Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Mend my Heart ❯ The Meeting part 2 ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
"Missing? What do you mean missing?" Omi practically shouted the question. This was not something either he or Ran expected to hear.
Yoji shrugged. "Exactly as the word implies."
"But how can he go missing? He's a reporter. I think someone would have noticed."
"That doesn't mean anything."
Ran's deep voice broke through their argument, "If he's missing, it should have been on the news or something."
Yoji shook his head. "Not necessarily. You guys have to keep in mind, he was only a sportscaster. Most of the sports he covered were over. He was supposed to start his vacation about a week and a half ago. So they probably haven't even noticed he's gone yet."
Narrowing amethyst gems, Ran shot the blonde a piercing glare. "Then how is it that you know?" Omi's gaze also landed on the man questioningly.
For his part, he wasn't sure how he should answer that. Slowly, he got to his feet and walked toward the doorway. Pulling out a cigarette he promptly lit it and took a couple of long drags before even bothering to answer. His emerald gaze absently watched the passersby out the front window while he leaned on the doorframe. Taking another deep breath, his normally playful tone was all business. "I'm about to breach my contract here, so you guys better appreciate it. The reason I know Tsuki Fujikawa is missing is because he's my client."
The two waited patiently for the proverbial hammer to fall, and now that it had they were thrown into a shocked stupor. Omi managed to break free first. "You're client? You mean he was trying to find out what happened to Ken too??"
"He is a News Reporter, doesn't matter what their specialty is, they are suspicious by nature."
"If he was a friend of Ken's, wouldn't he know what happened?" Ran asked.
"You saw the tape. He had interviews to finish before the party. He also told me he didn't see Ken again when he was heading out and figured he would see Ken at the party. But he never showed. Next thing he knew, Ken was laid up in a Hospital."
"So we've definitely narrowed it down to that point in time then. Everything revolves around that moment between those two events." Omi said optimistically. "It's just a matter of finding out what happened."
"That's been the multimillion yen question. At this point, I haven't been able to figure that out." He scratched at the back of his head, adding, "Of course, I haven't exactly devoted all my time to this case either."
"What have you done thus far, so we don't repeat our efforts needlessly."
"I've pulled a lot of articles. And gotten the footage from Fujikawa as well as spoken with him. I was even able to speak with a couple of Verdy's before they refused to talk to me anymore. From what I understand, they did the same to Tsuki. We haven't been able to get in touch with anyone on the team anymore. I actually cornered a few recently and they seemed to be a bit skiddish. I would say that someone's keeping them quiet. My only question is; why?"
Ran had been listening carefully to the investigator and followed the man's line of logic easily. "So basically what you're saying is; talking to Kase is out."
"Not just because of what I said, but because he refused to talk to me to begin with. My gut tells me somehow that he's involved. I just can't figure out if it was voluntary or not." He finished puffing away at his second cigarette, silently thankful that the young florist seemed too distracted to yell at him for it.
Omi eyed the older man skeptically. "What are you saying Yoji-kun?"
"I'm saying," he turned back to glare at the two sitting at the table, "that Ken's accident was no accident."
There was a moment of silence as the pair glanced at each other. Then Ran tentatively asked, "Why do you think that?"
"Everything seems to be pointing in that direction." At their blank faces he elaborated while moving back over to the table to sit down. "Look, Everything was fine for a long time. Right? Then all of a sudden Kase and Ken are disagreeing. It doesn't seem like much but when you see how close-knit those two were, it was enough to take notice. Then during one of their more important games, Ken suddenly gets dizzy after halftime. Knowing fully well that he was incapable of driving, he's reported to have crashed on his bike, some sort of hit and run." Verdant eyes roll in obvious disbelief. "He's found in a coma unable to say anything. His team won't talk to anyone. Ken goes missing and now Tsuki's gone. How can there not be some kind of cover-up going on here?"
"Woah, woah, woah," the younger blonde waved his hands in the air trying to stop the man from talking. "What do you mean, Ken went missing?"
Verdant eyes regarded them incredulously, "Are you people slow or something? You two can't think for yourselves?"
"No, it's just that some of what you're saying isn't making sense. Now would you just answer the question."
"Fine, chibi. Right after the accident, there was a statement released saying that Ken was in a coma. He stayed in that hospital for a few weeks. Apparently fans and people were trying to get in his room, so late one night an unmarked ambulance came to collect the kid. The Doctor on duty called Kase to verify that this was legit. He was told that Ken was going to be moved to a private Hospital to avoid being mauled by fans. Problem is, no one's seen the kid since. That is until chibi here called me. I was going to tell Tsuki as we were supposed to meet a few days ago, but he missed the meeting. And I haven't been able to get in touch with him since."
Ran muttered aloud, "But that isn't a private Hospital."
"I know, which is why no one could find him. They snuck him into another hospital and probably told the staff to keep it quiet."
"Apparently not quiet enough," mumbled the redhead.
Just then the bells on the door tinkled announcing a customer. Omi hopped up automatically, "Welcome to Koneko, is there anything I can assist you with?"
"Ah yes, I placed an order earlier today and I'm here to pick it up." The woman spoke hesitantly, feeling that she was interrupting something. The blue-eyed youth smiled brightly then moved to assist her leaving the other two to their thoughts.
Ran drifted back to the first time he had come across the soccer player. That night it was an Intern that had come in and told him who Ken was. Perhaps they had told her something but didn't think anyone would stumble on the missing goalie to warrant precaution. Besides, he hadn't really seen her since then and he had been there late a number of nights. Then he considered Nurse Kiki.
As he mulled over that conversation, he noticed hidden underlying meanings. She had questioned his appearance in the brunette's room at first. That might have been because someone was poking their nose in where it didn't belong. Or maybe she was just trying to protect the boy from stalkers or anyone that could harm him. Still, she never offered additional information about Hidaka, just that for him to wake he would need help. Was it possibly that she pitied Ken and wished for someone to help despite the request to keep him secluded? He was curious but he wasn't about to ask her and risk her getting in trouble. This was his quest now.
The jingle of bells pulled him from his musings. Omi reclaimed his seat. Yoji glanced at the florist, commenting, "I was beginning to wonder if you actually did any business here."
"Funny," he glared back. "It's just that two o'clock is our slowest hour which is why you don't see anyone when you come in."
"Whatever you say, chibi." The taller blonde dismissed the remark without a second thought, waving him off.
It looked to Ran as if this argument was going to continue and he wasn't in the mood to hear it. "Can we just get back to the task at hand?"
They looked at him somewhat disappointed that their feud had been prematurely halted. Leaning forward, the lanky investigator looked the redhead in the eyes. "You know, Aya isn't it? That's a rather feminine name for a guy." When Ran didn't bother to answer, Yoji continued. "You need to relax. If you take everything so seriously you'll never enjoy the finer things in life. And that would be a tragic shame."
Ran rolled his eyes. "And this mocking banter is one of those finer things in life?"
"It could be." Yoji nodded, and to Ran's surprise he caught Omi's agreeing bob out of the corner of his eye. But the genki's next words seemed to contradict his actions.
"Aya-kun's right. We need to figure out what's going on as soon as possible. From what he says, there's a very strong possibility that Ken-kun could wake up soon. And if your theory is correct then whoever put him there might come after him again and we wouldn't be prepared for it."
"That's true. Alright, so what do we want to do now?" Yoji sat back, crossing his arms over his chest and glanced back and forth between the pair waiting for an answer.
"Is there anyone else we can talk to?" Ran questioned.
"I'll see if I can compile a list and we can each take a few names and see where that takes us. Chibi, see if you can get that police report."
Omi blushed lightly. "I'll try but I feel bad. I hate betraying my Uncle's trust like that."
"I'm sure he would understand," the older man tried to reassure.
Ran stood up, "Get me the list when you're done and I'll do what I can. Right now, I have to get back to the hospital."
"Will do." Quickly they exchanged information and the redhead walked out leaving the blondes behind him. All this talk of possible 'conspiracy' had planted itself in the pit of his stomach and he suddenly had the urge to check on the brunette. Getting in his car he hastily sped through the streets back to the hospital.
***
A red dawn peeked over a black horizon. An old saying he had heard somewhere popped into his mind. 'Red sky at night, Sailors delight. Red sky in morning, Sailors take warning.' A storm was coming. But what kind?
Glancing up, the sky cleared and he could almost see the stars hovering beyond the bright blue canopy. Huge white fluffy clouds spattered the blue with picturesque perfection. He took a deep breath and smiled. Birdsong filtered into the scene and was shortly followed by the growing rumble of fans. Looking down, he found himself in front of the goal net, a match being played out at the other end of the field.
Suddenly, a strong sense of deja vu crashed into him. He could feel the swell of mixed emotions in him. A large portion of his mind was filled with the excitement of the game. But there was a smaller portion tucked away harbouring dread and fear. He didn't like the feeling.
Glancing around the world recycled, reliving these heart-pounding moments. He couldn't even stop himself as he saw the ball fly toward him. He blocked the shot and the world erupted in roars of joy. The swarm of people almost caused him to fall over. They crowded him. They crushed him. Taking his air away and blocking out the light of the sun. He tried to scream but his deprived lungs could not produce a sound loud enough to be heard over the din.
He wanted out. He knew that with the blackness bad things came. Fear turned to fact when the touch of shadows became cold and biting. No! Not again! he pleaded with no one. Mocking laughter rolled over him, knocking further into the frozen grasp of night. A hissing whisper pushed him to the brink, 'You should have listened. You should have done as you were told.'
Pain. Agony. He cried out. Laughter followed by more pain. Shadows moved and molded. An outline of a face. He reached out for it, hoping that he could find out who his tormentor was. But just as his fingers closed on obsidian cloth, it flared into red hot flame burning his flesh. He tried to put it out and only managed to make it spread. A voice called out to him, panicked but familiar. Yet there was something missing. There should have been another voice mirroring the first. One that only recently entered his dreams.
He was left alone to face the darkness. Alone. Pain. He didn't want to face either. He could feel the tears. The despair that accompanied the torture.
Then suddenly in the midst of perpetual dark, a star broke through. Ken, Ken I'm here. The ethereal voice a soothing balm for his soul. His angel. It was the only way he could describe it. He wanted to reach out and grab hold of the light. Escape from this world of night. But the dark would not release him so easily. Swiftly, it wrapped charcoal arms around him and yanked him back. A voice whispered in his ear, 'If you go back, a fate worse than this will find you.' He tried to fight but lacked the strength.
The void claimed him once more, driving him into the abyss of nothingness. Where he could only wait for the cycle to begin again.
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I hope you liked it. Things are starting to move along for the moment. So if you do have a chance, please leave a review. I really want to know what you think of it. THANK YOU!! ^_^