Let Me Out!

Chapter Four: Takashi (I)

Takashi Morinozuka wasn't concerned by the fact that he was trapped inside a concrete room, nor was he concerned that he had no memory of how he'd ended up there. Only one thing mattered to Mori at that moment, and it was: Mitsukuni was missing.

He sat on his futon, staring up at the dark, impassive shape of the door with a dark, impassive expression on his face. Such was Mori's nature that very few people were privy to his thoughts, and so none but he himself knew that he did not in fact have many thoughts that were worth being privy to. It wasn't that the boy was dumb, it was just that his mind didn't like to waste time. Mostly what Mori thought of was looking out for Mitsukuni. He was duty-bound to do so, as a member of the Morinozuka family, but Takashi knew that there was a lot more to it than that; he did it because he wanted to. Mitsukuni was his friend, and Mori wanted more than anything to keep his friend safe from the dangers that riddled the world.

Usually calm in both mind and demeanour, he was currently having trouble with one of the two. Worrying about Mitsukuni - not to mention the others as well - was wreaking havoc with his mental state, making him feel as disorientated as though he'd just spent the past five minutes running around in continuous circles. Mori was used to a certain degree of constant worry, which came out of his almost paternal need to ensure the safety of his tiny companion, but he'd never felt anything near this intense before; it was making his palms sweat, just thinking about the kinds of terrible things that could have happened to his fellow Host Club members.

Seeming to sit stoically on his futon, much in the same focused manner as a monk deep in meditation, in actuality Mori retained his calm front because his face was frozen, while his mind ran a hundred miles an hour under the surface. He was still in this position several minutes later, when the huge door was slid open, allowing a man - who was somehow much larger than the abnormally tall Takashi - to slide a food tray into the room. Immediately after this task was complete, the door slammed shut again.

Mori stared blankly at the tray. The food was barely a pittance - a slice of slightly overcooked fish and a bowl of rice - and normally Mori would simply have left it where it was. But all of a sudden, his stomach informed him with a disgruntled growl that the gap in his memory was rather lengthy and it hadn't been fed in all that time. He leaned toward the tray, gingerly lifting it off the ground and resting it on his lap. A pair of chopsticks had been conveniently provided; Mori picked these up and prodded the rice with them cautiously, as though afraid it might leap out of the bowl and latch onto his face.

Eventually, and very, very slowly, he began to eat. And not once did he cease worrying about Mitsukuni.

--

The towering man strode down a dank hallway that was barely able to accomodate the extent of his girth. There was a white door at the end of the corridor, quite different to the forbidding, blackened ones that lined the walls on either side. The man stopped at this one and knocked twice, respectfully, waiting in silence until a female voice commanded, 'Enter.' He pulled open the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.

'Is that you, Kakeru?' asked the woman. Neither person could see the other in this room, pitch black save for the weak light emanating from a television, which was pushed up against the far wall. The man could barely make out the silhouette of a high-backed chair facing the TV; this was probably where the woman sat.

'It's me, mistress,' he confirmed.

'Your status?' The way she spoke, she sounded like a military commander. But there was an edge to the voice that made it sound...young.

'I have all of them, mistress,' thundered the man. 'All seven. Their conditioning has commenced.'

'Excellent.' Just the right amount of emphasis was placed on that word to make any listener certain that the woman had just steepled her fingers. 'Ohtori is with the louder twin?'

'Yes, mistress.'

There was a moment of sinister, contemplative silence. Then: 'Dose the small one's food, and put him in with his servant. Ensure that he does not awaken for at least one hour.'

'Yes, mistress, I shall see to it directly,' rumbled the man known as Kakeru, turning to go. He paused with his massive fingers clasped on the brass door handle. 'What should be done about the other Hitachiin, mistress?' he inquired.

More silence, then the woman replied, 'Leave him as he is. That one is weaker than his brother.' Her next statement had a smirk infused within every syllable. 'He'll break very soon.'

To be continued...

At last, our true villain reveals herself (sort of)! I don't like the sound of what she's got in store for poor, sweet little Hunny-senpai...who's our star for next chapter, by the way! Stay tuned!
(Has anyone noticed that my writing style seems to change slightly for each chapter? Maybe it's like each character's speaking through me, or something spooky like that? If that's true, I never expected Mori's inner voice to be like that! Maybe that's how he'd sound if he used more than one-word sentences... Hm. Something to ponder whilst you wait for Hunny-senpai's debut.)

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