.:HARMONY and BLOODSHED:.
PART TWO
BLOODSHED
Chapter Nine
--Flesh and Blood--
"Watari, come here," Ayame commanded.
Ayame was leaning against a wall in the dark hallway when Watari passed by. Her eyes had a glint of annoyance about them. But Watari was too absorbed with his own thoughts at that moment to notice. Absently, he complied and approached Ayame.
"You know the girl, don't you?" Ayame asked. It wasn't like a question though, it sounded more like she was laying it out for him and all he had to do was confess. "Watari, I am talking to you."
Watari shrugged and muttered something under his breath.
"What's that?" Ayame asked impatiently, "In case you have forgotten, you are bound to me; you and the rest of your Kudo Clan, if a clan is still what is left of it. You signed a contract and sealed it with blood, any breaking of it will mean instant death for all of you. I will wipe you out of the face of this earth to the point where even your clan's history will be forgotten. I will see to that personally." She said with a hint of venom in her tone.
Watari eyed her from head to toe and gave her a look as though he couldn't believe she can do a thing like that. In short, he was challenging her. "You are in no place to threaten me, Ayame. I may lack the leadership skills you have but my men are so much better than yours. And their loyalty is mine and mine alone." He said putting an emphasis on the final statement.
Ayame scoffed, "My, my. It has gotten over your head hasn't it?"
Watari shook his head. "Death over your little contract doesn't scare me, Ayame. It's a little piece of paper that could do me no harm."
"Watch your mouth, Kudo!" Ayame hissed, "I give great importance to bonds, especially where there's blood involved. Don't get in his way! Master Yuber won't tolerate it!"
Watari walked past her without even caring. In his head, all he could think about was Yuber. Watari had absolutely no idea why Yuber would want Chris here, now. He heaved a heavy sigh and walked back to Chris' room to reclaim her tray and with hopes of apology for how he acted. He was cold, maybe, but he didn't really mean to be. A lot has happened that Chris doesn't know of. He turned around and walked back to where Chris was being held, passing by the spot where Ayame had confronted him, but she was no longer there. He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open carefully. So carefully, in fact, that the people inside the room didn't even notice. He peeked inside and saw Yuber and Chris.
Yuber was walking slowly towards Chris, one hand holding his hat and the other in his pocket. Chris meanwhile, was edging away to the head of the bed, holding at her jacket tightly.
"Do you know about your… family, Chris? Its many hidden… secrets?" Yuber was saying.
Chris was shivering inside but she acted brave out front, "I know what you are talking about…" she seemed to want to add some more but left her mouth hanging open. She didn't say anything else.
"Ah, very good. So Sasarai has told you. Things are going as planned. Isn't it just…" he tried to think of an appropriate word and settled for, "…wonderful, how all this can be happening?" He continued, rolling words around his mind. "Doesn't the truth make you hate your father? I hurts, I know. I hated my father. And my mother, too. That wretched hag left me to die. And Jacques, oh yes, Jacques, my favorite brother. I hear you love him so, well who doesn't? Mother always did, didn't she?" His voice was almost ghostly. Chris' heart started to beat wildly. "I hate them all so much."
Chris flinched as she listened to him talk. 'He's going to kill them… Oh God, he's, he's going to kill them… And he's going to kill me. Please, no…' she thought dreadfully. "Stop saying all these nonsense! I don't want to hear them!" she spat at him. 'I'm so scared…' she thought.
"Of course," he whispered and gave her a smile. It was a scary smile, one that hid many secrets, "Of course. But all this talk about hate is unimportant. What you should care about is who I don't hate."
Chris swallowed. She couldn't understand why this was significant. She didn't have to be here. If only they hadn't used Shabon as a pawn. "Really? Well why should I even listen to you?" she retorted, her voice quivering. 'Oh, someone help me, I'm so scared…'
"Because…" Yuber paused and sat on the bed so that his eyes were the same level as Chris'. Chris froze at those eyes, she couldn't move as he reached out and touched her cheek. "Because, Chris… It's you."
It took a long while for Chris to realize what he had been saying. The person he doesn't hate is… Chris? She didn't make any sense of it. She was afraid of the eyes that stared back at her, cold and empty. She couldn't even think properly. It wasn't until Yuber started caressing her cheek and moved down to her neck did she start to snap back to reality. Quickly, she moved off the bed. The chain on her leg rattled and she was reminded of how trapped she was in that place. She moved the farthest away her incapacity could provide her. Away from Yuber; away from all those… touching.
Yuber didn't give up easily, though. He stood up and started backing Chris to a corner. All the while telling her, "Chris, I watched you grow, yes I did. You were an angel in my eyes. Yes, you are… You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. So pure. So… beautiful. I want you to be mine. MINE. " He dragged his hat down to hide a look in his eyes as he started to lick his lips, which made Chris fall to her knees and brace herself. She started to cry with fear. "Chris," he continued, "You are mine alone and I will kill anyone who gets in the way."
Chris was now feeling like she really was the princess in the play. Only this time, she was chained to the bed in a place she doesn't even know of. This time, it seemed no one would come and save her. She was afraid she was going to get hurt if she didn't comply with what he wanted, or worse. She prayed in vain for someone to come rescue her. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!" she shrieked, "YOU'RE MY BROTHER!"
At that, Watari found himself stumbling in awe. He had kept quiet and unnoticed until those words rang in his head. Brother. He stumbled with a loud thud into the room. The door lay open. He found himself tensing for the first time. "I'm going to take her tray now. I'm sorry to have disturbed you-"
"WATARI! PLEASE!" Chris was hysterical, on the verge of insanity perhaps, "PLEASE! DON'T LET HIM! DON'T LET HIM COME NEAR ME!" she reached out for him while sobbing endlessly, and whispered hoarsely, "Help me…"
Yuber laughed silently, "Ah, Chris. Now you are afraid, but soon you will see how much I love you, I really do. I want you to be mine." Then he left the room in a sleek and deft movement.
Watari couldn't move but when he did, his face showed no sign of even caring. Chris started sobbing frantically and muttering names under breaths. He heard the names Jacques and some other names he did not recognize, but she seemed to linger on about a man named Percival, and then, he even heard his own name. He couldn't stand the sight of her like that. He walked out of the room, the tray in his hands. Yuber was Chris' brother, so why is he doing this? What has he to earn by kidnapping Chris? All sorts of questions kept popping into his head, but the only answer he had to give was Jacques.
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Jacques was slowly losing hope. At one point, Chris could turn up anywhere in town dead. He wiped the thought clean from his mind. 'She's not dead.'
Police had started turning up in numerous occasions, asking about this and that, all the while not finding any clue as to where Chris might have gone. Reporters were popping up everywhere as well. This had turned into a frontpage news escapade for them. He decided to take a quick walk to calm himself. "Much good this would do me…" he muttered to himself, avoiding the stares of the passersby. He let his feet carry him wherever it would as he looked up to the sky. The clouds weren't abundant that day. He turned a few corners then stopped. He looked around and found himself in the park where he and Chris used to play, and eyed the pathway to the pond. Heaving a soft sigh, he once again let his feet carry him all the way to the end of the road.
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"Please, I must speak with Fred, now." Percival told the officer firmly.
"I'm sorry, sir. But Fred Railey is being questioned right now." The man answered.
"I don't give a damn. This matter is relevant to the case. I need to speak to him as soon as possible!" He banged the table top twice.
"I'm afraid that's not possible." The officer said patiently.
Just then, a door opened and Fred stepped out, with his hands in his pockets and a look in his face that spelled defeat. Percival hurried over to him.
"Fred, we must talk." Percival told him.
"What! You here to tell me I am a liar as well?" Fred said with scorn.
"No," Percival told him as Fred's eyes widen in surprise. "I believe every word you said."
"All of a sudden, you do?" Fred told him, eyeing him suspiciously.
Percival produced the bracelet fragment letter C and the piece of cloth. "This is from Chris' bracelet. Now, if we find out whom this piece of cloth belongs to…"
Just then another door opened and Sasarai stepped out with a sunny smile. He was wearing blue. Percival suddenly realized something. "Hide this, quickly!" he said as he handed the piece of cloth to Fred and ran to Sasarai's side. "Sasarai," he said to the smiling man, "Did you injure yourself lately?"
Sasarai looked surprised at his question. "Well it's just a little cut. I am a clumsy fool." He said and resumed smiling. He looked at Fred and nodded slightly, acknowledging the other. Fred ignored him completely. 'I have won again, Fred.' Sasarai thought behind his smiling mask.
"Oh…" Percival told him and walked out of the precinct to leave, secretly beckoning Fred to follow. The two left and kept distance from each other as they walked so as not to attract unnecessary questions from anyone, especially Sasarai. Fred did his best to keep up to Percival's brisk walk. He seemed to be in an awful lot of hurry. 'I have to tell Jacques,' Percival thought, 'That the thorn that needs to be taken out is Sasarai.' But when he got to the manor, Jacques was nowhere to be seen.
Percival quickly gave Fred directions to his own house, telling him to stay there and wait for him. "It would not be safe for you to be here when Sasarai comes back." Percival had said, and thought, 'Where is Sasarai anyway? And Jacques?' Eike informed him after Fred had left that Jacques probably just took a stroll to clear his mind. Percival sat at the couch and waited patiently unitl Jacques came back.
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He could hear the laughter. It was of Chris mostly. The way she used to laugh when she was splashed with water… Jacques found himself missing her every minute and every second. "I'm sure everything's going to be… fine." He told himself.
When he reached the end with the pond, a man was standing by a tree. He was looking at Jacques. Jacques tightened his sweater around his torso as a shiver ran up his spine, "I thought you'd come here. No, I knew you would." The man spoke.
Jacques didn't recognize him because he had a hood covering his face, and the place was poorly lit as well. The man stepped closer to Jacques and removed his hood. "Wha-!" Was all Jacques could manage.
"It's me, Jacques… Watari." He said, "Surprised?"
Jacques nodded. "I thought you had died. In the news it said…"
Watari cut him off. "If you must know, that news was made with the intent of making people think I was actually dead. I had to… disappear. I succeeded my father in leading my clan, you see. The Kudo clan. That's why I had to die in other people's eyes. I'm a ninja now..." Jacques couldn't say anything in shock of the revelation. "I came here for another matter though." Watari said quietly.
"Tell me!" Jacques told him, a feeling of hope brewing inside him, "You know of Chris, don't you?"
"I- Yes, I do." He added hesitantly, "I know of her because…"
"You know Yuber?" Jacques answered for him.
"Actually, I serve him."
Jacques eyes widened in shock. He looked around to see if it was a trap.
"Don't worry," Watari said, "I have no other intentions except to help. I can't stand to see… see what he's doing to her." he took a deep breath.
Jacques took a step forward and grabbed him by both his shoulders, "What has he been doing to her?"
Watari looked away. "Yuber is a cruel man, Jacques. That is all I can impart to you."
"Take me to him!" Jacques shook Watari, "Please! Take me to her!"
"Jacques," Watari lifted Jacques' hands with force and rubbed his shoulders from the tightness of Jacques' grip, "I came here not to take you to see him, at least not you alone. I came here to tell you where you can find him when you have brought along some people who actually can stop him."
"I can't wait any more than I have, Watari!" Jacques screamed with anger.
"Do you think Chris will want you hurt just so you can save her?" Watari shouted back. Jacques quieted down. "Here," he handed Jacques a piece of paper. "Bring the police to this place and I will do the rest."
"But, Watari!" Jacques called out as Watari started to stalk off.
"Just do it." And in a flash, Watari disappeared.
Jacques opened the piece of paper. It had only two words in it. Illusion Lake. He held the paper tightly in his hand as he made his way out of the park. "Wait for me, Chris." He muttered, wishing that the wind would deliver the words to her.
Author's Notes: Whew, another chapter done! I would like to invite you to read my Witch Hunter Robin fic, if you know that anime. I need comments on that as well as this. I'll have the next chapter ready in a jiffy so just read and review! Thankies:)