What If?
Chapter 7- Win and Lose
The room was silent, save for the soft tremulous breath and the quiet rustling of clothing providing undertones to the gentle moans flittering through the room as two figures moved with one another in the dark night. Mamoru moaned lowly, his knee delicately brushing between Ken's legs in a manner more erotic than suggestive. Ken arched his neck upward, his hand rising to the blonde's neck, pulling him closer as their tongues stroked each other's heatedly, hungrily. Mamoru was pressed deliciously against Ken's chest, rising and falling rapidly with passion. The kiss ended, and lips moved along a tanned, muscular neck, eliciting a moan from the athlete.
"Mamoru...." Ken groaned breathlessly. It hadn't been the plan to turn the sleepover into an all-night make-out session. Not at first, anyway. They had begun the evening with some video games (which Mamoru had beat him mercilessly at), some order-out dinner, and a movie. It had to be the movie that did them in. Ken had never seen or heard of it before, but it was an old American film called Scent of a Woman. What was the man's name? Al something-or-other. The blind one. Whoever he was, he'd done such a beautiful job. It was a quite endearing story, Ken had to admit. Finding how to love again after so many years of solitude, it seemed so... familiar. Afterward, the two had just stared into one another's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Slowly, ever so slowly, Mamoru had shifted forward, falling to meet Ken's lips. One thing had led to another, and now they were, well...
"Nn....." Azure eyes opened and rose to meet chocolate ones, both pairs drooped and clouded with desire, their hot breath mingling as they struggled to catch lost and stolen breath. Mamoru could feel the flush on his cheeks he was certain rivaled and surpassed the crimson blush painted across his boyfriend's. He grinned. "You're incredible..." Russet eyes twinkled with mischief, and Mamoru soon found himself pinned beneath the soccer-player, bodies grinding together on the oversized bed. Lips were captured again, both pairs immediately opening for the other, tongues clashing together fervently. Hands were everywhere, holding onto each other desperately, possessively. The nagging need for oxygen was the ruling force that broke the kiss, Mamoru and Ken gasping for air. Ken smiled sweetly upon the tensed, hard body beneath him.
"And you're beautiful." Another kiss, short, sweet, and pungent. It was decided: tonight would be a very, very good night.
"And you're beautiful." There was the sound of a kiss. Asuka felt herself gag, knowing if she heard much more of this, she was going to absolutely puke.
"Why did I even put a bug in the damn kid's room?!" she growled aloud, feeling frustrated and annoyed and a bit disgusted all at once.
"Because you're such a wonderful overachiever," a deep voice answered. Asuka turned, greeted by the sight of her husband, standing in the doorway with a bottle and two glasses in hand, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Either that or you're a secretive yaoi fan." He paused. "I like the first explanation better." The tall, honeyed man sauntered over to her, filled up a glass, and handed it to her. "You're working too hard."
"You're slacking off too much," she countered. "What are you doing for that Hidaka kid?" Yohji pouted with feigned indignity.
"Hey, he's safe for now. I don't need to prove him innocent when there's nothing to make him look guilty." Yohji fell silent, listening for a moment to the whispered moans of ecstasy emanating from the radio transmitter. He wrinkled his nose in aversion and turned the dial to `off'. "I'm not sure how you can sit there and listen to two guys make out." Asuka quirked an eyebrow.
"Since when are you mister anti-gay?"
"I'm not," he defended quickly. "I'm more disappointed than anything. Those two don't know what they're missing." To accentuate his point, Yohji leaned down and kissed his wife tenderly before taking a sip of his chardonnay.
"Yeah, yeah. I was hoping this Mamoru kid would spill something about his father. Nothing has come out at all. Either he's really hiding it, or he has no idea what his pop does for a living." Asuka sighed and downed her drink. "I just hope Chin had a better time getting evidence at that conference than I am sitting here listening to horny teenagers suck face." She barely caught the sly grin on her spouse's visage.
"Jealous...?" Asuka stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't kid me."
"Hey, don't use that thing unless you mean it." The blue-haired woman immediately retracted her tongue.
"Not on you," she began. "You're such a slacker. If you worked half as hard at your job as you did as you do with me, you'd be the best investigator in Japan." Yohji winked.
"I am the best investigator in Japan." He turned to leave, stalling only a moment. "Have fun with work, sugar."
"I'll kill you one of these days, Kudou."
"Love you, too." Asuka glared at Yohji's back as he disappeared, probably to the bedroom. Well, if he thought she was going to go traipsing after him, he was gravely mistaken! The detective sighed and switched the transmitter back on, and was once more greeted by the sound of rustling clothes and low moans.
"Jesus, kids today have way too much stamina..." Asuka stood and walked over to the window. The moon was dull, a simple sliver in the sky. In a matter of days, there would be nothing; blackness broken only by the stars painted across the heavens. In a matter of days, Takatori Reiji would return to Tokyo, and he would meet his downfall. She couldn't help but grin. It felt good, knowing that she was helping to bring down the biggest crime lord in Japan. Not to mention his whacked sons. Even so, she couldn't help but feel a little for the youngest one. How could a kid grow up with a family like his? Surrounded by evil from his very birth... It was a miracle. She hoped it wouldn't devastate the boy too much when such a family was jerked away from him and placed, deservingly, in jail. With a yawn, Asuka Kudou plodded out of the study and headed towards the bedroom. Maybe she would visit her husband for a while...
Morning light flooded the room without warning, washing over pale skin and mussed red hair. The gentle face flinched and rolled over to escape the hated light.
"Wake up, Ran-nii!" Aya called. "It's such a beautiful morning, don't you want to get up and enjoy it???" Ran felt himself grow queasy at the bright bubbliness of his little sister so bloody early.
"No," was the mumbled reply. Aya pouted and yanked the blankets from the bed. Ran jumped at the sudden loss, curling up around himself. "Go `way, Aya! `S too early..."
"Nonsense! I have your coffee heating up, I've got breakfast made, the newspaper laid out for you, and even fresh flowers on the table. Well, those were from you, but they're all there just waiting for you!" In spite of the horrid morning he was going to have to face, Ran couldn't fight the smile that rose to his lips. How could one person have so much cheer, so much life in her?
"Fine, awright, I'm getting' up." The redhead rolled over and landed on the floor with an unceremonious *THUMP!*. "Ite!" He could hear Aya-chan struggling to hold back a laugh. She failed. Giggles burst out into the otherwise quiet room, and Ran stood, rubbing his now-sore hip, giving his imouto-chan the get-out-of-my-room-now-or-die look.
"Hurry and come down before anything gets too cold. I made strawberry pancakes today, and you'd better eat every one of them," she chirped as she tripped out of the room. Half-asleep, half-dead, Ran dressed and slinked down the stairs to the kitchen. His senses were immediately attacked by the pungent smell of hot, fresh strawberries, French vanilla roast, and the Sweet William, Camellia and Hibiscus flowers centred at the table.
"Aya-chan, you spoil me." The indigo-haired girl winked from the stove, and answered, "I know."
"I'm coming to work with you today," she announced as she piled pancakes onto her brother's plate. "And don't try to tell me no. I have nothing else to do today, and I'm not gonna stay home all alone." As if to accentuate her point, she set a heart-shaped biscuit down next to Ran's cakes, flashing him her sweetest smile. He crumbled.
"Fine, you can help out at the shop. It'll be nice to have you there." He paused. "You can help scare away those schoolgirls."
"Ran!" He laughed, his sister son joining in as they ate.
"Ken-kun wa kawaii yo!" The redhead winced as a young blonde girl screamed right by his ear, pointing right at the J-Leaguer. She pushed her way through the crowd and stopped before the brunette. "Do you want to get some ice cream with my friends and me on your break?" Blue eyes glared at the girl, unnoticed from behind the large mum display Mamoru was working on.
"Ano... well, that is, I..."
"Ken-kun's busy," Mamoru piped up. He stared emptily at the girl, his azure eyes unusually dull. "He's got practice after his shift, ne Ken?" The brunette nodded.
"Precisely. I've got a game coming up." Well, at least he wasn't lying about that. He had a game in less than a week. The girl looked sorely disappointed, but perked up again.
"I... We'll be there to cheer you on, Ken-kun!" she twittered before turning and bounding off to her friends, pigtails bouncing behind her. The boys watched her as she said something to her friends, looked back at Ken, then burst into giggles and blushes. Mamoru and Ken rolled their eyes at the girls and returned to work.
"Minna-san! The store is closing for lunch! Please make your final purchases!" Aya-chan's voice rang out over the boisterous noise in the shop. Ten minutes and almost twenty purchases later, Aya locked the door and switched the sign to `Closed'. Everyone let out a grateful sigh. "Man, you guys are popular!" The boys groaned. "Well, I'm going to clean up a bit. You all go out and have some lunch."
"You don't honestly believe I'm going to leave you to clean up by yourself, Aya, do you?" Ran was incredulous. He picked up a broom and, with an authoritative nod, set to work sweeping up. Mamoru looked to Ken, placid smile on his face.
"Hungry?" Ken grinned.
"I'm starved. Being hounded really takes a lot out of a person." He glanced over at Ran & Aya, backs turned to them, already deep in conversation and oblivious to the world. Ken slipped his arms around Mamoru's waist, leaning in close. "I know this nice little Italian restaurant on the corner of Fifth and Loft..." Mamoru giggled and blushed softly.
"It sounds great. What're we waiting for? Let's go!" He grabbed his boyfriend's hand and was nearly out the door when they heard the phone right. Aya-chan and Ran both went for it at the same time. Aya-chan grabbed it with one hand, using the other to playfully fight away her brother.
"Koneko no Sumu Ie, moshi-moshi? ... Un, hold on a second." She placed her hand over the receiver and turned to Ken. "It's for you, Ken-kun." The athlete looked at Mamoru.
"Go on ahead without me. I'll be out in a minute." The blonde nodded and stepped out of the door, disappearing from sight. Ken took the phone, and Aya and Ran went back to their work.
"This is Hidaka."
"Ken? Thank god it's you! Are you all right???" Ken blinked. It was Kase on the other line. He sounded frantic and out of breath... something was wrong.
"Kase? What's going on? Of course I'm all right. Why do you ask?"
"There's a note. It was addressed to you, but there was no return, so I opened it, and god, I'm so glad you're okay," the hysterical man spurted out.
"Note? Kase, what's happening?! Calm down and tell me!"
"Someone is after you, Ken. This letter, it was under the door. It had your name on it, nothing else. I was suspicious, so I opened it. I was so scared, I called you right away."
"What did it say...?" Ken was starting to feel very nervous. This was not going to be good, if it could get Kase to the point of psychosis.
"It says: What is yours will be mine, but what is mine will not be yours. You will receive instructions." There was silence.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, but I'm so relieved to hear your voice. I was so scared..." Ken chewed on his thoughts for a moment.
"I'll be right over, Kase. Stay there, and don't touch that note again."
"Please be careful, Ken." Both hung up. Ken turned and saw the concern written across Aya and Ran's faces, but didn't want to try and explain everything.
"I've got to go," was all he said. He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the shop, worry written all over his face. He reached his bike and was about to hop on and speed the hell off, when he noticed it: a white envelope resting on the seat. Dread filled the brunette as he slowly reached out and opened it. Shaky hands unfolded the pristine white paper. Ken felt the world disappear as he read the words over and over again, they just wouldn't compute in his brain. No, no, it had to be a lie. It couldn't be right. `What is yours is mine. Mamoru sends his regards." The bottom of the paper was splattered with a few drops of blood, still fresh and...
"Oh, god..." He could feel his stomach churning, convulsing with the fear and disbelief and shock of it all. Inside the envelope was an all too familiar silver hoop. Reluctantly, his eyes moved back to the paper to read the rest of the message. `I will contact you with instructions. If you wish your friend to live, you will follow them precisely. If you attempt to contact the police, he will suffer greatly. Act wisely.'
Ken was numb, absolutely numb. He inattentively folded the paper and returned it to the envelope before securing it in his jacket. He climbed onto his bike, started it, and peeled out toward his apartment, his actions mechanical and unfeeling. Exactly the way he felt inside. Deadened. Someone had Mamoru, and that same person was threatening him harm if Ken didn't cooperate. The questions consumed him, and the world melted around him, leaving him alone with but one thought. Why?
Kase stood outside the flower shop. It was a little after noon, so the boys must be closing up and heading out. He flipped open his phone and punched in the number to the shop. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the answer.
"Koneko no Sumu Ie, moshi-moshi?" The girl that answered had a beautiful voice... He could see her through a window. She had a face to match the beautiful sound. He almost lost himself, and he couldn't let that happen. He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hidaka Ken, please!" he nearly whispered, hushed, urgent, and frenetic.
"Un, hold on a second."
"This is Hidaka."
"Ken? Thank god it's you! Are you all right???" The older man made his voice as frightened as he could. Apparently, he was a better actor than he'd thought. Ken answered, his own voice wracked with worry.
"Kase? What's going on? Of course I'm all right. Why do you ask?" It was almost too easy. He spotted his blonde target stepping outside. Shit, he had to hurry it up.
"There's a note. It was addressed to you, but there was no return, so I opened it, and god, I'm so glad you're okay," he lied. There was a brief pause.
"Note? Kase, what's happening?! Calm down and tell me!" Kase took another false, shuddering deep breath, to `collect himself.' Too easy...
"Someone is after you, Ken. This letter, it was under the door. It had your name on it, nothing else. I was suspicious, so I opened it. I was so scared, I called you right away." He started walking, silently as to not give away his position to either Mamoru or Ken. A hand reached into the pocket, to the short-range dart gun concealed there. Carefully, Kase aimed it, tailing his slow-moving target with unerring precision as he walked down the street. After much hesitation, Ken spoke again, his lovely voice hushed with the sudden shock.
"What did it say...?" Kase fired the gun. The dart seared through the air silently, embedding itself into the arm of the young blonde. He didn't even have time to cry out before the dart's potent poison set to work, and the youth fell unconsciously to the ground.
"It says: What is yours will be mine, but what is mine will not be yours. You will receive instructions." Kase hurried across the street and pulled the second note out of his pocket, the one he'd written ahead of time. He liberated the dart from soft flesh, a few drops of blood splattering onto the white paper. He grinned, and pulled the earring from Mamoru's ear, dropping it into the packet. `A perfect touch,' he thought before sealing the envelope. Kase fought back a grunt that would have given him away as he heaved Mamoru's form over his shoulders. God, dead weight was horrible to cart around...
"What does that mean?" Ken asked hesitantly.
"I don't know, but I'm so relieved to hear your voice. I was so scared..." Cold, heartless eyes rolled at the cheesy dialogue their owner was spilling out. Kase grinned as he placed the envelope carefully on his friend's bike, then stepped inside his own car, throwing Mamoru carelessly in the back.
"I'll be right over, Kase. Stay there, and don't touch that note again."
"Please be careful, Ken." Kase turned his cell phone off, turned the key in the ignition, and sped off like a bat out of hell. When he felt he was safely out of harm's way, he began laughing. A mad, uncontrollable laughter. He had done it. The first step to Hidaka Ken's timely demise was finished with harrowing ease. He would enjoy playing with Ken for a while. And the goalie would never suspect anything until...
"Too late, Ken. It's too late."
Cue the angst and the scary music. You know, I came upon a realization recently. I tend to dislike angsty fics, but look at what I'm writing! I'm such a hypocrite... At least I'm doing a decent job, I think. What do you think?
Kourui
PS. As far as the flowers go, all three convey messages of perfection and beauty. It seemed appropriate for a house with two Fujimiya's...
Chapter 7- Win and Lose
The room was silent, save for the soft tremulous breath and the quiet rustling of clothing providing undertones to the gentle moans flittering through the room as two figures moved with one another in the dark night. Mamoru moaned lowly, his knee delicately brushing between Ken's legs in a manner more erotic than suggestive. Ken arched his neck upward, his hand rising to the blonde's neck, pulling him closer as their tongues stroked each other's heatedly, hungrily. Mamoru was pressed deliciously against Ken's chest, rising and falling rapidly with passion. The kiss ended, and lips moved along a tanned, muscular neck, eliciting a moan from the athlete.
"Mamoru...." Ken groaned breathlessly. It hadn't been the plan to turn the sleepover into an all-night make-out session. Not at first, anyway. They had begun the evening with some video games (which Mamoru had beat him mercilessly at), some order-out dinner, and a movie. It had to be the movie that did them in. Ken had never seen or heard of it before, but it was an old American film called Scent of a Woman. What was the man's name? Al something-or-other. The blind one. Whoever he was, he'd done such a beautiful job. It was a quite endearing story, Ken had to admit. Finding how to love again after so many years of solitude, it seemed so... familiar. Afterward, the two had just stared into one another's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Slowly, ever so slowly, Mamoru had shifted forward, falling to meet Ken's lips. One thing had led to another, and now they were, well...
"Nn....." Azure eyes opened and rose to meet chocolate ones, both pairs drooped and clouded with desire, their hot breath mingling as they struggled to catch lost and stolen breath. Mamoru could feel the flush on his cheeks he was certain rivaled and surpassed the crimson blush painted across his boyfriend's. He grinned. "You're incredible..." Russet eyes twinkled with mischief, and Mamoru soon found himself pinned beneath the soccer-player, bodies grinding together on the oversized bed. Lips were captured again, both pairs immediately opening for the other, tongues clashing together fervently. Hands were everywhere, holding onto each other desperately, possessively. The nagging need for oxygen was the ruling force that broke the kiss, Mamoru and Ken gasping for air. Ken smiled sweetly upon the tensed, hard body beneath him.
"And you're beautiful." Another kiss, short, sweet, and pungent. It was decided: tonight would be a very, very good night.
"And you're beautiful." There was the sound of a kiss. Asuka felt herself gag, knowing if she heard much more of this, she was going to absolutely puke.
"Why did I even put a bug in the damn kid's room?!" she growled aloud, feeling frustrated and annoyed and a bit disgusted all at once.
"Because you're such a wonderful overachiever," a deep voice answered. Asuka turned, greeted by the sight of her husband, standing in the doorway with a bottle and two glasses in hand, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Either that or you're a secretive yaoi fan." He paused. "I like the first explanation better." The tall, honeyed man sauntered over to her, filled up a glass, and handed it to her. "You're working too hard."
"You're slacking off too much," she countered. "What are you doing for that Hidaka kid?" Yohji pouted with feigned indignity.
"Hey, he's safe for now. I don't need to prove him innocent when there's nothing to make him look guilty." Yohji fell silent, listening for a moment to the whispered moans of ecstasy emanating from the radio transmitter. He wrinkled his nose in aversion and turned the dial to `off'. "I'm not sure how you can sit there and listen to two guys make out." Asuka quirked an eyebrow.
"Since when are you mister anti-gay?"
"I'm not," he defended quickly. "I'm more disappointed than anything. Those two don't know what they're missing." To accentuate his point, Yohji leaned down and kissed his wife tenderly before taking a sip of his chardonnay.
"Yeah, yeah. I was hoping this Mamoru kid would spill something about his father. Nothing has come out at all. Either he's really hiding it, or he has no idea what his pop does for a living." Asuka sighed and downed her drink. "I just hope Chin had a better time getting evidence at that conference than I am sitting here listening to horny teenagers suck face." She barely caught the sly grin on her spouse's visage.
"Jealous...?" Asuka stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't kid me."
"Hey, don't use that thing unless you mean it." The blue-haired woman immediately retracted her tongue.
"Not on you," she began. "You're such a slacker. If you worked half as hard at your job as you did as you do with me, you'd be the best investigator in Japan." Yohji winked.
"I am the best investigator in Japan." He turned to leave, stalling only a moment. "Have fun with work, sugar."
"I'll kill you one of these days, Kudou."
"Love you, too." Asuka glared at Yohji's back as he disappeared, probably to the bedroom. Well, if he thought she was going to go traipsing after him, he was gravely mistaken! The detective sighed and switched the transmitter back on, and was once more greeted by the sound of rustling clothes and low moans.
"Jesus, kids today have way too much stamina..." Asuka stood and walked over to the window. The moon was dull, a simple sliver in the sky. In a matter of days, there would be nothing; blackness broken only by the stars painted across the heavens. In a matter of days, Takatori Reiji would return to Tokyo, and he would meet his downfall. She couldn't help but grin. It felt good, knowing that she was helping to bring down the biggest crime lord in Japan. Not to mention his whacked sons. Even so, she couldn't help but feel a little for the youngest one. How could a kid grow up with a family like his? Surrounded by evil from his very birth... It was a miracle. She hoped it wouldn't devastate the boy too much when such a family was jerked away from him and placed, deservingly, in jail. With a yawn, Asuka Kudou plodded out of the study and headed towards the bedroom. Maybe she would visit her husband for a while...
Morning light flooded the room without warning, washing over pale skin and mussed red hair. The gentle face flinched and rolled over to escape the hated light.
"Wake up, Ran-nii!" Aya called. "It's such a beautiful morning, don't you want to get up and enjoy it???" Ran felt himself grow queasy at the bright bubbliness of his little sister so bloody early.
"No," was the mumbled reply. Aya pouted and yanked the blankets from the bed. Ran jumped at the sudden loss, curling up around himself. "Go `way, Aya! `S too early..."
"Nonsense! I have your coffee heating up, I've got breakfast made, the newspaper laid out for you, and even fresh flowers on the table. Well, those were from you, but they're all there just waiting for you!" In spite of the horrid morning he was going to have to face, Ran couldn't fight the smile that rose to his lips. How could one person have so much cheer, so much life in her?
"Fine, awright, I'm getting' up." The redhead rolled over and landed on the floor with an unceremonious *THUMP!*. "Ite!" He could hear Aya-chan struggling to hold back a laugh. She failed. Giggles burst out into the otherwise quiet room, and Ran stood, rubbing his now-sore hip, giving his imouto-chan the get-out-of-my-room-now-or-die look.
"Hurry and come down before anything gets too cold. I made strawberry pancakes today, and you'd better eat every one of them," she chirped as she tripped out of the room. Half-asleep, half-dead, Ran dressed and slinked down the stairs to the kitchen. His senses were immediately attacked by the pungent smell of hot, fresh strawberries, French vanilla roast, and the Sweet William, Camellia and Hibiscus flowers centred at the table.
"Aya-chan, you spoil me." The indigo-haired girl winked from the stove, and answered, "I know."
"I'm coming to work with you today," she announced as she piled pancakes onto her brother's plate. "And don't try to tell me no. I have nothing else to do today, and I'm not gonna stay home all alone." As if to accentuate her point, she set a heart-shaped biscuit down next to Ran's cakes, flashing him her sweetest smile. He crumbled.
"Fine, you can help out at the shop. It'll be nice to have you there." He paused. "You can help scare away those schoolgirls."
"Ran!" He laughed, his sister son joining in as they ate.
"Ken-kun wa kawaii yo!" The redhead winced as a young blonde girl screamed right by his ear, pointing right at the J-Leaguer. She pushed her way through the crowd and stopped before the brunette. "Do you want to get some ice cream with my friends and me on your break?" Blue eyes glared at the girl, unnoticed from behind the large mum display Mamoru was working on.
"Ano... well, that is, I..."
"Ken-kun's busy," Mamoru piped up. He stared emptily at the girl, his azure eyes unusually dull. "He's got practice after his shift, ne Ken?" The brunette nodded.
"Precisely. I've got a game coming up." Well, at least he wasn't lying about that. He had a game in less than a week. The girl looked sorely disappointed, but perked up again.
"I... We'll be there to cheer you on, Ken-kun!" she twittered before turning and bounding off to her friends, pigtails bouncing behind her. The boys watched her as she said something to her friends, looked back at Ken, then burst into giggles and blushes. Mamoru and Ken rolled their eyes at the girls and returned to work.
"Minna-san! The store is closing for lunch! Please make your final purchases!" Aya-chan's voice rang out over the boisterous noise in the shop. Ten minutes and almost twenty purchases later, Aya locked the door and switched the sign to `Closed'. Everyone let out a grateful sigh. "Man, you guys are popular!" The boys groaned. "Well, I'm going to clean up a bit. You all go out and have some lunch."
"You don't honestly believe I'm going to leave you to clean up by yourself, Aya, do you?" Ran was incredulous. He picked up a broom and, with an authoritative nod, set to work sweeping up. Mamoru looked to Ken, placid smile on his face.
"Hungry?" Ken grinned.
"I'm starved. Being hounded really takes a lot out of a person." He glanced over at Ran & Aya, backs turned to them, already deep in conversation and oblivious to the world. Ken slipped his arms around Mamoru's waist, leaning in close. "I know this nice little Italian restaurant on the corner of Fifth and Loft..." Mamoru giggled and blushed softly.
"It sounds great. What're we waiting for? Let's go!" He grabbed his boyfriend's hand and was nearly out the door when they heard the phone right. Aya-chan and Ran both went for it at the same time. Aya-chan grabbed it with one hand, using the other to playfully fight away her brother.
"Koneko no Sumu Ie, moshi-moshi? ... Un, hold on a second." She placed her hand over the receiver and turned to Ken. "It's for you, Ken-kun." The athlete looked at Mamoru.
"Go on ahead without me. I'll be out in a minute." The blonde nodded and stepped out of the door, disappearing from sight. Ken took the phone, and Aya and Ran went back to their work.
"This is Hidaka."
"Ken? Thank god it's you! Are you all right???" Ken blinked. It was Kase on the other line. He sounded frantic and out of breath... something was wrong.
"Kase? What's going on? Of course I'm all right. Why do you ask?"
"There's a note. It was addressed to you, but there was no return, so I opened it, and god, I'm so glad you're okay," the hysterical man spurted out.
"Note? Kase, what's happening?! Calm down and tell me!"
"Someone is after you, Ken. This letter, it was under the door. It had your name on it, nothing else. I was suspicious, so I opened it. I was so scared, I called you right away."
"What did it say...?" Ken was starting to feel very nervous. This was not going to be good, if it could get Kase to the point of psychosis.
"It says: What is yours will be mine, but what is mine will not be yours. You will receive instructions." There was silence.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, but I'm so relieved to hear your voice. I was so scared..." Ken chewed on his thoughts for a moment.
"I'll be right over, Kase. Stay there, and don't touch that note again."
"Please be careful, Ken." Both hung up. Ken turned and saw the concern written across Aya and Ran's faces, but didn't want to try and explain everything.
"I've got to go," was all he said. He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the shop, worry written all over his face. He reached his bike and was about to hop on and speed the hell off, when he noticed it: a white envelope resting on the seat. Dread filled the brunette as he slowly reached out and opened it. Shaky hands unfolded the pristine white paper. Ken felt the world disappear as he read the words over and over again, they just wouldn't compute in his brain. No, no, it had to be a lie. It couldn't be right. `What is yours is mine. Mamoru sends his regards." The bottom of the paper was splattered with a few drops of blood, still fresh and...
"Oh, god..." He could feel his stomach churning, convulsing with the fear and disbelief and shock of it all. Inside the envelope was an all too familiar silver hoop. Reluctantly, his eyes moved back to the paper to read the rest of the message. `I will contact you with instructions. If you wish your friend to live, you will follow them precisely. If you attempt to contact the police, he will suffer greatly. Act wisely.'
Ken was numb, absolutely numb. He inattentively folded the paper and returned it to the envelope before securing it in his jacket. He climbed onto his bike, started it, and peeled out toward his apartment, his actions mechanical and unfeeling. Exactly the way he felt inside. Deadened. Someone had Mamoru, and that same person was threatening him harm if Ken didn't cooperate. The questions consumed him, and the world melted around him, leaving him alone with but one thought. Why?
Kase stood outside the flower shop. It was a little after noon, so the boys must be closing up and heading out. He flipped open his phone and punched in the number to the shop. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the answer.
"Koneko no Sumu Ie, moshi-moshi?" The girl that answered had a beautiful voice... He could see her through a window. She had a face to match the beautiful sound. He almost lost himself, and he couldn't let that happen. He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hidaka Ken, please!" he nearly whispered, hushed, urgent, and frenetic.
"Un, hold on a second."
"This is Hidaka."
"Ken? Thank god it's you! Are you all right???" The older man made his voice as frightened as he could. Apparently, he was a better actor than he'd thought. Ken answered, his own voice wracked with worry.
"Kase? What's going on? Of course I'm all right. Why do you ask?" It was almost too easy. He spotted his blonde target stepping outside. Shit, he had to hurry it up.
"There's a note. It was addressed to you, but there was no return, so I opened it, and god, I'm so glad you're okay," he lied. There was a brief pause.
"Note? Kase, what's happening?! Calm down and tell me!" Kase took another false, shuddering deep breath, to `collect himself.' Too easy...
"Someone is after you, Ken. This letter, it was under the door. It had your name on it, nothing else. I was suspicious, so I opened it. I was so scared, I called you right away." He started walking, silently as to not give away his position to either Mamoru or Ken. A hand reached into the pocket, to the short-range dart gun concealed there. Carefully, Kase aimed it, tailing his slow-moving target with unerring precision as he walked down the street. After much hesitation, Ken spoke again, his lovely voice hushed with the sudden shock.
"What did it say...?" Kase fired the gun. The dart seared through the air silently, embedding itself into the arm of the young blonde. He didn't even have time to cry out before the dart's potent poison set to work, and the youth fell unconsciously to the ground.
"It says: What is yours will be mine, but what is mine will not be yours. You will receive instructions." Kase hurried across the street and pulled the second note out of his pocket, the one he'd written ahead of time. He liberated the dart from soft flesh, a few drops of blood splattering onto the white paper. He grinned, and pulled the earring from Mamoru's ear, dropping it into the packet. `A perfect touch,' he thought before sealing the envelope. Kase fought back a grunt that would have given him away as he heaved Mamoru's form over his shoulders. God, dead weight was horrible to cart around...
"What does that mean?" Ken asked hesitantly.
"I don't know, but I'm so relieved to hear your voice. I was so scared..." Cold, heartless eyes rolled at the cheesy dialogue their owner was spilling out. Kase grinned as he placed the envelope carefully on his friend's bike, then stepped inside his own car, throwing Mamoru carelessly in the back.
"I'll be right over, Kase. Stay there, and don't touch that note again."
"Please be careful, Ken." Kase turned his cell phone off, turned the key in the ignition, and sped off like a bat out of hell. When he felt he was safely out of harm's way, he began laughing. A mad, uncontrollable laughter. He had done it. The first step to Hidaka Ken's timely demise was finished with harrowing ease. He would enjoy playing with Ken for a while. And the goalie would never suspect anything until...
"Too late, Ken. It's too late."
Cue the angst and the scary music. You know, I came upon a realization recently. I tend to dislike angsty fics, but look at what I'm writing! I'm such a hypocrite... At least I'm doing a decent job, I think. What do you think?
Kourui
PS. As far as the flowers go, all three convey messages of perfection and beauty. It seemed appropriate for a house with two Fujimiya's...