The weather outside was gloomy, as if it was foreshadowing the events that were about to occur. And when days like these happened, Hotaru always had a bad feeling stir within herself.
Her eyes flickered around the hallway as she was walking down the hallway to see if Mikan was in her office. As she was walking down, she saw an unfamiliar blonde exit out of the entrance that Hotaru has entered many times in the past. Hotaru continued to calmly walk down the hallway and coolly walked past the blonde.
"Did you see if Mikan was in her office?" Hotaru called out, without turning around.
Layla stopped in her tracks, swiveled her upper body, and cocked her head to the side, "Mikan?" she repeated, "I don't think she was in there" Layla innocently replied.
Only then did Hotaru turn around to make eye contact.
At that moment, Layla started to feel uncomfortable with Hotaru's piercing gaze, it was as if Hotaru was staring into her soul and discovering all of her deepest secret.
"Are you new here?" Hotaru finally said, "I've never seen you before"
Layla smiled, "I'm just a messenger," and with that, Layla turned her back and continued walking down the hallway.
If Hotaru wasn't feeling worried before, she definitely did now. She quickly made her way to Mikan's office, only to find it was empty. Hotaru furrowed her brows together, and pulled out her cell phone.
"Cmon, Mikan, pick up the phone" she murmured.
She closed her eyes, while remembering all of those times she hated hearing Mikan's loud and energetic voice, only to be hoping that she could hear that same loud and energetic voice on the receiving end of the phone call.
"The number that you have called is not available-"
"Damn," Hotaru said as she ended the call, "Where are you, Mikan?"
Hotaru looked around her desk. It was cluttered everywhere just because it was in Mikan's habitat to be messy. There were files spewed around with papers messily organized. But one thing drew Hotaru's attention.
There was a post-it note that had "I 3 H" written in Mikan's curly writing.
Hotaru's eyes widened at the sight of that.
"Hey Hotaru", Mikan began, "I have an idea"
"What's your idea?"
"Considering the line of our work, especially me, don't you think we should have a way of alerting each other that we're in danger without it being obvious?"
Hotaru looked at Mikan quizzically, "Mikan, that's why we have phones"
Mikan sighed exasperatedly, "But what if we can't use phones? Like, if it was something that we had to keep to ourselves or else they would get killed, like how they do it in the movies?" she chuckled.
Hotaru stared at her best friend a slight comical look on her face, "Then I think at that point you should call 9-1-1"
Mikan gave a glare that quite didn't look intimidating at all, "But what if-"
"I know what you mean, Mikan" Hotaru interjected, "I was only teasing. What do you want the alerting method to be?"
Mikan looked thoughtful, "Maybe I can just write 'I 3 H' on paper or something so that if people read it, they'll just think I'm just obsessed with my best friend, but deep down, it means I'm in trouble- and and, you can write ' I 3 M' "Mikan grinned cheekily.
Hotaru rolled her eyes at Mikan's childishness, "That's so stupid- but I guess that would work"
Up until that point, Hotaru had hoped to go her whole life without ever seeing that note show up in front of her. And now that it did, she did not know what to do. Hotaru frantically looked around Mikan's in search of more clues. On a nearby piece of paper, there was a messy scrawl of an address but Hotaru knew that scrawl belonged to Mikan. Hotaru carefully inspected the paper again- it was a page from the file of the Blood.
Hotaru wasn't an idiot. She gathered that the address had something to be with the Blood.
Layla smiled, "I'm just a messenger,"
She gritted her teeth at that memory, and gathered that that person had given Mikan the information and that Mikan had probably went there, alone. Hotaru tore the address off of the paper and fled the office.
Hotaru quickly reached for her phone and dialed Ruka's number as she quickly walked back down the hall. The phone had rung for a few times and took her to voicemail.
"What's the point of having a phone if no one is going to pick up?" Hotaru bitterly thought.
Faces quickly flashed through her mind as she got into her car. Who could she call for help that could actually help her and Mikan in this situation? Her mind lingered on thoughts on Mikan and Hotaru could feel her eyes start to water at the thought of anything hurting to Mikan. She rapidly blinked back her tears and took a deep breath. She had to be calm and collected and clear-minded- it's the most that she could do for Mikan at the moment. With the thought of Mikan, her thoughts connected to Natsume. She didn't have Natsume's number, but she had an inkling where he could be.
She pulled up to Narumi's ramen shop, and hurriedly pushed through the restaurant's doors.
"Hello," Narumi greeted cheerfully, "Table of-"
"Is Natsume here?" Hotaru urgently asked.
At the sound of hearing her voice, Natsume's ears perked up and walked out of the back area.
"Imai?" Natsume asked, "What are you doing here?"
"It's Mikan. I think she's in trouble."
Narumi looked between the two nervously, "What do you mean she's in trouble?"
"She's not in her office, she's not picking her phone, and when I went to her office, there was a secret note that she left me that indicated that she needed help, along with an address that she wrote on a page of a file from the Blood's case"
Natsume stared at Hotaru while the only words that were repeating his mind were, "Mikan's in trouble. Mikan's in trouble. Mikan's in trouble"
"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" Hotaru snapped, "Or are you going to try to help me?"
Natsume snapped out of his temporary breakdown, "What's the address" he croaked.
"1543 Azusa Rd"
"1543 Azusa Rd?" Narumi repeated, "That was originally Eric's home"
"How do you know?" Hotaru dubiously asked.
"I was a member of the Blood before," Narumi meekly explained, "and I remember Eric mentioning that that was his home before he founded the Blood"
Hotaru inhaled deeply before starting, "Well, if that was the address that Mikan wrote down, I'm going to assume that she went there, on her own"
"I'm going to go there" Natsume said, "I'll-
"Do you even have a plan?" Hotaru interjected, "Are you just going to barge in there without knowing what to do?"
Natsume exhaled, "I just need to go there and find Mikan, if she's there then I'll protect her. I'll bring her back home. I can't sit here and think of a plan. I need to go to Mikan"
Hotaru studied Natsume's earnest proposal, sensing his true feelings for Mikan. "Alright," she said, "You can go and I'll think of the plan. Give me your number first so we can have means of communication"
After exchanging numbers, with Natsume halfway through the door, "And Hyuuga?" Hotaru called out, causing Natsume to turn his head back, "Try not to get yourself killed and bring both you and Mikan home safely. I trust you. "
A ghost of a smile played on Natsume's lips as he continued making his way out.
Narumi watched the back of Natsume's back as it got farther and farther away from him and he couldn't help but shake off this bad feeling.
"So what are you going to do?" Narumi finally asked.
"I'm going to prepare for battle."
Natsume stood in front of the house and without a doubt, pushed his way into the house.
"Mikan?" he called out, "are you here?"
He sensed someone approaching him on the side and whirled around to face the unknown person, only to feel his blood rising as he realized who it was.
"She is," Eric said simply.
Natsume narrowed his eyes, "Where is she?" he growled, "If you harmed her, I will kill you if that's the last thing I do".
Eric chuckled, "It's been so long since I've seen your eyes light up with that same intensity- if I had known that she is the root of bringing out your roughness then I would have done this a long time-"
Natsume rushed towards Eric and pressed him against the wall, "Where is Mikan" Natsume angrily repeated, adding pressure to Eric's body.
"Roy, bring her out" Eric spluttered.
Natsume glanced around as he saw a shadow dragging out a petite, tied-up body.
He released his hold on Eric and quickly made his way to her.
"Tsk tsk, not so fast, Natsume. You shouldn't get too close to her, you wouldn't want something unfortunate happen to her, wouldn't you?" Eric suggested as Roy bought out a knife that lingered dangerously close to her neck.
Natsume stopped right at his tracks.
"Why are you doing this?" Natsume asked quietly, suddenly feeling drained.
"I told you to get rid of her yourself. I told you that she was going to be your demise." Eric explained bitterly, "But yet you continued to be infatuated by this girl, who knows nothing and acts like she's some sort of savior"
"But why her? Why are you so hell-bent on getting rid of her? What has she ever done to you?" Natsume shouted.
Eric narrowed his eyes at Mikan, who laid serenely on the floor, despite the situation unfolding around her, "She's a constant reminder of everything that I have lost"
"Everything that you lost?" Natsume repeated, "What did you lose?"
Eric shook his head. "It's too early to tell you, dear Natsume. The fun is only starting to begin. And if you want to ensure her safety, " he sneered, "Then you're going to have to play by my rules".
Natsume tensed up. "What did you want me to do?"
Eric smiled, whenever Natsume was acting obedient, he made the perfect dog. "I want you to go back to the manor and have a little chat with Ruka. If you make it out of there alive, then you'll get to come back to Mikan, and if not well… I'm sure you know what's going to happen"
An image of Ruka whizzed through his mind, "Why him," he thought.
"What's going to happen to Mikan for the time being?" Natsume asked.
At the sound of her name, Mikan stirred awake. She blinked several time before remembering what had happened before she was knocked out.
"Natsume?" she groggily asked, "What are you doing here?". She tried to stand up, only to realize that her legs and arms were tied together by a very tight rope.
Natsume quickly turned his attention to the woman he loved, "Mikan, are you okay?" he quietly asked.
Mikan opened her mouth to respond, only to turn her head and see Eric once again.
"What did you mean I was your niece?"
Natsume looked at the two quizzically, "Niece?" he repeated.
Eric only smiled. "Like I told dear Natsume earlier, it's too early to tell you. At least not now. But don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."
Eric glanced at Ryo, "Let's go back to the manor, and take Mikan with you. We'll be needing her as a consolation prize for Natsume"
"Hey! What are you doing-" spluttered Mikan as she was suddenly tossed over Ryo's shoulder, "Let me down!" she demanded.
A swift punch hit Mikan's stomach which left her out of breath and gasping for air.
"You'll want to keep quiet until you're spoken to, unless you want more of that" said Eric coolly.
Natsume's fists clenched up at the sight of Mikan silently wincing in pain. He started making steps towards the pair.
"You should be careful of your decisions, Natsume. Don't forget about our agreement. I look forward to the outcome." Eric warned, "Let's go, Ryo".
Ryo lowered his eyes before walking past Natsume while carrying Mikan.
Once again, hazel met crimson.
If pictures told a story of thousands words, then the words that were between those two gazes counted for an infinite amount of words.
As Natsume watched them leave, he gritted his teeth and uncurled his fists which were now bleeding from how tightly he clenched it earlier.
He let out a cry, "DAMMIT!"
He let out a breath and took out his phone, "Imai," he began, "I'm going to need your help. We're going to need a plan."