Author's Note: Are you guys ready for the Taichi chapter? I sure am~! Haha! :D

I woke up a bit later than I expected, but I still had quite some time to burn before I had to head out. Today marks the end of my first week being here in Ikebukuro. A lot of things happened; sometimes good, but mostly bad. A massive gang fight, a death, and even a car crash where I was intended to be the victim! There was also the chatroom which I haven't visited in a long time. I wondered if the occupants were curious about me.

Now that I thought about it, Orihara-san was probably part of the chat. If anything, he was certainly the one who sent me the link to it. How does he continuously gain access to all of these things...? It does explain the recurring "queen" theme that I kept encountering. I forced myself not to think about it too hard because I should be grateful that he's helping me so willingly. He didn't strike me as the type to give without any means of payment.

Shizuo and Tom-san were definitely the most pleasant people out of those that I just recently met. Of course, this thought occurred to me so suddenly that I hardly had any time to remember that I had met Celty-san and Kishitani-san not so long ago as well. They too were quite high on my list due to them simply being big sacks of kindness. I wouldn't expect such characters out of these four who looked intimidating on their own with the exception of Kishitani-san--whom I haven't seen without a brilliant smile spread across his features especially when talking about his sole love. Although I didn't know all that much about any of them, I kept the truth of their sweet nature close to both my mind and heart. Someday it might just save me.

Afternoon started to pass by without me noticing, and before I knew it, it was time for me to find the kid. I dressed casually before heading out. What was I even planning to say to him? He'd probably deny anything I accuse him of. I was being reckless again. However, I had no intention of turning back now, so whatever I had to say, I'd improvise.

I started off walking to the school and planned to catch a taxi perhaps once I've covered a bit of distance on foot. After imagining having to wait shadily outside the school gates, I decided that I didn't want to arrive early.

While I was immersed in my own thoughts, I was hardly able to see the person driving up next to me until they tapped lightly on my shoulder to get me to look around. It was Celty-san. She gave me a gesture that I recognized as her way to say hello. Even then, I didn't know why she wouldn't just outright talk to me. Maybe she was shy? Mute? Who knows?

"Hello, Celty-san!" I greeted. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while."

She pulled out her PDA just like before and ran her fingers across the surface, typing so quickly it looked like she did so as an occupation.

[>>I'm fine, thank you. Are you heading somewhere?]

I leaned in to read her message. "Yeah, I'm just... visiting a friend."

She gave a defined nod and typed more.

[>>Do you need a lift? I'm just out for a ride. I could take you.]

I glanced at her bike. It was completely black and didn't even appear to have headlights or anything. While I was observing it, it came to my attention that people were staring at us. They were all several feet back as if they were pushed away by a force field or something. I could see them turning to whisper amongst themselves and some were even taking pictures.

I raised my gaze back up to Celty-san. "Celty-san... are you a celebrity?" She slightly flinched and waved her hands as if saying "No, it's not like that at all." I giggled at her reaction. Maybe she's just humble. "At any rate," I continued, "I'm fine. I'm planning to call a cab soon anyways, so go on ahead with your leisure ride!"

She tried insisting on driving me, but I firmly stated that I didn't need it. Not only did I want to keep away from attention, but I also didn't want to drag Celty-san into anything bad in case things take a turn for the worse. She told me to message her if I needed anything and I accepted her contact information graciously, deciding against mentioning that I no longer had a phone. With that we parted ways.

Shortly after, I hailed a cab and rode the rest of the way to the school. I learned that my timing was pretty good as the cab slowed to a stop and the clock counted its ticks to end the school day. After paying the driver, I stood outside for a short amount of time while watching the minute-hand hit the twelve, signaling for the bell to ring, like a conductor directing an orchestra to start their performance.

Students began to file out of the school like ants in a line while I stood impatiently tapping my foot against the ground. I scanned each person's face, carefully looking for the one that matched the profile Orihara-san showed me. I was beginning to catch attention due to my intense stares, but I didn't mind as long as I got the right person. Fortunately, as hope was about to seep out of my body somehow, I found him exiting the campus grouped up with a select number of friends.

I stepped out to face him directly. "Excuse me, are you Yamamoto Teru?" I asked straightforwardly. He examined me with his eyebrows arched and a pout sitting naturally on his face before nodding. It wasn't long until one of his friends pushed in front to face me.

"(-Last Name-)-san?" the student called. Alarmed, I focused in on the kid. It was my own coworker, Yamada-kun. "What are you doing here?" he asked, perplexed.

My lips parted, unable to find the right words while my eyes darted between Yamamoto-kun and Yamada. "Uhm... Uhh, I just need to have a quick word with Yamamoto-kun, if that's okay."

Yamada-kun looked to his friend with a confident gaze. "Teru-kun, she's a coworker and friend of mine." He smiled cheerfully. "I'm sure she means well."

Yamamoto-kun clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. "Fine. I get it." With that, I waved to Yamada-kun who set off in the other direction while playing a game on his portable console, and walked away with Yamamoto-kun who was leading me to somewhere a bit more quiet. We stopped in an alleyway relatively near the school, but not so close that it'd grab much attention. "To be honest, I know why you're here," he told me without even sparing a single glance. He turned slowly and just enough for me to spot a grin on his smug face. "We all know."

Before I knew it, a blunt object came in contact with my head, knocking me down and causing a sharp pain in my temple. I fell onto the hard concrete, scraping my skin and hitting my head a second time on the ground. A high-pitched ringing resounded in my ears, making me grit my teeth as my hands rose to my head just to hold it still. My fingers became wet with my own warm, sticky blood; it was as if someone poured water over me. With a metal pipe or something of that sort, they struck my ankle, making me yelp in agony. Quick footsteps entered the scene, and I realized that everyone stopped in their places to watch me curl up and writhe as they caged me in. Everyone who came was merely against me. It was no use; I couldn't even get up.

"Boss told us you'd come," Yamamoto-san remarked proudly. "And I just learned that he's always right." With one more hit, I was out cold.

¤¤¤¤☆¤¤¤¤

My eyes opened one at a time, the second one having to be forced to even budge. I took in a quick, deep breath to fill my distressed lungs before trying to look into my surroundings. All I was met with was darkness; a complete lack of light. Nothing was over my head, so the room must have just been entirely blacked out. I didn't even have to try moving to know that I couldn't--that I was tied up real tight on a creaking wooden chair.

"Oh, don't be so stereotypically villainous!" I shouted out even if there wasn't anyone around to hear it. My voice was pretty hoarse, but I let it be.

There was a pause--filled to the brim with silence--until someone responded with a voice-altering machine that gave the speaker a deep tone. This was the same voice I heard over the phone after that car crashed into the store trying to hit me. "You like to run around, don't you?" They boomed, "I admit, you were close this time."

"Show yourself!" I demanded.

A spotlight came on above me, coloring the scene a bit. I squinted at the sudden brightness, but once my eyes adjusted, I saw where exactly I was sitting; a stage.

"I have an idea!" The voice said. "Let's play a game, my dear! We'll play 'Who is more important?'. It's a short game, really--only lasts one round. All you have to do is answer 'Who is more important?'. The stakes are high, so let's see our options!"

Then I heard chains being dragged across the wooden platform along with stammered sobbing and muffled words. I turned my head quickly to face the noises. Another spotlight shined on someone else, and I was able to recognize him completely despite the blindfold and the gag. Yamada-kun. I immediately felt distraught knowing that I got my subordinate involved in my own personal matters.

Next I heard a similar series of noises coming from the other direction. I heard the chains and muffled responses, but unlike Yamada-kun, there weren't any cries at all. Even then, the jumbled refutes were clearly defiant. The spotlight came on over the second person, and as I gazed at him, I could feel myself starting to quiver in fear of what was about to happen. Taichi. I tugged helplessly at what binded me, trying earnestly to escape while my breathing sped up roughly.

"Now it's time for 'Who is more important?'!" the voice kicked in again. "Be careful now! Your decision affects the game's outcome tremendously! So who will you choose? Your poor, young coworker? Or this... stranger?"

I darted my eyes around between the boys, unsure of what to choose. Unsure of what to think. "Unless," the voice teased, "this man is not a stranger..."

I shook my head rapidly as tears threatened to force their way into my eyes. "Please... stop." I begged for the first time.

"Well, well! We can't play the game when there's already a personal bias! I know who's more important to you, (-Last Name, First Name-). I don't need an answer."

Taichi's blindfold and gag were taken off quickly and they fluttered to the floor as his wide, piercing blue eyes met mine. He wasn't wearing his glasses, but he knew it was me; I could tell by the way his lips parted in surprise when he saw me. His ashy blonde hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and the bags underneath his eyes rendered him more tired than usual. His posture improved with a slow inhale that rose him out of a hunch.

"Taichi," I whispered with an ache in my voice.

"(-First Name-)," he exhaled in relief before he gave me a pained smile. "Thank God you're alright..." His expression didn't change regardless of the tears that began to roll down his cheeks. "You'll get out of this, (-First Name-)... I promise that... So, when you do... be happy. And, only if you really want... Finish thi--"

I heard a single bang echoing throughout this auditorium, and it was incredibly loud. So much so that Yamada-kun gasped and I reflexively shut my eyes. I didn't know where it originated from, but it was so horribly clear to me when it ended.

Taichi jerked forward as a bullet pierced through his back. As he fell forward, everything looked like it was in slow motion. His blood spurted out from the wound like a red flower gracefully sprouting from the pain of getting shot. My heart dropped. I found myself screaming his name repeatedly without even meaning to. All the air escaped my lungs as I watched Taichi fall to his knees and then to the ground with a smile remaining on his face regardless of the blood he was coughing up. His breathing faltered before it stopped completely.

I started hyperventilating. Yamada-kun passed out at the sight. My arms went limp in distress while my eyes refused to even blink. "What do you want?" I asked with jagged breaths. "What do you want, you bastard?" I yelled at the seats of the auditorium.

Again, there was a long pause as I sat there with my jaw clenched shut and my teeth chattering slightly. "Keep running," it said.

With that, all the lights came on and I could see everything. The size of the stage, the amount of seats for the audience, the performers. I struggled with my ties, and didn't even succeed in get out of them. I sat there in complete despair and helplessness with the constant nagging voice telling me that I failed. I hung my head, managing to drown out the world with my own regrets.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

I jerked my head to the side, alarmed, and saw Orihara-san leaning beside me, cutting off the rope around my arms with his flickblade. I rubbed the skin on my wrists after noticing that they were irritated. I dealt with the ties at my ankles by myself, flinching at first after remembering that one of my ankles was sprained or broken. "...What are you doing here...?" I asked him after a long silence.

He stood up straight and stared blankly and distantly at Taichi's body and repeated "I'm sorry I'm late" more to himself than to me. Then he looked back to me. "I came because I was curious about your confrontation. Instead, I saw you getting hauled into a van! So I tracked it down."

I nodded indifferently. Honestly, I wished so badly for him to be the bad guy. I wanted to be able to say "It was you" and be done with it, be free of this whole mess and tell Taichi that everything was okay because we solved it. We could rest easy... He could rest easy.

"Let's go," Orihara-san said.

I looked toward Yamada-kun's direction. He was starting to get up and his dark eyes were darting around the room in shock. I hope this doesn't traumatize him, I thought, seeing his apparent discomfort.

"Are you okay, Yamada-kun?" I asked, putting on a weary smile.

"(-Last Name-)-san! S-should we call the cops? W-what do we do?" he panicked.

"Go ahead," I replied passively. "But I doubt they'll get very far." Orihara-san glanced at me with his eyebrows raised. I was acting strange. "I'm... sorry. It's best to call them, Yamada-kun. I don't have my phone, so if you don't mind..."

Yamada-kun nodded. "I'll do it, (-Last Name-)-san. I'm sorry this happened to you... You should relax. If you don't come to work tomorrow, I'll defend you."

We said our goodbyes as Orihara-san led me out of the auditorium. The auditorium was part of some private school that made me wonder how the Taggers even got in. It was dark out and the streetlights vaguely disturbed me the way they looked like the spotlights on the stage.

"You're limping," Orihara-san observed out loud. His expression made it look like he didn't care, but I gave him a bit more credit than that.

I looked down at my feet and proceeded to walk faster. "So I am."

He sighed and swiftly pulled me up onto his back. I didn't bother fighting it; my energy was finally drained. "I'm taking you to Shinra. You remember him, don't you? He's a... doctor. He's weird, but he's good at what he does."

I appreciated Orihara-san trying to be comforting by talking casually and relatively complimenting Kishitani-san. He continued to speak, not waiting for any responses since he probably figured that I wasn't up to return the conversation. I rested my head on his shoulder and allowed him to carry me the full distance to the doctor's apartment.

Kishitani-san opened the door and rushed us inside after simply glancing at my sorry state. Orihara-san set me down on the couch and shut himself up. I wasn't particularly happy about it. I wanted to tell him "Don't stop talking. Continue", but alas, I needed to get treated.

I fell asleep somehow while Kishitani-san went to work. My rest didn't last long and I awoke to the sight of Orihara-san, Celty-san, and Kishitani-san all sitting at the living room, tending to me as if I were a sick child.

"Oh," I muttered from underneath a comforter they buried me in. My sentence--or lack of one--alarmed them and brought the attention to my consciousness. "Celty-san's head is missing..."

And it was true. A black cloud of smoke puffed out from her neck in a manner of astonishment. I stared at the neck worriedly as Kishitani-san tried to calm me down. I considered that maybe I was drugged, but it didn't seem to stop me.

"Kishitani-san, what do we do?! She must be in pain!"

"(-Last Name-)-san, Celty is fine--!"

"'Fine'? Kishitani-san, it's missing. Her head."

"She doesn't need--"

"How do we heal her?! She's not bleeding! Rather, is that smoke? She's on fire now!"

I felt a hand rest on my head, petting me to calm me down. It was Celty-san, and she pulled out her PDA to clearly explain the situation. At the end of it, I nodded and sank back into the comforter. Everyone was still on edge due to my outburst, so I concluded the topic by saying "That's cool."

Kishitani-san lent me his pyjamas which Celty-san dressed me into while I was asleep. They gave me tea to drink while they tended to the wounds on my head and bandaged my scratches. Once they were done, I wrapped myself in the comforter like a sushi roll and tried to console myself.

It wasn't long before they asked me to explain what happened at the auditorium. I cooperated, but apparently left out certain important details. Orihara-san made sure to make me spill every detail and I hated him for it.

"Who's 'Yamada-kun'?" he inquired.

"My coworker," I replied hesitantly.

"Where did you hear this 'Familiar voice'?"

"Over the phone... after a car crash incident."

"Why don't you have your phone?"

"I broke it."

"Unintentionally?"

"No, intentionally."

"Why?"

"..."

"(-First Name-)-san?"

"There were chips and such inside it, and I got paranoid."

"..."

"...Is that all or...?"

He looked down before looking back up somewhat empathetically. "How did you know Kurokawa Taichi?"

I drew in a breath and wove my fingers together. Everyone waited for my response impatiently as it was currently the biggest mystery in the room for them.

"Taichi... he's... He was my husband."

=Author's Note=

:D

-!n@