Heaven Cannot Wait
by Matrim
Part 7: Finals
Monday, April 10 1:58 am
"Let's see what we can do with this hair," Kyo said. He wanted to
change
the subject of videogames. He had lost two tournaments with Manami in
a row
plus an argument he had started. He turned off the Playstation as she
tossed the control down. He moved behind her and undid the braid.
"If you spike it up, I'll kick your ass. And who said you could
touch my
hair?" Manami asked but didn't stop him. It was like stopping a
hurricane.
He moved in front of her and smiled.
"Kirei des yo!" And gave her a quick kiss before she could protest.
He
pulled back a little, his face a few centimeters away from hers as if
he
were about to give her another one. "Ne, Manami, why don't you wear
your
hair down more often?" Before she could answer, he kissed her again.
Manami closed her eyes. This was wrong. This was the same kind of
thing
that got her into this mess, but she didn't stop him. The rational
part of
her mind screamed at her, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!!
Do
you want to get back in heaven again? Then stop him!!!"
She opened her eyes to see that Kyo had pushed her onto her back.
He
ended the kiss and brushed her hair back from her face, "Aishiteru," he
whispered as he kissed her again and tears began to well up in her eyes
again. Bad memories were flashing through her mind again. Lightning.
A
figure jumping from the chapel bell tower. A beautiful boy seemingly
asleep
yet dead on the funeral bier. A knife clattering to the cold white
marble
of the chapel floor. Her scars began to hurt, like fire had sprung up
on
them. Blood. Red on white. Her own personal hell. "Stop him!!" Her
mind
shrieked, "Stop him before you remember it all!!!"
"Excuse me, am I interrupting something?" Die called out.
Kyo broke off the kiss to turn and give Die a scathing glare.
Shinya
popped his head in and gasped. "As a matter of fact," Kyo began.
Manami
pushed Kyo off and stood hastily. The memories and the pain began to
fade
now. They seemed distant like a dream forgotten. "Manami?" Kyo called
out,
worried. She wiped her eyes and rushed out the door, past Shinya and
Die.
"Crap!" Kyo spat. He tried to follow after he but she had already
vanished. Shinya and Die saw her fade into invisibility but said
nothing.
"Thanks a lot, Die!!" Kyo snapped and ran towards the lift.
"You're not supposed to be doing that sort of stuff with her,
anyway!!"
"You guys are so fucking protective! What is she to you!? A nun?!"
"No," Shinya said, softly. "An angel."
I'm so stupid. Manami thought as she sat on the roof of Shinya's
apartment building. It's the same thing that got me into this mess.
She
traced the scars on her arms and sighed. God had a funny way of
keeping her
from breaking the rules. She looked down when she heard the sudden
swearing. She didn't have to see his face to know that it was Kyo.
Damn
you, she thought bitterly at him, Why'd you have to be born too late?
*******
7:00 am
It was a very quiet breakfast that morning. Die and Shinya kept
trying
not to draw attention to the fact that the angel looked very depressed
with
her head down on the table. They didn't even know if she was awake or
not.
"I'm awake," she mumbled.
"Hey, listen. I'm sorry about last night," Die said.
"It's okay. If you didn't interrupt when you did, I wouldn't be here
right now." Shinya still worried. "It's okay, Shinya. You shouldn't
be
worried about me." She raised her head and smiled at him. Her eyes
were
slightly puffy. "If anything, I should be the one worried about you."
She
pulled out a white envelope and handed it to him.
He took it out. "By Friday, April 14, Shinya must convince someone
to
change their ways or he dies at 9:00 am." He stared at the envelope
then he
looked at Die. "I really thing you should stop smoking."
Die threw up his hands in the air and his chopsticks dropped from
his
hands to the table and clattered to the ground. "Aa! Mou! I knew
you'd say
something like that! You just had to bring that up!" He buried his
head in
his arms like Manami.
"Well, you know it's true! It's a terrible habit, Die!" Shinya
lectured, "It's digusting and unhealthy--"
"Hai, hai," came Die's muffled answer.
"And you'd better be listening to me because I don't want to die
from
secondhand smoke, either!"
"Hai, hai!"
"And if you ever want to kiss me again, you'd better stop!"
Manami watched this all with a smile until she just had to
interrupt,
"Baka! You're not supposed to change him!"
"Why not? He could use it!"
"Are you serious about not letting me kiss you until I stop?" Die
asked,
looking up at the drummer with a hurt expression on his face.
Shinya softened, "No, but don't expect me to kiss you after you
smoke."
"Then why don't you kiss me now before I start?" Die asked then
kissed
him. He slipped his tongue through the slightly parted lips as Shinya
held
his face gently with his hands.
As soon as Shinya slipped from his chair to straddle Die's lap,
Manami
called out, "Hello? I'm still here!"
Both lovers broke off the kiss with as sigh and Shinya looked over
his
shoulder, his hands still on Die's cheeks. "Then why don't you leave?"
They asked.
The angel gave a them a withering look and Shinya went back to his
own
chair. "Shinya, this supposedly is your last task. And," she took a
deep
breath, "You're going to take all you've learned from the previous
tasks to
help you with this one." She looked at him with serious eyes. "This
is the
most dangerous task."
"What makes you say that?" Shinya asked.
Manami stood and turned on the television. "All across the country,
murders have been committed and it follows a strange pattern," said the
newscaster. Shinya and Die rose from their chairs and stood behind
Manami
to watch, "The murderer only seems to attack those with the first name
of
Shinya. Once the deed is done, he leaves behind two roses--red and
white.
The police ask that anyone who has any information on this case to
contact
them." Manami turned the television off and looked at Shinya.
"Do you see what I mean?"
"Why haven't I heard of any of this?" Shinya asked.
"You hardly ever watch TV."
"Did you set this up?"
"Hardly." She snorted, "Why would I try to get someone else to kill
you
when you're right in front of me?"
"Heaven works in mysterious ways," Die commented.
"Yeah," said Shinya and Manami, "Tell me about it."
********
9:00 am
Shinya opened the door to the studio and Toshiya slammed into him,
catching him in an embrace. "Oh, Shin-chan!! There you are!! I was
afraid
that the murderer might have gotten to you!!" Toshiya spun him around,
"Please stay safe for me!! I'll be really upset if you died! It's be
such
a waste of a pretty face!!"
"Okay, okay!! Get off of me!!" Shinya pushed the bassist away from
him
and walked into the studio. Kaoru looked up, relieved, when he saw
that it
was Shinya and Kyo laughed.
"See, I told you he was too stubborn to die!"
Toshiya frowned at him, "Don't joke about something like this!!
This is
very serious!!" He grabbed Shinya again before the younger man could
protest. "What if he hadn't shown up, huh? Then what'd you do--"
"I'd say--"
"Let go of me!!" Shinya wiggled his way out of Toshiya's grasp and
straightened his shirt. "You guys are overreacting. I'm a very
careful
person. I know what I'm doing."
"Maybe you should change your name for a bit," Kaoru suggested,
"Stay low
for awhile?"
"What for? Everyone still knows that his name was originally
Shinya," Kyo
pointed out. "Even if it did manage to work out someone would mess up
eventually and call him by his original name."
"I like my name. I can't think of another name that would suit me."
Shinya said as he took his place behind the drums. "And I'm not going
to be
a coward and change my name. That'd be--I don't know, it just feels
wrong
for some reason."
Die agreed after staying quiet for a long time, "I don't like it
either.
My Shinya. Shin-chan. My koibito, Shinya. That has a nice ring to
it. I
can't call you by anything else."
Shinya ducked his head, shyly, and tried to avoid smiling so much.
He
knew it bugged Kyo to see so much lovey-dovey people around him and
Toshiya
rubbed it in his face whenever he had a chance. He didn't want to join
in
on that sort of thing. Well, not unless Kyo deserved it. "Anyways,
I'm
protected. There's security around the studio, I've got you guys, a
guardian angel, Yoshiki, and my extreme and strange amount of luck."
He
said as confidently as he could. He knew that the killer might
eventually
come after him.
"Demo--" Kaoru's phone interrupted him and he answered it. "Moshi
moshi?
Yes? Oh, hi, Sugizo. Yes, I've heard. Shinya?" Kaoru looked at
Shinya,
"Yeah, he's fine. He's here with us. Precautions? What do you mean?
Oh.
No, he won't let us. Dooshite? What have you done with your Shinya?"
Kaoru looked stunned, "I can understand why he's angry. Yeah, I know,
you
can never be too careful. Alright. I'd tell him to be careful, too,
but
knowing that you've got him under lock and key, I don't have to waste
my
breath. Okay. Ja."
"What was that all about?" Die asked.
"That was Sugizo from Luna Sea. He just asked me if Shinya was here
and
then he asked if we had to take any precautions against the murderer.
Then
I told him that Shinya won't let us take any precautions like changing
his
name or finding extra security. Then he told me that he and J managed
to
trick their Shinya and tied him up to a chair with a padlock and then
locked
him in his home and now, they're making sure that no one can get in
except
for Luna Sea. He said he was pretty pissed."
"I can understand why!" Shinya said feeling a sympathetic pang for
another man who shared his name.
"Anyway, he just called to say on behalf of his band to be careful."
Kaoru said as he put his phone down near his bag.
All the members of Dir en Grey looked at their drummer. Die and
Toshiya
looked worried, Kaoru looked pensive, and Kyo looked like he was sleepy
but
still, he looked kind of worried. "Nani? Why are you looking at me
like
that? You're not going to do what Luna Sea did to thier Shinya, are
you?
You'd better not." Shinya was starting to panic. They were still
staring
at him. "Chotto, if you are thinking about it, I can tell you now, I'm
not
going down without a fight! I'm the strongest, remember, I will take
all of
you on! Even if you are my koibito!"
Kaoru broke the tense silence, sighed and shook his head. "Fine.
But I
do have to ask you something. What does Manami have to say about
this?"
"She says that I must use all of what I have learned to make someone
change their ways. She says has something to do with the murderer."
Shinya
replied then suddenly remembered that Kyo was in the room and that Kyo
was
the only one who didn't know what he was talking about. Kaoru, Toshiya
and
Die's eyes widened as they realized it and they glanced at Kyo. The
vocalist was blissfully asleep. They all gave a sigh of relief.
"You didn't tell him?" Toshiya asked.
"How am I supposed to tell him?! Yeah, hi, you're in love with an
angel
and you can't touch her anymore or else God'll send a lightning bolt or
something for defiling one of his precious servants? I think not."
Shinya
looked at Kyo. "I don't think he's serious about her anyway."
Kaoru pulled out a few photos from his bag. He stepped forward and
showed them to Shinya. "Hounto?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow.
Shinya
and Die snatched a photo each away from him. Toshiya looked at the one
Shinya held. It showed Manami in Kyo's arms, her head resting on his
shoulder, his hand resting on the back of her head. He looked very
happy.
Die came over and compared his picture to theirs. It looked basically
the
same except that Kyo's face was closer to Manami's. "And I'm sure he
has
more pictures," Kaoru said and moved to Kyo's bag. He dug in them for
a
little and pulled out five more pictures and gave it to them.
One of Manami on a bar stool, just as she was fixing her sunglasses.
She
stared above the rim of them as she smiled at the camera. Another of
Manami
but this time with Kyo on a balcony looking down at the camera. His
left
arm was around her shoulders and her right hand was entwined in his
left.
One of Kyo and Manami in the dressing room from the television program
they
did last week. He balanced the camera on her head while they looked in
the
mirror and took a picture. One of Manami braiding her long red hair
and one
of Kyo embracing Manami's shoulders from behind and winking at the
camera.
"Is this our Kyo?" Toshiya asked and bent to look at the sleeping
vocalist. He compared some of the pictures with him and shook his
head.
"Unbelievable."
"What are you going to tell him when she leaves? Are you just gonna
keep
up the cousin story? He might ask for her address," Die told Shinya.
"Yeah, but you know how he is. He won't write to her. He writes
messy."
Shinya replied.
"What if he fixes it just for her?" Kaoru asked.
"I'm tired of the possibilities." Shinya said, softly. He didn't
know
who to feel more sorry for. Kyo or Manami. She looked so happy in
those
pictures. She didn't have that trace of sadness, she usually had.
"Let's
just leave it how it is. It's Manami's mess. She should fix it."
"Wake him up. We've still got to practice." Kaoru said, deciding to
change the subject.
********
6:00 pm
The phone rang. Kaoru picked it up, "Moshi moshi?" Toshiya placed
dinner down in front of him. "Hai. This is Kaoru. Oh--okay. I
understand. Tomorrow? I have rehearsal with my band tomorrow. Oh."
His
voice sounded different. "Alright. No, I won't let him know. Do you
need
to speak to Toshiya, too? Yeah. I'll tell him." There was a pause.
"Mn.
Nice doing business with you, too."
Toshiya sat, "Who was that, Kaoru?"
Kaoru took a deep breath and looked at the other man, "It was the
police."
"Nani? Did Shinya--?"
"Iie!" Kaoru replied, hastily and Toshiya let go of the breath that
had
caught in his throat. "No, nothing like that, Totchi! Um--the police
wanted to talk to you and me about Shinya. They wanted to interrogate
us
about him. Tomorrow."
"Talk about Shinya? About what?"
"They think that he's been involved with some kind of illegal
activity."
Kaoru picked at his food then looked up at Toshiya again. "They think
he's
dealing drugs."
Toshiya dropped his chopsticks, "That's impossible!! Shinya would
never
do such a thing! For one thing--it's unhealthy--"
Kaoru waved his hands to quiet him down, "I know that! You know
that!
The police don't know that! In fact, I don't think they even believe
that
he's innocent to begin with!"
"What do we do?" Toshiya asked, picking up his chopsticks again,
shakily.
"We'll just tell them the truth. How hard can it be?"
********
--at the same time--
Die picked up the phone, "Moshi moshi?" He straightened in his
chair as
if the person on the phone could already see him. "Hai. This is Die.
Hai,
I am in the same band as he is. Oh. I see. Tomorrow? Ano--I've got
rehearsal--oh, you know? A-alright. No, I won't let him know.
Wakarimashita (I understand). Okay. Nice to talk to you, too." Die
hung up
the phone. Shinya? Dealing drugs? His Shinya? The boy didn't even
smoke!! No way, thought Die.
********
--another place, same time--
"Are you kidding me?" Kyo asked into the phone. He straightened.
"No,
sir. Gomen! No, sir! Yes, sir! I have rehearsal tomorrow, sir! Oh.
I
won't let him know, sir. Well, then I'll see you tomorrow, sir!" He
hung
up the phone. Shinya? Drugs? No way! Thing were just getting wierder
and
wierder, Kyo thought and shook his head.
********
Tuesday April 11, 10:00 am
Kaoru had called Shinya and told him that rehearsal was off for
today.
He had told him that Toshiya came down with something. Shinya believed
him.
So, everyone was at the studio except for Shinya. And they were
being
interrogated individually. This is how it went when all their answers
were
added up:
"How long have you known Shinya?" The detective asked.
Kaoru: "Ano--ever since he was in the first band we had together
La:Sadies.
.. ."
Toshiya: "Ever since I joined the band in '97."
Kyo: "When we were in La:Sadies."
Die: "Since La:Sadies."
"Mmhm. Well, let's get straight to the point--has he been acting
suspicious
lately?"
Kaoru: "No."
Toshiya(trying to forget about the angel thing): "Not really."
Kyo: "Only once. But that was because we were hiking and he's a tree
hugger."
Die: "No."
"Does he say anything to you that sounds funny?"
Kaoru: "Not really, unless I'm supposed to laugh," Kaoru was so
nervous, he
accidentally slipped up and gave the detective a non-serious answer.
He
gulped when the man glared at him. "I mean--no. He's been serious.
He's
been okay. He's Shinya."
Toshiya: "No. He's okay."
Kyo: "What do you mean by funny?"
Detective: "We'll be asking the questions here, Kyo-kun!"
Kyo: "Well, he hasn't been humorous lately. He does love his cousin,
though. Calls her an angel. That's wierd. Do you call that being
funny?"
Die: "No."
"What is your relationship with him?"
Kaoru: "Friends. Band members, you know, the usual."
Toshiya: "He's my friend."
Kyo: "Scorpions--ow! Okay, we're friends, most of the time."
Die (sweats): "Ano..." he mumbled something.
Detective: "Nani?"
Die (whispers): "Koibito."
"Did he ever mention taking trips to Hong Kong?"
Kaoru: "Why would he go to Hong Kong?"
Detective: "Answer the question, Kaoru-kun!"
Kaoru: "No. He'd never to Hong Kong!"
Detective: "It says right here on this document."
Toshiya: "But Shinya's never been to Hong Kong!"
Detective: "And how would you know that?"
Toshiya: "We're in a band together! I should know!"
Kyo: "Him? Hong Kong? Are you kidding me?"
Die: "He doesn't like to go on trips too often. Why would he go to
Hong
Kong?"
Detective: "We should be asking you that question."
Die: "I wouldn't know why he'd go to Hong Kong? I don't think he's
even
been there!"
Detective: "Maybe you didn't know your koibito as well as you thought."
Die (defensively): "I know a lot of stuff about him!"
"If he ever had a problem, would you know just by watching him?"
Kaoru: "No. Not really. Only that he gets a little more silent."
Toshiya: "Yes. I can just tell. By his face, y'know."
Kyo: "Not really."
Die: "Yes. He doesn't have to say anything. It's in his body
language."
"Does he tell you things?"
Kaoru: "What sort of things? If it's about him and Die--no. If it's
about
his cousin, yeah. If it's about the music, yes."
Toshiya: "Only when I ask him. And it's usually about typical stuff."
Kyo: "Yeah, he tells me to wake up, stay away from his cousin and to
behave."
Die: "Yes. We talk about typical stuff. You know, what Toshiya did
the
other day to Kaoru, how Kyo fell asleep in Toshiya's birthday
cake--stuff."
"Has he ever done drugs in front of you?"
Dir en Grey as whole: "OF COURSE NOT! AND HE WOULDN'T DO IT BEHIND US
EITHER! HE'S A VERY HEALTHY GUY!!!"
"Has he mentioned selling drugs?"
Dir en Grey as whole: "Shinya doesn't do things like that!!"
The interview was over and the detective and a few officers left. They
shook everyone's hands and Dir en Grey sat in the waiting room,
wondering
just what happened.
*********
11:00 am
"Alright, we're getting money out of the bank!" Manami cheered.
"Ssh!" Shinya told her, "And what are you so excited for? You still
owe
me money!" They stood in line to the ATM and Shinya waited patiently.
"Oh, c'mon, cousin, be a good human and just let me borrow a few
more?"
"And how do you expect to pay me back? It's not as if you have a
job!"
Shinya returned and took his place at the ATM. He put his card in,
punched
his PIN and waited. "Hey. That's wierd."
"Nani?" Manami popped her head up behind him to stare at the
screen.
"It won't let me get my money."
"No! Why won't you give him his money?!"
"Manami! Yakamashi!!" He hissed and took his card out of the
machine.
He dragged her away from it.
"Maybe you should ask the teller about it!"
"That's what I was about to do." He went to the teller and rang the
bell.
"May I help you?" The man looked flaky and his head was bald and
shining. His nametag read Kamikawa. Shinya and Manami stared at him
for a
second then both shook thier heads.
"Yeah, uh--the ATM won't let me take out any money."
"Ah, what is your name?" Shinya gave it to him and the man checked
it out
on the computer. "Your card has expired. You can still withdraw your
money
but you can't do it with the ATM. Do you have your passbook?"
Shinya thought, "Ara! Yes! I left it in my bag at the studio!" He
told
him. "I'll be back!"
"Thankyou for doing business with us!" The man said and gave him a
bank
shaped like a bear. Shinya stared at it and then took it with him.
As he and Manami left the bank, a figure dressed in black watched
him,
holding two roses--red and white.
***********
11:15 am
Shinya was surprised when the studio door opened without him having
to
knock or anything. He popped his head in. "I thought there was no
rehearsal today?" He said as the rest of his body and Manami followed
him.
He shrugged and went straight to his drumset and fished around in his
bag
for his passbook.
The rest of Dir en Grey came out of the rest area and watched the
angel
and her human silently. He found it and saw everybody.
"I thought there was no rehearsal today?"
"There isn't." Kaoru said, quietly.
"So, why are you all here?"
Toshiya avoided his gaze, Kyo stuck his hands in his pockets and Die
suddenly found the ceiling interesting. It was silent.
Finally, Kaoru spoke, "Shinya, the police were just here."
"Hounto?"
"Hai."
"Is there something wrong?"
"They say that you've been dealing drugs," Toshiya said quietly.
"Me? Are you serious!? You didn't believe them, did you?" Shinya
said
with a laugh. He stopped when he realized they weren't laughing with
him.
"You didn't, did you? It's a lie!"
"Have you ever been to Hong Kong?"
"Me? Why would I go to Hong Kong?"
"I don't know," Die replied. "Why would you?"
"I haven't gone to Hong Kong." They all stared at him uncertainly.
"Chotto!" He moaned, "I'm being honest! Don't tell me you'd believe a
detective over your own good sense!"
Kaoru shook his head, "You're right. This is silly. I believe you,
Shinya."
"I believe you. That guy was a jerk." Kyo told him.
"I knew you wouldn't do something like that!" Toshiya said.
"I believe you. You've always told me the truth," Die replied.
"He left this with me, though," Kaoru said and pulled out a sheet of
paper and handed it to Shinya. "This says you did go to Hong Kong."
"Nani?!" Shinya looked at it, "It says I withdrew money in October
17,
November 17, December 17, January 17 and February 17 for numerous trips
to
Hong Kong? But I don't withdraw money like that!! I'm not anal!" He
glared at Kyo who had a smirk on his face, "Despite what you think!!"
He
looked at it again, "I don't get it! I don't withdraw that much money,
either! And you know I was with you during the dates it says I went to
Hong
Kong!"
"Do you think someone might have gotten into your account?" Die
asked.
"No, that would mean I would have left something behind at--" Shinya
trailed off. He began to remember a little while back that he had left
his
wallet at the bank and that he had come back the next day to get it.
And
both times he had encountered the same teller that he had today. Which
meant..., "I think so." He said. "And I think I know who did it.
Manami,
remember that teller guy?"
"Are you saying--"
"Yes. He did. He was there when I lost my wallet, I think in
September.
And I think he may have gotten into my account somehow." Shinya
sighed
and sat down, "But how I am I supposed to prove this? I can't do it
unless
I see some of the security tapes and I don't think they let the general
public see it. Even if you are famous."
"I'll help." Die said.
"I'll help," Toshiya said, "To make up for the fact that we almost
thought you were lying to us."
"I'll help because I don't want to be left out of anything," Kyo
volunteered.
"I'm in, too. We're your friends, right? So, we have to do this."
Kaoru
said.
"And of course, you know that I'll be there, right?" Manami asked
with a
smile on her face.
"Minna! Arigato!"
*******
Wednesday, April 12 10:00 pm
They were in the parking garage that belonged to the building that
the
bank was in. They were all dressed in black which wasn't any different
from
the way they usually dressed except Die wasn't allowed to wear any
bracelets, Kyo wasn't allowed any safety pins and Toshiya was the only
one
wearing a dress. Everyone else looked like they were from the movie
Mission
Impossible. "Why do I have to wear the dress?" Toshiya asked, as they
hid
behind a parked car. "Why doesn't Manami do it? She's really a girl."
"It's not in my contract," Manami answered, smartly. "Oh, c'mon.
It's
not as if you haven't worn a dress before and besides, you didn't mind
before."
"That was different!! Why should I wear it now?"
"Because you look good in it," Kaoru replied.
"Because it's believable," Kyo answered.
"And because you're good at it," Die finished.
"C'mon, Totchi! Do it for me!!" Shinya pleaded.
Manami leaned forward to look around Shinya, Die, Kyo and Kaoru.
"Now,
go out there, scream, run around and make all of us girls proud."
"I'm not a girl!" Toshiya hissed, indignantly.
"Just do it!!" They all hissed.
Toshiya stood with a low groan, bit his lip and then took a deep
breath.
He grasped his purse in his hand and then began to run and scream.
"Hey, I didn't know he was that good at it!" Shinya thought out
loud.
"Well, with all that's been happening for the past six weeks--he's
had a
lot of practice," Die replied.
The security guard perked up and ran towards Toshiya, "Ma'am, what's
wrong?"
"There's a scary man in the parking lot and he threatened me--please
don't leave me here alone!" Toshiya said in a high pitched (obviously
fake)
female voice. For some reason, the security guard didn't notice this
and
tried to calm him down. Toshiya noticed his friends trying to creep
through
the door and turned the security guard around roughly as if he was
scared to
death. "Oh, please stay with me!!! What if he comes back?!!!"
"Daijyobu!"
They got past the doors and they breathed a sigh of relief. Kyo was
about to walk forward confidently until Kaoru held him back. He looked
up
at the taller man and he pointed at the surveillance camera. Kyo
nodded and
waited for the camera to turn the other way and all of them snuck down
the
hall to turn left. "Do you know which way we're going, Kaoru?" Die
asked.
Kaoru pulled out a laptop computer that he had in a black bag that
he
brought with him. He turned it on and stared at the screen. "We go
down
this hall and we turn right."
"Where does he get all this cool stuff?" Kyo asked.
No one answered him as they crept down the hall and they were about
to
turn right but Kyo kept right on walking. Kaoru and Die grabbed him
just as
the surveillance camera turned on him. "Nani o suru?!" Kaoru hissed,
"Are
you trying to get us killed?"
"You said to turn right!"
"At least, wait for the rest of us! That camera probably caught an
image
of you and now the damn security's gonna come after us!!" They waited
but
there was no alarm or rushing steps or anything. "You're lucky no one
came." Kaoru told him and Kyo sneered.
Die peeked out again and motioned them forward, "Quick. It's not on
us--let's go." They edged around the camera and got to the end of the
hall.
They turned left at Kaoru's urging and got to a room that was barred
with
an electronic lock. "Is this it?"
"Hai," Kaoru answered. He looked at the lock, took out a special
cord
and attached it to the lock. He tapped a few keys and set the computer
down. "Alright. Now the computer will find out the code and all we
have to
do is wait."
"Ne, Kaoru, you sure you're just a musician?" Manami asked
suspiciously.
He gave her an amused smile and nodded.
The computer beeped five times and Kaoru smiled again. "Alright!"
The
barred door gave a metallic sound. Shinya stood and pushed it gently
open.
He stepped over the computer and everyone followed him in. The place
was
full of lockers and shelves.
"Shinya! I found it!" Manami called out and Shinya ran to where
she
was. He inspected it and took out a few tapes. He popped it into the
VCR
and everyone crowded around him to look. "Oh, this is no good," Manami
moaned.
"It just shows everybody on the outside," Shinya said, "It doesn't
show
that guy!!"
"What did you say his name was again?" Die asked.
"Kamikawa-san," Shinya replied.
"His locker should be in here, right?" Kaoru asked as they began to
look
around again.
"Found it!" Kyo called. They opened it and Manami and Shinya
gasped.
"Hey, it looks like your little figurine that you got!" Manami
picked
one up. "Wonder why it's so heavy?"
Kaoru took it from her and shook it. "There's something in it.
Can't
seem to get it out, though." He handed it to Kyo. "Break it as nicely
as
you can," he told him.
"Isn't that an oxymoron of some sort?" Manami asked as Kyo shrugged
and
threw it on the ground. It shattered.
"I thought I told you to break it as nicely as you could?" Kaoru
hissed.
"You didn't say gently. And considering its looks, that was as nice
as
it gets!" Kyo returned.
"Oi! Look at this!" Die said as crouched near the broken figurine.
He
pointed at the white powdery substance encased in clear plastic.
Shinya
took a look at it then began rummaging around in the locker. He found
a
bag, took it out and found a passport. He opened it up and made an
angry
noise in the back of his throat. "Nani sore?" Die asked.
Shinya held it up for all to see. It had Shinya's name, his
bloodtype,
his birthdate--everything. "This man is trying to steal my life. And
he's
getting all the other Shinyas killed as well." He pocketed it and took
another figurine as he turned to leave.
"Shinya? Daijyobuka?" Kaoru asked. He didn't like the strange
light in
Shinya's eyes.
Shinya turned back and looked at all of them then nodded. "Let's
change
this man's ways, shall we?"
*********
11:00 pm
Toshiya grasped at the security guard's arm. He sat on the ground,
looking as pathetic and as scared as he could without looking entirely
fake.
"I'm sure it's alright now, ma'am," the security guard began.
Toshiya
peeked around the guard's leg and saw his friends finally emerge from
the
building. Kaoru smiled at him, Die winked at him and Manami tried not
to
giggle.
"Just stay with me a little," Toshiya mumbled. He watched the
shadows of
his friends disappear around one corner of the garage then stood up.
"Okay!
'Bye!" He ran after them as quick as he could, forgetting about the
security guard's protests behind him. Luckily, the other man didn't
follow
after him.
**********
11:30 pm (back at Shinya's apartment)
"I'll do this alone."
"Demo--" Kaoru began.
"Shinya, you can't--" Die said at the same time.
"You might get killed--" Toshiya tried.
"We went through all this--you can't mean to leave us out of the
fun!!"
Kyo stated.
All of Dir en Grey stared at him. Manami was asleep on the couch
next to
him. "Kyo!! This is not fun!" Kaoru lectured, "This is serious!
This man
is a drug dealer, he's very dangerous!"
"Anyone who buys those figurines to store drugs in can't be
dangerous."
Kyo replied. "I don't want Shinya to do this alone, get in trouble and
have
no one to be there for him."
Toshiya's face lit up, "Wait! He won't be alone!" He looked at
Manami,
"You'll be there for him, won't you?"
Manami opened her eyes and was about to answer until Shinya
interrupted
her, "No. She won't. I have to do this alone. This murderer is going
to
come after me. Not you guys. And--I--I got this in the mail the other
day." He showed it to them. It was typed and told Shinya to meet
someone
at the park at 8:55 am or everybody he cared for would die at 9:00 am.
He
took it back and stared at all of them. "I also was threatened the
other
day." He said quietly. He wasn't going to go into details. "This isn't
only
about my life. It's about yours." He left them and headed to his
bedroom,
"I'm tired of being bullied. This time I have to do this on my own.
Goodnight." He closed the door.
It was silent. Kaoru and Toshiya left, after wishing Shinya good
luck.
Kyo left, calling Shinya crazy but saying that he would be there if the
drummer needed him. Die, stood frozen for a second, then headed to
Shinya's
bedroom and didn't come out until the next morning. Manami stared at
the
paper that Shinya's task came on and gave a sad proud smile. "That's
my
boy. . ." She whispered.
********
Friday, April 14, 2000
8:20 am (first bank I know that's opened that early!)
Shinya stepped up the teller and smiled at the man. "I need to
speak to
you about something."
"And what would that be?"
Shinya pulled out the figurine from his bag and placed it on the
counter.
He then took out the fake passport, opened it and placed it next to
the
figurine. "It's about my life." His smile faded and glared at the man
just
as he had once glared at Die after giving him that slap.
He heard the man gasp, slightly. The man gulped and regained his
composure. "Follow me. I'll talk to you in the back."
Shinya followed him into a room in the back which contained a lot of
grey
filing cabinets. "Why are you doing this?" Shinya asked as the man
hunched
over a table, doing something. "Why did you take my life?"
The man turned and he had a gun in his hand. "I don't have to
answer
you. You wouldn't understand."
Shinya stared at him. He took a step forward just as the man pulled
back
the hammer. Shinya stopped.
"Get over there," the man said as he motioned with the gun to the
corner.
There was sweat on his forehead and a little nervous twitch to his eyes
but
if he knew about it, he said nothing. Shinya moved over and the man
held the
gun at his throat as he moved to cuff Shinya to the pole. "Now, you
won't
cause me any trouble."
"Shinya!" Manami ran in and stopped as soon as she saw the man with
the
gun. "Oh, man. I didn't think it was that bad!"
"Well, now, at least, you have someone to die with!!" The man
growled
and motioned Manami over to Shinya. He tied her with some rope and
smiled
at them.
"Can't you get us out of here or anything?" Shinya whispered.
"My powers haven't been working lately!" Manami confessed.
"I thought I told you that I wanted to do this alone!"
"Like you could ever have accomplished anything alone!"
"Now, you're here! Does it look like we've accomplished anything?"
"Fine thing to start arguing with me now! We're about to die!!"
Shinya struggled to look at her, "What are you talking about? You
can't
die, you're an angel! And I'm your human! Get us out of this!"
The man laughed at them, "An angel, huh? I guess she's pretty
enough but
she has no wings. We'll see how much of an angel she is." He moved out
of
their sight behind one of the filing cabinets and returned with a can
of
gasoline and a match. He poured it around them and stared at them as
if
wondering if what he was doing was a bad idea.
"Yamete! Onegai!" Shinya pleaded. "Don't do it!"
"I can't kill you. If I kill you, they'll catch me eventually. And
then
I won't have anything left. Maybe I should die with you."
"The meaning and value of life," Manami whispered.
Shinya straightened, "You shouldn't say that!! Don't die! You
don't
have to!"
"Why not? It's the only alternative!! I won't spend my life in
jail!!
You don't know what it's like!! My wife left me early with my kid and
I was
struggling to make ends meet until this drug thing came along. And now
that
killer is after me by killing all those with the first name of Shinya!
He'll find me eventually--then what? I don't want my kid to know of
this!
Even if I manage not to be killed by the murderer, I'll still go to
jail!
It's easier this way!! I get rid of all of the evidence!!"
"You shouldn't do this!"
"You couldn't possibly know what I'm going through!!" cried the man
as he
lit a match.
Shinya hesitated then said in a softer tone, "No, I don't. Demo, I
do
know that--that--just because you've done some wrong things in your
life
doesn't mean you should die just because of them. I mean, if that were
the
case, I would've died a long time ago!! But I haven't because I'm
human.
We're allowed to make mistakes!" The man stared at him and Shinya went
on.
"And I love someone enough to live for them. Your kid probably loves
you,
too. Don't you want to see him grow up? To the world you may just be
someone, but to someone you may mean the world! It took me a while to
learn
that, but she helped me."
Manami smiled, sadly,"Shinya..."
The man stared at them, then dropped the match. "You're right. I
should
live, but that doesn't mean that you can."
The place lit up and the man disappeared. "Bastard!!" Shinya yelled
out and
tried to keep his feet away from the fire. He strained against his
bonds
but to no avail. He was stuck. "Crap! How much time do we have left,
Manami?!"
Manami twisted to see if she could peek at her watch. "I--I don't
know!"
She began to squirm.
"Nani o suru?" Shinya demanded.
"I think I could get loose if I tried. I've gotten out of worse
scrapes
before. It's only ropes after all." Manami said, as convincingly as
she
could. "It almost loose, I think!"
"Hayaku!" Shinya urged. He felt a tug and soon Manami was standing
up
next to him. "I hope he dies a thousand deaths," he said,
theatrically.
Manami bent down to observe the cuffs. "So, what do you think? Can you
get
me out of it? Is your powers working again?"
"Iie, Shinya. . .gomen--"
The man came skidding back into the room. All cruelty had vanished
from
his face and he was visibly shaken. "I change my mind!" He squeaked
out,
"If I kill you, then I'll have to answer for that as well. If I let
you
live, it'll be only one charge that I have to face up to!" He threw
the key
towards them and disappeared again. Manami and Shinya stared at the
door
with their jaws open.
Shinya shook himself, "Manami! The key!"
Manami came back to herself and grabbed it. She uncuffed Shinya and
both
stood to stare at the fire spreading around them. "Oh, if it's not one
damn
thing, it's another!" Manami yelled, furiously. Shinya's eyes swept
the
room and he moved toward a file cabinet. He pushed it down and made a
little metal bridge that crossed the line of fire. He jumped on it and
ran
across it towards the door. Manami followed after him. They ran out
the
door with the flames licking at their heels then out through the back
door
of the bank.
Shinya bent in the alley, his hands on his knees and tried to catch
his
breath, "Oh, my God! That would have to be the wierdest one, yet.
That was
too close!"
Manami leaned against the building wearily and looked at her watch,
"Cut.
You had 2 minutes left."
Shinya straightened, suddenly, "Oh, crap! That meeting in the park!
Oh,
no! We have to find the others! I don't think we'll make it in time!"
They took off running in the direction of the studio.
********
He forgot, the killer thought. Well, no matter. The murderer
decided
to make sure that Shinya would not forget again. Two roses were dropped
on
the steps that lead to the entrance of the studio.
********
Die got out of the car, pretty certain that Shinya was fine. He
didn't
get any impending feelings of doom like he usually did when Shinya had
a
task to complete. As he walked towards the entrance, a person dressed
entirely in black, made themself known. The only thing that was shown,
was
the person's eyes.
"Are you Die of Dir en Grey?"
Die took an involunatry step back. "H-hai. Can I help you?"
"You know Shinya, correct?"
Die didn't bother to answer a stupid question.
"I have a message for him. If you would come with me?" The person
stepped forward and as they did so, the roses on the steps were crushed
under thier foot. Die felt himself grow cold.
*******
He was almost there. Something urged him to run faster. Cold fear
stabbed through his spine and Shinya's eyes widened. Something was
wrong.
Before he knew it, he was shouting at the top of his lungs, tears
streaming
from his eyes. "Die! Die! Oh, God, no! Leave him alone! Die!!"
********
Die turned. He thought he heard Shinya calling. He did make it out
okay! He thought. He took a step forward in the direction of Shinya's
voice just as something sharp pierced him from behind. He screamed as
darkness claimed him.
********
Shinya ran as hard as he could but he knew he was going to be too
late.
Then he heard the scream. He ran around the corner and got there, only
to
see blood, roses and a lock of Die's hair. He picked the hair up and
Manami
caught him as he collapsed into tears, whispering his koibito's name.
*** So what will happen? Is Die really gone? What about the others? Are they safe? Is this truly the last mission? When the hell are we going to find about Manami? What the hell is going on here? All that and more--later.
To be continued in part 8
email Matrim
to Part 7