By the title of this chapter, what can you guess? ^_~ hope you enjoy the story! Please read on!
Chapter 7: Loss
"Tokio..."
Tokio lay admist the thick darkness of her unconsciousness...she heard someone calling her name but...
"I don't want to wake up...I want to stay here forever..." Tokio thought, trying to block out the caller's voice.
"...wake up...oh, please, wake up, Tokio..."
"...I lost everything...Mitsuke is no longer a friend..I am now at Lei's mercy...great. Just great..." Tokio REALLY wanted to stay wherever she was until... "..wait...what happened to Hajime?" she almost forgot the Saito was also taken prisoner...
...what if he was dying at this very moment!??
Tokio jolted awake, sitting up in bed, "Hajime!" she called out his name in concern.
A sharp pain attacked her head. She fell back onto the futon, her head throbbing madly. She shut her eyees in pain and her hand flew to her head, clutching the side of her head painfully. White gauze was tied around her head because of the wound she received on the back of her head.
"Tokio, you're awake!" a woman exclaimed, relieved.
"Hmm..?" Tokio cracked open her eyes, seeing it was...
...Tokio's eyes widened, ignoring the pain for a moment.
"Wha--what are you doing here...?" Tokio murmured as she looked at the woman "How...?"
Saito opened his eyes a notch, his neck sticky with dirt, sweat and maybe even his blood. He was sitting against a wall, his body feeling 100 pounds more.
He raised his eyes up at the ceiling, seeing it spin uncontrollably in all directions. He shut eyes tightly, feeling the dizziness swallow his senses.
He tried to put his hand to his head but...he tried to raise his arm again. He opened his eyes, looked down and saw that his arms were chained together. His feet were, too...
He instantly remembered what happened...Mitsuke was the traitor that turned him and Tokio in...Saito clenched his teeth together in animosity, but that made his head pains worse. Saito looked around the cold, moldy room.
"How inviting," Saito mumbled to himself as he frowned. He instantly knew he was 'welcome'.
The chains were heavy and tightly bound his wrists and ankles together. What could he do?
Escape was the first thought, obviously. But, of course, since he was the guest...he would have to meet the host soon...
As if on cue, the door slid open. Through the shadows a man walked in. Well-dressed and handsome, a man walked in. The blue hair...steel gray eyes...he was none other than---
"Lei," Saito glared. "You've got a strange way of treating people as your guest." Saito gestured to his chained hands and feet.
"Thank you. And hello, to you too. I say, you don't have manners yourself, Saito," Lei glared back. "..now..is Saito Hajime your real name? Or is that name as fake as your identity you kept here?"
"That's my real name," Saito replied. "I'm not related to Tokio---so who informed you about my false identity? Koriyama Mitsuke?"
"Of course---he was the very last friend to Tokio. I knew he would be quite useful as a spy." Lei responded.
Saito's eyes narrowed. Mitsuke the Traitor----Saito swore that Mitsuke would pay dearly.
"That's Tokio's weakness...her trust in others," Lei remarked, his eyes distant. "..when will she learn..?"
"Where is Tokio?" Saito asked after the moment's silence.
"You don't have to worry about her. She's in good hands," Lei answered, then slightly smiled. "You should really worry about yourself."
"Oh?" Saito asked, not having a care in his tone.
"Let me ask you just once," Lei said. "And for your own sake, do answer quickly. Are you at all..attached..to Tokio?"
"What do you mean by 'attached'?" Saito asked, slighty narrowed his eyes.
"Are you attracted to Tokio?" Lei asked bluntly.
Saito arched his eyebrow at Lei.
"Admit it," Lei said casually as he crossed his arms. "You lived with Tokio for a month or more...don't you find her personality as well as her visage attractive?"
Visions of Tokio flashed through Saito's mind. When she smiled...to when she laughed...to when she snapped a witty retort at him...
Saito snapped out of his reviere and looked at Lei.
"She's quite lovely, don't you agree?" Lei asked, his hard gray eyes on Saito.
A certain memory flashed through his head once more...
...when Tokio's hand touched his...the tea glass broke...their hands touched once more...Saito felt that..that feeling in his chest that he could not ignore...
Saito's jaw twitched. He averted his eyes away from Lei and looked at his chained hands. He did not answer Lei. He refused to.
"I don't think that really is any of your business." Saito raised his eyes up at Lei. Saito slightly smirked when Lei's lips grew tight with impatience and aggravation.
Lei closed his eyes, "I knew you wouldn't answer. Maybe you don't even want to know the answer."
Saito blinked.
"I'll see you later, Mr. Saito," Lei said. "Maybe then you'll answer my question---but you should have an incentive..."
Saito's eyes narrowed when another male entered the room...he held a thin iron bar...
"I warned you to answer quickly," Lei said and turned his back to Saito. "Yobou, don't kill him..yet." he said to the large man. Lei left the room.
Saito looked at the large male.
"Me name Yobou." the man said unintelligently, smiling a half-toothless smile at Saito.
"Pleasure to meet you." Saito said sarcastically, looking at the iron bar Yobou held.
Yobou walked toward Saito, "Me have to get answer out o' you."
Saito clenched his teeth together defiantly. Lei's question replayed in his head.
~"Are you attracted to Tokio?"~
"...am I?" Saito wondered in his thoughts as Yobou's shadow loomed over him. Yobou brandished his iron rod.
Saito realized that the Answer to that Question scared him more than the beating he would receive from Yobou.
The first blow came down on Saito's shoulder, his thoughts shattered away as the pain engulfed his body as the blows continued to come down on him.
A woman with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes sat before Tokio. Tokio forced herself to sit up.
"Michiko...what are you doing here?" Tokio asked.
Koriyama Michiko...she was Mitsuke's elder sister.
"I was about to ask you that same question!" Michiko said.
"Lei." Tokio replied.
"Oh." Michiko nodded in complete understanding. That vile name explained all that was needed to say.
"You?" Tokio asked.
"Lei also brought me here..." Michiko looked at the ground. Silent tears slid down her cheeks. Suddenly, as if she couldn't control herself any longer, sobs escaped her mouth as she burst out in a fit of tears and sobbing. She covered her face with her hands as she continued to cry, muffling her sobs as best she could.
Tokio looked at Michiko sadly. She never saw Michiko like this before...pale and horribly thin...crying and unhappy...she was such a gentle and cheerful woman...but now...her hair was a mess and her eyes drowned in tears.
"I know Lei won't kill you," Tokio said to Michiko, hoping she would stop crying. Seeing Michiko was, Tokio was tempted to do so herself...
"I don't care about MY life!" Michiko said through her tears-torn sobs. "My daughter...and Mitsuke! And now you're here, too! It's all MY fault you're all here!"
"...what?" Tokio blinked. "Explain!"
"L-Lei...kidnapped m-me from my home...Lei told M-Mitsuke that he'd kill me and my d-daughter if Mitsuke didn't help him..." Michiko explained, her voice quivering from sobs.
Tokio's eyes widened.
"...please forgive Mitsuke...he betrayed you for me...and my daughter." Michiko murmured sadly. The thought of her daughter caused tears to form in Michiko's eyes.
"Y-you have daughter?" Tokio was shocked.
"I married a year ago," Michiko sniffed. "My husband is waiting for us in Kobe...I hope he's all right..."
"I involved so many lives before...now..now Michiko and Mitsuke...and even Michiko's family!!" Tokio thought bitterly. "It's MY fault--not Michiko's."
Tokio, already in a sitting position, bowed. She bowed so low that her forehead touched the floor.
"..Tokio?" Michiko looked at Tokio's low bow.
"Please forgive me...for all the pain I caused you...it's all my fault." Tokio murmured, her face still toward the ground.
Michiko never saw Tokio like this before...was this Tokio the tomboy? Was this Tokio, the one that beat up every boy who dared to challenge or taunt her?
"...Tokio," Michiko put her hands on Tokio's shoulders and urged her up to face her. "It's NOT your fault."
Tokio avoided to look at Michiko.
"Everything is my fault," Tokio murmured. "You and your family...and even Hajime..."
"Hajime? Who is he?" Michiko asked curiously.
"Saito Hajime was also imprisoned...because of me..." tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"Listen to me! It is NOT your fault! It never was! Now," Michiko wiped Tokio's tears away with her sleeve.
"Is he your husband?" Michiko asked, her eyes twinkling.
"W-who?! H-Hajime!?" Tokio blushed a brilliant red.
"Yes...is HE your husband or boyfriend?" Michiko asked curiously as she wiped the remains of Tokio's tears away.
"NO!!" Tokio exclaimed.
"Oh," Michiko looked slightly upset. "I was hoping he was..."
"He's--he's just a friend." Tokio remarked, still glowing red from embarrassment.
"Hmm..." Michiko arched her eyebrow at Tokio.
"Let me do your hair! It's messy," Tokio said quickly, trying to change the subject. Michiko turned her back to Tokio, still sitting down.
"Okay, but I shall do your hair after. Oh, and please let me see your hair-sticks." Michiko requested.
Tokio pulled out her two simple-looking cherrywood hair-sticks. She handed them to her friend.
Michiko looked at them, "Your mother's hair-sticks..." the cherrywood etched with a design of a phoenix.
Tokio grabbed a comb from an adjacent table. She pulled out Michiko's mahogany hair-sticks and placed them on the ground. She combed Michiko's dark brown hair.
"Yes. I took them from her hair after she died in her sleep...I pray that I, too, will die quickly and painlessly..." Tokio murmured unintentionally.
"Don't say that!" Michiko said sharply.
"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that aloud." Tokio said.
"You're going to live a long life," Michiko assured. She placed the cherrywood hair-sticks on the floor next to her own mahogany hair-sticks. "I'm sure you will, Tokio!"
"..with Lei...a long life with Lei..." Tokio thought as she carefully twisted Michiko's hair into a bun.
Still lost in thought, Tokio picked up the two hair-sticks from the floor and stuck them into Michiko hair.
"...I rather die." Tokio finished her thought.
Saito grit his teeth together when Yobou kicked him in the stomach. Saito fell onto his side, slightly curling into a ball, trying to catched his breath.
"You make no sounds! You brave! You die bravely!" Yobou said, almost with admiration.
"Than..ks." Saito grumbled sardonically, still trying to catch his breath.
"You hurt?" Yobou asked.
Bruised and bleeding, Saito tried to sit up straight, but collapsed on his side from pain and fatigue.
"I take that as 'yes'!" Yobou said.
Yobou reached down and grabbed Saito by the neck. Yobou lifted him up into a standing position, Saito struggled to breath.
"Will you give answer?" Yobou asked.
Saito's vision began to blur. If he didn't give a simple answer, he would die...
"N..o..."
"Say again?" Yobou asked.
"Grr..No!" Saito choked out, glaring. *What a moron. I'm going to be killed by a MORON.*, he thought. Saito tried to reached up and grab Yobou's arms, but the chains were too heavy for his beaten state now...he tried to kick up, but the chains pulled him down.
"You no give answer, you no live." Yobou said simply.
Yobou's grip on Saito's throat tightened.
Saito cursed. Was he...going to die?
Michiko silently combed Tokio's ebony black hair as she sat behind her. The soft, silky strands of black hair slid through the bristles of the comb smoothly.
"Tokio," Michiko broke the silence. "tell me about this Saito Hajime character...how did you get to know him?" she asked curiously.
"I helped him when he was seriously injured. He stayed with me for a few weeks while his wounds healed." Tokio answered.
"I see...and..he is just your friend?" she asked.
"...of course, he's my friend." Tokio said.
"..JUST your friend? Nothing more?" Michiko asked, almost slyly.
"...are you implying something?" Tokio asked.
"Well, I was just wondering if, well...if you were attracted to this fellow." Michiko murmured.
Tokio blushed red, happy her back was to Michiko and protested, "M-me? Attracted to Hajime? No!!"
"Hmmm..." silent doubt
"Michiko, oh, really..." Tokio mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that I find it curious that...well...this Saito Hajime stayed with you for a few weeks...and I never knew anyone that could make you blush like that," Michiko said. "AND you called out his name in your sleep---what kind of dream were you having?" she asked slyly.
Tokio glowed a brighter red. Michiko thought Tokio was fantasizing about Saito...
She quickly protested, "I wasn't dreaming about THAT!!"
Michiko giggled and said, "Truth be told, I think you are at LEAST a little attracted to this man...but you're such a stubborn woman," Michiko sighed as if she were her mother.
Michiko twisted Tokio's hair up and placed the hair-sticks in her hair, lost in her thought, "There you go, Tokio."
"My friendship with Mr. Saito is just simple. We are SIMPLY friends," Tokio said flatly. "What else could it be? And if I was interested in him, wouldn't I KNOW?"
"Well...maybe you're in denial." Michiko remarked softly.
Tokio blinked.
Was she...?
Saito struggled to breath while Yobou was quite entertained...
"You very stubborn!" Yobou laughed, amused. He lifted Saito off the ground, his feet dangling a few inches from the ground.
His lungs were burning for air, his muscles were cramped from struggling, his body fatigued with wounds...a flash of words entered his mind.
~ "...But now...NOW he'll kill you---you'll die!! Do you think I want you to see you die after going through all I did to keep you as safe as possible?!?" ~
"Tokio's words..." Saito thought as he slowly stopped struggling, his body too tired. More words entered his head.
~ "---it will be all MY fault!!! Mine!! Just like everyone I knew!! Everyone else I cared about!!! Dead!! And you'll just be another grave I'll visit, Saito!!" ~
"Everyone else I cared about?" Saito replayed that sentence in his head. "...she cares about..me?"
Yobou noticed that Saito slowly became more still.
~ "And you don't understand how much---how much I--I don't want you to die..." ~
Slowly, Saito stopped breathing completely...he stopped struggling.
~ "No matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, I'll never be able to keep anyone I love safe." ~
Saito's eyes snapped open, Yobou was taken aback by this.
"You still alive?" Yobou blinked, his grip slightly loosening.
"I can't die...if I do...she'll never forgive me...and when I see her in another life--she'll kill me for sure," Saito thought, feeling strength fill his body as well as his spirit. "I won't be the one to die today!"
Saito reached up and grabbed Yobou's thick arm with his chained hands. He then swung his chained feet into Yobou's torso forcefully.
Yobou dropped Saito onto the ground and fell back like a fallen tree. Saito fell to the ground with a thud. Yobou fell to the ground with a crash. Saito gasped in air heavily.
Yobou pushed himself off the ground, his eyes glowing angrily.
Saito mentally cursed when he saw Yobou's furious look. Saito really did it this time...
"You. Die." Yobou stood up, his shadow loomed over Saito once more.
Saito glared, his yellow eyes glowing in the shadow's darkness. Yobou took a step forward then---
The door slid open forcefully, a cold draft blew in. Yobou spun around. Yobou opened his mouth but then...
Saito couldn't see, only hear. Saito heard a a dull *thunk*! Yobou staggered back. Then Saito heard the sharp whistle of a sword.
Yobou fell to the ground, backwards. His head rolled close by Saito's feet. Saito looked at Yobou's headless body. There was a shuriken embedded in his chest.
Saito raised his eyes, seeing a figure cloaked in black. Saito saw the dark green eyes---he knew who it was.
Mitsuke pulled down his mask as he rushed toward Saito and cut off Saito's chains around his hands.
Saito curled his hand in a fist and---
WHAM
Mitsuke fell back, clutching his cheek, "OW!!!!"
"That's what you deserve, you dirty, lying----" Saito started, glaring.
"I know I deserve those words, which I will gladly interrupt, but you have to understand that I..I never wanted to hurt you or Tokio..." Mitsuke said, looking down at the ground shamefully.
Saito knew Mitsuke was sincere, but...
"Why did you aid Lei in the first place?" Saito asked.
"I had to help Lei because he is keeping my sister prisoner...If I didn't help him, he'd kill my sister and her daughter..." Mitsuke replied as he cut off the chains around Saito's feet.
Saito rubbed his wrists and ankles then stood up, having a hard time keeping steady. His bruised, bleeding body was not cooperating with him.
"I wish you came earlier, you moron." Saito mumbled.
"Sorry. But there was traffic getting here," Mitsuke replied. Saito arched his eyebrow at Mitsuke's excuse. "Hey, the town can get pretty busy during dusk." Mitsuke remarked.
"Why are you helping me?" Saito asked, narrowing his eyes. Mitsuke was still knelt down on the floor, wiping the blood off his blade.
"...I couldn't live with myself...Tokio was my friend ever since we were in diapers! ...I couldn't bring myself to let her marry Lei," Mitsuke replied in a soft, yet firm voice. "I'd be happier if she got married to someone like you or----"
"WHAT?" Saito blinked.
"What about what?" Mitsuke looked at him.
"You'd rather have Tokio marry who?" Saito asked.
"You," Mitsuke said simply, standing up. He slightly kicked Yobou's head away from his feet. "You DO like her, don't you?"
Mitsuke saw Saito staring at him with a pensive stare.
"Eh...enough with personal questions," Mitsuke said quickly as he stood up. "You have to help get Tokio, my sister and my niece OUT of here!"
"After what you put me through---I don't really feel quite forgiving enough to help you at all." Saito glared.
"Okay, FINE. Don't help ME--help Tokio! And at least my sister and her daughter...please..." Mitsuke said, his eyes full of pleading.
Saito hesitated for a moment, "Why are you asking for my help? Why not one of your ninja-idiot friends?"
"I don't want to involve them---and I know their skills cannot match yours. You beat the Kurokumo Brothers---the only known person to do that is Toshihiro...if your skills match Toshihiro's, YOU are the only one to defeat Lei." Mitsuke said firmly.
Saito frowned in silence.
"Look...you're a pretty difficult..(and cold-hearted, might I add)..guy to deal with, but...do you really not care about Tokio? Do you want to see her married to HIM?" Mitsuke asked.
Saito thought for a few seconds. He then took the sword out of Mitsuke's hand.
"I'll be borrowing this," Saito said as he forced himself off the wall. He walked numbly to the door. His muscles screamed in pain, but he went on. "I doubt I'll be giving you back your sword in one piece though."
Mitsuke smiled, both relieved and happy. Though he was a bit upset...he really did like that sword...
"Why are you just standing there and smiling like a complete moron?! Hurry up!" Saito snapped, stepping over the headless body and exited the room.
"Alright!" Mitsuke silently cheered. "Hey! Wait! I'll lead the way!"
"I'm not in denial," Tokio thought as she watched Michiko sleep. She must have been exhausted after all that crying. "I'm just simply not in love with Saito. I can't be."
...a tugging feeling pulled at her heart.
"No, I can't possibly be in love in Saito Hajime! No way in Hell!" Tokio crossed her arms, almost defiantly as she looked out the window.
...the feeling grew more tense in her chest.
"He's an idiot! And not only an idiot! A cynical, cruel, cold-hearted, ungrateful fool!" Tokio thought with finality, yet...her words felt so weak.
*And perhaps...I am a fool as well...* Tokio closed her eyes.
Suddenly the door slid open. Tokio slightly jumped from surprise. A guard walked in. Suddenly Michiko sat up in bed, pale.
"Here's your dinners, ladies." the guard said, looking at the two attractive women. He set the tray down.
"Where is my daughter? Is she all right?" Michiko asked, her eyes full of pleading.
"None of your business!" he snapped.
Michiko shrank away, looking down. Tokio felt a rage build in her chest.
The guard turned away to leave but....
As if on instinct, Tokio jumped onto the man's back. Tokio first put her arm around his neck and one hand clamped on his mouth. Th man muffled a surprised yell.
Tokio shut her eyes, sorry what she had to do but this was her only chance of escape...
The man was about to fall back to purposely crush Tokio but...
Tokio let go of his mouth and grabbed his head. One hand around his neck, the other one his head...
"You %ITCH---!" the guard growled spitefully.
...Tokio twisted forcefully and a sickening *crack!* was made...
The man fell to the floor, his body limp and Tokio rolled on the ground.
"Wha--what---what did you do?" Michiko asked quietly, her eyes wide. She already knew but...
"I...He...He's dead," Tokio murmured, she stood up and grabbed Michiko's hand. She pulled the shaken woman to her feet.
"Y-you...broke..his neck..." Michiko's eyes widened as she looked at the dead body.
"You want your daughter back, don't you?" Tokio asked.
"...yes...Yes!" Michiko's eyes grew focused and strong just like Tokio's.
"Let's hurry, we'll find your daughter and get out of here!" Tokio pulled Michiko toward the door and the two women carefully and quietly escaped the bedroom.
"Hajime...wherever you are---you better come out alive!!" Tokio thought, clenching her teeth as concern struck her heart.
Saito slit the guard's throat, the man did not even have the time to utter a word.
"Great!" Mitsuke whispered. "Kill silently!! Lei kept Michiko and Tokio in a bedroom! Come! We are close by!!"
The two swordsmen ran down the hall, Saito has quite a hard time, the bruises were throbbing and his body was asking for rest...but he refused to stop. Not until he found Tokio.
Suddenly Mitsuke stopped dead in his tracks.
"That..that was Michiko and Tokio's bedroom!!" Mitsuke saw that the door was open...he got worried. Mitsuke ran ahead of Saito and peered into the bedroom.
It was empty!
Saito looked in the bedroom, seeing a guard dead on the floor.
"They escaped." Saito remarked.
"They're probably after Iyane!!" Mitsuke whispered with urgency. "This way!!!"
Tokio and Michiko ran past open bedroom doors.
"So many rooms!" Michiko murmured helplessly. "This is like a mansion..." she became hopeless.
"We'll find your daughter! Don't worry!!" Tokio exclaimed.
Michiko gasped...the two women stopped.
...Tokio and Michiko encountered two separate halls...
Tokio looked at both hallways with distress...which way to go?
"Tokio, I will take the left hallway, you shall take the right!" Michiko exclaimed.
"What?" Tokio looked at her.
"We have to split up." Michiko replied firmly.
"I won't leave you by yourself!" Tokio protested. "You don't know how to fight!"
"For my daughter," Michiko's eyes shined with determination. "I will fight by instinct! I do contain the blood of my clan---don't worry for me. Worry for my daughter!!"
Tokio hesitantly nodded.
"If you do not find her, get out of the mansion without me!!" Michiko ran down the left hallway, disappearing in the shadows. "And if you do find her--please get her out and don't look for me!"
"We'll both get out of here." Tokio thought.
Tokio prayed for Michiko and ran down the right hall.
After minutes of silent sprinting, Mitsuke and Saito stopped.
"This is the hallway to Iyane's bedroom! It is well-protected," Mitsuke warned. Mitsuke peered down the hall, seeing no one...
"All right! Tamatori's bedroom in just down the hall!! Hurry!" Mitsuke went down the hall.
Saito's muscles were screaming for him to rest but...
"I must find Tokio." Saito thought, narrowing his eyes in determination, urging his body a little more strength.
Saito heard Mitsuke gasp in happiness.
"Look!!!" Mitsuke pointed to a woman that was running down the hall toward them. She came from the opposite side! She was quite a distance away....the hall went very far down.
"It must be Michiko! Or Tokio!" Mitsuke whispered, his green eyes gleamed with relief and happiness. Mitsuke waved his arm in the air.
Saito saw figure slide open the door, the light gleamed on the woman's feminine figure, hair and her cherrywood hairsticks...she rushed into the room.
Cherrywood hairsticks!
"Tokio!" Saito's eyes widened. He and Mitsuke made a quick walk down.
Saito's spirits lifted above greatest heights---he had found Tokio!
"...give me...child...! ...now!" Saito heard a little what the woman demanded for.
There were sounds of struggling...
Suddenly a gunshot echoed through the halls from the room...
Mitsuke and Saito stopped, wide-eyed, their mouths slightly open...
Just as the woman came in, the woman staggered out the room. Everything seemed to turned to slow motion...
Gracefully, she fell to the floor, her hair undoing itself...she fell to the ground on her side with a soft sound, blood spilled from her wound and tainted the wooden floor
Saito looked at the woman on the ground, his eyes wide and his breath quick and ragged from utter shock. His eyes locked onto the motionless figure, her long dark hair seemed to have spilled across her lifeless body and the long dark strands mixed in with the blood.
The cherrywood hairsticks of Tokio's mother rolled for her let-loose hair and at Saito's feet.
"TOKIO!" Saito exclaimed, pain filling every cell of his body and stinging every emotion Saito possessed within his body and soul...
**YES, that IS a cliffhanger! =P I've got to stop there...such a painful loss of death, isn't it? Did you guys like it? ^^ Sorry if it sort of bored you...I had to go into detail! Oh---and yes. Please watch out for the next chapter! I will write it A.S.A.P. Just please review!! Thank you for reading!**
Chapter 7: Loss
"Tokio..."
Tokio lay admist the thick darkness of her unconsciousness...she heard someone calling her name but...
"I don't want to wake up...I want to stay here forever..." Tokio thought, trying to block out the caller's voice.
"...wake up...oh, please, wake up, Tokio..."
"...I lost everything...Mitsuke is no longer a friend..I am now at Lei's mercy...great. Just great..." Tokio REALLY wanted to stay wherever she was until... "..wait...what happened to Hajime?" she almost forgot the Saito was also taken prisoner...
...what if he was dying at this very moment!??
Tokio jolted awake, sitting up in bed, "Hajime!" she called out his name in concern.
A sharp pain attacked her head. She fell back onto the futon, her head throbbing madly. She shut her eyees in pain and her hand flew to her head, clutching the side of her head painfully. White gauze was tied around her head because of the wound she received on the back of her head.
"Tokio, you're awake!" a woman exclaimed, relieved.
"Hmm..?" Tokio cracked open her eyes, seeing it was...
...Tokio's eyes widened, ignoring the pain for a moment.
"Wha--what are you doing here...?" Tokio murmured as she looked at the woman "How...?"
Saito opened his eyes a notch, his neck sticky with dirt, sweat and maybe even his blood. He was sitting against a wall, his body feeling 100 pounds more.
He raised his eyes up at the ceiling, seeing it spin uncontrollably in all directions. He shut eyes tightly, feeling the dizziness swallow his senses.
He tried to put his hand to his head but...he tried to raise his arm again. He opened his eyes, looked down and saw that his arms were chained together. His feet were, too...
He instantly remembered what happened...Mitsuke was the traitor that turned him and Tokio in...Saito clenched his teeth together in animosity, but that made his head pains worse. Saito looked around the cold, moldy room.
"How inviting," Saito mumbled to himself as he frowned. He instantly knew he was 'welcome'.
The chains were heavy and tightly bound his wrists and ankles together. What could he do?
Escape was the first thought, obviously. But, of course, since he was the guest...he would have to meet the host soon...
As if on cue, the door slid open. Through the shadows a man walked in. Well-dressed and handsome, a man walked in. The blue hair...steel gray eyes...he was none other than---
"Lei," Saito glared. "You've got a strange way of treating people as your guest." Saito gestured to his chained hands and feet.
"Thank you. And hello, to you too. I say, you don't have manners yourself, Saito," Lei glared back. "..now..is Saito Hajime your real name? Or is that name as fake as your identity you kept here?"
"That's my real name," Saito replied. "I'm not related to Tokio---so who informed you about my false identity? Koriyama Mitsuke?"
"Of course---he was the very last friend to Tokio. I knew he would be quite useful as a spy." Lei responded.
Saito's eyes narrowed. Mitsuke the Traitor----Saito swore that Mitsuke would pay dearly.
"That's Tokio's weakness...her trust in others," Lei remarked, his eyes distant. "..when will she learn..?"
"Where is Tokio?" Saito asked after the moment's silence.
"You don't have to worry about her. She's in good hands," Lei answered, then slightly smiled. "You should really worry about yourself."
"Oh?" Saito asked, not having a care in his tone.
"Let me ask you just once," Lei said. "And for your own sake, do answer quickly. Are you at all..attached..to Tokio?"
"What do you mean by 'attached'?" Saito asked, slighty narrowed his eyes.
"Are you attracted to Tokio?" Lei asked bluntly.
Saito arched his eyebrow at Lei.
"Admit it," Lei said casually as he crossed his arms. "You lived with Tokio for a month or more...don't you find her personality as well as her visage attractive?"
Visions of Tokio flashed through Saito's mind. When she smiled...to when she laughed...to when she snapped a witty retort at him...
Saito snapped out of his reviere and looked at Lei.
"She's quite lovely, don't you agree?" Lei asked, his hard gray eyes on Saito.
A certain memory flashed through his head once more...
...when Tokio's hand touched his...the tea glass broke...their hands touched once more...Saito felt that..that feeling in his chest that he could not ignore...
Saito's jaw twitched. He averted his eyes away from Lei and looked at his chained hands. He did not answer Lei. He refused to.
"I don't think that really is any of your business." Saito raised his eyes up at Lei. Saito slightly smirked when Lei's lips grew tight with impatience and aggravation.
Lei closed his eyes, "I knew you wouldn't answer. Maybe you don't even want to know the answer."
Saito blinked.
"I'll see you later, Mr. Saito," Lei said. "Maybe then you'll answer my question---but you should have an incentive..."
Saito's eyes narrowed when another male entered the room...he held a thin iron bar...
"I warned you to answer quickly," Lei said and turned his back to Saito. "Yobou, don't kill him..yet." he said to the large man. Lei left the room.
Saito looked at the large male.
"Me name Yobou." the man said unintelligently, smiling a half-toothless smile at Saito.
"Pleasure to meet you." Saito said sarcastically, looking at the iron bar Yobou held.
Yobou walked toward Saito, "Me have to get answer out o' you."
Saito clenched his teeth together defiantly. Lei's question replayed in his head.
~"Are you attracted to Tokio?"~
"...am I?" Saito wondered in his thoughts as Yobou's shadow loomed over him. Yobou brandished his iron rod.
Saito realized that the Answer to that Question scared him more than the beating he would receive from Yobou.
The first blow came down on Saito's shoulder, his thoughts shattered away as the pain engulfed his body as the blows continued to come down on him.
A woman with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes sat before Tokio. Tokio forced herself to sit up.
"Michiko...what are you doing here?" Tokio asked.
Koriyama Michiko...she was Mitsuke's elder sister.
"I was about to ask you that same question!" Michiko said.
"Lei." Tokio replied.
"Oh." Michiko nodded in complete understanding. That vile name explained all that was needed to say.
"You?" Tokio asked.
"Lei also brought me here..." Michiko looked at the ground. Silent tears slid down her cheeks. Suddenly, as if she couldn't control herself any longer, sobs escaped her mouth as she burst out in a fit of tears and sobbing. She covered her face with her hands as she continued to cry, muffling her sobs as best she could.
Tokio looked at Michiko sadly. She never saw Michiko like this before...pale and horribly thin...crying and unhappy...she was such a gentle and cheerful woman...but now...her hair was a mess and her eyes drowned in tears.
"I know Lei won't kill you," Tokio said to Michiko, hoping she would stop crying. Seeing Michiko was, Tokio was tempted to do so herself...
"I don't care about MY life!" Michiko said through her tears-torn sobs. "My daughter...and Mitsuke! And now you're here, too! It's all MY fault you're all here!"
"...what?" Tokio blinked. "Explain!"
"L-Lei...kidnapped m-me from my home...Lei told M-Mitsuke that he'd kill me and my d-daughter if Mitsuke didn't help him..." Michiko explained, her voice quivering from sobs.
Tokio's eyes widened.
"...please forgive Mitsuke...he betrayed you for me...and my daughter." Michiko murmured sadly. The thought of her daughter caused tears to form in Michiko's eyes.
"Y-you have daughter?" Tokio was shocked.
"I married a year ago," Michiko sniffed. "My husband is waiting for us in Kobe...I hope he's all right..."
"I involved so many lives before...now..now Michiko and Mitsuke...and even Michiko's family!!" Tokio thought bitterly. "It's MY fault--not Michiko's."
Tokio, already in a sitting position, bowed. She bowed so low that her forehead touched the floor.
"..Tokio?" Michiko looked at Tokio's low bow.
"Please forgive me...for all the pain I caused you...it's all my fault." Tokio murmured, her face still toward the ground.
Michiko never saw Tokio like this before...was this Tokio the tomboy? Was this Tokio, the one that beat up every boy who dared to challenge or taunt her?
"...Tokio," Michiko put her hands on Tokio's shoulders and urged her up to face her. "It's NOT your fault."
Tokio avoided to look at Michiko.
"Everything is my fault," Tokio murmured. "You and your family...and even Hajime..."
"Hajime? Who is he?" Michiko asked curiously.
"Saito Hajime was also imprisoned...because of me..." tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"Listen to me! It is NOT your fault! It never was! Now," Michiko wiped Tokio's tears away with her sleeve.
"Is he your husband?" Michiko asked, her eyes twinkling.
"W-who?! H-Hajime!?" Tokio blushed a brilliant red.
"Yes...is HE your husband or boyfriend?" Michiko asked curiously as she wiped the remains of Tokio's tears away.
"NO!!" Tokio exclaimed.
"Oh," Michiko looked slightly upset. "I was hoping he was..."
"He's--he's just a friend." Tokio remarked, still glowing red from embarrassment.
"Hmm..." Michiko arched her eyebrow at Tokio.
"Let me do your hair! It's messy," Tokio said quickly, trying to change the subject. Michiko turned her back to Tokio, still sitting down.
"Okay, but I shall do your hair after. Oh, and please let me see your hair-sticks." Michiko requested.
Tokio pulled out her two simple-looking cherrywood hair-sticks. She handed them to her friend.
Michiko looked at them, "Your mother's hair-sticks..." the cherrywood etched with a design of a phoenix.
Tokio grabbed a comb from an adjacent table. She pulled out Michiko's mahogany hair-sticks and placed them on the ground. She combed Michiko's dark brown hair.
"Yes. I took them from her hair after she died in her sleep...I pray that I, too, will die quickly and painlessly..." Tokio murmured unintentionally.
"Don't say that!" Michiko said sharply.
"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that aloud." Tokio said.
"You're going to live a long life," Michiko assured. She placed the cherrywood hair-sticks on the floor next to her own mahogany hair-sticks. "I'm sure you will, Tokio!"
"..with Lei...a long life with Lei..." Tokio thought as she carefully twisted Michiko's hair into a bun.
Still lost in thought, Tokio picked up the two hair-sticks from the floor and stuck them into Michiko hair.
"...I rather die." Tokio finished her thought.
Saito grit his teeth together when Yobou kicked him in the stomach. Saito fell onto his side, slightly curling into a ball, trying to catched his breath.
"You make no sounds! You brave! You die bravely!" Yobou said, almost with admiration.
"Than..ks." Saito grumbled sardonically, still trying to catch his breath.
"You hurt?" Yobou asked.
Bruised and bleeding, Saito tried to sit up straight, but collapsed on his side from pain and fatigue.
"I take that as 'yes'!" Yobou said.
Yobou reached down and grabbed Saito by the neck. Yobou lifted him up into a standing position, Saito struggled to breath.
"Will you give answer?" Yobou asked.
Saito's vision began to blur. If he didn't give a simple answer, he would die...
"N..o..."
"Say again?" Yobou asked.
"Grr..No!" Saito choked out, glaring. *What a moron. I'm going to be killed by a MORON.*, he thought. Saito tried to reached up and grab Yobou's arms, but the chains were too heavy for his beaten state now...he tried to kick up, but the chains pulled him down.
"You no give answer, you no live." Yobou said simply.
Yobou's grip on Saito's throat tightened.
Saito cursed. Was he...going to die?
Michiko silently combed Tokio's ebony black hair as she sat behind her. The soft, silky strands of black hair slid through the bristles of the comb smoothly.
"Tokio," Michiko broke the silence. "tell me about this Saito Hajime character...how did you get to know him?" she asked curiously.
"I helped him when he was seriously injured. He stayed with me for a few weeks while his wounds healed." Tokio answered.
"I see...and..he is just your friend?" she asked.
"...of course, he's my friend." Tokio said.
"..JUST your friend? Nothing more?" Michiko asked, almost slyly.
"...are you implying something?" Tokio asked.
"Well, I was just wondering if, well...if you were attracted to this fellow." Michiko murmured.
Tokio blushed red, happy her back was to Michiko and protested, "M-me? Attracted to Hajime? No!!"
"Hmmm..." silent doubt
"Michiko, oh, really..." Tokio mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that I find it curious that...well...this Saito Hajime stayed with you for a few weeks...and I never knew anyone that could make you blush like that," Michiko said. "AND you called out his name in your sleep---what kind of dream were you having?" she asked slyly.
Tokio glowed a brighter red. Michiko thought Tokio was fantasizing about Saito...
She quickly protested, "I wasn't dreaming about THAT!!"
Michiko giggled and said, "Truth be told, I think you are at LEAST a little attracted to this man...but you're such a stubborn woman," Michiko sighed as if she were her mother.
Michiko twisted Tokio's hair up and placed the hair-sticks in her hair, lost in her thought, "There you go, Tokio."
"My friendship with Mr. Saito is just simple. We are SIMPLY friends," Tokio said flatly. "What else could it be? And if I was interested in him, wouldn't I KNOW?"
"Well...maybe you're in denial." Michiko remarked softly.
Tokio blinked.
Was she...?
Saito struggled to breath while Yobou was quite entertained...
"You very stubborn!" Yobou laughed, amused. He lifted Saito off the ground, his feet dangling a few inches from the ground.
His lungs were burning for air, his muscles were cramped from struggling, his body fatigued with wounds...a flash of words entered his mind.
~ "...But now...NOW he'll kill you---you'll die!! Do you think I want you to see you die after going through all I did to keep you as safe as possible?!?" ~
"Tokio's words..." Saito thought as he slowly stopped struggling, his body too tired. More words entered his head.
~ "---it will be all MY fault!!! Mine!! Just like everyone I knew!! Everyone else I cared about!!! Dead!! And you'll just be another grave I'll visit, Saito!!" ~
"Everyone else I cared about?" Saito replayed that sentence in his head. "...she cares about..me?"
Yobou noticed that Saito slowly became more still.
~ "And you don't understand how much---how much I--I don't want you to die..." ~
Slowly, Saito stopped breathing completely...he stopped struggling.
~ "No matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, I'll never be able to keep anyone I love safe." ~
Saito's eyes snapped open, Yobou was taken aback by this.
"You still alive?" Yobou blinked, his grip slightly loosening.
"I can't die...if I do...she'll never forgive me...and when I see her in another life--she'll kill me for sure," Saito thought, feeling strength fill his body as well as his spirit. "I won't be the one to die today!"
Saito reached up and grabbed Yobou's thick arm with his chained hands. He then swung his chained feet into Yobou's torso forcefully.
Yobou dropped Saito onto the ground and fell back like a fallen tree. Saito fell to the ground with a thud. Yobou fell to the ground with a crash. Saito gasped in air heavily.
Yobou pushed himself off the ground, his eyes glowing angrily.
Saito mentally cursed when he saw Yobou's furious look. Saito really did it this time...
"You. Die." Yobou stood up, his shadow loomed over Saito once more.
Saito glared, his yellow eyes glowing in the shadow's darkness. Yobou took a step forward then---
The door slid open forcefully, a cold draft blew in. Yobou spun around. Yobou opened his mouth but then...
Saito couldn't see, only hear. Saito heard a a dull *thunk*! Yobou staggered back. Then Saito heard the sharp whistle of a sword.
Yobou fell to the ground, backwards. His head rolled close by Saito's feet. Saito looked at Yobou's headless body. There was a shuriken embedded in his chest.
Saito raised his eyes, seeing a figure cloaked in black. Saito saw the dark green eyes---he knew who it was.
Mitsuke pulled down his mask as he rushed toward Saito and cut off Saito's chains around his hands.
Saito curled his hand in a fist and---
WHAM
Mitsuke fell back, clutching his cheek, "OW!!!!"
"That's what you deserve, you dirty, lying----" Saito started, glaring.
"I know I deserve those words, which I will gladly interrupt, but you have to understand that I..I never wanted to hurt you or Tokio..." Mitsuke said, looking down at the ground shamefully.
Saito knew Mitsuke was sincere, but...
"Why did you aid Lei in the first place?" Saito asked.
"I had to help Lei because he is keeping my sister prisoner...If I didn't help him, he'd kill my sister and her daughter..." Mitsuke replied as he cut off the chains around Saito's feet.
Saito rubbed his wrists and ankles then stood up, having a hard time keeping steady. His bruised, bleeding body was not cooperating with him.
"I wish you came earlier, you moron." Saito mumbled.
"Sorry. But there was traffic getting here," Mitsuke replied. Saito arched his eyebrow at Mitsuke's excuse. "Hey, the town can get pretty busy during dusk." Mitsuke remarked.
"Why are you helping me?" Saito asked, narrowing his eyes. Mitsuke was still knelt down on the floor, wiping the blood off his blade.
"...I couldn't live with myself...Tokio was my friend ever since we were in diapers! ...I couldn't bring myself to let her marry Lei," Mitsuke replied in a soft, yet firm voice. "I'd be happier if she got married to someone like you or----"
"WHAT?" Saito blinked.
"What about what?" Mitsuke looked at him.
"You'd rather have Tokio marry who?" Saito asked.
"You," Mitsuke said simply, standing up. He slightly kicked Yobou's head away from his feet. "You DO like her, don't you?"
Mitsuke saw Saito staring at him with a pensive stare.
"Eh...enough with personal questions," Mitsuke said quickly as he stood up. "You have to help get Tokio, my sister and my niece OUT of here!"
"After what you put me through---I don't really feel quite forgiving enough to help you at all." Saito glared.
"Okay, FINE. Don't help ME--help Tokio! And at least my sister and her daughter...please..." Mitsuke said, his eyes full of pleading.
Saito hesitated for a moment, "Why are you asking for my help? Why not one of your ninja-idiot friends?"
"I don't want to involve them---and I know their skills cannot match yours. You beat the Kurokumo Brothers---the only known person to do that is Toshihiro...if your skills match Toshihiro's, YOU are the only one to defeat Lei." Mitsuke said firmly.
Saito frowned in silence.
"Look...you're a pretty difficult..(and cold-hearted, might I add)..guy to deal with, but...do you really not care about Tokio? Do you want to see her married to HIM?" Mitsuke asked.
Saito thought for a few seconds. He then took the sword out of Mitsuke's hand.
"I'll be borrowing this," Saito said as he forced himself off the wall. He walked numbly to the door. His muscles screamed in pain, but he went on. "I doubt I'll be giving you back your sword in one piece though."
Mitsuke smiled, both relieved and happy. Though he was a bit upset...he really did like that sword...
"Why are you just standing there and smiling like a complete moron?! Hurry up!" Saito snapped, stepping over the headless body and exited the room.
"Alright!" Mitsuke silently cheered. "Hey! Wait! I'll lead the way!"
"I'm not in denial," Tokio thought as she watched Michiko sleep. She must have been exhausted after all that crying. "I'm just simply not in love with Saito. I can't be."
...a tugging feeling pulled at her heart.
"No, I can't possibly be in love in Saito Hajime! No way in Hell!" Tokio crossed her arms, almost defiantly as she looked out the window.
...the feeling grew more tense in her chest.
"He's an idiot! And not only an idiot! A cynical, cruel, cold-hearted, ungrateful fool!" Tokio thought with finality, yet...her words felt so weak.
*And perhaps...I am a fool as well...* Tokio closed her eyes.
Suddenly the door slid open. Tokio slightly jumped from surprise. A guard walked in. Suddenly Michiko sat up in bed, pale.
"Here's your dinners, ladies." the guard said, looking at the two attractive women. He set the tray down.
"Where is my daughter? Is she all right?" Michiko asked, her eyes full of pleading.
"None of your business!" he snapped.
Michiko shrank away, looking down. Tokio felt a rage build in her chest.
The guard turned away to leave but....
As if on instinct, Tokio jumped onto the man's back. Tokio first put her arm around his neck and one hand clamped on his mouth. Th man muffled a surprised yell.
Tokio shut her eyes, sorry what she had to do but this was her only chance of escape...
The man was about to fall back to purposely crush Tokio but...
Tokio let go of his mouth and grabbed his head. One hand around his neck, the other one his head...
"You %ITCH---!" the guard growled spitefully.
...Tokio twisted forcefully and a sickening *crack!* was made...
The man fell to the floor, his body limp and Tokio rolled on the ground.
"Wha--what---what did you do?" Michiko asked quietly, her eyes wide. She already knew but...
"I...He...He's dead," Tokio murmured, she stood up and grabbed Michiko's hand. She pulled the shaken woman to her feet.
"Y-you...broke..his neck..." Michiko's eyes widened as she looked at the dead body.
"You want your daughter back, don't you?" Tokio asked.
"...yes...Yes!" Michiko's eyes grew focused and strong just like Tokio's.
"Let's hurry, we'll find your daughter and get out of here!" Tokio pulled Michiko toward the door and the two women carefully and quietly escaped the bedroom.
"Hajime...wherever you are---you better come out alive!!" Tokio thought, clenching her teeth as concern struck her heart.
Saito slit the guard's throat, the man did not even have the time to utter a word.
"Great!" Mitsuke whispered. "Kill silently!! Lei kept Michiko and Tokio in a bedroom! Come! We are close by!!"
The two swordsmen ran down the hall, Saito has quite a hard time, the bruises were throbbing and his body was asking for rest...but he refused to stop. Not until he found Tokio.
Suddenly Mitsuke stopped dead in his tracks.
"That..that was Michiko and Tokio's bedroom!!" Mitsuke saw that the door was open...he got worried. Mitsuke ran ahead of Saito and peered into the bedroom.
It was empty!
Saito looked in the bedroom, seeing a guard dead on the floor.
"They escaped." Saito remarked.
"They're probably after Iyane!!" Mitsuke whispered with urgency. "This way!!!"
Tokio and Michiko ran past open bedroom doors.
"So many rooms!" Michiko murmured helplessly. "This is like a mansion..." she became hopeless.
"We'll find your daughter! Don't worry!!" Tokio exclaimed.
Michiko gasped...the two women stopped.
...Tokio and Michiko encountered two separate halls...
Tokio looked at both hallways with distress...which way to go?
"Tokio, I will take the left hallway, you shall take the right!" Michiko exclaimed.
"What?" Tokio looked at her.
"We have to split up." Michiko replied firmly.
"I won't leave you by yourself!" Tokio protested. "You don't know how to fight!"
"For my daughter," Michiko's eyes shined with determination. "I will fight by instinct! I do contain the blood of my clan---don't worry for me. Worry for my daughter!!"
Tokio hesitantly nodded.
"If you do not find her, get out of the mansion without me!!" Michiko ran down the left hallway, disappearing in the shadows. "And if you do find her--please get her out and don't look for me!"
"We'll both get out of here." Tokio thought.
Tokio prayed for Michiko and ran down the right hall.
After minutes of silent sprinting, Mitsuke and Saito stopped.
"This is the hallway to Iyane's bedroom! It is well-protected," Mitsuke warned. Mitsuke peered down the hall, seeing no one...
"All right! Tamatori's bedroom in just down the hall!! Hurry!" Mitsuke went down the hall.
Saito's muscles were screaming for him to rest but...
"I must find Tokio." Saito thought, narrowing his eyes in determination, urging his body a little more strength.
Saito heard Mitsuke gasp in happiness.
"Look!!!" Mitsuke pointed to a woman that was running down the hall toward them. She came from the opposite side! She was quite a distance away....the hall went very far down.
"It must be Michiko! Or Tokio!" Mitsuke whispered, his green eyes gleamed with relief and happiness. Mitsuke waved his arm in the air.
Saito saw figure slide open the door, the light gleamed on the woman's feminine figure, hair and her cherrywood hairsticks...she rushed into the room.
Cherrywood hairsticks!
"Tokio!" Saito's eyes widened. He and Mitsuke made a quick walk down.
Saito's spirits lifted above greatest heights---he had found Tokio!
"...give me...child...! ...now!" Saito heard a little what the woman demanded for.
There were sounds of struggling...
Suddenly a gunshot echoed through the halls from the room...
Mitsuke and Saito stopped, wide-eyed, their mouths slightly open...
Just as the woman came in, the woman staggered out the room. Everything seemed to turned to slow motion...
Gracefully, she fell to the floor, her hair undoing itself...she fell to the ground on her side with a soft sound, blood spilled from her wound and tainted the wooden floor
Saito looked at the woman on the ground, his eyes wide and his breath quick and ragged from utter shock. His eyes locked onto the motionless figure, her long dark hair seemed to have spilled across her lifeless body and the long dark strands mixed in with the blood.
The cherrywood hairsticks of Tokio's mother rolled for her let-loose hair and at Saito's feet.
"TOKIO!" Saito exclaimed, pain filling every cell of his body and stinging every emotion Saito possessed within his body and soul...
**YES, that IS a cliffhanger! =P I've got to stop there...such a painful loss of death, isn't it? Did you guys like it? ^^ Sorry if it sort of bored you...I had to go into detail! Oh---and yes. Please watch out for the next chapter! I will write it A.S.A.P. Just please review!! Thank you for reading!**