Ash brought his face closer to the screen, eyes somehow tired from the blaring radiation it emits, he grumbled, "I've looked through everything and there aren't any more hidden files." He slumped back to his seat, Ash was definitely annoyed at how little the information he have gathered after all his efforts; he turned to Max who was in charged of searching the books in the bookshelves, just to see if there are any viable data inside. Sadly, Max wasn't lucky either, there were a lot of it listed that were very foreign to him.
"I don't understand the test data but it dates back to over a decade ago. Including Griff's case." He admitted, he continued to scan the files in his hands, there were dissection logs of soldiers way back; he came up with a conclusion that even Ash have already realized.
"The possibility of the military involvement?" Ash answered in a voice as nonchalant he could muster, it was not that difficult to not notice. Ash haven't even had a decent rest, part of the reason was the investigation but it was mainly because of how you went out with Shorter to meet with his informant. He trusts Shorter, no doubt, there's just this constant bickering in his voice that something bad might happen to you and he hated how it distracted him so much; the heaviness in his heart wasn't helping especially when Ash finally had the strength to view the folder designated to yours.
Yet even having such preparations in his mind, it wasn't enough compared to what he had unraveled.
It was that horrible, the fearsome lynx couldn't handle it. The folder mainly contained your data from when you were young up to you teenage years; your parents had been planning on experimenting on you and your sister since you were born. Despite it being named with your sister, there was hardly anything about her on it in which he did find strange. Ash didn't really focused that much on that folder as there's nothing in there that was related to Banana Fish, except for one video.
Ash had to watch it in the lowest volume setting in order for Max to not hear anything; he remembered how your eyes widened at sight of your name along with the fear flashed in it. Honestly, that was the only reason why Ash decided to let you go with Shorter, you needed some time to think and being in this unknown environment wasn't really helping.
You were so desperate to get away from the mansion—from this folder. Ash understood why after watching the video.
It started out with a black screen and a man's voice, "This is 01 and trial 1 of Banana Fish." After his lines, the cover of the camera was removed and you were in full view. A younger version of you was strapped to a table that was elevated for the camera to capture your full body in frame; you wore nothing but a blind fold and a gag in your mouth, it made Ash look away for a second, unable to digest what he had saw.
Your cries were muffled, he can hear you tugging at your restraints, Ash turned back to his screen just in time for him to see a man's with a labcoat, inject you with a transparent fluid. Your body immediately went into a shock, you convulsed on the table and your heart rate was erratic; everyone in the room began to scream orders, panicking at the possibility of you flat-lining until your heart rate slowly went back to normal and your body stilled. A lady took off your blindfold, you were crossed-eyed anf almost looked dead. They released you from the table, letting your body fall down harshly on the floor, the woman sighed, shaking her head as she glared at the one behind the camera, "01, failed."
She bent down and raised your head up by yanking your hair, the video was cut off when the woman was about to slap your face.
It took Ash a while before he can fully function again, he have heard different screams and cry for help but yours definitely haunted him more than those that was already did. Ash couldn't take his mind off of your state and that was only the beginning of everything you have experienced. He wanted to protect you, to go through the screen and hurt those who hurt you.
So when Max suggested for him to give up as it could be a nationwide conspiracy, Ash's resolve was strengthened. Even if Max is to nag at him to the point his ears would fall off, it won't do anything to change his mind.
"I know this is way out of my league but I have to put an end to this. For Skip, for Griff, for...(y/n)..." He played with hands, clenching and unclenching them to release a few tension in his body. Ash looked at the window infront of him that showcased the bright blue sky and the birds who flew against the winds, he continued, "And for me to be free...or else I'd never...she'd never..."
Max sternly said, "No."
"What?" Ash whipped the chair slightly to his right, surprised at the older's response. Max stood with both of his hands closed in a tight fist, "Why risk your life? You'll just die in vain." He argued, threatening Ash that he'll stop him; Max repeated that he wasn't going down with a fight.
Eiji's voice informing them of you and Shorter's arrival broke the tension in the room, "(y/n) and Shorter is back!"
"Don't tell anyone about this." Ash rolled his eyes,
"As if I would." The door opened, grabbing both of the men's attention. "Ash, what's wrong?" Eiji asked, sensing the somewhat uptight position of the two, "It's nothing. Where's (y/n)?" Ash swiftly shut off the monitor, making sure to have closed all the running programs, as Eiji pointed at behind him,
"There. (y/n)'s sleeping. Shorter said she was exhausted from the trip." Ash smiled, patting Eiji's shoulder as he passed by to see Shorter, carefully placing you on the couch, he didn't forget to raise your head for the pillow. Ash finally found himself calming down upon seeing your peaceful expression. He stood closer, examining your features to see if you were okay, his eyes landed on the slightly exposed skin on your stomach. He reached out to pull it down but Shorter tapped him, signaling him to step out for a bit.
Ash failed to notice the distraught Shorter had as well as how Shorter tensed up when his friend was eyeing a certain spot on your body...
—--—
"There was nothing shady about Yau-Si." Shorter lied, he prayed Ash would see right through his lie but at the same time, he really didn't want him to know too.
"At least that's clear, then. " Shorter was torned at Ash's reply, mind recalling the what really had happened earlier.
One man grabbed you from behind, taking you away from Shorter's side, you struggled against him, kicking and thrashing in his hold that made one of them place the end of the gun unto your head. Shorter couldn't stand up, he wanted to know if you were alright but a hand forced him to stay seated.
"Hello, Shorter Wong. My name is Lee Hua-Lung." Shorter's face was pushed down to the table, you called out his name worriedly, "Stand down (y/n)!" Shorter scolded, he glared at the man who stood high and might infront of him. Hua-Lung could only smirk, he turned to face the man holding you, his voice was cold, as if his words can pierce through you.
"Kill her." You gasped, seeing the man cock the gun infront of you with a sadistic smile that fueled your fight or flight response. "Don't even try. Hurt her and I'll send all of you to hell!"
Hua-Lung nodded, the man placed the cold metal on your forehead once again; you sneered at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction he get from you.
"(y/n)! Damn it!" Shorter grabbed the man pinning him down, throwing him backwards and on to the table. At the same time, the man who had his grip around you, brought out a handkerchief, covering both of your mouth and nose. You were forced to inhale a decent amount of chloroform on it. Your body went limp, all your senses shut down, the man then pushed you over to Shorter who wrapped his arms around your body, "(y/n)? Oi!" Shorter shake your body, unable to accept that you're...
"Don't worry. She's not dead. Golzine instructed us not to harm her in anyway." Shorter gritted his teeth, guilt eating him up at the fact that he allowed you to come with him. He should have known better to not bring you...Shorter pulled you closer to him as Hua-Lung's men made him sit.
Hua-Lung had his arms crossed, "The situation has changed, Shorter."
Ash tilted his head to the side, his friend was awfully quiet for some time now. He leaned closer, trying to grab his attention from whatever the man was currently enveloped in, "Shorter. Hey, you seem distracted." Shorter took a deep breath, he can't let Ash notice his distress.
"Nah, I'm just tired." He fall back to his seat, letting both of his feet up on the table. Ash chuckled at his behavior and teased him to make the old lady cook some chinese dishes as she was a better cook than him.
"Aww, come on man. I'm the next owner of Chang Dai." Shorter retorted as he faced up to Ash who dismissed his reply with another satirical remark, "Poor Chang Dai. It better kiss its reputation goodbye."
Shorter was left alone but not for too long as Yau-Si appeared, asking if he'd want anything only for Shorter to pull him harshly, pinning him up against the wall for the others not to see. He grabbed him by his neck, demanding to know who Yau-Si truly is and asking who Yut-Lung was until his eyes captured a dragon mark on his neck that made everything click in his mind.
Yau-Si was Yut-Lung.
And Yut-Lung? He was the hidden 7th son of the ruling clan who now had eyes on a new target, "Now I see why my brother have sent me here. Ash Lynx, what a formidable foe...and that (y/n)..."
Shorter stared at the ground, "That (y/n) is quite interesting for me too." Yut-Lung closed the door, passing by your vulnerable form on the couch; his eyes showed nothing but hatred for you.
He can't wait but put you back to your place.
—--—
You woke up as if there was an emergency; as if sleeping had become a dangerous thing. Your heart was beating fast and there was a buzzing in your brain and together they were as panic with jump-leads.
"Kill her."
You're suddenly reminded of Shorter, you sat up, dragging your feet off the couch; unsure why you're body was light. Your throat was parched, you crawled on the floor, croaking out a cry for anyone to notice you.
Luckily, Shorter was on his way to check up on you and rushed more after seeing you on the floor. "(y/n)? What the hell are you doing?!" You felt relieved after seeing and hearing a familiar voice. Shorter helped you stand up and guided you back to the couch, giving you a bottled water to calm you down.
As you closed the lid, your mouth went into a questioning-spree, you asked him if he was alright and what happened to the men earlier. As you paused to take a breather, Shorter laughed, he was clutching his stomach and it made you more confused at why he's not takong you seriously.
"(y/n)? Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?"
"What...?"
Shorter ruffled your head, "(y/n), you fell asleep at the truck. You just had a bad dream silly dog."
You grabbed his hand, getting it away from your head, you couldn't believe what Shorter was saying; it felt too real to be a dream.
"I am having...bad dreams lately I supposed..." You let his hand go, there is a possibility that it was a dream but your guts are definitely going against it. You squinted your eyes, you held Shorter's face in place, "Shorter are you lying to me?"
You raised his glasses for you to see his eyes that stared right back at you, somehow there was something off about him, Shorter opened his mouth to say something but he stopped himself midway, you noticed how his eyes flickered at something behind you and then back to you. He smiled, putting his hand on your shoulder, "You worry too much, (y/n)."
Shorter removed himself from your grasp, he then adjusted his shirt, bopping his head once to let his frame back down to his nose. "Tell me if you need anything else, love." He turned his back on you so you wouldn't see his panic-stricken face, in his head, he apologized for keeping you out of the dark and lying to you with a smile. He thought of himself as a horrible person but he didn't want to reveal that to you yet.
You looked over your shoulder, surprised to see Yau-Si who greeted you with a smile—a smile that aroused your suspicions around him more...
"Do you need anything?" You faked a smile and he returned the gesture with an even a more fake one, "No. Just wanted to check on you," was all he said before he disappeared to the darkness of the hall. You looked down, finger ghosting around your abdominal area, "If that was a dream, then why do I have a bruise...Shorter." You chuckled, the area does not hurt anymore thanks to your special ability; you can heal yourself but the scars takes a while before it completely goes away.
Shorter lied and he became weary at the presence of Yau-Si, putting the two pieces together, you knew you have to make a dreaded call to someone you know.
You searched for your phone, dialing a number that you have memorized and placing it close to your hear. As you hear the ring, you made sure you were somewhere 'safe' around the house knowing that there's a possibility of a traitor with you.
"Hello? (y/n)? Is that you?" You felt your whole body relax upon hearing his voice.
"Haha, how'd you know?" You tried to mask up all the nervousness you have, it's been a while since you have last talked to this person so it would be quite awkward to explain the situation right away.
"Well, you're the only one I gave my number to ya' know. Where are you? I've been looking all over for you!" You pulled the phone away, ears ringing from the person's yell, you poked at your ear. You groaned at how the person was currently freaking out, "Look, look! Luciel. I'm fine. I'm somewhere safe...I think.."
"You think?! Oh, buddha! I searched for your phone and I found it on a local police station! Do you know how risky that was for me?" You gasped, covering your mouth to avoid your voice from echoing as you were currently in the bathroom. Luciel was actually not just your friend who works at a cafe, he's a retired secret agent gifted with incredible hacking skills. He's the one who made you have a new life, deleting all your files from all the data base you were currently registered in and made you to the (y/n) (l/n) you are right now. He's extremely wanted and going to the police is insane.
"What?! Why did you even searched for it in the first place?" You could hear Luciel fumble with his words, "I may or may not have...placed a tracker in your phone...plus I designed that phone to have a feature for our conversation to not be wired! I'm hurt you didn't treasure it dearly when I made it for you~" Luciel cried, making his voice appear upset that made you gagged at his horrible acting skills.
"So, why did you call the Defender of Justice?" You placed your ear on the door first, checking to see if there's anyone who could be spying on you. Once you cleared that out, you whispered, "I need you to search someone up for me. I know you told me you're done with that shit but...our lives may be on the line here." You hoped for him to agree with your request, he's your only hope right now.
After an agonizing silence, Luciel agreed with a condition for him to give the data to you personally. You were about to protest but he had already traced the call and knows your whereabouts and is now getting ready to be on the way while driving in his precious baby.
"Thanks, Luciel..." You looked at your bare feet, ashamed to have asked for such a big request to him knowing the complicated relationship the two of you have.
"(y/n), are you really sure you're going to risk it all? You know you can come live with me right? I'm sure the other members will welcome you with open arms. I've been trying to tell you that for years now! We can have you work for C&R or, or I can send you to a medical school in Korea!" You smiled bitterly at the thought, there were a lot of times you were tempted to say yes to his offer but everytime it did, you were reminded off your sister.
"I appreciate the thought but if I can't fix my family first, then it would be unfair to yours. After I reconnect with Alistair, I promise to go with you. Okay?"
"Okay."
And the call ended with you sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at nothing but the white tiles. You hoped for Luciel's arrival to come sooner than ever as your mind was clouded with questions that needed to be answered.
—--—
Hello, I have survied another week at my Uni! I passed the mock defense after being so nervous about it only for our research adviser to tell us that we were great and gossiped with us afterwards. Anyways I'll update this soon don't worry! I'm going to write again after I published this one, thankyou guys for supporting my book! If you have any questions about anything or if you're confused, please let me know so I can fix up the chapter's flow.
Oh yeah, my dog died today so...comment F for respects haha. :')