Switching Sides (Chapter 6)
Title: Switching Sides
Group/pairing: Arashi/ Ohmiya
Word Count: 3593 words
Rating: PG
Possible warnings: Involves subject matter of drugs, terrorism and deaths.
Summary: The Special Ops Division of the J.I.A have been tracking down a mysterious organisation who have been responsible for massive hacking incidents and the assassination of prominent political and financial figures. What then happens when one of their members was suddenly kidnapped?
Disclaimer: So far I only own two photosets of Sho and a set of Arashi playing cards. I wish I'd own Arashi, but no. I don't. ._. All characters and personas and their actions portrayed in this story are completely fictional.
Author note: This post was actually saved and screened as a maintainers' only post in an attempt to get a double release done. Unfortunately, a lot of stuff happened in real life (along with me getting a summer job) so I decided to release this first after long weeks of brainstorming and reviewing. Apologies for the long wait! m(_ _)m
Chapter 6: Doppelganger
The door to his room swung open, and he looked up. A tall man with slightly long hair and a smart suit walked in.
"Kagura Ryuhei-san," the man began,"it is good to see that you have awakened."
"Wh-who are you?" Kagura asked uncertainly,"and what am I doing here?"
"Kuroda Masayuki," the man said politely,"I'm your superior. You had fainted and bumped your head a bit, but otherwise, it's nothing serious."
"But where am I?" Kagura asked, his voice finding a little bit of strength amidst the uncertain state of his mind.
"The H.R.C..." Kuroda said, his voice betraying no emotion,".. the Hierarchical Reformation Circle."
Kagura looked down, his eyes narrowing as he tried to recall something about it.
"Ah, I imagine it'll take a bit of time to get used to things here," Kuroda said,"so I only have a really simple task for you to do. You'll then see what exactly we do here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The white-washed building of the Higurashi Radiology Clinic stood right across the cafe that Jun and Ohno were at. A silvery-grey signage was displayed on the granite wall just to the right of the main entrance.
"Purple-kun!" A voice said into Jun's ear, "let's review what we will be doing."
"I'll head over to the back door of the clinic as a doctor-in-training and find out Dr. Hirukawa's appointments and the location of the security control room," Jun said as he sipped on a cup of coffee, "and then come back out?"
"Yep!" Aiba said from behind an array of screens, two of which were transmitting live camera footage from smart lenses on Jun and Ohno, "Blue-kun?"
"I will go in as a patient looking for..." Ohno squints at the name on the email in his phone, "Hirukawa-sensei.I will then ask about what his schedule is like."
"Thank God there is only one Hirukawa in there," Sho commented from beside Aiba,"no chances of a mix up here."
"Alright, now that it's settled," Aiba said as he focused on the screen that held Jun's eye camera feed, "Purple-kun, you can move first." Jun nodded and placed his earpiece down with Ohno and walked away.
Jun walked into the back door of the clinic, striding confidently past the various consultation rooms, making a quick turn into a small, empty locker room for doctors.
"…I hope this one has coats," Jun muttered as he walked to the furthest locker at the end, reasoning that it is more likely to contain spare coats.
He quickly reached into his pocket to fish out a wire and picked at the locker's keyhole. His brows knitted hard in deep concentration as he manuerved the clip deep in the lock. Just then, he heard some footsteps from the hallway which seemed to be heading towards the room he was in.
"Shit," Jun cursed under his breath as he fought the urge to panic and continued to work calmly, turning the wire in the lock in an attempt to trigger the locking mechanism as the footsteps drew close faster by the second.
*click*
Jun exhaled in relief as he swung the locker door open just as the footsteps entered the room. There were indeed some coats. He made a mental note to take an extra coat in case they needed to return back again. Within minutes, he was out of the locker room, disguised as one of the radiology clinic's consulting doctors-in-training. His smooth, confident pace breezed through the corridors of the clinic as his eyes scanned the surroundings, mentally noting CCTV camera positions and looking out for a certain doctor's consultation office.
And there it was, and soon Jun was up and knocking firmly at the door.
The door slid open to reveal a very confused-looking doctor with messy hair and huge glasses that are as thick as Coke bottles.
"Can I help you..." the doctor said nervously, his eyes blinking behind his glasses as he looked down at Jun's uniform, ".. trainee?"
"Ah, Hirukawa-san," Jun said in a very flattering tone, "I have heard so much about you. To finally be able to meet with you is nothing short of an honour. I just have a few questions to.."
*a short while later*
"So, your patients are always here and your lunch time wouldn't be until 3pm, huh?" Jun asked.
"Y-yes indeed!"
"But.. do you happen to have a record of who you saw in the past week?" Jun asked. The man nodded as he opened a file which displayed his schedule in the past week. Jun looked through the names and looked up at the whiteboard right by the doctor's desk, where some numbers and names were written.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"Ahh."
"Nope."
"Ahh~!"
"Oh-chan, just take it away. I'm not going to eat that."
"But Nino-kun, no one gets better from a cold by starving to death."
Nino only huffed indignantly in his bunk bed, wrinkling his nose.
"I don't do porridge, Oh-chan. I'm not really a porridge kind of person. Maybe a hamburger or some ramen would tempt me to eat."
Ohno sighed.
"But those aren't foods that can help one recover from a cold," he said patiently as he offered the bowl to him, "I promise you. It is good."
Nino gave Ohno and the porridge bowl both a look of disdain before begrudgingly sitting up, leaning his back against the headboard.
"If I puke, it will be on your head."
"And then I will promise to treat you a month's worth of hamburger dinners," Ohno said, his stomach twisting at the thought of the possibility that Nino might actually take him up on his offer. Nino smirked as he reached for the warm bowl and took it in his hands. He scooped up a small helping of porridge, watching the white glob of rice fall back down into the bowl. With a gulp, he took a small, cautious mouthful.
And chewed.
And chewed again.
And swallowed.
"... Oh-chan, you put hamburgers in here?" Nino remarked as he slowly scooped up another spoonful, seeing a small, bite-sized piece of minced beef in his porridge.
"I figured that since you liked them, putting them in here might help you eat," Ohno said, levelling a concerned look at Nino, "did it.. work?"
Nino only shrugged and said nothing, continuing to help himself from one mouthful to the next. Before long he leaned back against the pillow, his eyelids falling shut.
The bowl was empty.
Ohno only chuckled and placed the empty bowl on the nightstand and tucked Nino into bed. Just as he was about to leave, he felt Nino grab him by the sleeve.
"…Don't go so fast," Nino murmured,"stay till I fall asleep."
Ohno blinked in surprise but sat back down beside Nino's bed.
"Alright. I'll just pat you till you sleep then," he said as he placed his right hand just below Nino's hand on his covered belly, slowly patting it as Nino relaxed slowly on the bed. As time slowly ticked by, Nino's breathing grew even. Ohno's hand on his stomach slowed to a stop, now resting firmly on Nino's own hand. The warmth of his hand on Nino's soothed his worried nerves. Nino seemed to be getting better already.
"Goodnight," he said softly, letting his thumb stroke the skin near the base of Nino's index finger, his pinky sliding under Nino's in a gentle clasp. For a moment, he felt Nino's pinky hook lightly against his own before relaxing once more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ohno sipped on his black coffee as he waited for his signal, looking out quietly of the window of the cafe.
Missions like these just were not the same without Nino with him.
Of course, Nino was an outstanding agent and his place in the Special Ops Division was well-deserved.
And of course, Nino was a great friend and bunk-mate.
And yet.
Ohno looked down at his cup, his reflection staring up back at him from the deep, dark depths.
He knew Nino was all that, but really, he meant more than that to him.
Way more than Nino would ever know.
Just then, a rhythmic beeping sounded in his ears, indicating that he has a call from the headquarters.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Blue-kun! Purple-kun is out of the clinic. Your turn is up!" Aiba said cheerfully, "you will go in as a patient by the name of-"
"But the doctor will know that nothing is wrong with me, you know."
"It's okay! Just voice out a concern that you have about your condition and get him to answer it and that's it!"
"…I wonder if it really will work," Ohno said with a doubtful look on his face as he finished the last of his coffee,"but I'll try. Who am I going as again?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hours later, Sho rubbed his chin in deep thought as he looked at the three men before him.
"So, he would be busy with patients from morning to 3pm before he leaves for lunch," Sho thought aloud,"supposing he is the diligent type, he wouldn't really take the time to send such an email in the midst of consulting hours, would he?"
"According to Hirukawa-sensei," Ohno added, "he said that he ronly uses his email account when he needs to refer patients to other departments, clinics or hospitals for a second opinion."
"Yeah. I'm not sure he looks the type for sending a kidnapping email," Jun said.
"Well.. from what I saw, I doubt so too," Sho said, "if we assume that, that means someone else must have sent that email."
"But who and how?" Jun asked.
"... Sho-kun," Ohno said,"it is possible to schedule emails to be sent in advance, right?"
"Well yeah, some email providers have th-" Sho paused, as if something clicked in his head, "that's right! Maybe it was sent way beforehand and scheduled to be sent on the day we received it!"
Aiba nodded as he followed the discussion,"But when? Nino-kun was captured several days ago, so thankfully we don't have to look too far, but.."
"We can find out by looking at the CCTV camera footages," Sho said, "Masaki, you can try hacking into the cameras, right?"
Jun gave him a slight shake of the head, "the cameras are pretty old. I think they only have the footages in hard copy. We can probably find it in the security room I was talking about."
"Alright," Sho said with a sharp nod, "you two should go back in tonight and retrieve the footages."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That night, Jun and Ohno managed to scale themselves up above the concrete walls around the clinic and moved fast in the darkness, sticking close to the walls as they moved.
"Well, where is the security room?" Ohno asked.
"It's way up at the top floor of this building," Jun said," Green-kun is trying his best to hack into the security system and disable the lock in front of the room at the moment."
Just then, a small sound bleeped through their ears. Ohno pressed a button on his receiver.
"Green-kun?"
"Blue-kun, Purple-kun! I have some good news and some bad news."
The two men felt their hairs tense up on the back of their necks.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"The good news is, the door is unlocked," Aiba said uncertainly, "but the bad news is.. I didn't unlock it. Someone else did."
"ANOTHER hacker?!" Jun hissed as he looked up incredulously at the building before them.
"Be very careful," Aiba said, "we are not the only outsiders here."
"But…who could have hacked into this?" Sho asked as he frowned at the camera feed from Jun and Ohno's contact lenses,"urgh, if only we can access the clinic's security cameras from here.."
"Unfortunately, their security cameras are a bit outdated so I can't access them," Aiba said with a sigh, "Jun-kun and Ohno-kun wouldn't have to be out there if not for the fact that all their footages were only saved as hard copies."
"Well, it's Jun-kun and Ohno-kun," Sho said as he gave Aiba a pat on the shoulder,"I'm pretty sure they can take care of themselves." He then turned around to look at the cork board above his desk, now covered with scraps of notes and scribblings, with a photo of Nino pegged on top of all of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I am so glad I swiped these from the doctors' locker room," Jun said as he handed over a coat to Ohno, "we will need to go to the elevators and up to the top floor."
"Alright," Ohno said as he wore his coat and moved swiftly with Jun along the corridor, and made a sharp turn to the elevators. He looked up at the neon blue digits displayed inside the lift, willing the numbers to go up faster. Just then, he felt Jun tap him on the shoulder.
"Tranquiliser darts and the dart gun," Jun said as he handed them over to him,"if you see someone who is not a security guard or a doctor, do not hesitate."
Ohno nodded and placed them away…just as the lift doors swung open.
The corridors were very much like the ones below, except that the doors led not to patient wards or consultation rooms, but main offices and the security room. Jun and Ohno trod carefully away from the lift, their steps light and muted on the carpeted floor. Even in the dimly lit corridor, the could tell that almost every door on their floor was locked.
Except one that lies on the far end. That door was already ajar, and beyond the doorway was an unsettling darkness.
"Is that the one that Green-kun said is already unlocked?" Ohno asked.
"Yeah," Jun whispered as he readied his dart gun,"let's move fast."
The two men edged closer to the room, dart guns in hand. They took their positions by the door and held their breaths. Ohno looked over at Jun, who counted slowly under his breath.
A softly exhaled "one"
A sharp nod.
The two men slammed the door open and pointed their guns' torches out into the darkness.
"Who is there?!" a voice barked from the darkness, and a chill ran down Ohno's spine.
That voice.
That voice that had now been missing for the past few days.
Ohno knew that voice anywhere.
"Nino?" Ohno softly called out in disbelief, "Nino, is that you?!"
Jun hurriedly reached for the light switch and flicked it on.
In the midst of the flickering lights, Ohno's eyes squinted, making out a figure standing on high alert amidst the unconscious bodies of security guards.
"Show yourself!" the figure ordered, but to Ohno it was as if he never heard him. His eyes only attempted to trace the face of the man before him as the grip on his dart gun grew slightly loose.
And then a flash of white fluorescent light illuminated those brownish-gold eyes.
The familiar shape of that pointed nose
The small mole on the side of his chin.
"Nino!" Ohno yelled out, half-shocked and half happy. The lights finally blinked and stayed on, and the man's expression only grew more grim and threatening.
"I don't know who you are talking about," the man said as he cocked his gun, and Ohno looked at him, confused. The man definitely had Nino's looks. Everything from his face and his build to his voice was completely identical.
And yet..
"N..Nino? What are you talking about? It's me, Ohno Satoshi! Your partner!"
"You are pissing me off! Who is that 'Nino'?!"
"Back off!" Jun barked, "this isn't him!"
"But HE IS!" Ohno protested angrily,"I KNOW HIM!"
"BUT I DON'T KNOW YOU!" the man shouted, pointing his gun to the ceiling. Gunshots rang out and the entire room was once again shrouded in unending flashes of light and darkness.
"Wait!" Ohno yelled as the figure sprinted fast away from him to a corner in the room. He followed only to see him dart out once more past him, disappearing into the dark like an apparition.
"He's getting away!" Jun shouted and Ohno sprinted for the door, seeing Nino's fleeing form.
"I'll bring him back!" Ohno said as he sped up his pace to keep up the chase. He reached another ajar door and pushed it open, only to see Nino's lookalike put a foot in the hole he made in the glass window. He looked back to meet Ohno's eyes, and aimed his gun at him.
Ohno felt his blood run cold.
It was not a look he recognised.
It was one of contempt.
"Nino-"
The moment he said that, the man pointed his gun to Ohno's arm and fired, the bullet cutting swiftly through the air to make a clean nick off Ohno's white coat.
When Ohno got to the window a second later, he had disappeared into the night.
The lights in the office flared on as Jun caught up beside Ohno.
"He got away?"
"..Y..yes.." Ohno managed shakily, maintaining a pained look as his dart gun fell to the floor.
"I..need to tell you something too," Jun said quietly and somberly, "I cannot find any camera footages from the past one week."
Ohno turned sharply, his eyes registering horror and disbelief.
"You don't think that Nino-"
"It's the only explanation as to why he could get in before any of us could," Jun said, swallowing a lump in his throat, "and why I couldn't find them after he was out of the room."
"I don't believe it!" Ohno argued angrily, "You saw him clearly in the light, didn't you?! This is Nino we are talking about! He wouldn't-"
A sharp, acute pain landed on the side of his cheek as he felt Jun land him a punch.
"WAKE UP!" Jun shouted angrily,"HE ISN'T THE NINO WE KNOW ANYMORE!"
Ohno felt his heart stop and his stomach sink.
"You heard him, didn't you?" Jun continued, his voice now reduced from a fed-up yell to an anguished chide, "he said he doesn't know you."
Ohno felt the ground beneath him open as he fell to his knees.
"He doesn't know me..? Impossible. He..." Ohno murmured as he looked down at the ground, "we.. we knew each other…right? We are partners after all... right?"
Jun said nothing but look out of the cut glass window into the darkness above, Nino's mysterious reappearance weighing hard on his heart.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Good work," Kuroda said as he looked through the camera rolls in his hands, "apologies, Kagura-san. To have to wipe off the trails that some of our goons left behind.."
"No sir," Kagura said, "it's perfectly fine. But.."
"Hmm?" Kuroda looked up in curiosity.
"... Do I know…someone?"
Kuroda's eyes narrowed as his eyes focused sharply on him.
"Who?"
Kagura bit his lip as he pondered over something uncertainly and looked up.
"Ohno Satoshi. Is he someone I'm supposed to know?" he asked.
Kuroda's eyes widened in complete shock as he whipped his chair around, his back facing Kagura. His brows drew together in a frown as he looked ahead at the wall.
And then as if struck by a brilliant idea, his lips drew up in a smile. He then slowly turned to look up at Kagura.
"He is one of our most dangerous enemies," Kuroda said in a clear voice, "and your best tool."
Kagura blinked, confused.
"Tool? What for...?"
Kuroda only stood up and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Wait outside for a bit. I will show you your main task in the H.R.C."
"Understood," Kagura said and walked out of the room, the metal door swinging close with a firm clang.
Kuroda turned to where his phone was and dialled a number.
"Hello? I need you to do some digging for me," he said, "find out who is Ohno Satoshi."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I saw it all," Sho said as Ohno and Jun stepped in the headquarters tiredly,"Ohno-kun, that was Nino, wasn't he?"
Ohno nodded. Jun only looked away with a complex expression on his face.
"This is hard," Sho said with a pained look on his face,"we are supposed to rescue him. But if he acts against us all in such a way.."
"There must be something more to this! We must help him!" Ohno argued.
"I don't know, Ohno-kun," Sho said as he leveled a firm stare at him, "the facts are clear. Nino has said, in his own words, that he doesn't know you even though he clearly should know. He is clearly acting against us on his own will."
"I get that," Ohno continued weakly, "but..we can't just.. I..we.."
"We cannot twist facts to suit our theories," Sho said firmly, "we must twist our theories to suit facts. And the facts say that Nino is alive and well and acting against us. We cannot assist him any further."
Ohno cast his eyes down to the ground, hope fading out of his eyes. Sho saw that and walked over, placing a firm hand on his slumped shoulder.
"Look," Sho began, "it is hard for all of us too. And I had hoped that it did not have to come down to this. But I cannot-I will not- forgive myself if I let anyone of us come into harm again."
Jun looked up at Sho sadly.
"So, we are.."
Sho nodded.
"Ninomiya Kazunari," Sho said with a solemn tone of a judge pronouncing a sentence,"is on his own now."
Ohno felt as if he was stabbed in the gut as he felt himself sink down helplessly to the ground, his heart now shattered at the hopelessness in their situation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
While waiting for Kuroda, Kagura looked down at his hand, a confused look on his face.
He was an amnesiac. He knew that.
And yet how he was able to handle a gun like he did hours ago was beyond him.
He looked far off into a small room where he could see some men shooting at some small target machines.
Perhaps that Kuroda guy was right, he thought, maybe he did work here and had an occupational accident.
His thoughts then turned to that man who pursued him.
"Ohno Satoshi..." he murmured under his breath, wondering why that name had grown to be so familiar on his lips.