Title: Unbreakable Strength
Chapter 29: Missing
Authors Note: Alright, let me give a lovely throw out to one of my most beloved reviewers, Lookoutshesgotapen, who has started what I am sure to be, a fabulous fan fiction story. Check it out.
Anyways, on with the Authors note – I'll make it brief. Chapter Twenty nine is up and the climax has begun. It's been a long wait to dig into this part of the story, but I'm grateful for the long set up necessary to get all the characters developed and relationships done.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters. However, my dear little Mira Liore Nolan is mine and mine alone along with the lovely Liv Cyrene Nolan.
Missing by Evanescene & Keeper by Yellowcard
"Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave." ~ Mary Tyler Moore
Liv's blood pounded in her ears as she banged at the door, why the hell was it locked? From the inside, there was a human shriek that caused Liv to melt against the wooden door, her despair deepened.
"Miss?" she lightly touched her shoulder, her other hand held a silver key.
Liv whipped around to stare at the familiar face of the maid who had fetched her at six in the morning. Here she stood, a savior, holding out the key to save her sister and she couldn't remember her name.
"Thank you," Liv shamefully whipped a stray tear from the corner of her eye, "Oh, thank you," the silver key weighed heavily in her hand as she clicked open the doors and kicked them open. The doors banged harshly against the sturdy walls.
The room smelled of iron, there were specks of blood, Akito was nearly drenched in it as he stood shaking in the middle.
"Akito, where is she?" her harsh demand reached his ears, and he ignored her. Liv threw herself at him, her body launched off the ground and she tackled him.
"Where is she?" she hissed into his ear.
"If the horse won't belong to me, she will belong to nobody!" He hissed, and threw Liv aside. His anger was not directed at her. "Do not bother me right now, leave," his shaking finger pointed to the doors.
Liv did not budge, she walked forward with her half crazed eyes. Her hand still clutched the small metal key and she hugged it close to her body. The smell in the room sickened her stomach. From the corner, she could see a puddle of blood, too much blood.
"Where is my sister, Akito? Akito! You can't keep her locked away, it's wrong…Please, take me instead," she begged, knowing how heavily her sacrifice went. She'd have to say good-bye to Hatori, the only man she had ever wanted. At the very least, she had told him good bye. She had that. Akito couldn't take it away from her.
Akito laughed, his sick maniacal laughter, "I already have you."
"No, please, please," Liv dropped to her knees, her arms supported her upper body as she stared down at the floor. After so much work, so many bitter words and plots to keep Mira safe. She had failed her. It sickened her how she pleaded, but to keep the Horse captive was to put a cage around the sun, to clip an eagles wings or collar a lone wolf.
"Don't despair, I will always love you," Akito touched her cheek lightly, and Liv aimed a mean glare at him.
"I will never return your love," she spat out. Her hand clenched tightly on the cool metal of the silver key. The last thing she saw was the pain and anger that danced together in Akito's eyes as he knocked her unconscious.
Her vision was blurry when Liv began to flutter her long eye lashes until everything became sharper. Her joints were stiff, her muscles sore as she began to take control over her slim petite body.
The digital clock had to be off, there was no way she had been unconscious for seven hours. Her head ached though, and Liv didn't want to do the math compared to the light that filtered through the window.
Deep breathing broke Liv's concentration. She twisted her neck gracefully to see a vulnerable and sleeping Hatori in a chair next to her. It was then she realized he had been holding her hand. Two thoughts dawned on her, Akito hadn't caged her, Hatori could still be hers.
"Ha'ri!" she leapt into a sitting position and pulled his lips to hers in exuberance. She felt his surprise as she had caught him off guard.
"Liv, you shouldn't be moving so quickly," he scolded when their lips fell apart, but despite his words, he betrayed them with his actions and kissed her back passionately. There was a violent edge to his kiss, as if he was afraid she would vanish in his arms.
"I'm fine," she reassured him, "But what of Mira? Where is he keeping her?" she couldn't abandon Mira now, where ever Akito had taken her…Liv would free her. She failed once, she couldn't fail again.
"Fine? Liv you've been unconscious for eight days…" Hatori looked at her with shock.
Liv's smile fell apart on her face, her body began to tremble, "What?" her eyes widened as she made a grab for a calendar. It confirmed Hatori's words. "No…that's not," the damage that Akito could have done to Mira in a full eight days. Liv felt her body run into shock, no wonder she had felt so weak if she had been out of it for so long.
"I…I owe you an apology Liv. Nobody has seen or heard of Mira, I've checked with all of the servants. Akito has her locked away very well," his hand grasped hers on the bed, "I brought her there, Liv. What Akito did to you was only the beginning. I never imagined he would hurt her like that," Hatori closed his eyes and fell back against the chair.
Hurt the one he loved, or a complete innocent?
Liv had been ready to light a fire on his ass, but the despair and self-loathing pierced so deep down in his heart, what would have been the point?
"I'm not Kana Hatori," she reminded him again, "I won't blame you for trying to protect everyone, even if unexpected people were hurt by it. You can't take the bullet every time," she knew he would, because Hatori was selfless. He'd do everything in his power for the best interest of others.
"Hatori, look at me," Liv demanded when he kept his eyes closed. At her words, his eyes flashed open, at least the one that wasn't covered by hair.
"I can't forgive myself," he stated, as if stating the day of the week or some other trivial information.
"I can forgive you," Liv replied, "And I know Mira would too. We're going to find her, and she'll say exactly the same thing," maybe there was something to look into twin telepathy. Mira could tell her where the bastard was keeping her.
Hatori slowly gave a nod, but other than that he kept silent.
"No Tohru, we haven't found anything yet…I'm going in to check it out now" Liv sighed as she clicked the phone. They had checked the entire Sohma residence from top to bottom. It was day thirteen of Mira missing. Liv was beginning to lose faith.
What had Akito done with her?
"Liv, I'll be giving Akito a full examination in my office tomorrow, you'll have an hour to search his living corridors. Don't stay over an hour," Hatori added sternly. An hour, it was all he could give her.
Liv sighed as she played with the small silver key in her hand. With a twist, she entered his rooms. For some reason she tip toed in, kept her breathing as quiet as possible and was careful not to move anything.
Was it her, or did she breath really loudly?
"This is ridiculous, nobody is here!" Liv muttered.
"Oh, is there?" it was a soft female voice that called out. A woman with rich black hair stepped out, and Liv took an instant step back.
Ren.
Running into Akito's mother was not good, "What do you want Ren?" Liv demanded with sharp eyes. Luckily, Akito hated Ren more than anything else in the world. Anything she told him, he wouldn't believe.
"To help, I do hope the poor dear is still there. He was so angry…I've never seen him so violent, and you know how lost he becomes in his temper. I bet he wouldn't even know when to stop before the poor girl lost too much blood."
"Stop saying such stupid things, Ren! Akito wouldn't kill Mira," Liv whipped around and snapped. She felt her heart quicken at the possibility, because yes, it was a possibility.
"Well, anyways, she should still be in there…" Ren pointed to a small door to the side where a dark stain was left as evidence on the floor.
Nerves attacked her as Liv moved to the door, it felt as if she was swimming through a thick substance and she was having an out of body experience. Her feet moved, but Liv wasn't commanding them too. She wasn't sure she wanted to look behind the door.
But what if Mira was there? She hadn't been anywhere else, including where the Cat was locked up.
Liv took a deep breath and went to swing open the door, but it was already unlocked. Perhaps Mira was chained to a wall.
The room was pitch black, and very small. Liv could barely see where the wall started and stopped. There was a lead pipe that came out of the wall; it must have been a bathroom at one time. There was a broken window and shattered glass inside. The room reeked of blood. The cement floor and walls didn't help, it was a worse cage than she could have imagined.
From her shoulder she felt the hot breath of another human being, "Oh, poor dear," Ren expressed. "A better fate then to be under the hands of my son though…"
"Stop saying such things," Liv shuddered and slammed the door; it hit the door frame and clicked closed.
"I told everyone at birth he would be trouble," Ren shrugged and descended out of the room, "I told them…"
For a moment, Liv stood broken at the door. Then she slowly walked out of the room. The world seemed darker; the heat from the sun didn't quite reach her skin.
The world felt cold and lonely, because Mira had a smile to light up the room. She'd never see those dark doe eyes stare back at her with either affection or annoyance again. When rain drops fell from the grey clouds, it was as if the sky was crying for her. Liv felt empty inside, Akito had carved the heart out of her chest. Her reason for living, her duty to protect her sister…she had failed.
From her back pocket, she felt her phone ring. Numbly, she answered.
"Hello? No, I'm sorry Yuki…all I found was…" Liv bit down on her bottom lip hard. "All I found was her blood. He must have moved her…Ren wasn't right, she couldn't be right. Mira has to be here somewhere…Akito wouldn't, he wouldn't…he" she grasped onto any conviction she could find, any trace of the truth she wanted to hear, but not the evidence that existed. That cold, red evidence that stained Akito's floor and the broken glass and metal in that cement room… and suddenly she was sobbing into the phone, because the evidence she wanted to see, and the evidence that existed wasn't the same.
The great Liv, the strong, invincible head strong girl who never shed a tear fell to the ground and cradled the ear to the phone. On the other side, she could hear the hysterical thoughts of Yuki.
So it was to be, they would find some strange comfort in grieving together. Liv hugged her self close, clutched the phone to her body and rocked on the ground. Sometime later, Hatori would find her and bring her back to his office where he would reassure her that life wasn't as grey as it felt now.
For the meanwhile, the world was void of color.
