Chapter 14

As Tatsuo looked out the car window at the huge buildings of one of Tokyo's major shopping malls and the many people walking the streets, he sensed that something was about to happen, although he wasn't sure if it would be good or bad.

That morning, before leaving the mansion, Satoru informed him that one of Yin Zhao's subordinates had been captured outside the mansion. This made him question whether his decision to let Naomi leave even accompanied by Seiji and Takashi, who were two of his most valuable subordinates, was correct. While Tatsuo was thinking so deeply, his chauffeur Hidetaka, who had worked for the Mori family since Tatsuo was born, looked in the rearview mirror and noticed his master's uneasiness and questioned him:

"Mr. Tatsuo, what has made you so uneasy?"

"Whew ... Where do I start, Hidetaka?" said Tatsuo wearily.

"Problems at the company or with Miss Naomi?" asked Hidetaka already knowing that she had occurred before.

"You are half right," Tatsuo replied frankly. "Although it is not only her, but my concern has another name, which has been is a stone in my shoe that I have carried for many years."

Hidetaka sensed that in Tatsuo's words there was a tone of sadness but also a desire for revenge, and said:

"Mr. Tatsuo, regardless of what has happened in the past, I hope you will not be driven by hatred."

"Hidetaka, you have always been like a friend to me. And your words comfort me, thank you," Tatsuo said, relieved.

"I have always felt a lot of affection for the Mori family, and especially for you, Mr. Tatsuo, whom I have watched grow into this strong and successful man like your father."

"Please don't praise me so much, I don't measure up to my predecessors," Tatsuo said humbly.

Hidetaka let out a short laugh, when he realizes that his master's fate is near he says:

"Mr. Tatsuo, we have arrived at your destination. Have a nice day."

"Thank you Hidetaka, I wish you the same my friend."

As soon as the car stopped, the security guard guarding the doors of the commercial building approached the car and opened a door, and immediately Tatsuo got out and fastened the buttons of his suit, lifted his face and gazed at the huge building.

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸

The day was nice for a walk, and although the temperature was a little lower due to the approaching winter. Inside the car, Naomi was having an amusing conversation, between Seiji who was in the passenger seat and Takashi who was driving the car when Seiji said:

"So, Naomi, what is your relationship with Boss Tatsuo?"

"Er ... Ahn ... What do you mean?" said Naomi hesitantly.

"I was curious too. Are you two dating?" asked Takashi without taking his eyes off the road. "Assistant Satoru told us to be friendly and welcoming, since you're a very important person to the boss."

Naomi was surprised, not knowing what to say, when Seiji said:

"Judging by their reaction, they're dating. Naomi, naughty girl."

"Come to think of it, the boss had a girlfriend, but she died in a clash between our rivals," Takashi said, thinking wistfully.

"shhh... Takashi we can't talk about it, the boss doesn't like us touching this subject and if deputy Satoru finds out he will kill us," Seiji said warning.

"Er... But I thought it would be all right to tell Miss Naomi," Takashi said innocently.

"Er... Ahn... It's not what you're thinking. Tatsuo and I don't have this kind of relationship." Naomi said, embarrassed and with red cheeks.

"Hmm… so how do you explain the boss sleeping in your room?" asked Seiji perceptively.

"Er... Ahn... And what I would like to know too," Naomi said, shyly.

At that very moment, Takashi realized that he was already approaching his destination and said:

"We're coming."

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸

Minutes after Naomi, Takashi and Seiji left. Satoru and two subordinates went to a secret floor that was in the basement of the house, where domestic servants were not permitted to enter, only Tatsuo and members of the organization knew of the room's existence.

Inside the room without natural light and with humidity in the air, Satoru saw that the man was sitting on a wooden chair, with his arms cuffed backwards, and with his nose and mouth bleeding. That for Satoru was already a routine, he sat on a chair in front of that man, crossed his arms and without expressing anything more than a cold and terrifying look, he asked:

"What's your name?"

"Go to hell."

"You have an interesting name." Satoru said wryly, placing his right hand inside the inside pocket of his suit and in one swift motion pulled out a tactical knife and plunged it into the leg of the man, who instantly let out a loud scream and went on to say. "And a pretty common name these days. I remember killing many under that name."

Satoru leaned his back against the back of the chair and watched the man writhing in pain and said again:

"Now, mister go to hell, what to do in the mansion?"

"haha ... Waiting for your mother, that tramp." replied the insolent man.

Satoru sighed and was silent for a brief moment, and moving closer to the man's face, he said:

"I didn't know you were a comedian." he took a deep breath and continued. "Since you've told me a wonderful joke, how about we play a game, I guarantee it'll be fun. I've created it myself. However, I haven't named it yet. Perhaps you can help me. Ah! Of course, if you can keep your tongue in the right place until the end of the game."

And as if watching a comedy show, the man starts laughing uncontrollably and says:

"HAHAHA! You shouldn't be worried about my tongue, but about the girl with light brown hair who was at the mansion. She's probably out for a walk by now, hasn't she?"

Satoru for a brief moment allowed himself to be surprised, but for him, his duties were above any emotion, and in front of him was an opponent who was not afraid of death, and who at all costs would have to get information or else his master, Naomi and other subordinates would be at risk without knowing what the enemy was planning.

"My interest in you has grown even more, for I perceive that you are a man who does not fear death." said Satoru taking himself and heading towards a table that was just behind the chair where the man was sitting.

On the table was a pair of black leather gloves, and a tool roll bag, inside were some common tools like pliers, hammer, but also syringes with hallucinogenic drugs and poisons from the Phyllobates frog and plants like Aconitum napellus. Attached to the wall was a large arsenal with knives, axes, claws and katanas.

"You know, a man like you who is not afraid of death, makes my job very easy, for only, and I need to make you wish for death." said Satoru putting on his gloves and looking at the utensils on the table. "And that bores me a lot, that's why I create a game consisting of questions and answers, and for every answer I don't like, I take away something equivalent to the given answer, and simple. Let's start."

Satoru was not placed as Tatsuo's right-hand man because he was organized or diligent in his work, but because he was the best at everything, and that included doing the dirty work and getting information, no matter how reckless the opponent was. And among the organization's subordinates, he became known as the yokai of truth.

"I'll start with the pliers, and something lighter." said Satoru pulling the pliers from inside his bag and heading back to the chair.

Sitting up again, Satoru waved his hand to the other of the two subordinates on the spot, and they immediately released the hands of the reluctant man with all their strength and placed him in front of Satoru, who held the pliers ready and squeezed the tip of his finger. When the man suddenly shouted, saying:

"AAAH! I'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT."

Everyone looked at each other in surprise, Satoru adjusted his glasses and said:

"Ara ara! What is this intentional spirit? Well, since you are going to tell me everything you know, let's hear it, and if the information is to my liking, perhaps I will let you go unharmed."

"Ok. Er... Ahn... Well, I serve Yin Zhao, and I was here keeping watch with the other two who managed to escape. The moment the girl left the mansion, we would follow the car she would be in to the ambush site."

"How did you find out that the girl is here? And that she was going out today?" asked Satoru still clamping the tweezers on the man's fingertip.

"Er... The master has an informant, but none of us know his identity." the man replied nervously. "The master must have figured out by now what has happened and is starting to put plan B into action."

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸

At the same instant, upon arriving at the apartment complex, Naomi filled with excitement as she checked her apartment and said:

"We're finally here." Naomi said, looking up at the building.

The moment the car stops in front of the apartment complex, Seiji and Takashi sense an atmosphere of suspicion, it was unusual for there to be cars parked on that street, especially if one of them was a minivan, so Seiji turns to Naomi and says:

"Naomi, stay here, I'll check it out."

Seiji opened the car door and got out, Takashi took a revolver that was in the glove compartment and cocked it and kept his eyes alert for any movement. Naomi was apprehensive and fearful of the situation around her and asked:

"What's going on?"

"Don't worry, Naomi, we're doing this as a precaution, so we won't be caught by surprise in case there's an ambush." said Takashi comforting Naomi.

While Seiji was checking the side street of the apartment complex, he was surprised by a man with a tattoo on his neck, who pointed his gun and fired at Seiji, who instinctively dived behind a dumpster to avoid being hit. Takashi and Naomi could hear the gunshots, and at the same moment a shot coming from the apartment balcony hit the glass next to Takashi, who immediately ducked and said:

"Miss Naomi, put your head down. They are shooting from the balcony."

Without a second thought, Naomi lowered her head and covered her ears. At the same instant, Takashi stands up and starts shooting in the same direction as he came shooting at the car, aiming accurately Takashi hit the shooter who fell dead from the second floor.

Behind the trash garbage can, Seiji turned the trigger of the gun and prepared to shoot, he could hear the man's footsteps starting to approach. Seiji quickly stepped out from behind the garbage can and fired the shot that hit the man, who fell dead to the ground. There they both understood that it was an ambush, then Seiji heard Takashi's voice shouting:

"Seiji, are you still alive?"

"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? OBVIOUSLY, I'M NOT GOING TO DIE." Seiji replied angrily.

"Hahaha... GET BACK HERE. WE NEED TO GET MISS NAOMI OUT OF HERE."

"Okay!" said Seiji running to the car.

Inside the car Naomi was shaking with fear, with her head down she covered her ears as best she could, but the sound of gunshots echoed in her ear. Takashi looked at Naomi and said:

"Miss Naomi, everything is going to be fine, let's get out of here right away."

Then Seiji appeared, abruptly opening the car door, which caused Takashi to startle and almost shoot by mistake.

"AAAAh! What's that, creature? You want to get shot?" Takashi said, nervously.

"If you had killed me, I would come and pull your foot, when you are sleeping." Seiji said indignantly.

At the same instant, everyone there heard a gunshot, and immediately afterwards Seiji's body fell to the ground, at that moment Naomi stood paralyzed looking at Seiji's body, while Takashi screamed:

"SEIJI! SEIJI! WAKE UP BRO?"

When they were surrounded by five men who got out of the minivan parked across the street, they pointed their guns and roughly and violently pulled Takashi out of the front seat and threw him to the ground. When Naomi saw Takashi pulled out of the car, she screamed:

"LET GO OF TAKASHI!."

Then two other men opened the door on the side where Naomi was standing and dragged her out of the car. Takashi struggled against the men around him and, after hitting one of them with a punch to the stomach, he saw Naomi dragged away and said:

"Miss Naomi, hold on, I will save you."

"Grrr!!! Let me go, you bastards," Naomi said, screaming and struggling.

Naomi was moving from side to side, trying to get loose, when she bit the hand of one of the men who was trying to cover her mouth.

"Ouch, that annoying brat bit me!" the man shouted.

"Grrr!!! Let go of me, or I'll rip your hand off with my teeth!" shouted Naomi fiercely.

Takashi when he saw Naomi biting the kidnapper's hand, said instinctively:

"Nice Miss Naomi."

And to stop Naomi's struggle, one of the men punched she in the stomach, causing she to pass out. They went to the parked minivan, opened the door and pulled Naomi inside. Takashi could see everything, but he was surrounded by two men who were still standing, even after taking many of their blows. All he could do was say:

"Miss Naomi."