The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them.
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Voices reached a young boy's ears, but what those voices were saying, the child could not be sure. His eyes were closed, content with the darkness and comforted by the morning bickering that always echoed in his room ever since he had escaped from the well his brother had so carefully built around him. He smiled warmly, thinking of his life, and decided to go join the rest of the house for breakfast. The boy let his eye drift half way open; slowly letting the dim lights break into his mind. Funny...he could have sworn his room was warmer then this….and the roof seemed higher than usual. He was still feeling groggy but honestly neither he nor his other self had ever been the type to just jump out of bed. As the lack of recognition of his surroundings battled to raise the child's alarm, another strange sensation prickled its way into the sleepy child's mind. Something was biting into his wrists. Lazily he moved to bring his hands up for examination. 'How strange' he thought, 'my hands don't want to part.' He tugged once more, willing his hands to come forward, giggling as he scolded their disobedience. Pain bit into his wrists and at last a light seemed to glimmer in the child's golden eye. He gasped and whipped his head around, finally seeing where he was. This wasn't the Noyamano house.
The boy tugged once again with his hands, feeling the bite of metal dig into his wrists behind his back. He could tell they weren't just simple handcuffs; not something so thin and fragile. With his hands so uselessly stuck together, he turned his attention towards the small room, searching for anything that could help him identify exactly where he was. His eye locked onto the door opposite him, the only source of light and apparently the only way into this room. He immediately stood up to go investigate. Akito managed to get to his feet even without the use of his bound hands with relative ease. All that time strapped up in a straitjacket trained him pretty well in the art of getting through life without using his arms. Standing made him a little dizzy and now that he was finally aware, he felt a dull throbbing in his cheek. He pushed away the weaknesses and quickly headed towards the door. He heard the sound of clinking metal, and only realized where it was coming from when he felt his hands pulled backward. With a small yelp, his feet went out from under him and he crashed back down onto the floor. He let a single pained cry echo through the room before he bit down on his lip. Now his rear end was throbbing along with his head and wrists. His fingers flexed and felt the thick chain that connected his metallic cuffs to the wall. It was stupid of him to make a dash like that… of course he was chained to the wall.
As a dull thump echoed through the room, a tall man glared at the door beside him. He pulled a cigarette from between his lips and exhaled slowly before snuffing the bit of rolled paper against the stone wall. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms.
"Fricken brat" he grumbled with clear distaste for the 'angel' that now claimed residency there. The kid could struggle all she wanted, but the music upstairs was effectively drowning out any ruckus she made. Nian of course was still pissed he had to play baby sitter for the day. The scowling kidnapper was brought out of his thoughts as the gentle sound of footsteps on the stairs reached his ears. He watched with a bored expression as his younger brother approached the door and peeked inside.
"… Was it really necessary to punch her, brother?" Kirin's voice was low and sad. Nian merely rolled his eyes.
"Couldn't chance the little bitch waking up" he growled as he curled his hand into a fist. He glared at the bite mark still clearly visible on his hand. Nian glanced towards his brother, barely catching Kirin's doubting eyes. Kirin knew Nian was lying. He hit her out of revenge or to stroke his ego or something along those lines, but he wasn't going to call him out on it. He returned his gaze to the girl, still lying motionless on the ground. His eyes held a bit of pity as he looked into the cell of their latest victim. Her once beautiful dress was effectively destroyed and silver feathers were now littered across the floor covered in dirt and grime. It would have been impossible to know the dress had at one point held the most pure whites and lightest of blues.
"Ironic isn't it? When we first saw her, she looked like something completely angelic… We get her and she looks just like a fallen angel." He murmured with a strangely empty tone. He watched her carefully until at last the figure moved. She looked up at him with a single large innocent eye. Kirin immediately looked away and leaned against the wall beside his brother.
"So… how long do you think it'll take before the police get a call from her parents?" Kirin had to distract himself from the look he just received. It wouldn't take long before the child was out of their hair and then they'd have a nice chunk of profit.
"A rich bitch like that? It'll only be a matter of hours." At last Nian's nasty scowl vanished and was replaced with the faintest of smirks.
The door to his cell slammed open and a man stormed in wearing tight leather pants, tall strappy steel toed boots, and a leather top that looked like the sleeves had been literally torn off. Akito recognized the man immediately. He couldn't forget that glare, those dark eyes that reminded him so much of his own brother on a bad day. He pressed himself against the wall, but studied the man without any fear on his face. This was one of the guys who stole him right? Why though? Akito finally had to look away from the man's cruel glare. He didn't like to feel hated, especially when he didn't understand what he had done wrong. In the back of his mind, another voice tried to soothe the blue haired child, though the calming words were often interrupted by growling and swearing. Something about tearing them to shreds with his fangs. Akito wasn't quite sure anymore as his attention was on the tray that had been noisily dropped in front of him. He stared at it for a moment wide-eyed and confused. A chunk of bread and some sort of soup sat at his feet. Well, it resembled soup now but it was so watered down Akito couldn't be sure what it had started out as. His eye jumped back up to the man's face. Maybe he wasn't as hated as he thought. Maybe this man was just thinking of something else and that was why he looked so angry.
"Um…thank you… but how am I supposed to eat it without my hands?" He asked with only the slightest hesitation. His voice was still as cherubic as ever and the slight cock of his head would have made the hearts of his female classmates melt instantly. It had the opposite effect on this man though.
"Dumb bitch, eat it like the dog you are" came the venomous reply before the man turned and stormed out. Akito flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut and he let his eye fell on the food. Apparently he WAS hated. He stared at the food for a long time before his stomach growled angrily at him. It wasn't as wary as its master and was being quite demanding. Akito sighed.
"I wonder how long we've been here" he mumbled quietly to himself as he moved so his belly was on the floor and his face was closer to the 'meal'.
'I'm not sure myself. No windows…. fuck'
"I hope Ikki-kun isn't too worried about us. I wonder what these strange people want," sighed Akito, again his voice barely a whisper as he just stared blankly at the food.
'Eat, Akito. We don't know when our next meal will be.' urged his other self. Akito nodded and dipped his head into the bowl of broth water. He cringed immediately.
"….it's cold" he mumbled. His inner voice almost laughed.
'Bread's probably stale too'
Gio meandered down stairs, heading towards a specific wooden door when he saw his 'favorite' person storming over.
"Hey Nian~" He cooed with playful taunting. He could so go for a good verbal fight right about now. To his surprise though, the sandy haired man just grunted and continued walking. Gio watched him go before walking over to the much more sociable of the Shou siblings.
"Alright Kirin. Spill. Why is mister wears-his-pants-too-tight pissy today?" he asked as he glanced inside of the chamber at their guest. He smirked a bit, noticing the girl's hesitation and mumbling when it came to her meal. His eyes soon went to Kirin, waiting for an answer. Kirin sighed.
"Nian is mad because it's been almost 2 days and not a single report has shown up about a missing person." He explained before looking up to meet Gio's gaze. "What about you? You went to spy on the school again right?" He asked. Gio nodded.
"Yeah, and not a single person was panicking. They were all still giddy and happy, doing whatever. It actually looked like they were setting up a celebration." Gio explained. Naturally he hadn't noticed that a few of the students wore nervous looks as they gazed out away from the school. How could he have possibly known some of those students didn't usually wait until the very last second after the bell rang to go inside, that they didn't usually spend their lunches in the classroom discussing something important, or that when they left school they didn't go straight home, but rather stayed up until late at night in desperation, scouring the streets for even the slightest clue? All Gio saw was a typical school with typical students with typical problems. Gio glanced back into the room, watching as the girl leaned over to the bread and gripped it with her teeth before skillfully maneuvering it in her mouth until she could bite it properly. It was almost as if she was used to eating without her hands. For some reason the very idea of that made Gio chuckle.
"You know, I've got to agree with Nian. I'm pretty surprised nobody has contacted the police about her. That pretty little face of hers ain't exactly the type that gets ignored." He said aloud, trying to figure out this mystery. "You know, maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Instead of waiting for someone to ask about her…. let's try a different approach" Gio turned and looked at Kirin with a grin. Kirin's shoulders immediately sagged.
"Why do I get the feeling your plan has to deal with me?" He moaned.
"Well let's face it. If we want her to talk, we need a face she can open up to. Can you really picture her making nice talk with Nian?" laughed the man as he patted Kirin's shoulder with a gloved hand. "Look, I'll ask her where she lives now, and if that doesn't work….I nominate you to feed the angel tomorrow. Now get. My turn to watch and if I keep you too much longer, I have a feeling your brother will blow a gasket" Kirin rolled his eyes and smiled at Gio before heading upstairs. Gio watched him go and just stood by the door for awhile. Staring at stone quickly grew boring, so he turned his attention to the only thing watchable down here. His eyes once again peered through the tiny barred window in the sturdy wooden door. The girl managed to finish her food and by the look on her face, it wasn't very satisfying. She was lying there, still on her belly and chin flat against the floor, staring at the completely empty tray her food had been served on with a pout on her face. He couldn't help but snort when he noticed the bowl had somehow managed to get on top of her head. Well, she was definitely an interesting child wasn't she?
Kirin opened the small thin door that let downstairs to the storage area and quietly closed it behind him. He glanced around the pool hall bar, letting the music drum out his thoughts. Sometimes it was nice to just let the music drift through you. He walked over to the bar, summoning the bartender for a coke and a drink for his older brother.
He waited patiently, absentmindedly letting his wandering eyes pass over the others in the hall. People-watching was a great way to pass time. He saw a group playing pool and smirked when he noticed the tell tale signs of a 'sneaky pete' cue stick. Somebody was about to be swindled. Glancing to his left, he watched a young couple whisper to each other, giggle, then send each other suggestion smiles. He got bored watching them once the guy started to kiss her neck with enough force to leave a mark. His eyes drifted to the next group, a rag tag collection of teenagers. They looked serious for a group so young, so he leaned in just the slightest to try to catch bits of their conversation. One of them was nervously spouting about how he couldn't keep making excuses for him to the teacher. Another mentioned that it wasn't like this was the first time he up and left in the middle of the night to do his own thing. Kirin didn't hear any more of their little chat as his order arrived and he decided to be on his way. He scooped up the drinks and headed for the stairs leading to the second story. Had he stayed for a second longer, he would have heard the kids agree to look for just an hour longer for their missing member. He would have seen them take off into the streets on those fancy air treks of theirs.
Nian took the drink his brother offered him and sipped it steadily. His brother sat down beside him on the white leather sofa, leaning back and sighing.
"It'll be worth it in the end. Besides…. She isn't really all that much trouble ya know." Kirin turned his head and looked at his brother, waiting for a reply. Nian finally sat the drink down on the end table.
"I just don't get why her god damn parents haven't cried to the police yet. " He said as he covered his eyes with his hand and massaged his temples in an attempt to keep the approaching headache at bay. "She better bring in some serious cash...hell, it won't matter what she's worth if we don't know who to call." He added after a moment of silence.
"Gio had an idea about that. She still looks pretty young so blatantly asking her for her address and phone number would probably work. Gio should be doing that right now. If that doesn't work, instead of waiting around for police I'm going to try to get information from her indirectly." The younger Shou said calmly. Nian rolled his eyes as he pulled out a cigarette.
"That dumbass won't get anything done. You'll have to get her talking…and if you fail, I'll make her fucking sing" Nian had a dark look in his eyes again and he crushed the cigarette he had just taken out in his hand. Kirin sighed and shook his head, not really a fan of how his older brother made people talk. He especially didn't like the idea of hurting a child, but apparently he was the only one in the gang who held such a pathetic weakness.
Kirin looked up at his brother, ready to voice his opinion. He would have given Nian that clearly annoyed frown but after looking at his brother's face, he couldn't suppress the smirk that had wormed its way to the surface. His brother looked taken aback at the cigarette debris in his hand and he cursed as he through the bits on the ground. He folded in arms and started some twisted angry pout.
Sometimes Nian was just so childish.
"Wheet whooo~"
'Did you hear that Agito? Sounded like a bird right?' Akito smiled at the sound. It reminded him of Ikki. He heard it again and shifted from his place on the floor. He hadn't moved in a few hours and he was feeling a little stiff.
'Akito, it's coming from the door' said the boy's other self. Akito lazily opened his eye to look at the door, and focused on the figure through the window. The little window was small and had bars running through it, but he could still make out the dark brown hair and eyes of the whistling silhouette. He pulled himself up onto his knees, ignoring the clatter of the plaster bowl as it fell to the floor.
"Bout time you woke up. I was getting nervous there, angel" called the figure peeking through the door. His voice was familiar….actually, so was that face. Akito couldn't see him clearly, but he was almost positive it was the same guy that he had first passed by when he was stolen.
"Why did you steal me?" Akito called out to the door, golden eye sad and confused. The man smirked.
"You know, most people would ask 'why did you kidnap me'." He noted. Yes…their little angel was definitely interesting.
"Please tell me why." Akito pressed on. If he knew why he was taken, maybe he could fix what was wrong.
"Alright kid calm down. I'll answer your question, but first you have to answer mine. It'll be like a game. That's fair right?" Akito wasn't sure if this man's words were trustworthy, but he nodded anyway. "Good good. Alright, tell me your address and I'll answer a question."
Akito looked down a moment, thinking hard. His address? He wasn't sure about this…what if they went after Ikki next? Could he even call the Noyamano house his actual address? It wasn't his real home after all. He sighed and decided to be honest.
"My address changes almost every day" He replied, thinking about the trailer that he and his brother lived in. A house on wheels….yeah it didn't really have a set address. When Akito finally looked back at the man, he was surprised to see the man with a raised eyebrow and disbelieving eyes. "What's wrong? I'm sorry. My home changes so much I don't even know where it is right now!" Again, he was being completely honest. The man sighed and mumbled something Akito couldn't make out.
Gio stared at the kid for a moment before shaking his head. Her family really moved that often? She must have had a few houses or something and they probably switched between them all the time. That was the only reasonable explanation.
"Alright angel, can you—"Gio was surprised when he was cut off. He blinked and laughed. The girl was scolding him for trying to ask two questions in a row, and that was breaking the rules.
"Alright, now you have to answer my question. Why did you steal me?" Akito repeated the same question yet again, amazingly able to keep his tone patient and his face innocent.
"Alrighty then, we took you away for safe keeping. We're protecting you from the bad guys and once the bad guys are all gone, we can take you home. Of course…we'll need an address for that, angel." The man supplied smoothly. His face seemed nice and his voice gentle, but Akito wasn't a fool.
"I'm not playing with you anymore. I was honest when I answered your question. You're supposed to be honest." Akito announced, turning away from the door with the tiniest bit of a pout. He walked on his knees towards the back wall, making sure to keep his back to the door. He could feel the man staring at him and he was tempted to steal a glance, but he wasn't going to let the man think he could get away with that lie. If the man wasn't going to answer his question, then he wasn't going to answer either.
"Aww come now, don't turn away from me. What do I have to do to make you keep playing?" The man was still trying this mind game? Akito didn't turn around.
"You have to answer my question honestly" He said matter-of-factly with his eyes closed and nose in the air.
"You certainly are a little enigma aren't you, angel?" asked the man with a laugh.
"Why do you keep calling me angel?" Akito asked as he twisted his body around to face the door again. He couldn't resist looking at the man, once again wearing a face of utter confusion. The reply was yet another laugh.
"It's a nickname sweety. And look at that, I answered your question and I was completely honest about it. Now to keep things fair, you've got to answer one of mine." He purred.
'Walked right into that one Akito….but we can play his game too.' Agito chuckled in the back of Akito's mind, whispering to the only other person who could hear him. Akito smiled innocently.
"Okay then fine. Yes, I am a little enigma. Your question has been answered. Now it's my turn to ask again." He said cheekily, fully turning his body so he could properly face the door. Now it was Akito's turn to laugh as the man in the window stared with shocked disbelief.
Gio was surprised. She was just a little girl. He thought this would be a cake walk, but the little angel was proving to be a tough nut to crack. He smirked. This game of theirs was proving to be more fun than he had expected.
"Alright angel. Ask your question."
