The Book Part Twelve
Title The Book
Author Hamburger Jack
Rating R
Warnings Suggestive themes, Suggested Violence
Disclaimer Konomi-sensei owns Prince of Tennis. Not me. Boo.
Notacias I'm actually still actively writing this story. It's up to seventeen parts. D; All are tragically long and epic. XD But what AU isn't?
Yukimura slapped Yanagi across the face as soon as he got close enough.
"Where have you been? Where is Kirihara? There's a maniac back at the mansion walking through walls and killing my men!"
Yanagi shoved the cooler at Yukimura. "There."
"What is this!" he tossed it over to Sanada who caught it.
"What's left of Kirihara."
Sanada, who hadn't heard, was looking inside. The ice had melted and what he laid eyes on was a melting, bloody mess. He dropped it, covering his mouth.
"What? What is it?" Yukimura went over, stepping away quickly. "What is -who did this?"
"Atobe Keigo."
Yukimura balled up his fists. "You let them -."
"We were captured."
"And how is that possible if you can see everything!" He approached Yanagi, his lips pressed in a thin line. To say he was "livid" was mild.
"You can kill me if you want, I don't care." He looked at Sanada. "They're coming here. If you stay, you die." He walked away then, Yukimura watching him.
"Yagyuu is coming here! Marui and Jackal will defend me!"
Yanagi paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. He just took a breath and left.
Yukimura looked at Sanada who was opening a panel on the wall. It moved and behind it was an assortment of weapons. He took down a sword and looked over at Sanada.
"Yanagi is a coward. I will never betray you."
"He says you will die."
"He isn't a psychic. Just a man with good eyes. And they can be fooled." Sanada opened the sheath a bit, looking at the blade. He shut it again and came over to the man, looking him in the eyes.
"I'm not like the others, I can't do anything like they can. But I am here and they are not."
"I should have never -."
"Never. Never question yourself Seiichi, I've seen you...come back from the brink of death. I'll cut them down. This Kite isn't immortal. He's just a man with dangerous hands and if i cut them off, I can cut off his head."
Yukimura reached out then and cupped his face. "I believe in you."
Sanada could feel his heart beating faster and he leaned in slowly, Yukimura continuing to look in his eyes. His heart was beating in his ears and his blood was rushing and suddenly, he couldn't feel the sword he was holding. He looked down, he was still holding it but -
"A gift." Yukimura whispered. "You can't be stopped if you can't feel anything. I'll wait for you here." Yukimura walked away then and Sanada stood there, looking at him.
He couldn't feel anything now, but now he realized neither did Yukimura.
****
****
"You HELPED him?"
"I can't ignore the suffering of -."
"Ohtori-kun, I expressly told you not to -."
"Kite-san helped me first! Okay?" Choutarou looked at Atobe. He was unrelenting. "He helped me first when I didn't know what to do, what direction to go. He made me realize I could do great things with this power and yes, thank you for paying for medical school and getting me a job at the hospital -." he looked at Oshitari, "Thank you for that as well, but ...they needed help."
Atobe pressed his fingers to his temple. "This whole...thing...is giving me a headache." he looked at Kabaji. "We haven't even...had a service for Jirou. I've only thought of revenge." He looked at Ohtori. "What did Kite say he was doing?"
"...he didn't say."
"So, what did Kite say he was doing?"
Ohtori looked at Kabaji, who nodded, and spoke up. "Going to kill Yukimura."
Atobe got up and went to Oshitari. "Get someone over to that hotel. Get that book."
"Are you sure that's smart? If he finds out it's missing he's sure to come looking for all the usual suspects."
"I don't care about that right now. Afterward, we'll deal with it."
"I'll send Hiyoshi then."
"And Ohtori." Atobe looked at him. "Surely you might have an idea where he keeps things like that?"
"Yes..."
Atobe nodded and left the room, Kabaji following.
****
****
Tachibana and Chitose walked in through the front door. They were greeted by the receptionist who asked them who they needed to see.
"Is Kite-san here?" Tachibana asked.
"No, he's out. Would you like to leave him a message?"
Chitose looked at her and waved his hand. "No, but you can take a nap."
The woman slumped over and was fast asleep. Tachibana looked at him. "Was that neccessary?"
"...please tell me you realize the coolest part of being what we are is the Jedi tricks right?"
Tachibana smiled and shook his head. He turned around and waved. A group of people came through the door and he spoke to them all.
"We have one goal and that's to find the book. Kenya, Kamio, do some speed scouting. Gin and Ishida, if we encounter any aggressive force, please counter it." Tachibana looked at Yuuta. "Do you remember the way upstairs?"
Yuuta sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I just want to go home..."
****
****
Niou pressed the intercom. "It's Niou, let me in."
He waited a few seconds, then shrugged. He snapped and moved away, Jackal putting his foot through the re-enforced steel door. He then widened the hole and stepped through, amazed to see someone on the other side.
The man was dead. His body was pale and lifeless. Sitting in the chairs that lined the hall were Chinen and Akutsu. Akutsu was smoking and Chinen had his legs crossed.
Kite came through the hole. "You could have called."
Akutsu blew smoke into the air. "Don't you like surprises?"
Kite didn't answer him, just walked past. "Put that thing out."
Akutsu chuckled and put it out on his arm, Niou wincing. The flesh healed over and the discarded butt hit the dead body. He got up and Chinen did as well.
Kite turned to look at Marui who was melting the door back together. "Where would Yukimura be?"
"In the back. It's the main building. He likes having things set up so that no matter what it takes an awfully long time to get to him. Japanese mansions can be so ridiculous sometimes..." he backed away from the door and came closer. "Yanagi probably already knows we're here so we'll probably have to...go through a lot of people."
"There aren't that many people here." Chinen said. "When we killed this guy, he didn't didn't even have any sort of radio."
Jackal seemed bothered by that. "That's strange. Who's he got defending him then?"
"Kirihara?" Niou said. "If it's Kirihara we have a problem."
"Who's that?" Kite asked.
Marui pushed hair behind his ear. "After you left, before you left, do you remember them talking about this wonder kid? Experiment 6279? Apparently they'd injected his embryo with the same serum they were giving Yagyuu and Niou and a few other people to see if they could do it pre-birth and well... for him it worked. Those fuckers killed a lot of babies..."
Jackal sighed. "Kirihara...has no sense of guilt. He's an extremely powerful ...psychic I guess, but he has no focus. He can't do anything small, it has to be big. Things won't just move if he gets angry, they'll explode. If its people...the results are terrible. ...He killed his entire family when he was a little kid over a tantrum."
Akutsu chuckled and Kite looked horrified.
"They told him he couldn't go see Yukimura. He was pretty torn up, but then...Yukimura did something to him...that was after we escaped. The...you know." Jackal shrugged.
"Then let's be careful." Kite said, walking ahead.
At the end of the hall, they split up. Jackal, Marui, and Niou went one way, Akutsu, Chinen and Kite went the other. There were two separate halls that led to the main building at the back of the compound. In the middle of the grounds was an expansive garden. Kite decided for himself, after things blew over, he'd take over the property.
He was sure Mizuki would like it.
****
****
Kenya was back before Kamio and they both reported the same thing: No visual sight of it on the public floors.
"Did anyone see you?" Tachibana asked.
"No." Kamio answered as the alarm went off.
"I thought you -."
Dan appeared before them. "I knew it desu! I knew I saw something! Kite-san-senpai isn't going to like this!"
"Get hi -."
Dan disappeared again and Tachibana headed for the elevator, looking at Chitose. "Call Gin, tell him we have to get to the top floor, no matter what."
"No matter what?"
"No fatalities."
****
Choutarou sighed when he heard the alarm, Hiyoshi not looking away from the lock he was picking. Oshitari looked at his watch.
"Does Kite have some sort of...intercom?"
"Yes. Are you going to do what I think you are?"
"Of course I am." Oshitari smiled and Choutarou led him over to Kite's desk. He pointed at the device.
"This button is reception, these are for specific floors, and this one is the whole building. He uses it when he wants to announce a birthday or if someone needs Dan."
"I don't understand..."
"Kite's office is a good homing place for Dan. He remembers it because 'Kite-san has cool swords desu'." Choutarou shrugged and Oshitari sat down.
"Oh...I am lovin' this chair."
"...Senpai, please."
"Well, alright. Cover your ears then."
Oshitari pressed the button and leaned towards the speaker. "Testing...testing. This is Oshitari Yuushi and I am speaking directly to You."
**
Downstairs, almost everyone stopped in their tracks. They all seemed to be listening and the voice continued.
"I'm sure you're tired today, so just take some time to sit down. Just sit down."
People sat where ever they were, some people spilling coffee, a few people falling downstairs.
"And now that you're all comfortable, why don't you just close your eyes? Close your eyes and go to sleep."
And people fell over and went to sleep.
**
Tachibana was leaning on the wall in the elevator, the door opening slowly. Chitose walked out, rubbing his forehead and Tachibana took a few breaths.
"He...is very strong." Tachibana said. "What did he say his name was?"
"I can't remember. That must be apart of his power." Chitose staggered over to chair. "I feel like sleeping, this is a bad thing."
Tachibana closed his eyes and began to take measured breaths. When he opened his eyes, the dot on his forehead was glowing.
"He's strong, but not strong enough."
Gin moved his brother over to a couch. They were on the seventh floor. So far, no one had offered any resistance and now, no one would. They were all very much asleep. Even his brother.
Tetsu was strong enough, but there was something about that voice...
**
Oshitari got off the intercom and Hiyoshi unlocked the door. He got up and went over to Chotarou, where he was leaning against the wall.
"Wake up now, come on."
Chotarou woke up suddenly. "What happened? Oshitari-senpai...come on!"
"I told you to cover your ears. Let's go."
They walked into Kite's library and began to look.
"Does the book have a title?" Hiyoshi asked, getting a ladder.
"I...don't know." Chotarou looked through stacks on the near by desks.
Oshitari flipped through a magazine. "Kite have guards that are gonna come or something because I really don't want to be shot."
"I won't shoot you desu!" Dan declared, pointing at him. "But I am...gonna tell on you!"
Oshitari looked at him. "Dan, go home."
"But...but you're stealing desu! There are guys coming up here and they look really scary!"
Choutarou looked at Dan. "What people?"
"Fuji-san's friends. All those weird psychic people."
Choutarou cursed. "I can't believe it...Dan, do you know what the book looks like?"
Dan shrugged. "But I'll bet it's big...and epic looking desu! I mean, It can change the world!"
Hiyoshi picked up a big book and blew dust off of it. "This is a dictionary."
"It can change the world desu!" Dan declared. "Knowledge is power!"
Oshitari looked at the boy. "Dan...shut up."
"Oshitari-san is so grumpy. Did Mukahi-san not kiss you good-bye?"
Oshitari took him by the arm, escorted him out and shut the library door. Of course, Dan was back in three seconds, sitting at the desk. He was spinning in the chair.
"I should call Kite-san." Dan got out his phone. "He'll want to know you're robbing him desu!" Oshitari started to speak and Dan blinked away.
Hiyoshi sighed. "Way to go."
****
****
Marui slowed his run when he saw Yanagi at the end of the hall. Jackal came behind him and Niou after that. Yanagi was leaning against the wall and staring at the ground.
"...is Kirihara in the next room or something?"
Yanagi shook his head. "You can check if you'd like. ...Akaya isn't here. Anymore."
Niou opened the sliding door. It was full of dead men. "Whoa, did you kill these guys?"
He didn't answer, he just leaned off the wall. "I take it...you took Kite to Yukimura?"
"We told him where he was, yes. Where's the kid?" Jackal asked.
"He's dead." Yanagi looked Jackal dead in the eyes. "The job...Yukimura asked us to do ...involved killing someone, of course. However, we killed the wrong person. Atobe Keigo got his revenge to say the least."
Marui rubbed the back of his neck. "But...it's Kirihara, how come he didn't just -."
"He's got an assistant who neutralized his powers."
They were silent and Jackal spoke up. "They're going to kill Yukimura."
"...I don't care." Yanagi said.
And the silence that followed was more than assent.
~TBC~
Author Hamburger Jack
Rating R
Warnings Suggestive themes, Suggested Violence
Disclaimer Konomi-sensei owns Prince of Tennis. Not me. Boo.
Notacias I'm actually still actively writing this story. It's up to seventeen parts. D; All are tragically long and epic. XD But what AU isn't?
Yukimura slapped Yanagi across the face as soon as he got close enough.
"Where have you been? Where is Kirihara? There's a maniac back at the mansion walking through walls and killing my men!"
Yanagi shoved the cooler at Yukimura. "There."
"What is this!" he tossed it over to Sanada who caught it.
"What's left of Kirihara."
Sanada, who hadn't heard, was looking inside. The ice had melted and what he laid eyes on was a melting, bloody mess. He dropped it, covering his mouth.
"What? What is it?" Yukimura went over, stepping away quickly. "What is -who did this?"
"Atobe Keigo."
Yukimura balled up his fists. "You let them -."
"We were captured."
"And how is that possible if you can see everything!" He approached Yanagi, his lips pressed in a thin line. To say he was "livid" was mild.
"You can kill me if you want, I don't care." He looked at Sanada. "They're coming here. If you stay, you die." He walked away then, Yukimura watching him.
"Yagyuu is coming here! Marui and Jackal will defend me!"
Yanagi paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. He just took a breath and left.
Yukimura looked at Sanada who was opening a panel on the wall. It moved and behind it was an assortment of weapons. He took down a sword and looked over at Sanada.
"Yanagi is a coward. I will never betray you."
"He says you will die."
"He isn't a psychic. Just a man with good eyes. And they can be fooled." Sanada opened the sheath a bit, looking at the blade. He shut it again and came over to the man, looking him in the eyes.
"I'm not like the others, I can't do anything like they can. But I am here and they are not."
"I should have never -."
"Never. Never question yourself Seiichi, I've seen you...come back from the brink of death. I'll cut them down. This Kite isn't immortal. He's just a man with dangerous hands and if i cut them off, I can cut off his head."
Yukimura reached out then and cupped his face. "I believe in you."
Sanada could feel his heart beating faster and he leaned in slowly, Yukimura continuing to look in his eyes. His heart was beating in his ears and his blood was rushing and suddenly, he couldn't feel the sword he was holding. He looked down, he was still holding it but -
"A gift." Yukimura whispered. "You can't be stopped if you can't feel anything. I'll wait for you here." Yukimura walked away then and Sanada stood there, looking at him.
He couldn't feel anything now, but now he realized neither did Yukimura.
****
****
"You HELPED him?"
"I can't ignore the suffering of -."
"Ohtori-kun, I expressly told you not to -."
"Kite-san helped me first! Okay?" Choutarou looked at Atobe. He was unrelenting. "He helped me first when I didn't know what to do, what direction to go. He made me realize I could do great things with this power and yes, thank you for paying for medical school and getting me a job at the hospital -." he looked at Oshitari, "Thank you for that as well, but ...they needed help."
Atobe pressed his fingers to his temple. "This whole...thing...is giving me a headache." he looked at Kabaji. "We haven't even...had a service for Jirou. I've only thought of revenge." He looked at Ohtori. "What did Kite say he was doing?"
"...he didn't say."
"So, what did Kite say he was doing?"
Ohtori looked at Kabaji, who nodded, and spoke up. "Going to kill Yukimura."
Atobe got up and went to Oshitari. "Get someone over to that hotel. Get that book."
"Are you sure that's smart? If he finds out it's missing he's sure to come looking for all the usual suspects."
"I don't care about that right now. Afterward, we'll deal with it."
"I'll send Hiyoshi then."
"And Ohtori." Atobe looked at him. "Surely you might have an idea where he keeps things like that?"
"Yes..."
Atobe nodded and left the room, Kabaji following.
****
****
Tachibana and Chitose walked in through the front door. They were greeted by the receptionist who asked them who they needed to see.
"Is Kite-san here?" Tachibana asked.
"No, he's out. Would you like to leave him a message?"
Chitose looked at her and waved his hand. "No, but you can take a nap."
The woman slumped over and was fast asleep. Tachibana looked at him. "Was that neccessary?"
"...please tell me you realize the coolest part of being what we are is the Jedi tricks right?"
Tachibana smiled and shook his head. He turned around and waved. A group of people came through the door and he spoke to them all.
"We have one goal and that's to find the book. Kenya, Kamio, do some speed scouting. Gin and Ishida, if we encounter any aggressive force, please counter it." Tachibana looked at Yuuta. "Do you remember the way upstairs?"
Yuuta sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I just want to go home..."
****
****
Niou pressed the intercom. "It's Niou, let me in."
He waited a few seconds, then shrugged. He snapped and moved away, Jackal putting his foot through the re-enforced steel door. He then widened the hole and stepped through, amazed to see someone on the other side.
The man was dead. His body was pale and lifeless. Sitting in the chairs that lined the hall were Chinen and Akutsu. Akutsu was smoking and Chinen had his legs crossed.
Kite came through the hole. "You could have called."
Akutsu blew smoke into the air. "Don't you like surprises?"
Kite didn't answer him, just walked past. "Put that thing out."
Akutsu chuckled and put it out on his arm, Niou wincing. The flesh healed over and the discarded butt hit the dead body. He got up and Chinen did as well.
Kite turned to look at Marui who was melting the door back together. "Where would Yukimura be?"
"In the back. It's the main building. He likes having things set up so that no matter what it takes an awfully long time to get to him. Japanese mansions can be so ridiculous sometimes..." he backed away from the door and came closer. "Yanagi probably already knows we're here so we'll probably have to...go through a lot of people."
"There aren't that many people here." Chinen said. "When we killed this guy, he didn't didn't even have any sort of radio."
Jackal seemed bothered by that. "That's strange. Who's he got defending him then?"
"Kirihara?" Niou said. "If it's Kirihara we have a problem."
"Who's that?" Kite asked.
Marui pushed hair behind his ear. "After you left, before you left, do you remember them talking about this wonder kid? Experiment 6279? Apparently they'd injected his embryo with the same serum they were giving Yagyuu and Niou and a few other people to see if they could do it pre-birth and well... for him it worked. Those fuckers killed a lot of babies..."
Jackal sighed. "Kirihara...has no sense of guilt. He's an extremely powerful ...psychic I guess, but he has no focus. He can't do anything small, it has to be big. Things won't just move if he gets angry, they'll explode. If its people...the results are terrible. ...He killed his entire family when he was a little kid over a tantrum."
Akutsu chuckled and Kite looked horrified.
"They told him he couldn't go see Yukimura. He was pretty torn up, but then...Yukimura did something to him...that was after we escaped. The...you know." Jackal shrugged.
"Then let's be careful." Kite said, walking ahead.
At the end of the hall, they split up. Jackal, Marui, and Niou went one way, Akutsu, Chinen and Kite went the other. There were two separate halls that led to the main building at the back of the compound. In the middle of the grounds was an expansive garden. Kite decided for himself, after things blew over, he'd take over the property.
He was sure Mizuki would like it.
****
****
Kenya was back before Kamio and they both reported the same thing: No visual sight of it on the public floors.
"Did anyone see you?" Tachibana asked.
"No." Kamio answered as the alarm went off.
"I thought you -."
Dan appeared before them. "I knew it desu! I knew I saw something! Kite-san-senpai isn't going to like this!"
"Get hi -."
Dan disappeared again and Tachibana headed for the elevator, looking at Chitose. "Call Gin, tell him we have to get to the top floor, no matter what."
"No matter what?"
"No fatalities."
****
Choutarou sighed when he heard the alarm, Hiyoshi not looking away from the lock he was picking. Oshitari looked at his watch.
"Does Kite have some sort of...intercom?"
"Yes. Are you going to do what I think you are?"
"Of course I am." Oshitari smiled and Choutarou led him over to Kite's desk. He pointed at the device.
"This button is reception, these are for specific floors, and this one is the whole building. He uses it when he wants to announce a birthday or if someone needs Dan."
"I don't understand..."
"Kite's office is a good homing place for Dan. He remembers it because 'Kite-san has cool swords desu'." Choutarou shrugged and Oshitari sat down.
"Oh...I am lovin' this chair."
"...Senpai, please."
"Well, alright. Cover your ears then."
Oshitari pressed the button and leaned towards the speaker. "Testing...testing. This is Oshitari Yuushi and I am speaking directly to You."
**
Downstairs, almost everyone stopped in their tracks. They all seemed to be listening and the voice continued.
"I'm sure you're tired today, so just take some time to sit down. Just sit down."
People sat where ever they were, some people spilling coffee, a few people falling downstairs.
"And now that you're all comfortable, why don't you just close your eyes? Close your eyes and go to sleep."
And people fell over and went to sleep.
**
Tachibana was leaning on the wall in the elevator, the door opening slowly. Chitose walked out, rubbing his forehead and Tachibana took a few breaths.
"He...is very strong." Tachibana said. "What did he say his name was?"
"I can't remember. That must be apart of his power." Chitose staggered over to chair. "I feel like sleeping, this is a bad thing."
Tachibana closed his eyes and began to take measured breaths. When he opened his eyes, the dot on his forehead was glowing.
"He's strong, but not strong enough."
Gin moved his brother over to a couch. They were on the seventh floor. So far, no one had offered any resistance and now, no one would. They were all very much asleep. Even his brother.
Tetsu was strong enough, but there was something about that voice...
**
Oshitari got off the intercom and Hiyoshi unlocked the door. He got up and went over to Chotarou, where he was leaning against the wall.
"Wake up now, come on."
Chotarou woke up suddenly. "What happened? Oshitari-senpai...come on!"
"I told you to cover your ears. Let's go."
They walked into Kite's library and began to look.
"Does the book have a title?" Hiyoshi asked, getting a ladder.
"I...don't know." Chotarou looked through stacks on the near by desks.
Oshitari flipped through a magazine. "Kite have guards that are gonna come or something because I really don't want to be shot."
"I won't shoot you desu!" Dan declared, pointing at him. "But I am...gonna tell on you!"
Oshitari looked at him. "Dan, go home."
"But...but you're stealing desu! There are guys coming up here and they look really scary!"
Choutarou looked at Dan. "What people?"
"Fuji-san's friends. All those weird psychic people."
Choutarou cursed. "I can't believe it...Dan, do you know what the book looks like?"
Dan shrugged. "But I'll bet it's big...and epic looking desu! I mean, It can change the world!"
Hiyoshi picked up a big book and blew dust off of it. "This is a dictionary."
"It can change the world desu!" Dan declared. "Knowledge is power!"
Oshitari looked at the boy. "Dan...shut up."
"Oshitari-san is so grumpy. Did Mukahi-san not kiss you good-bye?"
Oshitari took him by the arm, escorted him out and shut the library door. Of course, Dan was back in three seconds, sitting at the desk. He was spinning in the chair.
"I should call Kite-san." Dan got out his phone. "He'll want to know you're robbing him desu!" Oshitari started to speak and Dan blinked away.
Hiyoshi sighed. "Way to go."
****
****
Marui slowed his run when he saw Yanagi at the end of the hall. Jackal came behind him and Niou after that. Yanagi was leaning against the wall and staring at the ground.
"...is Kirihara in the next room or something?"
Yanagi shook his head. "You can check if you'd like. ...Akaya isn't here. Anymore."
Niou opened the sliding door. It was full of dead men. "Whoa, did you kill these guys?"
He didn't answer, he just leaned off the wall. "I take it...you took Kite to Yukimura?"
"We told him where he was, yes. Where's the kid?" Jackal asked.
"He's dead." Yanagi looked Jackal dead in the eyes. "The job...Yukimura asked us to do ...involved killing someone, of course. However, we killed the wrong person. Atobe Keigo got his revenge to say the least."
Marui rubbed the back of his neck. "But...it's Kirihara, how come he didn't just -."
"He's got an assistant who neutralized his powers."
They were silent and Jackal spoke up. "They're going to kill Yukimura."
"...I don't care." Yanagi said.
And the silence that followed was more than assent.
~TBC~