A/N: Over 300 reviews! THANK YOU! I was actually a little unsure about the last chapter, but I think it was needed since Yasu is too smart to go to the drop himself and he needed to get someone under his thumb quickly. He is a little (ok a lot) messed up in the head to think the way he does, but based on the reception and this last round of reviews, I am guessing that he is believable as a bad guy and I couldn't ask for more than that (well at least for now, LOL). I wanted to be sure to have a villain that was a true bad guy and that my readers would buy into. Thank you!
Also for those of you who like Prince Of Tennis, I have posted a one shot entitled The Trials of Ice Cream.
Chapter 47 – The Drop
Masami and Yasu left her apartment at eight the next morning. They needed to get to the bank, withdraw the money and then make it to the park on time. Although Masami was going to do the pickup/drop off, Yasu would be close observing everything. She thought it was because he cared and wanted to be sure she was alright, but in reality, he wanted to make sure he got his stuff without any problems. The girl really was only good for a couple of things in his mind after all.
When they were leaving the bank, Yasu looked at her with what appeared to be fear in his eyes, "Are you sure you are up to this? Maybe you shouldn't go."
Leaning forward, Masami kissed Yasu and smiled, "I will be alright. We have to do this right? You need to have your protection and I need to know that you are safe. Don't worry before you know it, we will be back at the apartment and won't have to worry about anything." Shivers ran through her spine at the look of love and desire that crossed his face. She didn't know how it happened, but this man in just over 24 hours had come to mean so much to her. He held the key to her heart and her bliss and had brought a beam of light into her dreariness. He had become her savior.
"Ok, but just make sure that you are careful. He sent me a text message and let me know that there will be two guns for the same price. I hope that is ok with you."
"Anything is fine as long as we don't have to be concerned with those self-righteous egotistical men and your slut of an ex."
"After today, you won't have to think about them ever again."
She wasn't sure why, but chills raced up and down Masami's spine. It could have been the tone of voice or the deadly look that appeared for an instant in Yasu's eyes before it went away like a puff of smoke, but something made her hair stand on end. Gazing at his eyes once again, there was nothing there but a loving and terrified look, and she convinced herself that she had imagined everything. It was never there and pushed it out of her mind. "Good," she whispered and linked her fingers with his noticing how cold they were as they made their way to the park.
At the Suoh hotel…
"Haruhi please, I have to go," Hunny had been trying to explain to Haruhi that he was going to go with Kyoya and watch the "drop" with him. He wanted, no he needed to see everything happen. There was something deep in his very soul that called to him to bear witness to the defeat of the enemy, and he would do it. However, explaining it to his girlfriend and telling her she couldn't go with him was a different can of worms that he did not expect.
"So you are telling me that you are going to go to the drop zone where the Yakuza, the Ootori private police force, and a fucking lunatic are all supposed to converge? Oh and let's not forget that there will be guns everywhere!" Haruhi snapped haughtily.
"We are going to be far enough away from the actual park in a van watching cameras. There will be no danger to us!"
"Then I can go too!"
"No, you are staying here. I do not want Yasu to see you and follow you or get a chance to grab you. You stay!"
"If you go, I go."
"No!"
"Fine, what if I break up with you then?" Haruhi laid the question out there feeling as if Hunny was forcing her hand.
"Then you can break up with me. I am willing to go through that, but I am not willing to offer you to that maniac on a silver platter!" Hunny shouted passionate about his stance. He could see the tears forming in her eyes and the terror hidden deep in the brown depths. Sighing, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the side of her head, "It is too dangerous for you. You need to stay here out of sight. I will not take the chance that can even catch a glimpse of you and do something. You are too important."
"You are too," Haruhi stated bluntly and yet tears started to spill down her cheeks.
Giving her gentle squeeze, Hunny was done yelling at her and spoke softly, "Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise, but I need to do this. I need to see him get taken into custody, to know with my own eyes that you do not have to worry about him any longer. Call it the warrior in me or whatever, but I need to protect what is mine."
Haruhi knew when it was no use arguing any longer and she had reached the line. Actually when she thought about it, she had reached the line about thirty minutes ago, but something would not let her back down. She conceded defeat, "Ok, but be careful. Yasu is getting dossiers on all of you and that is one of the reasons he is getting the guns. Don't forget that."
"I know that." He held her for a moment more before his cell phone started to ring and he answered it with a serious and clipped voice, "Kyo-Chan, I am on my way down." Looking at Haruhi, he was once again gentle, "I will be back as soon as I can. Do not answer the door, let the guards do it. Oh and I invited Satoshi and Beth-Chan over to keep you company. They should be here any minute." With one last kiss, he let her go and ran out the door.
Haruhi was freaking out. Today was the day that all of their planning was being put into motion, but something told her that Yasu wasn't going to fall for it. He was the enigma that would not go away and she was going to have to continue dealing with him, but when was enough, well enough? When was it time to stop hiding and start fighting? She wasn't sure there was actually a right answer to that question. Sitting on the couch in an ungraceful plop, she buried her face in her hands trying to stave off the memories, the thoughts, and the nightmares that threatened to drown her at that moment.
A knock at the door caught everyone's attention and although Haruhi knew that Satoshi and Bethany were supposed to come over, her heart raced and she was afraid that it would jump out at any moment. One guard stationed himself in front of her while another one looked out the peep hole and answered the door checking out whoever was out in the hallway before allowing them admittance into the room.
It wasn't until Haruhi saw Satoshi and Bethany with her own eyes that she started to breathe again and her heart started to regulate itself. Laughing, she knew she sounded nervous and shaken up when she spoke, "Hey guys. Thanks for coming. Sorry Mitsukuni dragged you into this and made you come over this morning."
"It was no problem Haruhi," Satoshi beamed his cocky smile and gave her a hug.
Shaking her head and chuckling, Bethany said, "He is right. It wasn't any problem. I am not working at the restaurant until tonight and we haven't seen you for a little bit. So this worked out perfectly." She was trying to sound positive because she didn't want her friend to concentrate on the horror that was about to go down on the other side of town. She could only imagine how Haruhi was feeling because she knew if it was Satoshi… well she wouldn't let herself think about it.
"Still, thank you. I would rather have you here than be alone right now," Haruhi spoke softly with a slight tremor to her voice.
"You are family, and family takes care of each other," Satoshi declared.
Scowling, Haruhi bluntly stated, "I am not actually family. I may be dating a family member and good friends with others, but technically I am not family."
Satoshi deadpanned and looked at Bethany before he face palmed. Groaning, he looked at Haruhi and barked, "You are family! You live at the Haninozuka estate… and before you interrupt me, let me finish. You live at the Haninozuka estate right now, even if it is temporarily. You are dating my cousin, who happens to be madly in love with you and I happen to know for a fact you have strong feelings for him also. Taka has always thought of you as a little sister and one of his best friends, and when Chika and I started high school you made sure to befriend us also. You have always been family even when you were just a member of the Host Club. Besides, didn't Tamaki always call the Host Club a family?"
Haruhi started to giggle and that turned into laughter, "I guess you are right."
"What is so funny?" Satoshi inquired with his hands on his hips.
"You! You stood there turning redder and redder, and I personally thought that you were going to turn purple as you lectured me on my place in your family's life," Haruhi explained her voice full of mirth.
Bethany had started chuckling also and had to agree with Haruhi, "Yah babe, I have to agree with her."
Rolling his eyes, Satoshi grumbled, "Whatever, as long as you learned your lesson."
Holding back more laughs, Haruhi held up three fingers, "Oh I did, scout's honor." She couldn't contain her laughter any longer when she heard Bethany completely lose it at that point.
"Women! If you two are done laughing at me, Haruhi we brought breakfast. Let's eat," Satoshi spoke up trying to insert a level of authority. It did nothing but cause the girls to laugh some more. Under his breath he mumbled, "Another fact that leads to her being family, she is a bad influence on my fiancée."
"What was that Satoshi?" Bethany asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist from his side.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Let's just eat," Satoshi grumbled.
Haruhi and Bethany continued the giggling, but did follow Satoshi into the little kitchenette to eat the food that the couple brought with them. The little thought of what was about to happen and where Hunny was, stayed as a nagging thought in her mind, but she tried to focus on anything else. If she didn't, she would go crazy. The young couple in front of her was already helping her more than they probably knew. "Please be careful Mitsukuni," she said to herself.
Kengo Kuma Teikyo University…
"Sir, all of the cameras are ready and operational. We will have a view of everything in a three block radius. We have coordinated a perimeter watch with Kasanoda's men and if he steps into our grid, we will get him," the commander of the Ootori private police force informed Kyoya as he stepped into the surveillance van followed by Hunny and Mori.
"Excellent work Commander Ikeda. I do not want him to get away again," Kyoya stated as he looked at all of the videos. "Surely with all of this and working with the Yakuza, we will catch him. We better catch him," he thought.
A knock at the van door, had Hunny and Mori turn around quickly before the door opened and Kasanoda walked in. Kyoya had seen the person walking up to the van on one of the monitors, so he had not been caught unaware.
"Kasanoda, thank you for your help," Hunny bowed before offering the red head his hand.
"It is no problem Hunny. I would do anything I could to help Haruhi and the others. It was just luck that Yasu contacted one of my men," Kasanoda replied shaking the blonde's hand.
Mori put his hand on Kasanoda's shoulder, "All the same, we appreciate it."
"You're welcome," the younger man stated still in awe of the man that at one point was his mentor. Turning to face Kyoya, he said, "Arata is ready and already at the park. He will only handle the drop and allow the others to handing catching him. He is not packing because if something happens, the chance that Yasu could get to Arata's gun is too high."
"Agreed," Kyoya nodded.
Now it was the waiting game. Everyone looked at their watches and noted the time. Yasu should be arriving within the next ten minutes.
Unknown to the group in the van or the men surrounding the area, Yasu had anticipated that the may not go according to plan and prepared for the alternative. Masami would get the guns and information from Arata while Yasu watched from afar. After they left the bank, the couple separated about four blocks away from the park so that they could approach from different angles. When he parted from Masami, Yasu donned a wig and moustache along with a pair of sunglasses. Although it looked cheesy and fake, he believed it would at least be believable from a distance. Reaching his destination, Yasu entered a building across the street from the school and at an angle to the park, and used the stairs to make his way to the seventh floor. There he had a pair of high powered binoculars waiting for him so that he could watch the show unfold. Picking up the binoculars, Yasu took his position up by the window and waited.
Masami wasn't sure where Yasu was, but she knew that he would be close by and watching. He said he would be and she knew she could trust him. She had to trust him. Looking down at her watch as she approached the entrance to the park, it was 10:00 and show time. She crossed the threshold and looked around and saw a person sitting at one of the tables in the park area. Other than him, the park was deserted and she took the chance that he was the person that she was there to see. "Are you Arata?" She inquired when she approached the table.
"What wants to know?" Arata replied snidely to the stranger that had walked up to him.
The man frightened her and she wanted to run, but Masami kept telling herself that this was for Yasu. Clearing her throat and swallowing loudly, she told him who she was, "I am a friend of Yasu's. He sent me for the merchandise you got for him." Her voice trembled and she didn't know what this gangster would do to her, she really hoped that it was nothing terrible and that she would be reunited with Yasu soon.
Sneering, he leered at her, "So he sent a girl to do his work for him. It figures. He was never one to do anything himself if he could help it."
That comment surprised her and the question "Does this guy know Yasu?" swirled around in her mind. "Um, I-I have the money. S-so if you have what he ordered, can we do this exchange?" She stammered
"Sure honey, no problem."
"Thank you. Here you go. It is all there." She handed him the bag fully expecting him to exchange it for his bag right away, but he didn't.
Opening up the bag the woman handed him, he looked at the money and made a mental count deciding that everything appeared to be legit, "So Yasu isn't trying to cheat me, but he is dragging someone else into his little game." Glancing up, he stated, "It looks like it is all here." He handed her the bag he was holding and held on to it even after she grabbed it. In a low voice he gave her a warning, "I don't know what he has told you or what you are doing with him, but I will tell you that you have no idea what you are getting yourself involved in with him. Run while you can." With that, he let go and watched her run away wondering if she would heed his advice or not.
Masami wasn't sure why the scary Yakuza would caution her about her boyfriend, he was the one in the Yakuza, not Yasu. Trying to get away as fast as possible, she ran down the street unaware that she was being followed and thanks to the tracking device in the bag, if the visual was lost, they could still find her.
"I should have known that coward wouldn't show up himself!" Kyoya yelled through clenched teeth and hit the table with his fist in frustration.
"What is even more pathetic is that somehow he got some girl involved and she probably has no clue about the real him," Kasanoda sighed with worry for the new girl.
"Did anyone notice that she resembles Haru-Chan? Do you think he found a temporary substitute?" Hunny thought out loud.
Everyone nodded at Hunny's speculation and silently promised to make sure the girl went unharmed, but right now she was their best lead to Yasu. They could only hope that she led them right to him.
Yasu smirked from his perch on the 7th floor. He knew that man would stab him in the back in utter betrayal. It was a gut feeling and Yasu had learned long ago to trust his gut in those kinds of situations. He counted at least 13 people watching the exchange and then looked on as they shadowed Masami. It looked like it was time for plan B. Well the least he could do was pick up the bag before he went to his next scheme, and this time, he would not be betrayed.