~ Author's Note ~
Hey guys! Back soon this time, aren't I? ;) Ha-ha. Nothing much to say except for the fact that the good stuff's coming soon. Hope you guys patiently wait till then! :)
Special thanks to Dennou Writer, The Crest of Anubis, Wind Kikyo, Nakumare, Kuro Shiro Neko-chan, Vampire Princess, Fede 194, Zhane 17, Night Dreamer, Nayrael, Guest, Marchioness Scarlet and Night Star 09 for reviewing, favoriting, following, the works. Big thanks to people who don't follow, favorite or review as well. :)
Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy! :3
Ch. 5 – Crimson
"She isn't in the girls washroom" Natsumi said, a worried look on her face.
"Che's nut noer thue phood soctun" Jiro remarked, the donuts stuffed in his mouth making things difficult for people to understand him.
"And she's not in the auditorium as well!" Saori remarked irritably, feeling angry at her lost brunette friend. Where could've Kana possibly gone? She wasn't the type to leave her friends and go somewhere without a call. She was the most responsible and matured in their ragtag group.
"Hmmm" Kiyotsugu murmured, seemingly lost in deep thought "She came in Saori's car so no way could she have gone home." He turned to his friends. "This can mean only two possible deductions." He stated in a very Sherlock Holmes kind of way.
"Care to explain?" Saori growled crossing her arms over her chest. She was already irritated at Kana for leaving them without a word and simply could not stand Kiyotsugu and his dramatic explanations right now.
"First" Kiyotsugu brought up his index finger to emphasize his words "She's gone out of this auditorium."
Saori face-palmed and sarcastically replied "You're a genius Kiyotsugu! Yeah, who would've thought she went out of this auditorium? Considering she was nowhere to be found in the auditorium." The raven-haired boy shot her an angry glare but did not say anything.
"Natsumi, would you try her phone again please?" he instead turned his attention to the green-haired girl who desperately typing on her phone.
"I've already tried it thrice!" she grunted in annoyance "I wonder why she isn't picking it up!"
"Hmmm" Kiyotsugu muttered again "Then that means my second deduction is correct."
"Which is?" Saori demanded as all eyes fell on the raven-haired boy. They could feel a slight tension in the air.
"Kana is in trouble" he added solemnly.
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Kana didn't struggle much as the masked man, the one who'd caught her eavesdropping, tied her to a chair, bound her feet, mouth and eyes. She knew it wouldn't be of any use even if she did since she was a weak teenage girl while they were four . . . . assassins. Yeah, that'd be the correct word. They could easily overpower her in no time and she would only end up bringing harm to herself. "You aren't like the others" she heard the same man say, sensing an amused tone to his voice "You're unusually quiet. Have something planned up your sleeve?" This sentence was completed by a sinister chuckle.
She felt a small smile creep up to her face. She, Kana, would plan something up her sleeve? She wasn't that clever no matter how many good grades she got. There was no way out of this.
Or maybe there was . . . . . .
But her train of thought was recklessly interrupted when she heard a clicking sound and something cold and hard being aimed at her forehead. Something metal. And most probably, a gun. "I'd like to shoot you and splatter your brains all over the walls and floor" it was a different voice – young, male and harsh. "But before I do that, there're some questions we wanna ask you." A slight pause. "So answer them properly or I hope you like hanging upside-down with your organs out for show."
That voice, it'd been less than a minute she'd heard it and she already dreaded it. Her nasty intuition was growing by the minute and she felt her heart clenching with fear and terror. Nevertheless, she managed to keep her cool and not scream her head off, a sin her younger self would've committed long ago.
As the tape was harshly removed from her mouth, the only sound that escaped her sore lips was a small hiss. She felt a little more at ease now. "If you scream for help, your friends are gonna find your bloodied corpse here." Okay, her ease had been totally eradicated now.
"Do you work for Hikage Daito Ryu?" What? Hikage . . . . . Daito Ryu? The Underworld assassin? That was what all this was about? There were so many questions fluttering through her mind but she kept quiet, knowing if she asked any of them, her liver would be lying out in the open.
"No" she answered in a quizzical yet cool voice. Another chuckle erupted in the room.
"I like her" the man with the snake-like voice commented, amused and Kana could swear he was smirking right now. There was a tongue-click after which the gun-aimer continued his interrogation.
"Do you work for Rikuo Nura?" Okay, this one made a little bit sense though Kana was still unsure if this people were against Rikuo Nura or not. But judging by their behavior, she felt they were.
"No" came the reply again.
She could feel the gun nuzzle on her forehead dig deeper and it was actually starting to hurt now. But she still remained silent, trying not to show any of the pain on her face. What had she gotten herself into? She should never have followed them here. However, it was no use thinking about it now since she'd already managed to dig her own grave. "Just who the f**k are you?!" the male voice screamed.
Kana flinched, the screech hurting her ears. She was beginning to feel scared now. No, that wasn't the correct word. What was it? . . . . . Terrified. Yeah, that was it. She was beginning to feel terrified. However, she balled her fists, trying hard not to scream. In a slightly shaky voice, she answered "Kana Ienaga. 20 years old. 2nd year college student in-'' she was interrupted by a harsh slap. On her cheek.
"Calm down, Fist" a new voice commanded; a deep, male voice. But Kana was too shocked to pay any more attention. The slap stung. It stung hard. She was sure a bruise had been formed on her cheek. Tears were threatening to slip out of her eyes now. She was thankful that they'd put a cloth on her eyes. At least they wouldn't see her tearful orbs.
As the gun was removed from her forehead, the brunette hitched in a sharp breath, intuitionally looking up, sensing someone approaching her. Her heart began to thud faster, as if warning her of something terrible about to happen. Footsteps stopped until they were right in front of her and when a voice was heard, Kana almost screamed.
"I'm deeply sorry for the actions of my colleague, Ienaga-san" apologized the same, deep voice from before, sounding sincere. "And we're sorry for having suspected you." Kana's heart skipped a beat. That means . . . . . she was going to be set free? It was too good to be true. But she still held onto the thought, fiercely wishing for it to come alive.
And yet again, there was a gun click. The familiar feeling of a cold metal being pointed at her forehead rooted itself in her mind. "However" it was the same voice; deep, commanding and terrifying "I'm also sorry we have to kill you."
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His red eyes transferred over to the ragtag group as they searched for something – or rather someone – fussing here and there. For some reason, they held his interest, attracting him like a magnet. Was it because of that . . . girl? The one with the pretty, brown, doe-eyes? Wait. She wasn't here at the moment. Or was it something more sinister, more untraceable? Whatever it was, Rikuo focused his attention on them instead of the flirty young women that were showering him with lots of cleavage shots.
The blonde boy and cat-eyed girl were saying something to the Kiyojuji kid, something which seemed to be worrying them. Rikuo excused himself from the pretty ladies surrounding him in order to get closer to the group. Ao and Kuro, who were watching Rikuo from the shadows, discreetly followed their young master.
Rikuo stopped where he'd be close enough to hear them but far enough not to get noticed. Making eye-contact with Kuro, he put his long, thin index finger on his lips and pointed to his ear and the group, gesturing his two bodyguards to eavesdrop. The Nura heir could hear snippets of conversation from the group.
"Care to explain?" the irate blonde girl demanded, hands crossed over her ample bosom. Rikuo leaned on the wall close by, taking a swig of the Bloody Mary being served. It was one of his favorite drinks.
"First" the Kiyojuji kid emphasized in a detective-like way – to which Rikuo rolled his eyes – "She's gone out of this auditorium." Yeah, real smart.
The blonde slapped her forehead and shouted "You're a genius Kiyotsugu! Yeah, who would've thought she went out of this auditorium? Considering she was nowhere to be found in the auditorium." He agreed with the busty girl there.
Kiyojuji kid glared at her then turned to the cat-eyed girl, asking her to try the missing girl's – probably the brunette from before – phone. The green-haired girl retorted something about her already trying it thrice. A thoughtful, dark expression came over the Kiyojuji kid's face. "Then that means my second deduction is correct" he murmured.
"Which is?" the busty blonde demanded, all eyes falling on him. Even Rikuo could not help containing his curiosity, as he stared at the boy. The Nura heir could feel an atmospheric tension set in the room.
"Kana is in trouble" the raven-haired teen replied earning blank expressions from the others. An image of the dead assassin flitted into the white-haired man's mind.
"Impossible!" Saori shook her head aggressively, not believing the fact "What trouble could she possibly get into?"
"I think I may have the answer to your question" Rikuo stated, walking over to the confused teenagers. On recognizing him, Saori, Natsumi and Jiro uttered shocked gasps while Kiyotsugu smirked.
"R-Rikuo Nura-san!" Natsumi stuttered, bowing as low as her mini-skirt would allow her "I-It's a pleasure to meet you!" She smiled sweetly at him while stepping on an ogling Jiro's foot.
"What are you doing here?" Saori smirked seductively, twirling a piece of her blonde curls on her crafted index finger "Eavesdropping, eh?"
Rikuo matched her flirty smile with his own killer grin, lowering his face to hers as the blonde's sun-kissed face turned into cherry red "I could not help containing my curiosity over the issue of your missing friend."
"It's wonderful of you to help us, Rikuo-san" Kiyotsugu walked to the front, putting on his formal best as he shook hands with the young man "But please don't bother yourself over this. We'll find our friend soon."
"As you yourself said, Kiyojuji-san" Rikuo replied "Your young friend maybe in trouble. We've received information that assassins may have arrived to this college in order to get rid of me and my old man there." He gestured to Rihyon with his thumb who was currently having a nice chat with Principal Tearai Oni.
At the mention of assassins, the four got horrified expressions on their face. Natsumi clamped her hands shut over her mouth, Jiro looked startled out of his wits, Saori just stared expressionlessly at him while Kiyotsugu tried to remain composed but could not help looking scared. "Assassins?" Natsumi repeated in a quiet whisper.
"Did they kidnap Kana-chan?" Saori asked, terror reflecting in her brown orbs.
"Do not worry" Rikuo said in his deep, baritone voice, trying to assure the teens "Chances of that are low." I hope, he mentally added. "However, we're gonna search for your friend now. It's best you don't cause a commotion though. It'll provide a better cover for the assassins to escape, if they are there. I suggest we inconspicuously slip out and search for your friend."
The four looked to be at their wits end. However, Kiyotsugu, having taken on the role as the leader of the group, stepped forward, replying "We're enormously thankful for your help, Nura-san. But you really don't need to bother yourself with this."
Rikuo just smirked at him "Too bad for you, I'm a nosey person, Kiyojuji-san."
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Distract them. Distract, distract, distract. "Wait" Kana muttered; her heart in her mouth. She wasn't a fan of lying but you know what they say – desperate situations call for desperate actions.
"Yes?" the commanding voice rung out confused.
"Why do you wanna kill me? Why stain your hands with the crimson blood of an innocent?" she babbled, trying not to stammer. She knew it was useless but only if she could delay for some time then maybe . . . . . "I haven't even seen you. Why can't you let me go?"
A sigh and a tongue-click were heard in the empty room. The gun did not leave her forehead – disappointing the brunette – but the voice did reply back. "It's because you know too much."
After a pause, the snake-like voice chuckled "Seems like I overestimated your intelligence, Kana-chan."
You have no right to call me Kana-chan, she wanted to spit in the man's face but held back her tongue. Saying it would only confirm her near-future death. "B-But" she went on babbling anyway "I don't know a thing about you. Except for the fact-''
"Just kill the b***h already!" the rash young man spoke and Kana shuddered hearing violent footsteps approaching her. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for a painful death. This is it, faces floated through her mind. Jiro, Saori, Natsumi, Kiyotsugu, mom, dad, a tear dropped down her cheek, Goodbye.
And a gunshot echoed in the corridor.
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"I love crimson" Tsurara said, staring at a dress of the mentioned color "It's my favorite color."
"Crimson?" Youhime asked, staring at her employer curiously. The brunette picked out a white gown, beaming at its design "I think white suits you more."
"White is too pure for a person like me" the model muttered in a tiny voice, running her hands over the fabric of her crimson dress.
"Did you say something, Oikawa-san?" Youhime asked, averting her gaze towards the pale woman.
"I was just saying I find white too bland and expressionless" Tsurara offered her million-dollar smile to her housemaid "Crimson is more seductive and expressive." And the only color to resemble my sins, she cast her gaze downwards. Youhime tried to figure out the expression on her employer's face but being unable to, just shook her head and continued folding clothes.
Youhime Narumi had been working for Tsurara Oikawa since the past three years. At first, she'd been elated and enthralled at getting the opportunity to work for the famous model. And she still was. Oikawa-san was the perfect mistress – kind, friendly, sweet, helpful and lenient. She'd often give Youhime her old dresses she was tired of wearing and always accepted her leaves, for the tiniest of reasons like going on a date with her boyfriend.
But the brunette maid knew that the lovely woman was hiding something dark between her cheerful façade. She'd often heard the woman talking to herself while looking at a mirror or acting as if someone else was there with her. She'd talk to an imaginative person, act as if she was 'hugging', 'kissing' or 'holding hands' with him.
But what Youhime didn't understand was why she did that. Oikawa-san had thousands of admirers, many from rich and noble households of Japan. She didn't have to pretend to have a boyfriend.
But that was not all. Lately, Youhime had been hearing muffled crying and sobbing noises from her employer's room. Sometimes screams and the sound of objects breaking. The brunette had been too scared to confront her mistress about it so had kept mum and ignorant all this time.
But you know what the heights were?
The maid had found a bloodied knife while cleaning her mistress's bathroom. It had been hidden under the sink. Terrified, she'd quickly washed it with detergent and put in the kitchen at its designated place.
What was wrong with Oikawa-san? Why was she doing this? Something was killing her inside and Youhime had to find out what it was.
"Youhime" her employer's voice rang out, sweet as honey "After you're done folding the clothes, do the laundry, 'kay? I've to go out for the night." Tsurara got up and taking her Lavie purse, walked out of the room.
There she goes, Youhime sighed, staring after her mistress.
Sometimes, the brunette wished she had mind-reading powers.