A/N: Just before 2016 finishes I needed to give some closure to my longest story. Wow, 29 chapters is quite a accomplishment. One more to go, though. The next one is the epilogue and let me tell you guys that it's been a pleasure to walk this path with you and big thanks to the ones that stuck until this long. Btw, this chapter was done by the 26th but Hibike!...sigh...anyhow here's the new chapter.
dinnca: Mei es badass! Mei es amor! Mei sera anime en 2017! jajaja. Noriko tambien tiene lo suyo y alguien mas por ahi, pero eso lo leeras en este. Si, este y el epilogo y se acaba Oh Sister!.
Tehran: I don't know how to reply tbh. The 'zero' thing was a main part of the story to keep the identities hidden until I considered necessary. Besides there's a chain of command involved so...thanks for reading anyway.
VolpineGrinz: Thank you for sticking around with my chaps. Oh ninja Noriko is the best but there's another better in this chap, one last surprise for the road. Between 28 and this I was mentally drained, it's been a long ride of 8 continuous months working in this story plus others that popped up plus the ones that I'm working on right now but I enjoyed every step of the way. This chapter is for you my friend.
meyhalfrenza: Here's the new one, sorry for the wait. Life's hard and gets in the way a lot but I'm trying to make it in one piece.
Guest: Oh, that's the big frontier my friend. I do plan to write some side story with this AU but focusing on those two. I'll try to write some NorikoxShimako love there, deal?
*Warnings: All identities revealed and a little surprise there with a white rose en bouton.
This chapter is dedicated to my good friend VolpineGrinz.
[Thank you for reading this and encouraging me when I was down, you're a treasure]
Enjoy!
Oxymoron
Ogara Saki felt like a cat on a hot tin roof. One of the side effects of not taking her medication was to have hallucinations, and they were becoming more frequent as days passed by. At the beginning, there were only random visions of people that were long gone, such as her mother or her beloved Sayako.
After a week without taking her medication, Saki was having constant vivid hallucinations with her former onee-sama and half-sister, Ogasawara Sayako. But the disturbing ones were when her mother got in contact with her and 'suggested' the blonde president to do things that a normal person would consider irrational.
Christmas signaled the second week that Ogara Saki was out of medication and her mind was a total chaos. She was connected to reality by a very thin threat that was getting frailer by the minute.
Her dead sister and long gone love interest was the one whispering advices on how to act properly which Saki mostly ignored, while her dead mother was on the other side encouraging the blonde president to continue her path of destruction even if that lead her to end the lives of innocents.
During the night the terrible trio died, Ogara Saki laughed maniacally as soon as she got the news. Everything was going according to her delusional plan. She didn't care about how 'wings' died but she knew that it was the right motivation for the other two brothers to set her plan in motion.
First, she ordered 'sparks' to place bombs in all of the Satou's safe homes before attacking the northern boss' home. They were timed so, in a couple of hours three more houses will explode, including the one where Satou Keitaro was recently relocated.
Knowing the safe quarters thoroughly as she did, the blonde president specified the best location for each bomb to be placed so they would be practically impossible to locate.
No one will know what hit them when everything suddenly burst into flames…Saki's mother whispered in the blonde's mind before laughing evilly and the blonde woman joined her inner thoughts.
The other part of her plan was to convince the terrible trio that it was Sei and not her, the one that actually killed their youngest brother. She even forged documents to show them that her she was speaking the truth. They fell for it and pledged loyalty to the blonde president.
Sei is a traitor therefore she has to pay…Saki's mother whispered one more time and the blonde president nodded in agreement.
Being the one that allegedly covered Sei's assassination of the terrible trio's youngest brother, made it easier for Saki to manipulate 'shadow' to hunt Keitaro down. Additionally, the loyal 'shadow' left three of his men to guarantee her safety so it didn't matter to her if he was killed by the Ogasawara security department which actually happened. For the unstable woman, 'shadow' was just another disposable pawn.
The last part of her plan was the most critical according to the blonde woman. How to deal with Satou Sei and get her beloved 'Sayako' back, even if she deep inside she knew that the latter was long gone.
Every time Ogara Saki saw the photograph of Sachiko, the blonde woman couldn't help but see Sayako there instead of the blue-eyed teenager. In her delusional mind, the blonde president just wanted to be reunited with her 'onee-sama' until death does them apart.
Shadow's men that stayed with her were also gullible as their former boss so they weren't hard to handle. Besides, before 'sparks' was captured by the head of the north men, the spiky haired man sent Saki a very useful piece of information he got while listening to a conversation of some high rank guards, the possible location of Satou Sei and Ogasawara-Fukuzawa Sachiko.
Delusional as she was, Saki believed that was going to get away with murder so she decided on going to the location the now dead sparks sent her. She wanted to get her 'onee-sama' back and end whatever was on her way blocking the happiness the blonde president thought she was entitled to.
"Is it done?"
"She's not here"
"Fuck, couldn't she stay still so you killed her?"
"Apparently not"
"Where would she be, then?"
"Let me make a call to the security department" Mei sighed annoyed "they might have a clue"
"Call me as soon as it's done"
"Absolutely boss-sama" the brunette replied.
Now, if I were a crazy and powerful woman, where I would be?...Mei thought while dialing the Ogasawara security department's direct line.
When Sachiko opened her eyes and found herself in a very unfamiliar place, she panicked. Her movements were restricted and her once soft bed was replaced by a hard cot.
The moment the dark haired heiress tried to talk, she realized that her lips were covered by some kind of tape. Her blue eyes opened with surprise, the last thing she remembered was being in bed with Yumi.
Where am I? And most importantly, where is Yumi?...a very concerned Sachiko mused while trying to find a hint that leaded her to know where she was. The room was dingy and poorly lighted and Sachiko tried to sit on the cot but her legs and hands were tied, additionally, her body felt really heavy.
They probably used some sort of sedative, which would explain the reason I didn't wake up until now…the dark heiress thought while trying really hard not to fall asleep again which she failed and seconds later, Ogasawara-Fukuzawa Sachiko went back to sleep once more.
In a not so distant location, Youko just woke up feeling rather uncomfortable. The cozy and well lit room she went to sleep earlier was very different from the one she was currently in, additionally, Sei was nowhere to be found.
The softness of the bed she used to share with her beloved was replaced by a hard and very unpleasant cot and her feet and hands were tied with a rope. Rosa Chinensis frowned slightly as soon as she felt that her parted lips were immobilized by a gag.
When her dark orbs looked down and realized that whoever abducted her didn't take her silver chain and rose shaped pendant hanging from around her neck, the red rose smiled satisfied.
This will be interesting…
Having her hands tied behind her back, Youko was having a hard time to free them. Additionally, the effects of sedative used to put her to sleep were not completely gone yet so her struggle to fight drowsiness increased even more.
Taking advantage that the cot was against the wall, Rosa Chinensis turned over to face it. With the last of her strength she pressed her chest against the wall and her pendant emitted a soft click.
Now it's just a matter of time…after that, Youko went back to sleep with a grin on her face.
Shimako blinked confused, her head hurt and her eyelids felt heavy. The air felt a little different, the white rose en bouton frowned while checking her unknown surroundings.
Must be Nitrous oxide…
In a swift move, the white rose en bouton sat on the cot and scanned the place she was being held. Soon, she discovered that one part of the cot's frame was rusty and a little sharp so the gray eyed girl rolled over until she felt the metal gracing her fingertips and then she proceeded to saw through the restrains that held her hands together.
When she felt exhaustion due to the effects of the gas the white rose en bouton had been exposed to, she used the breathing techniques taught by her father to avoid losing consciousness again. Shimako knew that had to get rid of the restrains to move freely so she put all her energy on doing it so.
I am better than this, I will free myself before asking for…assistance because I'm not as helpless as I look…Shimako thought with a smile when she felt that the ropes holding her wrists were getting looser the more she used the sharp rusty piece of her cot as a saw.
I will be back soon my lovely Noriko…
Noriko woke up when she heard Shimako's soft voice in her head. It was something that had been happening more frequently since they saw each other regularly. The ebony haired girl felt blessed of meeting the white rose en bouton and Noriko was really looking forward for spring where she could be attending the same school as her beloved.
Her train of thoughts stopped when she saw that the spot normally occupied by Shimako was empty. Assuming the gray eyed girl was in the bathroom, Noriko waited for a couple of minutes for the white rose en bouton to come back.
When that didn't happen, Noriko opened the bathroom's door to find it empty. The ebony haired girl decided to look for her beloved. After looking for her everywhere, with the exception of the other girls' rooms, the ebony haired girl went back to her room to check into her work clothes before heading out and check on the perimeter.
There was something about the air she was breathing that made her feel strangely sleepy so as soon as Noriko stepped out of the house, the air smelled different and that's when it hit her.
They use some kind of gas to sedate us!
Noriko went back to the house and opened all the windows she could get a hold of letting the cold air of winter enter the house. After that, the ebony haired girl ran outside to find a small trace of blood that leaded her to some woods nearby, Noriko wasn't too surprised to find that most of their guards were killed. Only two of them were barely alive so Noriko called to the security department to send some medical support and security backup before heading back to the house to see who else they took.
When Sei rolled over and didn't find the warm body of Youko next to her, the blonde frowned in her sleep but, it wasn't until a blaring alarm came from her phone that the white rose opened her eyes with annoyance and took the gadget to silence it.
"What the…" gray eyes widened when she read the screen and remembered the reason why that specific irritating sound came from her phone.
'Citrus Jewels'?...Sei thought with a frown before entering the shop.
"Good afternoon, how can I be of assistance?" a serious brunette looked at the blonde who raised an eyebrow.
"Hi, I want a Christmas gift for my girlfriend, Mei-san" the white rose added with a smirk.
"What do you have in mind, Sei-sama?" the shop owner flipped her hair before handing a cup of tea to her blonde customer.
"Well, I was thinking about a rose shaped pendant, of course" Sei started before taking a sip of the warm green tea.
"I think I have just what you need" Mei stated while taking a hidden blue velvet tray from a hidden compartment. The products exhibited on that specific velvety display surface, were made exclusively for the security department members.
"Nice goods you have there" the blonde pointed out.
"This would fit your girlfriend perfectly" Mei signaled at a red tinted medium size platinum rose pendant "for the user's safety, it includes a prototype of a mini GPS locator the research department had been working on the last couple of months"
"Oh that's convenient" the blonde grinned "how does it work?"
"Well" Mei took the pendant in her palm and applied pressure until she heard a soft click "when pushed, the GPS activates sending the user's location information to an authorized user and starts an alarm, see it as a panic button for emergencies"
"Does your wife wear one?" the blonde joked and Mei rolled her eyes.
"She doesn't but our children do"
"That's clever"
"Of course" the brunette huffed "we're good parents"
"I know" Sei smiled before taking the pendant to examine it "I'll take it, Youko will sure love it"
"Now let's synchronize the alarm with your device then, Sei-sama"
"Sure" the blonde handed her phone to her second in command "make sure you put the most annoying alarm sound ever"
Sei immediately sat and cancelled the alarm. Connecting the dots at a rapid speed she got a grasp of the situation.
Youko's not in the house anymore and her panic alarm was activated, fuck…
The blonde change clothes then, grabbed her two phones, sent a quick message through her work phone and went out of the room to see if somebody else was missing. In the hallway she ran into Noriko who looked anxious.
"Noriko" Sei whispered.
"Sachiko-san is gone" replied the ebony haired girl "I just checked"
"How about the others"
"The Foetidas are all here"
"Good" the blonde added nonchalantly "and Shimako?"
"She was taken too" Noriko bowed respectfully "I am really sorry Sei-sama"
"Don't worry about it, zero six" the blonde patted the younger girl's head "What I want to know is how they went past our guards"
"I just came back and team twelve was reduced to two members" Noriko sighed "the rest were killed and they used a gas to sedate us and then they took Shimako, Youko and Sachiko-sama"
"Well I know where they are" Sei showed her phone's screen to Noriko who tilted her head confused "that gives us some sort of leverage"
"But how…?"
"I have my ways too" the blonde winked
"Sorry about the sudden question but" Noriko frowned before continuing "why are you so calm about all of this? They might be in real danger"
"They are fine because Shimako's with them and Mei's on her way" the blonde grinned mysteriously while heading downstairs where Yuzu and Dr. Emiko were waiting for them in the living room.
"Sei-san" the auburn haired doctor started "twelve's team survivors were transported to the tower, they're stable"
"The situation is controlled, zero one-sama" Yuzu commented "you were drugged by nitrous oxide" the blonde added "we found a tank with a timer attached to the heating system"
"So they planned this ahead, huh?" the blonde sighed and frowned when she saw two men entering the living room "Gentlemen, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Sei-sama" Yuuki bowed
"Ladies" Suguru tilted his head "quite the mess you have here, huh?"
"What do you want Suguru?" Sei snapped.
"We came to deliver a message Sei-sama, nothing more" and Yuuki raised his hands "our bosses would like a word with you" the brown haired man sat on a nearby armchair.
"Oh that's certainly interesting" the blonde raised an eyebrow.
"They're waiting for you" Suguru added with a smile while sitting across from Sei.
"Emiko and Yuzu-san you're in charge of securing all the people here and move them to a secure location"
"That won't be necessary" a stern voice came from the living room's door and Yuuki and Suguru immediately stood and bowed respectfully towards the two figures standing by the door. Sei tilted her head confused and it took her just seconds to realize what was really going on.
"Wait…what?" the blonde's eyes widened with surprise "You are the…"
"Boss of the north" a woman points a finger to her face before pointing at the female next to her "and boss of the south"
Oh fuck, I'm so screwed…a very surprised Rosa Gigantea thought.
"Sei-sama" Noriko whispered anxiously "I want to go and join Mei-sama to rescue…"
"Rescue who?" the southern boss wondered with a raised eyebrow.
"Sachiko and Youko-sama" Noriko counted with her fingers "and also Shimako-san"
"What?" the southern boss roared and Sei couldn't help but gulp.
I am so dead now…
"I can explain" Sei paled while shifting uncomfortably on her seat.
"Oh, and you will" the northern boss smiled with mirth.
"I really want to know why I wasn't informed of this earlier" the southern boss took a deep breath to calm down "considering that one of those girls is my daughter"
"Mi…Miyoko-sama" the blonde unconsciously stammered.
"Well, taking into consideration that Sei-sama already sent Mei's team along with Yuzu's, she was about to let you know when we got interrupted by these two gentlemen there" Dr. Emiko stated in a reassuring tone while pointing at Suguru and Yuuki "besides, Noriko, who's about to leave will be their final support, right Sei-sama?"
"R…right, you may go now Noriko" the blonde ordered still nervous. The ebony haired girl bowed and left the house in less than five seconds.
"On a brighter note, Shimako is with them" Sei added with more confidence "even if they wanted to hurt them, it would be nearly impossible considering that she's…"
"The infamous and fearsome team thirteen member, the 'cherry blossom princess', right?" the northern boss smiled "I thought she was off duty"
"Due to the current circumstances I had no other choice than to reactivate her" the blonde sighed "everything will be over soon besides I think she prefers to be called the 'sakura princess'" the blonde commented trying hard to lighten the mood.
"You know that your mother did terrible things" the attorney and head of the south cut in "that won't be overlooked"
"I am aware of her deeds and I have no other choice than to accept that there's a big chance that she won't make it alive, Miyoko-sama" the blonde looked down defeated.
"We just have to wait and see" the northern boss commented in a quiet tone, she was well aware that Ogara Saki won't survive due to the fact that she was the one giving the order to eliminate her "by the way, where are my daughter and her girlfriend?"
"Yoshino and Rei-chan are still upstairs dealing with the effects of the gas they used to sedate us" Sei added slowly "other than that; they're fine Mari-sama"
"And Yumi-chan?" Miyoko asked with a hint of concern.
"She was having a nervous breakdown" Dr. Emiko added "so I ordered one of my team to sedate her"
"Yuuki" Dr. Mari ordered and the man tilted his head "arrange that Yumi-chan is transported to the safe house her parents are"
"Immediately, boss-sama" the brown haired man raised from his seat an abandoned the room to carry on his boss' orders.
"Suguru" Miyoko ordered and the man bowed his head with respect "reinforce the security perimeter in the entire place and make sure there are no more threats"
"At once" Suguru stood and bowed before leaving the room.
"Yuzu" Sei ordered "make sure the operation goes fine, you can use the library here as command center and Emiko-san; please assist with the medical support team"
"Of course, now if you excuse us" the blonde guard and the auburn haired doctor closed the door behind them as soon as they left the three most powerful women of the island country alone.
"By the way, that black-haired girl that just left is the daughter of the head of the Nijou clan, right?" Dr. Mari commented nonchalantly.
"Indeed" Sei grinned "Noriko was activated as the new zero six not long ago"
"She's so young" Miyoko added.
"But deadly that even Mei-san was caught off guard by her" Sei chuckled.
"Wow, she must be really good then" Mari grinned amused while ignoring her buzzing phone in her pants pocket.
After getting rid of her restraints, Shimako picked the lock and got out of the room she was being captive. As soon as she silently opened the door, she was welcomed by the back of one of the guards just a few meters from her.
Being trained by her father the so-called 'cherry blossom demon', Shimako turned into a very skilled fighter. Her movements were fluid and elegant but at the same time, deadly.
The angelic girl had trained with guns and swords since the tender age of 7 preferring to knock her opponents down with her fast movements. Her weapon of choice was the Toudou's sakura naginata, a family treasure inherited among the women of her clan.
She realized that the guard was way taller than her that's why she kicked him in the back of his knees first. As soon as the man lost his balance, Shimako did a throat stab and the man fell unconscious.
Using the rope that was used to tie her, she dragged the unconscious man to the room she was previously held at and tied his ankles and hands behind his back, before gagging him with a small rope. Gray eyes searched for something she could use to defend herself and she grabbed a gun with a silencer equipped along with some throwing knives and a set of keys.
They might open the other two doors I saw in the hallway…
Shimako removed the sheath placed on the man's thigh and placed around her right leg. Now she was more than equipped to face any enemy.
Let's see who else they took…
Before leaving, she pressed a cherry blossom pendant hanging from a delicate silver bracelet. Even if she wasn't an 'active' member the white rose en bouton never stopped being part of the Ogasawara security department which is why she had a GPS tracker in the shape of jewelry too.
As soon as the pendant glowed slightly, sending her location to Mei's phone, Shimako walked towards the first locked door. When she used one of the keys and it worked, the gray eyed girl smiled. Inside, she found Youko pretending to be asleep.
"Let me help you, Youko-sama" Shimako whispered and the red rose opened her eyes surprised and nodded. The white rose en bouton took one of the knives and cut Youko's restraints.
"I assume you know how to handle one of this, right Youko-sama?" Shimako offered the gun to Rosa Chinensis who smiled.
"Of course" Youko took the weapon and checked it "I wouldn't be a good south family successor if I couldn't, don't you think cherry prin…?"
"Please call me Shimako, Youko-sama" Shimako smiled before making some gestures so the red rose covered her while she tried to open the last door. After a soft click, Shimako and Youko were able to enter the room to find a struggling and terrified Sachiko.
"Everything is going to be fine, Sachiko-chan" Youko whispered reassuringly while Shimako cut her restraints.
"I need you two to stay here, Youko-sama" the white rose en bouton advised "to avoid as much danger as possible"
"What are you going to do, Shimako-sama?" Sachiko asked with slight worry.
"I am going to make sure that we all make it alive" Shimako smiled before locking the two red rose family members in the room.
The timer finally reached zero and a several bombs exploded in different locations where the Satou family had safe houses all over the city. Sadly, Satou Keitaro wasn't that lucky this time and perished when the impact of the explosion collapsed his room and rubble came crashing down on him. Saki's machinations were carried out perfectly and the blonde was ecstatic.
"Saki-sama the guard you sent out to make sure Satou-sama was killed is on his way back"
"Excellent" the blonde gave the man a lopsided smile "how are the girls?"
"I checked on them a couple of minutes ago and they were still asleep" the man scratched his cheek "sorry about my bluntness and trust me that I understand that you take Sachi…"
"Sayako…" Saki corrected slightly annoyed.
"I mean Sayako-sama but why taking the daughter of the head of the south? Or the extremely dangerous 'sakura princess'"
"Let's just call it strategy and leverage" the blonde chuckled "besides the sakura princess is more like a myth, that girl's just weak"
"How about calling your plan just utter stupidity?" a steely voice came from behind and the safe of a weapon was released while pointing at the back of the guard's head. With just two swift movements, the man fell unconscious "and I think that the sakura princess just proved you wrong"
"What is the meaning of this?" Saki added with a mixture of surprise and concern when she saw the gun pointed at her head.
"This is us stopping your madness" Mei snapped still pointing the gun at Saki's head "Zero six restrain this man" Noriko appeared from behind the brunette second in command and did what she was ordered. Shimako approached the blonde president and took the knives and Saki's favorite katana that were on a nearby table.
"Both of you" Mei ordered slowly approaching the blonde president "go and free Sachiko and Youko-sama and head back home with my team" when the two girls left the room Saki started laughing.
"So you're going to betray me, your boss?" the blonde asked with an arrogant smile "that's so low, even for you but expected from an Aihara, you are all weak and traitors"
"You have never been my boss but your daughter is" Mei added with a steady tone "I obey zero one's commands and follow orders of my real superior, Kobayashi Mari, the head of the north family and the council of the families had decided that your life ends here, Saki-sama"
Instants later, three shots were fired and Ogara Saki was finally gone and Youko, Sachiko along with Shimako and Noriko went back to the red rose's home unharmed, the nightmare was finally over.
A/N: Thank you for reading, only one more and we're done here. Let me know what you think in a review and happy new year!
