𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴

XII - death and freedom

You awoke in a groggy, disoriented state. Your head felt like it was filled with cement, and there was this nauseous sensation that just refused to disappear. It took a good while just to snap to your senses and blink away the blurriness in your eyes.

Only then did you realize there was an unfamiliar girl hovering over you.

"You're up," she said, expression devoid of any visible emotion. You didn't say anything back, not at first, and it took you another moment still to realize that you'd been laying down on what appeared to be a sofa.

And that the room you were in looked completely unfamiliar.

"Here," the girl said, extending you a glass of water. "Drink this. You're probably feeling all kinds of gross right now. Don't worry, there shouldn't be any lasting damage from the chemical we used. Unless you end up repeatedly inhaling it a bunch more times."

You reached for the glass, then stopped abruptly. "Where am I?" you questioned, too afraid to drink anything a stranger was offering you. "You guys drugged me, and took me somewhere. The driver was supposed to pick me up. What did you do to him?"

"He's alive. Just a bit bruised up."

"So, where am I?"

"Listen," she sighed, "I'm sure you're scared or whatever, but we're not going to hurt you. I don't know why my brother decided it was a good idea to kidnap you in the first place, but... in any case, you're not in danger. For his purposes, he needs you alive. So, just drink the water, okay?"

She nudged the glass forward a bit, and you reasoned that if they really wanted to kill you, they could have easily done so until now.

The water was cold and refreshing. After god knows what you'd been sedated with, it felt like a blessing from the heavens. You drank it all down without even sparing a breath, and when you were finished, you leaned back against the sofa and exhaled weakly.

"I drank it," you glared. "Now, will you please tell me where I am?"

"I'll leave that up to my brother. I doubt he'd want me running my mouth and saying too much. Just wait a moment, and I'll go let him know that you're awake."

She didn't offer any further explanation, and closed the door behind her as she left. You shivered and hugged your knees to your chest. God, it was cold in here. Didn't they have heating? You were a few minutes away from turning into a popsicle.

Try as you might, you really had no idea where you could be, or who would possibly have wanted to take you. Enemies of Ryu's, perhaps? Or maybe a sick organization looking to make a pretty sum in human trafficking? The possibilities were endless, and neither of them were particularly good.

You tried to look around and get your bearings. It seemed like you were in an office of sorts. Besides the sofa you were sitting on, there was a desk, a chair, and a large bookshelf, among other things. All of the furniture looked fairly expensive. Whoever had taken you clearly wasn't pinching pennies.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked a tall man with neatly coiffed hair and thin-rimmed glasses. The second he made eye contact with you, he smiled as if he'd just happened upon an old friend.

"Hello, [Name]," he said. "It's lovely to formally make your acquaintance."

You narrowed your eyes at him. "I have no idea who the hell you are. If you provide me with some information, I'm sure I'd be much more willing to play along."

"Oh, of course," he chuckled. "That's only fair. My name is Imai Tatsumi. You may have already heard of me from your dealings with Ryu's gang. I am another yakuza group that operates in this city."