The FURUBA ROUND ROBIN PROJECT 

Chapter Four

by  Adria
First Posted Online:  
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Yuki felt his face redden to his hairline. In Kyou’s hand, reflecting the light from Auntie Saori’s flashlight, was a small foil packet. Is that--? He didn’t want to know. Kyou’s expression seemed to vacillate between smugness and absolute fury. Baka neko! He’s enjoying this! He turned towards Tohru in concern. Does she even know what that is? He couldn’t tell. Her eyes were still wide and glassy, and her face held that ‘deer in headlights’ expression that he knew so well.

Auntie Saori, however, had recovered from her shock with a speed he wouldn’t have normally attributed to the saccharine woman. “Oh, is that a piece of candy?” she asked, her cloying tone obviously forced.

Kyou smirked. “Depends on what you mean by can—“He flew backwards. “What the hell?” He glared up at Yuki on the landing, only to find that he’d raced down the stairs with lightning speed and was now standing about eight feet away from him, eyes dark with concealed fury.

“Baka neko! I would have expected that from Haru, but you--! Can’t you see Honda-san’s in trouble?” As Kyou scrambled to his feet Yuki turned his back and walked calmly back up the stairs. Kyou glared fire at the rat’s back.

“Kuso nezumi! What the hell is this doing here, huh? How dare you! I’m gonna beat you bloody!” He charged at the slighter boy, who simply sidestepped and pushed him at one of the few stacks of files Yuki hadn’t had a chance to attack. Papers and file folders flew everywhere.

“Now look what you’ve done, baka neko. I’ll have to organize all those files before I can even begin to record and store them! It’s just like you to make more work for everyone around you...” Yuki let his voice trail off, knowing that Kyou wouldn’t be able to resist the cold disdain in his tone. He turned and stared up at the landing. “Honda-san? Are you all right?”

“Y-yes! I’m fine!” She replied a bit shakily. Her eyes were as big as saucers in her tiny face. If it was possible, they became even larger when she registered Kyou charging at Yuki from behind. “Look—“She started to cry out as Yuki executed a flawless spinning kick and launched Kyou mid-charge back towards the now-scattered files. “Out.”

Auntie Saori gasped beside Tohru. She turned towards the older woman to find her normally smiling face grey with shock. “H-how can they see?” She whispered. “It’s still so dark in there!”

“W-well,” Tohru hastened to reply. “There’s the light shining from the doorway and our flashlights...I’m sure their eyes have adjusted to the dark so they can see better than we can right now! Are you all right?” The normally almost insanely cheerful woman’s face held no expression as her eyes darted between the two barely-visible young men. “Oh, no, you don’t look well at all! We should get you something to drink, Auntie Saori!”

Tohru’s concern finally began to pierce the older woman’s shock. “Drink? Oh, yes, that would be wonderful! You’re such a polite child! Your mother must be so proud of you!” Tohru nodded and smiled as she took her elbow and led/pushed her towards where she knew Momiji and her coworkers were probably still talking. She glanced worriedly behind her, but couldn’t make out the forms of the two boys as she walked out of eyeshot.

Once she had left, Kyou really let loose. “What the hell is a condom doing in your office, kuso nezumi! What were you planning on doing with it, huh? You’re disgusting! You’re even worse than your brother! Gah—“ Yuki’s fist stopped Kyou’s tirade rather nicely.

Meanwhile, Shigure looked up from his desk in concern. The three teenagers had yet to return from Momiji’s father’s building. What if something had happened? Then he remembered his ‘sending off’ gift to Yuki for his first day of work. I wonder if Kyou found it before Yuki...Ie. Yuki’s pants are skinny enough he’d surely feel that little thing in his pocket...Oh, I do hope he enjoys it! He propped his head on his hand as he thought about the delicious scenario that would enfold if Kyou had found the ‘gift’ before Yuki realized it, looking for all the world like a writer in a wonderful daydream.

Tohru hurried Auntie Saori back to Momiji, her mind whirling. First the fall and now this! What more could go wrong tonight? At least the two hadn’t transformed! Momiji was still chattering with her coworkers and sprang to his feet at the sight of the shaken pair.

“Tohru-kun! Where’s Yuki and Kyou? What’s wrong with Auntie Saori? Did something happen?” Seeing their shocky gray pallor, the older women rushed forward and immediately took charge, leading them to the slightly-uncomfortable couches and making them sit down before dispatching one to fetch something to drink.

“Y-yuki....K-kyou...b-base...” Tohru managed to stammer out in the sudden excitement. Momiji leaned in.

“Are Yuki and Kyou still in the basement? What happened?” Tohru wanted so badly to hug the rabbit but she didn’t dare. As it was, she glanced over at Auntie Saori and saw that she was finally coming out of her fog. This could be very bad!

“Momiji-kun, perhaps you should call Hatori-san...I hate to bother him about something like this but it might be, well, necessary...” She whispered as quietly as she could. Momiji’s eyes widened. Outside thunder crashed again, causing the lights to flicker. “Hurry, Momiji-kun!”

“Ha-san! How are you doing tonight?” Shigure chattered.

“What do you want?” Hatori grumbled.

“Well, this is Yuki’s first day at work, you know! He’s growing up so fast! Isn’t it wonderful?”

“What. Do. You. Want?” Hatori repeated slowly. He placed a hand over his eyes. He could feel the migraine starting...

“I was just wondering if you were going to be picking Momiji up tonight? It doesn’t look like the lull in the storm is going to last very long and Kyou’s already left to walk Tohru back home but they haven’t arrived yet and could you go pick them up since you’re already planning on picking up Momiji?” Shigure knew when not to push Hatori.

Hatori sighed. Between the storm and Akito’s ranting earlier that day he’d had his hands full. But he had been planning on picking up Momiji. Three more in the car wouldn’t matter too much. “All right.” Thunder rumbled overhead and there was a distinct buzzing over the phone line as Shigure replied.

“Thanks, Ha-san! I would go myself but Mii-chan has been hounding me over the last hundred pages of my latest manuscript and I simply can’t let the poor woman down!” He paused, laughing to himself. “On the other hand, they are my charges. Perhaps you could come pick me up on your way?”

“No.”

“Aw, Ha-san’s so mean!”

“Just be grateful I agreed to do this at all.” The line crackled again and went silent. “Shigure?” No answer. Hatori sighed deeply and stood to fetch his keys.

“Damn it!” Kyou swore as he struggled to his feet.

“Idiot. How would I know what that thing is doing here? I’ve been so busy trying to clean the place up I haven’t even had a break!”

“I’m crying a river.” That earned him another punch. “Ow, damn it!”

“Serves you right, baka neko. Must you always draw the worst conclusions? It’s entirely possible that it was here before I even started. Why would I have it?” Yuki couldn’t bring himself to actually name the thing that was still clutched in Kyou’s fist.

“Why wouldn’t you have it?! Such a charming prince, if everybody knew about this they’d change their minds for sure!” Kyou raged on, stubbornly refusing to concede Yuki’s point. But the focus of his anger had turned his attention from him to the door.

“What--?” Yuki’s eyes narrowed as he realized the small rectangle of light framed by the door became smaller and smaller. “Hey! What are you doing? No!” Yuki raced up the steps. He was too late. The door closed with a resounding thud and the large basement room fell into darkness.

“Shit!” For once, Yuki seconded Kyou’s sentiment.

“Momiji? Did you call Hatori-san?” Tohru asked anxiously. The blond-haired boy shook his head.

“I tried, Tohru-kun. The phones are out. I even tried his cell, but I guess those are out, too.”

“Oh. Well, we’ll just have to do our best!” She smiled as widely as she could, determinedly ignoring the flutter in her diaphragm. “Oh! We should go check on Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun!” She jumped to her feet so quickly her head swam with dizziness. She fell to her knees.

“Tohru-kun! Are you all right?” She nodded. Why am I feeling like this? Something’s happening.

“I’m all right, Momiji-kun! I just got a little dizzy...we have to hurry!” The pair raced to the basement door, only to find it closed—and locked. They tugged vainly at the barrier.

“Yuki-kun! Kyou-kun! Are you in there? Are you okay?” She turned to the younger boy. “Momiji-kun, go get the keys from Auntie Saori!”

“Honda-san?” Yuki’s voice through the door sounded thin and pale.

“Yuki-kun! Momiji-kun’s gone to get the keys. We’ll have you out in a minute!”

“H-honda-san...hurry. Kyou’s...he’s not doing very well.”

“EEH!”

“The storm must be starting up again. He’s feeling the effects.”

“O-o-okay, Yuki-kun!” Tohru reassured the shaken rat. Momiji came racing back.

“Tohru-kun, Auntie Saori’s disappeared! She told the ladies that she had to go to the bathroom but she’s not there! What’re we gonna do?” Momiji’s voice rose with every syllable until there was no doubt that Yuki had heard the bad news.

“Yuki-kun! We’ll figure something out! Leave it to us!” Yuki groaned quietly. Momiji and Honda-san were reliable, but they were hardly creative. He glanced down the stairs at Kyou’s dim figure illuminated by the computer screen.

“Thanks, you two. We’ll stay here. It’s not like we’re going to go anywhere. But can you get to security and see if someone could increase the temperature on the air conditioner? I don’t want to freeze to death again.”

“Okay!” He heard the two’s footsteps recede away. He looked down at the prostrate cat again.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, baka neko.”

Kyou groaned.

Tohru and Momiji raced to the security desk in the front lobby. They stared for a few seconds in dumb shock. The lobby was...empty. The small monitors that ringed the inside of the semicircular desk flickered from camera to camera. Momiji slowly approached the lone chair behind the desk. Tohru had her hands at her mouth to prevent the scream that would surely come once the rabbit had turned the chair. Greatly daring, he whirled the chair and Tohru ‘EEP’ed. Then he leaped on the leather seat and spun around.

“Wheeee! You should try this Tohru-kun! This is so fun!”

“B-b-but, Yuki-kun...the air conditioner...”

“Oh, yeah!” Momiji glanced around the desk quickly. On one end was a switch labeled ‘Bsmnt A/C’. There wasn’t a temperature control. Momiji turned the switch to ‘off’ and smiled winsomely at Tohru. “All set! I wonder where the security officers are.”

“They usually leave one person here, don’t they?” Tohru asked tremulously.

“Yeah. It’s standard operating procedure. Where is everyone?”

Knock, knock, knock

This time, Tohru did scream.

Knock, knock, knock

“Oh, it’s Ha’ri! He can’t get in.” Momiji pressed the button that unlocked the front doors. “Hi, Ha’ri! What are you doing here? Did you bring anything to eat? We’re starved!” Momiji burst from behind the desk and hurtled himself at the older man.

“Momiji. I’m supposed to pick you up, remember?” He turned to Tohru. “Shigure asked me to check on you and the boys as well. Where are Yuki and Kyou?”

At that moment, Yuki was trying very hard to not to squeak. Very hard. The Prince of Kaiwaia High does not squeak. The president of the student council of Kaiwaia High does not squeak. But he really, really wanted to.

“What...the hell...is...that...damn noise?” Kyou weakly demanded from his position on the floor.

Tap, tap, tap, tappity tap tap, tap, tap, tap, tappity...

“What’re...you doing at...the ?”

“I’m not at the computer, baka neko. I’d have had to kick you out of the way to get there!” Yuki’s irritation pushed back his fear response for a brief moment.

“What d’you...mean?” Kyou forced himself to turn toward Yuki’s voice.

“This happened before. The computer keys just began tapping on their own.”

“That’s...not...possible!”

“Apparently it is.” Yuki walked forward, stepping over Kyou on his way to his desk. He gasped at the words on the screen:

YOU WILL PAY

KUSO NEZUMI

BAKA NEKO

HONDA-SAN

MOMIJI-KUN

“What the hell...is that...supposed to mean?” Kyou’s swearing lost some of its effect with his reaction to the re-energized storm outside.

“I have no idea. The last time, all it said was ‘you will pay’. Now it’s calling us by name...” Yuki once again battled with his animal instincts. I will not squeak, I will not squeak.

“Shit!” Kyou swore with renewed energy. “This isn’t funny anymore.”

“Sohma-kun and Kyou-kun are in the basement, Hatori-san. Auntie Saori had the keys, but no one can find her. We don’t know what to do! It’s dark down there, and cold and—“

“And Yuki and Kyou are more than likely trying to beat the tar out of each other.” Tohru nodded helplessly at Hatori’s bald assessment. “And they’re locked in the basement?”

“Uh, eh, yes.”

“Where is your boss, Tohru? She must have a master key. Come, we’ll go find her and retrieve the boys.” Momiji and Tohru trailed after Hatori’s authoritative figure with loud exhalations of relief.

Yuki finally registered that the air conditioner had shut off. Thank God, he thought, and giggled to himself. Thank Akito. Ha ha ha.

“What’s so funny?” Kyou hissed. “You better not be laughing at me!”

“What could you do if I was, baka neko? The storm’s getting worse, I think.” Yuki taunted back. Anything to keep his mind off the tapping keys and that bizarre message repeating itself on the computer screen. Kyou pulled himself upright with effort, using the desk for support. He glared sullenly at the other boy.

“You damn...ooooh....” Was all Kyou got out before he stumbled into Yuki and fell heavily on top of the slighter boy.

“Oof! Get off of me, baka neko!”

“Can’t up with...any new curses?” Kyou’s smile was a caricature of a grin. “You’re stronger...than I am, you...do it.” Yuki wriggled until he was able to shove the ailing cat off of him. “Ow!”

“It’s only what you deserve.” Yuki rubbed at his shoulder, wincing. He’d had to put a lot of pressure on the bone to get the leverage to push Kyou off. He was going to be sore for a week! And that stupid keyboard wouldn’t stop tapping! In frustration, he ripped the thing away from the computer and threw it as far as he could.

Ka-thunk! Shhhhhhhhhhhh... It hit the ground and slid until he couldn’t hear it any more. Which was odd, considering that the basement had echoed before...

“That worked.” Kyou commented sarcastically. Yuki looked over at the computer screen only to see the same threat repeating itself on the screen over and over.

“Damn it!” he swore. Kyou looked at him in surprise. For once, the rat was losing his cool. “Why won’t it stop?!”

“Uh...” Kyou couldn’t bring himself to ask the question. He wasn’t about to let Yuki know that it was bugging him, too. Besides, in his present condition he wasn’t good for much more than biting comments, anyway. At least that kuso nezumi is as weirded out by all this as I am, he thought.

“Where are Honda-san and Momiji?! I can’t stand this!” Yuki began pacing in the almost-pitch darkness, missing Kyou by mere inches.

“Oy! Watch...where you’re...going!”

“Or what? You’ll moan me to death? You’re hardly in a state to do anything, baka neko!”

Try as they might, Hatori, Tohru and Momiji couldn’t find any of Tohru’s coworkers. They had apparently gone the way of Auntie Saori and disappeared without a trace. Hatori swore to himself. Thunder crashed outside and the lights flickered and went out. Tohru screamed and Momiji yelled. Then the lights flickered back on.

“Don’t worry, Tohru-kun! Dad’s building has a backup generator that activates whenever there’s a building-wide power failure. It’s got enough power to keep the lights on for eight hours! Amazing, isn’t it?” Momiji chattered, trying to sound cheerful.

“A-a-amazing! Yes, it is!” Tohru’s voice sounded high and tinny. Hatori swept a cursory glance over the her, but could find nothing out of the ordinary for the high-strung girl.

“Do you know where you’re boss’s office is?” Hatori asked her to take her mind off the state of the building.

“Ah, um, I think so...it’s that way!” She pointed up the stairs. Hatori sighed and began to climb. If they were on backup power, they probably shouldn’t take the elevator.

This is going to take forever...

“Shut...up!” Kyou yelled.

“Shut...up....shut....up...shut...up....” his words echoed back. And then they heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

“Who’s there?” Yuki asked.

“What was...that?” Kyou demanded at the same time. Yuki turned and glared at the cat.

“Be quiet, baka neko! How am I supposed to get us out of here if you keep interrupting me?”

“Interrupting me...interrupting mee...teeheehee.” That was definitely a laugh. “Kuso nezumi. Baka neko. Those are funny names.” The voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere. And it was getting louder.

“Who?” Yuki tried to quiet his breathing. And not squeak.

“Me, of course!” He threw his gaze about the dark space but saw nothing but the computer screen and Kyou on the floor, struggling to stand.

“Who the f beep ...are you?” Kyou shouted.

“Don’t remember. Had a name once. What was it?” The voice was silent for a few seconds. “Nope. Not there. Who do you think I should be?” A mist swam up into the darkness of the room, cold and damp. Yuki was now doubly glad Tohru and Momiji had managed to get the air conditioner turned off. I will not squeak! He could feel his breathing begin to labor and he sat down on the icy floor.

“What’s wrong...kuso...nezumi? Is the widdle...rat...getting scaiwed?” The voice laughed.

“That was funny, too! You’re funny, baka neko!”

“That’s...not...my...damn...name!” Kyou’s heart rate had tripled, but damned if he was going to let that stupid rat know about it!

“It’s not? That’s too bad. I rather like it.” The voice giggled again. The mist began to collect between the two boys and coalesce into a human form.

“Yuki?” Kyou asked, a little uncertainly.

“What?” Yuki gasped in reply. He couldn’t seem to get a breath...

“I think...this...is bad.” Yuki didn’t bother to reply; he only nodded in agreement, staring at the ghost that had appeared between them.

End of Chapter 4
Return to Chapter 3  
Continued on Chapter 5 

But on to the really fun stuff! hands Meteor a small tape recorder Here you go!

Meteor plays tape

Good evening, Meteor. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take the story as it stands now and turn it into a mystery a la 'Scooby Doo Mysteries'. The characters do not have to take on the names of the Scooby Doo characters, but you must have at least one 'yoinks!' and one 'ruh-roh'. Who takes the responsibilities of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby are up to you. This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds. 4...3...2...1...

tape poofs

Have fun!

Adria