Pℓαyιηg ιη тнε Dαяк
AN: I'm a bad person. Go ahead and say it. I'm really sorry for taking so long to update anything, especially writing this sequel to 'A New Shade of Darkness'. My reason? Well, I had to do this extra-curricular-thing for my university application, so it took a long time. I'm almost finished which is why I was finally able to write this up.
Hopefully these sixteen pages will make up for my absence. ...Hopefully.
I would recommend you to read the prequel 'A New Shade of Darkness' before you read this, if you haven't read it already. Trust me, this story will make more sense that way.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own PPGZ, otherwise I wouldn't be on FanFiction.
WARNING: Slightly twisted RRBs.
:.: :.:
Winter. What a wonderful time. Not.
Kaoru kicked at the thick snow, it was cold and freezing. She was cold and freezing. Even after wearing thermals and layers, she still shivered from the coolness of the air. It was difficult not to. This must have been Tokyo City's worst weather yet, except for that time when the iceberg appeared and caused manic weathers. But that was because of Him.
She'd gotten another note from him again. No, not Him, but rather...him. Butch. She hadn't crumpled up the note this time like he said she shouldn't, nor did she throw it away - though she badly wanted to, she just wanted to forget that the note was stashed away in her back pocket of her jeans.
Kaoru could predict what would happen now, which was why she was getting out of Tokyo City as soon as possible. The train arrived and she hopped on. She'd told her family that she was going to do some research for school. Lies. She couldn't tell them the real reason - that she was trying to escape from the stalker that was Butch. The idea made her snort which earned her a few stares from the passengers of the train.
Kaoru hadn't been able to talk to Momoko or Miyako yet, her parents had taken her camping last week for the whole week, they were supposed to camp this week too, but the snow had interfered with their plans and so they had to return home early. And just as Kaoru arrived home, she had found his note. And once again, she had to leave. But this time, far away.
If she could, she would travel out the country for a month or something. But Kobe was her only option. And she was going to take it. The conductor of the train had announced that it would be roughly a ten-hour journey as they were taking the local train and there would be three train transfers along the way. But that was the best she could do at such short notice.
Kaoru had packed quickly this morning, with only a duffle bag. Although, Butch's words kept ringing in her mind...
Don't try to run away from me when I send you a note, next time.
He had warned her not to run away, and yet here she was, getting as far away from him as she could. He was going to be so pissed.
Because, trust me, my brothers and I will find you. All three of you.
She shivered, but this time, it wasn't from the cold. Kaoru looked out the window to keep her mind off of him for now.
...I will find you.
:.: :.:
He was angry. No, he was furious. Nope, he was downright pissed.
He glared at the empty bedroom. He warned her, damn it! He could tell that she left in a hurry as there were clothes strewn all over the floor and there was an unpacked camping gear bag on her bed: where she should have been. He knew she had gone on a camping trip with her parents, which was why he had left the note in her bedroom just before she came back.
He should've expected this, he should've known that she would defy him and try to get away. Butch looked around the room, careful not to make any noise as not to disturb Kaoru's parents. But honestly? He didn't really give a damn about her parents, but if he wanted his prize - or in this case, his possession - he had to act as nice as he could. And knowing that he could never actually be nice, acting nice could turn out to be a challenge.
Butch walked towards her closet and went through her clothes: baggy jeans, oversized t-shirts, loose hoodies and sweats. He raised an eyebrow at her choice in fashion. He looked to see if he could find anything more feminine, and, to his luck, he found a white denim skirt. It wasn't exactly girly, but it was definitely feminine. There was a price tag attached to the side which was how he knew that she hadn't worn it yet. He smirked slightly; he would love to see her in this.
Keeping the skirt in mind, he moved away from the closet to the bedroom drawers that Kaoru had around her room. Going through each and every one of them, he found nothing particularly interesting: just scraps of paper and overdue essays with a few paperclips here and there. There was a shelf full of books, most of which were unusual to find in a normal teenager's bedroom: like a whole collection of Shakespeare's stories.
"Huh, never thought that she would be the kind of girl who likes Shakespeare..." muttered Butch as he brushed his fingers across the spines of each book briefly.
There was nothing else that caught his attention in her room. Well, nothing but the scent. Kaoru's bedroom smelled just like her, and Butch growled, remembering once again that she had run away. He looked out the window; somewhere out there, she was probably hiding from him. The fact that he couldn't reach out and touch her drove him crazy, not to mention that he curled up his fingers in anger which made cracks on the wall that he was holding.
The cracks were evident, but he paid no attention to them. The city outside was buzzing with life, neon signs and bright lights whirled into action, even at night. The nightlife made the horizon of the sky slightly lighter as it dissolved into the blackness of the night sky in the higher region.
He removed his hands from the wall slowly, and chips and pieces of plaster crumbled down. There were now two gaping holes in the wall where his fists had once been, cracks surrounded it. His lover wasn't going to be too happy about this. Anger and frustration was not something that he could deal with emotionally. It had to be dealt with physical action.
If Kaoru thought that she could simply run away from him, she was wrong. He had warned her. He had told her what would happen if she tried to escape from him. And he was determined to carry out that very threat. The corners of his lips twitched upwards: he was going to play hide and seek with his little rebel.
:.: :.:
Miyako finished scrubbing the floor, checking once more that it was spotless. Satisfied with her work, she decided to clear up and go to bed. She put away the mop and the bucket in a small closet, hidden away from the hallway and then slowly begun her way up the stairs. As she reached her bedroom, she plopped down onto the futon mattress, exhausted. Leaning over one side, she closed her eyes.
But a few minutes later, she could hear something whispering. She opened one eye, when she found that there was nothing there, she simply shook it off and went back to sleep. Suddenly, a vase was knocked off a tabletop onto the floor and rolled towards her, stopping very suddenly beside her - it was as though someone had stopped it.
Miyako looked confused, not quite sure what she was seeing. Shaking her head, she pushed away her blanket and rolled out of the futon. She picked up the vase and put it back on the tabletop before walking back sleepily to the futon. But just as she was about to tuck into it, suddenly there was a clink. Miyako looked back, and her face paled.
There, floating in mid-air, was the vase. It was hovering moving up and down but not touching anything. Miyako's feet walked on their own accord as she reached her hand out above the vase to search for ropes or strings. But there was nothing. Her eyes widened. She moved her hand all around the vase, but all she heard was a dark chuckle before a shadow grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the darkness.
:.: :.:
Kaoru was finding it difficult to keep still; the snow was freezing and the hot chocolate wasn't making anything better. In fact, the way she saw it, it was kind of ironic since she was a super heroine. That meant that Butch was supposed to be hiding from her, not the other way round.
She was at another train station at the moment, waiting for the train transfer: it would be her third and final one before reaching Kobe - her destination.
She pulled out her phone, checking her e-mails to see if Momoko or Miyako had sent her one. Although she didn't receive any from them, she did find one anonymous e-mail. Suspicious, much? Shaking her head, she opened the e-mail, her eyes widened as she read and re-read the message:
'Did you really think you could get away from me? You must not know me at all. I don't think you took my warning from last time seriously. I will find you, no need to worry about that, sweetheart. Don't think that you can outrun me, although I'm quite interested in playing this new game of hide and seek with you. I've counted to a hundred, and now I'm after you. I would be very appreciative if you would reply and tell me where you are. If you don't...your loss.
- Yours Only, Butch.'
Holy cow, she had to get out of here. Fast. Maybe checking her e-mails was a bad idea...wait, how the hell did he even get her e-mail? She hardly ever gave it to anyone...unless he really was a stalker! Oh, great. She was the victim of a crazy, twisted, psycho stalker. Wonderful. Why did she always attract the crazy ones? After all, there was that weird Narushima guy from a few years ago.
And although she should've been scared, she actually felt pretty pissed. Who the heck did Butch think he was, calling her out like that? And why in hell was he obsessed with the idea of them together? This was nothing like Romeo and Juliet...although, the fact that the guy dies wasn't such a bad thing...if only Kaoru could convince Butch that she had killed herself. Wouldn't that be a shocker?
She could probably jump down from a bridge (with a bungee belt, of course) and have someone film it and send it to Butch. Oh, yeah. That would definitely set him off. But what if he didn't kill himself like Romeo did afterwards?
Wait! Why the hell was she even planning pretend-suicide? Kaoru shook the thoughts from her head. She must've been more worn out of the journey than she thought.
Alright, if Butch wanted to play games with her, then so be it. She pressed 'reply' on the e-mail and typed 'Game on.', then she sent it and hopped onto the last train to Kobe.
:.: :.:
Butch frowned as he stood next to the table where Kaoru had sat almost an hour ago. He had hoped that she would reply back, and she did. He tracked down her location, and here he was: at a train station. It wasn't busy, in fact it was surprisingly quiet. That was because of the weather. He hadn't expected her to reply anything other than her location.
Now it seemed she wanted to toy around with him.
He smirked, if only she knew just how good he was at finding his possessions. Maybe she wouldn't have written that. But there was something unusually sexy about the way she was hiding from him yet teasing him with messages like her previous one. Perhaps this game wouldn't be such a bad thing. After all, he would have a fun game and he would win and claim his prize.
Honestly, this was just too interesting.
Although, he really did want to know where she was heading. Obviously she was going somewhere since she was at the train station. He decided to check with one of the roaming conductors.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a schedule with all the train journeys for today?" he asked.
The conductor smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir. We've only had one train journey so far today, due to the terrible weather. It went to Kobe."
Kobe, huh? "Thank you. That was all that I needed." Butch waved goodbye and then turned to walk away, he smirked as he thought about his sweetheart making a run for Kobe.
She underestimated him.
Butch grinned as he thought about how he had gotten a hold of her e-mail. It wasn't that hard, really. All he had to do was simply...intimidate one of her classmates. And the e-mail address was given to him quicker than one could say 'supercalifragilisticexpialid ocious'. Or something much shorter.
Now all he had to do was get to the train station at Kobe before Kaoru, and he would take it from there. Butch's aura reeked of confidence as he escaped out of the train station and ducked into an alleyway. If anyone had bothered to look up, they would have seen a black shadow whisping away into the air with the wind across the dark grey sky.
:.: :.:
Okay, so maybe replying to Butch wasn't such a great idea.
Kaoru had stepped off the train about ten minutes ago and was currently finding a taxi. The reason why replying wasn't such a good idea was because now she was getting all paranoid and freaking out every time she saw a guy the same height as Butch. Wait a minute...how did she know he was a guy? For all that was worth, Butch could be dressed up as a girl and walking right behind her...
Oh. Crap. This was like some sort of crazy twisted horror movie...
No! No! She had to stop these thoughts! She was fine! Absolutely fine! She was in Kobe now and there was no way for Butch to find her. She was safe. Most importantly: away from him.
A taxi finally pulled over to her and Kaoru got inside, "Where are you going, miss?" he asked in a deep voice.
Kaoru opened up her mother's address book. Apparently, she had an auntie who lived here in Kobe. So she decided to stay with her for a couple of weeks or maybe more before returning home. She told him the address as he pulled away from the curb of the pavement.
She set her duffle bag to the seat beside her and sighed as she put on her seatbelt. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. She felt bad that she didn't tell anybody about where she was exactly going, and she felt even worse that she hadn't warned Momoko and Miyako to try to get away. Kaoru would've done something to help them, but she was in a mess of her own.
"Are you new here in Kobe?" asked the driver.
Kaoru noticed that she couldn't see him well because it was getting slightly darker outside and then man was wearing a heavy trench coat which went up his neck. Not to mention that he was facing away from her.
"Yeah, I'm just visiting a relative. How did you know?" she asked, feeling slightly paranoid. No, stop, Kaoru! Stop it! Stop acting like a freak!
"Your accent is different. You from Tokyo?"
Kaoru nodded and looked out the window. It was snowing in Kobe too; in fact, it was even worse here than it was in Tokyo. She gave a big sigh, wanting to be back home with a mug of hot chocolate. She missed her family. She missed her friends. She missed home. And it was all because of that stupid asshole that she was trying to get away from.
Why the hell did he have to be such a stalker? Wait a minute...why the hell was her admirer even a stalker in the first place? Wasn't there a nice normal gentleman out there somewhere in the world? The kind which didn't make you run away from them to another city? The world was obviously coming to an end. She snorted.
"Something the matter, miss?" asked the driver.
Kaoru shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Oh, wait! Do you know where we are?"
"We're passing the Kobe Port Tower right now."
"Alright. How long will it be to reach my aunt's home?"
The driver shrugged, "Depends on traffic, miss."
She sighed, "I see. Will it be too long?"
"Hopefully not."
There was something about the way the driver said the word 'hopefully' that made her suppress her shiver of fear. It was obvious that she was still paranoid about Butch. Damn it! She should be forgetting about him!
"Is it easy to get lost in Kobe?" she asked to keep her mind preoccupied.
"Not really. There are a few maps here and there to show you the way. And the people here aren't so bad, if you ask them they'll show you the way," replied the driver as he turned into a busy street filled with shops.
"Oh, that's good. I wouldn't want to get lost in a new city," she muttered, half-jokingly.
"Yes, we wouldn't want that. But then again, I will find you..."
Kaoru's eyes widened and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she recognised those words. Butch had said that before. His words, his voice... She reluctantly looked into the front mirror and her eyes met with those of dark green ones.
She almost screamed as she opened the taxi door and leapt out of the taxi as instinct told her to. Luckily for her, the taxi hadn't been going very fast. She ducked herself away from the other oncoming cars as she ran across the busy road and lost herself into the hustle and bustle of the city's shopping crowd.
Kaoru looked back only once and found that the taxi had disappeared. Oh, gosh... Butch knew where she was, and he was so close to her! No wonder she felt so uncomfortable in that taxi! But, wait a minute, she couldn't go to her auntie's house. She had told him the address! He would go searching for her there. She'd have to go somewhere else...
Maybe a hotel. Yes, she could check-in to a hotel. Luckily, she had brought an extra stash of emergency money with her on her trip. It was in her duffel bag...which was in the taxi...which was now gone.
She cursed herself for being so careless. Even if she was scared, she still should've brought her duffel bag along with her. Now she had no money (other than two thousand yen which wouldn't come in much use considering how expensive food was here), no clothes, no maps, no food (she had kept a couple of granola bars in that bag). Wonderful.
Suddenly, she felt a buzz coming from her phone. At least she could call someone to pick her up now. But there was new message from her e-mail. She opened it up and regretted it instantly, it read:
'I hope you took that little episode as a warning. I told you that I would find you. And I did. It would be so much easier if you gave in, sweetheart. I'm still here in Kobe. You know, I'm really beginning to enjoy this little game of ours. Correct me if I'm biased, but I think I'm winning so far. You have only two options now: Lose or Give Up.
'It would save us both so much trouble if you simply gave up. But I'm quite sure you're not going to. Not a problem. My arms are always waiting for you. I still have your belongings if you'd like them back. Just meet me at the Kobe Port Tower at midnight. Ask someone, they'll tell you where it is. I hope you're having as much fun as me, darling.
- Yours Only, Butch.'
Kaoru gritted her teeth in anger. He was mocking her! How dare he! Gloating like he had the upper hand in all this! Well, he kind of did... But this was not the time for reasonability. There was no way she was going to meet up with him. No, definitely not. She wouldn't give in that quickly. Not without trying.
Realising her situation, Kaoru decided to call her parents. She took out her phone and went to speed dial, but just as she was about to press 'call', a message from the phone company blinked up. And to her frustration, it said 'Balance Removed'.
The bastard! He'd swiped out all the money from her phone! How the hell did he do that? She went back to the e-mail he's sent her: it had a virus in its attachment. She'd suspected as much. Damn it. Now she couldn't call anyone... What the heck was she supposed to do now?
Kaoru looked at her watch; it was 7:56pm. Sighing, she decided to tour around the city in hopes of finding a solution before midnight. She also made sure to stay away from Kobe Port Tower which was beginning to light up in the sunset of Kobe.
:.: :.:
Butch smirked as he leaned against the top post of the Kobe Port Tower. He had a phone in his hand and an ever so smug gleam in his eyes. He looked over the city below and he spotted his sweetheart shoving her phone into her pocket angrily before pushing her way through the crowd.
It was getting darker now and the sky was red and yellow, the shops and other buildings were beginning to switch on their lights as well as the lanterns which floated over the crowd in strings. He had to admit, Kobe was a very nice city indeed. He'd never been here before, but he had arrived to the city before Kaoru's train had come in the evening, so he was able to tour and question a few people before he finally made himself comfortable.
He was quite interested to find that Kaoru had picked this city of all the cities in Japan. In fact, it made him curious. She had said in the taxi that she was visiting a relative, her auntie to be precise, but he knew the real reason: she was trying to get away from him. He grinned slightly, he loved the satisfaction of being right.
But, strangely enough, she did actually have an aunt living here in Kobe. So, could that have also been a reason for her to choose this city? Surely she had other relatives in this country too. Or, perhaps, she had something else in mind...? But no matter, he was glad she had picked this city. There was something about it that fascinated him...and he wanted to share that experience with his darling-rebel.
Butch crouched down and peered over the edge; it wasn't such a long way down to be honest... He could easily jump down and land unharmed. He so badly wanted to follow Kaoru, but he also wanted to give her some time to run before he caught up to her again.
She obviously hadn't noticed that he had given himself away in the taxi on purpose. And the fact that he had unlocked the taxi doors at that certain moment so that she could run out. He could've locked the doors and kept her hostage but...he wanted her to come to him defeated. Giving herself up to him. He wasn't a cheater. He wouldn't take advantage of her situation; he'd simply play along and surprise her.
A sly smirk curled around his lips as he thought about his sweetheart finally giving up. And if she didn't... Well, the cat only had nine lives. And he had offered her more lives than he would normally be willing to give. If she didn't give in, he would claim his prize anyway.
Finders keepers, losers weepers. But then again, she wouldn't be weeping. Not with him by her side. Butch was willing to do anything for her. Kaoru was his and his only. If anything or anyone got in the way of that...he wouldn't hesitate to kill for it. He already had a lot of blood on his hands, adding more wouldn't change it one bit. He was already deemed a ruthless murderer.
He didn't care. He didn't care about anyone or anything...other than his beloved. He would adore her. He would shower her with everything she had ever dreamed of. She would be happy- no, halcyon in his arms. So the only people weeping would be her friends and family. Not that it mattered much to him since he would be content with his sweetheart.
Butch grinned just before he leapt off the top of the tower and swooped down as a mass of dark shadow in the darkened sky.
:.: :.:
Momoko had just come out of Miyako's house. Her grandmother had called in to ask if she knew where Miyako was. Apparently, in the morning, her grandmother had gone to check her bedroom but Miyako was nowhere in sight. So Momoko had come to check, and true to her words, Miyako wasn't anywhere in the house.
All that was left in her bedroom was a broken vase, and this made Momoko worry. What had caused the vase to break? And why was it so far away from the table where it usually sat? Even if Miyako did break it by accident, it wasn't like her to simply leave the mess there without cleaning it up. Especially leaving the house like this.
Momoko reassured Miyako's grandmother that she was probably shopping for groceries early in the morning and was just running a little late or had stopped by somewhere. Her grandmother seemed to have believed that and went back to the kitchen to cook. Momoko had spent the rest of her afternoon with the grandmother before leaving at the evening. She felt guilty knowing that she had just lied to a kind, worried elder woman.
She also knew that there was something unbelievably wrong about Miyako's sudden disappearance. It just wasn't like her. Not at all. And Momoko was going to figure out what had happened and find where Miyako now was. She just hoped that she was okay...wherever she was.
Deciding that this was a job that she couldn't do alone, she decided to walk over to Kaoru's place for some help...and some dinner since she hadn't had any. She knocked on the door and Kaoru's mum answered.
"Oh, hello there, Momoko. What brings you here?"
"I'm here to see Kaoru. Is she awake?"
Her mum shook her head, "I'm afraid that Kaoru has gone to Kobe for some time. She only left yesterday."
Momoko seemed surprised, "But didn't she just come back from camping with you guys?"
"Yes, but apparently she's going to Kobe for a school research project. I think she mentioned something about Geography."
This was definitely news. Momoko knew for a fact that Kaoru didn't have any school research project. And besides, Kaoru didn't take Geography class anymore, she had replaced the subject with ICT & Computing. She had been lying to her parents then. But for what reason?
Something just didn't seem right at all. First Miyako's disappearance, then Kaoru's. What was happening? Well, in Miyako's disappearance, she hadn't notified anyone, that meant that she most likely didn't know what was going to happen... But in Kaoru's case, she had told her parents she was going to Kobe. That meant that Kaoru knew what was going on and knew what was going to happen.
Momoko waved goodbye to Kaoru's mother before heading back home. She plopped onto her bed and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. She knew that if she wanted answers, they'd have to come from Kaoru. Momoko needed to travel to Kobe herself. Looking at the clock, she'd noticed that it was now 7:56pm.
Just as she was about to get a small bag ready - as she didn't know how long she would spend there - she noticed a sticky note stuck to her drawer. Her eyes widened, she recognised the note immediately. And, suddenly, she had a sickening feeling about all of this.
"I think I know what happened to them both..." she muttered, her hands shaking.
Miyako had disappeared only last night, or very early this morning. That...shadow-thing was obviously involved. And Kaoru...it seemed like she knew what was going to happen, because she'd left to Kobe and lied to her parents about her real reason. Things were finally beginning to make sense, but Momoko didn't like the actual revelation.
"I have to do something. I have to help my friends. I have to find them..."
But most importantly, she'd make sure she wasn't in the house when the shadow-thing came. With that conclusion, she packed up a bag and then went downstairs to tell her parents the same excuse as Kaoru had. Bracing herself for the weather, she stepped out the door and headed for the train station.
:.: :.:
"Are you sure you don't want a t-shirt?" asked a salesperson.
Kaoru shook her head, "No thanks," then she walked away.
She had been called out by many salespeople who were willing to sell off their products, especially those who were selling souvenirs as they recognised her as a foreigner to Kobe. It was now 11:43pm and she was beginning to worry. Currently, she was still walking through the masses of crowds who were doing late night shopping. She figured that if she stayed out of sight and in a crowd without drawing much attention to herself, she could stay away from Butch's path.
Kaoru couldn't believe that she'd been reduced to desperation, because she was close to feeling it. Well, at least she had enough money not to starve to death...for three days. Everything here Kobe was more expensive than it was in Tokyo, she wondered why. She had just passed six different fruit and vegetable markets and the products were at such a high price. One apple was only ¥298. No, she would never be able to survive in this city.
Sighing, she sat down on an empty bench, contemplating what she should do. Should she continue to go to her aunt's house as she had originally planned, even though it was highly likely that Butch would look for her there? Or should she give in and just meet him at the tower like he said?
No, she didn't want that. This wasn't because of her pride and ego. No, she would give that up any day. This was about the fact that he was dangerous and he was also the enemy, she couldn't just walk into his devious trap so easily. No, not without a fight. She was Kaoru Matsubara. She was always a fighter. She wouldn't go down that easily.
With that determination, she got up from the bench and asked for directions to her aunt's house. She was still a bit too suspicious about calling for a taxi after the little episode earlier this evening. She weaved in and out of various crowds, stopping to look at a few shops from time to time. And even though she was surrounded by tons of people, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched...
Kaoru didn't deny the fact that she probably was. After all, he knew she was in Kobe, he knew she was headed towards her aunt's house and he had all her belongings. She felt frustrated and angry at Butch for winding her up in this situation. She also knew that no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't go to her aunt's house. It would be a fool's decision. She would be putting her life on the line as well as her aunt's.
No, Kaoru couldn't do that. She checked her watch again; it was 12:01am. Wow, midnight already, time sure did fly. She immediately thought about Butch's offer. Should she meet him at the tower? It was a difficult choice to make. But then again, she wouldn't be giving up... She could make some sort of truce with him, perhaps negotiate. Yes, that could be a good idea. She would get her stuff back, her life back and everything else would be fine, if she could offer something back to him. But what?
What could she offer him that would make him leave her alone? What could you give a psychopathic stalker? Well, she knew what he wanted: her. But that would be difficult to negotiate with since she was asking for freedom. There had to be something else that he wanted: a new sharp blade, some more sticky notes...but nothing else came to mind, and whatever she had just come up with was obviously futile.
Kaoru sighed defeatedly, there was only one way to find out: to go meet Butch at the Kobe Tower Port. Wonderful. She asked someone for the direction and they point her to a cylindrical tower not too far away from where she was standing. Keeping her eyes on the tower, she reluctantly made her way through the crowd in the middle of the night for a date with the devil.
As she left, somewhere far away, someone was watching her. Butch smirked. His Kaoru had given up, he could tell because she was walking towards the Kobe Port Tower where he was sitting on top of right now. He never doubted that she would come, he had planned this all very carefully. His twisted game of labyrinth hide and seek was finally coming to an end. And he knew who would become the victor.
He saw her going up the stairs of the tower, he had sent her an e-mail earlier, telling her to come up here. It was only a matter of time before he had her locked in his arms, away from everybody else. She was his, and his only. Nobody else would revel in the glory of being with her, no one but he.
:.: :.:
Momoko leaned against the window of the train she was currently on. Fortunately for her, the weather had cleared up a bit better and it was no longer snowing, that meant that a train to Kobe had become available. And to make things even better, this train was a high-speed one, that meant that the journey to Kobe would only last three hours.
So far, only two hours had passed, she still had one more hour to go before she reached Kobe. But right now, she was planning on what to do when she got there. Heck, Kobe was a large city, what was she going to do? Call out for Kaoru? How on earth could she find her? Momoko was quite sure that she wouldn't find her friend in just one night. No, it would take more time than that. So where was she going to stay?
Damn, she should've thought this plan through better. In fact, she didn't even have a plan. The only thing that was running through her mind was to get to Kobe, get away from that shadow-thing and get Kaoru...or Miyako if she happened to coincidentally be there.
"I can't believe this..." she murmured to herself.
Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a loud crash and the squeal of the train taking a sudden stop. There were screams at he front of the train and then there was silence. Dust and smoke filled the air and Momoko tried to wave it away. The lights in the train had crackled and burst, so it was dim. But even in the dark, she could make out the dark shadowed figure with red eyes which stood at the very front of the train which was now a pile of rubble.
Oh, no. It had found her. Just like the shadow-creatures found Kaoru and Miyako. The figure stepped closer and closer until she recognised who it was.
"Brick," she breathed.
He gave her slow, twisted grin before replying, "Yes, I'm so glad you remember me."
Momoko, however, was still in shock, "You're the shadow-creature."
"Along with my brothers."
"You've been sending notes."
"Yes, I have," then he turned to glare at her, "You shouldn't have run away from me. Didn't you see what happened to Miyako? Well, running away would've been futile anyway. After all, my brother has Kaoru playing in his game of labyrinth."
Momoko let realisation sink in before anger took over, "You sick monster! How dare you!"
Brick simply cocked his head to the side, showing no trace of emotion, "What's the matter?"
She gritted her teeth, "Where are they?"
"You're friends?"
"Yes."
The corners of his mouth lifted, "They're in good hands."
"Your brothers have them. Don't they?"
This time, he full-on smiled, "Boomer has Miyako, yes. Butch is about to have Kaoru," then he paused before continuing with a wide grin, "And I will have you."
She was momentarily shocked before she asked, "Why? Why me? Why us?"
He chuckled, "Silly girl. You have no idea, do you? You're ours-"
"We're what? We are not yours. I'm not yours!"
He simply raised an eyebrow, "Fighting won't change my mind. I'm as every bit determined as my brothers. I will have you, don't need to worry about that."
Momoko almost pulled her hair out in frustration before she hissed, "Leave us alone."
Brick shook his head while smiling, "No. You're mine."
And before she could utter another word, the dark tendrils of his shadow engulfed her into petrifying darkness before they both disappeared. Only leaving a train wreck behind.
:.: :.:
Kaoru opened the door to the rooftop of the tower. It was night and there were no lights up here, the only thing that gave a dim glow to this place was the lights and lanterns far down below the building. It was cold and windy up here, so she tugged her jacket around her even tighter. There was no sign of anyone up on the rooftop, this made goosebumps appear on the surface of her skin.
What if this was a trap? It was eerily quiet despite the howling wind. She stepped further into the middle of the rooftop when she heard the door behind her slam shut with a click of a lock. Wonderful. She was stuck up here with a psychopath. She reluctantly turned around to face him...but he wasn't there. No one was.
What the... Maybe the wind had closed the door instead...no, but it was locked. The wind couldn't do that. But then again, no one else was up here besides her, so what else could it be? Kaoru frowned, the bigger question was how was she going to get down? She sighed, maybe Butch was just playing with her. Maybe he was just-
"Hello, so glad you could join me," said a whisper unbelievably close to her ear.
And although she already knew who it was, she couldn't help the scream that escape her lips, "Damn you!"
She was about to turn around to face him as he was behind her, but he quickly held onto her wrists and leaned down to her neck, "Did I scare you?" he murmured.
Well, she could hardly say 'no' since he really had scared her, so she didn't say anything at all. Butch pressed his lips to the side of her neck causing Kaoru to jump away from him. "The hell!"
"You smell good..." he muttered with a dazed look in his eyes.
She looked confused, "Uh...thanks...?" then she remembered why she was here, so she glared at him, "Give me my stuff back."
Butch revealed a wide grin which revealed his sharp canines and made Kaoru take a cautious step back. But tendrils of a black smoky shadow escaped from him and circled around her, enclosing her in between it and him. "You're not going to escape from me. No, not this time."
"Uh...is this about the note? Because I didn't crumple it up, you know. It's right here-" she pulled out of her back pocket of her jeans.
He narrowed his eyes, "You still ran away from me."
"Well, what did you expect? Did you think that I was gonna stay?"
He frowned at her, "I didn't expect you to stay. But I did hope that you would."
Kaoru shook her head, "Look, I know you have issues, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life running away from you."
Butch was about to retort but then he gave her a knowing smile and cocked his head to the side as he said, "You know what? I completely agree with you."
"And not to mention the fact that- Wait, what? You agree with me?"
He nodded, "Yes, you're right. You shouldn't be spending the rest of your life running away from me."
She frowned, she hadn't expected him to agree with her this easily. In fact, it was easy. A bit too easy... And she didn't like the way he had that mischievous gleam in his eyes.
"You should be staying with me," he finished as he closed in on her and pulled her into an embrace.
She knew it! She knew there was something suspicious! Damn it! She struggled in his tight grasp but he then lifted her up bridal-style and then reached the edge of the tower. Oh, fuck, he was going to drop her. Wasn't this regarded as homicide?
He caught her look and shook his head, "I'm not going to drop you."
She sighed in relief. Well, it would've been relief if she still wasn't caught in his arms, "Let me go, Butch," she said.
"Are you still scared of heights from last time?" he teased.
She scowled and looked away from him, her face red from embarrassment of the memory. She didn't dare answer him. He tore his eyes from her face and looked over the city of Kobe with all its flashing lights in the late dark night.
"There's something I quite like about this city," he began, Kaoru tried to ignore him, "I wouldn't mind staying here rather than Tokyo, what do you think?"
"Food here's expensive," she murmured, more to herself than him but he heard.
Grinning, he replied, "Yes, it's very expensive. That's true."
Then, to Kaoru's utter shock, he stepped onto the edge of the tower, and before she could yell at him to get his head screwed on, he leapt from the edge and swooped down. She didn't have any time to scream, not to mention that she was too shocked to even do so as Butch's figure faded into a dark mist and she felt as though she was floating on air.
They landed within a dark alley, cut-off from the main road...away from the crowd and other possible witnesses. Butch set her down, his figure returning to normal, and then he trapped her between the wall and him.
Kaoru felt scared but she put on a brave face and was thankful that her voice didn't waver when she growled, "Let me go."
He shook his head and smiled, "I'm afraid not," then he brushed his thumb over her lip and leaned in a bit.
She winced, "What will it take for you to leave me alo-"
"Nothing," he said with no hesitation, he touched her nose with his.
Kaoru felt her face heat up as she felt his hot breath against her face, "Honestly, Butch, what do you want?" she looked at his expression and quickly added, "Apart from me."
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," he murmured as he drew in much closer.
Well, that was just wonderful. What sort of negotiation was she to make if he didn't want anything else? "This is assault. I could get you arrested," she growled. It was a weak attempt, but she had to try.
The corner of his mouth lifted in amusement as he gently pressed his lips against hers and she gasped, turning her head away.
"Stop that!" she said, embarrassed by how hot her cheeks felt and how fast her heart was beating now.
This time, Butch revealed a seductive smirk as he caught her by the wrists and held them up above her, his lips hovered over hers as he muttered, "I can't stop myself. And trust me, getting arrested is the least of my worries-"
"You're worried?" asked Kaoru, curious. Maybe now she could get something out from him.
He shook his head, still smirking, "Nope. Any other questions?"
Yes, she could stall herself some time until she found an escape route, she nodded, "Yes. Why the fuck are you so obsessed with me?"
"I'm glad you asked," he then quickly covered her mouth with his as Kaoru froze in shock.
When she finally realised that he was kissing her, she tried to kick him but he had her pressed up against the wall. His eyes were closed but his smirk was still as wide as ever as she gasped. Slowly, she could feel herself give into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Finally, Butch pulled away reluctantly and let her breathe.
Kaoru seemed to be in a daze before she quickly registered what had just happened: she had kissed Butch. Well, technically he kissed her...but still. She narrowed her eyes at him and hissed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Making you mine, sweetheart," she was about to retort but then he continued, "Something that I have been waiting for quite some time."
Kaoru noticed his wide grin which revealed his sharp teeth, and his green eyes glowed brighter in the dark of the alley as whisps of black filtered out from him like tentacles and closed in around her. Everything grew quiet and Kaoru could hear her own heartbeat: it was beating faster by every second.
Butch leaned in very close and whispered in her ear, "I'm sick of these silly games. And I'm sure you're sick of losing," to that, Kaoru glared at him as he smirked, "But I've won...I'm ready to claim my prize."
She raised an eyebrow, "Which is?"
"You," he whispered, "You are mine."
And before another word could be spoken, the dark mist around them covered them with its dark tendrils before they both vanished into the air. A dark chuckle faded into the night as an echo...a remainder of what was left of the evidence that they were once here.
:.: :.:
AN: Sorry about making them seem a little...ehh... I wasn't really pleased with the outcome of this story, so I'd like to hear your opinions. Constructive criticism appreciated.
Originally, I didn't plan to make this one-shot so...long. I twas suppose to be around nine pages like the prequel, but somehow I ended up putting in a few more scenes and details and it wound up being sixteen pages instead. I hope this story answered the questions about Momoko and Miyako from the prequel.
One more thing: thank you for your reviews, favs and follows! They make me smile everyday!