The Black Cross

They weren't going to find him. And what Ran had said to Yohji...

Are you really this desperate?

It wasn't what he had meant. He had meant, "Stay away from me, before I hurt you, like everyone else." But Yohji had never been concerned with his personal welfare. The drinking, the smoking, the...

He had been kidnapped by Schwartz.

Ran's grip slipped a little on the wheel. He grabbed it again after a slight swerve. No oncoming traffic, luckily. Damn, what was wrong with him?

Ken had said something Ran missed. A glance sideways showed the brunette staring intently at his cell phone. "Have you contacted Omi?"

The road turned blurry for a moment. Ran gave a slight shake of his head, refocusing.

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Omi was still typing on his computer when he felt his phone start to vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out he read over Ken's text before hitting his speed dial to call Ken back deciding it would be faster then texting at the moment. That, and he wanted to hear if Ken and Ran were alright.

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"Working on it-hey!" Ken jerked his head up when the car swerved. Ran looked like he was getting kinda dodgy. The car seemed to be slipping further and further away. There was no time to pull over, they might lose the car-

~If that *was* the right car~

"Focus Ran. We can't afford to lose him. Them." He pinched the bridge of his nose at the slip, then focused back on the road.

That's when his phone rang. Ken hit the answer button so fast he almost dropped the phone. There was a slight bit of static. "Omi? Hello?"

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"Ken-kun." Ignoring the fact that this was actually the first time he'd gotten to talk to Ken all day he typed in a couple things on his computer. "I don't think Yohji-kun has his cellphone with him. I'm trying to track it now. If you can see the license plate on the car you're following I might be able to track it that way." Omi said trying to think of every possible way he'd be able to help get Yohji away from Schwartz. Though he hated to admit he was rather limited on ideas.

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"Dammit!" The car that had been in front of them was gone.

Ran swerved onto another street, a last-minute, desperate attempt to catch up with them by driving down a one-way street. He turned a sharp right onto the street they should have been on...

And nothing.

The painkillers had begun to work, the pain numbing to something nearing manageable, but a metallic taste was beginning to be noticeable in his mouth. It felt like...

Bloodloss.

"Can he track him?!" Ran demanded.

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"I couldn't get a good visual on the plaaa-!!" Ken's sentence turned into a yelp as Ran swerved around the corner like a madman. There was a terrible moment when his heart jumped into his throat, then sank into the pit of his stomach.

"Oh no. No no no," Ken breathed into the phone.

There was no car.

Yohji was gone.

The sound of Ran's demand jerked him back into reality.

"He needs a plate number and I couldn't catch the whole thing, and Yohji doesn't have his phone!"

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Ran would have slapped the wheel, had he had the energy. He settled for a glare that conveyed everything he needed it to. "We'll find them!" He snapped.

He turned another corner, palm slipping again on the wheel before he strengthened his grip through sheer strength of will.

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Omi winced when he heard Ken yelp. "Ken-kun what's going on?" He asked.

"If you can't get the license plate number I'll think of another way to track them." Though Omi wasn't sure if there was really anything else he could do. Without his cell phone Omi couldn't track Yohji. And without knowing the car he couldn't track Schwartz. /Please give me something I can use to help/ Omi thought.

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The streetlights were blurry at the edge of Ran's vision. He was going too fast.

There had to be some way...

What was it Yohji had said? That everyone was desperate for something? Ran felt desperate.

The car swerved, the turn onto the highway had come up unexpectedly. That hadn't been another street he'd missed? No, he was sure he'd been paying attention...

The car swerved again, narrowly missing a car in his lane. Or had it been?

...He was desperate. This feeling...it was familiar. What did Schwartz want from Yohji? What purpose, other than sheer maliciousness? Were Schwartz desperate for anything?

...he was desperate for...to keep...

...was that Omi, still on the phone?

...he should ask...maybe track...somehow the words didn't make it to his lips.

...desperate, Yohji was right, he had to tell Yohji he was right, but he wouldn't get the chance. It was too late.

Ran's foot lessened on the pedal. He should have bound his leg...but there was was no time...he had to find...

...no time for anything....desperate to keep the people he loved....

"Ken-take the-"

Shit... The road faded.

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“I managed to get a few numbers-careful there-you might be able to run something off of that, but I don’t know how much it’ll-HOLY SHI-“

On the other end of the line there was a horrendous screeching noise, followed by a muffled metallic whump and a string of salty language. A chorus of horns swelled in the background. There was a shuffling sound, and finally a fumbling rasp as Ken picked up the phone again.

“W-we’re coming home,” he said breathlessly. “Ran fainted at the wheel. He’ll need bandages…” The angry swell of horns grew louder and more insistent. “Gotta move. Gotta move the car. We’re ok. I’ll call you back.”

Five minutes later, Ken miraculously got them back on the road and headed home. The entire drive back was a tense one. Between checking for police, checking on Ran, and biting the inside of his cheek worrying about Yohji, Ken wasn’t sure if he was going to make it back in one piece. His mind was kicked into overdrive wondering what the mercenaries could possibly be doing to his teammate, and if every minute Yohji remained in their clutches was his last.

And in the midst of it all, like the smallest black spot in a sea of worry, was the twisted relief that Omi wasn’t the one who was spirited away. He didn’t try to bury it the way he normally would have either. It was one of the few things allowing him to function.

By the time he was a few blocks away from the Koneko, his head was throbbing with leftover pain and adrenaline. He dug out the phone and called Omi to let him know that they were almost there.

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Omi yelled into the phone for Ken not to hang up but it was to late. So all he could do was wait until Ken decided to call back. So he sat there holding his phone tightly with only the knowlage that Ran had fainted at the wheel. And even though Ken sounded as if he had gotten control of the car Omi still didn't know.

He nearly jumped when the phone rang again. "Hello? Ken-kun? Are you two okay?" Omi asked trying not to sound to worried considering that Aya-chan was still in the room with him.

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"Ran passed out at the wheel," he responded bluntly. "That wound he got was a bit worse than we thought, he must've lost too much blood."

Ken looked over at his prone teammate. He looked far too pale, even for him. "We're pulling up, should be there in a minute or two." Ken's voice was rife with frustration and pain. "I'll need your help getting him out of the car."

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