By the Winds of Chance

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango, though I wish I did!

He paused as he stepped out onto the fire escape. Scanning the ground below with apprehension, he sighed with relief. No one was around to see him...this time. He sauntered casually down the steps, wincing as his feet were poked by sharp pieces of metal. Dropping onto the ground, he shivered, wishing he could have had time to bring his clothes with him. He rose to his feet and strode to his car. Where are those extra pants? Did I forget to put them back last time?

"What were you doing in my mother's room?" He felt cold steel touch his back. He froze and turned around carefully. "Oh my god! Find your clothes and put them on, now!"

He started to look for his clothes again, painfully aware of the person behind him. When he had found his clothes, he hesitated. "Um, can you move a little? I can't put on my shirt until you take that thing away from me. Please?"

"If you try to run, I swear I'll blow your ass off." He winced as he thought of what that might look like. He yanked on his shirt, but soon found he was missing a sock and underwear.

"Um, could I borrow...?" He asked hopefully.

"If you think I'm going to lend you any of my clothes, then you're wrong, because I'm not giving anything to you," The voice was cold and harsh. "Just put your pants on. I don't really care whether your pants get caught up your butt or not," Something prodded him sharply.

Turning, he spread his hands innocently. "Look, kid. I don't want to mess with you and I'm sure you don't want to get in a fight with me, so why don't you just let me go and forget this ever happened."

"No, I'm not letting you go. But don't worry; my mom's been doing this for years. My dad doesn't know yet. I'm telling him soon though. I'm sick of blasting guys apart just because they're doing things with my mom that only my dad should be."

He felt the steel touch his back again, sending shivers up his spine. Maybe I've overdone it. I shouldn't have picked up this kid's mom just because she looked hot. He tensed instinctively, waiting for the release of a trigger.

"It's okay. I promise it'll be fast and it won't hurt much, okay?" The gun was leveled carefully so it reached exactly the fifth vertebrae. It pressed hard and molded itself to his rigid back. The person seemed to hesitate for second, then whispered. "I'm sorry."

He braced himself. He heard a gun go off somewhere inside his head. Colors swirled wildly, then everything went dark and cold and silent.

**~**~**

The three sat in a private corner of the bar, unnoticed. They had long ago established this area as their own and no one wanted to challenge them for the privilege of a small table. It would cost too much.
"Soujiro, do you have any idea where Akira is? I mean, I know he's.out and all, but shouldn't he be back by now, right?" Tsukasa bent forward anxiously.

Soujiro leaned back casually and swirled the crimson liquid inside his wineglass. "Dude, chill. Aki's not stupid enough to get himself caught. He's probably just a little caught up in what he's doing." He caught the eye of a slender girl dressed in a pink leather tube top and black pants. "I'll be right back." He casually sauntered over to the where she was standing.

Tsukasa's lip curled as he watched them. The two slipped off into the crowd soon after Soujiro had approached the girl.

"He's lucky he thought to get a hotel room. He'll be using it well tonight." The third boy emerged from the darkness, where he'd been dozing. "I'm guessing." He trailed off suddenly. Sliding a hand into his pocket, he brought out a thin black cell phone that was vibrating gently. Listening carefully, he nodded. "I see. I will, thank you." Putting the cell phone back, he paused and bent his head. Closing his eyes, he whispered something incoherently. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked Tsukasa straight in the eye. "Get Soujiro. We need to leave right now."

Author's Notes: I know this is really short, but this is just going to be the introduction to (hopefully) a much longer piece. Also, this is my first fic, so please don't flame too badly! ^.~