Surprisingly enough, despite her criminal background and her past experiences, kidnapping had never been something Ame ever thought she'd have to suffer through. She was more used to the "kill-or-be-killed" atmosphere, not the "stay-put-until-we-can-kill-the-real-target" one. Even if she definitely lacked experience in this kind of situation, though, she wasn't the kind of person to be unprepared. Her field of expertise was breaking-and-entering, infiltration, crocheting locks, and all of the other skills that could come in handy for a thief. Adding to that the special evasion techniques she had been taught over the years, well, needless to say, breaking free from the handcuffs biting into her wrists had been child's play.

Now, if only I knew what exactly was going on…

She hadn't been taken by assassins, that much was obvious. Otherwise, she wouldn't have woken up. She also seriously doubted she was into one of the government's facilities, considering she had woken up in a rather comfortable and mildly familiar room. The curtains were closed, so she couldn't see outside, but she didn't need to look to know she wasn't close enough to the ground to attempt a more reckless escape attempt.

All right, keep your cool. What do you know?

She knew she wasn't the target, merely the bait. She knew there was more than one enemy, and she had an inkling that fighting off all of them simply wasn't possible. She didn't have any of her equipment and, saved for her clothes, only her ring was left. Though, considering the mild ache in her finger, she easily guessed they had tried to take it off—

Wait, my hair!

As a precaution, she often used a special glue to stick very thin needles to her hair. No one ever noticed a thing, and she had exactly six of those. The only downside was that they could be used only once since they were so thin: they broke very easily. However, in her situation, she had no place to be picky about her weapons.

There's a camera, so they're surely already aware that I'm awake, and that I've managed to free myself from the handcuffs. Why anyone has yet to show up, I don't know, but I better make my move before they do.

Glancing around the room, she quickly calculated the distance between the door and the bed. Then, letting out a small breath, she steeled herself… and jumped. In two strides, she was at the door. As expected, it was locked, but a well-calculated blow easily broke the handle and the lock, and she quickly found herself outside. Her step faltered a bit when she suddenly found herself in an easily recognizable hallway.

I'm in the Citadel!? Damn it, how long was I out for!?

But now wasn't the time. Now that she knew where she was, she also knew what to do. As long as she could get to either the bottom floor or the top one, she'd be fine. Leaving behind the weapons she usually always carried on her left a bitter taste in her mouth but, in the end, escaping was more important than retrieving them.

And according to the map hanging on the corner, I'm apparently two floors under the top one. Should I try my luck with the bottom floor or should I head to the penthouse and mix up with the other rich brats?

She had the utmost faith in her friends and colleagues—she knew the Zodiac would storm Heaven, Hell, and everything in between to rescue her. And, while she didn't particularly enjoy playing the part of the damsel in distress, there wasn't much she could do to save herself at the moment. For now, all she could do was to stay alive until her rescue party dropped by, and the only way to do that was for her to escape the Citadel and find a safe place to hide.

The bottom floor it is, then.

For a moment, she entertained the thought of blending in like the last time they infiltrated the place, but she quickly forgot about it. She had no idea of how many people she was working against, meaning that she didn't know whom amongst the staff and the "tourists" would instantly see through her charade. So, forgetting all about a potential infiltration, she simply decided to make a run for it.

I don't know if they have control of the elevators, so my best bet at escaping would be the stairs. There are twelve floors above ground that I know of, including the penthouse, and I'm currently on the seventh one. Taking the stairs will take me a while and they'll inevitably cut me off before I can reach the bottom, or they will wait for me there. Plus, with all of the cameras around, it'll hard for me to make a move they won't be able to handle—

An idea suddenly popped into her head. Usually, people underestimated her because of her gender, her age, her height, or just her general appearance. However, whoever had taken her hadn't: they knew whom they were dealing with—or in a rather superficial way, at least. They expected her to be an extremely skilled agent worthy of being a member of the Zodiac, and they surely knew a lot if Inu—Reaper collaborated with them.

Meaning they don't expect me to make a stupid move… which is exactly what I'm about to do.

Holding back a grin, Ame forgot about the stairs and started running down the hallway, straight toward the elevators. The sudden movement certainly caught the attention of whoever was watching her through the cameras because, barely a few seconds later, heavy footsteps and muffled shouts started echoing from all around. Then, at once, a group of men in suits appeared at the other end of the hallway. Completely ignoring them, she stepped onto the elevator, and the doors closed just before they could reach her.

Let's get this party started!

A few minutes earlier

"Boss, she's awake."

A black-haired man opened his eyes, revealing reddish irises. Tanaka Sho hadn't been sleeping, impatiently waiting for the wakening of their new guest, and it would seem it was finally time. Stretching his arms, he then rose from the couch and walked over to the numerous screens and computers set up in the back of the room, before which sat a single, orange-haired woman.

"What's she doing?" he asked, peering at one screen in particular.

The girl they had abducted not even twenty-four hours earlier was already fully awake, a clear proof of the resistance to somniferous substances she had developed over the years. She was sitting on the bed, closely examining every corner of the room, and her eyes lingering a little longer on the camera through which they were observing her. Then, without warning, her handcuffs came off and fell on the floor.

"Michael's the one who put them on!" instantly exclaimed a blond-haired man, pointing accusingly man in question. "He's the one who put the handcuffs wrong!"

"I didn't put them wrong!" instantly refuted the red-haired man. "I know how to handcuff someone just fine!"

"Oh yeah? Then how did she free herself so easily?"

"I don't know, but at least I'm not the idiot who got stabbed by a katana, uh?"

"Why you—"

"Chamuel, Michael, enough," sighed another man with dark, greenish hair. "She's obviously skilled with picking locks, is all. Honestly, it's not a surprise considering who she is."

"Ariel is right. We ought not to let our guard down with her," nodded the woman, before glancing at the man beside her. "Boss, should we send someone?"

"No, Gabrielle, I want to see what she'll do next," instantly refused the black-haired leader, leaning a little closer to the screen. "I want to see what Saru's cherished apprentice is made of."

"She's still just a kid," snorted a purple-haired man, currently sharpening a knife. "No matter how skilled she might be, she's just a brat with no killing intent. And, in our world, if she doesn't aim to kill, then she's as good as done for."

"That might be so, Jophiel, but that certainly won't stop her," mused Ariel.

On the screen, Ame had dashed for the door and had easily broken the lock with a well-calculated kick. She left the room, though she instantly reappeared on the next screen. Once more, she quickly examined her surroundings, spotting the cameras once again. She was tensed, ready to pounce at the single sign of a threat.

"She looks like a scared little kitten," grinned Michael. "How cute, really, thinking she can actually escape from us."

She suddenly started running. Not wasting a second, the orange-haired woman pressed on a button, sending a group of their men after her. They couldn't make it too easy, either.

Chamuel gasped. "Is she going to take the elevator?"

"Of course not," scoffed the red-haired man, rolling his eyes. "As if she'd be dumb enough to—"

"She's taking the elevator," cut off Gabrielle in a flat tone.

Everyone instantly fell silent. They hadn't expected her to actually make such a stupid move. Had she not expected them to have control over the elevators? Only the black-haired leader didn't seem all that surprised, though, as he stared at the new screen where images from inside the elevator were displayed. The girl, Naoki Ame, suddenly looked up to the camera and, next thing they knew, the screen went blank.

"We lost the camera," announced Gabrielle with a mild frown.

"Wait, how'd she do that?" exclaimed Chamuel.

"Looks like someone didn't properly strip her of her weapons," drawled Michael.

"I checked everywhere I could check, and Gabrielle took care of the rest!" protested the blond.

"She's obviously heading for the bottom floor," pointed out Ariel, ever the strategist. "Gabrielle, take control of the elevator and stop her at the first floor. Send ten of our men there, and ten of them at the second floor."

"Boss?"

"Do as Ariel says," confirmed the leader, smirking a bit. "Let's see how far she'll manage to go."

So, the orange-haired woman did as asked and quickly got to work. In less than thirty seconds, ten men had surrounded the elevator doors on the first floor, and ten more did the same on the second floor. However, when the doors on the first floor opened… she wasn't inside. Two men went in to check, only to find the trap on the ceiling wide open.

"Is she trying to climb up the elevator conduct?" wondered Chamuel.

"No," instantly corrected Ariel, looking more closely at the screen. He then grinned a bit. "Clever girl. She's still inside."

"What?"

Ame breathed in deeply. She had hoped her little ruse would be enough to deceive them but, after a moment, she realized that the men weren't leaving to "go after her", meaning whoever was leading hadn't fallen for it.

Plan B, then.

At once, she kicked open the side panel of the elevator behind which she had been hiding. She had managed to unscrew it from the wall after blinding the camera, but it would seem her efforts had only served to buy her some time. So, kicking it open, she managed to knock down the two men still inside. Grabbing the metal panel, she then pounced outside and rammed into the five men standing before her. Then, swinging it around, she knocked out another one. Just as the eighth one got close enough, she kicked him harshly in the guts, and then slammed the panel into the face of the last one. She then dropped it onto the five men still lying on the ground for good measure. After what, she quickly grabbed the stun-gun hanging to one of the men's belt, hesitantly took a hold of another's gun, then rose back to her feet. Looking up, she stared straight at the camera and, gritting her teeth, she aimed and fired.

It would seem that whatever had happened with Takaoka had gotten rid of her trauma because, while the sound still shocked the hell out of her, it wasn't unbearable. Quickly shaking off the flashbacks, she then made a beeline for the staircase nearby.

"Oh, come on!"

As soon as she reached them, though, she found another dozen of men waiting for her. Many of those she had just knocked down were regaining their senses and rising back to their feet, and she soon found herself completely surrounded. Narrowing her eyes, she then slowly raised her hands.

"Alright, alright, I give," she stated, offering a sheepish smile. "Can't blame me for trying, right? But I can see when I'm at a disadvantage. However…" Her smile suddenly turned to a grin. "Doesn't mean I like losing!"

She pounced, jumping over the railing. She instantly started falling, but she managed to catch the gigantic crystal chandelier at the last moment. Instantly, many of the men started heading downstairs and gathering under it in order to block her escape route, but she simply climbed inside of it. Without warning, a flash of silver suddenly caught the light, before the chandelier suddenly shook. Time seemed to still, then—

"Timber!"

—it started falling. Panicked shouts echoed and all of the men in suits started running for cover as the chandelier crashed on the piano under it. Crystal shards flew all around as a cacophonic chaos took over the entire room.

"Well, talk about reckless," sweatdropped Michael.

"Did she just kill herself?" deadpanned Jophiel, unimpressed.

"She must have planned something else," protested Chamuel. "Ariel, what do you think?"

The green-haired man shrugged. "Hard to understand what's going on in her head. She keeps making decisions apparently stupid that end up working out somehow."

"She wasn't in the chandelier," suddenly announced Gabrielle. "We just lost two cameras in the hallway. She's already made a run for it."

"What? How?"

"She jumped just as the chandelier started falling," explained Tanaka, looking greatly entertained. "It was quite risky. A single wrong move and she would have been taken down with it. Where is she now?"

"Surely outside, at that point. She apparently knew about the backdoor and managed to make her way through during the confusion. The blinded cameras were just another trick to get us off track," scowled Gabrielle, not appreciating how she had been fooled so easily.

"But there's nothing on that side of the hotel," pointed out Chamuel, confused. "There's just a cliff side. How does she intend to escape that way?"

"Probably by climbing down. Her and her classmates infiltrated the Citadel not that long ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was how they managed to get inside in the first place," pointed out Ariel, rubbing his temples. "Boss, we should probably send one of ours, now. At the pace things are going, she'll manage to make it down the mountain, and then it'll be a hassle to find her and drag her back in here."

"Don't worry, Ariel," chuckled the dark-haired leader. "I've seen enough. I've already sent Azrael after her."

"I do hope you told him not to kill her," drawled Jophiel. "Otherwise, it's game over for her."

At that, Tanaka Sho paused. "… right. Forgot about that."

Ame let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as the fresh hair it her face and filled her lungs. It was probably the middle of the afternoon, so not the greatest moment to escape unnoticed, but it was a little late for subtlety at that point. So, not wasting any time, she dashed the cliff side. Just as she reached it, however, her guts suddenly churned painfully. Instantly, she dropped to the ground, and three knives embedded themselves just before her. The adrenaline started pumping faster through her veins as she jumped back to her feet, tensed, her gun now aimed at the newcomer.

He's different.

A man with indigo hair wearing a black hoodie was now standing before her, hands shoved in his pockets and his face completely unreadable. A black mask usually worn by sickly people covered his lower face, and his pale, grey eyes expressed no emotion whatsoever.

DANGER DANGER DANGER—

He moved. She instantly kicked two more knives away and managed to grab the other two before they could hit her face, instantly throwing them back. He moved, but it looked like he was sliding soundlessly on the ground as he got too close too quickly. She was forced to drop the gun and she raised her arms just in time to defend herself from his punch, but the strength behind it was enough to make her bones crack. She slid backward for about two meters, managing to stay on her feet but said feet digging into the ground.

What the hell kind of strength is that!?

Taking a hold of three of the knives on the ground, she then threw them back. Her new foe easily deflected them, but what he didn't expect was the needles hidden underneath the blades. Her three needles met their target and he stumbled back as they embedded themselves into his left shoulder, torso and stomach, respectively. Unfortunately, they weren't laced with any poison, so they wouldn't get him off her back, but they still hurt, so there was that. Grabbing two more knives, the girl then took a defensive stance. In such a situation, attacking him head on wouldn't work in her favour, so she needed to wait and find the right opening. Before she could try to plan anything, though, he was on the move again.

So fast! But—Her eyes hardened.—no as fast as Korosensei!

After seeing that dumb octopus every single day for months, she had gotten used to his insane speed, and anything that moved under Mach 20 speed now looked slow to her. Sure, he had taken her by surprise at first, what with being much faster than any normal human being, but she could now read his movements like an open book. Of course, she wasn't delusional enough to believe she could actually land a hit, so she simply kept defending herself.

I'll have to seriously thank Karasuma-sensei for his self-defence lessons, uh?

She kicked her leg upward and he instantly grabbed it, but she used the opportunity to kick her other leg up, her knee hitting the needle in his stomach. He grunted as the needle embedded itself even deeper and, though she had stabbed herself a little, it had totally been worth it—because since the needle was so thin, it had broken at the impact. Metallic shards fell on the ground, but the rest was still stuck in his body. She instantly swung her right hand at him, the knife lightly scratching his forehead. He released her, stumbling back a bit as the front of his black hoodie grew slightly damp, and a fine trail of blood escaped from the small scratch on his forehead.

I didn't hit anything vital, but that ought to give me a small advantage, still, she rationalized, taking back her stance. Now's my only chance!

She certainly wasn't as fast as him, but she was much faster than the average human, too. Plus, after escaping from Korosensei so many times, and after all of those training regimen with the girls, she had greatly developed her speed and her stamina. So, not wasting any more time, she pounced. She threw her two knives, making him stumble back some more, which gave just the opening she needed. She was aiming for his throat, hoping it'd be enough to give her the right occasion she needed to make a run for the cliff side. However, just as she reached him, a disgusting feeling of dread crashed on her. Her heart seemed to stop beating as her muscles stiffened, fear slithering through her veins. She could barely breathe as she froze in place, panic filling her mind.

So- so much killing intent…!

"Argh!"

Pain suddenly flared in her right thigh, snapping out of her daze. Jumping backward to put some distance between them, she then pulled out the small dart embedded in her thigh. So focused on the threat before her, she had failed to notice the other one coming right behind her. Out of nowhere, a blue-haired man had blown a dart her way, and she hadn't been able to avoid it. With the pain came a wave of dizziness, and she dropped the knives as her muscles went numb, no longer answering her will. She was forced to place a knee on the ground to avoid completely collapsing, and she glared at the newcomer who had interfered with their fight.

"Fascinating," he mused, readjusting his glasses and peering at her with unbound curiosity. "So you truly have built an immunity to somniferous substances, poisons, drugs, and things alike?"

"What- what the hell is that…?" she groaned, her vision a tad blurry.

"Well, normally, that shot would have knocked out anyone in the span of three seconds," he mused, kneeling before her. "I've never seen anyone awake after being injected with it, so it truly is very interesting! Tell me, how do you feel? Dizzy? I'm guessing you can't move at all, but you can speak, and you still have coherent thoughts—uh?"

He blinked a few times in confusion before his eyes widened in mild horror. Barely a few centimeters away from his forehead was now a very sharp and very deadly needle, just shy of piercing his skull. The girl was glaring at him, bead of sweats now running down her face as her hand shook. The only reason she hadn't killed him on the spot was because his friend in the black hoodie had moved too fast for the eye to follow and had grabbed her arm in the nick of time. The blue-haired man gulped, readjusting his glasses as he quickly rose back to his feet.

"We- well, it looks like you c- can move, after all, a- albeit it probably has more to do with- with your willpower than your phy- physical abilities at that p- point," he stuttered out, obviously very shaken by the whole ordeal.

The man still holding her arm tightened his grip, and she dropped her needle. His curiosity getting the best of him, the blue-haired man picked it up.

"Don't- don't touch that," she growled. Then, her eyes widened and she slapped her free hand over her mouth. "Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick… Ow!"

The indigo-haired man still holding her arm had tightened his grip even more and, even though the pain managed to drag her out of the drug-induced haze, it hurt. A little more and he'd certainly break her arm and, well, she kind of needed it if she wanted to escape.

"Azrael, enough," then warned the blue-haired man, finally getting over the whole almost-got-killed incident. "Boss needs her alive."

The man released her, albeit reluctantly. Breathing heavily, the teen closed her eyes, trying to regain her senses. She had no idea of what she had been injected with, but it certainly wasn't a normal medicine. Homebrew? The blue-haired man reminded her of a mad scientist, so he was probably the one who created it. Before she could think any longer on it, though, she was roughly pulled back to her feet. Opening her eyes, she realized it was two of the men in suits she had beaten up earlier. One was bleeding profusely from the head, and the other had an ugly-looking bruise blooming on the right side of his face.

"Err, sorry 'bout that…" she mumbled as they started dragging her inside. "Nothin' personal, right…?"

They didn't answer, and Ame fell silent. At that point, it was better to cut her losses and wait to see what would happen next. She obviously wouldn't be able to escape in that state, and she had lost the surprise effect. She no longer had any weapon, and exhaustion was catching up to her now that the adrenaline started fading out of her bloodstream. So, she decided to focus on fighting off the effects of the drug at the moment. The process plunged her in a semi-unconscious state, but it's not like she could do anything else at the moment.

At some point, she felt something soft under her body, and she heard some buzzing noises. Voices, obviously, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. But then, she felt something approaching her face, and she reacted. Moving without thinking, she grabbed the wrist of whoever had been trying to close in on her, stopping them right in their tracks. Cracking her eyes open, she glared at the dark, blurry figure crouching before her.

"Don't touch me," she growled, her throat feeling painfully dry.

But then, she caught a whiff of whatever the figure was holding. It was a small bottle, that much she somehow managed to see, but the smell was familiar.

Salts…?

She breathed in deeply. Almost instantly, the sharp smell of the salts chased the fog that had spread through her mind, and she felt her muscles relax, finally able to move again. Her breathing regained a regular pace, and she finally regained her sight. As her vision refocused, she found reddish eyes staring right at her. Her own eyes instantly flew wide open and she released the man's wrist as if she had been burned, panic growing again.

::

"Saru? Saru! Where are you!?"

"Ooh? Look at that! Looks like someone found you after all. Who's she, your daughter? How unfortunate, really."

"D- don't touch her! Ame, get out of here! Call for backup!"

::

There's no way- there's no way that he—

::

"Ame, watch out!"

The gun fired.

::

HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD—

"Whoa, didn't know Boss was so scary."

She inhaled sharply, snapping back to reality. Instantly, she forgot about the all-too-familiar man before her and looked around. She couldn't see any of the men in suits, but there were seven other people—six men and one woman, plus the man still crouching before her.

She instantly recognized the one wearing the black hoodie that was hanging in the back, and also the bespectacled blue-haired one sitting at a small table. In front of him was seated a man with greenish hair and a mole on his chin. On the couch next to them was a man with fiery red hair that was staring at her with obvious amusement, and just next to him was a younger guy with blond hair, who was actually glaring at her. On the opposite wall was leaning a man with a leather jacket and purple hair that reminded her of Ritsu, and he was sharpening a knife. Finally, sitting in front of the numerous screens and computers in the back of the room was an orange-haired woman, who didn't look that impressed.

"What…" Ame was honestly confused. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well, it looks like she's back to being the lively, lethal spitfire you guys abducted," snorted the knife-guy. "Are you sure you didn't go a little easy on the drug, Raphael?"

"The dose in injected her with could have knocked you out in an instant, Jophiel," huffed the blue-haired man, readjusting his glasses again. "She simply possesses a greater resistance than expected."

"I'm guessing you guys are part of a rival gang to whom Reaper sold out our info but seriously, who are you people?" grunted Ame, sitting up. Her head hurt a little, but it didn't matter at the moment, and she lifted an eyebrow. "The Rainbow Gang?"

"What—how could you not know who we are?" exclaimed the blond, annoyed.

"Yeah, how could you possibly forget the guy you stabbed with a katana?" added the red-haired one, smirking.

The blond instantly glared at him. "For the last time, how was I supposed to know she'd pull a goddamn katana from under her bed? I mean, who does that!?"

"So you two are the one who kidnapped me," understood Ame, rubbing her temples. At that point, though, her annoyance had reached its breaking point. "Still doesn't tell me anything, though. You know, I just had a pretty shitty week: my classmates were almost killed, I was betrayed by one of my closest friends, I almost died after bein' shot by said former friend, and then I was attacked in ma own damn home by some random people and when I woke up, I was in a place I had hoped I'd never see again in my fucking life and trust me, having ta run for ya fucking life is da worst wake-up call ever so tell me what da hell is going on right fuckin' now or I swear ta God, I'll beat da shit out of someone 'til I get ma damn answers, got it!?"

There was a moment of silence during which all eight of them stared at her with varying degrees of amusement, annoyance, or mere surprise. Then, the reddish-eyed man started laughing as he rose back to his feet.

"Wow, you sure got one hell of a temper, uh?" he grinned. "But fair enough. My name is Tanaka Sho and, as you've surely guessed, you are in the Citadel, the headquarters of Coup de Grâce."

…

…

…

"I'm sorry." Ame rubbed her ears a bit. "You're saying you are Coup de Grâce? The same gang that's been a pain in our ass for years?"

"That's a crude way of putting it, but I guess you're not entirely wrong," he mused.

"And you're the leader?"

"Exactly! And the seven other people in this room are my top officers!" He gestured to the others, instantly moving on with the introductions. "That's Chamuel, the guy you stabbed with a katana—"

"I wasn't stabbed by the katana!"

"—then there's Michael, our fighting expert. There's Raphael, the one who used that drug on you, and Azrael's the guy you fought outside—wait. Why do you still have those needles in you?"

"They'll break if he tries to pull them out," answered helpfully Ame, wondering if there was an end to the madness.

"Really? Well, Raphael, please go help him out with that," ordered the leader. "Don't want our pro assassin bleeding out, do we?"

"Right on it, Boss. Come on, Azrael."

The masked man didn't answer, simply following the blue-haired guy outside.

"So, where was I…? Ah, right! There's Jophiel, our weapon master and sniper extraordinaire, and there's also Ariel, the tactician," then pursued Tanaka, gesturing to the knife-guy and the greenish-haired one respectively. "Finally, we have Gabrielle, the hacking expert and the one in charge of security. Did I get everyone? Yeah, I think I did…"

"I have another question," announced Ame, raising her hand.

"Yes?"

"Why did you just tell me all of this?" she asked in a flat tone.

"I'm kind of with her on this one, Boss," grunted Jophiel, putting away his knife. "Why would you tell her about us?"

"Well, she ought to know who she'll be working with from now on, doesn't she?"

…

…

…

"WHAT!?"

That had been her, Chamuel, Michael, and Jophiel. Gabrielle didn't shout along, but her eyes did widen slightly, a clear sign she hadn't expected this. Only Ariel didn't seem all that surprised, though that was probably because he knew his leader a tad too well.

"What's with those faces?" mused Tanaka, his grin widening. "You've all seen what she's capable of, didn't you? With some more training, she could easily keep up with the rest of you."

"You know, I'm flattered and all, but I'm really not interested," deadpanned Ame. "Can I go home now?"

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice on the matter, dear," shrugged Tanaka, going to sit on the sole empty chair.

"I'm a member of the Zodiac," she snapped, jumping to her feet. "As if I'd ever betray them, let alone join your little terrorist group!"

"In two days, the Zodiac will be wiped out of existence," replied harshly the black-haired leader, his eyes growing cold. "Your first purpose here is, as you've surely guessed by now, to act as bait and hostage. Once the other members surrender, they'll all be killed. And, once they're dead, you'll have no one to go back to, will you?"

"If a single one of them dies because of you, I'll be the one to take your head," she swore darkly.

"Like Saru took my father's?" he drawled. She stilled, though he didn't notice. "Many years ago, my father was a member of the Zodiac known as Inu. And yet, after so many years of loyal service, your precious leader killed him in cold blood. I will avenge my father!" After a moment of silence… he snorted. "Or at least, that's what I'd like to say but, at that point, it's really mostly about business. My father was a brilliant man but, unfortunately, he was also an arrogant one—he couldn't keep his mouth shut, and that's what got him killed. I inherited his fortune and his organization, and I learned from his mistakes. I'm not about to decimate the Zodiac because of a personal vendetta, but because you're annoying. Always throwing wrenches into my plans and overall acting like a giant pain in the ass…" He shrugged, his confident smirk irking her beyond belief. "It'll simply be killing two birds with one stone. Poetic, don't you think?"

"… you said mostly. You do want to avenge your father, don't you?"

"Perceptive, aren't you? But yes, I do want to avenge him… in a way that'll clean our name of the shame he brought upon us when he lost to Saru," he spat. He then gestured to her. "Abducting his little protégé was sure to get his attention, and he won't do anything rash. He knows he's the one I want, and the rest of the Zodiac will simply fall along with him once the plan is set into motion."

Ame clenched her fists. "What if I killed you now?"

He simply looked amused. "You don't have the guts to take a life. However, until we've fully decimated your little organization, I can't risk having you run off and cause havoc, so…"

Her eyes went wide and she threw herself on the ground, just in time to avoid Jophiel, who had thrown himself at her. She instantly made a move for the door but, just as she opened it, the weapon master rammed into her and slammed her into it, which snapped it shut. Struggling, she wasn't in the right position to defend herself, though, and she couldn't do anything as something cold wrapped itself around her neck. Jophiel only released her once he was done and she dropped to her knees, staring in confusion and wariness at what was now attached to her neck.

What the hell…?

It was a necklace, a choker. She could feel a metallic wire inside the black velvet collar, and there was a fake ruby pendant attached to it.

"It's a bomb," then cheerfully informed Tanaka Sho. She snapped her eyes to him, horrified, and he waved, a little detonator in his hand. "The only way to take off the necklace is with a key and, if you take it off without it, it'll explode instantly. There's also a detector so if you step outside the Citadel, it'll explode. And, of course, I have a detonator in case you cause too much trouble."

His grin turned sinister, and she couldn't help but shiver. If she made one wrong move, she'd die and, after what had happened with Inu, she had realized that she simply wasn't ready to die.

Saru… Everyone…

"So, just stay still and be a good girl, alright? I promise you'll get to say goodbye to your friends before I kill all of them~!"

I'm scared… Please, help me!

.

.

"It'll happen in two days."

Everyone stilled at Saru's announcement. The man looked gravely at his fellow Zodiac members, then to the students around them. They had all been working very hard to come up with a plan to save their friend, and he could only be thankful.

"I've received word from Tanaka Sho. A party will be held at the Citadel in two days, and I'm the only one allowed to enter." Heaving out a sigh, his eyes then hardened. "Ready, everyone?"

All of the students nodded firmly, and Rio looked back at the map before them. They all knew the plan, they all knew what they had to do, and they'd make their move in two days

It's time.

Karma narrowed his eyes. They still had to work out some of the details, but he knew they could make it—they had to make it.

It's time.

Isogai simply clenched his fists, determination settling in his gaze.

It's time. Ame… Don't worry, we're coming for you!