A little note, before I get started. This chapter will be darker than anything previous. You have been warned.

Chapter Eight

Chi Betrayed

Hideki trudged towards home. Another day spent searching for a job; another day full of rejection and slammed doors. It had been almost a week since losing his job at Yorokonde, and he figured he had maybe five more days to find some kind of employment. If by the end of next week he still didn't have a job he'd be forced to return to his parents' farm, abandoning his dreams of going to college and any hope of being reunited with Chi…either that or starve. Neither was a very appealing prospect, a choice between emotional or physical suffering.

Lost in his troubled thoughts, Hideki almost walked straight into a police officer coming out of the Gub Jogasaki's front gate. Stepping back quickly, Hideki watched the policeman with trepidation, afraid that he was about to be arrested again. Instead, the police man merely tipped his cap, apologized for nearly running Hideki over, and continued down the street.

Hideki watched him walk down the street for a second, confused and anxious. If the police weren't after him this time, what were they doing here? With a shrug, he decided the best way to find out was to ask Ms. Hibiya. After all, if he wasn't the target this time, it had to be something involving her. With that thought foremost in mind, Hideki continued on towards the apartment complex, fresh worries, for the moment at least, supplanting his old ones.

***

Hideki watched Ms. Hibiya pace – no, pace was too calm of a word, stalk was perhaps more appropriate – back and forth in her living room. “What happened? I ran into a cop on my way in. Is everything alright?” he asked.

“Is everything alright? No, everything is very much not alright!” Ms. Hibiya snapped, her voice shaking with an emotion that Hideki had never heard from her before. “Do you know what those bastards did? Do you? After all this time, they finally went and did it. And they promised my husband that they wouldn't, that they would let her lie in peace.”

Hideki frowned in confusion. “What? I don't understand. What happened?”

Ms. Hibiya stopped in her tracks and faced Hideki squarely, fists on hips. “That officer came by to inform me that my daughter's grave had been disturbed. Those damn bastards dug up my daughter's grave and stole her body. What do they think they are going to accomplish? Do they really think I'll trade one daughter for another?” She turned away and began pacing again. “I just don't get it. While I never have agreed with their methods, they always seemed to have the greater good in mind. This time, it is like the Director has lost his mind. What are they doing? Why couldn't they let my daughter rest in peace? Both of my daughters?”

Hideki watched her stride back and forth for a second as he tried to make sense of what he had been told. After a moment, everything clicked into place. “The Syndicate stole Freya's body?! But why? What are they going to do with it? What are they hoping to gain?”

Ms. Hibiya shook her head, “I don't know. Despicable as they may have been, their actions up to now have made at least some logical sense. There was a clear plan and a clear goal. This? This makes no sense. I can't think of any reason, none, why they want to do this horrible thing. If all they wanted to do was study her, to see how my husband made her, why wait until now?” She stopped again, bowed her head and continued in a softer tone, “When Freya died and my husband became ill, he talked to the Director of the Syndicate, pleaded with him to allow Freya to be buried, to let her rest without being disturbed. The Director agreed, even went so far as assign a guard for a while to make sure no one else disturbed her grave either. And now, now I find out that she is gone, stolen from me. Why? I just don't understand why...” Her words trailed off and she collapsed, falling to the floor in an unmoving heap.

***

Hideki leaned against a wall outside of Ms. Hibiya's bedroom with a sigh as he considered what had just happened. He had carefully placed Ms. Hibiya in bed and then went and found Minoru. Minoru, in turn, had called a doctor. The doctor, after examining Ms. Hibiya, had decided that her faint had been brought on by a combination of stress and lack of sleep. Stress? Hideki decided that was one way to put what she had been through. Ms. Hibiya had suffered grievous losses all throughout her life, had been through a lot of bad situations. Still, to Hideki's eyes at least, she always seemed so composed and calm. This latest disaster must have been one bit of bad news too many. Hideki shook his head, still not sure what to make of it: Freya's grave dug up, her body missing, and the Syndicate behind it all. It just didn't make sense; he couldn't see what advantage they hoped to gain.

With another sigh, Hideki straightened up and glanced into the bedroom. Ms. Hibiya was asleep, resting comfortably. Yuzuki sat in a nearby chair, keeping an eye out in case Ms. Hibiya awoke and needed anything. Hideki nodded to Yuzuki and then turned to walk towards the door of the apartment. Now that he knew Ms. Hibiya was going to be okay, it was time he headed home to fix dinner.

***

The next day Hideki headed out as usual to look for a job. Also as usual, he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts, his own worries, that he was only vaguely aware of his surroundings. It was no surprise, then, that he didn't even notice the van that came up beside him until its sliding door opened with a loud bang. Hideki jumped, startled, and whirled around to see what was happening. Before he could get half way around, someone reached out from the open door, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him inside. Hideki bounced off the wall opposite the door with bruising force, collapsing to the floor with a groan. As he tried to get to his feet, he heard the door rumble shut. A second later he was tumbled to the floor again when the van accelerated out into traffic.

Still not sure what was going on, but sure he was in a lot of trouble, Hideki doggedly tried to stand up. Going from the bright sunlight outside to the dimness of the inside of the van had left him nearly blind; he had no chance to defend himself when someone slapped him, hard, across the face. Once again, Hideki fell to the floor with a groan. “Enough!” a voice barked, “We want him in one piece.”

Hideki lay on the floor, stunned from the force of the blow. As he tried to gather his wits, he realized he recognized that voice, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. He turned his head towards the voice, and began trying to get to his feet again. All of a sudden he felt a stinging sensation in his left arm. He jerked away from the pain, turning to look and saw a hand holding a syringe. “Just something to make you sleep, Mr. Motosuwa. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself struggling pointlessly,” the familiar-sounding voice said soothingly.

Hideki shook his head, and began to stand up, knowing that he had to fight, he had to get away. However, as soon as he made it to his feet, the inside of the van seemed to spin. Losing his balance, Hideki tumbled down again. Before he hit the floor, the world went black.

***

How long he was unconscious, Hideki wasn't sure. A short time, or a long time, later the blackness began to recede, to be replaced by enough pain to make him wish he hadn't woken up: a small amount of pain in his arm from where he had been jabbed by the needle, and a larger amount of pain in his face where he had been slapped. Worse, however, was the headache that made him feel like his head was going to explode. With a groan, Hideki opened his eyes, but immediately shut them as light stabbed into his head, making him feel as if the top of his head had just exploded.

Somebody laughed mockingly. A voice, the same voice from the van Hideki realized, said, “The sedative we use has several advantages. It works quickly, it is nearly impossible to accidentally overdose on, and when it wears off, it leaves few traces in the body. Unfortunately, it does have one rather large disadvantage, the headache you are now feeling. I understand that drinking a lot of water will speed recovery, flush the toxins.”

Hideki waited for a few moments, but the voice neither continued nor offered him any water. Slowly he opened his eyes again. While the light still hurt, Hideki bore the pain and looked around, taking stock of his situation. He was sitting more or less upright, his legs and arms bound to a chair with duct tape; more duct tape was wound around his chest and the back of the chair. While it was possible he could wrench himself loose, it would take time and wouldn't be something he could do subtly. He raised his head, slowly to avoid causing more pain, and looked around. It seemed like he was in a cheap hotel room, and a small one at that. There was a window directly across from him and a door to his right. A small dresser and a bed were against the left wall, and the walls were covered in peeling wallpaper.

There were two other people in the room with him. One sat on a chair at the foot of the bed, the other, much smaller, person lay on the bed, tied to the bed posts with rope. Both people were familiar, and Hideki gasped in shock, jerking upright, ignoring the sudden spike of pain the movement generated. The person in the chair was the 'fake' lawyer from the police station, dressed somewhat incongruously in what appeared to be hospital scrubs. The person on the bed, though, was the real reason for Hideki's surprise. Yumi lay there, unmoving, apparently unconscious, dressed in her work uniform from the bakery.

Again came the mocking laughter, “I see you recognize our other guest.” The lawyer smiled like a shark and gestured at Yumi's unmoving form.

Hideki strained at his bonds for a moment, then sagged against the duct tape, nearly blacking out again from the pain in his head. “You bastard! What did you do to her?”

The lawyer shook his head, “I have done nothing to her, yet. She is merely sedated. Since she weighs much less than you do, and since we abducted her after you, she is merely taking longer to awaken.”

“Damn you, leave her alone! You do anything to her, I'll, I'll kill you!” Hideki shouted, straining to break free, ignoring the pain in his head.

The lawyer looked at Hideki with amusement for a second, then got to his feet. “You still don't get it, do you? I told you before, you will do nothing, you are nothing.” As he talked, he walked over to Hideki, and then looked down at him with a frown and shrugged. Without warning, he slapped Hideki across the face once, and then again, this time hard enough to toss Hideki and the chair to the floor.

Blood began dripping from Hideki's mouth and nose, and the world began to go black again. He felt the lawyer roughly yank the chair back upright and he struggled to stay conscious, afraid of what would happen to him, or, worse, Yumi, if he gave in to the pain. “Why are you doing this, what do you want from us?” Hideki managed to gasp out after a moment.

The lawyer walked back over to the other chair but didn't sit down. “Mr. Motosuwa, I know you aren't that stupid. But, if you need me to spell it out,” he shrugged. He walked over to the dresser and picked up something from a little black case sitting there. Hideki felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he recognized the gleaming blade of a scalpel. The lawyer walked over to the bed and looked down at Yumi then back at Hideki, “I know this is a bit of a cliché, but you will give me exactly what I want. If you decide to be stubborn, you can instead listen while this girl dies, slowly. I know it is a big decision, so I will give you some time to think. Say, ten minutes? I've got to get her clothes off, anyway, they'd just be in the way. After that, I'm afraid I won't be able to hear you over the screaming.” With that, he bent over and began to cut at the sleeve of Yumi's uniform.

Hideki watched the lawyer work for a moment in sick fascination, then turned his face away. He couldn't, didn't, want to believe what was happening, what was about to happen. What was he going to do? He couldn't betray Chi to these monsters. But could he sit here, listen and watch as Yumi suffered and died? No, he decided. He took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles, and then pulled as hard as he could, trying to wrench his arms free of the duct tape that bound him. After a minute he sagged against his bonds, exhausted and bruised. The tape hadn't given as much as an inch. Still, he mustn't give up. He prepared to make another effort, surely if he just kept trying he could break free.

A loud scream echoed throughout the room. The lawyer stepped back from the bed in surprise for a moment, then loomed over Yumi again. “Ah, you are awake. Good, I was beginning to wonder. It wouldn't do to have you sleep through your big moment.”

Yumi screamed again in panic and fear. “Who are you? Where am I? What is going on?” she asked in a frightened voice.

The lawyer smiled broadly. “You can call me Fugami. You are currently in an abandoned hotel. And, as for what is going on, well let's just say you are here to, ah, persuade Motosuwa as to the futility of resisting my employer’s demands.” He held up the scalpel and his smile got wider.

Yumi screamed again, louder this time. “Motosuwa-Senpai? Help me!”

Fugami just shook his head. “I'm afraid he can't help you. He's, excuse the pun, tied up at the moment.” He gestured vaguely at Hideki, who was still trying to get loose. He then brought the scalpel back down to Yumi's arm, where he had almost cut the sleeve off of her uniform.

Yumi screamed once again and tried to jerk away from the scalpel. “No! Don't! Please!” she whined.

“Hold still, girl! I'm not going to hurt you, just yet. I'm just going to remove your clothes, that's all,” Fugami said sternly. When he saw the look in Yumi's eyes he smiled broadly again. “Oh, are you afraid that I'm going to do something, ah, obscene to you?” He paused for a second, as if he was thinking. “Well, I guess I am going to do several things to you that could be considered obscene, but don't worry, I'm not going to do, ah, that. I am a professional, after all. It isn't like I take pleasure in torturing young, pretty girls like you.” He paused again, and said quietly, almost to himself, “Not a lot of pleasure, at least.”

Once again Fugami brought the scalpel down towards Yumi, and once again she cried out and tried to flinch away. Without pausing, Fugami swung his other hand and slapped her across the face, once, twice, three times. Yumi's cries cut off abruptly and she began to sob quietly. He nodded, “Now, be still! I am going to cut that dress off of you, and if you flinch you will get cut as well.”

“You bastard!” Hideki yelled and, with a last adrenalin-filled surge, ripped his right arm free of the duct tape with a loud tearing sound.

Fugami spun around in surprise, and when he saw Hideki trying to free his other arm he snarled angrily. “Boy, you just don't get it. You aren't in control here, I am!” He strode over to Hideki and kicked him, hard, in the left shoulder, tipping the chair over again. Hideki landed roughly on his right side; his right arm, though free from the duct tape, was now pinned under him. Fugami cocked his head to the side and grinned in satisfaction. He then turned, walked over to the dresser and pulled a pair of hand cuffs from the black case sitting there. Turning and walking back once again, he set Hideki's chair upright. “Now, you have two choices. Either you give me your right arm, and I handcuff it to the chair, or I break it in two places and then handcuff it to the chair.”

Hideki looked up at Fugami and shivered in fear. It wasn't what he had said, instead it was the way he had said it; not threatening or melodramatic, but composed and calm, almost bored, as if he was discussing the weather. Hideki let himself go limp and allowed his right arm to be handcuffed to the chair.

Fugami smiled and nodded. “See, that wasn't so hard,” he said pleasantly, “It is unfortunate that I only have one set of cuffs, we could have dispensed with the duct tape from the start. Now, have you reached a decision?” When Hideki didn't answer Fugami shrugged, “Well, you have some time yet. Just remember, not reaching a decision is the same as deciding not to cooperate.” With that he turned his back on Hideki and walked back over to the bed.

Hideki slumped against the duct tape wrapped around his chest; a feeling of defeat mixed with his various aches and pains caused him to want to do nothing more than break down and cry. He had no hope left, he saw no way out. He would be forced to watch this monster kill Yumi right in front of him, and he could do nothing about it. Nothing? a quiet voice in his mind spoke up, You could give him what he wants. Hideki shook his head, no, that was one thing he couldn't, wouldn't, do. Why not? the voice said, Didn't Minoru tell you that Chi cannot be repaired? Would you have Yumi suffer and die for nothing? Would you put Mr. Ueda through the agony of losing the one he loves, again, just because you are too stubborn to let Chi go? Chi is already as good as dead, would you force others to share her fate?

Hideki hung his head for a moment, his thoughts a chaotic whirl. With a jerk, he straightened. He had reached a decision, one that he knew would damn his soul and haunt his nights for a lifetime. But, in the end, what choice did he have? He had no right, none, to ask his friends to sacrifice themselves for no reason. “Stop!” he said, his voice cracking and wavering with emotion.

Fugami turned around and looked at Hideki, a quizzical expression on his face. “Yes? Reached a decision, have we?”

“Let Yumi go. I'll...” Hideki paused, unable to continue, unable to force the words out of his mouth. After a second he continued in a broken whisper, “I'll give you what you want.”