Alright, so I'm back from my weekend of being completely wasted. Now it's time to relax and introduce the chapter. *sits back with a bowl of ramen and a pair of chopsticks*
Takuya: Oh, can I have some?
me: No, this is mine. Get your own. *begins to eat*
Takuya: You're mean.... *wanders away*
me: *shrugs and continues to eat* I now present chapter 16!
Red Rose
Chapter 16
Zoe continued to look around, her eyes wide and alert. It had been about four minutes since she had hung up with Takuya, so the others should be arriving soon. Although neither she nor Nana had been able to sense any other Dicloniuses, she wasn't any less paranoid.
"Something wrong?" Nana asked, a look of concern on her face.
"No, I'm fine," Zoe quickly replied. "Just keeping a lookout for the guys. They should be here any minute now."
As if on cue, Takuya and Tommy came rushing over out of nowhere, Tommy nearly knocking Nana over as he embraced her.
"Nana, are you okay?" He asked, holding onto her tightly.
"I'm fine," she replied. "But I... can't breathe..."
"Oh, sorry." He released her, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I was really worried about you..."
Nana looked down, somewhat embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry for running off.... You're not mad at me, are you?"
"No, of course not," Tommy told her. "Why would I be?"
As the two of them conversed, Takuya moved over to Zoe and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.
"You didn't run into any trouble, did you?" He asked.
"No, but...." Zoe hesitated, then sighed. "I'm not sure, but there may have been someone following Nana and me."
Takuya's chocolate-colored eyes widened in surprise. "Are they still around?"
The blond thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I can't sense anyone, and neither can Nana."
"Well, if you were being followed, you must've lost them," he said.
Tommy turned to look at them, his face grim. "I uh...I think I'll head to the hospital right now to see how my mother is doing. Nana's coming with me."
"Do you want me to come with you, too?" Takuya asked.
The younger boy looked down and nodded. "Yeah, would you mind?"
"No, not at all. Zoe, do you want to go with us as well?" Takuya asked her.
"I don't think that would be such a good idea," Zoe told him. "I think I'd rather avoid going to places like those. They're too...high-profile for my liking. Going into town is one thing, but to go to the hospital just wouldn't be very smart. Someone might recognize me."
Before Takuya could respond, Kouji and Kouichi walked up to them.
"So, we found her, huh?" Kouji asked.
"No, Zoe found her," Kouichi pointed out.
The long-haired twin threw his brother an annoyed look. "You know what I mean, asshole."
Kouichi snickered, then looked at Takuya. "So now what? We going back to your place?"
Takuya shook his head. "No, I'm going to the hospital with Tommy and Nana. We're going to see how Tommy's mother is doing."
"Oh, okay." Kouichi took the cell phone that Zoe had handed to him, pocketing it. "I'll pick up some pizza then. You guys can eat when you get home, unless you eat while you're at the hospital."
"Yeah, we'll probably be back pretty late," Takuya said. "I'll call you to give you an update if anything happens, okay?"
"Alright. See ya later," Kouji told them.
Zoe gave Takuya peck on the cheek, then gave Tommy and Nana each a quick hug. "Bye."
"Bye," Takuya said, making his way to the bus stop with the younger teenagers. "Try not to burn the house down, Kouichi."
"One time!" Kouichi exclaimed. "That was one time when I accidentally microwaved the tin-foil! Now shut up!"
"Come on," Kouji sighed, dragging his brother away.
Kouichi groaned, wrenching himself from his brother's grip. "Okay, let go of me. Damn...."
Zoe glanced back at Takuya, then looked forward once again. The three of them made their way to their favorite pizza parlor, where Kouichi proceeded to order five pizzas.
"Isn't five a bit much?" Zoe asked, surprised.
"Well, the thing is, Takuya, Kouji, and I can eat a whole pizza to our faces if we get drunk enough," Kouichi explained. "And after what happened to Tommy, he probably needs his own, too. I figured that you and Nana can split one, unless you want your own."
The blond smirked. "Uh, no thanks. Half is more than enough for me."
"Good." Kouichi looked back at the man behind the counter. "And I would also like to add a large order of garlic bread, a large order of onion rings, a small order of chicken fingers, and uh.....Kouji, you want anything?"
"Just my sanity," Kouji mumbled.
"And his sanity," Kouichi said to the confused man, realizing what he said a second later. "Hey, that's not what I meant, you crazy emo."
Kouji rolled his eyes. "I'm not emo!"
Five minutes previous
Masaki glimpsed a blond young woman, a smile creeping onto his face. The blond was standing with a group of teenagers, most of them around her age. There was a handsome brunette, the same young man he had seen her with in the gift shop, as well as raven-haired twins. There was also a younger boy with brown hair, and a girl with purple hair. Both of the girls had ribbons on the sides of their heads, undeniably covering up their horns.
"There she is," he whispered. "That's the girl from the picture."
Kanae scanned her eyes up and down Zoe, then looked at Kouichi with surprise. "That's...that's the guy I met the other day. In the video game store. Apparently they know each other."
"This may work out better than I expected," Masaki said. "If you get to know that guy better, we may be able to get closer to Zoe and find out what she's capable of. I don't think she or the other girl can sense us, for they are not making any move to rush out of here."
The pink-haired Diclonius smiled. "I get to flirt with him, huh? Finally, something that doesn't completely suck about this mission."
"Yes, so right there should give you some motivation," he replied with a smirk. "Get close and do whatever you want with him. Just don't blow our cover. If they live together and he tells you where it is, we're in the clear."
"Can I go up to him now?" Kanae asked eagerly. "And I see that he has a twin brother, too. Nice...."
Masaki adjusted his hood. "No, not yet. Wait and see what happens before you go running over. We still have twenty minutes until we need to start heading back, so let's see if we can use this time to our advantage."
"Hey, three of them are leaving," the girl pointed out quietly.
The pair watched as the brunette boys and purple-haired girl began to walk away. Zoe and the twins remained in the same spot for another moment, before they too, walked away.
"Follow them, but don't look shady," Masaki said softly.
Kanae nodded in understanding, and they moved from their hidden spot out into the open. The trio made their way into a local pizza parlor, not noticing that they were being followed.
"Now can I?" Kanae asked as they stopped outside of the parlor. "I won't come off as suspicious or anything."
Masaki thought for a moment, then nodded. "Go ahead. Just don't be too obvious."
"I won't," the girl replied, happily making her way to the doorway.
Kanae walked into the parlor and smiled at Kouichi. "Hey, long time no see."
Kouichi turned around, his eyes wide. "Kanae?"
The young man with the bandana looked at his brother with a quizzical expression. "That's Kanae?"
"Yeah, that would be her," Kouichi replied, then turned his attention back to the girl. "Funny seeing you here."
Kanae's face furrowed into a slight frown. "How's that funny?"
"No, it's just an expression," Kouichi said, his face turning a shade of red. "I just...didn't expect to see you again. Or at least, not for awhile."
"Oh, I get it," Kanae teased. "You were dreading the day that you would see me again."
"What? No. What I mean is-," Kouichi was cut off by a shove from his brother.
"Don't mind him. He's just not used to talking to attractive girls," Kouji said monotonely.
Kouichi glared at the younger twin. "Oh, shut up! Kanae, this is Kouji, my annoying brother. Sorry about his behavior. He hasn't had his medication today."
Kanae nodded at Kouji. "Hello."
"And this is my friend, Zoe," Kouichi added, gesturing to the blond.
Zoe, whose eyes had a mysterious glint in them, smiled at the pink-haired girl. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, Kouichi's told us sooo much about you," Kouji said to Kanae with emphasis.
Kouichi was about to hit Kouji, when Zoe stepped in between them. "Uh, why don't we leave these two alone, Kouji? Let's go see if we can find Tommy a gift to cheer him up."
"Yes, why don't you go?" Kouichi growled at his brother, venom in his voice.
Kouji shrugged indifferently, then followed Zoe out of the pizza parlor. Kouichi looked at Kanae, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Yeah, sorry about him. He's a bit...how should I say....mentally unstable," he told her.
"I heard that!" Kouji shouted from outside.
"Come on," Zoe sighed, dragging the long-haired twin away. "Let's go."
Kanae chuckled and twirled a lock of her hair flirtatiously. "I understand what it's like to have an annoying sibling."
"Yeah, it sucks, doesn't it?" He asked with a laugh.
"You said it. Wish I was an only child," she quipped.
Kouichi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, me too."
"Um, I was wondering....." Kanae's voice trailed off and she looked down at the floor.
"What is it?" Kouichi asked, curious.
Kanae averted her eyes back up and she sighed. "Well....I uh....I was wondering if maybe you'd like to....um.....go hang out sometime..."
Kouichi's heart did a flip-flop and he tried his best to keep a goofy grin off his face. This gorgeous girl wants to go out with me? He excitedly thought to himself. And she's not completely crazy for that matter. Even better!
"Uh, sure," he finally managed. "I'll give you my cell phone number."
He took a pen off the counter and jotted his phone number on his receipt, then handed it to her. Kanae looked at the number and smiled.
"I left my phone at my house, but I'm on my way home anyway," she explained. "I can still give you my number in the meantime. Just don't call it until after six because I won't have it before then."
"Oh, okay." Kouichi waited as she told him her number, which he typed into his cell phone. "And you spell your name as K-A-N-A-E, right?"
"No, I spell it as M-O-R-R-I-S," she joked.
Kouichi, not realizing this, typed in the name anyway, then frowned. "That's a weird way to spell 'Kanae'....oh, wait!"
"Yeah, I was only kidding," Kanae said with a laugh. "You're so cute."
The short-haired twin felt his face heat up and he smiled. "Uh, thanks...."
"Sir, your food is ready," the man behind the counter suddenly said.
"Hmm, that was fast," Kouichi mused, about to take the order.
However, the man pulled it back away. "No, never mind. Not your order, some other guy's."
"Oh," he replied simply. "Never mind then."
"So, while you wait for your food, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself," Kanae said innocently. "Maybe I'll tell you about myself when you're done...."
She crossed her arms over her chest, causing her white sweater to to unzip slightly. Her tight red tank top clung to her curves, and Kouichi's face turned a shade redder. He almost felt a nosebleed coming on.
Meanwhile
Masaki had watched Zoe and one of the twins exit the pizza parlor, then head inside a bakery.
"I think we should get Tommy a dessert or something," Zoe mused, looking at the vast display. "I would've gotten him a gift, but I have no idea what he would like. What do you think?"
"Ah nunno," Kouji replied with a mouthful of a free sample.
Zoe raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Kouji swallowed, then wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I said 'I dunno'. A dessert seems like a pretty good idea."
Masaki crept inside the large bakery, concealing himself amongst the crowd already gathered inside. His watchful eyes glanced at Zoe, all the while he pretended to browse through the selection of sweets.
"Don't know about pie...." Zoe said, thinking. "We just had cake, so he might not want that...."
"What about cookies?" Kouji suggested.
There was a large, glass case filled with assorted cookies, all of them looking delectable.
"Yeah, good idea," Zoe replied, then looked at the young woman behind the counter. "Excuse me, but could I get three dozen of assorted cookies?"
"Sure, right away," the woman replied with a nod.
As they waited for their request to be boxed up, Masaki moved in closer. He felt the lustful eyes of several women on him, but he simply ignored their stares. Right now, he was concentrated on Zoe.
All I have to do is listen closely enough and maybe she'll reveal something that could be of some use to me, he thought to himself.
A minute later, Kouji took the box of cookies from the woman behind the counter, just as Zoe handed the cashier some bills.
"Have a nice day," the employees said unanimously.
"You too," Zoe replied. "Bye."
She headed out of the bakery, followed by Kouji, who was busy staring at the white box.
"Can I eat one now?" He asked.
"Yeah, just don't eat too many," the blond said. "If you eat them all, I'll rip you in half."
Masaki smiled to himself at that comment. Wouldn't mind seeing that, he thought.
Kouji's face paled a bit, and he gave her a nervous laugh. "You're kidding, right?"
"Of course I am," Zoe told him, rolling her eyes. "I don't rip friends up into pieces."
"Oh, okay." Kouji smirked, then opened the box. "Damn, these cookies look good...."
Masaki was several paces behind them, and he could see that they were walking back towards the pizza parlor, probably to meet up with their friend that Kanae was with. He then noticed a row of stores next to their path, large signs hanging from them up top.
Let's see how well this girl can handle herself, he thought. He drew closer them them, just enough to get into range. Two of his invisible vectors shot out, and they smashed into one of the wooden signs. The sign collapsed, falling down towards the pair.
"Oh, shit!" Kouji exclaimed.
Zoe's emerald eyes went wide and she released her two working vectors. They immediately deflected the falling sign, causing it to explode into pieces. Bystanders looked at the spectacal with amazement, not sure if they had seen right. However, Zoe had been intelligent and brought up her arms to make it seem like she had used those instead to protect Kouji and herself.
"You okay?" Kouji whispered to her, uncomfortable with the stares.
"Yeah, let's get Kouichi and get out of here," she replied, quickly cutting through the crowd.
Masaki chuckled and moved into the shadows, out of sight. He walked down into an alley, and leaned back against a granite wall.
"Looks like she's not completely defenseless," he said to himself with amusement. "Things will be very interesting when we finally meet...."
"Give me your fucking money!" A young man with a dark coat suddenly screamed at him.
The mugger pressed his pistol into Masaki's forehead, and glared at him.
"I said give me your money!" He demanded.
Masaki let out a bored sigh and sent his vectors into the mugger's stomach. The man gasped, dropping his gun to the ground. The invisible hands quickly wrapped themselves around the man's intestines, then proceeded to yank them out. The mugger groaned and blood gushed from his mouth like a waterfall. Before he even had to energy to scream, his head was violenly ripped from his neck. It floated in mid-air, and Masaki gave it a look of distaste.
"Pathetic humans," he muttered, letting it fall to the ground.
It bounced slightly, a squirt of blood erupting from it. It then rolled a few feet away, stopping right in front of the mugger's crumpled body. Masaki easily threw the mutilated remains into a nearby dumpster, careful not to bloody up his clothes. He kicked some dirt around to conceal the bloodstains, and at that same moment, Kanae met him in the alley.
"Let's go and tell Kakuzawa the good news," he said in a low voice.
Kanae nodded, not bothering to ask about the few visible crimson smears. She followed him down the alley, and began to head back to the facility with him. Glancing down at Kouichi's written phone number, she smiled to herself, satisfied.
Yup, Masaki knows that Zoe isn't completely helpless and can still kick some butt. Not good on Zoe's part, but hey, it's better than being smacked in the head by a huge wooden sign, right? Anyway, please review and keep an eye out for the next chapter, coming soon.
And for the record...they love cookies if you can't tell ^_^ Probably cuz I like cookies... I'm like the Cookie Monster only I'm not blue, furry, and have a more extensive vocabulary. And on that note... ME LOVES COOOOOOOOOOOOOOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!