Ohkawa Utako;
I scowled at the empty chair across from me, then scowled at the night sky. It was almost one in the morning, and I was sitting at a table, on my balcony. Alone. I had done such a nice job on the arrangement too. The table cloth was a lovely lilac colour, and I had some pretty lilacs arranged in a vase. To complete my theme their were lilac scented candles. Everything was perfect. Except for the fact that I was all alone.
Where was my 20 Masks? Where was Akira?! I knew he said he would be working late but this was ridiculous. He had better not have forgotten! He's never forgotten before. The only Friday he's ever missed was after I had told him that I hated him (I didn't really mean it though). So... where was he?!!
I checked the tea. It was cold. I went inside to go warm
it up, fuming all the way to the kitchen. If he wasn't there by the
time I got back, we were going to have some serious words tomorrow...
Takamura Suoh;
My eyes were beginning to feel grimy from staring at the computer screen for too long. That is was so late at night didn't help any. I typed in a few more commands, but it was to no avail. The security systems around the kitchen had been shut down. I tried tracing back farther to see if I could capture a picture of Ijyuin's kidnappers but those had been shut down as well. We were dealing with no amateur here. Whoever was behind this had managed to compromise the CLAMP school's security. Something that hadn't been done since Yudaiji Idomu. Especially because his fated attacks on us had lead to advancements in the CLAMP school's security. Some that were even devised by Yudaiji.
The soft whisper of footsteps drew me out of my thoughts. Someone was sneaking around in the hallway. On a hunch I checked the security systems around where I was. They were down. Seconds later the entire computer followed them and I was staring at a blank screen.
I got out of my chair and very silently went to the door. I drew out four throwing knives. I used my free hand to throw open the door. You could see the surprise on my attackers faces.
I picked a target quickly and threw. The knives pinned the man to the wall. My aim was perfect, clothing was caught but the skin wasn't even nicked. Before a second had passed I had pulled out eight more knives and had thrown them. Two more attackers were pinned to the wall. There was only one more man to deal with.
Four more knives were in my hands and I threw them at the man. To my surprise he dodged all four and came at me with a high kick. I ducked. The wind of his kick ruffled my hair. He was good.
We both backed up a few paces and circled each other. Both of us were slightly crouched down in fighting stances. He was the one to make the first move and I let him. I nimbly leapt out of the way and punched out. He leapt out of the way of my punch.
Thus began a flurry of moves where neither of us managed to gain the upper hand. Punch, kick, punch, block, punch. I could feel the sweat start to bead on my forehead. My opponent was not much better off.
I heard the click of a gun's safety being turned off. I cursed myself for forgetting about the other men. They had freed themselves. I dropped to the ground as the gun went off. The tranquillizer dart whizzed harmlessly over my head.
This had the unfortunate effect of giving my opponent an opportunity. As I got back to my feet he grabbed my right arm and twisted it behind my back. His other arm went around my neck and squeezed. I realized what he was trying to do; with my air supply cut off it would take little time for me to pass out. I could not allow this to happen.
I gathered what leverage I could and pushed backwards, slamming him into the wall. He let go and I didn't give him another opportunity. I turned and punched him soundly in the stomach. He let out a little 'oomph' and bent over in pain. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the others trying to sneak up behind me.
I turned, and threw more knives at them, once again pinning them to the wall.
"-ailed." My skilled opponent's voice diverted my attention back to him and I could see him talking into some sort of device on his collar. He glared at me for a second before running off. I ran after him, reaching for more knives. There were no more. I cursed as I realized I was completely out. And I could hardly reach my other supplies while running.
He reached the end of the hallway, pushed open the door and ran outside.
I put on a burst of speed and ran out after him.
The Puppet Master;
"I'm sorry, Puppet-sama, we failed." the voice said over the comm. link. I swore. They'd underestimated him, I was sure of it. Why did the idiots think that I had given them tranquillizer guns? You would think that seeing team A come back shivering would have told team B something, but noooooo. I warned them, Imonoyama Nokoru made friends only with those who could protect themselves. To top things off Suoh was from the Takamura clan. Yumane Yuji knew this!
Well, this screwed up my plans. I'd hoped to have both Suoh and Akira off the campus tonight. I knew I would only be able to completely compromise campus security only once. I was already pushing my luck as it was. Ever since Yudaiji had hacked into the system the already tight security had become ever tighter.
I looked to my one prize of the night. Ijyuin Akira was bound and blinded folded in case the tranquillizer dart should happen to wear off early.
Oh well. Just one would be enough of a threat to keep Nokoru motivated, and enough of a threat to get me what I wanted.
My fingers flew over the keyboard as I wrote in the last part of my program. Then, with the push of a button, I downloaded it into the CLAMP campus' network... and all hell broke loose.
Alarms went off all over the campus, rousing people from their sleep, causing mass confusion. The security system locked all exits tight... all except one. I disengaged my laptop from the system, closed it tight, and nodded at my men. One of them picked up Akira and slung him over his shoulder. Another opened the remaining exit for me. I jogged through, followed closely by my men. There was no need to worry about the guards, for we had dispatched them already.
"Puppet-sama!"
I half turned and saw Yuji running towards us. Behind him was Suoh. I gestured for Yuji to hurry, as I really was not ready for an encounter with an angry Takamura. He put on an extra burst of speed and the door was slammed shut behind him. I heard the sound of it locking down.
Heh. My program worked perfectly. One time through the exit and then it gets locked down like all the others. Still there was no need to dawdle. I would not end this night with a stupid mistake.
As I got into the waiting limousine I contemplated the missed opportunity. We might have taken Suoh. Of course failure at that point would have meant capture. No, it had been best to leave.
Of course had the plan gone as it was supposed to...
I glared at Yuji. What a disgrace.
The next morning.
Imonoyama Nokoru;
There was a letter sitting on my desk. I looked at it with a mixture of hope and dread. Dread because of what I feared it contained. Hope because there might be some clue within that would lead us to Akira.
With Suoh standing beside me I grabbed my letter opener and slit it open. Out fell a Polaroid and a short note.
I looked at the Polaroid and my fists clenched. I handed it to Suoh and went to look out the window. I watched Suoh's reaction in the reflection. It was much like my own. His fists clenched, and he seemed to barely keep himself from crumpling the Polaroid. He swore.
"He was in sight last night. If I had just been a little faster..." he berated himself.
"It's not your fault, Suoh." No, it was my fault. I turned from the window and took the Polaroid again. This was what came of being friends with me. It wasn't the best picture in the world, but one could still clearly make out what it was. Akira was chained to a wall, unconscious and there was blood on his arm, face, and shirt. And it was all my fault.
I was too selfish. In the past though it was true that I was loved by many, I had no friends. What an empty existence that was. Friendship was such a wonderful joy that I had discovered first with Suoh, then again with Akira. I had figured that if I made friends with those who could protect themselves I could enjoy that friendship without anyone getting hurt. What a price to pay for being wrong.
But there would be time to think more on this after Akira had been rescued. Time was ticking away. I was about to suggest what we should do next when there was a short knock on the door followed by Ohkawa Kaichou.
She didn't exactly storm into the room, but she was clearly mad. She gave the room a quick once over and seemed to get angrier at what she saw. I quickly tried to hide the Polaroid, I could not let Utako see this.
Ohkawa Utako;
As I gave a short knock on the door I briefly thought to myself that I ought to have some sort of excuse for being here. Then I opened the door and it was a little late to be thinking things like that.
I kept myself composed, making sure no one would see how upset I was. How dare Akira stand me up... and on our anniversary too!! I quickly scanned the room and saw that he wasn't there. How infuriating! Not only does he stand me up, but he doesn't even have the decency to be here when I come!!?
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Imonoyama Kaichou hide something behind his back, and I turned my attention on him.
"Where is Ijyuin-sama? I have to talk to him." I decided to go with the direct approach.
Suddenly both Takamura-sama and Imonoyama Kaichou looked very nervous and upset. And Imonoyama Kaichou still had whatever it was behind his back. I was sick of these games! I was tired (no wonder after staying up ALL NIGHT waiting for SOMEONE)! I was cranky!
I marched behind Imonoyama Kaichou and grabbed a Polaroid out of his hand. Takamura-sama and Imonoyama Kaichou became panicky and Imonoyama Kaichou tried to grab the Polaroid back. I skirted out of range and looked down at it.
I-impossible... The Polaroid fluttered the ground and I stumbled back. It... it couldn't be. I closed my eyes but the image of my Akira, chained and bleeding still remained. I opened my eyes and turned to face Takamura-sama and Imonoyama Kaichou.
"What happened?" I heard myself ask, a tremor in my voice.
"Ijyuin was kidnapped and taken off campus last night," Takamura-sama answered me, his voice grave.
"How do you know he's off campus? He might still be here," I said with some amount of hope in my voice. If he was here then it would be easier to find him.
Takamura-sama looked away, his expression grim. "I saw them take him off."
"And you didn't do anything?!"
"Suoh did all he could. Someone hacked into the security systems, and made it so that they could get out but no one else could."
So that's what had caused all the ruckus last night.
"Of course. Gomen Takamura-sama." I looked at the two of them and asked, "So what are we going to do about this?"
They looked at me in shock. Imonoyama Kaichou hesitantly asked, "Surely, Ohkawa Kaichou, you don't plan on getting involved?"
I gave him my fiercest glare. "How dare you even ask such a thing! No matter what it takes we will get Akira-kun back!"
We will...
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Poor Utako...
Lame titles abound! Despite this, though, chapter two is finished.
The search for Akira begins in the next chapter... Personally I pity
Puppet master if Utako manages to get her hands on her.
But while all this goes on, what's happening to Akira? Stay tuned
to find out!
-- Written by Koneko, originally in 2000, but with some tweaking done to bring this version in July 14, 2001.