ENG - My best friend's sister ᵐᶦᵏᵉʸ ˣ ᵒᶜ

92

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The man's words echo in my ears as the video ends and the screen of my cell phone goes dark. A terrible knot of worry and anger forms in my stomach. My heart is racing like crazy.
I stare again at the image of Mei tied up and injured. The sight of her blood-covered face triggers a stab deep in my chest and a feeling of helplessness overcomes me. I desperately try to identify every detail in the picture, anything that might give clues to her whereabouts, but nothing.
Angrily, I throw my phone against the ground and kick my bike, which falls over. I don't know who this wanker's voice is either, so I can't tell who it is.
My head rattles incessantly. I run through every conceivable person I could have hurt in the past and think about whether one of these bastards has a brother who would be capable of doing it. Just about anyone comes to mind.

I scream in frustration and keep kicking my bike as there's nothing else within reach to take my anger out on.
At some point, I pick up my phone again and get on my bike to ride off. I ride through the streets all night, looking up every single gang I come across or know. If they don't have any information for me and turn out to be a false lead, I lash out at them randomly to release my pent-up anger.

The sun is already rising and I must have already beaten up what feels like the twentieth gang. My cell phone rings again and I immediately reach for it and open the message, which is again under Mei's name. Another picture. This time she's sitting on a chair, still tied up. Her clothes have been torn off and more wounds adorn her already battered body.
Tears well up in my eyes and I am desperate. For the first time in my life, I feel completely helpless because there is nothing I can do about this situation. Not even my brother's death has made me feel this helpless. I take a deep breath, try to suppress the tears that are welling up and look at the picture again.
The surroundings have changed and it looks as if she is now sitting in a room. But even this picture gives no indication of her exact whereabouts.

Stressed, I run my fingers through my hair, wipe away the tears and get back on my bike.
The engines of my motorcycle roar as I speed through the city streets. I ride haphazardly, always looking for a clue that could lead me to Mei. The hours pass and I'm completely exhausted, but I can't give up.

[...]

I bang on the door frantically until it finally opens. "Mikey?" Kenchin asks as my fingers tremble with excitement. I don't answer right away, but instead pull my cell phone out of my pocket and hold it out to him with the latest picture that was sent to me.
His eyes narrow as he stares at the display and a scowl appears on his face. "What does that mean?" he asks, snatching the phone from me to take a closer look at the picture. My heart is pounding furiously as I try to remain calm, even though anger is boiling inside me like a volcano. "She's been kidnapped," I finally explain. "I've been looking for her all night," I add.

He can't believe what he's hearing and seeing. "There's another video," I say, and he immediately turns his attention back to the chat and plays the video. His face turns bright red with anger and he turns to me with an angry question: "What does that mean?"
I hesitate to say the words because I know Mei hasn't done it yet, but there's no time. "They're doing it to her because they want to hurt me like this," I explain to him. He doesn't quite understand what that means, you can tell by the look on his face. "Why you?" he asks, handing the phone back to me. "Because I'm with her. She's my girlfriend," I explain to him.

His eyes darken once more and he grabs me by the collar and pulls me close to him. "You little..." he begins, but I interrupt him. "Save it for later, we have to find her first!"
Reluctantly, he lets go of me and we set off to round up all the members of Toman to help with the search.


Meiyo POV

When I open my eyes, I am immediately struck by a sharp pain in my head. At the same time, my hands and legs feel strangely numb.
The surroundings are unfamiliar and it takes me a few seconds to get my bearings. It is a small, windowless room with bare walls and an uncomfortable feeling of oppression. I can feel the fear creeping up inside me.
Where the hell am I?
And how on earth did I get here?

Suddenly I remember the van that stopped in front of me and the memory of how I fainted. My heart starts beating hard as I realize that I've been kidnapped. My breathing becomes shallow and hurried and I feel the despair wash over me. I try to move and realize that I am tied to a chair. Panic takes possession of me.
In my desperation, I try to scream for help through the tape covering my mouth, but my voice is choked underneath. Tears stream unstoppably down my face as my whole body aches. I have no idea why they dragged me here or who the hell they are.
Suddenly the door is unlocked with an eerie squeak and a sinister figure appears in the doorway, its face difficult to make out in the semi-darkness. My heart races even faster and I struggle desperately to free myself from the restraints, but no chance. The man violently rips the tape from my mouth, causing me to cough painfully. "Why are you doing this?" I finally say in a shaky voice. "What do you want from me?"
A sinister laugh rings out, followed by an answer that sends an icy shiver down my spine. "You don't really have anything to do with any of this. You're just with the wrong person," he explains. Then he grabs another chair in the room and sits down right in front of me. He looks at me with a disgusting grin. "I figured if he really loves you - and it looked like he did the last few weeks when we were watching you - hurting you will surely hurt him more than physically attacking him," he adds.
I swallow hard and lower my gaze to hide my ever-increasing tears. "So... Is this only happening because I'm with Mikey?" I dare to ask, even though I already know the answer.
"So it seems," he confirms to me with cold calm.

My heart seems to twist in my chest and the pain becomes unbearable. "So... what did he do to you?" I ask cautiously, without lifting my eyes. The man starts to laugh and stands up. He steps closer, forcibly grabs my chin and forces my face upwards. "He broke all my little brother's bones and nobody hurts my brother without regretting it," he shouts at me. Then he gives me a brutal punch right in the face, followed by another and another. Finally, his foot hits me full force in the stomach and I am thrown backwards along with the chair. My head hits the floor painfully.
"He's going to pay for everything and so are you, little girl. And it's only because you're with him. Love can be so painful," he continues and leaves the room with an evil laugh.

All this is only happening because I'm with the wrong person.
I wish I'd listened to Keikei.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰