Kukai POV
I wasn't sure what ticked me off the most, the fact that Kyou had managed to drug two of our partners, the fact that I had separated with Amu even after Ikuto deliberately told me to keep an eye on her, or the fact that the path I had taken only led back to the opera room. Ticked nonetheless, I decided to check up on Ikuto and Kain.
Jumping onstage, I walked over to their 'cage' only to find Ikuto struggling to keep awake. Kain on the other hand was still passed out.
"Kukai?"
"What?"
"Where the fuck is Amu?"
Amazing, even in this state of his condition he was still cursing and still worrying about others. But it was noticeable in his face and voice that whatever they had used to drug him was working effectively.
"She's going after Kyou."
"Alone…?" he asked raising in his eyebrow with struggle..
"We had to separate."
Ikuto immediately squeezed his eyes shut and groaning as though to block out the pain. He coughed and then spit onto the floor. And with just these minor actions he was panting heavily.
"How- how is she doing so far?"
"Well- she's pissed enough to the point where she's cussing at him."
He smirked proudly before collapsing back into the chair and closing his eyes. It was obvious the drug was taking quite a toll on him – I was positive his state of consciousness wouldn't last much longer.
"Listen – I need you to go down into the basement and check things out. Be- be cautious, whoever's down there is the same person who drugged us in the dark."
"Anything else."
"Bunny lighter," he whispered faintly before passing out again.
Checking on them one last time, I made my way to the basement.
Amu POV
Didn't I tell him to 'Fuck off'? I was positive that I had but then again when have pedophile slash creepy ass criminals listened to directions? He'd only been generous enough to give me the peace and comfort I so badly wanted at the moment for a small period of time. A very small period of time. I ignored his ceaseless chatter as I turned the corner finding myself in another dark hallway.
"You could at least turn on the lights."
"What's the fun in that?"
"Dick head."
"You have such a vicious tongue."
Rolling my eyes, I aimlessly wandered through the hall; I even managed to trip over a box falling head first onto the tiled for.
"Ow…" I mumbled not being able to get back up due to the pain.
"Maybe I should turn on the light."
"That would be helpful."
"Then again, I like it when you suffer."
"Asshole."
Gathering up all the strength I could muster at this point, I, with much difficulty, got up and continued my search for this creep of a criminal. When I yet again fell over another box, I felt my confidence slightly lower. Here I was on the floor, my body searing in pain, this criminal enjoying my suffering, and all I could was just sit or fall while listening.
"Fine." His voice sounded like a big brother who finally gave in to his little sister's insistence of playing Barbies with him.
The lights on the ceiling one by one slowly turned on. I actually groaned; the whole hallway was littered with boxes, no wonder I kept falling. Getting up, I noticed near the end of the hallway was a staircase. Almost excited at the prospect of finding Kyou sooner, I rushed up almost wandering if there was going to be another corridor, but instead I was greeted by a large room.
"Since you turned on the lights for me, you want to tell me where you're hiding?"
"…"
"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?"
"…"
Not in the least concerned because of his silence, I shrugged, and started searching the room. Getting a closer look, I realized this must've been either a dressing room or one of the spare dressing rooms. Closets were jammed pack with all sorts of clothes you could imagine – well the kinds you would imagine that would be worn at an opera house. Not finding anything hint worthy, I opened a door that connected to a – yep you guessed it, another hallway.
The walls were painted a deep red almost reminding me of the color of blood; the floors were tiled black. Photos of people who've presumably performed here were hung on the wall. Walking through, I found out that only the first half were pictures of people who had performed here, the other half consisted of select photos of the country France itself. The Louvre, the Notre Dame Cathedral…the Eiffel Tower. Unconsiously a picture of Ikuto flashed into my mind.
We were supposed to have gone there…
Shaking the thought out of my head, I quickly walked through the hallway until I reached an elevator.
"An elevator?" I mumbled quietly to myself.
Stepping in, I noticed the panel only had a few buttons. Floors 1 through 3 including the roof and underground parking. Currently the button flashed F1, allowing me to think I was on the first floor. Taking my chances, I pressed F2 and the doors slid shut.
No tacky elevator music accompanied my ride – which I have to say I was grateful for. Before long, the doors slid open revealing a small area which was connected to a door. I stepped out and opened the door. From my current spot I could see the stage where Ikuto and Kain were trapped on. I leaned over the grand balcony and placed my hands on either side o my mouth.
"Kain! Ikuto!" I hollered hoping they would've awakened by now.
Nothing but my own echo resounded in the large hall. Heavily sighing, I turned back around and got inside of the elevator once more. He would pay I thought as I jammed the F3 button with angered force hurting my forefinger in the process. It was after all his fault they ended up in their current predicament. We'll show him – Kukai and I, we'll show that spineless bastard that he messed with the wrong people.
The room I was brought to by the elevator wasn't a large spacious room or a hallway or a balcony that would let me see the stage. It wasn't grand in the slightest. The ceiling was quite low and long wooden planks were slung from one side to another. In the corner and to the back of the room were two large windows allowing but a couple rays from the sunset to shine in. It almost reminded me of an attic, especially with the colorful array of trunks and furniture.
As I wandered through the 'attic' with my gun in one hand and Noelle's doll in the other, something shifted in the back behind the shadows; whatever it was, it fell to the ground with a large thump. Alerted, I gently placed the doll on the floor and raised my gun with both hands.
"Who's there?"
"Now Amu dear, is that anyway to talk to the person who holds the life of your precious partner and boyfriend in their hands?"
There was no humor or sarcasm behind his voice anymore I noted when I could make out a figure from inside the depths of the darkness; his voice was now dark and slightly murderous.
Kukai POV
It wasn't anything like what Ikuto had said at least to some degree. It was as clear as day in the basement with all the lights turned on. Not far from where I had come in, I'd spotted the bunny lighter hiding behind the boxes. I stuffed the material in the front pocket of my jeans, and continued looking for any sort of evidence leading to Kyou or what had happened to Ikuto and Kain. Right behind the lighter was a blue cloth that was still a bit wet I noted as I picked it up. Carefully, I took a quick sniff of it. Chloroform – an anesthetic substance that if inhaled can put the recipient right into sleep.
This must've been the thing used on them, but whoever it had been had been really careless leaving a piece of evidence behind. Now was it on purpose or just a careless mistake?
There weren't any doors or corridors connecting to another hallway or room of such. I was turning around to leave when something slightly moved. To anyone it might've just been a mishearing with the ear, but being trained profusely by Tsukasa and Ikuto I knew something or someone was there.
I whirled around aiming my gun at the perpetrator. And just as I had suspected, there was a man sitting on the stack of crates. He held up his hand and smirked.
"Yo."
"Who are you?"
"That's a silly question. You should know me, but I wouldn't expect you to figure it out this quick."
While I had no idea what he was talking about, I did notice a strong resemblance between this guy and TaeYang. Brothers perhaps.
"I can't say I do know you, but you do look very similar to TaeYang."
"Allow me to help you – I am TaeYang."
"Two TaeYang's?" I asked dumbfounded.
The man let out a howl of laughter, even going as far to wipe a single tear from his cheek.
"Stupid boy, I am TaeYang. Understand?"
"Then…then who's the guy we captured?"
"That my naïve friend is my twin brother, Takuya."
"Then Bella is-
"Bella's my kid, Takuya's niece."
"She called him 'Daddy'".
"Yes, my daughter is quite the actress and an excellent spy."
"What do you mean?"
"Did you truly think she was the cute six year old everyone believed she was? Please, there are moments when she's just as evil as her mother used to be. How do you think I found out when that blue haired friend of yours and that weakling were arriving? She's the one who planted a tracking device on the blue haired one – wasn't him along the name of Ikuto?"
"You let your brother get arrested and charged for a crime you committed?"
"Not exactly, he was the one who detonated the house, but it was under my orders. You see, I was holding his family as hostages he owed me. What the debt was doesn't matter, but I did tell him that that house needed to be blown up. The poor thing had no idea there were people inside – thus when he got captured I told him to play along."
"And how long is your brother going to play bait?"
"As long as I need him to."
I was completely off guard now; everything I'd believed up to this point was a lie. So we'd captured TaeYang's twin brother Takuya instead of the original criminal…and Bella is an evil mastermind. Okay so the Bella thing was understandable especially when she got all dark like when I was with Amu at their house. All that's left in the equation is Noelle and Kyou.
"What about Kyou?"
He jumped off the crate and stared at me coolly with his dark eyes.
"Kyou's Kyou, but I should warn you that your pink haired friend is going to be in trouble. He has a nasty temper and it'll be even worse seeing how she has something he wants."
It wasn't a matter of saving Ikuto and Kain anymore. I trusted Amu's strength, so I had no worry about her, but it wouldn't hurt if she had back up. Not to mention we had to help Takuya as much as we could.
All that was left was the real TaeYang; I can't just let him go. Just as I was thinking over a way to get rid of him, he pulled out a metal object from his pocket and aimed it at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Sorry, now that you know most of it, I need to get rid of you."
I smirked, what a perfect way to get rid of him without the whole situation turning out too awkward. I jumped onto one of the nearby crates as he fired the first shot. Slightly turning, I kicked right in the face feeling the impact of my foot hitting his face with slight enjoyment. I watched him stumble back and wipe off some of the bits of blood from his face.
With his focus diverted, I shot him in the shoulder allowing him to collapse onto the floor.
"Fuckers like do deserve to die, but-
I jumped down from the crate and smiled at him.
"I can't have you dead if you're to spend your life behind bars."
"Pretty boys like you," he grunted. "Should learn to stick with what they know best."
"And what is that?"
Smiling he raised his gun, shot and missed. Laughing, I fired back only to have him dodge it. For a moment I just stood there and blinked – I'd shot him and he'd been on the floor just a second ago.
What happened next was a stupid and careless mistake on my part:
I probably shouldn't have just stood there when I knew that he had just gotten up and disappeared.
I should have turned around to find him instead of thinking things over.
Why the hell was I acting so cocky? Cockiness is never a good attitude to have during a fight.
Clutching his shoulder and slightly breathing heavily he aimed his gun for my chest but because of his pained state he shot me just below the shoulder. With a grunt I fell to the floor. Okay so one point goes to the douche bag that just shot me in the shoulder; however I have two points – one for shooting him and one for kicking him in the face. I was still winning.
"Like I said, pretty boys should just stick to fucking around with girls."
Frowning I got up.
"I don't fuck around with girls."
"Really? You see, you can't lie to me. I do my research, what about that pretty little girl. You know who I'm talking about, the one with the long blond hair that's tied in two pigtails and those purple eyes."
Anger started pumping through my veins, but I didn't do anything yet.
He smiled at me with a cocky attitude.
"Do you think she's spreading her legs wide enough for you?"
That was seriously the last straw.
"BASTARD!" I screamed lunging at him forgetting all about the wound I had received.
I knocked him down onto the floor and threw his gun out of his hand. Sitting on him, I started punching him the face.
"Don't even dare talk about Utau like that! Miserable son a bitch!"
One punch, two punches, three punches…It didn't seem enough. Up until the point where he brought Utau in, all the curses and bad language I had used was for enjoyment. It was thrilling to act like one of the heroes you'd see in the comic books, even if I wasn't equipped with a cape or awesome super powers, I felt like I was one of them.
Sure, when I started out fighting him, there was some anger in me. He'd taken advantage of his brother. And I didn't like that; I don't mess around when it comes to family. But from the start as a kid I always was the one who enjoyed a good fight. Whether it was with my brother or my friends or just those bullies who liked to mess with you.
His nose, I was positive, was broken. And his face was full of blood, but it didn't seem enough. I got up off of him, and pulled him up, only to shove him into the wall and kick him in the gut. When he fell to the floor, I resumed punching him.
But this wasn't another fight, it wasn't for enjoyment anymore. He messed with someone I cared deeply about at the moment.
I held him up by the collar of his shirt.
"Listen to me, don't you ever dare try to talk about her like that. Do you hear me! If you were trying to get under my skin, you did. And now looked what happened to you. I swear if I ever catch you saying bad things about her I won't hesitate to shoot you."
With that, I threw him in the corner and picked up my fallen gun. The wound from where had shot me was searing with pain, not to mention I could feel a sharper pain coming from my ribs.
"She's got…got y-you in good. A few things here and there from her has you acting like a love struck pup."
"Shut up."
How about this, when you get back to Japan, why don't you teach her who's boss? If you know what I mean."
"SHUT UP!" I shouted pointing my gun right at him and shooting him in the ribs.
It wasn't enough, not until I was sure he wouldn't say anything about her anymore. I ran over towards him and punched him in the face for several rounds before getting off him. He was passed out cold.
It was when I got up; I felt a large crack come from my ribs. I fell down to my knees, feeling the pain from the gun wound and my ribs double up on me. Clutching my side firmly, I got up and limped back out. I could feel another set of pain emerge from my leg. What the hell had I done to get so bruised up? I felt my vision darken a bit as I got up on stage.
From there my head begun to spin and I fell onto my knees once more and my vision went black.
Amu POV
"Kyou, I want you to let go of the detonator."
"Sorry Amu, it seems like you have something of mine."
"The doll? If you want it, it's right there."
He chuckled before returning his glare onto me.
"Cute, but not cute enough to save your friends."
Kyou was just about ready to press the single button on the detonator when his phone vibrated. Growling, he pulled out his cellular device and stared at it before breaking into a smile. He clicked a button, cursed, and snapped his phone shut with fury. He looked at me and sighed.
"You want to know what's going on with your friends. Don't worry, I'll tell you this without being the enemy for a moment."
"Ikuto and that Kain fellow are still passed out. Kukai has passed out on the stage, and TaeYang was beaten to a pulp – also passed out."
"TaeYang? We already captured him."
He chuckled again, which was starting to make me a bit annoyed at this point.
"Silly girl…He-
Kyou opened his mouth to continue his sentence, but after staring at me, he decided against it.
"Never mind."
"What do you want with us?"
"A lady who get to the point – I like that."
I scoffed, but kept my aimed gun steadily targeted on him.
"As I said, you have something I want."
"What?"
"You, my dear, have Noelle."
I stared at him as though he was stupid when in fact I was truly surprised at this claim.
"Noelle? What does Noelle have anything do with the likes of you? You not only kidnapped her, but you killed her family! And I won't forget how you abused her – I saw the evidence in her room."
"She has everything to do with me!"
"Says who?"
"Says her father."
Shocked, I lowered my gun slightly.
"You're her father? Impossible, I heard from my superiors that you killed them."
"Lies! I had nothing to do with any of that – TaeYang said it'd be best if we fed them that story so nothing would happen to her."
"I'm pretty sure you don't want her because you care."
There was an uncomfortable silence and he used that to take a step closer to me.
"I honestly don't care, at least not in the way you would think. I want her because there is something inside of her that I want."
"Inside of her?"
"Her mother and I had Noelle a month after getting married. Hell we'd only known each other for a week before getting married. I guess you could call it young love. But I got her pregnant, and when her father found out he made us get a divorce-
"Why?"
"She was an aristocrat; her family had only married people of wealth and power since forever. I wasn't good enough, so he made us split. I didn't even know about Noelle until after Nicolette died-
"Wait, I thought you were forty."
"What? Please, I'm only thirty. But none of that is the point, the point is Nicolette's father worked for the government, and had inserted a memory chip inside of Noelle. Inside that device is information that the government originally lost. The chip contains information on creating the ultimate weapon – a super human. This is valuable data that could be worth a trillion or more."
When he first started, I actually felt some sort of a connection to this criminal. Strange, right? But I had. Now at this point, I was truly disgusted. Not only at him, but at the government for doing this to the young girl.
"You want your daughter just to get the chip out of her so you can get rich?"
"Doesn't everyone want to hit the big bucks at some point in their life?"
"I should shoot you right now just for sputtering this load of bull. Now tell me, say if I was going to hand Noelle over to you, how would you get the chip out?"
"Nicolette's father had it inserted into her in a way, that if I truly did want it, Noelle would be sacrificed."
Okay, I was beyond truly disgusted.
"What kind of a low life father are you? Forget about hurting my friends and I, you would honestly sacrifice Noelle just to get rich? Part of your blood is pumping through her veins right now, how could you even think about killing her?"
"I didn't want to kill her!" he shouted angrily. "TaeYang was the cruel one here; from the minute he found out he just wanted to kill her. He had a daughter of his own, Bella, but of course he didn't think that Noelle was my daughter too. It was strange really, I'd never seen her in my life, but here I was protecting her. I thought if I could find a surgeon who could get it out of her without taking her life that would be perfect."
"You know, TaeYang is starting to seem like the mastermind here."
"He's an idiot when it comes to this."
"What about the other kids? What role do they play in all this?"
He made a smile so malicious it made me sick.
"We were running tests on them."
"What kind of tests?"
"To see if we could make the ultimate human weapon ourselves."
"Why?"
"To sell them to the government of course – but so far these tests aren't working out so well."
Feeling the anger inside of me boil viciously, I stormed over towards him and slapped him right across the face.
"Don't you understand what you've done all for the sake of money? You've kidnapped children who were living their lives peacefully just for the sake of running some dumbass tests on them and getting rich off of selling them? Do you know how many lives you've ruined?"
You're just a kid – you wouldn't understand."
"I understand enough to know what you're doing is absolutely disgusting."
"Give me Noelle!"
"Not over my dead body!"
"What about your friends' dead bodies?" he replied with a sinister smirk.
Without a second's delay, he pressed the button. My eyes widened in shock.
"How long?" I asked numbly.
"Don't worry, I accounted your stubbornness into this, and made it for one hour."
"What can I do to save my friends?"
"Give me Noelle."
"Besides that," I snarled.
"Well-
He pushed me with such a tremendous force I fell down, but before I could get up he pinned my wrists down and placed his knee between my legs.
"Remember what you told me in the elevator, what was it again something around the lines of 'One lucky round for the customer who isn't with a hostess'?"
My eyes widened and he only smirked.
A/N
Hello my beloved readers. I finally updated, and I know you guys are happy. Heck, I'm happy too. Here's what happened, my stomach flu got better, but because I was so weak I got sick. I had a fever for 3 days straight... = 3 = It's stupid isn't?
Anyways, we're getting close to the end of the Paris series, I'm actually getting excited. By the way things are going; I might finish the whole Paris business by the next chapter. No promises, but I certain.
Anyways, thanks to everyone reviewed. I'm actually excited to reach the 400 review mark – only 5 lucky reviews left before I reach it! And who am I to thank for that? Well thanks to:
Animefreaksrock96, XeMi-ChIx, alchemistlover14, alyssaangel15, kisshu-ichigo, Rokuchuchu (only if it was chapter 9, thank you for the review!) Foxgrl18, Gothic-Neko-Writer, AmutoSavior 283, aznpride16xx, animefan7272, and RomanticaKH1.
Read~Review~Enjoy!
Neko-Meme