The news article online caught Yu's attention. "Prominent Businessman Murdered in Osaka?" Clicking the article open, he began reading the article. "Corporate manager Tanjiro Aisaka was found dead in his room at the St. Regis Hotel in Osaka yesterday, suffering from a single chest wound. An autopsy revealed that Aisaka-san was stabbed once in the chest with a sharp implement, piercing his heart and causing a nearly instant death from blood loss. He is survived by one daughter, Taiga Aisaka. Witnesses report Aisaka-san had been meeting with the detective Naoto Shirogane, most likely in regards to his daughter Taiga's recent disappearance."

Sighing, Yu was about to close the article when a light bulb flashed in his mind. "Wait, what?! Naoto?!" A memory flashed in his mind of a text message Naoto had sent him:

MEETING WITH BUSINESSMAN ABOUT MISSING DAUGHTER. COMING BACK ASAP. 3 NAOTO

At the time he'd been more focused on the fact that the normally very serious Naoto had actually typed a heart in her text message, but now he was putting the pieces together. Naoto was meeting with a businessman about his missing daughter… The murdered businessman in Osaka's daughter went missing recently… Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly hit the speed-dial for Naoto's number and listened to the phone ring.

"The number you have dialed has been disconnected or is outside the service area. Please contact the service center if this message is in error." Stunned by the automated response, Yu dropped his cell phone, barely noticing as it hit the carpet. All he could think of was that if Naoto's contact was murdered, then she was in danger herself. Picking up the phone, he hit another speed-dial number as he attempted to keep his emotions under control.

The call was answered quickly, a familiar voice on the other end. "Yu? You hardly ever call my cell; what's the matter?"

Desperately forcing back his panic, Yu responded, "Dad, there's an emergency. Can I borrow the company jet?"

"What? Yu, you're breathing hard and you sound like you're about to pass out. If there's something I can help with, I will, but tell me what's going on first." The voice on the other end didn't sound at all annoyed or frustrated despite the extravagant request. Instead, there was only worry in his tone.

After Yu explained the situation, his father considered for a moment before responding. "I understand the situation. I'll get ahold of Kazuhiko-sensei and let him know what's happened; it'll take some time for him to return to Japan, but hopefully we can sort this mess out before he needs to become involved. I'll send a company car out immediately, then we can head to Osaka and try to track down some clues. It's been a while since I've done any detective work, but since Naoto-chan is involved I'll do everything I can."

The conversation concluded, Isamu Narukami hung up the phone and Yu began packing his travel bag. If Naoto was in danger, he wasn't going to rest until she was safe. He had sworn to love and care for Naoto forever in the moment he proposed, and he wasn't about to break that vow now.

"Whaaaat?!" The girl with the pink hair exclaimed as she and her friends gathered around the young man who wanted to speak with them.

He glanced around at the four students gathered around him, flinching as he met one of their eyes. "H-Hey, just listen to me, alright? I've got to do something to atone, so I wanted to tell you what's going on. First off, my name's Ayumu Yanagi. I… was involved in Aisaka-san's kidnapping."

A harsh glare from one of the gathered students made Ayumu flinch again. "You were what?" The young man with the terrifying eyes asked. "Tell us what happened to Taiga!" Those eyes seemed to burn right through Ayumu as he glared.

"I-I'm trying, just let me talk!" Ayumu very nearly cowered against the wall. "The Yanagi family's been yakuza for generations, but the last couple generations really screwed up our business. We've lost a lot of our clout, and my older brother Naoya's dead set on restoring the family's power. There's this rich guy with evil eyes who said he'd pay good money if we kidnapped Aisaka-san and another girl and gave them over to him. Nii-san couldn't resist the chance to get some support from a rich patron. We… We kidnapped Aisaka-san and tricked her dad into helping us catch the other girl by saying we'd give him his daughter back. When we got her, nii-san was worried that Aisaka-san's dad might call the cops when we sprang the ambush so… he made me kill him. I'm sorry!" Falling to his knees, Ayumu bowed his head in submission. "I can't disobey nii-san. He's a scary guy at the best of times, and he can get really mean when someone screws up. "

A pretty blue-haired girl in the group glared fiercely down at the cowering Ayumu. "So let me get this straight. In order to get money, you and your brother murdered Taiga's father and intend to sell her to some random guy?!" Grabbing the young man's collar, she hauled him upright and began slamming him against the wall with surprising force. "You are the most terrible, despicable…!"

"Ami-chan, stop." To Ayumu's surprise, it was the boy with the scary eyes who grabbed the girl's arm and pried her off him.

Falling to the ground again, the Yanagi boy gasped for air as tears filled his eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I tried to talk nii-san out of it, but he wouldn't listen to me! That man has evil eyes… Not cold like nii-san's but truly evil. Please save that girl, and the other one too!"

"Ryuuji." The pink-haired girl gave the frightening boy a questioning look as she spoke his name.

Nodding, he asked Ayumu, "Where are they being kept? Tell us everything you know."

Relieved that he was not, in fact, going to be beaten to death by his victim's friends, he promptly spilled his guts. "Nii-san put them in the back of a van and headed to Nagoya. Apparently the client's not going to be able to get there for a good week or so, so if you can find a way to get there in time you should be able to rescue them! I'll tell nii-san that I can't come back for a few days, so there'll be less security until I get there. Head to the Ashiya Zaibatsu warehouse in Nagoya; that's where we're keeping them. Good luck!" Ayumu turned and ran before his audience decided to turn violent again, leaving the four students behind.

Ryuuji watched him leave until the bespectacled boy beside him began speaking hesitantly. "Ryuuji, we should inform the police…"

"…like this before." The frightening young man grimaced, making his already intimidating visage seem even more so.

The blue-haired girl looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before asking, "Ryuuji-kun… You're looking more intimidating than usual…"

"I've never felt like this before. For the first time in my life…" Ryuuji clenched his fists. "I want to crush someone's face in! I'm going after Taiga myself!" He took off at a run, leaving his friends behind.

"Hehehe… Hello, ladies." Both young women turned razor glares on the young man who had just entered the room. Seeming completely unperturbed, he flicked his orange bangs from his eyes and gave them a predatory smile. "Such hostility! It's just a job, ladies, nothing personal. Besides, I'm taking the best care of you that I can, keeping my own safety in mind."

"You scumbag! Let us go now, asshole, before I break you in half!" The tiny girl with the loud voice shouted loud enough to make Naoto flinch, though their captor didn't seem to care about either the volume or the threat.

Trying to keep her voice level, the detective attempted one more time to reason with the young man holding them captive. "Yanagi-san, please listen to reason. Both Aisaka-san's and my families have funds to spare; it would be just as lucrative to ransom us back to them, if not more so."

Sighing, Naoya plopped into a chair across from the ones the two girls were bound to. "You've tried that tactic how many times, Naoto-chan? I'm not gonna turn traitor on my client; it's bad for business, and the Yanagi clan needs a powerful business partner if we're gonna thrive. Don't worry, I'm sure Ashiya's gonna treat you right – he wanted you two specifically, said you're the two most beautiful girls he's ever seen." The Yanagi heir seemed exhausted, though whether it was due to Taiga's furious ranting, Naoto's attempts at negotiation, both or neither they couldn't tell.

Naoya's cell phone rang before anyone could say anything else, and he sighed as he flipped it open and picked up the call. "Ayumu, what's up? You've been gone a while. Anything good at the Aisaka place? You what?! What's the delay?! Dammit, Ayumu, you're such a klutz! The repairs'll take three days?! THE HELL DID YOU DO, AYUMU?!" His face contorted in an expression of pure rage, a vein pulsing in his forehead. "Dammit, just get back here ASAP! I want all personnel here when Ashiya shows up for the transfer, and despite the fact that you're an airheaded klutz, that includes you! You understand? Get your ass back here at the first opportunity!" Closing the phone with a fair bit more force than necessary, he grimaced.

"Haha, your brother ditch you?" Taiga asked with an arrogant tone. "You're even dumber than the stupid chi if you can't even get your own family to work together."

The expression of annoyance seemingly frozen on his face, Naoya got up and stormed away, leaving the captive girls alone. Taking the opportunity to converse unobserved, Naoto asked, "So, Aisaka-san, tell me about yourself. If we're going to get out of this, we need to understand each other."

Looking over to Naoto, Taiga's expression had changed from haughty to a worried look. "Okay. Ow, these are really tight…" Struggling against the silk ropes tying her arms behind the chair and her ankles to the chair legs, she winced in pain from the constricting feeling. "Well, my name's Taiga Aisaka, as you know. These Yanagi thugs kidnapped me on my way home one night and used me as a bargaining chip with my father. Apparently they said they'd give me back if he gave you over to them, but obviously they lied."

The story made Naoto wince instinctively. "I… I'm sorry, Aisaka-san. The Yanagi ambushed me while I was meeting with your father. Ayumu, the younger brother, killed your father on Naoya's orders. It's my fault he's dead." Lowering her head, Naoto didn't bother struggling; her bonds were less stringent than Taiga's, given that the latter put up much more of a fight.

"Hmph, I don't care. That old man never cared about anyone other than himself." Taiga pouted and looked away, but Naoto could make out the glistening of a tear in her eye.

"I suppose now isn't the best time for grief. I'm sorry for bringing it up." The young detective shook her head sadly.

Taiga blinked away her tears before continuing. "But yeah, my family's pretty rich, as you know. I never got along with them, though, and I'd been living on my own for a while. But that changed two years ago…" A gentle expression took up residence on her face, her rose-colored lips turning upward into a smile. "It was in my second year of high school. I hated almost everyone and no one liked me either. There were only two people I liked going into that year; my best friend Minori Kushieda – Minorin – and Yuusaku Kitamura, who I had a crush on. I was so in love with him, but I couldn't even talk to him without getting flustered. There was a guy in my class that year who really changed my life."

Naoto looked to her unlikely companion with a smile as Taiga continued, "His name's Ryuuji Takasu. He was kind of in the same boat as I was; he has a really scary face, so everyone thought he was a delinquent, but he's a really kind and sweet guy. He was in love with Minorin and he's Kitamura-kun's best friend, and even though I was always mean and rude to him he offered to help me try and win Kitamura-kun's heart. It was because of him that I got the courage to confess to him in the first place, but he completely misunderstood me. It was for the best, though, because even though Ryuuji kept helping me go after Kitamura-kun and I was helping him with Minorin, we started falling for each other. Eventually we were completely in love, and there was an argument between us and our mothers. Ryuuji and I ran to the bridge over the river in our hometown, and he made me so happy there… He asked me to run away with him, and marry him when we turned eighteen! I accepted, but eventually my mother found me and forced me to move away. But I came back after I turned eighteen, and Ryuuji was still waiting for me. We were planning the wedding when those Yanagi guys showed up."

As Taiga finished her story, Naoto nodded and smiled at her. "I understand that feeling very well, more than you know. I have someone similar in my life." Despite the predicament they were in, Naoto was actually enjoying herself.

"Really? Can you tell me about him? Oh, and please just call me Taiga. I get the feeling we'll get along well." The diminutive girl smiled brightly, making it evident that she shared Naoto's enjoyment of the conversation.

"Well, my full name is Naoto Shirogane. The Shirogane family has been detectives for five generations, with me being the fifth, and my grandfather is known as one of the preeminent detectives in Japan, Kazuhiko Shirogane."

Taiga's eyes widened as her mouth opened in surprise. "You're Kazuhiko Shirogane's granddaughter? Then you must be the Detective Princess! I'm sitting next to a celebrity!"

Letting out an embarrassed giggle, Naoto continued. "Anyway, I've been a detective since I was young. I masqueraded as a boy to earn respect in the police department, and eventually I went to a small town called Inaba to investigate a kidnap-and-murder case there. While I was there, I was kidnapped myself and placed into mortal danger. A group of other victims and their friends rescued me, and their leader was a truly gallant man. His name is Yu Narukami, the son of the head of Narukami Communications. Isamu-san studied under my grandfather as a detective before going into business. As we talked and got to know each other better, I fell in love with Yu… And by some miracle, he fell in love with me as well. We spent Christmas Eve and Valentine's Day together, and eventually he moved into the Shirogane estate with me. Just a few months ago, this last summer, he proposed to me, and now we're planning to get married. Unfortunately, your father called me and that led to this."

"Sorry…" Taiga muttered. "If my dad hadn't been stupid and fallen for the Yanagis' trick, you wouldn't have had to go through this. He was an idiot right up until the end." The tiny girl squeezed her eyes closed, and this time tears ran openly down her face. "I wonder if we'll ever see them again…?" Her voice was choked with tears as she spoke.

Speaking in a soft voice, Naoto tried to soothe Taiga's worries. "Don't worry, Taiga-chan. I'm sure someone will help us; someone's noticed what's going on by now, and we'll be free shortly. I bet that Yu's already called the police after he couldn't get a hold of me; he worries far too much to go this long without calling."

Taiga shook her head, her long brown hair swishing behind the chair. "Ryuuji's probably done the same. He may look terrifying, but he wouldn't hurt a fly, so he'll definitely leave this up to the police. But I'm scared for him; Yanagi mentioned that his brother was looking through my house when he broke something, right? If he's talking about the apartment I stayed in before I moved in with Ryuuji, they might've met, and…" Unable to speak anymore, the diminutive girl ceased all attempts to hold back her tears.

"There, there…" Even though they were roughly the same age, Naoto couldn't help but think of Taiga as a fragile child to be protected. She was spirited, yes, but her tiny frame and unrestrained emotion put Naoto in mind of a much younger girl. Yu… Help us. She thought silently. Help Taiga-chan get back to her love. She's suffered so much already.