[Multichapter] The Watches Series: Apocalypse (7/??)
Title: The Watches Series: Apocalypse
Authors: syunikiss1990 & tsuchi8562
Beta: andreja1989 <-- as always arigatou ♥
Pairing: SakurAiba, MatsuMiya, OhnoxOC
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13 (this chapter)
Disclaimer: No, we don't own anything... We're just Border Watch's glaziers
Summary: It looks like the end of everything they knew... Will their world collapse?
*MASTERPOST*
"Please, don't go. What if he sees you?"
"That's the point, my love. He has to see me, otherwise nothing will work. We have a plan we must do. Don't worry."
"How can I not worry?! I know those officers, they first shoot then ask questions..."
"You know we have to do this? We need him, he is the only one of them Dark to the core."
"What if he kills you?"
"He won't, be calm. By the way how's our guest? Is he still sleeping?"
"Yes. You know how it is after getting to this place. He needs rest and then I will explain everything to him. He trusts me. Now go, before I change my mind and decide to keep you here..."
"See you later my love."
"Please, return safely."
"I will, do not worry. See you."
Rome was the most mysterious and beautiful city he had ever seen in his life. It was clear that this place has very long history and all the ages could be felt in each brick, tree and soil. He liked Rome, not only because here everything had begun but because this was perfect place to end it. The plan is almost completed; they need one more person. One, particular Dark Watch officer. Then everything will be destroyed. He loved destroying things. Maybe that's why he was chosen to do this job?
"And who chose me anyway?" He murmured and took a deep breath of morning air. With big shades, covering half of his face and cap pulled over his face he was very calm he won't be recognized unless he wants to be. It was time. He should stop playing with Matsumoto Jun and properly face him. The last act of the play. Life is a one big theatre after all, right?
♠♠♠
"And where do you think you're going?" Kazunari frowned and crossed his arms on the chest, looking at Jun who was putting his shoes on. Only one day passed since this too sweet and naive boy Aiba was murdered and now Matsumoto decided on a walk to chase ghosts.
"I need to prove what I saw. Kazu, I feel I am going insane, I am really certain I saw Ohno near the river. I have to confirm what I saw."
"How can you possibly do that? Wander around Rome and look in every single corner? This is crazy, J. Look, let's focus on trying to find out more about events here. We don't have time to chase shadows..."
"What we can do here? They won't allow us freely go inside Vatican, seeing Sakurai had problems with that and he is one of them. Right now we are sitting in hotel and stare at the walls. Listen, I want to find Aiba's killer as well. Believe it or not, I kinda liked him. But I won't be able to do a thing by staying here." Matsumoto sighed and rubbed his temples. Ninomiya took a deep breath, grabbed his jacket and shoved his phone in the pocket.
"I am going with you. I want to see your face when we find some little boy who looks like Italian version of Ohno." Kazunari smirked and grabbed keys to their room. For a second he thought about informing Sho about their plans but on second thought he decided to let the older man have his peace.
"Kazu..."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you..." Jun mumbled but he kept looking straight at latter's face. Nino raised his eyebrow, trying to understand. "You know, for not thinking I am crazy..." The taller man answered on unsaid question.
"But I do think you are crazy. I just don't think you are sick and see things that don't exist. Come on, I don't want to spend whole night outside." Kazunari opened the door and waited in the hall for his boyfriend. At this point he didn't think that coming here was a good idea. All they do is sit in the hotel and their only "walk" ended up with finding out that Aiba is dead. Sakurai probably was drowning in his pain, not able to think straight at the moment but that was fully understandable. And him? Ninomiya could only watch and try to get some hints and conclusions and that made him more and more upset. It was time to get their task done and get back to Tokyo. They walked down the street, without saying any word, heading to the place where they found the bloody sea. Of course they couldn't get really close to the river, knowing that Border Watch officers could still be there somewhere but it was a good starting point.
"Do you remember where exactly you saw him?" The older man asked, looking around. Something was wrong, the city was way too quiet, just as it was preparing for some really rapid storm. The smell was disturbing as well, as if the only thing he could feel was the blood and powder.
"I think it was somewhere over there..." Matsumoto frowned and bit his lower lip. The latter looked at him, worried a bit and upset. Something was telling him they should stay in the hotel room he already started to hate. Nino's stomach stirred up from this anxiety.
"I don't think he will still be there, we can check it to see if we can find any clues, but wandering around Rome, especially at night is not good idea after all. We can try again in the morning."
"I have to find him now. I need to prove I didn't go insane. If you are so afraid, you can go back, little chicken." Jun wasn't even looking at the shorter man, trying to figure out where he should go now. Kazunari's blood boiled in his veins for at least few reasons now. First of all he hated when Matsumoto called him little chicken, a nickname that he used very often when Ninomiya was still blonde. Second, the night was too peaceful and thus too dangerous and scary. The older Dark Watch officer didn't have hunches that often but when he did it meant serious troubles. That's why he cut the latter's way and grabbed his wrist tightly.
"Let's go back, okay? You don't need to prove me anything, let's just go." He didn't want to sound desperate but he failed.
"I want to prove it for myself. If you don't want to go, then just don't go. I have your number, I will call you every half an hour if you are so afraid. Kazu, I need to check it and somehow I want to do it alone. Call it a hunch or a feeling but I think he won't show himself if I’d be with you. Listen, I will be fine, I can take care of myself, trust me."
"It's not safe and you know it. What if they try to kill you like they did to Aiba? If you want to look for Ohno by yourself do it tomorrow."
"You don't understand, do you?" Matsumoto sighed and closed the distance between them. "I need to admit you are cute when you are worried like that... Better stop or I will get used to that..." The taller one smirked and joined their lips in hungry kiss. Nino held his breath and got himself caught in his boyfriend's logic. Jun is a big boy, he will handle himself. He fights a lot better than Ninomiya after all.
"Just wake me up when you come back okay?" Nino frowned and despite loud voice screaming in his head that he should knock the latter out and drag him back to the hotel he moved back. All he could do was to watch Jun's back until he disappeared around the corner. "Just come back safety. I love you, you moron..."
♠♠♠
He was standing in the dark corner, shivering gently from excitement. He saw Matsumoto coming this way and he knew very well that his plan will become reality very soon. The man waited for the best moment to reveal his presence to the latter.
No, not just yet... Wait half minute more... The Dark Watch officer is sniffing around, he feels your trace. He knows you are here... Twenty seconds... Now, all Jun has to do is to turn left and got caught in the trap. Come on... Turn... Ten seconds... Nine... Eight... That's it... Go there... Five... Four... Not yet, not yet... Two...
"Long time no see Matsumoto-san." He almost saw the shock on Matsumoto's face, even though all he could see was his back. The silence that filled the air was physically heavy and he didn't like it. The taller man turned around and looked straight at him, smirking.
"I knew I am not insane." Jun took two steps closer. "Good evening, Ohno-san. As Dark Watch officer I am obliged to take you under my custody. You are under arrest."
"And what are the charges?" Satoshi was calm, even his heartbeat didn't speed up. The Dark Watch officer moved even closer before he answered on the question.
"Murder at least three people. Getting out from The Emptiness somehow... I believe it's enough."
"You're wrong, Matsumoto-san... It's four people."
"Please, enlighten me, who is the fourth one?" Jun slowly, reached behind his back, probably wanting to get out his gun. Did he forget that he had to leave it in his house before he got on plane?
"You are." Ohno smirked and showed his precious weapon, long and sharp knife. Jun frowned and realized he is defenseless. He looked around, looking for escape route or anything that could protect him from unavoidable. Will he see the wallet, lying on the ground not so far from him? Will he see through the trap Satoshi set? "Goodbye, Matsumoto-san. See you in hell."
Steel blinked in the darkness, as if it caught every single beam of light coming from lampposts.
♠♠♠
"Sakurai-san what a surprise. You are here alone? Where is Aiba-san?" Surprise was written all over Sachiko's face when she opened the door and let him inside her room. The man kicked off his shoes and sat down on one of the chairs, facing the woman he still didn't like that much but at the moment was one of the only three people he was sure he could trust.
"Dead." Sakurai dropped the bomb without even trying to sugarcoat it. He was here for answers and didn't have time for small conversation or trying to bring the news in a less shocking way. Besides, Sachiko's reaction to the words would say a lot if he could really trust her or not. Seeing the way her eyes widened and her hands started to shake gave him an answer to that as well. She had nothing to do with it, unless she was a brilliant actress which he highly doubted.
"Dead? What? How? When? I talked to him yesterday and..."
"He was murdered shortly after he left your room." Sho surprised himself with the calm, emotionless tone he spoke with even though he felt like storms were raging inside of him. "I need to know what you have been talking about."
"You are kidding me right? If this is some sick kind of joke it's not funny." The woman muttered, her eyes still full with disbelief. "How can you be so calm if this isn't a joke?"
"Do you think I would joke about this?" Sakurai muttered through clenched teeth with a dangerously low tone which made the woman shiver even more.
"Of course not but... how? Why?"
"That's what I want to know. I want to know why he was called here, why vessels are dying and what the Vatican has to do with this." Even though it didn't seem possible, Shouge's eyes widened even more.
"The Vatican? What are you talking about?" She asked.
"I'm talking about the fact that they are covering up these murders and still call vessels to come over even when they all seem to die here. I want to know why." The woman slowly shook her head.
"I want to help but I can hardly follow you. Can you please tell me what happened?" Sho sighed and leaned back. He told the woman everything that had happened, having to go through it himself as well but he managed to lock away his own emotions. He almost felt like a robot when he talked to her but he knew that for the moment it was better this way. If his emotions would get in the way too much right now he knew he would never find out what was really going here right now. When he was done talking Sachiko stayed silent for a while.
"What do you want me to do?" She finally asked, probably having reached a conclusion that this indeed needed more investigation. She was still a Border Watch officer after all and right now her training kicked in, making her want to know the truth as well.
"I don't trust anyone. Even with you I'm not sure I can trust you but I can trust you more than anyone else in the Vatican. So how is your Italian?" Shouge sighed.
"My Italian isn't that great but they speak Latin in the Vatican. I have been learning that as well since I've been here but I wouldn't be the best translator."
"I don't care. I'm starting to think they don't tell me the truth here so I don't want anything getting translated the wrong way." Sho stood up. "Get your coat, we are going."
"Wait, now?" Sachiko looked surprised at the man's words but after one look she quickly did what was asked. Sakurai didn't slow down until he reached the Vatican, only then turning around to see the woman was closely behind him, red faced and slightly out of breath to keep up with him.
"Get us in." He ordered. He knew that she had a much bigger change to get them inside faster than yesterday. The Vatican trusted her after all, or at least pretended to, for doing their research. He was right as Shouge only flashed a card at the guards, telling the man something Sho didn't understand but he could guess she was telling him he was with her. The guard gave him one quick look before handing him a visitor's pass and letting them through.
"I hope you know what you are doing." Sachiko muttered once they were inside. Sakurai nodded even though he didn't have the slightest clue anymore right now. He realized now how unprepared he actually was. All he wanted was answers, maybe someone to tell him they found Masaki's body but he didn't know where to start. Maybe that's why he had went to Sachiko in the first place, hoping she would know who to ask or what to do but the woman was even more clueless than him. But he couldn't let her know that, he did need her for translating.
He was completely lost in thought and wandering through the halls until Shouge suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him back, holding her finger in front of her lips. Sho resisted the urge to ask what was wrong, hearing voices close to them a few seconds later. Sachiko frowned, listening closely.
"What?" Sakurai whispered but the woman gestured to him to be silent again. The voices came closer which made him feel nervous but he heard a door open and close, making the hallway silent again. When he looked at the woman next to him he was shocked by the pale face and wide eyes. He wanted to ask her about it but she shook her head and pushed him inside a room which appeared to be next to the room the talking people had went in. Sachiko looked around pulling a chair to the wall and pressing her ear against it.
"What the hell is going on?" Sakurai hissed, looking at the woman.
"That was the Pope with some of the highest officers here. They are talking about the vessels. If you want to know more then shut up and let me listen." Sho's heartbeat started to rise.
"The Chinese boy... They killed him." She whispered.
"What?!" Sakurai barely managed to keep his voice down. Even though he had a hunch the Vatican had something to do with everything, the news still shocked him. A part of him still hoped it was just bad coincidence but that part completely disappeared now.
"Shh! There was a vessel here before him which they also killed. Those two went according to plan but Nila and Aiba were different. Their bodies are missing. Blood tests made sure it were them at the river. They are saying something about having to be more careful with the coming vessels."
"What are you talking about?" Sho asked when the woman stayed silent for a longer while but again he was silenced with a gesture. With passing time her eyes started to turn madder and madder, angry sparks almost flying out of them.
"Bastards." She muttered angrily at some point, turning her head away from the wall. "They used me! They never cared for the research, they just used it as a trap to lure the known vessels here. They are getting rid of every single one of them to make sure they can keep the Treaty here from now on."
"I knew it." Sakurai whispered madly, feeling rage filling his veins. "I fucking knew it! Why didn't that idiot listen to me?"
"Sakurai-san, please keep your voice down." Sachiko tried to hush him but all Sho felt like was smashing the place. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down again, looking at the woman in front of him who had slight fear in her eyes, probably from his reaction and look on his face.
"What else did they say?" He muttered angrily. Shouge sighed.
"I don't know, this is all I got. But there must be more behind it." She pressed her ear against the wall again but her eyes dropped and she sighed again. "They are quiet now, I think they left."
"There has to be more behind it. I even dare to say they have something to do with the riots."
"But how can we be sure of that?" Sho stood up, getting ready to leave.
"That's what I'll figure out right now. Sachiko, I have a favor to ask. Please pretend like you don't know any of this. Continue your work you have been doing here but keep your eyes and ears open. I'll start my own investigation but I'll be counting on you to let me know anything you find out."
"Will you do the same?" The woman asked but Sakurai shook his head.
"From now on I'll keep everything I find out a secret. It's better if you know as less as possible in case they get suspicious. I'll be leaving now, you have my number." Without looking back he walked out of the room, getting out of the building as quick as he could without looking suspicious. On his way back to the hotel his mind was overflowing with information and theories, which he greatly welcomed as a distraction from Masaki on his mind. When he reached his room he wondered if he should tell Jun and Kazunari about the things he found out. Just as he thought about that a knock came on his door, making him frown and open the door, seeing a flustered Ninomiya standing in front of him. Seeing the state the smaller man was in, the words he spoke in a strange way didn't even surprise Sho.
"Jun is gone."