Black Ice 2: Fatal Mobs (KBTBB) Completed

III.

• chapter three •

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I enter the lounge of what I'm guessing the penthouse, the stairs on the side clarifying it. There's four men and a maid waiting for our arrival, and when Soryu and I walk in, they seem shocked, surprised, and two of them with little to no emotion on their faces. From their questions, I guess I knew them before but now I don't. When I meet Soryu's eyes, sorrow and hurt glazes his stormy gray eyes. The guilt begins to swell in me.

"Well," The orange-blonde man starts talking after a silence, a small smile on his face. "At least she's alive and not dead."

"Ota, don't say it like that!" The maid shrieks out, worry in her features.

"I suppose we have to introduce ourselves again." The one in the fedora hat says, standing up. "I'm Mitsunari Baba, call me Baba. I'm a thief and it's a pleasure to meet you again." He says with a small chuckle. His confession to his job catches me off guard. Did he really just admit it like that as if it's no big deal?

"I'm Ota Kisaki, the famous 'Angelic Artist', but you probably already knew that, right?" Says the orange-blonde guy.

"No," I say and his smile vanishes, the maid giggling before speaking up.

"I'm Amaya Kirisawa," The maid bows to me, her eyes suddenly serious compared to before. "Um, I was the girl you bought at a black market auction for twenty million dollars." She says. The air in the room is sucked out. Wait, what?

"Shit," I hear Ota mumble.

My eyes go wide in horror. "What?" I whip my head up to Soryu. "I did what?"

"I'll explain later." Soryu glares at the girl named Amaya. "That's enough." He growls at her. "She didn't need to know that now."

"I bought a person?" I scoff in disbelief. "What? Where and when? Does the police know?"

"Yeah, I know." The gray haired man with the cigarette speaks up. His features remaining emotionless. I quirk an eyebrow at the lack of emotion he shows.

"That's Mamoru Kishi. He's a detective." Baba introduces the man in the corner.

"Okay, wait, stop." I try to wrap my head around the situation. It sounds more funny than real. "There's a thief in the same room as a cop?" I snicker. "That's unheard of. So where did this auction took place?"

"Here in this hotel." The quiet, brown haired with the stern gaze answers.

I focus my gaze on him. "Does the owner of this hotel knows?"

"Yeah, I know." I takes me a second to grasp his answer. My eyes widen a little. "I run the auctions, too." He adds.

My eyes flicker to the man named Mamoru then back to him. Is he in this too? "And you are?"

"Eisuke Ichinomiya, CEO of Ichinomiya Group and owner of this hotel." The brown haired male introduces himself, his gaze unwavering, his confidence and aura almost intimidating. I'm not fazed though but his name rings a bell.

"May I ask, how many people know about the auctions?" I'm just curious.

"The people in this room, the hotel manager and those who get to attend it." Eisuke answers.

"No rumors or downfalls have happened?"

"No."

I scoff, amused. "Impressive. My respect goes to you." I bow a little. "For someone to pull that off must mean you have a lot of power."

"I do, in fact." He crosses his arms over his chest, smirking smugly. I like this guy. So arrogant and he knows it. I snicker.

"Richest man in Japan." Stated Baba.

I snicker. "So, this crew consists of a mobster, a thief, an artist, a CEO, and you even have the police in this." I say. "Some crew this is. Sounds like a movie. I'm surprised it hasn't fallen apart or any of you have betrayed each other." Eisuke keeps his gaze steady on me, analyzing me.

"Why would we do that?" Ota speaks up.

"You wouldn't, and I have a feeling it's not all because of the money." I get a good look of them all. They all share something with one another. "Only two things could keep this group together: fear or loyalty. And I don't see a drop of fear among you guys."

They snicker to themselves and switch looks with each other. "It's good to have you back... again, Reina." Eisuke says, nodding his head a little at me, a sign of respect and welcome. It's a warm welcome from everyone. Eisuke is the alpha of the group, I can tell and Soryu is his most trusted man.

It catches me a little off guard. "Oh, I was part of this group before?"

"You were our hacker." Says Ota and my eyebrows furrow together.

"And the one with the facts and knowledge." Pipes up Baba. I used to hack? I don't do that much anymore. It's someone else's job in the Black Crowns gang.

"Um, I only know how to do the basics now." I admit. "I basically dropped that job." The men in the lounge stay quiet. What's so bad about that?

"Well, the important thing is that you're back." The girl Amaya speaks up, changing the subject. I give her a small smile, then I look up to Soryu before leaning closer to him, his grip on my hand tightening.

"So wait, lemme get one thing straight." Everyone's attention goes to Mamoru. "You don't remember anything?"

"No, I was diagnosed with amnesia." I answer. "Whether it's temporary or permanent is up to me. There's been a few things that have triggered some memories and I'll remember it all or just bits of it but that's it." I lift a shoulder.

It's quiet for a moment, then Ota speaks up. "You know, there's something different about Reina."

"Well, of course. She's not the same anymore." Eisuke answers, his eyes still fixed on me. He's still analyzing me, trying to figure me out like he knows me.

"I beg to differ from first hand." Soryu speaks up, not seeing eye to eye like the others. Eisuke doesn't break the gaze with Soryu, not even after he speaks up. "Reina, do you remember our high school years?"

I rack my brain, frowning. "N-No," We went to highschool together? Eisuke quirks an eyebrow at Soryu, showing him that he's right with just facial expressions. The atmosphere tenses once again. Soryu's stare hardens. I step between them to catch Soryu's attention. "We went to highschool together?" I ask but he still doesn't look at me.

I grab his hand and tug on it. "Hey," Soryu snaps his eyes down to me. "What else don't I know?" I search his eyes, almost in desperation. So much has been revealed that I used to do and know. I feel worthless not knowing. It frustrates me. I thought I already knew everything that I needed to know. I was only told part of my life. The rest seems like Soryu knows it by heart.

"I'll explain later." He grabs my hand and starts walking toward the opening. "Let's take a walk."

"Where are you going?" Baba asks behind us. I glance over my shoulder and my eyes immediatedly get caught in Eisuke's gaze.

"To reminisce." Ota answers. I return my gaze forward. There's something about Eisuke that leaves me wanting to know what he's thinking. I know he has something to say regarding me. Or probably has many questions to ask me. I don't know but I want to.

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I was supposed to update on Friday but then i was invited last minute to Schlitterbahn (idunno if you guys are familiar with it but it's a waterpark) but we actually went on Sunday morning (which is an hour or two away from where i live ((Austin, Tx)) and stayed there till they closed, rented a hotel and stayed there until Monday (today) and we went sightseeing in San Antonio (Texas) and like an hour or two hours ago i got back. I'm tireeeed af. all the swimming and walking is tiring but i had fun.

Also i think this book might only have 20 chapters since the Sequel and Sequel's Epilogue (Main Story: Soryu's route) are short but idk i'm still trying to figure it out. maybe that's why some chapters might be short too.