Ablaze: The Crimson Tower
Chapter 2: Believe
Kazuma had absolutely no fun yesterday. Taking the jobs felt like a relief without Ayano. Quick and simple. get the work over and done with. Well, that was what the wind mage welcomed positively. He was able to take care of the troublesome Yomas with ease. That's what he thought he wanted. Except, it wasn't. Truthfully, it felt lonely and utterly boring. Without the anger-driven girl around to tease, the ex-Kannagi felt no fun in destroying things. It looked bland without a few good flames and rage creams. In all honesty, Kazuma missed her. He still hadn't receive a call from Jugo about Ayano. But the time for work came around again and the wind user left for the Kannagi house, hoping to find the girl all fired up and ready for work.
With the winds calmly landing him onto the Kannagi property, Kazuma arrived on time for once. Maybe he was a little too eager for work. Not as many people roamed through the house and gardens as several usually did. Those who did ran straight past the contractor, holding super serious and worried expressions. Something seemed off. Kazuma understood that the Kinngai's were naturally serious people, but today just seemed excessive.
Just like the day before, Kazuma entered into Jugo's room. Once again, there was no Ayano. Kazuma felt something oddly unfamiliar, pang in his chest. He was hoping, even just a little bit, that she would be there, Enriha at ready and about to swing for his head, knowing full well he'd dodge. But she wasn't there. And that meant no fun. Bored already delved into his body, feeling lethargic and a tiny bit lazy.
Ren was sat quietly with his head hanging low, letting blonde locks covered his eyes. Clenched fists pushed down hard on his lap, twisting the fabric of his jeans between his fingers. Jugo quietly sat on the cushion in front of the hanging Kannagi's banner of fire, with a stone-hard and super serious look on his face. And one other, unexpected guest sat watching the wind mage with pity. Kirika. Strange...
There were only three people waiting for him in that room. Three. The only thing that was irritating Kazuma -except the missing fire girl- was a feeling. A feeling he wasn't able to shake since he heard Ayano was missing yesterday. His feet had been frozen to the floor for a long, long moment, the feeling churning inside his stomach. It was dread. Something wasn't right and he knew it. He just knew it. He really, really wished he didn't.
After realising it wasn't going to subside, he finally managed to move his feet, that felt like a thousand tonnes, at a shuffle across the floor to a seat besides his little, anxious brother. Kazuma tried to hide the ache that screamed from his muscles as he tried to sit, but the best result he got was stiff and jerky movements as sat slowly. Everything inside of him was screaming to go, to run, to get out of there. And he knew why.
"Ayano has been Kidnapped." Jugo's voice whispered in the deadly, thick atmosphere. Four simple words. With a painful thump, Kazuma felt his heart hit the bottom of his chest. It felt like it weighed a thousand tonnes, crushing his lungs, making breathing a difficult task. The worry he felt consumed every inch of him, bubbling to boiling point. A thousand needles were piercing him in every bit of his skin as a burning icy shiver ran through his veins. Kazuma dropped his head, a hand clutching to his chest in agony. He felt like he needed to throw up. But he didn't. Instead, he took a long, deep and shaking breath, turned his head up and dropped his hand. Cold, empty eyes looked up in complete control.
Ren, who was his brother intensely, felt his heart ache seeing Kazuma act indifferently to the news. Disappointment was obvious across his face. Soft, sorrowful tears rolled down the young boy's face, trickling off his chin, landing on the numb, white knuckles of his fists. Ren had always held Ayano dear to him, and this felt like absolute agony. To him, Ayano was more like a big sister than just a cousin.
The logics of the girl's capture seemed serial to Kazuma. Like she, of all people, would be successfully kidnapped, was just impossible. It must have been some kind of misunderstanding, prank, trick, anything, anything but the truth. Ayano would be absolutely fine and decided to mess with him. She's probably trying to take revenge for the Yoma incident the other day. It's all just a joke. It had to be. Except, it wasn't.
Kirkia went on further to explain everything they knew about Ayano's capture. Which was very little, apparently. Ayano had caught on early that she was being followed, jumped into an alleyway and summon Enriha, ready to ambush them. She would burn them to a crisp if she had gotten a chance. The word 'complications' had struck hard. Complications always meant bad, really bad. When it came to that impulsive, hot-headed girl, bad could only mean worst.
Finally, After Kirika brought out the small video player, it all began to sink in.
Through the fuzzy images of the camera from a shop across the street, they could see everything. The stalkers, who had covered their faces with typical ski-mask, the ambush, the gas and the girl being lifted into the back of a black van with missing number plates. But something, something about all of it wasn't sitting right with Kazuma. It all seemed too easy. "Go back." The wind mage commanded. Going back a few minutes, back to when the gas first appeared, Kazuma found what he was looking for. At first, Kazuma just thought it was the camera, but he realised it wasn't.
"What is it?" Jugo asked, leaning to try and see what Kazuma had noticed.
"Enriha." Kazuma replied, eyes still transfixed intensely on the screen, repeating the few seconds that held his evidence, again and again to make sure. After, he showed and explained what the clip held to those around him. "Something's wrong with Enriha."
"I don't understand." Jugo replied, still trying to grasp what Kazuma was implying. Kazuma let out a frustrated sigh and quickly explained it simply.
"When Ayano normally holds Enriha and she feels threatened, Enriha should burst into flames. It always happens. It didn't this time. As soon as the can exploded, Enriha should have set alight. You can see the surprise on Ayano's face...and the fear..." Kazuma's voice softened. "Something's affected Enriha! Ayano can't use it!"
"What- What does that mean?" Ren gasped, feeling dread piling up in his stomach like a thousand weights.
"Ayano's in deep trouble."
Ayano was bored. Ayano laid her warm skin against the cool tiles. For some strange reason, no matter how hot it got inside, which it did when it was packed with sweaty men at happy hour, the slabs of stone always remained ice cold. Being chained to a wall wasn't really the highlight of the day. Actually, today's interesting event was the extremely bad jokes told by the annoying drunks. Since yesterday's incident with all the shouting, head butting, knocking out, etcetera, no one had dared to come into striking range. It was kind of unfortunate since the girl had nothing better to do except listen to the mind numbing slurring voice of bad-smelling, foul and disgusting men. With chained up limbs, no magic, food, water, or sleep, Ayano could certainly end up joining in on one of the pathetic conversations held within the underground pub. But, she would have to starve a few more days, she'd probably die of dehydration before that ever happened. Instead, she just made idiotic remarks and ranted now and then. Thanks to her, the men would either jeer and laugh or leave -never to return again. Some found her thoroughly entertaining, other thought she was completely irritating. At least it kept her occupied. Five days in here, wherever here was, was dull.
Midday was the slowest time of the day. People still remained scattered about the dingy tables, already drinking the hard stuff. Some where from the night before, others were the regular drunks that pretty much lived there and some of the older men where trying to get a head start on the younger drinkers that would come in later and drink them under the table. Ayano watched them, wondering about the new skill she had, unintentionally, developed. From being awake in a bar for 48 hours straight, she possessed the skill to recognise alcohol by their smells. Among the large collection of drinks, from a 1996, Chteau La mondotte Saint with it's fairly fruity and exotic scent to the cheap, bland taste of a convenience store's ale. There was only one drink she didn't know. It wasn't a cocktail, she had learned to recognise them too, instead it was a crystal glass with a dark, orange liquid. On the highest shelf, behind thick, bulletproof glass door, it securely sat like a pretty ornament, over powering the aesthetics of any thing else behind the bar. The beautiful, golden contents glowed and flicker like burning, amber flames. No had ever ordered it yet and she had yet to breath in its smell. Maybe it was just there to look pretty, maybe it just looked good and had no taste to it. Ayano didn't really think that was the truth, looking at it for too long must be hazardous to your health.
Ayano's normal afternoon of smelling alcohols and interfering in people's card games, was interrupted. Several larger, stronger, more serious-looking men, barged through the door and marched straight in her direction. Like sky scrapers, they towered high over her with menacing, black eyes glaring down at her like she was some little lamb with broken leg and they were a hungry pack of wolves. Then again, sniffing alcohol, no sleep, food or water, -or good company, for that matter- not affecting her seemed unlikely. Her messed up imagination was probably making them out to be more intimidating then they were. Carefully and cautiously, they unlatched the chains from the wall, and freeing Ayano in the process. The chains were the only thing holding her back, now they were taken care of, and she was getting the hell out of there.
Instantly, Ayano summoned whatever power she had left and leapt forwards. Caught by surprise, the chains slipped out of the men's hands. Ayano felt her body stagger and flail as she tried to regain her balance. Those five days had taken a toll on her and she couldn't see her balance returning to how it was. But it was enough for her to escape. Finally, she was free and going home.
Iron links rattle and clattered against the stone floor as Ayano dragged them behind her. Leaping over tables, knocking off drinks, stools and men, she barged past everything, heading straight for the open door.
Leaping from the final table, she glided through the air and through the door. Her heart was beating like a birds wings. If was as if they were flying her through the air, through the door and towards home. After almost a week, she was on her way back. Not.
A sudden pull jerked her body backwards. She was plucked out of the air and slammed down against the hard stone, knocking the air straight out of her lungs. Ayano gasped, groaned in pain and flipped her body over and onto her feet in a staggering crouch.
Grinning with a scowl, a man dressed in black with greasy black hair and a large gash across his brow, covered in stitches, stood before her. It was the guy she had head butted when he first arrived. In his hand, he rattle one of the iron chains in his hand, the one that connect to her wrist. "HEY!" Ayano snapped, staggering as she tried to straighten.
"Sorry, where you going somewhere?" His cold, hoarse voice scoffed. It was far too late to take back his words now. Thundering through the air, her fist went flying straight towards that jerk with all the energy she could muster.
Chains strained with a loud clang. Fortunately for him, her fist was stopped mid-air and only inches from his face. That didn't matter though, just the force from the blow sent him staggering back into a table. His hand reached for the table to steady himself as his head snapped back to her with a look of both fear and utter hatred. Ayano didn't disappoint him in showing the same. Her face was ragged with horror. The large men who had realised her had regain control of the chains. In surprise, the smaller man had dropped the chain and one of the stronger ones had picked it up in the ruck us. It was the only thing that had stopped her from buried his face ten inches into the far wall. Lucky for him. Unfortunately for her, she had lost her chance to escape. Her vision of home faded back into the dark, morbid reality that she would probably never see it again. Struggling was pointless. Loosing all her strength, Ayano's fist fell from the air, dropping to her side. A small smile tugged at the man's lips as he stood tall again, recovering from the shock wave of Ayano's fist. Ayano managed a final glare at the man, swearing her revenge at him, before she felt her knee's give way and her body become completely overwhelmed.
Ayano's weak knees dropped to the stone cold floor, feeling all her strength and energy drain from her body. Cold, empty tears rolled down her still eyes as she watched her surroundings fade into a featureless, depressing world. She was never going to escape. Never. She would never see their faces again. Ren. Jugo. Nanase. Yukari...Kazuma. She would never see their faces again.
What was Kazuma doing? Did he notice she was gone? Was he looking for her? A small chuckle escaped her lips. Kazuma was what comes to her mind in her moment of despair. It seemed funny. It was like she could hear his voice calling her an idiot in her mind all over again. 'Idiot.' It whispered over and over again in his sarcastic tone like a tape stuck on replay. Maybe she was being an idiot. Especially since she was stuck in the clutches of the enemy moping about him. That wasn't like her. Crying like this wasn't like her. None of this was like her. She was giving up. She never gave up. And she wouldn't let Kazuma give up. She was just being hypocritical now. She was supposed to be the next Kannagi head and she was giving up.
Suddenly, her body went stiff and she fell quiet. She stopped crying, moving and for a short time, she even felt like she had stopped breathing. After a long moment, her shoulders dropped and her body relaxed.
"Sorry, Kazuma. Seems like I'm an idiot after all." Ayano whispered, with a gentle, hoarse chuckle. Finally, she let out a sigh and struggled to her feet. Her shadowed face hid behind her deep, burning red hair as she simply stood there. For a long moment, she just...stood there. The man with the gash across his brow watched her tensely, feeling nervous and on edge, as most did when they came into contact with a mad Ayano.
Suddenly her head snapped up, her golden eyes burned with fury and anger, stared at the man. He flinched and almost toppled backwards over the stool behind him. Then it was gone. And in her eyes, you could see the vulnerable, fragile girl that she was at that moment. She wasn't despairing, she wasn't fighting, she wasn't...anything. She was completely unreadable. An emptiness across her face. Another sigh escaped her lips as she turned. The big men flinched and gripped the chain tighter on either side of her, just enough so that if she swung for any of them, the opposite chain would restrain her.
The men slowly began to put force behind the chains, tugging her body forwards and out the door. Ayano let her body be at their mercy and let herself be pulled after them, taken to wherever they needed her to go.
In all honestly, she was tired and she couldn't be bothered to participate in the whole fighting charade. With the magic blocking cuffs still attached to her wrists, chaffing her skin, she couldn't do anything. But...that didn't mean she was giving up. She realised, though she hated it, she was powerless and that was why she had felt weak. An that's why she cried. But then she realised something else. She wasn't alone. Everyone; her family, friends and Kazuma would all be out there looking for her. And right now, all she could do for them was wait. Back there, she had lost her faith. But then she realised- Kazuma made her realise, that they all had her back. And they would never give up on her. So, she wouldn't give up on them. She just, really, really wished Kazuma would get her out of here.
"Please, Kazuma...Hurry up an find me." Ayano pleaded in a whisper, as a single tear betrayed her, rolling down her cheek and trickling from her chin. "Please."
When Ayano was on the brink of despair, Kazuma appeared in her thoughts and gave her strength! But what's going to happen to her know? Where are the men taking her? Will Kazuma be able to find her before its too late? -Keep a look out and meet their mysterious foe in the next chapter.
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-A-ccentric
