A/N: It's kinda short…sorry. Hopefully more soon! Also, a shout out to BlackMoonStar10 for a great review and support!

"When you grow suspicious of a person and begin a system of espionage upon him, your punishment will be that you will find your suspicions true." –Elbert Hubbard

~~Stolen~~

Having left the office earlier than expected yesterday, and spending a sizeable amount of time calling the house, Kyouya had a back-up of work on top of his already insurmountable pile. Had he known that secretly running his business from afar would have taken such effort he would have simply built a compound underneath his mansion and kept Haurhi chained there. Chained. The word sent a delicious shiver up his spine. How long had he fantasized about what Haruhi had done for him, how long had he desired her so intimately? "Too long," he thought. Haruhi had been stubborn, and difficult to convince of his affections, he'd had no choice. He'd had to steal her away from those who would poison her mind against him. The thought made his lip curl but was quickly dismissed. She was his now. Maybe not as fully as he wanted but when her time was up, it was up. Part of him still regretted making the deal, but the businessman in him couldn't resist the payoff that a little waiting would bring. And such sweet payoff it would be. For now, though, he would just have to take his frustration out in other ways…like tackling this massive stack of work. But first, a phone call. He had to know he was still in the clear back home.

~~Stolen~~

"I told you to give a destination, somewhere far away from Japan and far away from here! This is the second time you've disobeyed my command. Were this situation not so exceptionally delicate, I would deal with you myself. As it is, I've exhausted nearly all my external resources…make no mistake, though. Should you fail me once more, the repercussions will be dire."

"But sir, I am only further stalling their progress, and believe me, they do not suspect a thing. Besides, if they knew her "whereabouts" it would not take long at all for them to be exactly where she is meant to be. This way, I am prolonging the inevitable. They will go looking for her as soon as they find out her supposed whereabouts. It is quite obvious how much they care for her…it borders on obsession." Kyouya rubbed the bridge of his nose and spoke lowly to himself,

"Yes, she seems to have that affect on everyone she meets…"

"Sir?"

"Nothing. Do not fail me again." The line went dead.

Kyouya sat in his plush office chair, each hand pulling at the skin on the other. It was a nasty habit Kyouya had picked up that he hadn't even realized he was doing until he'd managed to break the skin of his hands once. Kyouya only did it was he was exceptionally frustrated, but once he started ringing his hands, he wouldn't stop until his problem was solved. He couldn't help it this time. Things seemed to be falling in around him. Never had one of his plans failed. Not once. But this one was dangerously close. What made the situation worse was that he could not go out and fix the problem himself like he usually did since all his problems in the past had been caused by incompetent or lazy employees. No. He had to stay, lest Haruhi find a way to escape in the short time he would be away. Not only would she inform the authorities, a few of which might happen to be ones not on his payroll, but she would be lost to him. He would never be able to get her back. He was not fool enough to try this stunt again. But he would not allow her to get away. No. He couldn't. She was his and he would make sure she stayed that way until she died. And if there were an afterlife, he would find her then. She would always be his. Why would she even want to leave? It made no sense, he could give her anything, everything she ever wanted or needed. He could show her things he was sure she had never dreamed of. He would be the man she needed to keep her fully satisfied if only she would comply. But that ungrateful tart wouldn't have him! A violent shudder shot through Kyouya before he could control it. Taking a deep breath, Kyouya slowly reach across his desk to grab a discarded contract that needed to be looked over. A small drop of blood slipped from a tear that spread over three of his knuckles.

~~Stolen~~

Haruhi had not been able to keep any food down. Every time she put something in her mouth, her mind was returned to the horror of last night. The attempts were just getting more pitiful. But she had to eat. Her strength was incredibly low from her lack of food and if she didn't want a rerun of last night, she needed to get everything on the long list Kyouya had given her done. That included making another large dinner. Haruhi just hoped she would be able to eat it in front of him without getting sick.

~~Stolen~~

Ryouji had never felt so helpless in his life. His daughter was missing and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. There was someone working on the case right now and the man seemed to be making some sort of progress, especially after finding an itinerary in Haruhi's room. But Ryouji just didn't understand! This was so very unlike Haruhi, she had always been so practical, almost aggravatingly so. So why would she fly out of the country without telling a single person, that Ryouji knew of, where she was going. It was a puzzle and none of the pieces fit. A sudden thought struck Ryouji. Less than a thought really, more of just a queasy feeling as he remembered the lieutenant's apprehension when mentioning the investigator. Maybe it was time to pay the man another visit. If only to spend time doing something other than sitting huddled in a ball, crying in fear for his baby girl.

~~Stolen~~

Dinner was almost complete when Haruhi heard the front door slide open. A rush of emotion flooded her system. Relief at completing all her "assigned tasks" was the first but did not last long due to the dread Haruhi felt at being so close to Kyouya. Finally sadness, all consuming, tore at her as she realized this may well be her life until she died; dreading the sound of an opened door.

~~Stolen~~

While it wasn't normal for the Lieutenant to allow such, Ryouji had been sitting quietly in his private office awaiting news of his daughter. Understanding Ryoji's fears, the Lieutenant decided to placate Ryoji this small bit. He was, however, very busy with a few other investigations that were considered "high profile" so he appreciated Ryoji's continued silence until,

"I was wondering…" The Lieutenant looked up from his paperwork, cocking his head to the side as a silent signal to continue.

"Well, it's just…when you recommended that investigator you seemed hesitant. And, well, I can't help but notice that something about him just doesn't seem right. So, I was just wondering…why exactly did you hesitate recommending him?" The Lieutenant offered a small smile before answering,

"It's nothing serious, or anything that would interfere with his work. He's simply a very…eccentric man. I feared you would assume he was not taking your case seriously or would not be able to handle it. I assure you, however, that he's one of the best I've ever worked with as far as cases solved go. His quirks work for him…" The Lieutenant trailed off when he saw Ryoji's confused expression.

"Eccentric?"

"Uh, yah. You know, the crazy clothes he wears, his sudden outbursts, his obsession with cleanliness…" A budding doubt started to gnaw at the bottom of the Lieutenant's stomach when Ryouji continued to look confused. Finally, Ryoji's face softened slightly and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hm. I guess I didn't notice. I'm probably too eccentric myself sometimes to notice it in others…" The Lieutenant, who was thoroughly overwhelmed with other cases currently, was all ready to accept Ryoji's admission but something wasn't sitting right.

Now that he thought about it, the investigator, who always came to the station before beginning a case to be properly briefed on everything the police knew, had been avoiding all invitations and opportunity to be at the station.

And no one no matter how eccentric they were themselves could not notice this man's particular…quirks. He was an amazing investigator but, to put it plainly, the man was a complete freak show. A freak show that was impossible to miss. Resolving not to further worry the already broken down father sitting at the foot of his desk, the Lieutenant tucked the thought away for later inspection. Something didn't feel right and he had a nasty suspicion he knew what it was.

~~Stolen~~

O.k. so, I'm SUPER pressed for time but I promised BlackMoonStar10 an update! Plus I know you all have been waiting (some patiently, some not so patiently) for a review! I hope to get more up soon but I'm trying to make all the pieces fit and not leave out any important details or make any mistakes with the story/timeline. Please review and I will try my very hardest to get the last few chapters done soon! (PS Next chapter is when it starts to get juicy and heart pounding!)