Dissociation

Chapter Five

-Kidnapper-

A few days later Akito stormed into his partner's office, a frown on his face. Knowing that his friend was about to start venting, Toshiro stopped working on his brief and sat back in his chair, lacing his fingers together. "So, what is upsetting you this time?" he asked.

"Your sister is upsetting me." He said, beginning to pace. "I mean, we went on a date other night, and it was great, but she still won't let me see the kids." He pulled out his wallet and took out the pictures she had given him, setting them on the desk.

"Look at how much they've grown. They have changed so much, and I don't even get to be there to see it. I'm sick of being kept in the dark. I deserve to get to know my kids. But I can't talk to her about it because every time I do, she gets all upset and defensive and then leaves, and I have to work hard just to get her to talk to me again."

"Well why won't she let you see them?" he asked.

"She thinks I'm still going to be a horrible father and won't let me drag the kids into something terrible like our marriage ever again." He sighed, rubbing his throbbing temple. "But she refuses to see all of the changes I've made in my life."

Toshiro laughed. "Well duh. You were great in the beginning. And that's exactly what she thinks, that it's going to be wonderful and then slowly dwindle into the miserable piece of crap you two called a marriage."

"Look." He stopped pacing and faced his friend. "I told her I wasn't looking to get married again. I just want to see them. You know, have visitation rights like any other divorced couple."

"You aren't just any divorced couple. This is your ex-wife and your children. So you're not thinking clearly. Why don't you just…go and see them? If you don't want to get married again then who gives a damn what Natsumi thinks? She's a psychopath. Just go see your kids." The redhead told him with a shrug as he leaned back further in his chair, balancing himself.

"Yeah, but I don't know where they live. And while I could easily figure that out, she never leaves the kids home by themselves unless she has a sitter, and even then I highly doubt I'd be allowed in the house." He said.

"Then just pick them up from school. She asked me to do it today because her nanny couldn't. She had a doctor's appointment. You could just pick them up," Toshiro paused. "And then drop them off before Natsumi gets home and tell them it's you guys' secret."

"You think that would work?" he asked, thinking about it. It was perfect. "What school do they go to?"

Toshiro took out his blackberry and looked through his memo's writing the name of the school and the address on a sticky note. "Here you go," he leaned forward, holding out the paper to him. "You pick them up at the west entrance."

"Thanks a bunch. I owe you one." Akito said as he checked his watch and moved towards the door.

"No problem. But if you get caught, you better not rat me out. I don't wanna die. My wife actually still loves me." He smirked, shooing his friend away and silently praying that Natsumi didn't find out.

"Yeah, yeah." He said, leaving.

Later that day, when it was nearing time for him to get the kids, he left work and drove over to the school. It was a private school, so they could all be together. He parked in a spot in front of the west entrance, and waited until he saw the twins come out, both dressed in their uniforms, which consisted of grey slacks and a white button down shirt and in the girls' case grey skirts. They looked around, trying to spot their uncle. It shouldn't have been so difficult to find his bright red hair. "Where do you think he is?" Izayoi asked.

"Who cares." Kanamé sighed, pulling out his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts to find his mom.

Akito got out of his car then and walked over to them, stopping a bit away. They didn't see him, each preoccupied with something else. "Hey kids." He greeted, not knowing what else to say.

Both twins looked over, their eyes widening for different reasons. "Dad?" Izayoi cried out, her face lighting up. She ran forward, dropping her messenger on the ground, wrapping her arms around him. "Why are you here? Mom said you probably moved from Boston!"

Kanamé just stared at his father, his surprise slowly shifting into a threatening glare. Akito noticed this, but look down to his daughter and returned her embrace. "Your Uncle Toshiro couldn't get you today, so I asked if I could."

Sanosuke, who was watching the entire thing a bit warily, walked until he was next to his older brother. He didn't quite remember this man, but there was something familiar about him. Was it true that this was really his father? "Dad?" he asked, hesitantly stepping forward.

Akito looked up and smiled. "Hey Sanosuke." he held his arm out, offering for him to join the hug. The young boy slowly came up to him and hugged him a bit awkwardly, tightening his grip when Akito's arm came around him. He may not remember this man very well, but there was something about the hug that felt safe, and right.

The trio hugged for a bit longer, until Akito straightened and pulled away from them slightly. He looked to Kanamé, whose glare had not lessened. "I don't suppose I should be expecting a hug from you." He said, knowing the answer.

"I wouldn't count on it." He said a bit bitterly and Akito couldn't help but see himself in his son, which brought him great grief. "What are you doing here? Does Mom know you're picking us up?"

"Aw who cares Kanamé." Izayoi huffed and then smiled again, hugging her dad once more. "I missed you so much Dad! It's been forever!"

He stroked his daughter's head, but continued to look at his eldest. "No, your mother doesn't know I'm here." He said. "She refused to let me see you, so I decided to go behind her back."

"But that will make her angry." Sanosuke said, looking up at his father. "And it's bad if you upset mom."

Akito smiled slightly. "Trust me, I know." He said with slight humor.

"You shouldn't be here." Kanamé said sharply, not easing up. He turned around then and shook her head, his black bangs falling over his eyes.

"Kanamé, where are you going?" Akito asked, stepping forward.

"I'm going to go get my brother and make sure he gets home." He snapped, not bothering to look back as he disappeared into the school to go to the Kindergarten wing.

Akito stiffened. "You…have another brother?" he asked softly, betrayal washing through him. Natsumi had had a child with another man? And she didn't even tell him?

"Yeah, his name is Hayate." Sanosuke said, picking up on his father's sudden shift in mood, but not understanding what caused it.

Izayoi took her father's hand and held it tightly. "Yeah! You'll love him! He's the sweetest thing. Mom loves him so much, he even sleeps with her sometimes cause he thinks she gets lonely."

Akito didn't say anything, he just stood there waiting to see Natsumi's fourth child. He still couldn't believe it. This was almost as bad as when she had left him and taken the kids with her.

Sanosuke and Izayoi looked to one another and then back up to their pale father, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "Dad?" Izayoi said, looking worried. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

"I…didn't know your mother had another child." He said, trying to control his emotions so that he didn't freak them out.

"Yeah," Izayoi said, still confused. "She had him right after the divorce." This made his eyes widen, and his anger increased. So, she had moved on that quickly, huh? And yet she claimed that she always loved him. What a bunch of bull. "Oh look, there they are." She pointed towards the steps where Kanamé was helping a little dark haired boy step down so he didn't fall.

Akito's eyes widened even more when he got a look at the boy named Hayate. It wasn't some other man's child, it was his. Because Hayate looked exactly like him, even his eyes were the same color. And so, his anger at Natsumi increased. How dare she not tell him that she was pregnant when they had divorced, or even tell him the other night when they were talking about the kids that he had fathered another boy. A beautiful little boy that he knew nothing about.

And Kanamé was actually smiling down at him kindly, looking just like his mother and Hayate had that same joyous smile. They came closer and the young boy looked up at the man his siblings were around, his eyes wide and innocent. "Who are you?"

But before Akito could introduce himself Kanamé spoke up, "This, Hayate, is the man who makes Mommy cry." He told him. Hayate looked up to his older brother and then back to the man who looked like his siblings.

"Oh." Understanding dawned on him. "You're my Daddy." He pointed.

"Yeah." Akito said, sounding like he had just gotten the wind knocked out of him. "I am."

Hayate looked back up at his brother and then to his siblings, gauging the situation. He let go of his brother's hand then and ran forward. "Daddy!" he yelled, hugging Akito around the legs. Then he looked up at him. "Are we gonna get to see you all the time? Is mommy gonna be happier now? Can we go get ice cream? Cause' I kinda want some." He said quickly, everything just rushing out.

"Um…" he blinked, not sure exactly which question he was supposed to answer first. "If your siblings want to get ice cream we can." He said, picking the safest one.

Kanamé just shook her head and rolled his eyes. "I want to go home."

"Well I think ice cream sounds awesome!" Izayoi smiled and ran back over to her bag, grabbing it from the ground and slinging it over her shoulder.

"No one cares what you think." He told his sister, earning him a fierce glare that then turned into a battle.

"I want to get ice cream too, so you're out numbered." Sanosuke crossed his arms, giving his older brother a serious look. "Besides, we don't know when we'll get to see dad again, so we should spend as much time with him as possible."

"Please Kanamé?" Hayate asked, pouting in an adorable fashion with his hands clasped in front of him.

Kanamé shifted his glare from Izayoi to Sanosuke and then looked down at his brother. "Hayate…" he sighed, deciding to play dirty. "You don't want to make Mommy cry do you? You know that Dad is the cause of her sadness. Don't you love Mommy?"

"Kanamé!" Izayoi went wide eyed.

"What?" he snapped, looking back to his sister. "Mom wouldn't want us to and it's all his fault that we had to move anyways." He pointed accusingly at Akito.

"Kanamé, please." She begged, giving him the same look Hayate and Sanosuke were.

He just growled. "Fine! Whatever. But you better take us home." He told Akito, staying strong, even though he was freaking out inside from the thought of talking back to his father. As much as he disliked the man, he was still his father and he knew he needed to be respectful.

Akito met his son's gaze. "I never said I would do otherwise son." He said with an air of authority. "Now let's go." He picked up Hayate and held him the way he used to hold Sanosuke, starting for his car. Izayoi ran up and took his hand in hers, and Sanosuke walked on the other side of them.

Kanamé rolled his eyes, following after them slowly, thinking only one thing. Mom was going to be pissed.

"Can we go to the park next?" Hayate asked happily as he began to eat his ice cream. "Or maybe we could go see a movie!"

Akito sighed. They were at the best ice cream parlor in the city, the same place he used to take the kids when they were younger, when he had the time. "Hayate, I have to take you home after this. If your mom finds out I even saw you guys today she'll probably have one of her crazy moments."

"We haven't been to the movies in while." Sanosuke commented, taking a drink of his shake. He didn't really feel like going home, and surprisingly enough, he didn't care if his mom freaked out. It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen to them. They were with their dad after all.

"Dad can we see your house? I heard you were a big shot lawyer now and you were super rich! I bet you have a really cool house." Izayoi smiled, finishing off her ice cream cone.

"Oh yeah! Can we?" the youngest said, becoming excited and bouncing in his seat.

"Not unless Kanamé doesn't want to." Akito said. "It has to be a unanimous vote." Everyone looked to the eldest then, who had remained silent except for when he had ordered his ice cream.

Said boy glanced up from the place on the table he'd been staring for the past twenty minutes and sighed. "I don't think I need to voice my opinion, since it's pretty obvious."

Izayoi waved him off. "Dad, Kanamé is a kill joy. Let's just go! We don't have to stay long."

"He has a right to say what he wants, just as much as you Izayoi." He said. "Besides, he's right. I don't want to do anything more that will upset Natsumi."

"Why do you always have to be such an emo Kanamé?" Sanosuke asked with a frown.

Hayate looked at him curiously. "What is an emo?"

"It's someone who is always sullen and doesn't find joy in life." Sanosuke recited.

"Oh." The youngest said, nodding in agreement.

"I don't want to go. Mom's going to get mad." He said, choosing to ignore his siblings. He met his father's deep green gaze with an impassive jade. "I wanna go home."

"When everyone is done with their ice cream we will go home. I don't want to risk it getting all over the inside of my car." Akito said.

Izayoi glared at her brother and then her eyes began to water. "Kanamé why are you being so mean." She sniffed, beginning to cry, which got the eldest boy's attention quickly. "We haven't gotten to see Dad in five years. Why can't we just spend a little time with him?"

Kanamé's hard gaze seemed to somber up slightly and he looked down in defeat. "Fine." He said lowly, crossing his arms.

Sanosuke and Izayoi discreetly high fived each other underneath the table, and Akito smirked at his daughter's tactics. Yup, she was just like their mother.

Everyone finished eating shortly after, and then they got back in the car. "So, where are we going? Do you guys want to go to the movies, or see my house?" Akito asked.

"Your house!" all but Kanamé cheered, bubbling with excitement at their wonderful day that they would get to spend with their father.

Natsumi walked into the kitchen through the door connecting to the garage and set the groceries as well as her purse on the counter. "Kids! I'm home!" she called into the massive house. "Come help me with the groceries!" she yelled, walking back out to her car and grabbing a few more bags. She returned back inside and set these on the counter as well.

She looked around the beautifully decorated kitchen and frowned. "Kanamé! Izayoi!" Natsumi yelled once more, walking from the kitchen to the darkened hallway. That was odd. "Sanosuke?" she called, flipping on the lights and peering into the living room to see if they were watching TV. But nothing was on.

Cold fear washed over her as she hurried to the steps, taking two at a time. "Hayate?" she shrieked, panic seizing her. She threw open the door to her youngest's room and hit the light switch, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Kanamé! Izayoi! Sanosuke!" she shouted as if repeating their names would make them appear. She burst into each of their rooms only to find them empty. "Oh my god!" she flew down the steps and ran into the kitchen, digging her cell phone from her bag and dialing 9-1-1.

It seemed to take forever for the call to connect. She didn't understand. She'd seen her brother earlier and he told her he'd dropped them off at the house, just as he was instructed to do. What could have possibly happened in the past hour? And there was no sign of forced entry. All the doors were still locked. None of their school things were even there. Finally she heard a voice.

"Please state your emergency."

"My children have been kidnapped!"