Here it is, Volume Two, Part Three! For this and any of my other
works, visit my Web Site at:
http://www.oocities.com/coutuva
As always, C&C is anticipated, accepted, and appreciated.
All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.
Please Enjoy!
Coutuva.
Secrets: Volume Two Part Three
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Yoriko looked up at the clock, wishing it would move just
a little faster. The last fifteen minutes of her shift were
always the longest, even more so of late. She hated being away
from Miyoko, always feeling a little lost and empty without her
nearby.
Sighing, she turned to carry a bag of fries out to the
fryers, only to hear her name being called urgently over the
skyphone. Reaching down and pushing the talk button, she responded
tiredly.
"Hai...!"
"Yoriko-sensei... We have someone complaining up here,"
an equally tired voice stated, quickly.
"I'll be right up," she groaned, hefting the bag again
and shaking her head. 13 minutes to go.
Finally, the blessed hour arrived, and she happily flipped
off the skyphone and hung it on its rack. Grabbing her coat from
her locker, she breezed toward the back door, waving happily at the
girls who had just started their shifts.
Just as she was about to open it, one of them called out to
her. "Yoriko-sensei! Someone out here wants to see you!" she
announced, indicating the lobby.
"Hai!" she replied, her heart skipping a beat. She hoped
it was Miyoko, come to walk her home.
Smiling brightly, she headed out into the lobby and looked
around, surprised not to see Miyoko or anyone else she recognized.
Shrugging, she was about to walk away when a man stepped into her
path.
"Naganato Yoriko? Or should I say, Christine White?" the
man asked, smiling.
Yoriko gasped in horror, her worst nightmare suddenly
exploding in her face. Staggering back, she yelped as she bumped
into another man that had appeared behind her.
"No... Please..." she begged pitifully, her eyes starting
tear up as she shrank away from them.
"Gomen, Miss White, but your father has requested your
presence..." the first man began, but that was more than enough
for Yoriko. With a barely legible whimper, she collapsed to the
floor.
Miyoko shuddered. A deep, down to the soul kind of
shudder, accompanied by a powerful feeling of panic.
"Yoriko..." she gasped, her heart starting to pound.
Without a second's hesitation, she threw on her shoes and dashed
out the door, heading straight for the hall window. She prayed
her intuition was wrong as she bounced from rooftop to rooftop,
but somehow, she already knew what she'd find when she arrived
at Yoriko's restaurant.
Landing in front of the main doors, she straightened her
skirt and walked in, heading right to the counter.
"Oi... Is Naganato Yoriko still here?" she asked one of
the girls, crossing her fingers.
"Ano... No. I think she left already. Just a minute,"
the girl responded, reaching up for her skyphone mike.
"Nikko-sensei... Is Yoriko still here? Iya... A girl. Hai. Hai.
Arigato," she finally said, then turned to Miyoko again.
"Those men that came to pick her up said they were taking
her home..." the girl began, then noticed she was talking to
herself.
Miyoko stood on the roof of the restaurant, trying to calm
herself enough to think. She hadn't wanted to even entertain the
thought, but now, she had no choice. The bastards that had been
chasing after her had decided to pick on an easier target, and had
kidnapped Yoriko. And only the Kami knew what they would do to
her.
Turning, she looked across town at the huge complex that
was White Consolidated Industries World Headquarters, and scowled
angrily.
She had an appointment.
"No, Mika-chan. I haven't heard anything further. I
know, but things have not gone as we expected. Don't worry...
I'll let call you as soon as I know something. Yes, I'm sure she's
safe and healthy. I'll be home in an hour... Ja," Eric smiled,
trying to sound happy despite his disappointment in his 'people's'
progress.
Slipping his phone back in his pocket, he stepped into the
elevator and leaned back against the rear wall, tired from a week
of worry and business. He couldn't wait until tomorrow ended, as,
if his people still hadn't managed to begin the 'negotiations', he
was going to call the whole thing off. Better that than risk a
public scandal over a two-year old mistake.
Finally, he stepped off on his floor and trudged to his
office, anticipating a pile of disappointing Emails on his
computer.
As he passed his receptionist's empty desk, he glanced
at her security monitors and sighed, figuring he was probably the
only person still left in the entire complex. Given that it was
just after seven p.m., that didn't surprise him. Few of his
employees stayed past six, since their day officially ended at
five.
Pulling his remote out, he beeped open his door and
stepped through, only turning on the lights over his desk. He
then beeped open the large curtains over his windows, preferring
that they be wide open while he was in the office.
Satisfied, he slid behind his desk and activated his
computer, intending to check his mail and then pack up to go home.
As he started clicking his way through the 30 some-odd
messages that awaited him, he didn't notice the figure walking
toward his desk. In fact, until that figure stood directly in
front of him and cleared her throat, he was completely unaware of
her presence.
Startled, he looked up and almost had a heart attack.
"You!" he yelped, his face draining.
"Hai... Takara Miyoko desu -- the *last* person you're
ever gonna see, you miserable sonovabitch," she growled evenly,
walking around his desk and right up to his chair. "I should take
you *apart* for what you've already done to Yoriko... But now..."
she continued, grabbing his shirtfront and pulling him from his
chair. "I'm not going to be so fucking polite!" she yelled,
launching him over his desk into the middle of the room.
Leaping after him, she grabbed his arm and wrenched it
around behind him in a painful control hold, then snarled into his
ear. "What have you done with her? Talk!" she commanded,
tightening her hold.
"I... I... Don't know... What you mean...!" he gasped,
wincing horribly.
"Bullshit! Your goons grabbed her out of her restaurant
today and dragged her off somewhere! And I want her released!
NOW!!" she snarled, adjusting her grip to convince him.
"Auuggh!! I didn't.... Uhnn! I didn't know...!" he
gasped, feeling his arm starting to separate from its socket.
"What the hell kind of idiot do you think I am? Listen,
asshole... You either tell me where she is, right *now*, or I'm
gonna feed you this arm!" she retorted, leaning around to get a
look in his eyes.
"I... Don't... Have... Her....!" he gasped, fearfully.
Miyoko studied his eyes for a long second, then threw
him to the floor.
"I guess maybe you don't..." she growled, leaning into
his face. "But I'll bet you know who does, don't you?"
Eric only picked himself up painfully, clutching at his
almost dislocated shoulder. Miyoko expected him to be glaring
daggers at her, but instead he looked... Defeated. She was
actually disappointed, since that meant he wasn't going to give
her an excuse.
Eric slowly squared himself around on the floor, ending
up sitting cross-legged, still holding his shoulder. After a few
moments to catch his breath, he finally tried to speak.
"I did not... Order her held. If she was taken... Then
someone acted on their own," he gasped between breaths, wincing
occasionally.
"And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with
it?" Miyoko shot back, contemptuously. "You... The guy that
*destroyed* her in the first place?" she snapped, clenching her
fists.
"I didn't say that!" he suddenly shouted, surprising her
a bit. "I did have something to do with the plan behind it, but
my orders were clear. She was not to be contacted, and they
were only to go through you," he indicated, flatly. "I knew she'd
never agree outright, but I thought that there was at least a
chance if we could get you to agree, and convince her," he
added, lowering his face.
"What the hell are you talking about? If this is some
kind of crap you're trying to pull, I'll let you in on something,
pal. Security ain't coming. Most of 'em are sleeping, and the
others have been watching a tape for the last while... So it's
just you... And me," she emphasized, leaning into his face. "So
cut the crap and tell me where she is -- while you still can,"
she added menacingly.
Eric hung his head exasperatedly. "You have no idea, do
you?" he puffed, looking back up at her sadly. "I thought you
already knew," he added, shaking his head.
"There's only two things I know. Yoriko was taken, and
you're ultimately responsible... To me, that adds up to one
result -- I kill you," Miyoko replied, fast becoming tired of the
verbal tennis. Stepping forward, she again grabbed his shirt,
only this time she lined her fist up on his face.
"One chance... " she noted, her face impassive.
Eric panicked. "All right! All Right! I'll tell you
everything!" he yelled, his eyes riveted on Miyoko's deadly fist.
"No more shit?" she stipulated, glaring into his eyes.
"No, no... God, no..." he gasped, starting to shake.
"Smart boy. I see how you made it to the penthouse,"
she smirked, dropping him to the carpet. "Now start talking,"
she glowered, stepping back and sitting against his desk.
"Okay... Okay... " he gasped, again pulling himself up.
"This whole thing... Came about because of you," he began,
squaring himself again. "More accurately, you made it possible
for me to correct the biggest mistake of my life," he explained,
lowering his eyes.
"And just how do you figure that?" Miyoko sneered,
crossing her arms.
"I'll get to that. A little over two years ago, when I
discovered Christine's 'preference'... I didn't handle it well.
I panicked. You know how scandal can destroy a person or a
company in this country -- I figured if anyone else found out,
I'd lose everything I've worked for over the past thirty years.
And... I also found out... I... have a problem with
homosexuality," he admitted, shamefully. "That all combined to
make me do some things I hate myself for. And, I was quite
certain that Christine would never forgive me for them," he
continued, drawing a deep breath.
"Well, you got *that* right, pal. She's petrified of
you. She can't even *try* to enjoy the life you forced her to
live, for fear of doing something to piss off your goon squad!"
Miyoko snapped, shaking her head disgustedly.
"I know... I've kept tabs on her since she 'left'," he
admitted, sadly. "That's how I found out about you... And how
I thought I had a second chance. You see, since Christine isn't
interested in men, I thought that I'd never have an heir. But,
then you come into the picture. A *man* who's living as a
woman -- and not just some cross-dressing freak, either. And
what made the picture even better is that she loves you," he
continued, shuddering.
"It was thought that if you were convinced of the
situation, then you would be able to father an heir with her...
In short, you were my last chance to have a family to pass my
business down to," he concluded, quietly.
Miyoko huffed angrily. "You indescribable bastard...
I can't believe you'd have the nerve to think she'd even
*consider* something like that! And there'd be no way in hell
that I'd ever even think of asking her to! You destroyed her...
Took her entire *life* away from her! Forced her to become
someone else just because you were afraid of some bad press!
She lives in fear every day of her life because of you, and you
want her to just forget that and come save your empire for you?
Dream on, pal... It ain't happenin'!" she snarled, using
every ounce of strength she possessed to keep from spreading him
all over the office.
"That's putting it politely," Eric responded, shaking
his head.
Miyoko huffed. "Right now, remorse ain't gonna help ya.
I want you to find her... And let her go right *now*. And then I
want you to tell her, *face to face*, that you're never going to
bother her again. Because if you ever do, I'll see to it that
your life becomes as much a hell as you made hers!" she snarled,
walking up and grabbing his shirt again. This time however, she
simply yanked him to his feet.
Both stunned and relieved that she didn't hit him again,
Eric sighed and nodded. "Let's go out to the Security Consoles.
This entire complex is covered by cameras. If she's in it, we'll
find her," he stated, resignedly.
"Good... Just don't try pulling anything if you want to
make it home for supper," she glowered, the flash in her eyes
sending a shudder down his back.
"No... That's all over with, I assure you. This has
already gotten way out of hand," he stated, emphatically.
"You got *that* right, smart boy. Find her... Now!" she
growled, jerking her head toward the doors.
At the array of screens and camera controls in the Console
room, they methodically checked all of the offices of the parties
involved, and came up empty.
Next, they checked through the board rooms, then the
storage facilities. With only twelve screens and almost three
hundred cameras, it took a long time to cover them all, which only
served to make Eric nervous and Miyoko angry.
Finally, as Miyoko's patience was wearing thin, she caught
something as a screen flashed by. "Stop! Back up one camera. I
thought I saw something!" she gasped, tightening her grip on his
shoulder. He grunted in pain.
Sure enough, the hazy gray image on the screen revealed a
familiar head of hair atop a certain uniform. Miyoko smiled
despite her anger, relieved that she looked okay. Her relief was
short-lived, however, as she noticed how Yoriko was drawn up on
a couch in a fetal position, and seemed to be crying.
Abruptly, her face darkened. "So, how does it feel to
see your daughter... Your *only* daughter... Being held like a
caged animal? That's how she's been living for the past two
years -- all because of you," she intoned, frowning angrily.
"You don't need to remind me... I see her every time I look
at her mother," he almost whispered, his voice cracking.
"Then why didn't you put a stop to this sooner? You know,
she still loves you... Even though you shit all over her. Far as
I'm concerned, you don't deserve her... You never did," she
snarled, disgustedly. "If this was how you were gonna treat your
kids, somebody should've neutered you a long time ago," she added,
icily.
Eric didn't reply.
Growling, Miyoko looked over the monitors to see what room
Yoriko was in. "Where is that... And what's the fastest way to
get there?"
The exec looked across at Yoriko worriedly. He hadn't
expected her to fall apart, and wasn't prepared to deal with it.
Sighing frustratedly, he tried again.
"All we want to do is talk to your girlfriend, but she
refuses to let us. The only reason we have brought you here is to
ask you to talk to her... Get her to let us speak to her," he
reiterated, as gently as possible.
Yoriko didn't respond. She continued to stare wide-eyed
at the floor, her breathing rapid and shallow.
"Go get her a glass of water. I'm getting worried," he
ordered, looking over at his cohort.
"I think you may have to take her to a hospital. She
looks like she's lost it," he observed, heading toward the door.
"Don't say that. Things are already bad enough," the exec
replied, dropping his head to his hands.
Shaking his head, the other man stepped through the door
and started for the lunchroom, only to come face to face with a
furious redhead. A heartbeat later, he was unconscious and
sprawled against a wall at the other end of the long hallway.
Miyoko then burst through the door and leapt toward Yoriko
before the exec even realized it had happened.
"Yori-chan... Yori-chan! It's me... Miyoko!" she
blurted, taking the girl by her shoulders. When she saw the vacant
look in the girl's eyes, she lost it.
The exec, meantime, had recovered his senses, and tried to
grab a handgun out of his top drawer. But, as he brought it up and
out, Miyoko was already in the air. She slapped aside the weapon,
then delivered a punch that sent him crashing into the side wall,
chair and all.
She was on him in the same instant, yanking him out of the
chair, and then pivoting in the air to unload a spin-kick. The
impact threw him across the room and through the door, where he
came to a stop at Eric White's feet.
"Oh... By the way... You're fired," he snapped, stepping
over the unconscious man and looking into the room. What he saw
tore his heart out of his chest.
Miyoko sat with Yoriko on the couch, hugging the shattered
girl to her tightly.
Yoriko, meantime, clung to the redhead like a frightened
child. She was still shaking and crying, but he could tell her
tears were those of great relief.
In that moment, he was struck by the contrast in the
redhead's behaviour -- she was showing a tender concern that
utterly belied her earlier state. In fact, he found himself hard
pressed to believe she was the same person.
Even as he marvelled over that discovery however, he began
to notice just how devastated his former daugher really was. Even
to him, it was apparent that the redhead had actually understated
the case, and the reality of it hit him like the proverbial brick.
He personally had remained at arm's length from the entire
process, a fact he now regretted. Face falling, he stepped back
out into the hallway quietly, not wanting to interfere in the
events unfolding before him.
His head lowered as he realized he didn't have any place
in them.
Akane stood in the hallway, hands on her hips and a miffed
expression on her face. It was Kei's bedtime, and he was sitting
in the family room with his back to her, seemingly ignoring her
repeated requests to get into the bath.
What perturbed her most was that these little 'incidents'
had been occurring with greater frequency of late, and the School
had even called to mention it. Akane actually caught herself
wondering if there wasn't a reason for it, especially given her own
'condition'.
Finally, she walked up behind him and touched his shoulder,
almost yelping out loud as she felt him shuddering ever so slightly.
A heartbeat later, however, he turned and looked up at her
with his cherubic little smile firmly in place.
"Hai, Kaasan?" he asked, expectantly.
"Ano... Kei-chan... It's bath time. Go jump in," she
replied distractedly, wondering what was going on.
"Hai!" he sang, leaping to his feet and racing up the
hallway.
Frowning worriedly, Akane decided it was time to make him
a Doctor's appointment. This was too strange to just ignore.
All through his bath and up until she put him to bed, she
watched him carefully, but noticed absolutely nothing out of the
ordinary.
He was alert, responsive, laughing and joking as per
usual, even spending a little time telling her about his day. In
short, she began to wonder if she hadn't been seeing things.
Later, as she settled on the laundry porch to sip a tea
and watch the sunset, she began to wonder if Nodoka had ever
noticed anything odd.
Her curiousity growing into concern, she picked up the
cordless from beside her.
"Konbanwa, Nodoka-sama... It's Akane. I had something
funny happen tonight, and I wondered if you... Hai. Exactly
like that. Just once -- tonight. Masaka...! Why didn't you
mention this to me sooner? No, I felt him 'shuddering' tonight,
and he didn't seem to notice me touch him until a few seconds
later. Iya -- this is the first time. He's been 'on another
planet' before, but... Hai. I do, I'm making him an appointment
tomorrow. Right... See you then. Ja," she concluded, her brow
furrowing darkly.
It was apparent now that something was amiss with Kei,
and she could already feel the tightness in her chest.
He was her entire world, and it scared the hell out of her
to think that something might be wrong with him. He'd had his
share of childhood bumps, bruises, and sicknesses, but this,
something told her, was far more than some flu bug.
Drawing her knees up to her chest, she sighed worriedly
as she set her chin on them.
It was going to be a very long night.
Yoriko shook her head vehemently. "No, Miyoko-chan. I
just want to go home! I don't want to face him. I don't even
want to see him...!" she pleaded, clutching her girlfriend's arm.
"Yori-chan... You have to. This nightmare will never be
over if you don't," Miyoko insisted, pulling her into another hug.
"Like I said... We had a 'chat' about all of this. Trust
me, he's not going to do anything mean. I won't let him," she
smiled, stepping back and nodding.
"Okay... I guess," she replied hesitantly, trusting
Miyoko's smile.
"I guess I should be glad to hear that," Eric remarked,
stepping into the room.
Yoriko gasped and jumped behind Miyoko, clutching her
arm tightly and glaring fearfully at him. His face fell.
"Masaka..." he sighed, lowering his gaze.
"See? This is what you've done to her... Proud of
yourself?" Miyoko needled, crossly.
"No. I'm not. In fact, I think it was the stupidest
thing I ever did," he replied, still not raising his gaze.
"No arguments outta me," the redhead quipped, frowning.
"Christine... I want to tell you... That I'm sorry. I
was a idiot. I did some unbelievably horrid things to you, and all
because... I was a coward," he began, then fell silent, his eyes
still lowered.
Miyoko blinked as she noticed Yoriko's grip loosen on her
arm after a few moments, then fall away completely.
Wordlessly, Yoriko stepped around her and walked up to Eric,
standing before him silently. Just as he noticed and started to
raise his face, she wound up and absolutely smashed him one across
the face, nearly knocking him from his feet.
Miyoko winced at the impact, then smiled proudly. The
girl was learning.
As Eric staggered from the strike, Yoriko collapsed to her
knees and broke down in tears, the emotion of the moment
overwhelming her. Miyoko moved to her quickly, wrapping an arm
over her shoulders.
Eric looked down on the scene in shock, his hand covering
the reddening handprint on his face. Miyoko looked back up at him
darkly, then smirked. "Don't tell me you're surprised... Shit, I
figure you got off lucky," she remarked, returning her attention
to Yoriko. "C'mon, Yori-chan. It's time to go home," she urged
gently, rising to help the still-sobbing girl to her feet.
"H-Hai..." she sniffed, clinging to Miyoko's side once
more. Even so, she still managed to shoot Eric a glare.
"Ahh... Let me get you a car," he stammered, but Miyoko
silenced him with a look. "Save it. I think she's had quite
enough from you," she growled, levelly.
"I... Understand," he acquiesced sadly, then turned to let
them by. As Miyoko passed in front of him, she deftly removed a
business card from his pocket, hoping he didn't notice.
As he watched them make their way to the elevator, he
sighed and rubbed his face, realizing he had indeed 'gotten off
lucky'. But exactly how lucky was a matter of conjecture.
His daughter had still walked out, and shot him a dirty
look on top of it.
Back in his office, he walked to his desk slowly, then
sat behind it and turned his computer off. All he could think
about was a sentence spoken by Miyoko in the heat of their
'discussions': "Then why didn't you put a stop to this sooner?
You know, she still loves you... Even though you shit all over her.
Far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve her... You never did."
He huffed disgustedly. As much as he hated to admit it,
she had been right. He didn't deserve her, especially if she did
still love him. Glancing at the file folder up on the corner of
his desk, he grabbed it and pulled it toward him, wincing from the
pain the movement caused his shoulder.
Flipping the file open to the first page, he lifted out
and held up the picture he had looked at a few days earlier. He
stared at the brightly smiling blonde-haired girl, noting again
how much she looked like her mother.
Face abruptly darkening, he reached into his pocket,
flipped open his cell phone and frowned as it dialed.
"It's me. Scrub everything. You heard me -- everything.
All of the surveillance, all activity concerned. Hai. Immediately.
And I want you to bring me all the data that's been collected.
Every bit of it. Now would be a good time. Fine... Bring me what
you have, and get the rest to me by tomorrow, five p.m. See you in
fifteen, in my office," he stated tiredly, and closed the phone.
Turning his attention back to the picture, he looked at it
for a few more minutes, noticing again the affection present
between the two women in it. Sighing heavily, he made up his mind
and started up his computer. He needed to make a few changes to
his schedule.
===================================================================
END - Secrets V2P3 A Ranma1/2 Fanfic by Coutuva
Comments Welcomed - Flames Extinguished!
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