Hold On I Still Need You

[KIYOMI]

"I'm a dead woman," Kiyomi muttered as she plopped on the couch in her office. She wasn't sure when everything had gone to hell and how they had come to choose her for this, but she was sure someone really wanted to stay hidden.

Kiyomi thought back to everything she had done to stay out of the limelight, everything she had sacrificed, her freedom, her hobbies, her life… it all meant nothing at this point. Maybe she should have let herself live more. 

She should have enjoyed the little freedom she would have had then. But now here she was, five years of blood sweat, and tears, all reduced to a lot of nothing. There was never going to be a way for her to recover from this, and she needed to find a way out, one that didn't involve her life being on the line. But wasn't it already anyway?

"Who did the surgery then? They are staying with you, but the stench in here looks like you haven't left this place in three days. Why would they do that to you? You're the neurosurgeon with the highest success rates;

"… So why now?" Elif asked as she stood beside her best friend who was still deep in thought, unsure of what life meant for her anymore. 

Elif was a doctor just like Kiyomi and she was aware of just how much this sudden spotlight meant to Kiyomi. She had watched Kiyomi live in the hospital since the first day that she had come to this place. 

Her friend was one of the best surgeons and the best neurosurgeon in the state so it just didn't make any sense that she could have fucked up that badly. 

Someone wanted her to be there, and now the seas are the target of the Russian mob, a group of animalistic humans who killed first and asked questions later. The Russian mob was hell on earth for the humans. 

They were the definition of madness and if there was someone whose madness could be compared to the Russian mob, then Kiyomi could easily place them a little too close to the mad queen, Sakura Watanabe. 

That woman was the devil herself and she was nothing anyone would want to be close to. 

"Did you bring food?" Kiyomi asked Elif who stared at her, wondering what the hell was wrong with her best friend. She was panicking on her friend's behalf, and Kiyomi was staring at the TV, her eyes hooded almost like she wanted to cry but couldn't let her tears. 

The slumped shoulders and defeated expression on Kiyomi's face were also something that reminded Elif that her best friend was considering a whole lot of everything in her head. 

Life wasn't being fair to the woman who had made so many sacrifices, but what else could she do? What else was Elif supposed to do to help her friend when everyone was after her?

"Are you serious? Your name is all over the press. It's just a matter of time before the Russian mob fills up this hospital, and the police too, and did I mention the medical inspectors? And all you are asking for is food?" Elif asked incredulously. 

Her friend was going through a hard time. She was trying so badly, but then they needed to figure out a way around this. Kiyomi had suffered more than she needed to and that wasn't what she deserved at the end of the day. 

Elif was willing to make it all make sense for Kiyomi, but they could only ever do that if Kiyomi was out of the hospital before the hunters came for her. Everyone wanted her dead now, and an escape was the best way out of this.

"You failed to add the Bogdan Lycans to the list, Elif. Oh, and the mad Lycan queen who hates rogues. I am a dead woman either way. My last name is out there. My hunters will know where I am, the Lycan queen will kill me for being a rogue in the human lands. 

"The Bogdan Lycans will kill me for THAT day, the Russian mob will kill me for the death of their master, and the government will probably jail me for life or even death. The least I can do is eat, don't you think? 

"Besides, as you said, my freedom is over. I might as well be harassed on a full stomach," Kiyomi admitted sadly, and Elif slumped beside her. This wasn't fair and they both knew it. 

The Kimura last name was bound to bring hordes of monsters towards Kiyomi, something that she had tried to hide from for years. She had lived in this very hospital to avoid cases like these. 

She never took on risky surgeries with high mortality rates because she never wanted her name out there. And yet someone had screwed her over so she was a wanted woman by everyone who could think of her. Oh, Kiyomi.

"We need to get you out of her, Kiki. you are innocent, and we can prove that. But only if you are alive. Come on," Elif said as she got up and started packing a backpack for her best friend. 

She wasn't ready to lose Kiyomi and it was understandable, seeing as Kiyomi was the person who had been there for her through thick and thin. It didn't matter that there were so many people out there. 

Kiyomi had been like a sister to her, and while Elif had offered to house Kiyomi, the doctor had kindly declined. 

Well, Kiyomi had enough money to buy the entire hospital she was working in, but then she had a past. A past that always haunted her. A past that would never forgive her and now she has a troublesome present to deal with. 

"Even if I run and prove my innocence, my name is already out there, Elif. They know. The Bogdan Lycans will be coming for me. My last name is out there, sister. Let's just sit here and wait for them to come… Or you can leave first. 

"I don't want you being implicated in this mess," Kiyomi said and ELof stared at her with teary eyes. 

Elif had watched the good doctor work her ass off to make sure patients went back home to their families and she had always succeeded. She had always done what she thought was best and each time she had succeeded. But now, she was in deep shit.

"I'm not leaving you here like this," Elif said defiantly before she changed the channel to National Geographic. 

She was going to find a way to get Kiyomi to safety, but first, they ended up finding a change in the mood because the mess out there and the calm sad state there wasn't helping her think. 

She needed to think like someone with hope, even if Kiyomi wasn't willing to give hope a chance.

"Why did you do that? I was watching the news," Kiyomi whined and Elif just stared at her sadly.

"Even animals have more empathy than the bastards who just sentenced you to a fate worse than death. I'll go get you food, but first, you need to get out of this office. Know a pathway out of this office. Come along," Elif said.

Kiyomi stared at her amusedly like this was the cutest thing she had heard from her best friend. Kiyomi was sure this office didn't have a secret passageway. She had lived and worked here for over five years. So, there was just no way that it was possible right?

"I created one for you in case the purple ringway form came to find you. I studied the blueprints and as it turns out, there are tunnels under this building. But… we have to lift the bathtub," Elif said and Kiyomi let out a laugh.