Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Hope Diamond ❯ Kudoh - 13 ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter Thirteen

Yohji cracked open one eye, peering cautiously around the luxurious suite he was given for the night. He couldn't help but smirk at the two nude and voluptuous women sprawled across the bed and him sleeping soundly. Guess he hadn't lost his touch but still, to be on the safe side…

"Sleep, I urge you, deep and sound," he deftly wove the spell and cast it. "Do not wake till the sun rise."

Only then did he crawl from the huge bed. With practiced ease, he got dressed and winked at his mustached reflection in the mirror. It was time to get to work. With his Discman in hand, Yohji went out for a stroll in the main recreational area of Riot.

The insides of Riot haven't changed much in the last four years, he mused. The prostitution ring still catered only to the extremely wealthy who were willing to pay outrageous fees for their own perverse and sometimes deadly kinks. And it showed in the opulent décor and decadent and sometimes 'extreme' services.

Neither could Yohji help but compare his current mission to the last time he was here.

He had been so naïve four years ago, he and Asuka, naïve and too arrogant. They had known of Riot's reputation; they should have known better than to tackle the case. A couple of private investigators, even if one of them was a Class A Techno-Mage, stood little chance of winning against a well-established and very deadly organization. But they were young and gung-ho, overconfident that their maverick and resourceful ways would get them out safely with the girl and completely blind to their own weaknesses.

One of which was neither of them had ever seen a dead body before. No matter how mentally prepared they thought they were, it was still a shock to find the girl dead in her own pool of blood.

That had proved to be their undoing. For they were unable to keep a cool head after that and they made blunders they normally wouldn't, bringing the entire security force down on them. In the end, Asuka sacrificed herself to save a wounded Yohji. And her death opened a new and darker chapter of his life.

Wiser and more experienced four years later, Yohji had vowed never to fight a 'monster' without giving it the proper respect. Even though infiltrating Riot now was made easier, thanks to Kritiker's sophisticated resources, and he was more well equipped to deal with trouble, Yohji was determined not to repeat the same mistake.

He gradually meandered over to a staff entrance in the far corner of the recreational area as calmly and discreetly as he could, his eyes constantly on the lookout. When he was sure no one was looking, he slipped through the door quick as lightning. Yohji swiftly discarded his glamour disguise and terry robe, revealing the black skintight cat suit he wore beneath. He pulled on his gloves and watch, and slipped the Discman into a carrier on his belt. Behind the dark surface of his shades, experienced cool green eyes studied the long empty corridor intently. He noted the positions of the security cameras and magic wards, and accordingly made his way down the corridor without giving his presence away.

It was easy - the stealth skill learned during his training and honed over countless missions. If only he had it four years ago...

Yohji pushed the thought away. He could not afford to be distracted now.

The staff area was quiet but not unpopulated as he searched the premises for the secretary's office, careful to avoid any unsuspecting staff heading his way.

He paused before he turned another corner, his ears picking up the sounds of approaching footsteps. Quickly and soundlessly, he darted into the nearest unlocked room and watched intently through a tiny crack in the door as two men in waiter uniform approached his hiding place. Yohji couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief when they passed him by. Shutting the door quietly, he turned to search the room he was in and froze.

Hanging from shackles in the center of the room was a young black-haired woman, dressed in a long purple tattered spaghetti-strapped dress. Dark eyes stared pleadingly at him from above the gag in her mouth.

Oh shit.

Yohji paled when she struggled desperately in her bonds, making muffled sounds behind her gag. "Shh, shh," he gestured hastily to her and hurried to free her. Damn it, talk about bad timing. He did not need this now.

"Kuso," was the first thing she said when he finally removed her gag.

"Are you one of the women here?"

"Yeah. I tried to run away from this place but the police caught me when I left the building."

"The police?"

The girl nodded. "The police in this district have all been bought over by Riot."

"And they sent you back here."

"Yeah. To be given a thrashing I don't deserve." She gave him an asserting look. "You look like a thief, mister."

"…Something like that," Yohji rose to his feet. Much as he liked to help the girl, the mission was more important. "Well, I'll leave you now. Ja ne."

"Wait!" The girl grabbed his arm and hung on with a death grip.

"Wha-?" Yohji winced as she nearly pulled his arm out of its socket. Damn, but the girl was strong.

"Take me with you," she begged.

"What?!"

"Please, take me with you. I can't stand being in here for another moment." Her begging expression turned threatening. "If you don't, I'll scream."

Yohji gaped at her.

True to her words, the girl took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Before the scream could fully leave her throat, Yohji frantically slapped a hand over her mouth. "Are you nuts?!" he hissed at her.

Behind his hand, the girl grinned at him, laugh lines around her eyes crinkling in response.

Yohji sighed, bowing his head in defeat. He so did not need this. "All right, you can come with me."

"So what can I help you to steal?" the girl asked brightly when he removed his hand.

"Do you know where is the manager's office?"

"Yeah." The girl rose to her feet. "I can take you to it."

"Right." Yohji pulled her back before she could take another step. "When we go through that door, you do exactly as I say. Stay behind me and do not do anything on the spur of moment. Got that, girl?"

"Yes, sir. And my name is Maki. What's yours?"

"You can just call me mister."

"Mou," she pouted.

Yohji gestured for her to be quiet and led the way to the door, listening carefully for telltale sounds. He was about to slip out of the room when his keen ears picked up the nearly undetectable sounds of footsteps. Just quickly, he ducked back into the room and closed the door till only a crack was left.

The footsteps came closer and closer.

Yohji frowned as he strained to listen closely. There was something familiar about that tread…

Someone stepped into his line of vision and even though his heart sank at the sight of the man, a part of him was not surprised. What were the chances that he would infiltrate the same place he was in? The Fates have a sick sense of humor.

Despite the grimness of the situation, Yohji could not take his eyes off Ran. Every time they met in secret in the park, Ran wore his human disguise and the redhead refused to take it off when they were together, saying he felt more natural and at ease passing off as his former human self. Yohji had so seldom seen Ran's true appearance that he nearly forgot how overwhelming he could be.

The redhead was dressed in an expensive tailored black suit, black gloves and a black mask that covered the upper half of his face. He was in his full Gem glory, the vivid red of his hair shining like ruby under the light and his pale skin aglow like moonstone. So cold and beautiful, it made Yohji's heart ached.

Beside him, he heard Maki gasp in wonder. He couldn't fault her for the small sound of exclamation. Everyone who ever met Ran had that kind of reaction. He was just too breathtakingly magnificent. No matter how many times Yohji saw him, he would also react in the same way and he doubted it would ever stop.

This time, his wonder was shadowed by dread.

Ran was in Riot, doing an errand for Takatori. What kind? He didn't know. He just prayed they wouldn't run into each other. Yohji waited tersely as Ran stood in his line of vision for a long moment. He knew the redhead well enough to read the wary suspicion in his body language.

Ran sensed something amiss.

Don't turn around, Yohji prayed earnestly. Onegai, don't turn around. I don't want to fight you.

After what it seemed to be an eternity, Ran finally continued on his way.

Yohji relaxed, eyes closing in relief. God, that was way too close for comfort. Gathering himself again, Yohji gestured for Maki to follow him as he stepped out of the room. Now, more than ever, he wanted nothing more than just to obtain the schedule and get the hell out of this place.

"Was that the Blood Diamond?" Maki asked eagerly as they skunked down the corridor.

Yohji nodded distractedly, his attention centered on his surroundings.

She sighed, "Wow, he's gorgeous."

Yohji frowned at her, feeling a tiny stirring of jealousy at her frank admiring tone. He had to look away before he could suppress the irrational feeling. Maki didn't mean anything by her comments. And now was hardly the time to be distracted by personal feelings.

True to her words, Maki led him to the manager's office. While she admired the pieces of valuable sculptures in the office, Yohji quickly hooked up his Discman to the office's computer and got to work.

* * *

"How long has he been here?" The manager of Riot asked his underling as he walked briskly to the VIP guest room.

"About half hour," replied the poor nervous underling. "He took a walk around the premises before asking for you, sir."

"Damn," the manager cursed under his breath.

A visit from Riot's sponsor could either meant very good thing or very bad, and considering what Riot had been doing for the last two weeks, he was sure it was the latter. Straightening his tie and taking a deep breath, the manager entered the VIP guest room where his dreaded guest was waiting.

"Welcome to Riot, Mr. Blood Diamond." He bowed formally to the slender form looking out of the window, with his back to the door. He winced at the silly form of address but then again, no one really knew how to address a Gem.

The manager watched with trepidation as the unearthly creature gracefully crossed the room and took a seat in the leather armchair. He couldn't see the Gem's expression hidden behind the black mask but he was keenly aware of the vivid amethyst brilliance of those cold inscrutable eyes.

A soft white glow surrounded the Gem and when it faded, the manager felt the blood drained from his face. Where the vivid amethyst pupils should be were pure shining white. Nailed to the spot by that opaque gaze that somehow managed to still see, the manager stared helplessly back at the Gem.

"Where are Minase and his secretary?" the Blood Diamond spoke, not in the double-timbered voice he was rumored to possess but rather the deep grizzled voice of Reiji Takatori.

"They are not here, Takatori-san." The manager replied politely, sketching a quick formal bow. "But they are due to arrive tomorrow morning. Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"

From an inner jacket pocket, the Blood Diamond took out a bundle of newspaper clippings and tossed it onto the coffee table. The manager gulped when he caught a glimpse of the headlines. They were all on the prostitute-slayings.

"You put Riot in a dangerous position," Takatori spoke through his Gem.

"Sir, we cater to our client's amusement. We can't refuse their requests if they want to chop up some sluts."

The manager cried out as a spear of white light arched from the Blood Diamond's gloved hand and stabbed through his shoulder, bringing him down to his knees in agony.

"You missed the point, fool. You bring unwanted attention to Riot by carelessly dumping the bodies." The Blood Diamond steepled his fingers, or rather Takatori did in his own home and the action was reflected in the Blood Diamond.

"Riot has a long-standing rule about deposing bodies. We burn them and scatter the ashes into the river. We do not dump them into the river for the whole world to find. You may slip one body past everyone's attention but not seven, even if they were prostitutes. Riot is able to succeed because we are hidden in the darkness. Our clientele includes some of the most prominent and influential people around the world who came to us because we can keep their secrets. Drawing attention to Riot is very unhealthy. The careless dumping have drawn the media's attention and my sources tell me that even Kritiker's vigilante group is looking into it."

"I will look into the problem at once, sir." The manager said.

"You will do nothing of such." A gloved hand stretched up to stroke a pale marble-smooth cheek possessively. "My Gem will clean up the mess."

"Hai, Takatori-san." The manager bowed his head in obedience.

Even when the Blood Diamond was surrounded in white light again, signaling the end of the conversation, the manager did not dare to look up. He winced inwardly when his cell phone rang suddenly, disrupting the terse silence with its loudness. Hastily, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered the call.

"This has better be good," he growled into the phone even as his gaze drifted warily to the Blood Diamond who was his normal cold aloof self again.

"Intruders? Two of them?" The Blood Diamond cocked his head in interest, hearing the added tension in the manager's voice. "Find them before they leave the building. Use whatever means necessary. I don't care if you kill them."

The manager listened for a moment.

"Guns or magic, I don't give a damn. Just stop them." He cut off the line. Tucking the cell phone back into his pocket, he turned towards the Blood Diamond. "This doesn't happen very often," he said in a subservient tone. "Please tell Takatori-sama that he has nothing to worry about. We have everything under control."

The Blood Diamond eyed him, amethyst gaze cold and harsh. The manager quelled beneath the weight of that icy glare burning with power. He couldn't help but take a step backward as the Blood Diamond walked past him towards the window.

The window suddenly shattered into a million pieces and a strong wind began to blow into the room. Without a backward glance, the Blood Diamond leapt out of the window and disappeared into the night.

* * *

"Whoa-ho!" Maki let out an exuberant shriek as Yohji's powerful Seven roared out of the Riot's parking lots and into the streets. "We're free!"

"That was easy." Yohji smirked, allowing the exhilarating sense of victory to go to his head for the moment.

"Of course. They never have to contend with a Techno-Mage before," Maki laughed.

"You weren't too bad yourself."

"Huh?"

Yohji made a chopping gesture. "Fighting."

"Thank you!"

The sudden roar of motorcycles caught Yohji's attention. He glanced in the rearview mirror and his mood turned grim. Two motorbikes were chasing after them. They were not out of the woods just yet.

Yohji made a sharp left turn. His powerful Seven knocked one of the bikes off the road and caused it to crash into a lamppost as it plunged into an alley.

"Close your eyes!" he yelled to Maki even as he pushed his shades further up on his nose. "Fulsi!"

A burst of light lit up the alley, taking his pursuer off-guard. Behind Seven, Yohji heard the motorbike crashing into the wall.

"Yeah!" Maki whooped.

Seven sped through the alley and onto another road, narrowly avoiding the black car boring towards it. Yohji managed to save themselves from being broad-sided by swerving sharply onto a different lane - right into another oncoming black car. He swerved again just as the people in that car opened fire at them with a machine gun.

"Contega!"

The minute the first bullet hit his shield, Yohji knew instantly it would fail. Their pursuers were not using ordinary bullets but rather the shield-piercing type. They went through his shield as though it was never there and struck the hood and windscreen of the Seven. A sudden burst of fiery pain in his side nearly made him crash his car. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Yohji gripped his side and fought to keep the car on the road.

"Mister…" Maki paled when she saw the blood spilling through his fingers.

Trying to drive was becoming too much of a chore. In the end, Yohji lost control of his beloved Seven and crashed it into a nearby shop window. He slumped over the steering wheel, fighting to stay conscious.

"Come on," Maki urged as she pulled him out of the wrecked car. "We got to go now!"

"The subways…" Yohji gasped as they staggered along as fast as he could manage. "We can hide in the subway tunnels."

"And the lines around here have been abandoned for some time," Maki caught on quickly. "Good idea."

As they staggered on, Yohji couldn't help but felt a sense of deja vu. In his mind's eyes, he kept seeing those last few moments before Asuka died.

They had been fleeing as well, their speed seriously hampered by his wound. He was bleeding to death even as they struggled to move on. Asuka's whispered encouragement, her worried and fearful countenance spurred him on to make the effort until finally, his strength depleted, he could no longer continue. And Asuka did the most selfless thing he had ever seen, buying him enough time to hide and escape but shattering his heart at the same time.

Now, it was Maki who was helping him, wounded and bleeding, to escape. So eerily similar to that moment four years ago.

He prayed he wouldn't get Maki killed either.