Like a Cloud in the Wind
By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl
Chapter 11 – Suspecting the Unexpected/Love Calls
– Kyoya –
We had nine suspects. I wasn't sure if we should trail them or what. Trailing them could alert whoever it was that we were on to them, which would cause them to be extra cautious to be normal. There had to be some other clue to this entire thing. Any of them could be the kidnapper. They had to have a motive other than the prospective ransom money.
I'd have to observe each of them individually myself. Their behavior could possibly tip us off of who had actually done it. Tayaku-sensei was the English teacher for 3-A. Tate and 2 other third years were on the list as well. Two on the list were first years. Only three were second years. I'd only be able to watch those three. "We might need to get some of the Hosts to help," I muttered, not too keen on the idea. "Mori and Hunny-sempai could help with the third years while Haruhi and the twins take the first years."
Koharu nodded, in thought. "You think they'd be able to do it inconspicuously?"
"I can be," I paused briefly, "persuasive." She smiled. "For now. You should go home. We'll ask the Hosts about it tomorrow." She nodded, standing up.
– Kaydence –
I couldn't stand this place. I couldn't stand being here, knowing that Tate could easily kill me in my sleep. He acted like he cared. I had once thought that he did care. But now... now it just seemed like he had been completely lost to a fake conspiracy against my father. Like he had faked his friendship toward me the entire time.
Every time that he visited me, he acted differently. No matter how he started out, he always left harsh and enraged, though. I never knew how to act around him that wouldn't make him want to stab me in the gut and it made me uneasy.
I wished I could pretend that he wouldn't hurt me. I wanted to act like we were still like brother and sister. But the fact was that I couldn't. I couldn't forget that he had betrayed me.
–
"Kaydence," he said quietly, startling me awake. "You know that I care right?" I glared at him blearily. He was actually trying to convince me that he was worth keeping as a friend? That he was worth anything more than a piece of shit?
"If you cared," I murmured, voice dripping with hate, "you wouldn't have done this in the first place."
"You're blind," he stated, sounding incredibly desperate. Incredibly pained. "You're so blind, Kay."
"Don't call me that," I growled. "How the hell am I blind? You're the one that won't listen to reason. You're the one that's so wrapped up in this conspiracy that you have going in your head that you kidnapped your best friend."
He shook his head. "This is all Ohtori's fault," he said bitterly, "Everything was perfectly fine between us before he came along." I stared at him while his gaze shifted to stare at the wall. "Everything was going as I planned before he came into the bloody picture."
Plan? What plan? "What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, slightly frightened of what the answer would be. Had he been planning this entire thing from the very beginning?
"Us, Kaydence."
"There is no us, Tate. There never has been," I retorted. What was he telling me? He wasn't making any sense again.
"There would have been if he hadn't interfered and stolen your heart." His voice turned dangerous. He honestly hated Kyoya. He was delusional.
"Stolen my heart? He's a friend. Are you telling me that you're..." I trailed off, bring my hand to my mouth. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Bloody hell. That was why he had been stalking me.
"Yes, Kaydence. Get it now? Jesus. For a girl as smart as you, you sure are dense." He ran a hand through his hair, smiling gently and looking at me. I hated the look in his eyes and tore mine away.
The bastard had some sick infatuation with me. He had stalked me. Made me believe that he loved me like a sister. Harbored jealous feelings when he'd thought that I was somehow in love with Kyoya. And now because of it he had kidnapped me along with the reason to 'get back at' Layne. He was so sick in the head that I was probably going to end up dead because he lost his temper so badly that he sliced my neck or something.
In other words, I was in deep shit.
– Kyoya –
"Kyoya, stop it!" Koharu yelled, "Just stop!"
"He knows where she is! He knows where he is," I growled, holding a gun to Arthur's chin. "And I swear to God I'm going to figure out where they are."
"You're wasting your time," he choked out, "If you keep dawdling he'll kill her before you can find her." I stared in his eyes. He looked crazy, but his words were true.
"Where... Where are they?" I asked, forcing my voice to a calmer note.
"Look for the invisible basement," he said, speaking in riddles. I glared at him, dropping my hand with the pistol in it to my side. Without another word I ran back into the warehouse.
"Kyoya!" Koharu screamed from behind me. "Kyoya! You idiot! You're going to get yourself killed!" She sounded worried. Heart-breakingly worried. I glanced back, noticing Tachibana holding her back while tears streamed down her face, before I disappeared from her sight.
I threw aside crates and shelves. There had to be to damn door or something here. Anything that led to a basement. It might even be a basement under the basement for all I knew. Then I caught sight of some stairs across the room. I ran, holding the gun in front of me. I descended down the stairs, into the basement. There was nothing but a short hallway. I checked both of the two doors. One was locked. The other had nothing but a rug, which I threw aside.
Nothing.
I was about to run back up the stairs when I heard a scream from somewhere below me. What the hell? "STOP IT!" It was Kaydence. My blood ran cold. I checked behind the stairs, finding a barely noticeable door behind it. I pulled it open and ran through it, forever keeping the pistol, safety off, in front of me.
I could hear voices as I went down the hallway.
"Kaydence. You're daft. I really expected more from you," the male growled.
"Please," Kay was pleading. "Please don't do this."
"I told you I was going to get back at your father didn't I? Any last words?" She was completely silent as I started running, coming in view of an open door. I heard a gunshot. A second later someone ran out.
"Stop!" I yelled, aiming at his back. He kept going. Reluctantly, I pulled the trigger on my own pistol. The bullet hit him square in the back. He wasn't moving and I doubted he was going anywhere, so I hurried into the room. "No," I breathed, staring at the scene in front of me. "NO!"
I'd been too late.
Kaydence was dead.
–
I woke with a start, somehow keeping from screaming. My breath was coming in short, anxious gasps. It had seemed so real, that dream. It bothered me that the voice hadn't been defined, nor had the face. Sweat coated my forehead, making my hair stick to it. I pushed it away from my eyes.
I glanced at the clock. 4:48 AM. November 6th. 20 days left. Stubbornly, I rolled back over and closed my eyes, attempting to go back to sleep, knowing it was futile. I wouldn't be able to sleep again today. 20 minutes later I was pulling my brand new computer onto my lap tiredly. 3 hours. I'd slept three damn hours before being woken up by that stupid nightmare.
I pulled up the observations the Hosts had all taken on the suspects at the school. Most of them had seemed normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. Hunny and Mori had even followed Tayaku-sensei to his home. He had a wife and two kids. Wasn't really the kind of person that someone would peg as a kidnapper. Besides, the school would have done a background check on him before hiring him.
I crossed him off the list. That left eight. I looked down at the next set of observations.
Skyler Frays – Third year. Slightly jittery, but is normally due to bullying. No girlfriend, few friends. No obvious connection to Kaydence or the Malrondas. Studies diligently. Heir to coffee manufacturing business. No possible motive.
The fact that he had no motive and no connection to Kaydence at all made me cross him off the list, though I'd still have the two senior Hosts keep observations on him just in case. Seven left.
Falkner Beveral – Third year. Nothing out of the normal. Thought to be a huge creep but actually quite gentle and shy. No connections to the Malrondas. Girlfriend is second year Suzuki Rurani. No noticeable motive.
Again, I crossed him off and moved on. Six.
Bennett Jasonate – Second year. Heir to a rival family of the Malrondas. Could easily have captured Kay to attempt to overcome Layne and prove himself to his father. Nothing out of the normal with his behavior, though that may just be a ploy.
He was one of the main suspects at the moment. The fact that he was a rival of Kaydence's automatically made him one, even without observations. Still six.
Adrien Pension – Second year. No connection with Kaydence though he's been missing a lot of school lately. Missing school days could be due to sickly demeanor. Seems affected by Kaydence's disappearance more than others. May have had a crush on her but wouldn't harm her.
I'd crossed him off the list as soon as I'd found out he'd had a crush on her. He'd always kept to himself, glancing at Kaydence out of the corner of his eye. Five.
Carles Lyre – Second year. Been out of school with Mono for 3 months. Can't have had any part in Kaydence's kidnapping.
He was out as well. Four.
Dalton Grads – First year. Missed school for unknown reason. Sneaks around suspiciously after school hours. Part of the Black Magic club. No connection to Kaydence that's noticeable. Withdraws from activity when possible. Sticks to the shadows.
His behavior was too suspicious to cross him off. Though he had no connection to her, I still couldn't do it. Still four suspects.
Jade Hudson – First year. Very open and cheerful. A lot like Tamaki. Nothing suspicious about his behavior at all. Didn't even know who Kaydence was until he found out she had been kidnapped.
I pulled him off the list. There was no way that he had done it if he hadn't known who she was prior to the kidnapping. Three.
Tate Shireston – Third year. Supposed boyfriend of Arisa Hirano. Been fighting with her lately. Seems restless but otherwise unaffected by the disappearance of his 'best friend.' Held an attachment to Kaydence before. Lived with her for 3 years, known her for 6. Parents died in a plane crash when the engine failed after being hijacked.
Tate was a special case. But he was a suspect nonetheless. He could have been harboring resentment toward Layne or Felicity for being overprotective of him after his parents had died. He had motive, surprisingly. I hadn't expected to find much on him. I knew Koharu didn't trust him, and I didn't particularly either.
That narrowed it down to three. Bennett Jasonate, Dalton Grads, and Tate Shireston.
–
"You're brilliant," Koharu said, staring at the list I'd narrowed down in shock. "You're absolutely brilliant."
I smirked. "Why, thank you. It's nice to hear that every once in a while," I replied, nodding my head and leaning back.
"How long were you working on this?"
"Oh, I dunno. Till about 1:30 AM until I finally decided to sleep. Then I ended up waking up at almost 5 to work on it again," I said with slight sarcasm, still slightly ticked at the fact that the damned nightmare I'd had earlier had kept me from my sleep. I pushed my knuckles underneath my glasses and rubbed my eyes tiredly. Koharu was staring at me worriedly.
"Is there... something I should know about?" she asked after moments of hesitation. I shook my head. There was no need to worry her with stupid dreams that weren't accurate in the slightest. "Kyoya," she breathed, "What is it?" Her hand touched mine but I pulled away.
"It's nothing," I muttered, yawning. She was frowning. She knew something was wrong. I sighed. "I just... I had a dream, that's all. Nothing important," I mumbled reluctantly.
"It sounds important if it robbed you of sleep," she retorted, sounding skeptical. I scratched my head. I couldn't lie to her. Really, I couldn't. She, again, tried to take my hand. "Kyoya. You can tell me," she said softly, "You know that."
I nodded but shook my head anyway. "It was stupid. Absolutely inaccurate. Can't possibly happen."
She stared at me strangely. "Was it about Kaydence?" I nodded, turning my eyes away from her to stare out the window. Again, the absolute realistic nature of it hit me as I remembered. "What happened?"
"I was too late," I murmured, "That's what happened. Shot the bastard in the back but I was too late to save her." I sighed and looked back at her. "It's not going to end that way, Koharu. I won't let it." She was staring at the floor in front of her, as if trying to imagine her cousin dead. "Stop thinking about it," I grumbled with a sigh, "It was nothing. You shouldn't worry about it."
She still looked worried. I knew she wouldn't stop worrying until her cousin was safe. That was just the way she was.
– Kaydence –
"So, if you've been in love with me all this time, why didn't you tell me?" I asked him, days, maybe weeks later. Tate was, again, fiddling with a knife, but he was in a better mood today. He'd revealed that he'd loved me for 4 years and hadn't had the guts to tell me.
He snorted. "Why? Why? Have you ever tried to tell someone you're in love with them, Kaydence?" he muttered. "It's not the easiest thing in the world. I was going to tell you by asking you to the ball, but Ohtori had already snagged you. I saw how happy you looked dancing with him and I couldn't interfere." I shook my head. He really was insane.
"Were you already planning to kidnap me or was it a spur of the moment thing?" I knew I sounded harsh. I wasn't about to fall for this.
"I started planning it after I noticed how much you hanged around him." More malice was being added to his eyes the longer that he talked about Kyoya. "In all reality I'd been thinking about it since the moment I found out your father was behind my parents death."
I sighed with exasperation. "He wasn't behind it!"
"Says you!" he spat, spluttering as he tried to find other words.
"How long have I been here Tate?" I asked, irritated to extreme points.
"I'll tell you, you have 7 days left but I won't tell you how long you've been here," he answered with a slight edge in his voice. "I don't want to kill you, Kay." He took out a cellphone hesitantly. "Tell your father that you're safe for now and to hurry. If you say anything else," he paused, flipping open the knife, "let's just say it won't end well for you."
I stared at the knife and then looked into his eyes. He was serious. He was crazy but he was bloody serious about this. He handed me the phone. I took it, watching him the entire time. I didn't dial my father's number. I dialed Kyoya's. He wouldn't know. He had never memorized Layne's number or put it in his phone. He hadn't ever felt the need to. I pushed enter and held the phone to my ear.
"Dad?" I said, feeling incredibly nervous with that bloody knife staring me in the face.
"Kaydence?" Kyoya asked, sounding surprised, "Kay, where are you?"
"I-I can't say," I stuttered. Tate glared at me warningly.
"Who did this to you?"
"I... I can't tell you," I whispered, close to tears. "Listen, Dad. I'm... I'm alright. Just hurry up and send the money, ok? Please, I–," I broke off, shuddering with the effort to hold back a sob, "I'm scared."
"I'll find you, Kaydence. Just stay on the phone for another few seconds," he said. I could hear him rustling around. "I know you can't tell me anything. But I'm close, ok? I'm close. Don't worry, whoever the hell is that's holding you at gunpoint or whatever is going to be the one dead. Not you."
"I-I love you, Father," I breathed, still pretending that I was talking to Layne and not Kyoya. I was dead if he knew I had called anyone else.
Kyoya was silent. "A few more seconds," he murmured after a moment. I heard a female voice in the background, probably the same one that I had heard calling for me back at the hole.
Tate was giving me this look. I knew that my time was now up. "I have to go," I muttered.
"A few more seconds, Kaydence!" he said urgently. "I can track the call if you stay on for a few more seconds!"
"I'm sorry," I choked out, "Goodbye." I pushed end and shoved the phone back at Tate, trying to control my sobs. That was the worst possible thing he could ever do to me. Letting me call and making me hang up right before he would have been able to find me. "I hate you," I whispered as I pulled my knees to my chest and laid my head on top of them. "I hate you, Tate Shireston."
He stared at me for a moment and then he left.
– Kyoya –
It was during club on 19th when I got the call. I'd been waiting for a clue. Any goddamn clue for two weeks. The suspects were still nothing more than suspects and the location was still no more broad than the city of Akita. I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the caller ID briefly. It was an unknown number with a blocked name. I frowned at it and looked over at Koharu, who was watching at me like normal. I flipped open the phone.
"Dad?" It was a voice that I knew. I knew that voice. It was the voice of the girl I'd been looking for, for the past 2 months. Kaydence. She was probably under gunpoint or something, the person thinking that it was her father she was calling. She never called Layne, 'Dad.' Either that or she had called me on accident.
"Kaydence?" I asked, surprise clear in my voice. "Kay, where are you?" Koharu stared at me with wide eyes, hearing me. Even Haruhi was looking over at me now. In an instant Koharu was at my side, listening in.
"I-I can't say," she stuttered, sounding scared. She was most likely at gunpoint. I felt my hand curl into a fist. Damn bastard.
"Who did this to you?" I demanded.
"I... I can't tell you," she said, voice incredibly soft and sounding close to tears, "Listen, Dad. I'm... I'm alright. Just hurry up and send the money, ok? Please, I–," she cut herself off for a moment and took a deep breath, "I'm scared."
"I'll find you, Kaydence," I promised her calmly. Koharu stared at me. "Just stay on the phone for another few seconds. I know you can't tell me anything. But I'm close, ok? I'm close. Don't worry, whoever the hell is that's holding you at gunpoint or whatever is going to be the one dead. Not you." I shuffled around in my bag for the cord that would hook my phone to my computer to trace the call. I found it after a moment, pushing it quickly into a USB port and hooking it to my phone, still holding it to my ear.
"Is it her?" Koharu asked in a furious whisper. I nodded and held up a finger.
"I-I love you, Father," she choked out. I hid my surprise rather well. She had to know it was me by now but she was still saying things that she would only tell her father. Now I was certain that she was being held at the point of a weapon of some sort. But, God. She sounded so scared.
"A few more seconds," I muttered, watching the tracker as it started narrowing down the location of the call. World to Japan.
"I have to go," she said, sounding incredibly reluctant. She couldn't hang up now. Northern part of the main island. She just couldn't.
"A few more seconds, Kaydence!" I said, my voice rising slightly with urgency, "I can track the call if you stay on for a few more seconds!" Akita district.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, like she was still on the verge of tears but trying to stay strong, "Goodbye."
"No, Kayden– Dammit!" The line went dead, my computer screen blinking CALL LOST in red. I snapped shut my phone angrily and threw it on the table. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" I stared at how far the map had gotten. The center part of the city was clearly shown. Unfortunately, that was also the area that had all the warehouses and factories. "I was so close!" I felt angry but almost hopeless at the same time.
Koharu's hand found my shoulder and Tamaki escorted the remaining customers out of the room with a flurry of apologies. I ran a hand through my hair. I lost my temper briefly and kicked the table leg. "Dammit!" I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind.
"It's alright, Kyoya," Koharu murmured in my ear, "It's alright. You tried. You narrowed down the area. That's more than anyone could have done on such a short notice." I stood, forcing her to release me, and turned around, immediately pulling her to me instead. "We're one step closer to finding her, Kyoya," she whispered, staring up at me.
"Kyoya," Tamaki interjected, "You're a mastermind. You'll find her because of that fact."
I nodded, thinking. "Wait," I muttered, mind working furiously. Why had he let her call? Had he trusted her enough to call her father and not the police? "Wait. He had to have trusted her." I let go of Koharu and leaned down to work with my computer.
"What?" Koharu asked, shaking her head in my direction. She probably hadn't comprehended what I had said, considering the speed that I'd said it.
"Whoever it was had to have trusted her if they let her call. She kept calling me 'Dad' and 'Father.' She was supposed to be talking to Layne, not me."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means... It's someone who knew her well. Let's go through suspects shall we?" I turned back to the computer and pulled up the suspect notes. "Bennett Jasonate. He's a known enemy of her family. That's the only reason he's still on the suspect list."
"He wouldn't possibly know Kaydence like that," Koharu finished softly. I nodded and moved to the next set.
"Dalton Grads. His behavior is suspicious. However, he's part of the Black Magic club. Most students that are part of it, are kind of sketchy."
"He also didn't know Kaydence all that well," she completed fluently. We stared each other in the eye, knowing which name that left.
"Tate Shireston," I said clearly, gripping her shoulders, "He was her best friend."
"He lived with her for 3 years," she continued.
"He would have known her well enough and thought her trustworthy enough to call by herself." I stared at her, a smile coming to my face. That was it. It was Tate.
"Tate Shireston is Matte Hirostens," she concluded with a grin.
"You're brilliant," I murmured, plucking my phone off of the table and pushing Chief Takamura's speed dial. "I want Tate Shireston found and taken into custody right this instant, got it?" I growled into my phone was it was answered.
"Hai!" he exclaimed in surprise. I snapped it shut and grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair.
"I'm taking that bastard down," I muttered, feeling Koharu's hand slip into mine as she hurried with me towards the door.
"Kyoya-sempai!" Haruhi gasped from behind me. I spun around and stared at her. "Matte Hirostens. If you unscramble it and add an M it's Tate Shireston." I ran it through my head quickly. Goddamn, she was right. He was definitely our man.
"M is his middle initial," Koharu said quietly. "I knew I was right not to trust that bastard."
I nodded and pulled her out the door. "We're going to the Malrondas. Right now."
–
A/N: Ohoho~ A quick update this was! And they're getting so close! Unfortunately, you'll be stuck with this cliff-hanger until I get to writing the 12th chapter.
Kudos to: StoryOfFiction, KageNoNeko, thearistocrat and Koharu Veddette!