The Manga Girl Read online

  As the time went slowly by, Nick found himself simply gazing at her. Even with her breasts so grotesquely stretched, and her body covered in welts and bruises, to him, she was still a picture of exquisite beauty. He had no way of knowing if Johnny Ho had succeeded in his mission to make him hate her, or whether she was simply catatonic, but he knew in his heart that he would always love her, no matter what.

  He thought back to the seeds of doubt that Johnny Ho had tried to plant in his head, and shook them away. She was going through hell because she wanted to protect him, and he was here because he wanted to rescue her. The only thing he could allow himself to think about was how to extricate themselves from this nightmare.

  “Lucy,” he said. “Once upon a time, you asked me to promise that I would never leave you. Do you remember that? Well, I did promise, and I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere, because I love you.”

  He watched her face, not expecting a reply, but as he looked, her eyes seemed to come back into focus, and she lowered her gaze to meet his. Nick smiled and he thought he detected a slight twitch in the corner of her mouth.

  He was just about to speak again, when the trapdoor opened and Satoru came down. He gave Nick a cursory glance and then went to check on Lucy. He gave one of her stretched nipples a flick and she winced. Satoru waved his hand in front of her face, but she continued to look straight ahead. He grunted and removed the clips from her nipples and she rocked back on her heels with a sigh of relief. As the weight slammed onto the floor, Nick’s arms were jerked up above his head.

  Lucy wobbled on shaky legs. After a full day of physical torment, she had been forced to stand in pain all night and she looked ready to collapse. Satoru spoke to her, but she didn’t respond. He said it again, louder this time, and when she remained silent, he slapped her hard across the cheek. Lucy’s head snapped around and she teetered backwards, but Satoru gripped her roughly by the shoulders and shook her hard.

  It was then, quite without warning that Lucy spat in his face. While Nick was still trying to process what she had just done, Lucy brought her knee up hard between Satoru’s legs. The old sadist managed to move back quickly enough to avoid a direct hit, but he still wheezed in pain. Doubled over, he lashed out furiously, his fingers scraping Lucy’s throat. Lucy danced backwards and tried to find a way past him but Satoru, his face twisted with rage, caught her by the elbow and then grabbed a fistful of her hair.

  Dragging her over to the hanging frame, he twisted her arms up behind her and, despite her desperate struggles, managed to maneuver her cuffed wrists into one of the dangling manacles. Then he pressed a button on the control panel and Lucy was quickly winched several inches off the ground. Her arms were nearly wrenched from her sockets and she thrashed her legs and screamed like a banshee.

  Nick realized to his horror that the rules of engagement had suddenly and dramatically changed. Satoru, his eyes glazed over, seemed to have totally lost it, and Lucy, writhing and screaming, had also clearly reached her tipping point. Satoru went over to the cabinet and returned with a clear plastic bag which he placed over Lucy’s head, stifling her cries.

  “Stop!” Nick yelled. “You’ll suffocate her!”

  Oblivious to Nick’s presence, Satoru picked up his beloved steel rod and brought it down hard across Lucy’s thighs. She screamed through the plastic, which was now starting to cloud up, and her legs jerked out straight behind her.

  At that moment, only one thought existed in Nick’s head - he’s going to kill her!

  Satoru raised the rod and struck Lucy again, this time across the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Lucy flailed around helplessly as another nasty-looking welt materialized on her body. Her open mouth gasped breathlessly against the choking bag and her bare toes scrabbled desperately for the floor.

  Satoru was so intent upon severely wounding the defenseless, naked girl, that he didn’t see Nick pulling on the nylon rope until the lead weight was high enough to grip between his knees. He transferred it to his bound hands and circled around behind the Japanese torturer who was just about to administer another agonizing blow. Before he could, Nick lifted the weight high above his head and brought it crashing down onto Satoru’s crown.

  The rod dropped from Satoru’s fingers, his knees buckled, and he fell face forward onto the ground. As a pool of blood began to spread around Satoru’s head, Nick pressed the release button, and Lucy dropped limply to the floor. He sat beside her and plucked at the edge of the bag, tearing it away from her head.

  Lucy gulped in a huge lungful of air and Nick put his arm around her trembling shoulders. She looked up at him with wide, wet eyes and Nick kissed her gently on top of her head.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  They had left themselves no options now. Regardless of the consequences, they had to get out, and fast. Nick reached down with his tied hands and with some difficulty managed to get Satoru’s key chain off his belt. The old sadist groaned and tried to move his head, but Nick had given him one almighty blow and blood was pooling rapidly around him. Nick finally found the right key and unlocked Lucy’s cuffs. He started towards the staircase, but he stopped when he realized that she wasn’t following.

  “Lucy, come on. We’ve got to go!”

  He still had no clue as to her mental condition and it suddenly occurred to him that getting out might not be that simple. They were both naked and exhausted, Nick was still dragging the lead weight from his bound wrists, and Kono could well be waiting for them upstairs.

  Ignoring Nick’s pleas, Lucy squatted over the prostrate Japanese pervert, and with some effort, rolled him over onto his back. His eyes flickered but he was still out of it. Lucy’s fingers worked his belt buckle and then pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles.

  “We don’t have time for this!” Nick implored her.

  With a look of pure venom on her face, Lucy went over to Satoru’s cabinet and came back with a large purple dildo covered with hard rubber lumps. Nick resigned himself as she knelt between the old man’s legs and worked the dildo up under his balls. With a grunt, Lucy pushed with all her might as the phallus slid inside him. Satoru let out a feeble howl but was too groggy to resist as Lucy then handcuffed his wrist to the hanging frame. She looked into his unfocused eyes, and spat once more into his face before following Nick up the staircase.

  With the heavy weight in his hands, Nick peered cautiously out of the trapdoor. At this early hour, the cabin was as yet deserted. Trying to keep as quiet as possible, they tiptoed towards the back door. Naked or not, they would have to try to make for the cover of the woods before anyone discovered what had happened.

  When they were halfway across the room, Yuriko emerged from the kitchen, dressed in her sexy pseudo-maid’s uniform. They stopped and she looked at them with wide-eyed surprise.

  “Is Johnny Ho still here?” Nick whispered.

  For a moment, he thought she might scream for help, but then she shook her head.

  “Kono?” he asked.

  Yuriko pointed up towards the loft, put her finger to her lips, and gestured for them to wait. Then, in the blink of an eye, she kicked off her shoes and skipped silently up the stairs. Nick hesitated and looked at the back door, beyond which freedom beckoned. Lucy stood beside him looking totally disoriented.

  Fuck this! Nick thought. Every second is crucial. Kono could wake at any moment.

  He took Lucy by the wrist and had just opened the back door when Yuriko reappeared at the balcony holding a pile of clothes and a plastic bag. Nick pulled Lucy outside and a moment later, Yuriko joined them on the deck. She had quickly changed into a pair of shorts, a sleeveless shirt and running shoes. She took Nick’s wood carving knife out of the bag and cut through the rope around his wrists.

  “Come on,” Nick said, dropping the lead weight, and they made a dash across the open ground towards the tree line. When they were some way into the woods, Yuriko handed Nick the plastic bag and his clothes, and then helped Lucy into a cotton dress a
nd a pair of flat sandals. When Nick was dressed, he took his car keys and cell phone out of the bag. Then he looked down at sweet little Yuriko, whom he had known so intimately, and took her in his arms and kissed her.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  The moment was broken by a sharp crack and the splintering of wood a few yards away.

  “Kono!” Nick hissed. “Go! Go! Go!”

  Adrenaline overcame fatigue as they sprinted through the trees. Nick led the way, and he could only pray that his car was where he had left it. He figured they had probably a fifty yard start on Kono, and with the outside chance that he wouldn’t know which way they were going, they just might make it.

  After a couple of minutes, he saw the early morning sun glinting off the familiar red paintwork of the Mustang and his heart leaped. He glanced behind and saw Yuriko and Lucy running hand-in-hand a few yards behind. They burst out of the trees and Nick unlocked the door and literally bundled the girls into the back seat. Slamming the door behind him, he fumbled the keys into the ignition with trembling fingers. The Mustang had been sitting idle for almost a week and there was every chance that the battery had gone flat. He turned the key and pumped the accelerator, and the car groaned and died.

  “Come on, sweetheart, not now!” Nick yelled, giving her a moment, and then turned the key again. Like a musical masterpiece to Nick’s ears, the Mustang’s throaty engine roared into life. He threw it into gear and wheel-spun the car down the rutted track. As they reached the road, Nick looked into the rearview, and saw Kono emerging from the woods.

  “Get down!” he shouted. The two terrified girls huddled together as Kono’s shot ripped through the soft-top and then punched a hole through the windscreen. Nick let out an exhilarated whoop as he fishtailed out onto the road and accelerated out of sight.

  ***

  It took just under ninety minutes to reach the empty farmhouse in Connecticut - Nick could have done it faster, but he deliberately took a circuitous route to make sure Kono wasn’t following. From time to time, he checked back on the girls. Lucy had fallen into an exhausted sleep, her head in Yuriko’s lap. Each time he glanced at Yuriko in the mirror, she gave him a nervous little smile, and in spite of himself, Nick was reminded of her tight, wet cunt gripping his cock.

  Once the panic had died down, Nick had time to ponder their situation, and although the immediate danger had passed, it still wasn’t good. Going home - anywhere near Boston - was out of the question of course, which is why he had decided on the farmhouse. It was isolated, and Nick knew that the property developers who owned it would not be putting it on the market until renovations were complete later in the year.

  As they crossed the state line, summer storm clouds gathered on the horizon. Nick picked up his cell and checked the battery indicator. He figured he could make one quick call. Sid picked up almost immediately.

  “Nick. How are you, buddy?”

  “Alive. Look, I haven’t got much time, so listen up. I’m heading out to that farmhouse I was working on near Falls Village.”

  “Yeah, I know it.”

  “I’ve got Lucy but she’s been through a lot. I need you to bring food, blankets, and basic medical supplies. I can’t explain now, but I can’t risk being spotted and I need time to think.”

  “I knew this wasn’t right,” Sid muttered angrily.

  “Sid, I want you to be careful. Take the back roads and make sure you aren’t being followed. They might come to your place, so it’s important you move quickly.”

  “That’s easy. I’ve already left for work.”

  “Perfect. Now I want you to do something else. Call Summer and get her to meet you somewhere away from campus.”

  “You want me to bring Summer?”

  “I think Lucy’s going to need her for a while.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  Ten minutes later, Nick turned into a long gravel driveway and pulled up outside the farmhouse - a 1930s cape with an enormous brick chimney stack on one side. He took the keys out of the glove compartment and handed them to Yuriko. While the girls went inside, Nick drove across to a wooden barn and parked the Mustang inside. As he reattached the padlock, a strong gust of wind whipped across the untended meadow, and the first heavy drops of rain smacked into the earth.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  They sat in the unfurnished farmhouse and listened to the rain. Thunder rattled the windows and lightening lit up the sky, but still Lucy slept. Yuriko sat quietly stroking Lucy’s hair and Nick found his gaze wandering over her slender, bare legs. Away from the surrealistic atmosphere of Johnny Ho’s cabin, he felt embarrassed about what they had been forced to do together. Sitting in such close proximity to her now, he vividly recalled how responsive Yuriko’s body had been to his. She sensed him watching and she looked up and smiled. She looked so flawless and delicate, like a little china doll.

  “Thank you,” Nick said again.

  “I couldn’t bear what he was doing to her,” she said.

  “You weren’t having such an easy time of it yourself. I’m sorry about… you know.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” She blushed and lowered her eyes. “Anyway,” she added with a coy smile, “it wasn’t so bad.”

  Nick lowered his face to hers and he kissed her dainty lips. With Lucy sound asleep in her lap, Yuriko allowed Nick’s tongue into her mouth. It didn’t feel wrong. They had escaped from hell together and a mutual bond had formed between them.

  A loud crash of thunder broke their kiss. Lucy mumbled in her sleep and Nick took hold of her hand.

  “She really loves you,” Yuriko said.

  “I know.”

  They fell silent again, then Yuriko frowned. “What happens now?”

  “We stay here for a while until I can figure things out. Friends are coming to help.”

  Yuriko looked earnestly into his eyes. “I’m scared.”

  Nick reached out with his free hand, and she held it.

  “Me too,” Nick said.

  ***

  Two hours later, Nick was woken by the sound of a car engine. Somehow he had managed to fall asleep sitting up against the wall. Lucy and Yuriko were curled up together next to him. He crept quietly over to the window, saw Sid’s Dodge Ram coming up the gravel road, and went out onto the porch. The rain had stopped and there was an earthy dampness in the air.

  As the car approached, Nick saw that Summer was sitting in the passenger seat with a concerned look on her face.

  “Boy, am I glad to see you!” Nick said when they got out. Sid threw his arms around Nick and squeezed him so tight he could hardly breathe.

  “Are you okay?” Sid asked when he finally let go.

  “I’m fine,” Nick said.

  Summer came up, gave Nick a hug, and asked, “Where’s Lucy?”

  “Inside, sleeping.”

  “How is she?”

  “Her physical wounds aren’t serious. It’s the psychological damage that concerns me.”

  “We should get her to a hospital.”

  “Not yet,” Nick said. “It’s not safe at the moment. Johnny Ho will be looking everywhere and I’m afraid if he finds her, he might kill her.”

  “Oh, Jesus!” Summer gasped.

  Sid regarded him for a moment. “Nick, what the hell happened?”

  ***

  It took Nick well over an hour to recount the events in the cabin. He spared few details, as painful as it was for all of them. When he had finished, Sid said, “What a sick fucker.”

  “Now you know why we have to lay low.”

  “But,” said Summer, “you can’t stay here forever.”

  “I know, but I’m not going to risk moving until we can be sure it’s safe.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Sid asked. “If this guy is what you say he is, he’ll have people looking for you all over the country.”

  “It’s insane, isn’t it?” Nick said. “Somehow I’ve managed to get us on the run from the fucking yakuza.”


  “But surely there must be someone you can talk to?” Summer said. “This is a personal vendetta, right? There must be a, I don’t know, code of honor or something, surely?”

  “Right,” Nick said. “How many yakuza gang members do you know?”

  They looked at each other in helpless silence and then a croaky voice said, “Aunt Akiko.”

  Lucy had woken up.

  ***

  She still looked worn out, but the light had returned to her eyes. The first thing she did was remove the nose ring and studs. Yuriko took them outside and threw them into the long grass. Then Summer helped Lucy tend to her abrasions while Sid cooked supper on a small gas stove.

  “My phone is back at the cabin,” Lucy said. “So somebody is going to have to go to Porter Square.”

  “I can do that,” Sid offered.

  “You need to go to the Sakura restaurant in the mall. Ask for the owner, Akiko Miura, and tell her what has happened. Give her Nick’s number and don’t speak to anybody else.”

  “How will she be able to help?” Nick asked.

  “The only way she can. By going to Mama Bunko.”

  Nick thought back to the ancient old woman who had so warmed to him at her birthday party. “And what can she do?”

  “It’s a long shot,” said Lucy, “but our only one. I told you that she was the mistress of the oyabun of the American yakuza during the war? Well she had a son by him - who is now one of the most powerful underbosses in New York.”

  “And she would ask him to stop Johnny Ho?” Summer asked.

  Lucy nodded. “I think she would - if she can remember who we are.”

  ***

  Nick lay on his sleeping bag and listened to the calling song of the cicadas outside. Sid had gone back to Boston, while Summer had opted to stay behind. Now she was lying side-by-side with Lucy and they were whispering together, their noses almost touching. Yuriko slept nearby, as if their closeness lent her a sense of security.