A/N: Hey guys! So I have these writing spurts and its really funny! I'll stare at the computer all day and NOTHING and then midnight comes and everything just pours out! Maybe because the house gets so quiet and there's no distractions? ahahaha (I swear I think I'm ADD as well as slightly OCD about certain things)
SO SORRY to keep you guys hanging some more! But you'll have to wait until the NEXT chapter to find out what happens to Usagi and my beloved Mamo-chan (yes, I did say my)
HOWEVER! This chapter is important! You you're like me and you skip all the OC stuff cuz it annoys you, DON'T! Because I promise you that unlike COUNTLESS other FF's (not all however I must say) The scenes I'm writing with these OC's will become very important later on! (I don't like pointess stuff OC's, if they have no impact on the story, BEGONE SAYS I!)
Anyways, here's chapter five!
It was going to be longer, but I decided the rest would fit better in a separate chapter that I will begin to write soon (going away for awhile )
R&R and Enjoy!
Love reading the reviews guys! Keep giving me your feedback/opinions/ideas! Its great! =D
Chapter Five
They heard another long creak followed by a loud snap, sending them screaming, holding onto each other for their dear lives, as the doomed elevator plummeted downwards.
A second later, they heard a screech, and to their shock and relief, the elevator came to a sudden halt, swinging in the shaft from the sudden stop, sending them forwards flat onto the floor. Usagi dared not move and shivered as she felt and heard their container banging against the walls of the shaft.
"Ooph!" the rabbit muttered as she felt the impact of the sudden stop when it suddenly dawned on her, "We're alive... it stopped... we're alive..." Usagi mumbled her face on the floor.
Mamoru slowly and cautiously sat up and ran his hand up and down the terrified girl's back, trying to soothe her.
"We need to find a way out fast though. Because we fell, even though it wasn't far at all, some of the cables have probably snapped and it may be that the only thing holding up the elevator is the friction against the walls. If we had gone all the way down to the garage, we would have felt a much harder impact. But if we were no longer attached to cables, we wouldn't me bumping the sides of the shaft." He paused to think. "Usako, I'm going to need you to sit up really slowly and sit as far in the corner as you can alright?"
"What, why?" she asked him still refusing to move.
"Because there is a chance that the system that pulls the elevator up and down could crash through the ceiling and down onto us. If that happens, you're safer in the corner rather than a dead target in the middle."
"Bu-but what? Why? How? Don't you dare stay in the middle then either!" she sobbed. The whole situation was too frightening for her. It wasn't something she was fighting and could win; it was something they would have to wait out.
"I would like to try the door again, but seeing as we don't want to move, I'm just going to sit the corner with you alright? I'm just going to reach over and try the emergency alarm alright? I don't know if it'll work due to the power failure, but it's worth a shot. Get up slowly okay?"
"Why didn't I think of the alarm before?" He added on in his head.
She nodded and did as he said, slowly pushing herself off the ground and tucking her feet and legs under her, slowly retreating into one side of the corner. Mamoru reached over and tried pressing the button but to no avail. The alarm would not sound. Frustrated, he followed her outline in the dark as slowly as possible and turned himself around, sat down slowly, and wrapped his left arm around his girlfriend's waist; his legs bent in front of him. What had they gotten themselves into?
After about ten minutes, Usagi started to lose feeling in her legs from sitting on them. She began to squirm slightly to try to get the blood flowing again, but to no avail. She decided to put her legs out in front of her. She put her hands behind her back and lifted herself slightly off the ground, pulling one leg forward, then the other, and sat down ever so carefully. Mission accomplished. She quickly regained feeling in her calves and feet, sighing with relief. She put her head on her Mamo-chan's shoulder and fell asleep from exhaustion. The fright of the incident had drained her. In reaction to this, Mamoru put his other arm around the rabbit and after about an hour, fell asleep as well.
"No dinner for us then I suppose." He thought as he drifted and the elevator continued to sway, creaking and groaning ever so slightly.
Somewhere else two days previously...
The tall slim man stalked down the halls of the building towards the end of the corridor. He stopped at the double doors at the end of the passage, hesitating. He took in a deep breath, pausing with his hand slightly above the doorknob, and mustered up all the courage he had. His employer had called him; it would not be wise to keep him waiting. With his head spinning, he grasped the handle and turned it, entering the large office.
His boss had no sense of decor, the man thought to himself. The walls were white, as were the filing cabinets lined up against them, the floor was white marble (only the finest), and the ceiling was high up. In the center of the room sat two black chairs before a large black desk, contrasting against the white, with a black office chair hiding behind, facing the other way to conceal anyone or anything seated in it.
"Ichihara," Said a deep voice, "glad you found your way here quickly enough. I need to discuss an important matter with you." The man with the deep voice said as he spun to face him, bald headed.
"Yes sir, of course sir."
"I know you've worked very hard at this center over the years Ichihara, but times have become tough I regret to say."
"I'm sorry sir?"
"Look, I don't want to seem around the bush with you and I'll get right to it. I'm afraid that I have to let you go." The bald man answered with a dark face.
"L-let me go sir?"
"Yes. Ichihara, I'm truly sorry, about how abrupt this may seem, but you will be required to find employment elsewhere from now on after today. I am truly sorry. If you would be so kind to hand in your passes to the building on the way out, it would be much appreciated my friend." He added with a grim smile.
"Of course sir, I understand sir; I will do so on my way out. Thank you for your kind employment until now." He nodded as he turned to leave.
"Ichihara!" The man called from his desk, standing up. "Good luck!" he called with a wave.
"Thank you very much sir." Yoshio Ichihara replied as he walked out of the office, shutting the doors behind him, and stalked back down the empty hall. Profanity flared through his mind. A million curses were thrown at the world. Why did he need to lose his job now of all times? He needed it now more than ever as well as his family. He needed to pay for their house, their food, everything! Most importantly, he needed to pay for the large medical bills haunting him.
He had the most beautiful wife imaginable; long flowing golden hair and of French decent. She was very headstrong and always thought of others.
"If only the good she gave around would come back to her." He sighed shaking his head as he headed down the cold stairwell as fast as his feet would carry him.
He reached the door at the bottom of the stairwell and swung the door wide open, striding through the doorway. He looked in all directions quickly before realizing he had to go left to exit the building. He quickened his pace. The faster he was out, the easier it would be for him to accept the fact that he would not be coming back.
The sandy haired man reached the exit much to both his relief yet anger at the same time. He wanted to go home, be surrounded by family, but he needed to support them, which he now no longer had the means of doing. A distant and misted idea struck him, though he did not know what it really meant or what to make of it, but due to this, his mind urged him not to do as told, and keep his passes rather than handing them in. They may serve useful in the future. Besides, who else would find use of them here? So, he quickly escaped the building before anyone could notice that he had left without handing in his company belongings, and slid in the driver's seat of his car parked on the street in front of the building.
"Five years I worked here at the City's Electrical Control Center, five years I gave them my expertise, five years I gave them my loyalty, and this is how they repay me? Letting me go after ten years of hard work?" He thought to himself as he glared solemnly at the building on his left as he started the vehicle and pulled away from the curb.
He drove for what seemed hours in the heavy traffic before arriving at his first stop. He parked the old car on the side of the busy road and sauntered out and onto the sidewalk. He walked over to a white picket fence that surrounded a tiny old house which did not really belong amongst the buildings of the city. He leaned on the fence and looked around the front yard, listening to and observing the children shrieking as they would run around chasing each other. The children hadn't the slightest idea that he was even there watching them.
Yoshio sighed and straightened himself, walking two paces to the gate, opening it ever so carefully, and shutting it behind him. Hearing the gate shut, the children noticed his presence and stopped running around to see who it was that had entered their bubble.
"Daddy!" yelled a small smiling sandy haired boy, pushing past the other children as they went back to running around.
"Tadashi!" he smiled as he knelt down to scoop up the small child, forgetting about the previous events of the day. "How was school and daycare today? You didn't give Mazaki Sensei any trouble, did you?" he inquired, trying to keep a serious and stern expression.
"No! I didn't do anything! I promise!" yelped the boy.
"That's my boy." He smiled back, ruffling his son's hair. "Let's go sign you out with Mazaki sensei, and then we can go see mommy? How does that sound?"
"Yeah! Come on dad!" he demanded beaming and squirming out of his father's arms, dragging him by the arm to the house.
The two entered the daycare and signed out with the lady in charge. The impatient little boy ran out of the house, through the gate, and into the backseat of the beat up car. Yoshio followed and sat in the driver's seat. He closed his eyes and sat there for a minute.
"How am I going to tell them that I lost my job?" He worried profusely.
"Um dad," Tadashi piped from the back. "can we go yet?"
"Oh, uh, right..." He mumbled as he snapped out of his thought, started the car, and drove to their next stop.
After about an hour of driving and Tadashi asking "Are we there yet?" repeatedly, they finally arrived at their destination. Yoshio slid out of the car and helped his restless son out of the back seat. The boy leaped out of the beat up machine and grabbed his father's hand, pulling him towards the building. They walked through the sliding doors and reality once again hit Yoshio. The smell of sanitizer and illness, an aura of sadness. His face darkened the second he had felt it. The long elevator ride was no better. They got out on the sixth floor and walked up to the desk just outside the elevator where a pretty young lady with chestnut hair was sitting in pink scrubs.
"Excuse me Miss, but where could I find Mrs Mizuki Ichihara? I was told that she was moved to this ward this morning?" He asked the lady with a forced smile.
"Hold on, let me get her file and check. Are you family?" She eyed him and Tadashi.
"Yes I'm her-"
"She's my mommy and we came to see her!" Tadashi interrupted nodding his head furiously.
The nurse laughed. "All right then, let me just look her up here and I'll take you to see her." She smiled and winked at the child.
"Here it is!" She stated. "Room number F34. Follow me." She motioned to them.
The nurse took them down a long white hall, turning right and left. They would have to remember so as to not become lost on the way out. What a depressing place a hospital could be.
The nurse stopped at a door labelled F34 and swung open the door for them smiling. Tadashi darted in, his father in close pursuit.
"Mommy!" shrieked the little boy in delight as he ran up to a most gorgeous lady sitting up in a bed at the far side of the room by the window, waiting for him with arms wide open. She was in her late twenties just as her husband. Despite her radiance, she looked tired and worn out. The hospital robes and her unkempt hair helped bring that out. This was not were such a young, beautiful, and kind lady belonged.
"My little boy! Oh I've missed you since yesterday!" She beamed as she told the young one with a kiss. "Tadashi, I hope school went well today?"
"You bet Ma! My teacher let me feed the fish today! They were really hungry! I put a bit too much by accident, but they still ate it all!" He said enthusiastically, creating an array of large hand movements to go along with his dramatics. To this his mother laughed.
"Mizuki, how are you feeling today? Any news?" inquired Yoshio as he sat at her side and took her hand.
"Better, thank you!" She replied with a smile. "I do have news though which I will tell you later." She added quietly, referring to news which she did not wish their four year old son to hear. Yoshio understood the message and nodded his head.
Yoshio coughed and spoke up. "Tadashi, why don't you go find the friend you made the either day while mommy and I talk?" He suggested to his son.
"You mean Mari? The funny girl with blue hair?"
"Yeah her, now go on. We need to talk okay?" he answered semi frustrated.
Tadashi gave him an odd look that said all over, "okay then dad... gosh," and ran out of the room and down the hall to where his friend was.
The sick woman sighed and leaned back into the bed relieved to be able to turn off the facade.
"So," he began slowly, "what's the news that we can't tell Tadashi?"
A tear trickled from her closed eyes down her warm red cheeks. "The tumor's spread they told me and the cancer is just getting worse. They wanted to try a new medication that's more powerful but can't due to my other disease. If they used it, it would worsen the other and I would die for sure." She paused for a breath. "They told me that if I'm to have the tumor ridded from me, I will most certainly have to have surgery and that the cost of it is over the moon. Without it, I will have perhaps 2 months left at the most for certain, but with it, they can buy me some time to get rid of the cancer as well as the tumor.
"Well then it's settled, you have to get surgery! If it's what's going to save you-"
"Yoshio, there's no way we can afford it. The tumor I have is in a very tricky place to remove and it is growing at an alarming rate as well as the cancer. On top of that, my disease weakens me further every day and worsens faster with the cancer. All we can do is pray for a miracle alright? There's no other way. Me must keep faith and pray for the best darling, but we simply cannot afford the surgery." She sighed sadly causing her husband to hold his head in his hands in frustration. Her body had always been week, but ever since he had her boy four years ago, everything had quickened its pace.
"How much is it?" He asked blankly.
"Yoshio, there's no point in even-"
"How much is it Mizuki?" He asked again, staring directly at her.
She sighed and gave up. "The doctor said it would be somewhere around nine million yen."
"Nine million yen?" He asked dumbfounded, his eyes wide with horror.
"I told you it's impossible." She chided.
"I promise you I'll find the money somehow." He choked gripping her hand.
"Don't worry about me okay? Everything will turn out just fine." She cooed stroking the side of his head. "Even if we were both working, we wouldn't make that much in five years, let alone less than two months with only one of us working. If things happen that you can't help, well they happen."
"I promise I'll find a way somehow." He repeated. His face hard this time as he rose from his seat. He bowed his head. "It's getting dark, I should be getting Tadashi home and fed and in bed for school tomorrow before the ice settles on the roads from the cold and dew."
"Yoshio..." She held out her hand.
"I will find a way Mizuki. I'll see you tomorrow, Goodnight." He said coldly as he left without another look.
He walked down the hallway and collected his son from his friend's room, escorted him out of the building of death, and seating him in the old bucket parked outside. He turned on the engine, full of anger, nearly breaking the ignition. Tadashi could tell, despite his young age, that now would not be the best moment to speak. And so, the drive home was driven in loud silence.
They arrived at their small, crowded, dark, and broken down home after half an hour. Yoshio prepared supper immediately, sushi since it was cheapest. After Mizuki has been put in hospital indefinitely, the medical bills had shot up horrendously and they were forced to live off the bare minimum. Right now they were living off food the neighbours had given them, frightened at how skinny Tadashi had looked after his mother was admitted.
What he was going to do now that he didn't have a job, he wondered. Even if he still had his regular job, he wouldn't be able to afford the surgery. Anger surged through him at this thought as he tucked his son into bed on the mat next to his.
As he lay in bed he thought of ways to come up with the money, but none seemed to work well enough or fast enough. He remembered how he had been in so many black magic clubs during high school, how his life was a mess because of what he had learned, and then he met Mizuki and she had saved him from it. He couldn't lose her! He had to find a way.
That's when it hit him. "Magic!" he thought. He stared at the tattoo on his left wrist of a skull from so long ago, the sign of a brotherhood from so long ago. "I'm sure they'd help me if I came to them. I was their leader of course."
That's when another idea flashed through his mind. He stared at the only book that was his son's favourite as plans began to form. He could steal money from the rich to pay for the surgery and sustain them. He could use magic to help him get it. The magic would be his sword and shield. It wasn't as if he had bad intentions anyways, they were very good really. He would become Robin Hood to save his family and he knew just where he would start: the Electrical Control Center.
He would have to find his friends tomorrow to ask for their help. Surely they would oblige though, they were a brotherhood after all. An alliance if you will. He still had his passes to get into the building. All he needed was help breaching security and getting to and from the safe unnoticed.
He would save his wife if it was the last thing he would do.