Yaeka

Posted on Mon Mar 25th, 2024 @ 3:22am by Lieutenant Commander Kurumi Ebisuzawa & Yaeka Sakuragi
Edited on on Thu May 30th, 2024 @ 8:18pm

1,816 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Junichi Koyama
Location: Gamma Zednor Detention Center

The door of the room was thrown open with force. Two rather large burley men dragged Kurumi inside. She had been stripped of any personal possessions she had been carrying on her. She seemed lifeless and 'floppy', bruises covered her body and her hair was a mess. She had been beaten and was now being dragged into the dark, dingy room.

The room's air was stale. The cold stone floor looked like it had never been cleaned and the only light came through a small window set up high in the wall. Three large bars prevented escape, and there was no glass. Thus the room was cold, and damp.

The men dropped Kurumi in the center of the room. She collapsed to the floor breathing heavily. One of them gave her a kick to the side of her ribs before walked off out of the room. "This'll teach you to cross us! You Japanese Scum!" he snarled as he slammed the door shut. The sound of the door being locked echoed around the small room.

Kurumi laid there face down on the cold floor for a few moments as she tried to assimilate what had happened. Finally she shuffled a little managing to push herself up. The instant coolness of the room made her shudder, she was just glad she had her jacket still.

"Damn..." She muttered to herself as she rubbed her shoulders. The room was dark and it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light levels.

"H...He...Hello?" A rather weak voice said from one of the dark and damp corners from behind Kurumi. The voice alerted Kurumi and she turned to look who had just spoken to her. It was hard to make out who else was in this excuse of a cell.

She squinted as she managed to see what seemed like a small figure, huddled in one of the corners. The figure looked no bigger than a young child. Kurumi could only guess that whoever had spoken had chosen that spot as it was the darkest in the room and furthest away from the door. Even the guards would have difficulty seeing anyone who was small enough to hide in the shadows.

"Hello?" Kurumi replied as she rubbed her head. She could still feel the throbbing in her temple from where the police 'officers' had used their batons to club her. "Who's there?"

The little figure seemed to shuffle further into the corner as if trying to disengage from the contact. Slowly Kurumi's eyes began to adjust to the light levels and she could see the figure clearly. It was indeed a small child, she couldn't really make out the child's features. But she could tell that the child was rather petite, small and had long hair.

"Hey..." She said softly. "There's no need to be afraid." she glanced over at the doors. "My name is Kurumi."

The figure seemed to relax a little. Kurumi could see that the child had their knee's pulled up to their chest. It was then that they released their knee's and very slowly stood up, but remained in the corner. The child didn't answer, but seemed to feel more comfortable standing in the corner in the shadows.

"I'm not going to hurt you sweetheart." Kurumi's voice was soft and sincere. She couldn't help but think of why these bastard would lock a child in such a place. Why would they throw someone so innocent into this damp, dingy and dark cell? "Whats your name sweetie?"

"Yaeka..." the child replied. Her voice was sweet and sounded young. Kurumi couldn't place it, but it definitly sounded female.

"Thats a beautiful name." Kurumi replied. "Are you alone?" she asked.

She could see the child nod a few times in response. "So am I." Kurumi replied softly. "Did they hurt you sweetie?"

It was at that moment that the child began to walk very slowly towards Kurumi. Their footsteps echoed around the room as the child walked forward. Eventually they stepped into the light that shone through the small barred window.

Kurumi's eyes widened as she looked at the child. There in front of her was a young girl. Her face was sad and dirty. She wore a long sleeved white shirt which was stained and covered in dirt. She had beautiful long red hair, but it was messy and matted in places. She didn't meet Kurumi's eyes, but instead looked at the floor. Kurumi could see her shivering in the cold, and she also noticed bruises on her arms and legs. She was barefoot, and her socks had holes in them.

Kurumi shuffled open. "Hello Yaeka." She said softly. She out stretched a hand to the young girl. The girl instantly flinched and took a quick step back as if afraid to be struck. It was obvious that the girl had been locked up in here alone and might have even been beaten or tortured. She felt physically sick at the thought of them doing this to a child.

"Yaeka. I'm not going to hurt you." Kurumi assured her giving her a brief smile. She slowly began to take her jacket off and only then noticed the bruises on her arms. "You're cold aren't you?"

Yaeka nodded as she stood there shivering. "You can put this on sweetie." Kurumi held out the jacket to her. A few long moments passed as Yaeka stared at the jacket. She eventually began to reach out, her arm trembling as if unsure whether to take the jacket. Kurumi continued to hold it out before allowing Yaeka to take it.

Yaeka held it in her hands, running the fabric through her fingers as she seemed to examine the jacket. "You're giving this to me?" she asked. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. You need to keep warm sweetie." Kurumi said. "I'll be fine."

Kurumi smiled as Yaeka wrapped the jacket around her small body. Kurumi was considered a small woman for her age, but her jacket on Yaeka looked like a tent. She seemed to enjoy the warmth in the jacket from Kurumi's body as she wrapped it tightly around her. "T...Thankyou..." Yaeka said as she retreated to her corner.

"No problem sweetie." Kurumi said in response.

[A few hours later]

Kurumi had mustered the strength to move to the opposite wall to Yaeka's corner. She had been observing the young girl for the last few hours. Since Yaeka had taken her jacket, the young girl had not said a word. But had remained wrapped up in the jacket in her corner.

"Yaeka?" Kurumi asked eventually breaking the long silence. There came no response from the corner. Kurumi looked over. She could see pretty well now in this light level. She could see that Yaeka had her head flopped downwards and small snoozing noises could be heard. There was no doubt in Kurumi's mind that Yaeka was now asleep.

Slowly and quietly she managed to pull herself up. She ignored the pain from her injuries and bruises as she managed to straighten up. She glanced over at the door to the cell. There didn't seem to be any movement from outside. She crept over towards Yaeka, and confirmed that the girl was indeed fast asleep.

She crouched down close to her and managed to get a proper look at her face. It was no doubt that she was Japanese in origin. She had suspected that from her name alone, but she needed to confirm. She brushed a few of the stray hairs out of her face and couldn't help but smile. 'She's a cute kid. Why is she here?' she thought to herself as she began to look around at her clothing for any forms of identification.

Eventually it became evident that there seemed nothing that would identify who she was or why she was here. Her maternal instincts once again began to resurface as the little girl reminded her of her the son she had lost. She had a sudden and uncontrollable urge to protect this young child, to help her get out of this hell.

"Screw it..." she muttered to herself. She gently wrapped her arms around Yaeka and managed to pick her up as she slept. She was light, very light. She remembered that her son was heavier than her, and at a much younger age. "Please excuse me Yaeka." She whispered as she managed to pulled her up and carry her over to the cold metal bench against the opposite wall.

The only thing on Kurumi's mind was to see exactly what condition Yaeka was in. She gently laid her down on the bench on her back. Her limbs were very thin. They looked and felt so delicate and so very weak. "Sorry Yaeka, just stay asleep a little longer will you. I'm just going to check you over..." Kurumi whispered as she unbuttoned the young girls shirt to reveal her torso.

She had to hold back a gasp as the sight her eyes met shocked her. Yaeka's body was not just small, but she had hardly any weight on her. Her belly was concaved and her ribs could be seen easily on her chest. It was obvious that she was suffereing from malnutrition. No wonder she had fallen asleep so quickly, her body was obviously fighting to stay alive. Kurumi placed a hand on Yaeka's chest, her heartbeat was weak and slow. Her breathing was shallow and at times laboured. Not only was she weak and in bad condition, but she was also covered in bruises, some which were obviously made by police batons. They were everywhere from her arms, legs to her stomach and even her shoulders.

It was then that she noticed there was a name label in the inside of her shirt. "Whats this..." Kurumi whispered to herself as she read the name written in Kanji. 'Sakuragi Yaeka'. It now all made sense, this was the daughter of the Sakuragi family that the drunk man had told them about.

Pure rage started to build up in Kurumi as she buttoned up Yaeka's shirt. She sat down next to her on the bench, resting her head on her lap as she covered her up with the jacket ensuring that she was warm. As she slept she stroked her hair. Even though it was greasy and dirty it was still as soft as silk. She needed to make sure that Yaeka was safe now. Her priorities had changed, she needed to protect this little girl and get her out of this place. It was her duty not only as a Starfleet Officer, but as a Human being.

"Don't worry Yaeka." Kurumi whispered. "I'm going to get you out of here. I'll take you to a place where you will be safe... I promise."

To be continued...

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