Disclaimer: I don't own, don't want to own YST. It's so much more fun to write about them and play with them on my own time. By the way, double chapter release.
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Caught Unaware
Chapter 11- Hope
By: Max*the bishie deliverer
~*~*~
The radio crackled and leveled out with the heralding of a new bulletin. Several officers stopped their movements as the voice of an unidentified dispatcher announced that they received a phone call from an area five minutes south of Yokohama.
At first, one would have mistaken the call for the usual run-of-the mill APBs and such. However, when the officer listening was involved in a kidnapping and homicide case, then every call meant something. That and added to the call, the dispatcher disclosed that the caller reported the sounds of a young woman screaming "Help," and "Let me go." It was then that the deputy made off with the news to his superior.
~*~*~
Detective Date was standing in the university's security office, watching a video tape of the courtyard from two nights ago. In the room with him were four people: the Dean, the head security officer, another professor, and the guy running the monitors and cameras.
The adults didn't see the flash of gold highlighted with white in the back corner. They were unaware of the scowl on the young man's face as he watched as well.
The time of the tape was nearing one in the morning when the images of a young man around twenty-three staggered by the bottom of the monitor. He was burdened by something slung over his shoulder; however, further investigation divulged that someone was slung over his shoulder.
"Stop the tape. Who the hell is that?" The elder Date glanced at the professor for identification of the male. "Who's he?"
The elderly professor squinted at the black and white screen, his eyes unaccustomed to the darkened room. After adjusting his glasses, he spoke in a whisper, "Well, I'll be damned. That's Damien Managanita, but does he even-" he was interrupted by the sound of a soft curse, followed by the office door being slammed shut.
"Who?"
"He's an American transfer student. He most likely had feelings for her, it wouldn't surprise me, and Yaguy is very young for her position. But who know that he'd go this far?" the professor spoke, his eyes averted from the detective's eyes.
He had no idea that he just condemned a man.
Two minutes passed in silence before the office door was almost knocked from its hinges.
A harried deputy stood in the door way, panting from his near sprint to the office. "Dispatch got a call," he paused to catch his breath. "They said someone called in a young man and woman fighting at an old abandoned cottage, about five minutes south of Yokohama."
Blond hair flashed under the hallway lights as Seiji stood and caught the eyes of his friends and fellow brothers-in-arms. His request, which may as well as have been an order, was unspoken, but they heard it anyways.
"You heard him. Let's go."
The sounds of running footsteps were harmonious with the barking out of one word.
"Go."
~*~*~
She was being punished.
Somehow she knew that as soon as she heard the footsteps of an intruder. However, she wasn't the only one that heard it. Too bad that she was the only one that couldn't do anything about it except scream bloody murder and hope that the intruder heard her.
Her question at the moment was "How could they not?"
Nasuti managed to get out one good ragged scream before Damien literally shoved his fist in her mouth. She gagged at the obstacle before crying out as he smacked her cheek. He didn't do it hard, he had no reason to.
It still hurt from the bruises that were previously on her face from his rough handling, but proved an effective way of shutting her up. She just hoped that he wouldn't resort to using it again anytime soon. Although it seemed that being gentle with her was not very high on his to-do list.
Then why was she here?
Why was she suffering?
Why the hell was she STILL here and where were the guys that swore to protect her when she needed them?
The hurt on the outside never began to outweigh the pain of her heart and she knew that it never would. She would die here, maybe today, most likely tomorrow, so any plans of escape were most likely useless.
Things for her were not looking up.
Damien, was a different story. For a complete psychopath, he knew exactly how to deal with the intruder. The evil smirk on his face combined with the fact that he was loading bullets into his pistol made her queasy.
She was getting sick of being queasy.
More footsteps sounded from above as Damien muttered inaudibly as he trotted to the stairs.
"Hello," another voice came from the top of the stairwell. "Anyone down there? Well, hello." The tone of the voice was male and rather friendly, but concern was underlying the friendliness. The intruder knew that something was wrong.
Nasuti whimpered as the two exchanged words. Just for that moment, escape seemed so close. Her captor was distracted, so what was holding her back?
Well, her captor was standing on top of her only means of escape, gun tucked in the back waistband of his jeans, she just happened to be rebound hand and foot, and she ached.
She felt broken.
That never stopped her before. Looking at the two men on the stairwell, she took a deep breath, held it, and then screamed as loud as her vocal cords would let her.
"Shut up," Damien shouted back, his yell accompanied by three shots, followed by a gruesomely familiar sound.
It was the sound of a body hitting the floor.
Another innocent had died because of her.
Hope had never died so many deaths.
His face was smug and blood-splattered, along with his clothing.
But it was his hands that caught her attention. They were dripping with the crimson fluid and they were headed toward her face.
"Don't touch me," she whimpered as he ran his hands over her shoulders, smearing the shirt with blood.
He leaned onto her heavily, insanity dancing in his eyes like a wildfire. "I can't help but touch you," he whispered in her ear. "I can't help but love you either."
~*~*~
Seven minutes to go.
Seven minutes according to what Seiji had told them.
Touma looked at the rearview mirror and grimaced at the reflection. The tension in the vehicle was so heavy that he could have shot it with his hankyu and hit a bull's-eye.
They should have known. But then it wouldn't have made a difference, they wouldn't, couldn't interfere with Nasuti's personal life.
Unless she asked.
But she never asked.
It just happened.
The Youjakai happened.
They happened.
Damien happened.
She never asked for those either, but she dealt with them.
He thought that she handled everything beautifully, handled them beautifully.
Now if only she realized how she could handle Seiji's heart.
Another glance at Seiji told him that it should have been a secret. The swordsman never shared his feelings.
In a way, he wished that it was, because knowing that one of his brothers was hurting, was painful. However, he was glad that Seiji was showing emotion.
What little bit of emotion that a clenched jaw could show.
He looked at the clock again.
Six minutes to go.
~*~*~
This was wrong.
He was wrong, he didn't love her. He couldn't love her. He obsessed over her, made her life hell.
If that was love, then she never wanted to see it. She didn't want to be loved; she wanted to be away from this farce of affection.
She wasn't supposed to be loved.
Not like this.
"Nasté," he whispered, his eyes locked with her own in an earnest gaze.
"Don't call me that."
"Why? Is it because he calls you that? Am I not good enough?" He was speaking softly, but his tone was scathing, it burned her.
Just like he wanted.
"Please," she entreated. "Kill me."
He held her blood-smeared shoulders and stopped ranting. He wouldn't kill her, why should he?
He loved her.
You don't kill someone you love.
"This is the Yokohama police force. You're surrounded."
Nasuti gasped as Damien joined her in looking up.
He cursed before unsheathing his knife and slicing her bonds out of sheer desperation. "He wants you," he spat before holding her face between his hands. "He'll never get you." He shoved his mouth against hers hurriedly and then yanked her upon her feet. "Let's show Seiji-poo how much we love each other, shall we?"
She screamed one more time.
~*~*~
Several pairs of eyes blinked and looked at the house. The police officers held their weapons at the ready, aiming for the door.
It was raining.
How appropriate.
Detective Date stood by an unmarked sedan, the five young men, including his son, behind him. He was almost positive that they would stay out of the way.
...For now.
A scream ripped through the air, only to be cut off by a sharp string of curses.
The front door was almost thrown from its hinges with the force opening it. A bedraggled Damien staggered out with a pistol in one hand, a bruised, battered, gagged, and blindfolded Nasuti Yagyu in the other.
Shuu and Ryo cursed, over-powering the gasps of Shin and Touma.
Seiji glared.
It hurt to look at her.
The copper-haired perpetrator locked eyes with Seiji and grinned.
What the hell?
He was smiling, not at the scene before him, but at Seiji, directly at Seiji.
Was it because Damien thought that he had already won?
Seiji's eyes moved from Damien to Nasuti. His breath hitched in his throat as he noticed her tear-streaked face.
She looked broken.
Something within him crumbled.
Damien's grin widened as he tucked the pistol in his waistband and held Nasuti in the crook of his arm. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" He spoke, his voice echoing around the area. "She's even more beautiful underneath."
With dramatic flourish, he tore her shirt open and yanked it off.
She moaned raggedly from behind the gag.
The five troopers looked away out of sheer respect.
She was defenseless and they couldn't do anything except leave her at his mercy.
It hurt.
Seiji shuddered in building fury and from the cold rain. He didn't care that the cops were present, he wanted Damien to die. It wouldn't matter if he killed him or not. He felt the auras of his friends scatter through the crowd, but he looked around for his father, who was…somewhere.
Actually, he didn't care about his father. He cared about Nasuti and that crazed maniac with her life in his hands.
"That sick bastard," Ryo muttered from nearby as one officer moved forward. Seiji couldn't agree more.
"Managanita-san let Yagyu-san go." The tone was placid, soothing.
It sent Damien straight over the edge.
"You should have known this would happen, Seiji. She was mine and everyone knew it, except for you."
Seiji was paying attention as was everyone else, but he had no idea what the guy was talking about. Everyone knew? How come he didn't?
"I love her, she loves me, and she's with me, isn't she? You have—you can't do anything about it either, can you Blondie? If it wasn't for you, she'd be mine." He threw Nasuti off the porch and watched her roll to a stop, whimpering in pain.
They say that when a human is blindfolded, they're so terrified that they can't speak. In her case, it proved true, because the only sounds that she made were moans as she tried to get herself upright.
Seiji's fists clenched as he fought the urge to kneel down beside her and protect her from everything. He then saw the gun aimed at his face. If he moved, it would be fatal.
Damien wasn't through yet.
"But you, you had to be everywhere, so I couldn't touch her. But you weren't there that night, so now I win." Damien cocked the pistol's hammer. "And I have you, Seiji Date, to thank. Thank you." He pulled the trigger. The shot set the cops firing off their weapons until a command rang out.
"Cease fire!"
They had forgotten that Nasuti was right there, helpless.
"How does it feel to want something just out of reach?" Damien's voice was unnaturally loud.
Seiji wanted that voice to stop. He never wanted to hear it again, but he didn't say anything, for fear that the young man would fire again.
Then it happened.
The weapon that was pointed at Seiji dropped a few centimeters. His eyes followed the estimated trajectory and widened.
"Ever want something that was forbidden? Something that you could never have?"
The two failed to notice but Nasuti had managed to wrestle the blindfold off and stand between her captor and her savior. She had heard everything, and then she heard a familiar click. She turned to Damien only to gape in horror.
He had the gun aimed at her.
Silence. Lightning split the sky in half as the thunder roared, signaling the storm's increasing severity.
"Good, because now you can't have her!" He pulled the trigger and all hell broke loose.
Two shots were fired, almost simultaneously
Damien fell to his knees, a thick line of scarlet leaking from his chest and another thin line dribbling from his mouth. He coughed once and then his body fell.
She felt every muscle in her body scream in pain as she fell to her knees. Black ebbed into her vision until she couldn't see anymore. She hit the ground, face to the rain. It felt cold.
Then she didn't feel anymore.
~*~*~
To be continued…
A/N: By the way, for any questions on the later scenes, I kindly direct you to any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys novel. Now, keep going and don't forget to use that purple box down to your left. I like that purple box and you most likely do as well. *grins*