*If this story had a soundtrack (and the way I use music for inspiration, it honestly could), things would be getting more serious right about now.
Sayuri was awakened out of a deep sleep by a ringing telephone. The Asian woman rolled over in bed with a grunt, and snatched the cordless phone off the hook before even checking to see what time it was. She expected that it was probably a work-related emergency, because a call coming from the States would have involved her cell phone, and not the land-line.
"This is Kimura," she answered.
"Ah, Detective. It has really been too long."
Sayuri sat up further with a start, immediately suspicious of the tone with which she was greeted. "Who is this?"
"I find it unnecessary to give a name where it is already known, Kimura. I had assumed mine would not cause you to lose any more sleep, but then I come to find that you are looking into my business again."
Her heart immediately began racing, as if the former leader of the Akiudo was standing in front of her, rather than speaking over the telephone. Sayuri didn't know what she should be more concerned about: that fact that Takashi had a method for contacting her, or that he somehow knew she'd been researching his visitors and his contact with the outside.
He cannot be calling me from the inmate's phone, she realized. I have heard stories of cell phones being smuggled into the prisons, but I never expected—
"I promise not to take up very much of your time, Kimura," the man continued. "I only wanted to tell you that you are wasting your time in pursuing me. But I suppose with your misguided stubbornness, you would find that impossible to believe."
"Why don't you say what you mean, Takashi?" she demanded. "Why are you calling me?"
"You will never be free of me, will you, Kimura? You are going to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder and wondering who is after you. I will put your mind at ease, Woman. Should I desire to finish what was started between us, you will not see me coming, I swear it."
Sayuri swallowed deeply, warring between anger and fear. She knew from personal experience about the horrors of being hunted by the Akiudo. She'd come too close to them in her past investigation, and had paid a heavy price for it. If the attempts on her life by the gang hadn't been enough, they had also set her up for crimes that she didn't commit.
Sayuri had ended up on the lam, running from the Akiudo who were trying to kill her, and the authorities who wanted to arrest her. They knew I had information about them, and Takashi wanted to make certain that I could not go running to the Police. In the same way, I still can't go to the Police over Takashi, because it would force me to acknowledge the past link I had with the gang. Sayuri had long avoided that kind of attention, because of the manner of the assault that had been carried out on the Akiudo's headquarters on Yonaguni.
"It would be to your benefit and that of your fosterlings that you mind your distance. I don't think you want to tangle with us again, Kimura, not now that you're finally happy."
A surge of protective rage nearly overwhelmed her. "You will not come near me or those children, Takashi! Do you hear me? This is not a game! I will take your threats seriously enough to call upon the help I need."
"And by help, I assume you are not referring to your colleagues from the Prefectural Police," he returned smugly.
"You seem to be forgetting who won, Takashi," she said shortly. "You can appeal to the Courts until they finally cut you off, but you are not getting out of prison."
"I have confidence in our justice process."
"You are a fool," she proclaimed. "It is over. Do you honestly expect to resurrect your slave trade after all that's happened?"
His light chuckle echoed disturbingly in her ears. "Is that all that worries you? I have no more need for slaves, Kimura. You have nothing to fear."
Sayuri's brow furrowed as she wondered how near to the truth he was speaking. "What is your purpose in calling me?" she asked once more.
"You never truly escaped my notice, Kimura. You need to remember that, for the sake of Hisui and Shunshi if nothing else."
"If you send your people after these children, I will make sure that you don't live long enough to regret it!"
"What are you saying, Kimura? I am in prison. What possible threat could I pose to anyone on the outside?" he asked condescendingly.
"I know better than that, Takashi! I know that something is going on here, or you wouldn't have bothered to threaten me in the middle of the night." Sayuri's grip on the phone tightened.
"Threaten you? All I said was that if I wished to terminate our relationship, I would not give you any say in the matter. Keep that in mind while you are caught up in your 'research'. Good night, Detective."
Takashi hung up the phone, and the Asian woman released a shaky breath. She didn't bother calling after the dead silence that resonated from his end. Sayuri sat motionless on the edge of the bed, wishing she'd dreamed the entire conversation.
But I'm not that crazy. That was real.
Minutes passed before she realized that she was still holding the cordless phone. Something snapped in Sayuri in that moment, and she slammed the phone down on the bedside table with a bang before lunging to her feet.
Sayuri threw open her closet door, casting clothes aside so that she could reach the wall safe hidden in the back. Her hand was shaking so hard that she had to enter in the combination a couple of times before she could get the safe unlocked. Rapidly she withdrew the SIG P230 pistol, and opened the chamber to verify that it was loaded.
As she ducked out of the closet, Sayuri was assaulted with a terrifying sense of déjà vu. The same desperation clawed at her chest that she'd experienced the last time the Akiudo had sent her on the run. But it isn't only me this time; I have to be concerned for Hisui and Shunshi as well.
Sayuri paced the length of the small room, grasping the handgun tightly. This isn't like before – it can't be. Takashi is behind bars, after all, and he can only do so much damage over the phone. But if Yukiko is running things for him from behind the scenes, the woman would have plenty of drive and incentive to make our lives miserable.
If Takashi is not interested in recovering his business, though, what could his angle be? Why does he want to return to the United States? I fear that it would be for nothing but to target the turtles and bring them down in flames. They ruined his organization, so it stands to reason that he would want revenge.
At the same time, Takashi did not truly harm Leonardo-san, even when he thought that he'd killed Shirou. I feel as if there must be another motive behind his actions besides revenge, something that is driving him to cling to this hopeless appeal process. But whether or not he can be released, a real threat still exists, and I have disturbed the hornet's nest.
Paranoia was quick to try and overwhelm her mind, and Sayuri shuddered in spite of herself. The gang had nearly succeeded in driving her mad in their quest to destroy her, so much so that she hadn't trusted Greg's motivation when he turned up in Okinawa to assist her.
The man had tracked her down while Sayuri was in hiding, when the woman had thought that she was beyond the grasp of anyone looking for her. She winced as she recalled her stubborn actions that had resulted in the capture of Leonardo and Donatello by the Akiudo that fateful night at HijutoChem.
Sayuri swallowed and her throat felt bone dry, as if she hadn't had a drink in days. Should we leave? Should I pack up the kids tonight and get out while we have the chance? They could be watching us even now. They know us intimately enough to be aware of Hisui and Shunshi's names. Men may be following them just as surely as they've been tracking me. Have they tampered with my car, set some sort of trap to kill us when we least suspect it? I cannot do this again! I cannot drag the children into it either. It was bad enough when it was just me, but now I have to find a way to protect them too!
The Asian woman moved to check the window and make certain that it was locked. Then she spun on her heel and ran out into the hall. With gun in one hand, Sayuri scanned the rest of the apartment systematically, reassuring herself that all the windows were locked.
It won't do any good! Sayuri was beginning to feel dizzy. Nothing can stop them! No number of locks can keep them out if they decide to destroy us. Takashi is right – we likely will not even see it coming! She stared outside bleakly at the city lights of Naha, where nothing looked out of the ordinary. But evil dwells underneath the surface, and I cannot keep Hisui and Shunshi safe here. I cannot even protect myself.
The woman sensed someone behind her, and jerked around with the gun raised so quickly that it made her head spin more severely. The startled figure of Hisui stumbled backward and tripped over a chair. Sayuri instantly lowered the weapon, exhaling from the spontaneous rush of adrenaline that had flooded her veins.
"Hisui, I'm sorry! I was startled; I didn't expect you to be behind me!"
The 18-year-old slowly picked herself up. "Sayuri-san…what are you doing? Why do you have your gun? Did you hear something?"
"I apologize, Hisui-kun. I was spooked by something, and I overreacted. Are you all right?"
"Yes," the girl said uncertainly. "But it doesn't seem like you are." The young woman's green eyes peered at her steadily. "Sayuri-san, I can see that something is very wrong."
Sayuri shook her head. "I should not have scared you."
"Sayuri-san, why don't you ever talk to me? Why do you treat me like a little girl who has to be left in the dark?"
"I don't treat you like a little girl…do I?" Sayuri faltered.
"Not always, Sayuri-san, but yes, when it comes to some things. I can see the fear in your eyes tonight as if you have seen a ghost. Yet all you want to do is hide from me. Why do you do this?"
She broke eye contact with the teenager, sighing softly. "Nothing is ever that simple, Hisui-kun. The past that should be closed has opened wide once more, and every old emotion has come rushing back."
Hisui walked to the couch, and motioned for her to sit down too. "Does this have anything to do with Donatello-san?"
"Not exactly, though it does concern all of the turtles too." Sayuri hesitated as she tried to determine the right thing to say.
"What happened tonight?" Hisui pressed. "Something has upset you greatly, and I have a feeling it will affect my brother and I."
"How would you know that?"
"Because it affects you, Sayuri-san. Tell me, please."
"Hisui, you know about the Akiudo, and the threat they once posed to many people."
The girl nodded. "And some of them have attacked our friends in the States."
"Yes, but there is more. Greg-chan asked me for help looking into Takashi's activities. Takashi was either told this by someone else, or he found out on his own."
"How do you know this?"
"Because he called me, only a few minutes ago," she answered honestly.
Hisui caught her breath. "Takashi called you here?"
"He threatened me, Hisui. They know where I am, and they know about you and your brother. I don't know if he really intends to send someone after us, but the warning was very clear."
"What about the Police?"
"The Police cannot help us in this instance, Hisui-kun. It's too dangerous to reveal the connection that I have to the Akiudo. Takashi may be able to produce evidence of how close I was to their operation before, and I could end up imprisoned too. What would become of you and Shunshi then?"
"What will become of us if we do nothing?"
Sayuri braced her firearm in her lap. "Hisui, I'm not sure what to do, or where to go."
The teenager was silent for a long moment. "What about the going to the States? Shunshi wants to be there, Sayuri-san."
"What about you and Kouhei?"
Hisui's long-time boyfriend was attending college in a neighboring Province. At the mention of his name, the teenager looked a little lost.
"I don't know. It is difficult to imagine leaving him, but if we are not safe here, what can we do, Sayuri-san?"
Sayuri rested her forehead in one hand, suddenly feeling overcome. "I'm sorry, Hisui-kun. This was not supposed to happen. It should have been finished before. You and your brother should not have been dragged into it, but I cannot change that. Perhaps I should have left Okinawa a long time ago. I don't know why I thought I could live a normal life here after everything we went through."
"And you are separated from Greg-chan," Hisui said softly. "You love him. You don't want to be apart from him forever this way, do you?"
Sayuri was not used to expressing her emotions freely, but she couldn't help it now that tears had come. "The separation has become a constant ache, a continuous pain that I grow weary of bearing. I want to be with him, Hisui, but this country is your home. I don't want to drag you away from everything you have ever known or to take Shunshi out of school."
"He is not happy there," Hisui said. "You know he is not. He talks of nothing but the turtles and New York City. He is still disappointed that he didn't get to see the city in January."
Sayuri smoothed a hand through her black hair. "It is not simple to pick up our lives and move this quickly to another country."
"Are you forgetting that our father is an American citizen?" Hisui reminded her. "Shunshi and I can gain entry into the United States on a more permanent basis."
"That is an advantage," Sayuri allowed.
"At the same time, if he meant to do something to us immediately, why would Takashi warn you?" Hisui asked. "It could be that he is only trying to scare you off from seeing what he is doing."
"That frightens me too," she admitted. "It may seem like paranoia, Hisui, but I know what these people are capable of. I am not going to allow you or Shunshi to become casualties."
"We don't want you to become one either, Sayuri-san."
Sayuri took Hisui's outstretched hand in her own. "We will leave as soon as the United States will grant us entry into the country."
"I think you ought to tell Greg-chan what has happened," Hisui suggested. "It seems he may have a few ideas to help."
Sayuri stared at the young woman who seemed so much older than 18. I ran once, without any idea of how long I could survive. Failure is not an option this time.