To say Fuyuhiko was shaken would be a severe understatement.
It was understandable, of course. Someone he loved, disappearing while he was in the room? Finding those photos, the words written seeming to mock him? Knowing that he could have stopped the disappearance- no, kidnapping if only he had been awake?
It was all too easy to see why the Yakuza heir was freaking out in this situation.
"We have to find her!" Fuyuhiko declared, not thinking about much beyond Mikan's safety. "I don't fucking care if we have to tear this city apart-"
"Fuyuhiko," Peko said sharply, cutting through Fuyuhiko's panic in an instant. "You need to calm down."
"She's right," Hajime agreed calmly as he searched the contents of Mikan's bag. He was completely unfazed as he pulled drugs out from the sack. "We won't find her by going on a wild goose chase."
"Then what do you suggest?" Fuyuhiko demanded harshly, obviously still on edge from the situation.
"Gather everyone in one room," Hajime instructed. "And I mean everyone. The staff, your parents, Natsumi, everyone in the building. I'll investigate with Peko."
"Got it," Fuyuhiko moved to leave the room, before pausing in front of the door. "I'm trusting your judgement, so you better be right."
"Of course I am," Hajime nodded with a grin.
"Don't be so arrogant," And with that, Fuyuhiko left, leaving Peko and Hajime in the bedroom.
"What did you find?" Peko inquired, kneeling down to watch Hajime search the bag.
"I'm not entirely sure," Hajime stated, holding up a clear vial half-filled with some strange, light blue liquid. "I'm not sure what this does, and I'm not sure I want to find out. Meanwhile..." Hajime pulled out a small plastic bag, containing a syringe and a bottle of pills. "I'm pretty sure these are sleeping pills."
"Did she bring those?" Peko's eyes widened in shock, wondering if Mikan had been plotting something-
"Probably," Hajime stated with a sigh. "She probably brought it in case there was an insomniac here. Or if she had trouble sleeping."
"Oh," Peko frowned, feeling a bit guilty about assuming the worst.
"She usually does stuff like that," Hajime mused, noticing that the syringe had its tip broken off before putting all the medicine away. "Crackers in case someone is feeling seasick, ice packs on a hot summer day, bandages for scrapes and cuts... she was really thoughtful."
"Tsumiki-san will be alright," Peko offered, trying to comfort Hajime in wake of his friend's disappearance...in her own awkward, socially-stunted way.
"Heh," Hajime smiled at the silver-haired swordswoman. "...thanks."
"Mnnrgh..." Mikan groaned as she woke up, blinking her eyes open. It didn't take her more than a few seconds to realize that there was something stuffed in her mouth, unwelcome and unwanted. The ball of fabric was quickly spat out on the floor, Mikan recovering with a few hasty coughs.
"Oh, you're awake," A familiar voice noted from next to her.
"Chiaki-san! You're okay!" Mikan grinned in relief, turning to face her friend-
Only to stop as she realized that something was holding her back.
"Huh?" Mikan tried her best to look behind her, but she couldn't see her hands behind her back. Every movement caused something to chafe against her wrists, along with the rattling of chains.
"Handcuffs?" Mikan frowned, still trying to see what was restraining her hands.
"Pretty much," Chiaki shrugged, sitting with her legs crossed.
Mikan looked around, taking care not to move around and jostle her chains too much.
The two of them were in some sort of basement, the wet concrete floors and the insulation-packed walls were proof of that. The smell of mold and dirt permeated the room, making Mikan gag. The only source of light was a single light bulb on the ceiling, a cord hanging down next to it. Mikan and Chiaki were sitting right next to the decrepit stairs, infuriatingly close to the exit.
"Do you know where we are?" Mikan asked, trying to turn toward Chiaki.
"Nope."
Well... at least Chiaki was honest?
"I've been here for a few days now," Chiaki stated. "All I really know is that people leave food for me every couple of hours and let me go to the washroom if I ask."
"Maybe we-"
"There's always a guard right outside the door, and there aren't any windows on the way there," Chiaki added, destroying Mikan's suggestion before she could even finish her sentence. "Actually, it's a one-way trip to the washroom, so even if you ask, you won't get out unless you beat up the guard."
Mikan knew it wasn't the time, but...
"You can go to the washroom? How?"
"..." Chiaki stared at her seriously, a shadow coming out of nowhere to fall over the top half of her face. That only made it creepier as Chiaki's eyes bored into Mikan's soul. "Trust me. You don't want to know."
Mikan could only make very confused sounds of confusing confusion in response.
"...Mikan almost hurt herself in her confusion..." Chiaki muttered quietly.
"Did you say something just now?"
"No."
"I found some scraps of blue fabric," Peko stated, holding up her discovery for Hajime to see.
"It sort of looks like..." Hajime trailed off as he stared at the fabric, before grabbing Peko's hand and dashing out of the room.
"What are you doing?" Peko asked, keeping pace with Hajime easily.
"That fabric- It's the one everyone wears- The laundry room, we need to go to the laundry room!" Hajime explained... or at least tried to. His thoughts were jumbled and disorganized, spilling out in a mess that would have made more sense if it had never existed in the first place.
"You need to calm down."
"No, I need to see the laundry room," Hajime retorted. "You need to get to Fuyuhiko and ask if he remembers anything about last night!"
"Will you... will you be fine on your own?" Peko stared at Hajime, doubt creeping into her expression.
"Of course I will, just find Fuyuhiko!"
"Alright," Peko nodded, untangling her fingers from Hajime's. "Good luck."
"You act like this is something I need luck for," Hajime grinned, waving Peko off.
They separated, Hajime slowing down his pace in order to enter the laundry room in a calm and peaceful manner.
"Heh, thought so," Hajime smirked at the sight, kneeling down to collect more scraps of blue fabric.
'Torn up...better take note of that,' Hajime glanced around the room, finding nothing out of the ordinary except for the cloth scattered around the floor. 'Whoever was here was in a rush. They couldn't even clean up the mess...'
'Wait...' Hajime's eyes widened as he realized something, before hurriedly turning away to leave. 'If they didn't have time to clean up, then why...?!'
"Does anyone else smell blood?" Natsumi wondered, trying to sniff out the source of the smell.
"Maybe you're just a bloodhound," A younger member of the staff winked at her, earning a high-five.
Fuyuhiko groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Enough with the puns already..."
"I guess puns aren't in your bloodline," His mother chimed in, getting a high-five from both the staff member and Natsumi and an even deeper groan from Fuyuhiko.
"But seriously, does anyone smell that...?" Natsumi trailed off, before suddenly grabbing at Fuyuhiko. "It's you!"
"What the-"
She grabbed at his yukata, pulling it off his shoulders, exposing him to the world. Or at least everyone in the room. Fuyuhiko immediately began trying to shove her away, yelling something that sounded a lot like 'WHAT THE GODDAMN FUCK NATSUMI!?'.
"Excuse me, Young Mast-" Peko opened the door to find Natsumi attempting to strip her brother. "Er..."
Fuyuhiko took advantage of the distraction to give Natsumi the final kick she needed to fucking let go of him. He composed himself, fixing his clothes so he wasn't half-naked. "Did you need something?"
"I wanted to ask you about what you remember of the night before," Peko said honestly. "Can you come with me please?"
"He's injured, so treat his wounds!" Natsumi called out, picking herself up from off the floor.
"Of course, Young Mistress," Peko nodded as Fuyuhiko followed her out of the crowded dining room. She stopped in front of the door to the dojo, turning around so she could interrogate Fuyuhiko.
"So, do you recall anything strange happening the night before?" Peko asked.
"Not really," Fuyuhiko shrugged. "I was just talking to Mikan before we fell asleep, then I wake up and she's gone."
"I see," Peko frowned. "Then... how did you get injured?"
"Injured?" Fuyuhiko echoed, staring at Peko in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Your chest was significantly bruised, from what I saw," Peko gestured to his clothed torso. "Did you have that yesterday?"
"What...?" Fuyuhiko blinked, before rushing to the washroom. There was no way he was going to strip in the middle of the freaking hallway, thank you very much.
Peko followed after him, intent on treating his wounds, only for the two of them to pause as they saw the washroom.
"What the fuck."
"What happened here...?" Peko stared in shock at the room. Stools, combs, and towels were thrown about the room. The same scraps of blue fabric from the bedroom were scattered around on the floor, along with small bloodstains.
Fuyuhiko said nothing, only scowling at the sight.
Peko saw something out of the corner of her eye, turning to find more scraps of fabric in the hallway. It was almost like it was making a trail...
With a silent tug on Fuyuhiko's sleeve, Peko got the Yakuza heir to move, the two of them following the blue fabric road until they were standing in front of Fuyuhiko's bedroom door.
"Mikan, is something wrong?" Chiaki asked, watching as Mikan tried and failed to stand for the seventh time. Sharp pain shot through her foot, eliciting a scream from Mikan just before she fell.
"It... it just hurts," Mikan confessed, sitting back down and extending her legs. She rested her hands on the floor behind her, grateful for the fact that her restraints were lenient enough to allow a proper and comfortable sitting position. "When I was taken, the person had a weapon... I couldn't get a good look at them, but I managed to get a cut on my foot..."
"...did you... did you try to kick someone with a weapon?" Chiaki stared at the brunette in disbelief.
Mikan smiled bashfully, a bit ashamed to admit it. "I guess I did."
"Why?!" For once, Chiaki wasn't stoic or numb to the situation, instead allowing shock and small, small amounts of 'what the fuck' to stain her voice.
"...I thought that person was aiming for Fuyuhiko-kun," Mikan blurted out. "Since we were right next to each other, it was hard to tell which one of us was the target, but I couldn't just let Fuyuhiko-kun die!"
"...That's..." Chiaki hesitated, unsure of what to say. "That's admirable...I think."
"Is that a good thing?" Mikan asked uncertainly.
"Yes," Chiaki stated immediately, smiling gently at her friend. "It's amazing how brave you are."
"It wasn't really being brave!" Mikan protested, immediately trying to downplay her actions. "I just... I just didn't want him to get hurt."
"Doesn't that make it even more incredible? You managed to become that courageous for Kuzuryuu-kun's sake."
"I guess... it's only because it was for him," Mikan sighed. "...that must be the power of obsession."
"...obsession?" Chiaki stared at Mikan in confusion. "I thought it was the power of friendship."
"I mean, I would do the same thing for you or Ibuki-san, but..." Mikan sighed once again. "When it's Fuyuhiko-kun... I get selfish."
"Selfish?" Chiaki parroted, utterly baffled by Mikan's words.
"I- er, is now really the time?!" Mikan blushed, trying to change the topic. "We should be focusing on escaping!"
"You can't even stand and my arms are behind my back, so I can't carry you," Chiaki retorted, shutting Mikan down immediately. "We might as well, since we have time."
"How are you so calm about this situation?! I-I'm sorry, but I think your priorities are out of order!"
'There was no way these photos could have existed before Mikan was taken,' Hajime concluded, staring at the black-and-white photographs. 'Which means that the kidnapper returned in order to put them here. But why wouldn't they clean up the mess then...?'
"I have to meet with Peko later, then..." Hajime muttered to himself, taking note of the evidence.
He stood to leave, going over his discoveries in his head.
'Photographs of Mikan and Chiaki, scraps of fabric in the bedroom and the laundry room, medicine, and a used syringe with the point broken off...' Hajime sighed to himself as he opened the door. He felt like he was so close to figuring it all out, but there was something he was missing...
Hajime was so preoccupied with his attempts to unravel the mystery that he almost ran into the woman he was looking for in the first place.
If it were a bad harem anime, they would have collided and fell in some sort of weird, improbable, suggestive position.
Thank fucking hell for Peko's fast reflexes, her years of practice with a blade serving as proof that they were not, in fact, in a horrible harem anime.
She jumped away from Hajime immediately, almost reaching for a weapon that she had surely concealed in the folds of her clothing, before she realized it was Hajime. Fuyuhiko was momentarily stunned by his sister suddenly jumping away in the middle of their conversation, before noticing the brunette.
"Did you find anything?" Fuyuhiko asked, staring at Hajime warily. He wasn't really suspicious of the brunette, but more on edge than anything.
"I did, but I need to find out more," Hajime sighed. "Peko, what about you?"
"There seems to have been a struggle in the washroom," Peko stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fuyuhiko-kun seems to have been injured as well. His chest and arms are bruised, and there's a small puncture in his arm."
"Don't ask how I got hurt, I don't remember a second of it," Fuyuhiko said gruffly.
"Was it last night at least?" Hajime offered as an alternative.
"Yeah, it was," Fuyuhiko crossed his arms over his chest.
Suddenly, Hajime got an idea. He might have known what caused those bruises.
"You and Mikan were sleeping in the same room, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Fuyuhiko narrowed his eye at the brunette in suspicion.
Hajime found himself blurting out a lie, saying, "Because that would mean that you were there while the abduction was taking place."
Both Peko and Fuyuhiko froze, while Hajime realized... his words weren't actually false.
"Were you two in the same futon?" Hajime asked, his face impassive so he didn't give away the accidental truth he just said.
"W-W-What?!" Fuyuhiko sputtered for a few seconds, before glaring at Hajime. "OF FUCKING COURSE NOT!"
"Then why was there only one futon?" Peko inquired, confused.
"It was like that when I woke up!" Fuyuhiko retorted.
'Fuyuhiko has no reason to lie...' Hajime's eyes trailed off as he stumbled upon a revelation. 'Fuyuhiko was sleeping, Mikan was gone, the staff never go into a room that someone is occupying... so the only one who could have moved that extra futon was... the kidnapper!'
"Hajime-kun? Are you alright?" Peko stared at the brunette in concern, watching as Hajime became lost in thought.
He could see all the branching paths and possibilities, a tunnel of light stretching out before him. The evidence was floating in front of him, showing Hajime clues and signs as to what happened. He just had to piece it all together.
"You what?" Chiaki stared at Mikan in disbelief, her jaw almost dropping.
"I know that it was terrible of me!" Mikan cried out. "But... I thought... I didn't want anyone to ever leave again, I didn't want anyone to be taken from me again!"
"So you smuggled sleeping drugs there to kidnap him," Chiaki reiterated, showing the most exasperation she ever had in the years Mikan had known her.
"...yes," Mikan sighed. "But I never used them."
"Was it your conscience telling you that what you were doing was wrong?" Chiaki asked hopefully.
'Actually, I was just thinking that I couldn't do that without him hating me...' "Yeah, that was it."
"Hm... that's proof that it's not an obsession..." Chiaki muttered.
"Huh?"
"You were about to commit a serious crime to keep him close to you, but you stopped," Chiaki pointed out with a smile. "You were able to consider things beyond your feelings with Kuzuryuu-kun, so it doesn't fall under the definition of 'obsession'... I think."
"I was just being selfish," Mikan mumbled, her expression darkening. "I just...I just didn't want him to hate me. I wanted him to stay with me out of his own free will."
"Mikan, that's not being selfish," Chiaki stated with a sigh. "It's completely normal to love someone like that."
"...love?" Mikan hesitated uncertainly. "That...that's not it! I... it's just going to be unhealthy and wrong!"
"As long as it isn't hurting anyone, it isn't unhealthy," Chiaki pointed out. "And it's not wrong to love someone."
"But that's exactly what my relationship with Enoshima was! And... if I feel the same way for the two of them... won't it just end up the same way?"
"Kuzuryuu-kun isn't Enoshima-san," Chiaki said simply. "They're very different, so the relationships would also be very different."
"If you say so..." Mikan sighed, trying to stand up once again. She put all her weight on one leg, avoiding her injured foot. She couldn't get much higher than kneeling on the floor, since the chain was still holding her back. With a sigh, she sat back down on the floor. "Chiaki-san, maybe you can try?"
"Sure," Chiaki tried her best, only Mikan couldn't see it, since suddenly, the chain was pulling her back, making her fall back on the floor. Mikan froze, her eyes following the chain as it snaked around the staircase's old, weak, decrepit railing... to connect to Chiaki's restraints.
"We're each other's counterweights," Mikan realized as she sat up. There was a gleam of hope in her eyes as she turned to Chiaki excitedly. "I have an idea."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Chiaki stared at Mikan blankly as she tried to push herself up again.
"If we both try to move, we might be able to break it!" Mikan declared, grinning in anticipation. "Come on! We can get out of here?"
"How? We break the railing and then what?"
"Er, we can figure that out after!"
"What's the point?" Chiaki sighed apathetically. "If we get caught, we'll just end up thrown back in here."
"You... you don't even want to try to escape?" Mikan gaped at Chiaki in shock.
"What's the point?" Chiaki repeated simply. "Even if we don't get rescued, those guys will realize that they won't gain anything from keeping us hostage and release us. And even if they don't, we can just wait for them to die of old age."
"No, we can't?!" Mikan rebutted, horror clear on her face. "I'll be dead by then!"
"Oh. Right. Sorry," Chiaki frowned. "I guess we can try to escape then."
"W-why are you so nonchalant about this?!" Mikan demanded. "Do you even care about the fact that you've been kidnapped?!"
"Not really," Chiaki shrugged. "It's inconvenient, but I can deal with it."
"Do you even care about your own safety?" Mikan grimaced, her voice pained as she all but spat out the words. "Me and Ibuki and your fathers... we've all been so worried about you! We were hoping for your safe return! Do you even want to be rescued?!"
"There's no point in it," Chiaki muttered. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, as long as you get out alive."
"Do... do we really matter so little to you?" Mikan whispered fearfully, her eyes watering as she stared at Chiaki. "We were- we were all hoping that we would get to see you again! Did you not want to s-see us again? I-is that why...?"
"That's not it!" Chiaki retorted, an emotion other than apathy and exasperation appearing in her voice for the first time since Mikan had woken up. "I care about you, but... you don't need to worry about me."
"Of course we do! You're our friend, Chiaki!" Mikan paused, before timidly adding a small, "We're friends... right?"
"We're friends," Chiaki confirmed, before sighing. "I'm sorry for troubling you like this. Now what was your idea for getting out of here?"
"Um..." Mikan hesitated, unsure of whether to drop the subject or not. But they could talk about it later, when they weren't handcuffed in a dusty basement. "The railing looks really fragile, so I was thinking that we could break it...
"How do we do that?" Chiaki asked, smiling to herself a bit as she encouraged Mikan to speak up. She felt... well, like a mom. Like a mom with a shy daughter.
"We both need to try to stand and move away from the railing at the same time," Mikan stated.
"That's a great idea," Chiaki's smile grew brighter and warmer as she tried to stand, though it looked more like a sort-of squat.
"Alright!" Mikan hopped up on her uninjured foot, moving in the direction opposite Chiaki. They both leaned forward, using their weight as a weapon against the old railing. "Please take two steps forward!"
The wood began to splinter a bit, being pulled at by their weight on the chain.
"Again, please!"
It began creaking, cracks forming as the wood began to give in-
"Almost there! Four steps this time, please!"
And then-
The two of them fell forward from the wood snapping suddenly, first into two, then fragments, scattering all over the floor. Chiaki simply slumped forward, smacking her chin on the floor in a way that would have hurt more if she were human. Mikan however... she had practically done a somersault, stopping only when her legs slammed into the floor. Chiaki winced at the sound, wondering if Mikan had cracked something important. Mikan didn't seem to care, a delighted grin appearing on her face.
"It broke!" Mikan exclaimed excitedly, quickly trying to push herself off the ground. It looked like a weird version of the crab, since her hands were still handcuffed behind her back. She quickly lost her balance, forgetting about her injured foot in her haste.
"You should be more careful, Mikan," Chiaki stated as she stood up.
They were still chained together, their hands handcuffed behind their backs, but there was hope!
"Let's finish this escape game," Chiaki said with a determined grin.
To be honest, I am really confused on whether yukata is considered clothes for home or for public use, since websites keep giving me conflicting answers. But the Kuzuryuu family uses them since it's a plot point.
Also! I have finally run out of pre-written chapters! The next chapter isn't complete yet, so the daily updating schedule has finally come to an end!
I really do hope those words don't become ominous or anything.