide eyes.
"He's done too much already. He's interfered too much already. He can't be allowed to live. The risk is too great," he rambled insanely. Miaka glance to Nifei, who looked just as confused as she felt.
"I don't understand," she said.
"You will understand in time, Suzaku no Miko," he said coldly, eyes dark.
Miaka froze. How had he known that?
Muji watched the action from the stair case. Nakago was taking down the hordes of soldiers that laid in on him with almost pathetic ease. He seemed to not only be taking them on without a problem, he also seemed to be enjoying himself.
The younger man noticed something strange as he watched the man. On his forehead glowed a bright blue mark, and around his body was a faint aura. He moved with the grace of a battle trained soldier, twisting and turning in a ballet of retreats and parries to avoid hits, striking with perfect accuracy whenever he chose to hit. Muji was entranced by this blonde haired, blue eyed warrior who seemed to become more animated than he had ever appeared before now that he was in the heat of battle.
Muji was so enthralled with the battle that he didn't notice the door open.
"Muji!" a shrill voice shrieked, but it was too late. All Muji heard before his world became dark was a soft, cruel laugh.
Nakago noticed her presence right away, but was unable to get to her immediately. He knew he couldn't remove his eyes from his opponents without putting himself in grave danger. Already the men had come at him with clubs and knives, but he suspected that many of them were simply waiting for an opportunity to pull out a gun and shoot him. Despite being fairly strong, even he was susceptible to such powerful weaponry. He continued to fight until he heard her shriek. He glanced over and saw the tall, evil man holding her. His world went white with anger and he lashed out at the nearest man, nearly taking his head off.
"Stop!" the man shouted. "Lay one more finger on my men," he said, holding the sword Muji had been wielding to Miaka's throat. "And she dies."
Nakago dropped his arms immediately and as quickly as he stopped, the others attacked, and all he knew was a myriad of pain and his eyes slipped shut.