Mini-glossary of Japanese words/phrases used in this chapter and roughly
translated English equivalent:
baka neko – stupid cat
arigatou – thanks
oi - hey
ne – hey / right
hai – yes
maa – 'well' or 'now, now, now' when strung together several times
iie – no
usagi - rabbit
onii-chan – big brother
onee-chan – big sister
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CHAPTER 11: Question of Friends
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"So where is she?" Kyou asked worriedly.
He leapt down from his perch on the main gate, landing before the others on the path that led deeper into the Souma complex, the depths of which they had emerged in seeming upset. Upon seeing the pale-faced expressions on his relatives wore as they had neared him, Kyou had only grown more worried, especially when he could see that they were without Tohru in tow as he had somehow hoped she would be.
"Where is she?" he asked again, more aggressively this time as he aimed a sharp glare at Yuki that he returned angrily.
"Where do you think?" Yuki asked mockingly. "Or can't such a baka neko figure it out?"
"You-!"
"Stop it," Hatori cut in sharply with a stern glare. "This isn't the place for this. And keep in mind how your hostility in such a situation may affect others."
Kyou followed the doctor's pointed glance to the kids, especially Kisa who was gazing at them with wide, anxious eyes and looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Feeling a tug of shame, he subsided as he got his emotions under control and was dimly aware of Yuki doing the same.
"So?" asked Kyou more calmly. "What happened?"
No one answered.
"What happened?!" Kyou repeated more frantically, angered by their silence. "I deserve to know!"
"It was..." Hatori trailed off, shaking his head.
"It was what?!"
"Now, Kyou-kun," Shigure said, "calm down."
"Then tell me what's going on! You think keeping quiet about what happened is going to make me calmer?"
"Kyou."
Hatori's weary voice caught not just Kyou's attention, but everyone else's as well. They all cast their gazes in his direction as he rubbed a tired hand over drawn features, betraying the doctor's own stress and the gravity of a situation that caused him to break down enough before them in public to make such a gesture that revealed his own internal conflict.
That, if nothing else, settled Kyou down long enough to listen.
"I understand how you feel, Kyou," Hatori told him quietly. "We all do. But," he cast a look back down the path from which they'd come, "it's too close, he's too close, and this isn't the place to speak of it."
Kyou's quivered. "But-"
"We'll tell you," Hatori interjected gently. "But not here."
"The best place," Shigure finally spoke up, "would be home. We can discuss the situation there freely to your heart's content."
"I'll drive everyone over," Hatori added as he glanced at everyone. "Whoever wants to come is welcome."
The expression on Kyou's face was one of agonized amazement. "You mean we're just going to leave her there? After coming all this way, we're just going to-"
"Kyou."
His name was softly spoken, coming from a most unlikely source that had Kyou turning to regard a somber Yuki. Nothing else was said and, to the other onlookers of the tableau playing out in their midst, there seemed to be some sort of unspoken connection that ran between them, as if an unheard conversation were taking place right before their eyes that their were not privy to. And whatever was said within that conversation was not known, the effects of it could be seen in the way Kyou gradually subsided, tense body relaxing slightly though the tight expression on his features never changed.
"Fine," Kyou finally responded shortly as he turned and began walking away. "Then let's hurry up and get out of here so I can find out what the hell just went wrong."
Shigure stared after him, a slight smile playing about his lips as he addressed the others, "Shall we?"
"I'm not going."
In surprise, those that were left turned to Momiji who wore a troubled expression. He, of all of the, they'd thought would be one of the most willing participants in the discussion concerning one of his favorite people. And that he didn't want to...
"Why?" asked Yuki, confused and feeling an odd sense of betrayal. "It's about Honda-san. We need to talk about it, figure out what to do."
"I know that but...I'm no good at these types of discussions. And also," he looked at them with a sheen of unshed tears glinting in his eyes, "it hurts. Remembering that we couldn't do anything...it hurts."
Yuki understood. "But..."
"Don't worry about it." Hatsuharu's voice was calm, placid. "It's only going to be a discussion and telling Kyou about what happened. We don't all need to be there, do we?" He glanced at Momiji. "You don't have to push yourself. I'll go and I can tell you later if there's anything you need to know."
Momiji gave him a wobbly smile. "Arigatou."
"I...I don't want to go either," spoke a trembling voice. Kisa looked at them all with wide large eyes that mirrored her sadness. "I- I don't feel so well."
"Kisa!" exclaimed Hiro worriedly. "If you feel that badly, of course you don't have to go. We'll let the grown-ups go and do the talking and I'll take you back to-"
"Hiro-chan," Kisa interrupted him softly. "I-If you don't mind, I want you to go to."
"But Kisa -!"
"Please?" Her gaze was pleading. "You're smarter than I am when it comes to these kinds of things. I'd feel better if I knew you were there and can explain anything important that happened later."
He wavered, still reluctant. "But what about you?"
"I'll look after her," Momiji offered as he came up to stand beside her. Though his expression was drawn, he managed wink. "We Jyunnishi have to stick together, ne?"
"Fine," Hiro bit out, still not liking it. He shot Momiji and angry glare. "You'd better take good care of her or I'll-"
"Hiro-chan," Kisa's soft voice forestalled his threat as she smiled up at him, sweet and gentle. "Thank you for worrying about me so much."
Hiro flushed.
"Ah." Shigure's amused chuckle filled the air. "I don't think he'll be able to concentrate on our talk now. Maybe we should just leave the little lover behind."
Hiro twitched. "Don't call me that!"
"Why not? There's no shame in the truth."
"Shigure," Hiro growled, glaring. "You-"
"Oi!" an irritated yell came from beyond the gates. "Where the hell is taking everyone so long?!"
"Ah," Shigure clucked with a shake of his head. "Our Kyou-kun's always so impatient."
"Hmph. Baka neko."
"But he's not wrong," Hatori commented with a sidelong glance at Yuki. "We should get going." He addressed the group, "Everyone who's coming – let's go!"
The small bit of levity restored some of the spirit in the group so it was with a slightly lighter atmosphere that they left the compound, heading towards the gates of the entrance. But just before crossing, Hiro whirled around with one final glare at Momiji.
"Oi, usagi! You better remember what I told you."
"Hai," Momiji responded with a smile and a wave after his initial surprise while Kisa gave a tiny giggle beside him.
"Isn't that sweet?" Shigure's voice floated to them as he continued on his way. "A little lover's protectiveness. Are you sure you don't want to be left behind?"
"Shigure!" was the snarled reply as Hiro whirled after the departing group. "You'd better not be sitting anywhere near me in the car!"
"Ah, I'm so hurt..."
It was the last that was heard as the group left behind the two figures left standing alone on the pathway to the exit, the solid entrance gates of the entry to Souma complex closing after them, shutting out the rest of the world and concealing from view what went on behind sealed doors.
-
The car ride was tense.
The earlier moment of levity had worn away, scattered like ashes to the wind, and even Shigure was unusually quiet as he rode up front in the passenger seat beside Hatori as he drove while everyone else was piled in the back. With Shigure's usual banter silenced, the thick oppressive weight that filled the tiny confines of their vehicle only seemed to grow. It gave the occupants too much time to think, to wonder, to brood until –
"Can you at least tell me how she looked?" Kyou's tone was subdued. His mouth tightened. "Did she look like she was...?"
His words trailed off, unable to finish that thought. And though the rest of it remained unspoken, they knew what he wanted to say for the memories of their own experiences made the conclusion all too obvious.
"Iie," Yuki responded quietly. "I couldn't see a mark on her."
Kyou's expression never changed.
Though the words themselves might have been reassuring, there was a lot left unsaid that hung in air, prevented them from relaxing in reassurance that she was really unharmed. Just because nothing was seen didn't mean that nothing happened, that nothing was done to her; it just meant that marks could be cunningly hidden and an illusion maintained.
It was a lesson they'd all learned at one point or another.
"Damnit!" Kyou muttered viciously. "What are we going to do?"
Yuki crossed his arms. "We're going wait until we get home and then talk about it."
"And then what?" Kyou scoffed. "Talk about it some more? Just talking about it isn't going to get us anywhere!"
"You think I don't know that?" Yuki's tone was as frigid as his expression. "But we can't just go barging in there and pry her out. We just tried that and, as you can see, it was a complete failure."
"Maybe if you'd tried harder-"
"You have no right to say that to me," Yuki hissed, eyes flashing furiously. "You who weren't there, who didn't see what happened. You were just sitting outside doing nothing as we were the ones facing Akito while you got to play it safe."
"Why you-"
"This is not going to help Honda-san."
As one they turned to look at Hatsuharu who gazed back at them blank-faced. With reluctance, under his stead regard, they subsided though they were no less tense.
"Try to remember where we are," grumbled Hiro. "There's not enough leeway and I have no desire to be injured just because you couldn't control your tempers enough to keep from breaking out into a fistfight in a moving car. Anyone with any intelligence should know better than that."
That earned him more than one glare.
Hiro just stared back un-phased. "If you think you're going to be able to come up with a plan to rescue the damsel in distress with hot heads, think again. Don't forget who you're up against."
"Don't you mean 'we'?" Kyou growled. "You're in this too."
"I prefer to think of myself as a neutral party. I think it was incredibly foolish of her to let herself get involved to this extent, but I guess that's all you can really expect from a constant meddler like her."
"Why you little brat!" Kyou reached for him. "I'll-"
"Kyou," Yuki said warningly even as his own glare at Hiro was far from friendly. "He's entitled to his own opinion. And we do need to keep a calm head about this, no matter how hard it is to do. You shouldn't let him get to you. You know how he likes to goad people – just like Shigure."
Hiro twitched unpleasantly while a snicker wafted to them from the front of the car.
Meanwhile, a mute Kyou sank back into the seat, arms crossed and glaring.
"Ah, blessed silence," remarked Hiro with an arched brow. "Though I doubt it'll last for long."
"Listen you little jerk-"
"I rest my case."
An enraged snarl filled the car. It had more than one pair of eyes widening in alarm and Hiro began to rethink the wisdom of prodding a dangerous animal in a small cage, especially when he was also trapped in said cage until it came to a stop.
"Why the hell did you come along," Kyou growled, "if you don't care about the outcome?"
"I never said I didn't care about how it ends," Hiro replied cautiously, more subdued. "It's just that woman I don't particularly care for."
"Then why didn't you just stay behind, you brat?"
"Because no matter how I feel about her, I've still got a vested interest in this too."
The response was hostile. "Like what?"
"None of your business," Hiro said flatly.
Kyou sucked in a breath, no doubt with some sort of scathing outburst, but another voice forestalled him. Spoken in placid tones, the words were simple and brief, but said everything that needed to be said.
"Kisa." Hatsuharu's gaze was bland. "No one wants to see her cry."
"Butt out." Hiro glared viciously. "No one asked you."
Hatsuharu just shrugged, unconcerned.
"We don't have time for this," Yuki sighed tiredly. "Honda-san doesn't have time for this."
"What does that mean?" Kyou bit out sharply. "Did he say he was going to do something to her?"
"Iie." Yuki shook his head. "But that doesn't mean he won't. You know how he is; we all know how he is."
There was a weighted moment of silence as everyone absorbed that bitter truth.
"That's why," Yuki continued, "we need to find some way to extricate her as soon as possible. It hasn't been long, but if it keeps up, and she's away from us too long, her absence will be noted. Certain people are going to wonder and ask questions – and that would cause even more problems because I don't think they'd believe anything but the truth, if even that."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"What people?" Hiro asked suspiciously. "What questions?"
Yuki's reply was calm. "Honda-san has friends outside of the Jyunnishi. Close friends, smart friends. They're very protective of her and if too much time passes without them hearing from her, they're going to come to us for a reason as to why."
Kyou swallowed hard in comprehension, looking sick. "They aren't the types to leave without an answer."
"They're not," Yuki agreed quietly. "And with something this important, concerning someone so important to them, they're won't let us slide by with a lie or evasion, they won't ignore it this time around or be satisfied with half-truths. They'll press until they have the truth. And when they do..."
"Akito," Hatsuharu added softly into the silence that had descended, "won't be pleased."
It was a major understatement, and everyone in that car knew it.
"But don't you think Akito would have thought of that?" Hiro inquired uneasily. "He could have her call them from the compound and pretend to be where she's always been. Or he could have her make up some excuse about having to go out of town and not be able to see them for a while until she gets back."
"He could." Yuki looked him straight in the eye. "But do you really think Akito would care enough about what outsiders think to go through something that elaborate?"
Hiro's lips tightened and shook his head.
"Besides, Honda-san doesn't do well with lying; we've all seen that for ourselves. And her friends know her too well, even better than we do. They'd be able to see through any untruth she tried to tell, especially if it concerns something of this magnitude. Honda-san wouldn't be able to completely hide her emotions; even if it were just a conversation over the telephone, it would come through in her voice."
"It doesn't matter." Hatsuharu gazed blankly out the window. "Akito won't let her have contact with us. I don't think he'll allow her contact with anyone else outside the compound."
"What?!" Kyou exclaimed, anger glittering in his eyes. "What does-?"
"We'll explain everything once we get back home," Yuki broke in. "Everything."
The two, enemies for so long, locked gazes. The remaining onlookers witnessed it with interest as, once again, that silent communication seemed to pass and some sort of agreement was reached as Kyou subsided, still glaring but silent. Crossing his arms, he fixed a furiously black stare out the window in a pose suggestive of ignoring all else. However, despite what appearances seemed to be, he listened attentively to the words spoken in the hush of the car.
"We still have some time," Yuki finally sighed as he gave voice to his thoughts, picking up a thread that currently concerned him the most at that time. "Barely a day has passed so far. For a week, maybe even two, we might be able to put Uotani-san and Hanajima-san off without having to answer any questions if they try to inquire about Honda-san's whereabouts. But any longer than that, they're going to come around and we're going to have a confrontation about it sooner or later."
Kyou grunted, a wordless agreement, while Hatsuharu merely gave an absent nod. However, Hiro was more doubtful and was made uneasy by their volatile situation and these unknown factors that everyone else but him seemed to have knowledge of.
"How can you be so sure about them?" he asked tightly. "These friends of hers?"
"Because we know them," Yuki replied simply. "We know enough about them to have an idea as to what they'll do, at least when it comes to Honda-san. And when it comes to her, they'd do just about anything. Even if they were fully aware of what they'd be up against, about what our situation is...I doubt that would do anything to stop them."
Kyou ran an agitated hand through his hair, brows drawn together in a troubled frown as he spat out, "Damn, but this is a mess!"
With that, no one could disagree.
"So, then," Hiro broke in, "what do we do now?"
Empty silence was the only reply.
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AN: Whew! Bet you all thought I'd never update this again, huh? Many apologies for the long wait and many thanks for all the comments tossed my way, both good and slightly less so. We're all entitled to our own opinions about how a fic should be written and how often but, in the end, it's all up to me. Muwahahaha – I have the power!
Ahem, seriously – I do appreciate that people cared enough one way or the other to take the time to comment. It doesn't mean that I'll heed the suggestions tossed my way as I often have a reason, though it may not always be a good one especially when I tend to experiment, to make things the way they are that might be completely understood only by me. Mainly, I write to please myself as I escape from the drudgery of real life and that any of you can find even a small amount of enjoyment in it is an added bonus that I'm both happy and grateful for.
So, to you all, thank you very much! =D
baka neko – stupid cat
arigatou – thanks
oi - hey
ne – hey / right
hai – yes
maa – 'well' or 'now, now, now' when strung together several times
iie – no
usagi - rabbit
onii-chan – big brother
onee-chan – big sister
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CHAPTER 11: Question of Friends
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"So where is she?" Kyou asked worriedly.
He leapt down from his perch on the main gate, landing before the others on the path that led deeper into the Souma complex, the depths of which they had emerged in seeming upset. Upon seeing the pale-faced expressions on his relatives wore as they had neared him, Kyou had only grown more worried, especially when he could see that they were without Tohru in tow as he had somehow hoped she would be.
"Where is she?" he asked again, more aggressively this time as he aimed a sharp glare at Yuki that he returned angrily.
"Where do you think?" Yuki asked mockingly. "Or can't such a baka neko figure it out?"
"You-!"
"Stop it," Hatori cut in sharply with a stern glare. "This isn't the place for this. And keep in mind how your hostility in such a situation may affect others."
Kyou followed the doctor's pointed glance to the kids, especially Kisa who was gazing at them with wide, anxious eyes and looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Feeling a tug of shame, he subsided as he got his emotions under control and was dimly aware of Yuki doing the same.
"So?" asked Kyou more calmly. "What happened?"
No one answered.
"What happened?!" Kyou repeated more frantically, angered by their silence. "I deserve to know!"
"It was..." Hatori trailed off, shaking his head.
"It was what?!"
"Now, Kyou-kun," Shigure said, "calm down."
"Then tell me what's going on! You think keeping quiet about what happened is going to make me calmer?"
"Kyou."
Hatori's weary voice caught not just Kyou's attention, but everyone else's as well. They all cast their gazes in his direction as he rubbed a tired hand over drawn features, betraying the doctor's own stress and the gravity of a situation that caused him to break down enough before them in public to make such a gesture that revealed his own internal conflict.
That, if nothing else, settled Kyou down long enough to listen.
"I understand how you feel, Kyou," Hatori told him quietly. "We all do. But," he cast a look back down the path from which they'd come, "it's too close, he's too close, and this isn't the place to speak of it."
Kyou's quivered. "But-"
"We'll tell you," Hatori interjected gently. "But not here."
"The best place," Shigure finally spoke up, "would be home. We can discuss the situation there freely to your heart's content."
"I'll drive everyone over," Hatori added as he glanced at everyone. "Whoever wants to come is welcome."
The expression on Kyou's face was one of agonized amazement. "You mean we're just going to leave her there? After coming all this way, we're just going to-"
"Kyou."
His name was softly spoken, coming from a most unlikely source that had Kyou turning to regard a somber Yuki. Nothing else was said and, to the other onlookers of the tableau playing out in their midst, there seemed to be some sort of unspoken connection that ran between them, as if an unheard conversation were taking place right before their eyes that their were not privy to. And whatever was said within that conversation was not known, the effects of it could be seen in the way Kyou gradually subsided, tense body relaxing slightly though the tight expression on his features never changed.
"Fine," Kyou finally responded shortly as he turned and began walking away. "Then let's hurry up and get out of here so I can find out what the hell just went wrong."
Shigure stared after him, a slight smile playing about his lips as he addressed the others, "Shall we?"
"I'm not going."
In surprise, those that were left turned to Momiji who wore a troubled expression. He, of all of the, they'd thought would be one of the most willing participants in the discussion concerning one of his favorite people. And that he didn't want to...
"Why?" asked Yuki, confused and feeling an odd sense of betrayal. "It's about Honda-san. We need to talk about it, figure out what to do."
"I know that but...I'm no good at these types of discussions. And also," he looked at them with a sheen of unshed tears glinting in his eyes, "it hurts. Remembering that we couldn't do anything...it hurts."
Yuki understood. "But..."
"Don't worry about it." Hatsuharu's voice was calm, placid. "It's only going to be a discussion and telling Kyou about what happened. We don't all need to be there, do we?" He glanced at Momiji. "You don't have to push yourself. I'll go and I can tell you later if there's anything you need to know."
Momiji gave him a wobbly smile. "Arigatou."
"I...I don't want to go either," spoke a trembling voice. Kisa looked at them all with wide large eyes that mirrored her sadness. "I- I don't feel so well."
"Kisa!" exclaimed Hiro worriedly. "If you feel that badly, of course you don't have to go. We'll let the grown-ups go and do the talking and I'll take you back to-"
"Hiro-chan," Kisa interrupted him softly. "I-If you don't mind, I want you to go to."
"But Kisa -!"
"Please?" Her gaze was pleading. "You're smarter than I am when it comes to these kinds of things. I'd feel better if I knew you were there and can explain anything important that happened later."
He wavered, still reluctant. "But what about you?"
"I'll look after her," Momiji offered as he came up to stand beside her. Though his expression was drawn, he managed wink. "We Jyunnishi have to stick together, ne?"
"Fine," Hiro bit out, still not liking it. He shot Momiji and angry glare. "You'd better take good care of her or I'll-"
"Hiro-chan," Kisa's soft voice forestalled his threat as she smiled up at him, sweet and gentle. "Thank you for worrying about me so much."
Hiro flushed.
"Ah." Shigure's amused chuckle filled the air. "I don't think he'll be able to concentrate on our talk now. Maybe we should just leave the little lover behind."
Hiro twitched. "Don't call me that!"
"Why not? There's no shame in the truth."
"Shigure," Hiro growled, glaring. "You-"
"Oi!" an irritated yell came from beyond the gates. "Where the hell is taking everyone so long?!"
"Ah," Shigure clucked with a shake of his head. "Our Kyou-kun's always so impatient."
"Hmph. Baka neko."
"But he's not wrong," Hatori commented with a sidelong glance at Yuki. "We should get going." He addressed the group, "Everyone who's coming – let's go!"
The small bit of levity restored some of the spirit in the group so it was with a slightly lighter atmosphere that they left the compound, heading towards the gates of the entrance. But just before crossing, Hiro whirled around with one final glare at Momiji.
"Oi, usagi! You better remember what I told you."
"Hai," Momiji responded with a smile and a wave after his initial surprise while Kisa gave a tiny giggle beside him.
"Isn't that sweet?" Shigure's voice floated to them as he continued on his way. "A little lover's protectiveness. Are you sure you don't want to be left behind?"
"Shigure!" was the snarled reply as Hiro whirled after the departing group. "You'd better not be sitting anywhere near me in the car!"
"Ah, I'm so hurt..."
It was the last that was heard as the group left behind the two figures left standing alone on the pathway to the exit, the solid entrance gates of the entry to Souma complex closing after them, shutting out the rest of the world and concealing from view what went on behind sealed doors.
-
The car ride was tense.
The earlier moment of levity had worn away, scattered like ashes to the wind, and even Shigure was unusually quiet as he rode up front in the passenger seat beside Hatori as he drove while everyone else was piled in the back. With Shigure's usual banter silenced, the thick oppressive weight that filled the tiny confines of their vehicle only seemed to grow. It gave the occupants too much time to think, to wonder, to brood until –
"Can you at least tell me how she looked?" Kyou's tone was subdued. His mouth tightened. "Did she look like she was...?"
His words trailed off, unable to finish that thought. And though the rest of it remained unspoken, they knew what he wanted to say for the memories of their own experiences made the conclusion all too obvious.
"Iie," Yuki responded quietly. "I couldn't see a mark on her."
Kyou's expression never changed.
Though the words themselves might have been reassuring, there was a lot left unsaid that hung in air, prevented them from relaxing in reassurance that she was really unharmed. Just because nothing was seen didn't mean that nothing happened, that nothing was done to her; it just meant that marks could be cunningly hidden and an illusion maintained.
It was a lesson they'd all learned at one point or another.
"Damnit!" Kyou muttered viciously. "What are we going to do?"
Yuki crossed his arms. "We're going wait until we get home and then talk about it."
"And then what?" Kyou scoffed. "Talk about it some more? Just talking about it isn't going to get us anywhere!"
"You think I don't know that?" Yuki's tone was as frigid as his expression. "But we can't just go barging in there and pry her out. We just tried that and, as you can see, it was a complete failure."
"Maybe if you'd tried harder-"
"You have no right to say that to me," Yuki hissed, eyes flashing furiously. "You who weren't there, who didn't see what happened. You were just sitting outside doing nothing as we were the ones facing Akito while you got to play it safe."
"Why you-"
"This is not going to help Honda-san."
As one they turned to look at Hatsuharu who gazed back at them blank-faced. With reluctance, under his stead regard, they subsided though they were no less tense.
"Try to remember where we are," grumbled Hiro. "There's not enough leeway and I have no desire to be injured just because you couldn't control your tempers enough to keep from breaking out into a fistfight in a moving car. Anyone with any intelligence should know better than that."
That earned him more than one glare.
Hiro just stared back un-phased. "If you think you're going to be able to come up with a plan to rescue the damsel in distress with hot heads, think again. Don't forget who you're up against."
"Don't you mean 'we'?" Kyou growled. "You're in this too."
"I prefer to think of myself as a neutral party. I think it was incredibly foolish of her to let herself get involved to this extent, but I guess that's all you can really expect from a constant meddler like her."
"Why you little brat!" Kyou reached for him. "I'll-"
"Kyou," Yuki said warningly even as his own glare at Hiro was far from friendly. "He's entitled to his own opinion. And we do need to keep a calm head about this, no matter how hard it is to do. You shouldn't let him get to you. You know how he likes to goad people – just like Shigure."
Hiro twitched unpleasantly while a snicker wafted to them from the front of the car.
Meanwhile, a mute Kyou sank back into the seat, arms crossed and glaring.
"Ah, blessed silence," remarked Hiro with an arched brow. "Though I doubt it'll last for long."
"Listen you little jerk-"
"I rest my case."
An enraged snarl filled the car. It had more than one pair of eyes widening in alarm and Hiro began to rethink the wisdom of prodding a dangerous animal in a small cage, especially when he was also trapped in said cage until it came to a stop.
"Why the hell did you come along," Kyou growled, "if you don't care about the outcome?"
"I never said I didn't care about how it ends," Hiro replied cautiously, more subdued. "It's just that woman I don't particularly care for."
"Then why didn't you just stay behind, you brat?"
"Because no matter how I feel about her, I've still got a vested interest in this too."
The response was hostile. "Like what?"
"None of your business," Hiro said flatly.
Kyou sucked in a breath, no doubt with some sort of scathing outburst, but another voice forestalled him. Spoken in placid tones, the words were simple and brief, but said everything that needed to be said.
"Kisa." Hatsuharu's gaze was bland. "No one wants to see her cry."
"Butt out." Hiro glared viciously. "No one asked you."
Hatsuharu just shrugged, unconcerned.
"We don't have time for this," Yuki sighed tiredly. "Honda-san doesn't have time for this."
"What does that mean?" Kyou bit out sharply. "Did he say he was going to do something to her?"
"Iie." Yuki shook his head. "But that doesn't mean he won't. You know how he is; we all know how he is."
There was a weighted moment of silence as everyone absorbed that bitter truth.
"That's why," Yuki continued, "we need to find some way to extricate her as soon as possible. It hasn't been long, but if it keeps up, and she's away from us too long, her absence will be noted. Certain people are going to wonder and ask questions – and that would cause even more problems because I don't think they'd believe anything but the truth, if even that."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"What people?" Hiro asked suspiciously. "What questions?"
Yuki's reply was calm. "Honda-san has friends outside of the Jyunnishi. Close friends, smart friends. They're very protective of her and if too much time passes without them hearing from her, they're going to come to us for a reason as to why."
Kyou swallowed hard in comprehension, looking sick. "They aren't the types to leave without an answer."
"They're not," Yuki agreed quietly. "And with something this important, concerning someone so important to them, they're won't let us slide by with a lie or evasion, they won't ignore it this time around or be satisfied with half-truths. They'll press until they have the truth. And when they do..."
"Akito," Hatsuharu added softly into the silence that had descended, "won't be pleased."
It was a major understatement, and everyone in that car knew it.
"But don't you think Akito would have thought of that?" Hiro inquired uneasily. "He could have her call them from the compound and pretend to be where she's always been. Or he could have her make up some excuse about having to go out of town and not be able to see them for a while until she gets back."
"He could." Yuki looked him straight in the eye. "But do you really think Akito would care enough about what outsiders think to go through something that elaborate?"
Hiro's lips tightened and shook his head.
"Besides, Honda-san doesn't do well with lying; we've all seen that for ourselves. And her friends know her too well, even better than we do. They'd be able to see through any untruth she tried to tell, especially if it concerns something of this magnitude. Honda-san wouldn't be able to completely hide her emotions; even if it were just a conversation over the telephone, it would come through in her voice."
"It doesn't matter." Hatsuharu gazed blankly out the window. "Akito won't let her have contact with us. I don't think he'll allow her contact with anyone else outside the compound."
"What?!" Kyou exclaimed, anger glittering in his eyes. "What does-?"
"We'll explain everything once we get back home," Yuki broke in. "Everything."
The two, enemies for so long, locked gazes. The remaining onlookers witnessed it with interest as, once again, that silent communication seemed to pass and some sort of agreement was reached as Kyou subsided, still glaring but silent. Crossing his arms, he fixed a furiously black stare out the window in a pose suggestive of ignoring all else. However, despite what appearances seemed to be, he listened attentively to the words spoken in the hush of the car.
"We still have some time," Yuki finally sighed as he gave voice to his thoughts, picking up a thread that currently concerned him the most at that time. "Barely a day has passed so far. For a week, maybe even two, we might be able to put Uotani-san and Hanajima-san off without having to answer any questions if they try to inquire about Honda-san's whereabouts. But any longer than that, they're going to come around and we're going to have a confrontation about it sooner or later."
Kyou grunted, a wordless agreement, while Hatsuharu merely gave an absent nod. However, Hiro was more doubtful and was made uneasy by their volatile situation and these unknown factors that everyone else but him seemed to have knowledge of.
"How can you be so sure about them?" he asked tightly. "These friends of hers?"
"Because we know them," Yuki replied simply. "We know enough about them to have an idea as to what they'll do, at least when it comes to Honda-san. And when it comes to her, they'd do just about anything. Even if they were fully aware of what they'd be up against, about what our situation is...I doubt that would do anything to stop them."
Kyou ran an agitated hand through his hair, brows drawn together in a troubled frown as he spat out, "Damn, but this is a mess!"
With that, no one could disagree.
"So, then," Hiro broke in, "what do we do now?"
Empty silence was the only reply.
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AN: Whew! Bet you all thought I'd never update this again, huh? Many apologies for the long wait and many thanks for all the comments tossed my way, both good and slightly less so. We're all entitled to our own opinions about how a fic should be written and how often but, in the end, it's all up to me. Muwahahaha – I have the power!
Ahem, seriously – I do appreciate that people cared enough one way or the other to take the time to comment. It doesn't mean that I'll heed the suggestions tossed my way as I often have a reason, though it may not always be a good one especially when I tend to experiment, to make things the way they are that might be completely understood only by me. Mainly, I write to please myself as I escape from the drudgery of real life and that any of you can find even a small amount of enjoyment in it is an added bonus that I'm both happy and grateful for.
So, to you all, thank you very much! =D