The Hunt for the Heiress

Kimiko drove down the 302 highway as Kyosuke kept watching the rear window for signs of pursuit. The men who were chasing them on foot were out of sight, but if the price for Kyoko's capture was anywhere near what Yoriyoshi told him, he knew more would be following.

"Holy shit, I can't believe it...!" Kimiko gushed. "Quick, just how far is your relationship?! Have you two kissed? No wait, don't do it yet... we have to get it on Twitter!"

"What? No... I mean... I... I haven't...!" Kyoko stammered.

"Ohh... so you haven't kissed yet," Kimiko nodded. "We can still get it on Instagram!"

"Never mind that, just drive!" Kyosuke ordered.

"Geez, what's your hurry?" Kimiko asked.

"Some men tried to kidnap me!" Kyoko explained.

"Oh, that was real?" Kimiko exclaimed with disbelief. "It looked so wild, I thought maybe it was one of those Internet stunts for clicks or an AI skit."

Kyosuke almost rolled his eyes, "No, it's a real kidnapping, and those are real gangsters still back there and probably getting in cars right now to get her back!"

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Isamu Ikemoto paced the room as his security staff came in and out of the office, bringing him updates. The news of the kidnapping had hit his home office like a thunderbolt. He immediately summoned Akito, but much to his surprise, Akito wasn't on the premises. Dialing the number, the call was picked up after the first ring. "Where are you!? Kyoko has been...!"

"Yes, I know," Akito immediately replied. At that moment, he was in a warehouse in the Kabukicho district. Complicating the matter was the fact that he was surrounded by General Tanaka's men, meaning he had to guard his next few words carefully. "I'm out in the field even now investigating the kidnapping site. Our man was incapacitated by superior numbers, and we have surveillance and searching the city."

"I don't want excuses!" Isamu shouted, his anger twinged by fear. "Who is responsible for this outrage?!"

"We-we're tracking them down now," Akito insisted. "Right now, it looks like an organized group; possibly either members of General Tanaka's group or Oyama's syndicate."

Isamu swore a curse. "We just signed a deal with Oyama's group!"

Akito nodded, "It would be a tremendous betrayal, true. I'll send men to Daisuke Oyama's headquarters and demand an explanation," he promised.

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General Tanaka watched with careful consideration as Akito ended his call. The fact that he named his own men in his report to his boss annoyed him, even though he knew he had to cover his own ass. "So... you've bought some time. Your boss will be focusing on Oyama's people, at least for the time being. Bring me the girl, and we'll make it worth your while," he promised.

"You won't... hurt her?" Akito beseeched.

"Of course not," Ryo replied with annoyance. "She's no good to us dead, and if we injure her, we'll just turn all of her father's wrath onto us, and that's the last thing we would want to do. We just want the Oyama group's deal to be neutralized." 

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"...you're going to do what?" Yoriyoshi's voice inquired over the phone.

Kyosuke sighed with frustration. "Yeah, I know, I would prefer to just head straight for her place in Minato but you said Oyama's got people waiting for us in Ginza and Roppongi, which cuts us off from the most direct routes. The only other way would be to circle all the way around Meguro City then come up from the South, but that's General Tanaka's territory, so there's no way to know for sure if they've got people there as well, especially for that much money."

"OK, so what's your plan? Stash her in the noodle shop? Her old man knows you work here." Yoriyoshi reminded Kyosuke.

"If old man Isamu sends a limo convoy of armed guards to escort Kyoko safely back to Minato, all the better," Kyosuke said.

"I suppose... Do you have a clean tail?" Yoriyoshi asked. The last thing we need now is to have my place torn apart by gangsters.

"I think so..." Kyosuke promised, before giving Kimiko a gimlet eye and reached for her phone.

"Wha...?!" Kimiko objected as she watched Kyosuke power down her phone. "You can't do that! My broadcast!"

"That thing's been scrolling our location nonstop live on Twitter, which is a huge security risk. You're lucky I don't toss it out of the car," Kyosuke added, much to Kimiko's cringing expression. 

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"They've stopped the broadcast," the kidnappers reported, checking their phones. They were racing through the city in a group of several cars, coordinated by a central hub, having branched off from the 302 highway in Shinjuku.

"Sir, we're getting word from our contacts on the street that General Tanaka's also put the word out that his group is also willing to pay a price for the girl."

The leader swore a curse. If Tanaka got to the girl first, then chances were good that would kill the alliance with the Ikemoto group for good. Isamu would do anything for the same return of his daughter; even after he got her back, the experience would likely so unnerve him, he would probably never make another deal with the syndicates for the foreseeable future, and that would cripple the Oyama organization.

"Sir, how far are we prepared to go on this?" another man asked. "If it means getting into an all-out war against General Tanaka's syndicate, things could get messy very quickly. It could spiral out of control... even get the police involved."

The leader took a breath and paused to consider the ramifications. Normally, the police tolerated their existence, so long as civilians weren't harmed, but a high-profile target like Kyoko Ikemoto was a potential lightning rod into their stable environment. The last thing they wanted was to be the target of a major government crackdown. "We need to find the girl first before Tanaka. But once we do, we return her safely to her father. It's all about presentation. We make sure that we come across as the savior and ally, but also with the understanding that we're the ones calling the shots." 

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Yoriyoshi grunted as he watched Kyoko, Kyosuke and Kimiko enter his shop. "Who's this?" he asked.

"She happened to be passing by when we were getting away from the kidnappers," Kyoko explained.

Kyosuke looked outside, checking for any pursuit. "OK, we should be safe enough for a quick breather. Call your dad, let him know you're safe," he suggested, "Hopefully, he'll send a convoy of security that we can trust, and you'll be back home, and we can put this behind us."