Chapter Twenty Two

Fuji

That feeling rose within me again. The overpowering emotion I experienced when I heard how Mizuki had harmed Yuuta. I was tightly tied, there was nothing I could do, but I still felt it.

Fury.

You'd better not hurt her.

My eyes followed the man's every move as he advanced on Tezumi. She pressed herself against me, shaking violently, but kept a steady gaze of defiance on his face.

"Hey there, sweetie." He tilted her chin up to him.

"Whoa!"

She had snapped at his fingers with her teeth.

Don't you dare touch her. These ropes—ugh—these stupid, stupid ropes—I strained against my bonds.

"Now, be nice..." he said, reprimanding her mockingly. Squatting down, he reached for the collar of her shirt.

"Arg!" The man sprang up and backed away, clutching his face. Tezumi wiped the blood off the bottom of her shoe.

Since when has she been able to kick like that?

"Why you little b—" Charging back up to us, the irate guy drew a short, thick stick from his pocket.

"Tezumi, look out—"

But the sudden jerking movement had somehow caused her wound to open up again. Blood flowed freely from her head. She pressed both her hands to it in obvious pain, unable to deal with anything else.

The man raised his weapon. "This'll teach you to attack me—" He brought the stick down upon her.

"Ah!" I gasped softly, feeling the thick rod on the side of my neck. With a burst of energy I had shoved myself to the right, blocking the blow as it descended on Tezumi's face.

Her eyes, originally screwed up, flew open and flashed a dangerous green as she reared back and kicked out again. This time, there was a sickening crack.

The man gave a scream, shot one last venomous look at Tezumi and backed out of the room almost in tears.

"Fuji! Are you ok? Where did he hit you?" She seemed close to crying too as she felt the smarting bruise on my neck.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just keep your hand there, yeah that's it." Her ice cold hands helped numb my senses. "Tezumi, your wound is still bleeding."

Wiping the blood away impatiently, she helped move me back into a sitting position.

"I shouldn't have kicked him like that," she said, worriedly peering at the patch of purple on my skin. "I didn't know this would happen."

"And just let him hurt you?" I had to laugh. "No thanks, I'd rather have the bruise."

As long as it brought us closer, as long as it made her show—even if it was just pretend—that she still cared, they could've broken my leg again and personally I wouldn't have cared. Not as much as the first time it happened, anyway.

"It won't be long before someone notices we're gone," Tezumi was assuring me. "I told my parents I'd be back my ten and it's past eleven now. Plus, they know it's Ishizaki I'm going out with, so...um..." Her voice trailed away, sounding flustered and embarrassed.

"Which was just really bad luck, since we're here because of him," I said bitterly.

"Well, how was I supposed to know a couple of maniac kidnappers were after him?" she sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"That's the problem of having a rich boyfriend. You never know when you might be dragged off and beat up by people who only wanted him in the first place."

Tezumi gave me an alarmed look. It was probably the closest thing to an accusation that I had ever made against her.

"Look, Fuji," she said slowly. "I know you hate to be in this position and I'm sorry. But I really, really didn't know this would happen."

"You're the one who agreed to go out with him, and that's why we're here," I half snapped.

"Fuji!" she cried, shocked. I didn't blame her. I do admit I sounded uncharacteristically irrational. She opened her mouth to say something more, but seemed to think better of it, and remained silent. "What good would it do?" I heard her mutter.

And so silence reigned in our cage of stone as the minutes trickled away. We were both tired, but neither of us could sleep. I had too much to think about.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tezumi staring out the open window.

I wonder what she's thinking.

The night grew colder. As dawn approached, our breath rose like mist in front of out faces. The thin jacket I had on offered no protection against the chilly air, and the dress Tezumi as wearing couldn't have made her much warmer either. Naturally, I snuggled up to her.

Picking herself up, Tezumi moved to the other side of the room, as far away as she could get.

Wha—Tezumi—? I didn't know whether I should stay angry or just be sad.

Ah well, people normally do get a little pissed when you insult them and their boyfriends.

Annoyance melted into depression. 'Depression' being the understatement of the century.

Case confirmed. She really does like him.