Ill-Fated (Phantom Troupe x Reader) [Soulmate AU]

3.

Authors Note: After rereading my previous two chapters (which I wrote at 3 am), I have made a lot of edits to my grammar. Now to the story. 

Despite the painful rope constricting your movement, your hands inched slowly toward your boot. You wanted to be inconspicuous, so your movement was purposeful and focused. Slowly but surely, you were getting closer and closer to it. If only you could reach your knife and cut the rope. Maybe then you could open your car door jumping out onto the road. You weren't sure where exactly you'd go from there, but it was certainly a more attractive option than being held hostage by the Phantom Thieves. As you glanced up at the rearview mirror, you confirmed again that the two thieves had their eyes fixed on the road as you slowly reached your boot. 

Digging your fingers in, you felt your heartbeat spike with the anxiety-inducing realization that you couldn't feel your knife anywhere. Swallowing thickly, you dug your hand in further, praying that the knife you had been searching for shifted further into your boot than usual during your travel. Praying to whatever was out there, that it was still in there, that your last strand of hope wasn't gone. Your eyes shot up nervously toward the front car seats, trying to surmise whether the two men had noticed your nervousness. 

A pair of dark eyes stared back at you through the rearview mirror. You froze. Your hand was still in your boot; you almost felt like a kid caught with your hand in the cookie jar. Of course in this case, the potential punishment was much more severe, your freedom taken from your maybe? Maybe torture? It was the Phantom Troupe, so who really knew to which extent they would retaliate against your bold attempt to produce a weapon to escape? Phinks held up the knife you had been searching so desperately for.

"Looking for this?" He asked.

You stayed silent in response. Nobunaga remained quiet as well, only briefly shooting you a warning look. Although you were more preoccupied with Phinks, who held your gaze threateningly. At this point, he had fully turned around in his seat, coming face to face with you. You had to admit that now, seeing him in the dying light of day, he wasn't bad to look at. Hell, if he were just a stranger you had seen from across the room at a cafe, you would have even thought he was handsome enough. He was not the traditional kind of handsome, but he was attractive in a roguish kind of way. His black eyes bore into yours, expecting an answer. After waiting and not receiving one, he ran a calloused hand through his hair, which was slicked back and held securely by an abundance of hair gel. You could see the rise and fall of his chest from underneath a dark green tracksuit, which you typically would have considered a fashion disaster. In this case, it only added to his manly charm. His chiseled face seemed to exclusively hold one of two expressions: either cocky or irate. Currently, an angry scowl played on his face as he turned away from you once again, rolling down the window and tossing your last lifeline out like it was nothing to him. Before realizing what you were doing, you scampered up to the window, watching helplessly as your last weapon of defense faded slowly into the landscape behind you.  

Phinks watched you intently; your lips were parted in surprise, and your eyes glazed over with fear and concern. Why were you trying to escape? Shouldn't you have wanted to be next to him, to meet the rest of your soulmates? Why were you afraid? They wouldn't hurt you if you just acted obedient. Phinks had to admit that he wasn't totally sold on the idea of soulmates before; much like most treasure, he saw his potential soulmate as a collectible. A tool to potentially strengthen his Nen, somebody to have as his own who was preordained by the universe to be his own. He knew his fellow troupe members, who all had you as their soulmate, held similar views. However, as he stared at your face, a feeling stirred in his gut like an angry snake. Rage at the thought of you disappearing out of his grasp. Jealousy at all the time you presumably devoted to others before he finally got his hands on you. Strongest of all was the desire to possess you.

It was a long moment before Phinks spoke up again.

"Don't try anything dumb like that again. You won't be leaving my side anytime soon."

Phink's words sat heavy in a tense silence that had enveloped the car once again. Nobunaga was one to break it.

"We should be at the base soon." He announced, sending a brief look to Phinks.

Enveloped in silence, you leaned back into the seat behind you cautiously. It was fair to say that escaping now, so close to the Phantom Troupe's hideout, without weapons and while both your kidnappers were on high alert, would be an entirely futile effort. You had to wait, wait for some opening. You weren't sure exactly when this opening would present itself, but it was the only thought that kept you relatively calm in the moment.

It must have been ten minutes later that the car came to a halt. The two men exited the vehicle before the passenger side door on your side opened. Before you could react, Phinks's hand reached in, grabbing your arm and sending those unfamiliar warm tingles through your body again. He pulled you toward him and scooped you into his arms more forcefully than you would have liked, throwing you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

"You know I can walk, right?" You said, with an unmistakable irritation in your voice. 

"I'm not untying your legs after the stunt you pulled, so get used to this," Phinks responded plainly. 

Without another word, he began following after Nobunaga, who had already begun making way to what seemed to be a lone abandoned building surrounded by piles of rubble of various sizes and shapes at all sides. You weren't exactly sure what you thought the accommodation of the Spiders would be like. You guessed you just hoped there would never come a moment when you would have to see it.

Still, this was unmistakably the place. Your chest tightened at the overwhelming feeling of strong Nen that came from the building you neared in the arms of Phinks. The dread in you grew as you inched closer to your future.