Ryu looked at his watch before he remembered that it died just that morning, the time read eight-fifteen permanently. He made a mental note to get it fixed as soon as he can, before he crossed the road.
The girl at the counter smiled at him, the recognition in her face readable.
"Amakusa-kun." She greeted, showing her white, even teeth. She leaned over the counter to demonstrate her interest and a little something else. Ryu trained his eyes on her made-up face. "It's been a while since you visited."
"Chiina." Ryu pronounced her name in a clear voice. He wanted to make it clear to her that he would never respond to her advances. "I'm here for professional reasons."
She batted her eyelashes. "They all say that."
Ryu doubted it. "I'm sure they do. Is Hiiro in?"
She pouted at him. "He's out back. And I'll just be riiiiight here." She traced circles on her neck in some form of invitation.
Ryu shook his head to politely decline. "You have a good day."
--
The room Ryu entered was well-furnished, even having a couple of well-done paintings hanging on whitewashed walls. He was impressed. Last time it had looked worse than the dump.
"You did a good job, Hiiro." The detective acknowledged.
The man was buried in folders that he seemed to be organizing on one of the newly-painted lockers. The room reeked of paint, sweat and the musky scent of a male's perfume. Hiiro looked up.
"Problem?"
Hiiro was a man who was so sensitive to situations it was scary; but Ryu appreciated the lack of need to get into awkward explanations. He nodded and the man left his little problem on the floor and grabbed him a chair.
Hiiro was twenty-three and his most prominent feature was his long hair in the shade of dirty green. The strands were kept in place in a ponytail at the base of his neck and swung elegantly on the crook of his back. Ryu watched like a cat as Hiiro moved around the room. The man was confident and self-assured and Ryu still has yet to uncover why he always seemed to have a bandage on his right cheek. He had never asked.
"It took you a while to take my offer." Hiiro said with an amiable smile, drinking a cup of cold coffee. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt that contrasted nicely against his lightly brown skin. "I told you to come by, what, two years ago?"
"I'm sorry. Busy." The lie hardly showed on his face. "But something just came up that I think you'd be interested in."
"Of course, of course." Hiiro waved it away, the empty cup dangling precariously on his forefinger Ryu almost jerked in his seat to catch it.
Hiiro crossed his legs and leaned forward in earnest. "So… who are we hunting down tonight?"
Ryu paused for a second before giving the older man a piece of paper. "May I trust your word to keep this confidential?"
"My class would be in it." Hiiro said without looking up.
Ryu thought about it. Despite the shady background, Hiiro got in DDS and was a member of Class C. Ryu had seen them a few times and was well aware of their less than best opinion of him. A few more negative assumptions about him wouldn't hurt. Besides, the other man he intended to see was Hiiro's classmate as well. At the back of his mind, he wondered if Dan-sensei ever knew about the older man's dealings.
Still, it better not reach anyone my class. "No one outside?"
"Just us." Hiiro peered at the paper. "Don't worry. We're tight and I trust those guys."
Ryu shrugged, noticing the interest glinting in the other man's eyes as he scrutinized the photo. "Then do what you want. Is Fai-san home?"
"That brat's always home in the afternoon if he can help it. " It seemed Hiiro couldn't hold back. "Who's she?"
"My sister." Ryu replied tightly before going out, ignoring Chiina on the way.
--
Fai had been cranky, being woken up from his nap but once Ryu told him he needed his help in an important case, the blonde man sobered up and practically carried him in.
Fai was an elegant man; effeminate with a lean body that matched well with the shoulder-length blonde hair that seemed to bounce with his every step. "Fai" was a nickname, but the man refused to be called anything but.
"You're never the type to ask for favors." Fai sniffed. "So this must be big. What can I do for you?"
Ryu produced a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. Fai's fingers were long and feminine. A lock of almost white hair fell on his face as he looked at the number. Ryu blinked.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Location. Name. Anything, really." Ryu admitted. "I have absolutely nothing."
"I don't suppose you'll tell me what this is about." Fai's smile is sarcastic.
Ryu tried to imitate it. "No."
--
Kyu and the others should all be heading home now, Ryu thought. Spying his gaudy reflection in a store window, he attempted to fix himself up and succeeded a tad before he decided he was famished and looked for something to eat.
He had given Fai and Hiiro his number in case they found something but not one of them had called him yet. Ryu bought some fish crackers and was halfway through the bag when his phone rang.
He fumbled to answer it. "Moshi Moshi. Amakusa Ryu."
"What do you want for dinner?"
Ryu blinked before realizing that it was his sister on the other line. He looked at the bag of crackers on his left hand. "Uhh, what are you cooking?"
"Ramen."
Ryu had a sudden urge to go home but then remembered that he had something to do. "I'm already-"
"If you're already eating, why did you take so damn long to say so?" Ren snapped. Then she hung up on him.
Ryu glared at his phone. "Brat."
It was strangely nice of her to call him though.
--
Fai called right after he ate the last piece.
"Got something?"
"Disposable phone."
"What?"
Fai sighed. "Whoever was calling used a disposable phone. So I got nothing, no location or whatever."
"Please tell me there's a but." Ryu almost pleaded.
Ryu swore he heard Fai grin. "I don't know if it's any help but I got call records. The phone called three numbers in its short lifespan."
"And…?" Ryu jumped down on the chair he was sitting on and exited the shop, merging himself with the crowd. He barely noticed it was nightfall.
"And…" Fai extended his syllables just to irritate the prodigy. "I traced these numbers and this time, I got a match."
Ryu's joy depleted. "Only one?"
Fai laughed. "Double, kid. My mistake."
"And the third number?"
"That? Well, if you're interested, it was the international airport."
The hope returned a hundredfold. "I'm all ears, Fai. I swear I'll owe you my life for this."
"Hun, I'm sure there'll be a time I'll make you do something for me to make it even. Can you come over in ten?"
"I'll make it in five!" Ryu promised before he laughed. For once he felt good. He was finally going somewhere.
--
Ryu stumbles awake when something warm and sticky got dumped on his face.
"What was that for???"
Ren is looking at him with mild amusement, but it did nothing to conceal the fury that was burning him in her eyes. "Ryu-sama."
Her quipped tone catches Ryu's attention. "What?"
"Your friends just called. You're assigned to a case."
She shakes remaining drops of milk on her glass to his face before proceeding out of his room.
He smells some food cooking in the kitchen and wonders if she'll offer him any.
--
Fai was sitting in front of the computer when Ryu arrived seven minutes later.
"Five minutes, huh?"
Ryu showed him two cans of soda as consolation. "Sorry, got caught up. I was thirsty."
Fai grabbed the other can before pushing himself away from the desk to give Ryu room. "Hiiro just left before you did. He briefed me."
Ryu nodded before scanning the profile on the screen.
Fai continued. "Well, the girl you're asking him to dig up had an orphanage record. Kota Renji, if I remember correctly. Same registered name on one of the phones."
Ryu nodded. It confirmed that Ren's name was legal, at the very least. "And the other?"
"Yuka Sakura." Fai read from his palm. "Female. Asian… somewhere in Hokkaido. Her record's a bit muddy. I'm guessing that's a fake name."
It could've been Yurie's. "I see. Did you look into the airport number too?"
Fai grinned. "Yes. I asked if they have booked any flights under Kota Renji or Yuka Sakura. Kota flew into Japan from France two weeks ago."
So far, Ren's story sticks. Ryu hoped Hiiro brings more useful information. He thanked Fai, promised to keep in touch, then left.
--
"Thank you for the meal." Ryu says in a somber tone after pushing the empty bowl away.
Ren nods and eats her last bite of cereal. "By the way, I'm enrolled."
Ryu looks up.
"Class Q. I'll be working with you on your case." Ren's smile is tight. "Please look after me."
--
"Ryu…"
Hiiro's voice was alarming. "Yes?"
"You might want to come over. I got something… interesting."
It was pretty late, but what the hell. "I'll be there. Give me ten minutes."
a/n: Fai and Hiiro are OC's from an abandoned DSQ fanfic featuring my own Class C. I love them to bits so I decided to let them at least make an appearance here. XP
Third day as a college student. haha! I'm still undecided whether I like it. XP
