Chapter Thirty-Seven: Holes and Horrors

Sorry, I didn't have time to put up the Japanese characters. Oh, and there was a few problems I had to fix with the chappie, so yes, this is the second time I've put it up. Sorry for the confusion.

Tokyo Alleys

I lifted up my foot in wonder. This has got to be a trick…they wouldn't be dumb enough to do this…no way.

Temporary Lair

"Yuri, are you sure you hid it well?" Ronin asked anxiously. He had a tingling feeling in his spine that something was going to happen, and he knew he wasn't quite ready for a full-fledged fight yet. Then again, the girl hadn't been much of a challenge. It was her friends he needed to keep an eye on…Yuri waved her hand lazily.

"Yes, yes, yes! She'll spend so much time hunting those alleys, she won't even think to look in the road." Ronin's heart jumped.

"Wait, you hid the entrance in the road?" he repeated with disbelief.

"Uh-huh." Yuri said brightly, somewhat condescendingly. Ronin put his face in his hands. "In… the road." He repeated slowly.

Tokyo Alleys

A gaping black hole stood amid the wastewater-filled street. It was maybe three feet wide and ominous sucking sounds came from the hole's open mouth. The slight wind it breathed out was colder than the knives of hail that were swiftly landing on the ground. Would they really…? Although I had been taught not to talk to strangers, I couldn't remember being taught not to leap into randomly hidden never ending voids. Or if luck was with me, it wouldn't be never ending. Only one way to find where it leads to…I took in a gulp of air and held my breath as if preparing to dive into water. I shut my eyes, and with a single hop, I was flying down the darkness of the tunnel.

Back at the House

Ryou paced the perimeter of the parlor anxiously. He ran his hands through his sheet of short blonde hair and sighed.

"What am I going to tell Mabel if she doesn't come back?" he whined. Kish sat on the couch with his hands placed neatly on his lap, unperturbed by Komori's absence.

"Say that she got kidnapped by an evil mastermind plotting to take over the world and bent on killing her. See what she says." Ryou glared at Kish.

"Maybe I really should write an article on you." Ryou grumbled. Kish grunted.

"Why don't you just go look for her?" Kish suggested blankly.

"Look?"

"Yeah, 'look', you know, using your eyes to find something. 'Look'." Kish clarified.

"And just where do you suggest I look for her, Mr. Know-All?"

"Why don't you go ask that one guy?"

"What 'one guy'?"

"That…um….Kiyoshi! Yeah, that's the kid's name, Kiyoshi."

"Oh, of course! You know, Kish, sometimes you have good ideas." Ryou exclaimed, heading for the door.

"I know." Kish grinned, leaning farther into his seat. Ryou snatched Kish's hand and pulled him out the door.

"Hey!"

Damn, it's colder.

It was cold, so unbearably cold in the tunnel. The darkness kept me from being able to see anything, if there was even anything to see. If it weren't for the elevator feeling in my stomach and the blistering wind, I wouldn't have even been able to tell that I was falling. If I'm right, this will lead me straight to Ronin. He'll be so off-guard…It's almost not fair.

Not fair… The words pounded in my chest in the darkness. But he's done so much to me! The last thing I should be giving him is my pity!

It's amazing how much self-loathing two little words can invoke.

Lighthouse

Kiyoshi sat on the rusting roof of the decrepit lighthouse he called home. The hail and rain drenched his hair to where it stuck like a curtain over his pure green eyes. He didn't bother to brush it off; he tilted his head back and welcomed the cold streams of water and ice on his face. The rain here is so beautiful…So calm……I'd sure like to see Komori in this rain…

"Argh!" Kiyoshi smacked himself in the face. Do NOT think of her!

Easier said than done. Stupid, selfish, self-absorbed girl…

Two figures darted through the rain to the lighthouse; they barely registered in Kiyoshi's mind. One was pulling the other by the arm and yelling something; the second looked like all they wanted was to go home. I know the feeling…

They ran to the door and tried to shove it open. "Hey!" Kiyoshi yelled in surprise. He leapt off the roof and landed right behind the two figures. They whipped around and gave a yelp of fright. Kiyoshi was close enough to see that it was Ryou and Kish…the reason why they were trying to break in completely beyond him. Kiyoshi put his hands over their mouths that were still caught in a scream and shoved them inside. He shut the door and shook the rain out of his hair. Kish and Ryou had calmed down slightly and took seats on the dusty sofa. Ryou fidgeted and his eyes darted around nervously; he was as edgy as a person that had just had four cups of espresso. ((Ya' happy, Ferocia?)) Kiyoshi crossed his arms to his chest and strolled over to Ryou and Kish.

"So," he questioned impatiently, "What happened to make you two twits desperate enough to break into my house?"

"It's Komori," Ryou blabbed, "Mabel called and she wanted her, so I went to find her but I couldn't, and then Kish took over the phone, so I had to hit him, then he said to ask you about her, so here we are." Kiyoshi replied by staring at Ryou in dumbfounded silence. Does he expect me to understand any of that? Ryou opened his mouth to speak again, but Kish mercifully covered his mouth.

"Komori ran away." Kish stated, enunciating each syllable. Kiyoshi's arms fell to his sides.

"Ran…away…?" He seemed calm, but on the inside his thoughts and emotions were in turmoil. She ran away? Why would she...? Oh…It must've been our fight. Damn!

"Uh, Kiyoshi? Yoo-hoo?" Kish waved his hand around Kiyoshi's face to wake him up. "…You have to understand; we're just so close, I know it. I don't want to blow it all just because of some stupid school dance." Komori's words came back to him, as fresh as if they had just poured from her lips. Kiyoshi realized with a growing sense of horror where she was.

"I think I know where she went."

Temporary Lair

The dimmed candlelight in the lair flickered as a short zephyr creeped in. Ronin lay in bed as he pulled Yuri to him in a snug embrace. He loved everything about her: her smile, her smell, her hair…

The wind stopped, yet still continued to cause the candles to flicker. Ronin sat up and watched the candles for a while. He nudged Yuri's arm.

"Yuri, the candles…" Ronin whispered. She joined him in gazing at the dancing flames.

"That's an omen." Yuri whispered back.

"Good or bad?" He asked. Yuri wasn't listening; she continued to gaze at the fires.

"What are you…?" Ronin began, turning around.

The flames rose to great heights, flooding even the gloomiest corner of the room with their joyous dance.

"What the--?"

The fire merged into one single blazing form in the air. Ronin clutched Yuri to him as he gawked at the shape the churning flames made: the form of a bat with its wings outspread.

"Bad." Yuri muttered.

I woke with a start. I was still freefalling through the tunnel; I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. "How long was I asleep for?" I asked, directing the question at no one in particular. Not like there was anyone else near here. Oh crud, what if it doesn't lead to Ronin's hideout? Panic struck every limb on my body and made it rigid with fear. But…what if it doesn't lead to Ronin? What if it leads somewhere else? My heart began to race as I realized that this might actually be a never ending tunnel. Mom should've told me not to jump into these things…

I felt my stomach return to me, a sign that I could possibly be landing soon. I'll finally get out of this stupid tunnel. And sure enough, the tunnel gradually grew brighter until I could see my hand in front of my face again. Please be the right place, please be the right place…

I sensed my feet slipping through the end of the tunnel; I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed my judgment was better than I gave it credit for.

Tokyo Streets

"Kiyoshi! It's insane out here! Just give up; we won't be able to find her in this weather!" Ryou shouted to Kiyoshi through the chilling showers of ice and rain. Kiyoshi trudged on, ignoring Ryou. "I'm going to find her." he grunted. "Even if it kills me." he added on in a whisper.

Kiyoshi led Kish and Ryou towards the place that he had thought looked suspicious the last time he had visited Ronin's Alleys (what he and Komori had nicknamed it). The ache in his heart widened with each step he took without having Komori's warmth by his side. I have to find her.

They plodded down the alleys, the weather not helping them out of their melancholy mood. "I'm not going to miss her. Let's just say we tried and go home." Kish whimpered. Kiyoshi turned around and landed a sharp jab on Kish's chin. Kiyoshi's face had a look more frightening than the storm that they were stuck in. "Don't you DARE say another word like that!" He turned on his heel and continued down the alley, desperately running his hands over the walls, seeming to beg for some sign that Komori was okay. He turned more desperate as each place he searched turned out to be just a brick or just concrete.

"That-is-IT!" Kish screamed. "I've spent hours searching for a stupid girl that I could care less about! I'm not moving another inch!" Kish flung himself on the ground with his arms crossed like a pouting toddler.

The ground clicked and whirred, and before their eyes, Kish was swallowed up so quickly he hadn't had time to scream. "I think we've found where she went." Kiyoshi smirked, half at Kish's expense, half at the hope of finding Komori.

"In…there?" Ryou stood aghast.

"Yup." Kiyoshi leapt into the hole, yanking a protesting Ryou in behind him. Please let me be right.

"Damn, it's cold in here!" Kiyoshi heard Ryou curse, falling closely behind him. They had been falling for what seemed like hours…or minutes; in the dark they had no sense of time.

"This is taking too long…" Kiyoshi thought aloud.

"Nothing we can do about it. Jumping into a hole like this…stupid…" Ryou echoed. Actually, there is something we can do. "Bottoms up." Kiyoshi flapped his wings a few times to propel him up just enough o catch Ryou by the leg. "Woah!"

"This'll make us go faster." Kiyoshi tilted down and continued to fall while flapping his wings to make them faster. "I think I'm gonna be sick." Ryou muttered.

I'm so sorry Komori.

Ronin's Lair

I fell on a cold granite floor with a painful crash. I remained in a heap for a minute to wait for the aching to subside. I pushed myself up, having second thoughts about coming here at all. I tilted my head up and took in the gloomy room: There were four tall, crumbling walls, hardly any light, and worst of all, no exits, not even through the way that I had come. Doesn't really seem like Ronin's style. Then again, he has always liked depressing rooms. I used the unsteady wall to help me to my feet. I scratched my furry bat ears and looked up again. Nothing but damp stone. You'd think there'd be something… I sighed and flopped down into one of the moss-coated corners to brainstorm. I banged my head against the wall a few times in an attempt to get my thoughts flowing; small pieces of the wall started to chip off. Amazing what brainstorming can do. I faced the wall and pressed on one of the weaker sections. It crumbled at my very touch, but not enough to make a hole through the wall. "Urgh." My eyes drifted around for something, anything that could be used to break it down. They finally rested upon the hilt of my sword. Duh. I unsheathed the sword and inspected its gleaming surface as if it were a long lost childhood toy. I pulled the sword behind me and swung it at the wall just like I had learned in softball. The wall bowed down to the force of the sword's blow and tumbled down in a flurry of dust. I lowered the sword back in its sheath while coughing and drubbing the dust out of my eyes.

"WAH!"

"Be quiet."

"We're going too fast, Kiyoshi! Slow down!"

"We're nearly there."

Ronin's Lair

Ronin sniffed the air; something was different about it. Dirtier, somehow. He shook Yuri awake.

"Wah?" she grumbled.

"Smell the air. It's dustier." Ronin hopped out of bed and looked around suspiciously.

"I'll call a maid if you'll just shut up and go back to sleep." Yuri burrowed farther into the covers.

"She's here."

"Great."

"Come on! I want to have the upper hand this time." Ronin growled hastily.

"Okay, fine. I'm up." Yuri forced herself out of bed.

"Set the traps."

I stepped out of the rubble and through my new doorway. I stared down a lonely stone hallway that I couldn't see even two feet into. Of course. There had to be a creepy hallway. "Nothing to do but to go straight."

"Ugh." I'd been walking for about an hour. I was now slowed down to a lame trudge. "That's it." I half-fell onto the floor in a tired heap. I'll take a little bat nap and then it's right on back to work.

Ow, it's itchy…Why is it so itchy? It hurts… A terrible painful itching sensation spread up my neck. "What the--?" I reached up to my neck to feel a damp, furry ball that had whiskers and a tail about as thick as my index finger. The itching ache spread down to my legs and waist.

"RATS!" I squealed, jumping up and shaking the vermin off. It was then that I realized that the one on my neck clung onto the fleshy part of my neck with its horrible incisors. "GET OFF!" I pried the creature's teeth from my neck, sending out trickles of blood from the gap the rat had made. It scurried off after its brethren after I had flung it on the floor in disgust. I felt the wound again and the heated liquid escaping under my fingers. "Vampire vermin. That's a new one on me." I grumbled, wincing with pain. Stupid rats. Now I'm bound to get AIDS or whatever the hell it is that they carry around from crawling in sewers. I decided then that it would be wise to keep moving. I was already scarred enough and all I wanted now was to be back in my Pepto Bismol- colored room, snug and warm in the blankets, far away from any danger.

"Nearly there my ass." Ryou complained.

"Shut up." Kiyoshi mumbled. They could hear Kish utter something unintelligible ahead of them. A small beam of light could be seen at the end of the tunnel.

"Toldja."

They stumbled out of the tunnel in a whirlwind of flails and hectic screams. "OOF!" They found themselves in an uncomfortable dogpile on the chilled floor. "Get off of me!" Kish yelled. They awkwardly shuffled to their feet and Kish coughed nervously.

"She was here." Kiyoshi whispered in awe, pacing to the demolished section of wall. "Where are we?" he heard Kish ask. He chose not to answer.