Kiss Kiss
By Lady of the Ink
Pairing: Kyou and Kagura Sohma
Fandom: Fruits Basket
Theme: #21- The Sound of Waves
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but you knew that . . .I hope. But I do own this story and all the twists that it takes.
Kiss Ten: This kiss is the second chapter of a multi-chapter AU story, with each chapter fulfilling a different theme.
The Life For Me
Chapter Two
Plans In Place
"The carriage was rented from a stable not far from the docks by a younger man with light colored hair. He picked up an older man with dark hair immediately afterward and headed directly to Miss Sohma's house, meeting up with a small group of thugs just before reaching it. They went inside with the dark haired man while the younger one waited with the carriage. About ten minutes later, the thugs left and their trail was lost as they split up and went to various locations all over town.
"The dark haired man came out of the house just moments later with Miss Sohma. They both entered the carriage which took off quickly on a winding route back towards the docks. It was found abandoned there and witnesses saw both men exit it and head into the storage warehouses, where their trail was also lost."
"What about Kagura?"
"Witnesses said the older man was carrying a carefully wrapped bundle that was of a size to have been Miss Sohma. Inspection of the carriage showed no sign of her and no signs of any blood or weapons. There was, however, a rag found on the floor smelling of ether."
Yuki Sohma nodded slightly to show that he had heard while carefully going over what he'd just been told in his mind. Two men had come from the harbor, one of the most crime ridden sections of the city, to kidnap his fiancé. Kagura had taken her place and been taken back to the docks, where she was apparently knocked unconscious before vanishing with her abductors. If there was any comfort to be had in the situation it was that her captors were the least threatening sounding of the group that had taken her and that there was no evidence of foul play.
He returned his attention to the man seated across his desk, one of the several security agents employed full time by the Sohma family. "What do you suggest our next move should be?"
"The area in question is quite large, with hundreds of places where Miss Sohma might have been taken. Searching them all, even with the large number of volunteers you've already gathered, will take days. If this was a kidnapping for money, which all the evidence is pointing to, the culprits will most likely contact you within that time with their demands. You should go along with them to try and ensure your cousin's safety but also delay, if you can, to give us time to track them down and bring her home."
Despite the man's encouraging tone, Yuki could read between the lines of his comments to the hints about the danger surrounding Kagura. Very few victims of kidnapping made it home safely, whether the ransom was paid or not. There was too great a fear that they would then identify the culprits. It was quite likely that no matter how quickly or exactly he followed any demands, the people that had taken Kagura weren't planning on returning her.
And all of that, he reminded himself wearily, was assuming that it was a kidnapping for ransom at all. It was possible that it was a different type of crime altogether, although he couldn't bring himself to go into detail with that line of thought. As rational and logical a person as he was, there was still a hint of the child that always wanted to believe that only good or at least manageable things would happen to those he cared about.
"All right. Keep me informed of anything that comes up. I'll contact you the moment that I hear anything. Also, make sure your men continue looking into anyone who might have any motive for this: enemies of mine or the families. Tell them to keep in mind that Miss Honda was the actual target and that their lines of inquiry should reflect that."
Rising to his feet with a heavy sigh, Yuki shook the investigator's hand and walked him to the door of his study. Rubbing at the ache located in the center of his forehead, he gathered his composure to face the rest of the family and close friends that were waiting for him to brief them. He'd barely managed to convince them to let him meet the detective alone and he knew that they would be getting anxious for news. It was never a good idea to leave Arisa, Haru, and Rin together during a tense situation since there was a very real risk of returning to a destroyed room and word that they'd decided to take action on their own.
He approached the library with slow steps, bracing himself to face them, Tohru most of all. She'd been devastated by Kagura's abduction and had been nearly inconsolable when Saki and Arisa had brought her to his office. Their thoughts had been of her safety, but she was too wrapped up in her own guilt to notice. He spent the entire time before the detective's arrival trying to calm her down and failing miserably. She was determined to blame herself for what everyone else recognized as a choice that Kagura had made willingly and for herself.
Yuki knew that the only thing that would make her feel better would be Kagura's return, safe and soon. The pale comfort that he had to offer after his meeting would do more harm than good, but it was all that he had. As much as it hurt to admit that nothing he could say or do could help the person that he loved most, he could do no less than try.
He paused for the slightest of moments, his head bowed as he gathered his strength, and then pushed open the library door.
x
The room was of average size but was so crammed with items that there was barely space enough for its three occupants. Aside from the counters lining the three walls without a door, there was a free-standing table dividing the room. Pots and pans were hooked in neat rows along the walls, further cutting into the open space.
Farthest from the door was a light figure, long, reddish brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Two pans sat in front of him and his hands moved quickly between them as he pulled fresh vegetables from one only to drop them washed, peeled, and cut into the other moments later. His graceful movements showed long practice and the delightful smells rising from the bubbling pots nearby spoke of his skill. He seemed fully absorbed in his task and if he paid any attention at all to the conversation going on around him, he gave no sign.
Across the table but still within arm's reach sat a boy. A few years younger than the cook, his expression already seemed much older. His brown eyes were half closed, successfully shielding any emotion beyond the mix of boredom and derision that seemed to be his default expression. He had one elbow braced on the wooden surface and his head rested against his hand as he listened to the man standing in the doorway.
"We'll be leaving as soon as he gets here. Our guest should stay quiet until after that, which means that we only have ourselves to worry about. Momiji is going to stay close to her and let me know if she starts to raise a fuss. Hiro, try to keep tabs and make sure that no one else has a reason to be anywhere near her room The last thing we need is someone seeing her and spreading the word before everything else is ready."
The sandy haired boy rolled his eyes. "I know all that. We've only been going over this plan for the past week. You've only given me that same speech a thousand times already, including twice this morning. And if you so much as think about telling me again, I'm only going to have to break your arm."
The lightly voiced threat got enough attention from the cook for him to look up with wide, worried eyes but the person it was directed toward just laughed. Raking a hand through his dark hair, he shifted positions to lean a shoulder against the doorframe. His lack of concern was just as obvious in his cheerful tone. "Yes, yes," he replied, waving his hands in a flippantly dismissive manner. "No more reminders. Everything has been going so well up until now; we just don't want anything going wrong now that it's too late to turn back."
A series of shouts from above caught the attention of all three men. The cook jumped so violently that the knife that he'd been using skittered to the floor. He made no move to retrieve it but stared in horror at the partially prepared meal before him.
"I've taken too long! It's not ready and he's already here! My one job and I've failed miserably at it! I'm worthless, a waste of space! That I force you all to even look at my useless self is beyond forgiveness! You should feed me to the wolves! Throw me in the ocean! Hang me from the – oof!"
His final words were cut off as the black haired man moved from the doorway to give him a quick jab to the side. The boy at the table scoffed with disgust as the cook gasped and seemed to deflate before their eyes. Without another word to the men across the room, he slipped from his seat and vanished through the now unblocked doorway.
The older man tsked at the crumpled form at his feet. "Now, now, Ritsu, just calm down. He's got other things to attend to before he'll come looking for you. Finish the meal and be sure to keep some aside for our guest. I'll send Momiji or Hiro down to take it to her when the coast is clear. Understand?"
His comments got a nod and a weak "Yes, Shigure," which seemed enough to satisfy him. With a light tap to the top of Ritsu's head, he followed Hiro's escape route and quit the room.
x
Kyou Sohma didn't walk so much as storm towards his destination. With every step that he took, his feet slammed into the earth, fiercely grinding before lifting again. His hands were locked into fists at his sides and the glower on his face was dark enough to send everyone scrambling from his path. Even with gritted teeth, a few choice comments managed to escape his lips.
"Of all the nerve …butt-kissing idiots …Not a one of them has a thought that wasn't given to them by someone else! How dare they treat me like that! They'll be sorry!" He roused himself from his fuming only to shout terse orders at every man unfortunate enough to still be in his line of sight. Finally making it to his room, he paused in the doorway to bellow a single word before storming inside.
"Shigure!"
He had only just thrown himself into a chair when a figure sauntered casually into the room with a loose grin on his face. "Ah, you're back! How did it go?" The dark glare that his light tone garnered didn't seem to faze the new arrival in the least as he took a seat in the remaining chair.
Kyou shoved a hand through his already messy hair and growled. "It went exactly like I told you it would; the same way it went yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. First they won't let me in and then they keep me waiting for hours. When I finally do talk to someone, it was just some low-level humps who spouted off the same crap I've been hearing my whole life. They couldn't get me out of their offices fast enough. I never had a chance at getting to anyone with any real authority."
Shigure cocked an eyebrow as he steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "I know that you didn't expect much going into that meeting, but what else can you do? Sure, showing up and complaining every few months may seem ineffective but doing anything less after all this time would certainly make it look like you were backing down. You don't want to risk losing any of the ground you may have gained, no matter how minuscule it might be."
"If that's your best try at being encouraging, I'd practice more because it really sucked." Pushing out of his chair, Kyou slowly prowled the room. Every once in awhile he would pause his steps and mumble a few unintelligible words before shaking his head and resuming his movements.
A solid ten minutes passed in this manner before Shigure's voice dropped into the silence. "Something on your mind?"
Kyou drew to a halt and looked in his direction but the blank expression that he wore made it clear that he was still deep in thought. Then he blinked rapidly and his crimson eyes grew focused. "What? No. Well, maybe. Maybe it's time to try another tactic, something they can't just ignore or brush off."
Shigure's look turned to one of mild interest. "Like some grand gesture to catch their attention? What a marvelous idea! I wish I'd thought of it myself. That would certainly speed our case along, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe …It's something to think about, anyway." Seeming in slightly lighter spirits than he'd been in upon entering the room, Kyou headed towards the door with Shigure on his heels. "Get the men moving; I want to be out of here within the hour."
"Consider it done," Shigure replied. Once Kyou was no longer in sight, his earlier grin returned with a slightly sharper edge. "And that goes for both projects." As he wandered down the hall, he was whistling to himself.
x
The room was small, no more than five feet by five feet. A small bed attached to the wall was the only piece of furniture and even that seemed like too much for the area to contain. There were no windows, just a single guttering lantern secured high on one wall. The only way in or out was through a heavy wooden door with its iron handle.
Its useless iron handle, the room's only occupant thought darkly. She'd tugged on the darn thing until her hands were red and swollen but it had done no good. The door had obviously been locked from the outside.
Kagura Sohma sat on the edge of the bed, rapidly tapping the toe of her slipper against the rough floorboards. The restless movement was a poor substitute for her preferred relaxation method of pacing but it was her only option in the small space. Normally the forced adjustment would have been just a minor irritation, but under her current circumstances, it was almost too much to take.
She forced her foot to still as she took a deep breath. Getting upset wouldn't help anything; in fact, she was sure from past experience that it would just make things worse. She needed to keep calm and aware, to be ready for any chance to escape. It simply wouldn't do for her to miss an opening because she was too busy fuming.
It took almost every ounce of determination in her, but Kagura finally managed to settle her body into stillness. If she couldn't leave the room, there was nothing she could do but try to learn as much as she could from her current position. Any hint as to her captors or their motives could be the edge she needed to gain her freedom or at least buy her safety until her cousins came, as they were sure to do.
She tilted her head and closed her eyes, her ears straining to pick up any noise. From somewhere above there came the faint thuds of heavy footsteps accompanied by scraping noises. A closer sound was more difficult for her to discern, sounding almost like a young voice singing words too soft to hear.
But it was the sound layered over all of these that chilled her blood and had her eyes flying open. The gentle, rhythmic crashes layered over a steady whooshing was a combination that she had heard many times throughout her life. On those occasions, the sound of waves crashing into the side of a ship had been a welcome noise, a part of an adventure or journey. This time, the usually calming reverberation was more like the whish of her departing optimism. For the first time since waking from her drugged slumber, her usual aura of confidence failed her. She slumped to the floor as tears trailed unchecked down her cheeks.
How was her family supposed to rescue her from a prison that was slowly but surely sailing away?
