The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 35

Angel ran, her vigilant eyes scanning the streets around the school. There was still no sign of her. With heavy steps, she headed towards Celeste's location. She needed to inform Celeste about Bunny's disappearance immediately.

Meanwhile, the friends remained gathered, still puzzling over Seiya's letter. Suddenly, Amy noticed something. "Taiki, could you pass me the letter again, please?" she asked. Deep in thought, she placed her index finger and thumb on her chin. "I suspected it," she said, a knowing smile forming on her face. All eyes were on Amy. "Well, come on. What did you find out?" Minako asked impatiently. Amy smoothed out the paper and placed it in front of her, making sure everyone could see it. "The stains on the paper are not random. Look here, Seiya has marked different passages. Once with the gray substance, probably ash or something similar, and then with the brown. Let's put together the marked words... for the gray ones, we get black, moon, and captivating, and for the brown ones, search, first concert, me." Amy's mind was piecing together the puzzle, but she only saw blank expressions in the group, all trying to follow her. Then Taiki had a realization. "He's truly brilliant sometimes. The Black Moon is holding him captive," he shared with the others, and Amy nodded in agreement. "Exactly, and the second part of the message is 'Find me in Osaka,'" she added. "But what does a large underground organization like the Black Moon want with Seiya?" Yaten voiced his doubts.

With a heavy feeling, Angel knocked on Celeste's door. "Yes!" her voice echoed from inside. Angel took a deep breath and entered. Celeste looked up, surprise evident on her face. "Oh, Angel, I almost didn't recognize you in that nun outfit. What's up? Why are you here?" Angel swallowed hard. "I'm afraid Shin has captured the rabbit," she muttered softly. Celeste stared at Angel with wide eyes. "Repeat that," she growled. Angel slumped into a chair. "Shin has Bunny." "I got it the first time! How could this happen? You were supposed to keep an eye on her! This can't be happening!" Celeste shouted at her. "I don't know, she was sitting next to me, and in the next moment, Diamond called because he heard something strange on the bug, and she was gone. I just wasn't paying attention for five minutes because the singer smuggled a message into the letter," Angel explained. Celeste visibly seethed, a pulsing vein prominent on her neck. "What message? Angel!" "He informed the others that they need to find him in Osaka. It was disguised in a way that I didn't notice. I'm sorry." Celeste weakly smiled at her. "Fortunately, his plans for Osaka are on hold for now, but how did he know where we were taking him?" Angel shrugged. "Mamo will go ballistic when he finds out. Make sure he's brought to me after work. Oh, and Angel, one more mistake, and you'll regret it. That's two today, and it's not even noon yet! I hope for your sake it's the last one." Angel nodded and took up her new position outside the hospital.

Bunny felt a cold, heavy metal around her wrists. It was cold and dark here. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she called into the dark silence, her voice echoing back. "Seiya? Are you here somewhere?" Still silence. It had to be a bad dream. First, Seiya was abducted, and now she was sitting in a hole, dragged away by strangers. What did they want from her? She hadn't done anything wrong. Suffocating tears welled up. Suddenly, from a distance, Bunny heard a sound. Footsteps, rapidly approaching her. "Hello! I'm back here!" she yelled in desperation. Then she discerned the outlines of two figures coming straight towards her, sending shivers down her spine. Her instincts screamed at her to run or hide, but neither was possible. She crouched down, protecting her head with her bound hands. "You're right, she's cute. She'd fetch a nice sum on the market. If we don't need her anymore, try selling her if there's anything left of her," a deep male voice rumbled right in front of her. Bunny didn't dare to look up, paralyzed by fear. What had he just said? He wanted something from her or wanted to sell her? Her heart pounded so hard she could easily feel it. Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. "Here, I've already made my choice," a female voice, sharp and biting. Bunny tightly shut her eyes and listened further. "I urgently need to speak with Dr. Chiba... Yes, it's crucial... Thank you, I'll wait..." Bunny's blood ran cold within seconds. Mamoru? What did he have to do with all of this?

"... Hello, my old friend... yes, we both survived, it seems... You might want to be friendlier, though. I happen to have someone here who is dear to you."

At that moment, Bunny felt someone grab her hair tightly from behind and pull her head backward. Even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have suppressed the short scream. "Bunny!" Mamoru's panicked voice came through the phone.

The man turned around and held the phone to his ear again. "Yes, and she's mine now... You have no idea what beautiful plans I've come up with for your beauty..." The woman standing behind Bunny drew a knife and ran it along her throat. The cool, sharp metal gently traced down the curve of her neck before cutting deep into her upper arm. A tortured scream escaped Bunny's throat. "We've already begun the fun... This will be my personal revenge on you, and I will savor it... We'll see about that," the man laughed eerily.

Bunny forced her eyes open, but through her tears, she saw most things blurred. "Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything," she sobbed.

In response, the knife dug into her flesh again. She felt the warm blood flowing down her arm, soaking her dress. "We have another appointment. You can have your fun later. I think he's received the message," the woman said, wiping the blade clean as she spoke calmly. Bunny clutched her injured upper arm and instinctively applied pressure to the wound. The footsteps of her adversaries slowly faded away. She was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Why she was here, what Mamoru had to do with all of this. Fortunately, she was alone again. Her arm burned with pain, and she felt the pulsating edges of the wound under her fingers. She continued to hold her arm tightly and prayed that the right people would find her soon or that she would wake up from this nightmare.