Author's Notes: Yayness, a new chapter! ((hears crickets chirping in background and laughs nervously)) Yes, I know…it's been…awhile…again…((slowly starts edging towards her infamous hiding rock)) BUT…I'm not to blame for this being as late as it is this time, no, I'm really not! ((grins mischievously)) My wonderful beta reader should be quite happy that I told her she might want to run in advance, because she took a bit longer to beta read this than normal, so of course, I got it back a bit later than normal…so technically I guess you could probably blame THAT part on her, but you could also still blame me because I took forever to write this chapter-I guess that means we'll both just have to run, ne? ((Edges a bit more closer to her hiding rock)) And yes, I know that the last chapter is a bit on the awful side with all the weird indenting going on-I promise a major revision of this fic with lots of pretty corrections once it's done no revisions in the plot, just minor revisions in previous chapters before I got a beta reader...LOL! Anyway, LOTS of stuff happens in this chapter, and it's one of those chapters that I had to get just right or I'd completely destroy the whole fic you know? I know that this is the chapter a whole bunch of you have been waiting for and I appreciate how patiently that all of you HAVE been waiting for it! So without further ado… ((Clambers underneath her rock and grins mischievously before disappearing to write another chapter))
Oh, and once again if anyone can help this authoress with how to fix the words getting squished together with the editing sequence on this site when you're updating fics, pass on the help…please? The squished words I'm finding all over the place in my fics are really starting to drive me nuts and I have yet to figure out how to stop it from happening. ((Rolls eyes)) It's starting to get to the point where for the ONE person who can help me out with that situation, I'll write a really kawaii one shotTakouji/Taitofic for them…please? ((Gives readers puppy dog eyes and hopes that bribing works…heh…))
Warning: This fic contains slash/yaoi. I suggest that if you're not a fan of male/male pairings or the goodness of Takouji then you might want to hit the wonderful back button to the top left of your page there and run far, far away.
Pairings: Takuya/Kouji, Kouichi/Izumi, Yamato/Taichi, Katsume/Rei, previous hints of Ruki/Juri…and maybe some others I might've forgotten but meh…they're listed in previous chapters.
Rating: PG13
Time Setting: Five years after Eternity-the prequel to this fic
ForevermoreAuthor: Angel Spirit
Chapter 20: End Game
Katsume was long gone by the time that Rei had managed to catch her breath, and stand fully upright. Yamato eyed her, and Rei nodded in the direction that lead off from the pier and back into the warehouse district.
"I'm fine…let's go get Kouji and help Katsume nail that son of a bitch." She sneered, dashing off the slippery planks and back onto more solid ground-Yamato quickly followed her, and the two of them were soon back into the maze that was the empty warehouses.
"Which way do you think they all are now?" Yamato murmured, having easily caught up with Rei as she'd stopped for a moment underneath a hanging tarp-to once more catch her breath and stay out of the rain, even if it was just for a few, scant seconds.
Rei only shook her head at the question, as Yamato came right up behind her, allowing her to lean up against him, so that her back was against his chest…the heat that radiated off from the blonde felt good, and Rei shivered for a second in Katsume's black leather trench coat. While it wasn't a type of coat that she would normally wear, it was still warmer than the rest of her clothing-still wet from Hirotaka having thrown her into the ocean less than fifteen minutes ago. Brushing back some strands of wet hair that had fallen into her face, Rei chewed absentmindedly on her lower lip before she finally got an idea that would hopefully answer Yamato's question.
"We should go back to where we started from-I went left, and from what we've found, that definitely wasn't correct…Katsume originally went straight, and Takuya went to the right. I have the strangest feeling, that Takuya went in the right direction." Even though it was a very bad time to make a horrible pun, she got Yamato to groan anyway, and she smiled a bit. Probably one of the first few smiles that she'd had all day…or for the past couple of days for that matter.
"Let's go." Yamato nodded in confirmation that he was right behind her as she took off running again, Rei's breath ragged from her recent escapade with Hirotaka and the water's current, and she knew that she was starting to tire. Yamato however, was the exact opposite…he knew he had the strength to carry her if it so came to that-he'd carried his friend before. The blonde teen shook his head…that was a memory for later.
They'd just reached a little past the starting point-as Rei had just hollered over her shoulder at Yamato, so that way he knew that they were back at their original point of entrance. Rei hadn't gotten very far in the direction that Yamato had assumed Takuya had taken off in, before she ran smack into someone…and was sent flying to the ground.
Rei lay gasping for air, in stunned silence on the wet cement, while Yamato caught up and clasped arms with Taichi.
"I think you successfully managed to scare her half to death, Taichi, especially when you come out of nowhere like that!" Yamato lightly scolded as Taichi brought the blonde into a hug, grinning sheepishly as he did so.
"I take it that you guys didn't have any luck?" Taichi asked, and Yamato shook his head as he glanced down at Rei-Taichi's eyes following suite as he took in her wet figure, and an eyebrow was raised.
"Rei had a run in with Hirotaka." Was all Yamato needed to say, as Taichi had released Yamato from their hug, so that they could help a still shaken Rei back onto her feet…she glared at him in the process.
"Sorry Rei, didn't think that I was going to bump into you like that!" Taichi declared, and Rei sighed as she brushed herself off, while she stood and shook her head.
"It's okay, Taichi, I really wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around me either-we'll call it a draw, ne?" A smile played on Rei's lips as Taichi nodded at the question, before looking at her in concern, as she shivered again in the windy, rainy weather that seemed to never end.
"What happened between you and Hirotaka? Looks like you took a swim, Rei." Taichi's smile had faded now, especially since Rei couldn't seem to stop shivering.
"As Yamato stated, I had a run in with Hirotaka. He'd caught me off guard and grabbed me from behind, used a scarf, or something, to wrap it around my neck, and cut off my air supply just enough so that I'd pass out on him, and give him enough time to tie me up, and take me to the piers. I feel like such an idiot for not having kept my guard up more. Hirotaka took my radio, and managed to contact Katsume with it-giving her the choice of either continuing to look for Kouji, or to come after me. Guess which one she chose?" In Taichi's mind, it was no doubt that the answer to Rei's question was that Katsume chose to go after her. And as he answered correctly, Rei nodded while she tried to lessen her shivers as her teeth were starting to chatter.
"Katsume didn't manage to get much information out of Hirotaka, before he threw me over the pier-giving her another choice-to either save my butt, or to arrest him and make him confess to Kouji's whereabouts. Katsume, of course, chose the first one…and once more making me feel like an idiot because if I hadn't have gotten caught, then Kouji would probably be out of this mess by now!" Both Yamato and Taichi shook their heads at this, and Rei groaned.
"You two just don't get it, do you? If I hadn't have gotten caught by Hirotaka, and forced Katsume off course, things would be different now than they already were! I just have that feeling that Katsume would've helped Takuya find Kouji, and all would be well!" Yamato snorted at Rei's declaration-and grabbed her by the shoulders, making her focus her attention onto him, instead of her guilty feelings.
"Rei, no one could've seen what was coming-for all we know, Hirotaka was watching you guys from the moment you stepped out of Katsume's car, and knew exactly what was going on! He knew to follow you, since you guys all went in different directions, he knew that if given the choice, that Katsume would choose you over anything else-that's just how love goes, Rei! Trust me, if Taichi and myself had been in the same position that you and Katsume had been in, I'm positive the same thing would've happened!" Taichi nodded in confirmation, and Rei sighed as she glanced at him.
"Did you have any luck?" She asked, murmuring the question as Taichi shook his head before replying.
"No…that is, if you're asking me if I had any luck in finding Kouji's whereabouts, I had none. However, I…I…" Taichi bit his lower lip, as he wondered if he should tell Rei and Yamato what he'd just heard several seconds ago. Almost right before he'd crashed into Rei. The dark brunette was positive that if Rei and Yamato had just been slightly earlier upon their arrival, then they would've heard what he had heard, and he wouldn't have to explain it.
As it stood…
"You know something." Rei accused, finally having caught her breath, and Taichi nodded grimly.
"Yeah. Not something I want to really know though…right before I met up with you guys…I'm pretty sure that I heard the sound of gunshots from somewhere close by. I was just heading up in the direction where I was positive I'd heard the shooting before I crashed into you, Rei. I'm sorry-" Rei however, only shook her head and cut off his quick apology.
"No big deal, I'm still in one piece. Which way did you think that you heard the shooting? Katsume went after Kouji…I'm hoping that the shooting you heard, was her gun going off…and nothing more." She gestured before her.
"So lead the way, leader boy…though I have the feeling that we were already heading in the same direction." Taichi only smirked slightly before allowing another worried look to overcome his features, as he took off once more in a desperate run…the other two quickly following behind…
Katsume was glad for all the training that she had had before becoming a cop-it meant that she could run long distances, and not tire easily. But even with all the training that she had prior to all of this, it still didn't help shield out the chill that she felt from having dived into the ocean to save Rei. That, and the still falling rain didn't help her much out either-especially since she'd given her coat to Rei.
Silently, she cursed herself for having done it. But, she knew Rei probably needed it more than she did at the moment. Besides, after all of this was over, she planned on going home and taking a nice, hot relaxing bath-with Rei. It would give them some alone time-something that Katsume believed was long overdue.
When the shots thundered out in the distance, Katsume cursed out loud and put a bit more speed into her step, so that she was doing something more than just sprinting. For once, she wished that she had a hair tie with her as she quickly brushed out some hair that had fallen into her eyes, as she paused for a half of a second and just listened. All she could hear was the sound of the pouring rain-and her own heavy breathing.
Feeling a stitch coming onto her side from all the brutal exercise her body had been through so far, Katsume started running again…hoping that the stitch could hold off long enough for her to find the warehouse, where the shots had been coming from.
Luck was on her side though, as another round of shots were fired, this time-a lot closer-and Katsume thought that the second time around, she also heard a faint scream.
It was so close…so close that Katsume could actually touch the closed double doors that lead into the dark warehouse. And within seconds, she was touching the closed doors that she'd pictured in her mind…she was almost one hundred percent of the way positive, that this warehouse was the right one.
Time to find out if I'm right. The blonde thought grimly, as she pulled out her gun from it's holster and heard the satisfying click that told her the safety was off…giving her the freedom to shoot at any time.
Taking in a deep breath, Katsume grasped one of the door handles…and pulled…
She cursed her own stupidity when it swung out to greet her, nearly slamming into her, as she had thought that it would swing inwards and not outwards. Quickly regaining her balance, Katsume noticed that she was also surprised that the doors hadn't been locked either.
Someone's not paying attention to all the details…this could make things end a lot quicker here. Katsume smirked-call it arrogance on her own part, but she had the feeling that she could end this whole tirade in five minutes, and be in a hot bath with Rei accompanying her in fifteen more minutes.
As soon as she stepped into the darkness of the warehouse though, a strong wind decided to make itself known-and its strength blew the entry doors shut again. Katsume winced at the loud noise and inwardly groaned when she realized that she was in almost complete darkness. The only light in the whole warehouse came from a window at the highest point of the ceiling…but that light was located a little more than halfway through the warehouse.
Allowing her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, Katsume held her gun, so that her right hand was gripping the handle-her index finger around the trigger-gun close to her chest while her left hand stretched blindly forward to make sure that she didn't trip over anything-or worse, knock anything over. Not like that would make much of a difference, as she was pretty sure that if this was the warehouse that Kouji's stalker had him in, they'd both definitely know that she was here by now.
Unless of course, if Kouji's stalker is really stupid and thinks that it was just the wind that blew the front door open and closed. Katsume smirked once more at this thought-but her smirk quickly disappeared, when Kouji's stalker took it upon himself to greet her, as his voice suddenly called out to her in the darkness.
Katsume nearly dropped her gun when she suddenly realized she knew the voice.
"Well, well…looks like we have a new player in the game, boys!"
Little did Katsume know, that Yamato, Rei, and Taichi were right on her tail. Rei had tried shouting out Katsume's name before she'd entered the warehouse-but the wind had decided to rear its ugly head just then, and blew any chance of Katsume hearing their calls further away then what the trio would've wished for.
Rei had almost been to the doors-reaching out for the one that was being pushed around by the wind-when it suddenly slammed shut. Rei yanked her hand back in time; mentally cursing as she knew that if she had been a second faster, her hand would've been slammed from the closing of the heavy steel door. At the same time though, she would've prevented it from closing…she believed that she could live with a little pain if it meant catching up with Katsume in enough time to help.
"Damn it." Taichi muttered with strong emotion behind the words, voicing Rei's thoughts exactly as she reached forward and pulled the door open…
Only to find out that it wouldn't budge. Her dark brown eyes opened wide with panic as she looked quickly from Taichi, to Yamato, and then back at Taichi again. Taichi, seeing her reaction, frowned.
"What's wrong Rei, open the door so we can help them!" The brunette demanded, frustration getting the best of him. But Rei shook her head, not deterred by Taichi's frustration and determination-if only because she was feeling exactly how he was feeling right then.
"No…it's not opening, it's not budging!" Taichi growled and gently pushed her out of the way, grabbing hold of the handle of the now shut door, and tried pulling it open…only to get the same response that Rei had. He groaned in annoyance and continued trying to open it-even Yamato and Rei pitched in to help, the three of them trying to open a heavy steel door. They must've looked like quite a sight doing so…if the situation hadn't been so urgent, Taichi would've found it rather amusing. And he had the feeling that Yamato and Rei probably would, as well.
"It's locked or something, it might be one of those doors that automatically locks from the inside when it closes…Taichi…Yamato…what're we going to do now?" Rei cried out, the wild look still in her eyes as the expression on her face showed nothing but horror, as the thoughts of what could be happening in the warehouse started to flash through her mind.
"You're all going to step away from the doors and turn around…now." The chilling, all too familiar voice caused the three teens to tense, and obey its commands.
When the three of them had successfully turned around so that they were no longer facing the doors, Taichi growled in anger, and Rei's eyes had narrowed so that she was practically glaring daggers at Hirotaka-who was now standing in front of them. Yamato stayed silent-taking in the situation as his mind tried to figure a way out that wouldn't involve someone getting hurt, as Hirotaka held a gun in his right hand and was pointing it right at them. It was the same gun that he'd used before, when he'd been holding Rei captive on the pier. It never landed on one of them for very long though; first it was being pointed at Rei-and then at Taichi, finally Yamato himself…and back to Rei again before repeating the pattern. It was almost as though Hirotaka couldn't decide which one of them he'd shoot…if he was going to shoot at all.
Hirotaka seemed to be a bit on edge…and Yamato followed Taichi's frown as he suddenly thought of something.
"Wait…if you're out here…then who's…in…there?" The blonde teen whispered, gesturing with one hand in the direction of the warehouse that now stood behind them, his dark blue, azure eyes opening wide as his mind tried to process who it was, before Hirotaka answered his question.
"Wow, I'm shocked…you've actually managed to figure out something here before Rei has, Yamato." If looks could kill, Hirotaka would be dead from the look that he was getting from Taichi from his smart-ass reply. But then again, if looks could kill, Rei would've beaten Taichi to the job much earlier in the evening.
Rei glanced quickly at Yamato as she tried to figure out what it was Yamato had presumably already figured out…her own eyes opening wide once more, when she glanced from Hirotaka to the warehouse that Yamato was gesturing at, suddenly remembering the conversation that Katsume had had with Hirotaka before he'd flung her off the pier.
"Who's in there with Kouji, Hirotaka?" She demanded softly, and Hirotaka laughed-his laughter being thrown in their direction by the wind, and the three teens winced as they heard the madness it seemed to inflect.
"Put your hands on your heads-all three of you, do it, NOW!" Hirotaka barked out yet another command, and even Rei could tell how edgy and nervous he seemed. But since he did have a gun that was being waved in each of their directions, the trio did as they were told.
"You want to know who's in there with Kouji and Katsume at the moment?" Silence, and then: "I'll tell you who…"
Takuya had managed to pull Kouji behind yet another pile of crates, that were stacked impossibly high towards the back of the warehouse, as Sen was distracted long enough so that he wouldn't quite know where they were hidden. Oh yes, Sen would know that they were close-but it would take him a few minutes to look for them. And Takuya hoped that within those extra few minutes, that he could think of some kind of masterful plan that would help get both him and Kouji out of this mess.
In his arms, Kouji shivered…he hadn't stopped shivering since they'd found their new hiding spot, and Takuya was getting worried. He knew Kouji was hurt-his dark haired koi had at least managed to tell him that much before Sen had started shooting at them. But just how hurt Kouji was, that Takuya didn't know.
But when Kouji practically slumped against his chest, Takuya got worried. More worried than he knew he should be.
"Kouji?" He whispered, giving his koi a gentle enough shake, so he knew that it hadn't hurt him any further, but at the same time, he had gotten Kouji's attention without having to talk any louder than what he just had. There was no way in hell, that he was going to give away their position now.
"Hnnn…" Kouji murmured, allowing himself to rest against the brunette behind him.
Kouji was just so tired…all he wanted to be right at the moment, was safe…he couldn't seem to remember that feeling anymore. He didn't want to be stuck in this warehouse anymore, running for his life…he wanted to be back at the dorm rooms with Takuya-cuddling on the couch in front of the fire in the den…
Kouji could picture it all so clearly in his mind, as he closed his dark blue-gray eyes for a moment and tried to steady his breathing…oh kami, it was even hurting to breathe now. Something was wrong…so very, very wrong…
And then he felt Takuya shake him ever so gently once more, and he opened his dark blue-gray eyes again, to find a pair of dark brown ones staring right back at him-full of worry, anxiety clearly written all over Takuya's face. But Kouji didn't want Takuya to know how badly hurt he really was. No…he couldn't-it would throw Takuya in a panic, and that wouldn't help them out at all.
"I'm fine…I am…I just…need…sleep…" Kouji managed to whisper, trying hard not to grit his teeth against the pain. How many ribs had Sen broken or abused when he'd kicked him earlier? It felt like all of them to Kouji…he bit back a groan of pain as he hoped that wasn't so, as he wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Well, well…looks like we have a new player in the game, boys!" Sen's announcement caused both teens to jump, nearly knocking over an empty stack of crates right next to them, if Takuya hadn't quickly reached out a hand to steady them. Kouji let out a sigh of relief, as the two shared another look-a questioning one as they wondered who it was that Sen was talking about…and both hoping that it was someone on their side.
"Well, well…looks like we've got a new player in the game, boys!" As Sen's words echoed throughout the warehouse, Katsume's eyes went wide. She wasn't sure if she knew that Sen knew it was her who had entered the warehouse, but he was going to know now.
"Sen! You dirty little bastard!" Katsume hollered, her emotions seething on the inside as she kept her gun pointed in front of her, while she continued her way through the darkness of the warehouse.
So it was Sen all along…Katsume shook her head, a part of her realizing that it all seemed to fit. Sen was the one who had managed to manipulate Hirotaka to help him. They were always together whenever Katsume had seen the two of them, and Sen had always seemed to have a thing for Kouji. Too bad Katsume didn't know that it was really the other way around.
Sen chuckled, the low chuckle soon turning into a high pitch laughter that had Takuya and Kouji wincing in their hiding spot-it had her wincing at the noise as well.
"Where is he?" She demanded, and the laughter slowed long enough for Sen to gasp out an answer to her question.
"He? I'm assuming you mean Kouji…? Oh, he's around here somewhere, Katsume-playing mouse to my cat. Of course he just has to have help, and if he hadn't have had that help, then I'm sure you would've been too late to save him. However, that just makes my job a bit easier…I'll just have to kill them both off. And maybe I'll add you to my list while I'm at it! Seeing Rei suffer so would just make my life almost complete. Your little bitch of a girlfriend has been a thorn in my side since I met her." And the laughter continued after that answer-Katsume's jaw clenched.
"Son of a bitch. Takuya, are you in here?" Takuya was the only other person besides Taichi that she could think of who could be in here helping Kouji. There was a very small chance that it was Taichi, as she knew that it wasn't Yamato that Sen was talking about, since she'd left Yamato with Rei back at the pier. But deep inside, she knew that it was Takuya…and by the gods, he was one very lucky teenager to have found Kouji in time.
Of course, Takuya didn't answer her question and as soon as Sen allowed his maniacal laughter to die down, all was quiet.
But Katsume was trained enough so that even in the quiet, she could still hear breathing-and she heard three separate breathing patterns besides her own that seemed like thunder to her ears.
One of those breathing patterns was rather close, and Katsume's body tensed a bit more as she realized that it was a solo breath-meaning that it had to be Sen. She believed that Takuya was probably with Kouji…or at least, she prayed that he was with Kouji, wherever the two of them were in this warehouse.
"I know you're close, Sen. You want to play a game of cat and mouse, eh? Why don't you play with me…I'm sure you'll find me a much better sport at it." Sen chuckled from somewhere in the nearby darkness and Katsume strained her hearing, as she tried to pinpoint an exact location. His laughter was really starting to grate on Katsume's nerves and she grimaced at the noise.
"Really? Is that an invitation, my dear detective? Shall we raise the stakes a bit, though? I think it'll make it more…interesting that way." Katsume nodded without meaning too.
But, she wanted Sen to talk again-the blonde detective had the feeling that she was getting closer to Sen's location.
And as Sen spoke again, Katsume almost grinned-almost. She was close…a lot closer to him than she had previously thought.
"Good. Stakes are this: if I find you first…Kouji's mine. Hands down…you and Takuya both lose…so I hope that you're willing to be prepared to face Takuya's and Rei's wraths if I win this little game of ours. Takuya loses his boyfriend-and Rei loses her best friend. Forever." Katsume bit down on her lower lip, to keep from smiling as she knew that with the next turn around a pile of crates that she was going to take, she'd be right on top of Sen. He didn't know that…either he wasn't paying attention to her, or he was just tired, and being reckless. Probably both.
"I think I'm going to win those stakes…and I think by tonight, Kouji will be safely back at the dorms in Takuya's arms. I'll accept your freaky little challenge!" Sen growled at Katsume's reckoning, and the blonde allowed herself to finally smile this time.
So close…
Just a few more steps…
Apparently though, Sen was paying attention to her-or, must've at some point in time or other, because the pile of crates that she just passed, started to wobble…and tip…before coming to slam down on top of her.
Katsume thanked the lucky stars that her instinct was so good, because she managed to dive and roll out of the way as the crates all smashed to the ground…all of them empty, thank goodness, and it made Katsume wonder briefly if that was all this warehouse was; full of-empty crates…left and abandoned by whoever had used to run this warehouse.
It made her never want to see another empty crate for the rest of her life after this.
Managing to stand after her neat tuck and roll that had allowed her to maneuver out of the way from the crates, she mentally cursed as she noticed that Sen was now gone from her sight once more-somewhere out in the darkness, no doubt getting closer to wherever it was Takuya and Kouji were hiding.
Sneaky bastard…I hope you've got one hell of a plan to get Kouji out of here Takuya, because I'm not sure if I can reach Sen before he reaches you…but this game isn't over…not yet. Not by a long shot…
"It's my dearest twin brother." As Sen answered her question Rei gasped, Yamato's eyes opened wide, and Taichi bit down on his lower lip in confusion. Hirotaka and Sen were twins?
"Wait…that…doesn't make sense," Taichi started to say, before Hirotaka's gun was waved in his direction once more, and he immediately stopped what he was saying as he moved a bit closer to Rei, who was standing in between himself and Yamato. Taichi knew from experience that Katsume would probably have both his and Yamato's heads if they let anything happen to Rei-especially something like letting her get shot by Hirotaka. And in the wild state that Hirotaka was in, Taichi wouldn't put it past the spiky haired teen to do something just like that. Seeing what Taichi was doing, Yamato also moved a bit closer to Rei-thinking along the same lines.
"What doesn't make sense, Taichi? The fact that I, like Kouji, have a twin? Except that unlike Kouji-my twin loves me." This time, all three teenagers standing before Hirotaka (each with their hands on their heads) stared at him in bewilderment, and Hirotaka forced the insane laughter back. First, he knew he had to explain…at least then, Rei, Yamato, and Taichi wouldn't think he was as crazy as they probably thought he was.
"Not as in brotherly love, like the kind of relationship that Kouji has with Kouichi. Love, love…like the way Taichi here loves Yamato, and Rei loves Katsume, and vice a versa. That kind of love." If he could've, Hirotaka would've laughed at the looks on their faces as he told them this. Taichi's held a look of disgust, and Rei's eyebrows were no longer visible behind her long bangs that had fallen into her face, as they'd instantly raised at Hirotaka's news. He could tell that she was trying to decipher out exactly how she felt about the relationship that his own twin had with him. And Yamato…Yamato was clever, though how he did it, Hirotaka never knew. He only wished that he had the ability to do what the blonde was doing now…he kept his face completely free of any emotions once so ever. It was really hard to tell what Yamato was thinking at that moment.
Not like Hirotaka really cared what any of them were thinking at the moment, actually. He'd stopped caring about what people thought of the relationship that Sen had with him a long time ago, when he realized that he couldn't get out of the relationship. Because what Sen wanted, Sen got. The irony of it all, was that Sen was the youngest twin-he'd been born a full five minutes after Hirotaka had.
So Hirotaka had found out from his mother-before Sen had killed her. Killing her right in front of Hirotaka, because their mother hadn't believed in the love that Sen had declared that he'd had for Hirotaka. And then, blaming it on his mother for having kept them locked up in their bedrooms, because she'd never wanted to have children, and she'd always thought of them as a disgrace…
The memories caused Hirotaka to gently shake his head. Too many of them were bad…
And Sen had promised to make it all better.
But Hirotaka hadn't wanted it to be this way. He'd never wanted anyone to get hurt…and when Sen had found out from their gang members that Hirotaka had taken an instant liking to a boy who had accidentally entered their territory late one night…
Hirotaka closed his eyes, his emotions wavering for a moment. He hadn't realized that he'd been actually talking while he was remembering all of this-he didn't know it until he heard Rei's voice penetrate through his thoughts.
"Hirotaka…there's…help for people in situations like yours…you can still get that help. You're just as much of a victim in this as Kouji is-if you help Taichi, Yamato, and myself get Kouji out now, you might not even get a sentence and if you do, it'll be a light one…and you'll get the help that you need, Hirotaka. Think about it…help us get Kouji back, and out of the situation that your twin has put him-and yourself-in, and you really won't be the bad guy in this!" Rei's voice sounded desperate…as though she was silently praying that Hirotaka would accept her pity for the position he was in.
But Hirotaka wasn't ready or willing to accept anyone's pity. Especially Rei Ashia's. This time, he focused the gun directly on her, and she froze. Not moving, not speaking…and an evil plan formed in Hirotaka's mind right then and there.
He suddenly had an idea that would end all of this…
And in order to get that plan into motion, he needed to get into that warehouse. Hirotaka silently thanked his twin for making him do a double check of the warehouse that they'd chosen to put Kouji in when Hirotaka had taken him from the hospital earlier that day. He'd found the secret hatch that would be perfect to put his plan into motion…Sen wouldn't even know what hit him. In fact, Sen didn't even know about the hatch-Hirotaka had never told him. And he was glad he'd kept that one, little secret.
"Ashia-you're coming with me. Now." He demanded, and Rei didn't move. He mentally cursed himself into thinking that Rei would be more than willing and happy to come with him. Hirotaka hated to use force, but…
Stepping forward and clicking the safety off of the gun he held, he motioned it in Rei's direction-using his free hand to motion ahead of him.
"I want you to move…right now. You're coming with me, and we're going to end this…and your two little friends are going to stay right here. Until we're out of sight…and then they can call the police…and tell them that there's been a murder. Two victims." As Hirotaka calmly explained this, he saw Rei's eyes grow wilder with each passing second…and Taichi looked like he was going to be sick. Yamato however, continued to keep his mask on.
"Now Ashia, before I really decide to use this gun!" Snapping out of her trance, Rei nodded at Hirotaka's command and stepped forward-walking in front of him, as Hirotaka had the gun positioned directly in the small of her back. He could feel Rei shaking-and smirked. Rei was probably thinking that she was going to be one of the people Hirotaka was going to murder-he would've loved to tell her that she was wrong, but then his whole plan would be destroyed.
If he was going to go down, then this was the only way to do it.
"We're going to walk around the warehouse, and follow around the side of it until you see a little ladder. You're going to start climbing that ladder until you see a hatch. You're going to pull that hatch open, and then maneuver your way through that hatch-I'll be right behind you, Ashia, so don't even try anything." Again, he felt Rei shiver, and this time, Hirotaka chuckled.
"Don't worry Rei-this'll all be over soon, I promise." He murmured, as Rei managed to look over her shoulder right before Yamato and Taichi disappeared from their view completely.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Rei whispered, and Hirotaka only nodded at her to continue moving forward.
This is the beginning of the end. Hirotaka thought grimly, as the ladder that he'd told Rei about a few seconds ago came into view…
Rei shuddered as she reached the hatch, lifting it open slowly enough so that she didn't cause it to squeak, or make any other loud noise that would've allowed Sen or any of the others in the warehouse to know of their presence.
She just couldn't believe that Hirotaka was the one behind her on the ladder-his gun tucked safely in the back of one of his Jean pockets. Rei knew that she didn't dare try anything now, even though Hirotaka no longer had the gun in his hand. Too much could happen between now and the time that she got through that hatch. All Rei could do, was pray that this would end…and soon. With a happy ending, and hopefully not one of the horrible multiple endings that were running through her head now, as she managed to wiggle through the hatch.
A part of her hoped that there was something there to catch her as she made it through the small, hidden opening…and that she wouldn't have a surprise fall of any kind. Lucky for her, that there was a scaffold waiting for her to drop onto it, and she cringed as it creaked ever so slightly as she quickly regained her balance, while Hirotaka came through the hatch only a couple of seconds later.
Once again, Hirotaka had the gun in his hand, as he'd regained his balance a lot quicker than Rei had-but Rei had the sneaky feeling that Hirotaka had been through that hatch once before.
Hirotaka motioned her away from the railing that she'd grabbed when she'd landed on the scaffold and together-with her still being in front of him-they made their way to a flight of rickety-looking stairs that led all the way down to the bottom floor. Rei had no doubt that that was where everything was taking place-and only hoped that she wasn't going to suddenly get involved in something that was already happening.
Taking a deep, shaky breath as Hirotaka poked her a couple of times in the back with his gun, she started her descent down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible…
A clinking noise could briefly be heard, before there was silence once more. Katsume held her breath, bringing her gun a bit more closer to her, so that now, she held it in both hands and had a bit more control over it. She had no idea where that noise had come from, and doubted that anyone else in the warehouse had even heard it, since she herself had barely heard it.
Muttering a couple of well-thought curses underneath her breath, Katsume moved stealthily from where Sen had caused the pile of crates to almost fall on top of her, and started making her way towards the back of the warehouse. Katsume hoped that eventually she'd meet up with Takuya and Kouji first, and help them find their way out of here before she found Sen. She wasn't sure what she was going to do if she found Sen first…that thought was still playing itself heavily through her mind.
However, she wasn't expecting to find someone else, before finding either of the other three, who were in the warehouse.
Katsume had been nearing a set of stairs, unaware of seeing someone in the shadows before they stepped out right in front of her. Katsume's jaw almost dropped as she saw who it was, and she instantly put up her gun.
"Rei? What in the hell…?" Her next question was answered instantly, as Hirotaka stepped out from behind her-a gun in his hand as well as he motioned Katsume to put hers completely away. Katsume hesitated-before she saw that Hirotaka was deadly serious, as he poked Rei in the back with the gun he had. Rei winced, and Katsume saw that the safety was off-freezing in place as she slowly put her hands down to her sides.
"Hirotaka…what's going on?" Hirotaka only shook his head at Katsume's question as he proceeded to make Rei move forward. Katsume had no choice, but to turn around so that she was facing the same direction that Rei was, and move forward with her…hoping that her girlfriend would answer the question that she'd asked Hirotaka.
I'm probably being the world's worst cop right now. Katsume thought, mentally scolding herself as she nudged Rei in the side with her elbow, doing it slowly enough so that Hirotaka didn't see the movement. Rei glanced at her, her emotions being as carefully hidden as Rei could make them…but Katsume knew her girlfriend well enough that she could detect the slightest bit of fear in Rei's dark brown eyes.
"What's going on Rei-Rei?" The blonde detective murmured, and Rei shook her head.
"Long story…too long." Rei murmured back, before feeling the poke of the gun once again in her backside and she gritted her teeth. She was really starting to get tired of that…and she tried to guess how many bruises that she'd have along her backside after this was all over.
"How about the shortened version, so that I'll know the reason why I might end up shooting him?" Katsume hissed, as her dark blue-green eyes flickered to where Hirotaka calmly held his gun as he walked behind them. It was kind of eerie to Katsume actually…Hirotaka looked a bit too calm, and she wondered exactly what was going on.
"Sen is…is-" Rei was cut off by Hirotaka though, who shook his head in disbelief.
"My twin, and my lover? You know, Katsume, you could've just turned around and asked me instead of asking Rei-I would've been more than happy to answer." Raising an eyebrow, Katsume risked turning around so that she was now walking backwards, so that she could face Hirotaka as he talked.
"So why don't you continue to answer, so that way I know as much as Rei does?" Hirotaka chuckled.
"I thought that you'd have it all figured out now. Like I said, Sen's my twin and my lover…I used to rebel about the second idea, and think that it was as disgusting as you think about it now, Katsume. But now that I think about it-really think about it, I mean, Sen's got every right to think of me how he thinks of me. Our mother…our mother was…mean. I think, at one point, you could've called her downright evil. She kept me and Sen locked up, because she had never wanted to have children, and her own parents were against abortion. Sen and I have no idea who our father is-really, we don't. Then one day, Sen managed to escape-and he took me with him. That's a shorter version of the long version of the story, really…but being locked up with one another for so long, I kind of know where Sen is coming from when he says he really loves me. But now…now, I have a way to end that love. I mean, if I can't love someone without Sen always being there to try and take them away from me in such a way that it hurts people-like how he's been hurting Kouji and all the rest of you, then I am the only one who can take care of this." All Katsume could do was blink at Hirotaka's hastily explained story.
A part of Katsume-the detective part of her-was intrigued. She'd heard of the twins' case before…only bits and pieces of it, though. She remembered her father talking about it, when she'd been a bit younger and still going through High School…he had come in one night saying that there'd been a 9-1-1 call, that a neighbor had called in and said that they'd heard gun shots. When her father's squad had gone out to investigate, they found that the house where the gunshots had come from had a woman's body-dead-lying on the kitchen floor.
Further investigation found that the woman had shot herself-her own prints were all over the gun. Her father had told her that when they'd done a complete and total search of the house for a reason why the woman might've killed herself, he said that they'd found a room-a big room-with strong locks on one of the bedroom doors upstairs.
It made Katsume wonder if…just if…
Katsume didn't have time to ask what she wanted to ask though, because they heard a scraping noise from nearby, and Hirotaka put his free hand on Rei's shoulder, forcing her to stop. Katsume stopped too-she wasn't going to be a fool.
She might've been an idiotic cop going into this, but her new mission was to get Rei, Kouji, and Takuya out of here alive. Whatever was going on between Hirotaka and Sen at the moment…well…at the moment, Katsume believed that it might be best to let Hirotaka do whatever it was he intended to do. And Katsume had a sneaky suspicion that she already knew what it was that Hirotaka was going to do.
"I need to get Rei, Kouji, and Takuya out of here first, Hirotaka. Let me get them out of here, and I'll let you do…whatever it is that you want to do. I'll let you end this-as long as you let us get out of here as unharmed as possible, and safe…" Katsume almost didn't believe it, when Hirotaka nodded his head in consent.
"I agree. None of you should've ever been involved in this in the first place…five years ago…five years ago is a very, very long time. And I'm sorry that I ever laid eyes on Kouji five years ago, I'm sorry." For one second, Hirotaka looked…vulnerable. For just that one second…and then the look went away, and it was replaced with a hard look-one of determination. It meant that Hirotaka would go through with whatever he needed to go through in order to finally end this. And he knew now, that Katsume would let him.
"You're a cop…you're supposed to stop me from doing…what I'm planning on doing. And I think that you know what I'm planning on doing." Hirotaka whispered, and Katsume shrugged as she continued to walk slowly with him and Rei.
"I used to be a cop…I resigned. So technically, whatever I make you do now, is not my fault and I won't get into any trouble for it once so ever. I'm just a normal citizen now." Rei snorted softly and shook her head as Katsume confessed this, and Hirotaka's eyes opened wide.
"You…resigned? That's kind of funny; I would've thought you had such a strong hold on being a detective, that you wouldn't have let it go for anything." Now, it was Katsume's turn to snort at what Hirotaka had just said, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I…learned to let go, Hirotaka. There are some things that you've got to learn how to let go, and there are some things that you have to learn to hold onto, and hold onto as tightly as you possibly can without letting go. Rei taught me that much." Katsume smirked slightly as she saw Rei blush a bit, and duck her head off to the side-no doubt trying to hide the blush that Katsume saw. Katsume mentally reminded herself to tease Rei about it later on.
Hirotaka nodded at what Katsume said, and was quiet for a few minutes. When he spoke, Katsume-and Rei-were both surprised at what he said.
"I wish I had someone to teach me something like that. I wish that I'd had someone who loved me as much as you two love each other. I look at you two, and I look at Takuya and Kouji, and I envy you all. I even envy Taichi and Yamato for being able to be together like they are. I wish I had the happiness that you all have…and I have the feeling, that Takuya and Kouji will be a lot happier-especially after all of this is over and done with. And tell them-tell them I'm sorry." Both Katsume and Rei nodded, and Hirotaka took a few steps backwards, causing Rei to turn and eye him wearily.
"Find your friends…find your friends and get out." Grabbing Rei by the hand when Hirotaka demanded them to do this, Katsume pulled her aside and close.
"We need to find Takuya and Kouji, and we need to find them now." Katsume murmured, and Rei nodded as she glanced once more behind her…but Hirotaka was gone now, covered by the shadows that seemed to make up the inside of the warehouse.
"We're so close to the front of this place…the door is just barely out of our reach…hang on, Kouji." Takuya murmured; his jaw set in pure and total determination to get his koi out of the warehouse and to safety…and to someone who could help him take care of his medical needs.
Takuya had decided to carry Kouji, when Kouji's knees had buckled underneath him at one point, and his koi had suddenly whispered to him that it was hard to breathe.
They'd been halfway through the warehouse at that point in time, Takuya having stayed closer to the right wall as they'd slowly made their way to the front. They'd passed the shaft of light that Kouji had told Takuya that he'd woken up in-shivering slightly as he said that that was where he'd found out that Sen was the one who'd been after him this whole entire time.
Kouji's reply to what Takuya had just said, was to nuzzle his head a bit closer into his chest. Takuya was thankful that Kouji hadn't fallen asleep-or unconscious-yet, and that Kouji had also stopped shivering a few minutes ago. The brunette only hoped that it wasn't a bad thing, as he'd learned at one point while traveling with Kouji and the other Digi Destined in the Digital World nearly seven years ago, that when someone stopped shivering after they'd been shivering for awhile, that it meant they'd gone into shock.
But as Kouji was still conscious, Takuya was praying that it just meant that his own body heat was warming Kouji up.
A noise came from behind them, and Takuya's dark brown eyes opened wide as he started to turn around-but stopped when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. That hand caused him to turn back, and urged him to continue forward.
"It's just me…don't ask me how in the hell I got in here and what I'm doing here, but we need to get out of here…now." Nodding at what Rei had just told him, Takuya continued to maneuver his way through the crates and boxes that loitered the warehouse, and Rei followed close behind.
They'd just reached the doorway, and Rei had let out a sigh of relief-when they heard the sound of a gun click. Mentally Takuya cursed their bad luck, and heard Rei quickly turn around as she let out a small cry of dismay.
"Nice try…you almost won this game, Kanbara…Ashia…I'm pleasantly surprised. But…you lose. I've found you…and I do believe as Katsume bargained a bit earlier when she entered this game, that Kouji would be mine to do with as I please. So, Takuya…hand him over." Takuya never turned around-instead, he hunched his shoulders a bit, trying to protect his koi the best way he could. He had the feeling that Rei would fight Sen, and give him enough time to run with Kouji…he only hoped he'd be able to open the door with Kouji in his arms.
"Ashia, don't do anything stupid." Sen warned, waving his gun and Rei only shook her head.
"There is no way, that I'm going to let you take my best friend and…and…do what you want to with him. Never. Go ahead and kill me now, because that's what you're going to have to do, to get through me. And I have the feeling that Takuya would agree with me, when I say that if anyone has lost here, it's you. You just don't know it yet." All Sen did was laugh at Rei's sudden sense of bravado. And Rei had to admit, that while she was acting brave on the outside, on the inside, she was quaking in her boots.
Where are you two? Rei thought, thinking about Katsume and Hirotaka as she stood there in front of Takuya and Kouji-squaring off with Sen, who just so happened to have a gun…thinking that Rei didn't have any weapon of her own.
Rei had a little surprise of her own, though.
She slowly brought out a gun from Katsume's trench coat that she was still wearing…and undid the safety lock that was on it. She'd felt Katsume slip the gun into the pocket before they'd split up to quickly search the warehouse…though a part of Rei had the feeling that Katsume was up to something else altogether-why else would she hand her the gun?
For Rei's part, she was just glad that Katsume had dragged her along to the shooting range a few different times…saying that it was for company more often then not. But when Rei had showed in interest, Katsume had taught her how to shoot.
But Sen didn't know that, and he chuckled when he saw Rei steadily and easily point the gun at him.
"You wouldn't shoot me Rei-Rei…you couldn't. I'd have thought that your cop of a girlfriend would've taught you by now not to play with guns." Rei only shook her head, realizing that all was quiet behind her. She knew that Takuya hadn't moved a single inch when she'd brought out the gun…and she knew that he wasn't going to move as long as she and Sen were squaring off.
While Rei thought that Takuya was being stupid for not taking the opportunity to flee out that front metal door now, she also knew that he was hell bent on protecting Kouji. And she'd let Takuya use his instincts on the best way as to how to do that. If Takuya believed that the best way to protect Kouji was to stay where he was, then who was she to argue?
"Put your gun down, Sen…the worst you can do, is to get a lifetime prison sentence if you just put the gun down. However, if you shoot and actually hit me, or Takuya-even Kouji-it could get a lot worse then that." Rei suddenly thanked her lucky stars that she had a cop for a girlfriend…she had no idea that she'd absorbed so much information about law. In fact, many times she'd believed that she had tuned Katsume out whenever she was trying to memorize stuff-for Katsume could most often memorize stuff just by reading it out loud once-sometimes twice. Seemed to Rei, that she herself had picked up a few things as well without even knowing it. Sen snorted, as though he didn't believe her, and gently placed his finger on the trigger-Rei did the same.
"You're lying. I won this game fair and square…and my prize? Kouji. And I won't let you-or Kanbara here-stand in my way. Even if it means that I have to shoot you. So goodnight, Rei-and goodnight, forever. Too bad you won't see your girlfriend before you die." Rei said nothing to Sen's few, last words, as the sound of a gun went off the moment Sen was prepared to shoot her.
She heard Takuya cry out a warning from behind, but Rei shook her head frantically at him-she hadn't fired her gun. And neither had Sen. But someone else altogether…
Both Takuya and Rei glanced up from where Sen was now kneeling on the floor, his hand on a shoulder wound as he sat there, stunned in disbelief.
Rei smiled weakly at Katsume, who stood behind Hirotaka-who held a smoking gun in his hands. He'd been the one to shoot Sen. But from the frightened look in Hirotaka's eyes, Rei had the feeling that this wasn't over yet.
She had no idea how right she was.
Hirotaka was about to become the hunted.
"I'm not the only one dying tonight!" Sen snarled, and before anyone could stop him, he'd managed to maneuver himself around enough so that he could shoot behind him-in the direction that Hirotaka was standing with Katsume. Katsume flinched at the noise when Sen's gun went off again and again, and managed to protect herself…but Hirotaka hadn't. In fact, from what Rei-and Takuya-had both seen (as Takuya had turned around when Sen's gun had gone off the first time to see what was going on) Hirotaka hadn't even tried to protect himself.
One of Sen's bullets was dead on, and Hirotaka fell lifeless to the ground. Rei stifled a cry as Sen fell to the ground moments later, and Katsume came up and put her arms around her, taking the gun from her and, clicking the safety back on.
"I'm so glad that I didn't have to use that thing…" Rei whispered, as she buried her face in her hands while Katsume held her close, and nodded her head towards the front double steel doors.
"That's our way out-I suggest we take it, and we take it now." Takuya nodded at this, and stepped aside to let Katsume grab hold of the doors…they pushed away easily, and Takuya had never been happier to feel the rain as he dashed out of the warehouse, holding a quiet Kouji, as Rei and Katsume quickly followed…
Takuya continued to hold onto Kouji as he ran with Katsume and Rei, listening as Rei called out for Yamato and Taichi, who came to their aid moments later.
Out of breath, Yamato told Katsume that he and Taichi had managed to get a hold of the police, and they were on their way. Apparently Hirotaka and Sen had managed to somehow cut off Katsume's call at one point-and called back-giving Katsume's squad completely different directions altogether, so they ended up going to the wrong location.
Katsume only rolled her eyes at this, and Taichi shrugged as he said that was what the dispatcher had told him. Katsume then nodded, and continued to comfort a still shaken Rei in her arms as they made their way out to where the cars were parked.
"Where are Hirotaka and Sen?" Yamato asked, as he helped Takuya with Kouji, and Katsume shook her head.
"Gone. It's done, it's over with now…Hirotaka ended it as he saw fit. And I let him." Katsume whispered, and Yamato only nodded as he led Takuya, with Kouji in his arms, over to his car and held onto Kouji while Takuya got into the back seat. When Takuya nodded that he was ready, Yamato gently handed Kouji back over to Takuya, who held him close-as though he was never going to let go.
"So this is it, then. It's really over…no one else is going to get hurt-at least, not by those two-and Kouji's safe? Really, and truly safe?" Taichi asked, holding onto Rei as Katsume had passed her over to the brunette to grab her cell phone, that had started to suddenly ring, and she had to go look for it as she'd left it in her car. Katsume nodded.
"Yeah…it's over…end game. We won…and I have the feeling, that that's the way it'll stay for quite some time." But even as Katsume said this, she wasn't so sure about it. In fact, a part of her told her that this was only the beginning of a strange set of events that would only strengthen their friendships. She only hoped that that part of her was wrong…she had no idea why, though.
Mentally shaking herself, and telling herself that she was being stupid and paranoid, and needed a vacation, Katsume dove into the passenger seat of her car and started hunting down her cell phone…
It was all over.
For awhile anyway…
TBC