I'd left them alone in the house with a bundle of frazzled nerves and an underlying sense of hope. Yet here I was still on the driveway, in my car. I slammed my head against the steering wheel. The idea that this was my fault couldn't be any clearer than it was beginning to be now. I was supposed to protect her. I promised her that but she was in the face of it now without me there to protect her. Before I could begin to pile on any more guilt, I pulled the car immediately to reverse and backed out of the driveway. The barricade of guilt I had built around myself was beginning to be ebbed away by anger. I didn't know where this fellow 'officer' got off, but I was definitely seething now. This man obviously didn't know who he was messing with.
When I arrived at the office, I stormed towards Tsukasa's office and forced the door open – a look of surprise veiling his eyes before shrouding to darkness.
"I don't suppose you know what knocking means."
"Amu's in danger."
He stood up abruptly and stared at me.
"How much danger?"
"Listen old man; if we don't act fast she's going to be killed. The person threatening her lured her in. You do what you have to do to get everyone else ready, but I'll be gathering Kukai, Nagi, and Rima and tracking Amu."
Nodding his head, he whirled around and began calling people. I ran into the next office closest to Tsukasa's – panic and adrenaline whirling throughout me like a tornado. When I pushed the door open, I saw Nagi sitting at his desk with Rima's arms wrapped around him whispering something into his ear. They both froze before Rima's petite stature immediately stalked up towards me and poked a finger into my chest; her honey brown eyes blazing a hole in my face.
"Look here Tsukiyomi; knocking was invented for a reason."
I rolled my eyes. Was I going to have to hear this every time?
"Amu's in danger," I repeated feeling the bile beginning to climb up my throat savagely.
Her face paled, and Nagi rushed towards us quickly – concern etching his face.
"I don't have time to explain, but follow me. I need to get Kukai."
My voice seemed to belong to a stranger; its unrecognizable hoarseness and desperation seemingly foreign to me. They nodded their heads silently and both followed me to Kukai's office as I followed the same procedure I had earlier.
"Kukai-
"I know," he interrupted as he shoved his gun into his holster. "Utau called me crying. Let's go."
Amu POV
"Yosuke?" I called out only to hear that shrill laugh once more, goose bumps traveling up my spine.
"You really are stupid, but it's okay. I'll have my fun with you, Amu."
There was suddenly a gunshot and I dropped to floor quickly on natural instinct– the bullet flying over my head and hitting the door with a 'bang'. My sweaty palms were pressed against the cool concrete floor and small beads of sweat had begun to collect at the side of my face. Frowning, I stood up and pulled my gun; a mixture of fear and adrenaline thoroughly pumping within my veins.
"You're that person aren't you? The one leaving me all those notes."
"Ding. Ding. Ding. Congrats for figuring it out."
I took a step forward and narrowed my eyes in the overwhelming darkness that draped over the warehouse; a thick gray line separating what would be basked in light and what would be shrouded in black. My fingers gripped the hard metal with firmer; the ridges cutting into my skin leaving behind a numbing sensation.
"Step out," I shouted coolly, unwilling for the nerves racing within me to take control.
"That eager to begin the game, my little mouse?"
"Shut up," I hissed. "What did you do to Yosuke?"
An instantaneous bark of laughter roared and echoed throughout the building creating a nauseating feeling to wrap around my stomach. Silence eerily followed after causing me to take a faltering step backward. Amongst the teasing shadows, there was a shuffle then a series of footsteps.
My eyes widened and I took another step back. I pressed my suddenly parched lips together attempting to hold back the bile that was mercilessly crawling up my throat. The cursed lighting created an illuminating spotlight on the emerged figure; there was a sudden smirk that grew on the figure's lips – sinister, monstrous, and cold. I took another step, and unable to hold back the growing feeling of nausea, I immediately turned around and threw up - the acidic feeling burning a hole in my throat and nostrils. My hands shook immensely, my mind unable to truly fathom the circumstance I was currently living.
"Aww, come on now Amu, don't tell me you didn't expect this?"
My eyes surveyed the stature in front of me, but only one feature was truly evident – the hard gray eyes hiding a malicious intent that seemed to be directed to none other than me.
"Yosuke…? I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"
"Revenge, my doll. I need to exact my revenge."
My brows furrowed together as I made an attempt to stand up, despite the burning feeling that was beginning to create irritation and discomfort in my mouth.
"I don't know what I did."
"You're responsible for Karyn and Anju's deaths."
I froze and soon anger began to simmer throughout my veins.
"Don't you dare drag them in the middle of this!" I shouted in pure frustration.
I truly couldn't fathom why Yosuke of all people would choose to bear an intent hate towards me but I wouldn't stand here and allow him to bring those two children in the midst of his stupid ploy for revenge.
"Oh really?" he sneered. "And who the fuck are you, Amu, to judge whether I bring them in or not?"
"I was their negotiator dammit and I was the one who was able to relate to them the best!"
"Well I was their goddamn brother and you fucking killed them!"
My eyes widened and I subconsciously took a step back, shaking my head in disbelief as his eyes, ironically, seemed passionate with hate.
"No way," I breathed out. "Their brother was Taro…the guy you introduced me to."
Another bark of laughter erupted and I felt a sinking feeling from within the pits of my stomach. His lips twitched and formed a smirk – cocky, arrogant, and sinister.
"Let me introduce two concepts that may seem foreign to you; it's called lying and acting."
When nothing left my mouth he groaned and ran a hand through his hair impatiently.
"I'm not Yosuke," he began slowly as though attempting to make me understand so he wouldn't be subjected to having to repeat himself. "'Yosuke' was just the name I used as a façade to get close to you. That person truly does not exist. If you recall, I never chose to be around you and the people from work at the same time."
Dizziness consumed my mind and the urge to throw up became imminent once again. My mind refused to wrap around the thought that the person I had been friendly with was equivalent to the man who had been torturing the innermost parts of my thoughts.
"So who are you then?"
"Taro."
I raised a brow.
"That man-
"Was an amateur actor I paid to act as 'Taro' so I could play out my role as 'Yosuke'."
"So you're really Taro, Karyn and Anju's brother. And that man who I had believed was their brother originally, was just an actor."
At the nod of his head, something dawned upon.
A faint distant memory that I had forgotten until it was resurfaced now.
Flashback
When I got back, Ikuto was sitting on the couch watching TV with a bowl of popcorn sitting besides him.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Startled, he stood up so fast the bowl of popcorn spilled its contents all over the wooden floor.
"Shit," he cursed picking up the remnants of the popcorn.
Snickering, I walked over and helped him.
"How'd the investigation go?" he asked after we had thrown the popcorn away.
"They had a brother - Taro. I talked with him today."
"Hmm...I didn't know Taro had siblings."
"You know him?" I asked slightly curious.
"Not really."
"Oh, well I'm going to go upstairs and go over these reports. I'm bound to find something."
End Flashback
I took a step back and he grinned.
"I hope you understand now, Amu. I plan to exact my revenge on you, and there is nothing you can do to protect yourself."
Ikuto POV
Frustration seemed to grip me fiercely and showed no signs of relinquishing its reign too quickly. The pencil I had been holding snapped in half as I subjected more pressure to it. Rima, who I assumed had second thoughts about sitting next to me, tensed causing Nagi to send a low growl in my direction.
"Breaking things won't help us find her."
"Shut up," I muttered feeling the nerves begin to eat away at me slowly. "Kukai did you find her?"
When he shook his head, I took in a deep breath, grabbed the metal cylindrical pencil holder, and threw it aimlessly – missing the tracking monitor by a few inches. Kukai whirled around – emerald eyes blazing with matching emotions that ran throughout me.
"Get a hold of yourself!" he exclaimed pointing a finger towards me. "Amu's just as important to us as she is to you!"
He kept his hardened glare on me until he turned around and reseated himself in front of the monitor.
"Are you sure you properly installed the tracking device on the gun you gave her?"
"Yeah," he huffed out. "The damned thing just won't show up."
Groaning, I grabbed a fist full of my hair and tugged it lightly.
"I'm going to go crazy," I muttered. "I think I need to step outside."
Just as my foot crossed the doorway, Rima stood up and walked towards Kukai.
"Are you talking about the gun you gave her on Christmas?"
I turned around, a frown forming on my brows.
"Hmm…yeah. Though I was sure I put the tracking device in it."
"Did she go on any missions that may have dislodged it?"
There was a pause.
"That's it!" I exclaimed. "It was demolished in that house explosion you and Amu got stuck in during the Kyou mission."
Kukai's eyes widened before darkening.
"Then tracking her…is going to be much harder."
Amu POV
I released a groan of pain and stared miserably at my injured shoulder as I pressed my back against the wooden crate – feeling the rough edges through my shirt. I grabbed the corner of my shirt, and pressed it against the bullet wound, releasing a hiss of pain as my nail accidentally prodded it.
"Where the fuck are you hiding?!"
I craned my neck and peered over the crate to see Taro standing nearly thirty feet from me. There was no doubt he would find me eventually, but the question was if I could disarm him momentarily to call the cops and arrest him before any more damage could be inflicted upon me. My hand searched the ground blindly for my gun, feeling the cool ridges before wrapping around it firmly. Releasing a shaky breath, I immediately stood up causing Taro to whirl around – a murderous gleam twinkling his eyes. He let out a dry chuckle.
"Are you really going to pull the trigger Amu?"
"Of course, it hasn't even been twenty minutes and you've already punctured my shoulder."
"Even after you were the reason for Karyn and Anju's deaths; even though you were responsible," he chuckled and took a step forward. "You really are something else, Amu Hinamori. The fact that you are more than willing to kill me on the spot despite knowing I'm their last living relative that actually gives a fuck – I'm sure they'd be disappointed."
My hands wavered – the gun lowered slowly.
"Do you feel guilty?" he sneered, raising his gun.
"I-
His sudden smirk that soon transformed into an uproarious laugh interrupted me, but it quickly subsided leaving behind a plastered smirk.
"If there's one thing I truly like about you, is your ability to be extremely naïve and gullible."
His finger twitched slightly and I felt a sharp pain shoot through my arm – my gun dropping to the floor. With wide eyes, I looked to the ground and saw the blood dripping quickly.
"You bastard," I hissed.
Taro let out a hyena-like laugh and began to shout incoherent nonsense to himself.
"Cocky piece of shit," I muttered as I used his distracted state to stumble towards a stack of crates.
I stared at my gun blindly but was unable to muster the strength to actually injure him due to terrifying images of Anju and Karyn before they died conjuring in my mind. Sucking in a deep breath, I used my uninjured hand to fish through the pocket of my jacket. When my fingers brushed against the desired object, I pulled it out and exhaled sharply. My finger subjected pressure to the center button and dialed in the familiar digits. Before I could even manage to say a word, a panicked voice greeted me all too quickly.
"Amu?! Amu is that you? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" exclaimed Ikuto quickly.
"I'm fine," I breathed out feeling the sharp intensity of pain spreading throughout my body.
"Where the fuck did you go?!" shouted Taro just seconds after I spoke, his voice echoing loudly within the confinements of the building.
I craned my neck slightly to see him standing in the middle of the room; his position allowed me only a meager amount of minutes to fully inform Ikuto of the situation.
"Ikuto, how much of the situation do you know?"
As he took a deep breath, I felt my nerves subside slowly despite my current predicament.
"Ami informed me that you went out to negotiate but I thought it was strange because you are under probation according to Tsukasa. Then she said you were out with 'Yosuke' and I began to panic because I didn't know who this bastard was. When she showed me the picture, I realized the Yosuke you know is a fake – Amu that guy is Taro and he's one of the higher level officers."
"I see."
I pressed my body against the crate, my injured shoulder making contact with the wooden edge leading me to exhale sharply.
"Amu, are you injured?"
"Just a few bullet wounds," I answered smiling meekly. "Nothing I'm not already used to."
He cursed.
"Seriously, it's not too-
"Where the fuck are you bitch?!" screamed Taro firing off his gun. "I'm tired of your bullshit games."
Another gunshot erupted and a window nearby shattered.
"What's going on?"
"He's angry and I'm hiding behind a stack of crates," I whispered.
"Okay," he breathed out and I noted the underlying fatigue and stress that lingered in his voice. "Where are you?"
I peered behind the crates again and internally cursed. Taro was getting closer to my location and at this point I wouldn't be able to change my location without being detected and suffering another wound.
"Ikuto, listen to me, I don't think I'll be able to repeat this. Fifty to sixty miles from the office, there's a ware-
Before I was able to finish, there was a dry chuckle behind me. My back stiffened and numbness began to distribute towards my fingertips. Unable to turn around, I sat there as Taro lowered his face towards the nape of my neck and breathed slowly.
"I found you."
"Amu? Amu? What's happening?!"
There was a shuffle of footsteps and I felt the support of the crates suddenly falter. My eyes widened momentarily, and I quickly grabbed my gun and whirled around to see the stack topple down on me – my vision instantly turning into a drapery of darkness.
Ikuto POV
"Amu! Amu! Answer me!" I screamed feeling the panic set in.
Rima stared at me with alarmed eyes.
"What happened?"
"The line went dead," I answered numbly, redialing her number to no avail.
"Don't panic," snapped Kukai. "I'll track the call."
I clutched onto my phone firmly and began to pace around the room when the door flung open.
"Utau?"
Kukai immediately whirled around, concern etching his face.
"What are you doing here? Why aren't you at the house?"
She placed the two boxes she had been carrying on the floor gently.
"When I went to pick up the kids, this was at Ikuto's doorstep," she said pointing to the first package. "The second one was at mine."
Nagi kneeled down and began to inspect the packages carefully.
"What about Amu's house?"
She shook her head, "I didn't dare go there because I had the kids with me."
Nagi stood up, grabbing one of the boxes, and left the room.
"Nagi, where are you going?" questioned Rima trailing behind him.
"I'm going to figure out what's in these boxes, so stay here," he added as she continued to follow him.
Always ready to retort, she opened her mouth to offer her own opinion when Nagi's lips met her forehead quickly.
"I promise I'll be back, so wait here for me."
At the subtle nod of her head, he grinned and quickly raced out of the room, leaving Rima with a frustrated pout on her face.
Kukai slammed his fist on the table.
"The damned thing won't show up on the screen!"
"What do you mean it won't show up on the screen?" I questioned taking a step closer. "Everything is there and ready to be tracked!"
Kukai shook his head, "There is too much interference blocking the signal of the GPS transmitter. We'll have to wait until whatever is jamming the signal to leave on its own."
"I can't believe that bastard-
"Ikuto!" wailed Noelle running into the room with Ami, Mayumi, and Sasuke trailing behind her uneasily.
The small child grabbed the leg of my pants and gripped the fabric with as much strength as she could muster. Smiling softly, I picked her up, settling her on my hip as she continued to sob. I wiped her tears away with my shirt and kissed her forehead.
"What's wrong?"
"Swissy! I want swissy!"
"Don't worry sweetie," interjected Utau, before I could come up with a decent reply, putting a wide, forced smile on her face. "Uncle Kukai will find her."
Nodding, she rested her against my chest and closed her eyes. Meanwhile, Kukai replayed the voice recording of Amu's phone call and began to type furiously. The door opened slowly, and Nagi stepped in uneasily.
"What was in the box, Nagi?" asked Utau as she toyed with Noelle's hair.
He let out a sigh.
"Remote controlled pieces of dynamite."
I cursed and before I could continue with my profanities, Kukai jumped up immediately.
"Is the signal still blocked?"
He shook his head.
"Get ready guys, Amu's in a warehouse located ten miles before the exit to Kyoto and about sixty miles from here."
Amu POV
Speckles of light drifted into the darkness before disappearing once more and being replaced by striking blades of light. Soon enough, the drapery of black began to fade away and was replaced by a blurry image. As my vision began to clear, I took notice of my change in surrounding – I was no longer in the first room of the warehouse but in a much smaller and brighter room. As I came to search for my gun, my confinement came to my awareness. My hands were tied tightly by a piece of rope to a metal pole that was attached to the ceiling.
"Release me," I barked hoarsely knowing Taro wouldn't have left me in the room by myself.
There was his infamous dry chuckle that followed.
"But you'll run away before we can carry out our destined date, doll."
I pulled on the ropes to no avail – they were tied securely.
"You know," he said as he began to approach me. "I think I must be in love with you."
He grabbed a strand of my hair and twirled it in between his fingers; I jerked my head in response.
"You're crazy."
"It has to be love," he repeated pulling out a knife and kneeling down in front of me.
Panic began to set in and when I came to kick him, the second set of confinements came to attention. I looked down with frazzled nerves to see my legs tied together with another rope, rendering me virtually immobile. Taro raised his knife to my cheek, dragging it across causing bubbles of blood to dribble down my neck and stain my jeans.
"I mean, you're the reason why I can't eat. Before I go to bed at night, I think of you. When I wake up in the morning, you're the first thing that comes to mind. When I see you at work, my heart starts to beat faster-
He raised his knife once more and drew it across my other cheek.
"These are the things done when a person is in love. So if it's not love, then what is it!" he shouted dragging the blade against my bullet wound causing me to scream out in shear agony.
Taro licked his lips and stared at me – the evil glint truly visible in his stone cold, gray eyes.
"D-don't do this," I shuddered in between the waves of pain. "You'll only disappoint them."
"Disappoint them? Disappoint them?! How can I disappoint them when they don't I exist?!" he screamed kicking me harshly in the stomach.
Coughing violently, I looked up and tried desperately to plead with him and stall time for Ikuto to arrive.
"Taro…I truly had no intention of killing them. In fact, I was desperately trying to save them. I'm not the one who you should be taking revenge against; it should Hikaru Tenachi – the man that fired the first gunshot. The one that caused Karyn and Anju to die."
"Why didn't you die? You're the one that should've died, not them."
"I don't know why I wasn't killed, but believe me Taro, I had no intention of killing them."
"Shut up!" he screamed. "I've had enough of your bullshit. You're going to die Amu. I'm going to kill you with my own hands, bury you right here, and then escape. Do you understand?"
Using his knife, he began to rip through my jacket and continued doing so until he was able to pull the material off my body and discarded it in the corner of the room. A rush of cold air brushed against my skin causing goose bumps to form along my arms. I struggled uselessly as he continued to advance his knife towards me but he held me down with one hand as he cut through my tank top.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I snarled as he threw the remains of my tank near my shredded jacket leaving me in my bra and pants.
Unresponsive, he dragged the silvery metal across the flesh of my chest slowly causing me to flail around in pain as a scream left my mouth. His lips twitched upwards and as though enjoying what he saw, he continued to repeat his actions until blood had begun to puddle around me. Waves of nausea in combination with the searing pain clashed within me as my vision began to blur. Terror seared in my mind as I realized what would occur once my vision truly blackened and I passed out. Shaking my head, I protested again my throbbing body to stay awake to no avail.
Taro leaned back and smirked again before standing up.
"Are you about to pass out, Amu?"
Without waiting for my response, he turned around and left the small room only to return with a small bucket. In one swift movement, he dumped the icy water on me and I screamed out once more – my entire body tensing violently as the water burned my open wounds. I bit the inside of my cheek to subdue the pain, but my efforts were hopeless.
Panting, I looked up at Taro through my bangs.
"S-stop…this."
"I'll stop when you're covered in red and lifeless."
Endure the pain, I ordered myself as he continued his actions. If I gave up now, he'd do whatever he could imagine to me. It's only a small amount of pain too, I reminded myself. Nothing that I haven't been used to before. When he came closer to me once more, I swallowed the remnants of harsh pain, and brought my mouth down onto his skin – biting as fiercely as I could. Taro let out a mangled shout and hit my head causing me to let go. He let out a hiss as he stared at the broken skin and blood on his arm. Cursing, he kicked me one more time and left the room.
The moment he disappeared, my eyes wandered throughout the small room for something I could use to cut open my restraints. My gaze immediately noticed the knife he had left on the ground absentmindedly; biting my lip to ease the pain I stretched my legs as far as they could go and brought them down on the metal object. After several unsuccessful attempts, my foot finally reached the item and began to drag it towards me slowly as to not bring Taro's attention to my current scheme to free myself. When the item finally reached my grasp, I began to shift awkwardly as to cut the ropes. I winced as the knife cut my skin, but once again, despite the fatigue that was resulting from the inflicted pain; I ignored it and continued my actions. In a short amount of time, surprisingly, the ropes came undone, and I massaged my now unconfined wrists.
When I realized Taro hadn't returned yet, I quickly set to cutting the ropes off my bound legs; and once the final set of confinements came undone, I kicked the mangled ropes to a corner and hid behind one of the boxes sitting in the room. After a few minutes, Taro walked in with an annoyed expression displayed on his face. His eyes surveyed the room and he smirked.
"I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed," he announced pacing around the room. "I didn't expect you to have enough energy to actually escape from the ropes. But then again, you are the supposed 'ten year old criminal'."
Scowling, I pulled up the leg of my jeans and slid my spare gun from its holster. I internally thanked Rima for the recommendation of keeping a spare gun with me and in a location that was generally out of sight. I dragged myself on the ground – a trail of red following – and peered from behind the box. He was nearly a foot away. This would probably be my only chance to injure him. With a silent breath, I raised my gun, aiming directly for the back of his knee, and fired. Taro crumpled to the ground with a pierced scream – his hands holding his bent knee to his chest. With a triumphant smile, I stood up shakily.
"Never underestimate me," I muttered harshly.
Closing and locking the door behind me, I dragged myself down the flight of stairs. The fatigue and the severe thresholds of pain I had been attempting to subdue seemed to catch up to me now. Pushing the hair out of my face, I continued to step down – holding the railways at the side fiercely. It wasn't until I reached the last few steps of the staircase that my body crumpled, and I fell down the stairs, landing harshly on my side. Dragging my body to the edge of a wall, I rested my head back and allowed my eyes to close. A serene blackness overcoming my body.
Ikuto POV
I pulled up to the warehouse immediately, noticing Amu's car at a small distance from the building. Not waiting for the others to set up and branch out, I quickly strapped my second gun to its holster and raced out of my car – Kukai and Nagi trailing behind me. Panic and frustration coursed throughout my body as I pushed the door open.
"Amu!" I shouted.
"Ikuto, you're going to alert Taro," warned Kukai as he began to inspect the outer perimeters of the main floor.
"She could be hurt," I countered.
"Amu's a strong girl, I'm pretty sure she's fine."
Running a hand through his hair, Kukai pulled out his walkie-talkie.
"Rima, I want you to station half your men outside, ready and armed. I need the rest to wait for further instructions."
"Got it."
I continued to search the room, my eyes wandering towards the fallen stack of crates in the corner. When I found nothing, I turned to face Kukai and Nagi when a head of pink immediately captured my attention. After a moment's inspection, I raced towards the small crumpled body.
"Nagi, call an ambulance!"
"Why?" he questioned alarmed.
His gaze followed me and landed on Amu's badly injured body.
"That fucking bastard!" cursed Kukai slamming his fist into the wall nearby.
I pulled Amu's body into my arms, and lifted her arm. Placing my first three fingers on the side of her wrist, I checked for a pulse. When I felt a soft heartbeat, I breathed a sigh of relief – she was still alive.
"Here," said Nagi holding a small white box. "It's a first aid treatment box – just the basics. Amu's wounds look pretty bad."
Nodding my head, I pulled her unconscious body off my lap and laid her gently on the concrete. Tugging my jacket off, I bundled into a small ball and placed it under head. I studied her appearance with a frown – multiple gashes and bullet wounds, a really severe bullet wound on her shoulder and a few budding bruises. Cursing, I grabbed the bottle of peroxide, applied it onto a cotton ball and began to bandage up some of her more severe wounds.
"Do you think he's escaped by now?"
I shook my head, "I doubt Amu would allow herself to be in such a position if she hadn't already taken care of him."
"We should get Amu out of here first," said Kukai. "She's his target; once she's out we can set to looking for him."
Her body tensed violently when I applied the peroxide to the severe bullet wound on her arm. Biting the inner flesh of my cheek, I took in a deep breath and began once more. I cleaned the outer edges of the wound first and then used a small q-tip to clean the innermost regions. As I busied myself with her wounds, I didn't notice her eyes flutter open.
"Ikuto," she breathed staring at me softly. "You came."
My head snapped up.
"You're awake."
She nodded her head.
"Upstairs…I locked him in."
I brushed the hair out of her face and smiled.
"Don't worry, you did well."
"I'm sorry," she managed as she attempted to pull herself up. "I couldn't hurt him much…I shot him once and bit him."
A chuckle escaped my lips and she smiled weakly.
As I finished placing bandages on some of her more minor wounds, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics immediately rushed in.
"Amu, they're going to take you to the hospital. You've lost a lot of blood."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine, I need to catch Taro."
"Be careful."
I placed a kiss on her forehead and smirked, "Aren't I always?"
X
"Amu said he was upstairs, right?" asked Rima trailing behind us.
I nodded my head, "The last room on the third floor."
My quick pace came to a sudden halt when I saw the door mentioned by Amu. Motioning my hand at Kukai and the other officers that followed, I pointed to the last room on this level, and soon enough the area was surrounded. Rima turned around, facing the other officers that were stationed behind us.
"Okay guys, Taro is super dangerous. He's been apart of us for awhile, so he's aware of our tactics. I need a third of you here and the rest of you scattered amongst the various floors. I also need one of you to page the officers stationed outside to move in closer to the building. We can't let him get away."
As the officers followed Rima's orders, I tapped Kukai on the shoulder and stepped closer to the door.
"Are you going to break down the door or should I do the honors?"
"I'll do it; I think you'd rather beat the bastard to a pulp."
Nodding my head, the four of us approached the door. Kukai took in a deep breath, and in a fluid movement kicked the door fiercely – the hinges flying off and landing in a corner. We charged into the small room to see Taro standing there with a gun in his hand and a bloody knee. Amu had done a pretty good job busting him up.
I took a step closer towards him and snarled, "Game's over Taro."
He smirked, "The game isn't over until I declare it to be."
Taro quickly pulled the trigger, but the adrenaline pumping through my veins seemed to sharpen my reflexes as I dodged it skillfully. Taking another step forward, I pulled the trigger of my own gun – aiming for his shoulder. When the gun fell from his hands, I kicked the object away from his grasp and straddled him – punching his face relentlessly. Grabbing his shirt, I pulled him up and glared at him furiously.
"I hope you know how long I've been waiting to pulverize your damn face."
His lips twitched.
"It's a shame your girlfriend escaped by herself. I was planning on creating a blood bath from her body."
I slammed my forehead into his face, feeling the bridge of his nose shatter and hearing his sharp scream echo throughout the room. Satisfaction ran throughout me.
"I wonder how many times you made her scream like you, you bastard," I whispered darkly as I punched him one more time.
The footsteps that approached me fell deaf to my ears while I relentlessly made contact with his face.
"Ikuto that's enough," muttered Kukai grabbing my shoulder.
"No! He deserves to know what he did to Amu!"
"Ikuto!" snapped Kukai pulling me harshly. "That's enough. He's going to spend his life repenting, just hurry up and have him arrested so you can go see Amu in the hospital. He's only trying to egg you on."
I exhaled deeply and threw his mangled body on the ground. But before I left to get the other officers to arrest him, I bent down and pulled him up by his shirt again.
"You're lucky he saved your butt," I whispered pointing a finger towards Kukai. "But I'll be seeing your disgusting face everyday until the day you rot in your cell and you're going to suffer, but you'll endure it, won't you? Because Amu's endured so much because your bullshit. Don't worry; I'll transfer her pain onto you tenfold. I promise you that."
Punching him one more time to satisfy my desire to kill him, I threw him onto the ground and motioned for the officers to arrest him.
"You can't get rid of me this easily, Tsukiyomi!" called out Taro as he was dragged out of the room. "I won't disappear until she's dead!"
A Few Hours Later
Amu POV
"I'm fine," I protested weakly as I was babied by everyone in the room. "I'm used to this anyways. I'll be fine after a couple days."
My futile attempt to have the overly crowded hospital room quiet down by a pitch was effortless.
"Dammit!" exclaimed Ami jumping up immediately. "I should've been there."
"And what were you planning to do?" questioned Nagi with an arched brow and an amused smirk.
"What else? I would've demonstrated my two years of judo on him and kicked his butt."
Kukai scoffed and pointed towards Ikuto, "Don't worry, I'm pretty Ikuto busted him up pretty badly."
While the group in front of me chatted pleasantly, much to my delight, I came to shift my aching body slightly as to relieve some of the growing tension on my apparently fractured ribs. When a soft wince escaped my lips, Ikuto immediately waltzed towards me, placing a palm under my back and moving me. My face heated intensely as I stared into his dark azure eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke staring at me with a worried expression and thankfully breaking the intense eye contact between Ikuto and I.
I managed small smile in his direction.
"Nothing, I was just beginning to feel uncomfortable. That's all."
"You're such a sweet heart Tsukiyomi," cooed Utau half-jokingly. "You're the only one who noticed Amu was a pain in the midst of our argument. Either you're really observatory or you were looking at her the whole time."
Grinning, I turned my head and looked at Ikuto – my heart warming immensely. A faint pinkness appeared on his cheeks but he hid his embarrassment quickly.
"Yeah right," he snorted. "I was just making sure she was okay and I saw her trying to move, so I helped her."
Kukai, right on par with his girlfriend, punched his best-friend's shoulder – a wide and childish grin on his face.
"Yeah right, you're not fooling anyone in this room."
Before Ikuto was able to retort, a knock came at the door and the nurse from before walked in.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm going to have to ask the family to go and wait in the waiting room for a while. I need to prepare some things for Ms. Hinamori, and then a doctor is going to visit shortly to make sure her operation went successfully."
They filed out of the room, mumbling small incoherent words under their breath. Before Ikuto shut the door, he spared a glance in my direction. Grinning at him, I raised a hand and shooed him away.
"You're such a worry wart," I teased. "I'll be fine. I promise."
Nodding his head, he closed the door behind him and I released a small sigh. The nurse fiddled with the IV tubes and scribbled something into her clipboard before looking at me; her dark emerald eyes lit with amusement.
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Choking on my saliva, I looked up towards her, my face evidently flushed pink.
"…N-no!"
Ignoring my negative response, she hummed to herself knowingly and began to pull a few necessities from the cabinet nearby, stacking the commodities on the counter for the doctor to use.
"He likes you."
Biting my lip, I began to fiddle with the edge of the white sheet sprawled over me.
"I think you like him too."
"I-is it obvious?" I mumbled.
The woman let out a pleasantly amused laugh.
"I'll try not to pry too much, but the way you two look at each other, it's obvious there's more to the story."
I nodded my head warily and pushed a thin strand of pink hair out of my face. She whirled around, her eyes suddenly dancing with surprise, and approached me quickly. Grabbing my hand, she held up to her chest level and grinned at me happily.
"I'll even let you know what I heard from the receptionists downstairs. Turns out, he was in such a rush to see you, he ran into a few nurses and a closed elevator door. Some of the nurses who were infatuated with him tried to assist him, but he said he only wanted to see 'Amu'. The nurses downstairs are quite envious of you."
"Really?"
"Mhm," she hummed standing up and heading towards the door. "Just passing on the most popular hospital gossip of today. Oh, and by the way, the doctor will see you shortly."
Nodding my head, I allowed for what the nurse had just said to process through my mind.
"Do I really like him?" I mumbled to myself.
I mean I did care about him. And I did kiss him the other day. But it was to say thank you, I argued with myself. But who says thank you with a kiss? I guess I like him then if I consider the kiss plus all those small moments of romance after the breakup.
"Only wanted to see me."
A small bubbled laugh escaped my lips. As I was caught in between my delighted thoughts, I failed to notice the door open. It wasn't until I realized the doctor was fiddling with the IV tubes that I turned my head to his attention.
"Ah the nurse already –
The doctor paused, turning around slowly, and pulled down his mask, grinning simultaneously – stone gray eyes meeting mine. Eyes wide, I scooted over on the bed, and slid my hand down the white sheet sprawled over me to retrieve my gun only to notice I was in the cursed hospital gown.
"Miss me?"
"I-I thought you were arrested," I choked out trying to find the red button that would immediately call a nurse over.
He released a cold chuckle, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"I'm a cop and a SWAT member, pulling some strings to get out of jail isn't that big of a deal. But forget about me, I have some unfinished business with you."
Before I could possibly attempt to scream or move, he slapped a strip of dark duct tape on my mouth and pulled out a thick rope. Rolling out of bed immediately, I came to run to the door but he pulled me back with one hand and tied my hands together above my head to the frame of the bed. My heart beat wildly within my chest as I flailed around on the bed – my attempts to flee futile. My muffled screams fell to deaf ears leaving Taro to smirk.
"It was a bit risky to have to disguise myself as a doctor and walk past your beloved boyfriend, but they're such a clueless bunch, they didn't suspect a thing."
I flailed around violently, kicking him in his gut in the process. Recovering from the blow, he stood up with a curse and pulled a white bottle from the pocket of his coat.
"I originally planned to inject air into your veins, but the death would be instantaneous-
I screamed again, hoping a passerby would hear me.
"But that'd be too easy for you, wouldn't it? So I bought this bottle from a drug dealer down the street. I didn't ask what it was, but he did tell me that after five minutes of injection the person would die."
My eyes widened in horror and I attempted to tug the IV tube off my arm. Grinning, he opened the pouch that connected to the tubes and dumped in the silvery powder. After several useless attempts to detach the IV and realizing that in a few minutes I would be dead, a tear slid down my cheek. My eyes widened when he suddenly brought his mouth to my ear and licked the outermost edge causing goose bumps to travel up my spine.
"It's such a shame you got on my bad side, you were so appealing to look at it," he muttered, his gaze traveling down my hospital gown before returning to my attention.
Anger simmering, I flailed around hoping to kick him and in the process disconnect the IV tubes – both efforts were useless.
He raised a finger and twirled a finger around a strand of my hair.
"Four minutes and twenty seconds before you breathe your last breath; let's have some fun."
Realizing his intent, I screamed once more and kicked around, but he elbowed my gut, the sharp pain serenading throughout me, and pulled down my hospital gown. He moved his lips to the nape of neck and began planting kisses until he reached the area above my breast.
As another tear cascaded down my cheek, I internally and agonizingly pleaded for someone to open the door.
Ikuto POV
I glared at Amu's hospital room, waiting for the doctor who had gone in there to get out, so I could be by her side again. As my thoughts continued to roam, they were suddenly interrupted by an ongoing banter between Sasuke and Mayumi.
"Sasuke let's pray for Amu, okay?"
Appalled, he sent a sidelong glance at his girlfriend and snorted.
"Yeah right, praying isn't my thing. And it's not going to change anything either."
Frowning, she shook his shoulder fiercely and reiterated her statement. When she received a negative response from Sasuke once more, she whirled around – her back facing him. After a short moment, Sasuke, apparently unable to tolerate the silent treatment tugged lightly on her shirt, receiving no response.
"Mayumi, stop giving me the silent treatment. Praying just isn't my thing; I just think its stupid, that's all."
The silence was followed by a sniffle as Mayumi turned around slowly, tears rolling down her face.
"It's n-not stupid. My mom always told me praying was done when you truly loved someone."
Panicking, Sasuke quickly put his hands together and closed his eyes.
"Don't cry, don't cry. See? I'm praying. Okay?"
Mayumi's tears instantly faded and she smirked haughtily.
"Thank you."
Kukai and Ami burst into a fit of laughter while Utau gave Mayumi a well deserved high-five.
"Wait, what happened?" asked Sasuke in pure confusion.
"I'd say you've been tricked by your girlfriend," answered Nagi with an amused smile.
Jumping up, Sasuke started to shout when he was reprimanded by an approaching doctor.
"I'm sorry about him," I said standing up to face the doctor. "He's waiting for his uh…sister to get out of the hospital."
"I understand," he said looking around the empty room. "Ah, may I ask, are you with Amu Hinamori?"
I nodded my head and the man smiled immediately.
"I'm terribly sorry for the wait. I had an unscheduled appointment with another patient, so I hope you weren't terribly inconvenienced."
"No its fine. Actually, another doctor went to her room a while ago, so we were just waiting for him to finish up."
Frowning, the man raised a white brow.
"That's odd; I'm the only doctor on staff today."
I froze, my heart pounded with slow but fierce pulses.
"No, there was definitely another doctor that went into her room," said Ami standing up suddenly.
Unable to wait for the doctor to answer, I immediately ran towards Amu's room and opened the door to see her half naked, tape covering her mouth, her hands tied above her head, and tears streaming down her face. On top of her was Taro who turned around and stared at me with satisfied eyes.
"I was wondering when you'd be here. For a cop and a fellow SWAT member, I'd have to say it did take you a while to figure it out."
"You fucking bastard!" I screamed lunging towards him only to be stopped as he raised his gun and pointed it to Amu's temple.
Frantic and terrified golden eyes met my gaze.
"Just a moment, lover boy, you're apprehension to get your hands on me is only going to end up hurting Amu. But I'll let you know what's going to happen here and you get to decide – either Amu can die right now by a bullet through her head or she can die in two minutes and thirteen seconds."
Footsteps echoed behind me as everyone stood in the doorway.
"Amu!" screamed Ami trying to get inside the room only to be held back by Utau.
"Move away from her," snarled Kukai stepping into the room with his gun raised.
Taro's mouth frowned in distaste.
"You seemed to have invited everyone. Well I guess that's my cue to leave."
"You're not going anywhere," I hissed blocking his escape and wishing I hadn't left my gun in the waiting room.
He smirked and took a step closer to me – the gun still pointed at Amu.
"I think I am, because it's either you let me leave or Amu dies."
I looked up to see Amu's frantic face, her eyes pleading with me that nothing would happen. But if I let him go, he'd get to her again. I had to do it, I reasoned with myself. I wouldn't let anything happen to her again – I promised her that.
"I mean," he continued. "Either way she'll die, but just to let you know, you have a minute and thirty seconds left."
"Just let him leave Ikuto," muttered Kukai shoving the gun back into its holster. "We can track him down again."
"Dammit!" I cursed stepping aside and allowing Taro to leave my grasp with a haughty smirk.
Once he was gone, I rushed over towards Amu and pulled the tape off of her mouth.
"Ikuto!" she whispered in a raspy breath. "The IV tube, pull it out."
Confused as to what was going on, I supplied her demands and pulled out the tubes to receive a large exhale of breath from her. She panted heavily, beads of sweat collecting at her hairline.
"You're okay," I comforted pushing her hair out of her face. "He's gone. You're okay."
"I-It's hard to breathe."
Frowning, I turned around to see the doctor from before approaching us seriously. He pulled out his stethoscope and began to move it around on her chest as he listened intently. Letting out a small 'tsk', the doctor pulled out a small light and examined her eyes.
"Irregular heartbeat and dilating pupils," he muttered, his eyes scanning around the room before landing on a small white bottle placed on the counter.
"Ikuto…I-I can't…breathe," she whimpered squeezing my hand weakly.
"Doctor, what's happening to her?"
Unresponsive, the doctor opened the cap of the bottle and smelled the contents before whirling around immediately – alarm tracing his eyes.
"I need two of you to quickly roll her bed into the emergency room. The phony from before drugged her IV with the contents of this bottle. If she doesn't get there now, I'm certain she'll die."
A Few Hours Later
"Dammit!" I screamed punching the wall relentlessly. "Why am I so useless?"
"Hey!" snapped Rima grabbing my wrist quickly and pulling me away from the wall. "She's going to be okay. Ah, you're bleeding. Nagi, can you bring me some band aids from your handy first aid box."
I tried to pull my hand away from her, but she held it there with a convincing glare.
"Here you go," said Nagi handing his girlfriend the band aid.
He looked at my knuckles and shook his head.
"You're so reckless."
Rima placed the band aid on and returned her gaze to my attention.
"You need to stop blaming yourself. Anyone in your position would have done what you did, and it's not like he's disappeared forever, we can always track him down again."
Shrugging I got up and paced in front of the OR room.
Taro will come after her again; he's proven that already. Waiting around to track him down will just create more problems for Amu. Running my fingers through my hair in agitation, I shoved my hand into my pocket to grab my cigarettes only to find them missing. Cursing, I kicked the pot nearby lightly and received several stares from people passing by.
Just then the light illuminating the OR sign turned off and the doctor came out of the room.
"How is she?!" I exclaimed running up to him.
He pulled down his mask and stared at me with tired eyes.
"We rushed her in right on time. You can see her if you want."
Nodding my head, I muttered a quick thank you, and raced to her room. When I walked in, I saw her attached to several tubes and machines. She met my gaze and smiled. I took a seat on the chair beside her bed and grabbed her hand.
"How do you feel?"
"Better, at least I can breathe now."
I squeezed her hand and then brought it up to my lips – placing a small kiss on it.
"He'll come back again."
"I know, "she whispered. "I'm not scared though. I'm the ten year old criminal after all."
A chuckle escaped my lips and it was as I searched her eyes that an idea came to mind.
"Amu, I'm going to go after him."
Her eyes widened immediately and she attempted to pull herself up but landed on her back once more with a wince.
"Hey, don't overdo yourself."
"You can't go."
"I have to go; if I don't 'this' will happen again."
She pulled my arm to her chest and burrowed her brows together.
"I'm not letting you go."
"I'd go regardless of what you said."
"Ikuto! I won't let you disappear again…not like last time."
"I'll come back again, I promise you. But I can't sit here and wait for him to scheme out another plot for revenge."
There was a pause before she spoke once more.
"Nothing I say will change your mind?"
When I shook my head, she scoffed lightly.
"Of course not, you're stubbornness won't let you."
"I promised you, didn't I? I'll come back for you and then I'll ask you to be my girlfriend again."
"What?!" she exclaimed, her face reddening quickly.
I chuckled and then shrugged.
"Something to look forward to while I'm gone."
"Fine, but if you go then you have to promise me that you'll come back in one piece. I'll never forgive you if you don't."
I raised my right hand and grinned, "I promise."
I stood up and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Amu."
"What?"
"I love you."
A light shade of pink graced her cheeks as she stared at me with wide eyes. I pouted jokingly in response.
"Aren't you going to say anything in response?"
"…I…hate you too."
Author's Notes
OH MY GOSH!
WOAH GUYS I JUST WROTE THE LAST CHAPTER TO SCARS HIDDEN! Loool, but yeah. I hope it was well worth the wait. And I know I wrote a lot for this chapter, but I had originally planned for it to be pretty darn long because there would be so much happening and the suspense factor would diminish if I cut it in half. Sorry for the delay too. I know I said 1 week or less than one week but the original chapter was pretty bad to be honest. It seemed really rushed and it ended at the fifteen page mark. Overall I wasn't satisfied, so I rewrote it again and that version was pretty shitty too. So I decided to give myself a one week intermission and come back to it with fresh eyes since I obviously was plagued with the dreaded writer's block. And voila~ I came up with the whole hospital scene between Amu and Taro and then the end with Ikuto.
I also hope the ending scene didn't seem too abrupt or anything. I mean I think it seemed that it deserved to be there. The romance between Amu and Ikuto has been building up quickly throughout the last couple chapters. It was obvious Ikuto still loved her and it was obvious they both cared immensely for each other – it was all just a matter of how Amu felt. So I think the ending is pretty cutely accurate.
What else can I say? Hmm, originally I planned for Amu to never escape the ropes at the warehouse and Taro would shoot her and what not. And then Ikuto would find her and think she was dead and yes. But, that would be so out of character for Amu's character in this story. So I revised that too.
Don't worry guys! Its not over yet. Because an epilogue will follow shortly and EVERYONE will be pleased. ^.^
I would like to say thank you to the following reviewers! Y'all are so lovely to be honest:
Themeoftheday
IanHinamori
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WinterPrayerOfTheMoons
Michan-natsu
Silver Shihouin
Memexxchii (reviewed 2 times)
xXDrEaMsXCoMeXTrUeXx
Animelover456
101 Pretty Kitty
Naomi
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PrincessSkylar
Blu2012
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aznpride16xx
AmuxIkutolover (reviewed like a bazillion times. LOL I can't tell but you definitely reviewed a lot)
Long live the magic
WOOOH~ LOL I'm so happy to be ending this story soon. Its taken up a lot of my blood, sweat and tears. (actually none of those, but its been a long journey). I can't wait to share the ending with you guys!
On another note, if you guys are reading my other story, Amore Destinato, I'll be updating that soon. I promise. I just wanted to finish this one and before returning to that one.
OH AND ONE MORE THING! Guys, right after the end of this story, I'll be starting another story that I've been DYING to publish since FOREVER! (Actually there's a list of other ideas I've been meaning to publish).
But yeah!
Till then,
Neko-Meme