Wow, I shock myself. I'm getting so many reviews for this and I've only written two chapters! I think that the idea is pretty crappy, but I'm figuring out ways to make the story weird and twist the plot so it will be interesting to read….smirks evilly Well, let me respond to the reviews first, as usual!
Animegoof – Yes, well, I had wanted Kyou to go out too look for her as well, but the rain makes him weak, which is why he wouldn't have gone. He might have transformed out there, so it wouldn't be healthy for him to go out when it rains really hard.
Anomous – I'm assuming you prefer to remain anonymous, but that's okay! Wow, multiple people like my story! Cool!
Aria's Star – Wow, you're the only reviewer so far who actually responded to my questions at the bottom! I like to make the readers think about possible outcomes, partially because it gives me ideas, too! Lol, I am very glad to hear that my story is interesting and that I don't give too much away. I beta for people because English is an easy, easy subject for me, so I kind of beta my own story -.-; Yeah, she is a "princess" (you'll find out why in the next chapter) but there hasn't been a mistake in the person who was kidnapped. Excellent idea though, it makes me wonder…ponders laughs evilly Thanks for reviewing!
Beckerkid-51 – Lol, no problem! Did I email you? I don't remember but maybe I did…oh well, I'll email you again anyways! I think it automatically sends you a notification if I update if you put me on Author Alert or something, doesn't it? An A, yay!
CaliCallMePrincess – I won't stop updating, I kind of like how it I turning out so far, so…well, you get the idea! Lol. Wow, I have you hooked? Really? Yay!
CallaRose – Thanks! Not her mother's family, but yes, it is someone rich! Akito…mwahahaha…let us see if it is Akito or one of his lackeys! Thanks for wanting more, that motivates me!
Chiratsuku – Yes, I hoped it would leave the readers with more questions! I did update ASAP! Hope you like this chapter!
Crazylovestory89 – Lol, I have two chapters, and this would be my third! Lol, you will find out who Reiji Aoe is in this chapter a little and more in the next one….ooh, I think Tohru's reason of kidnapping will also be answered in the next one….sorry for not updating fast enough -.-;
Dark Resister – Yes indeed, I will! Thanks for reviewing!
Evilalternateendingstorywriter – Haha, me and my suspense! grins evilly
Lizzie – Thank you! Lol, well, my evil twisting will lead you to find out who the master is and what his intentions are soon enough! Lol, don't worry about spelling things right, so long as I get the idea of what you're trying to say. You were only off by one letter anyways – you just put an "o" in front of the first "u" in "curious." No worries!
Pie Luving Hobo – Gahhhh! No! Not the evil ninja monkeys! I don't want to get attacked! runs from you
Stargazerr – Thank you, I will!
Togetheritsumo – Ohh yes, the "Master" and his intentions are to be revealed! In the next chapter, of course. Lol. Thank you, I'm very excited to write because of all the good comments I've been getting!
Ultimate-Furuba-Freak – Hey! If you kill me then…I'll stop writing! Ureshi des! I'm excited that you like my story this much! Haha, I don't ever realize I make cliffhangers, I just sort of write whatever every day or two…or three….-.-;
Well, thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I think I got all of them…Sorry it took me a bit to update, I was debating what order to put things in. Also, I updated the previous chapters because I realized that the cute little separator I was using wasn't showing up. Thus, I just added the rulers to separate sections; that way, the story will make more sense. Sorry about that! Just feel free to take a look over as to where I put the rulers so you understand that I'm writing the story from various angles. Well, I hope this chapter was sort of worth the wait! Here is chapter 3!
Missing Princess
Chapter 3: A Plausible Suspect
Tohru was definitely worried. It had been a whole week already and she had still been unable to contact the Sohmas. She wasn't uncomfortable by any means at all, and Reiji Aoe himself made sure of that. She was given very beautiful clothes each and every morning – dresses of silk with matching gloves, dresses with intricate patterns, and pretty shoes. Reiji had already given anything you could possibly name to Tohru. She had even gotten her own hairdresser. In fact, she was treated no less than a princess. Nobody could turn down such a lifestyle; despite the major differences in her normal life and this one, Tohru couldn't deny to herself that she liked this treatment. She did wish she could share it with her family – the Sohmas – though. She didn't want to bother anyone, and she didn't request anything from Reiji save for means of contact, which they still didn't give her.
Why don't they let me talk to anyone? I need to talk to someone from the Sohma family soon! I bet they are so worried about me! Tohru was most certainly worried about being here, and her heart would not be at ease until she did something. She decided to take some of the pretty stationary she had received and wrote a letter to the Sohmas. In it, she explained everything and let them know that she was perfectly fine. She even told them of what she had been doing the past seven days. After an hour of writing, she put her pen down. "Ahh, I'm finally done!" She addressed the envelope and gave it to one of her maids. "Excuse me, could you mail this, please?" She looked at the maid, who held out her hand for the letter. Tohru stared at the letter and realized that she didn't have a stamp. "Ohh…I don't have any stamps…."
"Don't worry about it; I will take care of it!" The maid assured Tohru that the letter would reach the Sohmas and hurried off to give the letter to the "postman" – Reiji Aoe.
Tohru was at some peace at the Aoe mansion, but what about the poor Sohmas? They, of course, were not at all comfortable with the fact that Tohru was gone. By now, all of the Sohmas who had bothered to ask (which was just about everyone except Akito, Kureno, and Rin) now knew that Tohru had been kidnapped.
For the past week, Yuki, Kyou, Haru, and Momiji resumed school, trying to act as if nothing had happened. But Yuki couldn't ignore her empty seat in class every day, and neither could Kyou. Yuki spent all day wondering where Tohru could be and if she was safe and alive. Is she cold? Is she alone? Is she lost? His sensei noticed he was not focusing on his schoolwork lately.
"Sohma-kun, you haven't been focusing on your schoolwork lately," his sensei began one day. "Do you need to talk?"
Yuki shook his head. "I'm just worried about Honda-san…she's a good friend of the Sohma family, so her being kidnapped is…well, it's disturbing for us, quite frankly. I'm just worried about her safety….She's such a good friend to all of us, and to me, that I can't help but to be worried and to be wondering if she's safe or not…"
Naturally, the sensei understood then why it would be hard to focus. "Well, just stay focused on school, because I'm sure she wouldn't want you to be slipping with school. Just keep praying – I'm sure the police will find her soon."
Unfortunately, the police had no clues and were finding nothing. The police had been looking for any and all clues of her disappearance, but nothing was to be found. Scattered groceries and dirty ribbons wouldn't be of any help to them at all. The Sohmas couldn't ignore the questioning looks from Arisa Uotani or Saki Hanajima, who were Tohru's two best friends. The Sohmas found themselves obliged to tell both of them what had happened to Tohru. They both gave the Sohmas hopeful looks every day, wanting to see Tohru again, but the good news had yet to come. Tohru's grandfather had also been informed by now, and he was very worried for his dear granddaughter. Everyone was in sheer distress; nobody could do anything or say anything. Memories of Tohru lurked everywhere they went, and it was like living in a nightmare for all of them. Everyone was waiting for the day when they would hear news of her of perhaps even see her back in their lives again.
News of Tohru's disappearance had traveled throughout the school like a fast-spreading disease. Not that Tohru would ever know, of course, for she was in a mansion – one too far away to respond to such news.
Yuki walked home alone. He and Kyou went separate ways but came home at the same time. They hoped to see Tohru's bright face warming up the house, but each day was another disappointment. She had made the house feel so lively, and the house felt empty and lifeless without her life to light up their lives.
Yuki removed his shoes and made his upstairs quickly and quietly. He changed out of his school clothes and finished his homework. He spent the rest of that day simply lying on the bed. He didn't look forward to dinner because he had already gotten sick of always eating bentos. Kyou had simply gotten home, changed, and went to lurk on the roof. Shigure noticed both of the boys' behaviors and just sighed. He walked into Yuki's room and called him down for dinner.
At the dinner table, Shigure decided to talk to Yuki a little, seeing as Kyou was still sulking on the roof. Perhaps it would relieve some pent up feelings, he thought.
"Ne, Yuki, are you alright?"
"Oh yes, I am just splendid. Things couldn't be any better," Yuki replied sarcastically. He was using his chopsticks to poke at his food. He couldn't help but to miss Tohru's fresh, delicious cooking.
Shigure sighed. He had expected something like that for a response. "That's not what I meant. I mean, would you like you share your suspicions?"
Suspicions. That was a hate-filled word, but the name of his suspect was an even dirtier word to Yuki. Yuki didn't like the person he suspected – in fact, he wondered if anyone liked the person he suspected. "Who else do you know that likes to put us through hell except Akito?"
"Akito couldn't do it himself," Shigure reasoned. I'm sure that he had Kureno do it, if it is him behind this madness. Kureno is his personal servant, after all. "Besides, how would Akito pull off kidnapping her?"
Yuki had no idea, so he shrugged. He put his head in his hands and held back tears – he couldn't cry in front of anyone, especially not Shigure. "What if he has her raped or beaten or something horrible like that?" Yuki shuddered with the very thought. "What if she's just out there, lost and cold somewhere? What if she were screaming for help at this very moment? We're just sitting here, waiting for something!" Tears stung the back of Yuki's eyes. Still, he held his tears in and continued. "Akito….I want to kill Akito! He needs to stop ruining people's lives! Doesn't he realize that his style of "leadership" isn't going to get him anywhere!" Yuki slammed his fist on the table – he was just that angry.
Shigure was startled by Yuki's violent reaction, but he could understand the boy's pain. "Tohru-kun definitely captured all of our hearts with only a few kind words and her ever-optimistic personality," he agreed. "Why not lure the truth out of Akito and get him to admit that he's behind all of this? Maybe the others on the Sohma estate can keep a watch out for us and keep an eye on Akito."
Yuki and Shigure were in a thoughtful silence. Kyou climbed down from the roof and entered the discussion without a greeting. He had come down to eat his bento because he was hungry, and he had heard Yuki practically yelling. He sat down and began eating some of his bento. "Stupid idea. I don't think it's him," Kyou said laconically after he had swallowed a bite.
Shigure was stunned. "Ehhhh? Why not?"
Kyou was thoroughly angry as it was, and Shigure wasn't helping matters; he was in no mood to be explaining things in-depth. "Because even he feels that she's okay to have or something! He let her stay here, didn't he? Even he's been affected by her kindness and cheeriness." Kyou blushed slightly as he admitted this, though neither Yuki nor Shigure noticed this.
Yuki had to agree. "Yeah, that is true, but he's always looking for ways to torment us. This could be a perfect way to distress all of us…"
All of the Sohmas were upset over the disappearance of the same person, and they all wanted to confront whoever Tohru's kidnapper was. More importantly, they still had to find Tohru and bring her back – if she was still alive, that is. So how were they going to find her, and when would they begin to look for clues on their own? More importantly, how would they spy on Akito?
Missing Princess – Chapter 3: A Plausible Suspect / END
This is a rather lame chapter in my opinion. I deeply dislike it because hardly anything happened. I revealed too much in my original chapter 3, so I am tormenting people by lengthening it….I am evil like that! ) lol. However, I have to say that the chapter 4 that I have written half of is rather good. I am excited about it! This took me a few days to release because stuff has been going on in life, so I am going to finish up chapter 4 tonight if I can so I can put it up tomorrow because I will be gone to my cousin's wedding from Friday evening (the 15th) until Sunday night (the 17th). So, what d you think is going to happen? Any ideas on how to catch Akito?
Ja ne my wonderful readers! See you in the next chapter!
- ( Tohru-tan ) -