The door Isamu led her to strongly differed from the previous ones. It was a huge double door made of polished, dark ebony and intensified the luxury ambience of the corridor. [y/n]'s nervousness and malaise rose to a level where her knees adopted the constancy of butter The male used the golden doorknocker to announce their attendance. 

"Come in" a deep voice called out, in a commending, authoritarian tone. It was audible that their arrival was awaited. Isamu pushed the door open, rudely shoving the stumbling girl in the large chamber. She could barely take in the room's elegance: It was wide enough to fit an orchestra inside, the floor covered with the same red carpet of the hallway. Several bookshelves and lockers were lined along the walls. A big noble desk in the cenrte, a giant chandelier hovering above. [y/n] was forcefully pushed down on her knees, but her huff of protest was silenced by the pressure of Isamu's hand on her shoulders.

A sartorially dressed man emerged from behind the writing table. The tailored, expensive suit and the styled hair immideatly graced him with an aura of aloofness and superiority. With confident, steady paces, he halted in front of his reluctant visitor.  

He smiled down at her with lime green eyes, holding a knowing gaze; strawberry- blond locks framing  his shapely face.

"You can leave, Isamu" the unknown, young adult commanded without taking his focus off the female. As the closing of the door was heard, he still kept observing her whit a look that seemed to pierce right into her soul. "So, your name is [y/n], right?" He finally spoke out. She quietly nodded, not feeling the control over herself to talk.

"What a pleasure to meet you. My name is Katsuro."

He walked back to his desk, plumped in his leather chair and positioned his feet on the marble surface, regarding her with a commiserating expression. "You must have a lot of questions" he spoke almost teasingly.

[y/n] felt a tingling sensation, something like hope, running through her form as she interpreted his assumption as an invitation for answers. Hastily, she stumblied forwards. "Yes, I do have questions!" She could barely restrain herself from slamming her hands on the desk. "Why the hell am I here? What are you gonna do with me? What am I involved in? And where the heck is that bag of meth that little albino sna-" She was cut off by a sudden, heavy laughter. 

"Albino? You mean Shiro?" The still shaking man asked back, visibly amused by her choice of words. "But listen, doing drugs is no good for a young being like you." He added as he regained his posture, giving her a critical glimpse. 

The captive stared at him with a mix of annoyance and disbelief. "I- I am not doing drugs! I wanted to sell them." His ignorance for the more important questions made her clench her fists. But then Katsuro's smile vanished. He put his feet back down and folded his gloved hands on the table, bringing his body in a serious and more attentive position.

"That bag of drugs is actually the reason why you are in this situation. You have no idea in what kind of suicidal trouble you got back then, do you? You should be thankful you're still alive." He continued with a stern expression, taking her awaiting gaze as a sign to proceed. His voice went lower and quieter. "That bag belongs to a gang called Youkai- King: One of the most famous providers and smugglers when it comes to narcotrafficking and arms deal."

[y/n] remembered the name from earlier conversations between the other boys. "But if they are that successful, why should they freak out like that about the loss of one little portion? I mean that was maybe enough for three doses-" 

A little transparent plastic sac was smacked on the table, filled with seductive sparkling diamonds. A sac like the one she had stolen, only to get it snatched away right after. Katsuro tapped his finger at the bag's upper corner. The girl noticed a burnt in stamp, which formed, at closer investigation, the relief of a disturbing monster- like visage. She narrowed her eyes and took a closer look. A weird, tingling feeling shot trough her nerves. The hideous face triggered something deep in her subconscious as a blurred image flashed through her mind; but faded before she could hold on to it.

I've seen this somewhere before...

"You may be right, it's not much, but it's the highest quality. We're talking about prices around 22.000 yen* per gram."

The female snapped out of her thinking state and gulped as she realized the high sum of the content in front of her. "...Never." She breathed out.

"But that's not even the important part." The man leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Youkai is known for hunting down any kind of interruption or unwished circumstances in the most brutal ways. They don't differ between little hobby- snatchers or caught undercover agents, useless followers or severe betrayers..." His words slowed down as his mind seemed to catch on to something. He regarded the girl's body with orbs that offered incomprehension and appraising irritation. "By the way... How did you even manage to get this?"

[y/n] deeply thought about a satisfactorily answer as she mentally followed the path that had brought her to the valuable object. She remembered straying around on the flat roofs of the closely spaced buildings like almost every night, getting a good overview of the city without being seen herself. Scanning the streets for any opportunities that could lead her to money, not mattering in which way. Opportunities like a group of old shady guys trading items with a group of young shady guys. She let herself fall on the nearest fire ladder some meters underneath her, leaving a few alleys space between her and her destination to avoid getting noticed. Once she reached the ground the girl had turned into the next street. From here, she could already hear the men talking behind the next corner. Due to the her experiences she could tell by the persons' way of speaking that she wasn't close to get involved in a serious drug trade, but with a group of straying teenagers looking for some late night fun, spending their pocket money on things that would surely destroy their lifes. [y/n] waited for the customers to leave before she risked a glance around the corner. The dealers- she counted five men- had their backs turned to her and were obviously distracted. She noticed something twinkling mysteriously in one of the guy's trousers pocket, only an arm's length away from her. Carefully, she stretched out her hand, using her nails to slip out the plastic bag from the pants' back. As the item was safe in her hold and his ex- owner obviously not perceiving the loss, she turned and sprinted back in the direction she once came from.
But around the next corner she came to an abrupt and painful halt as her body crashed against another form. Landing on the ground, she looked up to a figure completely dressed in black, its face hidden by a hood and the alley's shadows.

"Sorry, little" She could hear a voice whisper before the bag in her hands was snatched away with such a speed, the surprised girl had not even the time to react. Jumping back on her feet she had immediately chased after the unknown. The robber's route wasn't quite optional- as they turned around the next block, they ended up a few paces away from the group of dealers who searchingly checked their surrounding. And started to yell as soon as they saw the running pair. But the girl was too focused on getting back her precious prey; she hadn't't even noticed the men following her.

Now [y/n] had more clarity about the remembered occurrences. She knew that the robber's name was Shiro, and the now dead drug traffic group were members of this so called "Youkai- King" gang. Nevertheless, the theft itself wasn't a complicated thing for her- She had brought herself into much more dangerous situations before. So she could only answer Katsuro's question with repeating her thoughts loudly and a shrug of her shoulders.

The blond furrowed his brows. He reconstrued her explanation of events as more or less fortunate feasibility. "You either had much luck or you really seem to have some skills. Messing around with that gang without getting beaten up to death... But well, I guess things would have turned out another way if Yasu hadn't shown up, wouldn't they?" A challenging grin crossed his face. 

The captive winced. She had to acknowledge that without the cyan haired stranger's emergence, she could be another abandoned body in the dark by now. Or worse. Her hand wandered to her neck where she traced the palpable strangulation marks her attacker had left, reminding her of the pain and fear of getting her windpipe crushed. The man's green eyes followed her movements. He lifted himself of his seat.

[Y/n] stood motionless by surprise and shock as the male gently lifted her chin. He turned her head to take a view at the red, purple and blue marks, distinct outlines of violent, big hands. Eventually, he sighed and leaned on the desk, his gaze straying over her form. "The question now is... What am I gonna do with you? We can't let you out there, Youkai knows your face and if they find you..."

Her muscles switched with high tension. "Knowing my face? This guy, Yasu or whatever, shot them all. How should they-"

"That's no point. They know your face. You have no idea who you're talking about." 

The female opened her mouth once again, still not getting how dead people should be a threat or could have notified the rest of the group, but a hand close to her lips stopped the words from leaving her mouth.
"Don't contradict me. When they find you, they will get you, and they will do things beyond your power of imagination. You know our faces, you know-"

"Well, that's the fault of your people, isn't it!?" The mentally cornered girl gulped as she noticed the death glare Katsuro pierced her with. 

The aura of authority and power around him thickened as he slowly stepped closer. Halting only inches away, he glowered down at her. "I said: Don't. Contradict. Me. Don't make me repeat myself ever again." His voice was low and calm yet successfully threatening. [y/n] didn't want to give him the satisfaction of obdience, and switched her focus to the floor. 

"Good girl." 

She internally growled at his gibe before looking up at him again. "But you can't simply lock me in here forever!" 

He curled his lips into an amused grin. "Shall I show you how much I can't?"

She felt her temper rising, along with anxiety. There was a promising seriousness behind the leader's words. "I- I am leaving!" She strongly doubted that the person who claimed to keep her in here for god knows how long would just let her go; however, she rather felt alertness than hope as the man gave no sign to hold her back. But she soon came to a stop anyway- The heavy ebony doors didn't budge a millimeter as she pressed the handle. "What- Open the door!" She spun around to glare at the blond. 

He observed her with his hands in his pockets  and an entertained expression on his masculine features. "Listen up, dolly. If you cooperate, I have no intention of doing you any harm. But if not..." He strived closer while speaking, leaving only one step space between the both of them. "I have my ways to get rid of unnecessary problems."

Katsuro shoved the trembling captive back in the improvised living room. The other members went back to the tasks they used as entertainment before their leader had shown up.

"I'm not gonna lose this!" Akito yelled, standing on the couch, turning his upper body to the motions of the device in his hands, as if the controller couldn't progress the given orders otherwise. Yasu sat between the numerous peanuts on the leather; neither his position nor his expression had changed since the had female left. Along with the clatter of dishes and stove sounds, a pleasing smell of seet, warm food came from the kitchen area and filled the room just as the girl's nose.

"Isamu, let me taste ~"

"Shiro, I told you if you're not gonna back off, I will throw you in that ov- It burned you little s***!" 

The moment [y/n] and her companion entered the scene, the white haired boy flung around with sparkling eyes. Yet he quickly got interrupted by a hand grabbing his shirt from behind, roughly pulling him back. "You go clean that up. And don't mess things up again!" The ravenhead commanded and the silverhead reluctantly left, muttering something under his breath.

Isamu fixed her with a sharp, cold gaze while approaching the two of them. He glowered down at her.

The moment he joined, the lass felt a somewhat isolating atmosphere building up around the three of them,  seeming to separate them completely from the rest of the surrounding. The two males, Isamu not even one step away in front of her and Katsuro right behind her, literally trapped her in place. A pricking coldness formed on her skin, shooting trough her whole body to the depth of her bones. As defenseless as a mouse captured between two cats, one wrong movement would mean her death, although there was no possibility to escape anyway. The hunters only let her alive to use her fear for their amusement. Their stares pricked right into her flesh, sending multiple shivers down her spine. Her breathing became flat and heavy. The space seemed to narrow for her chest to lift and lower to the usual rhythm of her lungs. It was like in those clichéd adventure movies, where the hero- or victim- was captured in a trap with the walls slowly coming closer, squashing and mashing everything that won't make it out in time.

"Please guide our guest back to her room, Isamu" the low voice behind her finally broke the awful alleged silence. 

"What..? No!" [y/n] immediately struggled against the ravenhead's grip, recalling the isolation and affliction of the dirty quarters that held no opportunities to escape.

"Hold still!" The adult yelled at the female whose squirming movements made it hard for him to hold his grasp, especially as she started to kick and tried to bite.
She couldn't ignore her fear of the unratable stranger; but her fight- instincts and sense for survival were stronger. Nevertheless, she suddenly ended up crashing on the ground.

Except for the sharp, burning pain at her cheekbone, her face went numb. The world around her began to spin. The air gained a tint of dark blue.  A heavy weight held her down while her arms became unmovable behind her back. Somewhere in the blurry mess, her eyes met two ice- colored ones: Filled with shock they gazed down at her, before their white haired owner chose to turn his head. The powerless female felt herself being dragged up. She tried to fight the numbness of her limbs, especially the paralyzation her face musculature that wouldn't allow her mouth to let out any protest. She was literally thrown into the mentioned, dark quarters. Landing in dust and dirt, the slam of the closing door announced her official captivity.

If there weren't the cold of the floor digging in her dermis and the pain swallowing her head, the captive would feel like floating in an eternal black sea of dark nothingness. The light was off so she really couldn't see anything; there were no noises apart of her own unsteady rhythm of breathing. One thing was for sure: If she would really be underwarter right now, she would drown with or without her hands being tied. Her mind was blank. It was as if her body had put itself in a kind of trance, saving her overchallenged brain from completely losing control of her vulnerable physical and mental condition. Her sense of time had compleatly disappeared by now as she lay there in solitariness and separation from any sign of life. Her overstrained and suffering consciousness guided her exhausted, dehydrated and frail form in a deep slumber.

It tickled and hurt at the same time. A weird, cold sensation on [y/n]'s face sent several warnings to her brain, causing her muscles to stiffen and letting her awareness gain the upper hand so far that her mind could progress the disturbance. Her eyes fluttered open, her vision was blurred by the sudden incidence of light. But as her pupils accustomed, she could make out the silhouette of a person hovering above her. 

In high alertness, she shrieked and tried to make a move away from her perpetrator. She meant to throw her hands up, to defend or to attack, but her arms wouldn't follow its orders so she could only crawl back with rash, uncoordinated movements.

"Sshh, Shhh!" The intruder quickly pressed his palm on the startled female's mouth, putting his index finger to his lips, symbolizing her to be quiet. He looked around in an anxious manner to check if the girl's scream had caught the attention of other house- members. By now, due to his frame and vocals, [y/n] recognised the unannounced visit.

 "Shiro...? What are you doing here?"

The pale light was enough to see the worried gaze in his bright grey-blue eyes. He forced a weak smile. His fingers carefully wandered to the girl's injured cheek that had assumed a blue- purple color; but immediately stopped midway as he saw her flinching and turning her head. 

Shiro suppressed a sigh as his focus wandered over her form in thoughtful consideration. "If I untie your hands... Will you promise me not to try anything stupid?"

[y/n] stared at the boy in surprise and suspicion over his odd offer, but eventually nodded and held out her trembling arms. He undid the tie, but not without eyeing her in high caution. She exhaled as the cord fell to the ground and massaged her bruised wrist. Supporting the proper blood circulation, her glance fell on a crumbled towel. Her companion seemed to had followed her gaze, for he went back to pick up the squishy cloth. It caused crumbling sounds in his hands as he stepped back to her.

"This is some crushed ice... I used it to cool your face." He moved to press the cold towel back at the bruised part- But the cloth flew out his grip, draining its content all over the floor. The girl had slapped his arm away in a defending motion and now glared up at him with warning and insecurity. He stared at her still lifted hand before letting out an awkward chuckle.

"Haha, I guess I should stop breaking into girls' bedrooms... I've messed up a lot with us, haven't I?" Shiro nervously scratched the back of his head as the captive showed no kind of reaction at his attempts to brighten up the mood. "I... I will leave now."

"Shiro, wait!"

The boy who was about to shut the door behind him watched with surprise how [y/n] stumbled in his direction. Secretly, he was baffled by how close the girl stopped in front of him. Her gaze searched his for a second, before it switched back to the ground. She held her cheek with one hand, mumbling a quiet "...Thank you".

The male glimpsed a few times to comprehend her sudden change of behavior. He responded with a gentle smile before turning and eventually leaving her to the lonesomeness again.

He didn't notice the cloth that stuck between the door and the frame, preventing it from fully closing the gap.

*22.000 Yen= Around 149 GBP; 166€, 195 USD