AUTHOR NOTES:

Hope the last chapter didn't scare you off! Haha! A note for this chapter: will be just a tiny/little/slighty bit more 3rd person than usual - so don't get confused!

Thanks for the reviews guys! That last one really encouraged me to put pen to paper (err, fingers to keyboard) and so I decided to give you guys a quick update. Please continue to send your comments my way!

vanade: How astute of you. Your intuition serves you well.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of this y'all!

Chapter 11

Crux

Tate was not pleased.

Not only had his partner used him and then disappeared that same day, but now he was dealing with reports of a possible increase in ghoul activity in and around District 4 in the last few days.

Coincidentally, the same district where Natsuki Kuga was last seen.

Doubtful that the two were related but it might mean that Tate could find the ghoul responsible for the death of Kuga's stalker. Then he might get some answers.

The new development amounted to a very early morning meeting. Tate and a room full of investigators were informed of the situation and were tasked with patrols through the problem area.

It was theorized that this was a fight between two groups over territory. However, they couldn't be sure. Except the Kuga stalker, there hadn't been any recent recorded events of ghouls attacking other ghouls.

This was an unneeded weight on the pile that was his workload, but Tate would do his duty. That's what it meant to be a first class investigator.


Natsuki jolted awake in bed, sweating and breathing heavily. Her eyes flitted to the window to see the light of early morning streaming through. She closed them when pain lanced through her head.

It was that dream again. The field of flowers. The fear and pain. The shadow.

The nightmare kept reoccurring every 2 to 3 days. The shadow would come and torture her as she tried to struggle, white flowers blooming red with her blood. It all felt so real - like she was breaking her legs all over again.

Natsuki raised a hand to her head and released a shaky breathe. She tried to move into a more upright position but everything was spinning too much. Her stomach grumbled and her legs hurt. At that moment, all she could think about was how much everything sucked.

And then she remembered the previous day.

And that made it all so much worse.

Shizuru wasn't going to hide her less than pure motives anymore (whatever they were). She had shown her true colors.

Why? Why was she doing all this?

The question of Shizuru's intentions was strong, as always, but it was quickly outpaced by the fear of what the tawny-haired woman might have done to her while she slept.

Natsuki fought against her headache and sat up in bed, tearing the sheet away from her body.

Nothing appeared to be different than yesterday - besides the fact that her legs hurt more. But that was something normal at this point so she instead let her eyes search for any weird marks or bruises under her sweater. Nothing. No trace of a scratch or an act against her person (even her clothes were the same as the day before).

She held up her hands for examination and leaned back against the headrest. Would she even be able to tell if Shizuru had done something to her? Maybe the older woman did all that just to scare Natsuki?

It certainly worked. It was doubtful she would ever sleep soundly again.

Not that I really do anyway with these dreams I've been having.

A growl perforated the air as the dull ache in her stomach switched to a sharper one. It must be because she missed dinner yesterday. The thought of food made her sick in spite of her obvious hunger. What if Shizuru drugged it again?

The worry gnawed at her. If this last act had been to scare her (a warning of sorts), then what might Shizuru do if Natsuki kept pissing her off? Would the woman eventually cross a line Natsuki couldn't recover from?

These frightening concerns continued, preventing Natsuki from finding peace or at least a few more hours of sleep before the subject of her fears appeared.

"Good morning, my dear." Shizuru walked in, tray of food in hand, and smiled cheerfully at her bed-ridden patient. "And how is Natsuki this morning?"

Just a normal Shizuru. No open threat. No hint that she had DRUGGED her guest.

Palms sweating, stomach tingling, Natsuki gave a nod before realizing that wasn't really an answer. She found her voice for an answer by fighting back against the fear with pure willpower.

"Ok. I guess." It was a little rough but the normal-ness of her voice gave her some of the old self confidence that usually defined her character.

I can beat this. Escape her. She thought with determination. All that worrying about her fan had given her an idea. Somewhat of a desperate one, but an idea all the same.

"Hmmm." Shizuru's eyes wandered over Natsuki's body, noticing the disheveled clothes and blanket. "Is that so?"

Shizuru moved over to the unoccupied side of the bed and set the tray of food down. It consisted of eggs, jammed toast, hash browns and a cup of tea on the side.

Natsuki reached over to move the tray onto her lap.

She was halted when Shizuru grabbed her wrist.

The bluenette was so surprised, she didn't even flinch - just stared dumbly as Shizuru felt her pulse. Red rubies flicked up to meet emeralds. "Natsuki looks a bit worried."

Natsuki took her hand back but kept her eyes on Shizuru as the other woman straightened and then circled the bed to get closer.

"I..." Natsuki paused.

Now might be a good time to bring it up.

"I'm just a little tired. A bit of writer's block. That's all." Natsuki looked down and sighed for added effect.

"Ara? I don't suppose I can be of any help?" Shizuru sounded worried but Natsuki kept her eyes down.

The younger solemnly shook her head, but then seemed to think on something. Shizuru waited patiently. Her eyes flicked down the other's face - entranced as Natsuki nervously chewed her bottom lip.

The bluenette seemed to come to a decision and met Shizuru's eyes, sending a shiver down the older woman's spine. The fire and determination in this girl's face made her glow all the more in Shizuru's mind.

Shizuru sent an encouraging smile her way, making her voice sweet as honey. "Yes? What is it?"

"I need references."

The tawny haired woman raised a brow. "Oh? What kind?"

Natsuki was surprised Shizuru didn't question her reasons more but stayed on tract. "Anatomy. And Ogura's book on ghouls. I'm sure you have the former as a nurse but I really need the latter as well."

Shizuru stared at her blankly for a second before resuming her smile. "One would think so. However, I fear whatever books I may have are mixed in with the boxes I put in the basement. I could go into town if you like? Get you both books?"

Shizuru enjoyed the way Natsuki's face lit up before the younger straightened herself and nodded gratefully.

"I'd appreciate that." This was working out even better than Natsuki could have hoped!

"I'll do this for Natsuki as soon as she finishes her breakfast."

Natsuki could almost hear the implication in the words: As soon as you take your pill. As usual, Shizuru had made sure to put the medication on the tray with the food. She nervously eyed it. Was it another sleeping drug?

"Sure." She smiled at Shizuru and made a show of putting the pill into her mouth and taking a sip of tea.

Shizuru returned her grin and left the room to do whatever it was she did out of Natsuki's sight.

The bluenette waited a few seconds before spitting out the pill and jamming it under her mattress. She really would love to get some pain relief (if that's what it was), but she couldn't chance that it might put her to sleep.

Next was the food. Was it drugged like the pasta? How would she know something like that? She couldn't not eat it. Shizuru might not go to town then.

Natsuki scowled at herself. She couldn't be scared of some stupid eggs and toast! (And she was hungry, gosh darnnit!)

She took a bite of the food.

It didn't taste much like anything (again) and Natsuki hoped that was because Shizuru was off her cooking game and not that she had added something extra.

Sadly, the food did nothing to squelch the rumbling in her stomach.

Shizuru came back some time later, bundled in her winter coat. She picked up the tray and let her guest know she would return in a couple hours. Natsuki gave a small smile and nodded, but it turned into a frown when she heard the click of a lock. Well, she had been prepared for that so she wasn't surprised.

She waited until she heard the low hum of a car engine rev to life and then slowly fade before she made her move.

Getting into her chair was a pain but she managed. Opening the door was easier. All she had to do was use a couple paper clips she found in her backpack to manipulate the pins and force the lock to turn. It was a cheap one so it only took a few tries.

Instead of going straight to the front door, Natsuki went to search the room across from hers. If her hunch was right, then the key in the desk was an extra for the locked door she had found in her previous excursion. Hopefully there would be something useful in the mystery room that could help her escape. Best case scenario - it was the garage and Shizuru had an extra car or something in there.

Natsuki felt positive about her prospects and quickly retrieved the key and rolled over to her target. She was so excited about the possibility of leaving this place that her hand shook a bit as she worked the key into the lock.

Opening the door revealed darkness. Pitch darkness. She felt for a light switch but couldn't find one. The dimness of the hallway didn't help either.

She let herself roll forward into the dark.

And promptly felt her stomach turn upside-down as her chair started rolling down some stairs. At some point, it tipped and Natsuki rolled the rest of the way to the bottom. She couldn't help crying out at the beating her legs took - her chair clattering after.

At the bottom she laid, in pain, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

After a while, though grunting at the effort, Natsuki was eventually able to turn onto her back. She gave herself some minutes to recover before sitting up (owwwe) and letting her eyes adjust.

Obviously, she was in a basement. At first she thought it was empty, but as her eyes adapted to the dark she saw that there were boxes and a small kitchenette.

The kitchenette probably explained how Shizuru was making them their meals. Indeed, there was a mouth-watering odor down here.

Despite the pain in her legs, the pang in her stomach was momentarily greater. That delicious smell was quickly driving her crazy. After two meals of unfulfilling food, this smelled like it could satisfy her.

Natsuki dragged herself towards the fridge.

Halfway there, she stopped, panting at her exertion. Her stomach protested, encouraging her to move forward. The smell was even stronger now, drawing her towards what was hopefully food.

By the time she reached the fridge, Natsuki could feel an involuntary line of drool traveling down her chin.

She threw open the door.

And froze at what she saw.

Most of the plastic containers inside looked like they contained some sort of bloody meat.

The others held fingers, eyeballs, and tongues.

Crammed on the bottom shelf... was a man's head.

The bluenette felt both vastly repulsed and yet inexplicably hungry at the horrible sight. Half of her wanted to run - to get as far away as possible. The other half wanted to eat. The world seemed to halt as her mind tried to process anything as the two sides fought.

And then, like the heat from a sudden and very intense fire, a realization hit her.

Shizuru... She's a...

The pump of blood through her ears seemed to drown out all sound at the terrifying truth.

That is, until one unexpectedly broke the spell - causing the young woman to flinch.

One word. From someone so incredibly beautiful, but also undeniably deadly.

"Nat-suki."

Shizuru was back.

ED NOTES:

So I labeled this story as a mystery - but now I'm wondering if there's a genre more fitting for creepy stories. Though gruesome at times, this isn't really meant to be a horror and I don't want to put that down. Thriller maybe? Is that an option? Can I even change the genre at this point?