Chapter 2
Ayumu stood against the wall and sighed. The water was at his ankles. If he was going to be thankful for anything in this moment, it would be that the water was lukewarm. So at least he wouldn't freeze to death first. Too bad he didn't have a will.
What a riot. A will? What would he say? Madoka, you can have my cooking things, my cook books, oh! and my brother, if he ever comes back. Hiyono, you can have any toys or stuffed animals in my room that you can find. Rio gets one of my three jackets, any of her choice - Hiyono can have one too. Kousuke and Ryouko can split any money I have to my name and Eyes... Hm...
What would Eyes Rutherford want of his? Heck, he could hardly pick one out for Kousuke and Ryouko, but what about Eyes? Um... Eyes can have... the last of my jackets, my CDs - all three of them, and... oh yes. Eyes can have my eternal admiration and respect - if that means anything at all to him.
He didn't think he was forgetting anyone. Too bad he'd never be able to write it down or pass it on. Oh well. Madoka would get everything in that case. He felt bad for her, though. His brother left her and now Ayumu, himself, was kidnapped and murdered. That poor woman.
"Don't look so glum, Little Narumi. They've already arrived," The hunter's voice spoke over an intercom.
Narumi looked down at himself. "Yay."
The water was to his shoulders.
– – – – – – –
"Which way, Rutherford?" Kousuke asked, looking at the split hallway.
The inside of the aquarium was a maze of tanks and shops. Not to mention all the yellow tape and caution signs due to the construction. The blade children had come all in a group although they knew it was a trap. They knew they'd probably need help from each one of them to get to Ayumu, so they had no choice.
"Rio... You make the decision," Eyes muttered.
All eyes turned to the small girl as she walked to the front of the group. She looked both ways, judging what traps were where, the chance of the roof caving in on them, any possible explosives, and time to get to Ayumu - wherever that was.
"We go right," Rio said. "The left has less chance of death."
Kousuke hated that logic, but he knew it was reasonable. Still, he'd have preferred the 'less chance of death' path. The blade children made their way down the right path, around the cones and under the yellow caution tape. Then, an ear shattering screech, like that of a megaphone, ran through the hall.
"Welcome, Blade children. Might I say, I'm not the least bit surprised you found out where we were so suddenly. Still, you'll find traps are laid out for you on your way to Little Narumi. If you chose to continue, the first trap will present itself. If not, I suppose the boy will die," the hunter's voice explained.
"He knows where we are," Ryouko took a stance, ready for something to come at them.
"Well, now we know we chose the right path, at least," Kousuke offered, taking a similar stance.
"Chose quickly, his feet have left the ground," the hunter taunted.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Eyes asked in his monotone way.
"Tch. If you insist," the hunter chided and a display tv, which would usually be telling you about the area you were in, clicked on near the roof. On it, Ayumu was floating in a tank of water. Indeed, his feet were mere inches off the ground and he seemed to be using very little strength to stay up. "Satisfied, Rutherford?"
"Quite. We chose to continue," Eyes replied.
"Suit yourselves," the hunter laughed and the speakers cut off.
"What was that, Rutherford?" Ryouko asked, glaring at the pianist. "We know he's telling the truth. Ayumu told us that himself! Why waste time getting proof?"
"Because. Now let us hurry," Eyes said, walking on ahead. He couldn't admit that he'd wanted to see Ayumu just to be sure he was still alright. He wanted to see Ayumu just for the sake of seeing him. It gave him more determination.
Soon after walking forward, they came to another crossroads. Only, this time, it wasn't a splitting hallway. This crossroads was in the form of a trap. They were standing at the beginning of a water tunnel. Visible bombs were attached to the glass that lined the hallway. There were no fish in them but the explosion, then the glass and water it released on them, would no doubt injure, or even kill, at least one of them.
"Be careful, everyone. There are thin lasers bouncing off the glass and all around this area," Kousuke warned.
"We can see that, Kousuke. Don't point out the obvious," Ryouko scolded. "But it's okay. I can get through there easily with my athletic skills."
"What about the rest of us?" Eyes pointed out.
"Maybe there's a disarm switch on the other side," she said, not wanting to have sounded dumb.
"Be my guest," Eyes said, motioning toward the lasers and stepping out of the way.
Ryouko hesitantly walked to where the lasers began. Did Eyes know something she did not? Why was he so calm about her going through the lasers? Did he think she was just being childish?
'No. No questions, Ryouko. Concentrate,' she told herself.
Preparing herself mentally and physically, Ryouko looked over the layout of the lasers. Then, with a deep breath, she proceeded to perform acrobatic-like moves to get through all the lasers. With a final dive and roll, she stood up safe on the other side.
"How do you like that, Rutherford?" she asked, turning around and sticking her tongue out. She took about two steps back from the lasers.
"You missed one," Eyes said, just before Ryouko stepped backwards right into a final laser.
The bombs on the glass began to beep instantly. Eyes darted forward through the ever vanishing lasers. He didn't check to see if the others were following - They were. The bombs went off after was seemed like forever to Eyes. To the others, it must have all happened so fast, but Eyes was watching in slow motion. He braced himself as the glass around them shattered, and water poured in on them all.
"Kousuke!" Ryouko called out as the red head was swept off his feet by the water while trying to help Rio.
Eyes ran right past Ryouko and turned down into the next large room. Ryouko was hit with water and flung into the wall, soon joined by Kousuke and Rio. The water was too fast for them, but Eyes had a different goal here than any of them, and it was helping him see things clearer. The water burst into and spread out in the large room Eyes was in, becoming little more than a gentle wave past the pianist's ankles.
He looked back at where the others were groaning and trying to recollect themselves from their new positions on the ground and against a wall. They would be fine.
"Now where, Hunter?" Eyes called to the room, still in a very Eye's Rutherford fashion and yet it held an odd sort of determination.
A tv for this show room came on across the room from Eyes. Ayumu was on the screen and, Eyes could clearly see him using his arms and legs to stay afloat. The headset Ayumu had been wearing earlier to speak with them was on the ground of the tank, and Eyes saw the glittering metal chain pooled on the ground below Narumi. It would never allow him to reach the top. They'd be lucky if it let him reach the three quarters point.
"Ayumu...," Eyes breathed. He didn't have much time.
– – – – – –
The hunter, Eric, watched Eyes pass through the room and onto the next task. Only two more and he'd get to Little Narumi's tank. Some might ask how he could just sit by and watch an innocent boy die. Or how he could set such brutal tasks in the way of saving this boy. This hunter would say it was all for the good, and he'd killed children before.
Ayumu would run out of strength soon and the blade children would be devastated. Then they'd be injured and exhausted. That was the opportune moment to attack them all. That's when the blade children would die.
Eric looked at his screen showing Ayumu and frowned. But at this rate, Eyes would get to Ayumu before the job could be done. He'd have to up the stakes. With a wicked grin, the man pushed another button and the water pipes opened one and a half inches wider, letting through exponentially larger sums of water. There. Now Narumi would definitely be gone by the time Eyes arrived.
– – – – –
Eyes stood before another hall. Hunters were so unoriginal. This time, however, the explosives that were to kill Eyes were well hidden. But Eyes knew he had to be careful of this hallway. Why would all the other rooms be carpet and this one be tile?
And some tiles were a darker color than the rest. These were decoys to make Eyes believe the bombs were under them. No doubt they were under random tiles. Eyes glared ahead and took his first few steps forward. He had no way of knowing which tiles were the bombs unless the tiles that seemed to have been placed incorrectly were the bombs. He'd have to trust that to be the answer.
Eyes began to walk down the hall in a completely straight line, straight through the middle. He passed possible bomb after possible bomb and nothing was triggered. When he reached the end of the hall, he stopped and turned around. Were there bombs or had he been over complicating things?
Eyes eyed a barrel of fish food near the end of the hall and pushed it on it's side. Just as the other blade children began to hobble into view of the hall, Eyes pushed the barrel down the hall and over his possible bombs. As soon as it rolled over one, the entire barrel went up in smoke and fire.
"What the hell was that?" Kousuke yelled, holding his arm. It seemed to at least be sprained if not broken.
"Bombs. Walk on the path that goes straight through the center and you should be fine," Eyes explained, continuing on to help Ayumu. He didn't need their help. This was for Ayumu.
– – –
Ayumu tried to grip the wall but it was useless. The wall was as flat as a board. There was nothing yet in here to make it look like an ocean. That made it difficult for Ayumu to grab a hold of something, anything. He could feel his chest beginning to react to the force of the water and his breath was shorter. He was getting tired. How long had he been in here?
The hunter said four hours and he'd be dead, but the water had started coming faster about ten minutes ago. Ayumu could almost bet they were cheating. He was... he was really going to die. Come to think of it, this was a good time to rethink life.
'No time for lying, Ayumu,' he told himself. 'What are your thoughts?'
The blade children coming for him were probably Kousuke, Rio, and Ryouko. Eyes probably wouldn't take the time to come after him. He'd assume the others could take care of it. But Ayumu wished Eyes would come. He wanted Eyes to be the one who saved him in the end.
Ayumu slipped below the surface for the first time. The water surrounded him and he felt tied down with more than just the chain on his ankle.
'I love Eyes Rutherford,' Ayumu admitted to himself. 'God, I've loved him for weeks now.'
Ayumu's head broke the surface, and he gasped for air. How long could he stay up? How long until the chain ran out? How long? How long until it was too late? How long until he died and never got to tell Eyes how he felt? How long?
A/N: One chapter to go! Whoo!
