"Keep going Ai, I won't let anyone else hurt you don't worry." Tsukasa said, his tone soothing.
She nodded, though the anxiety was still present in her eyes.
"Then Katsuya came out of nowhere, kicking one of the thugs. But one of the other guys hit him with a baseball bat and he fell to the ground…"
SMASH
Everyone in the room turned to Tomoya who had just smashed a glass on the ground, his face red with fury. The sound of his gritted teeth made it seem like they were going to break under the pressure.
"And you said they took him? My son?" Tomoya spat out his question through his teeth, suppressing his rage.
Feeling a little intimidated, Ai shrank backwards. But after feeling the strong arms of Tsukasa, she seemed to feel safe enough to answer.
"They took both Katsuya and Ken… I don't know where they went and I couldn't follow them because they knocked me unconscious." She replied.
Tomoya was silent for a moment, as if he was composing himself.
"Kiyo… You said it was the Hokori family? How sure are you?"
"I—I'm not sure." Kiyoshi admitted.
Tomoya nodded and moved towards the door, opening it fully.
"Men! Gather everyone, we'll be searching the entire city."
His words caused everyone in the bar to stand at attention, calling back in affirmation.
"Yes boss!"
He turned to Tsukasa and spoke a few words, "Call Shin and Naoki, I'm afraid of what they'll do if we're too late."
Tsukasa nodded, his expression turning grave, yet inwardly his mind was racing.
'Why did they target Ken? What would the Hokori family want with him?' He thought, feeling puzzled.
It was one thing going after someone that was part of their family, but Ken was not one of those people. From his understanding, the guy was just a really good High School baseball player.
After hearing Tomoya's grim words, Ai began to panic once more. She gripped onto Tomoya's wrist and paled.
"Is Ken gonna be okay?" She asked, fear written on her face.
"Mmm, don't worry we'll find him." Tsukasa said confidently.
He then paused, "Wait, did you tell your dad what happened yet?"
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
Tsukasa raised his eyebrow and dug into his pocket, retrieving his phone.
"Hey…"
The voice was loud on the other end, almost bursting his eardrums in the process. He held the phone far away from his face and waited for the guy to finish.
"Don't worry Tetsu, I've got your girl with me now at the base."
At these words, the voice let out a sigh of relief.
Tsukasa handed Ai the phone, as if to verify.
"Dad? I'm with Uncle Tsukasa. I broke my phone."
"Thank goodness sweetheart… Don't worry, I'll be there soon. Do me a favor and put yer Uncle back on."
Ai did as she was told, handing the phone back to Tsukasa.
"Tsukasa… I don't give a crap about yer turf war. I'm endin' it today…"
The voice on the other end caused a shiver to run down Tsukasa's back, however there was a hint of excitement that appeared right after.
"No one touches my daughter…"
With that, the call ended. If it wasn't for their current circumstances, a wide grin would have been on Tsukasa's face. He'd never seen his friend this angry before.
Inwardly, he knew that the Hokori family were in for some trouble.
"Go take a seat Ai. Your father should be here in about an hour." He said, gesturing towards one of the comfy leather chairs.
"Uncle Tsukasa, what are you going to do?" She asked, feeling nervous.
"We're gonna search the city for Ken and Katsuya. We'll have them back in no time, especially with your Dad helping." He said, wearing an assuring grin.
***
In one of the top floors of a Tokyo skyscraper, 10 men sat around a large white table.
One of the men was standing up in front of a projection while the others listened patiently.
"As you can see, our company's bottom line has increased by a further 1.2% this quarter. This will mark the 2nd year in a row we've shown growth, despite our numerous sponsorships." The figure said smilingly.
Everybody in the room clapped, aside from the wide shouldered man at the head of the table. No one seemed to mind though, continuing to celebrate the companies achievements.
"Tanaka, would you like to share next?" The man who had just finished his presentation called another up.
"Thank you Ida."
He walked up to the front and took control of the meeting, bringing up his presentation.
"I want to show you our various community projects we're running at the moment and the benefits we've been able to achieve."
He began his presentation, garnering the attention of the others in the room.
The door opened slowly and silently as a figure walked in. He moved towards the man at the head of the table and whispered something in his ear, quickly disappearing shortly after.
Though people had seen the interaction, no one chose to say anything, turning their attention back to the presentation.
The wide shouldered man's face turned up into a small smile before he got up from his chair. Only now did everyone turn to face him, some fear on their expressions.
"Gentleman, I have another appointment. Please continue amongst yourselves." He said, buttoning up his suit jacket in the process.
"B—But Chairman, this is the yearly report. Don't you want to know our results?" One of the figures asked, his tone sounding weak and afraid.
All it took was a brief glare for the man to shrink back in his chair.
"Send it in an email…" He said simply.
With that, he made his way to the door, receiving no more complaints from anyone else. In fact, only after he left did the tension in the room disappear.
Upon leaving the meeting, a grin appeared on the man's face as he walked back into his office. Now that no one was around, he could let his true emotions show.