Pairing: This chapter contains slight Haru/Yuki and slight Hatori/Shigure
Rating: M
Warnings: There is also slight OOC, minor language, references to violence, and some blood
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, Natsuki Takaya does.
His eyes opened, the pain in his head circulating as he looked around him. The pain made it difficult for his eyes to adjust to the darkness as his vision clouded, sinking deeper into the pit of soreness. Where had he been pulled off to? The more he moved, the more he was reminded of that moment where he and Yuki were seized and thrown into the car.
Yuki! He had forgotten about him as soon as they were put into the darkness. He remembered running to him, he remembered watching that woman take him away. Were the separated? His eyes then moved to a figure next to him, his blurring vision trying with all of its might to clear up to try to recognize what was next to him. It was Yuki.
His hand moved to touch his cousin's hand, his body shaking as he realized that this situation was worse that he thought. Still he didn't know what had happened to them or worse what was going to happen to them. He tried to look around to see where they were the blackness filling his body as he tried to focus. The opening of the door interrupted him as he saw the figures of a man and a woman walk into the room. Was this his doom? Was this how he was going to die?
They're the ones who abducted us… he looked closer at the woman; she was the one who had slammed his head into the car. She was the one who had pulled him away. She was the one who had put him into Hell. Was she the one who was behind all of this? Was she the one who was going to kill him? He froze, unable to breathe as he felt her come closer to him.
The man knelt down to Yuki, his hand moving to the rat's cheek, a chuckle passing through his lips. Haru wanted to scream, he wanted to reach out and stop that monster from touching his cousin, but he couldn't. All he could focus on was the woman who was standing next to him. She was entrancing.
Her hair was as bright red as blood, her eyes matching it in horror as they both fell upon pale skin. Her hair was frazzled, every strand going its own course on her head, not subtracting from the enchantment of her pale skin and he sparkling eyes. Her body was almost masculine, yet she was femalely slender. Her chest was flat, but round enough to distinguish her as a woman. She wore tight black pants that graced her figure, but she wore a loose red shirt with a black jacket over it to hide what Haru could only guess was a well defined muscular figure.
He was broken out of his stupor as he heard them man chuckle again.
"His cheek is still warm," the man said as he laughed. "It seems as though Hikari-san didn't do what she would have liked to. He's not dead…"
Shut up! Haru thought as he closed his eyes, pretending to be dead, only to hear the voices that were echoing around him.
"Maybe physically he's alright, but mentally, he's scared like a child," he voice was as smooth as silk, but it had a grinding rust of horror to it as she spoke. "The torture is too much for even a rodent to bear…"
Haru shook as her hand moved to stroke his hair; he closed his eyes tighter, trying desperately to play dead. If they thought that he was already dead, maybe they would dispose of him. Then he could make a run for it, whether it be digging himself out of a ditch or swimming for miles in a deep river. He had to get out of there in one piece.
Her hand was as cold as ice and it stopped him as if it was slicing him to pieces like a dagger. The slow speed of her strokes was enough to make his whole body shake violently. Was she going to kill him or was she going to save that for later? Biting at his tongue until it bled within his mouth, he tried to keep quiet. One sound could end it all.
"At least they got my target," she breathed as she stroked his hair. "The ox…"
Target? He didn't know what she meant by that. They had referred to them as targets, using their animal names. Haru knew that they were in on their secret. They knew about the Zodiac curse. What he didn't understand was what they wanted to do with them. He knew he would soon find out.
The cell door opened, someone else entering, by the sound of his voice it was a young man. "Katsu-sama, Akane-sensei, when are we going to start working? Hikari-senpai is getting impatient."
At that moment, like she was waiting for a cue, the woman known as Hikari came in. Haru opened his eyes to look at her, she was gorgeous. She was tall, blond, and feminine, her green eyes soothing him if only for a moment. Her chest was more ample than Akane's, rivaling it by at least two times its size. Her hair was long and neatly straight tied back in a ponytail, letting two locks loose to frame her face. She wore tight white pants and a gold tank top that only made her chest look even more inviting. Her grace was impeccable; she seemed so much less violent than Akane. That was until she opened her mouth.
"What the hell is taking so long Katsu-chan?" her words were as harsh as chainsaw, her voice coarse to rival her feminine voice. "Is Akane trying to talk more shit to you?"
"Shut up, Hikari," Akane stated as she stood up. "This is going to be a long process and order should be taken."
"Order my ass. It doesn't matter how you kill them as long as you kill them," Hikari laughed. "Unless you don't want to get your hands dirty, Akane-hime?"
Haru froze as he heard those words; they were going to kill them. Was it their idea of a good time? Was this their sick plan? Why did they want to kill them? For once in his life he felt terrified, he felt as though he wanted to cry. He wished that he had never gone to school; he wished he had walked a different way. It was all thanks to him that he and Yuki were captured. He had killed them.
"Don't want to get my hands dirty? You were the one who sent Tsubasa-kun in here in the first place," Akane scoffed. "You're the one who's getting impatient when you haven't even gotten your target yet."
"The sooner you move your ass, the sooner I get to kill it on the spot," Hikari argued.
"That's enough," Katsu stated as he stood up.
"Katsu-sama…" Akane breathed.
"We can't rush this. We've been waiting for too long," Haru could feel the smile on his face. "We should… savor it."
They all chuckled at their leader's words, Haru's heart skipping a beat as he knew that he was doomed. He was going to die. Yuki was going to die. There was no denying it. All of the plans that he had of making a run for it were impossibilities. They were going to destroy them until nothing was left.
"Leave," Katsu ordered his men. "We've got some preparation to do," all of the people complied as they walked out of the room, their footsteps echoing in Haru's ears, as his heart slowed to the same pace.
Haru closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, feeling Katsu's onyx eyes looking at him, a smile rolling across his face. The ox's heart raced; did he know he was alive? And if he did, what was he going to do? The man walked toward the door, saying one thing that made his heart stop.
"Don't get too comfortable," Katsu stated as he walked through the door. "We'll be back sooner than you think…"
As he heard Katsu leave, he opened his eyes and started to cough, the blood from his tongue falling to the ground. His body shook as he could feel tears coming to his eyes as he realized that they were finished, they were going to die sooner than he thought. This was a sick game to someone who thought it would be fun to destroy people who couldn't fight them off, and there was no escaping. They were finished.
His hand moved to touch Yuki's shaking hand, his older cousin panting as he was starting to regain consciousness. He had to get him out of here, no matter what, even if he had to die in the process.
"I'm going to get you out of here," Haru whispered. "I just don't know how yet."
He looked around the room; it was darker than the night sky. He had no clue where they were, but he could feel that they were looking for him. Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame were on their way to save them. They just had to be patient, but the clock was ticking. They were at the final countdown.
"Please, come save us," Haru breathed, his hand holding onto Yuki's. "Before it's too late.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Shigure took another breath of nicotine as he waited for Ayame to come back. It had been hours and no one knew where the two boys had gone off to. It had worn Shigure out, two packs of cigarettes facing his wrath, blackening his lungs as he waited for them to come back for them.
He looked at Hatori who was sitting next to him. He had reached his limit with smoking, his eyes fixated on the phone, waiting for Ayame to call, waiting for them to bring them home where they belong.
"I can't take this anymore," Shigure breathed as he extinguished another cigarette. "Where the hell are they?"
Hatori sighed. "Are you going to be alright, you've been losing your mind since the start of this whole situation? Since Yuki walked out of the door you've been acting as if you have lost you mind."
Shigure looked into Hatori's eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"You haven't been yourself lately," the doctor answered. "You're starting to scare me…"
The dog took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I just…" he choked on a breath as he thought about the thoughts running through his mind. "I don't know if I can ever really feel myself again, even if they do come back."
Hatori moved to him, his warmth moving to circulate through Shigure's body as the dog tried to hold back the tears that would eventually form in his eyes. Within Hatori's arms, he felt as though he was finally able to breathe easy. He rested his head on his cousin's shoulder, taking a deep breath as he realized he could feel himself again, if only in the dragon's arms, he could feel the normal.
"It's going to be alright, we'll find them even if it takes weeks, months, or even years. We're not going to give up on them. We're a family," Hatori whispered as he held onto him. "We don't abandon each other."
Shigure moved deeper into Hatori, sighing gently. "Haa-san…"
Just then the door opened, Ayame walking in. "I have a lead!"
Hatori released Shigure as the two of them stood up as they heard that, they were going to find them. They knew that this lead wasn't going to be a dead end like the rest; this was going to be it.
"Where are they?" Hatori asked as he took a step forward.
Ayame's eyes moved to Shigure who lit his first cigarette out of his third pack and then back at Hatori whose eyes were empty as he looked down at his cousin. The stare was deeper than anything Ayame had ever seen before. His mind started to calm down as he looked at the two of them. What was going on before he walked in?
"What's going on with you two?" Ayame asked.
"Nothing," Shigure answered quickly. "What's the lead?"
"I followed another path where they could have gone," the snake took a deep breath. "It leads to a warehouse…"
The dog shook his head in disbelief as he took another drag of his cigarette. "Why would they bring them to a warehouse?"
Hatori sighed as he bowed his head, disgusted by Shigure's stupidity. "Where else would you hide captives?" he closed his eyes. "I thought you were a writer…"
"I don't write that hackneyed crap!" Shigure snapped as he put out his cigarette.
They then all stood up and started walking toward the car, Hatori moving closer to Shigure as he took a deep breath, looking at him through his peripheral vision. The doctor moved to place his hand on the writer's shoulder, a smile rolling across his lips.
"I will do everything in my power to bring them back…" Hatori promised as he opened the car door.
A smile tugged at the corners of Shigure's lips as he heard those words. For once he felt that there was some hope in all of this. He shouldn't give up, because they were going to win this twisted war. They were going to bring those boys home with everything that they had.
"I know you will," Shigure answered quietly as he got into the car as they started driving to the warehouse. Hold on, we're on our way…
I hope to get the next chapter up a little sooner. Hope you enjoy this one!
