What If?
Chapter 11- Truth
He was gone. Kase's eyes swept over the empty room, though it was useless. Even if he were looking for something, his vision was too clouded over with rage and a deep fear settling in his gut. What if Mamoru had seen him during his escape? What if he knew? He would get to Ken and Yohji and everything would be for naught. He couldn't let that happen. He had to get to Ken, and fast before Mamoru did. Kase bolted out of the door, and made a be-line for his car. He stopped momentarily to check his watch. It was just shy of eight o'clock in the morning. If Mamoru had left during the phone call, then the kid couldn't have gotten very far. With a little luck, he'd find him on the way to Ken's.
"Yeah right," he whispered as he stepped inside his vehicle. He gunned the engine once, twice, and sped off. The kid only had about ten or twenty minutes on him, and he was walking, anyway. It was a good thirty- minute drive to Ken's apartment, so there was absolutely no need to worry about getting to Ken first. Kase was absolutely safe. Unless the kid had gotten smart and hitchhiked.
"Hmm…"
He sped up.
Ken was wrenched from his sleep by the sound of a loud rapping on his door. The boy groaned and turned over, willing whoever it was to go away and leave him to his sleep, however restless it may be. The incessant knocking did not show signs of fading. Ken frowned and rolled over.
"Go 'way!!!" he called out in his most menacing voice which, being early morning, was not very menacing.
"Ken! Get your lazy butt up and open the door!" It was Kase. This much registered itself in Ken's mind. The brunette groaned and groped around his nightstand for his alarm clock, then dragged it to him. Lifeless chocolate eyes stared at the clock for a long time. Then, "What are you doing here at 8:30 in the morning, man?!" The knocking started again, and Ken finally got up with a defeated whimper. He dragged himself over to the door and unlocked it, nearly getting knocked back by its sudden opening. Kase looked like he was a little out of breath, and extremely stressed. 'Join the club, buddy,' he thought before turning and flopping back into his bed.
"Good morning to you, too, sunshine," Kase muttered. Ken moaned something that could have been a reply. It was hard to tell. Finally, the immobile blob named Ken turned over, sleep-deprived russet eyes looking toward his friend. Not at him, almost… through him. Kase shifted nervously.
"What're you doin' here so early…?" 'Shit,' Kase cursed internally. 'I didn't think about that…'
"Just… a feeling I had. You know, like I needed to be here with you." Kase never ceased to amaze himself with what a good liar he was. Cold brown eyes glanced over the younger boy's form. It would be so easy to kill him, right here, right now… But no, there would be too much possibly evidence left behind… "Let me make you some coffee, Ken."
Ken waved his friend off, face once again buried in the pillows. God, he was exhausted. He hadn't meant to be cranky with his best friend, but it was justifiable. The stress was getting to be just too damn much. It helped having Ran and Aya and Yohji there helping him out wherever they could. He was still surprised Yohji had managed to pull off that bank stunt. Having Kase there to guide him along had been the biggest help. It seemed he knew exactly what was wrong all the time. The brunette smirked, thinking of a line from a song out of Violinist of Hameln. 'Sore ga Kizuna no Tsuyosa- This is the Strength of our Bond'. Ken frowned.
"Depressing song…" he mumbled. The smell of hot, fresh vanilla roast flitted across the apartment, beckoning to the goalie crashed out on the other side of the complex. "Damn…" He forced himself up from the warm security of his bed, walking toward cold, heavy reality. He was going to have to face another day without Mamoru, without knowing how he was. Inside the kitchen stood Kase, holding out a steaming mug to his younger friend, a smile on his face.
"Drink it. You'll feel better afterward," the older commanded. Ken obliged, taking in a large gulp of the hot, creamy liquid tasting faintly of cinnamon along with the vanilla. Kase must've added it.
"Thank you Kase, I… I'd be lost without you." There was a long moment of silence that befell the two, wrapping them up in its intangible embrace. Ken opened his mouth to speak, when a sharp knocking on his door interrupted. "Cripes, why am I so popular this morning?!" He set down his mug and turned to walk away, when something made him stall. What was that look that just crossed Kase's face? It was almost like… fear. The J-Leaguer shook his head, russet wisps flying about prior to trudging to the door. He really needed more sleep… His slender hand had barely turned the knob when the door was knocked fully open under force of the visitor's fierce pounding. Chocolate eyes widened, and breath stilled. It couldn't be. It was… Widened, breathless azure eyes stare into his chocolate ones, and a single word floated through the air, more a wish than a whisper…
"… Mamoru……"
The frown did not leave his face as Sonomi bowed once more in apology. The frown had not dissipated for the entire duration of Sonomi's story- no, Sonomi's excuse.
"So, in other words, you failed." Her dark eyes flinched from the veil of dark hair that lay over them.
"Yes," she answered softly. 'This,' Hirofumi thought, 'is what you get when you send a woman to do a man's job…' "I managed to track his location to an old office building about 30 minutes out of town, but when I arrived, there was no one to be found. I am sorry."
"I don't want your apologies or excuses," the young businessman hissed. "I want my brother back! And you seem to lack the ability to do so." He paused, walking around her once, looking her over in thought. "You are of no more use to me."
Sonomi started. She knew what this meant. She had never failed before for this specific reason. "You wouldn't…" she tested. Her employer glared darkly.
"Oh, wouldn't I?!" Sonomi's heart pounded in her chest. She knew what happened to spies and trackers when they failed the Takatori's. Frankly, she wasn't ready to die.
"I have never failed your father before," she commented. "I will not fail you. Give me one more chance, some more time, and I will find him." Dark navy eyes cast a sidelong glance at her young employer, silently praying he take up her last-ditch effort to save her life… He seemed to be thinking, and hard, too.
"… One. More. Chance. If you don't deliver my brother to me in twenty- four hours, you will not live to regret it."
"Thank you for this opportunity," she said before disappearing from his sight. Hirofumi sighed and flopped down into his office chair, hand rubbing at his temples. Mamoru was still gone. Whoever had him must have been a genius. He grinned sadistically as he thought of all the ways he could see just how big the guy's brain really was… In one day, he would have his little brother back by his side where he belonged. In one day, he would have his little brother's kidnapper in his clutches, where he belonged, too.
The lithe young body leapt out of the vehicle barely before it had even come to a stop.
"Thank you so much for the ride!" he called out before turning away, sprinting from the vehicle and its owner. It had taken him a long time to find someone willing to pick up a kid and drive him back to the city. Then, the guy had gotten lost. Twice. It was almost enough to make Mamoru scream. His boyfriend's LIFE was in danger, for crying out loud! Long legs threw themselves up the stairs three at a time, up to the third floor of the complex, then slid to a stop outside of room 23B. Ken's apartment. He raised his fist and began pounding on the door. It didn't take long for it to be answered. The door flew open under his ministrations, giving way to the best thing those blue eyes had ever seen.
"… Mamoru……"
"Ken…" The two immediately fell forward, into each other's arms, holding one other tightly as if one would disappear if the other let go. The brunette was almost incredulous. 'I must still be sleeping… Yes, Kase came by, but when I fell onto the bed, I went back to sleep. That must be it… I'm dreaming…' "Ken?" Mamoru whispered, relaxing a bit from the embrace. "I have to talk to you. Ken, open your eyes."
"No. If I do, you'll disappear. You always disappear, right when I dream I'm about to get you back again." Mamoru smiled and gently stroked his boyfriend's face. Finally, those russet eyes opened, taking in the sight he'd been longing to see for almost a week with such vehemence that it was almost heartbreaking. "God, I can't believe it's really you. How did you get away? So many questions… Come in, come in!" He shepherded the younger boy inside, shutting the door behind him. "I hope you don't mind, but Kase is here. He stopped by just a little while ago to check in on me."
Mamoru froze. Kase. Here. In Ken's apartment. Oh God. The tall, older brunette stepped into sight, his eyes dark and watching Mamoru with curiosity. 'He doesn't know that I know…' Mamoru realized. 'I can't come right out and say it, or something might happen to Ken…' A tension filled the air for a split-second that seemed to last an eternity until finally, the silence was once more shattered.
"Mamoru, it's so good to see you safe," Kase lied. He waited with watchful eyes at the blonde's reaction. The boy smiled, though it looked a little strained. 'He… he doesn't know. Perfect.' "You two sit, I'll go get you some coffee, Mamoru." Ken nodded his appreciation and led Mamoru to the couch.
"How did you-? When-? God, so many questions." He paused as he tried to collect himself. With a deep breath, he continued. "Did he hurt you?" The tone in the goalie's voice spoke promises of torturous pain if the answer was yes. He saw the blonde shift a bit under that gaze.
"Not much. When he did hurt me, he always patched it up and apologized." Ken's face relaxed at that.
"How did you get away???"
"He… he left the door unlocked. I guess he just forgot. Maybe he didn't think I'd try to escape." Mamoru stood. "Where's your phone? I think we should call Yohji over here as soon as possible."
"Sure…" Ken retrieved the phone from his bedroom and punched in the detective's number. "Yohji? It's Ken. We need you over here. Mamoru's back. Yes. Thank you. We'll be waiting." He dropped the phone unceremoniously onto the sofa. For a long time, there was nothing but silence as chocolate eyes stared into azure ones with a longing and relief that was indescribable through words. The moment was shattered by the reappearance of Kase, holding a steaming mug in his hands.
"French vanilla roast," he announced, a smile on his face. "Hot out of the pot." Mamoru hesitated, but took the mug. If he'd refused, it would have roused suspicions. He couldn't let on, not yet. It wasn't safe. Instead, he nursed the warm porcelain mug and sat down on the couch again, Ken taking a possessively close position beside him. Kase fought back the angered frown and flopped into a chair across from the youth, waiting impatiently for him to take a drink. Mamoru's azure eyes flashed with distrust for a split-second at the eager expression on his former captor's face…
"So tell us what happened," Ken urged. Azure eyes looked to their addresser uneasily.
"What happened when?" he asked quietly. "There's a lot to tell… maybe we should wait for Yohji-kun."
"Why?" Kase spoke up, almost challenging the boy to spill everything he knew, testing the waters, as it were. 'Because you'd do something bad to Ken or to me, you sick bastard,' the blonde had wanted to say, but he bit his tongue.
"I'm not ready to talk about it…" 'It's not safe yet…' He took a sip of coffee. Kase's eyes glistened with glee barely concealed. Cerulean eyes shot wide at the taste of Seraphime hidden beneath the coffee. He'd learned to detect the powerful sleep agent's taste no matter how it was disguised, and found it rather pungent now. He spit the coffee out and rose angrily, throwing the rest of it onto Kase.
"You bastard!" he screamed. "Trying to poison me into silence now?! You stay the hell away from us both!"
"Mamoru! What's gotten into you?!" Ken demanded, starting for his best friend. Small, but incredibly strong hands grabbed the soccer player, holding him back.
"Don't go near him, Ken! He's the stalker!!!" For a moment, the entire world stopped as the sudden realization kicked in on everyone. "Kase is the one who kidnapped me and forced you to do all those things! That's right, I knew! You gave yourself away after you called Ken on your cell phone, as the 'normal' you. As if such a thing existed," the youth spat venomously. Intense brown eyes stared incredulously, disbelievingly at the coffee-covered man.
"Ka… Kase… It… It's not true… Tell me he's wrong…" With a sudden burst of speed that was completely unforeseeable, Kase leapt up and grabbed Mamoru's form, pulling out a gun and pressing it to the boy's temple.
"Fuck, Ken. You weren't supposed to find out yet," he whined. "That ruins everything. No, maybe it's better this way." He paused to smile maniacally, a horrible twist of features that could hardly be called a smile. "Isn't it funny, Ken?! All these years, you've been getting it all… Getting EVERYTHING that I wanted, and now… Now, I have everything you want. Life's a bitch, ne, Ken?!" Brown eyes watched in shock and incredulity at the scene displayed before him: his supposed best friend holding a gun to his boyfriend, spewing out words full of hate and danger, and odium and…
"Oh, God, Kase… why?" was all he could manage at the piteous sight. His entire body, his mind, everything was numb. It was like that time when the team was playing in America and decided to go to Wisconsin, and Ken had fallen through a patch of thin ice. Only this time, there was no one to pull him back out of the water.
"Why. You want to know why." Kase's voice was disturbingly, frighteningly calm as he spoke. "I'll tell you, Ken. We started things out together. But as time progressed, we digressed. You started wandering away from me. You left me, you abandoned me, Ken! Sure, you were still around, but you changed. You turned your back on me and took everything from me that should have been mine.
"I could have been famous, Ken, but I stepped down. You thought I was sick the day of J-League tryouts? Nope! I faked it, because I knew that it would come down to you or me, and I didn't want to take the chance from you. I could have had it, but I gave it to you. And you got selfish. You took, and took, and you never gave back. The money, the fans, the love, you took it all and never allowed any of it to shine into the limelight where I stood for you.
"I loved you, Ken. Did you know that? Did you ever stop to notice it?! No! You were too wrapped up in you to notice anything. Stupid, naïve you. I even told you once. Do you remember that night in Brazil? In the hotel room? You were drunk from too much tequila at the local bar. I'd had to practically drag you back." He paused, laughing a bit at the memory. "You couldn't get over how disgusting it was that they put a worm in their alcohol. Tito couldn't get over how disgusting it was the Japanese drank rotten rice. Do you remember when we got there, we talked for hours, and you asked me why I didn't have a girlfriend? A great guy like me, you said. And I told you, there was only one person in my life I could ever truly care for. And I'd kissed you, Ken. But once again, you hadn't noticed."
"Oh, God… Kase, I was drunk, I passed out… I never knew…" His eyes deviated, flickering to Mamoru who looked so scared, yet.. strangely intrigued by the story.
"But love wasn't enough. Love never gets anyone's attention. Kindness, caring, they never get a person anywhere. Does anyone know about Suzie Paxton, a nurse during the Second World War, who gave her life defending her medical outpost? No. They know about Hitler and Mussolini, and all the atrocities they committed. So you see? Those who do horrible things are noticed, are remembered. So I took all my love for you, and I flipped it over. I started hating you, and you know what? You STILL didn't notice! It still wasn't enough!
"I had so many plans on how to get rid of you, how to bring about your downfall. They were perfect, so many of them. Hey, Ken. I was the one who called the cops and told them you had been accepting bribes. They would have believed it, too, if I hadn't been sick that one day. I was going to put poison in your water, and it would've looked like you were losing on purpose. But the flu saved you, Ken. That's when I came up with this idea. It's not over, Ken. I'll see you suffer yet. I'll make you hurt like the way you hurt me!" A tear slid down the older man's face as he tightened his grip on Mamoru and his gun. Without warning, the front door of the apartment crashed open, a very infuriated Yohji standing in the doorway, his .45 aimed right at Kase's head.
"Yohji!" Mamoru cried from his entrapped position.
"Fuck me!" Kase growled. "How many guests are you expecting today, Ken?!"
"Put the gun down, Kochiro, and nobody will get hurt," Yohji instructed calmly, his voice betraying the furious expression on his face.
"Ha! Good one, Kudou," he snided. "The second I put this gun down, I'm getting a bullet in the brain. Don't think for a second I don't know what you're planning to do. I can see it in your eyes." His tone of voice was mocking, teasing, simply because he knew he could. God, Yohji wanted so badly to kill him.
"Kase, please," Ken's voice began, sounding anemic and tired. "Please, let's talk this out, I'm sure we can-"
"The time for words has long since passed, my dear Ken. Long since passed. Kudou, you put down that gun, or Mamoru here gets a really nasty looking hole in his pretty little head."
"You won't kill him," the honeyed man stated. "Not only is he your ticket out of here a living, free man, but he's done nothing to you, save splashing coffee all over that horrible suit of yours. You're not going to hurt him at all." He saw that doubt that flashed across the man's eyes, and grinned internally. That tactic always worked. Those darkened eyes narrowed and angled the gun, firing a shot right through the magnate's son's shoulder. A pained scream ripped through the air as blood splattered on crème-coloured carpet.
"MAMORU!" Ken screeched. "Kase, don't hurt him! Please!!" Blood oozed out of the wound, down the front of Mamoru's green t-shirt, turning the fabric a strange shade of.. dark. That was the only way to describe it. Golden skin paled in a mixture of shock, pain, and slow loss of blood.
"Would you like to reconsider, Kudou…?"
"You son of a bitch."
"Hey, do I insult your mother? Step aside, detective. I don't want to have to damage him any further, but if you don't move, the other shoulder goes as well." Yohji wavered, unsure of what to do. If he moved, the bastard got away. If he didn't, Mamoru would probably die.
"Yohji-kun… stay… put…" Jade eyes captured pained, but determined ocean-blue ones. The boy flashed him a weak, pained smile.
"No one asked for your opinion, little one. Move it, Kudou, or I knock out the other arm. If I get ambitious, I could even try the abdomen. But that would make it hard for him to walk. Not to mention agonizingly painful."
"Shit…"After much thought, the honeyed man slowly pulled away from the doorframe, allowing ample room for passage.
"Kase… wait." All eyes were instantly on Ken who was intently looking at his former best friend, eyes pleading and begging. "Don't do this. It's not too late to sort everything out, it really isn't, we can-"
"No, Ken," the older man interrupted. "It is too late." Kase couldn't hide the remorse and longing in his eyes that somehow reached his voice as well. Gun in one hand, a bleeding, semi-struggling Mamoru in the other, the brunette made his was outside and into the lot and his car, where he tossed his captive carelessly in and sped off.
As soon as Kase and Mamoru had disappeared, Ken's entire body gave out on him. He sagged forward, Yohji barely catching him before he kissed the blood-splattered carpet. Violent sobs racked his body, and Yohji couldn't help but wonder how one person could lose so much of his life, so much of what he thought- knew- to be true in one instant. He dropped his gun and held the shaking boy tightly to him. 'Kase will die for this,' he decided right then and there. 'Yeah. He's gonna die. Nice. And slow.'
*Blinks* Wow. This was one of my longer chapters. I noticed, as I read over it, that it is rather devoid of Ran, Aya, and Asuka-y goodness. Next chapter will focus on them, mainly. I promise. But right now, it's nearing 2:00 am, so I'm going to get some MUCH needed sleep. Chapter 12 to come soon! Geez, this is getting long. I really have to finish this up, and soon.
Kourui
Chapter 11- Truth
He was gone. Kase's eyes swept over the empty room, though it was useless. Even if he were looking for something, his vision was too clouded over with rage and a deep fear settling in his gut. What if Mamoru had seen him during his escape? What if he knew? He would get to Ken and Yohji and everything would be for naught. He couldn't let that happen. He had to get to Ken, and fast before Mamoru did. Kase bolted out of the door, and made a be-line for his car. He stopped momentarily to check his watch. It was just shy of eight o'clock in the morning. If Mamoru had left during the phone call, then the kid couldn't have gotten very far. With a little luck, he'd find him on the way to Ken's.
"Yeah right," he whispered as he stepped inside his vehicle. He gunned the engine once, twice, and sped off. The kid only had about ten or twenty minutes on him, and he was walking, anyway. It was a good thirty- minute drive to Ken's apartment, so there was absolutely no need to worry about getting to Ken first. Kase was absolutely safe. Unless the kid had gotten smart and hitchhiked.
"Hmm…"
He sped up.
Ken was wrenched from his sleep by the sound of a loud rapping on his door. The boy groaned and turned over, willing whoever it was to go away and leave him to his sleep, however restless it may be. The incessant knocking did not show signs of fading. Ken frowned and rolled over.
"Go 'way!!!" he called out in his most menacing voice which, being early morning, was not very menacing.
"Ken! Get your lazy butt up and open the door!" It was Kase. This much registered itself in Ken's mind. The brunette groaned and groped around his nightstand for his alarm clock, then dragged it to him. Lifeless chocolate eyes stared at the clock for a long time. Then, "What are you doing here at 8:30 in the morning, man?!" The knocking started again, and Ken finally got up with a defeated whimper. He dragged himself over to the door and unlocked it, nearly getting knocked back by its sudden opening. Kase looked like he was a little out of breath, and extremely stressed. 'Join the club, buddy,' he thought before turning and flopping back into his bed.
"Good morning to you, too, sunshine," Kase muttered. Ken moaned something that could have been a reply. It was hard to tell. Finally, the immobile blob named Ken turned over, sleep-deprived russet eyes looking toward his friend. Not at him, almost… through him. Kase shifted nervously.
"What're you doin' here so early…?" 'Shit,' Kase cursed internally. 'I didn't think about that…'
"Just… a feeling I had. You know, like I needed to be here with you." Kase never ceased to amaze himself with what a good liar he was. Cold brown eyes glanced over the younger boy's form. It would be so easy to kill him, right here, right now… But no, there would be too much possibly evidence left behind… "Let me make you some coffee, Ken."
Ken waved his friend off, face once again buried in the pillows. God, he was exhausted. He hadn't meant to be cranky with his best friend, but it was justifiable. The stress was getting to be just too damn much. It helped having Ran and Aya and Yohji there helping him out wherever they could. He was still surprised Yohji had managed to pull off that bank stunt. Having Kase there to guide him along had been the biggest help. It seemed he knew exactly what was wrong all the time. The brunette smirked, thinking of a line from a song out of Violinist of Hameln. 'Sore ga Kizuna no Tsuyosa- This is the Strength of our Bond'. Ken frowned.
"Depressing song…" he mumbled. The smell of hot, fresh vanilla roast flitted across the apartment, beckoning to the goalie crashed out on the other side of the complex. "Damn…" He forced himself up from the warm security of his bed, walking toward cold, heavy reality. He was going to have to face another day without Mamoru, without knowing how he was. Inside the kitchen stood Kase, holding out a steaming mug to his younger friend, a smile on his face.
"Drink it. You'll feel better afterward," the older commanded. Ken obliged, taking in a large gulp of the hot, creamy liquid tasting faintly of cinnamon along with the vanilla. Kase must've added it.
"Thank you Kase, I… I'd be lost without you." There was a long moment of silence that befell the two, wrapping them up in its intangible embrace. Ken opened his mouth to speak, when a sharp knocking on his door interrupted. "Cripes, why am I so popular this morning?!" He set down his mug and turned to walk away, when something made him stall. What was that look that just crossed Kase's face? It was almost like… fear. The J-Leaguer shook his head, russet wisps flying about prior to trudging to the door. He really needed more sleep… His slender hand had barely turned the knob when the door was knocked fully open under force of the visitor's fierce pounding. Chocolate eyes widened, and breath stilled. It couldn't be. It was… Widened, breathless azure eyes stare into his chocolate ones, and a single word floated through the air, more a wish than a whisper…
"… Mamoru……"
The frown did not leave his face as Sonomi bowed once more in apology. The frown had not dissipated for the entire duration of Sonomi's story- no, Sonomi's excuse.
"So, in other words, you failed." Her dark eyes flinched from the veil of dark hair that lay over them.
"Yes," she answered softly. 'This,' Hirofumi thought, 'is what you get when you send a woman to do a man's job…' "I managed to track his location to an old office building about 30 minutes out of town, but when I arrived, there was no one to be found. I am sorry."
"I don't want your apologies or excuses," the young businessman hissed. "I want my brother back! And you seem to lack the ability to do so." He paused, walking around her once, looking her over in thought. "You are of no more use to me."
Sonomi started. She knew what this meant. She had never failed before for this specific reason. "You wouldn't…" she tested. Her employer glared darkly.
"Oh, wouldn't I?!" Sonomi's heart pounded in her chest. She knew what happened to spies and trackers when they failed the Takatori's. Frankly, she wasn't ready to die.
"I have never failed your father before," she commented. "I will not fail you. Give me one more chance, some more time, and I will find him." Dark navy eyes cast a sidelong glance at her young employer, silently praying he take up her last-ditch effort to save her life… He seemed to be thinking, and hard, too.
"… One. More. Chance. If you don't deliver my brother to me in twenty- four hours, you will not live to regret it."
"Thank you for this opportunity," she said before disappearing from his sight. Hirofumi sighed and flopped down into his office chair, hand rubbing at his temples. Mamoru was still gone. Whoever had him must have been a genius. He grinned sadistically as he thought of all the ways he could see just how big the guy's brain really was… In one day, he would have his little brother back by his side where he belonged. In one day, he would have his little brother's kidnapper in his clutches, where he belonged, too.
The lithe young body leapt out of the vehicle barely before it had even come to a stop.
"Thank you so much for the ride!" he called out before turning away, sprinting from the vehicle and its owner. It had taken him a long time to find someone willing to pick up a kid and drive him back to the city. Then, the guy had gotten lost. Twice. It was almost enough to make Mamoru scream. His boyfriend's LIFE was in danger, for crying out loud! Long legs threw themselves up the stairs three at a time, up to the third floor of the complex, then slid to a stop outside of room 23B. Ken's apartment. He raised his fist and began pounding on the door. It didn't take long for it to be answered. The door flew open under his ministrations, giving way to the best thing those blue eyes had ever seen.
"… Mamoru……"
"Ken…" The two immediately fell forward, into each other's arms, holding one other tightly as if one would disappear if the other let go. The brunette was almost incredulous. 'I must still be sleeping… Yes, Kase came by, but when I fell onto the bed, I went back to sleep. That must be it… I'm dreaming…' "Ken?" Mamoru whispered, relaxing a bit from the embrace. "I have to talk to you. Ken, open your eyes."
"No. If I do, you'll disappear. You always disappear, right when I dream I'm about to get you back again." Mamoru smiled and gently stroked his boyfriend's face. Finally, those russet eyes opened, taking in the sight he'd been longing to see for almost a week with such vehemence that it was almost heartbreaking. "God, I can't believe it's really you. How did you get away? So many questions… Come in, come in!" He shepherded the younger boy inside, shutting the door behind him. "I hope you don't mind, but Kase is here. He stopped by just a little while ago to check in on me."
Mamoru froze. Kase. Here. In Ken's apartment. Oh God. The tall, older brunette stepped into sight, his eyes dark and watching Mamoru with curiosity. 'He doesn't know that I know…' Mamoru realized. 'I can't come right out and say it, or something might happen to Ken…' A tension filled the air for a split-second that seemed to last an eternity until finally, the silence was once more shattered.
"Mamoru, it's so good to see you safe," Kase lied. He waited with watchful eyes at the blonde's reaction. The boy smiled, though it looked a little strained. 'He… he doesn't know. Perfect.' "You two sit, I'll go get you some coffee, Mamoru." Ken nodded his appreciation and led Mamoru to the couch.
"How did you-? When-? God, so many questions." He paused as he tried to collect himself. With a deep breath, he continued. "Did he hurt you?" The tone in the goalie's voice spoke promises of torturous pain if the answer was yes. He saw the blonde shift a bit under that gaze.
"Not much. When he did hurt me, he always patched it up and apologized." Ken's face relaxed at that.
"How did you get away???"
"He… he left the door unlocked. I guess he just forgot. Maybe he didn't think I'd try to escape." Mamoru stood. "Where's your phone? I think we should call Yohji over here as soon as possible."
"Sure…" Ken retrieved the phone from his bedroom and punched in the detective's number. "Yohji? It's Ken. We need you over here. Mamoru's back. Yes. Thank you. We'll be waiting." He dropped the phone unceremoniously onto the sofa. For a long time, there was nothing but silence as chocolate eyes stared into azure ones with a longing and relief that was indescribable through words. The moment was shattered by the reappearance of Kase, holding a steaming mug in his hands.
"French vanilla roast," he announced, a smile on his face. "Hot out of the pot." Mamoru hesitated, but took the mug. If he'd refused, it would have roused suspicions. He couldn't let on, not yet. It wasn't safe. Instead, he nursed the warm porcelain mug and sat down on the couch again, Ken taking a possessively close position beside him. Kase fought back the angered frown and flopped into a chair across from the youth, waiting impatiently for him to take a drink. Mamoru's azure eyes flashed with distrust for a split-second at the eager expression on his former captor's face…
"So tell us what happened," Ken urged. Azure eyes looked to their addresser uneasily.
"What happened when?" he asked quietly. "There's a lot to tell… maybe we should wait for Yohji-kun."
"Why?" Kase spoke up, almost challenging the boy to spill everything he knew, testing the waters, as it were. 'Because you'd do something bad to Ken or to me, you sick bastard,' the blonde had wanted to say, but he bit his tongue.
"I'm not ready to talk about it…" 'It's not safe yet…' He took a sip of coffee. Kase's eyes glistened with glee barely concealed. Cerulean eyes shot wide at the taste of Seraphime hidden beneath the coffee. He'd learned to detect the powerful sleep agent's taste no matter how it was disguised, and found it rather pungent now. He spit the coffee out and rose angrily, throwing the rest of it onto Kase.
"You bastard!" he screamed. "Trying to poison me into silence now?! You stay the hell away from us both!"
"Mamoru! What's gotten into you?!" Ken demanded, starting for his best friend. Small, but incredibly strong hands grabbed the soccer player, holding him back.
"Don't go near him, Ken! He's the stalker!!!" For a moment, the entire world stopped as the sudden realization kicked in on everyone. "Kase is the one who kidnapped me and forced you to do all those things! That's right, I knew! You gave yourself away after you called Ken on your cell phone, as the 'normal' you. As if such a thing existed," the youth spat venomously. Intense brown eyes stared incredulously, disbelievingly at the coffee-covered man.
"Ka… Kase… It… It's not true… Tell me he's wrong…" With a sudden burst of speed that was completely unforeseeable, Kase leapt up and grabbed Mamoru's form, pulling out a gun and pressing it to the boy's temple.
"Fuck, Ken. You weren't supposed to find out yet," he whined. "That ruins everything. No, maybe it's better this way." He paused to smile maniacally, a horrible twist of features that could hardly be called a smile. "Isn't it funny, Ken?! All these years, you've been getting it all… Getting EVERYTHING that I wanted, and now… Now, I have everything you want. Life's a bitch, ne, Ken?!" Brown eyes watched in shock and incredulity at the scene displayed before him: his supposed best friend holding a gun to his boyfriend, spewing out words full of hate and danger, and odium and…
"Oh, God, Kase… why?" was all he could manage at the piteous sight. His entire body, his mind, everything was numb. It was like that time when the team was playing in America and decided to go to Wisconsin, and Ken had fallen through a patch of thin ice. Only this time, there was no one to pull him back out of the water.
"Why. You want to know why." Kase's voice was disturbingly, frighteningly calm as he spoke. "I'll tell you, Ken. We started things out together. But as time progressed, we digressed. You started wandering away from me. You left me, you abandoned me, Ken! Sure, you were still around, but you changed. You turned your back on me and took everything from me that should have been mine.
"I could have been famous, Ken, but I stepped down. You thought I was sick the day of J-League tryouts? Nope! I faked it, because I knew that it would come down to you or me, and I didn't want to take the chance from you. I could have had it, but I gave it to you. And you got selfish. You took, and took, and you never gave back. The money, the fans, the love, you took it all and never allowed any of it to shine into the limelight where I stood for you.
"I loved you, Ken. Did you know that? Did you ever stop to notice it?! No! You were too wrapped up in you to notice anything. Stupid, naïve you. I even told you once. Do you remember that night in Brazil? In the hotel room? You were drunk from too much tequila at the local bar. I'd had to practically drag you back." He paused, laughing a bit at the memory. "You couldn't get over how disgusting it was that they put a worm in their alcohol. Tito couldn't get over how disgusting it was the Japanese drank rotten rice. Do you remember when we got there, we talked for hours, and you asked me why I didn't have a girlfriend? A great guy like me, you said. And I told you, there was only one person in my life I could ever truly care for. And I'd kissed you, Ken. But once again, you hadn't noticed."
"Oh, God… Kase, I was drunk, I passed out… I never knew…" His eyes deviated, flickering to Mamoru who looked so scared, yet.. strangely intrigued by the story.
"But love wasn't enough. Love never gets anyone's attention. Kindness, caring, they never get a person anywhere. Does anyone know about Suzie Paxton, a nurse during the Second World War, who gave her life defending her medical outpost? No. They know about Hitler and Mussolini, and all the atrocities they committed. So you see? Those who do horrible things are noticed, are remembered. So I took all my love for you, and I flipped it over. I started hating you, and you know what? You STILL didn't notice! It still wasn't enough!
"I had so many plans on how to get rid of you, how to bring about your downfall. They were perfect, so many of them. Hey, Ken. I was the one who called the cops and told them you had been accepting bribes. They would have believed it, too, if I hadn't been sick that one day. I was going to put poison in your water, and it would've looked like you were losing on purpose. But the flu saved you, Ken. That's when I came up with this idea. It's not over, Ken. I'll see you suffer yet. I'll make you hurt like the way you hurt me!" A tear slid down the older man's face as he tightened his grip on Mamoru and his gun. Without warning, the front door of the apartment crashed open, a very infuriated Yohji standing in the doorway, his .45 aimed right at Kase's head.
"Yohji!" Mamoru cried from his entrapped position.
"Fuck me!" Kase growled. "How many guests are you expecting today, Ken?!"
"Put the gun down, Kochiro, and nobody will get hurt," Yohji instructed calmly, his voice betraying the furious expression on his face.
"Ha! Good one, Kudou," he snided. "The second I put this gun down, I'm getting a bullet in the brain. Don't think for a second I don't know what you're planning to do. I can see it in your eyes." His tone of voice was mocking, teasing, simply because he knew he could. God, Yohji wanted so badly to kill him.
"Kase, please," Ken's voice began, sounding anemic and tired. "Please, let's talk this out, I'm sure we can-"
"The time for words has long since passed, my dear Ken. Long since passed. Kudou, you put down that gun, or Mamoru here gets a really nasty looking hole in his pretty little head."
"You won't kill him," the honeyed man stated. "Not only is he your ticket out of here a living, free man, but he's done nothing to you, save splashing coffee all over that horrible suit of yours. You're not going to hurt him at all." He saw that doubt that flashed across the man's eyes, and grinned internally. That tactic always worked. Those darkened eyes narrowed and angled the gun, firing a shot right through the magnate's son's shoulder. A pained scream ripped through the air as blood splattered on crème-coloured carpet.
"MAMORU!" Ken screeched. "Kase, don't hurt him! Please!!" Blood oozed out of the wound, down the front of Mamoru's green t-shirt, turning the fabric a strange shade of.. dark. That was the only way to describe it. Golden skin paled in a mixture of shock, pain, and slow loss of blood.
"Would you like to reconsider, Kudou…?"
"You son of a bitch."
"Hey, do I insult your mother? Step aside, detective. I don't want to have to damage him any further, but if you don't move, the other shoulder goes as well." Yohji wavered, unsure of what to do. If he moved, the bastard got away. If he didn't, Mamoru would probably die.
"Yohji-kun… stay… put…" Jade eyes captured pained, but determined ocean-blue ones. The boy flashed him a weak, pained smile.
"No one asked for your opinion, little one. Move it, Kudou, or I knock out the other arm. If I get ambitious, I could even try the abdomen. But that would make it hard for him to walk. Not to mention agonizingly painful."
"Shit…"After much thought, the honeyed man slowly pulled away from the doorframe, allowing ample room for passage.
"Kase… wait." All eyes were instantly on Ken who was intently looking at his former best friend, eyes pleading and begging. "Don't do this. It's not too late to sort everything out, it really isn't, we can-"
"No, Ken," the older man interrupted. "It is too late." Kase couldn't hide the remorse and longing in his eyes that somehow reached his voice as well. Gun in one hand, a bleeding, semi-struggling Mamoru in the other, the brunette made his was outside and into the lot and his car, where he tossed his captive carelessly in and sped off.
As soon as Kase and Mamoru had disappeared, Ken's entire body gave out on him. He sagged forward, Yohji barely catching him before he kissed the blood-splattered carpet. Violent sobs racked his body, and Yohji couldn't help but wonder how one person could lose so much of his life, so much of what he thought- knew- to be true in one instant. He dropped his gun and held the shaking boy tightly to him. 'Kase will die for this,' he decided right then and there. 'Yeah. He's gonna die. Nice. And slow.'
*Blinks* Wow. This was one of my longer chapters. I noticed, as I read over it, that it is rather devoid of Ran, Aya, and Asuka-y goodness. Next chapter will focus on them, mainly. I promise. But right now, it's nearing 2:00 am, so I'm going to get some MUCH needed sleep. Chapter 12 to come soon! Geez, this is getting long. I really have to finish this up, and soon.
Kourui