Countering Fate
Chapter One
Hiyono's eyes shot open. It was still pretty dark outside so she was sure it was somewhere around midnight, but for some reason she was wide awake. What woke her up? Surely her body couldn't be feeling rested. She only got to bed at ten thirty.
A creek from her hallway caused the honey haired girl to huddle deeper into her covers. Now she knew why she was awake. That sound. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the sound of foot steps grew steadily closer to her room. Hiyono's breath came in sharp, shallow gasps that she tried to quiet as she carefully reached out of her bed to grasp the phone she kept on her night stand.
After pulling it under her comforter she stifled the speaker with her hand and quickly turned down the volume so that none of the beeps or other sounds would break the silence and alert the intruder that she was awake. Once it was silent Hiyono quickly scrolled down the list of contacts until she found the one she was looking for. Her finger trembled as it hovered over the send button.
Maybe she was just being paranoid and it was just the sound of the foundation settling.
The sound of footsteps ended outside of her door and the handle began to turn.
Hiyono unconsciously let out a sharp gasp and her finger slammed hard onto the send button.
'Please Ayumu.' She thought. 'Please, please, answer.'
Just then the door swung open. Hiyono took one look at the intruder and did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.
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The shrill sound of his phone jerked Ayumu from his sleep. He groaned and rolled to his side, blindly reaching out to grab the offending object. In his half asleep state Ayumu could only manage one coherent thought.
'If it's not that girl I'm throwing it across the room.'
He looked at the id and groaned again.
"Maybe I should throw it anyway…"
Of course he didn't.
"What?" Ayumu said as he flipped the phone open.
The only answer he received was a sharp scream.
Ayumu's eyes went wide and he shot up throwing his covers aside.
"Hey! Hey what's going on? Answer me you idiot! What's wrong?" Sweat broke out along his forehead at the sound of a struggle and then her voice cried out, distant and terrified.
"Ayumu! Help me!"
"Hiyono!"
Silence. Ayumu's heart pounded as his grip tightened on the phone, nearly causing it to crack from the pressure. After several tense seconds he couldn't stand it any longer.
"Hey. You better answer me you idiot. I'm not one for jokes so late."
Nothing.
"Hey! I said answer me!!"
Another tense silence filled the line until the sound of someone lifting the phone reached Ayumu's ears. However the voice on the other end wasn't the one that he wanted to hear.
"You fool. You were warned to stay away from the Blade Children. This is retribution."
Ayumu's eyes went wide. "No way. How…how are you still alive…?"
"What makes you so certain I am?"
"Don't mess with me! What did you do to Hiyono?"
A deep chuckle cut through the line and Ayumu winced at the sheer hatred it concealed.
"Why don't you figure it out Narumi? Use that logic you are so fond of. If you can in the face of such dire consequences."
Ayumu's body trembled. "Consequences…"
"That's right. If you want to know, then I suggest that you start looking from the beginning."
Before Ayumu could say anything further, the line went dead. His eyes were wide as he stared down at the phone in his grasp. Sweat coated his body in a sticky film as bile rose hot and sour in his throat.
How had this happened? Why didn't he see it? Where were Hiyono's parents? Didn't they know what was going on? How could they just stand by and let her be taken?
His stomach lurched and Ayumu threw himself from his bed as he raced for the bathroom. The sound of his retching filled the small apartment and a quick rustling could be heard the next room as Madoka was pulled violently from her sleep.
After she managed to connect what she was hearing Madoka grabbed her robe and belted it tightly around her waist as she rushed into the bathroom to gently rub Ayumu's back as his stomach finally began to settle.
"Ayu-kun? What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"
Ayumu didn't hear her as he ran the back of his fist across his lips. The sound of Hiyono's frantic cry for help shot through his mind once again and his trembling worsened. His eyes were wide and filled with a lifeless horror that caused Madoka to almost shrink back in fear.
"A-Ayumu? Did you have a nightmare? Was it about Kiyotaka-san?"
No response.
"Was it about Hiyono-chan?"
Ayumu jerked at the sound of Hiyono's name and he clapped a hand to his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from getting sick again.
Getting over her surprise, Madoka grasped Ayumu tightly by his shoulders.
"Tell me what it was about Ayu-kun. Let me help."
"H-Hi-yono…"
"Calm down Ayumu and think logically." Madoka said. "It was just a dream. Hiyono is at her house. Nothing is wrong with her."
His mind was sluggish and none of the thoughts racing through it managed to penetrate his brain. Except one.
"Rutherford."
"Rutherford?" Madoka said. "You mean Eyes Rutherford? Was he in your dream too?"
Ayumu didn't respond. Instead he forcefully shoved his sister-in-law aside and stumbled as quickly as he could back to his room. His eyes jerked around franticly until they landed on the cell phone he had dropped on his floor in his rush to the bathroom.
Faster then lightning he grasped the phone from the floor and shifted through his miniscule contact list until he reached the one he wanted.
"You better answer the phone Rutherford. I don't care what time it is."
"Ayumu," Madoka said as she appeared in his door way. "Who are you calling? Don't tell me you're calling Hiyono-chan so late at night. It was just a nightmare. You're taking it too far."
Ayumu just ignored her and tapped his finger anxiously against his leg as the phone continued to ring. After what seemed ages the ring stopped and a distinctly British accent filled the line.
"Yes."
"Hiyono's gone."
"…." Silence filled the connection until Eyes spoke again. "Meet me at the fountain square in central park in half an hour."
"I'll be there."
"Wha-? Be where? Ayumu it's three in the morning! You aren't going anywhere. Now get back to bed and stop overreacting."
Ayumu sighed. "Madoka."
The darkness of his voice caused Madoka to stiffen a bit but instead of being intimidated she just lifted her chin.
"What?"
Ayumu's face lifted just enough for him to be able to look his sister-in-law in the eyes. "Shut up."
His eyes were filled with liquid fire but his voice was coated with dry ice. Fear struck her deep and she backed down a step as Ayumu stood and began shuffling around his room for some clothes. Without caring that Madoka was still standing in his door way Ayumu stripped off his shirt and replaced it with a black turtle neck. He also pulled off his pajama pants and slipped on a loose pair of pants that allowed him plenty of room to move.
"I'm leaving." He said as he brushed past the motionless Madoka. "Don't follow me."
Madoka didn't make a sound as Ayumu grabbed his coat and slipped on his shoes. However once the door finally slammed closed behind him, Madoka couldn't stop her knees from giving out as she slid, unceremoniously, to Ayumu's bedroom floor.
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Thirty minutes later found Ayumu slumped against a park bench in front of the fountain. Both Eyes and Rio were already there but they decided to wait for Kousuke and Ryouko before Ayumu explained what was going on.
"Hey, sorry we took so long. Kousuke was a pain to wake up."
"Come on Ryouko. You can't say you were thrilled to get a call at three in the morning either."
"Shut up," Ayumu said. "We have more important things to deal with."
"Oh please Narumi-otouto. To me, there isn't anything more important then getting some sleep."
Rio scowled up at Kousuke. "You're so pathetic Kousuke. If that's how you really feel then why did you even come?"
"Hey. I didn't come because I wanted to. I would still be asleep if Ryouko hadn't shown up to drag me out of—."
"Hiyono's been taken."
The entire group fell silent as they quickly turned their attention to Ayumu.
"It was the Hunters."
"Hunters!" Kousuke said.
"But why would they want Yuizaki-san?" Ryouko said. "She isn't one of the Blade Children so it doesn't make any sense for them to take her."
Ayumu's head dropped to the ground. "Kanzaka."
At that, even Eyes was surprised.
"Hey! Don't screw around with us Narumi! We all know that Kanzaka…died…" Kousuke said. "He couldn't have taken jou-chan."
Ayumu sighed. "I don't get it either, Asazuki. But it was definitely his voice on the other line."
"What did he say?" Ryouko said.
A shiver slid down Ayumu's spine as he looked up at the others, his eyes once again holding the same lifeless look they had back in his room.
"He said. It was retribution. For staying involved with you." Ayumu rubbed a hand across his face. "The last time I saw him, before that night, he told me that if I was going to associate with you I would be treated in the same manor that you all were. I didn't even stop to think that his threat would include Hiyono too. Looks like…I really screwed up. Huh?" His hand tightened around his face. "I…I couldn't…protect her…I couldn't…do anything…"
"But what about her parents?" Rio said. "I can't believe that they wouldn't notice someone in their house. Or are they the type of people that don't care? What do you think Narumi-otouto?"
Ayumu shrugged and dropped his hand. "I've never met her parents. Actually, I've never even been inside her place. Whenever I say I'll walk her home she either says no or she only lets me take her part of the way."
"Perhaps she has no parents."
Ayumu's eyes widened. "What?"
"Think about it," Eyes said. "She never let you see her home and, as far as I understand, she has never mentioned her family to any of us."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean Jou-chan's an orphan or nothing." Kousuke said. "Maybe they're just out of town or something."
"In either case we should go to her home." Eyes said. "If there is even a miniscule possibility of a clue to this mystery it would be there that we should look first."
"I agree," Ayumu said as he stood up from the bench and dusted off his pants. "But I also have a request."
"What is it Narumi-otouto?" Rio said.
"We can't involve anyone else. Especially not the police or Madoka. Agreed?"
Kousuke rolled his eyes. "That's all you had to say? Idiot. We wouldn't have told anyone anyway."
Ryouko elbowed the red head hard in the side. "He means that we promise not to say anything."
A very slight smile tugged at the corner of Ayumu's lips. "Thanks." He said before his face once again returned to its serous neutrality. "Let's go."
End Chapter One
Kaliea: Hiya! I found spiral on sale at Best Buy and thought, hey, that looks interesting. I was blown away! The mysteries, the story, and the characters were all very well done but the ending totally sucked. So I'm continuing where the anime left off with a few little twists of my own. I hope you enjoy! And don't forget to review!