26th of December, noon, streets of Tokyo[1]
Kana's way forwards is blocked by a tall man, he looks to be in his early thirties, maybe late twenties. His clothing is entirely black, not even a single brand logo on any item he wears.
"No, I am not. I am not Kana Arima from B-Komachi, I am Kana Arima, the famous actress."
Kana's words come out harsher than she intended, but the person doesn't even seem to notice it. A hint of confusion flickering in Kana's eyes as she looks him up and down.
"And who are you? Do we know each other?"
Kana has wandered out of the busy downtown area of Tokyo by now. The tall skyscrapers that were around her seemingly just moments ago were replaced by single-family homes. Empty streets replaced the big crowds, void of any human life apart from a car passing every now and then, and a few parked ones on the side of the road.
"My name? Uhm… I'm Haruki. And no… no, you don't know me… But I know you, and I need something from you."
Haruki places his backpack on the ground and kneels down in front of it, starting to rummage around inside of it.
"Now where did I leave it? Just wait a minute please… I almost got it."
Okay, what is this guy's deal? He is giving me the creeps.
Kana nervously looks around.
"Hey, is this going to take a lot longer? I have places to be. You know?"
Kana's voice comes out quieter and more uncertain than she intended.
"No, not at all. Just a moment and I'll leave you alone again."
Great, when exactly did I wander this far off into the middle of Nowhere? I could have sworn I was in big crowds just minutes ago. Where did everyone go all of a sudden?
Maybe I should get a peek of what's inside his backpack? I mean, it wouldn't hurt anybody. He probably wouldn't even notice it, just one little peek.
Kana slowly raises her head higher while standing on her tip toes. It's just enough for Haruki, who is still distracted, not to notice it, while still being able to see the contents of the backpack.
The backpack is very spacious, it looks like it was made by a high end brand, but Kana can't find any brand logo on it. Still, she can make out a few items inside of it.
She can see a compact tripod laying on top of some spare clothes. Next to which are two water bottles, there are a few smaller things too, but they are mostly obscured by the bigger things. Yet two things he carries with him start to raise concern within Kana.
Is that… Is that a rope? Why would he be carrying around a rope with him? I never needed one of those before… But there are probably plenty of uses for it, like… like what?
And what's that shiny thing? Okay. No, I'm definitely not doing this. I will not wait around and find out. This guy is giving off massive stranger danger vibes.
What if that guy is some crazy killer, like the one that almost got Ruby a few days ago… Or maybe they are working together.
Upon making her decision, she tries to turn around and run away. She knows that he would probably catch up to her if he really wanted to, since he is taller and looks really sporty. But maybe somebody would notice the commotion.
To her shock, her legs won't cooperate, no matter how hard she tries, or how much she wants to turn her back to him and just run, she just can't move them even an inch away.
Why.
Why is this happening?
I can't move my body.
I don't want this.
No.
Somebody has to help me.
Kana's world begins to move in slow motion as Haruki pulls his hand out of his backpack. She can only stand and stare, his hand inching closer and closer to revealing what's in it.
Aqua…
help…
A few more moments of excruciating anticipation until Haruki's hand is fully exposed again. Kana sighs in relief as she spots a B-Komachi-themed phone case and a black marker in his hand.
Jeez, Thank god I'm just paranoid… What the hell is wrong with this guy, carrying all this creepy stuff with him… Didn't his mother or anybody teach him to read the room?
And why did my stupid brain think about Aqua again… I don't need his sorry excuse for a friend to help me. See? I can handle this kind of stuff fully on my own.
By now, the guy is reaching both of his hands out, the black marker in one of them and his phone in the other one.
"I'm the biggest B-Komachi fan ever. I absolutely love Ruby-Chan and Mem-Chan. And you too of course. I was so sad when I heard about you leaving B-Komachi, but I still love you almost as much as before. So it's all good. Could you maybe sign this for me?"
Kana, who has mostly recovered from the shock by now, although her heart is still racing, reluctantly reaches out to grab both items out of his hands, a big smile plastered across her face.
"Sure."
I bet he would actually prefer Ruby or Mem-Cho right now. But who wouldn't? I really can't be mad at him for that.
She swiftly signs his case, like she did plenty of times before, alongside Ruby and Mem-Cho after their shows, before handing it back to him.
"Here you go. But I have a question before you leave."
Kana steps a bit closer, her smile fading a bit. She reaches out her hand and points towards his now closed backpack, which is standing on the ground between them.
"I had a peek inside your backpack."
Kana does her best to appear cute and innocent to him while confessing.
"Sorry, I was just too curious. You got a lot of stuff in there. What do you use it for?"
Haruki looks up, while opening the backpack without even looking at it, before stuffing the black marker back inside.
"Oh… You think so?"
He laughs nervously, while inspecting the contents of his backpack like he sees them for the first time, looking like Kana just told him she saw a snake inside of it.
"I guess you're right, it's quite packed."
Haruki zips the backpack close again and swings it onto his back in one smooth motion.
"But it's only my equipment, I'm currently on my way to a con, and just got my camera, tripod, a rope for stabilization, and a bit of other stuff in there."
He makes a short break, his head moving from left to right and back, seemingly inspecting the deserted neighbourhood, his gaze wandering over the empty windows of the surrounding houses before it lands back on Kana.
"Anyways, I should get going now, I don't want to miss out on all the cute cosplays."
Hakuri has already walked past Kana before she can get the chance to find words for a response.
Who does he think he is, scaring me like that? I almost ran away; that would've been totally embarrassing. 'Former popular child prodigy Kana Arima runs away from her fans.' I was already able to see the small entry I'd get in some newspaper nobody ever heard of…
Kana gently shakes her head while continuing to walk down the road, as the back door of a parked car springs open, Kana doesn't even have enough time to react before a man jumps out and presses a piece of fabric over her mouth.
She tries to scream and fight against him but her voice is muffled by the cloth and the guy is far too strong for her too fight back, Kana's world starts to spin as she is pulled into the car, her eyes falling close as the man ties her up and gets into the driver seat, driving off without leaving behind any trace of what just went down.
26th of December, 1 pm, Gotanda Taishi's house
Aqua grabs the phone ringing before Ruby even gets the chance to do so.
This is my chance to apologize to her and explain the situation… explain that this is just a misunderstanding, that I didn't avoid her show intentionally to spend the night with Akane.
Aqua accepts the call and holds the phone next to his ear, starting to talk the second the call starts, not giving Kana the chance to take the initiative in the conversation.
"Kana I-"
Suddenly, an unexplainable cold shiver runs down his spine, prompting him to stop talking immediately.
"You are not the one I have tried to call."
A familiar male voice comes through the speakers of Ruby's phone.
"Aqua. How about you hand this phone over to Ruby now? In case you do not comply. I think I will have to use my knife to give this red haired brat a little makeover."
The voice on the other end of the speaker chuckles quietly while Aqua can hear faint whimpering coming from the background of the call.
"You know? The kind of makeover that would ruin her dreams, make it so really not a single producer would want her for their movie."
Aqua turns a bit, his eyes searching for Ruby's. Her eyes, which were initially filled with anticipation, change slightly as she notices Aqua's 1000-yard stare.
Ruby reaches out her hand, trying to grab the phone from Aqua's grasp. But gravity is faster, the phone falls out of Aqua's hand, towards the ground. The screen cracks in one of the corners on impact with the hard wooden floor.
Ruby bows down to pick it up, just after shooting an annoyed glance in Aqua's direction. Instead of holding it to her ear like Aqua did, she turns it into speaker mode.
Aqua's physical body continues to stand in the bright room, yet his eyes tell that he is spiritually somewhere completely else.
This can not be happening right now.
I must be hallucinating…
No. I'm dreaming.
That has to be it, this is all a bad dream…
Kana is safe and sound…
She just has to be.
He can not get away with this…
He will not get away with this.
All of this is my fault.
I let him live when I had the chance to kill him
Again.
Again, just like I did the first time.
Why did I listen to Akane?
Why did I make the same mistake all over again?
Aqua snaps out of it as Kamiki starts to speak again, his voice calm, but the words he is saying, his intent, nothing matches the way he talks.
"Ruby? Is that you? Come on say something, my dear daughter."-
Ruby's face visibly distorts with disgust, as she finally fully realizes who's on the other end of the speaker.
"I am not your daughter."
Her voice comes out far more determined and strong than Aqua's did earlier.
"Ahh, perfect."
Kamiki replies, voice full of warmth.
"You are there, but the connection. It is a bit weak. Don't you think so too? Why don't you come over to my Penthouse, where we can talk like grownups? Oh, and don't forget to bring Aqua too"
His voice sounds mocking; he talks like he is talking to a small child.
The call stays quiet for a few moments before Aqua and Ruby can hear Kana, her voice sounding confident.
"Please… don't come, Ruby. I can take this. He would just kill you."
Aqua and Ruby can hear a noise which neither of them can really identify on the other end of the line just before Kamiki speaks again.
"Oh, is that so?"
Kamiki's voice gets a bit quieter as he puts the phone down and walks closer to Kana.
Both Ruby and Aqua stand frozen in their room, Ruby's cracked phone lying on the desk standing next to them; they can do nothing but listen.
"I bet if I would start with my little make over Ruby would be here in no time… Or maybe I will decide to rape you… I bet you are still a virgin, saving your first time for Aqua."
Followed by Kana's voice, a hint of doubt creeping into her voice as she speaks.
"You disgusting bastard, you wouldn't do that."
Aqua's response follows shortly after Kana's.
"I will ruin everything you stand for before I put you out of your misery if you even do as much as lay a single finger on her."
The call stays quiet for a moment, the only sound coming through the speaker are Kana's short breaths and her suppressed whimpering, before Kamiki starts to speak again.
"Oh I'm sure you will. Anyways back to the topic, you got until 3:30 pm, Ruby. If you are not here by then, I will start, you are also invited to join Aqua."
The line is dead before the two of them even get the chance to reply.
This is not good, not at all. It's very bad; if I don't go, he will hurt Kana, but if I go, I will be the one in danger. I don't know what to do, I'm scared.
No. None of this matters. Kana doesn't deserve any of this; she is my friend, my best friend, and she is only there because he wants me. The only reason she even became an Idol in the first place was my fault.
I will fix this, it is not my fault how things turned out, but if I just sat here and did nothing it would be.
But would Onii-chan even let me go? The Sensei I know would jump to Kana's rescue in no time, but Aqua, he acts so differently. Is he even still the same person I once knew?
Ruby silently gasps as she takes a quick gaze at Aqua's face.
His eyes…
This isn't him.
It's just not.
This is not the same Sensei I once knew.
[1] Trigger warning: threats of rape later in the chapter (There will be no actual rape scene, or any character experiencing SA)