A/N: So! I've decided to split this story into two parts. Part one has a few chapters left, and then part two will have around the same amount of chapters as the first one. Meaning—we're only half way through the story!
Anyway, enjoy... well...
o.o.o
Follow Me Home
Chapter Thirteen
o.o.o
Riku and Namine looked over at Sora for some sort of reaction; Sora was frozen. His mind was racing; nothing made sense to him.
"First of all, how could she be a cabaret girl?" Riku questioned, "Was she not affected at all by-"
Namine nudged him, urging him to be quiet. Sora just stared at the screen. They showed Kairi's hostess picture where she was covered in makeup with a fancy hairstyle. They claimed that they were trying to get a regular picture of her, but time was slow.
It went to commercials.
Sora never thought he would ever be in a situation like this. He stood up and went over to the glass door. Sliding it open, he walked outside and looked up at the full moon. Riku followed.
"So... what are you going to do?" Riku asked.
Sora didn't respond for a moment; he was still wondering that himself. Even though he knew that this was something that he would have to act quickly on, he was still held back by past incidents.
"Guys, it's Roxas!" Namine called from inside.
o.o.o
Roxas appeared in front of the club where a crowd was gathered. The news reporters were still going on about the incident at Karaoke Zone and police were inspecting the area for any clues. Roxas wanted to go and help the police, but was stopped by one of the interviewers. They put a camera in his face and began asking him questions.
"Sir, do you know the girl that has been kidnapped?"
'Argh... I don't have time for this...'
"Yes, she's my girlfriend."
The interviewers immediately called over the main reporter. Roxas wanted to run away, but they came over at lightning speed.
"Sir, what's your name?" The reporter asked eagerly.
"...Roxas."
"And you said that Kairi Hikari was your girlfriend?"
"Yes, and I really need to-"
"What can you tell us about her? Anything would help the investigation."
"Umm... well..." Roxas took a picture of Kairi out of his wallet and showed it to them. The camera zoomed in on it; it was a picture from the year before, one of the decent selfies that she sent him. She was smiling.
Roxas wanted to wrap this up, so he said in a frustrated voice, "This guy... Vanitas... he's been stalking Kairi ever since he met her! He's absolutely crazy! He's already hurt her once... I love Kairi more than life itself and I will not stand around, so if you don't mind, I need to go and find her!"
He bolted away from them. He had no idea where to start, but he wasn't going to give up.
'Why does Kairi always do this? Why...?!'
o.o.o
Xion had heard all of the commotion and sirens from the Family Mart. She turned on the TV and watched the news.
'Roxas...'
o.o.o
Sora's eyes averted from the screen. "Well, there you have it."
"Sora..." Namine said worriedly.
"She's his problem now."
"But still..."
Sora got up and went over to the door the led to the basement. He put his hand on the knob. "I'm going to bed now."
"Maybe you should... go and check it out..." Riku blurted out, surprising both of them.
"I don't want to," Sora replied instantly. He opened the door and went downstairs. Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, he stopped. He was having conflicted feelings and it was driving him crazy.
'Kairi is... in trouble...'
'No, I won't be swayed... she didn't care about me...'
'But... she's...'
'No, Sora... you can't let her do this to you...'
'But what if he's... hurting her... like Roxas said...?'
'What if he... kills... her..?'
No matter how much Sora tried to deny it in his mind, he knew he still had lingering feelings for the only girl he had ever loved. She may have done the worst thing possible to him, but he felt like he still had an obligation to her, despite all of the thoughts he had put in his head over the past year. The fact that she was apparently still with Roxas really set him off, though. Even if she did believe that he was dead, he really thought that he meant more to her than that, even after she cheated on him.
Despite everything, he didn't want Kairi to be in pain. He didn't want her... to...
In a split second decision, Sora rushed out the back door and towards the station.
o.o.o
Kairi woke up. The morning sky was above her. The grass tickled her skin and she realized that she did not recognize this place. She shot up. There was a lake in the distance and what seemed like an endless field the other way.
"About time you woke up." Vanitas said behind her.
Kairi freaked out and jumped to her feet. Vanitas smirked and immediately grabbed her. "That wasn't very nice what you did to me the other day..."
"Stop! Let go of me!"
"Did you really think that I was going to let you get away with that?" He pushed her down onto the ground. "Look at your surroundings... nobody can hear you scream out here..."
Before she could respond, Vanitas jumped on top of her and began ripping her clothes. Kairi cried and screamed, but that quickly stopped when he punched her right in the jaw. The taste of blood made her queasy and the pain was excruciating.
"You have no more rights! I will tell you what to do, when to do it, how to do it and you will obey! Do you understand me?!" Vanitas yelled.
'This is it... my life is over...'
'I never should have left the house... I should have done what Roxas told me to do...'
'Roxas... I'm... so... sorry...'
She was slapped in the face once again for not responding. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to die.
"ANSWER ME!"
Kairi choked on the blood that had built up in her mouth. Vanitas was getting more and more frustrated. He proceeded to rip off her clothes and have his way with her. Kairi cried her eyes out.
Even though she was letting him do what he wanted, he still felt like he wasn't in control. He pushed Kairi over and got off of her. "You stupid bitch!" He kicked her side. She yelped in pain.
The cold air lingered over her body. Vanitas walked away and left her there; naked and freezing. She hugged herself, but of course it didn't help her much. She reached for her jacket, but it was too far away. She could barely move. He had de-humanized her to a lifeless rag doll that he could just throw around and abuse. The entire day went like this. Actually, Kairi wasn't really keeping track of time.
She had left her phone in her jacket pocket, but she had no idea where she was. Vanitas was watching her every move.
She didn't know why, but she wanted to hear Roxas' voice...
Kairi crawled over to her jacket with all of the strength that she had. Vanitas had turned his head for one moment. She pressed number two speed dial on her phone and just let it ring in her pocket. If she could get a hold of Roxas, even indirectly like this, maybe she still had a chance...
"What are you doing, you whore?" Vanitas stomped over to her. Luckily, he didn't notice anything about the jacket, except that she must have been trying to get it to wrap herself with.
"Vanitas..." she tried to speak loud enough so that the phone caught it, "what is this place...?"
"Oh, you want to be cute, now, eh?" Vanitas grabbed her by the arm and picked her up. "Since you'll never see anywhere else, I guess it's fair to tell you... but you'll have to do something for me first."
"Do.. what?"
"Beg for it."
Kairi gave him a terrified look. "For... what...?"
"You want to know the name of this place? Beg."
Kairi hoped that Roxas had answered and was hearing this. For the sake of that, she decided to do what he said. Her knees touched the frosty ground and she bended over in a bowing position. She shivered from the cold, but she had to do this. Her jacket was only about a foot away, so as long as she spoke loudly enough...
She knew that if Vanitas found out, he would probably drown her in the lake...
But it was a chance that she had to take...
Besides, he wasn't exactly the brightest person around...
For a reason that she didn't know, she was still holding on...
o.o.o
Sora had come to Twilight Town so many times in the past that he knew it like the back of his hand. However, his only clue was the club downtown. Someone must have seen her...
He noticed posters of that wanted man all over town. He just couldn't believe that this guy looked so much like him. This may cause problems for him, however.
When he arrived at Twilight Garden, there were still people walking around and inspecting the place. Sora stayed hidden. He could hardly believe that Kairi actually worked at a place like this. It didn't seem like her at all, then again...
She had been surprising him a lot lately.
He got close enough to hear what the police were talking about.
"He lives out in the countryside, in his late parent's old home."
"He's been in and out of jail since he was a teenager."
"What for?"
"Assault... robberies... the list goes on."
"Wasn't his father also a part of the mafia or something?"
"I'm not sure."
Sora took in everything that they were saying. It sounded like Kairi was in a lot of trouble...
"If I remember correctly, his parents were assassinated as a punishment for his father refusing to follow his boss' orders."
"Is that so?"
The officers walked off in the other direction.
"The countryside... eh?"
o.o.o
Roxas held his phone to his ear. His hand was shaking and he could barely keep his composure.
He could hear her... crying... begging...
"Please tell me the name... of this place!"
That's when Roxas realized—Kairi was doing this on purpose...
"You want to know the name? How much do you want to know?"
"More than... anything..."
"Say that you love me!"
He heard Kairi gasp. It was quiet for a few seconds, but those few seconds felt like a lifetime.
"I... love... you..."
"Good girl. I... suppose I'll tell you."
Roxas cringed at her words, but continued to listen.
"It's called Crystal Lake. This is your new home."
Roxas knew exactly where that was.
o.o.o
o.o.o
A/N: Some of you are wondering why Vanitas is even in this story.
I have a reason for everything that I do, even if I don't know it at first! (Does that make any sense?)
So uhh... all I have to say is... shit's about to get real.
Review!