Thank you for the 13k reads! Yay! Though, I'm just curious. How do you guys discover my story?
Author's Note: A lot of cussings. Profanities. Introduction to a main character. Mention of sexual assault, kidnap, and murder. If you're uncomfortable and sensitive with the topic, I advised you to skip the chapter.
A COUPLE OF DAYS slipped by like a bullet train and the summery weather remained as sizzling hot as ever since Akari stayed in Shibuya for her vacation. A lot of surprising circumstances occurred, making her life more entertaining. She met her cousin's close friends. She kicked asses. Buying delicious taiyakis. Then, she became best friends with a childish gang leader whose older brother was one of the living legends during his delinquent era.
And it was around the second week of August when she finally met Takemichi's girlfriend, Tachibana Hinata. The girl went over to his house for a visit one summer morning and volunteered to be his little helper for his stupid homework.
"Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san. I'm Hanagaki Akari. This dork's cousin," Akari curtly introduced herself to the cute girl with bob-cut coral pink hair that matches the color of her large bright eyes. She also had a distinct mole just beneath her lips. Takemichi was right. She was indeed beautiful and very polite as well. No wonder he fell for her.
Takemichi pulled a face at the ravenette. "What the hell, Akari?" he groaned.
Akari just stuck her tongue to him cheekily.
The pink-haired girl giggled. "No need to be formal, Hanagaki-san. You may call me, Hinata," she said with a warm smile.
"Aren't you doing it too? You can also call me Akari instead," Akari responded back wittily.
Both girls laughed. Akari liked her already.
"Did you invite her over just so she can help you with your homework, Take-chan?" the ravenette asked her cousin skeptically with a raised eyebrow, turning her attention to him.
Takemichi's blue eyes dilated at her question. He frantically flailed his hands to her. "Of course not, Akari! What the heck are you talking about?!" he exclaimed, denying her accusation. He whipped his head to Hinata. "Don't listen to her, Hina!"
Akari muffled a laugh at his panicked state. This dude was so easy to tease. And of course, she already knew the answer to her question. It was pretty much obvious by just merely observing his actions.
Hinata didn't seem bothered at all and only smiled kindly at her boyfriend. "It's alright, Takemichi-kun. I really did want to help you out with your homework," she said reassuringly.
'What an angel!' Akari thought in awe, much to her surprise. Damn. She was the complete opposite of her cousin. Where did Takemichi even find this ray of sunshine to begin with???
Takemichi sighed in relief and threw the ravenette a don't-say-anything-more-stupid glare. She only gave him a mischievous smirk in return.
Her phone rang.
The young couple looked at Akari as she took her phone out from her skirt and saw Mikey's name pop up on the screen. "Oh, sorry. I have to answer this call. I'll leave you guys alone," she told the two and snickered at the blonde teen. "Don't do anything funny, Take-chan."
Before Takemichi could refute, she already left his bedroom while laughing her ass off then headed to her own room adjacent to his.
"Hello, Mikey-kun!" Akari greeted in enthusiasm as soon as she accepted his call and pressed the phone to her ear. She then jumped towards her bed and lay down comfortably with her back against the soft mattress.
[Hi, hi, Aka-chin!] Mikey greeted her back with the same gusto. [Are you busy right now?]
"Nope. Not really. What's up?" Ever since she became friends with him and gave him her phone number, Mikey would contact her either thru calls or messages almost every single day. Then, they will just have enjoyable chitchat about anything under the sun which usually lasted for over an hour or so.
[Nothing much. I only wanted to ask if you're available on August 20.]
Her eyebrow arched in query. The 20th? "Oh, what's on that day?"
[It's my birthday! My friends and I will go to the beach to celebrate there,] he answered in a cheerful tone. [Wanna come with us? I'll also introduce you to them. I told them about you and they actually wanted to meet you in person. Don't worry. My sister will be joining us too so it wouldn't be awkward with you.]
She frowned. Of course, she wanted to go! She loved beaches! On the contrary, she couldn't. She had a very tight schedule this upcoming week. "I'm sorry, Mikey-kun. As much as I would love to, I can't come with you this time. I'll be back in Yokohama this weekend. I have to attend the softball training camp by the third week of August. I'm so sorry. Really, I am."
[Oh, I see...] Disappointment dripped from his voice. [You don't have to apologize, Aka-chin. I understand.]
Akari suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for turning down his invitation. He sounded so excited until a few minutes ago that she could sense a gloomy aura creeping out of her phone. She massaged her temple. Ugh. This boy knew how to make a person guilt-ridden! If it weren't for that stupid training camp, there will be no problem! She propped herself up and sat cross-legged on the bed. "B-but we could still celebrate your birthday in advance if you want," she proposed to lighten up his mood. "How about this Friday, August 13?"
[That sounds like a good plan!] Mikey immediately agreed, his sullen spirit lifted into a blithely one. [Then, let's meet up by the shopping mall just like last time!]
She sweatdropped at his quick recovery. Wow, this boy was so easy to convince. His mood drastically changed pretty fast, huh? "S-sure! Is there something else you wanted to talk about?"
[Nope. There's none. I just called so I could invite you on my birthday. Moving on, how's your day?]
"All good. My cousin's girlfriend came over to help him out with his homework. What about you?"
[Same. Only, my little sister here won't stop pestering me about helping her with the household chores.]
She chuckled lightly. "What's wrong with that? I think your sister is right. Shouldn't you be giving her a helping hand, you lazy bum?"
[But it's too bothersome!] Mikey whined like a spoiled brat. [You should also be siding with me, Aka-chin. You're my best friend!]
Akari rolled her eyeballs and snorted at his indolence. Geez, what a slacker. "I might your best friend but, I can't pamper you, Mikey-kun. You're already too old for that. So why don't you act like a good big brother to your sister just this once and do whatever she says? Doing household chores is not a difficult task, you know."
[Aw, alright~ I'm only doing it because you said so, Aka-chin. Although, beating up people's asses is a much easier job.]
Her blue pupils slit as she drew her eyebrows together, rather displeased with his logical thinking. "Is fighting all you could ever think about, Mikey-kun?" Regardless of not seeing him fight personally, she could've guessed how much of a troublemaker he was based solely on his stories to her. He was a delinquent, after all. Oh, wait. Wasn't Shinichiro also a gang leader before him? 'It probably runs in their genes, huh.'
[Aren't you also doing the same?]
"What? No, dude!" she strongly rebutted. "I only fight when needed. And I already told you it's an act of self-defense. I'm not a war freak." As much as possible, she wanted to refrain from engaging herself in any unnecessary fights. That was what Izana would want her to do as she wasn't really much of a tough fighter like he was. However, he also said that if she can't avoid it, might as well teach them a lesson they'll never forget.
'Only a fucking coward would back down in a fight,' Izana would always tell her that.
[Self-defense or not, it still doesn't change the fact that you beat up people, Aka-chin,] Mikey pointed out to her matter-of-factly.
Well, she can't argue with that. "Whatever," she huffed. It wasn't like she started the fight those mean punks created in the first place.
"Akari-chan! Are you busy right now? Could you run some errand for me?"
Akari glanced at the half-opened door as she heard her aunt's loud voice from downstairs.
"I'll be there in a minute, Auntie!" she answered then went back to her phone. "I gotta go, Mikey-kun. My aunt is calling me. I'll see you on Friday!"
[Okay~ Bye, bye, Aka-chin! See ya soon!]
Akari hung up and bolted out of her bed. She fixed her messy hair and her wrinkled clothes first before stepping out of her room, only for her phone to vibrate in her hand. She flipped the gadget open and saw Izana's messages. In fact, he was spamming her inbox with his text messages. She crossed her eyebrows in wonder and stopped walking just in front of the stairs. What the heck was that all about? She read some of his messages.
Conceited King: I can't reach you, shrimp. Is your phone dead? Or are you talking with someone?
Conceited King: Where are you, Akari? Are you out of the house right now?
Conceited King: Message me if you're free. There's something I wanted to talk to you about.
Conceited King: You don't have to hurry if you're really busy with your relatives. The talk can wait until evening.
Akari sighed and pouted. He didn't even ask how she was doing like he used to. Though, she noticed from the way he messaged her that something pretty serious was up. What could be it? She typed on her keypad.
Me: Okay, Iza-san. Let's talk later. I'll call you. 🙂
Then, she slipped the phone into her pocket as she went downstairs and to her aunt who was already waiting for her in the living room.
HOURS EARLIER back in Yokohama City.
"It's been days, Mochizuki. Any interesting news?" Izana asked over the phone after he contacted his subordinate's number. He was chilling out on the balcony of his own apartment, sipping a mug of coffee in his free hand while leaning his back against the balustrade.
The sky was bluer than usual as he looked up momentarily, its azureous shade reflected through his orchid hues. A gust of wind gently blew his bleach-blonde hair with his Hanafuda earrings swaying in all directions.
The calm morning scenery was somehow soothing him after having another one of his sleepless nights again with the sky's color reminding him of Akari's pair of bright bluish eyes.
[You're just in time, Izana. I was about to call you,] Mochizuki said on the receiver. [I already have the information you requested. I paid someone to gather this intel for me. This is quite shocking, actually.]
Izana set down his mug on the outdoor table beside him. "Spill it. I'm all ears."
Mochizuki cleared his throat first before he started to talk, [Hanagaki Misaki was 20 years old until her death three years ago. The cause of her death was multiple stabbed wounds and severe blood loss. Her only known family member alive was her younger sister, Hanagaki Akari since both of their parents were deceased.] There was a pause. [You didn't tell me this woman is Akari's older sister.]
"Just continue."
[Alright. Hanagaki Misaki was involved in a reported murder case at her own cafe shop and both siblings were present when the crime was committed. She was sexually assaulted first before she was stabbed to death multiple times. While the younger one, Akari, who was only 10 at that time hid inside a cabinet until the cops found her. She was said to be the sole witness to everything.
Poor kid got severely traumatized that she didn't speak to everyone for weeks and even lose some of her memories in the process, particularly that incident. The police had a hard time questioning her back then. It stressed them out.]
Izana didn't say anything. He was only listening attentively as Mochizuki continued to speak.
[According to my intel, the motive of this crime was mainly obsession. The motherfucker even made drastic measures just to win her over. The police had retrieved some threat messages on her phone. The fucker planned to kidnap Akari either to sell the kid to a wealthy pedophile or have her organs harvested to the black market if the older sister didn't submit herself to him. What a twisted fucked up bastard if you ask me.]
Izana froze.
What the fuck did he just said?
Izana gritted his teeth as he couldn't believe his fucking ears. He tightened the grip on his phone. That fucking psycho! He had no right to use Akari as a damn threat for his own selfish interest!
If his memory served him right, the brat once told him that her sister taught her self-defense to protect herself against her mean bullies in school.
'I always ended up all bruised when I went home and Onee-chan will usually scold me for not defending myself. So she trained me some basic skills in fighting for self-defense.'
His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. He finally started to see the picture here. Misaki purposely taught her how to fight not because of the girl's fucking bullies. It was for Akari to defend herself in case someone tried to do something to her.
But why didn't her older sister bother to go to the police to help her put that fucking scumbag behind bars? Her phone was enough to use as concrete evidence.
Unless there was something more to this story.
[Do you wish to hear more, boss?] Mochizuki asked him.
"Yeah. I wanted to know if the police caught the culprit."
[That's the problem, Izana. The bastard was never caught until this day. The cell number used for the threat was also already untraceable. He must have used a burner phone. No one ever knew who the fucker was. Only the witness saw what he exactly looked like and that's Akari herself. But since she can't remember anything of that incident and her relatives didn't want to put much stress on the kid, the police decided to put a hold on the case until Akari was ready to testify. Unfortunately, it never happened. And it's been three years. The favor goes to that fucking maniac.]
The bleach-blonde teen pursed his lips together. His face grew darker at the pressing topic at hand. 'So it seems.'
[Do you think it's the same person we are looking for?]
"I can't answer that," Izana replied honestly. Although, his gut feeling was telling him that it could be a possibility. No, he was sure of it. "We could only find that one out once I talk to Akari regarding this matter."
[But would that be wise? Wouldn't that trigger her trauma?]
His eyebrow twitched. "Do you hear me stutter?" he shot back sharply. He'll be the judge of that. "I'm doing this for the brat's own good. Don't you ever fucking question my decision, Mochizuki. Unless you have any other options for us to consider."
[There is none I could think of. You're right. I'm sorry.]
Izana blew a harsh breath. The fucking murderer was still at large. And he was obviously targeting the girl who witnessed everything and saw his fucking face. Was he the one who ordered that bastard Ogai and his little gang to abduct her?
That fucking son of a bitch! If that was the case then why did he only make his move now after all these three goddamn years? The fucker could've just killed her when she was still in her vulnerable state. Was it because she had police protection at that time?
Izana felt something was amiss. But what the hell was it? Was there a foul play involved? Or perhaps, some kind of an elaborate scheme? Was that sick bastard a part of a criminal organization?
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath. He was completely at lost there. All these fucking thinking made his mind go insane.
'Just what the fuck are you hiding, Akari?'
[Izana?] Mochizuki called his name, interrupting his thoughts.
"Is there anything else, Mochizuki?" Izana queried.
[No, that's all the information I got from my source.]
He hummed. "I see."
[What would be our next move, Izana?] asked Mochizuki shortly after. [I'm at your command.]
He sighed heavily. Guess, he had no other choice. "Don't leave Shibuya just yet. I want you to follow Akari wherever the hell she goes. I'll send you the address she's staying at," he ordered in a stern voice. "Don't make it look too obvious. That brat is as sharp as fuck. She could easily sense if someone is following her."
[Roger that.]
"Good. Make turns with Kakucho. Tell him my orders. But not what we have discussed about Akari's case. It only stays between the two of us for now, understood?"
[Alright.]
"Report to me if you two find anything suspicious in her movements," Izana added before he ended the call and placed the phone on the table.
He raked his fingers through his bleach-blonde hair. He was exasperated. Fuck. He didn't know Akari had been through hell more than he could ever imagine. Behind her warm smile and cheerful persona was a painful past. His instinct was right to investigate her older sister or else he wouldn't have known what she was going through. Shit. How could he had not notice it? Now, he had more reason to keep her safe at all times. When it comes to her, he was being this overprotective.
He grabbed his phone again and dialed Akari's number on the keypad. She was unreachable as her line was busy and his call was sent directly to voicemail. His forehead furrowed. 'Is she talking with someone?'
He tried to contact her twice, only to receive the same irritating voicemail. He clicked his tongue. That little shrimp. He just spammed her inbox with his text messages instead. All he had to do right now was to wait for her to reply.
Izana clenched his fists at the thought of her being monitored by some deranged fucktard on the loose. Screw that asshole! What Mochizuki told him was enough to make his blood boil. His face was contorted with fury as his irises flickered with animosity. He was fueled with rage. He had never felt this mad before.
'If that twisted son of a bitch tried to touch her, I swear he had it coming! I'm going to fucking kill him with my own bare hands! I'll make him suffer in the most excruciating way that he'll wish he was never born!'
Thoughts?
I didn't know anything about how the police handle their cases so I made this one as short as possible. Akari's backstory is pretty dark. I apologized for the uncomfortable words used in this chapter. Thank you for understanding.
I like Tokrev's new chapter! Can't wait for the next one already! I'm all hype!