Kodoku

Chapter 15

Rin sat at the desk, her head in hands. It had been nearly twenty four hours since Sarah went missing. And of course nothing made that worry spiral even further than learning that Gojo went missing as well around the same time. It basically confirmed her worst fears. Who else would have done it? Who else would have wanted to steal her?

Standing up she brushed back her long hair to try to get a hold of herself. The tears had been threatening her all day, but she was desperate not to cry. Crying wouldn't help and it would just make it harder to keep herself under control. The gang war needed to be addressed still, Tenjiku only had two leaders left and at least one of them needed to be on just in case.

And yet all she wanted was to see him.

Before she knew it or could stop herself, Rin rushed through the streets. Her heart was pounding with each step. Her mind was a whirl of panic and desperation. Bursting through the doors of Yaga's headquarters, she scanned the room wildly until her eyes locked onto Geto.

"Suguru!" she cried, her voice cracking as she ran to him. Tears streamed down her face, and she collapsed into his arms, shaking with sobs. His heart squeezed with a flood of regrets as he held her, his mind racing to understand what was happening. Had she really come to him like this?

"Rin, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Sarah... Sarah is missing," she choked out between sobs, "I can't find her anywhere. Please, I need Nanami. Where is he?"

Geto's jaw tightened. The mention of Nanami stirred a storm of emotions within him—rage, jealousy, and a deep-seated bitterness. But seeing Rin in such distress, he couldn't refuse her. Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone and called Nanami. Within minutes, Nanami arrived, his face set in a determined expression.

"I need to... I need to go look for Gojo," Geto muttered, turning away before his emotions got the better of him. He stormed out of the room, his mind a turbulent sea of conflicting feelings. He couldn't shake the image of Rin in Nanami's arms, the pain of seeing her so vulnerable and the resentment of her turning to someone else for comfort.

And yet... he couldn't bring himself to leave. Peeking through the crack in the door Geto watched them, his fists clenching at his sides. The sight of Nanami comforting Rin, the woman he had once cared so deeply for, was almost too much to bear. He felt a surge of anger and jealousy rise within him, threatening to boil over. He couldn't stand it any longer.

Nanami reached forward, slowly gliding his fingers along her cheeks.

"Rin... Crying again? Soon there'll be nothing left of your beautiful eyes." He whispered, his nose brushing against hers and his forehead mere centimeters from her, "I wanted to do this every time I saw you shed tears." He whispered, his lips delicately pressing to her cheek and tasting the salty drops from her eyes, "I wanted to comfort you. But all I could do was pretend I didn't see it."

"I wanted to touch you, to hold you, to place my hands on your skin, and yet if I did I felt you'd be tainted forever by my sins," his fingertips touched against the back of her neck and he leaned in closer, "I want nothing more than to take you away from this place. I want to take you somewhere where you'll never need to cry again."

Rin pulled back slightly from Nanami, her eyes still filled with tears but now also with a burning anger. She wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms and just forget all of this, but instead she asked, "Have you heard anything from Gojo?" Her voice was trembling with frustration, her fingers clenching at his blazer.

Nanami shook his head, his expression grim, "No, nothing. I've been concerned about him, but I never imagined he'd do something as cruel as kidnapping."