Onna: I'm getting sick of saying that sentence over and over again...
Yaone: We'll say it for you then.
Hakkai: Onna-san doesn't own us desu.
Kenshin: Neither does she own us de gozaru yo.
Kaoru: Hey! We're not even appearing in this story!
Onna: Graaaaahhh... Anyway! On with the fic! And I think I'll stop using italics for the Japanese words... I have no idea how long this fic is going to go, but it's not going to be short!
*****
Goku stretched on the sofa, mouth open in a wide yawn after yet another dinner together, which was quickly becoming a weekly habit for them. "Saa... I'm so full!"
Gojyo looked at Yaone and Hakkai. "I'm surprised you managed to do that to him. He's never stuffed!"
She giggled, shrugging her slim shoulders. "I'm sure Goku-kun is not that bad when it comes to food."
"Actually, he is," Hakkai grinned. "Wait for another half an hour and he'll be looking for food again."
"Eh?" Yaone blinked in surprise. "Is that so?"
"Hn," the blonde lawyer twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "He's such a bother."
"Ne, minna-san, how about a game of Scrabble?" Hakkai suggested, one hand behind his head. "That way we can pass the time and have fun."
Everyone except Yaone and Sanzo groaned.
"Scrabble? I'm terrible at that game!" Goku whined.
"That's because you're so simple-minded, bakasaru!"
"I am not a monkey, Lolita-loving ero kappa!"
"TEME!!!"
"NYAAAAAAAAH!" Goku stuck his tongue out.
THWACK THWACK!!! went the harisen. "Urusei!" Sanzo snarled as his eyes narrowed into slits. "We play Scrabble whether you like it or not, if it will shut you both up!"
Dokugakuji guffawed. "Highly unlikely, I assure you. They've been fighting since we all met."
Her shoulders shook with mirth. Hakkai and Goku seemed to really get along with Sanzo and Gojyo. It was hard to believe that they've only known each in such little time. "Ano, Scrabble would be nice."
"So how are you doing in university, Yaone-san?" his jade eyes met hers as he got up to get the game from a nearby shelf. "I keep forgetting what is it you do there," Hakkai added sheepishly.
Feeling a flush creeping to her cheeks at his gaze, she swallowed and quickly said, "I'm studying medicine. Well, pharmaceutics to be exact." That much was true. The case allowed her to pick up where she had left off when she had to quit university due to financial strains.
"You like to mix chemicals and make medicine?"
Yaone nodded. He didn't need to know what other things she did, they were meant to be kept until the time comes to reveal them. Then she thought how much she didn't know about this man, even after 3 weeks of being his neighbor. She couldn't suppress her curiosity. "What about you? What do you do for a living?"
"I'm in high school!" Goku spoke up. "There's this really cute girl there, her name's Toufa. She's nice! And she cooks great food!"
"Chi! Bakasaru just likes what she cooks..."
"Urusai, aka gokiburi!"
Hakkai quickly returned with the Scrabble box, his smile not slipping at the sight of Goku and Gojyo being hit by the fan again. "I teach in Goku's high school, but I also work as a phone counselor on weekends."
"Phone counselor?" she got up to give him a hand as he waved at her to sit down again.
"For a crisis help line. I mostly deal with teenage boys who know or are related to rape victims," he said, noticing her eyes widen. "It was the least I could do for Kanan. I think you've heard of the trial."
"Who hasn't?" Dokugakuji shrugged. "It was over-publicized."
"I'm so sorry..." Yaone said quietly. She felt like hitting herself.
He didn't answer, just opened the box and sorted out the letters and papers. She could see the flexing of his arm muscles through the sleeves, a sure sign that he was physically active. He was becoming more and more attractive in her eyes. Stop it! You're not supposed to get involved!
"What's that?" Dokugakuji's question banished all thought from her mind.
Then she heard it.
Gojyo sprang out of his seat. "Duck for cover!" he yelled as he pushed Goku behind the sofa.
The explosion happened just as she flung herself on Hakkai, shielding him. The entire place was bathed in bright light, the air around her shooting to a higher temperature. Shrapnel and glass flew around them, nicking her cheeks, arms, and legs. She paid no heed to the blood that ran down the back of her neck, her grip tightening around the man in her grasp.
"Yaone-san!" she heard him yell faintly before she opened her eyes and looked behind her. The living room was completely damaged, flames licking the wooden furniture, including the chair Sanzo had been on. The wall, which had partly shielded her and Hakkai, was scorched black.
She heard everyone else coughing due to the thick, black smoke, and knew they all had to get out or die from smoke inhalation.
Movement caught her eye. "Gojyo-san! Dokugakuji!" she sprang to her feet just as she saw, through the shattered window, a dark figure jump from a tree and flee.
"We're on it!" Gojyo leapt from behind the sofa and ran out the door, his brother following from behind the bookshelf that shielded him and Sanzo. The blonde lawyer released his gun from his holster was out the door before they knew it. Yaone checked to see if Goku was all right, and seeing that he was rushing towards them to aid the man she shielded, released Hakkai and followed them into the hall.
"Yaone-san!" he yelled from behind her. "Chotto matte kudasai!"
"Yaone! Stay there!" Dokugakuji ordered over his shoulder.
She stopped short. "Demo-!"
"Do as I say!" He disappeared into the stairwell, Gojyo and Sanzo ahead of him.
Yaone clenched her fists and ran back to assist Goku and Hakkai, tripping as she discovered a wound on her side. Her thoughts whirled. She shouldn't have run after the perpetrator, it could have blown her cover. No one was supposed to know that she was a police officer.
She placed her hands on the carpeted floor and struggled to get on her knees, coughing from the smoke, blood dripping from her mouth and wounds. Blood stains on the carpet increased in size. Only now did she feel the pain of her injuries, and she winced with every move she made. Her vision blurred, the hall seemed to spin around her.
"Yaone-neechan!" Goku's voice cut sharply into her hazy mind. "We've got to get out of here!"
"Yaone-san!" Two strong hands grabbed her arms, causing her to whimper in pain. "Yaone-san! Daijoubu desu ka?"
Hakkai was worried. She could hear it in his voice.
Yaone smiled weakly at him before her limbs gave way, her body collapsing against his, smearing his dirt-smudged shirt with her blood. "You're all... right... yokatta ne..."
Then it all went black.
"Naaaa! How is Yaone-neechan?" Goku jumped up once he saw Hakkai in the hallway of the hospital.
Hakkai sat down, relieved. "The doctor said that Yaone-san will be fine. The injuries are only minor and not life-threatening. Doctor said that she should be able to move around by tomorrow. The wall saved her life," he rubbed his temples. "I wish she didn't do that, jumping in front of me as that bomb exploded."
"Datte, she did it to save your life! If she wasn't there..."
"I know, I know," Hakkai sighed. "Thank heavens that it wasn't a big explosion, otherwise..."
The smell of smoke drifted towards him. Hakkai lifted his head to look at his long time friend and lawyer. "What do you think, Sanzo?"
Another cloud of smoke. "Hn. This is the second attempt on your life this month. And to make matters worse, the idiot cockroach and his brother failed to capture the culprit."
"Oi! Not fair! We nearly had him before he disappeared!"
"Nobody disappears into thin air, baka! Now shut up!" Sanzo snapped as he cocked his Smith and Wesson gun.
Light footsteps made them turn towards the hallway even as a soft feminine voice spoke. "You guys never stop arguing, don't you?" the voice was teasing, light.
"Yaone-san!"
"Oh, man! I'm glad you're all right! This bakasaru was getting noisy!"
"Ne, ne, Yaone-neechan! Are you sure you should be out of bed?"
"Yaone, you're so reckless!"
"Hn."
She laughed despite it being painful on her side and waved their concerns away. "I'm fine, I'm fine. No broken bones or sprained ankles to worry about."
Hakkai gently held her elbow for support. "Yaone-san, arigatou for what you did... demo... I wish you didn't do that..."
His piercing gaze made her drop her head, her cheeks coloring. She hoped that he wouldn't notice. "I-It's nothing... I just didn't want you to get hurt..."
Hakkai placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head to look at him. He was quiet, and no words were spoken.
He didn't have to. His eyes said it all.
"Naa! Let's go home! I'm hungry!" Goku pleaded, his hands on his stomach.
"Urusei da yo!!!"
THWACK!
She ran through the darkness, heart pounding, tears streaming down her cheeks. Tasukete...! Tasukete!! Somebody help me!
The footsteps grew closer, causing the hair on her skin to stand on its end. She ran faster, not caring that she was getting herself lost. She just wanted to get away. Get away from the person chasing her.
A cold hand closed over her arm, causing her to scream. Another hand clamped on her nose and mouth, pressing a handkerchief with a strange smell against her face.
She struggled to break free, holding her breath, kicking and scratching at the arms that held her. Her lungs screamed for air, her heart pounded. She was becoming light-headed, and against her will she inhaled the fumes. It wasn't long before she felt herself slipping from consciousness. Her limbs felt like dead weight and her body crumpled to the ground.
Just before she completely lost her touch with reality, her captor gazed at her and smiled cruelly, his voice sending chills down her spine.
"Hello, Toufa..."
Yaone slapped her cell phone shut, cursing before sweeping the curtain to the side, allowing the sunlight to stream in through the charred windows.
"Was that Kou?" Dokugakuji looked up as he inspected Hakkai's apartment for clues. He looked back to see if Hakkai and Goku have decided to return to their apartment.
Yaone nodded, her teeth gritting. "Hakkai-san and Goku-kun will sleep in your apartment tonight, Dokugakuji. I'm not risking having them in a vulnerable situation."
"What happened?" Gojyo asked, getting up from the floor.
"Another girl has been kidnapped."
*****
Onna: CLIFFHANGER!
Hakkai: *is still smiling*
Yaone: *shakes head* Onna-san wa kowai desu...
Kenshin: *nods* That she is...
Kaoru: *sighs* Japanese terms follows.
Teme- why you
Chotto matte kudasai- please wait
Daijoubu desu ka- are you all right
Yokatta ne- I'm glad
Yaone-neechan- big sis Yaone
Oi- hey
Datte- but
Tasukete- help
Kowai- scary
