NEVER Talk To Strangers

~ 2 ~

Mari panicked as she heard more gunshots and screams. She looked over at Ayano, seeing she had been shot. She gasped and went to crawl over to her before she was stopped by Budo.
"We have to leave." He told her, pulling her away. He pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket and started shooting back to hold them off and protect her. She frowned, debating what to do. She looked back, seeing her father.
"Dad!" She cried, crawling over to him. He too had been shot. He looked up at her, smiling a little when he saw his daughter.
"You need to get out of here... now!" He told her firmly, holding on to his stomach where he too had been shot. She shook her head, not wanting to leave him. "Mari, that is an order. Get out at once." He told her firmly, and she knew better than to argue against him when he used that tone of voice. She got up and started running, followed by Budo.
"To the elevator!" He shouted at her. She did what he told her, running to the elevator. As soon as he too made it to the elevator, he slammed the button until the door closed. "Stay with me, I'll keep you safe from them," Budo told her. She looked up at him, admittedly quite scared. He didn't seem like the gentle stranger she had met just minutes before the attack.
"Who were they, and why do you have a gun?" She asked him, keeping her back against the wall of the elevator. He sighed, knowing he would eventually have to explain the truth to her. Not right now though.
"I'll tell you later. Right now, we have to get you out of here in case they find us and kill you." He told her, keeping firm hold of the gun. He faced the door, making sure she was behind him.
"Try to kill me?" She asked anxiously. It made sense for someone to try and assassinate her father since he was wealthy and successful, but she never thought someone would try and kill her.
"Yes, now be quiet. Come on." He told her as the elevator door opened. He was almost a different person from the boy she had met in the shopping centre, and she hated it. She just had to hope that he had her best interests at heart. She followed him to his car, doubting if that was the right thing to do. She worried about her dad, but Budo assured her he was going to be fine even if she went with him.

"Okay. Can you answer my questions now?" Mari asked Budo, looking over at him. He had been driving for hours, and the sun had already set outside. He nodded his head, keeping his eyes on the road. "Did you know that was going to happen?" She asked her first question. That had been on her mind for a while. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Right place at the right time I suppose." He said casually. She wasn't done asking questions. If anything, she was just beginning.
"With a gun?" She was curious. He nodded his head, still driving. "Do you always carry a gun?" She asked. He nodded his head again, still watching the road.
"You never know when you're gonna have to protect beautiful girls." He said nonchalantly, making her blush lightly. She had to admit she was quite flattered by that but was still somewhat suspicious of him.
"Okay. Where are we going?" She looked out of the window, not recognising anything. This certainly wasn't the way home. Her gaze remained out the side window as he answered her question.
"To a hotel where we can't be traced." He told her, making a turn. Now she was nervous. A place where they couldn't be traced? Was he a serial killer, targeting her as his next victim? She wouldn't know until they arrived.
"Who are you?" She asked quietly, very confused. It was like he had two sides to him. The sweet gentleman, and the dominant boss.
"I told you, I'm Budo." He laughed a little as he spoke. She sighed and looked out the window as he continued driving to the hotel he was planning to keep her at. It was clear she wasn't going to get any more out of him right now.

She looked around the hotel room they would be staying in tonight. It was a fairly small room, with two single beds pushed against opposing ends of the room and a wardrobe for storing clothes for a longer stay. He sighed, exhausted.
"So, what do you want to do now? Go eat or just stay here and rest?" He asked, leaning on one of the beds. She thought about it, knowing what she wanted to do.
"I want to phone the hospital and check on my dad." She told him. She was worried sick and wanted to make sure he was okay. Budo shook his head, looking up at her.
"You can't. Any call you make will be traced by those people. Do you want to die?" He asked her. She looked down, shaking her head a little. She just wanted to know if he was okay. Budo frowned and collapsed back on to the bed with exhaustion.
"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, looking up at him. He nodded his head, forcing himself to sit up.
"Yeah, just a bit tired after all the travelling." He lied. Unfortunately for him, she saw through his lie.
"Did you get shot too?" She asked worriedly. She'd feel awful if everyone she knew got shot because someone tried to kill her while she remained unscathed. He shrugged his shoulders, not making eye contact with her. "Let me see." She demanded firmly. He laughed and stood up.
"If you wanted me to take my shirt off, you could've just asked." He told her, acting like she had been searching for an excuse to see him shirtless. He pulled off his hoodie, revealing a bloody t-shirt underneath. She gasped and lifted it slightly, seeing a bullet wound on his side. Oddly enough, the bullet wound looked weeks, even months, old even though it had happened just a few hours ago. "I heal quickly." He laughed a little, seeing the surprised and confused expression on her face. She pouted, not quite believing him.
"Not that quickly though! There was fresh blood on your shirt. What is going on?" She asked, getting a little bit scared actually. He didn't want to answer that just yet, though. For starters, he didn't know how to. He also didn't want her rushing off without him.
"Come on, let's go for dinner. My treat." He threw his shirt into the corner of the room and put his hoodie on, clearly trying to change the subject. She pouted, very annoyed with him. She just accepted it for now, though. He couldn't avoid telling her the truth forever.