Chapter 17: Matsuki vs Chris

"Don't try to get near me, or I might kill this guy," I shouted, placing my card knife near Gomburza's neck. Damn it, I have no idea how to fight Chris. Considering his speed from before, I don't think I can easily manage to make my taser contact with his body. For now, I'll try to use this guy as a hostage.

*Sigh, why do I feel like I'm the bad guy here?

...

"Are you threatening me?" Chris stared at me with his usual cold eyes, seemingly unaffected by the situation. He walked towards me with composure.

"Yeah, I am, so step back!"

"Heh?" He smirked. "A kid like you, threatening me?" and threw back his head and let out a loud a humorless laugh. "Do you really think I care about that guy?" He continued to approach me. "And what's more, a kid like you trying to threaten me when professional elders were begging me about their life just yesterday. Hahaha!" His laughter echoed throughout the room.

Does this guy have a screw loose in his head or something? Earlier, he looked like a corpse, and now his eyes are glistening while laughing...

What is even funny? I just don't get the humor of older people.

Wait, isn't now the time to attack? He stopped and has been laughing this whole time. Did he finally let his guard down? Should I go for it, or should I just stand still here while using Gomburza as a hostage?

... Shit, I don't know..what I should do?

Even if I were to take this guy as a hostage, I looked at Gomburza as I clenched my teeth in frustration. Ahh! Whatever, I'll just face him head-on.

I laid Gomburza down on the ground and stood with my head held high.

Tsk... I don't care anymore! It's do or die now. If I continue to use Gomburza as a hostage, there's no possibility that this Chris guy will even listen to my plea to let me escape. And if he were to listen to me and let me go, considering his speed, I'm pretty sure he'll come back to look for me. And I don't even know how to do the whole hostage thing. "Haysss!" I let out a loud sigh. I should've watched movies with these kinds of things!

There's really no other choice but to finish it here!

"Oh?" Chris finally stopped laughing. "You want to fight, huh?"

"Yeah, bring it on!" I endured the pain in my back and rushed towards him, swinging a kick aimed at his weak point, his balls.

"That's foul." I felt a tight grip on my foot.

"Ha-ha-ha." A low laugh escaped my mouth as I saw Chris manage to grab my foot.

"Have this!" I was about to throw a punch at his face, but before I could do it, a flash of light came into my view. "Huh?" I looked up at the ceiling in wonder, feeling my head hit the ground and causing a momentary loss of my consciousness.

The sound rushed back to me as I felt the cold sensation from the pavement.

"That hurts... shit..." I tried to get up using my hands, but the excruciating pain in my back had doubled. "Is that all you can do?" I heard a somewhat disappointed voice from Chris.

Shit! Get up! I crouched, desperately trying to stand from the ground. I managed to raise my body, but then lost my balance halfway, causing me to make contact with the dusty floor again. Just how much force did I take to make me unable to stand like this?

Afraid to accept the circumstances I found myself in, I closed my eyes. Seriously, what's going to happen now? I can't even...

...

A few moments of silence passed, and then I felt palms pressing against my throat. I could feel my esophagus closing. Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up from the ground, and when I opened my eyes, I see Chris with a smirk on his face.

I cried out as his hands gripped my neck. I tried to dig my fingernails into his wrists, attempting to dislodge him. But my hands fell to my side as my energy escaped me. His grip was too strong for me to wriggle out of.

Instead of reaching for the taser in my pocket, desperation to breathe overtook me...

Shit! Am I going to die here? For real?

No way... I finally started getting better,.I finally..I gritted my teeth in frustration as I tried to break free from his grip to survive.

*Thud.

Chris, after a few moments, loosened his hold on me and fell to the ground, causing me to lose my balance and kiss the ground for the third time.

"Nice strike, man!"

"We got him!"

Three guys, holding baseball bats in their hands, enthusiastically bumped into each other as if they were a sports team celebrating a victory.

"You alright, Matsuki?" One of them came near me. "Seems like we made it in time."

Huh?... Korasaku?...

***

"Did they finally say something?" I asked.

"No, they're still keeping their mouths shut." Korasaku stomped the ground, causing dust to fly into the air. "Ah, right, what are you looking at there?"

He came near me as I threw one of the leather bags off the table. "This seems to be theirs," I said.

"Oh," he swept the dust off the box near me and sat down, acting all friendly. "Why did you throw that one bag?"

"It doesn't have anything other than unsightly things."

"Unsightly?"

"Korasaku," I had been meaning to ask him, but I couldn't find the right time. Maybe now's the time. "What do you know about them?" I unintentionally glared.

"I don't know much about them. I actually just got sent here. I tried to break into someone else's household, breaking their gate, trying to cause a commotion, and I was caught. I thought I was done for, but a guy named Miko sent me here with a message to those two about you coming here. In turn, he would let me go and not beat me..."

"But... I was still beaten up by that bald guy. He recognized me from before," he clenched his fist as if he was pissed.

It seems like he has some sort of history with them, and who's Miko? A guy's name? But why did I get dragged into all this? Is that Miko someone I know?..

"Who's Miko?"

"I don't know much about that guy, though. I think he's one of Takumi's underlings or bodyguards... I don't really know. I only know that he's the one who protected her before when I tried to get near her."

Takumi? Takumi's bodyguard? I've been hearing that name Takumi for a while now. Is he referring to...

"You mean... Takumi Mori?" I asked, trying to suppress the sudden ache that came flashing with some unsightly memories.

"Uh... Yeah, I'm pretty sure you remember her, right? Takumi Mori? You remember that girl, the alley, and all?"

The alley?... Takumi... Of course, I know her. There's no way I would forget that name... I held my head as I tried to ignore the pain stirring in my head.

"I know her, but... why do you know that I know Takumi? Who are you?"

"Eh... I guess you can't remember. It's been four years, after all. I'll tell you later how I know you..." He looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. "For now, let's take care of those two."

I guess I'll find out later. He's right, though. We have to take care of those two first.

"I think they're some sort of criminals," I said.

"C-criminals?" Korasaku jolted in surprise, looking at me with sweat on his face. Why is his reaction like that? It's obvious that they're considered criminals just from what they did to us, you know?

"Then, should we call the police to detain them?"

That's what I've also been wondering since we caught them. What should we do about them? Should we really call the police? I mean, they tried to assault me and abducted us... But based on the situation right now, the police may even suspect us that we were the abductors and the assailants. Dealing with the police would be a headache...

...Sigh.

I almost died back then if it weren't for this guy. I don't know why, but he came back with his pals and managed to save my ass. Now I feel like I owe them...

Korasaku told me that he freed his pals in the basement for more manpower to deal with Chris. And now it's only the four of us. If he wanted to turn on me, he could practically beat me now, but fortunately, he's not doing anything like that.

"I don't think calling the police would help us in any way." I dangled the piece of paper in front of him. "It's too late. If we want to stay alive, we must get out of here in 10 minutes."

I don't know if we're unlucky because we can't get any information from the two who are tied up tightly in the corner, or if I should be happy because we're lucky I found this...

"It's a letter."

"Letter?" He wondered.

"Yeah, I don't get it either, but it's a letter from that boss they call. It states that he will be coming here the day after at 7 am."

It's now 6:50 am, and we're fucking tired. Having to fight those two with no sleep, there's no way we'll be able to fight again if that boss is with someone stronger than those two. I don't know why a letter in this digital age, though.

"If we stay here any longer, we'll be really done for."

"Why..." Korasaku stood up. "If someone came, it's not just you and me, my pals are here too." He looked over at his friends and declared, "We can beat them too! You're strong and-"

"We can't," I interrupted, lowering my head. "I want to see who's behind this too, but I don't think I can fight in this kind of state."

"I received an injury fighting them, and your friends are pretty much worn out from the torture they've received."

"Then what should we do? Go now and leave them here?"

"No, I've thought of something." I paused, and a smirk formed on my face.

"Before they arrive, let's take our frustration out on these two."

"Huh... You mean beat them?"

"Yeah, beat them to your heart's content and make sure they can't walk again so they can't come back to look for us."

With that, Korasaku and his pals mercilessly beat them using the baseball bats that had been used on them. I wanted to join in the fun, but I couldn't afford to force myself to exert all of my strength. I needed to stay vigilant. I hadn't fully trusted them yet.

I could hear the screams they made and see the fury on their faces. Looking at their furious expressions, I thought of something fun, so I approached.

I saw Gomburza stare daggers at me while clenching his teeth. "You cheater!"

"Cheater?" I smirked. "You used a weapon on me, got it? You can't possibly beat me if it weren't for that."

"And who said I can't use a weapon? There are no rules like that in a life and death situation, dumbass!"

"Grgr!"

"Korasaku," I said, "Could you give me that bat of yours?"

"Oh," he smirked, "Here."

As I received the bat, without hesitation, I struck it on Gomburza's head, making his blood stream down his nose and mouth.

"That's perfect," I placed the bat over my shoulder, bent my knee, and placed the letter on the ground near them. I started scribbling on it using their blood. I was pretty sure this would irritate his boss a bit.

What did I scribble on it? Well, something like 'Too bad, your plans didn't work out.'

"Then let's get out of here." I glanced at the two assailants as we left the place.

I didn't know what I had just dealt with, but I swore to myself that I was going to find out who's behind this, other than Miko's name being mentioned which I don't know who. I need to be stronger, strong enough to take on anyone. I didn't think this would be the end after all.

Takumi... It's been a while since I heard that name again... She seemed to be involved with them.

Takumi... ... That woman.. How are you doing now? I wonder... it's been fucking four years since then...