Chapter 4 : Maybe Its Destiny
Disclaimer : Standard disclaimers apply
The detective slammed his foot on the gas pedal as the warehouse came into view. Completely ignoring the 'no-entry' sign, he sped past the guardhouse and skidded to a halt in front of the massive building. He flung the door open and practically raced to the building. The rain pelted his face and stung his partially healed wounds. It was almost impossible to see or hear anything over the howling winds and frequent flashes of lightning. However, he knew his target was inside. This was the final showdown. Her life depended on his getting there on time.
The warehouse was surprisingly well lit. They were probably expecting him. His frown deepened. They were in for a hell of a surprise if they thought he'd come here on his own. The absence of guards disturbed him as he made his way through the maze of crates. Was Hades making this easier for him? To taunt him? Anger surged through his veins as he quickened his pace. Deep in his heart, he knew, only one of them would make it out of here alive. He'd make sure of that.
He reached his destination. The scene before him filled him with such a gut clenching hatred that he was surprised that he even possessed such feelings. The tyrant stood behind a hospital bed, the kind which had wheels attached. On it laid Meg, unconscious and pale. She was dressed in what looked like a flowing white gown. The man did not seem to realize or care about the detective's presence as he traced one of his long fingers over her cheek. The detective could not read the look in his eyes.
"Mine" said the man in barely a whisper "Forever"
Before the detective could even react, he felt a burst of red hot pain searing through his chest. He let out a throaty roar and fell to his knees. Looking up, he found himself looking into the malicious face of Anubis. The smoking gun still at his side, he fingered the Pluto pendant in his other hand.
"Wait." said the tyrant in a cold voice. "Let me finish him."
Suddenly, he found himself on his feet again, supported by some unknown force. His chest was still hurting. He vaguely wondered if he was dead. The tyrant grabbed a fistful of the detective's hair and pulled his head up to face him. The detective found himself looking into the sharp grey eyes of his once-best-friend.
"Leave, now. Stay away form us."
For a brief second, he felt he once again saw the innocent eyes of his comrade. They pleaded with him and the detective could almost sense the fear lurking in those silvery depths.
Suddenly, he felt a strong fist come into contact with his gut. He was back on the floor again, this time, writhing in pain as he struggled to catch his breath. The whir of a helicopter blades as it prepared for take off reached his ears. The roof of the warehouse had completely vanished. No rain felt from the starlit sky overhead. And though the darkness, he made out the forms of the tyrant and Anubis entering the aircraft. Meg had once again appeared in the tyrant's arms. She was being taken against her will.
The string of curses he yelled did not reach his own ears as the chopper raised into the heavens. When it was completely gone, the detective slammed his fist against the cold concrete.
"I swear on my father's grave," he said through gritted teeth "That I, Renjou Kyuu, will never forgive you for what you have done. I will hunt you down till the ends of the earth to seek my revenge."
He tilted his head to the starlit canopy as he vowed.
"This is war, Amakusa Ryuu,"
Kyuu awoke up with a jolt. He could feel the cold sweat beaded on his brow and neck. The dream was so impossible. It was probably one of those absurd dreams that he had heard so much about. The ones where everything was the exact opposite of reality. He afforded himself a nervous laugh. What on earth was he thinking? Ryuu as King Hades? Meg being captured? And surely.. Anubis was dead…
Turning his head around, he realized that he was completely alone. In fact, by the looks of it, he was in one of the DDS's medic wards. Odd. Wasn't he supposed to be at the hospital?
At that exact moment, the double doors to the ward opened, revealing Dan-sensei, Katagiri-sensei and Nanami-sensei. Each of them looked like they hadn't slept in ages.
"Dan-sensei!" said Kyuu "What happened? Where is everyone?"
While Katagiri-sensei wheeled Dan-sensei towards the bed, Nanami proceded to lock the door and check the windows, making sure that no one was eavesdropping.
"They are all fine" he announced in a tired voice. "We transferred yourself and Touyama-san to the DDS building because of unsafe conditions at the hospital."
"Unsafe?"
"Listen to me Kyuu. From this point on, I am going to be truthful and frank in everything I say to you. I do wish that you reply me in kind. Some of the things I have to say to you will no doubt seem false an unbelievable, but I must ask you to reserve any of your judgments until after I have finished what I have to say."
Kyuu looked at all his other teachers, hoping that one of them would elaborate further. Both of them stood somberly, side by side, scrutinizing him as if he was a kid who had been caught by his parents trying to steal money out of their wallets.
Still having no idea what this could be all about, he gulped and said "Yes sir."
"First of all, I'd like you to tell me everything you know about Minami Megumi."
"What?"
"I'd like you to repeat everything she has ever mentioned to you about her childhood, family and origins."
Kyuu was baffled at the sudden question. Had something happened to Meg? Had she been kidnapped? He shivered as the dream flashed in his mind. However, he took a deep breath and recounted everything he knew and loved about the pink haired girl. Everything he noticed about her like her love for chocolate, the way she loved to dress up for every mission, her sister which looked nothing like her, among many other things. Suddenly, it struck him. He did not know much at all about that girl. He had never bothered to ask her things like her where her hometown was or where her parents were. Those things seemed so irrelevant at that time. She had more holes in her background than the moon had craters.
Katagiri-sensei broke the silence.
"Her DDS file states that she was born in a hospital in Osaka. However, when we cross referenced her date of birth with the hospital's data, we found that no baby girls were even born on that day. Furthermore, none of her personal information checks out."
"So you see Kyuu, why we are asking you this" continued Dan-sensei
"But.. why.."
"Nanami," said Dan-sensei.
Nanami-sensei produced a laptop and placed it on the bed so that Kyuu could see the clip that was being played. It looked like footage from a security camera.
"What you see here is the situation inside the hospital about an hour ago. As you can see, the hospital is under attack by an as of yet unknown group. We believe they are responsible for the riot earlier today."
The grainy clip showed the scene at the reception area. Several armed men were holding the hospital staff hostage while others were proceeding, with heavy artillery, to other parts of the hospital.
"What is the situation now? Is everyone alright?"
Nanami sensei looked away, with an ashamed look on his face.
"We were forced to escape from the hospital. Staying would have meant endangering your lives."
"Lets focus on the clip" said Katagiri-sensei in a slight, trembling voice Kyuu had never heard her use before.
The screen now showed the open doors of an elevator. He could see several flashes in the darkened hallway beyond. A fight must've been going on for some time. Suddenly, he saw an unnaturally tall figure enter the screen. It looked like the figure was carrying someone on his shoulder. A second figure entered the screen. Kyuu's eyes widened as he recognized the second figure's brisk, stiff way of walking while alarm bells went off in his mind. The two figures entered the elevator and Kyuu's mouth fell open in shock. It was Anubis, and on his shoulder was an unconscious Meg. The Ryuu in the clip had that same unidentifiable cold look in his eyes.
"No way.. " mumbled Kyuu. He looked straight at Dan-sensei expectantly.
"This is all a joke right? This is all a trick. Just like Kirisaki island. Heh.. right?"
The three teachers had never seemed so imposing in his life. He looked at the empty screen of the laptop. Wishing. Praying that he'd wake up form this nightmare.
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Ryuu let out the breath he'd been holding and stared at his reflection in the dark glass of the airport lounge. He could not believe that it had already been four years. Four years since he started DDS. Four years since he abandoned Pluro. Four years since he met her.
His hair, which he had grown out, hung in a ponytail reaching his mid-back except for a few strands which framed his tired face. He still had not changed out of the black collared shirt which he had on from morning. All in all, he looked like he had been to hell and back. Which was not really far from how he was feeling at the moment.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see the source of his confusion smiling softly at him with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand. He envied the fact that Kingsley had brought a small overnight bag for Meg. She had been able to wash up and was now in a clean set of clothes.
When he did have a chance to ask the man about this. He shrugged and answered bluntly that they had done this several times before. He was not particularly chatty when Ryuu had tried to get some information form him. It was obvious that friend or not, that man still did not trust Ryuu.
As she handed him the warm polystyrene cup, her fingers brushed his. She didn't blush like she used to, having been around him for such a long time. He caught the scent of jasmine. Something twisted in his stomach and as she turned away, he didn't regret the fact that he found her smell more inviting than the aroma of coffee.
He took a sip of the dark liquid and proceeded to join her at the seating area. Anubis had vanished earlier on, claiming to have some urgent phone calls to make. Kingsley had purchased two tickets to some unknown destination beforehand. They were now waiting for their flight to be announced. A sudden pang stabbed his heart. He was going to miss her, above all things. He also felt anxious. Would DDS track them here? How much did they know? Would they somehow manage to stop the flight?
"How's the coffee?" she asked from beside him. He was unaware that he had drifted off for so long. She was trying to make conversation.
"Good, you remembered that I like it black."
"Yea.. I suppose I cant actually forget.."
He was never a fan of idle chit chat. But somehow he had an urgent need for her to speak to him in any way possible. He realized that he might never see her again after tonight. And that alone made it enough for him to want to hear her voice, even if it would be his last. But, how exactly do you place four years of emotions, experiences and unsaid thoughts into a single conversation?
"It really isn't going to be Class Q without you" he said
She laughed softly. "You guys will be alright,"
"It wont be the same though. Remember how it was when we first joined? When we were all rivals?"
She nodded. "We wouldn't have gotten to where we are now if it wasn't for Kyuu,"
Her eyes suddenly misted over as if she was trying to reach out for some long ago memory. He felt a tightness in his chest, like someone was clenching his arteries and making it hard for him to breathe. He just had to ask..
"Did you ever… you know… like him?"
She met his eyes for a moment and looked away. Anxiety built up in him as he felt the beast inside him growing restless. She deliberately took her time to answer, carefully forming each sentence. He was not sure he could look at her again if she confirmed his fears.
"I wasn't really sure at first. We were fourteen back then. Everything was just pretend. Looking back now, I can honestly say I was rather flittery when it came to that,"
Flittery? Somehow, he was not so sure she was only referring to Kyuu alone.
"But no. I never saw Kyuu as anything more than one of my best friends."
"Oh, I see," he hoped she didn't notice the slightly hitched tone of his voice. It was getting hard to contain himself when the beast inside him was doing its own victory dance.
"But you could have told us…"
He did not need her to continue. He knew what she was talking about.
What about her? The beast argued
Don't you think she 'could have told you' about herself?
"At the beginning, I did not trust any of you nearly enough with this secret. As time went on, and our hatred for Pluto intensified, I felt like I was fighting a loosing battle with myself. In the end, I decided it would be better if you never knew. Even when I did break all ties with Pluto."
He looked at her. "I'm sure you can understand,"
The coffee was getting cold. But neither of them seemed to notice. She then said softly..
"I was under orders. Never, under any circumstances, was I allowed to reveal my identity. I learned a long time ago that even the slightest of misplaced information can lead to horrible things,"
She was visibly shaking now.
"People have died in the name of my family. My uncles, cousins, all gone for the sake of some stupid hidden treasure!"
Her voice began to break. He could take no more of this. He placed the coffee on the seat beside him and gathered her into his arms. She leaned her head in the crook of his neck and sniffed softly. He rubbed her arms and whispered into her ear.
"Shh.. I'm here.. It'll be ok.."
He had absolutely no idea what had inspired this sudden act of boldness. Wasn't this what friends did? Comfort each other in their times of need? If this was four years ago, Kinta might have hit him on the head for doing such a thing. And then begin tease and josh him profoundly. He knew from experience.
But this was different. They were older now, over the past few months things had gotten pretty serious between Kyuu, Meg and himself. And although he'd hate to admit it, he noticed Kyuu's expression would darken suddenly whenever he would refer to Meg and himself in the same sentence. All of them knew, a confrontation was inevitable.
"I don't want to leave. Not when I just got to know you guys. Life is so unfair," she said, her breath ghosting over the base of his neck.
"Maybe it's just the two of us," he said softly. Sure she'd heard it. "Maybe its destiny,"
She lifted her head and looked at him. Pink met silver. If this was a typical movie, they'd be kissing passionately by now. However, he was slightly irked when she pulled away, her brow furrowed. Having dislodged herself from him completely, she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat. She looked like she was pondering something.
"This is just too big of a coincidence,"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean.." she said slowly,"…my sister is murdered, leaving me the only heir. Then Anubis magically shows up claiming to want to help me and I am introduced albeit shockingly to Pluto's heir?"
"You don't actually think I have anything to do with this do you?" he said, his hackles rising.
"How should I know? As far as I can tell, your pall over there could be stringing the both of us along,"
He felt slightly relieved she wasn't mad at him but he was not sated just yet.
"Then what the hell was all that Anubis-san for?" he sneered
"Its called deceiving the enemy," she snapped. A sudden smirk crossed her features and she leaned forward and said in a low, even, voice
"You know.. I think this is the most eventful non-mystery related conversation we've had since joining DDS,"
Kami.. this girl changes her mood faster than the weather on a cloudy day.
And he could not stop his mind from thinking of ways to make this conversation even more interesting. Good lord, since when had he become such a lecherous pig? He could not help it. Enough with the fact that her clothes emphasized every one of her natural assets, her voice alone could do things to even the coldest of men.
He had noticed this fact about a year ago when he stumbled on her flirting with a police officer. The poor man was smitten and ended up presenting her with the crime scene photos they needed. Ever since then, he had been wondering what it would feel like if she would flirt so willingly with him.
"We have to leave" came Kingsley's deep voice from behind them.
Indeed, the plane was already boarding.
"Give me five minutes, okay?"
The man only grunted in response and walked away.
"So... this is goodbye," she said, standing in front of him
"I promise I'll e-mail.."
"Don't," he found the words hard to say "If Kazuma can track your location on the net, so can whoever is after you. Its for your own good."
She flung her arms around him and wrapped him in a tight hug. It broke his heart to hear her say things like 'I'm going to miss you so much' and 'Don't you ever forget me' into his shirt. If he could decide on her behalf, he'd hold her tight and never let her go.
It was now or never, if he did not take the plunge now, he never would. And that would be the worst mistake of his life. He cupped her chin and gently made her face him. Her face was tear streaked.
The last thing she remembered was looking into his half-lidded eyes before he brought his lips to hers. The contact sent jolts of pure electricity through her body. He was chaste at first, planting small, brief, butterfly kisses. She wanted more, she wanted to let him feel all the emotions she had kept to herself since the day she met him. She wanted him to know for himself exactly how he made her feel.
His heart leapt when she pushed herself forward and pressed her lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and pulled her closer to him, gradually becoming more daring with his ministrations. He was in heaven. And she was his angel. He'd give anything for time to stop. For them to be whisked away into a world of their own where they could be free of everything. Of Pluto, DDS and all the other calamities of life.
The need for oxygen overpowered them and they pulled away, breathing heavily. He found that his ponytail had come loose and smirked to himself with the knowledge that she wasn't as docile as she looked. Her arms were on his chest and his were perched on her waist. He imagined what a picture they must've made and couldn't be dammed if the entire DDS were staring at them at that very moment.
"Ryuu-kun… I.."
He placed his fingers on her lips and smiled sadly. The time had come. At least they had made things right before that. Explanations and apologies ruined the mood. Besides, he didn't want her to feel sorry for what they had done.
"Go," he whispered. "We'll see each other some day, I promise."
She smiled and nodded enthusiastically,
"I'll come back. And we'll all be together again"
He removed his arms and she backed away form him slowly. He couldn't stop her now. She would not be safe staying here. She was almost at the gates when she turned around and shouted
"Ryuu-kun! Wait!"
She approached him and placed something in his hand.
"Remember me..okay?"
She then turned around and ran through the gates towards Kingsley, never once looking back.
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She could never leave him. The plane was speeding down the runway. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she fingered the DDS notebook in her hands. It was for the best. She pulled out a photo that was tucked between the pages of the small leather bound book. It was the five of them together. The clutched the photo to her heart.
It was for the best.
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Kyuu looked out of the window of the DDS building in time to see the tiny flickering lights of a plane in the distance. What he had learned about his two best friends in the past half an hour shook him to the core.
Suddenly, the dream didn't seem so alien at all.
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Ryuu clutched the tiny necklace as he stared blankly into space. Where would he go form here? What on earth was he going to tell them when he got back to DDS? Would they even believe him?
Would anything ever be the same again?
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The tall man smirked from the shadows as he observed the two teenagers break form their embrace. Ryuu-sama really did care deeply for the girl.
His plan would work just perfectly.
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The end!!
Reviews please??
I really hate to end the story with a cliffhanger but I've had this idea swimming around in my mind for a long time. I'd like to thank several people for their support in this story. First of all, the lovely Mia Frizpatrik for her beautiful Flame of Recca fanfics. Secondly to my reviewers, Mask Rider Roy and LineLLe18silentDzyre I dedicate this chapter to you.
asianpearl