A few opening words: Screw that, no opening words for you!
A black BMW sedan pulled up out front of the Mihama residence. A muscular man in a grey suit stepped out. He proceeded to open the trunk and pulled out a shoulder bag. Walking over to the front gate's keypad, he took out a screwdriver and silently removed the pad. With wire cutters, he disconnected two wires, and connected them to a pair that was also connected to a laptop. A few keystrokes later, the gate slid open.
The man crouched low and crept along the wall, following it all the way to the side of the house. Once there, he set down the bag and drew out a small tool that looked like a compass with a suction cup in the middle. Pressing it firmly against the glass, near where the handle was, he used it to score a small arm sized circle in the glass. He took out a small rubber hammer and lightly tapped on the glass all around the cut, pulling on the instrument at the same time. The small section of glass slid out without a sound. Reaching in through the hole, he unlocked the window and pulled it open.
Now provided with an entrance, he silently climbed through the window, leaving the bag outside. Reaching into his suit, he pulled out a silenced pistol. He looked around what seemed to be the T.V. room. There was no one to be seen. He slowed his breathing and, making as little noise as possible, made his way towards the hall, eager to finish his job quickly.
Sakaki lay awake on the bed Chiyo had made for her. It was in the spare bedroom, which, aside from the bed, didn't have much else in it. There was a small bed table with a lamp on it, and a mirror on the wall, for whatever reason. Her thoughts traced back to her conversation earlier with young Chiyo, who seemed far too mature for her age. Sakaki had confirmed herself that this Shuji was her assailant, and Chiyo hadn't doubted it. Sakaki had vowed right there to take revenge, to make him pay. Chiyo had been shocked. They broke out into an argument. Sakaki remembered her words clearly.
"Miss Sakaki, what are you saying? This isn't like you! The Sakaki I knew wouldn't dream of hurting someone, no matter what happened! I don't care if you've lost your memory, you're still you!" She had tears in her eyes the whole time, yet kept her composure.
"Chiyo, this is different. This was my family! What did we ever do to deserve this? I don't care what I used to be like! Maybe it's good that I've changed. I can, and will, repay him."
"Sakaki-san, why? All this fighting, it won't help! It'll just make things worse!"
"Things have to get worse in order to get better…"
"Oh, Sakaki-san, why did this have to happen to you…?" The small girl couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She ran over and hugged Sakaki tightly. Sakaki was surprised by this, but returned the gesture. They had remained in that position for what seemed like an eternity, before Chiyo released her, and without a word led her to her room. They locked eyes for a moment, and an unspoken apology was passed between them. With a forced smile, Chiyo headed off to bed.
Now that she had gone over the night's events, Sakaki began to think towards the future. How would she go about exacting her revenge? No, revenge is such a cruel word, she thought. I am just going to return the favor. Before she could get any further, she heard faint creak coming from the hall. She sat bolt upright. Someone was on the stairs. She remembered clearly that the stairs seemed to be the only part of the old house that showed its age, creaking loudly no matter lightly someone stepped. Sakaki listened closely. Another creak broke the silence. She silently got out of her bed, still in the clothes from the day before, a pair of grey slacks and a green turtleneck. She crept over to the door, and peered down the hall towards the stairs. It was pitch black, but she could make out a figure at the top of the stairs. Sakaki held her breath as the figure made its way into the first room, Chiyo's parents' room. She saw her chance, and silently slipped across the hall into Chiyo's room.
Sliding the door shut, Sakaki made her way over to Chiyo's bed, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness. She put her hand over the girl's mouth and gently shook her awake. Her eyes opened a crack, and then shot fully open.
"Mmmm!"
"Quiet!" Sakaki hissed. She locked eyes with the girl, and, believing Chiyo understood the severity of the situation, she removed her hand from Chiyo's mouth. Sakaki leaned closer, her voice but a whisper. "There's someone in the house, and I don't think they're friendly."
She heard a small thump as the intruder bumped into something in the dark. Chiyo heard it too.
"Stick close to me, Chiyo-chan."
Sakaki looked around for something to use as a weapon. Since Shuji had failed in his obvious attempt to kill her, she figured this man was sent to finish the job. Sakaki wouldn't let that happen, especially not when it would involve young Chiyo. Her eyes fell on a clay vase on one of the shelves. She picked it off the shelf, and realized it was quite heavy, the walls made thick. This should do.
Sakaki took Chiyo's arm and led her over beside the door. She made her stand behind it, out of harm's way, whereas Sakaki took up a position on the other side with her back to the wall and the door to her right, vase at the ready. She heard quiet footsteps outside the door. The doorknob turned slowly, not making a sound, and the door opened a notch, and Sakaki could see the man's hand on the doorknob, a grey suit top ending at the wrist. It is one of them, she thought. She raised the vase over her left shoulder, both hands on it, ready to swing. The hand drew back, and instead, a small black tube slowly pushed the door open. As more was revealed, Sakaki saw that it was a gun, with what she assumed was a silencer on the end of it. She had seen them on the television. Tensing her muscles, she waited for just the right moment. The man put a foot forward, the door now fully open, and cautiously stepped into the room, oblivious to the danger.
Sakaki waited until she could see the intruder's face, and then swung with all her might. The vase arced horizontally and collided with the man's face with a sickening crunch. A stream of blood sprang from the man's nose, and the gun flew from his hands. He was propelled backwards by the force of the blow, and lost balance quickly. He landed in a heap, half in the door, and half out, blood pouring from his obviously broken nose. Sakaki inspected the vase. It wasn't broken, and only had a small spatter of blood to show that it had been used as a weapon. She dropped it and flicked on the lights. Checking the man's pulse, Sakaki confirmed that he wasn't dead, just unconscious.
Chiyo peeked around the door, terrified and breathing quickly. "Is he…dead?"
"No, only unconscious." She stood up, and looked down at him. "Though, it would be good to stop the bleeding." Chiyo stepped out from behind the door, and hopped over his fallen form. She looked the man over, clearly shocked. "I'll, uh…I'll get some towels." She ran off down the hall.
Sakaki bent over and scooped up the discarded pistol. She hadn't ever held one before. She inspected it, and pulled the slide, revealing a bullet in the chamber. She released the slide, letting it spring back into place with a clack! She looked closer, and found what she was looking for. Sakaki flipped the safety to the 'on' position and stuck it in her pocket. Chiyo quickly returned with an armful of towels, and looked worryingly at the fallen intruder. Sakaki assumed she was afraid of blood or something, and took the towels from her. She used a few to soak up the blood on the floor, and tied one around the man's head, covering his nose but leaving room to breathe out his mouth. With a little help from Chiyo, they dragged him downstairs, and tied him to a chair in the T.V. room with some rope Chiyo found in the closet.
"This is wrong Sakaki. I don't understand why we're doing this…"
"I need to know a few things Chiyo, then we'll hand him over to the police. Don't worry, he's unarmed and tied to a chair. You don't need to worry." The two sat there watching the television quietly for quite a while, with the man off in the corner. It was early morning before he showed signs of waking up, as the sun hadn't begun to rise yet.
"Sakaki-san…" Chiyo nudged her friend, who had fallen asleep. "Sakaki-san…"
"Hmm? Wha?"
"I think he's waking up."
"Oh? Turn off the T.V. and pull up a chair if you want. It's time for a little interrogation." Chiyo obliged, and brought a chair over beside Sakaki. They both watched as the man slowly came to, and looked around the room.
"What the hell? Where the f-" Sakaki cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"Careful. There are children present."
"Who the-? Oh shit! You're the girl I'm supposed to take care of!"
"Really? It seems you've done a fine job. Would you mind not swearing though? My friend here is quite a bit younger than both of us."
"Go to hell, b-" He was cut off again, this time when Sakaki slapped him across the face, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Oh I'm sorry. I must've hit your nose. It didn't fare too well against that clay vase earlier. Now," She leaned in a little closer. "Would you mind telling me where your 'boss' is? I need to get in touch with him."
"Oh, he'll be in touch. Might want to watch yourself, he'll send more once he realizes you're still alive."
"That's all?"
The man simply smiled evilly at her. Sakaki stood up, and began to pace around the room. Chiyo followed suit.
"Sakaki-san?"
"He's not going to say anything else." She sighed. "He is right though. Now that they know where I am, they will send more. Both you and I are in danger. Is there anywhere else we can stay?"
"Um, I don't know. I don't have any- Sakaki-san watch out!" Sakaki turned just in time to see the man who was previously tied to the chair leap up and dash towards her. He must've untied the rope while we were talkingshe thought. On instinct, she shoved Chiyo to the side, and turned to counter the threat, but it was too late. The man was already on her. He pulled back and punched her hard in the jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground.
"You should know better than to give a prisoner time to regroup." He chuckled, and looked over to where Chiyo was cowering in the corner. "As punishment," he began to slowly walk towards Chiyo, "I will break your little friend's fingers." He took another step. "One. By. One." He took one more step, then heard a commanding voice behind him.
"Take one more step, and you'll regret it."
"Hah! What're you gonna do?"
Sakaki was in a kneeling position, the silenced pistol held straight out, supported by both hands, aimed at the back of the man's head. An angry yet determined look on her face. She spoke calmly.
"I warned you." Sakaki pulled the trigger, and a muffled cough came from the pistol. A red mist sprouted from the man's forehead, and he fell forward, limp, landing in front of a terrified Chiyo. Sakaki stood up, rubbing her jaw with one hand, gun in the other. She put the safety back on, and stuffed it in her pocket again. She walked over to Chiyo, but paused near the man's corpse. "I didn't want to do have to do that." Ensuring that he was dead, Sakaki held out a hand to Chiyo. The smaller girl took it wordlessly, and stood up. She wasn't crying, but had a shocked expression on her face. Sakaki could see spots of the man's blood on her forehead, which she bent over and wiped off.
"I'm sorry Chiyo-chan, I had no choice. I didn't want to…" Chiyo nodded slowly. Thinking for a moment, Sakaki spoke again. "Wasn't there a vacant house a few blocks away?" The small girl nodded again, still at a loss for words. "We'll hide out there. We'll take as much as we can carry, and Tadakichi-san and Maya too, and hide out there until we meet with the others. It's probably not the best idea to call the police right now, we don't need that kind of attention. It would make it easier for the Grey Men to find us." Chiyo started to cry. She was trembling. "Don't worry, Chiyo-chan, I'll protect you. Unable to hold back any longer, the small girl burst into tears and hugged Sakaki tightly. She held the trembling girl. Sakaki felt horrible that this had happened, but it made no difference now. It was her fault Chiyo got dragged into this, and now she would protect her.
Why did she have to get pulled into this?
Author's notes: Wheee! Another chapter done. It would've taken less time if that damn Halo 3 trailer wasn't so good grumble.
One thing first, I've been having the same damn dream for the past week and a half, and its bugging the hell out of me! It's not a nightmare or anything. It's more like what happens when you read a good book, then dream as if you're in it. The thing is, I haven't read any book, nor heard of one, that is anything like this. It's almost as if it's a story idea I came up with in my sleep. I can only remember small parts, but I've been trying to remember more. If I ever can, it'd probably make a good story (not a fanfic, a stand-alone story!). Don't look at me weird, but I swear it's true. Lots of great musicians, artists, even scriptwriters have ideas that come to them in dreams.
Anyway, I just felt like writing that somewhere, and I figured here might be the best place. My family thinks I'm weird enough already. So, I guess that's all for now.
Till next time!