Chapter 9

Save me

Kuroko pressed the call button for the tenth time today. Takao hadn't come back since yesterday and he wasn't picking up the phone. What should he do now? Had Takao been caught by the despicable man that had hurt him before? Should he call the police? Kagetora-san said Takao had left work as usual yesterday, but hadn't shown up this morning. Less than 24 hours missing wasn't enough time to raise a report, but Kuroko couldn't help the uneasy feeling that plagued him. The phone rang ten times before the line died.

"Maybe it's time you called Akashi. Takao could be in serious danger right now, and that guy has a lot of networks that could help us find him." Kagami suggested, even though he was obviously not happy with the idea.

The phantom man nodded in agreement. He'd pondered the possibility of calling Midorima, but he realized his friend wouldn't be able to do much right now. He dialed Akashi's personal number and heard it ring three times before it clicked.

"Akashi-kun, I-"

"The number you have dialed is not in service."

He shut the phone and chewed on his lip. He then browsed through his contacts to find the number of Akashi's office. Akashi had given it to him some years ago, "exclusively for a life-or-death situation", and this definitely qualified as one.

The line rang three times and clicked.

"Akashi-sama is out of the country and won't be able to take this call. If you would like to leave a message, press number one."

Kuroko gritted his teeth and shut the phone again, resisting the urge to fling the object away in frustration. Akashi's business trips could last months if needed. He'd have to figure out something else.

When they made it back home, they found an envelope in their mailbox. It had nothing on the outside that gave any hints about the sender, so he opened it cautiously. Inside he found a small piece of paper with a short phrase written in angry, scratchy characters and a photograph. Kuroko felt his insides turn as his worst fears came true and he had to hold on to Kagami's shirt to keep himself on his feet. He felt Kagami-kun stiffen with horror and anger, and holding him by the waist to help him stay steady.

Stay away from my slut.

He'd been on the run for two days now. He knew he should've called Kuroko to let him know he wasn't coming back for a while, but he didn't want to risk turning Toujiro's wrath against his friends. They didn't deserve to have their happiness disrupted by his chaotic life anymore. He'd been staying in cheap manga cafés for the past two nights and he'd gotten himself a bus ticket to Nagoya, the Chukyo University had a good Sports and Health Sciences graduate program and he'd see about getting his papers transferred later. They were right in the inter-semester break, but he hoped he would be able to work something out. Once he had crossed the prefectural border, he'd call Kuroko to tell him they were in danger and that they should stay clear of him. They wouldn't take it lightly, but they wouldn't follow him all the way to Nagoya either. He'd also have to get in touch with Kagetora-san to present a formal resignation, but that too, could wait. For now, his priority was disappearing.

He'd tossed away his cellphone, fearing Toujiro may have planted a localizing chip on it, and he hadn't even gone back home to get some clothes. He didn't have time for that now. He had just received his payment for the month, so he had enough funds to live for a couple of weeks. Once he was a little bit more settled, he'd get in touch with his mother's family, who lived in the area, although how they would help him without getting endangered or how he would explain the situation, he didn't know. It was a very precarious plan, but it was better than sitting around and waiting for Toujiro to find him.

He was now waiting for the bus to arrive. He'd made reservations for the Night Bus so he could sleep the seven hours it would take to get to Nagoya. Sleep was something he needed desperately, and he was quite looking forward to it. He bought a can of shiruko –which he didn't even like- from the vending machine. Before he could snap it open, he felt a large hand on his shoulder and another one covered his mouth. He stiffened in horror.

"Well, look what I found here, a slut in the run. Did you know that making reservations online leaves a trail that is very easy to follow if you know the right people?"

His eyes widened and he wished he could slap himself for being so stupid and careless. He struggled to break free and scream, to call for help, but the man gripped him tightly, his fingers digging into Takao's cheeks.

"You really thought you could run away? Bad boy, Kazu, bad boy. You're so ungrateful, after everything I've done for you. To think that you would repay all my kindness like this... I'm disappointed. Now you better be nice and come with me without fighting..." he drawled, one of his hands clasping over Takao's previously dislocated shoulder and squeezing. "Or this time I'll snap your tendon and you won't be able to play basketball ever again. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

He'd never imagined Toujiro would be capable of going so far to torment a second-rate toy like him. He had been stupid to think he could run and hide and go back to his life. The image of Shin-chan in his white armor rescuing him from this horror flashed across his mind and a load of tears streamed down his face.

Save me, Shin-chan

Midorima woke up with a start. His heart clenched in pain.

For a moment, he could swear he'd heard Takao's voice calling for him.

"Please, please let me go." He pleaded softly, choking on his tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please!"

Toujiro sneered and pushed him down on his stomach, looming over him menacingly. "Let you go? And what would you do then? Do you really think anyone else will take you after I've left my mark all over your filthy body? Would you run back to your precious Shin-chan? He'd be disgusted if he saw your true face. You should feel lucky that someone like me has time to waste on a filthy whore like you." He grabbed him by the hair and spat on his face. "Now, be a good slut and service me. You haven't gotten any cock for a while, all of your holes must be starved. If you behave, I'll even let you enjoy some of my toys."

He stopped struggling altogether. Toujiro would kill him tonight, for sure. He hoped he would. He had no way out, dying was a lot better an option than this life. He cried in pain. Toujiro pulled him by the hair again to face him and Takao's eyes widened in horror as he saw his cellphone in his tormentor's hands.

"It seems you lost this, good thing I had a tracking device installed on it, huh?" he flipped the phone open and showed Takao the screen with "Shin-chan" written on it. He had to gasp for breathe, the terror and pain so much there was hardly any oxygen in his lungs.

"Maybe we should give Shin-chan a call, to let him know how much you're enjoying yourself."

Midorima couldn't shake off the dreadful feeling that had been choking him ever since he woke up from his mid-shift nap. No matter how many times he told himself that it had all been a product of his imagination, he still felt chills going down his back from time to time, and heard Takao's voice calling his name. He'd thought about calling the Hawk Eye, but it was way past midnight and he would have no excuse for such a strange call, so he'd held back.

His phone buzzed at four, and he picked up without checking who was calling, somehow convinced it was Takao.

"Yes?"

"Midorima-kun? It's Kuroko."

Midorima was not expecting that. It'd been a while since he'd last spoken to the phantom man because he'd been actively trying to avoid his former teammates since the engagement was decided (except for Akashi, obviously, since Kanako was his cousin).

"I'm sorry for the time, I heard you were on the night shift."

The agitation in Kuroko's voice was another thing he didn't expect. In all the years that they'd known each other, Midorima could count the times he'd seen Kuroko out of his deadpan (other than during games) with his taped fingers only. Was Kuroko or his stupid lover in some sort of trouble that required medical assistance? He couldn't think of any other reason to receive such a call.

"Did something happen?"

"Takao-kun has gone missing and he's probably in danger."

His breath caught in his throat. That feeling hadn't been his imagination after all.

"I can't give you the details, but he got caught in a big problem and he's been hiding in our place for a couple of weeks. He hasn't come back in two days and we're unable to reach him. I'm afraid he's been… caught by the people he was hiding from. I've called the police to make the report, Aomine-kun is helping there but… I just didn't know what else to do. I thought you could call other hospitals to see if he… turns up. I'm sorry, Midorima-kun."

Midorima didn't wait to hear the rest of what Kuroko had to say. He hung up and dialed Takao's number, which he knew by heart, with shaky fingers. There were four rings before he finally heard the line click.

"Takao? Takao, where are you?"

For a moment there was no reply, just the faint sound of sobbing in the distance. His heart was racing.

"Takao! Talk to me! What's happening?!"

"Oh, if it isn't our dear old friend Shin-chan. I was just about to call you, what a nice coincidence."

The voice that answered was not Takao's. He'd heard that voice before, but where? The sobbing got louder.

"Who are you? Where's Takao?"

The voice sneered. "Don't worry, Shin-chan." The way the name sounded in that man's voice made him sick. "We're just having some healthy fun, aren't we, Kazu?"

A spark ignited in his memory. That voice was Tozai Toujiro, his father's potential business partner and Takao's boyfriend. What was going on? Did Kuroko misunderstand what happened? Had Takao decided to hide with his boyfriend from whatever peril was hunting him? Something felt wrong about this.

"Let me speak with Takao."

Tozai hollered in laughter. "I'm not sure about that, we're kind of in the middle of something here."

A tight knot constricted Midorima's throat.

"But it would be rude to hang up now, wouldn't it? Hey Kazu, why don't you answer Shin-chan's question, huh? Tell him exactly what's going on now."

He heard more sobbing. This was definitely wrong.

"C'mon, tell him!"

"N-n-no." Takao's voice came faint and shaky.

"You sure about that? Fucking slut!"

A hoarse scream followed and Midorima was frozen in his spot, as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"No! P-p-p-please, please no more, PLEASE STOP!"

Another scream. Tozai cackled madly in the background. A muffled whimper, as if Takao was biting his lip to hold his screams back.

"I'll stop if you tell Shin-chan how you're feeling." Something snapped and cracked and Takao couldn't hold it back anymore.

"NOOO! PLEASE, EVERYTHING BUT THAT PLEA-" Takao's plead was cut by another scream. "IT HURTS! IT HURTS STOP IT PLEASE!"

Midorima started to panic. "Takao! Takao where are you?!" he had to save him. That man was hurting Takao. His screams and sobs mixed with sickening sounds were deafening, he couldn't think straight.

"I'm sorry, Shin-chan, as you can see, this whore is not feeling very talkative right now. It seems his mouth is only good for one thing, after all. I'll send you some pictures later."

He went livid with ire. "DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE HURT HIM!" before he knew what he was doing, he was rushing out of the hospital, crashing with other doctors and patients without noticing.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Takao screamed again in the background. "You know, he doesn't admit it, but filthy sluts like him enjoy this quite a lot." Midorima wanted to vomit. "Anyway, I'm growing tired of this whore, if you want him I'll drop him by your place in a while. I'm sure you'll appreciate the nice job I've done on him."

Takao was pleading again. "Please don't! Leave him alone, please!"

Midorima's mind was buzzing with anger, impotence and horror. "TAKAO! TAKAO! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" tears were running down his face

"Rest assured, I've got something much better than my hands on him."

"I'LL KILL YOU. I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU."

A long, broken scream followed and then the line died. Midorima fell to his knees.

To be continued

I am sorry for this. I am even hesitant to post it because it's so horrible. I won't ask you to comment on it, but if you're still willing to follow this story you have my gratitude and a promise that this is as bad as it gets.