ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
═══ CALM BEFORE
THE STORM ═══
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT when Inui dropped her off at home. Time had flown by as they had sat at the river bank, talking about life. It had taken her mind off the matter for a little while and she had been able to breath again. Sometimes she felt as though the weight on her chest made it harder to breath.
When she stepped inside, Akiko peaked into the living room to find her grandfather had fallen asleep in front of the TV. He wasn't the youngest anymore, and after teaching lessons at the dojo he was tired. She smiled as she turned off the TV and draped a blanket over him before she headed upstairs.
Considering the late hour, Emma was already sleeping soundly in her bed, cuddling a stuffed bear that Draken had given her on her last birthday. Not wanting to disturb the blonde, Akiko quietly closed the door and went downstairs to sit in the kitchen.
Akiko felt lost again. The same kind of lost she had felt living in the Hoshino house for fourteen years. All around her was chaos. With every new piece of information, the ground beneath her feet shifted and slowly but surely Akiko was losing her balance. Soon, the danger of the situation would be at its peak. Hoshino Ken and Kurayami were after her, ultimately putting everyone who protected her at risk. The Sano family and two whole gangs were fighting for her in this battle.
It was completely overwhelming. Akiko had wanted to get as few people involved as possible, yet hundreds of them would be fighting each other in less than two days. All over some stupid will.
"Did you know the kind of predicament this would put me in?" asked Akiko into the darkness. "How could you do this to me, Junto?"
If she had the chance, she would get her hands on that will and rip it to shreds. For once, she wanted to be irresponsible and act on an impulse. She didn't want to grow up yet. She didn't want to carry the responsibility of an adult at the mere age of fourteen. She didn't want to fight anyone.
She didn't want to die. And she wanted nobody else to die for her.
People who had been strangers to her almost three weeks ago were now the very people who would take Pandemonium and their allies head-on. She was physically unable to protect them. She didn't have the kind of influence to convince them to back out. Hell, she wasn't even strong enough to face the man who had raised her.
Growing up under Hoshino Ken, you would have thought that Akiko had adopted some sort of strength and resilience, that she was among the few people who would know how to defeat him. Years upon years, she had been focused on running away from him, escaping the problem instead of dealing with it. Now, she didn't have a choice but to face it.
"I'm surprised to see you're still struggling to realize your own potential," commented a male voice.
Akiko jumped up and looked around hastily, heart thumping furiously, hands shaking. She would have recognized it anywhere. She had heard it since she was a baby.
"Itachi?" she asked, having yet to catch a glimpse of the boy.
"Didn't see me coming, did you?" he asked. As he stepped into the silver moonlight shining through the window, the smirk on his face became visible.
"You look ... different." Akiko examined him from head to toe.
"I got a new haircut. Do you like it?" He gestured toward his dark blond hair. The last time they had seen each other, his hair had been shaggy and passed his ears in length. Now, he had it styled in a quiff with an undercut.
That wasn't the only thing that changed. His lively green eyes were darker in color and expression. His usual graphic tees and washed out jeans paired with sneakers had been replaced by a fancy blue suit and polished slacks.
"Is it true ... that you're working for Pandemonium now?" Akiko swallowed hard, backing away slowly.
Itachi followed, hands behind his back and a smug expression on his face. "Well, someone has to carry on the family business and since both Seina and you have refused, I took my chance."
A thought invaded Akiko's mind.
"Didn't he tell you about the will?" she asked cautiously. Her back hit the wall, but before she could move away Itachi was already in front of her.
"Don't try to fool me." He glared.
"I-I'm not. I'm telling you the truth," she stuttered, her breath quick and shallow. "There really is a will. My father left the firm to me. When I turn eighteen it'll be mine."
Itachi growled. "Bullshit. Father didn't leave the business to you. Stop lying."
Her heart sank as the realization hit her. "You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" Itachi grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her up against the wall. "What are you on about?"
Akiko took a shaky breath. "We don't share the same parents, Itachi. We're not actually siblings. We're cousins. Ken is not my father."
For a moment, Itachi faltered. "And how would you know that?"
"Because my mother was already pregnant with me before her and Ken became a couple. It was a forced marriage after Ken had killed my real father."
Anger lay over Itachi's features like a dark shadow looming over his face. His teeth were bared, he was breathing heavily and his eyes gleamed dangerously in the moonlight, like daggers. It felt as though he was staring right into her souls, and when he found no trace of a lie he punched the wall next to her head.
Before Akiko knew what was happening, Itachi had pulled out a piece of cloth and pressed it against her mouth and nose, forcing her to breath in whatever substance it was soaked in.
She struggled against him, failing to pry his arms off herself. Akiko fought to stay awake even after her body had slumped and Itachi had lifted her up with ease. Slipping in and out of consciousness, Akiko swore she heard two engines and voices shouting. A glimpse of blond hair was the last thing she saw before she passed out.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
──── ˚✩ ༘*ೄ˚ ────
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
SOMEONE WAS SHAKING HER. The ground was hard and cold, the air reeked terribly. Her whole body felt heavy and her head was pounding when Akiko came to. Minutes passed by until she was able to crack open her eyes.
Blurry at first, Chifuyu's face hovered above her. Worry filled his brilliant green eyes. He cupped Akiko's cheeks gently, his warm hands contrasting her cold skin.
"Are you okay?" he asked. While he helped Akiko to sit up, the brunette let her eyes wander around, taking in the scene of what she suspected was an abandoned warehouse.
"Where are we?"
They seemed to be locked up in a room with an iron door and windows too high up to reach them. Nevertheless, Baji was tirelessly trying to pry open the door, kicking and pulling at it, or jumped as high as he could to reach a window, but it was no use. They were like animals in a cage. With no escape.
"DAMN IT!" Baji cursed loudly, kicking a broken chair across the room.
"We have no idea," Chifuyu sighed, leaving his shoulders hanging. He turned his head to the side as though he was avoiding Akiko's eyes, unintentionally revealing the bruise forming on the side of his face.
Timidly, Akiko reached out a hand to caress his cheek gently. Her heart broke a little at the sight of Chifuyu's beaten form. Baji didn't look any different.
"The last thing I remember is talking to Itachi," she muttered. "But ... what are you doing here?"
To her surprise, Baji groaned in annoyance. "It's all thanks to your boyfriend. When you didn't call and midnight came around, Chifuyu was worried sick so he dragged me to your house just to check on you. That was when your brother was carrying you toward a black SUV. There were three other guys there."
Face contorted with anger, Baji proceeded to punch the wall. "THEY KNOCKED US OUT AND LOCKED US UP!"
Chifuyu blushed heavily but his eyes burned with the same fury as Baji's. His fists were clenched tightly. "I failed you. Again. I'm sorry, Kiko."
But Akiko wasn't having any of it. Slapping both hands onto his cheeks, she forced Chifuyu to meet her eyes and gave him a stern look, reminding him of a wife scolding her husband.
"Listen up. What you did was very honorable, Chifuyu. Again and again you keep risking yourself for me. No one has ever done that for me. It means the world to me that you never give up on me and I can only hope to do the same for you. If anything, we both suck at protecting people. The Hoshinos are unpredictable so that doesn't say anything about us as individuals. Got it?"
With a scowl on his face, Baji turned to face the brunette. "You're one to talk. You're the reason why Chifuyu has gone all soft. He used to be a badass delinquent before you came around."
"I didn't go soft!" protested Chifuyu.
"Watch what you're saying, Baji," warned Akiko and slowly rose to her feet. "Don't say anything you'll regret later."
"There are a lot of things I want to say," retorted Baji, glaring. "None of them contain any nice words."
"That's the anger talking," Chifuyu pointed out. "Calm down, Baji-san."
"No, let him say what he wants to say," Akiko said, stepping toward the ravenette. "You've been walking on eggshells around me. It's time someone finally says to my face what they think about me."
A grin spread across Baji's face. "With pleasure."
Barely an arm's length was keeping them apart now. Akiko knew that Baji was riled up and needed to let off some steam, but she also knew that she was at least partly at fault for their predicament and felt deserving of punishment. Whatever Baji had to say, whether he meant it or not, she would take it.
"You're nothing but a spoiled little brat who got into a fight with daddy and decided to run off. You probably thought it would be easier to let someone else deal with your problems instead of getting your own hands dirty. You put a target on all of our backs the moment you stepped into our lives and your presence puts everyone at risk! Toman is my family! Now they're in danger because you can't even take care of yourself! How pathetic can you be?!"
slap!
Baji's head flew to the side. A red handprint became visible on his cheek. Both were breathing heavily — Baji from expressing his anger, Akiko from getting riled up and slapping Baji across the face.
Suddenly, Baji gave a loud boisterous laugh and rubbed his cheek, followed by an almost content sigh. "Thanks. I needed that."
"Me too," exhaled Akiko. "And I'm sorry."
In that moment, there was a mutual understanding between them. Akiko was apologizing for more than just a slap. She apologized for pulling the whole of Toman into her mess. She apologized for lacking in terms of fighting skills and protecting others. She apologized for all of it.
"Don't mind," he waved her off and put a hand on her shoulder. "By the way, that slap was amazing."
With a blush and a nod, Akiko glanced to the side at Chifuyu's baffled expression. She chuckled, confusing Baji. When he looked at his vice-captain, he shook his head with a sigh.
"What the hell just happened?!" Chifuyu exclaimed. "I thought you were going to attack each other!"
"You'd do better to focus those thoughts on how we're going to get out of here," retorted Akiko and averted her eyes to the iron door. "Because once that door opens and Ken gets his hands on us, we're done for."