Okay here we go once again. Hopefully I'll be able to have this out before November ends although I have a paper and group project I really should be working on instead but that probably won't happen until the night before. This chapter will have action in it I promise.
Uuuh I'm already thinking of the next story I might wanna do so would you guys wanna have another one about royalty? I got an idea for that; also might do a wump for shits and giggles but mainly lots and lots of angst and I like seeing characters suffer.
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and everything. Makes me wanna actually work on this so I don't disappoint.
Here's chapter seven. Enjoy!
"First we're going to visit a ramen shop." Fuji said with a smile. "My treat."
"Sempai is so generous." Momo said with a smile.
The four of them walked until they reached the ramen shop. It wasn't too big and with the amount of people inside, it made it look smaller. Although he didn't show it, Echizen was excited. It was really the first time he'd gone out with friends to a neighborhood restaurant when usually he was used to high end restaurants with his family. When they were finished, they managed to slip away from the people that were tailing them and laughed when they started to shouts for them. They all walked through streets and down alleyways until they got to their destination.
"A park?" Echizen asked. The park in question seemed relatively normal; grass, a playground, drinking fountain but it was much larger than he would've expected and surrounded by dense trees on three sides. The look of it reminded him of Central Park in the states except it didn't have a lake with ducks in it.
"When was the last time you came to one of these?" Momo asked.
Echizen thought; he never really had gone to a park, even when he was younger. At least not like this, just him and friends. He remembered once when he was really young, he was with his mother and about four people in black. He never really enjoyed it whenever he got the rare moment of going out.
Kikumaru wrapped an arm around his neck. "Let's play hide and seek. Us two against you two."
"I don't see any problem with that." Fuji said with a smile. "It's been a while since we've had any real fun."
"Waa make sure you count to one hundred! And no peeking!" Kikumaru playfully yelled as he dragged Echizen into the trees.
"Is this really a good idea Fuji-sempai?" Momo asked. "I mean I'm all for Echizen getting some much needed fun time but aren't we supposed to stay together just to make sure nothing happens?"
"Eiji is with him so he should be fine." Fuji covered his eyes. The smile was still on his face but his tone seemed darker. "Do you think something might happen?"
"It's just, I don't know. Something doesn't feel right."
"Maybe because you too are used to having someone watch you all the time." He started counting. Although he agreed with Momo, something felt off about them being there and that it probably would've been better for them to stay together.
"Come on, I'll give you a boost." Kikumaru had his fingers interlocked and was bending over to give Echizen a foot up into a tree. "They'll never be able to find you up there."
"Unless they look up." Echizen sighed. He put his foot into his sempai's hands and boosted himself onto a low branch of the tree. Once he was there he started to climb higher until he was sitting about in the center between the top of the tree and where the branches started.
"You got up there pretty fast. I didn't know you were such a good climber." Kikumaru said as he then tried to get into the same tree.
"I've lived in huge houses all my life." Echizen responded as he sat with his back on the trunk. "I needed a hobby that I could do besides tennis. I also attempted to sneak out of the second and third floors many times so I needed to know how to get up and down."
"So you taught yourself acrobatics?" Kikumaru asked as he got up the tree just as easily. "I've been going things like this since I was little. Seeing as my father's the owner of one of the bigger toy corporations, he usually asks me to test things out to make sure they're safe for kids." He gripped his legs to the branch then swung so he was hanging upside down.
Echizen was enjoying himself. He didn't remember the last time he got to hang out and have fun with everyone and actually act like a teenager. What made it even better was he wasn't going to be leaving that town any time soon. Even if his father had to move somewhere else he wasn't going to leave.
There were a few things that he found strange about sitting in that tree though. Since he had been in the tree or the very park for that matter, he hasn't seen one animal or heard a bird.
He also had the feeling that he was being watched but he chalked that off to being paranoid seeing that he has never really gotten to have a relatively normal time with people around his age. With the other so called family trips or vacations, they all ended up with him needed to act all high and mighty because where ever they went, some powerful person got involved and they ended up having threats against them and they would need to be guarded and had no time for fun. Echizen would usually end up being kidnapped anyway because he would always sneak off and try to have some time to himself.
"Ochibi, pull me up." Kikumaru whined. "All of the blood is rushing to my head."
Echizen smiled a bit and moved to help his sempai up by grabbing him and pulling him but stopped when he heard footsteps. He looked down to see Momo and Fuji walking underneath them. Kikumaru had one leg and an arm still around the branch of the tree when he noticed the two beneath them.
"Oh no, I wonder where they could be." Momo said in a tone that lacked enthusiasm. "I sure hope we will be able to find them in time or else we will lose."
Echizen rolled his eyes. The two on the ground definitely knew where they were. "Sempai, sorry."
Kikumaru looked at Echizen with confusion the horror when he realized Echizen had let go of him and he was now falling to the ground. Luckily for him, he missed the branches and landed on Momo. While watching Kikumaru fall, Echizen found himself looking over his shoulder. The feeling of being watched hadn't gone away and it was starting to freak him out a little.
"Saa, Echizen that was dangerous." Fuji merely pointed out. He sounded nowhere near scolding and still had a smile on his face.
"Ochibi!" Kikumaru called up to him.
Echizen ignored him and simply rotated his shoulders and stretched his arms. "It's your own fault for sitting like that." As he was about to climb down from the tree he heard a rustle in the branches behind him.
"Echizen!" Momo called up to him. "You're so lucky you're in that tree."
Echizen ignored Momo and his attempt to climb the tree up to him. To the three on the ground the rustling noise probably sounded like the wind but he distinctly heard branches being pushed out of the way and the vibration of them being put back into place. He really didn't think it was an animal but there was the slightest possibility it could've been a cat up there with him.
He saw a glint of something and tried to squint for a better look and when he did he heard a whooshing noise go past his ear then a plunk. It took a second to realize but Echizen looked at the tree behind him to see a dart embedded in the tree. He immediately put up his guard and looked around for anything or anyone that could be targeting him. His attention went back to the dart that was in the tree when three more came out of the branches and made him lose his balance. He fell from the branch but was luckily caught by Fuji instead of dropping onto Momo.
"I told you that was dangerous." Fuji's smile was still on his face as he set Echizen down. "Maybe no more trees from now on."
"No, that was-" Echizen didn't get a chance to finish because he was shoved away by Fuji. A dart was stuck in the ground and Echizen seemed to be right in its path.
"How about definitely no more trees?" Momo said as he stood in front of Echizen. "Seeing that sometimes they have unwanted pests lurking in them."
Kikumaru bolted to a tree a few yards behind the one he and Echizen were just sitting in and scaled it in no time. The three on the ground heard branches snap and Echizen jumped slightly as an unknown person dropped on their back while Kikumaru landed on his feet over him.
The man lying before everyone was someone none of them have ever seen before. From what could be seen, his hair was brown and eyes were blue. His clothes were what set everyone off; long navy jeans, a black shirt with short ripped sleeves.
"What is the meaning of this?" Fuji asked. "What business do you have with Echizen?"
The man sat up "The business I have with him is none of your concern." He spoke. His voice was gruff but sounded as he was no older than thirty, perhaps even younger.
"How is he none of our concern?" Momo said.
"He's our teammate; our concern." Kikumaru said with a hint of aggression in his voice.
"Heh, you have no need to be concerned." He stood up and looked towards Echizen. "You on the other hand-"
Echizen found himself still. There was no doubt something like this was bound to happen at some point but there was something about this person that he found more threatening and intimidating than all the others.
"Your father has been causing a lot of trouble for my employer and seeing that the first attempt failed, I was brought in."
"So the accident coming back from the airport wasn't an accident at all." Echizen frowned. More people had gotten injured because of him.
"I was surprised when I took a look at your file; all the times you've been captured and gotten out of it mainly unscarred. My companions had told me you were like a cat and now that I see it for myself I can believe them. I think the main feature that contributes to it is your eyes." A scowl appeared on Echizen's face. "I never was one for cats and I certainly don't like that look on your face."
"Then why don't you just turn around and go back to wherever you came from?" Kikumaru waved his hand in an annoyed fashion. "That'll seem to solve all the problems."
"And fail a job? Sorry I can't do that. It would most likely cause problems for me in the future and I'm not one for having my reputation spoiled." He looked away from Echizen and sighed. "Boy I don't think you understand the situation you're in. You have a bounty on your head and I always finish a job."
"I guess you're going to have a dent in your record." Momo said. "A bounty; like one of those posters in American westerns? Give me a break. There's no way we're going to let anything happen to him.
He scratched his head "You kids really don't know what you're getting yourselves into." The man put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. There was a rustle in the trees nearby and three other people, dressed in the same fashion, dropped from the branches. "I didn't want to have to resort to this."
The three older boys stood protectively in front of Echizen.
"Maa, it's been a while since I've had an actual fight." Fuji opened his eyes and took a stance.
"Fuji-sempai didn't you almost kill someone the last time you were in an actual fight?" Momo asked as to taunt their opponents as he cracked his knuckles.
"Ochibi get away from here." Kikumaru whispered. "Go find your security or Momo's people. They should be close by. We'll hold them off."
"Come on, none of that." The man said. "No one should be thinking of running anywhere. This will be over as soon as we pick him up. No harm, no foul."
"Not your choice." Fuji bolted forward and kicked one of the subordinates to the ground. He then went for the leader who dodged, which only made him take out another subordinate. "Echizen, go."
The man whistled. "Good thing I came prepared." He snapped his fingers and several more people dropped from the trees. "Let's not let the little kitty escape." A few people rushed at Echizen only to be blocked by Momo and Kikumaru.
"Ochibi get out of here." Kikumaru tripped one of the men then jumped on his back to another.
"We'll be fine. You can thank us by paying next time we go to the burger joint. Now go." Momo punched one guy and threw him into another.
Hesitantly, Echizen did what he was told and ran. He didn't like the fact of leaving his teammates but they were a lot better off than he was at the moment. Several things popped into his head; mainly about how he maybe should have gone with his family to Sapporo. As least he wouldn't have known anyone to drag into this mess of a life of his.
"I was hoping we would be able to do things the easy way." A voice sounded along with several other things; the crunching of leaves, snapping of branches. He needed to pick up his pace if he was going to get back to the others.
He wanted to stop; wanted to catch his breath but knew that he had to keep running. What more could he do? If he had stopped and tried to fight, he would be in a much worse situation than he is in now. He felt a prick in his neck. His running came to a halt at a tree and when his hand met his neck he felt something metal. He pulled it out and when he did he felt a sharp sting and he became drowsy. His sight moved from the metal tube-like object in his hand straight to meet the gaze of his attacker.
"You know the best thing about those kinds of darts? They work kind of like a bee's stinger: whatever's inside it only releases as its being pulled out of whatever it's in. Don't worry, it's not poisoned or anything; just enough of something to knock you out for a few hours." The man said as he stopped a few feet from Echizen. "Come on kid; make it easier on the both of us."
"Where's the fun in doing anything the easy way?" Echizen taunted because it was really the only thing he could do in that situation. With some unknown substance now running through his veins, he didn't really know what he could do.
"True, true but I'm guessing that your injuries from the crash are still pricking at you and a nap sounds like a pretty good idea right now."
Echizen wasn't even thinking of his previous injuries but now that they had been brought up, he realized how sore he was and how it was starting to get difficult to keep his eyes open. He slid down the tree and slouched against it.
"All's well that ends well." He walked over to Echizen and crouched in front of him. "I guess I really don't like cats."
Echizen took a large breath. "I'm sure they don't like you either." In a swift motion, he picked up a handful of dirt that was by the tree and threw it in the man's eyes, kicked him back then got up and kept running. He made it past the tree line and was in view of the park which was surprisingly empty considering it was only twilight. Compared to the other things he'd had injected into his body, whatever was in him now wasn't anything that really worried him although it did make him tired.
He stopped at a bench to catch his breath. His injuries were aggravating him and adding on the toxin, he wanted to do nothing more than to fall over and sleep. He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up but all that really did was give him a headache. He looked around to see if he could spot anyone that they had earlier evaded when his knees gave out; not because he was tired but because someone had kicked them.
"You know, all of this could've been avoided." The man's voice seemed a mix between annoyance and pointing out something obvious.
"I do know." Echizen attempted to get himself up. "If you never showed up, none of this would've happened."
He man grabbed a handful of Echizen hair and pulled him up. "Don't give me any of your smart ass comments." He threw Echizen on the ground. "I was surprised to hear someone had such a high price on their head, a kid at that. I told myself Jackie he's just a kid. Make sure you don't do anything extraneous. But now I'm here and I'm kind of- unhappy."
"You talk to yourself? Well with a face like that I guess you don't really have a choice." Echizen taunted and received a kick in the stomach.
"Now I find myself saying You know what? Who cares if this kid is worth more alive?" He took out a knife.
The rush of fear that went through his body at that moment would know no competition. There was something that set this threat aside from all the other ones. The look in that man, Jackie's eyes was sincere. It didn't feel like an empty threat with all the other times it's happened.
"That's the look I like. The look of fear in a man face when he's moments away from death." He knelt down next to Echizen. "I'm sure the boss will be happy about this and even if he's not, well, no skin off my back." He raised the knife. "Goodbye kitty cat."
Echizen shut his eyes. Just as he was about to make contact there was a ricochet sound and the knife was flung from his hand. Echizen opened his eyes to see a foot collide with his captor's face and a protective shadow stand over him.
"If you ever touch my brother again, I will personally make your life into a living hell."
Aaaaaaah this one ended in a good place for once. Totally not cheating and using the outline of another story that'll never see the light of day. Yay the story is actually progressing for once. That's a good sign.
Soooo how'd you like it? I'm proud of how it came out and everything so that's good I guess.
Please forgive spelling and grammar and lateness and corniness and overused things and stupidness and I'm sorry. Also happy holidays everyone.
Hope ya liked it. See ya next time!