An Awkward Night—

Yoh stared out the private jet window gazing at the extravagant sunset that sat above the clouds as it began to disappear behind the distant mountains. He loved moments like this, being able to stare up into the afternoon sky with his headphones in, listening to Bob Love. His life was full of twists and turns depending on where he was working and who he was working with, but he never forgot to stop and enjoy the little things in life. He bobbed his head slightly as one song faded to its conclusion and Bob Marley's "One Love" began to serenade him. He was tempted to shut his eyes and go to sleep if it weren't for the wary passenger sitting on the plane with him.

He sat adjacent to Anna on the other side of the plane aisle with his laptop and paperwork open. She was silently scanning over her documents as well. She had kept her conversations minimal and had been like that for close to six hours. It was a clear indicator to him as well as everyone else that play-time was over and work needed to be done. Previous discourse they might have had with one another was irrelevant. So, he regained his focus and started back at his notes.

He had been reevaluating the profiles of the two suspects, and something wasn't adding up. The background check of the siblings didn't exactly match up lives of a criminal. Other than the brother, Usui Horokeu, being prosecuted for disturbing the peace a few times, their record seemed clean.

I can't really draw a conclusion from paper.

There were too many factors that were up in the air. Maybe the previous profilers were being biased. Anna had brought up the fact that the Ainu clan had been living in the area for a long time. Were they liked, hated, revered? That was unknown and could be important information. He would have to wait until he got there. Also, the construction company was what he was more concerned about. It seemed more like they were the instigators to this whole ordeal in the first place. He wanted to see where they stood on this. Why were they so bent on constructing the dam in the area? Too many things weren't making sense. But that was what they were there to find out no doubt.

He took his headphones out and turned to his partner, "I got a call from that construction company a few hours back. The C.E.O, Akira Tamiko offered a place to stay when we land. What do you think?"

She glanced up at him and frowned, "You can tell him no obviously. We're going into this case as an unbiased third party. We don't need hand-outs from anyone. In fact, write down that he offered us. It may lead way to conspiracy. "

He nodded in agreement, "Makes sense."

"Besides, you're such a rich boy, I'm sure you already had a solution to where we're going to stay."

He smiled, "Sharp as ever. Actually, yes I have. I already have reservations for as long as we need to at a place called Sounkaku Grand Hotel."

"Really? You mean that ritzy hotel in Sounkyo Onsen? I heard it's got a hot spring and everything."

"Yeah, I've been there a few times on business trips. I think you might like it."

"I think I might…oh, don't worry about me riding on that rich boy coat tail for very long. Didn't want you to start feeling obligated…"

He laughed, "No, no, it's no problem at all."

The intercom came chiming in, "Excuse me, but we are making our descent. We have arrived at our destination."

They simultaneously began collecting their things.


The landing, and drive to the prestigious hotel took about an hour or so. They arrived within that just as twilight hit the sky. Anna was immediately taken back by the sheer size of her room, but immediately took a liking to it, much to Yoh's amusement. After, they established their separate living quarters, he invited her to dinner on the public dining hall to enjoy the last rays of the evening and discuss their next move for the next day. She inadvertently accepted his offered and told him she would be down after changing. Likewise himself.

Yoh had abandoned his work suit for orange sweat pants, a white t-shirt and sandals to fully relax in the extent of the evening. He made his way into the dim-lit dining veranda and chose a table with a sunset ocean view. Not soon after that, he saw Anna making her way towards him. She had also given up her usual business suit for a white cami, a black cardigan, and shorts with flip flops. She was in the process of putting her hair up in a ponytail with a red scrunchie as she made her way to her seat. Without a doubt, she averted many eyes in her direction and strained spectator's necks so they could get a glimpse of her. One man almost fell out of his seat, not too far away from their table as he tried to follow the sway of her hips and the miles of her porcelain skin.

Yoh swallowed hard.

"Evening," she muttered as she took her seat. Yoh said nothing in response which made her dart her eyes in his direction. "What? Is something the matter?"

He shook his head vigorously, "N-no, nothing at all."

She sat back in her seat and crossed her legs, "I'm not exactly hungry. I just came down to talk to you about what we're supposed to be doing tomorrow. I think that you should talk to the CEO and I'll go talk to the head of the Ainu tribe and we've already been granted access to the crime scene, so we'll meet up in the afternoon. We need to profile everyone who is suspects for the murder and all involved starting by talking to the chief of police here. "

"Right, what time do you want to meet up?"

"Three should be fine. I want to wrap this up as soon as possible."

"How early do expect this case to be finished?"

"I want to be out of here within the week…as long as the UNSUB doesn't decide to go on a killing spree. Considering the victim, the killer seems calculated and wants to give off a message. We need to corner him as soon as possible before another body shows up. Those who are in some type of authority position, we need to put them in protective custody."

"That is, if they take it. I was thinking about that too. I was told that the people here might not like working with us as well."

"What makes you say that?"

A waitress approached their table, "Excuse me, can I get you both anything at all?"

Yoh smiled at her considerately, "Shrimp tempura sounds good right about now. You want anything Anna?"

"She shook her head, "Just tea, thank you."

The waitress nodded and backed away batting an eye in Yoh's direction. Anna picked up on the subtle movement, but chose to ignore it continuing their conversation, "You were saying?"

"Oh yes, I was speaking with the caddy earlier that brought our clothes up to our rooms. He told me that he knew of the altercations going on with the Ainu and the construction company for some time now. He said they had been cursed for interfering with them."

She raised an eyebrow, "Cursed? We can speak to the dead, but I've never heard of curses actually being a thing nowadays. You think that's true?"

He shrugged, "I know very little about the tribe, but I do know they are one of the oldest cultures in all of Japan. Considering how long they've been around, I'm not ruling out anything just yet. It would be wise to take what he said into consideration."

She nodded in agreement, "Not bad Asakura, taking the initiative already."

He smiled nonchalantly, "Well, I AM trying to impress the best detective of Tokyo. It's no small task."

She slowly shook an index finger, "You haven't even begun to impress me. Tomorrow, you'll have a better try at it, but be warned, very little impresses me."

"I'll keep it in mind, no doubt."

"Here's your dish sir," the waitress had returned with their order and Yoh accepted it, smiling at her tender-heartily.

"Thank you very much," he said as she sat the steaming plate in front of him.

"It's m-my pleasure," she stuttered betraying herself. This time, Anna didn't let it slide.

"Is there a problem?"

The young girl almost dropped the cup of tea in Anna's lap before successfully placing it on the table, "W-what? No…nothing's w-wrong. I promise." All the while, her eyes kept going back towards to a now concerned Yoh.

He spoke up almost getting up from his seat, trying to assist the girl who was now quite distressed, "You seem a bit flushed. Are you sure you don't need some help?"

Before the two agents could pry anymore, the waitress shoved a crumpled up napkin that she had balled up in her hand in Yoh's general vicinity, dropped it in his lap, and sped away without saying another word leaving them both at the table. Snapping himself out of confusion, he turned his attention to the napkin sitting on his thigh and unraveled it to view the contents, only to find a few numbers written on it, and a name:

Kobayakawa.

He frown staring back at it, "What does this mean?"

He overheard Anna sigh quite heavily making him look up from the piece of paper. She was shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's her phone number you dunce. For someone who's supposed to have a heightened intellect, you sure are dumb when it comes to women."

He was ultimately shocked when he pieced the puzzle in his mind, "Wait, how was I supposed to know that she was going to give me her number?"

"She was dropping hints the moment she saw you. She almost tripped over herself as you spoke 'shrimp tempura'. You mean to tell me you didn't notice not once?"

He was bewildered unable to perceive what would possess the young girl to do something so absurd, "W-what, no. I mean, we're in the middle of work, aren't we?"

She sighed as she rose from her seat and began to walk back towards the dining room. He called after her.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I told you, I'm not hungry. Tell your girlfriend to send my tea to my room. I'll see you in the morning."

He watched as she sashayed her hips, averting his transfixed eyes once again as she stormed off. He slumped back into his seat and crossed his arms in utter confusion. Both girls were gone, Anna to her room, and he was pretty sure the waitress wasn't coming back to serve him again.

What was that all about?


A/N: hey guys, I'm going to take a break from this story in particular, so be on the lookout for other things I'm working on. I'm not a good multi-tasker, and I get bored of the things I write if I dwell on them too long, trying to pry plot progression out of my head. It gets monotonous. So far however, I've received positive reviews, so I'll continue it as soon as I get fresh new ideas as to how the story will progress. I know a lot of people don't like how short the newer chapters are and I apologize. That's simply from my lack of inspirations. I'll work on that. So, look for the obvious Horohoro introduction in the next chapter coming soon. Also, tell me what you think will happen. Right now, who do you think is the killer? Let me know in a review. Thanks again for reading.

To be continued…