“So they demanded the girl as payment?” Andrew asked, his fist tightening at the thought.
“That’s right” Indigo replied “now I don’t have all the details, but my friend told me what he could about the incident”.
“Let’s hear it” Andrew prompted, Indigo sighed for a moment, before beginning Reina’s tale of betrayal and the ordeal which forced her into a contract with a devil.
***
Natsume Reina was considered rather unusual because of her mixed parentage. Despite being born and raised in Shinjuku, Reina’s mother Natsume Elaine was European; French to be precise. Giving her daughter a unique beauty; a blending of Eurasian features. Reina had also inherited her mother’s height. She stood at 5ft 8” which may not have been tall in Europe and the other western nations, but in Japan, she was nearly half a foot taller than the average height; which did make her stand out, but she simply ignored any jeers or funny looks.
Besides a little bullying and having a slight obsession with reading, she’d lived an uneventful life; she’d gone to school, graduated and then got a job in her brother’s bookstore.
When Reina was twelve years old, her parents had passed away, they had turned up in the Maruti mall car park, holding each other in a tight embrace, not a mark on them, but stone cold dead, how long ago that seemed.
Since then Reina had lived with her older brother Natsume Daigo and his new bride – Reiko. Her brother was fiercely protective of her and prevented her from really socialising, but despite that she was happy. But because of Daigo’s secret motives, her life was about to change...
Their Kunokinaya bookstore was a small well managed place, not far from the Maruti mall. Their day had began like any other, peaceful yet constantly busy. However that frail peace was struck down when the time came for them repay their debt - all 100,000,000 Yen.
“Pay up Natsume!” shouted a man who was built like ox, smashing a considerably smaller man against a wall. Daigo struggled vainly in the huge man’s grasp, trying to remain conscious; his vision blurring each time his head collided with the hard wall.
“Anata...” murmured Reiko, as she lay sprawled on the floor, a large red swelling disfiguring her cheek; she had fought desperately to keep them out of their home.
Whilst Daigo was being smashed against the wall by the thug, his partner; an equally built man held Reina in a tight head lock. She thrashed about in a fury as she watched her family beaten and brutalised in front of her, a string of insults tumbling from her mouth.
The thug that held her was grinning, finding the young woman’s desperation entertaining. As if she could escape the grasp of a man triple her own size.
“Leave my Nii-san alone you Yakuza bastards!” Reina shouted desperately.
While this was going on, a third man watched, he was shorter than the other two, and less muscular with a protruding stomach. His black hair was speckled with grey, and his face was round and dough-like, though his moustache was neatly trimmed and he wore an expensive Armani suit. Hiruzen was the current leader of the Shinjuku Yakuza. Gesturing to one of the thugs, the enormous goon released Daigo, allowing him to collapse to the ground.
Daigo struggled to move, but the pain proved too much for him. He lay there defeated, his eyes glaring into Hiruzen’s as the Yakuza leader smiled; a mocking gesture. He sauntered forward, standing tall over Daigo.
“Ohiyo Natsume-kun, I am sorry to have to disturb you all like this, but we have some rather pressing business to discuss”.
“What kind of business do have with us, you Gokudo!”
Hiruzen turned to see the source of the outburst, Natsume’s pretty little sister, leering at her, he off-handily commented “what a charming lady” gesturing to the thug holding her. The muscle head promptly released Reina from his grasp, only to hit her with a sickening punch to her stomach. She collapsed to her knees, retching.
“Reina-chan...” Daigo called out weakly, a hand reached out, roughly seizing him and forcing him to his feet; a thick trickle of blood now stained the side of Daigo’s face, Hiruzen and Daigo were now standing face to face. Reina was roughly seized and dragged back to her feet.
“Now then Natsume-kun, I have given you a considerable extension on your repayment, have you gathered enough money to repay your little debt to me; all one hundred million yen of it?” the Yakuza boss asked, though he already knew the answer.
Daigo couldn’t keep Hiruzen’s gaze, his eyes drifted to the floor; that was all the answer any of them needed. “I see, that’s a real shame, but I expected as much from you, still you’ve put me in a really difficult position. If you cannot repay me, then you’ll have to compensate me in some other way”.
‘Damn it, why the hell didn’t it work, if it had you’d be on your knees pleading to me’ thought Daigo, his mind a mixture of sorrow and fury, what on earth could these people demand of him? What Hiruzen then asked was worse than anything he could have possibly imagined.
“How about that Grimoire of yours, I hear those silly things demand a high price with those occult nuts?”
Daigo’s eyes bulged, how could they have possibly known? “H-how did you know about that?” he stammered, sweat dampening his brow.
“You brought it using borrowed money on the black market, the Yakuza clans control its operation; of course it would reach my ears eventually”. Hiruzen explained, grinning broadly. “But I have to admit Natsume-kun, I’m astounded you could spend so much on an old dusty book, you’re quite the Bibliophile.”
Indecision and terror flickered across his brown eyes. ‘Damn it, what do I do? If only I had more time, I could perform another ritual from the book’ that realisation stilled his heart, his emotions settling, his eyes akin to glaciers, Daigo gave his answer. “No” his wife and sister stared at him, disbelief written clear across their faces.
The two thugs were taken aback, looking at each other as if to say ‘are you kidding me?’ Only the Yakuza leader seemed unsurprised by Natsume’s simple, cold declaration. Perhaps he knew more about the Grimoires than he let on, or maybe Daigo’s eyes dreadful resolve was all he needed to see.
“What was that?” Hiruzen asked for conformation.
“I won’t give you the Grimoire no matter what!”
“I see” Hiruzen spoke quietly, and then out of nowhere Hiruzen pulled back his fist and connected an uppercut into Daigo’s chin, blood spewed from his mouth and once again he tumbled back to the floor.
“Nii-chan!” screamed Reina, tears staining her pale cheeks, how could this be happening to her family?
Hiruzen regarded the young girl for a moment, a gleam in his eye. “How about you give me your sister instead?” A chill ran through the room. Reina’s face was marred with terror as she heard the Yakuza’s words.
“You can’t be serious...” gasped Reiko, her voice little more than a whisper; it took her full effort just to remain conscious.
“That was a serious offer, you have three options. First; you give me that Grimoire, I’ll auction it off, and if it makes enough money, I’ll let you off the hook. Second; you give me Reina and you’ll never hear from us again. Third; I kill you and your wife and take her anyway” his voice loosing its fake tone; becoming deeper and harsher.
Reina shook, her heart pounding in her chest, she had little doubt what this Yakuza would do to her if that happened; surely her brother wouldn’t let this happen? With her safety on the line, he would definitely give up the Grimoire, wouldn’t he?
The silence grew and still her brother said nothing, leaving Reina on the verge of tears. “Nii-san what are you waiting for just give him the damn book!”
A mad look flickered in Daigo’s eyes, despite that a single tear fell. “Take her...” he murmured softly, Reina’s illusions shattered at that point.
“Hmm, what was that?” Hiruzen leaned in a little closer “I can’t hear you”.
br />
“I said take Reina, you Gokudo scum and never come here again!”
Reiko began to cry, sobbing quietly into the floor; Reina however was anything but quiet, she thrashed about like a wild animal. The thug that held her was actually struggling to hold her in place.
“You stupid little bitch” the thug grunted, striking the back of Reina’s head, her thrashing ceased as she slumped forward in his arms.
“Easy boys, don’t be too rough, I don’t want that pretty face of hers ruined” Hiruzen complained, gently cupping Reina’s face, regarding her sleeping form with a grin. “Young women are simply the best, you’ll be my new pet for awhile” he turned to his two looming subordinates “get her to the car now!”
“Yes sir!” they responded in union, quickly carrying Reina’s body out of the shop.
Hiruzen remained in the bookstore for a moment, regarding the Natsume couple with distain. “You’re the scum Natsume, even we do not betray our own” he muttered, before strolling out of the shop, door slamming shut behind him.
‘What a pathetic bunch’ thought Hiruzen, still he had benefited from today’s business.
“We’ve put her in the car sir” said the one of his employees as he climbed into the car.
“Well done, now get back to base”
“Okay” The engine revved and the car sped out of sight.
However unknown to the Yakuza, at a nearby street corner, hid an elderly man dressed in a trench coat, his face hidden by a wide brim hat. “This is bad, very bad” the old man murmured, slipping away; he needed to make a special phone call.
Back inside the bookstore, Daigo laughed hysterically, holding the thick leather bound book tight against his chest. His face was bruised and swollen, the lower half of his face was blood stained.
But he had done it, he had saved the book, the ideal demon would have been Incubo, but there were still plenty of other monsters this Grimoire had to offer, it wasn’t over yet. He may have lost his sister for now, but he would get her back when he had awakened this Grimoire’s power. “I swear it”.
“Anata...” whispered Reiko, she was just as beaten and battered as he was; she was shaking “how could you do this?”
The disappointment in her words tore at his heartstrings, turning around to face Reiko, Daigo blurted out “I did what I had to; I couldn’t let our long dreamed plans escape us, just because of some lowly Yakuza and...” he stopped.
“Go on” she prompted “finish that sentence” he remained silent, his face losing some of its colour. “...and my little sister” she finished for him; she let loose a deep shuddering breath. “Reina-chan, was she just someone for you to discard, when having her here wasn’t convenient to you?” she questioned “am I any different?”
Daigo remained silent, unwittingly taking a step back; he honestly couldn’t answer that question. How far would he go for this? That was something he didn’t want the answer to. Setting down the Grimoire; he pulled his wife into a tight embrace.
“I promise you my love that I’ll save Reina, she will not be with them long” they held each other sobbing, it was time to set things right.
“Good, so the Yakuza didn’t take it” spoke a voice from the entrance of their shop.
“What?” they turned to see a young teenager who was dressed in a black jogging suit and white trainers.
“That saves me some time” the stranger laughed. There was a glint in the boy’s eye that Daigo didn’t like. The boy was not speaking in Japanese, but he held a translation devise which repeated his words into their language.
“Who the hell are you?” Daigo demanded.
“I’m Faux-Contractor 012; I’m here for that Grimoire on Siegfried’s orders” he announced simply, striding towards them.
‘This is really bad, why now?’ thought Daigo, backing away with his wife as the stranger approached, a heavy pressure emanated from him, as though the gravity had been magically turned up. Daigo glanced at the Grimoire on the table.
The boy’s eyes narrowed “don’t even think about it” a powerful white aura erupted around him, burning the books around him. Surrounded by white flames, he reached out with his hand, asking; no demanding “give me that book”.
“No, I wont let you have it, you lowly puppet of Siegfried!” screamed Daigo, shaking off Reiko, he made a dive for the Grimoire. He wouldn’t allow that monster to get a hold of the only weapon they had left, the only chance he had to save Reina and avenge his parents.
“Then die” the Faux-Contractor replied, and in that moment, their shop and their home was engulfed in white flames. Two screams sounded out before fading into silence.
The Faux-Contractor emerged from the burning building, the Grimoire tucked securely under his arm. With a click of his fingers, the white flames faded into embers, disappearing from sight. “Never mess with an apostle of God” he laughed.
***
Within an endless void, a red orb pulsated with unholy energy, intense and fierce, this light was sentient. It floated gently within the dark; it was waiting patiently for someone to call on its power.
Two people had tried to call upon its power before; it had been excited at first; a chance to return to the mortal world. But it had seen the intent in their hearts and had been appalled.
Such lowly beings would not command it, but the Grimoire made by humans bound it, so it hid itself within their virgin sacrifice. Waiting for its chance, the sacrifice was of the summoner’s blood, it could feel that, helping this one who was not twisted by dark intent would make a far more suitable master.
Now all it needed to do was to wait, until the proper moment, when its power would be accepted without hesitation. Then it’s long dreamed resurrection could begin; for it and its kin.
***
Thump, thump, each beat of my heart sent a spasm through my brain. As I began to wake, the pain increased, whoever hit me hadn’t cared about cracking my skull in the process. I remained still with my eyes closed, delaying the inevitable torrent of emotions and thoughts that would assault me.
There was only the pain in my head and the darkness of my closed lids surrounding me. Though unpleasant, the simplicity of it was a welcome moment from the horrors that had brought me here.
‘Reina’ spoke a voice softly, gently calling out to me; there was a bright red light. I tried to close my eyes, only to realise that they were already closed, perhaps the sunlight was shining down on my face? ‘You need only call me, Reina’ came the voice again, softer than before, almost like a mother coaxing its child.
The voice seemed to be coming from within my own head, was it the red light? Just a soon as it appeared, it vanished, leaving only the darkness. I felt myself beginning to stir, I would awaken soon – what was it that frightened me so much?
“Reina?” called out another voice, somebody gently shaking my shoulder, trying to wake me. My eyes fluttered open, looking into the face of my abductor Kenichi Hiruzen, and in a flash it returned, everything that had occurred; the violence, the pain, the betrayal of my only family. This was the man who wanted me as a pleasure pet.
“Ah finally, I was beginning to think that you’d never wake up” Hiruzen said smiling, pulling away, giving me some space.
Looking around at my surroundings; the walls and floor were decorated with a vibrant mix of red and pink, various women’s costumes hung from the wall, as did a myriad of sexual toys. This was one messed up situation. ‘Crap!’
***
‘She’s beautiful’ thought Hiruzen staring at his captured beauty; she drowsily looked about, not yet realising the situation.
A thrill made its way through his heart as he stared into her beautiful chocolate eyes; the fierceness that flashed across those orbs as she recognised him was captivating. She hated him and feared him, but then strong willed women were the most satisfying to break. “Ah finally, I was b
eginning to think that you’d never wake up” he spoke, giving her what he thought to be a dazzling smile.
“Where the hell am I, what is this place, some kind of love hotel or something?” she demanded, ignoring his smile, clearly up for a fight.
“Something along those lines, this is one of my private rooms, stylised after a particular hotel that I took a fancy to”.
“It’s tacky” Reina stated cuttingly, looking around at her surroundings, using the time to see is there was anything she could use as a weapon. If the yakuza was angered by her words however, he didn’t show it.
“That’s quite the sharp tongue you have” he observed “I wonder what other uses it has?” Reina quietened at that. “Now since were both here, why don’t you come sit down and join me for a glass of wine?” Hiruzen said, gesturing to a small circular table, where he had placed two glasses and an expensive-looking bottle of wine.
Reina remained silent, unsure of the man’s methods; this was not what she had expected. She would play along for the moment and wait for the opportune moment. “What kind of wine?” she asked. Hiruzen’s smile widened.
“It’s an Italian red wine, try a glass, I’m sure you’ll like it as much as I do” reaching out his hand, he offered to help her up. After a moment’s hesitation she extended her hand. He leaned forward, lifting Reina gently off the bed.
She followed him over to the table, taking a seat, she waited quietly as he poured her a glass, handing it to her; he then took a seat, pouring a second glass. Reina discreetly eyed the metal dish beneath the bottle.
“I don’t normally drink wine” Reina admitted, swirling the contents of her glass, there didn’t seem to be anything else mixed into the contents. “You didn’t put anything in this, did you?” she asked.
“Would there be any point?” he asked rather pointedly, Reina sighed quietly in response.
“No I suppose not” she quickly emptied its contents down her throat, slamming the glass down on the table with a deep exhale.