Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 12

Hotaru sighed contentedly and leaned her head against Ryoku's
chest after sharing a long, deep kiss with him. It felt good having his
arms around her.

"Perhaps you'd like to go inside, out of the dark," Ryoku suggested
as he gazed down at her.

She didn't want to move - it felt so good just being in his arms - but
it was dark and maybe they should go inside. Dad must be
wondering when she was going to come home. Might as well let him
know she was home. "All right," she said, leaving his embrace with
a wistful sigh. She pulled out her house keys and opened the door.
"Come on," she said with a grin. Ryoku nodded as he followed her
inside.

"That's strange," she said as she looked around. "There's no lights
on anywhere. I would've thought that Dad would be waiting for me."

"Maybe he went to bed?" Ryoku suggested.

"I know!" she said suddenly. "Follow me."

"Where're we going?" he asked.

"Security control room," she replied. "I'll use the security cameras to
see where he is."

"Security cameras?" he asked, one eyebrow raised curiously.

"Sure," she replied simply. "After all, Dad does some very important
work for some big companies. He's gotta make sure his stuff is
protected."

"Of course," he agreed.

Hotaru led Ryoku across the darkened hallway to a simple, plain-
looking door - as compared to the other elaborate and slightly
decorative doors - and opened it. Ryoku simply grinned at her father's
choice of identification.

"This way," she told him as she went inside. He entered shortly after.

"So, your father has security cameras all over the place?" he asked
as Hotaru sat herself at the control panel and switched on the
monitors.

"Not everywhere," she replied. "Just the important places: the labs;
the studies; the bedrooms.... Places where there's things of value,
you know?"

"Right. So, you plan on narrowing down your search by seeing where
he's not?"

"Exactly," she nodded as she switched the view from one one room
to another. There were more rooms than monitors, so she had to
switch to different cameras in order to continue her search. "Now,
where could you be, Dad? Where are.... There you are. Found him."

"Where is he?" he asked, glancing toward the screen she was
pointing to.

"That's the study where Dad keeps my Nijizuishou....," she began,
but trailed off as she noticed something. "Wait...." She pressed a
few buttons, making the camera zoom in. Unfortunately, it couldn't
zoom in far enough to get any distinguishing characteristics, but she
could tell that it was a male. "Who's that? That's not Dad. How'd he
get in here! And he's after my crystal!!!"

"I'll call the police," Ryoku said calmly as he picked up the phone
sitting by the desk. "Hmm? No dial tone.... You don't think he...."

"He must've clipped the main phone wire outside," Hotaru seethed.
"None of the phones work now!" Suddenly, she grinned viciously.
"But, he forgot about the backup alarm."

"Backup alarm?" he asked questioningly.

"A silent alarm connecting us directly to the security company who
supplied us with our equipment," she explained. "It goes through a
wire buried a few feet underneath the ground, so it's very hard to get
to."

"Okay, so how do you activate it?" he asked.

"Like this," she said, as she pressed a button underneath the
terminal. "See?" she said, pointing to a screen where a capital letter
'A' just appeared on the screen. "Now, the alarm has been triggered.
The police will be notified and help will be sent."

"One thing, though," Ryoku said grimly.

"What?" Hotaru asked, tilting her head inquisitively.

"Do you remember how long it took us to get here?"

Her expression froze in shock at the sudden realization. "An hour...,"
she murmured weakly.

"So, now our friend up there has an hour to get what he came for, get
out, and flee the scene, while we wait for the police to arrive," he said
with a dark expression on his face. "I won't have that. No one does
that to my girlfriend's family." With that, he left the room.

"He...," Hotaru whispered incredulously to herself, "...he just called
me his... girlfriend. Sugoi!!!"

"Hotaru-chan?" Ryoku called after opening the door.

"What is it, Ryo-chan?" she replied sweetly.

"Where's the study?"

Hotaru promptly facefaulted. "Yare.... Follow me," she said as she
got to her feet.

**********************************************

Afte r searching from room to room, Jed finally found the room he was
looking for. The portrait of the late Mrs. Tomoe hung on the opposite
side of the room, which told him that he found the correct room. Now,
all he needed was to find the display case.

He glanced around the room, his gaze passing over the furniture and
wall hangings. There was a possibility of the old safe-behind-the-
picture cliché, but from what he knew of the man, it didn't seem
likely. His gaze continued on until it reached the bookcase on his
right. There was a glass covering with a lock on one side. Obviously,
this was what he was looking for.

He quietly strode over to the glass case and peered inside. There it
was, sitting on a cushion. The Orange Nijizuishou crystal. It was his,
now.

He reached into a small pouch clipped onto his belt and brought out
a small glasscutter and a small suction cup. First, he pressed the
suction cup against the glass, making sure it had a good hold. Then,
he carefully began to cut a hole into the glass, making sure it was
large enough to fit his hand through. Once the glass was cut, he
gently pulled on the suction cup, lifting the cut piece of glass out of
the case. Then, he reached in and retrieved the crystal.

"There it is," Jed whispered smugly to himself. "The Orange
Nijizuishou crystal. That wasn't nearly as hard as I thought."

"Nice crystal," a voice said from the doorway, as the room's lighting
suddenly sprung to life. "Now, would you mind putting it back? That
happens to belong to my girlfriend and I would hate to see her lose
it."

Jed glanced over his shoulder to see who had spoken, all the while
scowling at being caught. His scowl deepened as he saw that it was
those two kids who had found him out: the daughter and her
boyfriend.

"How annoying...," he growled to himself as he slipped the crystal
into a secound pouch. His glasscutter went back into its own pouch.
He then turned toward the two kids and slowly stalked toward them,
cracking his knuckles threateningly. "Get out of my way," he said in
a low, threatening tone.

"Make me," Ryoku replied while slowly settling into a defensive
fighting stance.

"Wait... I recognize you now," Hotaru said suddenly. "You're Mr.
Jade. I remember when you came here to offer my Dad a business
contract to wire and program those things you sent him. Why are
you after my Nijizuishou crystal?"

Jed halted as soon as Hotaru had positively identified him. Not that
Mr. Jade was his real name, but still, it was enough to incriminate
him. There was no choice. He had to take care of her and her
boyfriend. But, first....

Ryoku ducked under the punch that Jed threw at him, and countered
by catching his arm and throwing him out of the room and into the
hallway. He tried to follow that up with a kick to his side, but Jed
swiftly recovered and leaped back away from him.

Before Ryoku could attack again, Jed quickly reached behind his
back and pulled out a small knife, brandishing it in front of him.

"Ryo-chan, look out!" Hotaru shouted as Jed lunged forward while
slashing at him. He dived to the side, hoping to avoid the attack.
Instead of a deep wound, Ryoku received a small slash across his
left leg. He landed and rolled to his feet, hissing in pain.

Jed grinned at the sight of blood on his dagger. "Just keep it up,
boy," he sneered. "Next time, you may not be so lucky."

"You want me?" Ryoku replied defiantly. "Then, come get me!" To
add to his challenge, he beckoned to his opponent with a small
gesture of his hand.

"As you wish," Jed replied and lunged for him again. This time,
Ryoku stood fast against Jed's charge until he was almost on top of
him. As Jed tried to stab him, Ryoku quickly fell backward. As the
knife missed its target, Ryoku quickly struck with his feet, striking
him in the chest and knocking some of the wind out of him. He then
grabbed Jed's arm and started to roll backwards until he was
supporting him with his legs. He then bent his knees and quickly
kicked straight out, launching his attacker a good distance past him.
Jed struck the floor and slid a few feet into the foyer balcony.

"All right, Ryo-chan!" Hotaru cheered as Ryoku turned to follow Jed.
He wasn't certain if that attack stopped him or not, but he wasn't
about to let him keep that knife.

Jed growled furiously to himself as his grip on the knife tightened
until his knuckles turned white. That kid was really getting on his
nerves! Slowly, he calmed himself. He was letting his emotions
interfere with his performance. Small wonder he was getting his butt
kicked by an eighteen year old boy. All right. Now, he was ready.

As soon as Ryoku was in range, Jed flipped over and flung his knife
at him. Since Ryoku thought that Jed was knocked out from that last
attack, he was caught unprepared. Luckily, since his reaction time
and his movements were so quick, he was able to move fast enough
so that he was struck in his right shoulder, rather than straight
through his heart.

"Ryo-chan!!!" Hotaru screamed in horror as she witnessed her
boyfriend getting a knife stabbed into his shoulder.

Jed quickly took advantage of Ryoku's dazed state and kicked him
in the head, knocking him back a few feet.

Ryoku groaned in pain as he slowly reached for the knife in his
shoulder and pulled in out. That made him grunt loudly, but at least
he could move his right arm, if painfully. At least, he now had the
knife. Jed paused, also noticing this fact, but grinned nonetheless.

"You think you can use that on me?" he asked wryly. "Why not give
it a try?"

Ryoku glanced at the knife in his hand, then tossed it over the
balustrade to the floor below. "I don't need it to beat you."

Jed laughed out loud. "Don't tell me that you're trying to show off to
your girlfriend?" he roared in amusement. "You just threw away your
only chance of survival, you idiot! Not that it really matters, anyway."

"We'll see...," Ryoku said as he rushed forward, attacking Jed with a
flurry of punches and kicks.

"Not bad," Jed admitted as he dodged and blocked all of Ryoku's
attacks. "At least, for a crippled boy. Now, it's time to end this...."

With one swift move, Jed blocked another of Ryoku's punches and
struck him in the right shoulder with the butt of his palm. Ryoku
paused for a split second as he winced in pain, but that was all the
opening Jed needed as he picked him up and threw him over the
balustrade to the floor below, where he landed next to the knife with a
sickening thud.

"Ryoku!!!" Horatu screamed again as she started for the stairs. Jed
leaped forward and caught her by the arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" Jed said with a smirk.
"You're next, girl. Now, come with me. I have to go get my knife."

Hotaru struggled against her captive as he wrenched her arm around
her back, forcing her forward. When they reached the ground floor,
Hotaru felt tears welling up in her eyes.

There was a lot of blood around Ryoku's head. He wasn't moving at
all... like he was dead. She was almost about to break into tears
when she saw his chest rise very slowly. She pulled away from her
captive and rushed to Ryoku's side, feeling for a pulse. She sighed in
relief when she found one. She checked the sides of his head and
found his scalp spilt open in the back of his head. He was still
bleeding.

Jed picked up his knife and glanced at his watch. He had already
wasted almost half an hour with that boy. He should just kill him and
be done with it. But, then again....

"Listen, girl," Jed said coldly. "If you come with me, quietly and
without a struggle, I won't kill him." For emphasis, he placed his knife
right under Ryoku's neck with the point touching his skin. "Well?"

Hotaru sniffled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. A chance for
Ryoku to live.... "All right," she agreed, "but I need to see to his
wounds first." Perhaps she could delay him until help arrived....

"No," he replied quickly. "If you want to see to his wounds, do it after
we get out of here. Remember, his life is now in your hands. Don't
screw it up by trying to run away, or call for help, or anything else.
Understand?"

"Yes, I understand," she answered.

"Good," he replied, picking up Ryoku and throwing him over his
shoulder like a sack of dirty laundry. "Now, let's go. My car's parked
not too far from here...."

**********************************************

"Hmm...," Diane yawned, sitting up in her bed. "Oh, who could be
calling at this time of night? It it's Artie, I'm gonna let him have it!"
She slowly reached over to the lamp next to her bed and flicked it on,
then picked up the phone beside it. "Yeah?"

"Diane-san?"

"Souichi-san?" she exclaimed. She wasn't expecting a call from him.
From his voice, he sounded very upset. "What happened? What's
wrong?"

"Hotaru-chan...," he wailed. "My only daughter has been kidnapped!"

"Hold on, Souichi-san! I'll be there as soon as I can!" she hung up
the phone, slid out of bed and darted to her closet. Since she usually
only wore her undergarments to bed, she was dressed and ready to
go in seconds.

'Oh.... Poor Hotaru-chan...,' she thought to herself as she raced
down to her car and sped off.

**********************************************

By the time Diane arrived back at the Tomoe mansion, there were
already several police cars lined up around the place. As she drove
up to the scene, a policeman walked up to her car, signaling for her
to roll down her window.

"Diane Silver, F.B.I.," she told the man, as she presented her badge
for ID. "I'm here to see Professor Tomoe about his missing daughter.
Would you mind letting me pass?"

"Certainly, Miss Silver," the man said, returning her badge. He
signalled ahead, letting the others know that she was to be permitted
inside.

"Diane-san!" Tomoe shouted as soon as he saw her.

"I'm so sorry, Souichi-san," Diane replied as she walked up to him
and gave him a consoling hug. As soon as she let go of him, she
turned to one of the police officers. "What's the story?" she asked
peremptorily.

"Here's what we know so far," the woman reported. "At around
12:07am, we received a call from Priority One Security Services,
stating that they had received an emergency call from the Tomoe
manor; one of their clients. We sent Officers Stevenson and
Womack to investigate.

"When they arrived at the scene at approximately 12:49am, they
immedately found that the front door was open and there was only
one light on in the whole building. Also, there was a car parked in
the driveway with the keys still in the ignition. Before entering the
building, they called for backup. Officer Stevenson investigated the
vehicle, while Officer Womack investigated the building.

"Inside the vehicle, Officer Stevenson discovered that the owner
is a Miss Sakura Kino. He also found a wallet lying on the
passenger side. According to the driver's license, it belongs to a
Mister Ryoku Kino."

"Ryoku Kino?" Diane repeated. "That was the name of the boy that
Hotaru was going out on a date with." She frowned slightly.
"Continue."

"Upon entering the building, Officer Womack discovered that there
was a blood stain on the floor, but there was no body to be seen. On
the second floor, there was a light on in one of the studies, with a
sign of burglarization. A piece of glass with a small suction cup still
attached to it was found on the floor. The piece of glass came from a
glass display case inside a bookshelf. Inside the display, there was
a small cushion which we believe may have held a precious gem for
display."

Diane nodded. "That would have to be the Orange Nijizuishou
crystal," she stated. "Is that all?"

The officer shook her head. "At 1:31am, backup had arrived at the
Tomoe manor. At this time, Officer Womack had located the security
control room. He then proceeded to check any recordings of what
may have happened.

"From what was discovered, here's what we believe the scenario to
be. First, Mr. Kino brought Miss Tomoe home at around midnight.
Upon entering the building, one of them, or both, went to the security
control room to check on the manor. Upon discovering the suspect,
both Kino and Tomoe left to confront him. A struggle ensued
between Kino and the suspect, in which one was gravely injured; we
assume it was Kino. After injuring Kino, the suspect took both him
and Tomoe as hostages. More than likely, he's using them only as
protection; to make sure we don't make any quick moves against
him. As of now, we have no demands, nor do we have any clue as to
where the suspect may have gone."

"Fingerprints?" Diane asked.

"None. Right now, we've got people going over that place with a fine-
toothed comb, searching for anything we can use. So far, we've found
nothing."

"I see," Diane replied calmly. "Thank you."

She turned back to Tomoe and placed a consoling hand on his
shoulder. "Hotaru-chan's fine, Souichi-san," she said quietly and
soothingly. "Don't worry."

"Souichi-san," Kaye said softly as she walked up to them. "I finally
managed to get them to let me in and make you some tea. It'll help
you relax and calm yourself." She handed him a small cup of tea.
"Miss Silver is right. Hotaru is going to be all right. She has Mr. Kino
to look after her. I'm sure that he won't let anything happen to Hotaru."

Tomoe nodded as he sipped his tea. "Yes... Ryoku-san seemed like
a responsible young man. I'm sure he'll look after Hotaru-chan...."

Diane glanced back over toward the mansion with a contemplative
frown on her face. Something about all this puzzled her. Why, out of
all the extremely valuable things from antiquities to corporate info,
was the Orange Nijizuishou crystal the only thing taken? Surely,
there were other more valuable things that were more accessible.
The crystal was the only thing taken and both Hotaru and Ryoku
were taken hostage to make sure that whoever took it remained free.

Something was going to have to be done about that. She would
make sure of it... personally.

**********************************************

To Chapter 13

**********************************************

Author' s Note: Finally, our heroine is about to leap into action! ^_^
So, what about Jack? When does he come in? Patience... all will
be revealed in due time.... Next chapter: Script revision discussions;
Tanya tries to play matchmaker; and the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal
is stolen!

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.