Heyaaaaaa^^ Thankies for all awesome reviews and thanks for putting me down on "story", "author" or "favourite" story thing (dunno the exact names)^^I'm sorry if I am updating rather slowly, I'm currently working on THIS story and have a busy School life in front of me (I am graduating, YAAAAAY!!!) Also I am waiting for more people to notice my story and review it^^ Not to forget I am updating my Naruto fanfic as well, so don't kill me if all this takes time, ne?
Anyway hope you enjoy and review it if you can^^
CHAPTER FOUR
- Sweet torment -
The following day, Shiratori had gotten up at 6AM. He felt craggy and irritated, the same feeling he felt in the past each time when he went to School in the morning. Normally he never felt like that for his job, but after having a disrupted sleep caused by Yosuke's crying and his brain tormenting him with images of women's breasts, sleep seemed unthinkable to him.
He came out of his room fully dressed and ready for his work. He walked into the living room while he was buttoning his sleeve button and adjusting his tie, when all of a sudden his eyes nearly popped out of his eye sockets and his jaw became slack.
"Oh...My...God!" he mumbled with utter disbelief as his eyes stared at the scene in front of him.
Kate lay sleeping on her sides with a peaceful expression. Her creamy face was smoothed out without any hints of worry. Her luscious lips were slightly parted and her eyes were adorned with graceful eyelashes which occasionally fluttered like butterfly wings. One part of her golden silk hair cascaded down her neck touching the tiny brown curls of little Yosuke's head while the other lay in disarray under her head. One could say it was a vision of beauty, a gorgeous woman holding an infant in her bosom. However it equally felt like something unreachable but holy. Yosuke stirred slightly and snuggled ever closer to her bosom, trying to captivate the warmth and the protection. Kate held him against her. This by all means wasn't the shocking part, this was beautiful and eloquent, but the shocking part was Kate's clothes. Since it's evident that babies understand affection by physical closeness, which means skin-to-skin, this was a little too much asked for. To Shiratori discomfort but eager eyes, he was exposed to some tempting flesh.
Either Kate fell asleep while she was breast feeding or Yosuke had pulled her shirt up or the shirt had by itself rolled up, either way, a mound of wanted-to-be touched, wanted-to-be-kneaded and terribly succulent breast poked out with all its glory from underneath Kate's baggy shirt. Shiratori's mouth had gone all dry. A terribly gorgeous woman with a part of her breast sticking out like that was bound to tempt any idiot! Why in the hell did he act like that?! He has seen a fair share of breasts in his life and yet the exposure of a single one nearly brings him to his knees! What in the hell was wrong with him, man, he must be so desperate! Another thing caught his attention, her red nipple was erected and somewhat painfully swollen and bruised from Yosuke's sucking and nibbling. Like a gunshot, images of Shiratori's wildest dreams flashed in his head like tons of bricks falling on top of him with a kick in the guts included. He needed to leave NOW! His sanity was at stake!
However to spare her from humiliation, he tiptoed to the couch and took the blankest which she had pushed down to her feet and covered her with his eyes averted. If she had been alone without Yosuke, then by God he would have lost control completely! As he covered her well he felt her stir, instinctively she grabbed for his hand brought it to her cheek and murmured with gentleness.
"Yoske... my love."
Shiratori was startled of her action and froze. He was afraid he had awoken her, but another thought preoccupied him, she had mistaken him for her husband. Her expression was so tender; she spoke in her sub-conscious state with a smile gracing her delicate features as if she was awake. Was she dreaming of her deceased husband? The ardour that Shiratori felt gradually dissipated the longer she held his hand against her soft and warm cheek. Before melancholy could strike a full blow, to Shiratori's discomfort he encountered a single tear rolling down from her close eye lid which then gathered on his thumb. Her grip had tightened for a split second with a shiver following it. Her breath also quivered as she brought Shiratori's hand close to her lips and kissed it.
"Sorry..." she murmured and her whole body suddenly became limp with sleep again.
Shiratori gently pulled his hand out of her loosened grasp and he stared at his hand with contemplation. Above his thumb was still moist with her tear and he still could feel the shivering breath and the kiss on the back of his palm. He looked at her for a moment, unsure how to react in this moment. However after a while his eyebrows knit with his dark orbs unreadable but perceptive. Silently he turned away from the couch and immediately left his flat without eating breakfast.
He yawned widely and scratched the back of his head while he studied some criminal reports. It was 2PM and Shiratori had been skimming through some reports about various things. Only 10 minutes ago did he receive a new task. Megure kebu had given him this report about one unsolved case regarding some regular car thievery in the Beika district. That sucker would either break into cars or observe a victim and select it through some cunning tricks like staging an accident and then somehow hijack their cars. The stolen cars were then often found in the same location in a junk yard, vandalised into an un-drivable condition with the stereo, radios, tires and anything valuable stolen. All of this was always preformed in the nighttimes. From the report it assumes there are more hands involved. Shiratori heaved a groan. This meant he will be working very, very late, how great!
"Shiratori... Hey Shiratori, hellooo are you there?" waved Hirota impatiently in front of Shiratori.
Shiratori briskly woke up from his contemplation to look over at his working colleague's frowning face.
"What?"
Hirota studied him with scrutinising eyes.
"This morning you've been – different."
"Oh really, enlighten me."
"You look tired, your hair is in a mess and your eyes look different and today you've been sometimes in a daze – did something interesting happen?" Hirota put a lot of emphasis in "interesting" which made Shiratori frown and sigh in return.
"If something "interesting" did happen, then I wouldn't be tiered and so irritable."
"Had rough night?"
Shiratori gave a yawn and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
"I have new responsibilities and I am beginning to regret that I have taken them."
"Oh." Acknowledged Hirota "Is a woman involved?"
Shiratori could have dropped his head on his desk; I mean every single thing his friend says is about "women" no matter what it is!
"Why do you assume that every single problem I have in my life or my mood swings are always caused by "women"?"
"Well half of my problems ARE caused by my wife."
Shiratori sighed, rubbing his temples, why can't he just be left alone with his problems?
"Am I correct to assume that a woman is involved?" Hirota lowered his head and leaned over to Shiratori's desk with a raised brow. "Coz' I never seen you contemplating this much."
All of a sudden Shiratori's cell phone began to ring. Relief washed over him; at least he could run away from his friend's senseless interrogation. He grabbed for it, looked at the display screen with raised brows and got up.
"I'll have to get this."
He unfolded his phone and brought it to his ears as he left the room in quick steps.
"Sasaki san?"
"Uhm, hi, Ninzaburo san, I hope I am not disturbing you." Spoke Kate's gentle but silky voice at the other end which made Shiratori to his horror remember what had happened in his flat some hours ago.
"No, of course not, did something happen or do you need something?"
"Not really, no, uhm I was just wondering how you were doing."
He didn't understand why, but his insides began to warm up and he couldn't deny some happiness spreading throughout his whole body as he heard her ask about him.
"I am doing very well thank you and what about you?" he asked as he came to a halt in front of a vending machine, popping in several yen coins to get some hot coffee.
"I'm okay, just a bit tiered..."she replied calmly, but some hesitation was in her voice. "...Did you, uhh...cover us this morning with the blanket?"
Shiratori coughed on his coffee which he taken a sip from. Already the officers around him were looking at him so strangely.
"Ninzaburo san, are you all right?" her voice sounded so concerned.
Shiratori cursed himself. She was talking about the blanket, damn it! Not that he has seen her boob, okay! Get a grip of yourself! He held himself away from the phone to get a hold of himself and took a deep breath and a sip of his coffee to calm himself down.
"Sorry there, I drank my coffee too fast." He apologized quickly, his voice a bit hoarse and strangled. "Yes, it was me who covered you this morning."
At the other end there was a pause.
"Thank you." Her affectionate but moved voice replied which then reverberated into Shiratori's ear and spread into his system.
A shiver went down Shiratori's body, God that woman, had a sweet voice!
"Don't have to thank me."
"You are doing so much for us, Ninzaburo san; I wish I could help out more."
For crying out loud! That woman was driving him to the edge of sanity, or self-control, how in the hell can this be possible?! He needed to sit down and QUICKLY! He sat down on the bench beside the vending machine. Anyway he mustn't make a fool of himself in here in front of his working colleagues, it's not like he's having phone sex! He took a deep breath.
"How is Yosuke chan?" he inquired, changing the topic and starting with a refreshed tone.
"He's running around and playing, but he actually seems to be inquiring about you."
A small smile crept over his features as he heard this.
"Is that so; is he that fond of me?"
Kate chuckled at the other end.
"I think so... Anyway I do not wish to hold you back for long. I just wanted to inform you that Yosuke and I are managing very well, so take your time to come back and do not stress yourself about taking us shopping, we can even go another time."
Now that he remembered about promising them to go shopping, he recalled he did have something to tell Kate.
"Sasaki san."
"Yes?"
"Uhm, about tonight, I have a big case which means I won't be back until midnight the latest. So we would have to move the shopping on another day, is that all right with you?"
Shiratori didn't feel so delighted about that idea, he felt guilty that they had to go on another day without proper clothes, but since the case was dropped into his laps, he had no choice really.
"Oh. Okay, don't worry, Yosuke and I can survive another day." She chuckled. "I hope you will perform your very best, I will see later I suppose."
"Yes you will."
"See you later."
"Yes, bye."
Both hung up. He leaned back into the lounge couch and sighed. Things were getting out of hand. This woman and her baby are his clients and yet he behaves like they were some close friends. He must be more civil towards them and not express some attachments. If he does express that serious attachment he knows from experience and his job that the enemies will pick this weak point.
"Are you okay, Shiratori san?" asked a female voice which woke Shiratori from his contemplation.
He would recognize that voice even if he were blind. He gazed at a woman wearing a dark red skirt suit with a white tucked in shirt and brown heels. Her dark hair was short but rounded her face gracefully, she always had tomboyish aspect in her behavior but she was most of the time bright. Only this time she appeared calm and composed.
"I'm all right, why are you asking?"
He looked over at her while sipping from his coffee and sitting casually in the lounge couches. Fortune must be on his side for Sato san was actually talking to him!
"Oh, you know, you look tiered and troubled, so I was wondering if you were okay." She grinned at him with her tomboyish nature peeking out.
Did she have any idea how cute she was?
"I've got lot of things on my mind, including an assignment from Megure kebu." Said Shiratori as he finished his coffee and threw the plastic cup into the bin.
"Oh, are you talking about the car thievery case?"
"Yes, I am."
Sato san gave a proud grin.
"I'm your partner."
Shiratori nearly fell off the couch when he heard that and stood up with a blank expression on his face.
"Really?" damn he sounded too hopeful!
She nodded with her preserved grin.
"Megure kebu told me you had a lot in your hands and suggested that I team up with you."
Damn all fortune came back to him! He was the luckiest man on Earth! Equally he was thankful to Megure; he did have lot of things to take care of especially Kate and her son.
"Sato san, Sato san!" called a familiar voice and immediately Sato turned her back on Shiratori and smiled brightly at the person who appeared.
"Takagi kun, what's the matter?"
As Sato encountered Takagi her expression turned into a concerned one. Takagi who usually bears an uncomfortable and innocent expression in the closeness of Sato had a serious expression which only meant: trouble.
"Megure kebu wants to see you both in his office; he found a leak on the thief's location!"
Shiratori and Sato looked at each other and made their way in hasty paces to Megure's office.
They arrived in Megure's office and gathered in front of his desk. He had been standing with his back facing them and looking out of the window.
"It turns out our car thief is a car dealer. He makes business by stealing pieces of cars and selling them off. I don't know if you heard of the Gaizo industry."
"Gaizo, the car factory?"
"Yes, Sato san, but this factory has been shut down two years ago due to bankruptcy, but most precisely due to illegal transactions with prototype car materials belonging to Toyota, Honda, etc."
"Are you assuming that the thieves reside there?" questioned Shiratori.
"I do not assume, I am certain because I found evidence to support it." Corrected Megure and placed some photographs on his desk and spread them out.
The officers in the room looked at each of the pictures. The pictures were taken from an industrial area. The industry district was at least 20 minutes away from here, actually even close to the harbor. On the pictures were some darkly clad but suspicious people unloading a van, bringing into the factory some cardboard boxes and some stolen car goods. The pictures were taken from different angles and focused on different objects or people, captivating the essential part of the whole thing: that there was some illegal dealing going about in the abandoned factory.
"I thought they were active in the night time?" asked Shiratori, realizing that the picture had been taken in day time.
"They usually are, but if they are doing this in day time, I'm assuming that there is more than meets the eye."
"What do you want us to do, Megure kebu?" asked Sato with a serious voice.
"I want you and Shiratori kun to serve as a bait, to attract the attention of the thieves."
"How are we going to do this?" asked Shiratori.
"I'll explain to you…" he said and began explaining the whole plan to Shiratori, Sato and Takagi who happened to be around.
"This is not what I had in mind." Mumbled Shiratori as his mouth twitched with unease.
"Did you say something, Shiratori san?" asked Sato absentmindedly and Shiratori instinctively shook his head as he started the engine of his car and drove the car out of the underground parking.
It was already night but dark rainclouds hung over Tokyo. The air felt damp and heavy. An awful combination with the summer heat and rain. The whole plan was ridiculous! I mean not everything, he had some advantage being with Sato but on the other hand he maybe will lose his babe: his Mercedes Benz! Megure had clearly stated as he discussed the plan about the case "Anyway you are the only wealthy person in this entire building!" Yea, well he was sure he wasn't the only wealthy bastard in this damn building anyway! It was just an excuse because he stood nearby. How life could be miserable at times! His car sped quietly through the traffic.
"Let's go over the plan shall we?" requested Sato and Shiratori with a short glance at her nodded.
"We have to pretend to be a couple going into the Beika shopping mall and we need to park nearby it. We were informed that they always strike there between 9 and 10 PM."
Now it was 8:40 PM, it would take them anyway twenty minutes to arrive at their destination.
"Are you sure that all this will work, Sato san?" asked Shiratori and she nodded firmly with her eyes fixed on the street.
"If you possess an expensive European car brand, this will inevitably attract their attention, but there is always a chance that it might fail, so we need to be prepared for the unexpected."
Shiratori nodded at her statement. It was true. One was never sure what the criminals thought, especially thieves, they were unpredictable. Yet Shiratori had a strange feeling about the whole case, this car hijacking business, he couldn't help himself but think that there was much more behind it.
"Are you sure you are okay, Shiratori san? You are unusually quiet and less enthusiastic."
Sato's concern somewhat surprised him.
"I didn't know you were this concerned about me?" chuckled Shiratori lightly.
"I've known you for a while Shiratori san and what you cannot hide from me is when you are troubled."
What was happening? Why was she showing some friendly concern, normally when she was with Takagi she wouldn't say anything or something he had the feeling she was on purposely avoiding him. Well honestly he was sometimes a jerk towards Takagi, but hey if Takagi was stealing away the woman he likes he would do anything to steal her back. The so-called arranged marriage was ruined when Takagi appeared, but Shiratori wasn't to going to give up that easily, he'll snatch any opportunity to conquer her.
"I'm preoccupied with trifling matters."
"Ah so. What kind of matters?"
Shiratori shook his head at her. He couldn't tell her what kind of things bothered him. He couldn't tell her he had to babysit a woman with her child who was threatened by some invisible enemy, he couldn't tell her how he felt about this and most importantly he couldn't tell how sincerely he felt for Sato. However something had been pulling him back from expressing his affection to Sato, he never felt this before, it felt like he had been chained against the wall and couldn't make any more steps forward. He didn't understand this, the words wouldn't roll out of his mouth, and the taste was appalling and discouraging. What was wrong with him?
"Some time things are best to be kept in secret." He murmured more to himself then to Sato and she had gone very quiet and stared at Shiratori.
It was the first time in her life that she had seen Shiratori like this. He had become more reserved all of a sudden towards her whereas before he would pour out anything that he had on his mind. What was provoking this change? He wasn't provocative or pretentious anymore but a distant person, almost a stranger. If something was drastically changing him, it only meant something really serious had happened.
"We're here – are you ready?" asked Shiratori as he parked the car in an open and obvious parking spot and looked over at Sato.
She looked at him for a moment. An impenetrable veil covered his unreadable dark orbs and she felt she was staring through glass and nothingness. Slowly she nodded. They got out of the car and very calmly without flinching Shiratori took her hand in his and held it. Sato had somewhat flinched but Shiratori had ignored it. They stood for a moment in front of the car and Shiratori turned around to face her, still holding her hand.
"Is your earpiece on?"
Sato nodded at him and she placed her finger against her ear, hearing some gentle sizzling of her radio in her ear. Both then heard a distinct voice in their radios.
"Shiratori Kun, Sato san, do you read me?" Crackled Megure's stern tone and Shiratori rose his hand and pretend to be coughing which he wasn't he spoke through a mic attached to his Rolex.
"We are all set to go, kebu." He whispered then looked leisurely around him.
"Walk slowly towards the Beika mall – take your time. We will alarm you in case of changes, Megure out."
With this said both Sato and Shiratori walked calmly towards the Beika shopping mall across the street. They had to cross a big X-crossing of pedestrians. They walked across holding their hands in a somewhat tense grip, their vigilance on high alert. Somewhere far from the scene stood an impatient officer, dressed in civilian clothes who frowned at the scene. Why in the hell wasn't he the lucky guy holding her hand?! Takagi took a deep breath trying to get control of his small jealousy attack. Anyway Shiratori and Sato seemed too absorbed in the mission then to concentrate on what they were doing, acting "couple-like". Anyhow holding hands wasn't bad…Right?
Surrounding the Beika shopping mall district were many officers stationed dressed in civilian clothes. They sat on benches, leaned against the wall, spoke to each other, and sat in Cafes – each one of them were vigilant in their own way. That's where all of a sudden they caught a radio transmission from their colleague, all their gazes abstractedly met the source of attention. Maybe a good ten meters away from Sato's and Shiratori's position, very close to a back street entrance stood a group of men consisting of four who were dressed in some young gangster look, baggy pants, oversized shirts, chains around their necks, piercings along their ears. They looked like youngsters who entered either their twenties or below. Each of the officers signaled each other of the suspicious presence of these young men. They dispersed in the crowd and already the disguised officers each followed an individual.
"Four suspects are dissipating in the crowd - Shiratori and Sato carry out as planned." Ordered Takagi's voice instead of Megure's. "A suspect with brown leather jacket is coming towards you."
Shiratori and Sato agreed without a word.
"Dear, you've got such a nice car." Said Sato loudly with a smile and Shiratori were obliged as ordered to tag along. "What kind of brand is it?"
"It's a limited edition of the Mercedes Benz." He declared with improvised interest, speaking loudly so that the suspect could hear them.
"How much is it worth?"
"Well, in dollars it would be 2 million."
The suspect tilted his head as he walked by, taking in the information discretely. They quickened their paces, both noticing that the suspect obviously swallowed the whole thing. They arrived on the sidewalk which lined the Beika shopping mall, a towering building with 10 floors at least with half of its structure made of glass. When the so-called couple made a step into the mall, a sudden tire screeching sound with screams filled the air and Shiratori's and Sato's head snapped around to the source. The pedestrians leaped aside with screams as the white gleaming Lamborghini zoomed by and already the owner of the car screamed that his car was being stolen. Two other cars filled with disguised officers zoomed after the Lamborghini. The crowd was going amok dashing into the mall or running in any direction possible, bumping into Shiratori and Sato. Shiratori spotted the suspect with the leather jacket over at his car and made a dash for it ignoring Sato's calls.
Shiratori ran, knocking passed the panicking pedestrians. The thief was at Shiratori's car, trying to use a wire or some sort to break the lock of the car. He was quick for he managed very easily and sat in the seat. He bent down pulling the wires of the car and got it started. The Mercedes Benz hummed with a low growl and the thief gently pressed his foot on the gas pedal. The car wheeled out of the parking lot. Shiratori cursed under his breath, the panicked pedestrians were slowing him down, bumping into him carelessly. The Mercedes Benz made a turn into the opposite direction from where the Lamborghini drove. However the thief noticed Shiratori and decided to accelerate but Shiratori pulled forth his gun and shouted:
"Out of the way!"
The pedestrians screamed even louder and dashed about in an even more confused mass. He aimed for the cars wheels and shot several times. The Mercedes Benz lost control and rammed into the corner of a building, smashing the hood entirely. Shiratori stood there, the mass had leaped out of his sight as they heard he had been firing shots. The thief kicked the car door open, staggered out of it grasping his bleeding nose. He looked back and saw Shiratori running after him and he made a dash. The thief spat blood on the floor, his bleeding nose slowing him down slightly and he ran into the mall. The police sirens were howling and approaching the scene.
"Shiratori what's your situation?"Cracked the voice of Megure with command.
"Main suspect has entered the shopping mall, I repeat main suspect has entered the shopping mall! I am going in!" he spoke into his radio and sprinted after the suspect into the shopping mall.
As he ran through the mall, walking up the escalator and stairs, shops and all, he shouted at the people to stop the person but none reacted they had been stunned with shock. Shiratori groaned. For keeping the streets cleaned from criminals, that's the thanks of the people, not intervening once!? They came to a dead end of the mall and the suspect darted his attention to his right and left, looking for an escape. He noticed a pharmacy and ran into it followed by the superintendent. Shiratori stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the thief holding a hostage at knife point. Shiratori automatically lowered his weapon and his eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He couldn't believe who he was seeing.
"…Ninzaburo san?" breathed Kate with wide eyes as she encountered Shiratori with disbelief. Shiratori couldn't believe this. Kate was out here?! What the hell was she doing here?! She wore new clothes, a nice pair of washed out but tight blue jeans with some frilly white shirt which was slightly a décolleté. Equally her face was retouched with make-up highlighting the intensity of her olive orbs which glinted with anxiety.
"…Sasaki san?!"
She flinched at the feel of the cool blade against her throat.
"What coincidence, you know each other?" spoke the thief with sneer on his face. "Is she your woman?"
Shiratori and Kate merely stared each other, not responding to this thief.
"Where's Yosuke chan?" asked Shiratori with concern, his eyebrows knit with high awareness and seriousness.
"He's… he's over there." She indicated with a light stammer to her right into an aisle of beauty products.
A middle aged woman sat cowered holding Yosuke in her grasp, showing her determination to protect the infant. Yosuke was trembling and sobbing again. He was struggling and trying desperately to reach for his mother, sobbing baby words. This made Shiratori's blood boil. How much more must a baby go through this pain?! How much?!
"I'm going to get you out of this, Sasaki san, do not worry." Reassured Shiratori and stood straight, displaying that he was holding his ground.
"It is not worth pulling this through kid, stop it before you make things worse for you." Spoke Shiratori and made a step forward which he was greeted with a step back from the thief and a snigger.
"Like hell that's gonna happen! You cops say the same damn thing, I am not retarded. We all land in the slams."
"You do but you could have shortened your prison sentence if you have given up, but since you are holding a hostage your prison sentence will be prolonged for a year or two." Explained Shiratori calmly.
The thief had become nervous now, sweat began to trickle down his forehead and his wide eyes darted around the room with the knife pressed against Kate's throat. When Shiratori wanted to make a move, he was suddenly struck behind his head and crashed onto his knees. His gun slid over the white floor and was picked up by an individual. A sharp numbing pain caused dizziness and momentary blackness for Shiratori. He took a deep breath, clenching his jaw and groaning. He couldn't pass out now!
"What took you so long, man?!"
"I had those bastard cops on my tail. I had to shake 'em off somehow!" snarled a new thug at his buddy.
"Grab the kid, obviously they are the weak spot of that cop." Said the thief in the brown leather jacket to his buddy who wore a loose grey shirt.
"Please, don't hurt my baby! Please don't!" Kate shouted anxiously with the tears pouring down her face, her body struggling against the grip of the thief.
The thief with the grey shirt gave a grunt and walked over to the woman that held Yosuke. A "click" was heard and a gun was pointed at the middle aged woman's head. That bastard thief was using Shiratori's gun to threaten people?!
"Let go of the baby if you don't want your brains blown out."
Reluctantly but with continual sobbing apologies she released Yosuke and the thug almost ruthlessly wrenched Yosuke along with him and then brought him into his arms with the gun pointing at its head. Yosuke whimpered and sobbed even harder, sensing the dread in the atmosphere. Kate now screamed at the sight that such an innocent creature was thrown into this situation without mercy. However the thug hadn't kept the gun pointing at Yosuke's temple all this time, but he had just made it clear that he would risk it.
Nevertheless they were showing a side effect of this hold-up, anxiety was gradually stunning both thieves, and it showed their lack of experience and endurance being confronted in this situation. Shiratori was back on his feet grasping his bleeding head. He was angry. He never had been in his life, especially in his work and he knew anger was forbidden in his job, but he couldn't stop it from growing as he saw two people that he was responsible for being hurt. He realized now that his attachment to them was substantial and serious. Kate had stopped whimpering or emitting any sound whatsoever, her head drooped looking like she was unconscious and Yosuke kept sobbing violently. Good god, Shiratori was ready to shoot a bullet in each their heads! These bastards will pay dearly! However before he could make a movement, Kate twitched and rose her head gently.
"You'll so dearly pay for touching my little Yosuke." She growled her voice unusually calm and cold.
All of sudden she stomped her foot on the thief's food and banged the back of her head against the thief's face and he released her falling behind with a cry. The partner of the thief released Yosuke pushing him aside and coming towards Kate at gun point, but quickly Shiratori lunged for the gun of the thug and forcing it up to the so that several shot were fired to the ceiling. Suddenly Yosuke emitted a pained cry as it clutched for its face a small stream of blood trickled down his forehead, Kate was shocked with fear and she went over to Yosuke holding him close to her and checking on him. Shiratori with a grunt gave a powerful upper hook which knocked the thief off his feet. He heard another voice growl and Shiratori spun around seeing the thief with the leather jacket and dagger charging towards Kate with full intention of hurting her. Shiratori jumped in-between, receiving a gash at his left arm as the blade grazed his flesh. Shiratori bit in the pain and the groan and gave an upper hook, sending the thief to the ground unconscious. Shiratori took several loud breaths through his nose, showing that his temper hasn't cooled down yet and he surveyed the thieves' body still in his fighting stance, protecting Kate and Yosuke.
Now did the rest of the police force flood into the pharmacy with their guns pointing at the unconscious bodies of the thieves. Kate had gotten on her feet with Yosuke in her arms and a bandage covering Yosuke's head. Kate observed the figure in front of her, Shiratori was back in a normal position with his back facing her. He was unusually quiet as his colleagues came praising him. All of a sudden he turned around, grabbed Kate roughly by her hand and pulled her along with him. She gasped at his prompt action and complained but silenced down immediately when she met his unusually sharp and cold glare over his shoulder.
He dragged her along with him out of the pharmacy, ignoring his colleague's calls and anything. He pulled her all the way along with him, down the escalator and stairs, ignoring the remarks when he bumped into people or stares when they saw his arm. Finally they exited the mall and Shiratori right away waved for a taxi. A taxi stopped in front of them.
"Get in." he ordered with a strict voice with no hint of warmth which Kate complied without a word.
"Shiratori san, are you okay?" asked Sato as she came running to Shiratori and her eyes widened as she saw Shiratori's dripping hand. "Your arm…!?"
Sato touched it but yanked his arm away from her which surprised her. He didn't respond to that but merely looked at it and back to her face. He walked closer to the cab and when he was about to get in, two other two voices called for him. He looked and saw Megure and Takagi arriving at his side.
"Shiratori kun, are you all right…Where are you going?" demanded Megure as he appeared to notice Shiratori's behavior with concern and Takagi also looked concerned.
Shiratori merely looked at them, keeping a rigid composure and an unreadable but cold expression. It surprised the three to encounter such an expression on Shiratori's face. He pushed himself passed them, stepped into the cab and closed the door on them and the cab took off.
A thick silence hung in the cab. None dared to speak. Kate could feel the anger seeping from Shiratori although he looked composed. She was sure he was going to explode when they get home. From all the action and horror, Yosuke had become sleepy and fell asleep in Kate's arms. Yosuke had just a tiny cut on his forehead close to the roots of his hair which wasn't as deep or serious as Kate had feared. She was relieved, but she was worried for Shiratori's bleeding head and bleeding arm which he had been gripping tightly with no hint of pain on his face. His hand that held his cut had the blood seeping through his fingers.
After a moment the cab came to a halt at Shiratori's building and he gave the money to the taxi driver as Kate got out of the cab. With quick strides they walked through the hallway ignoring the security guard's notice of Shiratori's bleeding arm. They took the elevator to his floor and he pulled out his keys, shoved it into the key hole and unlocked it and opened the door. He let Kate get in and then he followed locking the door up safely. Shiratori went to the bathroom and came out with a white medical kit and placed it on the table all this time ignoring Kate. She walked over to the kit, opened it to find disinfectant and bandages. Shiratori came and placed some cloths on the table and a towel. Kate took one and laid it out on the couch and placed Yosuke on it. He stirred in his sleep, giving a short whine and mumble then he fell asleep. Shiratori came over with a bowl filled with hot water and placed it on the glass table in front of the couch where Yosuke lay. She plunged the cloth in the bowl of water and began dabbing and wiping Yosuke's face clean. Shiratori was nearby watching what she did in solemn and icy silence, he didn't even bother shedding some of his clothes off after entering his apartment as his concern was preoccupied with the well being of Yosuke.
Kate finished treating little Yosuke, changed him into new clothes and brought him to her room on the bed where she covered him nicely. Shiratori had been watching everything from up close, from the doorway and when he knew she was finished he walked away. Her guilt grew stronger and stronger the longer he remained silent, it tortured her sanity! She closed the door behind her and found that Shiratori left the balcony window open. She went out on the balcony through the open window and found with his back towards her leaning his forearms on the railings with his gaze looking in the distance. Kate advanced him steadily, knowing fully well her mistake and willing to accept the consequences: a scold.
"Ninzaburo san." She began her voice quivering slightly with hesitation. "I am sorry, I-
-You're sorry?" repeated Shiratori with a scorn. "Haven't I heard this sentence enough for a lifetime?"
Kate took a deep breath.
"I truly am sorry! I didn't mean to-
-You didn't mean WHAT!" he scorned but this time with a strong tone and spun around revealing a glare. "To leave my apartment when I strictly told you NOT to!"
"Yosuke, he-
-Now you are using your son as an excuse!?" Shiratori cut sharply across advancing her.
"I am NOT!" argued back Kate sharply. "He had an ear ache and needed medication which you didn't have!"
Shiratori released an exasperated groan.
"Haven't I told you that you should call me when you need something? Damn, I didn't leave my cell phone number for no reason!"
"I know, I am sorry, but you were at work and I didn't want to bother you!" She quickly explained which was followed by another shout from Shiratori.
"Bother me?! Have you forgotten that your protection is MY JOB as well!"
Kate flinched lightly at his tone and his anger in his voice, she had become very self-conscious and guilty of her actions.
"My God! I left these numbers on purpose for you if you needed me, even for the pettiest stuff, but NO what you did is venture out with your son, throwing away your word and nearly getting yourself killed in that DAMN mall which A DAMN CASE WAS BEING TAKEN CARE OF!"
He panted at his outburst, trying to regain his shallow angered breaths under control. God that woman! That stupid woman! She was driving him up the wall! Why in the hell did she leave the place, why in the friggen' hell didn't she call him up about some medication or something at least!
"You don't seem to understand Sasaki san, I am here to protect you and give you shelter and what do you do? Abuse my trust to go out shopping!?" his arm darted to the shopping bags leaning against the wall near to the dining table to make his point. "Why didn't you wait, why in hell didn't you, huh?!"
"Because I don't want to burden you any further, Shiratori!" She exploded and it was the first time that a person, a stranger, addressed him directly by his name without the suffix.
Her olive orbs brimmed with tears and she trembled gently. Shiratori stared at her.
"I hate being dependent, I truly hate it!" she declared her voice strong but trembling slightly. "I got some medicine for Yosuke's ear ache because he tends to have strong pain. I thought mostly about you, so I thought I could get some things done already so you wouldn't have to go through all the trouble to do this for me! I took some money out of my bank account and bought some clothes for Yosuke and me! I wasn't being selfish - I wasn't!"
As one can say, there are always two sides to a story and Shiratori did know that her intentions were sincere. Nevertheless he needed to release this frustration that had been piling and piling on top of him all this time. He couldn't understand why, but it felt good to get angry, it felt good to just let go of the reigns once and a while and see how people reacted. It was also a proof of his lonesome life that he had nobody to argue, nobody to share his views, nobody to understand and most importantly no reciprocal. It was the first time that he acted so rebelliously to his own superior and colleagues even towards Sato! This woman in front of him provoked something in him which on one hand spurred ease and on the other wild emotions. Shiratori sighed deeply after a long pause, he couldn't stay angry with her.
"For the next time, don't do this again, call me if there is a problem, all right?" he spoke now in calm voice with no hint of anger in his voice anymore.
Kate rose her head to meet the calm expression in Shiratori's dark orbs, somewhat they seemed a clearer than before and were now more transparent so that one could understand better his expressions. Kate gave a bow to express her apology.
"I am very sorry, Ninzaburo san, I promise this will never ever happen again."
It kind of amused him to see her apologize so much, she really adopted the Japanese custom with such facility that it made one forget that she was American despite of her foreign appearance. Also he found it a bit of a pity that she switched into her formal speech, speaking to him by his surname.
"Call me by my name."
"Shiratori san?"
He nodded with a small smile.
"Can I call you by your name?" asked Shiratori and Kate nodded brightly.
"Kate san."
Suddenly some dizziness struck him and he staggered, Kate quickly came to his side lacing her arm around his lower back.
"We have to get you fixed up quickly." Said Kate as she guided him back into the flat holding his arm around her.
Shiratori felt a bit fuzzy and dizzy. He had forgotten his injury. One at his head and the other on his arm. She led him to the dinning chair and made him sit down. He felt a bit better, but not as good as expected.
"I think you'll have to take off your vest and shirt, both are ruined." She instructed and helped him out of his blue vest and his white shirt with its left sleeve drenched in blood.
She quickly ran to the glass table, took the bowl into the kitchen, grabbed also some ice and filled the bowl with hot water. She came over with a spare cloth and placed it on the table. Shiratori had managed to take off his shirt, wincing as he peeled off his left sleeve tattered with his blood. He hasn't bothered putting an undershirt and sat now with his bare torso towards her. She handed him some ice to soothe his throbbing bruise in the back of his head. Kate didn't look anywhere else but his injured arm and she approached him in a kneeling position.
"Fortunately it isn't too deep, so you don't need stitches – thank goodness."
Shiratori was too fuzzy to answer properly but he was delighted over the fact that he was being tended, for once. She took the drenched cloth, wrung it out and dabbed his injury which earned her some winces from Shiratori.
"It was stupid of you to jump in like that, he could have stabbed you elsewhere." She hissed with disapproval as she continued to dab and wipe his whole arm clean.
"Of what use would I be - ouch - if I haven't intervened?"
"Well you could have punched him. NO, wait! You could have shoved him - yes that's right – shoved him." She said as if she was debating over her own words and to herself.
It amused Shiratori and suddenly he made a grab for her wrist and she looked at him startled.
"For a generous and innocent woman, you know a lot about fighting and on top of that you actually managed to defend yourself well back there." Pointed Shiratori with a sly glint in his eyes, which Kate took in with a surprised expression.
However after a moment of staring at Shiratori's action, she rose her eye brow in confidence.
"A woman should be able to defend herself, don't you think so? I don't like being a damsel in distress."
Shiratori gave a small grin at her statement. A woman with a sense of pride and justice, how interesting. She had taken her hand and rubbed his injury clean.
"Who taught you to defend like this?"
Kate's face changed quickly and she lowered her eyes momentarily, as if ashamed to reveal a certain emotion in her eyes and she stopped in her actions.
"My husband did." She responded with a small voice which had a hint of melancholy.
Shiratori looked at her for a moment. The brightness of her face dimed and so did her olive eyes. Even in sadness she was beautiful. Without thinking, his hand gently took hers which she responded by staring at him and his hand holding hers. It was the first time they touched each other that is hand-to-hand. A silent moment settled between them. Kate seemed insecure as her eyes glanced only briefly at him and Shiratori without hesitation just looked at her. He was entranced but he was berating himself not to get too carried away.
"Do you…Miss him?" he asked quietly, his brows were relaxed but his eyes showed some depth, understanding.
Her attention was now fully drawn to him. It was difficult to hide things from Shiratori, he appeared very perceptive and very understanding and she was sure it was unlike him to show this kind of feeling to anybody. His composed and serious maybe reserved appearance gave him the air of an arrogant person who loved flaunting his wealth into people's faces. However like many of this kind of people he had a soft core and Shiratori showed it only discretely which for the first time was more genuine instead of forced or fake. Kate withdrew her hand and got up to walk over to the medical kit and pulling out some bandages.
"There's not one day that goes by when I don't miss him, he will always be in my heart."
She closed the medical kit and went over to Shiratori's shoulder to dress his left injured upper arm. She had become too silent for Shiratori's taste, but he wouldn't question her just yet. She tied his bandage closed and smiled.
"All done!" she declared proudly and began to clean up the medical kit and things.
She hummed as she walked along the room, passed the hallway and into the bathroom. Shiratori stood up and looked as she disappeared from his view. He was beginning to question her sincerity about her feelings towards her husband, it wasn't because Shiratori was insensitive or other but he needed some solid proof for her affection towards her husband.
"Shiratori san, can I take a shower?" she called from the bathroom.
"Yes, go ahead." He called back to her.
She walked quickly to her shopping bags which were leaning against the wall in the dining room and took them with her with a smile on her face as she encountered Shiratori. He didn't respond to her smile and just walked passed her sunken in his own thoughts. However he watched her disappear in the bathroom with a small smile gracing his features and it was his turn to disappear into his room. He would take a shower later.
