Creature in the Viewfinder - Chapter 12
Title: Creature in the Viewfinder
Author: paranoia_woman
Character(s): All the Yamane regulars with only slight differences.
Rating: Varies per chapter PG - XXX You are warned!!!
Warning: Language and Violence. PG-13
Summary: A combination of Viewfinder and Frankenstein. Creating life and the results thereof with Yamane's characters.
Disclaimer: Ownership of the Viewfinder series and all characters therein belongs to Yamane Ayano, In perpetuity. Frankenstein is not mine either or I'd be rich.
Creature in the Viewfinder
Chapter 12
Running forward, Takaba gasped. His chest hurt. Even with all the air around him, he felt like he was suffocating, as he kept trying to catch his breath. He couldn't stop because just ahead of him he could see the reason he was running so hard… Asami. There he was, walking just ahead, his back to him. So close yet so far. He had to warn him there was danger ahead. He opened up his mouth to yell, but nothing came out. Bewildered, he clutched at his throat mystified.
Refusing to give up Takaba began running faster, only to find himself further behind as Asami kept, somehow, getting further and further away. Ahead of him, a group of men with guns appeared out of nowhere and began shooting. Frantically Takaba tried to reach him as Asami began to fall, but inexplicably, he only found himself further and further away. As Asami's figure shrunk in the distance he let out a silent scream and… woke up.
Dazed, with his heart racing a mile a minute Takaba found himself in his own bed, unable to move easily, his sheet wrapped around him twisted tight, face down in his pillow. Already the traces of his nightmare were fading away as he turned over on his back and took a ragged breath. He tried kicking his legs out to escape from his predicament, but the sheets didn't want to release him and he ended up rolling off the bed before he could get himself untangled. His head painfully throbbed as he sat up so he stayed sitting in the floor and tried to remember how he got home.
'I was at the Keio Plaza Hotel, taking pictures of the Governor and then….'
"Asami"
he said, under his breath. His memory was fuzzy, but he remembered that much. 'That bastard was there and…' He blushed as the memory of what occurred in the bathroom came back to him. As his heart rate increased, so did his headache, as the blood rushed rapidly through it. Feeling like his head was about going to fly apart; Takaba's hands flew up and grabbed it, and released it just as quick. Pain radiated from someplace he'd touched on his head. Tentatively, he felt about his head and found a lump, sore to the touch, crying, "Ow."
It was still dark outside. The only light in the room was from the street lamps outside and his alarm clock. 'What's the time?' he thought, looking over to the clock. The luminescent numbers on it read 3:30.
Takaba pushed up off the floor, but had to sit back down on his bed as a wave of dizziness hit him. He lowered his head down between his legs and found it really did help. He'd heard it did, but thought that was just a myth. Feeling better, he slowly sat up and noticed a glass of water and a small bottle of Tylenol sitting on the end table by the bed. Tensing because he knew he only bought the cheaper no name brand, he called out, "Is anyone here?" hoping deep in his heart not to hear an answer.
Thankfully, no answer came and he breathed a sigh of relief. His head felt like it was going to explode, so he, with silent thanks, took the Tylenol and went to the bathroom to check out his injury. In the mirror he was able to see the nasty bump protruding from his head and he touched it lightly, wincing from even that much pressure. 'This is all his fault, I'm sure,' he began thinking when it all came back in a rush. Asami, the bathroom, his fall, the ambush… the last thing he remembered was the look on Asami's face when he turned, and then … 'What happened after that? I don't remember.'
He searched his apartment and found his clothes he'd worn in the bathtub and his camera bag beside the couch with his used film canisters on top of it. 'Nothing missing,' he thought, relieved for that at least. Hungry, Takaba grabbed a bite to eat before remembering the time. He was supposed to get his pictures in before the deadline for the morning edition and he was cutting it close. He called the paper to tell them he'd be in with the photos shortly.
"Takaba, great! You were at the hotel. Did you get pictures of the attack?"
"Attack?" he said, becoming increasingly worried. "Was anyone injured?" he asked.
"Did you leave early? Damn, I was hoping you'd gotten some pictures."
"Wait a minute. Could you just tell me what happened?"
"There was an explosion in the lobby of the Keio Plaza Hotel. At first they thought it was political since the Governor was there, but now the police are saying it was a fight between Yakuza groups. They've several people in custody, but they haven't release anything else since then. Everyone's being all hush-hush. You sure you didn't get any pictures?"
"I've got pictures of the Governor at the event."
"Old news, everyone's got those. Hey, you've got friends down there don't you? Go see if you can get some pictures of those guys at the jail. That's what I need and see if you can find out anything more on the guy with the long hair. He was witnessed by several people fighting those guys, but he wasn't caught. From what they say he was amazing."
"But, but, I was expecting to pay my rent with the money from those pictures last night."
"You get paid for pictures we use and right now we don't need those. We need pictures of those guys, so go get it…"
"Yes sir, will do," he said, hanging up the phone. "Damn it… all that film, down the drain. Doesn't he know how much…." He grumbled, thankful, at least, that his headache was dwindling, as he got dressed. He picked up his bag and headed off to the police station.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Up early, due to an inability to sleep. The lab was quite noisy. Between Yoh-gor stomping around, slamming doors, and constantly dropping breakable items, and Dr. Fei en-long, still angry at his treatment by Asami, yelling at him, which he normally never did. It was as if an invisible dark cloud was hanging over their heads.
Fei knew why Yoh-gor was upset, but not why he was acting up so much. He should know by now that Fei could handle himself. He tried to focus on his work, but couldn't as Yoh-gor began cleaning and accidentally broke another beaker that contained some chemicals he was working with.
Grabbing him by both arms, Fei angrily cried, "Out! Get out of here till I call you!" but seeing the pain dwelling in his eyes, he stopped and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. I won't send you away. It's not you I'm angry at, it's that muscle brained idiot Asami. Telling me to leave like that… I'm not one of his lackey's that he can just order around like that. After all, I was doing him a favor," he kept ranting.
Thinking 'Enough,' Yoh-gor pushed Fei away and began a fast pantomime, beating his fist against his chest.
Fei watched trying to make out what he was trying to say. He said aloud what he thought he was being told, "You-left-me-behind. -Trouble…no-help."
"Wait a minute. Go slower," Fei asked, unable to keep up.
Yoh-gor attempted to, but couldn't, as the frustration he'd been holding it in for so long overflowed into his arms.
Fei tried to follow the meaning of his movements, but the sound of a 'ding' interrupted, drawing both of their attention. The ding was from the elevator, indicating someone's arrival. Not expecting anyone, they both turned to look at who it could be, but when the door opened no one stepped out. With everything that happened recently, ominous thoughts rung through their heads and they ducked down, hiding behind the surrounding lab equipment when suddenly they heard a small voice.
"Fei, are you here."
They stood back up and looked down, finally seeing the little boy standing just outside the elevator doors with tears in his eyes, crying, "Fei, where are you?"
Crossing over quickly, Fei kneeled down, asking, "Tao, What are you doing here?"
"You're here. I was afraid you were gone."
Confused, Fei asked, "Why are you saying that?"
"On the TV, I saw you," the young boy said through sniffles.
"TV? Yoh-gor, do we have one here?"
He shook his head.
"Damn, the phone. Where's the phone, I need to call Asami."
He wanted to ask more, like, how did he get by the men stationed outside the building, but the boy looked very upset so he decided, for the moment, not to. Right now, it was time to console him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not sleeping wasn't something abnormal for Asami. He didn't need as much sleep as others he'd found, so when he decided to pull another all-nighter, no one thought it abnormal from any other time, but in his office, no work was being done, which was unusual. He'd planned to work on a strategy for destroying those idiots who attacked him, but instead he sat there just going over other events that occurred that night, over and over in his head.
After not seeing the boy for a month, when he'd appeared at the event, he couldn't seem to stop from acting like a predator. He ended up trapping him in a bathroom and devouring him. He smirked at that thought. He liked the idea of a fox hunt with Takaba being the fox and him with a big gun pursuing him.
He shook his head to try and clear it. This wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't even supposed to of happened. After all it could never be like before because he could never just stand there and be his friend, not anymore. Every time he saw him, he felt something he hadn't found with any other person he'd been with. He'd tried sleeping with people who looked like him, people who cried when he took them, and others who just had something that reminded him of Takaba, but none of them came close to giving Asami the feeling he had just seeing him at the political event last night.
As he entered the hall that evening, he scanned it as usual to check his surroundings, but upon seeing a certain tawny haired someone in the group of photographers around the roped off VIP section, he felt a thrill run through his body. He immediately went over to it to greet the Governor just so he could make sure his arrival would be noted. He smiled inwardly as he thought of how he ignored Takaba when he was told to go back with the other photographers. The boy didn't even speak back to that man, which showed Asami just how surprised he was at seeing him there. From that moment on, it was like he was playing a game. He hadn't found anything as enjoyable as that feeling, ever.
He didn't understand why he couldn't find it somewhere else. He knew if this kept happening, if he continued getting near Takaba, that that would be the end of him. He understood the world he lived in well enough for that, the violence and danger he breathed daily, but he couldn't understand him. Why after all that he had done to him, did he run down five flights of stairs to warn him. It made no sense. He should hate him.
The ringing of Asami's cell phone interrupted his thoughts. 'No one should be calling him on this phone,' he thought, it being the one he kept for emergencies only. He answered coldly, saying, "Asami."
"Do you have a TV?" he heard a voice he knew to be Fei en-long say.
"Why are you calling me about that?"
"Turn it on."
"Fei, I don't have time for that. I'm busy."
"You know I don't call you just to chit chat. Check out the news, Asami. I'm afraid you'll find something interesting there."
He found his remote and turned it on a local station. On the screen was the news from that night before with video taken by a bystander with their cell phone. It showed lots of smoke, but then a figure with long hair moved across the screen swinging something that looked like a staff, striking a man before the smoke obscured the view again. The scene was played over and over again with commentary from the announcer. Asami listened for a moment and then said to Fei, "Went back to get your hat, eh?"
"Well, it was a little difficult to find in the smoke," he said, with a little laugh.
"Well, your face doesn't show, but this could mean trouble if someone recognizes you. I'll see what I can do on this end to cover it up. You need to stay where you're at. Don't leave for any reason. I'm going to send some more men out there. Maybe it'd be a good idea to have some people in the lab with you."
"No, they'd just get in the way and I don't like having someone watching over everything I do. It reminds me too much of my brother."
"Okay, I understand. If you need anything call me," Asami hung up the line just as a thought came to him. 'I didn't think he had a TV down there.'
Asami checked the time, amazed at how much time had passed. Soon it would be time for the regular people to wake and start their day. He almost envied them…almost. Looking down at his desk where the file still lay unopened, his blood boiled in anger as he thought of what they tried to do. He knew what he needed to do and it was time to do it, obstacles be damned.