A/N: Wow two chapters within one week of a chapter! Could this be a habbit? lol dont count on it. Btw im offically off pain meds so you can blame all the crappy writing of this chapter solely on me. Just so you know i see to be increasing my chapter size with each chapter, this is now the longest one i have ever written. Hope you like it. WARNING: The "F" word is used quite a bit in the last part of this chapter. There is also mutilation...just thought you should know, enjoy :)
NOTE: if anyone was interested in the story i told Eiswulf about its The Way We Are by jaded088 an absolutly AMAZING author who also has an otome story and just came out with another story tonight while i was writing this chapter. Go check her stuff out it is amazing. And PLEASE check out the poll on my profile.
chum-sa: I am sorry to say it wont be this chapter they get together and they will before the end. so to speak. And as for shizuru kicking some ass, you will have to read this chapter to find out.
Eiswulf: I fully agree with you there
lindred: I know even im wanting to kick my butt now for the lack of shiznat but i think all the fluff i have written in the past month has made up for it. And i hope this chapter and the next will fulfill my promise :)
uweichan: again sorry for makin you feel awkward but ya im fine. The only block i am facing on writing now is exaustion and story ideas colliding.
pri 815: lol glad you remember it :)
Ak 7 reveiws guy? Thats almost as bad as what i got on Alone, shit no one read that one. lol oh well i dont really care but that was a long chapter, oh well, without further ado chapter twelve of Abandonment.
ssjx7squall
Natsuki groaned as she slowly opened her eyes into a horribly bright light. Quickly shutting them in a futile attempt to block it out she tried to raise her hand in order to block it out but was immediately met with resistance and the sound of metal clinging against metal.
Eyes snapping open, she quickly sat up and looked down at her hands. Each of her wrists were handcuffed to the side bars of what appeared to be a hospital bed.
"What the fuck!" she yelled, repeatedly tugging at each of the handcuffs trying to get out of them. All she got were sore wrists.
Giving up she sighed and fell back onto the bed, gazing up at the light above her. It was only then that she realized how much her body hurt. If she could, she would have raised her hand to her head as it seemed to be the center of all the pain in her body. Experiencing quite possibly the most painful headache of her life she found it very easy to ignore the rest of the aches and pains in her body, except for the on in her back.
What the hell happened? I was riding my bike, then… Nothing… She couldn't remember. Not a thing.
Growling in frustration she sat up and began to take in her surroundings. It looked like she was in a dark windowless room, the only light coming from the light in the ceiling directly above her head.
Looking down she saw that she was in a gown people usually wore when admitted to a hospital. Where the hell am I? This doesn't look like any hospital I've ever been in.
She began looking for a way out of the handcuffs when she heard the sound of door opening somewhere across the room to the right followed by the sounds of someone talking.
"Why don't you wait out here? I don't think I'll need your- Oh! Good! You're awake."
Lunging at the shadow of the man entering the room, she was once again stopped by the handcuffs. "Who the hell are you! Why the hell am I- "
She stopped when the man stepped out of the shadows and into the ring of light surrounding her bed. "You?"
"Me." John Smith said smiling. Wearing his usual dark blue suit, he stood in front of her, hands folded behind his back and leaning forward slightly. "I'm glad you remember me."
A low growl emitted from the back of Natsuki's throat. "How could I forget."
Smith leaned straightened, a look of wonderment and surprise on his face. After a few moments he let out a loud "Oh!" as if he had just remembered something. "That business with your mother?" He raised a hand in front of him and shook it and his head before saying. "That really wasn't my doing. I assure you; your mother cared for you quite a bit. The organization I work had certain plans for you."
Natsuki was in shock. For one how could this man so off handedly say such things? Only recently had she really come to terms with the possibility that her mother had sold her off, and to just be told so plainly that something that had torn her up inside was a lie was… She could even think of the word.
"Now," he said turning his back to her and walking back into the shadows. "We have some talking to do." Natsuki heard a clicking sound before a lamp across from her was turned on, revealing a seated Smith leaning against a table.
Snarling Natsuki spat, "What the hell do you want from me?"
Smith seemed unperturbed by her outburst. In fact his smile just deepened, making Natsuki shiver. That smile never touched his eyes, vaguely reminding her of Shizuru. Except these eyes were cold and empty, devoid of any emotion. Shizuru's were never cold. She thought.
"Oh, quite a bit actually." He said leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Nothing you can give me at the moment however. First off though, aren't you wondering how you got here?"
Giving up her fight with the handcuffs Natsuki leaned back against the bed. "I'm sure you had something to do with it." She said scowling.
"Technically? Yes." He chuckled leaning back into the chair. From the side of his chair be produced what appeared to be her bike helmet. Examining it he said, "Amazing what some plastic and a lot of Styrofoam will protect one against."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsuki snarled. She was getting tired of this man already.
Without raising his head he looked at her and smiled. Natsuki gasped, as he loosened his grip on the helmet it fell apart into two complete halves. A vertical 'crack' starting at the base of the back of the helmet to the front. Natsuki had never seen anything like it before.
"Wha- what the hell happened?" she stammered.
"To put it bluntly? You were shot." Rising from his chair, he made his way over to her hold the two pieces of the helmet in front of him. When he got next to her, he put the pieces back together. "See this?" He said, pointing to the small hole in the back of the helmet.
Awestruck she slowly nodded, not sure if she wanted to believe him or not.
"Well, a quarter of an inch more and we wouldn't be having this conversation." Letting the helmet fall back into two pieces, she saw that there was indeed a hole penetrating the back of the helmet almost all the way through.
"Here take it." Smith said offering the remnants of the helmet to her. Taking them she stared down at the hole disbelievingly. This wasn't possible.
"Who wants me dead?" she questioned. The only people she could think of who would were First District, but they were all dead. Shizuru had… Shizuru took care of them. She thought grimly.
"Oh quite a few people at this point I'm sure." Smith turned his back to her once more, making his way to the chair. "But for the sake of argument, does it really matter?" Sitting down he once again smiled at her. "Basically, what happened is you were shot while riding, you flipped over your bike and bounced off the concrete a few times before colliding with a steel pole. The pole is in bad shape I hear."
Now she knew he was lying. "There's no damn way. Look at me I don't have a scratch on me." Holding up her arms so he could see she turned them from side to side. Unfortunately when she began to turn her arms a sharp pain lanced from them up through her shoulders and to her back. She fought the urge to wince and pant, gritting her teeth to keep in the gasp she almost let out.
Smith wasn't fooled. Still wearing that obnoxious smile he leaned forward, "Well, no scratches…"
He began chuckling at Natsuki's snarl and leaned back in the chair. "I'm sure that you're still in quite a bit of pain at the moment despite all the pain killers we have you on. I had the machines removed for our little meeting; I didn't want them or you damaged. Wouldn't want you to go ripping out an I.V and waste a lot of good medication now would we."
Growling Natsuki looked down at her left arm and saw a small bandage on the inside of her forearm, just past her elbow. Looking back up, she glared at the man, "How do I know that you didn't just knock me out and do something to me?"
Smith looked slightly offended and surprised as he started waving his hand in the air. "Why would I ever do that? Your much to important to risk damaging. Although it would be interesting to see how far we could push you." He ended with a look of wonderment on his face and a far off look in his eyes. Shaking his head as if to get rid of thoughts he continued, "No I assure you, we had nothing to do with your little… accident."
"Why should I believe you, you've lied to me before why not now?" Natsuki said, still not convinced
Sighing, Smith sat back in his chair a bored expression on his face. "I could have the tapes brought in of the shooting but that would require bringing in a T.V., a VCR, and… Well it's really not worth it since it doesn't matter a whole lot of you believe me."
He began to watch her intently, "The truth of the matter is, you have increased healing abilities, far beyond that of any human. If I am correct you recovered relatively quickly after your last little bike crash a few weeks ago did you not?"
Natsuki's mouth was hanging open. "Yo- You-"
"Oh yes." Smith smile deepened again. "We've been watching you for quite a while now. The Council wanted you brought in after that accident but I told them it wasn't necessary. You were hurt pretty bad that night. In fact the skin on your leg was torn down to the bone but due to-" He coughed into his hand. "certain 'circumstances' it was healed by the time you made it home that night. Any normal person would have been in shock if not dead almost immediately after the crash but you-" He smiled again. "You rode it out."
He began to chuckle at his own joke while Natsuki sat in shock. How the hell did he know so much? Why was she healing faster than normal? Was she healing faster?
"Still don't believe me?" Smith said looking at her questioningly. Reaching in his pocket he pulled out a silver object. Pressing down on a button something snapped out of the side of it. "I could demonstrate it if you wish." Light glinted off the now revealed blade. He wore a sickening smile.
Natsuki was glaring again. "I'd like to see you try." Pulling at the handcuffs with all her might in a poor effort to demonstrate her strength.
Smith's expression changed to one of disappointment as he began to look at the blade turning it from side to side. "Oh… I guess I won't be able too." Looking back at her over the edge of the blade his sickening smile returned again. "Maybe I should test it out on Fujino-san?"
Before Natsuki knew what she was doing she launched herself at him. There was the loud sound of metal scraping against tile. "Don't you dare fucking touch her."
Smith looked at her wide eyed for a minute before he began laughing loudly. Natsuki didn't have a clue what was so funny. If it weren't for these damn hand cuffs I'd fucking kill him.
"Oh that's- that's great." Smith said clapping his knee finally catching his breath. "I assure you Kuga-san I have no intention of hurting Fujino-san. Quite the contrary in fact." Closing the knife and returning it to his pocket he smiled back at her. "You are progressing faster than anyone expected. Well anyone besides me of course."
Still fighting to reach him Natsuki began to growl again. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Lifting his had he pointed towards her. "That."
Following the line of his finger she looked down at her wrists. Her mouth fell open as she saw he was pointing at.
The steel side bars of the hospital bed were bent where she had pulled at her handcuffs when she tried to strangle the man across from her. That wasn't all, the part of the handcuffs that were attached to the sidebars were bent to where the sides were touching, and the chains seemed to be pulled to there limit.
"That's not all." Smith said with a smile. "Look behind you."
Looking behind her she saw that the wall that the bed had been against was now a considerable distance away. Quickly turning back to Smith she saw that he was indeed a few feet closer. Somehow she had managed to pull the bed across the room.
"The- There's no way." She stuttered.
"Of course there is." Smith said as she stood and began to walk towards her. Stopping a safe distance from the side of her bed he looked down at her. "Your Hime powers have returned to you."
Natsuki stared back at him. Turning her head down to her hands she began to shake. There's no way. There is just no possible way. How? How? Cradling her head in her hands, her trembling increased. That was over. That- that nightmare was over. It CAN'T be true!
"Or rather…" Pulled from her thoughts by his voice, she quickly looked up at him, desperate to be told that it was a lie. "They never left you."
Natsuki felt all her strength leave her body. Her face paled and she slumped back into the bed. How? After all we went through it- it's still going on.
Not looking at him she spoke to no one, still hoping to be told it was a lie. "But- but we destroyed the star. The festival was over. I-….. We died." Closing her eyes she fought the memory of her and Shizuru vanishing into nothingness. After a few moments she stopped fighting it, finding some strange peace in the thought of fading away, into nothingness. The pain would end then. She would finally be able to be happy too.
"Oh yes the star." She was immediately pulled from her thoughts again by Smith. Opening her eyes she saw him returning to his chair across from her. "Well, yes during the Carnival we believed it was the cause of your powers. However, later we learned that it was merely a conduit."
Standing quickly as if he forgot something he made his way over to the door and opened it. "Hey, could you bring me some hot chocolate? It seems that I will be here for a while." He said to someone out in the hall.
"Ye- yes sir." Came a timid reply.
Closing the door and returning to his seat he looked over at her once again. She was in complete shock. They said that if we destroyed the star it would be all over. They- All the sacrifices we made. All that we did. How- How could it be a lie? WHY!? She wanted to scream, wanted to yell at the sky and demand an explanation. How could we go through all that and for- NOTHING!
The sound of Smith clearing his throat pulled her from her thoughts. "Ah yes. As I was saying the star was merely a conduit for your powers. It is indeed true that you gained your powers from it so to speak, all it really did was activate and awaken within you powers you already had. After that you know the story with all the Orphans and children. You will not be able to summon your child any longer, that was something that the star did do for you as well as the presence of Orphans. So in a sense yes, that power is gone."
Natsuki was speechless. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but she found herself unable to voice them. So we always had the power? How can this be? She sat in thought for several minutes while Smith waited patiently.
During this time his hot chocolate arrived, brought in by a scared looking young man. Smith accepted the steaming cup and sat back in his chair looking quite content with himself.
Wait, if I am like this… Then! "What about the others? Hav- Have they-"
"No. It seems that only you have retained your power." Inhaling the smell of his drink Smith took a short sip. "Ah, to hot." Setting it down he returned his attention to her. "We still don't know why that is, but only you seem to have kept them. Perhaps it has something to do with your mother?" Turning his head quizzically to the side he gave off the appearance of a hawk studying its prey.
"To answer your earlier question this is why you were attacked. We believe that someone was attempting to capture you in order to gain the secret to this power. That or kill you to wipe it out." Smith shrugged. "In a way you were lucky we were watching you, otherwise you might have become a Ginny pig to some sick scientist."
Natsuki's anger broke through her shock as she spoke, "How's this any different from what you are doing to me?"
Smith sighed and shook his head. "You have so little faith in me. Sears, at least the part that concerns you is under different management and so our ideals and goals have changed. Instead of keeping you unconscious and under constant observation, I'm going to let you go."
Not for the first time Natsuki's jaw fell open. "Wh- What!?"
"Yes. However, you will be moved to a safe house for a short while until we have more information about those who are after you." Picking up his cup again he took another sip and smiled. "Ah, just right." Returning the cup to its place on the table he returned his gaze to her. "Unless you would like to remain unconscious?"
Natsuki merely glared at him. Smith, unfazed countered it with a smile. "I thought not." Letting out a great deal of air he stretched and folded his hands behind his head. "So instead of being unconscious and under constant observation, you just get to be under constant observation. How lucky for you."
Natsuki was about to tell him exactly what she thought of the current situation when she was cut off by the sound of a ringing cell phone. Smith frowned; pulling a cell phone out of his pocket he read the screen before standing. "Well, it looks like we are going to have to cut this conversation short unfortunately." He began to stretch out his back and shoulders. "I'm going to give you something to help you sleep; despite your healing abilities you still need a great deal of rest." Walking towards her he pulled out a syringe from his pocket.
Natsuki flinched slightly as she watched him take the cap off and clear it off any possible air bubbles. "Now don't fight me on this, I'm actually doing you a favor. We could just shoot you with a tranq dart but I don't think you would like that very much. The hang-over is hell."
Frowning Natsuki harrumphed and turned her head to the side. She did however raise her right arm slightly. "That's a good girl." She heard Smith say.
About to tell him where he could stick his damn syringe she stopped when she felt his hand grasp her arm and the quick prick of the needle. Almost immediately she felt heavy and lethargic.
"Now, when you wake up you will be in your new apartment." She heard Smith say from somewhere far away. "There will be instructions left for you there and it will be seen too that you follow them."
Her vision now blurry Natsuki fought to remain awake. Hearing the echoing sounds of someone walking away she tried to sit up but found that she no longer had control over her body. The echoing steps stopped for a moment before a voice resounded in her head. "I don't suggest you try contacting anyone either. We wouldn't want to put them in danger now would we?"
Her eye lids began to close. Thoughts completely muddled and cloudy she tried fruitlessly to form anything coherent. Just before she blacked out she was able to call up one picture image, and one last word. Shizuru…
Said girl was currently tossing and turning in her bed. It had been three days since she had gotten the feeling that something had happened to Natsuki and she hadn't gotten any sleep since.
Immediately after seeing the damage to the poll she drove to every hospital in the city in search of the biker or any kind of information about an accident but found nothing. The next day she watched the news and looked through the paper for any information regarding a crash at that intersection but again found nothing.
Deciding that she had to know whether or not Natsuki was ok she forced herself to drive to the girl's apartment. When she went there she saw no sign of Natsuki's bike and was immediately worried. Sitting in her car she waited in there for several hours hoping to catch a glimpse of the younger girl as she returned home but was no so lucky.
After her long wait she went up the Natsuki's door and began to knock. Calmly at first, then frantically as it became apparent that there would be no answer. Testing the knob she discovered that it was unlocked and cautiously opened the door.
Stepping into the apartment Shizuru gasped. There was broken glass and furniture everywhere not to mention several holes in the walls. This confirming to her that Natsuki was indeed in some sort of trouble she began to frantically search the apartment calling out the girl's name.
The more she searched the apartment the more frantic she became. There were holes in every single wall, pictures broken, mirrors smashed, and furniture thrown about. Upon entering the bathroom the first thing that caught her eye was the trash can, which was overflowing with bloody bandages. "Natsuki…" she was desperate now. Looking up she saw that the bathroom mirror had to, been smashed. There was dried blood on the glass where the impact had taken place.
After searching the entire place she finally gave up. Making her way to the couch, she sat down burying her face in her hands. The tears came unbidden but she didn't bother to fight them. "Natsuki."
Falling to her side so that she was laying on the couch she immediately felt uncomfortable as something was poking her in the ribs. Sitting up and brushing hair out of her eyes she picked up the offending object. It was a picture of them.
It was one of the few pictures Shizuru had ever gotten Natsuki to smile for. Smiling sadly she hugged the broken picture frame and fell back onto the couch crying her self to sleep just like she had for the past few weeks.
A few hours later she had awoken feeling very afraid. The apartment was dark and the moon as up, casting eerie shadows through the windows. It wasn't the darkness that scared her but the feeling of being watched by hungry eyes. Quickly looking about the apartment she saw that she had left the door open to the outside.
Still clutching the picture she made her way to the door and hesitantly looked outside. Seeing no one she sighed and leaned against the door frame. The eyes were still upon her, and they meant her no good will.
Normally she would have stayed in Natsuki's apartment to wait for her but she felt that if she stayed she would merely endanger her.
Terror driving her she glanced about outside again and seeing no one ran directly to her car. Jumping in the driver she turned it on and immediately sped away. Looking in her rearview mirror she saw a man leaning against the side of the building in the shadows watching her.
Shizuru sat up in her bed. Pulling her knees to her chest she tried to think. The first time she had had the feeling of being watched was when she was at the intersection, but she had been too caught up in her worry for Natsuki to really give it much mind at the time. Then at Natsuki's apartment. Ever since then when she went out, she felt those same eyes on her.
She knew it was the man from the apartment. Even though she had only seen him that one time she knew it was he who was following her. But why? Is he a detective? Does he think I have something to do with Natsuki?
No. The feeling she got when she felt she was being watched was too sinister for that. It filled her with fear and dread every time she felt those eyes on her.
Suddenly a thought struck her. Maybe he had something to do with-
Her thoughts were cut off by a faint sound. Holding her breath she cocked her head to the side and listened.
From down the hall where her front door was there came the sound of repeated clicks. Standing Shizuru made her way to her bedroom door. The clicking sound came again, and it was definitely coming from her front door.
Someone was trying to break in. Shizuru's eyes narrowed before they darkened. At that moment something changed within her. She didn't know what but there was definitely a change. Making up her mind she returned to her bed.
Jason Schulze grumbled to himself as he picked the lock on the door. Ten years of experience and he forgot to get a fucking copy of the god damn key. "This is fucking ridiculous."
Picking the lock on a door caused so many problems. For one it left you completely vulnerable to attack. For two it was time consuming. Three it attracted attention, and finally four it was just plain fucking annoying.
"Ha!" he whispered as he finally felt the last latch fall into place. Putting the picks back into the bag on the floor next to him he pulled out a silencer. Slowly screwing it on his pistol he slowly pushed open the door.
Good thing they finally called, I was getting impatient. Entering the apartment at a low crouch he scanned his surroundings. Dumb girl is probably asleep. He was very tempted to just walk to the bedroom but years of experience kept him from making this mistake. Instead he slowly made his way there constantly scanning the darkness around him for any sign of movement or noise.
When he finally made it to the closed bedroom door, he held his breath and slowly turned the knob. Peering into the room he saw that the target was in bed just as he thought. So fucking predictable. Good thing they are paying a lot otherwise this would be a complete waste of time.
Slowly entering the room he stuck to the edges of it and out of the light moonlight that was pouring in through the bedroom window. Finally making it to the bed he stood and looked down at the lump.
"Sorry" he said quietly lowering the barrel of the gun down to the head of the sleeping girl. "It's nothing personal." He fired two shots, the bullets making a high pitched sound as they escaped the end of the silencer.
"Ara, that's not very nice." A voice behind him said. Quickly turning he raised his pistol and fired three shots, two where the voices heart would be and the third in the head. He gapped when he heard each round clink off something metal and three sparks light up in front of him in the darkness.
There was the sound of something flying through the air as he quickly raised his pistol again at the shadow on the opposite end of the ray of light in front of him. When he pulled the trigger he felt… nothing.
What the… Looking down at his right hand that should be cradled in his left and holding his pistol he saw…nothing.
He didn't have much time to think about it as he was hit in the head by something metal that was warm and wet. Upon impact all the strength left his body and he began to sink to the ground. He heard the something that sounded like chains unwrapping as something flew across the light and wrapped around him from his neck to his feet.
Gasping for air he looked down at his body. It was a chain wrapped around him, except it appeared bladed as the sides were quite literally cutting into his skin. It started at his throat then bound his arms to his sides.
"Now, now, there is no need for that." If he had been thinking straight he would have recognized the voice as that of a female but the only thing on his mind at that moment were the links of metal slicing through his exposed skin.
"Wha- What do you want?" he gasped still suspended a few inches above the ground. He tried to see his attacker but they still stood far backing the shadows for him to even be able to make out their shape.
"Answers." Came the woman's voice as she stepped into the light.
Jason gasped again, this time not from a lack of air. "You!" It was the girl he had been sent to kill. Shizuru Fujino! Except… she was somehow different now. Her back was perfectly straight and she stood with a confidence that had been absent all the other times he had observed her. She may have been wearing an oversized t-shit and loose pants but she might as well have been wearing a kimono with all the grace she showed in merely standing.
Normally he may have found himself drawn to her but her eyes. They are burning! He thought, terror spreading through his body like wildfire. And indeed they were glowing red, filled with deeply veiled anger and hatred that seemed all consuming. They drew him in and showed him all the terrors a man could ever face. He may have faced hundreds of gun and knife fights in his life time but at this moment in time he had never felt so terrified. The urge to scream and beg nearly overwhelmed hi and he very nearly gave in to the panic but he fought the urge. Barely pulling his eyes away from those burning red windows into hell he desperately searched for something else to attract his attention before they sucked him in again.
It was then that he saw the massive naginata she effortlessly cradled in her arms. It seemed to be of metal midnight blue in color. The base of the staff seemed to have become segmented into the bladed chain that was no wrapped around his body. Each of the segmented pieces had an emerald accent in the center of it that glinted in the moonlight giving him the eerie feeling that each held a snake eye that was watching him, waiting for the moment to strike. Following the metal staff up from her hands to the massive blade above her head he took in all the details hoping beyond hope to avoid her eyes again.
The blade too appeared to be made of the same midnight blue metal as the staff was, but it was accented with emerald lines running through it creating simple designs. It was then that he noticed there was blood dripping from the blade.
What!? When did she ever cut m- It dawned on him in that moment. Looking down at his right arm that was now pinned to his side, his eyes scanned its length until they reached his wrist.
His arm ended there. Where he should have had a hand there was nothing. Looking down at the floor beneath him his eyes caught the glint of metal. There lying about a foot off to his right on the floor was his pistol grasped firmly by his right hand.
It was at this moment that he gave into panic and started screaming as those pitiless red eyes consumed him.
Sorry i deprived you all of rainee's omake last chapter. Here it is
Omake:
Natsuki: i think someone wants me dead...
Shizuru: Ara...i...-faints-
ssjx7squall: WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU AND ALL THE FAINTING?!AND WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM!?
Nao: well mai and mikoto are currently ugh searching for whoever wrote that script you showed her and fujino...well is your fault
ssjx7squall: HOW!?
Nao: you keep making them bleed and LOOK! -points at shiznat-
Natsuki: Shizuru is your face alright?
Shizuru: Ara, do not worry Natsuki
Natsuki: I could lick the blood off
Shizuru: -nosebleed- Ara...
Everyone: -sweatdrops
A/N: sorry about the dialouge in the begining, i think that is truly my weakness is dialouge. Unfortunatly i felt somethings had to be explained to everyone as well as natsuki and i couldnt see leaving it out of the story. Their conversation was actually on of the scenes i have had in my head since before i started writing so i also had to throw that in. You can tell by the time i got to shizuru i was sick of talking lol.
