"Be strong. Live honorably and with dignity. When you don't think you can, hold on."
― James Frey, A Million Little Pieces
Chapter 21
The maid café that he and his classmates had set up in their classroom for the cultural festival was still so ridiculously busy that it was annoying. He didn't like dealing with these people, especially the women who were making his ears bleed with the constant squealing they did in his presence.
At least the place looked good, after he'd seen the original design that his classmates had in mind for the place, he'd immediately gotten on the phone. Thankfully, no one had objected when a few workers came in with the tables and couches, if anything his classmates looked even more excited.
They really wanted to get first place; he didn't particularly care about the price but he did enjoy winning. So it was no surprise that business was booming, annoying because of the women, but booming nonetheless.
Togami glanced at the side and after making sure Junko was busy with a customer, he made his way over to their "kitchen" and got himself a cup of coffee and settled down in a chair facing the door to wait. At least Kirigiri was still on her break, so he wouldn't have to deal with her as well.
Naegi's break should be over soon, so she would be coming in a few minutes. Yamada gave him an envious look from where he stood making coffee for some customer before the sound of Celestia barking at him got him moving pretty quickly.
Some more time passed and he frowned as he looked down at his watch on his wrist. Had he gotten the time wrong? He shook his head, he'd memorized Naegi's schedule and he was certain her break would be over by now. What was keeping her?
He was debating whether to call her or not when an explosion outside made him drop his phone and had everyone in the café screaming. A chill ran down Togami's spine as he made his way to the others and looked outside. There was smoke coming from the food stalls outside, he could hear people screaming and running around in a panic.
He was dimly aware of Ishimaru and Sakura trying to calm down the customers when another explosion rocked the school and everyone started panicking. The sound of the fire alarm finally sounded and his classmates started to guide the customers out of the classroom as calmly as they could.
What if something had happened to Naegi? The world seemed to go white at the thought.
Someone tapped his shoulder and he startled out of his thoughts with a jump that he will deny if anyone ever asked him, to see Junko and Owada frowning at him in worry.
"Dude, call Naegi! I think she's in trouble!" Owada shouted at him.
Junko was biting her nail in worry as Togami hastily took out his phone and dialed Naegi's number before putting the thing on his ear.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
I'm sorry. The number you have called is either disconnected or-
Before he consciously thought about it, Togami was running to the door with Junko and Owada hot on his heels. The hallways were packed with people making their way out of the building and Togami resisted the urge to yell at them all.
Junko it seems had no qualms with it though.
She took out a megaphone, where the heck did she get one of those, before she put it to her mouth and shouted, "Everyone out of the way! This is an emergency, let's go! Move it, move it, move it!"
Like a spell had been cast, the people in the hallways parted like the sea and the three of them made their way down the hall to reach the stairs and get outside.
As they were running, Owada gave Junko a high-five, which she returned with a smirk before Togami gave a nod of thanks. They were almost at the stairs when they collided with Hinata and Chiaki.
Hinata crashed into Owada and was sent to the floor with a shout, Owada stood in place but grunted at the impact. Chiaki was held firmly by the wrist by Junko before she could fall as well.
Hinata hastily got to his feet; he was in still in his Frankenstein outfit, and turned to Togami. "Naegi," he gasped, "where is she?"
Togami's lips turned into a tight line as he started descending the stairs in a fast pace. "I don't know."
"I've tried calling her but she didn't answer." Chiaki said quietly.
Hinata panted next to him, "I called Komaeda but he didn't answer either."
Junko bit her lip as she tried to keep pace with the rest "Maybe they're together?"
Owada's face turned grim. "Let's hope so."
As soon as they reached the first floor, they began running again only to freeze at the sight before them. The food stall was a mess, flames danced in the booths, and there were people and students pulling unconscious bodies away from the fire. A man with a biker jacket turned around and spotted the before making his way over.
Owada seemed to recognize him and he met him halfway, "What happened?"
The man ran a hand through his short black hair and sighed, "There was a guy who threw a Molotov cocktail at one of the food stalls. The thing exploded and everyone ducked to avoid the fire. I don't know where he went though."
Togami stepped forward, "Did you see a girl in a maid outfit? She has long brown hair, green eyes and she should have been with a guy in a white suit."
The man tapped his chin before his eyes lit, "Yeah! I did, she and the guy went around the building before the explosion happened, after that I don't know."
Togami nodded in thanks before he started sprinted in the direction the man had last seen Naegi. Hinata, Chiaki and Junko followed after him.
Owada looked at his friends retreating forms before he turned back to one of his brothers in the biker gang he was in charge of, "I want you to find the rest of the guys and make sure they're all right. Once that's done, help anyone who needs it. Keep an eye out for my friend; call me if you spot her. The ambulance should be on its way."
The man nodded and went on his way before Owada ran after his friends. They were already ahead of him, he picked up him speed when he noticed something by the trashcan. Owada skidded to a stop and made his over only to blink back in surprise.
"Guys! There's something over here!" he shouted as he crouched in front of the person lying there.
Togami and the others made their way over to him and blinked in surprise at the sight.
"Is that Mr. Aizawa?" Junko said crouching next to him.
Togami nodded and crouched next to the tied man.
Hinata inched forward and squinted, "Isn't that Naegi's phone?"
The others blinked in surprise before Chiaki reached for the item to inspect it. This was definitely Naegi's phone.
Togami narrowed his eyes before he turned back to Mr. Aizawa. "Wake him up." He ordered.
"What?" Junko asked in confusion.
"Wake. Him. Up." Togami snarled.
Junko shrugged and crouched down before she slapped Mr. Aizawa's cheeks a bit too hard for Chiaki's liking but the man woke up in a daze.
"Where," Mr. Aizawa licked his dry lips and looked over the people crouched in front of him, "What's going on?"
Togami dragged him closer by his collar and hissed at him, "Why do you have Naegi's phone? Where is she?"
Mr. Aizawa licked his lips and looked at them all frantically, "Like I told Mr. Komaeda, she's in the third gymnasium." He hesitated, "I truly am sorry for what I did. But I had no choice."
With every word the man spoke, Togami became more and more worried. He dropped his homeroom teacher on the floor and got to his feet. "Someone needs to stay with him, get him to talk. The rest of you are coming with me."
Junko decided to stay behind and Togami thanked her before he told the rest to follow him to the gymnasium.
Once they were out of sight, Junko turned to her homeroom teacher and grinned. "Boy are you in trouble."
Mr. Aizawa glared.
Junko took out her stun gun and faced her paling teacher, as a wicked grin appeared on the fashionista's face, "You and I are going to have such a good time."
The electricity of the stun gun had Mr. Aizawa gulping in fear.
Getting to the third gymnasium took a little longer than they thought. Mostly because they didn't exactly know where it was, they hadn't been there at all but eventually they found it and all four of them went inside.
Hinata pointed at the far end of the gym, "Look! That door is ajar, let's check it out!"
Their shoes made squeaking noises as they ran to the door.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Bracing himself for the worst, Togami and Hinata pushed the door open-to reveal only darkness. Togami frowned, squinting inside before taking out his phone and turning on his flashlight.
The others followed his example and their eyes widened as they took in their surroundings. The room looked a mess, there were items scattered around the floor and wait, was that blood on the floor?
As one all four of them went inside and looked around the room before Hinata's sharp intake caught their attention. "Guys, there's a man bleeding here!"
Chiaki suddenly screamed and everyone rushed over.
Lying on the floor was Komaeda Nagito. Togami managed to avoid taking a step back at the bloodied sight of his friend, but just barely. Chiaki and Hinata knelt in front of the boy and felt for a pulse.
Chiaki let out a relieved sigh and everyone released the breath they'd been holding. Hinata slapped his friend on the cheek lightly to wake him up.
Light green-grey eyes opened slowly and blinked at his surroundings. And just like that, all the past events made their way to his mind and Komaeda tried to stand up. "Naegi," he muttered as Chiaki helped him into a sitting position. He let out a hiss when she put her arm on his shoulder where he'd been shot and Chiaki wisely removed her hand, "She was taken. Two men. One has a crooked nose, he's tall and looks like he's on steroids."
Everyone tensed and Togami crouched to one knee, "How long ago was she taken?"
Komaeda put a hand to his head and tried to clear his head, "Not long I think."
"Are you okay?"
Komaeda gave Togami a shaky smile. "I will be. Now stop worrying about me and bring back Naegi."
Togami gave him a firm nod before he started making way out of the room. Chiaki decided to stay and help Komaeda to his feet. As they made their way outside, Hinata called Tsumiki and gave her a quick summary of what happened and to inform the others.
As soon as they exited the gymnasium, Hinata grew to a halt and Togami and Owada skid to a stop before him.
Togami released a frustrated sigh, "What is it now?"
Hinata scowled at him but answered anyway, "We don't now which way they went, are we just going to run around in circles?"
Togami scowled. He was right.
Owada furrowed his eyebrows, "Maybe we should split up?"
Togami fidgeted on his feet, he could hear the sound of the ambulance and the police siren in the distance. Splitting up would make things faster; they'd cover more ground that way. Whoever had taken Naegi would need to be cautious; there were still plenty of people around after all.
Just as he opened his mouth to agree with the Ultimate Biker, his phone rang loudly enough to make them all jump and Togami quickly pulled the device from his pocket and put it on his ear. "What?" he practically growled in to the device.
Kyoko's frantic voice answered him. "Naegi is heading towards the west parking lot! The signal is weak, but I'm positive!"
Togami was in motion before she finished speaking, Owada and Hinata following behind him.
"How do you know that?"
Kyoko huffed into the device and he could hear voices in the background, "I'll explain later! Nidai, Soda, Kuzuryu and I are on our way to the parking lot, meet us there!"
There was a click and the line went silent.
Togami rolled his eyes and quickly explained the situation to Hinata and Owada.
Hinata used his shirt to wipe the paint off his face, leaving his face a little clearer as he kept pace with them. They could already see the parking line from their position. People were making their way to their cars, some looked panicked while others looked on in confusion.
Togami maneuvered himself through the crowd as he made his way to the parking lot. If he pushed people a little too roughly it was their own fault.
"How does she know that?" Hinata asked.
Togami narrowed his eyes, "I don't know, but I'll make sure to get it out of her later." He promised.
Owada released a sigh of relief as they finally made it to the parking lot and they all skid to a stop as they looked around for Naegi.
"Hey!" a voice shouted at them.
As one all three of them turned to the voice to see Kuzuryu, Kyoko, Nidai and Soda running towards them. The mechanic had a small tablet in his hands that he kept glancing at every few seconds.
A shot rang out a little too closely and everyone went down. Togami's group hid behind a car and the heir turned his head to see Kyoko's group do the same across from them. The few people who had been making their way to their cars cried out in fear as they crouched to the floor. Togami's lips curled in a snarl as he ignored Hinata's warning to stay down and raised his head just a bit to see two tall men and-his eyes widened.
Naegi was slumped over one of the men's shoulders.
She was unconscious.
He squinted and almost got up as he noticed her bloody face.
If it hadn't been for Hinata gripping his wrist, Togami would have been making his way over there.
His hands curled into fists.
Hinata hissed in his ear. "I know you want to go, trust me I do too, but that guy has a gun!"
Togami gritted his teeth. "I know that."
He peered over his shoulder and saw the man with the red hair that was carrying the gun make his way over to a flower delivery van and open the back doors.
As the man who was carrying Naegi over his shoulder made his way to the car, recognition hit Togami like a splash of ice-cold water.
Crooked nose…
Long back hair in need of a trim…
Looks like he does steroids…
This was the man on Agent Akashi's files he realized, Chad Cunningham he believed his name was.
Convicted of murder, rape, and larceny.
He definitely didn't want this man anywhere near his girlfriend.
The sudden rise of voices from Kyoko's group made him tear his eyes away from Cunningham to see Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko on his feet with a semi-automatic gun aimed at the crooked nosed man.
A few people screamed at the sight and started inching their way out of the parking lot.
Soda was staring at his friend in shock.
Kyoko was pinching her nose in irritation as she relayed something to Nidai who was looking back and forth between her and Kuzuryu.
Cunningham froze at the sight of the gun before a slow grin spread on his face. His stance turned from tense to relaxed in an instant.
"What are you going to do? Shoot me? Go ahead, baby cakes." He taunted the Ultimate Yakuza.
Kuzuryu's face turned red and he grit his teeth and before anyone could stop him, he fired twice.
Both shots missed.
The man with the red hair came back and started shooting at Kuzuryu while he barked at his accomplice to get in the fucking van.
Cunningham let out a bark of laughter before he all but tossed Naegi inside the truck and took out his own gun to join the fray.
What happened next happened so fast, Togami wasn't sure he saw it all.
Cunningham had only taken two steps forward before Nidai and Owada were on him.
Hinata and Togami wasted no time and ran straight to the van with Kyoko hot on their heels.
Soda tripped on Kuzuryu but quickly got up as he put the tablet in his hands away in his back pocket before he took out two wrenches from his utility belt and ran straight for the red haired man.
Kuzuryu cursed and quickly reloaded his gun before he followed after the Ultimate Mechanic.
Togami and Hinata were almost at the van before Owada let out a curse and shouted, "Smoke grenade!"
Something clattered to the floor before they were suddenly enveloped in green smoke.
There were a few muffled curses from both sides before Soda let out a scream and Kuzuryu let out a shot of pain before a shot rang out into the sky.
Togami and Hinata were sent to the floor as something heavy landed on them.
Togami let out a whoosh of air at the sudden weight on top of him.
Kyoko released a grunt of pain as she landed next to them.
The weight on top of Togami and Hinata groaned and they both realized that Nidai was the one on top of them.
"Shit, that guy is strong." Owada mumbled as he tried to get off Kyoko and get to his feet.
As the smoke began to clear, Togami turned his head in the direction he thought the van was only for his eyes to widen at the sight before him.
The red haired man had a hand around Soda's middle and a gun pointed at his temple.
Blood was running down the mechanics head.
He looked absolutely terrified.
Kuzuryu was sprawled on the floor next to them.
He looked like he was unconscious.
No sight of his gun.
Cunningham made his way over to the van and closed the back doors, effectively sealing Togami's view of Naegi inside.
Cunningham whistled in admiration, as he looked them over. "Damn, you guys are good. I'd love to kill you all, but we've already wasted enough time." He sounded disappointed.
The bastard.
Togami and Hinata tried to pry Nidai off them to no avail.
The Ultimate Team Manager was still dazed as he looked around in confusion.
Owada had managed to get off Kyoko but both made no attempt to move at the sight of the Ultimate Mechanic in the red head's hold.
The red head started walking backwards to the van, his hold on Soda never once wavering. Green eyes narrowed slightly at the group in front of him before the sound of men shouting made him turn his eyes away before he focused on them again.
He let out a curse.
Cunningham let out a curse of his own before he pried the drivers door open and sat down heavily. "Let's go! The cops are on the way!"
The red head put his mouth near Soda's voice and mumbled something only the mechanic could hear.
Soda's eyes widened in shock before the red head let him go and kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling on the floor.
With that, the red head stepped inside the van and in seconds the things began to move.
Cunningham threw another smoke grenade just as three cops and Akashi and Sakakura made their way over to them.
Togami let out a curse and kicked Nidai away not to nicely away from him.
Akashi and Sakakura boarded a woman's car after apologizing to her, and chased after them.
The others three cops were checking up on the others.
Togami was only dimly aware of Kyoko asking if he was okay but he couldn't really focus on her.
Naegi was gone.
She'd been taken.
He'd failed.
A grief like he'd never known overcame him and he just lay there on his knees staring after the van that was carrying Naegi.
He had the feeling that Akashi and Sakakura were not going to be so lucky as to capture them.
But he hoped.
He seriously hoped that they would catch up.
Naegi was hurt.
And he'd failed.
"Is the tracker still working?"
That was Kyoko's voice.
Togami frowned.
Tracker?
"It's on the fritz. The signal keeps disappearing, the tracker must have been damaged."
And this was Soda's voice.
Togami's mind slowly made its way to the present and he turned to see his companions huddled around Soda.
Owada was helping Kuzuryu to his feet.
The yakuza looked a little dazed but otherwise he was fine.
Togami willed his legs to get up and walk over to the others. "What tracker?" he hated how small his voice sounded but it seems his companions were willing to keep quiet about it.
Kyoko turned her attention to him. Her purple eyes looked him over before she started explaining, "A few weeks ago I had Soda and Fujisaki make a set of earrings for Naegi in case the worst came to happen and she was taken. Both of them worked hard and managed to finish just in time for the festival. The earrings were imbued with a tracking device as well as a speaker so we can communicate." She frowned and turned to Soda.
The mechanic looked up from his table and wiped at the blood running down his cheek. He shook his head at them, "It was working fine, but it must have gotten damaged or something because the signal keeps disappearing."
"Damn," Hinata cursed. "What about the speaker?"
Soda frowned and scratched his head, "I'm not sure, it probably still works but we'd have to wait a few hours before Naegi wakes up to test it out."
Togami looked at the mechanic in amazement.
He silently thanked all three of them for the idea.
Kyoko for coming up with the idea in the first place and Soda and Fujisaki for creating the earrings so quickly.
"So now what?" Kuzuryu asked as he and Nidai made their way over to them.
Kyoko sighed. "For now we'll have to wait. I don't think Sakakura and Akashi will catch them. Naegi's kidnappers had a head start after all."
There was a heavy silence in the air.
Soda's head shot up and he let out a loud shout as he suddenly remembered something. "That guy!"
The others looked at him in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Owada asked him with a wince at the outburst.
Soda looked at them in excitement, "The red head!"
Togami and Hinata waved at him to continue, and judging from the others expressions they too were quickly losing patience with the mechanic.
"He said something to me before he kicked me!"
Kyoko looked like she was getting ready to strangle him.
Togami's hand twitched with the urge to do the same thing.
"Jesus, fuck! Just say it already!" Kuzuryu barked at him.
Soda flinched as he finally noticed the murderous glares his friends were giving him. He gulped, "He said he was on our side!"
Everyone balked.
Kuzuryu was the first to snap out of it before he looked at the mechanic with a frown," He's on our side?"
Soda nodded, smiling at everyone. "He said he'd talk to us soon."
Nobody knew what to make of that and Kyoko and Togami furrowed their eyebrows as they began to think.
"Well," Kyoko said after a minute, "Things are certainly looking interesting now."
Hinata crossed his arms over his chest. "And so the plot thickens."
Sorry for the late update everyone! Stranger Things 2 came out and i just had to watch the whole thing XD
I hope you all had a very nice halloween!
