My acting love - Watashi no engi ai (Aqua Hoshino x Akane Kurokawa)

Chapter 14 - the finale

Go go go!

Aqua sprinted as fast as he could back to his car. He had gone to check on Akane at her home, only to find her phone sitting on voice record, a message explaining where she had gone to anyone who would find it in case she hadn't got back. Stupid and intelligent in 1 move - that was Akane in a nutshell. Smart because she had left in message behind due to knowing Hikaru's nature and reputation but dumb for going anyway.

Aqua hopped into his car and sped up the gravelly driveway, skidding and leaving tire marks as he did so. Oh well, he'd help fix it later. Right now his focus was saving Akane.

When had Aqua begun to suspect his father had been the stalker after all? Maybe it was his overreaction to the topic being brought up, maybe the rapid change in subject from the stalking to the farther-son relationship. Dodging bullet after bullet, accusation after accusation, that was Hikaru's nutshell.

Aqua was stopped at traffic lights and was tempted to ignore them. Only the granny and child crossing in front of him stopped him from doing so - what was the point of rushing to save a life if you just took 2 more? Aqua shook off these thoughts, driving faster and faster after the lights turned green. Oh well, Aqua thought, I'm sure the police won't mind if I'm doing this to save an innocent life - and take an evil one.

Well, they might care about that last one, but who really cares?

Aqua arrived back at his demented patriarch's house. When he first arrived here it seemed excessive - now it seemed like the perfect place to TRASH. He ran to the door, first trying the handle. Of course, no luck. Hikaru wasn't that dumb. He looked around for something that could help. As his eyes scanned the porch, his eyes rested on a pot plant. Perfect. A heavy centre of gravity, when applied with enough strength, well, less math, more bash. Aqua kept at it until the handle snapped off the door completely, leaving the door accesible with enough finesse. With not much trouble, Aqua opened the giant door and bolted inside.

Until he realised he had no clue where to go.

Aqua looked around frantically, but a house this huge had so many halls and stairs it was impossible to guess where Akane would be held, even on Aqua's best day. This was certainly not Aqua's best day. Suddenly he heard Hikaru's voice over a hidden speaker, presumably built into the security cameras Aqua hadn't had time to decommission.

"Aqua, Aqua, Aqua. That was a bit rude!"

Hearing the old (young?) man's voice made Aqua's blood boil, but he had to keep him talking. Hikaru was smart, but Aqua was smarter. Maybe he could trick him into giving him some hints about their location. It wasn't much, but it was his best hope.

"What do you want with her, Hikaru! What did she do to you? Where are you keeping her!?"

Aqua heard that trademark chuckle again. "Ignoring the fact that you just damaged my property and trespassed into my home, I think we can have a civilised chat about what's going on and see if I can answer those question. Come upstairs! If you head to the right, you'll find a door on your left. Confusing, I know, but hey! It's your best and only hope of finding your Blue Haired Maiden."

Aqua almost felt a smile come through, but quickly smothered it. Hikaru didn't realise the hole he had just dug himself into. "A game of cat-and-mouse, huh? Fine, I'll be happy to devour you once I catch you."

Bad phrasing, Aqua, bad phrasing.

Aqua followed his father's directions and found himself face to face with the tallvillainousblonde. He was leaning with one arm wrapped around a chair. And on the chair...