"Tsukasa, don't you think it would be in her best interest if we had police guard the house at night?" argued Ikuto who ignored my constant glares.
"I agree, but in the end, it's Amu's decision."
"No," I answered bluntly receiving a glare from Ikuto himself. "I am not cowering from this pussy faced bastard whose idea of terrorizing me is sending me threat laced letters. It's not even a big deal yet; this person hasn't even had the balls to attempt anything."
"He knows your contact information! Christ Amu, I thought you'd at least have some common sense. He could hurt you any time he damn well feels like it. That's why the house needs to be guarded."
"I refuse to let Kukai and everyone else get injured for my sake."
"That's their job!"
I pushed myself up off the couch and headed towards the door.
"Amu, stop and be rational!" shouted Ikuto just as my hand reached for the brass doorknob.
I slightly turned so I could see his face.
"I am being rational. I won't let him hurt my friends or my family."
Storming out of the office, I strode down the hallway with fierce frustration. Who was he to tell me I wasn't being rational? I was the one who had thought about the consequences to any action I decided to take.
"You seem pretty frustrated."
Stopping abruptly, I looked up to see Yosuke leaning against one of the walls.
"Yeah, some stuff has happened recently, and Ikuto wants the house guarded."
In the background I heard a door slam.
"Damn it Amu! Wait up!"
"Looks like he's looking for you," muttered Yosuke with a faint smile tracing the corner of his lips.
"Yeah."
"I'd better go then. I have some things to wrap up with this case I'm working on."
"Oh okay. Good luck."
The moment I saw his back disappear into the distance, Ikuto appeared behind me panting heavily.
"A-mu…you need…to con-sider…it," he wheezed.
"I have."
"W-we could…change the officers. It doesn't have to be Kukai and the others."
All this effort just to protect one person…
"No," I answered simply before continuing my walk.
He followed me.
"Amu, why are you being so stubborn?"
Images flashed inside my mind.
My parents were killed.
Hikaru was shot right in front of me.
Nina was raped then murdered.
Renji died in my arms.
Kyou committed suicide while holding me.
Karyn and Anju were murdered right in front of me.
Stopping, I turned around and faced Ikuto.
"I don't want to see anymore people die. That's it."
Immediately understanding why I refused, he nodded his head. A small smile spread on my lips, and I resumed walking again.
He didn't follow me this time.
Sighing, I closed the door to my office behind me. My hand lingered on the lock briefly, before I pulled it away with a slight scoff. I was being silly. There was no use in being paranoid in my own office. My gaze wandered aimlessly before it landed on my desk.
My knees felt like they were going to buckle under me any moment. My hand searched the wall for the doorknob and clamped around it as if it was a life line. My widened eyes were transfixed on the white little note on my desk.
Impossible!
That last time I had come here was two days ago; I had cleaned my desk and I had made sure to lock the door so no one would be able to enter. Yet, there it was…sitting on my desk.
Unsteadily, I stumbled towards the desk and picked up the piece of paper with wavering hands. I slowly unfolded it and read the very familiar messy scrawl.
Surprised aren't you, you filthy bitch.
Yes, I'm sure you didn't expect to see this on your desk, especially after you took the liberty of locking your door. But I have ways you see. You can't escape me Amu, and if you think locking your doors and windows is going to protect you, then you are mistaken.
But I almost do feel a bit bad about this, so I'll offer you some advice. You may want to change the locks. It was too easy to break in; unfortunately no one happened to be home. I was disappointed Amu dear. I wanted to see the fear in your eyes when you saw me. I wanted to see the life drain from your eyes when I stabbed you – feeling your blood on my hands and your body collapsing on the floor. I want to hear you scream in fear…in pain.
God, I want to kill you so bad, you don't even understand. I will make sure that your death will be sufferable, just like how they died. And slow…I don't want you dying too fast; I mean where would the fun be if I just stabbed you in the heart. No, that's too easy.
Anyways, I've made this longer than I intended it to be. Very soon though Amu dearest, I will put you in the darkness where you belong.
The hand that was holding the small note was trembling. My heart was pounding against my chest with so much force that it began to ache.
How had he snuck into my office without being detected by any of the other employees?
Realizing this, my heart began to slow down and a frown played across my face. Anyone who entered the building would have to check in with Suzuki first. Strangers who had business were escorted to their location with an employee who worked here.
What if it was someone who worked here?
The thought lingered in my mind, but I shook it off immediately. No, that wasn't possible. I knew every single person in this building and I wasn't on bad terms with any of them.
And this person was definitely a stranger…it had to be someone I knew. In my mind, I made a small list of people who I had had contact with in the time of me being a negotiator and someone who particularly despised me to the point of terrorizing me.
TaeYang immediately popped into my head. It kind of made sense; he was partnered with Kyou and after we caught them, he was sentenced to life in prison.
TaeYang was in jail under tight security in France. And, how would he know my address and where I worked? I thought about some more and sighed. For someone like him, it wouldn't be too hard to deceive a few people and help him get my information and escape from the prison.
Yet, the more I thought about the possibility of TaeYang sending the notes, the more I doubted it. If I had learned anything from the time I was in France, then I knew that TaeYang would be more vicious than whoever this person was – and faster.
Who else?
Ryu flashed into my mind next. This was the guy who had held me, Karyn, and Anju as hostages and attempted to kill us. He ended up with ten years in prison. However, just like TaeYang, the more I thought about this person, the less likely it seemed that he would do this.
There was also the man who had fired the first shot – the shot that sealed Karyn and Anju's fate…Hikaru Tenachi. I had only managed to get him a measly twenty-five years behind bars, but that no doubt had humiliated him. It made sense, and I would've accepted it, but I had been receiving those notes even before I found out who he was.
My thoughts were cut short, when I heard the turning of the doorknob. Panic set into my body quickly, and my pulse had already begun to race. My mind set on the fact that the person responsible for the notes I had been receiving had arrived to fulfill the things he had promised me, I immediately without really even realizing my actions, pulled my gun out of its holster and pointed it at the suspect.
Ikuto's wide eyes only portrayed shock before they set into tones of worry. He took a step forward, but stepped back again once noticing that I had failed to lower the gun.
I saw him and yet strangely enough I couldn't lower the weapon with my trembling hands. He wasn't that person, but the paranoia, the terror, the need to protect myself wouldn't leave.
"Amu, it's me. I-
His gaze moved past me, his eyes transfixed on the floor. His brows furrowed together and with a few long strides stood behind me.
The internal battle within me kept on raging, until I was finally able to bring the gun to the ground. I turned to face him slowly, fearing his reaction from the note I had been hoping to hide from him. His face was not twisted in anger as I had expected it would be, instead he looked cool and collected. His eyes clearly however expressed something entirely different; they blazed with the murderous intent to kill. Ikuto was beyond furious.
His gaze drifted toward mines, and our eyes were locked in contact. In less than a single beat, the note was reduced to no more than a crumpled mess.
"You asked for no security, so you and everyone else will move to my house," his tone seemingly calm if not for the dangerous undertone.
"But I-
"That's final Amu!" he shouted stepping closer.
I stupidly and regrettably flinched. His eyes showed a glimpse of apologetic regret, but all signs of remorse were washed away when he once again realized what he was holding in his hands.
Ikuto stormed out of my office.
It was as he left, that I heard the booming punch resonating from the wall.
x
The night lolled on in pure awkwardness. At times, when I happened to find myself alone in his company, I was skittish and fidgeted relentlessly. He didn't seem to have the same frazzled nerves I had currently grabbed a hold of, but he was sure avoid eye contact. This continued until each of us were finally asleep.
I rolled out of bed in the middle of the night with an uncomfortably dry throat. Wearily, I rubbed my eyes to clear my foggy sight and headed out. When I reached a certain point where I knew the staircase was close, my hand searched the air until it clasped around the railing. It was as I was tiptoeing down the staircase, when I heard a creak in steps. I remained rooted to my spot, waiting, when I heard it yet again.
Immediately, I whirled around to catch the suspect, only to clumsily lose my footing and topple down the stairs.
The darkness rendered my vision, but even still, I knew that I had not landed on the hardwood floor. Whatever I was sprawled on shifted slightly and groaned painfully. I froze. Had I landed on the suspect?
"Who are you?" I asked with caution.
"What the hell? Amu?"
"Ikuto?" I answered in alarm.
"Who else?" he groaned.
I tried to move off of him, when my right leg roared in pain. I winced.
"Are you hurt?"
"I – can't move. I think I hurt my leg when I fell."
"Shit. I don't want to move too recklessly and put you in even more pain."
"Its fine," I mumbled waiting for pain to thunder, but he didn't move.
Silence loomed.
The dark clouds that had been covering the moon shifted away allowing a fraction of light to dance in the room. With that little fragment of light, I could just barely make out Ikuto's face now.
We're so close, I thought to myself…only separated by layers of clothing. My face flushed a bit at this. Feeling my neck strain from keeping it elevated for so long, I rested my head against his chest. I could hear the soft rhythm of his heartbeat and his steady breath.
"Where were you going?" he asked breaking the thick silence that had loomed between us.
"T-the kitchen."
"Oh."
The silence appeared again; the drumming of his heart, the rises and falls of his chest as he breathed, and the darkness lulling me to sleep.
"Amu?" he whispered quietly bringing me back to the realm of consciousness.
"Hmm?" I replied groggily already feeling myself drift back to sleep.
"Promise me that, you won't do anything reckless."
The edge of concern that lingered in his words alerted me.
"What do you mean?"
He let out a sigh.
"Today in the office, you were going to hide that note from me weren't you?"
He took my silence as a 'yes'.
"I knew it. I know you think that telling me would burden me, but it's not…and I've told you this countless times. Still you don't want to tell me anything; I feel as though we're going to be separated."
"Separated how?" I asked feeling the panic sink in again.
"I don't know," he whispered in sheer frustration. "I'm probably just being overprotective and silly – but if something happens…you'll tell me right?"
Ikuto was truly worried.
I rested my head against his chest again.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For worrying you…for always keeping the important things away from you."
He brought his arm up and placed it on top of my back – effectively holding me in place.
"I don't want to lose you Amu."
I felt tingles of heat near my cheeks.
"I won't be taken from you. I'll fight."
Ikuto scoffed, causing a worried crease to form at my forehead.
"I wish I could tell you that I could protect you no matter what the circumstance is…I don't know…I'm probably just being-
"Overprotective and silly?" I finished with a soft smile.
"Yeah…just promise you'll tell me if something happens, alright?"
"Ikuto…"
"Please."
I had known Ikuto for a very long time now. The first time I ever met him was when I was ten, but then I couldn't remember him anymore. All that was left for me was a miniscule memory of a person who changed my life forever – a person whose face and name I couldn't remember.
So I guess it would be more accurate to say that I really met Ikuto last year; and in these almost two years that I had known him, I had never seen him in a desperate situation before.
He didn't want to lose me.
His words tugged at me relentlessly, and despite the fact that I didn't really understand how I felt either, I knew that I didn't want to lose him either.
"I promise."
As if having fulfilled its intended purpose, the moonlight was once more covered by the dark clouds, creating a curtain of shadow in the room.
"Amu?" he asked after a brief period of silence.
"Yeah," I muttered feeling myself lull back to sleep.
"Do you want to go back to your room?"
"Kind of…I'm getting sleepy…I can't move though."
"I'll take you."
"I thought you were injured or you were afraid of hurting me."
The clouds moved away again, allowing me to see the smirk he was currently wearing.
"I lied."
I felt a smile grow on my lips.
"You're horrible."
A Few Days Later
I was sitting in one of Ikuto's guest rooms, working on revising a few files I had received from Suzuki. Ikuto refused to let me work on a single negotiator case unless he was able to come with me. That was a scenario which would never take place because a combination of SWAT and negotiator work had left him too busy and tired to even try to accompany me on a case. And being the jerk he was, he had even asked Kukai, Rima, and Nagi to watch me just in case I tried to sneak out on a mission.
I was busy going over the details of a particular case when my phone vibrated. Groaning at the interruption, I pressed the green button and placed the device in the crevice between my ear and shoulder.
"Hello?" I muttered impatiently.
"Impatient are we my little mouse?"
The pen fell from my hands, rolled off the desk, and landed on the floor.
This was the same person who had called me previously – the same person who relentlessly sent threatening notes and calls. I was sure of it.
"W-what do you want?"
A cold laugh erupted from over the speaker causing a nauseous feeling to grow in my stomach.
"Don't be scared, we're just talking like two civilized people."
"Answer me!" I shouted.
"I'm bored," he declared with a sigh. "You've ruined my entertainment Amu; you're no longer living in your house."
An involuntary gasp escaped from my lips causing him to chuckle.
"Don't worry, much to my dismay, I have no idea where you are right now."
"You're not tracking my call?"
"I have no intentions of ending this game so quickly."
"T-then why are you calling me?"
"I'd thought I'd help you."
"Help me how?" I asked through gritted teeth.
He didn't answer me for a while. I couldn't hear him either, but I was sure he could, with much amusement, hear my irregular breathing.
"Do you want to know who I am?" he asked finally.
Author's Note
Dun. Dun. Duuuuuuun.
Hey you guys, I hope you enjoyed my little cliffhanger.
Hehehehe, just kidding…no reader likes a cliff hanger especially since they have to wait for a while until they learn what happens next - . - But yeah. I hope this chapter proved to be somewhat satisfactory…I edited it A LOT.
At first, I wasn't going to put that little Amuto scene it at all. But if I didn't, then the story would end at a mere five pages, and I didn't think that was enough. So I also hope that the scene was okay and not out of place or anything.
School is going to be starting in two weeks or so, and I'm working like a mad woman to try and get this story and Amore Destinato finished as fast as I can, because once I start school updates will be little to nothing. Yes, my mom has finally decided to ban me off the computer during the school time TT . TT But, I'll be on during Christmas Break and such, so I guess instead of long chaptered stories, you guys might be seeing one-shots instead. (Just a heads up).
Ahhh! The OLYMPICS have started! Did you guys watch the Opening Ceremony? I saw part of it, and I have to say that England's idea for lighting the torch was really wonderful c:
Enough of my rambling…
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