Wolf

Chapter 17 - Sour Then Sweet

Not when we were stopped by the enemy.

We were caught in a trap. It was a very loosely laid trap done rather hastily. It tasted vile on the tip of my tongue.

Truthfully.

We were outnumbered and backed to the corner of the street by the warring group members. Some of them held metal bats, while others carried a range of crude weapons and they were eager to shed blood and invoke fear into us.

The four men stood in front of me protectively – shielding me with their bodies as they faced the enemy bravely.

Slowly, I took out my mobile phone and discreetly sent an urgent message including my location to a certain yakuza leader before pocketing it back.

Itsuki-san gave me a sidelong glance. A look of worry on his face. "I have my fair share of street fights during my youth," I murmured.

"Yeah but you're injured."

"I told you –"

"Oi! I told you to hand over the girl to us!" one of them interrupted our whispering session. "There's no need for a fight!"

"We're not handing her over!" Itsuki-san yelled.

"I'm not property, bitch!"

"Attack!"

Within seconds, we clashed against the larger group and I managed to acquire the metal bat about fifteen seconds later. Armed with a weapon, I began to strike. The men toppled to the ground like bowling pins, earning a scream of pain from them every time the bat connected to a body part.

I was hitting a man repeatedly – the metal bat pinging against his back because he wouldn't go down when a gunshot was heard breaking the sound barrier and I stopped hitting and turned to see Kirishima standing at the other end of the street looking livid.

He was not alone. The crowd of suited men seemed to grow in numbers behind him and they surged towards us like a black wave of death. I watched in amazement as the enemies were driven back from the alley and Kirishima approached me – his face was never changing.

The bat was taken off my hands and thrown away – it fell with a clang. I thought I was going to get a scolding from him but instead, I was embraced by the fearsome yakuza – his arms were strong against me as he squeezed me tightly to him.

"I thought I died when you sent that message," he spoke. He buried his face into my neck. "But I'm pleased you could protect yourself."

"I got a black belt in taekwondo," I said almost stubbornly, grumpy. "And I'm a –"

"Combat sniper," he interrupted and held my face before he kissed my forehead, looking relieved. "I know."

We stared at the other without saying a word.

"I think its best if we visit the group head," I implored carefully. "There is something odd about their repetitive attempts in taking me to their group base. I want to find out what they want."

Kirishima let go of the hug and held my shoulder as he gave me a look filled with a thousand questions. His eyes flickered as he tried to connect the thought with something familiar – turning it around in his mind so he could understand where I was coming from.

"Entering the enemy's territory is suicidal," he said, frowning at his own thoughts.

I was afraid of his answer, and it made my anger boil over. It filled up my chest like a boiling kettle and I could feel the steam shooting out of my ears. A certain volcano erupts in the Ring of Fire. People were screaming. Molten lava gives birth to another island.

"I'm sick and tired of being under house arrest," I hissed as I shoved his hands off my shoulder. "And this attack is not something any person can recover. I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life."

Kirishima did not speak as he looked at me. His eyes held an expression impossible to describe and I was feeling the anger turning into desperation at how he was handling the situation. What could I tell him to make him understand what I was experiencing?

"There is so much I can take." My mind was trying to think but my emotions got in the way – the desperation, the overwhelming fear and the endless paranoia. My body was shivering. "I'm this close to losing it. I can't assimilate to your lifestyle, Kirishima."

He took a step closer and held my hands. He stilled my shaking hands as he squeezed them gently, swinging them side to side. The thoughts in my head weighed a ton – they wanted to slip out of my mouth and wreak some form of havoc that I knew I could not take it back if I do.

"I'm sorry," he said as he tucked my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my neck. "You must have been very stressed. But you have to believe me that I'm doing all I can to solve this problem."

"When is this going to end?" I asked incredulously - throwing my arms out as if to remind him at what just happened.

He couldn't give me a plausible answer.

Shit!

.