Chapter 12: Blackest Night

There was a deadened silence after the phone call. It was all they were capable of, this numbness, a disbelief for the absurdity of it all, the kind of stunned silence that occurred when options were minimal and the only thing they could do was hope that it was a nightmare of some sort.

"…A fine dilemma you've gotten us into," said Tyki at long last.

Lulu glanced at him. "…This isn't what we'd anticipated."

Tyki let out a mirthless chuckle. "How long have you been in this business, Lulu? Surely you didn't expect anything else from someone like Leverrier? Are you that stupid?"

"Mikk—" began Eiji.

"And you," he interjected, "did you really not get Rei's message four years ago? I'm certain it was something along the lines of 'touch Kanda and I'll send you to hell.' Good to see that it clearly hasn't had any impact on you."

"Leverrier made a deal, that if we got rid of Kanda then Rei would be left alone for the rest of her life—"

"Wow," said Tyki coldly, "that worked out brilliantly."

No one retorted. Tyki stood up, pushing his chair across the kitchen tiles so that it elicited a ringing shriek. He glared at the clock, vice of his being.

"You're not going," said Lulu sharply. "He'll kill you the moment he sees you—"

"Give me a better option, Lulu—"

"I'd rather see herdead than you," she snapped.

Eiji looked at her warningly but his glare was lost on her; Lulu's gaze was fixated on Tyki.

"Don't go," she said.

"You're really rusting, Lulu," said Tyki. "Getting sentimental, aren't you?"

"I—"

"I'm not stupid," said Tyki. "I'm not going to go. Didn't you say you had a plan?"

Relief filled her face. "Yes, we were supposed to have gotten rid of Kanda—once Leverrier contacts Eiji, we'll say that we did the job and that we want to meet him—when he leaves, we can follow him to wherever he's hiding out."

There were gaping holes in the plan, the most obvious of which was their heavy reliance on Leverrier's naïveté, but Lulu looked so determined that Tyki offered a mere half-smirk.

"I see. And if he asks for proof that Kanda's dead?"

"We tossed the body in the river," said Lulu stonily.

"Why don't you just track her cell phone?" said Kanda.

They all stared at him.

"What," he deadpanned. "Don't you have a base that has that equipment, or is your place too decked out with other shit that you don't have anything remotely useful—"

"We have a base that may be useful. I'll head over," said Lulu, standing up. "I—"

A ring tone cut her off. Eiji reached into his pocket and laid his cell phone on the table.

"Same procedure," he said. "No one say a word."

He answered the call and turned it to speaker phone.

"Hello, Eiji," said Leverrier's voice.

"Job's done," said Eiji hoarsely.

"Excellent…"

"Now, keep your end of the deal and get out of London—"

"Hold on," said Leverrier silkily, "don't be so hasty. There are a few things I'd still like to work out with you."

"Meaning?"

"Well…we have your daughter. Rei."

"…What is the meaning of this, Leverrier?"

"Calm down, my dear man. I was initially after you, but…well, things have changed. Now that Yuu Kanda is dead—"

"What?"

The sudden appearance of Rei's voice caused all of them to stiffen.

"…What did you just say?"

Her words came out as a rush, one violent effort to stifle the pain she was obviously feeling. Across the table, Kanda's jaw visibly tightened.

"Oh…I was unaware you were oh-so-keenly listening, Miss Matsumomo."

"What about Kanda—what…"

"Well, if your father is telling the truth…Yuu Kanda is dead."

"…He's lying."

"If you have your best interests at heart, Miss Matsumomo, you should hope that he's not."

"He's…lying, it's…" A ragged intake of breath. "It's impossible, I…just saw him, Kanda, I…"

"Well, Eiji?" said Leverrier. "Why don't you say it again for your daughter?"

"Release her, Leverrier."

"Unfortunately, I cannot. I now require Tyki Mikk—that is, if he's telling the truth, and he was the one who killed Howard Link. If it was you, though…well, regardless, I cannot release Rei. If you would like to find her, though, I bid you welcome—just bring Kanda's body in the meantime."

"And where would I meet you?" said Eiji through gritted teeth.

"I have to get my hands on Tyki Mikk first. I'll send someone your way in three hours—in the salon we met at when I first arrived. That should give me ample time. And remember: no external interference, Leverrier. We wouldn't want to see your daughter riddled with holes, would we?"

Silence fell consequently; Eiji took the phone and stuffed it back in his pocket.

"Three hours is too long," he said tersely. "Lulu will return to the base here in London and see what she can find—in the meantime, Kanda—"

"What," he said, cold and pale, "you're going to kill me now so you have a body to show?"

"It will be unnecessary," said Eiji smoothly. "Tyki—"

They looked up, around, behind them.

"…Tyki!" called Lulu, alarmed.

There was no answer, but a whooshing sound, accompanied by frigid air perforating into the room, made their stomachs drop—they left the living room for the front of the apartment and sure enough, the door was swinging open, he had disappeared without them noticing. They had been too enraptured with their worries, and now—

"He can't have," said Lulu, her face bloodless.

"There is still time," said Eiji urgently, "he still has nearly forty-five minutes until the hour mark—"

"You guys figure that out," snarled Kanda, standing up to leave. "While you all freak out about Mikk, I'm going to contact Bookman—"

"He said no interference," said Lulu.

"Are you an idiot?" snapped Kanda. "Who the hell do you think you're dealing with? The moment Mikk waltzes into their arms, Leverrier's not going to need anything else—he truthfully doesn't care if I'm dead or not—Howard Link was his right-hand man; all he wants is to avenge him and Mikk is going to give him precisely the means to that end. Leverrier doesn't need Rei other than as leverage—the instant Mikk appears, Rei's as good as dead, and as sorry as I am to hear that Mikk is going to get shot right in the head for his stupidity—"

"Kanda Yuu," said Lulu in all her suppressed lividness.

"I don't give a fuck about Mikk," said Kanda dangerously. "So while you guys focus on him, I'm going to get your fucking daughter out of this mess, Matsumomo, because after four fucking years you've learned absolutely nothing about what it means to actually care about your daughter."


Mira started her slow journey home, first aimlessly and numb, but as the cold began to bite at her face and jostle her back into reality, she realized that it was incredibly unsafe for her to be walking alone in a relatively deserted part of the city, alone, and admittedly lost.

She pulled out her phone to call a cab, but before she did, a flashy red car pulled up to her. Again, she found herself hoping it was Tyki, but, as expected, it wasn't.

"It's pretty late for a girl like you to be walking alone," called Lavi as his window rolled down.

Mira afforded a wry smile. "Are you stalking me?"

"I would never," he said, feigning an offended expression. "I was merely in the neighborhood and saw a beautiful girl walking alone—I couldn't just ignore that."

She didn't answer, causing Lavi's expression to grow more somber.

"Why don't you get in?" he said lightly.

"…Depends where you'll take me."

"Depends where you want to go."

Mira paused only briefly before climbing in the car. As Lavi resumed his ride down the newly salted streets, Mira let out a long breath and curled up in the seat.

"Figured things out?" he asked after a respectful wait.

"I didn't have much of a say in it at all," she said after a momentary silence. "You were right—he's always been waiting for Rei."

"…You okay?"

Mira laughed hollowly. "Yeah. No. I'm not. But I'll get over it."

Lavi looked at her questionably, as if asking her to elaborate, but Mira shook her head.

"…I lost sight of a lot of things because I…liked him," she said. "He's…just that way. But the person I am around him…isn't the person I want to be. I want to be that strong, modern, independent woman at the forefront of change. Being around him doesn't encourage that…it's like fighting in quicksand. The more you want to move, the more you'll sink. No way out." She heaved a sigh. "I wonder if Rei feels the same way…if that's why she kept leaving, but she keeps coming back too. It makes me think…"

She stopped here, a near insult on the tip of her tongue because she could not deny the resentment she felt when she thought of Rei.

"That she has no self-respect?" guessed Lavi.

Mira looked his way, surprised. He grinned wryly.

"Believe me, this is something I've thought about too often," he said. "I think it can come off that way—but at the same time, it's not like I can claim to be guiltless. I've always been trying to push her back to him."

"Why?"

Lavi shrugged. "Because it always seems like Mikk needs her."

"…But what about Kanda?"

Again, a shrug. "He's more stable than Mikk is. He doesn't…he doesn't need her the way Mikk does—it's just a matter of that strange chemistry lingering between them. Like it feels, I don't know…right or something." Lavi stretched slightly in his seat. "But that's really not the point right now. I've done enough—probably too much—and it's more or less up to the three of them now. I don't know what Rei's thinking but—"

A loud vibrating sound, followed by an outburst of Pachabel's Canon, cut off his sentence. Mira arched an eyebrow.

"Canon in D? Really?" she said disparagingly.

"What, too generic for you?"

"It's only played at every fucking wedding."

Lavi scoffed and answered his phone. "Bookman here."

He seemed to be listening absentmindedly for a few seconds, but then the car swerved and screeched to a sudden halt that threw Mira violently against her seatbelt.

"What the hell, Bookman—"

"When?" he demanded.

Mira looked at him peculiarly. "What's going—"

He motioned for her to be quiet, and it was only in respect of his expression—panicked, anxious, concentrated—that she remained silent.

"…He left?" said Lavi hoarsely.

A pause as he listened, and then a slight nod.

"Right, I'll see what I can do—meet you…Illusion? You have stuff there? Yo, man, are you safe just driving around—fine, all right," he said sharply, "priorities. I'm on my way."

Mira stared at him as he hung up.

"What's going on?"

"Rei's been kidnapped," he said tersely, pulling back onto the road at breakneck speed.

It took a few seconds for it to sink in. "What?"

"It's a long story," said Lavi. "Point is, they want Mikk—"

"Who's 'they'?"

Lavi winced. "The…er…combination of a London underground criminal organization and the Japanese yakuza."

Mira stared. "Why?"

"Long story," said Lavi again. "They want Mikk, he went like a dumbass, and no one knows where they are—we're meeting Kanda at Illusion to see if we can do something because he, funnily enough, has supercomputers at his company and we can probably find something there—in the meantime, you should probably stick with me for safekeeping. It's going to be a long night."


Broken bones took only a few minutes to reseal before they had to be broken again for proper healing. Rei's wrist was far past that stage by now, but it was the last thing on her mind as she remained alone in a room of some unidentified warehouse somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The pain jolted in and out of her arm, from her wrist to her shoulder, but it wasn't something she could focus on, no matter how distracting it was.

She was not so gullible as to actually believe that Kanda was dead. Or perhaps she merely refused to believe something so unfathomable—Kanda, dead? The thought was nearly laughable. Kanda, in so many ways, seemed more indestructible than Tyki ever was.

She could not pretend, though, that she was not rattled by the thought. Was Eiji really still doing this? After Kate, after the last four years…

The last four years had been so stupid. She had been a fool to ever believe that Eiji genuinely cared for what she thought or how she'd acted—if her survival was his sole responsibility, then what was her approval for his actions worth? He had no conscience, and Kanda meant nothing to him, no matter how much he meant to Rei.

And then there was Tyki.

Rei let out a shallow breath, ignoring the beads of perspiration that were rolling down the sides of her face. She felt slightly sick, feverish, and wanted nothing better than to fall asleep. It was not an option. She knew innately that Tyki would do whatever Leverrier wanted—the idiot. She had an hour. Trying to escape was a stupid idea, but at least it was one; she had no other options.

Rei had slid off her shoes and kicked them to her bound wrists. The stiletto's heel could serve as an edge that she could try and cut the ropes with. As for what she would do after that…she grimaced. It would be up to improvisation.

The minutes ticked by slowly. She was grateful that her captors left her alone; she could see a shadow walking back and forth, just one. When Leverrier had spoken with her—that hawk-like bastard in all his superiority and callousness—he had been accompanied by two other men. Rei could not imagine that Leverrier himself would be patrolling, so if she could just take down one person…

She smiled ruefully. To think that everything she had worked so hard not to be, how hard she'd tried to stop being a bodyguard…it was ironic. Once she got out…if she got out—she gritted her teeth as she accidentally shoved the heel against her broken wrist and sent an excruciating pain through her left arm. If she got out, she would start working out again. Spiting Eiji was not worth giving up her only control over her survival…

She moved the ropes incessantly against the heel. It was like shaving bark off a tree with a pocketknife. Agonizingly slow.

She wanted a clock.

But maybe she didn't. Ignorance removed the prospect of death several times over.


"Do tell me," said Leverrier, tapping the table in front of him, "how is it that infamous playboy Tyki Mikk would come prior to the one hour mark to supposedly save a former lover? Is your dedication so strong—or should I say, pathetic?"

Tyki smirked wryly and dropped his cigarette to the ground.

"Your men are rather kind," he said, glancing backward at the two men behind him as he smothered the dying flame on the stick. "They didn't blindfold me and even let me smoke in the car."

"Common courtesy, of course. We have nothing to lose."

"And everything to gain," agreed Tyki.

Leverrier only smiled cryptically.

"So where is she?" Tyki asked calmly.

"Not in this room," said Leverrier pleasantly.

"I can see that," said Tyki evenly, "which is precisely why I asked."

"Hasty, aren't we?"

"I'd like to see her."

"So what? You can tell her some affectionate yet empty words about helping the both of you leave?"

"No, it's a message slightly more substantial," said Tyki dryly. "I assure you, no foul play involved. You, after all, have everything to gain and nothing to lose."

Leverrier shrugged and stood up.

"Very well," he said. "Madarao, Tokusa, let's go."

Tyki followed them out of the room and down a large, dimly lit hallway. Outside the last room on the left stood a young female with wavy blonde hair—she did not look above twenty.

"Tewaku," said Leverrier. "How is everything?"

"Quiet," was the mellow reply. "She's not doing anything stupid. It almost looks like she's sleeping."

Tyki would've been incredibly impressed if Rei was just sleeping and decided not to voice that in her situation, sitting quietly was the last thing she would do.

Leverrier opened the door; the rest of them followed him in. Rei was sitting against a pillar on the left side of the room. The clear startled response from her when she saw Tyki made it evident that she had not been expecting him.

"What are you doing?" she said.

"Did you think I would leave you all by yourself?" he said ironically.

"No, it's—there's no way it's been an hour," she said, panting slightly.

"…I think it has been," said Tyki.

"No—it would take you at least half an hour to get here, that's what I felt—"

"You were conscious for the car ride?" said Tyki, surprised. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"Like what?" she snapped. "Kick open a car door?"

"Yes," he said mildly.

"I haven't worked out in years—"

"A fine dilemma your pettiness has landed you in," he said. "Lesson learned, I suppose? Don't get all huffy and disappear for four years after your dad kills your best friend?"

Rei glared at him.

"Was this your substantial message?" said Leverrier deprecatingly.

"No, not really," said Tyki. "I suppose it was rather substantial though. That pretty much just summarized what I've thought of her for the last four years. That being said…" Tyki stretched his arms slightly. "Substantial message. Oh. Right. Kanda's still alive."

There was a stunned silence. It was an superb situation to take advantage of. Tyki whirled around and punched the nearest person to him—Madarao? Tokusa? It didn't matter, for there was a wonderful crunching sound when Tyki's fist connected with his victim's nose and then all hell broke loose—the element of surprise was excellent but unfortunately only worked once. Leverrier's men were highly trained and it took only a split second for a gun barrel to dig into the back of his head.

"Relax, relax," said Tyki, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was just having some fun."

"Should've expected nothing less," spat Tewaku, who was jamming the gun to his head with surprising ferocity. "Noah always play dirty."

"That's enough, Tewaku," said the man whose nose Tyki had broken. He grimaced as he pushed it into place and shook the blood off his face before straightening up to face Tyki. "I'll take care of him." "Madarao—"

"Listen to your brother, Tewaku," said the other male who could only be Tokusa. "He's been looking forward to this for a while, anyway."

Tewaku let out an angry hiss and removed the gun. Tyki looked around.

"So what's going on?" he asked enjoyably.

"Howard Link was like a brother to me," said Madarao. "I look forward to dealing retribution."

"Ah. Link. See, about that, there's this misunderstanding—"

He did not have the opportunity to finish his sentence before a heavy blow crashed against the side of his face; his head exploded with pain as, winded, he fell back a few steps, blinking black dots out of his eyes. He thought he heard Rei scream—but maybe not, because when he straightened up, he saw her face, bloodless and frightened, but not without composure. Perhaps she was more coldhearted than he thought.

"Great," muttered Tyki, touching his jaw tenderly. The slightest brush renewed the pain with throbbing vigor. "Could we release her before this gets out of hand?"

"I think you know that we never had that intention," said Leverrier smoothly.

Tyki scoffed. "It was worth a shot. Let's take this outside, shall we?"

"You wouldn't like her to watch and offer moral support?"

"Men and their pride, right?"

Leverrier beckoned for them to leave, but not before he turned to Rei.

"No final words for him?" he asked.

"…None whatsoever," said Rei, her voice raspy.

Leverrier looked between the two of them. "Odd relationship you two have. You certain she was worth coming for?"

Tyki shrugged. "I don't think I could quite live it down if I left her to die."

The moment they stepped out and the door shut behind them, someone grabbed Tyki's arms and pulled them behind while another fist collided with the side of his face; he felt the blow and then the doubled wave of pain that seized his head and rattled it voraciously—the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he spat it out. Something white and cubed fell out. His tongue unconsciously ran over his teeth and dipped down into a gap at the end of the row.

"So much for your bravado," he said breathlessly.

"How would we survive if we didn't play dirty, too?" sneered Tokusa from behind. "We can't compare to you Noah though, willing to strike deals with anyone as long as it gets the job done."

"Take it to the main room," said Leverrier. Tyki could see his footsteps leading the way. "He has a nice face, I'm sure you three have noticed. I wouldn't mind seeing it marked up a bit by the end."


"What kind of place like this exists in a fashion company—"

"Save your fascination, woman," said Kanda as Mira and Lavi came running into the computer base under the main floor of the building. "Bookman, here." He tossed something at Lavi.

"What is it?" said Lavi, examining it briefly.

"Manual."

"To what?"

"…The computers."

Lavi stared. "You have supercomputers that cost a fortune under your company and you don't even know how to use them?"

"That's what you're here for, dimwit," said Kanda sourly. "You guys took ages to get here—we're already past the hour mark and for all we know, they could be dead."

"Here," said Lavi exasperatedly, dragging up a chair and pulling in front of a few large screens. "I've actually played on these before—"

"These are American-made!" said Mira, aghast. "Oak Ridge, no less! How do you have—"

"Connections," said Kanda shortly.

"Gramps," said Lavi at the same time. "Here, hang on…okay, what am I doing?"

"Track Rei's phone."

Ten minutes of ensued silence punctuated by tapping keys.

"Can't," said Lavi tersely.

Kanda did not ask for a reason.

"Mikk's."

"Already on it." Another long pause. "Can't."

Kanda nearly hissed. Mira saw his eyes flash up to the clock before looking back at the screens that both of them knew nothing about.

"I'm out of options," said Kanda.

"Man, you suck," sighed Lavi, dragging up camera images. "Rei couldn't have been far from Mikk's house—if we just…"

A ring-tone interrupted Lavi. Kanda looked down at his phone and scowled before answering it.

"What?" he said.

Mira just looked on as Lavi continued to pull screens up. Uselessness—a feeling she was not accustomed—began to seep into her. Why did book-smarts never get her as far as she needed them to take her? What, indeed, could she do in a situation like this—Rei was kidnapped and Tyki

"WS24KDT?" said Kanda. "Bookman—"

"Already got it," said Lavi, searching the license plate. "Is that all they've gotten?"

"Is that all you have?" said Kanda into the phone. "…Seriously? Fine."

He hung up without another word.

"Noah?" said Lavi.

"Her dad. Bastard, each and every one of them."

"Drop it for now," said Lavi shortly. "I'm not going to be able to control myself if we keep talking about him."

Kanda glanced in Lavi's direction but said nothing, letting the pressurized concentration filter in the room and allowing Lavi his space. Mira shifted nervously, thinking—what if Rei and Tyki both—no, that was just impossible, so stupid, so stupid, get a grip on yourself.

"It's going to take too long," said Lavi finally. "Tracking the car based on cameras is too slow—we won't get the location in time if we're just narrowing down the ranges."

"Try anyway," said Kanda curtly. "It's the only thing we can do. The Noah are useless; I don't know who they have but—"

"What if you track the car's GPS system?" said Mira abruptly. "Take the license plate and find the insurance company—if it has a GPS system—"

"Makes sense," said Lavi. "Guess your Harvard brain is good for something."

Mira scowled. "Thanks."

She did not retort any more than that to let Lavi regain his concentration. It took longer, this time, with a few wasted precious minutes making the call to the insurance company and waiting for the machine to redirect them to an actual representative. Kanda nearly broke Lavi's phone in half when they were told that they had no right to access the location of the insured vehicle, and it was only after much roundabout arguing—mostly Kanda shouting and Lavi coolly demanding the information—before the representative finally realized that it was no joking matter and advised them to contact the police.

"Call the fucking police then," snapped Kanda. "In the meantime, get us the fucking address before we all get fucked over—"

"Language, Kanda," said Lavi under his breath. "If you could send us the address—it'll be faster if we can get there first—"

"Sir, all kidnapping cases should be handled by the police—"

"WOMAN!"

"Sir, I do not appreciate being shouted at—"

"Please," said Kanda with utter resent and bitterness.

Lavi looked at him briefly before he said, "Miss? We'd appreciate the address."

"…Very well," said the woman reluctantly, "but if I get fired—"

"I'll hire you for your excellent discretion and customer service," smiled Lavi.

"What customer service," muttered Kanda. Lavi hit him.

"Very well, I'm sending the address to your provided email address…"

"Thanks," said Lavi, hanging up.

Kanda let out a long breath. Lavi looked up at him.

"You okay, mate?"

"Just work," Kanda said grimly.

"…Look, they're fine—"

"Shut up and get the address, Bookman."

Lavi shook his head and pulled up his email address. Mira briefly saw that he had over 30,000 unread messages.

"Got it," said Lavi, squinting despite the fact that the screen spanned the wall. "They're far—it'll take us around half an hour—"

"Let's go," said Kanda, already taking his keys and heading out the door. Lavi followed suit.

"Don't you need to write down the address?" Mira blanched.

"Already have it memorized."

"What—"

"Photographic memory," said Lavi, tapping his head. "Remember the Vogue interview?"

She hated smart people.


"WHAT?"

Lavi rubbed his temples as he adjusted the volume of the speaker phone.

"Allen, calm down—"

"WHY IS THIS—"

"SHUT UP!" bellowed Kanda. "You're going to fuck up my driving—we've already got the address, we're on our way—we've told her stupid dad—"

"Have you called the police?" said Allen sharply.

"Dunno if we should," said Lavi.

"Of course you should!" he exclaimed. "What the hell—shouldn't this have been a priority?"

"Business like this doesn't worry that way."

"Too bad," said Allen angrily, "I'm calling and…and…holy shit, what if they die—"

Kanda had been rather impressed with his overall handle of the situation and was appreciative that neither other occupant in the car was flipping a shit either. Allen was not helping.

"Fucking little ray of sunshine, aren't you," Kanda muttered.

He accelerated.


She didn't know how much time had passed.

She had just a little bit left. The scraping had taken so painstakingly long, but she wasn't complaining—she was just glad it had worked at all. Rei held her breath as she reached the final stretch, just one more strand—in her eagerness, her weak hold on the heel slipped and it went jabbing into her limp left hand. Rei gasped, reining in the desire to scream. Blinking tears out of her eyes, she readjusted slowly and with one final and excruciating tug, pulled the loosened rope against the heel. There was a satisfying snap and her hands grew free.

Rei stood up gingerly, careful with her injured arm as she let it fall rigidly to her side. The other arm she shook out, hastening the blood flow; judging from the shadows under the door, there was only one person outside. From the sound of the shoes, it was the young girl who looked younger than Rei—still, though, Rei had not worked out in years and this girl looked to be at her prime. She couldn't weigh the odds, though, overwhelming though they were. Who knew how long Tyki would last…

She took one of the pumps and approached the exit slowly and deliberately. It was a rather sad weapon but perhaps she had surprise as well; she wasn't counting on much else.

Rei took a deep breath, reminded herself of the mental note that she would never let herself be this vulnerable again, and slammed the door open.

Tewaku's reaction was immediate. Rei saw a flash of blonde hair only briefly before she felt a hand grip around her throat, tightening as it shoved her against the wall. She did not wait for anything else. Ignoring the pain, she took the heel in her right hand and swung it forward blindly, mildly surprised when she felt it connect, disgusted when she felt it squelch into flesh.

Tewaku gasped and let Rei go, an opening that Rei took advantage of. She pummeled forward, knocking Tewaku off her feet and plunging her good fist as hard as she could into Tewaku's stomach. The effect was pathetic; when such a punch could have knocked someone out cold four years ago, it wouldn't have made Tewaku flinch at all had Rei not hit precisely where her heel had stabbed. Tewaku grimaced and jerked her knee upward, connecting like a boulder straight into Rei's ribcage. A fresh wave of pain hit her as she swore she could hear something crack and a throbbing sensation perforated on her right side. Dazed and temporarily stunned, Rei could only clutch her side in stupor as Tewaku straightened up and aimed another kick; she barely saw it coming and only rolled out of the way as the tip of Tewaku's boot buried itself her other side.

In a split second of physical genius, Rei managed to suppress the universal ache in her body for a brief second and twisted her torso so that her leg went swinging wildly in Tewaku's direction, catching her feet and knocking her back to the ground. Unfortunately, Tewaku went down gracefully; she landed precisely on Rei and brought a hand up to Rei's throat.

"You should probably stay in place," said Tewaku breathlessly.

"Slightly…difficult," panted Rei, "given the situation."

Wordlessly, Tewaku grabbed Rei's left hand and slammed it as hard as she could against the ground. It was impossible to repress the scream—she felt her hand nearly snap again and instinctively jerked up both her knees. It thankfully connected with Tewaku and forced her to roll over; as she did, Rei spotted the gun in her holster and lunged for it. Tewaku didn't seem to notice what Rei was going for, for she only paced away after Rei tugged it out of its holder and, as if she had played with guns for the last four years, cocked it familiarly.

Her aim, however, was tremulous. Standing up was quite possibly the most arduous task she'd ever done. The pain from her throat, her sides, her wrist especially, was starting to cloud her vision. Her breaths came shallowly as she tried to hold the gun as steadily as she could with one hand.

"Give me a break," snarled Tewaku. "You can't even stand, let alone shoot—have you ever even killed someone?"

She found herself smiling. "…No," she breathed. "I haven't. Have you?"

Tewaku looked taken aback by the inquiry.

"No, right?" said Rei. "But your brothers have. And so has Tyki." She breathed in deeply. "I can't see well right now. If I aim for your leg, I might end up shooting your chest. Don't make me start with you."

"You're just going to have to deal with that."

Tewaku moved. Steeling as much concentration that she had, Rei steadied her aim and pulled the trigger; instantaneously, Tewaku fell to the ground with a shrieking gasp. Blood pooled around her collapsed leg as she made a valiant effort to move it but couldn't. Rei didn't take any chances; once again steadying her arm, she slammed deftly down in a chopping motion against the back of Tewaku's neck. It rolled and she fell still, unconscious.

Relieved, Rei left her and began her journey down the hall—it was not terribly long but every step felt like a mile. Near the end, she saw two people approaching and ducked into the shadows of an adjacent hall.

"…He's slightly more resilient than I'd anticipated," said one of them.

"He's immobile, Madarao. I believe Leverrier's going to finish him off, but I think he wants to bring the girl to watch—Tewaku? Tewaku!"

They broke into a run, and right as they passed, Rei smashing the gun as hard as she could down on the one closest to her. It was a low move, but it was effective. He collapsed immediately, but then Tokusa rounded on her, grabbing her and slamming her against the wall. A forceful punch to the stomach followed by another round of pain had her blinking tears and black dots out of her eyes.

"What did you do to Tewaku?" he demanded.

"She's not dead," breathed Rei. "Go check."

"After I've killed you first—"

Rei pulled the trigger blindly. The sound of it was so forceful that it caused her to recoil along with Tokusa, who staggered away, cursing and stopping the blood that was now pouring out of his hip.

"Sorry," she said.

She aimed again and shot twice: one in each leg. Tokusa fell to his knees, and now the routine was rudimentary; Rei slashed the hilt of the gun down against his head and he collapsed as well—was she numb? Her hands were shaking violently now—they weren't dead, were they?

But it wasn't something she should've been thinking about. Staggering now, she hovered against the wall and reached the end of the long hallway where at last she heard Leverrier's sickening voice. Recklessly, she opened the door and entered, feet unsteady, vision blurred, but gun raised.

The first thing she saw was a mess in a chair. Next to it was Leverrier. She looked back to the mess and she felt something inside her twist in the same contusions that marred Tyki's face. It wasn't just the work of fists—she could see the indelicate grazes of knives on his forehead and cheeks. The starched white shirt he'd come in was now torn and dyed in a motley collection of reds and browns; he was limp, his arms dangling at his sides. He looked unconscious, for amidst the blood and bruises, his golden eyes were closed. Rei was thankful—she knew that he would not want her to see him like this, nor did she want him to see her this filled with fury.

"Oh?" said Leverrier, his clothes pristine. "What's this? Where are Tokusa and Madarao?"

"Step away from him," said Rei quietly, her hands trembling out of what, she didn't know—blinding pain or the uncontrollable rage that inundated her—

"You didn't seriously take them out, did you?" he said, surprised.

"Move."

"Come now, I couldn't believe that just a little girl could take all three of them out—"

"I said move!" she screamed, and her fingers pulled the trigger without control. She missed—the bullet pelted itself past Leverrier's shoulder and shattered something behind him.

Shivering, she cocked the gun again and hobbled forward.

"Move," she said again.

Leverrier sneered but obliged. Rei found herself standing him and Tyki, a buffer.

"Eiji's taught you well."

"Get on the ground," said Rei.

"Now, child," said Leverrier mockingly, "you don't really think I believe that you can pull that trigger to kill, do you?"

Rei said nothing.

"No, even after seeing your dear Tyki Mikk in such a state, you don't have the gall to kill someone," said Leverrier silkily. "Think of how far you've fallen for him, Rei. I've heard about you before—a bright, upright girl with bodyguard talent and much—perhaps too much—purity. I'm afraid the media paints a much different picture these days."

Leverrier sighed and glanced at the door.

"No one's going to come for you," said Rei. "They're all out cold."

"See? You know, Tokusa and Madarao are the ones who did that to Mikk. You couldn't even kill them—how do you think you could kill me?" Leverrier's sneer widened at her silence. "How about this? I killed Kate Schrödlich."

Rei's fingers froze over the trigger.

Leverrier continued. "Yes, that night, your father was actually the one to shoot the wheel of the car, causing you to crash. He'd, surprisingly enough, missed. I, well, Tokusa actually, was the one to make up for his incompetency, but we'd both mistaken your model friend for Kanda. Details are slightly confusing, but I've replayed it—your father thinks he killed the model, and I didn't bother to correct him. Needless to say, the death of someone so famous led us to remain underground for a while. Shame, though, that in the end, Kanda Yuu is still alive."

"Stop talking."

"Not enough to make you crack? Well, then, what if I said I killed your mother as well?"

"Shut up."

"It was easy, really, a simple car crash—"

"Shut up."

"Very easy to arrange—"

"SHUTUP!"

There was a resounding crack and a resolving grunt on Leverrier's part as the bullet lodged itself into his shoulder—Leverrier doubled over, clutching the wound, and Rei found the adrenaline pumping now, the pain dulled, overridden by anger and a mad desire to harm; she was tired, so, so, tired of being chased by shadows she knew nothing of, she did not want to deal with the piece of shit that was Leverrier, and her father too—she wanted to sleep, she wanted rest, she wanted Tyki to be okay—and at the thought of Tyki's distorted countenance and haggard breaths, she grew incensed, found herself cocking the gun and aiming it with such steady assurance—she knew she could kill him, she would, and it would all be over—what did it mean to take a life anyway, she'd lived like the dead for the last four years and it hadn't mattered, and this man was better off dead, the world didn't need him, she didn't need him, she needed Tyki to be okay—

"Well?" said Leverrier, still smirking. "Why don't you aim a little better this time?"

She aimed—this was easy—

"How far will you fall this time for Tyki Mikk?"

"Not far at all, you piece of shit," she snarled. One bullet to the head, that was all it would take, six point five grams of copper and lead was the equivalent to one life, not bad at all—

"…Rei," said a weary, weary voice behind her.

She felt something lean on her back; the weight of Tyki's head was a reassuring one that jarred her back to reality. A hand snaked slowly around her waist and up to her right arm, pulling it lower. She tugged out of his grasp, ignoring him—she didn't want to look at him—she was scared but couldn't admit it—how were they going to get out of this, anyway, if she didn't kill him they couldn't get out—

His hand stubbornly came back and pulled at her arm more insistently this time, reaching for the piece of metal in her hands.

"Don't," he breathed. "…It's enough."

"He's not going to stop," said Rei shakily. "Kate, my mom…" Her hand brushed against his gently, then forced it away as she gripped the hilt of the gun with renewed conviction.

"Quaint," said Leverrier. "But you're just all bark and no bite, Rei. Why don't you let Mikk do it then—cleaning up after you seems to be his favorite pastime, after all."

Rei took in a deep breath. She was not going to last much longer—physically or mentally—her head hurt, she wanted to sleep, something inside of her hurt, she wanted to cry, she wanted it to end—one simple pull, and she would get what she wanted. Was it so bad?

"Rei," said Tyki again, his voice softer, more urgent.

She didn't answer him. With familiar dexterity, actions from long ago, she raised the gun a little steadier, one-handed, her left hand now spiking pain to her head, the right angle, shooting couldn't be half-hearted or else it would backfire, the aim had to be consistent, slightly lower from her left eye's vision—and then it was just a matter of steeling her will—she gritted her teeth, one pull, that was it—she did it, but Tyki pulled her hand down and though the gun vibrated from the force of the shot, she knew that Leverrier would not fall, and in her washed an enormous relief, because she couldn't have done it, she didn't…

But then Leverrier fell. And blood flowed from his head.

And the sounds came filtering to her ears ten seconds too late; the door banging open, and another gun shot, and then the heavy weight of Leverrier's body falling to the ground, and a chill that seized her. Had she done it? How had…

"…You missed, Rei," said Eiji as he stepped closer, the tip of the gun in his hand smoking. Rei turned dumbly to him, all energy sapped from her. She could no longer keep her grip and let her gun fall to the ground with a metallic clack. Never had she been so glad to be rid of something she was so comfortable with.

"The police are on their way," said Eiji gently, "as well as the ambulance that will take you to the hospital. You—"

Rei stopped listening to him, for it was at this point that she found that she no longer cared about anything than Tyki, that if she had killed Leverrier it wouldn't have mattered at all because she would've done it again—she turned to Tyki and kneeled down in front of him.

"Tyki?" she whispered, trembling.

"…Hi, Rei," he said gently, leaning his forehead against hers.

Beneath the contusions, his lips quirked into a smile, and it was at this sight that Rei could no longer hold herself back. The tears began to flow uncontrollably with the suppressed fear and overwhelming anxiety, the realization that she was so lucky to be alive, that Tyki was alive, that Tyki had even bothered coming for her at all. Tyki let out a soft groan as Rei locked her arms around his neck but he did not push her away, or perhaps it was because he was too injured to do anything to resist.

"Don't…cry," he said quietly, before he let out a breath of contained discomfort. "I…I'm fine…"

She did not stop. Couldn't. The sobs raked her body in panic, relief, fear, pain—Tyki's arms, after evident struggle, wrapped around her waist as her sobs grew more uncontrolled, as the shock began to fade and reality began to settle in with all its brute force. Energy, expended, he couldn't manage anything else.

Neither could she.

But it was enough.


free talk:

i'm so sorry for the wait. life has been, needless to say, busy, and i really hit a dead end with this chapter. perhaps it was too melodramatic, but the act of getting this chapter done has gotten me back on my feet (hopefully, lj later for more.) thank you to all for waiting patiently.

i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving. to all those in school, good luck on finals. i won't be updating before finals (haha, i won't be doing anything except sleeping with my biology book), but i think you can anticipate another chapter around christmas time. :)

thanks again,

xoxo,
m.n