Running into Danger

Sawada tried to call his sister back several times but she wouldn't pick up. I could see him getting more and more agitated each time.

"She said she feels suffocated at home and wants to run away," he told us, looking more panicked than I'd ever seen him.

"Where do you think she would go?" I asked, standing up.

"I have no idea," Sawada whispered, running a hand frustratedly through his hair.

Yankumi headed for the door, surprising us. "Let's go to your parent's house first and see if they know anything about where we can find her."

We ran to Sawada's parent's house from the station. The closer we got, the larger and grander the houses became. I was surprised to see a policeman standing guard out front.

"I didn't tell the school, but my father's a senator," Sawada explained as we ran up to the front door.

According to Sawada's mom, Natsumi had skipped school for three days. And she had no idea where Natsumi had been going instead or where she'd be now.

When Sawada's father entered the room, Sawada stormed up to him.

"How come you live with her and haven't noticed anything?!" he demanded.

"You have no right to say that to me!" his father snapped back. "Natsumi never disobeyed me or caused trouble to us. And yet, something like this happened. You must have pressured her into this!" He stood up to face Sawada, waving a finger in his face. "You cause problems, get expelled, embarrassing us. And the moment we finally think we've found a school that will take you in, you cause problems again! What did you say to her, huh?! Answer me!"

"I don't know!" Sawada shouted back, furious. He was so angry that Yankumi had to hold him back.

The entire time, I stared at this exchange between father and son, frozen in place. How could he treat his children like this?

"More importantly, we should focus on finding Natsumi-chan," Yankumi urged.

"We're already doing all we can without having to be told by an outsider like you," Sawada's father retorted. I bristled at his tone.

"Yeah, I bet you're making your lackeys do it," Sawada scoffed.

"What was that?!"

"Have you yourself ever done anything for your kids?!" Sawada roared at his father.

"Don't use that tone with me!"

But Sawada was already on his way out the door. I snapped out of my thoughts and raced after him, and Yankumi followed.

"You see now? I'm already cut off from my own family. I'm fine alone, but Natsumi doesn't need to be like me. I left home and dumped all the pressure on her…that's why this happened. She came to talk to me, and I didn't listen when I should have. If anything happens to her, it's my fault!" he rambled in frustration.

"Don't blame yourself," Yankumi said, but it feel on deaf ears.

"I'm going to protect her." With that, he took off. I ran to catch up to him, leaving Yankumi behind. I didn't even know what to say to make it better but I tried my best to keep up.

We raced endlessly through the business district. Where could she be?

After searching for a while, my phone rang. Noda.

"Matsudaira saw Natsumi by the casino and bar at Higashi Street," he said. I had no idea how he knew but it must be Yankumi. We had been so preoccupied with trying to find Natsumi that we hadn't even thought about contacting our friends for help.

"Got it. Thanks," I said, relaying the info to Sawada, whose face fell.

Higashi Street…it was way out of my territory. Shun told me a while ago that a different gang ran this area, and to never go there because that club especially had some bad rumors going around about it. And it was clear Sawada had heard the rumors too.

We ran up to the building and stopped outside of it.

"Wait," I said. "There'll be severe consequences if we're caught here…

"Then you don't have to come," he said. I shook my head and headed to the entrance ahead of him. I couldn't stop now.

While I chatted with the bouncer to distract him, Sawada slipped in behind him. The bouncer let me in quite soon after that, but I had a hard time locating Sawada because it was so dark inside. Drinks lined the bar, and casino-style tables were set up, and I could see that the rumors were true - people were gambling with real cash even though it was illegal.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a familiar face in the distance. Nishida sat at a table, laughing with his men. I clenched my fists, recognizing some of the people who had been there, beating up Wataru-san.

I heard a scream, shaking me out of my thoughts, and I headed for that direction. I would think about Nishida later but now, Sawada and Natsumi were more important. I turned the corner to see Sawada fighting off some guys who were trying to grab Natsumi's arm. I shoved one of the guys closest to Natsumi and pulled her to the side while Sawada grabbed one of the guys and threw him back.

The club was filled with shouts and screams as the fight led to overturned tables and smashed glass on the ground.

"Oniichan!" Natsumi shouted as she trembled in my arms.

"Come on, Sawada," I urged when he had dealt with most of the guys. But when we tried to leave, others attacked out of nowhere. Sawada pushed me and Natsumi away before he tried to fight back, but they ganged up on him, kicking him in the rubs before punching him in the gut and shoving him to the ground. Sawada lay completely winded, unable to defend himself from the guys kicking at him on the ground. I had let go of Natsumi to try to get to him, but some guys grabbed my arms to hold me back. Just as I was about to stomp on their feet, there was a loud bang as if the front doors had been slammed open all at once.

"Police!" someone shouted, and people began to scatter. The guys holding me and beating Sawada ran away immediately. Natsumi crouched by her brother with a horrified look on her face. I knelt by her and grimaced at the state of Sawada.

"Kana, get Natsu out of here," Sawada groaned.

"But…" Natsumi protested.

"Listen, don't tell anyone that you were here. Leave that to me, okay?" he said to her. "Kana, take her home."

"You…" I said, looking at him. He wasn't going to get out in time. If I tried to help him out, the cops would catch all three of us.

"I know…" he said. "Just go! Make sure she gets home safe."

I grabbed Natsumi's hand and we slipped out the side exit. It was raining and I looked around, wondering which way would be fastest.

"I have money for a taxi," Natsumi whispered to me, shivering. I nodded and we ran through the alleyways to the main street away from the club where I hailed a taxi. We were away far away but we could still hear the sirens from the cop cars.

When the taxi pulled up, I let go of her hand and told her to get in.

"Kana-chan…my brother…"

"I'm going back for him…don't worry," I said, trying to sound convincing. She suddenly hugged me, surprising me.

"Thank you," she said, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Your brother…he really cares about you, you know?" I said. She nodded before sliding into the taxi. I shut the door after her, praying that she would get home safe before turning to run.

By the time I got back, police surrounded the entire place. I scanned every direction, searching for Sawada. Then I saw him, arms held and being led by two policemen out of the club. I tried to get closer to him but a policeman held me back.

"Sawada!" I shouted, getting his attention.

"Is she alright?" he asked when he saw me. I nodded, out of breath. He sighed in relief.

"Young lady, you'll have to step away," I was instructed and pushed further away.

"He didn't do anything wrong!" I shouted, watching helplessly as Sawada was led to a police car. All around me, the sounds of protests from other club-goers filled the air as the rain began to fall even harder.

"SHIN!" we suddenly heard above the noise. I turned and saw Class 3-D and Yankumi behind the caution tape, looking anxiously at Sawada, who just turned away.

Shinohara, the detective Yankumi had a crush on, stood by the police car as Sawada entered it. He looked at Yankumi regretfully before getting in and driving away.

I stood in the rain in disbelief. Even as the rest of the class came to stand by my side, I felt like a failure.

Suddenly I heard one of the policemen yell into his radio, "What? Nishida got away?! How?! You know he owns this club! Find him!"

I began to run, ignoring the surprised shouts of my classmates. Adrenaline filled my body as I ran to do the only thing I could think of: find Nishida.

I called Chiba as I ran, the only person I could think of who would tell me. It was a miracle that he even answered. "Where's Nishida's headquarters?" I asked.

"Why do you need to know?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he sounded annoyed or smug.

"Just tell me!

"...In the basement of that old pawn shop behind the big pachinko parlor in the East District," he answered. "Why? Wait, do you have anything to do with that raid tonight at the club?"

I hung up.

Yankumi had taught us not to retaliate when someone harms us. She taught us that we would sink to our opponents level should we attack back.

But Sawada was in jail. And the people responsible - Nishida of all people - had gotten away. It wasn't right. Not when I knew exactly where they would be.

My mind raced. How could I make sure they got caught?

I called the police as I crouched in the alleyway across from the pawn shop. I saw some cars going and parking out front, and many people running inside. It had to be here.

"What's your emergency?" the operator asked.

"I…I was at the Higashi club tonight and the men took my friend! I think one of them was named Nishida! I followed them to their hideout," I whispered urgently into the phone. I told them exactly where I was, and the operator told me they'd send people to help my friend and that I should head to the nearest police box and stay away from the building.

"What's your name?"

"Minako!" I said, the first name to come to mind being my mother's. "Please hurry!" I pleaded before I hung up, hoping they'd believe me.

But after I hung up, I got uneasy. What if Nishida wasn't there? What if the police came and they couldn't find enough evidence to arrest him? I grew restless, watching the building. If only there was a way to know he was there for sure.

I inched closer to the building, trying to peek through the windows. The first floor was all dark, but there was clearly a staircase leading downstairs. Was he there?

I stopped in my tracks. What was I doing here? What was I hoping to accomplish, all by myself? I loosened my clenched fists, suddenly realizing that I was powerless. If I was caught here, I would end up just like Sawada. I needed to trust the police for once in my life.

As I turned to leave, I felt arms grab me from both sides.

"Let me go!" I shouted, but I couldn't fight off their grip, not with how my arms were being held. I started screaming, but one of them shoved a cloth into my mouth before dragging me inside the building. I tried to grab at anything to slow us down because I knew the moment they took me downstairs, I would be done for.

But my hands grasped at thin air and I felt myself being hauled down some stairs. I tried to kick at my captors but nothing seemed to faze them.

My eyes tried to adjust to the dimly lit room and the noise as I was brought into a large room.

There were men all around, stuffing suitcases with money, casino chips and whatnot.

"Grab what you can!" the man in the middle was shouting. Nishida.

I was shoved to the ground at his feet. I looked up and he looked down at me in disgust.

"What do we have here?"

"We caught her lurking outside," one of the scumbags who had caught me said.

Nishida crouched down suddenly, grabbing me by the jaw hard, his fingers pushing into my skin.

"Nishida," I managed to say, willing myself to not tremble.

"You...I knew I'd seen you somewhere before," he said with a smirk, pushing my wet bangs out of my face. "You're Kanzaki's girl, aren't you? You were at the gym the other day when we paid Wataru-san a visit."

The men around him laughed knowingly, stopping what they were doing to form a circle around us.

I tried to strike him but he saw it coming, grabbing my wrist and hitting me hard across the face. I gasped for air, head ringing from the sudden impact.

"I can't imagine Kanzaki would send his favorite pet to take us on all by herself," Nishida pondered aloud mockingly.

"This has nothing to do with Shun," I said through gritted teeth. "My friend is in jail because of you yet you got away."

"Oh, were you there at club tonight?" Nishida said, eyebrow raised in surprise. "I'm sorry for your friend but it serves him right since he must have been there doing illegal things."

"You're the one running the place!" I shouted, trying to get up but he shoved me back down.

"So you thought you'd come here to teach me a lesson?" he asked with a laugh. He then stopped and looked at me curiously. "But I could use you," he said, grinning. "Make Kanzaki give up all of his territory by holding you hostage. He has been awfully stubborn about giving up his territory to us even when we asked him so nicely. But with you here in our care?"

"He would never do that," I said, glaring at him. But inside, my mind raced as I realized just how fucked of a position I was in.

"You sure? I heard he cares an awful lot about you," Nishida laughed. "Besides, I lost a lot tonight. What a great opportunity to fall into my lap."

'Move!' I screamed at my body, managing to get to my feet.

"Don't touch me," I warned, moving slowly towards the stairs. I saw Nishida nod, and one of the men I remembered being at Wataru-san's gym came up to grab my arm.

I twisted my body, kicking him in the chest, causing him to fall back against another guy, sending them both to the ground.

"You!" another growled at me, swinging his fist at me. I ducked before hooking my ankle around his, causing him to fall onto his face. I ran towards the stairs, but all of the men had stopped and were now coming to get me. I tried to keep low, dodging their punches and managing to get in a few kicks where it would keep them down.

But there were so many of them, and there was only one of me.

5 more minutes, I thought to myself as I was shoved to the floor in front of Nishida, repeatedly hit from all sides. 5 more minutes until the police come. I was biting my lip so hard to keep from crying out that it began to bleed.

The men grabbed my arms and Nishida grabbed my bangs, forcing me to look at him.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Nishida scoffed. "We were going to treat you nicely too, but it seems like you don't want it that way. Fine with us. There's plenty of places we could beat the fight out of a girl like you."

I panicked, struggling against their hold and screaming against the hand held over my mouth as he told the men to tie me up and put me in one of the cars heading out.

And for the first time in my life, I thought about school as what I would regret losing the most. 3-D, my friends, Sawada, Yankumi…

Please. Someone. Help me.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! And yes I'm still updating in 2022 haha...and plan to continue! Thanks for being patient.