9. An Unexpected Outcome
"Take that, asshole!" Misaki threw a handful of broken acorns at the agent to her right. He cursed as a few of the pieces hit him in the eye, but it wasn't exactly a fatal blow, and there were two others to pick up his slack while he rubbed acorn shell from his retina.
She looked for more substantial things she could lob down at them, but there was precious little to work with. The tree was too small for them to climb up themselves—every time they tried the branches snapped under their weight—but she felt like a fox cornered by the hounds. They wouldn't give up until they had her, and she couldn't stay up here forever.
Misaki regretted putting herself into a corner like this. After running away, she'd found that the men kept pace too closely for her to outrun them. When she'd reached the park and spotted the oak tree, she had a flashback to all the times Shintani used to climb trees to escape things—usually his grandparents—and on impulse she'd done the same. But escaping the elderly was not the same as escaping trained agents, and now she was paying for her mistake.
Farther back, a shadow rippled along the park's gravel trail as someone approached them at a fast clip through the trees. A jogger taking a late night run? Misaki took a deep breath to yell for help. If she could get them to go call the cops, surely these guys would be forced to retreat. They wouldn't dare hurt an innocent civilian, would they?
It turned out it didn't matter, because it was no innocent civilian that was approaching them: it was Usui. His usual apathetic grace was gone. Intensity was wrapped so tightly around him he looked stiff. Misaki had never seen him like this before and wondered for a moment if it was due to fear. But then she looked closer and realized that, no, he wasn't scared at all.
He was furious.
The agent with the acorn in his eye spotted him first and tried to grab him. Without a word, Usui caught him by the wrist and twisted his arm around, forcing him to his knees. Even when the man began to scream Usui didn't ease up. Misaki heard the pop of the agent's arm leaving its socket even from all the way up in her perch.
The others rushed forward to help their comrade. Usui dropped the man's now slack arm and gave him a punch to his head that cut off his groaning and sent him boneless to the grass.
Two came at him from the sides. Usui turned and allowed one to take him by the upper arms. He used the weight to kick up at the second guy. The agent's chin snapped up and he collapsed. Then Usui did this twist Misaki couldn't even begin to describe, much less do, that broke the last man's hold on him. He whirled and slammed into his chest, sending them both down. Usui pinned the agent and dug his fingers into the man's throat, not letting go until he fell still. Misaki clung to the trunk of the tree, more than a little shocked at this display of skill. It was one thing to suspect someone of such strength and talent, another entirely to witness it.
Usui stood and faced the man in the catsuit, the only one who hadn't attacked.
He cocked his head. "Not gonna try yourself?"
The man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, saying, "I'd rather reason with you peacefully, if that's possible."
Usui's smile was grim. "In this family, it doesn't appear to be."
"What we're doing is for the best."
"You say 'we' as if you have a say in what goes on."
"I do."
"Bullshit." Usui stepped forward and grabbed the man by the collar. He couldn't lift him, but he smashed him backwards into the tree.
"You pushed her off a building, old man. An innocent girl. My girl. Are you telling me you had a say in that?"
"I made sure she hit the water."
"And tonight?"
"I wouldn't have let them kill her."
Usui pulled him forward then smashed him against the tree again. "That's not good enough, not by a long shot. Where do your loyalties lie, butler?"
The man flinched. "You have to believe I had your best intentions at heart."
Usui's gaze was cold. "I believe you believe that. But I can't trust you, so your words are pointless."
He let him go and stepped back. "Go. I put your master down for a nap and I'm sure he's waking up cranky about now and in need of some coddling."
The man's eyes widened at that. "The two of you fought?"
"It's in our nature as brothers to fight sometimes," Usui answered, more casually. He jerked his head towards the trail. "I said go."
"He'll only send me back with more men," Catsuit man warned.
"Well let's see if he can't scrounge up a more competent bunch then."
"You can't win."
Usui didn't reply to that. The man shook his head and left.
When he was gone, Usui came and stood at the tree's base. He looked up at Misaki and she had the urge to shrink back. She knew the anger rolling off him wasn't directed at her, but even so, she felt oddly intimidated all of a sudden.
"Come down, Ayuzawa."
"Yeah, um, just a second." She fiddled with the branches, suddenly second-guessing her steps.
Usui put up with this for about two seconds, then he kicked the tree.
The oak she was in wasn't strong by any means. It was young enough that the branches were still fairly thin and supple. Climbing up, Misaki had had to make sure she stayed as close to the trunk as she could get, otherwise the branches would have bowed under her weight just like they had with the men. So Usui's kick sent a shiver through the wood, just enough to make Misaki lose her balance, and she shrieked as she fell.
Usui caught her and clutched her to him even as she smacked at every part of him she could reach, her apprehension towards him forgotten. "You. Stupid. Outer. Space. Alien. You could have killed me!"
Sorry," he mumbled, not sounding sorry at all as he caught her hands and pulled her closer. "I just couldn't wait. I needed to touch you. Are you okay?"
Misaki nodded. He exhaled. All his energy seemed to leave him in that one long rush of breath and he sunk to the ground, taking her with him. "Thank God. I thought for sure…"
"How did you know I was out here?"
He buried his face into the crook of her neck.
"Heard you," he mumbled. "Saw you'd already taken out one. You're amazing, Ayuzawa."
"Hardly," she mumbled, embarrassed. "You took out three, and way more easily."
"Mm. But I didn't take a time out to break a camera in the middle of fighting either."
"You—how do you know about that?"
"My alien sixth sense told me."
"Be serious!"
Usui pulled away so she could see his face. His eyes looked haunted. "I went to my brother to try and end things like I said. He knew what I was doing. He showed me the live feed of you fighting, to try and make me submit."
Misaki was horrified. "No."
Usui nodded. "I thought for sure it was over. I couldn't get to you in time, and Gerard set it up so his men couldn't be called off…." His head dropped. Misaki wanted to hug him, but he wouldn't let her go so she could get her arms around him.
She felt him shudder, not just once but again and again in a steady outpour of nerves. Little gasps began to escape him and she worried he would start to cry. She had no idea what to say if he did.
But then he looked back up, and to her shock she saw that he was laughing. Great, silent guffaws he couldn't stifle. Misaki sat there, thoroughly confused as he struggled to compose himself.
He let go of her hands to cradle her face, pressing his forehead against hers, beaming.
"And then," he said as if he had never paused, "I saw you spot the camera. There you were, outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and yet you still took the time to spit in Gerard's face by breaking that damn camera of his. It was…" Apparently he didn't know quite what it was, because instead of finishing, he kissed her. Misaki kissed him back, and for a moment they got lost in the relief of being together. Safe, at least for the moment.
"Tell me I'm not worth it," Usui said as they broke from the kiss. "Tell me I'm not worth it and I'll leave right now and never endanger you again."
It took Misaki a minute to process what he was saying, and when she did, she punched him, as hard as she could. He flinched and caught her fist when she brought it down for another blow.
"Idiot! You will never not be worth it!" she yelled at him. "After all this time... all this effort! Don't ever suggest such a thing to me ever again!"
Usui laughed brokenly and brought her balled hand to his lips. "I thought we talked about this violent habit of yours, Ayuzawa?"
Misaki was ashamed for a moment, but then realization pushed shame aside. "Wait a second, you remember that? But how?"
"You'd be surprised what you can recall when the love of your life's in danger," he said.
Misaki was shocked, touched, and overjoyed all at once. "How much do you remember? What do you remember? Is there any way—" Usui cut her off by pressing his finger to her lips.
"All great questions, I'm sure. But right now I think we need to get somewhere less conspicuous."
"O-oh," she stuttered. "Yeah, of course. You're right."
He lifted her to her feet and she pulled him up. They left the park at a quick trot, hand-in-hand, the three unconscious agents forgotten behind them. Misaki paused as they reached the gate.
"Usui, I… about what you said. About me being, well… I just wanted to say—I mean… to me, in my life too, you are..." God, why was this so difficult? It wasn't like she wasn't completely obvious already.
Usui seemed to sense her frustration and smiled understandingly. "It's okay, Ayuzawa. You don't need to say it now."
"Don't I?" Nothing was guaranteed anymore. The odds against them were stacked so high...
"We'll get through this," he said.
"But together?"
He leaned in and gave her another kiss. It was nice, but it wasn't an answer.
They hurried through town, sticking to back streets. Misaki didn't know where they were going and wondered if Usui had any idea either. The glory of the moment was still burning strong inside of her, but logic was beginning to niggle. The night would end eventually and she would have to go home. She had school, and work. Her mother and sister were relying on the income she provided. She couldn't just abandon them; she was not her father. Usui needed a safe place to stay while they figured things out. They had little money and even less time.
They walked for maybe an hour when a black car suddenly turned down the alley they were in, a limo right behind it.
She recognized that limo.
Usui did too. He backpedaled and pulled her around, but the car was already zooming up. It fishtailed around them and just like that, they were trapped.
Gerard exited the car and at least half a dozen more agents got out of the limo, headed by the catsuit man, now in normal business attire. His face was closed up tight. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. They could expect no help from him.
Usui's brother looked dressed to travel. His suit covered by a nice long coat and hat. He sighed and scrubbed at his forehead.
"You cannot believe how tired I am of this," he said.
"Yeah, stealing your brother's freedom must be tiring work," Misaki snarked.
Gerard dropped his hand and glared at her. "It's because of me that Usui got away with that he did for as long as he has," he snapped at her. "Do you think I like doing this? Being here? The farther away my bastard brother is, the better in my opinion. But the family wants him back, and what the family wants, the family gets. So—"
With a snap of his fingers, his men attacked. Misaki launched herself into the fray, Usui at her side.
As good as they were apart, as a team, they were even better. They punched, dodged, and kicked; they jumped, ducked, and whirled. Adrenaline pumped hot and wild through Misaki's veins as agent after agent went down. Another… another. Misaki looked up from felling an agent to catch Usui's eye as he knocked down his own, and they shared a smile. They were actually winning this!
"Enough!" roared Gerard, and from within the depths of his traveling coat he pulled out a small, automatic pistol and aimed it at Misaki.
The sight made Misaki pause, and that was long enough for one of the few conscious agents left to grab her. Usui froze too, though he stayed out of reach of those surrounding him.
"Don't," Misaki told him. "Keep fighting."
"Ayuzawa," he said, his gaze torn between watching her and keeping an eye on the weapon.
"It doesn't matter!" she cried. "Don't fold to this. Don't!" She struggled to free herself and keep fighting, but the man's hold on her was firm.
Gerard rolled his eyes at her. "You keep failing to realize, Misa-chan. You're fighting so hard to 'free' my brother as you put it, but his worth lies entirely in what he can do for us, the family. Now, you don't seem to have any qualms about dying for a cause—you both seem more than happy to play the martyr, God knows why—but the moment Takumi slips our leash for good and refuses to heel, he ceases to be anything but what he is: a shameful problem. And do you know what the Walker family does with shameful problems, Misa-chan?"
His insinuation made her feel sick, not in the least because Usui was standing only a few feet away, listening to all of it. Fury and fear burned up her throat.
Gerard's smile was one of smug satisfaction as he took in her expression.
"You understand, don't you? Keeping Takumi safe means keeping him in line. You should be helping me, because helping me helps him, you see?" He chuckled, good humor restored. "Now, you're more than welcome to continue fighting this little war—I personally would be more than happy to get rid of you both—but you don't want Takumi to suffer for your selfishness, do you? If something happened to him just because you couldn't stand to let him go… Could you handle that on your conscience, hmm?" He looked at his brother. "Or you, Takumi? Are you willing to let her die for you?"
Usui said nothing, but Misaki could see the guilt in his eyes.
"And don't bother thinking you can escape us," Gerard went on, turning back to her. "I think tonight has proven that no matter how hard you fight, this will always be the outcome." He grinned and cocked his weapon. "Me, with a gun to your head, and Takumi, firmly under my heel."
He gestured to the vehicle. "I think that about does it. Get in the car, Takumi."
Misaki expected Usui to tell him off, to quip his way out of this mess or pull another badass move that could get them away again. So when he bowed his head in acquiescence, she was stricken. No! This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all!
"Don't you dare, Usui!"
He didn't so much as glance back at her as he got in the vehicle, and something inside her crumpled like a butterfly struck by a racket.
"Wait! Usui, no!" She struggled harder. That hateful weapon was immediately trained back on her.
"Where are you taking him?" she cried.
"To England," said Gerard as the rest of his agents began filing back into the limo. "As I said, the family needs him. And putting a continent between the two of you should squash whatever hope this dose of reality I've given you hasn't killed."
"Don't count on it," she spat.
"I'm not. Which is why I got you're family a little present. Just arrived today; should be at your house by now, I think. Might want to go check it out."
The threat was clear. Misaki was freed, but could only stand there, torn between the need to get Usui out of that car and running home to make sure her mom and sister were all right. Gerard shot her the peace sign and got into the car, smug smile in place. The gesture made her snap and she dived for him, but it was too late. The door slammed shut and the lock clicked. Engines growled.
Watching them drive off was horrible. Defeat was a screaming demon inside her chest, ripping up her heart, and Misaki realized that no matter how hopeless she'd felt over the last few weeks, she'd never expected to actually lose.
But she bottled up the rage, bottled up the pain and disappointment and let what was left of her determination take over. She couldn't help Usui now. Later, maybe, she would let herself hope, do some planning, whatever it took, but not right now. Right now, her family needed her. She could still help them.
The lights were on when she got back. There was nothing amiss that Misaki could see from outside, and she entered quietly. Whispers came from the kitchen, awkward and stilted, but nothing antagonistic. She prepared herself, then peeked in, ready to duck, fight, or, God forbid, call an ambulance. But as she took in her mother and sister sitting at the kitchen table, and the man seated across from them, she found that none of those reactions would do. There was no proper reaction for a sight such as this.
Because the man sitting there, calmly drinking tea, was her father.
