Two shadows darted through the darkness, moving swiftly across the dirt road. Kyo kept leaping ahead, running forward and falling back again, unable to maintain any sort of steady pace. Yuki walked quickly and firmly, his feet beating a light, fixed cadence on the ground.
"Hurry up, you damn rat! She's out there in the middle of the night! God only knows what'll happen to her while you're back here being slow!" Kyo hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously in the gloom. The darkness around them was near complete, broken only by the few rays of moonlight that pushed their way through the leaves above the two.
"Honda-san is a smart girl. I'm sure that when it got dark, she found somewhere to be," Yuki said calmly.
"No she wouldn't! She's probably wandering the streets, asking axe-murderers for directions home and taking rides from rapists…" It freaked Kyo out just thinking about it. He ran forward again, practically dancing on his toes.
Yuki stayed silent. Tohru probably would do something like that. She was too trusting; normally, it was one of her most endearing qualities, but when she was lost somewhere, it just made him worry. He broke into a trot, his steps lengthening.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Kyo crowed. He matched Yuki's pace step for step, and they hurried toward the city lights. Shigure's house wasn't but a few miles from their high school, which was a good five minutes' walk from downtown. The two of them, their bodies in peak health from rigorous martial arts training, could make good time if they wanted to.
And oh, did they want to.
It wasn't fifteen minutes after that until they were walking into the building where Tohru worked. Along the way, they sort-of agreed on a few places she might be, and here was at the top of the list.
"Yuki is here!" a familiar voice cried happily, and suddenly someone jumped on Yuki's back. "Kyo, too!" Momiji smiled at the Cat from around the lollipop in his mouth.
"Hey, Momiji," Yuki said as the half-German let go and dropped to the ground.
"Have you seen her?" Kyo demanded. It never even occurred to him that Momiji wouldn't know who 'her' was.
Lucky for them, he instantly understood. The Rabbit shook his head. "No. Tohru didn't have to work today, and she hasn't been to the main house," he said, crunching into the candy. His big brown eyes were suddenly sad. "I asked her yesterday if she would come see me, and she promised she would. Tohru always keeps her promises, but she didn't come. I waited allll day, but I never saw her!" His eyes welled up with tears.
Yuki gave the younger boy a quick hug. "When we see her, we'll make sure to tell her you waited for her. I'm sure something very important came up. She probably tried her very hardest to come see you. She'll be very upset that you worried about her," he assured him.
Momiji perked up. "Tell her I miss her!" he said, then he grinned and bounced away, singing some made-up song at the top of his lungs. "Who's in the forest strolling? The birds and the bees sing 'Momiji'…"
Yuki sighed. "This makes it worse," he said grimly.
"What? That the kid sings?" Kyo grumbled, wincing.
Yuki rolled his eyes. "Honda-san wouldn't skip meeting with Momiji-kun unless she wasn't able. Something–or someone–kept her from leaving wherever she is," he snapped. "Honestly. I would assume even a cat could figure that out."
Kyo growled low in his throat and was about to snap back an insult when Yuki's pocket began playing a high-pitched, canned tune. Kyo yelped and scrambled backwards.
Yuki smirked and pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. "Jumpy, are we?" he said mockingly. He flipped the little silver phone open and said, "Hello?", ignoring Kyo's furious griping.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Yuki frowned. "Hello?" he repeated.
A sinister giggle crackled from the tiny speaker. Terror suddenly gripped him, locking his muscles and sending panicked thoughts whirling around his mind.
Kyo glanced at his cousin. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded.
Yuki swallowed hard. "A-Akito?" he managed to choke out.
"Ah, so you do remember me. I was afraid you'd forgotten. It has been so long since I've seen you, Yuki," Akito purred.
Kyo's jaw dropped. "Akito?" he mouthed.
Yuki could barely nod. He couldn't even make a retort about having already said that. Fear was shutting down everything but the most basic of functions.
"You're awfully quiet, Yuki. Don't you want to ask me some things?" Akito pressed.
The realisation hit Yuki like shrapnel. "Where is she? What have you done with her?" He fought to keep his voice from a scream.
Kyo's eyes widened, and for the first time, he experienced what it was like to have the blood drain from your face. The room began to swirl around him as light-headedness ran into him at full force. His stomach heaved, and he stared at Yuki, forgetting his hate for the first time in a long time.
"Why, she's right here, of course. I have gotten so very lonely since you stopped your visits, Yuki, and I needed some company. She's such a sweet girl, and terribly cute. Isn't that right, Tohru-san?" Akito's voice was dripping with sickly sweetness.
For an agonisingly long moment, there was only silence. Then Tohru's voice came through the phone, shaking and terrified, but definitely alive. "Yu-Yuki-kun?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"Honda-san!" he cried.
"It's her?" Kyo's fingers itched to grab the phone from Yuki, just to hear her voice. But he knew that all it would do would be make Yuki angry, and while they were fighting, Tohru might hang up.
Yuki ignored him. "Honda-san, are you all right?" he asked urgently.
"Um…I…" She hesitated.
In the background, Yuki could hear Akito. "Tell him you're fine. Tell him, girl!" There was the crack of a whip, and Yuki couldn't hold back a gasp.
Tohru screamed, and then he could hear quiet sobbing.
"Honda-san! Honda-san!" he shouted. She didn't answer. "Tohru!" For the first time, he used her given name. He was too panicked to even care.
"I-I'm all right, Yuki-kun. Please don't worry about me," she sniffed.
He wanted to shake her. How could she be thinking of him when Akito was doing God-knows-what to her? "Honda-san, where are you?"
"I-I don't know," she replied, and he knew she was telling the truth. It was entirely too easy to tell when she lied.
"Can you guess? We'll get Shigure and Hatori, and we'll come get you," Yuki said.
"No, please! Stay where you are. I'm fine, really. You and Kyo-kun should just worry about yourselves. Please…" Tohru started crying again.
Kyo couldn't stand it anymore. He ripped the phone from Yuki's hand, and much to his surprise, the Rat didn't protest. "Tohru?" he barked into the phone.
"Kyo-kun?" The wavering hope in her voice nearly broke him.
"Is Akito there? What's she doing to you?" he demanded.
"Sh-she's not doing anything. We're just sitting here," she said quietly.
Kyo knew better than to believe her. Akito didn't kidnap people just to 'sit there'. "Is she hurting you?"
Tohru didn't respond.
"Why aren't you talking to him, Tohru-san? Did he ask for your hand in marriage?" Akito laughed. There was the sound of fists thudding on flesh, and he counted five punches before the noise ceased.
Tohru whimpered quietly, and he could hear her muffled sobs, no matter how she tried to stifle them.
Kyo had never wanted to kill so badly as he did right then.
"Tohru, we're coming to get you," he said grimly.
"No!" she screamed. Kyo was taken aback by the vehemence of her rejection. "You can't. Please, just…stay away. I'm fine. Just don't come looking for me," she added hastily.
He just grunted. "Fight back, Tohru. Try to fight her," he said softly.
"I-I can't…"
Suddenly, the phone went dead. "Tohru! Tohru!" he shouted. But she was gone.
He threw the phone across the room furiously. "Damn it!" he roared.
Momiji's big brown eyes suddenly appeared from around the corner. "What's wrong, Kyo?" he whimpered.
Kyo pretended he didn't hear and ran from the building. Even Yuki didn't go to comfort the boy. He just gave a tired smile and followed the Cat.
Momiji watched them leave. "Where is Tohru?" he wailed, and his voice echoed around the empty room. No one was there to answer the cries of a lonely Rabbit.