Disclaimer : I do not own anything in this story except Joel, who is my original character.
Mystery in America
13-year-old Izumi Orimoto hurriedly got dressed. She pulled out a purple t-shirt and a pair of khaki pants and put them on. Then she ran downstairs, brushing her waist-length blonde hair on the way down, nearly tripping on the last step. She was excited, she and her twin brother Joel were going to America for three months today, along with their best friends Rika Nonaka and Tai Kamiya. Rika's mother was also coming along to chaperone.
"Good morning," said Izumi, sitting her purple suit case by the door.
"Good morning, dear. Are you all ready to go?" asked Mrs. Orimoto.
"Yes, mom. Where are dad and Joel?" asked Izumi, stuffing some toast in her mouth. "We need to leave soon, we're supposed to meet the others at the park in 15 minutes."
"Oh, well your father had to go to work early and your brother is-"
"Right here!" Joel cut her off. He ran down the steps and grabbed some toast as well. "You ready to go sis?" he asked.
"Yup!" replied Izumi gleefully, picking up her suit case. "We should get going."
"Well, okay dears, but don't forget to call as soon as your plane lands. I love you!" said their mother.
"Okay mom, I love you!" said Izumi and Joel in unison as they walked out the door.
Izumi and Joel ran out the door, racing through the streets to the park where they were supposed to meet the others. The others were already there, so they all got into Mrs. Nonaka's car and drove to the airport. They boarded their plane, and in mere hours they would be in Washington, DC.
Finally, their plane landed and they made their way to the hotel. They decided to go see the Smithsonian first, so after unpacking they headed out. However when they got there, they were shocked to find the place surrounded by cops.
Mrs. Nonaka stopped the nearest cop, "Officer, what happened here?"
"Well, the Hope Diamond was stolen. We have no idea who did it, we're searching the crime scene for evidence now." replied the officer.
"Oh, well thank you for the information," said Mrs. Nonaka, walking away.
They sat on a nearby bench and began discussing the matter.
"Isn't the Hope Diamond supposed to be top security? How could someone steal it?" asked Izumi.
"Yea, it is...I don't know, Izumi."replied Joel.
"I think we should go in and investigate!" said Tai, sounding like a 5-year-old.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea...but then again I am kind of curious, I guess we could have a look at the crime scene." said Rika, speaking up for the first time in the conversation.
"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I guess its ok." said Mrs. Nonaka, surprising everyone, including herself.
"What about the guards?" asked Joel.
"I'll distract them and you kids can sneak in. What do you say Izumi?" said Mrs. Nonaka further shocking everyone.
"I think this is work best left to the police," said Izumi. "But you all do what you want, I'm going for a walk."
"Well, ok, but be careful!" said Mrs. Nonaka, and with that Izumi walked away and the rest of them went towards the police.
'They're all insane' thought Izumi. 'They're gonna get caught and thrown in jail or something.'
Izumi was so deep in thought, she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. She ran into something...or rather, someone.
"Sorry," said the person, "It was my fault."
"No, don't worry abo- huh? Kouichi-kun? Is that you?" asked Izumi, excited to see her friend.
"Yes, Izumi-chan! What are you doing in America?" said Kouichi, equally excited.
"I'm here with my brother and some friends. Did you here about the Hope Diamond?" replied Izumi.
"Huh? Oh, yea I heard about it." said Kouichi, sounding rather uncomfortable.
Sensing this, Izumi changed the subject, "So, why haven't you or Kouji called?"
"Oh, well, I kinda...uh...lost your number," said a blushing Kouichi, trying to sound innocent.
"Well, that's ok, here," she said, handing him a piece of paper with her number on it. He gave her his number too. "Well, I have to go, but tell Kouji to call me, k? Guess, I'll talk to you later." said Izumi, running back to meet the others.
"Ok, bye!" said Kouichi, also walking away.
Izumi met the others back at the Smithsonian, then they all went back to the hotel.
"So," Izumi asked, "Did you guys find anything?"
"Yea!" said Tai, once again sounding like he was 5. He held out a piece of torn navy blue cloth, which Izumi recognized right away. 'No way,' she thought, 'that can't be what I think it is'
"Oh, well that's cool," she replied.
They turned on the news. As expected, they were discussing the robbery. Apparently, all they knew was that it was two people, who were unusually short. 'Unusually short?' thought Izumi. Then it hit her, she knew who did it.
"Uh, I'm gonna go outside for some air," she said, running off.
She went outside and pulled out her cell phone and the piece of paper Kouichi gave her earlier. She dialed the number nervously. She waited a few minutes, and finally she got an answer.
"Hello,"came Kouichi's voice, "This is Kouichi."
"Oh, uh, hi Kouichi-kun, its Izumi."said Izumi, trying and failing not to sound nervous.
"Oh, hi Izumi! Is something wrong? You sound kind of upset." he replied, his voice full of concern.
"Oh, no I'm fine...well, uh sort of...I uh...I know it was you, Kouichi." she said, nervously.
"What do you mean?" asked Kouichi, knowing full well what she was talking about.
"You and Kouji did it, didn't you? You stole the Hope Diamond." said Izumi, sounding sad and angry at the same time.
"Nothing gets past you, does it Izumi? Yea, we did. We had to. You see, our mom is sick and she needs to stay in the hospital so she can get better, but we can't afford the bills. Well, someone offered Kouji and I a lot of money to steal that diamond, and...well, we just couldn't refuse...we did it for mom." said Kouichi sadly.
"Well, I understand all that, but what I don't understand is why you didn't tell me earlier." said Izumi.
"I...I was afraid of how you would react...I didn't want you to hate me." he said, dreading her response.
"Hate you? I could never hate you Kouichi-kun. You're my best friend, and some stupid diamond isn't going to change that. I'll always be here for you, Kouichi, remember that." said Izumi, crying.
"Thanks, Izumi. You won't tell anyone, will you?" he said, wiping tears from his eyes. He knew he could always count on her, and he couldn't believe he was lucky enough to have a friend like her.
"Of course not, but what will you two do?" she asked worriedly.
"Well, they don't know anything yet, but I suppose when they start suspecting us we'll go into hiding." he replied.
"Oh, well, you should write me. In case they decide to check mail or something, we can use code names." she said, still sounding worried about the two boys.
"Ok, I promise I will. I have to go now." he said, smiling.
"Right, I guess I'll talk to you soon." said Izumi, and with that they both hung up.
3 Months Later
Izumi turned on the news, seeing the same thing thats been on the news their entire stay in America. They were leaving today, and Izumi had already packed so she figured she would watch tv. It was the same thing on the news all the time, about the hope diamond. They had eventually figured out who the culprits were, and they were all completely baffled on how two kids could steal it. They hadn't caught the two yet, either. Kouichi kept true to his word, and a week before they were discovered, they were gone. Kouichi had been writing every day, as promised. Speaking of which, there was a knock on Izumi's door.
"Izumi, dear, there's another letter for you." said Mrs. Nonaka, handing over the letter. "There's also a package with it."
She handed Izumi a small, black box, then left the room. Izumi opened the box to find a beautiful silver ring. Looking, for an explanation, she opened the letter.
Dear Wind Princess,
So, how have you been? Doubt much has changed since my last letter. What have the reports on the news been saying, any new leads? I know, I ask you that every day, but I'm just curious if they're any closer to finding us. I'm starting to think they never will, it took them long enough to figure out it was us in the first place. I guess there's not much to say, so talk to you soon!
Love,
Lowemon
p.s. I bet your wondering about the ring. I know long distance relationships don't usually work out, but I think we can do it. What I'm trying to say is...well, Izumi, will you be my girlfriend? If the answer is yes, then put on the ring. I look forward to your next letter!
Izumi just smiled, already wearing the ring.
The End