Key (L x OC)

Twenty

"Kaori!"

The said girl watched as the young man, whom she had promised to never see again, ran towards she and Ryuuzaki. Even the way that he ran seemed to be royal and elegant.

But Kaori's promise was something she was committed to keeping. Yet, there was no harm in being polite. After all, there appeared to be only one concept of their interactions in which Ryuuzaki was particular disturbed.

"Ah, Kaori! I'm surprised that I ran into you so soon after the party last night." He said with a white smile.

She laughed uncomfortably, placing a hand behind her head in hopes that possibly her friend, whom she had made the promise to, would step in and rescue her. But of course, that would be too much generosity to ask of him.

"I see that you are with your boss right now, but perhaps I could get your cell-phone number or something and we could schedule something later." Edward said cheekily as he retrieved his own phone from his pocket.

In that moment, the girl glanced over at Ryuuzaki, meeting his intent gaze momentarily before looking back at the blue-eyed man with a sorry smile. "I'm sorry, Edward, but I won't be hanging out with you... it just... won't work out." While she struggled to find her words, she settled to inform him of that much.

He blinked, undoubtedly surprised at her words. "Oh? Why not?"

"I can't really tell you that much..." She trailed, eager for the conversation to end.

Undetected by Kaori or Edward, Ryuuzaki had taken a step closer to the girl so that, if needed, he could easily slip between the two. He didn't wear his typical stoic, thoughtful expression either. He had a stern frown, and his dull eyes darkened as he seemed to glare at the American man.

"Ah..." Edward trailed, trying to make sense of her thoughts. "You seemed to be really into me last night, though. I'm a bit lost."

Kaori hummed as she formulated what she would say in her mind. "I made a promise to a close friend of mine that I wouldn't get too close to anyone in America... And after thinking it over, I think that they're probably right." She explained, telling only a partial truth. "Mm, but that kiss was rather nice." She put a finger to her lip as her smile brightened.

Edward took a step closer, his white smile fading, replaced with a desperate expression. He grasped onto one of the girl's hands tightly. "If that's the only reason, then let me prove that I can make a better life for you here in California." A pleading tone was in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but that won't do. I'm perfectly happy living in Japan. I'm only here for work. It was nice meeting you, though!" She said happily and turned her back towards him, raising a hand to wave as Ryuuzaki slowly followed her.

But the young man wouldn't give up so easily. He quickly caught up to Kaori and gripped onto her shoulder.

She jumped, startled by the sudden contact. As soon as she twisted her neck to look at her sudden captor, Ryuuzaki was standing in the way. His hand tightly wrapped around Edward's wrist that previous latched onto Kaori's shoulder. He seemed to deliberately hide the cold gaze from the girl as he glared at the American man.

"She said she was 'perfectly fine.'" Ryuuzaki quoted. "In other words, she has nothing to do with you anymore." His monotonous voice possessed a dark venom as he released the taller man's wrist.

Edward's kind, gentlemanly aura transformed into a twisted air that caused chills to line Kaori's barely clothed body. "Who are you to speak for her?" He spat bitterly.

"Well, there are many answers to that question." Ryuuzaki began logically. "I am her boss, so that provides reason to care about her well-being, but I am also a friend, so I keep her best interest in mind. More notable than that, she is a very precious person to me, so I care about her more than you ever could."

The blue-eyed man released a sinister chuckle, seeming to look down upon the odd-looking, strange young man. "That's pathetic." He muttered.

Before the feud was noticed by other beach-goers, Ryuuzaki had effortlessly kicked Edward in his prized, movie-star-like face, causing him to fall back onto the sand. He held his bloodied cheek in his hand, and then flashed a bitter glare.

"You're the one that's pathetic." The standing man said, now looking down upon the wealthy young businessman with pride. "I believe that we're done here. Shall we go for a walk, Kaori?" He asked, the remainder of the dark aura that once surrounded him completely dissolved as his confidence shined through.

Kaori couldn't bring herself to speak as she just nodded and walked alongside the strange man she called a 'friend,' leaving the prince-like Edward fuming in the sand.

Once they were sure they were far enough away from Edward, Kaori burst into laughter. Ryuuzaki looked at her confusedly, the gears in his mind turning in an effort to understand her thoughts. "Why in the world are you laughing?" He wondered aloud.

"Sometimes, you can be really funny, Ryuuzaki." She commented as she tried to calm her relentless laughing.

"I'm pretty sure you're more laughable than I am." He retorted.

She giggled again and looked down at her feet, watching the imprints they left in the sand with every step she took. "That's the second time you beat up a guy for me. Well, counting the people, that makes three." She mentioned.

"All three of them deserved it." He mumbled surely.

"Thanks for having my back." She smiled a genuine smile and glanced up at Ryuuzaki. "Despite first impressions, you're actually a really sweet and caring guy."

He placed his thumb on his lips as he tilted his head in thought. "I wouldn't go so far as to call me a 'sweet and caring guy.' It's just you."

Kaori blinked, her gray eyes reflecting her surprise at the comment. Clearly, he didn't seem to mean much by the comment, but it still caught her off-guard.

She quickly looked away and shyly tucked a thick strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. "Say, I'm a bit thirsty so I'm going to run back to one of the vending machines I saw. Do you want anything?" She offered.

"I'll have a soda or something, if you don't mind."

"Mm, alright. Stay here. I'll be back in a minute or so." She then hurried off down the beach in the direction they had just come from.

Little did she know that she was not yet free of what she thought she had just escaped from.

---+---

Kaori carelessly hummed a tune she heard wherever she went in California as she waited for two drinks she had paid for to fall to the vending machine's dispenser.

She was entirely unaware of the presence sneaking up to her in the shadows of palm trees and convenience stands.

She only felt a chill run down her spine as she heard a distant, eerie laugh. Her head swiveled side-to-side as she searched for the source of the sound. Concluding it most likely had nothing to do with her, she dismissed it, took the drinks from the vending machine, and proceeded to return to Ryuuzaki's side.

As soon as she turned her back to the machine, a large hand covered her mouth. Her first instinct was to scream and hope that one of the many people on the beach would help her, but her captor's hand kept her from doing so. His other hand tightly wrapped around her chest, keeping her from being able to pry his hands from her body.

He quickly dragged her from obvious sight, pulling her into the sand dunes where surely no one would be passing by.

She turned and writhed in his grasp, but couldn't wrench herself free. When she opened her gray eyes, she was paralyzed at the sight of icy blue eyes that had become so much chillier than she had ever seen them before.

His charming smile no longer existed, as it had become replaced with a despicable, disgusting grin. He no longer possessed the royal aura that once encompassed him. He no longer seemed to even relate to the person that he presented himself to be.

The familiar man leaned closer to the girl's ear, noticing the tears that began to crystallize in her eyes. "You see, Kaori, you have no option but to go along with me..." He began with a sickening tone. "I hold you captive in more than one way."

"You should've never given me your name."