Chapter Five
They arrived in the penthouse and, still grasping her, Kyoya led Chikako over the threshold. She started shaking when the doors closed behind them. She hadn't realized how scared she was and had been for the past week until she was safe and the experience flooded over her. She looked around, dizzily. The platform they were on lowered down a step into an alcove living room, massive windows lining the back wall, looking out on the best view of gray, stormy London she had ever seen. To her right was a small kitchen with a granite counter island three feet away from the wall that held the fridge, stove, oven, and sink. As Kyoya walked past it, Chikako let go of him and grasped the counter instead, heaving rough, heavy breaths of adrenaline.
He paused and backed up to stand next to her, making sure she wouldn't collapse. His mouth twitched with a desire to talk, but something held him back. Probably his sickly green and shaky wife. When the wave of nausea passed, Chikako straightened her position a bit and turned to face Kyoya. Struggling to steady her heart rate, she stared down at his dark blue button-up shirt, carefully counting the buttons to keep her mind off of being chained up in her ex-boyfriend's apartment, having to roam around in the cold, and running through the London streets, terrified for her life, being chased by thugs and the extent of her own fear.
She lightly touched the fabric, the pressure of her fingers on his shirt bringing him to life and out of the trance he had been in. He swallowed the silence and looked down at the top of her head. "Chikako?"
Her body twitched at the sound of his voice and he heard a sharp intake of her shaky breath erupt from her mouth. She coughed and tightened her grip on his shirt. She bit her lip to stay quiet, but when Kyoya said again, gently, "Chikako," she collapsed into his chest, sobbing. The sounds were muffled by Kyoya's clothes, but he could feel the heavy thump of her heart against his own. He put an arm around her, coaxing her closer. She unconsciously fit her head underneath his chin, still shaking violently, struggling to breathe or think straight.
"I-I-I-I was s-so scared," she finally gasped. "And I had to take these new d-drugs, and I feel so s-sick, and tired, a-and I had to escape alone, and you-you almost sent me…away… a-and this is getting r-ridiculous, Kyoya! I hate this, I-I mean really hate this! And now I'm c-crying and I-I-I never cry, especially to you, but I don't know who else to go to when the club's back home, and Haruhi has Tamaki, and he—" she was choking on her words. The first person she could remember crying to before was Jake, then herself, and then Haruhi—none of whom she could fully trust anymore. Her friendship with Haruhi, in retrospect, was quick yet anything but meaningless. She missed her best friend, who now relied on Tamaki. Kyoya was all she had and she didn't how to feel about that.
She clutched at him regardless, knowing she only had a few more minutes before she would have to let go out of stupid pride, and she sniveled like a little girl. She felt his firm grip on her back, as if he expected her to faint at any moment. She felt like falling asleep, but urged herself to stay awake. As she blubbered and started to drift off in Kyoya's grip, she heard her babbling words transition into insensible apologies. She hadn't meant to say, "I'm sorry," but thinking it over, perhaps she was regretting everything she had done since she was engaged to Kyoya
She didn't dare admit this out loud, though. She just shut herself up and sniffled away, trying her best to calm down.
Finally, Kyoya pulled away to look at her, squarely. "Are you hungry?" he asked when she had quieted herself.
Chikako nodded. "But I'm more so tried, so I'd rather just…" she took a deep shaky breath. "Go to sleep."
He nodded. "The bedroom's through that door," he directed, gently. "I'll…have house cleaning come when you wake, I guess."
Chikako managed a glare in her fatigued state. "Are you saying I'm filthy?"
Kyoya pressed his lips together, choosing his words carefully. "I'm saying you might want to shower and change to avoid getting ill. A clean atmosphere would certainly help."
She sighed. "Okay, fine, you win. I'm tired, Kyoya."
He smiled, cordially and led her to the room. "Then get some rest."
Something suddenly occurred to Chikako as they crossed over the threshold. She turned abruptly and Kyoya almost ran into her. "Where are you going to be?" she asked, anxiously.
"In the front room. I have some work to do for the company, which you're more than welcome to help me with when you recover," he offered.
She looked back into the bedroom. "Okay, good, just…don't leave me alone again and don't let anyone onto this floor. And leave the door open," she added, snapping orders at him as easily as she once had when they were in Japan. "Oh and don't-!"
Kyoya sighed roughly. "I'm not going to leave, okay? Now, go sleep."
Indignantly, Chikako tilted her chin but fatigue glazed over her pride and she agreed, stumbling back into the room. Kyoya shut the door behind her, and she was asleep before she hit the mattress. Kyoya leaned against the frame and let out massive sigh of relief. Chikako was back.
"Yes," Kyoya snipped, phone between his ear and shoulder. "So, no one got a solid picture of her? Good, because we need to keep her return a secret until she fully recovers. She's a little drained, emotionally and physically at the moment." There was a pause as Kyoya typed at his laptop, fervently. He was still sitting on the edge of the couch cushion, his work materials all laid out on the coffee table. He chuckled, ironically at the person on the other end. "I doubt she'll want to return home or even leave the hotel very soon. Like I said, she's pretty shaken up." There was another pause. "Yes, send a doctor, but don't make it known. I don't want any of this to get to the public. If she escaped, the kidnappers might be out in the open looking for her and we'll have a better chance of catching them that way. Especially if Chikako can remember where she ran away from."
Outside, the sun was setting, but in the cloudy city of London, Kyoya could never tell if it was simply an unseen sunset or the prelude to a storm. He wrapped up his phone conversation with a quaint farewell and sat back in the silence of the hotel room. A rumble sounded from the sky and Kyoya let out a slow sigh. A storm would be good for his mind.
He heard a shuffle in the bedroom and figured Chikako was awake. He rose to his feet, tossing the phone onto the couch, and started toward the room's door. Putting his ear to the wood, he rapped his knuckles on the surface a few times. "Chikako? Are you awake?"
There was a pause, followed by a bedraggled, "Yes."
He shifted his weight from one foot to the next. "May I come in?"
There was a groaning sigh. "If you must."
Kyoya turned the knob and found Chikako perched on the edge of her mattress, the same filthy clothes she had had on before, leaning over and rubbing her temples, rhythmically. He slowly walked over to her and touched the nape of her neck. She jerked up a bit and looked at him. "I'm hungry," she announced, glancing back down at the floor. "Call room service."
"The menu's in the kitchen," he replied, smoothly.
She groaned, clutching her stomach. "Bring it me," she grumbled.
He shook his head and reached for her grasp to help her up. "You need to get your blood pumping. You've been asleep for hours.
She yanked back her hand, frowning at him. "I'm very weak, Kyoya, and you are perfectly capable of bringing a simple menu to me," she griped, rubbing her eyes, sleepily.
He decided it wasn't worth the fight and walked back out to retrieve the menu. He glanced out at the storm for a moment and was thankful that Chikako hadn't gotten stuck in it. He walked back into the room and handed her the hotel restaurant pamphlet, sitting next to her. She blinked, trying to focus her vision and held the paper close up to her eyes, but the words blurred together. She squinted, frustrated with herself that she couldn't read the simplest of English words.
Kyoya pursed his lips, warily, leaned over her shoulder, and pointed to the top word. "Entrees," he read, slowly without asking if she needed help. "Penne vegetarian pasta, tomato bisque soup, slow roasted sliced tenderloin turkey with red wine vinaigrette, chef salad, white wine rigatoni, calamari, and chocolate raspberry cheese cake in the dessert section."
Her stomach growled in agreement to everything. It all sounded so delicious, especially to a girl who hadn't eaten real food in a week or so. "Call up for a pasta dish, dessert plate, and bottle of hard brandy."
"Brandy wasn't on there," Kyoya pointed out.
Chikako sighed, handing him the menu and rising to her feet. "Every hotel has brandy somewhere, especially in London."
"You aren't old enough to drink," Kyoya remarked, rising with her.
She headed toward the bathroom and paused. "But you are," she noted. "And they aren't supposed to know I'm here, and if they do, they aren't supposed to card me. Either way, I need a drink, badly."
He nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Chikako took her hand off the bathroom door and wandered over to the dresser. She stooped down and rummaged through the drawers, looking for something of Kyoya's to wear, perhaps something that was too small on him. She found a pair of draw-string sweat pants and a loose vintage t-shirt. Shrugging, she decided that it was the best she could do, bundled up the clothes with clean towels, and scurried into the bathroom, clicking the lock behind her.
The men hovered above Jake, expressions cold yet heated. Blood trickled down his jaw, his cheeks red and purpling with bruises. Randal lay insentient across the apartment and Jake was barely holding onto his own consciousness. He took a deep, crooked breath and glared up at the men. "So, all that money is, uh, heh, kinda outta the question now, huh?" he murmured.
"Shut up, you filth," one of the men barked. "You had a job, Lawrence. You had one job. You disappointed Force and now, you pay the price. It's only fair."
Jake scoffed, weakly. "Fair," he spat, like the word was wine turned to vinegar. "Right."
"Why did you let her go?" another man growled.
"Why did you want her so badly?" Jake snapped back.
The feel of a sharp metal object smacked over his head and stars twinkled around his vision. Jake moaned in pain and felt a foot kicked him roughly in the side, cascading him to the floor. The man repeated, "Why did you let her go?"
"I didn't, I told you," Jake rasped. "She escaped on her own. She's smarter than you think."
The prior man cackled. "She's just an angst little girl; how smart could such a rich priss be?"
"She's more than just a-!"
"How would you know? How would you know anything, you little shit?" An additional kick bombarded into Jake's ribcage and a soft crack echoed throughout the room. Jake cried out in pain as the voice continued, "She's just as much of a mystery for you as she is for all of us! You haven't known the bitch for a year. She's changed, she's unpredictable, now, and Force can no longer use you."
Jake choked on his own words, croaking out, "What does…that mean?" He looked up at the men, the room starting to spin.
Their footsteps receded as one of the men answered, "You no longer own this apartment. You are trespassing and someone's tipped off the police. They should be here shortly. We'll let them handle you from here on out. Have fun with Randall's precarious record, Jacob." There was a following chuckle and then the door slammed shut, leaving Jake there in the dim, musky apartment, hoping against hope that Chikako had made it home.
Home to her perfect little rich husband…
Chikako slowly ran the water onto her hair, down her skin, and over her eyelashes. She groped the inner shelf of the shower for soap and shampoo. It was an expensive cleansing brand especially for men, but she couldn't be too picky. She lathered up and was surprised to have her senses attacked with a new scent of lavender. She blinked a few times, but washed up regardless.
Dirt turned the water brown and Chikako wrinkled her nose in disgust. She couldn't remember when she had last when so grubby. It reminded her of a road trip Jake had taken her on what felt like eons ago, in another life, even. She scrubbed harder until her skin turned bright red. Her hair finally felt soft instead of the rough twine it had felt like before. She smiled and closed her eyes, lingering in the warmth of the shower awhile longer.
When she felt herself pruning a bit, she clicked off the water flow and felt around outside the curtain for her towel. She wrapped it around her body and stood in front of the mirror, staring at her own foggy reflection. Slowly, hesitantly she wiped her hand across the glass, revealing a slightly thinner, wide eyed, and faintly red, blotchy skinned girl in a dark tan towel. She breathed calculatingly slow, counting every tremor in her lungs. Could she really be a leader and heir to the Ootori-Akiyoshi Organization?
"Chikako?" Kyoya voice made her jump. "Dinner's here."
"I'll be out in a moment," she answered, walking over to the bundle of clothing on the countertop. She slipped on her underwear from before, vowing to wash it as soon as she got the chance, and threw on Kyoya's clothes. She looked at her reflection one more time and stared intently at who she had grown up to be. Two years ago, she would have been disgusted with who she had turned into now. Had she truly changed for the better?
She walked out into the front hall where Kyoya was sitting with two meals on the dining table. He raised his eyebrows but smiled at her attire. "I see you found something to wear."
She sat down across from him and pulled the cover off her plate. The pasta's aroma flooded her nostrils and it was all she could do not to forget her civil manners and devour the plate like a wolf. She peered up at Kyoya, who had already started eating, and looked back down at her plate. Slowly, she grabbed her fork and dug in.
"I'm glad you're back," Kyoya admitted after a while across the table. "It hasn't exactly been fun eating alone."
Chikako glanced up at him, mouth still full of pasta. After swallowing, she smirked and put her fork down, her stomach happily digesting the food. "So, you're admitting that I may actually be important to you, Kyoya?"
He blinked up at her, surprised. "I never said you weren't."
She looked back down at her food. "No, no you did not."
He paused, scrutinizing her. "You are very important, Chikako, especially to me. I'm surprised you never knew that."
She smiled, sweetly up at him. "Of course I knew. I just needed to hear you say it."
"And why is that? I can't fathom the possibility that you're insecure," he scoffed.
"Hm," she murmured to herself. "Call it a girl thing then."
He sighed and resumed eating.
Chikako sniffed her skin subtly and, before going back to her meal as well, she snapped, "And stop changing your shampoos. You'll give yourself a scent complex. Stick to one smell, alright? Perhaps the peppermint one would be nice."
He smirked to himself and agreed.
A/N: So, I made it to 50k in NaNoWriMo! I was running a vlog during it, but because of school and work, it kind of fizzled out :P I've finally had the weekend to write something that I haven't had 30 days of nonstop writing to despise, though! Haha, I hope you guys liked the chapter! Let me know what you thought, what you think will or should happen, what you would love to read about happening, etc. I love hearing from you guys! Your reviews ALWAYS make me simile 3
~Kit Koko