In the Endless Rain [Part 2] (Fic with PureBoys, D-Boys, Nachural, and more)
Can't...stop...writing. D: I actually had this finished last night, but I thought I'd sleep on it and let people recover from the first part before throw them into another. XD
Title: In the Endless Rain [Part 2]
Characters: PureBoys, D-Boys, Nachural, and more
Word Count: 3331
Summary: AU. One more of the group of mercenaries PureBoys goes missing. Nachural is still being held by the D-Boys, who are trying to find out why their leader is being targeted. Worksafe.
[Part 1] [Part 3]
Seto Kouji sighed as his attempts to get Tomo to talk to him once again didn't work.
"Please, Tomo. It was an accident!"
"Was it really?" Yanagishita Tomo turned, frowning in accusation.
Seto opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out. Instead he said, "I thought you and Kato were over."
"We were!" Tomo insisted, then his face fell. "We are. We have to be."
"So if you never joined the D-Boys and he was never a part of PureBoys, you would still be together?" It was Seto's turn to be accusing.
"That does matter." Tomo looked hurt. Maybe they would have been, but that wasn't the case now. "Besides, don't talk to me about having relationships with the opposition! That shot was as much about Keisuke and I as it was you and Takiguchi!"
Seto looked away. "Takki and I... Takiguchi and I are nothing anymore."
"So I'm the rebound?"
Seto pouted up at his boyfriend. "Tomo, you know you mean more to me than that."
Tomo bit his lip, watching Seto's eyes. "Then if you knew I liked Keisuke, why did you shoot at him?"
"I... that's WHY." Seto put his hands on Tomo's shoulders. "You liked him...but now you're mine, right? If he was out of the picture, you wouldn't have any regrets being with me." He said stubbornly, gripping his shoulder's possessively.
"Kouji..."
"Besides, he's not going to die from that, unless that partner of his just left him somewhere to bleed to death. And even then he'd have to find some way to keep the wound open." Seto kissed Tomo lightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would upset you so much."
Tomo gave him a soft smile and kissed him back. "Love you." he whispered, reassuring Seto that there was no need to be jealous. Mostly.
~~~
"Manpei." Nakayama Masei said as all the PureBoys but for Keisuke and Kohei were assembled in the lounge of the 'Kanpai Motel', which was much more headquarters and living area than a motel.
"Manpei?" Baba Toru asked. One of his hands was on his head, holding his light brown hair in an attempt to get it to stay the way he wanted it to. He had had...interesting dreams the night before, which left him and his bed mussed when he woke up.
"Yes, Manpei!" Takiguchi Yukihiro said excitedly, looking at Masei as if he were a genius. "He's got good connections with both D-Boys and Nachural!"
"But who is he?" Baba asked in confusion.
"Takagi Manpei," Minami Keisuke stated in a considering tone, "He's the twin brother of Takagi Shinpei, and has worked closely with Araki and Suzuki from D-Boys."
"We could use him to negotiate! Or help us. He wouldn't let them just capture his brother, right?" Takki said, his eyes lighting up.
"Even if they're twins, they might not be that close." Yagami Ren mused, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be in Nachural as well, if that were the case? I don't think we should turn to Manpei just yet."
Takki sighed, the good idea having been crushed by Ouji's soft voice.
"What we need to do is get in contact with Nachural. Yukihiro; any suggestions?" Minami asked.
"We do have a few signals. Harmless explosions in certain areas and other such activity that would be in the news and therefore have more of a chance to be known. But we can only use them if we're in action. To tell them, 'we're coming for you tonight'; that sort of thing." Takiguchi explained. Never had he thought being in both groups would be so useful.
"Still, it would be nice to have someone on the inside." Minami was still looking at Takiguchi.
Understanding what he was trying to say, Takki shook his head quickly. "Seto... he's not... he's loyal to D-Boys. I can't get him to help us." It wasn't from lack of trying either. He had pleaded with Seto to see reason, after learning that there was no coincidence that Seto Kouji, the name of his former boyfriend, happened to be the name of a D-Boys member.
Minami nodded in understanding. "I need to think this out more. If any of you have ideas, I'll be in my room."
Ouji followed as Minami walked up the stairs in the back of the lounge, putting an arm around his back and massaging his shoulder lightly. "We'll figure this out."
~~~
Ono Kento sat against the wall, thinking that it was a good thing he had his hands tied. If not, it would have seemed weird that he kept his hands behind him all the time. The walls were drywall, and with just a few bruised and bloody knuckles he had broken through and found the wires to the cameras in his room and hopefully the ones next to it, where Shinpei and Jutta were being held. He would just have to bide his time until he got a chance to turn off the cameras and make a run for it.
Takagi Shinpei couldn't sit still in his room like Kento, and therefore was on constant guard watch. The ones that seemed to be there most often were a couple of guys named Kaji and Makita. Apparently Makita was new. If there was a time to break free, it would be while he was on guard duty.
Yuki Jutta had managed to peek through his blindfold when they had all been lead to the D-Boys' hideout. He spent his time recalling where certain things were and how to get out of the building. Thankfully his photographic memory had been enough to think out a basic escape route. If only he could get in touch with the others.
Nachural was not a group to be underestimated. Soon, the D-Boys would be minus three hostages before they knew what hit them.
~~~
Takiguchi smiled at Kato Keisuke as he stood from the chair next to the hospital bed. He had come in to see him as soon as he could that morning, allowing Takeda Kohei to go back to the motel. "Take care. And if they don't feed you good food just tell me and I'll smuggle something in."
Keisuke laughed appreciatively. "It's not that bad. Not the glop they have to feed the guy next door because his stomach's healing. I wouldn't mind something sweet, though."
"Sweet. Got it." Takki hesitated, hovering next to the bed before finally leaning over and giving Keisuke a soft kiss. "Ba-chon should be here any minute. I'll see you tomorrow."
Keisuke held onto Takki's hand. Slowly he let go and smiled, allowing the older man to walk to the door. "See you."
Takiguchi was about to walk out the door, when he stopped and turned around, quickly making his way back to Keisuke's bed. Without warning he leaned over to kiss the younger man again.
When Takki broke the kiss, Keisuke laughed slightly. He brought his hand up to touch the other man's cheek. "I really will be okay."
"That doesn't mean I won't miss you."
Baba walked in the hospital room and almost walked back out again. He was greeted by the sight of Takki giving Keisuke one last kiss goodbye. His stomach started twisting in funny knots, while his mind tried to convince him that he wasn't jealous.
"Ba-chon!" Takki said, startled as he finally turned away from the injured man. "Ah, well... now that you're here I'd better be going. Bye, Keisuke." His face had gone red and soon he ducked out of the room.
He left the hospital, touching his hands to his face in hopes it would cool down his blush. That had been somewhat awkward. He and Keisuke didn't kiss often at all, and to have Baba of all people be the one to see it....
His motorcycle was parked just outside, but before his could get to it, there was an arm encircling his waist and something hard poked into his side. "Takiguchi-san. I've been waiting for you." A voice whispered in his ear. Takki turned his head to see a well-dressed man smirking at him. "I'd like you to come with me, if you would be so kind."
Takiguchi didn't have much of a choice. The man may have had a persuading, pleasant voice, but the gun sticking into his side made the descision for him. "Who are you?" he hissed.
"We'll discuss that in the car." The man said, waving his hand at the dark black car that had pulled up in front of them. Opening the back door, he moved the gun to Takki's back and smirked again. "After you."
~~~
Nakamura Yuuchi was more than confused. "Irei Kanata? Isn't he the guy who hired the PureBoys to get rid of Shirota?"
"Yeah." Wada Masato affirmed, looking confused himself. "This is getting much too complicated. We don't even know why Irei wants Shirota dead, and now here's someone hiring us to kill him."
"Agh, my brain hurts." Yuuchi held his head in his hands to emphasize his point. "What was this guy's name again?"
"Nakagauchi something." Wada replied.
"Masataka." Another voice chipped in. Endo Yuya stood in the doorway of the meeting room.
"So, what do Shirota, Irei, and Nakagauchi have in common?" Wada finished.
"They all want to kill each other?" Nakamura speculated.
Wada shook his head. "That's not true. Nakagauchi's not trying to kill Shirota, and Irei's not trying to kill Nakagauchi."
"Actually, that's why I'm here." Endo interrupted. "Irei's trying to get into contact with Nachural. He wants a certain Nakagauchi Masataka dead."
Silence filled the room as both Wada and Nakamura absorbed this piece of information.
"Well." Nakamura said, and stood. "That's too much for my brain. I'm going to sleep and let people like Shirota think this mess over. We haven't had something this complicated for years."
~~~
"They making you stay until close again?" Baba asked, sipping at a bottle of juice that was making his hands wet from the condensation.
Masei nodded, taking an empty mug from one of the men at the bar and passing him another that was full of amber liquid. "Yeah. You should go back. See if Minami or Ouji have come up with anything yet."
"I will. Don't worry, I'm sure that by the time you come home we'll have something. Even if we didn't owe Nachural from the times they helped us, they're still friends, right?" Baba reassured, taking one last gulp of his juice and then leaving it on the counter for Masei to sweep up. "See you tonight."
"Yeah, see you." Masei squeezed Baba's hand in farewell, giving him a thankful smile.
Baba left the bar that Masei worked part-time at, riding a lonely and uneventful bus ride back to the 'Kanpai Motel'.
There, he found Minami and Ouji in their room huddled together in thought.
"Still thinking about it?" Baba asked, entering the room after knocking.
"Ah, Toru. We've decided to see if Manpei wants to get involved after all." Minami informed him, standing from his chair which creaked from overuse.
Baba nodded. He still didn't know much at all about the guy, but if Takki seemed to think it was a good idea.... "Where's Takki?" he asked, realizing that he should have been there.
"Wasn't he with you?" Ouji asked, pausing his typing at the laptop that was sitting on his lap.
"No, I haven't seen him since he left the hospital."
"Maybe that's where he is." Ouji suggested.
Baba quickly pulled out his cell phone and tapped one of the quickdial buttons. "Pick up..." he pleaded. The phone rang once. Twice. After four rings, the voicemail picked up. "Hey, Takki, where are you? Call one of us back as soon as you can." Worry twisted in his gut as he dialed Kohei, who was supposed to be at the hospital with Keisuke.
"Moshi moshi Ba-chon!" Greeted Kohei's voice. "What's up?"
"Is Takki there with you?" Baba asked, biting his lip in hope and dread.
"Takki? No, I haven't seen him since he came to the Hospital this morning. Why? What's wrong?" Kohei's voice sounded slightly anxious.
Baba sat down on Ouji's bed distractedly twisting the blanket in his hands. "We just don't know where Takki is. He's not here and he's not answering his cell."
"I'll keep an eye out for him." Kohei offered, and then his voice faded as if he had stopped talking into the phone, the words faintly audible, "Takki's missing. Do you know where he could be?" His voice got louder as he spoke to Baba again, "Keisuke says he doesn't know where Takki is either."
Baba swore softly. "We shouldn't have let him go anywhere alone. I'll call you if we hear anything."
"Yeah, thanks. I'll keep calling his phone to see if he answers. See you." Kohei agreed, closing the connection.
Baba threw his phone on the bed and he swore again. He finally voiced the opinion all three of the men in the room shared. "D-Boys probably took him. Why didn't we think of that!?" He stood up and paced a few steps. "Of course if they're going to capture Nachural they would want all of them!" he yelled.
"Toru..."
"What!?" Baba snapped, then looked sheepishly at Minami. "What is it?"
"We don't know for sure that he was captured." The leader pointed out.
Baba leaned his head against the wall. "But Takki never turns off his phone, and he knows to answer it when things are like this. Listen, I...." he marched over to the bed and grabbed his phone. "I'm going to look for him."
"You shouldn't go out alone, especially not when it's getting late like this." Ouji cautioned.
"Toru." Minami called, but Baba was already out the door, ignoring them both. "Toru!"
~~~
It was raining again when Baba left the motel. He didn't care that his sweatshirt wasn't waterproof nor that he forgot to bring an umbrella. He mentally listed all the places Takki would go, and started off for the nearest one.
Takiguchi wasn't in the corner store where he sometimes bought ice cream. He wasn't at the karaoke bar they sometime frequented either. It was a long shot, but Baba couldn't even find him at the sports park where he sometimes played tennis with Keisuke.
He wandered down streets, not quite sure of where he was looking anymore, but moving around made him feel like he was doing something to help. Eventually he just stopped on the sidewalk, staring at his phone in hopes that Takki would call him.
Suddenly, something changed and it took Baba a moment to realize that the rain had stopped. Except... it couldn't have because the pelting of the rain was louder than ever. He looked up to see his vision obscured by dark fabric, and he realized someone was holding an umbrella over him.
"Isn't it a little wet to be standing out on the sidewalk?" A voice that, if Baba wasn't in such a bad mood, would have sounded...seductive.
Baba glared up at whoever had decided to disturb him while he was in such a worried state. A well dressed man smiled at him. "Sorry if I disturbed you. The umbrella probably doesn't do much; you looked soaked through already." he said in amusement. "Why don't you come inside? It's a lot warmer and dryer." He gestured behind him at a building which proudly proclaimed in bright fushia florescent lights, 'Celebrity'.
"No thanks." Baba shook his head. From the giggling girls and smitten-looking boys that left the building and the amounts of men with slightly poofy, highlighted hair, it was obviously a host club. "I was just heading home."
"Alright then. If you ever need a job, you might consider the host business. You've got quite the face; I'm sure girls would love it." The man said, as if they weren't complete strangers that happened to meet on the street. "Nakagauchi Masataka, by the way. I own 'Celebrity'."
Baba raised an eyebrow. "Ah. Well, nice to meet you, Nakagauchi-san. I should be going." He turned to leave.
"I didn't get your name." Nakagauchi insisted, watching him with an expectant expression.
"Baba Toru." Baba said reluctantly. "Goodbye." he said in a tone of finality and walked away.
Because of the loud rain and the fact that he wasn't paying attention, he didn't see Nakagauchi's smirk and contemplating; "Baba Toru. How very interesting."
~~~
"Irei-san. Good to see you again." A man said, bowing his head politely as another man sat across from him.
"Haven't I told you to drop the 'san'? I come here often enough that we can forget formality, don't I?" Irei Kanata asked. He was a good-looking man who wore more jewelry than most women. However, considering his job as the owner of a jewelry company, it wasn't surprising.
The other man at the table smiled. "I guess so. How is business, Irei?"
Irei waved his hand. "Same as always. You know, I do wish that you'd consider modeling for my company. You look absolutely stunning in silver, Aiba." He leaned closer across the table and winked, "Then again, you look stunning in anything."
Aiba Hiroki laughed. "I thought I was the host here."
"Irei-san." A voice said in fake welcome as a man sauntered up to their table, "I see you've graced my club with your presence once again."
Irei bowed his head ever-so-slightly. "Nakagauchi-san. How can I not continue visiting such a fine establishment?" Despite the gracious words, the mens' eyes were cold, threats hidden underneath every word they spoke. "You have such wonderful men working here."
"I do indeed." Nakagauchi turned his head to the host at the table, "How are you doing so far tonight Aiba? Going home at the usual time, I presume?"
"I'm fine, Masa." Aiba replied, not noticing the way Irei frowned at the casual use of the owner's nickname. "Actually, I was hoping to get off a little early tonight. Shirota wants to take me to a late dinner. Is that alright?"
A flicker of anger passed over Nakagauchi's face, before it went back to it's usual smiling, almost smirking expression. "Of course. You've been working hard. Tell Shirota he's a lucky man to have someone like you."
"Very lucky indeed." Irei agreed, chewing on his cheek to avoid grinding his teeth.
Aiba laughed again. "Really, between you two, I feel like the customer."
"Well, I have some business to attend to. Have a good night Irei-san, Aibacchi." As Nakagauchi turned around to leave, he flashed Irei a glare.
"You too, Masa." Aiba said in farewell, as Irei just frowned at the retreating man. "Irei, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Bit my cheek on accident." The man lied, then asked. "Shirota, he's half Spanish, right?"
Aiba nodded, and replied curiously "Yes, why?"
"You know, I'm from Argentina."
Aiba laughed and shook his head, "That's nice, Irei."
~~~
A/N: LOL, and there I go, alluding to yet ANOTHER fandom. XD I've only seen the first episode of Byou Shounen Celebrity, actually, but I had to name Masa's host club SOMETHING.
Confused yet? (I know I am.) Oooh, who took Takki? Do you understand the motives yet? How will the PureBoys rescue Nachural? Find out all this and more... once I find out myself write the next part. (Which I'm already almost 2000 words into. ^_^;;)
Title: In the Endless Rain [Part 2]
Characters: PureBoys, D-Boys, Nachural, and more
Word Count: 3331
Summary: AU. One more of the group of mercenaries PureBoys goes missing. Nachural is still being held by the D-Boys, who are trying to find out why their leader is being targeted. Worksafe.
[Part 1] [Part 3]
Seto Kouji sighed as his attempts to get Tomo to talk to him once again didn't work.
"Please, Tomo. It was an accident!"
"Was it really?" Yanagishita Tomo turned, frowning in accusation.
Seto opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out. Instead he said, "I thought you and Kato were over."
"We were!" Tomo insisted, then his face fell. "We are. We have to be."
"So if you never joined the D-Boys and he was never a part of PureBoys, you would still be together?" It was Seto's turn to be accusing.
"That does matter." Tomo looked hurt. Maybe they would have been, but that wasn't the case now. "Besides, don't talk to me about having relationships with the opposition! That shot was as much about Keisuke and I as it was you and Takiguchi!"
Seto looked away. "Takki and I... Takiguchi and I are nothing anymore."
"So I'm the rebound?"
Seto pouted up at his boyfriend. "Tomo, you know you mean more to me than that."
Tomo bit his lip, watching Seto's eyes. "Then if you knew I liked Keisuke, why did you shoot at him?"
"I... that's WHY." Seto put his hands on Tomo's shoulders. "You liked him...but now you're mine, right? If he was out of the picture, you wouldn't have any regrets being with me." He said stubbornly, gripping his shoulder's possessively.
"Kouji..."
"Besides, he's not going to die from that, unless that partner of his just left him somewhere to bleed to death. And even then he'd have to find some way to keep the wound open." Seto kissed Tomo lightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would upset you so much."
Tomo gave him a soft smile and kissed him back. "Love you." he whispered, reassuring Seto that there was no need to be jealous. Mostly.
~~~
"Manpei." Nakayama Masei said as all the PureBoys but for Keisuke and Kohei were assembled in the lounge of the 'Kanpai Motel', which was much more headquarters and living area than a motel.
"Manpei?" Baba Toru asked. One of his hands was on his head, holding his light brown hair in an attempt to get it to stay the way he wanted it to. He had had...interesting dreams the night before, which left him and his bed mussed when he woke up.
"Yes, Manpei!" Takiguchi Yukihiro said excitedly, looking at Masei as if he were a genius. "He's got good connections with both D-Boys and Nachural!"
"But who is he?" Baba asked in confusion.
"Takagi Manpei," Minami Keisuke stated in a considering tone, "He's the twin brother of Takagi Shinpei, and has worked closely with Araki and Suzuki from D-Boys."
"We could use him to negotiate! Or help us. He wouldn't let them just capture his brother, right?" Takki said, his eyes lighting up.
"Even if they're twins, they might not be that close." Yagami Ren mused, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be in Nachural as well, if that were the case? I don't think we should turn to Manpei just yet."
Takki sighed, the good idea having been crushed by Ouji's soft voice.
"What we need to do is get in contact with Nachural. Yukihiro; any suggestions?" Minami asked.
"We do have a few signals. Harmless explosions in certain areas and other such activity that would be in the news and therefore have more of a chance to be known. But we can only use them if we're in action. To tell them, 'we're coming for you tonight'; that sort of thing." Takiguchi explained. Never had he thought being in both groups would be so useful.
"Still, it would be nice to have someone on the inside." Minami was still looking at Takiguchi.
Understanding what he was trying to say, Takki shook his head quickly. "Seto... he's not... he's loyal to D-Boys. I can't get him to help us." It wasn't from lack of trying either. He had pleaded with Seto to see reason, after learning that there was no coincidence that Seto Kouji, the name of his former boyfriend, happened to be the name of a D-Boys member.
Minami nodded in understanding. "I need to think this out more. If any of you have ideas, I'll be in my room."
Ouji followed as Minami walked up the stairs in the back of the lounge, putting an arm around his back and massaging his shoulder lightly. "We'll figure this out."
~~~
Ono Kento sat against the wall, thinking that it was a good thing he had his hands tied. If not, it would have seemed weird that he kept his hands behind him all the time. The walls were drywall, and with just a few bruised and bloody knuckles he had broken through and found the wires to the cameras in his room and hopefully the ones next to it, where Shinpei and Jutta were being held. He would just have to bide his time until he got a chance to turn off the cameras and make a run for it.
Takagi Shinpei couldn't sit still in his room like Kento, and therefore was on constant guard watch. The ones that seemed to be there most often were a couple of guys named Kaji and Makita. Apparently Makita was new. If there was a time to break free, it would be while he was on guard duty.
Yuki Jutta had managed to peek through his blindfold when they had all been lead to the D-Boys' hideout. He spent his time recalling where certain things were and how to get out of the building. Thankfully his photographic memory had been enough to think out a basic escape route. If only he could get in touch with the others.
Nachural was not a group to be underestimated. Soon, the D-Boys would be minus three hostages before they knew what hit them.
~~~
Takiguchi smiled at Kato Keisuke as he stood from the chair next to the hospital bed. He had come in to see him as soon as he could that morning, allowing Takeda Kohei to go back to the motel. "Take care. And if they don't feed you good food just tell me and I'll smuggle something in."
Keisuke laughed appreciatively. "It's not that bad. Not the glop they have to feed the guy next door because his stomach's healing. I wouldn't mind something sweet, though."
"Sweet. Got it." Takki hesitated, hovering next to the bed before finally leaning over and giving Keisuke a soft kiss. "Ba-chon should be here any minute. I'll see you tomorrow."
Keisuke held onto Takki's hand. Slowly he let go and smiled, allowing the older man to walk to the door. "See you."
Takiguchi was about to walk out the door, when he stopped and turned around, quickly making his way back to Keisuke's bed. Without warning he leaned over to kiss the younger man again.
When Takki broke the kiss, Keisuke laughed slightly. He brought his hand up to touch the other man's cheek. "I really will be okay."
"That doesn't mean I won't miss you."
Baba walked in the hospital room and almost walked back out again. He was greeted by the sight of Takki giving Keisuke one last kiss goodbye. His stomach started twisting in funny knots, while his mind tried to convince him that he wasn't jealous.
"Ba-chon!" Takki said, startled as he finally turned away from the injured man. "Ah, well... now that you're here I'd better be going. Bye, Keisuke." His face had gone red and soon he ducked out of the room.
He left the hospital, touching his hands to his face in hopes it would cool down his blush. That had been somewhat awkward. He and Keisuke didn't kiss often at all, and to have Baba of all people be the one to see it....
His motorcycle was parked just outside, but before his could get to it, there was an arm encircling his waist and something hard poked into his side. "Takiguchi-san. I've been waiting for you." A voice whispered in his ear. Takki turned his head to see a well-dressed man smirking at him. "I'd like you to come with me, if you would be so kind."
Takiguchi didn't have much of a choice. The man may have had a persuading, pleasant voice, but the gun sticking into his side made the descision for him. "Who are you?" he hissed.
"We'll discuss that in the car." The man said, waving his hand at the dark black car that had pulled up in front of them. Opening the back door, he moved the gun to Takki's back and smirked again. "After you."
~~~
Nakamura Yuuchi was more than confused. "Irei Kanata? Isn't he the guy who hired the PureBoys to get rid of Shirota?"
"Yeah." Wada Masato affirmed, looking confused himself. "This is getting much too complicated. We don't even know why Irei wants Shirota dead, and now here's someone hiring us to kill him."
"Agh, my brain hurts." Yuuchi held his head in his hands to emphasize his point. "What was this guy's name again?"
"Nakagauchi something." Wada replied.
"Masataka." Another voice chipped in. Endo Yuya stood in the doorway of the meeting room.
"So, what do Shirota, Irei, and Nakagauchi have in common?" Wada finished.
"They all want to kill each other?" Nakamura speculated.
Wada shook his head. "That's not true. Nakagauchi's not trying to kill Shirota, and Irei's not trying to kill Nakagauchi."
"Actually, that's why I'm here." Endo interrupted. "Irei's trying to get into contact with Nachural. He wants a certain Nakagauchi Masataka dead."
Silence filled the room as both Wada and Nakamura absorbed this piece of information.
"Well." Nakamura said, and stood. "That's too much for my brain. I'm going to sleep and let people like Shirota think this mess over. We haven't had something this complicated for years."
~~~
"They making you stay until close again?" Baba asked, sipping at a bottle of juice that was making his hands wet from the condensation.
Masei nodded, taking an empty mug from one of the men at the bar and passing him another that was full of amber liquid. "Yeah. You should go back. See if Minami or Ouji have come up with anything yet."
"I will. Don't worry, I'm sure that by the time you come home we'll have something. Even if we didn't owe Nachural from the times they helped us, they're still friends, right?" Baba reassured, taking one last gulp of his juice and then leaving it on the counter for Masei to sweep up. "See you tonight."
"Yeah, see you." Masei squeezed Baba's hand in farewell, giving him a thankful smile.
Baba left the bar that Masei worked part-time at, riding a lonely and uneventful bus ride back to the 'Kanpai Motel'.
There, he found Minami and Ouji in their room huddled together in thought.
"Still thinking about it?" Baba asked, entering the room after knocking.
"Ah, Toru. We've decided to see if Manpei wants to get involved after all." Minami informed him, standing from his chair which creaked from overuse.
Baba nodded. He still didn't know much at all about the guy, but if Takki seemed to think it was a good idea.... "Where's Takki?" he asked, realizing that he should have been there.
"Wasn't he with you?" Ouji asked, pausing his typing at the laptop that was sitting on his lap.
"No, I haven't seen him since he left the hospital."
"Maybe that's where he is." Ouji suggested.
Baba quickly pulled out his cell phone and tapped one of the quickdial buttons. "Pick up..." he pleaded. The phone rang once. Twice. After four rings, the voicemail picked up. "Hey, Takki, where are you? Call one of us back as soon as you can." Worry twisted in his gut as he dialed Kohei, who was supposed to be at the hospital with Keisuke.
"Moshi moshi Ba-chon!" Greeted Kohei's voice. "What's up?"
"Is Takki there with you?" Baba asked, biting his lip in hope and dread.
"Takki? No, I haven't seen him since he came to the Hospital this morning. Why? What's wrong?" Kohei's voice sounded slightly anxious.
Baba sat down on Ouji's bed distractedly twisting the blanket in his hands. "We just don't know where Takki is. He's not here and he's not answering his cell."
"I'll keep an eye out for him." Kohei offered, and then his voice faded as if he had stopped talking into the phone, the words faintly audible, "Takki's missing. Do you know where he could be?" His voice got louder as he spoke to Baba again, "Keisuke says he doesn't know where Takki is either."
Baba swore softly. "We shouldn't have let him go anywhere alone. I'll call you if we hear anything."
"Yeah, thanks. I'll keep calling his phone to see if he answers. See you." Kohei agreed, closing the connection.
Baba threw his phone on the bed and he swore again. He finally voiced the opinion all three of the men in the room shared. "D-Boys probably took him. Why didn't we think of that!?" He stood up and paced a few steps. "Of course if they're going to capture Nachural they would want all of them!" he yelled.
"Toru..."
"What!?" Baba snapped, then looked sheepishly at Minami. "What is it?"
"We don't know for sure that he was captured." The leader pointed out.
Baba leaned his head against the wall. "But Takki never turns off his phone, and he knows to answer it when things are like this. Listen, I...." he marched over to the bed and grabbed his phone. "I'm going to look for him."
"You shouldn't go out alone, especially not when it's getting late like this." Ouji cautioned.
"Toru." Minami called, but Baba was already out the door, ignoring them both. "Toru!"
~~~
It was raining again when Baba left the motel. He didn't care that his sweatshirt wasn't waterproof nor that he forgot to bring an umbrella. He mentally listed all the places Takki would go, and started off for the nearest one.
Takiguchi wasn't in the corner store where he sometimes bought ice cream. He wasn't at the karaoke bar they sometime frequented either. It was a long shot, but Baba couldn't even find him at the sports park where he sometimes played tennis with Keisuke.
He wandered down streets, not quite sure of where he was looking anymore, but moving around made him feel like he was doing something to help. Eventually he just stopped on the sidewalk, staring at his phone in hopes that Takki would call him.
Suddenly, something changed and it took Baba a moment to realize that the rain had stopped. Except... it couldn't have because the pelting of the rain was louder than ever. He looked up to see his vision obscured by dark fabric, and he realized someone was holding an umbrella over him.
"Isn't it a little wet to be standing out on the sidewalk?" A voice that, if Baba wasn't in such a bad mood, would have sounded...seductive.
Baba glared up at whoever had decided to disturb him while he was in such a worried state. A well dressed man smiled at him. "Sorry if I disturbed you. The umbrella probably doesn't do much; you looked soaked through already." he said in amusement. "Why don't you come inside? It's a lot warmer and dryer." He gestured behind him at a building which proudly proclaimed in bright fushia florescent lights, 'Celebrity'.
"No thanks." Baba shook his head. From the giggling girls and smitten-looking boys that left the building and the amounts of men with slightly poofy, highlighted hair, it was obviously a host club. "I was just heading home."
"Alright then. If you ever need a job, you might consider the host business. You've got quite the face; I'm sure girls would love it." The man said, as if they weren't complete strangers that happened to meet on the street. "Nakagauchi Masataka, by the way. I own 'Celebrity'."
Baba raised an eyebrow. "Ah. Well, nice to meet you, Nakagauchi-san. I should be going." He turned to leave.
"I didn't get your name." Nakagauchi insisted, watching him with an expectant expression.
"Baba Toru." Baba said reluctantly. "Goodbye." he said in a tone of finality and walked away.
Because of the loud rain and the fact that he wasn't paying attention, he didn't see Nakagauchi's smirk and contemplating; "Baba Toru. How very interesting."
~~~
"Irei-san. Good to see you again." A man said, bowing his head politely as another man sat across from him.
"Haven't I told you to drop the 'san'? I come here often enough that we can forget formality, don't I?" Irei Kanata asked. He was a good-looking man who wore more jewelry than most women. However, considering his job as the owner of a jewelry company, it wasn't surprising.
The other man at the table smiled. "I guess so. How is business, Irei?"
Irei waved his hand. "Same as always. You know, I do wish that you'd consider modeling for my company. You look absolutely stunning in silver, Aiba." He leaned closer across the table and winked, "Then again, you look stunning in anything."
Aiba Hiroki laughed. "I thought I was the host here."
"Irei-san." A voice said in fake welcome as a man sauntered up to their table, "I see you've graced my club with your presence once again."
Irei bowed his head ever-so-slightly. "Nakagauchi-san. How can I not continue visiting such a fine establishment?" Despite the gracious words, the mens' eyes were cold, threats hidden underneath every word they spoke. "You have such wonderful men working here."
"I do indeed." Nakagauchi turned his head to the host at the table, "How are you doing so far tonight Aiba? Going home at the usual time, I presume?"
"I'm fine, Masa." Aiba replied, not noticing the way Irei frowned at the casual use of the owner's nickname. "Actually, I was hoping to get off a little early tonight. Shirota wants to take me to a late dinner. Is that alright?"
A flicker of anger passed over Nakagauchi's face, before it went back to it's usual smiling, almost smirking expression. "Of course. You've been working hard. Tell Shirota he's a lucky man to have someone like you."
"Very lucky indeed." Irei agreed, chewing on his cheek to avoid grinding his teeth.
Aiba laughed again. "Really, between you two, I feel like the customer."
"Well, I have some business to attend to. Have a good night Irei-san, Aibacchi." As Nakagauchi turned around to leave, he flashed Irei a glare.
"You too, Masa." Aiba said in farewell, as Irei just frowned at the retreating man. "Irei, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Bit my cheek on accident." The man lied, then asked. "Shirota, he's half Spanish, right?"
Aiba nodded, and replied curiously "Yes, why?"
"You know, I'm from Argentina."
Aiba laughed and shook his head, "That's nice, Irei."
~~~
A/N: LOL, and there I go, alluding to yet ANOTHER fandom. XD I've only seen the first episode of Byou Shounen Celebrity, actually, but I had to name Masa's host club SOMETHING.
Confused yet? (I know I am.) Oooh, who took Takki? Do you understand the motives yet? How will the PureBoys rescue Nachural? Find out all this and more... once I find out myself write the next part. (Which I'm already almost 2000 words into. ^_^;;)