[Replies]
@Yuki88: Mayu wasn't the one that killed Manfred, haha. The killer actually is unknown and most likely the Origami Killer himself.
@Llyloo: I'm sure the conclusion to this story is going to be soon. I suppose we are now on the half-way mark point of the story~
@Shinoki: News definitely does like to exaggerate, bluff and read off rumors as if they're the biggest deal on Earth. But yeah, police officers do sometimes earn a bad reputation and crap due to some of their behaviors. And yep! Mayu is going to have to kill someone, fufufu~
@mayuki_daisuki: Don't worry about my computer, haha. I got it all under control and thankfully have my recent work saved. And indeed! What will Mayu do?
@kahem: LOL, okay then, kahem-san! And she does indeed! I'll try to elaborate more about Chiyuu later on as the story progresses~
@kurogumi: Although it was a little depressing, I'm still alright with it since I have my current on-going fictions and OS being saved on my own computer and another flashdrive, LOL.
@cisda83: Here's the next chapter!
@gek geki: LOL, as far as your heart~ And yep! Yuki is going to definitely do something in this and the next chapter I'll upload when I have a chance.
Whew... 8,000+ words for this chapter... I actually was going to finish Yuki's portion here, but I think the last thing anyone would want to read is a 15,000+ word chapter. That's by far the longest I've written and I don't think I have the heart to keep you guys waiting.
Hope you enjoy this chapter though and sorry for the wait.
(sorry for the lack of using those other emoticons. It's like 1:16 AM at the moment and I need my sleep since I'm tired from working in the hospital for quite a while compared to the other days, LOL)
[Chapter 22]
Thursday, 11:15 AM.
I found myself staring in front of a door. A wooden door that blocked me between the inside world of the owner to the outside world of the apartment. After climbing up a flight of stairs, I was having an internal battle of the decision and trial I am thrown at. I was standing with my nerves going haywire as I stared at the object in front of me. From my right was another flight of stairs that led to the next floor as from the left had the clear window. Through it, one could easily see the rain pouring down upon the land. Each droplet pounded lightly against surface from outside. Silence hang within the air, making me feel rather uncomfortable.
Before I knew it, I felt my left hand reach from behind my back pocket. In one motion, I swung the handgun in front of my body. My eyes slowly examined the weapon at hand as I twisted it back and front. I’ve honestly never had any experience with guns in my life due to the fact that I didn’t even need to have a gun within my life at all. So to handle it for the first time is an added bonus to how nervous I am. Biting the bottom of my lip, I know for sure that if I handle this dangerous device wrong for even a split second, I would injure my index finger on the trigger. Cocking it to the left and right, I squinted my eyes.
‘Just… Oh God. I’m seriously here going to kill someone.’ I aimed it at the front door before me. I could easily see that my aiming is terrible due to the fact that I was trembling half-to-death. My shaky hands were very unstable. I now wonder how I’m able to kill this-this man I’m assigned to kill. To commit such a terrible crime on an individual that I don’t even know or even hell, the name of the person, Tatsuya Himuro, in my life is such a sin that could earn me one ticket to hell if I ever die.
My respiration system was performing their duties with a more rapid response than usual. I could feel the center of my chest squeeze from such stress coming to mind. I lowered my gun as I tried hard to clear my head. At this time, I was sweating profusely and wiped it off of my forehead with the back of my coat’s arm. I wanted to quit. I wanted to leave this poor man alone and find another way to get Jurina back. But my luck at finding her will minimize if I don’t complete this trial. I won’t be able to obtain another clue that will lead me to her location. And at this moment of time, my daughter is more important to me than anyone else in the universe. (Aside from Yuki, that is.)
Clenching my jaw tighter, I felt my grip become stronger on the handgun. ‘I didn’t come all this way just to stop now. I’ve gotta go through with it… For Jurina.’
With that thought in mind, I lifted my bandaged hand up and balled it into a fist. I brought it close to the wooden surface of the door. But something stopped me. Stopping my hand that was merely a few centimeters close to the door, I hesitated. With my fist in the air, I bit the bottom of my lip. ‘Come on, think of Jurina! Think of Jurina!’ I mentally scolded at myself when I saw my actions hesitating. ‘He opens up, I shoot. I get the hell out of there and I don’t look back. Simple.’
But it isn’t as simple as one, two and three. I’ve never killed a person. Hell even though in a health profession, I’ve never had a patient die on me. Even if they were, I wasn’t the one dealing with them. Not to mention that this is me MURDERING someone, not watching them die. Simply every part of my brain was screaming at me to turn around and forget about it. I just don’t understand how those massacres from a single psychopathic killer perform such inhumane deed for their own pleasure.
‘Don’t look at him in the eyes, just shoot,’ I repeated to myself a few times as I struggled to bring my fist to the door. ‘But… To kill a man? I’m going to kill a man to save my daughter? What kind of choice is that?!’
I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to comprehend and believe the situation I had gotten myself in. ‘Just what in the world am I supposed to do now?!’
Reopening my eyes, I glance left and right to check my surrounding. Seeing that I’m still with my lonesome self in front of the door, I tightened the grip on the handle of the gun. Tightening it till I could see the knuckles of my left hand turn chalky white. I shook my head and found myself ready to face this so-called man that I have to murder. Gulping, I hid my left hand behind my back in a style that I looked like I was proposing to someone with flowers. My right injured hand reached out to finally knock on the surface of the door. The hollow knocking was produced from my action a couple times.
A few seconds passed by… Soon thirty seconds passed by…
How very anticlimactic. After waiting for at least a full minute, the door isn’t even cracked opened. Feeling slightly irritated and ready to get this over with, I knocked again.
The second try seems to be worth it for I found myself staring at a Japanese man. The man looked somewhat young and was wearing a red bathrobe. Having a white t-shirt with a design of the state of California right smack in the center of it. Red slippers matched the robe that he had on. I couldn’t help but notice how thick and dark his eyebrows were as he smoothed his short, black hair with one of his hands. The other hand cracked open the door wide enough for him to see me without looking like a Peeping Tom.
“Yeah?” he asked in a sharp voice. This young man doesn’t seem too happy at my appearances. Better yet it looked like I interrupted something important. But from what I’m seeing inside of his apartment room through my view, I see no one but himself. “What do you want?”
When I didn’t answer, this man seems to be pissed off at my silence. Rolling his dark eyes, he fully opened the door. “Ah, fuck it. I said a thousand times that I don’t want any junkies at my door.” Himuro was slightly taller than my height as he approached to me. Waving both of his opened hands in the air, he expressed his dissatisfaction. “If you wanna score, man-“
I didn’t give him a chance though. Before we both knew it, I had the gun aimed at his direction with my uninjured hand. Aiming the tip right at his direction; the gun loaded with bullets that I needed to get in a clean, quick kill. Himuro seemed alarmed for he backed away rapidly with both of his hands up in the air as though he was caught by the cops. His eyes widen with shock. It’s not surprising though since I am aiming a dangerous weapon at his direction. I have the power to end his life with just one pull of a finger on the trigger. My other hand joined with my left hand in order to stabilize my shaky aim at the man.
“Hey, take it easy man, huh? Keep cool…” he spoke in a slightly trembling voice as he continued to back away. I didn’t want to let him escape from my aim. So I followed right after Himuro when he turned to the left and into the hallway of his home. “What do you want? Dope? Money? Tell me what you need. I’m sure we can make a deal.”
Himuro was becoming desperate at the situation at hand. Any person with a sane mind know that an individual with a gun usually means that they either want to steal or kill. I could tell that he was hoping that all I wanted was money or some sort of drug just for the hell of this act. Easily it hinted that he was a drug dealer the moment ‘dope’ came out of his mouth. But I clearly and physically showed to him that I wasn’t interested in any of those two. I kept my aim at him; even lifted it up slightly before dropping it down to his level to notify that I didn’t want them. What I wanted was his life.
There was suddenly a sharp slapping sound as his left hand smacked the hands that held onto the gun tightly to my right. My hands kept hold on the only weapon as he delivered a blow to my face. The man’s fist landed a punch right on the side of my face as I stumble backward. Luckily I was able to catch myself from falling completely on the floor with a single-seat red sofa from behind. Catching myself with my arms and pushing my body up, I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the owner of this room hollered at me.
“I’ll blow your brains out, you son of a bitch!”
The moment I glanced over my shoulder, I wanted to flip backward and scream at the sight. Himuro walked in from the laundry room behind and out with a shotgun at hand. He did not hesitate to point it at my direction. My eyes widen with horror when I saw his fingers pulling at the trigger without a second thought. I didn’t waste any precious moment and pushed myself out of the sofa in one motion. And from that push, I barely managed to dodge a heap of bullets. I could hear the loud ‘BANG!’ the shotgun emitted and smoke from behind seen created from behind and trailing over my head. I scrambled on my feet and ran straight into the nearest room in front of me.
I entered upon the dining room and sprinted with all of my life around the room. At the same time, I had to keep my only weapon at hand against this man (which I can’t tell if he really is psychotic or just acting on self-defense). Taking away the life of this man just got a whole lot more difficult in my part.
“Think you could come to MY house and steal MY dope!?” he screams at me as I desperately threw the closest chair at his direction. To my dismay, the chair didn’t reach him. Hell it only fell on its side and slid on the ground a few inches from its original position. I growled with frustration and terror as I again, managed to avoid getting one hell of a punch from that shotgun. Ducking while I made a fast braking move on the nearest bookshelves, I felt remains of the shot slam against the shelves; books falling upon my back. I winced from feeling a couple books hit my body, but remained focus on getting the hell out of Himuro’s shooting range.
“You’re gonna be shooting up in Hell, motherfucker!”
There was an electric guitar that caught my attention. Then without even thinking twice, I threw the musical instrument violently at his direction. The object flew in the air and rotated like a whirlwind at the man’s direction. However, Himuro side-stepped to his left and easily dodged the flying guitar.
Cursing inside of my head, I ran straight out of the dining room. While I ran, I used my right hand to push the nearest standing shelves in order to distract the shooting man. “Oh man, will you stop fucking moving?!” Another gunshot that missed again for the third time. It went through the wooden stands and straight into the furniture that I leapt on. Feathers from the pillows scattered into the air the moment I landed on the soft object. A few of them managed to land on my face to my annoyance. But I had no time to sit down and remove them. My body instinctively scrambled out of danger as I felt the presence of the owner cock his gun at my direction.
Getting up on my two feet, I ran on top of the furniture and immediately crashed into the wall across from me. I didn’t stop though. Using this as a sudden braking system, I had the palm of my hands push my body away from the wall and to my left. Still keeping ahold of the gun, I landed on the carpeted floor roughly on my two feet. My body leaned forward as I stumbled from such landing. I could’ve fell flat on my face, but I tried hard to regain my balance while moving forward at the same time. There was a door in my view as I was catching my balance.
Using my shoulder, I rammed into the door while my spare hand grasped ahold of the doorknob. With a flick of my wrist, I twisted the knob of the door and entered upon the man’s possible bedroom. Slamming the door shut behind me frantically, my attention was caught with another door in the room. I knew that I have to hide. I have to if I didn’t want to get my head blown up from this man. But as much as I wanted to hide, in just mere seconds, Himuro smashed opened the door with one kick. “Nowhere to hide, junkie asshole!” the owner mocked me as his weapon was ready to fire at any given moment.
There was a nearby clothing rack. And that clothing rack was filled with his clothes hanged with the plastic hangers. Another one of the objects that can be used to stall at least a split second of my life. I roughly shoved the rack at the man, blocking him from entering into the room. Then using that five spare seconds, I ran into the other room only to find myself in a bathroom. To my luck, there was another door that connected to this bathroom, so there’s one more escape route I could take if I have to.
Trying to calm my rapidly beating heart from slamming against my chest, I sucked in a deep breath and brought the gun back up into aiming position. I backed away in a slow motion, preparing myself to shoot the guy when he comes around the corner. My index finger is itching to pull the trigger as sweat ran down the side of my face.
I then saw him. Himuro came around with the shotgun aimed at my direction. Now taking this chance, I pulled on the trigger. Or so I thought I did. My finger must’ve slipped from the trigger as it didn’t have enough strength to work the firing mechanic. I mentally blamed my sweaty hand from such high tension as I twisted my body to the left in order to avoid getting shot at. Not wasting another second of this situation, I rushed over to the only closed door in this bathroom.
Another shot landed on the pillow of a kid’s bed as I rolled on the bed upon entering. My body instantly flew straight out of the bed and into the ground, rolling a couple times. The pain didn’t register in my brain as I scrambled to get back on my feet. I didn’t have time to waste and the man was already in the room. From my vision, I saw to my right that there was a door already opened to my luck. I ran forth. My instinct warned me to duck and so I did.
Thankfully I’ve listened to my warning instincts. The moment I lowered my body down and bent my knees was the moment a hole was created on the wooden door above my head. If I reacted a second too late, I would’ve gotten my brain splattered into a plethora amount of bloody pieces.
Trying not to panic, I just sprinted as fast as possible through the hallway. My arms swinging left and right on my sides, I glanced over my shoulder to see him gaining on me. Quickly after passing by two doors on my right, I forced myself to enter into the third room.
I aimed at the door again, preparing myself for the man’s appearance. This was driving me crazy! I should’ve just pulled the trigger in the first place rather than hesitate and threaten him in silence! I just earned myself a batshit crazy man who turned me into the victim instead. Grumbling in my head, I was going to pull the trigger when I suddenly felt small bits of wood fly from my left. A yelp escaped from my mouth as I tumbled backward in shock. From the corner of my eyes, I saw on my left a shot successfully making its mark on the door as the man on my right came bursting into the room through another entrance. I was completely unaware that there was another door that Himuro could’ve gone through since I was so focused on getting my index finger positioned correctly on the trigger.
Frantically while my upper body was bending forward I ran for my life away from the man and into the kitchen. The windows right above my head shattered the moment the gunshot smashed into it. Shattering glasses fell upon my body and bounced off as I dashed straight ahead. I saw a table with three chairs right by it. In a state of panic, I picked one up with one hand and swung it violently when I saw the owner come out from the corner. I heard the wooden object smack into his body, but that didn’t delay his aggressive nature to blowing me up into itsy bitsy pieces. My feet on its own took me back into the same hallway that I had ran into not too long ago.
Another narrow escape when the bullets was just a centimeter above my head. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the wall splattered with holes from the gun. Then with one more push, I got into a room.
My luck must’ve gotten pretty bad today. I was now standing in horror within a girl’s bedroom. But it wasn’t the bedroom that was horrifying me at all. No. Not that at all. It was the fact that I had no escape other than leaping out of this tall apartment building from the window. And of course, that would be suicide if Himoru didn’t bash in here and go all out with his shotgun at hand.
Twisting my body around, I was faced with the Japanese man and the gun aimed straight at me. He was out of breath as his running feet slowed down. The game of cat and mouse had already come to a fatal conclusion. My heart was pounding when I saw how itchy his finger were at pulling the trigger. Just one pull and it’ll all be over at this very minute. I bit the bottom of my lip as I backed away slowly. I knew the end would come but never in a manner like this!
I felt the back of the pink wall from behind, hinting that I had nowhere else to run anymore. I’m caught and I can’t do anything other than meet my fate. I felt my back pressing against the surface of the wall as the owner grumbled a few incoherent words under his breath.
Then he cocked the weapon at hand. With a loud click, Himuro pulled on the trigger.
One second passed by.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The two of us were standing with surprise when the owner was trying to unload his bullets at my direction. But alas, he had run out of ammunition. Thanks to how much he fired at me while we ran around the house, he heeded no attention to the ammo this shotgun had.
Using this to my advantage, I lifted up my handgun rapidly at his direction. Pointing the tip at Himuro, the table was now turned once again. The feeling was as though in a game of chess, I had made a single move that would bring me one step closer to victory rather than defeat.
I now had him under my hand as he stood powerless before my eyes. Giving him obvious hints that I’m threatening him with my weapon, he tossed his shotgun down on the carpeted ground without sparing a glance. Raising both of his hands up into the air, he then began to plead. “Hold it man… I’ll give you whatever you want… I got dope… I got cash… You want some dope?”
I was clearly not interested in those two choices. This drug dealer should know by now that all I wanted was his life. His life for the sake of my daughter. When the owner clearly got the message, he got down on his knees.
“Please… Please don’t kill me man…” His voice was quivering in fear. Terror was seen running his instincts now as he desperately tried to find a way to save his life. Trying to persuade me from pulling the trigger. “I’ve got children…”
Those words… Those words that he has children… That nearly caught me off guard. My heart suddenly pounded even harder against my chest when I sucked in all of the information of this fancy apartment’s house setting. I soon began to notice the little details of this place. There were children’s drawings littered all over the house and on the walls; hung up with pride. And this room that I was now standing in… Standing in one of the many children that he might have. Seeing as how my hands were starting to shake, I brought another one of my hands to get a better grip on my weapon.
“These my girls, see? This one’s Tiffani… and the little one, that’s Cindy…” he was now holding up a photo that, was for some coincidental reason, on the floor. His left hand was pointing at each of the two girls that were standing happily in the photo. The photo showed them in the park with the two girls with their dark hair, sun hats and summer clothing. They were sitting on a bench with their smiles sincere with their young age. “Please man, I wanna see them again. Please… Please don’t shoot!”
Biting the bottom of my lip, I saw his arms hovering above his lowered head. He was terrified. Terrified at the situation at hand. My grip on the gun was trembling to the point that one would see it from a great distant. I swallowed nervously. My breathing was becoming rapid due to how out of breath I was and the tension from being chased not too long ago. All memories swept into my brain of my daughters. Just what would Jurina think of me if she knew that I had killed a man for the sake of saving her life? She would just hold a grudge that I had killed yet another innocent individual after her younger sister, Ayame. But I need to gain as much information as I needed to. I NEED to have it in order to save my daughter’s life. I don’t care if she hates me for eternity, but her safety is more than my own life.
“I’m a father too…” Then in one motion, I brought the weapon down upon the man’s head harshly. A loud slam could be heard as the body fell the floor. Himuro immediately became unconscious upon contact with the gun. “But I’m no killer…”
----------
Kashiwagi Yuki was seen to be driving down the street of a quiet neighborhood in Akihabara. The neighborhood was quiet due to the fact of the lack of houses and its location in a poorer part of the city. Aside from the rain pouring down upon the land that is. Each rain drop smacked against her clothing as Yuki leaned a bit closer to her motorcycle. The older girl was dressed with her black leather jacket and dark blue jeans. A black helmet held her head safely from any collision as the glassed view before her eyes showed her the road. It protected her vision from any sort of derbies; rain seen to be splattered against her view and slid off the moment they came into contact. Her white t-shirt was seen to be whipping against the pressing wind as she drove towards her destination. Destination of an individual that might just lead a clue to who and what the Origami Killer really is.
Yuki knows for sure that Mayu wasn’t going to tell her what exactly was going on and as stubborn as the cyborg is, she won’t allow her ex-wife to even lend a hand. It pains Yuki greatly, but she couldn’t just sit around and see Mayu get hurt. As much as she was in disbelief the moment the shorter girl lost their one and only daughter alive, she believed in her heart that Mayu wasn’t the cause of this entire ordeal. Rather it was just bad luck that Mayu was in the wrong place at the wrong timing. And not only is Jurina gone but Mayu is coming back in a near-death state almost every single time Yuki went to visit the other girl. If losing one daughter wasn’t enough, fate has to throw her the person that she had divorced yet still love into a spiraling and out-of-control dangerous event that no one seems to have control over. She bit the bottom of her lip as a slight pang of heart ache was felt within her chest. Her gloved hands tightened their grip on the handles as she sped through the wet, empty street. She knew she HAD to do something.
Her eyes flickered over to the small digital clock she attached to the vehicle she’s riding on. 1:32 PM was stated clearly as the droplets of rain magnified certain areas of the time on the glass surface of its exterior.
“Yukirin? It’s Sayanee. I got your information.” The familiar female that Yuki hasn’t heard in a while, Yamamoto Sayaka, was heard speaking through the Bluetooth device connected to her left ear. It was attached to her cell phone; hidden deep in her pants pockets. Her eyes squinted as she listened to the mature girl speak.
Yamamoto Sayaka was the ‘husband’ of Watanabe Miyuki (Mayu’s younger sister). Yuki remembers back a while ago when the two got married right after she had gotten married to Mayu a few months. The two were like fated couples tied with the red string of love by their pinkies. Tied with the fate that they were meant to be with each other. Yuki would always contact the younger girl if she ever needed any sort of assistant. Assistance that range from listening to her rant to planning birthday parties and even offering to tell a few good stories heard around the world. Sayanee is known to be a news reporter and writer for the many famous headlines in the United States. So it wasn’t any surprise to have a plethora amount of information stored within her sleeves.
The moment Sayanee received a call from Yuki not too long ago, she knew that it was something out of the ordinary. Since she and Miyuki had already received the news that they not only were divorced but also recently lost their last daughter, it must be urgent. And it was indeed urgent. Yuki specifically requested information in regards to the most recent owner of the abandoned apartment Mayu had been in not too long ago.
“The previous owner of the apartment is a doctor from the United States. Adrian Baker’s his name. He’s a struck off surgeon… Used to sell drugs to junkies on the quiet. He made some cash and bought up some cheapass apartments, including the one on the street you’re on, before ditching it for good. Of course he got caught. Did a few months in prison and was struck off the medical register.”
“Interesting…” Yuki frowned to herself as she drove down the street. She wonders to herself what could Mayu possibly be doing with another criminal. What exactly lead her to cut off her finger? And why? “Thanks for the information, Sayanee. I owe you one.”
By the time Yuki had uttered those words, she slowed her motorcycle down to a complete stop. Glancing over to her right, she saw a decent one story home. It was located just right at the end of the small intersections of the street. The bold stop sign was just a foot away from where Yuki had just stopped. She then parked the running motorcycle and cranked the engine off. With just one twist of her wrist, she took out the key that was inserted its appropriate location. Yuki kicked the brakes down from her left in order to avoid letting the vehicle tumble on its side by accident.
As the older girl got off of her bike, she heard Sayanee’s voice again. This time there was a hint of worry within it. “Hey Yukirin… Be careful, okay?” Yuki couldn’t blame the girl for being worried. She herself haven’t told exactly what was going on at the moment with Mayu and why she needed to know the information. Sayanee and Miyuki were left behind in the dark as this unfortunate crisis had come up. As much as she wanted to tell them everything about what she knows and what was happening to Mayu, the last thing she needed was the cops to take her in as one of the suspects for being the Origami Killer. If Mayu is wanted and Yuki is related in that case, it would only make things worse if she explained that she was trying to help one of the prime suspects.
Now if this was a light-hearted situation, Yuki would’ve chuckled to it. However, she merely responded back with assurance. “I’m on it. Talk to you later.”
Then taking off the helmet from her head, she felt a fresh wave of rain fall upon her face without any mercy. The sound of the rain coming into contact with the pavement she stood on was heard loud and clear. Thunders roared from the distant every now and then. Yuki shook her head left and right, feeling parts of her hair mat against the back of her neck. Using one hand to take out the Bluetooth attached to her left ear, she then placed the helmet gently down upon her seat. The older girl now stood in front of the owner’s property.
The house wasn’t big nor was it small. Metal fences were easily seen to surround the house all except the entrance. And from the entrance, one could see the concrete stairs. Only five to six steps were required in order to be met with the front door of the house. From what Yuki could tell, there wasn’t a single person in sight as she scanned the environment. Only she herself is alone out in such weather. The nurse bit the bottom of her lip when she then took a step forward.
‘The previous owner of the apartment where Mayu cut off her finger lives here… Not much of a lead but it’s all I’ve got…’
It was literally difficult to help the person that she cared so much for with not a single clue left behind. Mayu hasn’t left any sort of clues that could even give Yuki the slightly hint of what was going on. All she could do was dig out the purpose and reason of Mayu’s actions the hard way. Even Mayu herself didn’t know that Yuki was performing such dangerous action. Hell the doctor would be angry if she ever found out what Yuki was doing.
‘But if it’s for Mayu’s safety… Then I’ll do anything.’ It hurts-no, it killed Yuki on the inside to see Mayu come back battered and almost dying before her eyes. She didn’t know the cause and she surely wants to know why. As much as she loved Jurina, her heart, despite the divorce, had still remained with Mayu. Yuki still does love Mayu. The divorce was the biggest regret she had done in her life as it sent both her and Mayu’s life spiraling into the rough sea. She wanted to put an end to this dangerous situation at hand. She wants to save their daughter and she wants to save Mayu.
Keeping that thought in mind, Yuki soon found herself to be standing in front of the dark brown wooden door. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the bricked wall fade into on both sides of the wooden object. The home from what she could see was decent on the exterior. Most likely the inside is decent enough for a single person to strive.
The dark-haired girl was nervous. And it was right for her to be nervous. She didn’t know who exactly this man is and knows for sure that she’s got herself into a situation that isn’t safe for any normal civilian. Who knows what could happen to Yuki. For all she knows, this could be the last thing she’ll do in her life. But whatever she’s faced with, she’s going to face it with a bold approach.
There was a nearby doorbell that she could press in order to gain the attention of the household from inside. Pressing it once, she retracted her finger slowly as she gulped; unsure of what she was about to face. It took a couple long seconds for the nurse to finally get a response from the person behind the wooden door. The door cracked up just wide enough to show a male. He was seen to be wearing a dark green collared Hawaiian shirt. White designs of the flower was accompanied by his light brown shorts. Adrian’s age here is easily shown that he was getting old. The ex-surgeon had the top of his head naturally bald as dark hairs now turned to white and grayish color surrounded from the side and behind his head only. The eyes on his face squinted the instant they came into contact with Yuki’s face. From her view, she saw that he was… quite creepy. Mentally the older girl shuddered from disgust. But she kept her calm exterior for she was focused on gaining information from this man. Information on why Mayu was in the abandoned apartment.
“Hi…” she mumbled almost in a low audible voice that only the two of them can hear. “I was told you can get Betropen without a prescription…”
A small pause came in between the two figures before the ex-surgeon closed his eyes. Shaking his head, he then replied back, “Sorry, you were misinformed. Good-bye.” Upon saying that last statement, Adrian closed the door.
Or so he thought he was able to. The old man was a little surprised when Yuki’s left hand came out to keep the door from pushing. Using the palm of her hand to push it back forward for her favor instead, she tried to pressure and persuade the doctor of her ‘reason’ to being here. “Hold on! I… I… I really need your help here.” Yuki removed her hand from the door and dropped it back down to her side when the ex-doctor’s face came into view again from her vision. “I can pay!”
Looks like she gained the doctor’s favor for hers. Giving Yuki a smile that sent chills down her spine, he cocked his head to one side slightly. “Why didn’t you say so? Please come in.”
He widen the door opened for the other girl and stepped to the side so Yuki could enter in. Walking forth and into the center of the room without looking back, she bit the bottom of her lip when she began to realize that there was no turning back at this point. She had him completely convinced that she ‘wanted’ drugs for her act and Adrian bought it. If she ran away, then that would be the end of the only clue that will help out Mayu. Crossing her arms and holding them close to her body, she glanced around to examine the inside of the house.
One could describe that the inside of the house is like… a house for old folks. The designs of the wallpapers in the main room held a fancy patterned design multiplied many times on the wall. Fading, but dark red color as the background. None of the windows were concealed with any sort of curtains but they were closed. A few tables and furniture around the main living room. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a few bottle of liquor, wine and alcohol sitting on one table. Nearby the glassed bottles were wine glasses.
‘Could this man really be an alcoholic?’ Yuki definitely felt uncomfortable inside of this man’s home. Adrian’s home just raised all alarms within her brain as she tried to remain calm.
“Soooo…” Dragging out the ‘o’ in the word ‘so’ nearly want to make Yuki dash right out the front door from how damn creepy this old man can be. All of the hairs on her neck stood on their end. Trying very hard not to shudder from disgust and fear, she politely glanced over to Adrian. “You’re looking for Betropen, my dear? Are you having trouble sleeping? How much do you need?”
All questions were shot at Yuki’s direction merciless, but regardless she answered them. “I don’t know. About three or four boxes?”
Her eyes and entire body followed the man as he circled around her with interest. Clasping his hands together, he nodded his head once. “Well now, that shouldn’t be a problem.” Then flicking his head to his right, he motioned his right hand in the air. “Would you like a drink? I was just about to have one.”
“No thanks,” Yuki flashed her teeth at the man (at least attempted to). As polite as Adrian was trying to be, something was rubbing her off. It just didn’t feel right to be offered alcoholic drinks from a man that sold drugs in the medical field. That was just crazy. And the last thing she wanted was to be knocked unconscious or driven into a drunk state from a creep. Her response though didn’t seem to satisfy Adrian. The ex-surgeon tried to reason with her why she should just take a sip from his drink. “Alcohol helps take the edge off the pills, don’t you think? Anyway, we should drink a toast to our first deal!”
Then to Yuki’s surprise, the man wrapped his left arm around her shoulder as he led her to the nearest sofa. The poor girl nearly showed her flinch physically the moment he touched her. Oh how much she wanted to knock off his arm and give him a punch in the face, rejecting the offer. But playing the good girl role, she let Adrian lead her to the light brown sofa. Sitting down on the edge, Yuki nervously watched the ex-doctor trend over to the table. In one motion, he grabbed one of the many bottles laying out in front of him. There was the sound of the lid being popped off followed by the liquid going straight into the glass.
‘So much for trying to tell him no… Peer pressuring me, no?’ Yuki mentally face palmed herself as she watched with caution. She was still planning to stay far away from any sort of drink. Hell the only time she drank any sort of alcoholic drink was during the marriage and honeymoon she had with Mayu. Even during that time she didn't drink much. Other than that, she’s not going to accept it. However, seeing as how he didn’t really care about her opinions on the substance, she’ll just fake drinking the liquid.
He soon came back with two glass cups at hand. Giving her one, Yuki hesitantly accepted the offer. Two hands wrapped around the neck of the wine glass, she stared at the carpeted floor beneath her shoes in order to avoid looking over at Adrian. The older man now sat down at the other end of the same sofa Yuki was sitting on.
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he tried to spark up a conversation with the young lady. “Who told you about me?”
Crossing one of his legs over the other, he stared at Yuki with interest as the nurse tried to incorporate some sort of answer to his question. “I can’t remember…” she started off slowly as her mind tried to gather in the words for a good excuse. “My brain’s fried with all these pills; can’t tell day from night half the time…”
Adrian remained silent, but Yuki could see from the corner of her eyes that he was bobbing his head in comprehension. Knowing that he again bought her answers, she decided to initiate a question or two at his direction. The girl twirled her glass around to look like she’s prepared to take a sip from the glass. “Can you get other… types of medicine?”
Small pause before he answered. “Everything has a price, my dear… What about you? Do you have a price?”
“Forget it. I’m not for sale.” This ticked off her really fast. Even faster than any man that had ever come up to her to flirt (even though Mayu back then would be all overprotective and transform into cyborg mode). There was a hint of her ‘Black’ attitude being shown with the words spoken through her barely parted lips when she whipped her face at his direction for a split second before looking away. ‘What a perverted old bastard.’
No more came out of his mouth, which then led to Yuki’s final question once she calmed down. The burning question that remained in her head about Mayu. The question that will hopefully give her an answer that she is looking for. “I heard you had some apartments for sale? I’m looking…”
“Sorry darling. Those are all booked up…”
“Shame… I was looking for something around here…”
It looks like cracking him open isn’t going to be as easy as she had thought. It’s either he doesn’t care about it or he’s just lying straight through his teeth. Shrugging his shoulders, Adrian took one gulp from his glass and got up from his seat. He took a few steps forward before turning around to look at Yuki. Raising both of his eyebrows in the air, he questioned her about not drinking.
“I, er… I’m not really thirsty…” Yuki then placed the filled glass on a nearby coffee table. She could see from her viewpoint that there was a flash of disappointment igniting behind the man’s pair of eyes. But he didn’t say anything. Rather he looked like he’s going to do what Yuki wanted him to do earlier for coming here. “I’ll get your prescription. Won’t be a moment. So just wait here.”
In a few seconds, he was gone from her sight. This immediately made Yuki get up from her seat. ‘That guy gives me the creeps… Not to mention he seems to be upset that I wouldn’t drink. I get the feeling I did the right thing… Anyway, I better take a quick look around to see if I find anything before he gets back.’ She knew that she had absolutely no time to waste. Yuki has to gain as much information as she can in order to help Mayu even if it’s a little bit.
As she scanned the inside of the living room that she was standing in, she pondered to herself about the doctor. ‘Could the doctor be the Origami Killer? There’s something about the way he looks…’
There was two other doors aside from the main living room. And the both of them were closed. ‘Maybe a quick look behind those doors? I’ll make up some lies if he finds me…’ She knows for sure that if she wants to peek through them and even possibly enter in them, she’ll have to be extremely careful. Her heart was felt pounding against her chest as her eyes roamed around the room. It was nerve-wrecking from such actions she’s about to do. Not to mention the situation that she had just landed herself in. ‘Just don’t make a sound… He’s near…’
So Yuki decided to approach the one on the right. Carefully she wrapped her left hand around the golden doorknob. Twisting it in a slow motion, she pushed it opened only to find herself in the bathroom. The nurse knew that there was absolutely nothing that would give her a lead based on a single bathroom, so she quickly but quietly backed away from the room. This made Yuki go directly to the other door. And in the same manner, she sneakily entered into the room; a room which was the bedroom of the owner.
‘Quick, gotta find something!’
From what she could see, there was his bed and closet standing nearby with a built-in mirror. A desk was also seen on the other side of the bed. That quickly grabbed the attention of Yuki. So the nurse briskly made her way towards the wooden furniture. Scanning the surface of the desk, her eyes had caught a paper. She snatched it and raised it up to her level. ‘Blue Lagoon’ was printed on one side as the back had some sort of scribble in black pen. As much as Yuki wanted to ponder about this, she took the object either way since there might be an importance in relation to Mayu’s situation.
Yuki then returned back outside to the main room. She knew that there was a hallway in between the two doors that she had just entered into. And that hallway is the only hallway that she had yet to investigate. So using this chance, the older girl hurried over. She soon came upon the left side of the hallway; met with the kitchen. She took a step inside, wanting to take one last examination of this part of the house before taking her leave.
The older girl took another step in. But then a huge amount of pain just burst from the back of her head. This made Yuki yelp out shortly before falling forward. Blackness did not hesitate to welcome her as she laid unconscious and crumbled on the white tiled floor. Arms sprawled out in an attempt to save her upper body from colliding too hard on the ground below.
“Nosy little ferret…” Adrian spoke as he lowered the wooden bat held with his left hand. The bat was seen to have a small portion on the upper part covered with fresh blood; fresh blood of the girl he had just whacked with to knock her out. There was a smirk on his face as his right hand motioned with joy. Taking a few steps towards the fallen body, his eyebrows raised with happiness as multiple thoughts of what he could do to Yuki sent thrill and pleasure to his internal world. “We’re gonna have some fun together, my darling. I promise…”
Next chapter with contain scenes of Yukirin. AHHHHHHH PEDOBEAR ON THE LOOSE!
Topic: How Far Are You Prepared To Go? [Mayuki] - Chapter 25 [Update: 07/16/14] (Read 56222 times)