A Thankful Reward Pt. 1

[Day: Wednesday]

[Time: Morning]

[Location: Home]

Whitney hurried down the stairs then noticed me getting ready to leave, hurrying toward me with a bright smile on her face. "Shiji!~ Where are you heading?~"

I looked at Whitney and returned her smile. "I'm just about to go to the grocery store and get a few things so I can prepare the Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow~ I'm gonna be inviting a few people over so I'm gonna need a lot of supplies and ingredients."

"Oh yeah! Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Is it okay if I invite my dad? It would be nice for him to join us and we can all reconcile and come together again, just like old times," Whitney requested, her eyes hopeful that I would say yes.

I chuckled softly and gave her a nod. "Yeah, it would be nice for Mr. Dawn to show up and enjoy Thanksgiving with us all. It would be nice to talk to him again and just make amends."

Whitney was very pleased with my answer and hugged me. "Thank you!~ I'm sure he'll be so glad to know you'll have him over!"

I returned Whitney's hug, rubbing her hair gently. "I'm sure as well. It would be nice for all of us to get along again..~"

Whitney heard her phone ringing and let me go so she could see who's calling. "Chelsey's calling~ I've gotta go get ready to head over there~"

"Alright, I'll be out. Just text me if you need anything." I said, grabbing my keys off the counter.

"I will!~" Whitney giggled softly.

Whitney and I shared our usual kiss before parting ways to get our daily duties done. I got in my car and stretched, sighing a bit. I looked at Lust-E, noticing the list of groceries I needed to pick up for tomorrow. With a nod, I drove off to the grocery store to get everything I needed done.

Whitney finished getting ready for the day and hummed a happy tune as she hopped down the stairs. She went outside to wait for her ride to show up, her attention fixated on her phone as she was texting Chelsey about what she was doing tomorrow.

As she waited, she heard a car pulling up in front of my house. She looked up to see who it was then noticed it was Caden getting out of the car. She quickly stood up, her eyes widening to see Caden.

"Yo," Caden called out to Whitney as he walked toward her. He had a plan hatched in his head, but he kept his demeanor soft and gentle to not startle Whitney. "Where's Shiro?"

Whitney, not wanting to let Caden know that she was alone, decided to lie, "He's inside the house, Caden. He doesn't want to speak to you!"

"You don't have to lie, Whitney. Not when I literally saw him drive off earlier." Caden said as he kept approaching Whitney.

Whitney took a few steps back. She looked back at her phone, noticing her ride won't be here for the next ten minutes. "W-What do you want?"

Caden stared at Whitney, checking her out then he grabbed her arm. He pulled Whitney toward her, placing a cloth over her mouth, causing her to pass out due to the substances that were absorbed by the cloth.

"That fucker is gonna pay...I promise that.." Caden said as he dragged Whitney to his car, putting her in the backseat of his car.

He got in his car then quickly drove off. He texted someone that he took Whitney and that he was heading to his location. Deep inside he didn't want Whitney, only using her to try and drag me out. He didn't know why his leader needed Whitney personally, but he didn't care enough to ask.

[Day: Wednesday]

[Time: Noon]

[Location: Home]

As I returned home, my mind was filled about the delicious dinner I was going to prepare for everyone and my face played an excited smile. I walked in my house with the groceries with the help of Lustie then we began to unpack the groceries.

"Ooo~ I can't wait for this dinner!~ I wonder if I should reveal myself..." Lustie said as she helped put the ingredients away.

"Nah, I don't think people would react kindly knowing you're a Demon..~ Unless you can disguise yourself as a human woman." I said as I set all of the important items upon the counter.

"Do you know who you're talking to?~ I'm a demon, of course I can shapeshift and disguise myself!" Lustie giggled softly then sensed something was off. She heard ringing from outside then went to investigate.

"Red?" I asked, watching Lustie rush to the front door then followed her. I noticed her standing at the door, my head slightly tilting as I wondered what was wrong. "What's wrong?"

Lustie picked up Whitney's phone and noticed Chelsey had called her multiple times and texted her if she was coming today. "Shiro... Something happened to Whitney."

My heart thumped hard as Lustie said this. I hurried toward Lustie and noticed she was holding Whitney's phone. I felt my phone buzzing and took it out of my pocket, noticing a text from an anonymous number with a chilling message. All the message said was to meet them at Sanctuary City at a neighborhood named Sanctuary Lake alone.

I stared at the message, my mind racing with many thoughts and what they could have done to Whitney. My grip on my phone tightened, veins slowly growing on my hand as I began to feel...rage.

I walked off and grabbed my keys off the counter, calling Naomi. "Yo. I'm gonna send you a location. Pull up, I'll explain when we get there. Bring Dante and Mariana."

Naomi didn't ask any questions, hearing my serious tone. "Gotcha."

I hung up and got into my car, Lustie appearing in the seat next to me. "We're not telling her dad anything...We can't. If he knew Whitney got snatched, he'll never trust me again."

"Yeah...but I think I may know who did this shit." Lustie said as she stared at Whitney's phone, pretending to be Whitney and telling Chelsey that something came up with Krystal to ease Chelsey's worries.

"Caden.." I said with malice in my voice. I started my car then drove off. "He's not getting away with this...no way I'm letting him get away with this..."

[Starting route to Sanctuary Lake...]

[Day: Wednesday]

[Time: Afternoon]

[Location: Sanctuary Lake]

Caden sat outside waiting for me to pull up. He felt someone tap his shoulder and looked up, seeing Jake and Eric. "What are they doing to her?"

"Nothing yet. We're still waiting on the punk to show up. There's no way he doesn't show up...This is Whitney we're talking about." Jake said.

"HEY! JAKE!" A woman yelled out as she stormed out the house. "Can you tell me why there's a woman tied up in the fucking bathroom?! And why is Axel here?!"

"Jessica, chill out and go back inside. Don't worry about what we're doing." Jake said.

Jessica stared at Jake, not knowing what was going on. She groaned and walked back into the house. "Whatever, weirdo. I keep telling Mom that I need a new fucking brother because the one I have is a criminal!" She yelled, slamming the door.

Caden looked at Jake then chuckled softly, turning back to his phone. "You deal with that often?"

"She's my sister. I deal with that shit every time we meet up with Axel. She's got a short temper like Aubrie so it isn't hard to know how she's best friends with her." Jake said.

"What if she snitches?" Caden asked.

"She won't. She knows to keep her mouth closed." Jake said then noticed my car pulling up in front of the house I was supposed to meet them at. "Looks like the main event is here.."

"Finally." Eric said then cracked his knuckles.

-----------------

Whitney grunted as she tried to break out the hold she was in. She heard the bathroom door open again and her muffled cries for help filled the bathroom.

"Yo calm down." Jessica said as she closed the bathroom door. She used the knife she took from the kitchen to free Whitney then grunted as she was pushed away. "Hey! Don't go out there!"

Whitney stormed out the bathroom and hurried down the stairs then grunted as Jessica grabbed her arm, leading her to her room and locked the door. Whitney stared at Jessica, extreme fear in her eyes and her mind racing on why she was taken.

"I don't have any money! Let me go!" Whitney cried out.

"Look, I'm not with those creeps. I don't know what you did, but if you stay in here you'll be safe.." Jessica said then walked toward her window, noticing me having a stand off with Jake, Eric, and Caden. "Who the heck is that..?"

Whitney walked toward the window then gasped as she saw me. "Shiro..!"

"You have Whitney here...Give her back," I demanded, my voice cold and callous, my mind willed with wrathful thoughts. "Make it easy on yourself and save yourselves the embarrassment.."

Caden stared at me, his smirk widening as I demanded them to give Whitney back. "It is true that we have Whitney in here, but you're not gonna see her again. This is your Thanksgiving reward for all the shit you've done to us. We warned you to watch your back..."

I sensed someone behind me. "Mark."

My voice cut through the tension like a knife, freezing Mark in his tracks just as he was about to launch a sneak attack. Surprise flickered across Mark's face as he realized he'd been discovered, but before he could react, I was upon him.

With a swift and decisive motion, I turned to face Mark, my movements fluid and precise. My strikes were fueled by a potent mix of rage and determination, each blow landing with devastating force as I unleashed the full extent of my wrath.

As Mark stumbled back, stunned by the sudden turn of events, Caden and his cronies saw their opportunity and lunged forward, intent on overwhelming me with sheer numbers.

"Shiro!" Whitney yelled out then began to hit the window. "Stop it!"

Caden went for an attack first, but I dodged his punch then countered with a jab at his face that carried the weight of my rage. Eric tried to launch a sneak attack, but I dodged his attack as well, countering with a knee to his stomach.

Naomi watched as I controlled the flow of the fight with fluid movements and percise counters. She was extremely impressed as she watched from afar. "What the fuck..? He's taking on a one verses four and winning..!"

"This tonto loco is insane! How the hell is he dodging like that?" Mariana asked as she watched with Naomi.

Caden stumbled back and pulled out his gun, taking aim at me. "Fuck it! You're not dodging this!" He yelled as he pulled the trigger.

My Danger Sense activated once the gun sounded off. I swiftly dodged the bullet, surprising everyone around me. This only angered me further, knowing they were set out to kill me like Eric said they would try to do.

"You're too pussy to take a beating like a man? Alright.." I said as I walked toward Caden.

[Warning: Bloodlust has increased to 20%]

I didn't care what Lust-E had warned me about, my main focus being on saving Whitney. "Maybe I should return the favor.."

I activated my Luscious Presence and used my Irresistible Allure to hypnotize Caden and the others. Lustie used her power to make me take the appearance of a beautiful woman in the eyes of Caden, Eric, Jake, and Mark.

Caden watched as the woman in front of him approached him then grunted heavily as I landed a heavy blow to his face, making him drop the gun. I picked up the gun then aimed it at Caden.

"Shiro don't do it!" Whitney yelled.

I heard Whitney's voice and looked up, seeing her in Jessica's room. I slowly lowered the gun, knowing Whitney wasn't harmed.

[Dodge!]

I grunted and dodged a sneak attack that came from someone new. I looked back then groaned as someone landed a sneak attack on my cheek then a third person tackled me to the ground. I blocked their punch then gripped their shirt, landing a clean headbutt on them to get them off me.

[Stamina has lowered to 60%]

I stood up and grunted softly. I looked at the three men who managed to bypass my Danger Sense.

[These three...are the ones you should be worried about. The guy with the purple highlights in his hair has a System, though it isn't as refined as mine not as useful, it's enough to match with you.]

[His name is Lane Marshall...]

Lustie noticed it was one of her old clients then grunted softly. "Shiro..."

"You're a tough one Shiro...taking on four people at once. No wonder they call you dangerous." The leader said.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

"The name's Axel, leader of the Syndicates. You caused a lot of trouble—"

I snuck Axel with a swift right hook then landed a few more blows at his face before knocking him to the ground. Axel was surprised by my speed and stood up slowly, cautiously watching me.

"I don't give a shit about who you are...just give Whitney back and I'll leave all of you fuckers alone." I said, my voice becoming even colder than before.

"See...it's not that simple, Moji." Axel said, gently rubbing his jaw. "You're now enemy number one for us. The only way out of this is death itself."

Lustie and I subtly gave each other a side eye then looked back at Axel. Lustie sounded the signal and everyone froze. This gave Lustie enough time to teleport inside the house to get Whitney.

"Now it's time for the fun.." Dante said then got up and ran forward.

Mariana rushed over to my aid with Dante then put on her brass knuckles. "For Karma!"

Naomi watched, a bit hesitant to go out there knowing her ex was there. She shook her head, knowing this wasn't only for me, but for Whitney as well. She got up and rushed toward my aid with Dante and Mariana.

Axel heard Dante, Mariana, and Naomi running forward then smirked. "So you didn't come alone? You're smarter than you seem..."

Whitney and Jessica watched the chaos from the window then heard the door being kicked open. Whitney and Jessica turned around to be faced with Lustie disguised as a policewoman.

"Hurry up! Shiro's running out of time!" Lustie said.

Whitney and Jessica looked at each other then they hurried off with Lustie.

"Shiro! I've got them! Let's get out of here! I'm calling the police and they can handle it! Get Naomi and the others out of there as well!" Lustie said to me telepathically.

I nodded then dodged Lane's attack, countering with a kick to knock him back. "Naomi! Mariana! Dante! Get out of here!"

Naomi dodged Axel's attack then ran off with Dante and Mariana. Axel tried to chase after them, but hit an invisible barrier Lustie casted around the house so Axel and his gang couldn't escape.

I rushed toward my car and noticed Lustie running out the house with Whitney and Jessica. They got in my car then I stomped on the gas, driving away from the neighborhood quickly.

Axel slammed his hands on the barrier and yelled for me to get back. He grunted as he heard police sirens, accepting his defeat. He looked back at Mark, Eric, Jake, and Caden who were all beaten down on the ground.

"Fuck... Sebastian, Lane. You two get out of here and hide. I'll handle these stupid cops." Axel said.

"Right." Lane said then hurried off.

"You know where to meet us." Sebastian said before hurrying off as well.

Axel nodded and went to sit on his stairs then sighed. 'They got away...but something didn't seem natural about Shiro. His abilities are unnatural much like Lane's, but Shiro is far more dangerous. He needs to go, but he also has connections with Karma. Who is this dude..?'

Axel thought to himself and watched the police pull up in front of his house. 'Whoever that guy is...we can't let him live. Not after this...that freak has to go...'