Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ the rescue ❯ prologue ( Prologue )

Prologue

With a triumphant smile, the twenty-three-year-old typed the last page he intended to print for the completion of his research paper, which was to be submitted the next day. He stood up, yawned, and stretched, while he waited for the last page to be printed. When the printer was done, he took hold of the page which marked months of preparation for their midterm grade. Fingering the large bold letters announcing the title, his gleaming, blue eyes rested on his name.

Signed, Takatori Mamoru.

Thumping a set of papers on his desk, he placed the last page on top of the stack and stapled it together. Just as he was about to put it in his school bag, he heard a loud crash from downstairs, just before the lights went out. Mamoru blinked as he let his eyes adjust to the only source of light coming from moonlight streaming through his slightly drawn curtains. Footsteps running toward his room made him dash for his side table, and search for a gun he had hidden inside the drawer. A million scenarios flashed trough his mind as to what had caused the commotion downstairs and as to whom the intruders might be.

Seconds later, the door burst open, and Mamoru turned around to find a slightly winded Nagi. Seeing the younger man in a slightly skewed pair of plain, night clothes had Mamoru relax his poise to a mere standing position. If it weren't for the small earphone perpetually latched to his ear, anyone wouldn't take a second glance at a twenty-one-year-old, who looked nothing like a bodyguard for one of Kritiker's highly prioritized members. Mamoru had guessed that the dark-haired man had just woken up from the noise and from his designated room, had run all the way to check on him. "Are you all right?" His frantic bodyguard asked, before turning back and surveying the darkness outside the room.

"Hai. I heard some noise. Did you see what that was all about?"

Mamoru watched as with long, purposeful strides, Nagi approached and grabbed him by the arm. "No. I came up here directly. The others are already checking downstairs. I think it came from the living room."

Amused by the fact that it had been quite a while since Nagi had spoken that many words to him, he let himself to be dragged out of his room, while taking a close look past three more floors down the grand staircase. It was wise for Nagi to avoid using the main entrance to escape as he was leading them to the back door exit of the huge mansion. However, before making it down the first step of the emergency staircase Mamoru turned back with the thought of his grandfather being left behind. Sensing Mamoru's apprehension, Nagi tugged at his sleeve for further emphasis. "We have to leave. I just received information that the intruders are heading to the main rooms already."

"I'm not leaving without grandfather."

"I'm sure he's also being led to safety. If not, he's already left the mansion."

With firm resolve and an insistent look from his personal bodyguard, Mamoru let Nagi lead the way down the echoing stairwell to the ground floor. He watched Nagi quietly talking to a small speaker attached to his collar, asking for surveillance. Finally reaching the ground floor, the two found little time they have to catch their breath before making their way towards the closed, heavy door. Nagi pressed his ear to search for any noise from the other side. Just when he was about to open it, he found Mamoru's hand on his wrist. Nagi looked up to find an anxious look marring his face. "This is too easy."

Assessing the situation, Nagi feared that the older man was right; so far, they hadn't encountered any trouble considering the noise they made while they ran down the stairs, which was unavoidable. The intruders shouldn't be that ignorant to know that there may be other exits in the mansion besides the main entrance, considering its size and its structure. Nagi and Mamoru could be walking towards a trap, unarmed and relying on nothing else but Nagi's telekinetic talent. There was one other choice as Nagi spoke softly to his speaker.

Silence.

Nagi watched as Mamoru retrieved his hand, a worried look on his face. Their communication with the control room went static, and Nagi had a pretty good guess what the reason could be. With a resolved sigh, he placed his hand on the knob and turned it.

The duo crept past the vast hall eerily lit by the pale moonlight streaming through one, full-length window at the other end. The cold, marble floor gleamed like blue silk and their footsteps echoed softly on its smooth, hard surface. Nagi surveyed each of the rooms to both his and Mamoru's side to find them all empty and seemingly untouched; and if his assumptions were correct, the noise they had heard earlier might have had come from the living room. They were to turn left just before said room, when they hear a whimper coming from that direction. Nagi was immediately pulled back by a panicked Mamoru.

He knew that sound all too well. With a force he didn't know he had, he got Nagi to follow him into the living room where they saw remnants of the shattered glass windows, small shards of them gleaming like diamonds on the floor. When Mamoru finally raised his eyes, he saw five silhouettes against the light, hiding their faces in the shadows. Yet, he knew who the slouched figure was in the middle of the group. A sharp gasp came out of the old man's mouth as one of his captors to his right tighten his grasp around the old man's neck, the barrel of the gun glistening beside the captive's left temple.

Mamoru found his voice to be shaky as he called his grandfather. He found his left wrist still clasped under Nagi's tight hold to prevent him into coming any closer. Mamoru found the courage to swallow the painful lump rising in his throat as he found his voice slightly harder than before. "What do you want?" He demanded the group. When they remained silent, he gritted his teeth and asked another question. "Do you want money?"

"We want revenge." The man to his grandfather's left answered coldly, and Mamoru flinched at the tone of his voice. The two men at both sides stepped forward, and Mamoru finally recognized them, as Kritiker's new recruits.

Weiss.