No Money, No Love

By: Witch Baby

A/N: I have no excuse as to why I am so late. If you really want to know, go to my fanfiction blog. Link can be found in my profile. Enjoy another chapter.

"I was watching when you lost direction
And I saw you when the headlights died
You were standing at the edge of a train wreck
Twisted up inside

I tried to find you in your pitch black bedroom
I tried to find you in the place you hide
But your body was an empty suitcase
Hollow sunken eyes..."

Chapter 21: Of Nightmares and Reality...

Daisuke held his breath, making his steps as quiet as possible as he made his way down the darkened hallway. He'd have to leave soon, and he wanted to get some more medicine to Skyler before he had to go. The younger blond had helped him find his sister in this place, had even put in a good word for him here, and while he wished there was more he could do for the him, he hoped this was at least enough. He waited a moment, straining to hear if any footsteps were approaching. When he heard nothing, he crouched by the door, making quick work of the lock before slipping inside.

He grabbed some more painkillers as well as a few rolls of gauze and some ointment for Skyler's welts. He paused a second, before grabbing a bit more for Skyler's friend. It wouldn't be long before Ginji would come for him, or at the very least let some of the guards have their way with him. He would need all the help he could get.

Making sure everything was back where he'd left him and that it didn't look like too much stuff was missing, he cracked open the door to listen once more.

"Any... they were...?"

"Not as of..."

Daisuke strained to hear the whispered conversation. He didn't recognize the voices, but wasn't too sure since they were being so quiet. Whoever it was, he hoped they weren't coming into the medical supply closet or he'd be fucked.

"Has he... camera footage?"

"Yes but... only the first two floors have..."

They were coming closer. Daisuke ducked down low, hand over his mouth to stifle his breathing. He was risking so much by being here. He was so close to figuring out what happened to Emiko. If he was caught, not only would he be killed on the spot, but if they found out they had his sister too, they'd kill her too.

"We can't keep running around blind like this." One of the men whispered harshly. They had to be standing right outside the door now. " Next person we come across we need to knock out and question. We're running out of time to find Ayase."

The name rang a bell. Wasn't that Skyler's friend? They were there to rescue the blonds?

"Yes, Kanou-san."

Daisuke's eyes widened in recognition. Kanou? As in Somoku Kanou? Sure the guy had dropped off the grid the last couple of years, but the name still carried a lot of weight. If anyone could take on Ginji it would be Somoku Kanou. If those two were going at it, it might even prove enough distraction to find his sister and get her out of here. It was risky, but he was running out of options. Without another thought, he stood and opened the door.

The barrel of two guns were immediately shoved in his face, but thankfully did not go off. He raised his hands to show he was unarmed. "I know where Ayase is!" he hissed quietly, praying that was enough to permit not being shot in the face.

One of the muzzles lowered slightly. Both men were silent, considering the authenticity if his statement. "How can we trust you?" one asked.

Daisuke swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. "T-they have my sister. Skyler... he helped me find her, got me a job here to try and find her. I was around when they brought them in. I was trying to help them when I heard you..."

The guns were lowered and even in the dim light, Daisuke could see the rage and determination shining in Kanou's dark eyes. Daisuke realized the guns in his face were a lot less frightening than looking into that mans eyes.

"Take me to Ayase."

Ayase held his breath as the locked clicked open and the knob was slowly turned. He couldn't help the small flare of hope that it might be Kanou, there to take them away from this awful place. 'Please', he begged silently, 'please, let it be him.'

Of course it wasn't though, because this was reality and not a terrible dream he hoped he was only trapped in. Eito's smile was cruel as he looked down at the terrified blond. "Looks like it's your turn now, pretty one."

His hand gripped Ayase's upper arm, seemingly amused at his quiet yelp of pain. "Then again, after the Boss gets done with you, you probably won't be very pretty any more."

The blond cast a terrified look at Skyler, still passed out on the bed. That's what was waiting for him, the broken bloody mess on the bed was his future. Skyler had tried to save him from it, Kanou too had tried to prevent him from enduring worse tortures from the outside world. Ayase had been so desperate to get out before, and now he was paying the price for his freedom. His debt to Kanou seemed like petty pennies now compared to what waited for him.

Eito's laughter echoed in his ears as he was led down the darkened hallway, silent tears streaming down his face. He wished, now more than ever, he could go back and tell himself it hadn't been so bad before.

Because now, it was about to get so much worse.

Kanou's fingers twitched impatiently, the only outward sign of his worry, as he followed Daisuke down the hall. They had only run into one or two other people, which Homare quickly took care of, before coming before a locked heavy oak door. "Give me a second..." Daisuke whispered, getting to his knees with a pick in his hand. It only took a few seconds, but for Kanou it felt like eternity. When he finally heard the click of the door unlocking, he pushed his way past Daisuke and though the door.

The first thing that caught his eye was the blood staining a sheet that wrapped around a shivering figure. He froze, a rare spike of fear making him pause. He took a tentative step forward. "Ayase?" he called out carefully.

The figure shifted, blond hair peeking out, framing a slender face that held watery blue eyes. He wasn't sure to feel relief that those weren't the eyes he was searching for, or filled with more worry at the pain and regret that filled them. "I'm s-so sorry Kanou... t-they... they've already... I woke up and h-he was... gone."

Kanou's hand tightened around his gun. He turned to Daisuke. "Do you know where else they would have taken him?"

Daisuke looked hesitantly towards the door. "To the top floor, that's all Ginji's private rooms. But I've never been up there, I couldn't say where exactly. I'm sorry."

Kanou was seconds away from just going and blasting everything in his path until he found Ayase, his rage and hurt was that great. But he knew in the end that would do more harm than good. He was fighting an enemy that he knew practically nothing about, who held hostage him most precious thing in the world, in a place he had no idea to navigate though. He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath to stamp down his anger and tried to think. "Did Misao find any floor plans yet?"

Homare whispered something into the communicator at his ear. "He says no. They've all been destroyed or encrypted in a way he can't access."

He heard Skyler make a pained whimper and turned to see him struggling to stand. "I know w-where Ginji will take him. I can take you."

"Skyler you can hardly walk." Daisuke reasoned, standing next to him and offering a supporting shoulder.

The younger male shook his head. "I'll be fine. Give me some more painkillers and I can walk."

"Dragging you around will only slow us down." Homare stated quietly.

Skyler looked up at them with hateful eyes. He pushed Daisuke's hands away, dropping the sheet down low enough to expose most of his body. There wasn't an inch of him that wasn't covered in some type of bruise or welt. His back was the worst, some of the welts had split open, crisscrossing down his back and butt and covering what wasn't cut open in blood. Daisuke gasped in shock, frantically digging in his pockets for the medical supplies he had stolen earlier. From the corner of his eye Kanou saw Homare take a small concerned step forward, his hand tightening into fists until his knuckles turned white with the repressed anger.

"We need to go now," Skyler said calmly, even as his legs trembled, "before the same things happen to Ayase."

Kanou felt both sick and enraged when he thought of his Angel experiencing the same treatment. He would die before he let Ayase be hurt that way. "Can you carry him?" he asked Daisuke as the young man did his best to quickly clean the blond up. The young man nodded reluctantly.

"Then let's go."

Daisuke did his best to carefully lift Skyler in his arms, being as quiet and quick as possible as he followed the two men out. Skyler didn't utter a word of protest, though the pained grip he had on the sheets was not missed. "On the right is a stairwell. Ginji's private rooms are two floors up and on the East side of the building."

Homare and Kanou nodded, the former whispering the directions into his headset. "Misao says we're clear until that section, but after that there are no cameras set up to watch us."

Skyler laughed bitterly. "He doesn't need guards or cameras. Chances are he knows your here already."

Kanou's eyes narrowed, his anger like a dark cloud hanging over them. "Good. I don't like my time wasted."

They walked on in silence, up the stairs and down the halls, only pausing to tell Misao to be on guard and start working his way up to meet them. They stopped outside an ornate set of double doors, Skyler insisting to be put down. He was shaking as he stopped, taking deep labored breaths. "Go get your sister," he instructed Daisuke, " I last heard they were holding the girls from the last kidnapping on the second floor. This should give you enough time to find her and get out."

Daisuke's eyes flickered to the two men waiting impatiently. Skyler shook his head. "Just go Daisuke, don't worry about them."

The young man nodded before taking off down the hall they had come down. Skyler turned back towards the two men. "Through the door will be a lounge area and then a door leading to Ginji's private rooms. He'll be in there with Ayase."

Kanou nodded, becoming intensely focused as he checked to make sure the his gun was fully loaded. He might not know a lot about the enemy he was facing, but one thing was for sure, Ginji would die for touching what was his. Pushing his way in through the double doors, and making sure there was no enemies in the room, he stood in front of the doors leading to Ginji's rooms and, hopefully, an unharmed Ayase.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

A/N: Thanks to The Spill Canvas and their song 'As Long As It Takes' for musical inspiration. No Review Replies because I didn't want to take up time when I can just have it posted, but I thank everyone who is still with despite my long absence.