Beep~Beep~Beep
I hear my alarm ring and shut it off, rolling out of bed and stretch. I open my window curtains and take in the lovely scene of the garden outside my home. I yawn and check my phone seeing a notification.
New York trip today!
The bright screen displays and I smile as I walk over to my closet. I grab a simple white and black sports bra, black cargo pants with buckles wrapping around the legs, a pair of high black socks and my black converse.
I grab my suitcase from the front door and head to my local coffee shop, ordering an iced coffee before hailing a taxi, taking me to the airport.
"Good morning, Ibe," I call out, carrying my suitcase and drink as I walk into the airport.
"Good morning, Natsuko," He chuckles. "I hope you got a good nights rest," I smile at him, taking a sip of my coffee.
"Honestly, it took a while to finally fall asleep since I was so excited," I laugh. He smiles and we take a seat, waiting for our gate to be called. "It'll be a nice chance of pace, don't you think," I say, resting my legs on the top of my luggage.
"Yeah," Ibe responds simply and I take another sip.
"Finally getting out of this old city and heading to New York," I put my drink on the ground and rest my hands behind my head. We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes before our plane gets called for boarding. I shoot up, causing my suitcase to fall over and Ibe laughs.
"In that much of a rush to get out of Japan, huh," He teases. I stick my tongue out at him and pull my eye before we get on the plane.
~~~~~
The flight was long. About twenty hours but when we landed I noticed it's still daylight. I rush out of the plane, Ibe laughing trying to catch up with me. We soon meet with a friend of Ibe's and we head towards our destination.
"Wow, It's just like "CSI New York!"" I exclaim as we walk through the terminal, I glance around and giggle. "Just like TV,"
"Stay with us, Natsuko," Ibe warns. We make it to the police station and meet with another person. "Thanks for having us," They shake hands. "I'm Shunichi Ibe,"
"I'm Jenkins," The short man introduces himself and I giggle quietly at the name. "You must've been surprised to hear about Max,"
"Yeah, we came to see him but didn't expect him to be in jail. Thank goodness for Charlie," I look around, taking in my surroundings.
"He and I did go to the Police Academy together," Charlie comments.
"Well, well," I hear Jenkins speak. "Is this your daughter?" I turn my attention to the man walking up to me. "Are you helping your dad out?" He questions and I just chuckle.
"No sir, I'm his assistant," I smile and he nods. "I'm Natsuko Nagata. 18 years old, a college student," I introduce myself and they look at me taken back. I laugh nervously and rub the back of my neck.
"I know, she looks pretty young even for a Japanese," Ibe tells them.
"Ah, forgive us," Jenkins says. "But it might be a good thing to look really young. They don't trust adults," I giggle slightly.
"Are these street gangs really that dangerous?" I ask curiously.
"It depends on who you're dealing with," Jenkins answers. "The guy you're meeting today, Ash, he's a pretty sharp one. In no time, he got the neighborhood gangs under control,"
"Mind you, he's only 17," Charlie adds and I swallow thickly.
"Just 17?" Ibe repeats, surprised.
"Yes," Jenkins replies plainly. "Plus, he's white but he has control over everyone. Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, blacks. That's not easy," He lists off but I just let my mind wander. Ash, like cinders. What's he like? We eventually finish talking with the cops and get introduced to a young kid.
"Hey, I'm skip," He introduces himself. "I'll be taking you to see Ash," We nod and make our way to a gap between buildings. A stairway leads down, covered in graffiti and I take a moment to admire the art.
"This is more like it," Ibe comments and I chuckle.
"They said they'd bust in if anything happened, but..." I trail off, turning back to look at where we just came through.
"Are you coming or not?" Skip catches our attention and I quickly turn back around, heading through the door he's holding open. When we stand in the door, I smile, seeing everyone turn their heads to us. I breathe in, the familiar scent of tobacco hitting my lungs. I turn to Ibe and he looks terrified.
"What are you so scared of?" I nudge his arm.
"This way," Skip calls out to us and I walk forward. I look around while we make our way to the leader and smile to myself. Just like home. I think and we come to a halt. "Here they are, Ash. Your guests from Japan," I look forward and see a very handsome blonde boy in front of me. He has deep jade green eyes and I find myself staring into them.
"Right," Ash says simply and I smile at him. He's not like how I imagined him to be. I think.
"I'm a photographer from Japan," Ibe introduces himself. "I want to ask about your gang for a magazine article,"
"What do you want to know," Ash questions, his voice smooth and calm but glares at us, sending two different messages. Damn, he's intense.
"Can I take a few pictures first?" Ibe asks and Ash turns his perfect face to the side.
"Not the face,"
"Sure. Natsuko, get ready," Ibe instructs and I nod.
"Okay," I respond and grab the camera bag, taking the camera out and I take a few photos. I grab another lens when I hear Ash shifting.
"Do you use kids for assistants in Japan," He comments and I scoff, turning around to face him.
"I'm older than you," I tell him, speaking with an annoyed tone.
"Well, excuse me. I thought you were a kid," Ash teases and I roll my eyes. Look who's talking, I think.
"-so I told the guy," I overhear the bartender talk as I watch the blonde from afar.
"To get lost?" He finishes the guy's sentence and they laugh. I glance down and notice a weapon in the back of Ash's shirt.
"Nice gun," I say and he turns to me.
"Meaning?" He speaks and I make eye contact with him.
"Real guns are illegal in Japan but I know a thing or two about them. The one you've got there is a Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum, but the barrel is cut short," He raises his brows and I cross my arms.
"How do you know that?" He queries and I shrug.
"I told you, I know a thing or two about guns," I smirk at him "Mind if I hold it?" I ask and everyone turns their attention to me.
"H-hey," Ibe puts a hand on my shoulder. "Don't ask them that," He whispers in my ear but I just shrug him off.
"Sure thing," Ash gets up off his barstool and hands me the gun. Everyone watches as he makes his way to me and I grin. He hands it to me by the barrel and I take it, swinging it between my fingers being sure to not trigger anything. People duck, scared I'll end up shooting but nothing happens.
"Wow. It's heavier than I expected," I comment, tossing it from one hand to the other. I hand it back to him after a little and smile. "Thanks for trusting me with it," He grabs it and I swear I can see him smile a little. "Mind if I ask you something," I glance up at him.
"What is it?"
"Have you actually killed anyone?" I ask, looking him right in the eyes.
"Yeah," He responds plainly. "What about you?" He turns the question on me and I nod.
"Unfortunately yes," He raises a brow before turning around, going back to the bar.
"Bring on the questions," Ibe follows Ash and I see Skip come up to me.
"Hey, Natsuko. Let me buy you a drink," He suggests and I nod as he leads me to a table. Not too long after a waitress comes over, handing us both a drink. "I didn't know you had that in you,"
"Huh?"
"Ash never lets anyone touch his gun," Skip points out. "A drunk guy once tried to touch it and got his fingers blown off," I laugh at the dramatic gestures.
"Sounds like fun," I joke.
"Look on the bright side," Skip widens his arms before crossing them into his chest. "Ash seems to like you," I feel my face heat up for some reason. "Cheers to your nerve, and your fingers," He toasts and I chuckle before clinking our glasses and I take a drink only to feel a burning liquid rush down my throat.
"Rum and coke, my favourite," I say and take another drink. I look over at Ash and watch as he talks with Ibe. "I heard he's a sharp shooter," I try to make conversation and Skip's eyes light up.
"He's more than sharp. You already seem to know what kind of gun he uses, so you know how far a range he can shoot," I nod along. "But he's never missed a target twenty-five yards away," I feel myself blushing the longer I stare.
"Ash Lynx, huh," I mutter.
"It's just a nickname," The boy explains. "It means 'Wildcat.' Nobody can tame him. He's totally wild. It's the perfect name for Boss,"
"You really do look up to him, huh," I think aloud and all I get is a giggle.
"Natsuko," Ibe says as he walks up to me, I smile.
"Did you get to talk to him?" I ask and he rubs the back of his neck in disappointment.
"Nah, he's not much of a talker," I frown and fiddle with my fingers. "He's a young gang leader. There's got to be more to him," Suddenly, the door bursts open and a bunch of guys pile in, swinging bats everywhere. I gasp and quickly take out a small pistol I got from a friend before we made it to the police station. I keep it on my side as I don't want to use it unless I have too and Skip guides me to hide behind the bar. I watch quietly as Ash beats up a bunch of guys and feel my face heating up.
"Freeze, police," I hear someone shout but nobody seems to stop. I assume that same somebody shoots in the air to get people's attention but that doesn't work.
"Charlie," Ibe speaks and my face lights up.
"Charlie!" I exclaim as I pop my head up from behind the bar.
"Keep your head down," Skip pushes my head down and I sink into the floor. "Charlie's here now, we just have to stay still," I rest my head against the back of the table and take a deep breath.
"Don't move," I hear a voice speak and I open my eyes to see a knife at my throat. I look to Skip and nod before slowly moving the gun to point at the man's leg. Before he can do anything I pull the trigger, causing him to nick my neck and I bleed slightly. Skip grabs my hand and pulls me to an exit.
"Hurry, this way," He guides me and I put the gun in the waistband of my underwear, holding my neck.
"After them," I hear someone shout and feet chase after us. We make it to a grate and skip pushes it up.
"Wow, an escape route," I mumble only to get shushed. "Hey there, Skip," Someone says and I suck in a struggled breath, still holding my bleeding neck. They grab us, pushing us into a car and I look around to see Ash run to us.
"Skipper!" He yells out and I sigh.
"Ash!" The boy yells back before getting shoved into the car. We start driving and I take deep breaths, pulling a piece of fabric I have out of my pocket and I put it to my cut. Suddenly, the back window breaks and a bullet is shot into the man next to me's head killing him instantly.
"Damn it, he got Jack," The guy next to Skip shouts and I swallow thickly before taking a few deep breaths, tuning everything out. Come on, Natsuko. I tell myself. It's nothing you haven't seen before. I feel my shoulders relaxing before hands start digging in my pockets.
"Get your hands off her," I hear Skip try to defend me and the man grabs my phone, thankfully not my gun.
"Shut up," He growls and throws our cells out the window. I sigh and keep my head low, knowing how kidnapping situations work and I make no noise. "He's coming," The same guy informs the driver and I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat.
"There's no way he'd abandon Skip," The driver speaks. "Bingo," He grabs his phone from the passenger seat and calls someone. "It's me," I listen in on the conversation, trying to make sense of this situation but I can't hear anything, making me give up. I rest my head on the back of the seat and sigh heavily, looking out the window at the cars driving along side us.
Please Ash, hurry.