Sink or Swim: Drawn To The Venom

Chapter 25

Recap: Naomi and Dan have been overpowered and captured by Hikaru and his two assistants - Aorin and Shiina. Chisaki however, was watching everything in secrecy and has followed them to the place where they are being held.

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The little troublemaker of the group, Chisaki is still watching as Naomi and Dan are tied up strip-naked by Hikaru while being ignored completely.
Chisaki: *thinks* "Hmph! I could care less what happens to Dan and Naomi now, but......if only Matsumi and Koshiro were here."
Aorin: "Sir! Around what time are the two agents coming?"
Hikaru: "The Guardian Angel never tells anyone else specifics like these, but I think I might have an idea who she's sending."
Hikaru drinks his green tea peacefully while sitting on a futon.
Aorin: "And about this pen?"
Shiina: *chuckles* "Wanna give it to him? He looks so pitiful and exposed, I almost feel sorry for him."
Aorin: "Yeah atleast he's cute! I don't feel sorry for the bitch next to him though."
Dan gets angry and Naomi simply looks away, hiding her obvious pain.
Dan: "Watch your mouth, ladies! The two of us are inseparable, there's no way you're talking me into leaving her."
Aorin: "And there he ruined all the cuteness."
Shiina: *sighs* "Your standards are so low, it's embarrassing."
Chisaki senses danger in the form of footsteps behind him and suddenly runs inside, hiding in the bushes.
Aorin: "Did you hear something?"
Shiina: "Someone must be onto us!?"
Hikaru: "It's okay ladies! As long as we have these two tied up with us, I don't think it should be an issue."
Chisaki observes from behind some bushes.
Chisaki: *thinks* "Who's coming? More enemies?"
Hikaru sips his tea.
Hikaru: "I think our agents are here!"
In front of the helpless Dan and Naomi, appear two ladies. One being a mature red-haired office woman in a formal skirt and shirt while with her is a slim girl with freckles on her face wearing a helmet to cover her head, her outfit consisting of a black t-shirt and blue denim shorts. Chisaki is the most shocked out of them all.
Chisaki: *thinks, shivering* "N-N-No way! The kidnapping queen? That b**** who dared to capture and humiliate me!!!"
The woman in formals is in fact the one who was responsible for Chisaki's capture earlier, bringing out his inner trauma.
Hikaru: "Kuino Akane! So you're the mistress of the kidnapping racket right? It's a disappointment, I was expecting one of our fellow Saints to show up."
Kuino: "Don't flatter yourself! The Saints have more jobs to do, as a Saint yourself you should understand that."
Hikaru: "Say you brought a friend along too?"
The helmet-wearing girl lets out an eccentric, loud, high pitched laugh.
Hikaru: "What's with her?"
Kuino: "Asagi! I thought I told you not to laugh in front of the Saints!"
Asagi: "Huehwahahahaha!!!! H-Hikaru sir, nice to meet you huehwahahaha!"
Dan: "What's so funny here, huh?"
Kuino: "Ooh! The NEX deserters, aren't you? I wonder what made you two end up like that, all humiliated and such?"
Dan: "How do you know about what we did with NEX?"
Kuino: "Hmph! Shinji died for nothing, but you two are the ones I'm supposed to escort to the Guardian Angel, aren't I?"
Dan: "What the heck is wrong with you people? Why are you after us all this time? I simply don't get it!!"
Asagi: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! AHAHAHA HE'S MAD AHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Aorin: *whispers to Shiina* "We definitely have another new piece of work under the Guardian Angel."
Shiina: *whispers back to Aorin* "I don't know how anyone can stay in the same room as her for a minute."
Chisaki desperately wants to hurt Kuino, but despite being an immature unpredictable kid he knows his position and the obvious outcome of his stunt.
Chisaki: *thinks* "I can't simply run away after I followed them this far, just gotta keep hiding. I swear I'm not going to show mercy on anyone! But.....they'll beat me and tie me up again....I know it...."
Kuino pulls out her watch.
Hikaru: "Nice watch by the way! What model is it?"
Kuino: "It's a vintage one I brought from my Paris trip two months ago."
Aorin: *whispers to Shiina* "How superficial, what a show-off!"
Shiina: *whispers back to Aorin* "Seriously, I didn't expect someone like this to even survive under the Guardian Angel."
Kuino: "You ever heard about two villages that used to exist in French legends? You know, one of them is rumored to have been destroyed in a tragedy or some internal war?"
Kuino keeps touching her watch while smirking at the helpless Dan. Dan and Naomi however get a big hint from Kuino's gesture. Naomi especially is extremely jittery and sweating.
Dan: *thinks* "Does it mean what I think it does?"
Naomi gives him a nod of approval.
Dan: *thinks* "So that watch too?"
Chisaki keeps on staring while sweating, as he is stuck in a huge dilemma. He has to suppress his trauma and anger for the timebeing, but he absolutely cannot resist hurting his kidnapper.
Meanwhile, Matsumi and Koshiro are at Sayato's house in a meeting with 2 Saints, as the newfound Therianthrope shares his objective with the 4 of them. On the table are Matsumi, Koshiro and Wendy.
Matsumi: "So the first Saint you wanna take down is a Japanese middle-aged man named Hikaru, and he's a Blue-ringed Octopus Therianthrope?"
Koshiro: "Who's the second Saint? You guys said there were 2 Saints you wanted to take down."
This time Wendy gets serious, and looks sternly at all of them.
Matsumi: "What's the matter?"
Wendy: "The second one.....you've met her already. You know her well!"
Matsumi: "We've met her? Oh wait, don't tell me....."
Koshiro: "The Rattlesnake Therianthrope - Panacea?"
Matsumi and Koshiro make an annoyed face expression as despite barely knowing her, she was already a pain to them. Suddenly Wendy bangs the table loudly, she then talks in a soft yet angry tone with her voice cracking.
Wendy: "You have no idea how long my big brother has endured everything just to destroy her. I joined the Saints only so that my big brother won't suffer alone!" *sniffles, sobs*
Matsumi: "What do you mean?"
The tearful Wendy is shrouded in silent anger, and it was clear that she meant business.
Wendy: "Panacea killed our mother!"
Matsumi and Koshiro are in shock.
Wendy: "I was 6 years old, big brother was 15! I can't even imagine how much pain he went through just to protect me from our dad, who became an alchoholic."
Flashbacks from their abusive, traumatic childhood flood her mind as she tries to get herself together.
Koshiro: *thinks* "This guy's 28? I could've sworn I thought he was 40!"
*speaks* "Surprisingly enough, we hate that lady just as much as you do. If you don't have any other hidden objectives, maybe we'll simply trust you instead of that bat guy. But still, what's the true deal?"
Wendy: "I can't lie about something this personal. If you don't believe me, take anything you want from me in exchange. You want money? We don't have much but maybe we can negotiate."
Koshiro: "No! It's not that...."
Matsumi: "We're doing it!"
Koshiro: "Are you sure about this?"
Matsumi: "Yeah the bat therian guy may be unpredictable, but maybe she can help us reduce 2 big problems."
Koshiro: "What about the others? There are many more members among the Saints, aren't there? They might kill us even if we manage to take these 2 down."
Wendy: "Focus on the present! If we take down Hikaru and Panacea, we'll be way ahead of what the Guardian Angel expects of us. Big brother and I can reclaim our titles as Saints as well that way, because right now we're stuck in the middle of a bridge that may or may not break."
Koshiro: "Schrodinger's bridge?"
Matsumi: "As much as I'm repulsed by the idea that you're inevitably going back to the Saints, I'll tag along temporarily if it means taking down that Snake bitch."
Koshiro: "You're acting strange dude! You were so hyper and repulsed at the party, yet now you're enthusiastic about cooperating temporarily?"
Wendy: "Very well then! We have a deal, and let's not break it. We need to trust each other until we destroy our targets."
Matsumi: "So why Hikaru? What's so special about this guy?"
Sayato enters from the back.
Sayato: "You don't know, do you?"
Matsumi: "What do you mean?"
Sayato: *sighs* "If I told you, you'd probably not look at me the same way anymore. Be ready for this!"
Matsumi: "What do you mean?"
Sayato: "Hikaru.....is my biological father!"
Matsumi: "Whoa!"
Koshiro: "Another family issue?"
Sayato: "I don't remember much of my childhood except earlier living alongside street hoodlums, and raised by a lady who wore a cosmetic company's entire stock as makeup, and owns the bar where we just met. But all I do know.....is that Hikaru is my father and that.......he eloped with his adopted younger sister. I don't know the rest!"
Matsumi and Koshiro are absolutely shocked and embarrassed at this revelation, drinking water just to distract themselves.
Matsumi: "I see.....so he's a sick twisted creepy fuck."
Koshiro: "Let's just pretend we didn't hear all that."
Matsumi: "I'd like to but......damn what a disgusting, perverted scumbag! I know the streets are full of them but....just knowing that such an abomination is a member of the Saints, it just drives me nuts!"
To interrupt the mood once again, Jerry appears with a bottle of booze in his hand. He walks around, being unstable and tipsy.
Jerry: "So! Are ya gonna join us? Or are ya gonna get killed while we do nothing?"
Wendy: "Big brother! You're drunk again?"
As Wendy stands up, Koshiro and Matsumi gasp upon realizing she wasn't wearing pants and their gaze goes to her tattooed, muscular body covered in a plain white full-sleeved shirt and her snug white bikini panties. She tries to stop her big brother.
Matsumi: *coughs* "Are all women in the Saints loose in the head?"
Koshiro: "We already have 2 perverts in our group, now there's a third one?"
Wendy: "Sayato and big bro don't mind! If you two have a problem, just know that I'm only like this at home or during fights."
Matsumi: "Before proceeding further, we need to know this - what are your powers?"
She struggles to snatch the bottle away from her big brother.
Wendy: "Well......"
Koshiro: "Go on!"
Wendy: "I'm a......a.....!"
Matsumi: "A what?"
Suddenly she mutates and transforms instantly into her therianthrope, Sayato looks at his broken wall in shock.
Sayato: "WENDY! DON'T WRECK MY HOUSE LIKE THAT!"
Wendy has transformed into a giant, elegant black mare while retaining her cyan hair on the horsehead.
Matsumi: ".......wow!"
Wendy: *high pitched raspy voice* "This is what I am!!!" *neighs loudly*
Koshiro bursts into laughter, absolutely unable to contain himself.
Matsumi: "I-I simply don't know what to say!"
Wendy: *high pitched raspy voice* "Do you like me?"
Matsumi: "Eh......how am I supposed to answer that?"
Koshiro laughs like a lunatic, Wendy glares at him while sweating and feeling slightly insecure.
Matsumi: "Enough with the fooling around, let's proceed now that we've all come to an agreement and built up some level of trust."
Koshiro: *laughs* "Damn! She's one big stallion girl. Say, can you run a bunch of horse betting races for me? Atleast we can split the money up!"
Wendy: *high pitched raspy voice* "I want us to be serious! It's time we start stage one - by rescuing your two currently trapped comrades Dan and Naomi."
Koshiro stops laughing, Matsumi is shocked at how much intel Wendy had. She reverts back to her human form.
Matsumi: "No way! How do you know that they're captured?"
Wendy: "I also know where they're trapped, and the perpetrator is definitely Hikaru."
Matsumi: "This presents a nice opportunity. We can decimate that sickening, incestuous freak Hikaru right there!"
Wendy: "NO! We're not going to kill him, if the Saints panic - they'll all come to Japan at once, then gang up on us at once and it'll be over before we know it."
Koshiro: "She's not wrong! We need to consider these possibilities too."
Matsumi: "What about Chisaki? Where's he?"
Wendy: "I don't know! He's probably missing, because the only information I have is that Dan and Naomi are the ones captured. So don't be hasty! Let's just get those two out of there, and then maybe find Chisaki after which we'll focus on Panacea."
Matsumi and Koshiro are shocked again.
Matsumi: "This kid, he's a pain! Always going missing or running around?"
Koshiro: "I have a hunch that maybe he's actually planning something."
Matsumi: "Alright then, we'll do it!"
Koshiro: "We won't betray you, and you won't betray us hopefully for now atleast. Also....are you gonna wear bottoms or nah?"
Wendy: "Not important! My tattoos represent my struggles, and I don't mind flaunting my struggles to people I trust."
Matsumi: "What does that mean?"
Wendy: "The fancy gothic stylized "L.O" tattoo on my leg below, it means "Little Orphan" and it was a children's story big bro read to me during bedtime after our mom died."
Matsumi is cringing and emotional at the same time.
Koshiro: "Can you please never ever describe your tattoos to us?"
Matsumi: *sniffles* "Yeah! Stop distracting us!"
Wendy: "Hmph! Not surprising, never mind I won't do it." *thinks* "Aww I made him cry! I should keep these things to myself, poor Shark boy. Maybe I should.....cheer him up after the first stage?"

TO BE CONTINUED......