Hallucination (二十三)
Title: Love So Sweet
Pairing: Juntoshi (Side pairing: Sakuraiba)
Rating: PG 13 overall
Summary: Just how much could a dream change your life?
Hallucination (二十三)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Satoshi was shivering.
Arashi's break room was plenty warm, but he couldn't stop the tremors from running through his body. Feeling thoroughly sick, he was lying on his side on a semi-comfortable couch with Sho hovering over him. His friend had assumed Jun's mother-hen role so the younger man could hurriedly finish his part of an interview and they could go home.
He'd only felt a little dizzy when Jun dragged him out of bed this morning. It wasn't until the car ride over that he started feeling really ill. Matsujun had looked over at him worriedly from the driver's seat and asked if they should call their managers to say he was too sick to make it. Ohno was very tempted, but figured he could last through work with the help of some medicine.
Three hours later, he was curled up, feeling like crap, and regretting ever leaving bed.
"Is he gonna be okay, Sho-chan?" Aiba was crouched by Sho's side on the floor, trying to keep his voice quiet.
Nino wasn't far from the trio either. The gamer perched himself on the arm of the couch, glancing frequently between his DS and Ohno. Sakurai rearranged the jacket covering Leader for the thirtieth time. "He already said 'no' to a hospital, so all we can do is let Matsujun take him home."
"We could just take Oh-chan to the hospital anyway," Aiba suggested.
Satoshi grumbled from the couch, "And Oh-chan would kill you for it." His eyes were closed in a grimace. "I only want to sleep, Aiba-chan. Not be poked and prodded."
"Sorry." Aiba gave him an apologetic look, but Ohno missed it. He was pretty sure if he looked, the room would be spinning unpleasantly.
The door clicked open and everyone but Ohno turned to it, expecting Jun. When they saw it was only a staff member bringing the young idols their lunch boxes, they sighed disappointedly.
"He's only been gone ten minutes," Nino muttered behind his game.
The delivery woman tried to ignore the disappointment directed at her and began to set up the containers.
When the scent of food hit Ohno's nose, he unfortunately found out much too late that the smell was going to make him sick. He clamped a hand over his mouth, sat upright, and wobbled unsteadily out of the room.
"Oh-chan?" asked Nino confusedly.
"Satoshi-kun?" Sho moved to follow until he realized where the sick man was going. "Oh damn... I'm gonna go get Jun-kun. They should have gotten enough for the article by now anyway."
Aiba nodded and started gathering up Ohno and Jun's scattered belongings, although there were only a few items. Nino tried to return his attention to his digital hero's plight, but gave up after about five minutes. Sighing, he closed his DS and slipped off the couch. "I'm gonna check on Leader."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stumbling from the bathroom stall to the line of sinks, Ohno fumbled with the cold water knob. After swishing some water in his mouth, he spit it out hoping the terrible aftertaste would fade.
It's official. Today sucks.
Just as he splashed his sweaty face, he heard the bathroom door squeak open. Ohno rubbed the water from his eyes and looked in the mirror to see the newcomer.
He froze as his heart stopped in his chest and his blood ran cold.
He was hallucinating. He had to be hallucinating.
There was no way the figure reflected could really be here.
He was supposed to be locked away serving six years on an aggravated battery charge for the multitude of injuries he'd given Ohno. Leader slowly shifted his gaze from the reflection to the haggard young man standing in front of him. He looked like he'd been through hell to get here and hated Ohno all the more for it.
As crappy as he’d been feeling before, the sick sensation was tripled by the teenager glaring at him. Satoshi's legs felt weak. He wanted to run, but knew he wouldn't get far.
The teen twitched as he straightened from his hunched position and took a threatening step forward. Satoshi backed away, making a crooked smirk appear on the pale man's face. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction, Ohno stopped and grabbed the counter for support.
He was scared, dizzy as hell, and at a severe disadvantage, but he wasn't going to give up without a fight. He didn't take any time to think. As quickly as he could in his condition, Ohno lowered his stance and tackled the teen's waist. Even though there wasn't much force behind his push, he'd caught the other man off-guard.
They both had the breath knocked out of them when they crashed on the ground. Ohno was seeing stars. It took him a second too long to get to his feet, struggling against his own weak muscles. He hadn't even been able to stand up before he felt a vice-like grip snatch his wrist.
A harsh whisper came from behind him, "Oh no you don't."
Satoshi was violently pulled backwards. Falling hard on the tile, he grunted as pain streaked up his side. Panting, Leader looked up through his spinning vision at his attacker. The young man calmly lowered to one knee and reached his hands towards the idol.
Ohno's eyes widened when he felt rough fingers close around his neck, tightening slowly. "Stop-" He tried to pry away the hands from his throat, or at best, shove the teen off, but the attempts only made the fugitive grow more angry as he pressed Satoshi harder against the floor.
Unable to breathe, he felt his consciousness slipping. He clawed in panic at the arms holding him down. Although the force lessened slightly, it wasn't enough to allow air to enter. Ohno wasn't sure of anything through his muddled senses. However, there might have been a door slamming open. And after that, there may have been a familiar voice calling his name. All he knew was that a second later he could finally breathe again as the fingers released his throat.
Kazu?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been Ninomiya's worst nightmare.
He'd opened the bathroom door expecting to find his best friend tiredly waiting for someone to come check on him.
Instead, he was fighting for his life as some maniac was bent on taking it away.
"Oh-chan!"
Nino didn't think he'd ever been more angry or panicked in his life. He used all of his strength behind in a single punch. The attacker was sent recoiling back against the side of the stalls.
Frantically kneeling at Ohno's side, Nino winced at the sobbing gasps the older man was making and the terrible red marks on his neck. Knowing his left straight wouldn't keep the eerily familiar looking man down for long, Nino pulled at Leader's arm. "Oh-chan. You gotta get up. We-"
Pain exploded through Ninomiya's temple. The crazed man had recovered faster than Nino had thought possible. Furious at the interruption, he shifted his attention to the intruder. Kick after kick connected with Nino's stomach, as well as the arms he tried to protect himself with. The barrage seemed to last for an eternity. Nino felt like he was drowning in a painful darkness until unconsciousness finally claimed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aiba was pacing.
He'd been waiting for someone to come back, but no one had shown up yet. He didn't know which person to go search for, so he just continued wearing a path through the carpet. But he didn't have to wonder where everyone was much longer. The door burst open a moment later, making him jump and whirl around in a startled motion.
Two of Arashi's managers, Otaki and Nagasawa, followed by several security guards, rushed into the room. Aiba looked at them with wide eyes as they stopped and looked around the nearly empty room. Nagasawa's face paled as he only spotted Aiba. He panted out, "Where's Ohno-san?"
"He went to the bathroom a while ago. Felt sick. Nino just left to check on him," Aiba shakily replied. "What's wrong?"
The anxious men ignored his question and ran out of the dressing room, presumably heading to the nearest bathroom. Aiba followed as he felt his heartbeat speed up. Why are they looking for Leader?
Arriving a few seconds after the men, he skidded to a halt behind a wall of suits. Hearing Otaki shout for a doctor, Aiba gasped and shoved through the men. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a familiar small frame huddled on the floor. "Nino!"
Ninomiya was hiccupping through tears, holding his arms tightly around his stomach. "Nino, are you alright?!" He was in complete panic at the state of his friend. Aiba saw several cuts on the gamer's tear-stricken face and he didn't like the way Nino was gripping his sides either.
His friend reached out and grabbed Aiba's jacket, pulling him closer and whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He sobbed softly, "He got Oh-chan. I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry."
Aiba whipped his head around searching for the older man and felt the ground slip out from under him when he realized Leader was missing. He grabbed Nino's shoulder. "Who?"
The injured man lowered his head into his hands, "The bastard who tried to kill Oh-chan before."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jun was sighing.
Sho and Jun frowned at Arashi's deserted dressing room. "What the hell? They better not have really dragged him to the doctor," Sho grumbled under his breath as he picked up Ohno's paint splattered bag.
Jun set his hands on his hips, scowling at the turn of events. But the sound of running feet pounding up the hallway signaled someone's return.
Turning to the door, they froze when someone came barreling through and Sho ended up with an armful of a very upset Aiba. "What-?" Sakurai and Matsumoto shared a confused look. Their friend gulped in a breath before sobbing, "Nino's hurt really bad and Leader's missing. It's the same guy." Aiba shook the rapper's shoulders, trying to stress how important this was. "The same guy that smashed up the practice room and hurt Leader before."
A shocked Matsumoto collapsed into an empty chair. "That's impossible. He's in prison..."
Aiba didn’t allow them time to recover. He shoved Sho towards the door and then grabbed Jun's wrist, dragging him out of his chair. "We have to find him. The guards said they couldn't have left the building yet. They're here somewhere." Jun's head shot up.
Propelled by desperation and hope, the trio split up running full throttle through the halls. Jun passed several security guards that were also searching for Ohno. He only stopped momentarily to ask if they'd seen anything, but when they answered a negative, he took off again.
Satoshi, where are you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohno tried to yell, but the hand clenched over his mouth only allowed muffled sounds to escape.
The teenager had one arm snaked around his waist from behind, forcing him down the empty hallway. Leader was doing his damned best to make it difficult, but the little energy he had left was fading. His throat was still throbbing from being strangled and a spike of pain shot up his right arm every time he tried to move it.
The fugitive suddenly paused, pulling Ohno to a halt. He chose a door on the left, swinging it open. He let out a bark of laughter and jerked his captive into the stairwell. Ohno couldn't stop a shiver from running up his spine. The demented man had found a way out.
Noticing the iron railing in front of him, Ohno’s mind raced.
Then he took a chance.
Lifting both legs up to set against the bar in a swift movement, he kicked, sending the two men flying backward. His fall was cushioned by the teenager. But instead of releasing him, like Ohno had hoped, the man clutched him even tighter, determined not to let his prize get away.
Growling, the teen rolled over so that he was straddling the smaller man. He grabbed Ohno’s short hair tightly in his fist and lowered his lips to the shaking man’s ear. Ohno heard a furious whisper hiss, "As much fun as it would be to kill you here, I have other plans for you-" The teen roughly slammed his head against the cement floor. "-so stop struggling."
Ohno’s face scrunched up in pain as he stifled a sob.
The teenager chuckled darkly. “That’s a good look on you.” Then he leaned over to kiss his forehead. The touch made Ohno’s skin crawl. He instinctively reached out to shove away the crazed man away, but there was no strength in his arms to do anything more than move the body a few centimeters away. The young man sneered at his attempted before seizing his wrists and yanking him forcibly up off the floor.
Ohno peered blearily down the flight of stairs in front of them, speechless from the feeling of despair that was drowning his heart.
He pleaded silently. Jun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jun was out of breath.
He stood in an empty hallway of the studio, closing his phone with a snap. No one had seen Ohno yet. He gritted his teeth and hit his fist on the wall in frustration, but didn't allow himself to stay still any longer than that.
Spotting an emergency exit sign glowing further down the corridor, Jun suddenly changed directions on a hunch. Flinging aside the door, he ran to the railing and peered down the stairwell.
There was no movement.
Damn it.
Then he heard a clank. The metallic sound echoed up from the bottom floor.
Deciding it was the best sign he'd found yet, Matsujun jumped down the stairs three at a time.
Please. Please be there Satoshi.
Panting heavily when he reached the last step, he shoved the heavy industrial door open. A musky scent hit his nose, but he couldn't see much in the dimly lit basement. What he could see were the many large pipes running in parallel lines with numerous gated storage areas packed into every empty space.
Jun ran down the five foot gap between two sets of pipes, straining his ears to hear something, anything.
There it was. To the right.
The sound of a muffled shout, followed by a yell of pain, and finally breaking glass. Running to the next section that branched off, he sprinted around the corner just in time to see an axe being swung by a small figure.
It appeared Satoshi had bitten the teen's arm to get free, and then smashed the glass door of a nearby emergency fire station with a kick. The exhausted man had grabbed the fire axe, spinning around to face his attacker. Ohno could barely hold it up, but with a fierce yell, he swung the weapon with all his remaining strength to stop the other man from coming closer.
Jun felt his heart stop. "Satoshi!"
The two men jumped and turned towards the shout. The teen hesitated for a second before his eyes widened in shocked recognition at the charging man. Looking back and forth between a now-armed Ohno and a pissed off Jun, he let out a frustrated yell before retreating down a different path, fading into the darkness.
Jun desperately wanted to chase down the bastard who dared to hurt Satoshi, but his lover needed him more right now.
Dropping the axe on the ground with a clank, Ohno only remained standing from the adrenaline rushing through his shaking body. Skidding to a halt, Jun caught the smaller man in a fierce hug. Ohno was too tired to return it, but set his head on Matsumoto's shoulder and closed his eyes. “Jun.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He felt the injured man lean against him heavily as he became dead weight. "Satoshi?" Lowering Ohno to the floor, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Ohno had only passed out.
Rearranging his hold on Satoshi, he lifted his unconscious boyfriend in his arms to cradle against his chest. He needed to find a doctor. Jun didn't want to think about the blood he felt making his hand slick. Without a second look back into the dark, he carried Ohno through the maze of pipe work, grateful to once again be holding the person who meant everything to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s Note:
Here was bit of action for everyone. What did you think? ^_^;
Tonight is Aiba's drama! In fact, it's gonna be on in about 5 hours here. *waves an Aiba flag* I'm sure it'll be cute, but I can't wait to see his acting. Go Aiba-chan!
We're nearing the homestretch for Love So Sweet now. Only 3 chapters and an epilogue left. Enjoy!
Next up, Nino and Ohno have a ton of ' Visitors (二十四)'.
Pairing: Juntoshi (Side pairing: Sakuraiba)
Rating: PG 13 overall
Summary: Just how much could a dream change your life?
Hallucination (二十三)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Satoshi was shivering.
Arashi's break room was plenty warm, but he couldn't stop the tremors from running through his body. Feeling thoroughly sick, he was lying on his side on a semi-comfortable couch with Sho hovering over him. His friend had assumed Jun's mother-hen role so the younger man could hurriedly finish his part of an interview and they could go home.
He'd only felt a little dizzy when Jun dragged him out of bed this morning. It wasn't until the car ride over that he started feeling really ill. Matsujun had looked over at him worriedly from the driver's seat and asked if they should call their managers to say he was too sick to make it. Ohno was very tempted, but figured he could last through work with the help of some medicine.
Three hours later, he was curled up, feeling like crap, and regretting ever leaving bed.
"Is he gonna be okay, Sho-chan?" Aiba was crouched by Sho's side on the floor, trying to keep his voice quiet.
Nino wasn't far from the trio either. The gamer perched himself on the arm of the couch, glancing frequently between his DS and Ohno. Sakurai rearranged the jacket covering Leader for the thirtieth time. "He already said 'no' to a hospital, so all we can do is let Matsujun take him home."
"We could just take Oh-chan to the hospital anyway," Aiba suggested.
Satoshi grumbled from the couch, "And Oh-chan would kill you for it." His eyes were closed in a grimace. "I only want to sleep, Aiba-chan. Not be poked and prodded."
"Sorry." Aiba gave him an apologetic look, but Ohno missed it. He was pretty sure if he looked, the room would be spinning unpleasantly.
The door clicked open and everyone but Ohno turned to it, expecting Jun. When they saw it was only a staff member bringing the young idols their lunch boxes, they sighed disappointedly.
"He's only been gone ten minutes," Nino muttered behind his game.
The delivery woman tried to ignore the disappointment directed at her and began to set up the containers.
When the scent of food hit Ohno's nose, he unfortunately found out much too late that the smell was going to make him sick. He clamped a hand over his mouth, sat upright, and wobbled unsteadily out of the room.
"Oh-chan?" asked Nino confusedly.
"Satoshi-kun?" Sho moved to follow until he realized where the sick man was going. "Oh damn... I'm gonna go get Jun-kun. They should have gotten enough for the article by now anyway."
Aiba nodded and started gathering up Ohno and Jun's scattered belongings, although there were only a few items. Nino tried to return his attention to his digital hero's plight, but gave up after about five minutes. Sighing, he closed his DS and slipped off the couch. "I'm gonna check on Leader."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stumbling from the bathroom stall to the line of sinks, Ohno fumbled with the cold water knob. After swishing some water in his mouth, he spit it out hoping the terrible aftertaste would fade.
It's official. Today sucks.
Just as he splashed his sweaty face, he heard the bathroom door squeak open. Ohno rubbed the water from his eyes and looked in the mirror to see the newcomer.
He froze as his heart stopped in his chest and his blood ran cold.
He was hallucinating. He had to be hallucinating.
There was no way the figure reflected could really be here.
He was supposed to be locked away serving six years on an aggravated battery charge for the multitude of injuries he'd given Ohno. Leader slowly shifted his gaze from the reflection to the haggard young man standing in front of him. He looked like he'd been through hell to get here and hated Ohno all the more for it.
As crappy as he’d been feeling before, the sick sensation was tripled by the teenager glaring at him. Satoshi's legs felt weak. He wanted to run, but knew he wouldn't get far.
The teen twitched as he straightened from his hunched position and took a threatening step forward. Satoshi backed away, making a crooked smirk appear on the pale man's face. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction, Ohno stopped and grabbed the counter for support.
He was scared, dizzy as hell, and at a severe disadvantage, but he wasn't going to give up without a fight. He didn't take any time to think. As quickly as he could in his condition, Ohno lowered his stance and tackled the teen's waist. Even though there wasn't much force behind his push, he'd caught the other man off-guard.
They both had the breath knocked out of them when they crashed on the ground. Ohno was seeing stars. It took him a second too long to get to his feet, struggling against his own weak muscles. He hadn't even been able to stand up before he felt a vice-like grip snatch his wrist.
A harsh whisper came from behind him, "Oh no you don't."
Satoshi was violently pulled backwards. Falling hard on the tile, he grunted as pain streaked up his side. Panting, Leader looked up through his spinning vision at his attacker. The young man calmly lowered to one knee and reached his hands towards the idol.
Ohno's eyes widened when he felt rough fingers close around his neck, tightening slowly. "Stop-" He tried to pry away the hands from his throat, or at best, shove the teen off, but the attempts only made the fugitive grow more angry as he pressed Satoshi harder against the floor.
Unable to breathe, he felt his consciousness slipping. He clawed in panic at the arms holding him down. Although the force lessened slightly, it wasn't enough to allow air to enter. Ohno wasn't sure of anything through his muddled senses. However, there might have been a door slamming open. And after that, there may have been a familiar voice calling his name. All he knew was that a second later he could finally breathe again as the fingers released his throat.
Kazu?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been Ninomiya's worst nightmare.
He'd opened the bathroom door expecting to find his best friend tiredly waiting for someone to come check on him.
Instead, he was fighting for his life as some maniac was bent on taking it away.
"Oh-chan!"
Nino didn't think he'd ever been more angry or panicked in his life. He used all of his strength behind in a single punch. The attacker was sent recoiling back against the side of the stalls.
Frantically kneeling at Ohno's side, Nino winced at the sobbing gasps the older man was making and the terrible red marks on his neck. Knowing his left straight wouldn't keep the eerily familiar looking man down for long, Nino pulled at Leader's arm. "Oh-chan. You gotta get up. We-"
Pain exploded through Ninomiya's temple. The crazed man had recovered faster than Nino had thought possible. Furious at the interruption, he shifted his attention to the intruder. Kick after kick connected with Nino's stomach, as well as the arms he tried to protect himself with. The barrage seemed to last for an eternity. Nino felt like he was drowning in a painful darkness until unconsciousness finally claimed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aiba was pacing.
He'd been waiting for someone to come back, but no one had shown up yet. He didn't know which person to go search for, so he just continued wearing a path through the carpet. But he didn't have to wonder where everyone was much longer. The door burst open a moment later, making him jump and whirl around in a startled motion.
Two of Arashi's managers, Otaki and Nagasawa, followed by several security guards, rushed into the room. Aiba looked at them with wide eyes as they stopped and looked around the nearly empty room. Nagasawa's face paled as he only spotted Aiba. He panted out, "Where's Ohno-san?"
"He went to the bathroom a while ago. Felt sick. Nino just left to check on him," Aiba shakily replied. "What's wrong?"
The anxious men ignored his question and ran out of the dressing room, presumably heading to the nearest bathroom. Aiba followed as he felt his heartbeat speed up. Why are they looking for Leader?
Arriving a few seconds after the men, he skidded to a halt behind a wall of suits. Hearing Otaki shout for a doctor, Aiba gasped and shoved through the men. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a familiar small frame huddled on the floor. "Nino!"
Ninomiya was hiccupping through tears, holding his arms tightly around his stomach. "Nino, are you alright?!" He was in complete panic at the state of his friend. Aiba saw several cuts on the gamer's tear-stricken face and he didn't like the way Nino was gripping his sides either.
His friend reached out and grabbed Aiba's jacket, pulling him closer and whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He sobbed softly, "He got Oh-chan. I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry."
Aiba whipped his head around searching for the older man and felt the ground slip out from under him when he realized Leader was missing. He grabbed Nino's shoulder. "Who?"
The injured man lowered his head into his hands, "The bastard who tried to kill Oh-chan before."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jun was sighing.
Sho and Jun frowned at Arashi's deserted dressing room. "What the hell? They better not have really dragged him to the doctor," Sho grumbled under his breath as he picked up Ohno's paint splattered bag.
Jun set his hands on his hips, scowling at the turn of events. But the sound of running feet pounding up the hallway signaled someone's return.
Turning to the door, they froze when someone came barreling through and Sho ended up with an armful of a very upset Aiba. "What-?" Sakurai and Matsumoto shared a confused look. Their friend gulped in a breath before sobbing, "Nino's hurt really bad and Leader's missing. It's the same guy." Aiba shook the rapper's shoulders, trying to stress how important this was. "The same guy that smashed up the practice room and hurt Leader before."
A shocked Matsumoto collapsed into an empty chair. "That's impossible. He's in prison..."
Aiba didn’t allow them time to recover. He shoved Sho towards the door and then grabbed Jun's wrist, dragging him out of his chair. "We have to find him. The guards said they couldn't have left the building yet. They're here somewhere." Jun's head shot up.
Propelled by desperation and hope, the trio split up running full throttle through the halls. Jun passed several security guards that were also searching for Ohno. He only stopped momentarily to ask if they'd seen anything, but when they answered a negative, he took off again.
Satoshi, where are you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohno tried to yell, but the hand clenched over his mouth only allowed muffled sounds to escape.
The teenager had one arm snaked around his waist from behind, forcing him down the empty hallway. Leader was doing his damned best to make it difficult, but the little energy he had left was fading. His throat was still throbbing from being strangled and a spike of pain shot up his right arm every time he tried to move it.
The fugitive suddenly paused, pulling Ohno to a halt. He chose a door on the left, swinging it open. He let out a bark of laughter and jerked his captive into the stairwell. Ohno couldn't stop a shiver from running up his spine. The demented man had found a way out.
Noticing the iron railing in front of him, Ohno’s mind raced.
Then he took a chance.
Lifting both legs up to set against the bar in a swift movement, he kicked, sending the two men flying backward. His fall was cushioned by the teenager. But instead of releasing him, like Ohno had hoped, the man clutched him even tighter, determined not to let his prize get away.
Growling, the teen rolled over so that he was straddling the smaller man. He grabbed Ohno’s short hair tightly in his fist and lowered his lips to the shaking man’s ear. Ohno heard a furious whisper hiss, "As much fun as it would be to kill you here, I have other plans for you-" The teen roughly slammed his head against the cement floor. "-so stop struggling."
Ohno’s face scrunched up in pain as he stifled a sob.
The teenager chuckled darkly. “That’s a good look on you.” Then he leaned over to kiss his forehead. The touch made Ohno’s skin crawl. He instinctively reached out to shove away the crazed man away, but there was no strength in his arms to do anything more than move the body a few centimeters away. The young man sneered at his attempted before seizing his wrists and yanking him forcibly up off the floor.
Ohno peered blearily down the flight of stairs in front of them, speechless from the feeling of despair that was drowning his heart.
He pleaded silently. Jun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jun was out of breath.
He stood in an empty hallway of the studio, closing his phone with a snap. No one had seen Ohno yet. He gritted his teeth and hit his fist on the wall in frustration, but didn't allow himself to stay still any longer than that.
Spotting an emergency exit sign glowing further down the corridor, Jun suddenly changed directions on a hunch. Flinging aside the door, he ran to the railing and peered down the stairwell.
There was no movement.
Damn it.
Then he heard a clank. The metallic sound echoed up from the bottom floor.
Deciding it was the best sign he'd found yet, Matsujun jumped down the stairs three at a time.
Please. Please be there Satoshi.
Panting heavily when he reached the last step, he shoved the heavy industrial door open. A musky scent hit his nose, but he couldn't see much in the dimly lit basement. What he could see were the many large pipes running in parallel lines with numerous gated storage areas packed into every empty space.
Jun ran down the five foot gap between two sets of pipes, straining his ears to hear something, anything.
There it was. To the right.
The sound of a muffled shout, followed by a yell of pain, and finally breaking glass. Running to the next section that branched off, he sprinted around the corner just in time to see an axe being swung by a small figure.
It appeared Satoshi had bitten the teen's arm to get free, and then smashed the glass door of a nearby emergency fire station with a kick. The exhausted man had grabbed the fire axe, spinning around to face his attacker. Ohno could barely hold it up, but with a fierce yell, he swung the weapon with all his remaining strength to stop the other man from coming closer.
Jun felt his heart stop. "Satoshi!"
The two men jumped and turned towards the shout. The teen hesitated for a second before his eyes widened in shocked recognition at the charging man. Looking back and forth between a now-armed Ohno and a pissed off Jun, he let out a frustrated yell before retreating down a different path, fading into the darkness.
Jun desperately wanted to chase down the bastard who dared to hurt Satoshi, but his lover needed him more right now.
Dropping the axe on the ground with a clank, Ohno only remained standing from the adrenaline rushing through his shaking body. Skidding to a halt, Jun caught the smaller man in a fierce hug. Ohno was too tired to return it, but set his head on Matsumoto's shoulder and closed his eyes. “Jun.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He felt the injured man lean against him heavily as he became dead weight. "Satoshi?" Lowering Ohno to the floor, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Ohno had only passed out.
Rearranging his hold on Satoshi, he lifted his unconscious boyfriend in his arms to cradle against his chest. He needed to find a doctor. Jun didn't want to think about the blood he felt making his hand slick. Without a second look back into the dark, he carried Ohno through the maze of pipe work, grateful to once again be holding the person who meant everything to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s Note:
Here was bit of action for everyone. What did you think? ^_^;
Tonight is Aiba's drama! In fact, it's gonna be on in about 5 hours here. *waves an Aiba flag* I'm sure it'll be cute, but I can't wait to see his acting. Go Aiba-chan!
We're nearing the homestretch for Love So Sweet now. Only 3 chapters and an epilogue left. Enjoy!
Next up, Nino and Ohno have a ton of ' Visitors (二十四)'.