I Don't Trust You... (JR) BOOK 1

Chapter 23

Nowaki's POV:

I hold Hiro-san close to me as Misaki and Shinobu sit on the opposite couch. Usami and Miyagi were in the other room.

   "Who was that guy?" Shinobu asks, breaking the silence.

   Misaki shakes his head. "No clue. But, what are we going to do? We have to get them back."

Shinobu buries his face into his hands and groans. "Why didn't they just stay put until we found Zoe?"

"They're friends. Basically family, of course they wouldn't stay behind." I say.

  Before Shinobu could say anything, Isaka came walking into the room, followed by Ashina, Miyagi and Usami, who just hung up the phone. As soon as Hiro-san saw him, she stood up.

   "Any luck?" He asks. I can hear the hope in his voice.

   Usami nods his head. " I just asked a private investigator to do some searching on any cruise ships that will be leaving around 7:00 pm tonight. He'll give me call once he gets information on it."

Hiroki nods his head, not saying anything. I stand up and put my hand on his head to comfort him. I look at Usami. "What's the plan?"

He glances at Ashina and Miyagi, then back at me. "For starters, they-" he points to Hiro-san, Misaki, Isaka and Shinobu. "-are staying here."

Misaki and Shinobu stand up quickly while Isaka and Hiro-san looks at Usami. "What?!"

"Usagi-san, you can't be serious!" Misaki yells, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, I'm not staying here! I'm going to help look for them!" Shinobu adds, glaring at Miyagi. Miyagi sighs and walks over to him, patting his head.

"We can't afford to loose you guys either." He says.

"So you must stay here." Ashina adds, looking at Isaka, who turns away from him.

Hiro-san looks up at me. "And you?"

I sigh and nod my hand. "Only because I don't want you getting hurt."

He glares at me and steps away. I look at him. "Hiro-san-"

"She's my daughter too! I think we deserve to look for them too!" He yells, pointing his finger at me.

I soften my gaze and walk up to him, putting my hands on his shoulders. "I just don't want to see you get hurt-"

He pushes my hands away and walks into another room. I feel sadness and guilt fill my body and I look down, my hair covering my eyes.

"He's right. We can't just sit here and do nothing." I hear Misaki say. I glance at him and the others.

Misaki gives Usami a disappointed look, then turns away and walks into the other room with Hiro-san. Isaka and Shinobu follow, leaving me, Usami, Miyagi and Ashina. Miyagi sighs and sits on the couch, lighting a cigarette.

Usami sits next to him. "Let me get one."

Ashina looks at them and crosses his arms. "Do you really need to do that right now?"

Usami looks at him as he takes a puff. "I'm kinda stressed at the moment."

I scrunch up my nose. "You know that's not healthy."

Miyagi lets out a dry laugh. "I've heard that before."

I was about to comment on that when Usami's phone started ringing, interrupting me. He looks at the number and nods his head, answering the phone.

"Usami Akihiko, speaking." He says sternly. He pauses and stands up. "Got it. Thank you."

He hangs up and I step closer. "Well?" I ask impatiently. He looks at me.

"He found the ship. Apparently, it's the only ship that's leaving tonight."

Miyagi stands up and faces him. "How are we going to make it in time? It's almost 7 now! We'll never make it on time!"

Usami smirks and pulls out his phone. "Not if we take my family's private Helicopter."

"We're coming too!"

We turn around to see Hiro-san and the others standing there. I shake my head. "No."

Hiro-san glares at me. "We're going."

I stare at him. He stares back, his gaze unwavering. After a few seconds I sigh and give up. "Fine."

Hiro-san lets out a small smile and I look at him sternly. "But, if I think it's too dangerous, you're leaving."

He nods and I look at the others. They give me slight nods and I nod back, looking at Usami. He hangs up the phone and looks at us.

"It should be on the roof in a few seconds. Let's meet them up there." He says, grabbing his jacket and walking to the door. Misaki follows, as does the others. I glance at Hiro-san and he looks at me. I grab his hand and pull him towards the door.

"We'll find them, Hiro-san." I say as we follow the others out the door.

Zoe's POV:

   "Zoe?"

   "Yes, Jade?" I look in the direction her voice came from.

   "I wanna go home." I hear her whisper. I feel a rush of protectiveness pass through me and I reach out to try to comfort her, but the chain around my neck stops me. I curse under my breath.

   "I know, Jade. We all do." I say in a soothing voice.

   "Just try to relax a bit. We'll find a way out of here soon." Faith says from beside me.

   "...okay..." Jade whispers. I hear them shuffle a bit, then it goes silent. After a few minutes, I hear soft breathing from them to know that they are asleep. I sigh and lay on the cold, hard ground. But, I can't sleep.

   "Can't sleep, Zoe?" I hear Demyx say from beside me. I let out a humorless laugh.

   "How can I sleep when I know that it was me who got us in this situation?"

  "It's not you're fault, Zoe." He says.

   "Yes, it is. If I hadn't have run off, we wouldn't be here and Hiroki and Nowaki wouldn't hate me-...." I cut myself off, feeling the tears sting my eyes.

   "...Just like my parents hates me." I whimper and bury my face in the crook of my arm. I feel a soft hand touch my head and I look up. I can't see anything, but I know it's Demyx.

   "You're parents didn't hate you. They hated themselves and they used that hate on you because their careers were failing them." He says, stroking my hair.

  "If they didn't hate me, then why did my mother abuse me? Why did my dad come home drunk every night and sneak into my room?" I pause and let out a shaky breath as more tears fall down my face. "Why did they sell me to Akuma?"

Demyx doesn't say anything for a second. He knows I'm right.

"Zoe-"

Demyx is cut off by a loud bang coming from above us. We both jump and Jade squeals while Faith gasps.

"What was that?" Faith asks. I can hear Jade let out a small sob as we hear heavy footsteps make their way towards us.

"Shh. Everyone hold hands." I whisper.

I grab Demyx's hand, then Faith's as she grabs hers. We hear the squeak of a door opening and see a door in front of us open, letting a little bit of light into the room. I look up and see the silhouette of a man standing in the door frame. I feel Demyx's hand tighten on mine and I glare at Akuma.

He steps closer to us and crosses his arms. I can hear the smirk in his voice as he stares down at us.

"Nice to see you again, my lovely dolls."