Wow, I finally updated. For some reason, I had a hard time writing this. Just for the record, I know nothing of Russia so if I'm wrong on anything, please correct me. Though I'm pretty sure I kept it somewhat real.

Enjoy!


After we arrived in St. Petersburg, the authorities came and arrested Harrison. Even when being shoved into the police cruiser, his cold eyes never left mine. It's like his eyes were saying burn in hell. Even after they drove away, I could still feel the hate lingering on me. Shun looked at me with a wary expression.

"I'm fine." I said, forcing myself to smile. I quickly hailed down a taxi and gave the address to the driver, as well as his pay in advance. I let out a small sigh. My head hurt and I just wanted this over with. Slowly, the doubts I had been pushing away crept up and attacked.

Why are you doing this?

You are putting yourself at risk.

Go back to Japan with Shun and ask Marucho for help.

As much as I hated to admit it, they were right. I should have been putting my life back together. I should've been looking into going to school, staying in Japan with Shun, getting help from my friends.

But a part of me, the part that overpowered those thoughts, told me that I needed to find out about my parents. Why did Grandfather lie to me? Why did everyone lie? My head pounded. It was probably due to lack of sleep. I hadn't had a good night's sleep since I found out that Grandfather was in the hospital.

Shun reached over and grasped my hand. He gave me a reassuring smile that made me feel whole. I quickly planned out what I wanted to say to Detective Erin. All I really need to find out is where Julius lived. If I found that out, all I would have to do is confront him. I knew this idea was pretty lame, but in reality, he was the only one I could trust to tell me the truth, whether he committed the crime or not, though I have a strong feeling that he did. But if he didn't…

I didn't let myself finish the thought. If my guts were right, which they usually were, then he did do it. If he did, I need to know why. I need the whole story. I didn't realize we had arrived at our destination until Shun was pulling me out of the car.

I stare at the small, cozy-looking home with awe. I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. I took a deep breath, grabbed Shun's hand, and marched up the walkway. I gave a timid knock and held my breath.

A lanky blond haired, blue eyed man answered the door. His hair was long and pulled in a pony-tail. His glasses were perched on his nose.

"Good afternoon, m-my name is Alice Gehabich, I-" The man suddenly pulled me into a hug and kissed both of my cheeks.

"Alice!" He exclaimed with a happy grin. Wow, Aunt Karen wasn't kidding when she said he became a friend of the Gehabich family. He released me and turned to Shun. He shook his hand heartily.

"Hello, are you a friend of Alice's?" He asked, switching from Russian to Japanese. I remembered that he had lived in Japan before he moved back to Russia.

"Yes, I'm her boyfriend, Shun Kazami." Shun relied, probably happy that he could finally be able to speak on his own.

"Pleasure. Please, come in." Detective Nathanial Erin said. He directed us into his common room and had us sit down.

"My, my Alice. You've grown so much. I hope you don't mind me speaking in Japanese, but I figured your boyfriend would like to hear what I have to say. Now, over the phone you told me you wanted to talk about your family. Please, ask away." He said, settling on the couch opposite of ours.

"Did a man name Julius kill me parents?" I asked. The words seemed to flow comfortably out of my mouth.

Nathanial quickly turned rigid. He focused on his hands, as though his fingers were the most interesting thing in the world. The silence droned on and on. Finally, when I was at my wit's end, about to get up and forget everything, he spoke.

"That was never proven." He whispered. I nodded. Suddenly, he looked tired. "I knew this day might come, but I'm a little unprepared. I'd hoped that you wouldn't figure out until you were older and able to handle this a little differently. Your aunt called to tell me that Michael died. I figured you'd found out the truth but I wasn't expecting you to come here to ask for answers. But I can't deny you at least a little information." He let out a sigh before he continued.

"Though, it was never proven, I never doubted that Julius Ivanov killed your parents. I have no information about him. The only information I have that relates to him is his old nanny's address. I also have no information regarding your parents. You could try going to her house to asking her, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. I hope the information helps." He finished with a sigh. He got up and handed me a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Yes, it helps a lot. Thank you very much, Mr. Erin. If I talk to the nanny, maybe I could get some information on Julius." I replied, starting to get up.

"Wait, what? You mean you're tracking down Julius? Are you crazy?!" He roared, I flinched at his tone, but composed myself. He hovered over me and glared. I could feel Shun seething beside me. He hated it when someone got a little too close or a little too loud with me.

"I can't let you do that, Alice. You would be putting yourself in danger." He spoke with a tone that reminded me of a parent telling their kid 'no'. Something raged inside me. Never in my life had I wanted to hit someone, but he was getting me pretty darn close.

"I'm sorry, detective, but, respectfully, you can't stop me from doing anything. You aren't my guardian and if I recall correctly, you said that it wasn't proven that he killed my parents, so we don't know if he's dangerous." I shoved the note in my pocket and walked out of the house. I could hear footsteps behind me. Shun grabbed my wrist and spun me around. Our eyes locked and all the anger rushed out of me.

"I kind of agree with him, it is crazy, but I already promised that I would stick by you no matter what." He pulled me into a tight hug. He pulled away and gave me a quick kiss. I smiled.

"Thank you." I whispered, and rested my head against his. It was time to go visit Julius's nanny.


Oooh, the climax is nearing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. You know the drill.

~S.S.