Do We Have A Future Together

ParisNightLights

Summary:

After she mysteriously disappeared on her wedding day 5 years ago and thus marking the end of their relationship, no one has heard from her since then. Years after, Hino Kahoko met up with Yunoki Azuma again. Now though, is it pure coincidence that brought the former lovers together or is heaven playing a joke with them? Kahoko x Azuma

A/N:

Hello again! Happy Lunar New Year! The Year of Rabbit! I am a dog by the way! (Guess my age) So... Where are my red packets? Anyway, my Lunar new year present to all of you here! And if you could leave me a review after this, it would be greatly appreciated. On a side note, I do accept anonymous reviews; just don't be too harsh on me. I'm only a beginner. Without further ado, enjoy!

Chapter VII: The Unexpected Coincidence

"Azuma, I would think that white look better on you than black. And black is not an auspicious colour too." The old lady seated comfortably in a red throne seat commented from the corner of the spacious room. Azuma turned away from the mirror and strode off in the direction of the changing room. For the nth time. It was not as if he did not have an opinion on what he was wearing himself, but rather he did not really want to care what he has on. He guessed he could just play along with his Grandmother and humored her. At least, it would be better than having to face Shoko and feel guilty.

He shrugged off the black Armandi suit and picked up another white suit, which was hanging on the door. Putting it on, he thought about the many tasks he still has to accomplish for today. The situation of his company was not improving, neither did he find out who was the one sabotaging him. But all he knew was... His enemy was trying to play around with him. What his goal was? He did not know. "At least, he sent me a message, didn't he?" He smiled bitterly as he thought of the email message he received that morning. Something along the line of 'Be careful of your every steps, who knows what would happen next? S.Y. ' And who was this person who addressed himself as S.Y. ? He was never good at guessing games. Now, he was left as puzzled as ever.

He then stepped out of the dressing room to see his Grandmother and Shoko speaking to each other as if they were really close. If she was Kahoko, it would have been perfect. Shaking his head to shake away those useless thoughts, he wore a smile on his face instead and approached them. "You look beautiful," he complimented Shoko as he took in the sight of her in a white dress. Somehow, it looked weirdly familiar to him. As if... it was the very same dress Kahoko had on her wedding day.

"Is there something wrong, Azuma?" Shoko asked innocently as he stared at her dress intently. She proceeded to give him a tiny hug and flashed her angelic smile at him. A petite lady came up towards her to help her with adjusting the tiara which was sitting upon her head. She has grown out her hair to shoulder-length. It has kind of made her appear more feminine in a way than before. She watched Azuma as he returned a smile back towards her and shook his head. She noticed how he was about to say something to her when he pulled out a vibrating phone from his pocket and excused himself.

He turned away from them both and proceeded to move off to a quieter place to answer his phone. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Shoko glaring into his back. But... perhaps he was just hallucinating about that. Shoko was not someone like that. Accepting the phone call, he listened to the caller attentively, wondering who it could be. "Azuma Yunoki speaking," He stated clearly into the phone as he looked out of the full length skyscrapers.

"Oh good afternoon, Mr Yunoki. Michael here. We had just arrived in Japan," He informed Azuma in his fluent English. His eyes searched for a certain red head as he tugged his black luggage along with him out to the arrival hall. In some way or other, he has lost sight of where she has gone. He knew that she would be fine, since she was a sensible and logical person, there was nothing much that he should worry about. But he just fear for her. He always felt as if that there were danger lurking around and it just had not caught up with her yet. That was certainly how he felt when he first met her. Always walking around one pace faster than the others; that was her. One day, everything would just come catching up to her. And he wanted to be around her if it was to ever happen. Protective was perhaps the word that perfectly define how he felt.

He halted in his steps when he approached the exit. Letting go of his luggage, he let it stand alone on the floor. "I'll get my assistant to arrange a meeting with you and Ms Katherine as soon as possible. And about where both of you will be staying duri-" Michael coughed softly to interrupt him in the middle of the sentence as he thought about what he had arranged before he and Kahoko left for Japan.

"Mr Yunoki, thank you for your thorough consideration. We're truly appreciative of what you've done to try to accommodate us for this trip. But we had taken care of all the trivial matters, so it's alright. Then, we shall meet up with you soon, I assume?" Michael asked, waving his free hand up high in the crowd when he noticed Kahoko lost in the middle of the floor with her bulky red luggage. Without bothering for an answer from Azuma, he hung up the call and moved back into the crowd to find her. Moving quickly through the crowd, he finally reached her, "Finally found you."

Kahoko turned abruptly when she realised someone touched her hand, which was lying on the handle of her luggage. Her eyes widened when she saw him. Her lips pulling into a smile, she hugged him and muttered into his chest softly, "Thank you."

Puzzled by her sudden closeness, he raised an eyebrow as he wrapped her into a hug. "For what?" He asked just as softly into her hair. Perhaps they did look like a loving couple in the crowds of people, since a little boy whistled as he passed by them.

Kahoko blushed and pulled away from him. Her face turning into a deeper shade of red, she smiled sheepishly. "For finding me," She looked away from him as if she was a young girl in love. Then, she grabbed her luggage and pulled it behind her. True, she was honest when she said that she was grateful that he found her. She has been afraid of being left out or forgotten after she has left everything behind. Maybe all she has left now was nothing more than people around her. Michael, Mr Johnson and maybe their little puppy back home. And Alice she guessed.

He nodded silently. He knew that when she said something out of nothing and then turned away from his gaze, she just simply did not want to tell him anything more about it. That was probably why he did not really understand her as much as he thought he should since they had been living together for five whole years. Somehow, he understood. Everyone has something that they do not want others to know about, right? Privacy is the word. And he was not much of a busybody to begin with. His policy was probably-if someone did not want to tell him something, he would not ask. Following Kahoko out of the airport, he pulled the giant Prada sunglasses down to sit on his nose. If he could, one less paparazzi would make a whole lot difference to the length of time he need to make it out of here.

She stopped as she exited the airport. Whispering anxiously, she turned to face him again, "Guess you do have a lot of followers, huh?" What she has been worrying about has certainly came true. Reporters were surrounding the outside of the airport. And she was pretty sure that the other exits would be surrounded with as many reporters as there were here as well. Just as she was about to ask him to go back into the airport and wait till the situation calm down, a few men dressed in black began to pick up their luggage for them and another few hurried them towards a black limousine parked at the side of the road. She tried to struggle against their grip, but it was futile after all.

Once they were trapped in a limousine, Michael grinned at Kahoko as he watched her frowned worriedly. Perhaps she thought they were kidnapped by some 'unknown mysterious evil-looking' man, that would be the exact words she would have thought of. Living with her for five whole years had thought him that her pathway of thinking was slightly.. 'unique'. He turned his attention from her face before he lost his control and start laughing at her face. Before he could even attempt to do that, he felt a slight tug on his arm, and he looked at the red-headed lady. Looking extremely flustered. "What?" He asked nonchalantly.

"We've just got trapped in this car.. And all you've got to say is 'What'?" She whispered in a shocked tone. Kahoko could not understand what was going on now. All she could have thought of was..they need to get out of here. As soon as possible. She released her tight grip on his arm, and turned to look out of the car window. If she remembered correctly, they were now on one of the express ways. They could not possibly get out of the vehicle now, unless she want a death. Flustered, she fidgeted in her seat while thinking hard about where the end of this road led to. She knew she would remembered it if she thought hard enough. Although it was just a short five years away from her homeland, she had tried not to think of anything that was related to Japan.

Michael smiled briefly before calling out to her to catch her attention, "Katherine?" Kahoko jerked away from her thoughts to look up at him with a frown. "Well, the thing is these people are sent by one of my associates that I've worked for before," he admitted as he watched her face. To his amusement, her facial expression changed to one with anger and then embarrassment then to pure curiosity again.

Kahoko was lost for a moment. So.. he was teasing her all along? Somehow, he reminded her of a certain someone. Someone who has always loved teasing her ever since they had known each other in high school. Even though he teased her, she liked him all the same. Shaking her head again, she wondered what he was doing right now. Probably looking through a whole stack of documents again? "I'll call Mr Yunoki to ask him about the case now then, since we're kind of trapped in here," she muttered to the man sitting next to her. In a way or another, she thought that she seem like she was convincing herself for a reason to call him.

Michael shook his head, "I've call him up just now. He'll get in touch with us soon." And he looked out of the window at his side. He has a job the next day for a company he was closely associated with. Although he has worked with the company for a few times, he was not sure what they wanted him to do for this job once again. The female director of the company has rather unique taste, he might have added. He pulled out his tiny notepad from his designer bag pack and flipped it to today's date. Meet Mrs Tsukimori at 8pm-Tsukimori Music Company (Japan's branch)...

Kahoko turned away from him and stared down at her interlaced fingers. Then what was she supposed to do in Japan then? Wait for his phone call dumbly? For God's sake, she was not a love sick fool. She has things to do. Like what though? She clenched her fists and furrowed her brows inn concentration. No matter what she came up with, it always ended up to one person...

One: Visit your friends.

But they were not her friends anymore. Katherine Johnson did not have friends in Japan. And... would they even take her as her friends? They would blame her for leaving Azuma... Azuma. Right.

-Abort option one.-

Two: Visit your special one.

The first thing that came to her mind consisted of only one word: Azuma. It was impossible anyway.

-Abort option two.-

Three: Visit your dear Godmother.

Her Godmother. Misa Hamai or Mrs Tsukimori. She has guided her along and given her tips as if she was her own daughter. But if she was to visit her, she would alert Tsukimori Len, who would alert Azuma. So...

-Abort option three.-

Four: Visit her family.

Her parents would be happy. And they would alert Azuma. And... that could not happen.

-Abort option four.-

Five: Visit Seiso Academy.

She could go there and take a walk. Except that she has a few... if not many junior admirers who admire her violin playing. She was certain that everyone knew of her disappearance since they had invited most of them to their wedding. Even with most of them graduated... her photo in the school-classified as 'Missing' would not help. She knew that... as the news had reported that the members of her Alma Mater would not give up until they has found her. If they found her, that means Azuma would realise who she is.

-Abort option five.-

She sighed. Other than shopping, she has nothing to do. And she did not feel like shopping either. But she really want to visit somebody. Crossing her arms across her chest, she listened to the Japanese radio station. Apparently, it was the 'News' time. She closed her eyelids and listened to it droned on endlessly... "Next up, there's been rumors about the price of the shares of Yunoki's Coporation falling drastically. If you've any news about it, please call in," She frowned and shut her eyelids tightly as she listened on. "Recently, there's been many reports of stalkers following mere strangers secretly and the number of robberies cases are on the rise..." Almost as suddenly, her eyelids flitted open. Stalkers...

After taking a quick shower in her hotel suite, she dressed herself up in a simple white bulky shirt and a faded blue jeans. On top of that, she wore a black wig on her hair. Looking at herself in the mirror, she found herself staring at a lady with short black hair. Maybe a little make-up would do her job of looking like a middle-aged woman. Satisfied with her disguise, she took out a large recycled bag that she received from a shop owner just now and proceeded to open the fridge. Smiling to herself, she retrieved all the canned drinks from the fridge and dropped them into the bag. "Genius," she mumbled to herself. Before she left the room, she placed on a pair of spectacles.

Making sure not to make too much noise, she picked her way down the elevator as if she was a typical middle-aged lady who was apparently... according to herself, on her way to sell some drinks. Fearing that it might not be convincing enough, she entered a convenience store in the hotel and purchased a few more bottles and cans of drinks. To be exact, twenty-eight. Tugging on to a heavy bag, she exited the hotel and approached the bus stop. She knew which buses she could take to reach where she wanted to go...

During the whole bus trip, people shot her weird stares. A lady with over thirty cans of drinks. It was as if she was so thirsty, that she need to consume that much. Worried that her wig would fall off, she made sure to pat the wig too many a times along the journey to make people think that she was obsessed with her bizarre hairstyle or perhaps she did not wash her hair for a few days. After a ride of fourty-five minute, she got off the vehicle.

"This isn't stalking," she murmured to herself, "it is called... Operation Secret." She moved behind each and every tree then tiptoed to another one till she reached the street she was so familiar with. Slowly, she conquered each lamp post, before she stood outside the two-storeys house. Her home. Looking around her, she made sure no one has noticed her and pressed the bell to the house. 'Ding Dong..' She waited patiently.

Not long after, an old lady with gray hair stepped out of the house and glared at her. Kahoko frowned. She was sure that this was not her mother. Perhaps she was their housekeeper? Wanting to reassure herself of that fact, she asked politely in her rusty Japanese, "Is this the residence of Hino family?"

The old lady moved off the porch of the house and approached the gate, "Who are you anyway?" The woman was rather cranky, Kahoko mused. Couldn't she just answer a yes or no?

"Uh.. I'm here to.." she stuttered. She was sure that she could not say she was here to send drink to the Hino family. If they were not living here anymore, it would sound weird. "To.. send a confidential letter to Mrs Hino. I need her personal signature," she lied.

The old woman sighed and shook her head. "Why are everyone looking for that woman?" The woman muttered to herself under her breath.

"Everyone?" Kahoko was confused. Who else?

"There's this man who came here every year on the same day, and then this lady came several times...even last week," The woman explained, slightly annoyed. "But I'm the owner of this house now. About the previous owner, Mrs Hino?" The woman continued as Kahoko nodded, "I bought the house over when she passed away." She gave a slight shake of her head and smiled bitterly at Kahoko.

She was stunned. It was a short five years. Her mother would be only 46 this year. "What... What about her son?" She mumbled softly. She did not like how the woman gave her a sour expression, as if it was the end of the world.

Clicking her tongue, the old lady retreated back into the house with a simple, "Didn't you hear? The whole family met up with a freak accident five years back..."

Kahoko stared after the closed door. Freak accident? They were all gone? She dropped the whole bag of drinks onto the ground and slumped down onto the dusty ground, next to it. Hugging her knees tightly to herself, she sobbed softly into her shirt. Everyone was gone... Yet all the while she was not aware of that. But she could not blame anyone but herself. Since her location was not known, no one could have informed her of it. She sat at the very same position as she watched the sun set. All she could see now was probably nothing but the empty state of the road. It was exactly as how she was feeling... Hollow.

"Didn't Katherine come with you? I thought you've asked for another hotel suite?" The blue-headed lady asked in fluent English, as she sipped a mouthful of English tea from the porcelain cup. She has heard much of this girl named 'Katherine' from one of her business partners.

Michael smiled at her pleasantly and nodded twice. "She did come with me. But she has wondered off somewhere once we arrived. I guessed it can't be help," he laughed it off. "But I would introduce her to you one of these days. When she has not run off somewhere again, that is," he promised the older woman with a cheeky grin, "but no way am I going to introduce her to that son of yours. He would frighten her. Ha ha."

The woman smiled and laughed softly, "Who are you to say that of my son? She might fall in love in first sight with him." She sipped her tea and gestured for him to do the same, "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. About the piano commercial, I've found a few other potential people to work with you to promote my brand of piano." She pulled out a folder from beneath the table and passed it to him.

Flipping the folder open, a few photographs slide out of it. Among them were a photo of a charming blond-haired lady, a pretty famous former model who was in her sixties, a green-headed man and a little boy. He almost laughed as he saw the wide range of people chosen for the commercial, "May I ask who is your target audience?"

The woman frowned, "Everyone, of course!" She has thought that each of them catered to a specific age group. The blond-haired lady would cater to the middle-aged group. The former model would cater to the elderly group. The young man could attract interest for the love of piano from the teenagers. And the little boy could appeal to the children to play the piano. That way she would attract everyone's attention, wouldn't she?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard peals of laughter coming from the direction of the dark-haired man. "What?" She asked, a shot of frustration was spreading within her like a wild fire.

He ignored her glare which was directed at him and waved his hand away at her, "Aren't I the model for your advertisement?" He watched her widened her eyes incredulously and then continued, "And if I'm not wrong, you were just looking for someone to play the background piano piece for the advertisement since I can't play it." This sent the woman to another frown. And then a sigh. "This is what you called a substitute for a pretty face," he pointed to himself, referring to himself as the latter.

She placed down the cup onto the glass table and moved off the sofa to the mirror table. Picking up the notepad and a black pen, she returned to her seat again. "Well… You're right. So what I need now is a pianist," she murmured to herself and scribbled down on the pad of notes. "This means… I have to start a new search for pianists instead," she sighed and scribbled more, forgetting the file on the table.

"I believe you have already found a pianist," he picked out a photo out of the four lying on the table, "Him." According to the information provided by his profile, this guy was a pianist. He did not look like a model, but he was said to have been rising in fame recently. "Huh… Seem like he has quite a reputation," he muttered, watching the lady reach out to have a look at the profile. He passed it to her and smiled, "Performed with you son for quite a few performances. He must be great then?"

She took a closer look at the information and realized, "Indeed. Ryoutaro. He is one of best pianists I've ever seen. How could I have forgotten about it?" She shook her head and placed the photo back into the file. "Then it's all settled. Just let me get my secretary to get in contact with him. We could start the filming soon," she pointed out to Michael, perhaps thinking that he would jump in joy or something similar to that, only to see him give her a little smile.

After a whole day of changing dozens of bridal dresses, she was exhausted. She knew what was wrong with Azuma, he just did not want her to wear that beautiful white dress. He has thrown her a dozen more different dresses after seeing just that one. For one to be so persistent like her, she manoeuvred her way out of it and stated simply that she loved the particular white dress the most. The dress that once belonged to Kahoko. She has kept the dress in her possession right after Kahoko has left, thinking that one day it would come to good use. Indeed, it has. And she would be the one to wear it this time.

"Miss, there seem to be a problem," her chauffeur spoke, breaking the silent atmosphere that has built up between them. She tilted her head to one side, urging him to continue what he wanted to tell her. "A woman seems to be sitting on the entrance," he explained, watching her employer from the mirror.

Shoko frowned and asked him to stop the car. Anyway, she could just visit the old lady since they were already at the gate. She has been coming here for several times, with the same motive in her mind-to purchase that house that was sitting right in front of her. But the old lady seem to be unmovable, perhaps she could try to threaten her. But that would not be nice for a Fuyumi if words ever get out saying that she has threatened an old lady out of her own residence. Maybe she could just shut her up with some money. Money that she could not use up in her whole life. "Why are you sitting here?" She asked the black-haired woman politely. Glancing at the bag of drinks that had spilled out of her bag, she wondered if the woman was here to try to sell some drinks to the old lady.

The lady in question froze for a millisecond before she got off her feet and rushed away without her bag. Shoko stared after her, feeling a shiver shot down her spine. It was an eerie feel, one of irony and familiarity. Brushing it off without any further hesitation, she turned her attention away from the nearly gone figure to the house in front of her. "Here I go," she sighed.

Kahoko huffed and puffed against the lift door, her wig already forgotten somewhere on her trip back to the hotel. Perhaps you could have said that she could not have cared any lesser for things like keeping her appearance on. The most important thing right now was to find out what exactly happened to her family. Freak accident? Maybe not...

"Katherine?" Someone voiced her name aloud. Alerted, she jerked out of her thoughts to see him standing in front of her. She stared at him for a long while. She open her mouth to say something to him. She wanted to spill everything to him. She wanted... Only then she realized that he was all she has left to herself. Without a skip in beat, she moved to hug him around his chest.

He was almost shock when she hugged him out of a sudden. Looking down at the girl with concern, he wrapped his arms around the tiny petite figure. Slowly patting her on her back, he tried to comfort her. Although he did not know what has happened to her, he was glad he was the one she has chose to find comfort in. Somehow, since he was a young kid, he has stopped asking his father why he did not get to see his mother anymore, just after seeing the depressed man. It might have been one of the main reasons as to why he did not probe much into other people's matters as long as they did not want to confide in him by themselves. And he thought it might just be good enough that 'Katherine' did seek comfort from him. At least he meant that much to her even if it was not much. But least there was hope...

After standing in the hotel lobby for a few moment, they attracted some uninvited attention. Feeling embarrassed, Kahoko let go of Michael and apologised profusely for causing him problems, only to proceed to tell him not to worry about her. "It's nothing. Don't worry," she has mumbled under her breath and led him into the lift. She thought that a rest might settle her down. Maybe it just might work until...

"Let's have dinner together with my friend, shall we?" he asked, standing beside her in the lift. She did not response but just stared at him blankly like a wood block. "You haven't had dinner yet right?" he clarified with her, with the slightest feeling that he might be wrong. She shook her head once. Twice. He nodded, "Meet you at the Hotel's restaurant level half an hour later, alright?" Just then, they reached their floor.

She turned and nodded at him, "Alright."

Tapping her hand on the Rolex wristwatch on her left wrist, she realized she has came down much too early. Michael has invited her to dinner at one of her restaurants which she shared with another partner, telling her that he has someone he wanted her to meet with. Could it be that girl that he refused to introduce to her son? Katherine...If she was not wrong. But she was certain that this girl was one hell of a deal if Michael actually like her that much. Yet she herself was not certain of the relationship between the two individuals. Maybe she could do an observation tonight! If she was not Michael's girlfriend, then she would have plans for her son. With that in mind, she gave a gleeful smile.

"Oh, Michael!" She shouted out to the handsome black-haired guy as he walked towards someone behind him. He nodded to her courteously and presented her one of his killer-smiles. Then, he halted in his steps to allow the girl behind him to reach where he was standing.

"Michael, welcome! And who is this lady you had said you'd bring along with y-" The lady stopped short as she spotted the red-headed girl walking behind the man. She studied the girl closely, not blinking her eyes. She knew she did not get the wrong person... She might just be back finally.

She stood rooted to the polished floor as her smile died down. Why is she back at this time? Particularly why now? She has received a wedding invitation to Azuma and Shoko's wedding. Just what does this mean when she is back? She has waited, but this certainly was not the appropriate time to reappear and perhaps messed up the wedding? Shaking her head and taking in a deep breath, she blinked her eyes rapidly and asked softly, "Kahoko?"

Sneak Peek...Chapter VIII: The White Lies

Kahoko found herself staring at the blue-headed woman standing in front of her. She wanted to throw herself into her arms, for some comfort or just a little warmth. After the concourse, the lady had spent some precious time with her for some music practices by playing her piano to accompany her violin playing. Throughout those times, they had formed a special bond between the both of them. Kahoko herself would have thought her as her dear aunt. While on the other hand, Ms Hamai has treated her as if she was her daughter. She has always wanted one, but she was not able to.

Thanks to my WONDERFUL reviewers:

Animearchitect: Here is the next chapter! No much content for this one though! But thanks for the review!

Quincy-chan: Wahaha! It is not Shoko! Unexpected person I used here! Your imagination of Len is so WOAH! Well, I'd love that too. But let the calmer and colde side of Len chill you over first! Assasination of his grandmother. *GRINS* Well, retribution will always come to the people who did bad!

ZEN~: I don't know your screen name since you left it blank but I learnt it after reading the end of he review! But I would have thought you are Len himself, calm and cool composure there! And if anyone is reading this reply as well, I'd assure you that Michael and Kahoko's staying together for this trip... will perhaps be kind of interesting? *WINK* By the way, I love LONG reviews! Thanks!

Purplezandestechia: Haha, I was wondering what your screen name actually mean, enlighten me! By the way, I believe that every story should have a happy ending! So don't feel so sad for him!

Jiyu22: Yep, amazing! Sometimes I read from my mobile phone too! Do you happen to be using Iphone? That seem to be the trend right now! *ENVY* Hehe, it is not Nami! Quite an unexpected person I used here:P

A/N:

Ok, so my life is so much like a roller-coaster! I've gotten into my second choice for my Junior College. But I'm feeling kind of neutral even though I did not get into my first choice. The cut-off point was lowered by one point, that's why I did not get in. But anyway, I made my decision for my subject combination. Hopefully, I did not make the wrong choice! *FRETS* Reviews are welcomed as usual! Again, I hope that you have enjoyed reading.