InuYasha Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / S-CRY-ed Fan Fiction ❯ The Enigma Called Love ❯ Captive Hearts ( Chapter 12 )

The Enigma Called Love

Part 12 - Captive Hearts

 

By Robster80

 

 

Breakfast at the clinic was a quiet one. No one wanted to talk because there was a risk of mentioning Koga, and Kazuma was still sore about his “betrayal.” Still they could all tell that even he missed Koga. When he first woke up, Kazuma had gone out to TK's room to kick Koga wake, but Koga wasn't at his usual spot in TK's doorway. Even TK had woken up expecting Koga to still be guarding his room, and was disappointed to be wrong.

 

However, TK had more on his mind than just Koga. After hearing what Ryuhou had done to Mimori the other day, he was worried for Cherise. Last night he had hardly slept, and now he didn't even touch his food. He didn't know why, but not having Cherise around anymore left a hole in his heart that nothing could fill. He missed her cooking, her laugh, her face, her eyes, but most of all the warmth of her hand touching him. He recalled the kiss she gave him before she left over and over so many times in his mind, he felt his heart would fly right out of him.

 

Suddenly, he felt the back of a hand gently touching his forehead. Pulling away slightly, he looked to see Mimori, who had come by for breakfast, move her hand away. “What?”

 

“TK, you're not eating,” She had said, now taking his pulse. “And you look like you didn't sleep well last night. Not to mention your pulse is racing. How do you feel?”

 

“I'm not sure, really. I feel fine, and yet I don't. I'm whole and yet empty at the same time.”

 

Deciding to take a chance while Mimori was still taking TK's pulse, Dearka leaned close to TK and whispered, “Cherise.” He watched with satisfaction as TK's face went pink.

 

Mimori's eyes went wide. “Whoa! It's like your heart got a jumpstart.”

 

“It's official, ladies and gentlemen: the man is in love.”

 

Miriallia, smiling like the cat that ate the canary, held her hand out to Kimishima. He muttered something inaudible as he pulled out a wad of money and gave it to her.

 

“I-I'm not in love with Cherise!”

 

“Who said anything about Cherise,” Dearka said, feigning innocence.

 

Kazuma swallowed the last of his breakfast before he spoke. “I think you did, but then again maybe I was hearing things.”

 

Kanami sighed happily. “I think it's wonderful. I'm so happy for you, Take-kun.”

 

“Come on, guys! We're just friends.”

 

“TK,” Tachibana said, “you're showing all the signs of the flu and-or love, and you definitely don't have the flu. Don't deny your feelings; why not just tell Cherise that you love her?”

 

“You all know why-.”

 

Kazuma slammed his fist onto the table in disgust. “TK, not all girls are like Kari! Cherise will be honest with you whether she feels the same way or not. I bet any of you that she feels the same way.”

 

Kimishima waved his hand at Kazuma. “Count me out, Kazuma. I'll admit it's enjoyable, but the entertainment just became too expensive.”

 

“What have you got to lose, TK?” Miriallia added. “Come on; get that card she gave you and I'll drive you myself to the wall so you can call her.”

 

“…If I agree, Mir, will you guys stop pestering me about it after today, after this morning?”

 

“You have our word, TK. Right, everyone?” Everyone else in the room nodded their heads in agreement.

 

“I'll go get the card, Take-kun,” Kanami said, quickly leaving the table.

 

TK just stared at his breakfast. What have I gotten myself into?

 

 

**************

 

 

Cherise woke up with a smile on her face. She had slept through her alarm and missed breakfast at the cafeteria, but she didn't care. Last night she dreamed about TK, and had finally realized the truth: she was in love. This wasn't the same as her previous feelings for Ryuhou, no; that had been just a crush. She was truly in love, and with TK.

 

Not feeling hungry at all, Cherise got out of bed and practically waltzed about the room, placing her uniform and other clothes for the day on her bed before going into her bathroom. She tossed off her nightgown and, after using the toilet, took a shower while humming the song TK used to play for her when she visited him.

 

I haven't felt this alive in what feels like forever! Once I'm dressed, I'll go see the Commander and resign from HOLY. He and Koga were right, but they forgot one thing: I only joined HOLY because of Ryuhou. I've no reason to stay anymore, now that I know he and I weren't meant for each other.

 

And after I'm officially discharged, I'll ask for a lift to the Lost Ground and go find the gang's house. Maybe I can get a job with Mimori at the medical camp. But first, I'm going to tell TK how I feel about him; and if he still doesn't want to fall in love again, I'll wait for him. I'll wait as long as it takes, as long as he'll still let me be by his side even as a friend.

 

Cherise exited her shower and dried herself off quickly. Not bothering to wrap her tower around her, she opened the bathroom door…

 

Ryuhou was standing by her bed, and had turned to see her. “Cherise-?!” His face went red at the sight of her naked, well-built body. How the hell did I fail to notice her body?

 

“AAHH!!” Quickly, she hid behind the bathroom door while her hands quickly grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. “Ryuhou, how did you get in my room?!” Now I know how TK must've felt that time. I really let my guard down at the worst time.

 

Ryuhou quickly turned away. “S-sorry! I let myself in.”

 

Shit, I forgot I gave him a copy of my key! Now that she was covered up some, she exited the bathroom. “Okay, so why are you here?”

 

“You missed breakfast. I came to see if you were sick or-.”

 

“I just slept in, that's all. Now would you mind leaving while I get dressed?”

 

Ryuhou turned to face her as she made her way over to the bed. “Cherise, we need to talk. …I know I've been neglecting you lately-.”

 

Cherise froze. She knew where this was going, and recalled Koga's words from last night. Ryuhou was turning his attention to her now that he knew Mimori didn't love him. “Ryuhou… I'm leaving HOLY.”

 

Ryuhou looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. “You're… what?!”

 

“I'm leaving. I've been thinking about it lately, and after everything that's been happening, HOLY isn't what I thought it was. We're supposed to be helping people and keeping order, and we're not. We put that medical camp in danger twice now; first by letting Tatsunami nearly kill everyone, and then you used them as bait to capture Kazuma and his gang. …And to be honest, I signed on for all the wrong reasons.”

 

“Cherise… you're just shaken up. I mean, you had a close call with Kazuma and his thugs yesterday when you and Koga vanished-. And I told you I was going to take you on a vacation with me, just the two of us.”

 

Cherise put her hands to her hips, giving Ryuhou a look of disgust. “Yes, because Mimori turned you down. Sorry, but I'm nobody's second choice.”

 

“No, no, you got it wrong! I was just overcome because I hadn't seen her for so long. I didn't love her.”

 

“Then why did you kiss her that day you saw her again for the first time? I heard her slap you and warn you not to do it again.”

 

“I said I was overcome-. Look, let's not talk about Mimori anymore. I want to talk about us.”

 

“There NEVER was an `us,' Ryuhou! Looking back, I realize I only had a crush on you. And you never seemed to notice or care after all this time. You don't even care now; you just want a token girlfriend. You don't know what love is. My mind is made up, and I'm leaving.”

 

Suddenly, Ryuhou moved to her and grabbed her roughly by the arm. “No, you're not, Cherise; not the way you think you are! You're coming with me, and we're going to have time off for just the two of us.”

 

Fear seized Cherise at her core. “Let me go, Ryuhou!”

 

“Never! I lost Mimori, but I won't lose you!”

 

“You're hurting me-!”

 

“You're mine, Cherise; or have you forgotten I saved you from those thugs? You owe me your life!”

 

“LET GO!”

 

The door suddenly opened and in came Koga. “What's going on-?! Ryuhou!”

 

This distraction was enough for Cherise to take action. She quickly slammed her free hand onto Ryuhou's chest, concentrating her alter to send a wave of pain into him. It was enough to force him to loosen his grip on her arm so she could break free. Ryuhou staggered back a few steps from the pain, a hand going to the spot on his chest where Cherise had struck him. Looking forward, he saw Koga standing between him and Cherise, who hid behind him.

 

“I think you'd better leave, Ryuhou,” Koga said calmly, “and be sure the Commander will hear of this.”

 

Ryuhou slowly walked back towards the door leading out. “You owe me, Cherise,” he said, not caring that Koga was there. “I saved you; you owe me your life, and I intend to collect.”

 

“Don't forget to leave your key for here before you go,” Koga added.

 

Ryuhou paused at the open door. After a moment, he took out the keycard and dropped it onto the floor. And then he left the room.

 

Once he was gone, Cherise started to cry. If Koga hadn't shown up when he did… she didn't want to think about what would have happened to her. Suddenly, before Koga could comfort her, the phone rang. Koga moved to it and picked it up before Cherise did. “Hello?”

 

“Koga?”

 

Koga couldn't believe it: it was TK. Talk about timing! “Kid! What a surprise.”

 

“Yeah, but what are you doing on Cherise's phone? Is she there?”

 

“She is, but-. Just a sec.” He pulled the phone away and looked right at Cherise. “Do you want to talk to him?”

 

Not saying a word, Cherise walked over and took the phone. “T-TK?”

 

“Hi, Cherise. Sorry if this is a bad time-.”

 

“No. It's okay, really.”

 

“…Cherise, is something wrong? You sound like you're crying, or you're about to.”

 

Hearing his concern was all it took for Cherise to start crying again. “TK… I'm so glad you called.”

 

“What happened? Are you okay?”

 

Koga quickly took the phone as Cherise broke down. “TK, are you at the wall?”

 

“Yeah, I'm at tunnel 4. Koga, what's-?”

 

“Stay put! I'll bring Cherise there in a bit. This isn't something to talk about over the phone, you get me?”

 

“I'm not moving an inch, Koga.”

 

“See you soon.” With that, Koga hung up. Tossing the phone over to the bed, he took Cherise into his arms and hugged her for a moment. “TK's waiting for you,” he said, “and he's probably worried sick now. I'm going to wait outside the door for you to get dressed, and then I'll take you to him. Is that okay, Cherise?”

 

Sniffling a little, Cherise broke away from Koga. “I was going to leave, Koga. You were right, I-I can't stay here anymore.”

 

“I'm only sorry I couldn't get here sooner. You'd better hurry; I don't trust Ryuhou.”

 

Koga then left the room and waited until Cherise had gotten dressed. When she came out, she wasn't wearing her HOLY uniform, but casual clothes. She was done with HOLY, officially or not. They walked down the halls together, little knowing that they were being watched by Elian.

 

 

**************

 

 

TK felt anxious ever since he hung up. Something had happened, and he was worried now for Cherise. Koga telling him it couldn't be explained over the phone didn't ease his mind any better. Leaning against the great wall, he waited for Koga to bring Cherise to him. Miriallia was parked nearby, but out of sight, per his request.

 

Had HOLY discovered Cherise's ties to him and the others? Did Ryuhou try to approach her? Had she been assaulted, or even raped? TK couldn't help but think these possibilities as the seconds seemed to be like hours. Now he was thankful the gang had pushed him into coming out here to call Cherise.

 

Suddenly, he heard a guard stop someone from exiting the tunnel. He looked and there was Cherise, but in casual clothes. He saw her take back her ID card from the guard and turn to see him. He headed over to her as she started running towards him. As they approached each other, he noticed Cherise was rubbing her right forearm. When he was close enough, he gently took hold of her arm and saw it was bruised a bit.

 

“Cherise, how did you get this? What happened?”

 

She didn't answer him, but instead wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. He felt her tears on his shoulder as he returned the hug.

 

“Hold me,” Cherise begged him, “hold me tight. Don't let go of me.”

 

TK obeyed, taking a hand to gently stroke her hair. “Sssh, it's okay. It'll be okay, Cherise.”

 

Slowly, Cherise broke the hug, but kept her arms around him. “TK, I was going to leave, then Ryuhou came and… and he…”

 

“Whoa, whoa! Slow down. Come on, there's a bench over here. We'll sit down, and you can tell me what happened.” He led her gently to the bench and they sat down, his hands holding hers. “Now, tell me what happened.”

 

“I woke this morning about twenty minutes ago and… I decided to take Commander Zigmar and Koga' advice and leave HOLY. I took my shower and when I came out of the bathroom, Ryuhou was there… I forgot he had a spare key to my room. He wanted me to be his girlfriend, but I told him I was leaving, that I didn't have a crush on him anymore… He… he grabbed me, it hurt… if Koga hadn't shown up in time, I-.”

 

Seeing she was breaking down again, TK took her into his arms again. “Say no more. I'm so sorry, Cherise; I wish I had been there.”

 

Returning the hug with interest, Cherise struggled to tell TK her feelings. All she could get out was a question: “Can I… Can I go back with you? Please?”

 

“Gladly.”

 

“Isn't this romantic?”

 

TK and Cherise, startled, looked up to see Urizane, Kari, Davis, and Ryuhou standing before them. One look at Ryuhou and both could tell he was furious; his fists were shaking.

 

“Shame on you,” Urizane said while waving a finger, “fraternizing with the enemy, Cherise.”

 

“And with this loser at that,” Kari added.

 

TK got to his feet, moving so he stood in front of Cherise. “How did you find us?”

 

Davis grinned viciously. “Elian was piggy-backing on your phone call. And then we followed Koga and Cherise as best we could, after getting Ryuhou first.”

 

Ryuhou's gaze was cold as he bore down at TK. “How dare you touch her,” he said.

 

Before either of them could move, TK and Cherise were suddenly caught by Zetsuei's ribbons and separated. Cherise was placed beside Ryuhou, seized by Urizane and Davis at her arms. TK, however, was slammed into the ground, hard. Still bound by Zetsuei's ribbon, he was suddenly kicked in the ribs by Ryuhou before he was picked up roughly by the shirt and held up off the ground at arm's length.

 

“Your partner Kazuma took Mimori from me,” Ryuhou growled, “but I refuse to let Cherise be taken by the likes of you! She belongs to me!”

 

TK glared back at Ryuhou. “She belongs… to no one, you bastard.”

 

“That look… it's the same as the look on Kazuma's face. You disgust me!”

 

Cherise screamed as Ryuhou mercilessly beat TK while Zetsuei still had him bound with its ribbon. Kari and the others laughed all the while, until TK was dropped to the ground, blood coming from his nose and mouth.

 

“Kazuma and the others can't save you this time; your ass is mine. Takeru `TK' Takaishi, you're under arrest for various alter crimes, including assaulting and-or kidnapping a female HOLY officer.”

 

“No,” Cherise cried out, but she was suddenly punched in the stomach by Kari, knocking her out. She and TK were then carried off into a nearby jeep before it drove into the tunnel, the HOLY officers laughing and jeering loudly all the way. However, none of them noticed that Miriallia had seen everything after hearing Cherise shouted out the first time.

 

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! They got TK and Cherise! I gotta get back and tell the others-! Suddenly, she saw Koga appear right outside the tunnel. Forgetting he was with HOLY now, she raced out towards him. “KOGA!”

 

Koga turned at the voice. “Mir, what happened?! Where are TK and Cherise?”

 

“I was waiting back there for TK, and then I heard Cherise screaming and came to see what happened. Her teammates were holding Cherise back while TK was held down by Ryuhou's alter and he beat on him. Then they took them into a jeep and drove back into the city.”

 

Koga stomped his foot in anger. “Dammit, I knew something was wrong when Cougar told me Ryuhou left with Kari, Davis and Urizane after I got back from dropping Cherise off at the wall!”

 

“Koga, we have to help them. Hey-!” Mir was suddenly swept up into Koga's arms before he took off running. Before she knew it, they were at the farm where Kazuma and the others worked at. “You're pretty quick.”

 

“I get that a lot,” he replied, putting Miriallia down gently.

 

“Koga-kun!!”

 

Both looked up to see Kanami running towards them. Upon hearing her cry, Kazuma, Dearka, Kimishima, Tachibana and Mimori came running after her. Kanami hugged Koga at the waist, but he gently pulled her away from himself. “Kazuma,” he said quickly so his friend wouldn't try to hit him first, “TK's in trouble! Ryuhou's got him-!”

 

“WHAT?!” everyone cried.

 

“Cherise, too. Ryuhou and his goons intercepted TK's call and found them outside the wall; they're probably back at the base by now.”

 

Tachibana slapped himself. “Shit, if we hadn't talked TK into going to talk to Cherise, this wouldn't have happened!”

 

“What'll we do?” Mimori asked.

 

Kazuma clenched his right fist tightly. “Doesn't matter if they got taken into the innermost circle of hell; we're gonna get them back! Koga, I'm burying the hatchet with you for this one time, but once we get our friends back, all bets are off. Now can we get help from Cougar and your Commander on this one?”

 

“Yeah, but Zigmar ain't in charge anymore. His replacement will arrive any minute.”

 

“Whatever; get back there and have them meet us outside the base! Kimishima, get your ride! Mimori, you and Kanami go back to the house and stay there until we get back! Dearka, get those explosives we've been saving for such an emergency! Tachibana, you help him!” As he was suddenly left alone, Kazuma looked in the direction of the city, his fist still tightly clenched.

 

TK, Cherise, hang in there; we're coming for you! Ryuhou, this time you're going down!

 

 

 

To be continued…