Seeing Stars By Jason Ulloa Original story by Moonsong Continued with her permission. Chapter 12 Hotaru sighed contentedly and leaned her head against Ryoku's chest after sharing a long, deep kiss with him. It felt good having his arms around her. "Perhaps you'd like to go inside, out of the dark," Ryoku suggested as he gazed down at her. She didn't want to move - it felt so good just being in his arms - but it was dark and maybe they should go inside. Dad must be wondering when she was going to come home. Might as well let him know she was home. "All right," she said, leaving his embrace with a wistful sigh. She pulled out her house keys and opened the door. "Come on," she said with a grin. Ryoku nodded as he followed her inside. "That's strange," she said as she looked around. "There's no lights on anywhere. I would've thought that Dad would be waiting for me." "Maybe he went to bed?" Ryoku suggested. "I know!" she said suddenly. "Follow me." "Where're we going?" he asked. "Security control room," she replied. "I'll use the security cameras to see where he is." "Security cameras?" he asked, one eyebrow raised curiously. "Sure," she replied simply. "After all, Dad does some very important work for some big companies. He's gotta make sure his stuff is protected." "Of course," he agreed. Hotaru led Ryoku across the darkened hallway to a simple, plain- looking door - as compared to the other elaborate and slightly decorative doors - and opened it. Ryoku simply grinned at her father's choice of identification. "This way," she told him as she went inside. He entered shortly after. "So, your father has security cameras all over the place?" he asked as Hotaru sat herself at the control panel and switched on the monitors. "Not everywhere," she replied. "Just the important places: the labs; the studies; the bedrooms.... Places where there's things of value, you know?" "Right. So, you plan on narrowing down your search by seeing where he's not?" "Exactly," she nodded as she switched the view from one one room to another. There were more rooms than monitors, so she had to switch to different cameras in order to continue her search. "Now, where could you be, Dad? Where are.... There you are. Found him." "Where is he?" he asked, glancing toward the screen she was pointing to. "That's the study where Dad keeps my Nijizuishou....," she began, but trailed off as she noticed something. "Wait...." She pressed a few buttons, making the camera zoom in. Unfortunately, it couldn't zoom in far enough to get any distinguishing characteristics, but she could tell that it was a male. "Who's that? That's not Dad. How'd he get in here! And he's after my crystal!!!" "I'll call the police," Ryoku said calmly as he picked up the phone sitting by the desk. "Hmm? No dial tone.... You don't think he...." "He must've clipped the main phone wire outside," Hotaru seethed. "None of the phones work now!" Suddenly, she grinned viciously. "But, he forgot about the backup alarm." "Backup alarm?" he asked questioningly. "A silent alarm connecting us directly to the security company who supplied us with our equipment," she explained. "It goes through a wire buried a few feet underneath the ground, so it's very hard to get to." "Okay, so how do you activate it?" he asked. "Like this," she said, as she pressed a button underneath the terminal. "See?" she said, pointing to a screen where a capital letter 'A' just appeared on the screen. "Now, the alarm has been triggered. The police will be notified and help will be sent." "One thing, though," Ryoku said grimly. "What?" Hotaru asked, tilting her head inquisitively. "Do you remember how long it took us to get here?" Her expression froze in shock at the sudden realization. "An hour...," she murmured weakly. "So, now our friend up there has an hour to get what he came for, get out, and flee the scene, while we wait for the police to arrive," he said with a dark expression on his face. "I won't have that. No one does that to my girlfriend's family." With that, he left the room. "He...," Hotaru whispered incredulously to herself, "...he just called me his... girlfriend. Sugoi!!!" "Hotaru-chan?" Ryoku called after opening the door. "What is it, Ryo-chan?" she replied sweetly. "Where's the study?" Hotaru promptly facefaulted. "Yare.... Follow me," she said as she got to her feet. ********************************************** After searching from room to room, Jed finally found the room he was looking for. The portrait of the late Mrs. Tomoe hung on the opposite side of the room, which told him that he found the correct room. Now, all he needed was to find the display case. He glanced around the room, his gaze passing over the furniture and wall hangings. There was a possibility of the old safe-behind-the- picture cliché, but from what he knew of the man, it didn't seem likely. His gaze continued on until it reached the bookcase on his right. There was a glass covering with a lock on one side. Obviously, this was what he was looking for. He quietly strode over to the glass case and peered inside. There it was, sitting on a cushion. The Orange Nijizuishou crystal. It was his, now. He reached into a small pouch clipped onto his belt and brought out a small glasscutter and a small suction cup. First, he pressed the suction cup against the glass, making sure it had a good hold. Then, he carefully began to cut a hole into the glass, making sure it was large enough to fit his hand through. Once the glass was cut, he gently pulled on the suction cup, lifting the cut piece of glass out of the case. Then, he reached in and retrieved the crystal. "There it is," Jed whispered smugly to himself. "The Orange Nijizuishou crystal. That wasn't nearly as hard as I thought." "Nice crystal," a voice said from the doorway, as the room's lighting suddenly sprung to life. "Now, would you mind putting it back? That happens to belong to my girlfriend and I would hate to see her lose it." Jed glanced over his shoulder to see who had spoken, all the while scowling at being caught. His scowl deepened as he saw that it was those two kids who had found him out: the daughter and her boyfriend. "How annoying...," he growled to himself as he slipped the crystal into a secound pouch. His glasscutter went back into its own pouch. He then turned toward the two kids and slowly stalked toward them, cracking his knuckles threateningly. "Get out of my way," he said in a low, threatening tone. "Make me," Ryoku replied while slowly settling into a defensive fighting stance. "Wait... I recognize you now," Hotaru said suddenly. "You're Mr. Jade. I remember when you came here to offer my Dad a business contract to wire and program those things you sent him. Why are you after my Nijizuishou crystal?" Jed halted as soon as Hotaru had positively identified him. Not that Mr. Jade was his real name, but still, it was enough to incriminate him. There was no choice. He had to take care of her and her boyfriend. But, first.... Ryoku ducked under the punch that Jed threw at him, and countered by catching his arm and throwing him out of the room and into the hallway. He tried to follow that up with a kick to his side, but Jed swiftly recovered and leaped back away from him. Before Ryoku could attack again, Jed quickly reached behind his back and pulled out a small knife, brandishing it in front of him. "Ryo-chan, look out!" Hotaru shouted as Jed lunged forward while slashing at him. He dived to the side, hoping to avoid the attack. Instead of a deep wound, Ryoku received a small slash across his left leg. He landed and rolled to his feet, hissing in pain. Jed grinned at the sight of blood on his dagger. "Just keep it up, boy," he sneered. "Next time, you may not be so lucky." "You want me?" Ryoku replied defiantly. "Then, come get me!" To add to his challenge, he beckoned to his opponent with a small gesture of his hand. "As you wish," Jed replied and lunged for him again. This time, Ryoku stood fast against Jed's charge until he was almost on top of him. As Jed tried to stab him, Ryoku quickly fell backward. As the knife missed its target, Ryoku quickly struck with his feet, striking him in the chest and knocking some of the wind out of him. He then grabbed Jed's arm and started to roll backwards until he was supporting him with his legs. He then bent his knees and quickly kicked straight out, launching his attacker a good distance past him. Jed struck the floor and slid a few feet into the foyer balcony. "All right, Ryo-chan!" Hotaru cheered as Ryoku turned to follow Jed. He wasn't certain if that attack stopped him or not, but he wasn't about to let him keep that knife. Jed growled furiously to himself as his grip on the knife tightened until his knuckles turned white. That kid was really getting on his nerves! Slowly, he calmed himself. He was letting his emotions interfere with his performance. Small wonder he was getting his butt kicked by an eighteen year old boy. All right. Now, he was ready. As soon as Ryoku was in range, Jed flipped over and flung his knife at him. Since Ryoku thought that Jed was knocked out from that last attack, he was caught unprepared. Luckily, since his reaction time and his movements were so quick, he was able to move fast enough so that he was struck in his right shoulder, rather than straight through his heart. "Ryo-chan!!!" Hotaru screamed in horror as she witnessed her boyfriend getting a knife stabbed into his shoulder. Jed quickly took advantage of Ryoku's dazed state and kicked him in the head, knocking him back a few feet. Ryoku groaned in pain as he slowly reached for the knife in his shoulder and pulled in out. That made him grunt loudly, but at least he could move his right arm, if painfully. At least, he now had the knife. Jed paused, also noticing this fact, but grinned nonetheless. "You think you can use that on me?" he asked wryly. "Why not give it a try?" Ryoku glanced at the knife in his hand, then tossed it over the balustrade to the floor below. "I don't need it to beat you." Jed laughed out loud. "Don't tell me that you're trying to show off to your girlfriend?" he roared in amusement. "You just threw away your only chance of survival, you idiot! Not that it really matters, anyway." "We'll see...," Ryoku said as he rushed forward, attacking Jed with a flurry of punches and kicks. "Not bad," Jed admitted as he dodged and blocked all of Ryoku's attacks. "At least, for a crippled boy. Now, it's time to end this...." With one swift move, Jed blocked another of Ryoku's punches and struck him in the right shoulder with the butt of his palm. Ryoku paused for a split second as he winced in pain, but that was all the opening Jed needed as he picked him up and threw him over the balustrade to the floor below, where he landed next to the knife with a sickening thud. "Ryoku!!!" Horatu screamed again as she started for the stairs. Jed leaped forward and caught her by the arm. "And where do you think you're going?" Jed said with a smirk. "You're next, girl. Now, come with me. I have to go get my knife." Hotaru struggled against her captive as he wrenched her arm around her back, forcing her forward. When they reached the ground floor, Hotaru felt tears welling up in her eyes. There was a lot of blood around Ryoku's head. He wasn't moving at all... like he was dead. She was almost about to break into tears when she saw his chest rise very slowly. She pulled away from her captive and rushed to Ryoku's side, feeling for a pulse. She sighed in relief when she found one. She checked the sides of his head and found his scalp spilt open in the back of his head. He was still bleeding. Jed picked up his knife and glanced at his watch. He had already wasted almost half an hour with that boy. He should just kill him and be done with it. But, then again.... "Listen, girl," Jed said coldly. "If you come with me, quietly and without a struggle, I won't kill him." For emphasis, he placed his knife right under Ryoku's neck with the point touching his skin. "Well?" Hotaru sniffled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. A chance for Ryoku to live.... "All right," she agreed, "but I need to see to his wounds first." Perhaps she could delay him until help arrived.... "No," he replied quickly. "If you want to see to his wounds, do it after we get out of here. Remember, his life is now in your hands. Don't screw it up by trying to run away, or call for help, or anything else. Understand?" "Yes, I understand," she answered. "Good," he replied, picking up Ryoku and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of dirty laundry. "Now, let's go. My car's parked not too far from here...." ********************************************** "Hmm...," Diane yawned, sitting up in her bed. "Oh, who could be calling at this time of night? It it's Artie, I'm gonna let him have it!" She slowly reached over to the lamp next to her bed and flicked it on, then picked up the phone beside it. "Yeah?" "Diane-san?" "Souichi-san?" she exclaimed. She wasn't expecting a call from him. From his voice, he sounded very upset. "What happened? What's wrong?" "Hotaru-chan...," he wailed. "My only daughter has been kidnapped!" "Hold on, Souichi-san! I'll be there as soon as I can!" she hung up the phone, slid out of bed and darted to her closet. Since she usually only wore her undergarments to bed, she was dressed and ready to go in seconds. 'Oh.... Poor Hotaru-chan...,' she thought to herself as she raced down to her car and sped off. ********************************************** By the time Diane arrived back at the Tomoe mansion, there were already several police cars lined up around the place. As she drove up to the scene, a policeman walked up to her car, signaling for her to roll down her window. "Diane Silver, F.B.I.," she told the man, as she presented her badge for ID. "I'm here to see Professor Tomoe about his missing daughter. Would you mind letting me pass?" "Certainly, Miss Silver," the man said, returning her badge. He signalled ahead, letting the others know that she was to be permitted inside. "Diane-san!" Tomoe shouted as soon as he saw her. "I'm so sorry, Souichi-san," Diane replied as she walked up to him and gave him a consoling hug. As soon as she let go of him, she turned to one of the police officers. "What's the story?" she asked peremptorily. "Here's what we know so far," the woman reported. "At around 12:07am, we received a call from Priority One Security Services, stating that they had received an emergency call from the Tomoe manor; one of their clients. We sent Officers Stevenson and Womack to investigate. "When they arrived at the scene at approximately 12:49am, they immedately found that the front door was open and there was only one light on in the whole building. Also, there was a car parked in the driveway with the keys still in the ignition. Before entering the building, they called for backup. Officer Stevenson investigated the vehicle, while Officer Womack investigated the building. "Inside the vehicle, Officer Stevenson discovered that the owner is a Miss Sakura Kino. He also found a wallet lying on the passenger side. According to the driver's license, it belongs to a Mister Ryoku Kino." "Ryoku Kino?" Diane repeated. "That was the name of the boy that Hotaru was going out on a date with." She frowned slightly. "Continue." "Upon entering the building, Officer Womack discovered that there was a blood stain on the floor, but there was no body to be seen. On the second floor, there was a light on in one of the studies, with a sign of burglarization. A piece of glass with a small suction cup still attached to it was found on the floor. The piece of glass came from a glass display case inside a bookshelf. Inside the display, there was a small cushion which we believe may have held a precious gem for display." Diane nodded. "That would have to be the Orange Nijizuishou crystal," she stated. "Is that all?" The officer shook her head. "At 1:31am, backup had arrived at the Tomoe manor. At this time, Officer Womack had located the security control room. He then proceeded to check any recordings of what may have happened. "From what was discovered, here's what we believe the scenario to be. First, Mr. Kino brought Miss Tomoe home at around midnight. Upon entering the building, one of them, or both, went to the security control room to check on the manor. Upon discovering the suspect, both Kino and Tomoe left to confront him. A struggle ensued between Kino and the suspect, in which one was gravely injured; we assume it was Kino. After injuring Kino, the suspect took both him and Tomoe as hostages. More than likely, he's using them only as protection; to make sure we don't make any quick moves against him. As of now, we have no demands, nor do we have any clue as to where the suspect may have gone." "Fingerprints?" Diane asked. "None. Right now, we've got people going over that place with a fine- toothed comb, searching for anything we can use. So far, we've found nothing." "I see," Diane replied calmly. "Thank you." She turned back to Tomoe and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. "Hotaru-chan's fine, Souichi-san," she said quietly and soothingly. "Don't worry." "Souichi-san," Kaye said softly as she walked up to them. "I finally managed to get them to let me in and make you some tea. It'll help you relax and calm yourself." She handed him a small cup of tea. "Miss Silver is right. Hotaru is going to be all right. She has Mr. Kino to look after her. I'm sure that he won't let anything happen to Hotaru." Tomoe nodded as he sipped his tea. "Yes... Ryoku-san seemed like a responsible young man. I'm sure he'll look after Hotaru-chan...." Diane glanced back over toward the mansion with a contemplative frown on her face. Something about all this puzzled her. Why, out of all the extremely valuable things from antiquities to corporate info, was the Orange Nijizuishou crystal the only thing taken? Surely, there were other more valuable things that were more accessible. The crystal was the only thing taken and both Hotaru and Ryoku were taken hostage to make sure that whoever took it remained free. Something was going to have to be done about that. She would make sure of it... personally. ********************************************** To Chapter 13 ********************************************** Author's Note: Finally, our heroine is about to leap into action! ^_^ So, what about Jack? When does he come in? Patience... all will be revealed in due time.... Next chapter: Script revision discussions; Tanya tries to play matchmaker; and the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal is stolen! Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it anywhere else. Thank you. Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong. Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa. All Rights Reserved.