Hey guys! It's been a while, sorry for the delay. Without further useless words, please read with all your might. Enjoy!
When I opened my eyes, I was in a small windowless room. A single light bulb was lighting the room. I had no idea what time it was. I was lying on a stone bench attached to the wall. When I sat up, a sharp pain manifested itself in my stomach. My shoes and my sweatshirt were on the ground. I lifted the bottom of my tank top to uncover my stomach. I had a medical band around my ribs, another around my arm and a big bandage on my cheek. I also had a fair share of bruises all over. To top it all off, my hands were linked together by shackles with a two feet long chain. The door was made of heavy metal and there was no lock to pick. The only thing that led out was the tiny air vent on the ceiling. I shoved the cover aside and tried to stand up...only to fall right back down. My legs were still a little numb and my head was spinning. But I had to get up. I had to get up and find a way to get out. Then I heard a metallic noise outside the door before it opened. The short haired twin entered.
"I see that you're awake. How'd you sleep, Kitten?"
I looked at him with a worried look and didn't reply. He approached me and came to sit on the edge of my 'bed'. I immediately backed off against the wall.
"What's the matter? Are you scared?"
"..."
"Giving me the silent treatment ins't going to get any of us anywhere, Kitten. So why don't you save yourself some extra bruises and talk to me while we wait for Aki."
This guy meant every word he said. And I didn't want to be knocked unconscious again. "Why should I talk to you?" I said looking away.
"Ah, finally said something. You are scared, aren't you, little cat?"
He brought his hand close to my face and I quickly slapped it away. "Don't touch me. And why do you keep calling me that?" My voice was trembling and I didn't want to look at him.
"Why? That's a silly question, Kitten. That's because I'm the boss's good dog, while you're the naughty little cat. But if you don't like it, what should I call you then? Princess maybe?"
"My name is Taiga." I snapped, before realizing that this guy probably knew my real name.
"Taiga? Seriously, that's what you call yourself now? That's not very creative. But whatever. Well then Miss Taiga. Aren't you going to thank me for bandaging your wounds for you?"
"Huh?"
"I had a lot of fun striping you and touching you all over, while you were drugged. And I have to say, seeing you in chains is a little exciting." My face turned completely red out of shame and I clenched my teeth with frustration. He suddenly grabbed my chain and pulled me closer to him. "Just kidding. Although I did bandage you. So how about a little reward, now?"
"Let go off me!" I shouted as I tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong. He brought his face closer to my neck... Then the door suddenly opened.
"Kei! Stop fooling around." Said Aki. "Do you want the boss to kill you?"
"Oh come on. It's not like he'll mind if I don't leave a mark." Complained the younger twin while letting me go. I used that moment to send my foot flying in his face and he fell off the bench. But he soon got up.
"Well, well. Looks like you've grew some guts while we weren't here." He commented with a smirk while rubbing his chin.
"Who are you people?"
Again they gave me a surprised look. Then Akihiko said. "So you really have lost your memory. We'll have to inform the boss of this."
"You guys know me, right?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
"What's my name? My real name. And who is this boss that you keep talking about? He's the one after me isn't he? Is he?"
"You've gotten sharper." Said Keiji. "Sorry but only the boss can answer your questions. But that doesn't keep us from introducing ourselves. Right, Aki?"
"I suppose not." The older twin turned to me. "My name is Akihiko Inukai."
"And I'm Keiji Inukai. Nice to meet you again, little cat. And in case you didn't notice, we're twins."
"We were tasked by the master to bring you back after you escaped. You sure are a troublesome girl to track."
"Why was I running from him? Who is he?"
"He'll tell you himself. The only other thing that you should know, is that you belong to the same circle as us."
"What do you mean?"
"Okay, enough the boring stuff already. Can I play with her, Aki?"
"Sure, if you don't mind getting beheaded afterwards."
"We won't have to tell him. Besides, bro. You know you want it as much as I do. You're just too stubborn to admit it."
"Tch. You're an idiot." Replied the long haired twin. But he still looked at me from the corner of the eye. No matter how different their personalities were, their eyes were exactly the same. And they were looking at me like a wolf would be looking at a rabbit. I felt a drop of sweat fall from my forehead.
"How about it, Kitten?" Continued Keiji. "Want some twin action?"
At that point, I was more than freaking out. "You're twisted..." Was all I manage to say.
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Enough!" Finally said Akihiko. "We have work to do. Come on." He grabbed his younger brother by the arm and started dragging him out. He pushed him out before turning back to me one last time.
"You better get ready. The master will want to see you soon. Also, you shouldn't even hope for rescue. The red clansman is probably dead by now and the others will never find you here."
His words made my heart ache. The mercenary walked out. I curled up in the corner and buried my face in my arms. 'He can't be dead. He just can't be. He's Yata! He's too stubborn to die.' I was praying with all my heart that I was right. I crossed my arms on my chest. I'd never trembled as much as in this moment.
HOMRA bar
The red clan was back inside their HQ, after an entire night of looking through the city for Taiga and Yata. Even the Red King was fully awaken and nervously growling from time to time.
"This is ridiculous! Where are they?" Shouted Shohei, while kicking a chair.
"I think it's obvious the mercenaries came to get Taiga." Said Mr Kusanagi. "That info about them being near the center of Shizume was bogus. They wanted to get us away from Taiga. That trick with our phones not working must have been their doing as well."
"But if they'd come here, wouldn't the bar be pretty much destroyed? Yata wouldn't have gone down without a fight." Said Rikio.
"They were lured outside, that's for sure but how?" Said Mikoto.
"I think I can tell you that." Said a new voice coming from the entrance.
The red clansmen looked at the door. In the frame, Ome was standing. She walked in. "Those bastards came to see me and knocked me out with some kind of drug. It put me to sleep for ten hours. I didn't even see them coming. And they stole my phone."
"Can't you find it with your foresight?" Asked Eric.
"I can only look for people not objects. And it has to be in a ten mile radius. If I can't find them, then they're either out of my sight range, using some kind of aura to hide or dead. Taiga has no aura so she's either dead or out of my range. Option number two is the most probable."
"And Anna is still too sick to help." Muttered Mr Kusanagi. "Damn it."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance."
Once more, every turned to look at the door. Two people, a man and a woman in blue uniforms were standing in the doorway.
"That's a surprise, Munakata." Said Mikoto. "I didn't think you'd bother yourself with insignificant events."
The blue King smiled and readjusted his glasses. "As a matter of fact, Suho, this may not be completely unrelated to our current business. And you know how thorough I am when I look into a lead."
"Fushimi shared with us the information he got from you about this girl. And we found out something interesting concerning her tattoo." Said Seiri.
Unknown location
A couple hours later, Akihiko came to get me in my cell and made me take an elevator with him. When we stepped out, it seemed like the place was a magnificent palace. Even bigger than Scepter 4 HQ. It was eighteenth century european styled. Paintings, carpets, structure... Everything was gorgeous and breathtaking. But it was also completely empty. We didn't come across anyone while walking through the giant hallways. I took a look outside. There was a big court around the property, and beyond the gate, I could see nothing but trees. As if a giant forest was surrounding it. Akihiko was dragging me behind him, yanking my chain whenever I was too slow.
"Can you tell me where we are?" I asked.
"The master's mansion."
Compared to his brother, this guy was a lot more serious when it came to business. But he was just as scary from my point of vu. If he was able to tell someone like Keiji off, he must be very strong. I didn't want to find out more. The more I saw of this place the more I wanted to run and hide. The last thing in the world that I wanted was to meet this boss. This person that was able to scare me even though I didn't know who he was or what he looked like. I felt my heart freeze in my chest and suddenly stopped. Akihiko, turned around surprised.
"What's the matter? If you keep pulling like that, I'm gonna have to carry you."
"Don't..." I said.
"Huh?"
"Don't take me there...please... I don't want to know him..."
I couldn't even look at him. My heart was racing and I could feel sweat form on my forehead. My eyes were wide open and I was shaking all over. Even if I wanted to, I don't think my body could have moved. The thought of taking him on didn't even cross my mind. I knew I would loose if I tried. The mercenary just stood there and stared at me for a long minute. Then he came closer and gently grabbed my chin to make me look at him. His face was neutral but his eyes seemed to be almost sad.
"If you make that face, I might just take my brother's advice."
That comment made me push his hand away, even more on edge than before. He gave me one last look before turning around and pulling on my chain again. "Come." He said.
I followed without saying anything. We went up some marble stairs and he led me through another hallway until we reached a white double door. Akihiko pushed it open and pulled me inside. On one side of the room had a big desk and shelves while the other had a small living room, with a low tea table surrounded by couches and elegant chairs. The colors in the room were very sober. Mostly white with beige and very light lavender decorations. The two giant windows let in the light of the day brightening the room. But the sky was covered in white clouds and so the whole thing felt more sad than anything else. And worst of all, this room was giving off something familiar... and awfully unpleasant. And my heart wasn't slowing down.
"You wait here. The master will come soon. And don't try to escape. Even if you could get out of the property, there's no way you'd find your way in the forest." He stated with his neutral voice.
I could barely hear anymore. The only thing reaching my ears were the loud beating of my heart and my thoughts going around in my mind so fast, that I wanted to puke. I felt Akihiko grab my hand and make me sit in one of the couches. Tears started to form in my eyes. Like my fear couldn't be contained inside me anymore and was physically manifesting itself. I couldn't control my fear. And I was this close to having a heart attack. There was something in this place. Something strong, like an invisible chain tying me down so much that I could barely move. The mercenary suddenly cupped my cheeks with one hand and leaned in very close.
"I told you to stop making that face."
He slowly brought his face closer and I shut my eyes and mouth tightly. I felt his lips press on mine for three seconds before he backed off.
"You're making it really hard to resist. You wicked girl. You'll be the death of me and my brother." He whispered, as if he was cursing me.
Then he stood up and quickly walked over to the door. He opened it and before leaving said. "Remember what I told you. The master might not let you live if you escape again."
With that, he left. I didn't even hear the door get locked from the outside. What was it with those guys? Why were they both trying to... eat me? It's like everything here was trying to consume me completely. I looked around. There were only two way out. The door or the windows. I got up and approached to take a look outside. The court was pretty big and about three hundred meters away from the house, was a tower. It looked like some kind of modern office buildings in the city except it wasn't as high. It was somehow ominous. Just like everything here. Everything here felt familiar and poisonous. I wanted to leave. I had to try. I walked towards the door and was about to grab the handle when it opened. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly stepped back. When that man stepped into the room, I thought my heart was gonna stop for good. He was young. Twenty five at the most. He had beautiful straight dark brown hair that fell mid-neck. He had a tall and thin body. The kind that would make you believe he was fragile. He was wearing a white shirt not completely buttoned, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, as well as black pants and brown shoes. His skin was incredibly pale and his eyes were light grey. He was wearing an expression of surprise when he saw me. I was probably giving him a frightened expression. I could feel it so strongly now. This man was dangerous. Then he suddenly had a relieved smile and he even looked like he was about to cry.
"You're back." He walked towards me with fast steps. Even more terrified than before I took as step back. The man threw his arms around me and squeezed me into a tight hug. I was frozen and shaking more than ever. "Thank heaven, you're back. I was so worried, my Yoru."
He didn't let go for what seemed to be an eternity for me. He wasn't crushing me but I felt like I was choking. My shaking wasn't calming down at all. I was letting out short suffocated breaths. When he finally let me go, I let myself fall on the couch and retreated to the far end, unable to say anything. He sat next to me, and brought his hand up to my face and caressed my cheek.
"You're shaking so much. Are you cold? Let me warm you up a little..."
"Stay away!" I suddenly shouted.
He gave me another surprised look before smiling sweetly again. "With your memory loss, it must be like getting hugged by a complete stranger, isn't it?"
"I know you were the one after me."
"Of course I was. I was trying to bring you home, my little Yoru. After all this is where you live."
"What? No that can't be."
"You've lost your memory, you can't possibly know. My name is Ryu Karasuno. And I, sweet Yoru, happen to be your guardian."
My eyes widened in disbelief. "You're lying..."
"Why would I lie to you? I can show you the legal papers if you want." He took something out of this pocket. "But this should be sufficient proof."
It was a photograph. Both of us were on it. I was wearing school gym clothes and he was carrying me on his back. I was smiling in this picture. I looked happy. But it was wrong. That picture was wrong. I couldn't be happy. Not next to someone like him. I shook my head.
"I have plenty of pictures to show you if this one is not sufficient. You were such a sweet and obedient girl before." His smile was scary now. It was sadistic smirk. "Why don't you believe me?"
"What kind of guardian sends hired mercenaries to retrieve a lost kid instead of the police?"
"Mercenaries? Where did you get that idea? I know you don't remember them but still..." He laughed. "Akihiko and Keiji work for me, little Yoru."
"Huh?"
"They have for years now. I knew you'd be trying to hide from me, so I couldn't leave this in the incapable hands of the police. I have professionals, I might as well use them."
"They attacked my friend! They nearly killed him!"
"Don't get so worked up over small details. I did tell them to bring you back by all means necessary. If someone got in their way, it's only natural that they got rid of him."
"You're insane!"
"You're right. I probably am insane when it comes to you." He got closer. "In any case, I finally retrieved you and I won't let you run away again. I'm having a hard time figuring out how you manage to run in the first place, my Yoru. If only you'd been a good girl and did what you were told as usual..." He grabbed my chin. "...I wouldn't have to punish you like this."
I froze up. "W-what are...?"
He placed a finger on my mouth. "Shh. You've always been such a good girl, so I never had to tell you this. But I really don't tolerate disobedience from things that belong to me."
"I...don't belong to anyone." I said with as much determination as I could.
"But you do, my Yoru. You're mine." He slid his thumb on my cheek. Then he trailed two fingers across my stomach in diagonal. He then grabbed my shoulders, he slid his hands down my arms gently. It was as if he wanted to caress my entire body. He also trailed his hand on my back. A couple seconds went by where he just stared at me with the same scary smirk as before. Then, something seemed to lit up his eyes. That's when, all at once, I felt my flesh being torn in every places he touched me. It was like extremely sharp knifes had cut me all at once. I let out an intense scream of pain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
I fell face first on the ground. Blood escaped my body and stained the couch and my clothes. They too had been torn where the 'knifes' had cut me. The thick red liquid stained the carpet on the floor. The cuts felt so deep that I was afraid they'd touched vital organs. I was panting harder than ever thinking I was on the edge of death. It felt like no air was reaching my lungs and that I was paralyzed. An ocean of tears escaped my eyes, mixing itself with the blood on the ground. Ryu got off the couch and knelt down next to me.
"There, there, love." He said as he wiped the tears from my face. "The wounds are only superficial, you'll live. But I have to say I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd still be conscious after this."
"How did you... Who are you?" I said in between suffocated breaths.
"Oh, that's right. You don't remember my little tricks. Allow me to reintroduce myself properly to you, my angel. I am Ryu Karasuno ...
HOMRA bar
"THE PURPLE KING?!" Shouted all the red clansman.
"No need to shout, boys." Said the Blue King. "But yes, the symbol that was tattooed in the young lady's back is none other than the stigma of the purple clan."
"But it was black. It had no aura coloring." Said Shohei.
"Not only that, but I didn't sense any aura from her. She's not a clansman. But these two guys probably were." Continued Ome. "It must have been a regular tattoo, just to symbolize her affiliation, I guess. But if she was frequently in contact with clansmen, that would explain the traces of aura in her cells. That's bothersome."
"Why?" Asked Yo.
"If she wasn't a clansmen, what was she to them? I don't even want to try and imagine. In any case, the one that was after her from the beginning must have been him. Munakata, what do we know about the purple king?"
"He's very secretive and not very active. His name is Ryu Karasuno. At first glance he's a rich boy that lives off his heritage but he's also an extremely brilliant scientist. That's how he ended up at the top of my list of suspect for this aura capsules trafficking."
"Do we know where he is?"
"Unfortunately, no. I was counting on your foresight."
"I told you, they're out of range. Where's Fushimi? He might have an idea."
"He's been missing since yesterday." Answered the lieutenant. "We haven't been able to get a lock on him."
Ome punched the counter. "Great. So we have no clue about anything. Damn it!"
"I can help..." Then said a quiet voice, coming from the staircase.
Anna was slowly coming down the stairs. She wasn't exactly walking straight. "Anna, you shouldn't be up. You're still sick." Said Mr Kusanagi.
"We have to find Taiga." With those words she walked over to Ome. "You and me, we can find her."
"It's true that we have similar powers, but I'd have to absorb your power along. I'm not sure you or me will be able to take it. And you're already weakened."
"We have to."
The young strain brought her hand up. Ome seemed distressed for a second before bringing her hand up and taking out her claws. She hesitated and made a disapproving face.
"Please. For Taiga. I want her to come home." Said the little girl. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "And Misaki. And Saruhiko. I want all of them to come home."
Ome looked at the red King who gave her a nod. She then took a deep breath before grabbing the younger strain's hand, and stabbing her thumb claw in the middle of her palm.
Oh dear, looks like trouble is just starting for our dear Taiga. And where the hell could Yata and Saru be? Stay tuned to find out! PLEASE REVIEW! ;)