Chapter One:
She was shocked to find police cars in front of their house when she got home that evening. There was no mistaking the black and white paint and blaring red lights even from a distance. A cold, uneasy feeling crept down her spine as she watched as though nailed to the spot.
"Usagi, look!" Luna cried, surprised to find a sight in front of the Tsukino residence.
"What's happening?" Usagi asked as she stopped in the middle of the road to watch the commotion.
"We'd better go in, Usagi! Someone must be hurt!" the black cat told her as it made it's way to the house leaving a suddenly terrified Usagi to try and gather her courage before running for her house.
She was always terrified with situations like these because she's not prepared! A youma she could handle any day but this...
"Hey, Miss! Where do you think you're going?!" a gruff voice asked her as she tried to make it through the gate. She found a uniformed policeman frowning at her. It only made the bad feeling worse and she started to tremble. "No civilians allowed!"
"I live here!" she blurted out from trembling lips. "What's happening officer? Did someone in my family got hurt? Is it my dad?! My mom?!"
The policeman shook his head and the look on his face softened. "Iie. I think someone's been kidnapped. A boy I think."
She paled and felt as though a bucket of ice water was poured over her head and lodged in her heart.
"Shingo..." she whispered in a terrified voice. Her eyes shining with suppressed panic.
Iie! O negai, Kami, no! Not her brother! Sure they had their differences and he can be an annoying, pesky little brat but he was still her little brother!
Her bag dropped from her suddenly boneless fingers as she ran for the house almost tripping in the entry way in her haste. Inside were more policemen and she found three of them questioning her parents. Others were doing something to the telephone lines. Chibi Chibi was sleeping innocently on the couch beside them. Blissfully unaware of all the commotion around her. Luna sat beside her staring at all the strangers with a horrified look in her eyes and Usagi saw that Luna was trying hard not to speak.
"We don't know who they are!" she heard her mother sobbing. "They called about an hour ago and told us they have our son then they instructed us to wait another hour for more details!"
"O negai, help us. Our son..." her father broke off as her mother started to cry harder.
"Tousan... Kaasan..." she whispered in a broken voice.
Her parents and the policemen questioning them looked up to see her ashen face looking at them.
"Usagi..." Her mother stood and walked up to her. Her tears falling with every step she took. Her pain out in the open for all to see. She was hurting. She'd never seen her okaasan hurting like this before... "Shingo didn't come home from soccer practice on time today. It didn't worry me at first but... some men called here and told me that they have your otouto! I heard his voice crying out for me from the other line... Usagi..."
She leaned her head against her daughter's shoulder and, sobbing hard, held her close. All Usagi could do was stare wide eyed ahead of her and hug her weeping mother trying to comfort her with her touch if not with words. She was too shocked to cry.
Suddenly, the phone rang. The policemen took their places and immediately attended a device they connected to the phone before they gave her father the signal to pick up the receiver. With shaking fingers, he did so.
"Hello?" he asked in a quavering voice and Usagi tried to listen closer. While trying to keep her mother quiet.
A muffled but decidedly mocking voice came from the other line. "I want you to drop your exposé on Takatori Reiji if you want to see your son alive again, Tsukino! I already warned you but you were too stubborn. I'll tell you when and where to deliver all your photos and negatives when I'm ready. Don't bother collaborating with the police either if you know what's good for your darling baby boy. No funny stuff, Tsukino or I'll send your little boy's head to you in a sack! So don't make me mad. Ciao."
"Matte! I want to speak to my son!" his father cried out as a policeman instructed him silently to stall the caller but the line was abruptly cut off.
The guy manning the device she now understood as a call tracer, shook his head when the others looked at him. "We didn't have enough time. They must be farther from here than we thought."
"What did they say?!" her mother immediately asked her father from Usagi's embrace. Her whole body visibly trembling.
He shook his head and whispered as though in a state of shock. "Oh, Kami... If I only knew that story and those photographs will come to this, I shouldn't have taken them! I shouldn't have gotten involved!"
"What story, tousan? What photographs?!" Usagi asked, unable to believe that her father would actually make any enemies. He was a kind, good natured man with hardly anything bad to say to anyone, although he was too fond of that shotgun when it came to any guy who came within ten feet of her! Hearing him involved in some kind of dark business was unthinkable!
"It's better you didn't know, bunny." Her father said shaking his head. "The less you know the farther you are from danger."
"My baby!" her mother sobbed on her chest.
"We'll do more investigating, sir, ma'm. We'll be questioning the adult your son was last seen with."
"W- who is it?" Usagi heard her kaasan ask.
"His soccer coach. Mr. Hideka Ken."
Hideka Ken...
Other than that piece of information, there was nothing more she could hear because her mother's sobs just became heart wrenching wails that almost deafened her as she tried to console her by rubbing her back. Suddenly, her mother stiffened in her arms. Usagi noticed that her lips were becoming pale and that her skin was starting to get cold!
"I- I can't move...!" she choked wide eyed in panic as her tears fell.
"Kaasan!" Usagi screamed as her mother fell back on to the couch.
One of the officers immediately came forward while her father was quickly beside her mother rubbing her palms, trying to warm her. "Honey?! Honey, please, it's okay! We'll get our baby back, I promise you! Please, honey!!"
"Kaasan! What's happening to her, dad?!!" she asked her tears falling freely as she knelt by her mother's side. "O negai, please be okay! I love you, kaasan!"
"She's having a nervous seizure. We have to get her to a hospital." The policeman told them as he finished examining her mother. "Come with us, we'll take you to a hospital nearby."
"Hai, arigato." Her father said as he scooped his wife into his arms. "Usagi, take care of Chibi Chibi while I'm gone."
Usagi shook her head. "Iie, I'm taking her with us. We need to be together now."
Her father smiled at her gratefully. "Hai."
She was shocked to find police cars in front of their house when she got home that evening. There was no mistaking the black and white paint and blaring red lights even from a distance. A cold, uneasy feeling crept down her spine as she watched as though nailed to the spot.
"Usagi, look!" Luna cried, surprised to find a sight in front of the Tsukino residence.
"What's happening?" Usagi asked as she stopped in the middle of the road to watch the commotion.
"We'd better go in, Usagi! Someone must be hurt!" the black cat told her as it made it's way to the house leaving a suddenly terrified Usagi to try and gather her courage before running for her house.
She was always terrified with situations like these because she's not prepared! A youma she could handle any day but this...
"Hey, Miss! Where do you think you're going?!" a gruff voice asked her as she tried to make it through the gate. She found a uniformed policeman frowning at her. It only made the bad feeling worse and she started to tremble. "No civilians allowed!"
"I live here!" she blurted out from trembling lips. "What's happening officer? Did someone in my family got hurt? Is it my dad?! My mom?!"
The policeman shook his head and the look on his face softened. "Iie. I think someone's been kidnapped. A boy I think."
She paled and felt as though a bucket of ice water was poured over her head and lodged in her heart.
"Shingo..." she whispered in a terrified voice. Her eyes shining with suppressed panic.
Iie! O negai, Kami, no! Not her brother! Sure they had their differences and he can be an annoying, pesky little brat but he was still her little brother!
Her bag dropped from her suddenly boneless fingers as she ran for the house almost tripping in the entry way in her haste. Inside were more policemen and she found three of them questioning her parents. Others were doing something to the telephone lines. Chibi Chibi was sleeping innocently on the couch beside them. Blissfully unaware of all the commotion around her. Luna sat beside her staring at all the strangers with a horrified look in her eyes and Usagi saw that Luna was trying hard not to speak.
"We don't know who they are!" she heard her mother sobbing. "They called about an hour ago and told us they have our son then they instructed us to wait another hour for more details!"
"O negai, help us. Our son..." her father broke off as her mother started to cry harder.
"Tousan... Kaasan..." she whispered in a broken voice.
Her parents and the policemen questioning them looked up to see her ashen face looking at them.
"Usagi..." Her mother stood and walked up to her. Her tears falling with every step she took. Her pain out in the open for all to see. She was hurting. She'd never seen her okaasan hurting like this before... "Shingo didn't come home from soccer practice on time today. It didn't worry me at first but... some men called here and told me that they have your otouto! I heard his voice crying out for me from the other line... Usagi..."
She leaned her head against her daughter's shoulder and, sobbing hard, held her close. All Usagi could do was stare wide eyed ahead of her and hug her weeping mother trying to comfort her with her touch if not with words. She was too shocked to cry.
Suddenly, the phone rang. The policemen took their places and immediately attended a device they connected to the phone before they gave her father the signal to pick up the receiver. With shaking fingers, he did so.
"Hello?" he asked in a quavering voice and Usagi tried to listen closer. While trying to keep her mother quiet.
A muffled but decidedly mocking voice came from the other line. "I want you to drop your exposé on Takatori Reiji if you want to see your son alive again, Tsukino! I already warned you but you were too stubborn. I'll tell you when and where to deliver all your photos and negatives when I'm ready. Don't bother collaborating with the police either if you know what's good for your darling baby boy. No funny stuff, Tsukino or I'll send your little boy's head to you in a sack! So don't make me mad. Ciao."
"Matte! I want to speak to my son!" his father cried out as a policeman instructed him silently to stall the caller but the line was abruptly cut off.
The guy manning the device she now understood as a call tracer, shook his head when the others looked at him. "We didn't have enough time. They must be farther from here than we thought."
"What did they say?!" her mother immediately asked her father from Usagi's embrace. Her whole body visibly trembling.
He shook his head and whispered as though in a state of shock. "Oh, Kami... If I only knew that story and those photographs will come to this, I shouldn't have taken them! I shouldn't have gotten involved!"
"What story, tousan? What photographs?!" Usagi asked, unable to believe that her father would actually make any enemies. He was a kind, good natured man with hardly anything bad to say to anyone, although he was too fond of that shotgun when it came to any guy who came within ten feet of her! Hearing him involved in some kind of dark business was unthinkable!
"It's better you didn't know, bunny." Her father said shaking his head. "The less you know the farther you are from danger."
"My baby!" her mother sobbed on her chest.
"We'll do more investigating, sir, ma'm. We'll be questioning the adult your son was last seen with."
"W- who is it?" Usagi heard her kaasan ask.
"His soccer coach. Mr. Hideka Ken."
Hideka Ken...
Other than that piece of information, there was nothing more she could hear because her mother's sobs just became heart wrenching wails that almost deafened her as she tried to console her by rubbing her back. Suddenly, her mother stiffened in her arms. Usagi noticed that her lips were becoming pale and that her skin was starting to get cold!
"I- I can't move...!" she choked wide eyed in panic as her tears fell.
"Kaasan!" Usagi screamed as her mother fell back on to the couch.
One of the officers immediately came forward while her father was quickly beside her mother rubbing her palms, trying to warm her. "Honey?! Honey, please, it's okay! We'll get our baby back, I promise you! Please, honey!!"
"Kaasan! What's happening to her, dad?!!" she asked her tears falling freely as she knelt by her mother's side. "O negai, please be okay! I love you, kaasan!"
"She's having a nervous seizure. We have to get her to a hospital." The policeman told them as he finished examining her mother. "Come with us, we'll take you to a hospital nearby."
"Hai, arigato." Her father said as he scooped his wife into his arms. "Usagi, take care of Chibi Chibi while I'm gone."
Usagi shook her head. "Iie, I'm taking her with us. We need to be together now."
Her father smiled at her gratefully. "Hai."