Foreword: We now return to the action.

Chapter SIX:

Dreaming Of Butterflies

Kyoto,

5th of March, 2004 - 12:03 a.m.

Sokumi concentrated hard on driving, struggling to see through her windshield and having a difficult time plowing through the rain as it was. Her minicar was simply not up to the task of power-driving through freak storms or flash floods on the highway. There was a yellow light flashing on the side of the road up ahead. As Sokumi drew closer, she could make out the watery outline of a man wading beside his overturned car; he was waving his arms in her direction. She must have been the first person to come along in ages.

The water seeping onto her floorboards ought to have served as some indication that she shouldn't have stopped there. Sokumi slowed down anyway as her car pulled up to the unfortunate man. She couldn't help but think he would be swept away when the flood came in full; the water was already rising fast. At the last second, she threw herself against the car door, letting at least three inches of water rush into her car as she rushed to help the man. The torrent was gaining strength, pulling her door this way and that as she hurried to help the man inside.

As she crawled back into the driver's side, Sokumi could feel the flood trying to push them sideways. As much as she tried to shut her door against the current, it was useless, and more water was pouring into the vehicle by the second. The man shivered beside her and tried to put the car in motion anyway. She had left the car on in her hurry, and now it was beginning to stall. What could they do? Sokumi assessed the matter quickly, looking down to find the water now reaching her knees. If they didn't get out soon, they would be trapped.

Sokumi glanced nervously at the man; he was soaked to the bone, but he looked surprisingly calm about the whole situation. In fact, in the dim light of the car, it looked like he was smiling. A sudden jolt pushed the car further to the side; if they waited any longer, it would be too late. She fumbled for the doorhandle, which was starting to beginning to disappear underneath the water, but the door was stuck fast.

"It won't move," she said to the man. "You have to help me!"

The man leaned into the door with her, but it was useless. Sokumi urged him to use his legs instead and they both used all of their to kick the door open on the count of three. At last, it gave way, and they managed to squeeze through the opening before the car was torn away by the current. The two of them swam as hard as they could to higher ground, where Sokumi watched as the hood of her car vanished completely. She turned back to the man, who was fumbling with something he had taken out of his pocket. He looked at her again, then back down at what looked like a cell phone.

Sokumi shivered, wrapping her arms around herself before realizing that she had lost her purse in the car. Damn it all. Maybe she could ask the man if she could use his phone to call someone. She was about to ask when she noticed that he was staring at her.

.

Akikawa frowned thoughtfully in his chair, pulling at his hair and staring at the phone. Two days had passed since the storm and Sokumi had not come by; she hadn't even called or sent an email saying that she was busy. He paid her absence little mind on the first day, and on the second day, he attributed any of his discomfort to paranoia. It was during the evening that he first gave her whereabouts true thought. He knew she had been out the night of the storm, on her way back from the night shift at the hospital; she had called to tell him so.

Chikara watched him pace back and forth across the living room, holding his phone and jumping every time it rang. She tried to reason with him, offering no shortage of explanations for Sokumi's disappearance. Even when Akikawa discovered that both her cell and her house phone had been disconnected, Chikara had excuses; she waited until he sat down before giving them.

"Maybe she got her cellphone wet?" she offered. "Maybe she forgot to pay the bill this month, and it's just a coincidence. She's probably working overtime, anyway, what with the flood victims and all." Chikara went on, inspecting her claws.

Akikawa felt his stomach sinking. "I already called the hospital," he admitted quietly. "She hasn't shown up to work since before the flood." He slumped over in the armchair, resting his head in the palms of his hands. From the sound of it, Sokumi had even failed to check in with them over the phone. It just wasn't like her; her work was one of the few things she took seriously. He couldn't help but think that something was wrong.

Chikara squirmed noticeably in her seat. Maybe something urgent had come up, she reasoned. If that was the case, Sokumi would have left to take care of it; that was reasonable, wasn't it? "If you're really that worried, why don't you just go next door yourself?" After all, she might have left a note.

Akikawa stood up all at once, making determined strides towards his front door. "Maybe you're right," he said. "As much as that disgusts me." Chikara had been there for two weeks, and she had done nothing but lay around and make a mess of things. The idea that she could be sensible about something was almost too much to bear.

Chikara grinned to herself. "That's awfully petty, you know," she said. "You're supposed to be worrying about Sokumi." She decided not to call attention to the fact that Sokumi was probably fine.

Akikawa grimaced; it was almost as if she had been reading his mind. On that note, he shuffled out of the door and Chikara was left to sneak into his pantry. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was every bit as troubled about the disappearance as Akikawa was, if not more. She couldn't deny some of the signs pointed to trouble on Sokumi's part. Akikawa had entertained ideas that her car had been swept off the road, piled up with countless others that had been less than fortunate; he had fantasies about her being trapped underwater or otherwise stranded.

Chikara, however, had other ideas. Akikawa's were certainly plausible, but she felt that perhaps something nastier had occurred. Sokumi was connected to Akikawa, and Akikawa was somehow connected to Wakiasei Enterprises. The Organization would surely have discovered that there was something unnatural about her execution; they weren't a sloppy operation. They would have gone back to the scene and found that there wasn't a body. Eventually, they would find out what had happened. They would come after anyone involved, but Akikawa was a special case; The Organization had spent half of their existence going after his designs. They would probably do anything to get their hands on the mastermind himself.

Chikara shuddered. What would they do if they found him? What would they do with her? They would have no use for her anymore, as was already evident from their attempts on her life.

A few minutes passed and Akikawa returned, his face pale and drawn. Chikara was about to question him when she noticed the note in his hand. Perhaps she had been right before, after all. "What do you have there?" she asked cautiously. Something still told her that The Organization was involved with this.

Akikawa swallowed hard, thrusting the crumpled paper at her as though it pained him to hold it. "This was addressed to me," he said, waiting for Chikara to pick it up. "Go on, read it."

As her eyes traveled over the paper, Chikara felt her blood run cold.

Bring the chimera to the tower.

Suddenly the life was draining out of her and she could tell the dread was showing on her face. Beneath the words, at the bottom corner of the page, there was blood; there was no need to wonder whose it was. The message was clear.

"Now, what could that mean?" Akikawa was furious. He knew exactly who to blame for this as he watched Chikara fumble with the letter; it was obvious what had happened here. This creature had taken refuge in his home, fooled him into helping her while she was on the run. She had dragged him into something beyond comprehension. What's more, she had dragged Sokumi into it - Sokumi, who had shown her nothing but kindness and generosity. It was sickening. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that it was every bit as much his fault as it was Chikara's.

No matter what he said or thought, he had built that machine.

Chikara struggled to look at Akikawa. She had known this would happen, one way or another; but she had still chosen to stay. "What are we going to do about it?" she asked quietly.

Akikawa looked at her hatefully. "What do you mean 'we?'" he asked. "You've caused enough trouble already. Just stay out of it." It was only after he had said this that he thought about accepting the kidnapper's demands. If he gave them what they wanted, Sokumi would have a better chance of coming out of this alive.

Chikara realized what he was thinking and tried to discourage him. "You can't go," she told him. "You'll only be putting yourself in danger." It was true; Akikawa had no idea what kind of horrors The Organization could manage. Aside from that, there was no doubt as to what would become of her if they got their clutches on the inventor, and Sokumi's fate would be just as unpleasant.

Akikawa took a moment to consider her warning, still too upset to think clearly. He knew that he hadn't taken the kidnappers properly into account; it was very possible that Chikara was right about them being too dangerous. She was obviously related to them somehow. He paced anxiously around the room, remembering the condition he had found her in. As bizarre as the event had been, he had the feeling that these were the same nasty people who had cut up her arm; perhaps they had even had something to do with her time traveling.

The more he thought about the situation, the more he couldn't help thinking about Maiko. He had always felt guilty about her accident, as he had been the only one around to call for help at the time. Instead of doing something, he had just stood there, waiting for someone to tell him what to do. Akikawa could still see his sister lying motionlessly in the street. He could feel the shock sinking into his stomach, even now, weighing him down and preventing him from taking action.

Chikara watched him critically, waiting to see what course he would take. As much as she wanted to go and take Sokumi back by herself, she knew it would be impossible. The Organization knew all of her tricks; they had observed her on every mission by way of hidden cameras and special agents. She needed Akikawa's help; he had the technology they would need in order to pull anything off - and that still wasn't a guarantee.

As she observed Akikawa pacing back and forth, her eyes fell across an envelope lying on the coffee table. It had been there since that morning, but she hadn't registered its presence until just then. It was addressed to no one and there was no return address. She would have gone on assuming it had been dropped off with the rest of the mail earlier, but there wasn't even a stamp.

"What's that?" asked Akikawa. Chikara looked up to see that he had noticed the envelope as well.

.

Sokumi opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred and it didn't look like there was much to see in the room, anyway. Everything was dark and empty-looking, with the exception of one ominous figure in the corner. The man she had helped had disappeared the day before, leaving when this creature came to take his place. Since then, this tall, cloaked menace had served as her warden, making sure she had enough food and water to survive but tending to little else, aside from keeping her bindings secure. He was rather silent, and refused to answer any of her questions.

All she knew was that he wanted Akikawa. The rest, she could only guess at.

---

Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! It sure has been a while. About half of this (as short as it is) was written back in May and the early part of June, but the rest has been spawned in just the last few days. The change in style is likely visible, but that's probably not a bad thing. Anyhow.

Sokumi was kidnapped - I hadn't been planning that. In the original story, this was mostly just a filler chapter, followed by a two-part escapade that was uninspired at best. I have since decided that something like this would be more adventurous. And?

I've mostly been working on other projects for the past few months, and so have greatly neglected my account here. They have nothing to do with this story in particular, but I never forgot about it. I was just having a bad case of writer's block. If you're curious about the other projects (other women?', I'll put a link to my writing journal in my profile, so you are welcome to check that out. Hopefully, you'll find some enjoyment out of what I have there.

As to Toki GO, I definitely haven't forgotten about it, or any of its characters, so rest assured that if another break like this one shows up, I will get back to it eventually. To those of you still following, sorry for the wait.