Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

56. Rush

No one could blame her as her body froze into place as the verdict was read. 

Yaeko couldn't believe it, how was it possible?

The truth was that she didn't have much chance to think more because just as fast as the sentences started being read, she was being dragged away by a whole security team.

"We have to get you the hell out of here." Agent Miura told her with an urgent tone, one she had never heard before.

Up until then, the man was always the epitome of calm so seeing him like that was a good indication of just how dangerous things had become for her.

"Yuzu..."

"I will take him to you but you know what this means right? We have to send you away again."

"What? But... my baby... I can't do this without Yuzuru."

Yae knew well what the Agent meant. Yuzuru would be living a life way too public for her to be allowed close to him. Her husband would take advantage of that to get to her.

"Yaeko, he will kill you, you understand that, right? Your husband wanted this, he wanted us to bring you here. He won't touch Yuzuru because he knows the implications but he has nothing to lose if you just disappear one day and we find you in a ditch later."

She knew it had all been too easy. There was no way he had left so much proof for her to grab. Her husband hadn't lasted so long in the game by being dumb and now all she could think about were his real intentions. What the hell did he want? Why had he allowed her to go so far?

Unless he wanted her to bring the rest of the Yakuza down... Was this all so he could take the lead? Being second best had never been enough for him, after all.

Yaeko had fallen into his plans as she always did, being prey to his scheming without ever realizing it.

As she thought about everything carefully, her mind settled on his expression after she left that stand, the way he looked at her stomach with a raised brow.

"He knows" she suddenly uttered.

"Knows about what?" 

Agent Miura looked incredibly confused with her epiphany but the concern in his eyes was still very evident.

"The baby... he... when I almost fell, he was staring at me... at my stomach... I know he realized it."

Gulping, the agent didn't even hide how concerned he became right away.

"Yaeko, we need to take you out of here as soon as possible."

"Just... I need to see Yuzu... please."

She didn't know exactly where they took her, only that they drove for hours, the agents protecting her all wearing tactical gear and weapons worthy of a SWAT team. Yae could name every single model of them and could probably successfully assemble and disassemble each of them with ease, all of it a result of the years under the organization.

Nothing of what was happening seemed remotely close to before, the previous calm environment was replaced with concern and high alert in every single detail. Every car that went past them was a threat, every person on the street was suspicious. 

Yaeko was living her biggest nightmare and all because she had been dumb enough to do what her husband wanted her to. She was now publicly recognized across Japan and nowhere seemed safe enough to stop.

She was unsure of how long they drove until she started feeling weak. It had been hours since she last ate anything and the tiredness of the day was finally catching onto her. Yaeko fell asleep in the backseat of the undisclosed vehicle while feeling incredibly threatened. She feared for her life, feared for Yuzu's safety, and most of all, she feared for her baby who wasn't even born yet and was already suffering the consequences of the cruel real world.

A few hours later she would be awakened by the agent that swore to protect her with his life.

"Yaeko, are you feeling ok?"

He knew just how much stress her body was enduring. Pregnancy is already a toll on a woman's body, and adding this whole situation into the mix was certainly cause for concern.

"Tired" she muttered, already too weak to even try to look tough anymore.

"I know, dear. But we need to get some food in you and well... I hope you forgive us for taking so long but there's someone that wants to see you."

Hearing those words, her body instantly perked up. Would they finally allow her to see him?

She had no idea where they were, the surroundings completely unknown to her in the dark night. A small house was in the background and they guided her inside fast. It was very clear that they didn't want her outside for any longer than absolutely necessary.

Once she crossed the door and they removed their shoes, the sight of a frantic-looking Yuzuru made her smile in relief. 

Yaeko had never run to him as fast as then, he looked even more tired than she was, only proving that he hadn't been able to rest at all either.

"Yae"

His tone was desperate, almost incredulous that he could hold her. Being in his arms then was equally incredible and painful, all because she was more than aware that they would have to part ways again. It was no longer as simple as it was when her husband was locked away. The moment he went free, the man could easily gather members of the other clans and get to her.

"I can't believe I allowed him to play me." Yae eventually admitted, tears in her eyes as she realized how much she had screwed up. Her husband would now have even more power than before, and being able to say that he was the only one escaping such a big case was certainly an incredible power play that he wouldn't sacrifice.

"Don't even think about that now."

"What else should I be thinking about? I'm leaving you again, I'm going to raise this child al..."

Yuzuru interrupted her words with a kiss, powerfully giving in to all of the frustrations of that day in the only way he knew.

"He might have won this time, but I won't allow him to take away a life with my son."