Warning: This chapter contains violence, guns, and swearing which may make the reader uncomfortable. If those things trigger you, do not read this chapter.

xxiii

While the police officers started getting into position as quietly as possible, Tadase waited outside of the van for a bit, watching the police officers sneaking around with their big guns—and not even just their arms—and bulletproof armour. It felt like a scene out of a TV show, and part of Tadase wished he could be included. The police knew what they were doing, though, while Tadase would probably just get himself hurt. Even if he did manage to convince the Chief of Investigation to let him join them, he'd only be a hindrance to them.

Ikuto put his hand on Tadase's shoulder. "You finally did it, kid. Maybe not directly but…you're the one who started this investigation in the first place." he patted Tadase's shoulder before looking back toward the van. "I think they're going in soon, let's go inside the van to watch."

Tadase nodded his head and followed Ikuto into the back of the van, where the Chief of Investigation was sitting as well, watching the screens to ensure that everyone was in their correct positions. Tadase sat down and took a set of headphones so he could hear the audio as well. It was hard to decide what camera to focus on but it probably didn't matter when everyone was in the building. His eyes would probably be everywhere, with the main focus being anything out of the ordinary that an officer themselves might miss.

"Is everyone in place?" the Chief asked over a radio attached to his shoulder. "Proceed in 3…2…1."

Everyone busted into their respective entryway, guns aimed and ready to shoot if necessary, though more than likely only serving as a way to scare anyone in sight. Tadase assumed if someone else that wasn't them, shot a weapon, there would be gunfire everywhere. Every so often, Tadase would hear an officer say 'clear!' over the radio when a room was confirmed to be empty. Anything of use was either taken, or photographed, for evidence.

Judging from the cameras, several of the rooms were completely empty. Then, some rooms started having boxes, weapons, and…Tadase didn't want to think what some of the other stuff was. In just two or three of the rooms alone, there looked to be a felony amount of weapons and potentially even drugs. An officer opened one of the boxes and found a large amount of a tranquillizer that was probably meant for animals but definitely not used on animals in this situation. The same officer also found a substance similar to chloroform.

Tadase hated that he knew exactly what both of those substances were used for. The thing that confused Tadase, though, was that they both basically worked in the same way so why would they need to use both, assuming they did use both. Was one weaker than the other or maybe knocked a person out for longer? Tadase didn't really want to think about it.

The further into the building the officers went, the more anxious Tadase felt. Not only because they kept finding more and more disturbing stuff but…because they hadn't found Amu yet. The last room he saw Amu in was one near a wall since it had a window to outside. He showed that much to the police the day prior. But there was no guarantee that Amu was still in that room. Especially considering they were seemingly already suspicious of Amu about…something. What if Amu wasn't even in the building anymore? He was getting more and more frustrated with every room that didn't have Amu in it.

The thought that Amu wasn't in the building made Tadase feel nauseous. For all he knew, the kidnappers could have heard the police coming and forcibly dragged Amu out of the building. Who knew where they could be if that were the case? They could be around, or they could be long gone. Worse yet, what if they had…killed Amu and ran off, leaving her body somewhere in the building? Tadase quickly shook his head. No, Amu couldn't be dead.

Ikuto had left the van not long after the search started, despite seeming like he wanted to support Tadase from inside the vehicle. Tadase didn't know if it was because Ikuto was just as anxious as Tadase or if he wanted to physically see the action. Hell, for all Tadase knew, Ikuto had planned to go in there himself at some point. After all, he had previously mentioned wanting to burst in and beat the people who hurt Amu up.

Tadase was getting to the point where he needed air as well but he didn't want to take his eyes off the camera lest he spotted something that the officers may have missed. He sighed and buried his face in his hands, slumping forward slightly. It was probably the first time he looked away from the screens in the 20 minutes they had been there.

"Hotori-kun?" the Chief questioned, noticing Tadase's actions. "If you're not feeling well, I believe Tsukiyomi-kun is still outside. You're welcome to go outside with him. If anything important happens, we'll surely tell you."

Tadase lifted his head from his hands and shook his head. He took off the headphones that allowed him to hear what was being said on the camera, as they were beginning to give him a headache. Or maybe it was the caffeine that was finally kicking in. "No, no. I'm fine… I want to see what's going on. These headphones are giving me a headache is all."

"Alright, just know that you're free to leave the van whenever you…" the chief trailed off when he noticed something on the cameras, or rather something someone said and clicked his radio. "What? Have you found something that could lead us to her?"

Faster than he'd ever done something, Tadase quickly put the headphones back on his head to hear the conversation from more than one side. He tuned in just in time to hear one of the officers say, "We found what looks to be a woman's boot laying in the middle of nowhere."

"Do we have access to a K-9?" the Chief asked. "Shit, I should've thought of that sooner. We could have had Hotori-kun or Tsukiyomi-kun bring something that belonged to the victim."

"Sir, I can call someone but they won't be here immediately. Should I call anyway?"

"Call and tell them to get here ASAP. Hang onto the shoe just in case and continue looking."

"Yessir."

Right as that conversation ended, Tadase heard a very familiar scream. He looked to the Chief with urgency, his eyes wide. "S-sir…t-that scream…I-I think it was Amu-chan."

"Follow that scream!" the chief called out onto the radio, for all to hear. "Follow it as best as you can! It might lead you to the girl!"

Tadase tapped his foot nervously. That scream…was a bit different from the scream Tadase had heard when he first found the place and any other time he had heard Amu scream. While the previous screams sounded like a scream of pain, this scream sounded more like she was trying to get someone's attention. As if…she knew people were here. If that were true…who knew what could happen to Amu after she intentionally drew the police's attention to them? It made Tadase even more anxious.

Amu had been forcibly taken from her room and dragged away very abruptly that morning. Apparently, there were people, unauthorized people, in the building. When the two barged in, they seemed rather panicked, as if they weren't expecting something like that to happen. The sliver of hope Amu had thought had long gone made an appearance as her heart swelled. If the people in the building were here to help her…didn't that mean that she would finally be able to get out of here? Did that potentially mean…Tadase was here too? Amu was starting to get her hopes up, which she knew was a bad idea in her situation.

As she was being dragged to God knew where she heard footsteps nearby and decided to take a risk. If there were people nearby, that would mean they would be able to hear her scream, right? She chewed her lip nervously as she considered the consequences. Was it worth being hit, or worse, killed, to draw attention to them? She took a deep breath, trying to summon whatever vocal power was left in her to scream out,

"LET GO OF ME YOU ASSHOLES!" to add a finishing touch, she screamed as loud and high-pitched as she could.

Unfortunately but expectedly, there was no immediate action besides her captors slapping her in the face and hitting her with a double dose of the tranquillizer and the chloroform-like liquid. The familiar feeling of lightheadedness washed over her and everything went black. Her body went limp and, rather than picking her up and carrying her, the men just continued to drag her across the floor like a sack of potatoes. The decision didn't exactly benefit them, though, and only slowed them down.

"Ugh, why can't we just kill her?" one of the men grumbled in annoyance.

The other one shook his head. "The Boss said not to kill her yet. If we kill her now, we'll be defying her orders. Do you wanna risk the consequences of that?"

The first man groaned. "This is so fucking stupid. If she hated this girl so much, why didn't she just kill her right away?"

The second man shrugged. "Hell if I know. I think she mentioned wanting to 'do the honour' herself or whatever. I guess she just wanted us to play around with her a bit first. Just be glad the double dose shut her up. Otherwise, we'd be even more fucked than we already are."

Suddenly, a third man appeared out of nowhere and hit the other two on the head. "Focus, you dumbasses! Do you want to get caught? Because we will if you don't hurry your asses up!"

"Yessir…" both men said at the same time as they continued dragging Amu forward, now at a faster pace.

"Have you found anything of importance?" the Chief asked after the voice didn't give them any better of a lead to where Amu was.

"Negative, sir," one of the officers replied, followed by a chorus of other responses of a similar nature. The first officer who spoke added, "There seems to be less organization now than there was when we first walked in, though, as if someone was in a rush and ended up knocking things over. They might be trying to escape."

"Well, follow the mess and find them before they do escape!" the Chief responded before directing some of the other officers to keep guard on any and every possible exit.

Tadase sighed. Because of how large and empty the building was, the officers were unable to find the exact location of Amu's scream. Because of the reverb and echo, it could have come from anywhere and the officers all seemed to have heard it from different directions. Since the scream, there had been no other sounds or leads coming from Amu. Tadase hoped that didn't mean she had been silenced and subsequently punished. At the very least Tadase hoped was only put unconscious by something. Tadase didn't want to think of the worst-case scenario though.

Please, please, please be okay… Tadase thought as he chewed his fingernail nervously, a habit he hadn't even realized he had until that moment.

After a long time of not finding any leads, they finally noticed that there were what looked to be drag marks disturbing the dust on the ground, as well as a cloth which was revealed to contain the same chloroform they had found earlier. The information was both reassuring but also rather frightening to Tadase. Surely…that meant she was only unconscious, right? Right?

"I-I think I need some air…" Tadase mumbled the thought he had been trying to keep back the entire time once again filling his mind.

He got up from his spot and left the back of the van. Ikuto looked back at the sound of the van back opening and looked at Tadase. At first, the look was that of confusion but after a second, his expression changed to one that Tadase instantly identified as a look of acknowledgement and understanding. It was almost as if Ikuto had expected Tadase to eventually make this decision.

"Are you about to do what I think you're about to do?" Ikuto asked, already knowing the answer.

"Cover for me? Please?" Tadase asked, a slightly pleading expression on his face. "I can't just sit there and watch, I need to go in and help!"

"I was planning on convincing the Chief to let me go in soon too, honestly," Ikuto responded, rubbing his head. "I've been listening on the radio for a while and it sounds bleak." Ikuto pulled something from his back pocket that Tadase hadn't expected; a taser gun. "Here, in case you need to defend yourself, use this. I'll probably follow you in a bit. After all, if I'm going to be doing this job, I need to be in the building myself to experience and learn, right? I'll just tell them…that I was unable to stop you or something."

Tadase took the taser from Ikuto, briefly wondering how had gotten his hands on one. After putting it in his pocket, he thanked Ikuto and ran to the nearest hole in the wall he could think of that wouldn't be heavily guarded by the police officers already inside and out. He didn't want to be caught that quickly.

I'm coming for you, Amu-chan! he thought as he ran, Don't die on me yet!

Tadase was relieved that Ikuto didn't put up a fight with him. He felt selfish but, at the same time, he figured the best way to do the job was to do it himself. Hell, if he had been able to go in from the start, he might have even been able to take them exactly to Amu's room, though he wasn't sure how he would've figured that out from only knowing where it was from the outside.

Tadase knew the place was on a heavy lockdown but part of him worried that the kidnappers would somehow find an exit not being guarded. Considering he was able to fit into a small hole that was unguarded, Tadase thought it was plausible. That was the one thing Tadase was most worried about, too.

Right when Tadase got into the building through the hole, it started to rain. Tadase felt that it was very very poetic for that to happen right at that moment, though he had noticed when they arrived and when he was talking to Ikuto that the rain clouds had rolled in. However, he quickly became worried that the sound of the rain would make it hard for him, and the officers, to hear any noises that could help them find Amu. Of course, though, it also worked the other way around; the noise could prevent the kidnappers —or the cops, in Tadase's case since he didn't really want to get caught either, even if he was doing this for good not evil—from hearing them.

He walked around very carefully, ready with his taser in case he needed it, despite not even knowing how to properly use it. He assumed he just needed to pull the trigger or whatever button, when near a target. Whenever he heard movement, he would hide and check to ensure whether it was a police officer or the kidnappers. If it was the police well…he would obviously continue hiding. If it was the kidnappers, he planned to jump out and use the taser on them or at the very least, tackle them.

As he entered another room and hid behind some boxes, one of which he may have accidentally knocked over, he thought he saw some shadows in the room neighbouring. He cursed under his breath as the box landed. Was his cover blown? Or maybe the rain covered the noise. It was steadily getting heavier, which was making Tadase a bit more anxious.

"Shit, I think they found us!" Tadase heard a voice say and his hopes were raised.

Tadase inched forward in a crouching position but stopped when he heard the heavy boots of the police chasing them. He hid once more, this time closer so he could see what was going on. His back was pressed against the doorway between the room the police (and kidnappers?) were, and the room he was in. He watched one of the officers, presumably, say 'we've got them' over his earpiece.

"Drop the girl and surrender!" one of the officers shouted. "Don't make any sudden moves! We've got this place surrounded."

"Th-that's what you think!" one of the kidnappers responded, though he didn't seem too sure himself. "If you try to shoot us, I'll kill the girl!"

The man produced a knife from his pocket and held it up to the neck of Amu's limp body. Tadase bit his nail (and lip) to keep himself from calling out to Amu. If he said anything, he was worried he would unintentionally get Amu killed. His eyes widened as he watched Amu abruptly wake up and yelp at the sight of the knife so close to her throat. He unintentionally shuffled, which accidentally made a noise. He prayed that no one heard the noise but froze when he heard one of the officer's authoritative voices.

"Who's there?!" the police officer asked. Clearly, he wasn't referring to the kidnappers.

Tadase swore mentally. He had been caught right at the most important moment. He was about to step out from his 'hiding place' when Ikuto, now fully geared up with a gun, body armour and everything, stopped in the doorway next to him, making his presence known to the other officers, and Amu.

"It's me," Ikuto said bluntly. "I came to chase after a naughty boy who couldn't resist saving his girlfriend."

Tadase was abruptly yanked into view but avoided the officer's gaze. What he did notice was Amu's wide eyes staring at him and Ikuto. Tadase's face was red from embarrassment. This wasn't what Tadase was expecting when Ikuto said he would cover for him and say he couldn't catch him. As Tadase glanced back up once more, he saw the kidnapper's face twist maliciously.

Amu was still looking at the doorway with wide eyes, "I..kuto…? Ta…da…se-kun…?"

Tadase felt like he could collapse to the floor any minute but Ikuto's grip on him kept him on his feet. As Ikuto entered the room, dragging Tadase with him, Tadase felt more ashamed of himself than he ever had. He knew this was a bad idea yet he still did it. And of course, Ikuto had to make it look worse than it was.

"Oh, Tsukiyomi-kun," the officer said, "I think it's a bit late to leave now so…just keep the kid, safe."

Ikuto nodded his head and let Tadase go, giving him a look that said 'do not move'. He went to backup the other officers while Tadase was left watching from the doorway. He kept his taser concealed just in case it was a police-issued weapon. It was one thing to explain sneaking into an active scene, it was another to show that he had a weapon he probably wasn't supposed to have.

Amu's eyes stung as she watched Tadase meekly standing off to the side. She wanted to say something but worried it would get her hurt. She looked from Tadase to the cops, then to Ikuto. Surely, these guys were dead to rights at this point. If they tried something, it was several police officers against two kidnappers. And Tadase too, but…Tadase seemed unarmed so there wasn't much he could do. Not to mention he looked like he had just been metaphorically kicked in the stomach by being outed like that.

Tadase must have noticed Amu staring because he looked over at her and held her gaze for a long time. Amu felt like she could see everything Tadase was feeling and had felt throughout the entirety of this ordeal. After about a minute or two, Amu had to look away, unable to stare at Tadase's concerned expression for much longer. Her eyes flickered down to the knife pointing at her neck, which was not reassuring either.

Once the cops had confirmed that Tadase was non-dangerous, their attention returned to the captors, guns aimed and ready to fire. Amu felt the knife get closer to her skin and she tried not to make any noise. The officers once again insisted the captors let Amu go, lest the police shoot them down.

"I already said," the kidnapper said, "If you shoot me, or even either of my partners, she'll die alongside them."

Amu could vaguely hear the other two men next to her whispering about something but didn't know the context since, with the rain pouring on the rooftop, it made it hard for her to hear quiet noises. Without warning or reason, one of the men went to tackle Tadase. Half of the police turned their attention to the man who attacked Tadase, while the other half remained on the one holding Amu.

While Tadase was able to dodge and reach for something in his pocket, the man was still close enough to grab Tadase by the shirt and throw him into a pile of boxes. He hit the wall with a loud thud and Amu swore she heard something fall to the ground, but couldn't see what it was because the boxes were in the way.

"If you continue this violence, we'll have no choice but to shoot you," the leading officer threatened. "There is no reason for you to involve innocent parties, either."

Ikuto had already abandoned his post with the other officers to check on Tadase, but the man was still ready to attack. Ikuto helped Tadase to his feet but the man withdrew yet another knife. Amu had a feeling they were all armed with multiple pocket knives, just in case they needed to use them. Ikuto stood in front of Tadase defensively while he picked something up from the floor.

Tadase wanted to fight. He had wanted to deal that man a punch or a kick, or hell, even tase him. But he realized he didn't know how to fight. Ikuto did but…when Tadase saw the knife, he didn't want Ikuto to fight for him and get hurt. Clearly, the man didn't care for either of them because he barreled straight past Ikuto and nearly gutted Tadase with the knife. If it weren't for Ikuto's fast reflexes of pushing Tadase out of the way and getting behind the man, Tadase would have been dead. Tadase grunted in pain and held his arm. Somehow, despite Ikuto pushing Tadase out of the way, the knife somehow still managed to make contact with Tadase's skin. Tadase's arms seemed to be a popular place to be cut, as this time, the opposite arm Saaya had slashed had been injured. Before Tadase knew it, or even react, he heard a gunshot, causing him to jump.

One of the officers had shot the man who attacked him in the arm, causing the man to drop the knife and clutch his arm in pain. Ikuto was able to put him in cuffs but that was when Tadase heard Amu yelp and then…a body drop to the floor. Tadase went into fight or flight.

He definitely wasn't thinking straight as he crawled up to Amu's body. Blood was on the floor and so was the knife the man had to Amu's neck. He gasped loudly as it dawned onto him that it was more than likely Amu's blood. Before he could do or say anything, he heard the voice of one of the officers calling out. It was too late and Tadase was given a kick in the stomach by one of the remaining kidnappers. Two more shots were fired but they were aimed toward the ceiling as warning shots.

"Kid, I know you're trying to help, but if you keep at it you'll get even more hurt." the lead officer said, approaching Tadase. "Let the professionals deal with this, we don't need any more innocents getting hurt."

Tadase seemed reluctant as he looked at Amu's hopefully unconscious body before looking back at the lead officer, who was now in front of him with his hand outstretched while two other officers made sure the kidnappers didn't do anything. He hesitantly took the officer's hand and got to his feet.

"I suggest, if you don't want another of your men getting hurt, that you give up." another officer said.

The man who had been just holding Amu just laughed maliciously. "You think we care about our lives at this point? We were asked to torture this girl. We knew what we were getting into."

"And do what with her?!" Tadase exclaimed, only being held back by the officer who had helped him up. At this point, he didn't even care about what the officers thought. "Were you going to torture her to the point of death? Or maybe you planned on sexually assaulting her for your own pleasure? Only to prove what?" Filled with rage, he shook himself free from the officer holding him back. Ikuto just watched from afar. "What was killing her going to prove? Does Yamabuki-san really think killing the one person I actually love will make me take her back? Does that make any sense? Do you know what I think of you guys? You're pathetic."

"The fuck did you just say to me, kid?!" the man with the knife exclaimed. In a swift movement that even the police couldn't predict, he grabbed Tadase by the collar of his shirt, holding the knife up to his neck now. "You think you're so tough? Do you think you're being a saviour here? I could kill you right now! I'll kill you and this bit—"

Tadase's hand reached into his pocket where the taser was. "If you say that word one more time…!"

The man laughed. "You'll do what? You don't even have a weapon!"

"Sir, this is the last time we'll ask you." the officer suddenly jumped in. "Put. The Knife. Down."

"That's what you think." Tadase was saying as two other officers approached Tadase to try and retrieve him safely. His hand withdrew with the taser, unbeknownst to the man holding a knife to him.

In the time that Tadase deployed the taser and the man dropped to the floor, the police were able to run to the final man and get him cuffed as well. Ikuto sauntered up to the man still writhing on the floor from the taser and cuffed him as well, taking the taser from Tadase and putting it in one of the many pockets in his vest.

"Situation stabilized! EMS can roll in," one of the officers called into his headpiece. "Let's get everyone out of here."

While most of the other officers dealt with the three kidnappers, Tadase, Ikuto and a small portion of the remaining officers were left in the room with Amu. Tadase glanced over at Amu and suddenly remembered she was still on the ground and unconscious. Well, hopefully unconscious. He ran to her side and gingerly touched her face as if she was glass that could break any second.

"Amu-chan…?" Tadase called out as he leaned forward to hear for breathing. It was faint, but it was there. He sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god."

Ikuto helped Tadase pick Amu up, both staring at her with concern. She groaned slightly and her eyes fluttered, causing Tadase to hold his breath. She was awake, at least The other officers called for the remaining people to leave the building and Tadase was ushered outside, where paramedics were waiting.

A/N: so, I'm not sure if anyone has noticed but, though I tried to avoid it in the past, I've been trying to use the f word in my story's dialogue (despite preferring not to use it myself). It was actually rather hard for me to use it but I think if I want something to be serious I shouldn't be using censored versions (freaking, fricking, etc.). Plus it feels kinda weird that there's been so much violence yet the dialogue is mostly PG lol. I only brought this up in this chapter because, while I'm pretty sure I used the word once or twice in previous chapters, this has it a bit more frequently.

I also feel the need to say this is a word I'll probably ONLY use in stories since I don't like using it in common day language, though I'm sure no one who reads my stuff and doesn't know me personally cares.

Anyway, I tried to make this action-packed but idk if I succeeded lol. It is fairly long though (compared to other chapters) so I hope you enjoy the length.