[Fanfic] Where Might You Be?- Maki, Toma, Yamapi, Shun ~~ Ch13
PREVIOUSLY
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
CURRENTLY
Chapter 13
“You’re fired,” Donald Trump said on TV. Maki and Shun were watching The Apprentice in his apartment. He cringed when Trump said that because that was exactly what Iwase-san told him earlier that day, the second day of the trial. He didn’t show up for it because he wanted to stay home and take care of Maki even though she insisted that she’s feeling a lot better.
He called Iwase-san to let him know, but he wasn’t sympathetic the second time around and fired him right there on the phone. Maki glanced at him with sympathy when Trump said those words and knew what Shun was feeling then.
“Daijoubu,” she said with an assuring smile. “You’ll get another job soon.” Shun nodded, but still felt badly about it. Maki didn’t know what to do, so she just kissed him. He smiled and hugged her tight. The phone rang in Shun’s pocket, and he answered it.
“Moshi, moshi,” he said on the phone. “Oh, hey, Satoshi, what’s up?”
“Hey, man, I heard what happened,” Satoshi replied. “I’m sorry about you getting fired and all.”
“Oh, uh, thanks for your concern,” Shun said. “So, how’s the trial going?”
“Oh, it’s going fine. Hopefully, the verdict is out tomorrow.”
“Hey, Satoshi, could you do me a favor?” Shun asked. “Tomorrow, could you ask the girls that were born on October 6, 1985 their current address? I have something in mind that needs to clear up.” Shun glanced at Maki, who stared back at him when she heard her birthday.
“Sure, I’ll try,” Satoshi agreed without hesitation. “I like talking to girls.” He laughed.
“Hey, it’s strictly professional,” Shun reminded him with a smile. Satoshi just laughed mischievously in reply. They said their goodbyes, and Shun went back to watching TV. They got bored with the programs after a while, so Shun brought out some of his photo albums. Maki scanned through each one, asking questions about his childhood. She then went through the albums when he was in high school.
“Who’s that?” she asked, pointing at a guy smiling goofily next to Shun. He and Shun had their arms on each other’s shoulder and they were wearing gray school uniform jackets. Shun looked at whom she pointed at, and smiled.
“That’s my best friend from Osaka Gakuen,” Shun said. “We used to fight over a girl once. I think the girl’s name was Ashiya Mizuki.”
“Ahh…” Maki said, looking back at the picture again. “He looks like a fun guy.”
Shun nodded and told one memory when they had a competition to see who could get the girl by doing silly contests like who could hold their breath under water the longest or who could sneeze first, and other crazy things. Maki laughed at Shun’s descriptions of their contests.
“So, what’s his name?” Maki asked, curious as to who this person was that could bring out the silliness in Shun. “Where is he now?”
“He’s in America right now,” Shun replied. “His name is ---”
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NYC, NY USA
“Toma Ikuta!”
Toma cringed at the voice yelling his name. He was done for. He looked up from the computer and met his doom. Ariel stood angrily by his side, her arms crossed in front of her and her eyes narrowed with a deadly glare. Toma flashed an innocent grin at her. She wasn’t amused and kept her expression. He mentally gave himself a kick for not hiding from her well enough.
“Why didn’t you ever call Mackie after that night you dropped her off at her place?” Ariel interrogated, slapping a hand down on the cubicle, making him jumped. The other café costumers looked at their direction with annoyance and curiosity. Toma smiled apologetically at him, then got up and dragged Ariel out of the Internet café.
“Okay, listen,” Toma begged once they were outside. “It’s cuz, well, I got intimidated.” Ariel narrowed her eyes at him again. “Well, I saw how nice her neighborhood is, and not to mention her apartment building. She’s clearly rich.”
“She is not that rich,” Ariel argued. “Why does it matter so much anyway? Did she ever taunt you how financially stable she is? Did she ever say that she doesn’t like hanging out with you because you’re not as well-off as her?” Toma sighed at how right Ariel was. Mackenzie had never really showed how well-off she actually was.
“You know what I think,” Ariel continued. “I think you’re prejudice.” Toma looked at her questioningly. “Yup, that’s right. You’re prejudice against rich people. You look down at rich people.”
“I look ‘down’ at rich people?” Toma repeated, trying not to laugh. “Is that even possible?”
“Don’t laugh,” Ariel cried out in annoyance. “You think we rich people are a bunch of snobs who don’t mingle with anyone other than from the same social class.” Toma looked at her in surprised when she said that. He didn’t realize that Ariel was rich herself. She noticed his expression and nodded. “That’s right, Toma. We’ve been friend for a long time, and you just found out my status. What are you gonna do? Avoid me, too?”
Toma looked down shamefully and then looked at her apologetically. “Listen, I’m really sorry,” he said in remorse. “I, I just don’t know how to handle the situation if… if, well, her family…”
“If her family doesn’t like you?” Ariel supplied softly. She sighed and patted Toma’s shoulder. “Listen, her family doesn’t care about those things, either. They are really nice and normal. Well, with the exception of Auntie Risa being psychotically strict when it comes to Mackie’s musical ability, of course.” She laughed, making Toma laughed a bit.
“Does she even like me that way?” Toma asked, referring back to Mackenzie. Ariel smiled and nodded.
“She seriously likes you a lot,” Ariel emphasized the word lot. “Why? Do you like her back?” She grinned knowingly and wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
“No, I don’t like her,“ he replied softly. Ariel frowned, but her expression changed to all smiles when Toma said the last part. “I love her.”
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Mackenzie sat anxiously in the courtroom as she waited for the verdict to be called. This was the third, and hopefully, the final day of the trial. She squeezed her mother’s hand and Risa squeezed back.
“Will the defendant please rise for the verdict,” the bailiff announced. The lady who owned the agency stood up along with her lawyers.
“Have the jury reached the verdict?” the judged asked.
“We have, Your Honor,” the foreman replied, standing up. He took out the folded paper that stated the verdict. “We the jury find the defendant guilty of all charges.” The courtroom suddenly became noisy when the families that were victims of the agency cried out in relief over the verdict.
“Verdict is stated and confirmed,” the judge said, banging the gravel to silence the crowd. “I also add that the defendant will be imprisoned for two years plus 10,000,000 yen settlement per family that is involve with the agency. Court is now adjourned.”
Mackenzie grinned in relief at her parents and hugged them. Finally, it was over, and they could enjoy the rest of their vacation.
“Sumimasen, Mackenzie Wentz-san?” one of the interns approached her. Mackenzie nodded and shook his hand. “Ohno Satoshi desu, and I’d like to have a small word with you?”
“Sure,” Mackenzie consented, and they walked outside of the courtroom and stood by the wall out of people’s way.
“We’re following up on selected adoptees from the agency for further investigation,” Satoshi explained. Mackenzie nodded as she listened intently. “May I have your current address and phone number in case we need to contact you more about this?”
“Is everything alright?” she asked when she handed her information. Satoshi nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.
“Hai,” he said, bowed down and left. He went over to another girl, probably another adoptee like herself, Mackenzie guessed.
“Mackenzie, there you are,” Risa called from the end of the hallway. “We’re going to get something to eat. Let’s go.” Mackenzie hurried over to them, and soon they were on their way to a restaurant.
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BANG!
Yamapi groaned and fell back on the ground. He rubbed his shoulder where he hit the wall to get himself out. He cursed this Western-style room with a door that swings on hinges. Too bad it swings in, instead of out, making escapes nearly impossible.
He was physically weak from hunger, but he refused to listen to his body. The anger he felt toward Yousuke and Jin and the determination to get himself and Makiko out of that house was fueling him, if only for a bit. He paused to catch his breath for a moment and analyzed the room again.
The ceiling was not too high, but it was high enough for him to not reach it. There was no furniture that he could stand on to reach it, but even if there was, there was no point since the vent was too small for him to crawl out.
He got up and started banging the walls to see if there were any hollow sounds. He sighed in futility when all he heard were solid wood.
“AHH,” he yelled and rammed into the door again. He hit it with a strong force that knocked him back to the ground. He got up and started banging the door with his fists.
“Help! Help!” he cried out. “Let me out!” Nobody answered his plea.
Yamapi suddenly remembered his cell phone, and checked his pockets. No luck. He groaned when he realized that he had probably dropped it when Jin and Koki were knocking him down. He lied down on the hard cold cement floor, the hunger overtaking his body. He needed to save some energy, he decided, so he stayed down and rest.
##
When she was sure the coast was clear, Makiko went to her walk-in closet and took out a wall panel that covered a hole in the wall to get her secret box out. When she was in middle school, she used to sneak out at night to be with friends. She made copies of every key in the house no matter if she needed them or not, and hid them from Yousuke.
She took the ones for the windows and for the isolation room, thankful that she had thought up ahead. She put the box back in the hole and covered it back with the wall panel. She made her way to the window and tried the key. Something was wrong. The key wouldn’t insert inside the lock.
“No!” she cried out. Yousuke must have figured it out, and switched the locks. She went back in her closet and took out the box and this time, tried every key. Each one failed to unlock the window. Frustrated, she threw the last key in her hand at the wall and clang hard on the floor when it fell.
Makiko sighed and then slapped her forehead. In her panic, she forgot something she had learned back in middle school, too.
“Damn fight or flight instinct,” she mumbled to herself as she got up to her desk. “I guess it can’t be helped. I haven’t used this skill in a while.” She took out a flat box that resembled the size of a romance novel and opened it. She smiled to herself when she reminisce how she got it.
Her boyfriend at that time had an older brother that liked breaking in to people’s houses. He had a bunch of small tools that unlocks any kind of locks and bolts. Her boyfriend gave her a box, and she learned how to pick locks from the older brother.
She smiled and picked up the box and skipped happily to the window. She hoped she was not rusty with picking locks, and found that she still remembered the techniques she learned long ago. The window lock snapped open beautifully.
Makiko slowly opened the window so it wouldn’t make a sound. Even though the yakuza were gone, the house help could turn her in to Yousuke if they find her sneaking out. The window hardly made a sound, and she got it open wide enough for her slim body to wiggle out, taking the lock picking tools with her. Once she stepped on the grass outside her window, she closed it back so nobody could tell where she had escaped.
She snuck around the perimeter of the house to get to the other side where the isolation room would be. She went quietly inside the backdoor that headed to the kitchen and listened for the house help. It was quiet. She snuck to the hallway that headed toward the isolation room.
Once she reached the door, she saw the deadbolt lock, and her heart sank. She didn't learn how to open a deadbolt lock because her ex-boyfriend’s brother didn’t get to teach her. Also, the bolt could only be lock and unlock using a key. She felt for the isolation room key she put in her pocket earlier. She wondered if Yousuke changed this one, too. Hoping for the best, she tried it. It fitted perfectly. She turned the key and unlocked the bolt, opening the door slowly as not to make a sound.
##
“Pi?”
Yamapi heard Makiko’s voice whispering his name. He smiled at the thought. It sounded so real, like she was right there. He felt her shaking him awake. That felt real, too. His hunger was making his brain hallucinate; teasing him that Makiko was actually there.
“Hang on, Pi, I’ll get you out,” he heard her voice again. He felt himself pulled upright and his arm swung over to her shoulder. That’s when he realized that Makiko was actually there and he wasn’t hallucinating at all.
“Makiko,” he whispered. She smiled at him.
“Shh, don’t talk. You need to save your energy.” She snuck themselves out of the room, and locked the bolt back. Checking to see if the coast was clear, they hurriedly headed to the kitchen. Makiko quickly got some bread and water, then they went out of the backdoor.
Seeing that the coast was still clear, they hurried towards the gate. Makiko propped Yamapi against the gatepost as she silently opened the gate wide enough that they both could fit. They quickly got out, and walked as fast as they could away from the place.
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Next
Chapter 14