Title: A Surprise that Calls for Murder

Summary: Yuki receives a strange call from Tohru and discovers that she has been kidnapped by someone they both knew and trusted.

Genre: Suspense/ Romance

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,999

Yuki gathered the papers scattered across his desk, trying to pile them together in an orderly fashion but failing miserably. With a sigh, he shoved the crumpled stack in his backpack and slung the bag over his shoulder. He took one quick glance around his dormitory to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything before he flicked the light switch off and locked the door behind him. It was finally Friday, and now he could leave his university and return to the apartment he shared with Tohru, his new fiancée, for the weekend. Tohru had opted out of college in favor of working, so they had decided to share a home by the restaurant she worked at for her convenience. They only got to see each other two days a week, but neither particularly minded since the weekends were completely devoted to one another.

Hurriedly, he slipped into the silver car he owned, eager to return home to Tohru. He still had an hour-long drive until he arrived at their apartment. Yuki carelessly tossed his belongings in the backseat and halfheartedly glanced around him before starting the car and reversing out of the parking space. He was speeding down the highway when his phone rang. If anyone else had called him at the moment, he wouldn't have bothered to pick up, but since the blazing screen spelled out Tohru's name, Yuki couldn't resist answering it with a wide smile.

"Hello, Tohru," he greeted happily.

"Yuki-kun, I have a favor to ask of you," Tohru admitted in a remorseful tone.

"Anything. What is it?" he inquired.

"My car broke down, and I was wondering if you could pick me up. I'm ten minutes away from your university downtown," she informed him.

"Of course, but why are you there?"

"Shigure-san asked me to pick something up for him after work."

Yuki growled under his breath and vowed to kill Shigure the next time he saw him. Yuki had lost count of how many times he had patiently asked Shigure not to treat Tohru like a maid, so now he refused to be lenient any longer. He'd give Shigure a bonus with whatever he asked Tohru to deliver, and by that, of course, he meant a fist in the face. If Shigure would do anything by himself, Tohru wouldn't be trapped on the road at night, where prowlers probably lurked, waiting for a gullible woman to kidnap, like Tohru. He sped up, making an abrupt turn to head back to the city where Tohru awaited him, which laid in the opposite direction of their home.

"Tohru, do me a favor in return and stay in the car until I get there, all right? Lock the doors, please. And don't hang up," Yuki requested worriedly.

"O-Okay," she agreed.

Hearing the distress in her voice, he sought to distract her, asking, "How was your day?"

"Good. I received my paycheck today with a bonus because some customers have been requesting that I cook their meals! Can you believe- Oh no! Is that Kyo-kun? He looks hurt!" Tohru cried with a concerned gasp.

"Wait! Tohru, don't leave the car! The stupid cat can fend for himself!" Yuki shouted in vain.

His cries rang out seconds too late. He could hear the thud of the phone echo as it landed somewhere and the crack of the door swinging open. Tohru's footsteps faded quickly into the distance. His heart stopped when he heard a shrill scream. Gritting his teeth together apprehensively, he strained to hear muffled slaps and scraps, the remnants of a struggle. Yuki muttered a string of profanities and gripped the steering wheel with a grasp that turned his knuckles white as he drove at a pace double the actual speed limit. Yuki didn't pray often, but he prayed with all his might now as he stomped on the accelerator, ignoring the red stoplight he had just flown past.

Within minutes, he neared the street Tohru should have been on, and his car screeched to an abrupt stop when he spotted her car parked on the side of the road. Yuki rushed out of his vehicle, ignoring how he had left it in the middle of the road and went to examine Tohru's abandoned car. He couldn't spot any sign of her or Kyo at all. She hadn't even bothered to shut her door in haste, so the yellow glow of the lights in her car cast an ominous tinge to the street. Her cell phone sat on the asphalt, still connected to his. Picking it up, he noticed her keys sprawled on the ground four feet away and one brown sneaker. He could recognize Tohru's work shoes anywhere. Glaring down the narrow street, he jumped back into his car after gathering all of Tohru's discarded possessions and resumed his high speed chase. He could make out the faint gleam of headlights in the distance. Targeting the growing white specks of light down the road, Yuki raced towards his prey, surprised the old car he had bought on sale could even go this fast.

It took him just under five minutes before he was tailing the black vehicle ahead. On closer inspection, he could see a mop of bright orange hair in the back along with two legs tied together with thick, tan rope propped awkwardly near Kyo's head. The missing brown shoe encased one foot while a plain white sock covered the other. Yuki vaguely caught a glimpse of black hair in the driver's seat before the car sped up, leaving him behind. Cursing his old car, Yuki tried his best to keep up while he contemplated his options. If the kidnappers could kidnap Kyo, he should be prepared. He peered around his car in search of possible weapons. He had plenty of sharp papers in his bag, albeit tattered and bent, three thick and heavy textbooks, one spare shoe, and old take-out boxes.

Groaning to himself, Yuki wondered where all his care and cunning had drifted off to. First he had sacrificed any element of surprise with his maniac driving, and then he had to be ill-prepared for such a situation. At this rate, his pursuit would probably only endanger Tohru more. All he had managed to do was anger her kidnappers. He grimaced to himself as he pulled open his glove department, pleased to find an ice scrapper inside. That'd do. After he pulled it out, he turned his full attention back to the road, dismayed to find the ebony car at the end of the road. The vehicle soon disappeared around the corner of a turn while Yuki urged his moaning car to speed up.

For another half hour, Yuki tracked the black car, blowing past several cities and driving into what seemed like the countryside. The forest surrounding him gave off a familiar aura, but he didn't have time to figure out why as he trampled over someone's poor vegetable garden. Ripe tomatoes splattered across his windshield, trailing their red intestines and blood all over the glass as broken heads of lettuce bounced off of his headlights. Stalks of leeks clung to his windows as he attempted to clear as much tomato juice off as he could with his wipers. Yuki scowled, trying to avoid running into trees. He had lost sight of the road long ago in his frantic hunt.

He smirked when the black car slowed to a stop in front of an old-fashioned house. As of now, Yuki did not know the meaning of mercy. Soon enough, whoever those kidnappers were, they'd learn to fear ice scrappers. He'd show them ten forms of torture with the simple tool, and presently, they'd be begging for their lives. He wondered how sharp the blade was, but regardless of how dull it may be, Yuki would make it pierce flesh. He'd-

Yuki slammed on the brakes when all of a sudden, the dark house blared to life. A bunch of lights blinded him as people seemed to jump out of nowhere and yelled, "SURPRISE!"

As his eyes adjusted to the bright lighting, Yuki identified the people as his large family and the towering object in their hands as a three-layered birthday cake. For a minute, he could only sit in his car, frozen with shock and confusion, but gradually a cold, venomous smile crept onto his face. Slowly, he climbed out of the car and stiffly walked over to them with his hands still clenched into fists. He watched as Shigure stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the backdoor of the black vehicle Yuki had been chasing for the past hour, pulling out a tied up Tohru. Immediately, Yuki turned to her, untying the ropes on her and holding her against him protectively. Tohru flushed beside him, clearly stunned.

"So this was all a set up. You kidnapped Tohru to get me to come to a surprise birthday party," Yuki guessed.

"Of course, little brother. Would you have it any other way? A suspenseful abduction of the princess to lure the prince in," Ayame chuckled to himself.

"Did you know about this, Tohru?" Yuki asked the girl beside him.

"Um… I helped them set up the party earlier and made all the food, but then Shigure-san told me that I should go downtown and pretend to pick something up for him so that I could ask you to pick me up and bring you here, but I didn't know they were going to pretend to kidnap me!" Tohru exclaimed honestly.

"You all scared Tohru half to death just to surprise me?" Yuki demanded the group before him, "Not to mention you made me run over my secret base?"

"Your love nest?" Ayame queried with a knowing glint to his golden eyes.

After punching his brother, Yuki mentally mourned the loss of his old garden. He and Tohru had started a new one in pots on the balcony of their apartment, so perhaps he could forgive them for that, but the petite brunette glued to his side still appeared shaken by the experience, despite the smile she tried to keep across her face. He could feel her trembling against him and the rapid palpitations of her heart. This he could never forgive them for, even if they were family. They'd die by his hands. He'd make Tohru's experience seem like a trip to the spa after he was through with them. Shigure and Ayame, however, didn't seem to notice the vein throbbing in Yuki's forehead and the ire radiating off of him in the form of heat waves.

"She was only scared for a little. We couldn't possibly tell Tohru of her plans. She's hardly a good actress, no offense, Tohru-kun," Shigure explained.

"I think you should call the police, Shigure," Yuki warned.

"But Yuki, we just told you. I was the one who kidnapped Tohru. She's fine!" Shigure continued, waving his hand nonchalantly.

"She's not the one who's going to be needing the police. They won't be investigating a kidnapping but rather the murders of a certain dog and snake," Yuki informed them with a pleasant smile still across his face.

"W-Wait, Yuki-kun! Before you do that, don't you want to know what we got you for your birthday?" Shigure asked, backing away fearfully.

For the first time, Yuki noticed the bow atop Tohru's head with a tag that stated that Tohru was a gift to him from his beloved brother and favorite cousin. Tohru blinked obliviously at him before smiling at him and standing on the tips of her toes and planting a kiss on his cheek. Somehow, her simple gesture dispelled all the anger residing in him, gathering all the blaze of his fury in his cheeks, where it transformed into a faint blush to match hers. With a grin, she even managed to ease his fingers out of fists and made his lips curve upwards.

"Happy Birthday, Yuki-kun."

He'd spare their lives. For now that is.