Okay, here is the next chapter. But please read the announcement on my profile, its really important. This is the last chapter I may be able to post for the next week or two and the announcement will explain why.
Red Rose
Chapter 13
Masaki's pace quickened, his senses becoming more intense. Zoe was nearby, and all he had to do now was follow where his sensors led him.
She's really close, he thought to himself. I'm almost there...
He headed towards a gift shop and entered, making sure his hood was up. He pretended to browse around, glancing at his surroundings every now and again.
"Takuya, what do you think about this?" Zoe held up a stuffed bear. "Do you think that Nana will like it?"
Takuya scratched his head. "Uh...I dunno. What do girls usually like?"
Zoe thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Don't know to be honest with you. I've never really shopped for anyone before..."
I can imagine, Masaki thought, subtlely peering over his shoulder.
At the other end of the store, he saw a young couple. The guy had chestnut brown hair, chocolate-colored eyes, and his skin was slightly tanned. He had on blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket.
"Well, she'll probably like it," Takuya said. "I mean, she doesn't seem like the picky type."
Zoe smiled. "Good, then we'll get this for her."
Masaki stared at the girl with intensity in his eyes. She was without a doubt the same girl Kakuzawa had shown him in the photograph. She had long, shiny blond hair, and piercing emerald eyes. The two lavender ribbons in her hair were undeniably covering her horns. Or what was left of them at least. By her lack of reaction to his presence, it became clear that she was not aware of who he was...or what he was for that matter....
He watched as the couple made their way to the cash register, and the guy, who Zoe had called 'Takuya', took his wallet out. After they paid, they exited the store, hand-in-hand.
Masaki smirked. Now that I have found her, I already know one of her weaknesses. That guy she's with obviously means something to her. Therefore, if she gives me any problems later on, I know exactly how to hurt her...
He followed them out after another minute, making sure to keep his distance. However, when he saw them pause, he moved in between two buildings to keep out of sight.
Takuya looked at Zoe. "Are you okay?"
Zoe didn't reply at first, and her face was tense. She was shifting her eyes from side to side, and her grip on his hand tightened slightly.
"Is something wrong?" Takuya asked quietly, trying not to look suspicious.
"...No, nothing's wrong," the blond finally replied. "Let's just go home."
Takuya continued to scan their surroundings as they walked. "Is there someone nearby? Or is it just your paranoia kicking in?"
"I'm not sure," she answered in a low voice. "Takuya, listen to me. Go home and I'll meet you there in a half hour."
"What? Why?" He frowned. "Something's going on. What is it?"
Zoe sighed. "I think someone might be following us."
The brunette's eyes widened. "What?"
"This is why I want you to go alone. Just in case," she said.
"Zoe, I'm not leaving you," he hissed.
The Diclonius shot a warning look at him and gently freed her hand from his. "Takuya, trust me on this one. I'll be back. I just don't want anyone following you back to your house, okay?"
Takuya didn't look convinced. "I don't know about this. What if-"
Zoe cut him off, giving him a light kiss on his lips. "Trust me. I'll be fine."
With that, she headed into a different direction, while a defeated Takuya continued to walk back home. Masaki slipped out of the shadows and followed Zoe, cautious. Even if the girl's sensors didn't work, she definitely seemed like the type who would keep her guard up at all times.
Just then, Kanae jogged over to him. "Did you find her?"
"Shh!" Masaki glared at her. "Keep quiet and stay away from me. I don't want to look suspicious."
Kanae snorted. "Suspicious? You look like a damn mugger in that get-up."
Zoe disappeared behind a corner, and Masaki sped up to catch up a bit. Kanae followed suit, catching a glimpse of the girl.
"Was that her?" She asked quietly.
"Yes, now make sure you don't let her see you," Masaki hissed.
Meanwhile, Zoe broke out into a jog, and she could vaguely sense other Dicloniuses around her for split seconds.
"Shit, someone's here," she muttered. "I have to get them off my trail."
She ran behind a building, and cut through an alley. She came out into a small, deserted parking lot, surrounded by a chain-link fence.
"Okay, here it goes," Zoe said to herself.
She fused her eyes shut and concentrated, trying her best to switch to her other personality. In that state, she would remain undetected, and the others would not be able to sense her.
"Come on," she groaned.
A familiar sharp pain burned through her skull as she continued to concentrate. She felt light-headed, but kept it up as hard as she could. With a pained cry, she fell to her knees.
After a moment, the pain subsided, and she had managed to change to her child-like persona.
"Takuya?" She looked around, frightened to be alone.
With a nervous whimper, she came back through the way she had entered and ended up at the center of town once again. Luckily, Kouichi was on his way home, and he spotted her immediately.
"Hey, Zoe. Where's Takuya?" He asked, coming up to her.
The blond made a sad face. "Takuya? Home?"
Kouichi's eyes widened, surprised. "He went home without you?"
"Home," she repeated, tugging on his arm.
"Okay, let's go home and get this straightened out," he said to her. "I'm sure there's a reason why Takuya went home without you."
The two of them headed towards Takuya's house, while Masaki and Kanae frantically looked around town.
"Where is she?" Masaki's eyes darkened. "I stopped sensing her about two minutes ago. Where could she have gone?"
"Maybe she hopped onto a plane," Kanae quipped.
The male Diclonius whipped around, enraged. "If you hadn't slowed me down, I wouldn't have lost her!"
"Eh, calm down," she replied carelessly. "Besides, she's way too smart to be fooled by you."
Masaki's hands clenched into fists. "She didn't fool me. She got away. There's a difference, and if you had just gone a different route like I told you to, we might still be on her trail."
"We'll find her again," Kanae said.
"Yes, but she'll be more cautious and paranoid." He felt his hood slip off a bit and adjusted it. "Kakuzawa isn't going to be very happy when we tell him."
Kanae rolled her eyes. "Don't tell him, then. Cock-Uzawa will just have a hissy fit and think we're plotting against him. What he doesn't know won't kill him."
Masaki only sighed, clearly annoyed.
"Come on, let's just get something to eat," Kanae said. "I'm friggen hungry."
She turned and began to make her way towards a small cafe, then glanced back at Masaki.
"Are you coming?" She called out.
Masaki took one last look around, then followed the pink-haired girl with a groan. He had lost Zoe. But he would be damned if he allowed that to happen again....
Twenty minutes later
"Oh, good. You came back," Takuya said, grateful that Zoe had returned with Kouichi.
"Takuya!" Zoe happily jumped into his arms, snuggling up against him.
The brunette's eyes widened and he looked at Kouichi. "Uh, why is she like this?"
Kouichi shrugged, putting his bag down. "I don't know. I just found her like that. She was looking for you and seemed scared. Why did you leave her?"
"I didn't leave her," Takuya replied. "She thought we were being followed so she told me to go home and that she would catch up. Trust me, I wasn't happy about that."
"Do you think she got hurt then?" Kouichi asked.
Takuya sighed and shifted Zoe, who was in the process of poking his cheek. "She must've if she's in that state...We'll ask her when she snaps out of it. Should only take a few hours or maybe if she falls asleep soon."
Zoe smiled and jumped out of his arms, then picked up Kouichi's game, studying it.
"Is my emo brother back?" He asked with a smirk.
"Fuck you, man." Kouji walked through the doorway, giving his twin a rude gesture.
The blond gave Kouichi his game back, then began to play with her shirt. She started to lift it up, not realizing what she was doing.
"Shit!" Takuya grabbed the bottom of her shirt to keep her from lifting it all the way up, his face red.
"Aw, come on, Takuya." Kouji chuckled. "Why did you do that?"
His friend glared at him. "Oh, shut up. You know why."
Kouji shook his head with a smirk, then looked at his brother. "So, what game did you get?"
Kouichi proudly held his game up for everyone to see, a huge grin on his face.
"What? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?! Can I play it?" Kouji asked.
"Screw you. I bought it, so I'm playing it first. Then Takuya can because it's his Playstation 3," the older twin said. "You can have a turn when we're tired of it."
Kouji sulked, then sank down onto the couch. "Bastard...."
"Takuya?" Zoe put her hands on his shoulders.
"Yes, Zoe?" He looked with amusement. "Would you like a cookie?"
Instead of the reply he was expecting, she squeezed his shoulders and fused her eyes shut.
"Zoe? What's wrong?" He asked her, nervous.
The blond didn't answer, but simply groaned as the burning pain seared through her cranium. Takuya, unsure of what to say, helped her sit down and held her close. Luckily, the burning quickly subsided, as it had earlier.
"Zoe?" Takuya brushed her hair out of her face. "Are you okay?"
After a moment, Zoe looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm okay. And I guess it worked."
"What worked?" He helped her stand back up, confused.
"My plan," she explained. "You see, Nana told me that she couldn't sense me when I was in that child-like state. I vaguely sensed that there was at least on other Diclonius around and catching up to me. So, to throw them off, I concentrated and reverted to that state. It must've worked or else they would've found me by now."
"So, you didn't get hurt?" Takuya asked.
Zoe shook her head. "No, I'm fine. And I concentrated just now to see if I could get back to normal. Apparently I can now revert back and forth if I try hard enough. This will come in handy if I need to make a quick getaway."
Kouji made a face. "So, they sent another Diclonius after you?"
"Looks like it," she replied. "This is why I was worried about staying here. I don't want to see anyone get hurt."
"Well, I'll make sure nothing happens to you," Takuya said. "We'll worry about it later. Just stay in the house for the next few days, okay?"
Zoe nodded, too drained to argue. "I'm going to go rest on the couch."
"And I'll be playing my awesome new game!" Kouichi excitedly put his game into the system.
"I get to go next," Takuya reminded him.
"I know. Now shut up."
Later that day
"Why did Mr. Okamoro have to give us so much homework?" Tommy grumbled.
He and Nana were on their way to Takuya's house, looking over one of the worksheets their math teacher had given to them. They had three sheets altogether, as well as thirty questions from their math books.
"Well, it shouldn't be too bad," Nana said, skimming over the problems. "Hopefully it'll only take us an hour or so."
"Maybe," Tommy replied with a sigh.
He looked around, and noticed that the street was completely empty. Then again, it wasn't normally the busiest street anyway.
"And we have homework in science, too." Tommy rolled his eyes, not looking forward to the assignments. "I swear, they need to ease up on the homework. It's bad enough that we're stuck inside all day."
"I don't think it's that bad," Nana said. "But I also haven't been there long enough to find it annoying..."
Just then, a gust of wind ripped Nana's worksheet out of her hand.
"Oh, no!" She ran after it, then glanced over her shoulder. "Be right back!"
"Uh, okay!" Tommy called over. "I'll just wait here."
As Nana attempted to retrieve the paper, a familiar silver car pulled up beside Tommy. Before Tommy could scream, Kiyoto had rolled the window down and pointed a gun at him.
"Get in," he commanded.
Tommy's eyes widened in horror and he froze.
"Get in!" Kiyoto screamed, clicking the safety off.
The boy oblidged, slowly entering the car. Right as he closed the door, Nana grabbed hold of her homework and looked back to where Tommy was.
"Tommy?" She frowned, hurrying over to him. "What are you doing in that car?"
Kiyoto fired at her, then sped off with Tommy in the passenger seat. Nana yelped and dove out of the way, the bullet grazing the hem of her skirt.
"Tommy!" She called out, watching as the car disappeared from sight. "Oh, god! His stepfather got him..."
In a panic, she began to run towards Tommy's old house, hoping that she wouldn't be too late.
Oh no! That bastard kidnapped Tommy! Will Nana get to them in time?! Will she even remember where the house is?! Will I ever stop asking these stupid questions?! Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out the first two answers. For the last, the answer is 'no'!
And my good friend Kyosuke Nanbu sent me a horrible message, so I decided to post it to let everyone know what's going on.
" hello everyone, Kyosuke here! A few Days Ago, I got beat up pretty bad and 3 of my limbs got paralyzed, my left arm and both of my legs. Anyway, I am kind of recovering now, because i can walk, But My arm Is still very weak. Doctors said It might be serious.... And they said that I have to be very Happy and Cheerful, Because if I lose motivation, They said my arm won't heal, And I am pretty bummed out...... There is a chance that might happen, which means......I have to quit Fanfiction....... So everyone, Don't be surprised if I stop to update, Cuz I am really down.............. Hope I get alright! Keep up your stories guys! see ya "
So let's all wish the best for our friend Kyosuke and hope he makes a healthy recovery. He will be in my best wishes in the meantime. Bye guys and thanks for your support.