Hello everyone;-)
I will not talk about my life, you are not there for that XD
So here continue the adventures of Steven and Tenten ... and of course Naruto = 3 = (whistles)
P.S: The french i am say sorry for my lack of english vocabulary XD
I decided to write here the music that you'll find in the chapter. And I'll do this for every chapters.
List of Music:
Metallica - One
Chapter 4:
'Voilà!' thought Steven, pleased.
He was glad to have seen himself in the reflection of a window.
The bowl of ramen that little Tenten had send on his head had, because of the soup, completely undone his little strand. So he took a moment to redo his hair. He thought.
'Without it, my hair would not be the same. Before, I had an ordinary pile of brown hair. Now I have a pile of brown hair with a hyper class Strand. Thank you Pandora Heart. '
After this horrible mental publicity, Steven turned to the girl sitting next to him. She was looking at him with impatience and curiosity.
When the geek had stopped to redo his hairs, without warning, Tenten tried everything to make him continue to walk. She tried to catch Steven's attention, it was like talking to a wall. She had then push him, bellowing to hurry ... It was like trying to move the mountain of the four Hokage. Exhausted, and Steven not even noticing him, she finally sat down and waited.
Intrigued by her gaze, Steven asked.
"What ?"
The little in red Chinese dress declared.
"You're like my mom."
The Geek did not understand. He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"She also spends half an hour doing her hairs."
The English chuckled, a little embarrassed, and tried to object.
"Well... you're exaggerating."
She replied, pointing a finger to a shop.
"No, I saw the clock there. It was exactly half an hour."
Steven had the impression to receive a huge rock on the head. He prayed inwardly that no one has saw him. He felt that his man pride would not survive to this. Tenten questioned.
"Why do you spend so much time on your hair? Especially on that strand ?"
There, the teenager felt it was his duty to respond, taking a ridiculous pose, pointing to the stars and beyond.
"Little girl, you must know that this strand is not a normal strand. This is the hairstyle of a great man. And the fact that I have the same hairstyle as him made me a cool guy. "
The girl did not flinch. Steven remained in that position for a moment. Tenten finally declared.
"You're weird."
Steven collapsed to the ground. But he got up laughing a little, he usually finds it weird. But, usually, people say that this in a low voice, when they thought he heard nothing, with a bunch of despise. The girl said it innocently, without malice, so he wasn't angry even one second. However, he explained.
"You know it is not a very nice thing to say to someone."
Tenten replied with the face of a proud student who learned well her lesson.
"But this is what I think and it's not good to lie. It was my dad who taught me that Strange-san."
There, Steven got mad a little.
"Hey! I have a name!"
"You did not told me your name."
The geek had to recognize that she was right. He informed her, with a sigh.
"My name is Steven Ryan." Before she destroys his name, he added, remembering Naruto. "You can call me Rai-san."
Tenten seemed to take a moment to accept the information. Then she said, smiling.
"Okay Rai-san."
Steven could only think that she was cute. Especially since he knew why she was so anxious to clear her father's name. She does not only admire him, he was the one who told her that lying was wrong. This made her story even sadder for the English. His father did not seem really innocent for now. But he promised to help this child. He expressed, smiling.
"What if we try to help your dad now?"
The girl was excited at the idea of investigating to save his father. She asked the geek what they should do. Steven looked around thoughtfully.
They were in the street the neighbor pointed before, a shopping street. There was no indication that Akahiko Hasaki, Tenten's father, either stop in the street, but it was his only lead. Apparently, they were at one of the end of the town. The mountain's faces were a little to the right of them and there were only trees on the left. He could also see, lifting his head a little, the great wall that surrounded the city. The teenager thought about all of this, and concluded that it was good news.
"The chances that he wanted to go on this street are high. If he wanted to go to the other end of town, he wouldn't have come here. Except if he wanted to confuse some followers by using the long way. If it is a dangerous criminal, this is unfortunately not yet impossible. '
The geek walked a little, observing around him, ignoring the curious glances that some passers addressed him. He was too focused to take care of that kind of thing. Arriving at the end of the street, in front of a field surrounded by a wall, belonging to a certain Hyuuga family, he recapped the potentially important informations he had noticed.
'This is a real shopping street. All the shops close at nineteen and thirty. the buildings all have upper floors, they are all obviously their owners home. My theory that he had planned a burglary fell through. So unless he is preparing a coup d'état, or participate to evil cult's ritual, there is only one type of place where he was able to go. The only places still open on this street after twenty o'clock: the Bars.
Steven knew that saying you were at the bar, potentially drinking too much, wasn't honorable, but it was not a sufficient reason to lie to the police, unless you are excessively afraid of your wife's reaction. The geek felt a pulling on a piece of his shirt. He left his reflection and saw Tenten, a little annoyed, trying to get his attention.
"What, little one?" Steven questioned.
The girl asked.
"Are you really looking for?"
The young man understood that he didn't seemed to be really doing it. And a little girl had probably difficulty to understand that an investigation was more reflection than action. Fortunately, he was not going to disappoint her. He lowered his face and told her.
"Yes Tenten. Actually, it is now that I need your help."
The girl regained her energy and asked.
"What do I do?"
Steven explained that pointing at the street where they came from.
"You have to go into all the bars on this street and ask the managers if your father was there last night. And if they ask you why you want to know, you say your father forgot his purse in a bar, but he does not remember which one. And if they ask why it is you who take care of this, you replied that it's because your father is busy at the forge. Will you remember? "
He was aware it was a lot for a child, but, obviously, she was more clever than other little girls. Tenten, a little confused, finally said, shocked.
"But it's a lie!"
Steven had to quickly replicate. But he expected this reaction.
"No Tenten, these are Tricks."
The girl seemed lost. She asked to the geek.
"Some Tricks? This is not the same thing?"
"Not at all." Steven told. "The lies, it's to hurt people. The tricks, it is to help them. The ninjas use a lot of tricks you know."
Tenten was still a little lost. She thought before declaring, unconvinced.
"Well ... If it can help Dad, I will try."
The English boy smiled, stroking her head. Then he let her go. He was a little ashamed to let a child do this kind of task, but it was the only solution. He knew that no one would answer his questions if he asked himself. A stranger asking about the activities of a respectable citizen, for now, would attract more death stares than answers. At the opposite, asked by the lovely girl of the referenced citizen, they would have no difficulty to speak.
Until the little legs of Tenten took her in all the bars on this street, Steven had no other choice but to wait. A little tired by his long walk, he decided to sit a bit. He noticed a cool spot in the shade of a tree. He decided to settle there, praising the one who had the good idea to keep the vegetation inside the walls of Konoha.
Steven sat in the middle of some flowers, slumping a bit against the tree. He took his MusicPlayer-3 and closed his eyes listening "One" by Metallica. This relaxing moment was welcome.
The air was much more pleasant than in London. The time seemed to pass more slowly, like a small stream gently going down. The weather was warm and a cool breeze was felt from time to time. Steven knew it was October here, winter is coming. He hoped for a moment to be back home to play at Dragon Age Inquisition.
He tried to focus on the music. He might depress again if he thought about what he would miss and never see. He had to think about something else.
The song still liked this music so much. But he wanted to change it now. He opened his eyes leaving his MP-3 from his pocket. But when his thumb stopped his music, his eyes met those of another person next to him.
Steven discovered a new little girl, half fell to the ground, catching Steven's eyes.
'There's more children than ninja or What?' He thought.
She seemed to have the same age than Naruto, and her short black hair made her even cuter than Tenten. Then he noticed her eyes. They were white. As white as pearl and without pupils. It was a shock for Steven; He saw thousands of strange things in his comics and movies, but to see such a thing in real life was different. He tensed and cringed. The child stood up and did the same, she seemed intimidated, like a kitten about to flee.
Steven looked at the girl with short black hair straight in the eyes for several seconds. It was hard to believe what he saw, but at the same time he remembered having seen this eyes somewhere.
Without warning, the girl bowed in front of Steven and stammered.
"I-I'm so-so-sorry to have wake you up!"
Steven was a little confused, then he corrected gently.
"No, no, don't worry. I wasn't not sleeping at all. I just closed my eyes for a moment."
The girl get up, clutching a small notebook, but she did not seem quieter than before. It seemed that the young geek's look was scaring her. That bothered him a lot. There is no merit in bringing fear to innocent children, even if he wasn't sure about how much those of this world really were.
The geek, while removing and storing the MusicPlayer-3, looked at the ground to try to discover what the girl was taking beside him. He saw nothing apart small yellow flowers and one purple. Randomly, and to not stand like an idiot, Steven tore the purple one and handed it to the girl asking, curious.
"Is this what you wanted?"
The girl hesitated a moment before confirming with a nod.
"So take it." Told Steven smiling.
The child was surprise. But, slowly, she took the colorful plant. She gave a shy "thank you" to Steven. Then an awkward silence settled. Steven began to hate it. So he spoke to the child, the more gently as possible.
"Is it for your mom?"
The girl was surprised by the question, and she replied, stammering a bit.
"N-No. It's for my herbarium ... B-but I was going to take a few for her too."
Steven watched collecting a large bouquet of yellow flowers. This touching scene reminded him of some very distant memories. This made him declared.
"All of them for her? She's lucky."
The child seemed confused, but at the same time quite pleased to hear that. She replied, contemplating the floral gift.
"She is the nicest mom in the world. She deserve it."
The teenager envied her. He thought with a sudden and profound melancholy.
'All the kids think that at this age ... at this age.'
Then he was violently surprised and jumped, with the girl, hearing a powerful male voice, sharp and oppressive. The kind that Steven hated.
"Hinata!" Yelled the voice.
The girl turned in one go, more intimidated than with Steven's look. There was more fear in her attitude this time. Steven turned his head slightly behind the tree and saw a man who looked exactly like he imagined him when he heard his voice: Mature, proud and so authoritative that he looked almost tyrannical. He had the same eyes as the little girl, and long black hair. It was obviously someone of the same family. He approached the girl.
"How many times did I told you to not leave the domain not being accompanied?"
The girl mumbled an apology while the man took her hand without the slightest affection.
"S-S- Sorry Father."
"And I told you to not stutter." Growled the father. "Come, we go home immediately. And you will be logged in your room as punishment, for this time."
The man began pulling his daughter bluntly. Steven had a little pity for the child. But more than that, much more, he felt anger rising inside of him. He should not do anything, he knew it. It was not his business. He stood up and growled.
"Hey! Don't you think you're exaggerating!"
The father and his child stopped suddenly and turned to the young man, one with an annoyed curiosity, the other with a fearful surprise. The man wondered who could challenge him like this, in such a way, and the little girl, what could possibly have made angry this kind, although strange, sir, to whom she had spoken. Steven asked exactly the same question.
"Excuse me?" Asked the old man, astonished by the dress of his interlocutor.
The boy, carried away by anger, approached telling.
"She may be your daughter but that does not justify to scream on her like that. She just wanted some flowers for her mother."
"By what right are you involving?" Questioned the father.
The geek was unpleasantly surprised by his own attitude.
'It is true.' He thought ' What am I doing ? '
Certainly he did not like how this man speaks to his daughter. But it was not a reason to be so angry, to lose control. Especially since Steven was absolutely not the angry kind, at least he thought, remembering how he avoided troubles in general. He could not stop.
"I involve with what I desire. You have the right to be upset, but not to yell at her like a dog and threaten her !"
The father of the little girl, named Hinata, seemed to do an effort to hide how much he was outraged by this affront. But, he did not seem to do a so great one, he must have an strong discipline. He looked for a moment the young boy and questioned him.
"You're not from Konoha , is not it?"
Steven was tired of this question. He answered, still growling.
"Yeah, so what?"
The man seemed to relax and turned his back to Steven. But his attitude seemed filled with contempt.
"So you better mind your own business and get out of here as soon as possible. You clearly do not know at who you are talking to."
Steven was ready to explode. He thought he was even able to catch the man by the collar. Fortunately, a more cheerful voice was heard.
"Rai-saaaaan"
Steven turned and saw the little Tenten running towards him. She exclaimed.
"I did what ya told me. I went to all bars."
She then noticed the two people behind the detective. She saw that the great man was angry and the little girl, scared. She looked and saw that Steven was not very happy either. She was a little troubled now.
"Do I ... bother you?" She asked.
The geek would not add Tenten in this story, and he was tired of this guy. He sighed and took a blow to the Hasaki.
"No Tenten-chan. It's okay. Come on, we will discuss further."
Steven began to go down a street. The two people with white eyes did the same. But before going further, Steven stopped and spoke without turning to them.
"Hey girl!"
The young Hinata and her father stopped and turned their eyes towards the stranger. This one declared.
"Do not forget to give your flowers. Do not that incident make you forget the essential."
After that, the English left again, followed by Tenten. Hinata was a little surprised by his words. His father frowned one last time before to go, holding his daughter firmly by the hand. The girl looked at her flowers, she was deep in thought. She would not forget to offer the bouquet to her mother. She would not forget this day.
Later, in some street, Steven sat down on a bench in a small park. Tenten did the same, a little lost. The poor girl did not understand why Steven was in a bad mood. The young man did not understand it well himself.
He had never really been angry in his life. He didn't remember to have been so clearly mad once. Generally, his days had only a bit of excitement, laughter, sadness, because of Anime. Aside from that, he never expressed anything. But there he was, yelling at a man he did not know, because he was too strict with a child. He did not understand what happened to him.
Steven remembered the little Hasaki, Tenten was sitting next to him. He looked at her with a smile and asked.
"So Tenten, what have you learned?"
The child was a little hesitant about what she would say.
"Well ... Nobody saw my dad last night."
Steven lost hope for a moment, but Tenten finished.
"But this is weird. In one of the bars, the Shamisen Bar, the barman said my dad does not patronize bars. But his neighbor said that my dad often went there, like all his customers who love play cards. It's weird. "
Steven was surprised a moment. He thought for a second about that information. Then, suddenly, he felt better. He finally had a lead. He stroked the head of the child saying.
"Congratulations Tenten, it is a good job. Can you wait here a moment?"
The girl looked confused. She did not understand what she does well. Completely lost, she just nodded and saw Steven going to the shopping street.
The geek came up to the Shamisen Bar. For him, without money to sympathize, buying a drink, a strict confrontation seemed the best solution. Even if he thought that because he was still on the effect of the adrenaline from the fight with the father of Hinata. He entered inside the building, almost empty of people. There were only two people playing with cards, Hanafuda, betting small amounts of money. The guests of this place must be mostly nocturnal.
Steven discovered the bartender cleaning a few cups. He was a thin man, almost skeletal, with a long mustache and with a baldness not very good for his shampoo's provider. The tenant stopped rubbing on seeing a person dressed so strangely. He could have noted the hair but he had seen more strange haircut.
The English boy approached him with a determined look. He sat on the chair in front of him and looked him straight in the eye. The bartender did not flinch, he had obviously seen worst situations. He asked.
"Can I help you?"
Steven responded by blowing him.
"Tenten talked to you is it not?"
The bartender frowned.
"How do you know?"
Steven was quite intimidated by the very direct and inquisitive tone of this man. He realized that he had perhaps chosen the wrong approach. He tried to correct his attitude, honesty seemed a better option.
"It was I who demanded her to ask these questions."
The man with the mustache seemed even more suspicious. The geek continued.
"You know that his father, Akahiko Hasaki, has problems with the police?"
There, the bartender seemed surprised.
"No, I ... I did not know."
Steven continued to speak.
"I do not know the details but I'll try to be brief. The shinobi asked him what he did last night. He lied to them and now they are about to rack his brain."
The bartender was increasingly worried as the geek told.
"Then Tenten, his daughter, was very sad and worried. So after an accident, that I will not tell, and completely desperate to not be able to do anything, she asked me to help her father from being arrested. A lead led us to this street. I demanded Tenten to ask a question or two in the bars to see where her father was, since the bartenders would not have not anything to me. You have claimed that Akahiko does not often patronize bars. At the opposite of your neighbor, he claims that he often comes here. So one of you is lying. And there is no reason your neighbor would lied. He openly said that Akahiko comes here to drink. You, you almost deny the fact that he patronize bars. The only reason that comes to my mind is you do not want that Hasaki-san seemed alcoholic. So you wanted, somehow, to protect his honor so that her daughter does not know anything about that. Which means you know and see him enough to justify to lie . Is it not? "
The Bartender was impressed, but his face could not show if Steven was right. The geek himself knew that what he said was not based on anything concrete, but it was his only chance.
The mustachioed relaxed and smile. He seemed strangely happy. As far as the player who won the card game a little further.
"You make a lot of assumptions sir." Expressed the bartender.
Steven had the impression that he failed. But to his surprise, the barman said with a smile.
"But you're smart. I must admit that you impress me. I met a lot of smart people in the past, you look like them. I was shinobi you know. In Akahiko's team precisely. This is why he comes here from time to time. "
Steven assumed with a certain joy.
"So you confirm that he was there last night?"
The old man refuted.
"I do not confirm anything."
Steven panicked feeling that his lead was escaping.
"What? But you understand that if you do not confirm it, the father of Tenten, your colleague, will go to jail and be 'dishonored'?"
The old man, looking resigned, began to wash his glasses responding.
"Yes, I understand. But he deliberately lied. And if he insist on saying nothing, that's his choice. I have to accept it."
The English, again, felt anger. He rose from his chair clapping on the counter, screaming.
"You mean you're going to let him disappoint his daughter?"
His exclamation drew the attention of the two card players. The mustachioed skeleton does not even jump. He replied coldly.
"If he does not want to tell what he does this evenings, I will not act against his will. As a former partner and friend, it would be a form of betrayal. And I think I know what Akahiko has in mind. so yes, I'll stay here and act as if nothing was happening. "
The Steven's rabid gaze did not disrupted him. The Geek implicitly understood that he wasn't going to tell him what Tenten's father was going to do. Seeing that it was useless, the teenager was disenchanted.
He left up the chair he had overturned by holding up sharply. Then he started to walk towards the exit of the bar. However, he was interrupted by the bartender.
" I said that I would not say anything. You, you do what you want. If you want to tell the truth, do it. I will not stop you. I just think that some things should not be heard by all ears. "
Steven turned his face towards him and questioned.
"And how am I supposed to tell the shinobi what you refuse to tell me?"
The old mustachioed, who was still polishing his glasses, replied with a smile.
"I told you. You're smart."
The geek was flattered by the compliment, but he did not want to celebrate. He went out of Shamisen Bar under the look of intrigued Hanafuda players, which resumed their part when he got out once and for all.
The English, dragging his feet, went to the little park where he had left the little girl. He did not feel good about the idea of seeing her again. He was ashamed. He said he did not promise him anything, but he could not help but be angry. When he would tell at Tenten that he had no way to prove that her father was at the bar last night ... He dared not imagine the grief of the girl. He felt helpless, useless.
He saw her on the bench, happily humming and swinging her little legs. He didn't want to approach her. He had a heavy heart. But he could not escape it. He arrived and stood before her, his hands in his pockets and his collars rattling in the wind. When she saw what made the shadow on her, Tenten jumped off the bench, smiling. She asked the man she had chosen as Savior, full of vigor.
"So? Did you find something?"
He did not answer. He felt even more uncomfortable than ever. It was the heavy silence of his life. He cleared his throat once, without knowing how would react Tenten. She declared.
"Oh, you're thirsty and that's why you do not say anything, is it not? Wait I'll buy something."
Steven was completely taken by surprise. When he could try to stop her, a cowardly side of himself did not let him do it. He looked the child in red chinese dress running. He sighed a big blow and sat on the bench, resigned to wait for the return of the child as a guilty person waiting the sentence. He stood for a moment, his eyes looking at the sky, as he did whenever he feel lost. He knew that he was in another world and yet ... it was like the sky looked exactly the same as in London, although it is a perfect blue and not gray like there. Then he had a strange feeling. As if someone was watching. He turned his head in one direction and then another, but he saw nothing. He began to think, without knowing that there was indeed someone else looking at him from the rooftops.
He thought about what the bartender told him.
"You're smart. "
It was a nice compliment. But in Steven's mind, it sounded like a 'you're alone'. Steven thought about everything he had seen and heard today. In everything he had said. He blamed himself for not being able to help Tenten. He felt like he had all the pieces of the puzzle, except one. It was frustrating. Steven studied them again to understand what piece of the puzzle was missing. He still lacked the core of the problem : Why did Tenten's father lied? What could he be doing in a bar that justifies lying to Shinobis and risking disgrace? Especially since his wife had sustained his lie. He had assumed that she had lied to cover her husband's, by devotion. But maybe she was an accomplice. It was not impossible after all. He knew nothing about this family.
At this point, Steven felt it was better to abandon. In court cases, there's always a prosecutor to accuse and a defense lawyer. But only one is right. Why would he be in the camp that is right?
All this was annoying him. All his years watching detective series with his mother was visibly of no avail. He loves these shows, but he felt that if he had not seen them, he would not be so frustrated. Perhaps it would not have even made him do that stupid promise to Tenten. He remembered why he increasingly began to watch them. His mother wanted to be sure he was doing his homework. And she was watching Crime Shows often, every day actually, so he began to do it in front of the TV, when she was watching it, to not be bored while he was working.
It was a trigger in the mind of Steven. He made comparisons with episodes of series and Anime. He finally had a link. There was no evidence that it was really that, but it was the one and only explanation justifying ALL the elements.
Tenten came with a small bottle. She explained on arrival.
"There was that juice in my store. I hope ..."
She was interupted by Steven who grabbed her hand and ran into the street where they had come.
"Het ... What's happening?" Asked the girl, taken by surprise.
"I found it Tenten! I understandd everything! We will save your father!"
They passed in front of the Shamisen Bar. The owner saw the teenager running. A small smile appeared on his face.
And one more chapter:-)
I hope you still like it. A little review in the hat perhaps? ;-)
I wanted to solve the case in this chapter, but I thought it was better to make a big suspense here to let a chance to let you find the answer yourself ;-)
List of references:
Pandora Heart, Cthulhu Mythos, Dragon Age: Inquisition
