"Oh, that's great! Thanks to you now we have to wait for them to be back for a freaking hour!"
Misaki stabbed the blond who was smirking with innocent mischief –is that even possible?- with one of her infamous death glares. Kanou could only ponder with awe how he could never be affected by her demonic attitude and was able to even tease her about it. The guy must reeeally like her or be too fearless and indifferent. And he had a weird feeling it was a mixture of both.
Usui shrugged carelessly. "I told ya, Prez, if we had taken a shower together we would have saved both time and water-"
"Shut up already, pervert! I've heard that excuse seven times today! Don't you ever get bored of repeating your perverted idiocies?!" Seika's president turned redder than a tomato, somewhat surprising the bespectacled boy who had been witnessing one of their usual arguments that resembled more to love fights for the past sixty minutes.
Well, this time it looked even weirder as the girl was dressed up fully as a young lad. She even had that peculiar pitch black, handmade mustache on. And when I say handmade, I mean made by hair from the back of his head... Demonic weirdo..
"You could have taken your shower after we were done here and not five minutes before we left! You know that London is an hour's driveway!"
"You should be thankful Gerard had a garage built along with the house and I didn't force you to ride the bike between two guys." Usui stated as a matter of fact and the smile of a winner grew even wider on his mouth. The girl only pursed her lips in nuisance and after letting out a frustrated growl, she headed towards the black Volvo that had brought them all the way to London. "Prez, it's locked." But obviously she was too lost in her own anger she didn't hear him and thus, ended up clutching maniacally at the door's handle and trying aimlessly to open the door again and again.
Usui rushed by her side and carefully took her hands in his. Of course she instantly jerked them away and gazed at him with eyes full of challenge. His only response was playing indifferently with the keys in his fingers and whistling to the sky as if they were on a field trip.
"Stupid Usui, we're not here to play!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and launched at him. Of course, him being a few inches taller than her, he was able to hold out of her reach said keys no matter how high she jumped or how hard she attempted to pull him down to her own level. "Gi-mme-the-keys-JERK!"
"What will you give me in return?" he cheekily requested not the least bit moved by her persistence and violence.
"Ah, let's see… A good ass-kicking!"
"So you really are an S, Misa-chan!"
"Shut your pipe, pervert!"
Kanou stared at the show before him with bewilderment, his jaw could not drop any lower nor could his eyes grow any larger. Who would have thought that the demon Prez could actually be like that with such a bold guy? Or rather, who would have thought that two people that are wanted all over the world as criminals could be so carefree and playful?
"Ahem…" he cleared his throat to get their attention but the girl's growls and the boy's playful replies covered his soft cough.
"Ahem." He tried a little louder.
"You conceited jerk!"
"Your words are hurting my feelings, Misa-chan~"
"Uhh…excuse me…"
"I don't give a damn about your feelings! Give me the stupid key!"
"It's right here, Prez. Can't you reach it?"
"Why you-!"
"EXCUSE ME!"
Both turned to look at a flustered Kanou in puzzlement. "Eh?"
"We are here on business! Quit fooling around and let's get going! There must be someone in there that will help us!"
Misaki jumped off Usui –she was currently on his back, giving her the feeling she was riding a horse- and Usui shoved the keys back in his leather jacket's pocket. Silently they started heading back to the great building. Suddenly Misaki patted the hypnotist on the shoulder and he glanced at her over it. "Good for you, Kanou. You're finally like a man."
The boy solely heaved a sigh of exasparation.
Misaki looked over her shoulder at a disappointed Kanou. "What's up with that guy?" she whispered to her companion.
"Maybe because you implied that he's not very manly?" Usui guessed indifferently, making it clear he had no intention of analyzing the situation. Sharing his thoughts, she shrugged her shoulders and kept on walking.
They were currently trudging through the marbled corridors of a police station in London where all information on Gerard's death was guarded. It had been two days since they had decided to finally pay them a visit. All three of them were convinced that they would definitely find something to give them a head start, some sort of clue that made no sense. They could come up with no other way to commence their investigation and clarify the situation.
Of course, the only way to just march into that nest of cops when you're wanted, you have to dress up...in a convincing kind of way. Thank God, Maid Latté's Manager had shown her quite a few times to do so because of the many cosplay events of the café.
Misaki loosened up a little the purple-coloured tie around her neck. She was sweating buckets. For some unthinkable reason, she felt too hot in Usui's cloths while the turned up air-conditioning heat in the station was only making the temperature of her body raise higher. She'd have to wash his cloths later so that he'd have no excuse to mock her for being a little, smelly pig.
Just at the thought of such a situation happening, she cursed inwardly the blond as she stole a glance at him. The first time she saw him in his disguise she had roared in laughter but somehow the geeky, gelled up hair of his dark-haired wig and the '8os-styled specs could not decrease his usual pheromone-emitting habit. Nor did his old-fashioned shepherd's check blue shirt or his cotton-made vest. But he definitely looked like a dork who had jumped straight out of an '8os TV show.
Kanou had no need of disguising and besides, he already had his hood on, darkening his features, while his glasses covered up most of his face somehow. Not to mention that they had need of his eyes, just in case trouble came up.
"Eh, excuse me." a small voice coming from behind them made them look over their shoulders. "May I help you?"
Misaki gasped. "Yukimura?"
"Beg your pardon?" Indeed the young man in the police suit looked a great deal like Seika High's vice president; small figure, black hair and big, round amber eyes, an aura of kindness and immense bashfulness all around him while the question of him actually being a boy or not almost instantly popped into their heads. Yeah, definitely a Yukimura look-alike.
"Prez, he does look like Yukimura-sempai." Kanou pointed out and stared incredulously at the police officer. "A lot."
"Snap out of it, both of you." Usui whispered warningly at them while walking to the officer's directions. "Good evening, sir. We are coming from Japan. We are here-"
"Don't tell me you're the people from the Japanese embassy for Gerard Walker's murder?" the Yukimura look-alike guessed in naivety. The two Seika students regarded one another strangling not to smile contently and playfully since they both knew what was going through one another's mind. He would be too easy to be handled.
"We are. Could you please show us all the files concerning Gerard-sama's murder?" Misaki said in a deep voice, stepping forward next to Usui, causing the blond to look down at her puzzled. She smirked. Of course he had no idea that the past few days she would watch British shows and practise her English by repeating every word that was said on the TV.
"Files? I thought you already had examined every one of them and were sent here to help find a solution to the Ayuzawa issue." The surrogate Yukimura's gaze traveled between them in obvious surprise. Misaki could feel the sharp breathe she inhaled chilling her insides at his words while her heart sped up a few paces in fear and hurt. It just never ceased to pain her to be chased by the police for a crime she had never committed.
She could feel Usui's compassionate gaze on her but chose to ignore it. "That is correct. But we weren't the ones examining the files and the ambassador requested that we re-investigate the files first so that we…have a clearer view of the situation."
"I see." The officer practically beamed at them. "Okay, follow me if you please." And he spun on his heels, heading to a spinning flight of stairs that would lead them below.
Misaki took a step herself before a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked at the hand's owner and then up, only to meet with a pair of glassy forest green eyes, shimmering with concern and showing all the words of support that were probably running through his mind. "I'm fine, Usui. It's fine. Let's just get this over with." She didn't bother concealing the appreciation she felt which was what probably brought a small smile on his lips before he nodded and headed before her.
After heading down the dizzying, marbled flight of stairs and walking through narrow and blindingly lighted corridors that seemed more like a hospital's morgue to her eyes, they got into a not too large or too small room. Its walls were hidden behind the immense metallic stacks that were burdened with tons of paperwork, documents and files. The two Seika students could only stare around them while an impassive Usui was gazing expectantly and impassively at the somewhat petit police officer.
The Yukimura look-alike, whose real name was in fact Larry, stepped on a ladder and went through some files on the top shelf. "Could you please give me a hand with these?" he kindly requested and instantly, Usui was below him, receiving a great stack of folded files. "Thank you so much." He smiled appreciatively as he jumped off the ladder.
Usui only nodded, smiling back at him, while placing the files on a metallic table in the middle of the room. "May I?" he glanced impatiently at Larry pointing at the files only to receive an uncertain "Yes, please, but why do you have to put on these gloves?" With no hesitation, the three companions gathered around the table, wearingthe plastic, white gloves they had thoughtfully brought with them, that made them look like surgeons, leaving Larry stare at their backs in admiration at how adapted and skilled they looked to be at their job.
"We always wear gloves while working on files and documents. We do not want to dirty or wrinkle them."
"Or leave our fingerprints on them..." Kanou carelessly added, earnig a scornful look from the disguised girl.
Usui opened the folder on the top and several pictures attached to sheets of paper were revealed. They checked the name of the folder.
MISAKI AYUZAWA
The girl and the blond exchanged coded glances before digging in the files. Pictures of places where her fingerprints were found took a lot of space in the folder, making Usui groan inwardly. "Just how many times did you meet with him?" he practically complained in an annoyed whisper.
"Oh shut it" Misaki hissed offended. "I hope you're not implying what I'm thinking, for your own good."
"It's not my fault you're dirty-minded, Misa-chan. And you just had to touch every little thing around you, right?" he spoke normally now, concealing his smirk but also his aggravation. But somehow, they were both pretty clear in Misaki's eyes. And those were the results of spending too much time around him! "By the way, what were you two doing in his room?"
"Just talki- Why you perverte-!"
"We're being watched, Tomoe-kun." Usui cut her off in a firm, low voice, staring deeply in her golden eyes, making her shut her lips and resign.
Some more pictures of her fingerprints and then others taken by the cameras of the security system in the Walker mansion's corridors before she followed Gerard in his room. She definitely looked suspicious, glancing around in precaution before entering the room. "You should have just installed cameras in your room too, stupid brother…" Usui murmured under his breath but the hint of regret in his voice didn't go unnoticed by the girl.
Misaki pursed her lips, deciding not to say anything and to just keep looking. She found pictures of her from the first time she had visited the Walker family five months ago. She had been in her school uniform since she had flew for London first thing after school closed for spring break. She sighed and pushed away all of her pictures.
"Is everything all right?" the police officer asked hopefully, happy that he was of help to such an important case.
"Yes, yes, thank you." Kanou hurriedly brushed him off and showed another folder to his companions. "Check this out."
The couple pushed away the photos and files they had been examining before, neatly placing them back into the folder, and received eagerly what the boy was offering. "Pictures of people who got in touch with Gerard before his murder, other than you." Usui observed.
"So am I not the only suspect?" Misaki's voice was filled with hope, which was what brought a sad smile on Usui's face, she guessed.
"Typically, you are the main suspect but technically, to everyone you are the only suspect." He explained with the same sad smile. Little did she know how evident her disappointment was and how immense his wish was to hold her because of that.
"Whatever." She dismissed the subject and dug back in the pictures. "That's his bodyguard, Cedric. And there is you. The maids, some… blond woman –by the way, Usui, she kinda looks like you-"
Usui frowned darkly at her words, his jaw clenching but he made no comment but darted his eyes away indifferently.
"… hey, where have I met this one before?"
They both looked closer at the picture as she tried to remember who the slit-eyed guy with the long, black hair was.
"Maki-sama…" Kanou observed in a whisper of surprise and recognition. Misaki's eyes lit up with realization and a sudden wave of anger washed over her. The guy who had kidnapped her or rather, the one who had helped a great deal lot in her kidnapping. She could still hear his words full of icy hatred in her head. "He knew your brother, Usui-san?"
Usui was in just as much surprise and perplexion as the other two. "Obviously… but how?"
"Then it's him!" Misaki suddenly exclaimed, forgetting to keep the deep, well-mastered tone of her voice. "He's the one who did it! He killed him and then he made it so that every clue pointed to me as the murderer. Let's go get him!" she felt a surprising feeling of motivation and energy overwhelming all of her senses but a steady hand pulled her back to reality.
Usui grabbed hold of her elbow and pushed her against the table, making it so that the police officer wouldn't notice. "Don't just jump into conclusions, Prez and don't forget where you are. One careless mistake and we're going down."
Misaki looked up at him nervously as he freed her arm and backed away from her. She glanced at the Yukimura look-alike, biting her lips in shame she almost blew them off. The guy was staring puzzled at her. She lowered her head a little while turning to face the blond in disguise. "I am sorry. I…"
"I understand." Usui cut her off sharply, not making eye contact with her but examining the pictures as if he didn't care one bit about her. "Now let's continue with our research, no?"
Somewhat taken aback and even hurt by his cold attitude towards her, she only nodded uncertainly and joined him. She had no time to ponder on the feelings he had just caused her as her eyes fell on someone's, who was more than familiar to them, picture.
"Miyabigaoka Academy's student council president? Igarashi Tora-san?!" Kanou practically exclaimed, gaining the interest of the officer who was watching over them. Understanding what the reason behind his surprise was, Larry joined them.
"Yes, he's one of the suspects, though no one thinks he should be on the list. I hear he is a rather famous guy in your country." He commented with wonder.
"Uhh…yes… he is… the son of one the most…rich people in Japan…" Kanou seemed to have trouble with making long-lengthed sentences in English. Misaki almost felt pitiful towards the guy, sympathizing with him as she had been through the same faze. "What's his… relation with…Gerard-sama?"
"Don't you know? The Walkers and the Igarashi family share a long-lived friendship, their corporations often join forces to deal with all sorts of matters."
"Oh, really…" Misaki offered Usui one of her hard, dagger-firing stares. "We've been informed…insufficiently…"
Usui remained unaffected by her glares and seemed to not really care about the officer's words. He only kept on going through the files. "Thanks, officer. Your help is most appreciated. Now if you'll excuse us…" he politely brushed him off in flawless English.
Misaki fixed the tie around her neck –she was getting hotter and hotter- and stood so close to him, that her arm was pressed against him. He merely took notice of her. "Is there anything you think you should tell me?"
He seemed to be thinking a bit before he shook his head. "Nope, not really."
"Then what about your true relationship with Igarashi Tora? I'd already figured out you know each other but just how well?" she insisted obstinately.
"Well enough."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means what it means!" he suddenly snapped at her, giving a most unexpected look that practically ordered her to drop the conversation. Not willing to give up so easily, she shot him a final glare of warning, full of weariness, letting him know she'd choose a better place and time to bring the topic up again. She was utterly puzzled by his behavior now. He was already acting strange…r, but that was just over the line.
"Usui-san, what are you thinking about?" Kanou spoke after a while of silence, gazing intently at a pensive blond who was staring with an unreadable, hard look on some pictures. "Have you found something?"
Usui didn't seem to notice him at first, staring off into space, as if seeing things unfold that no one else could. Misaki waited impatiently for him to return from whatever planet his mind had run off to, and to give an answer to Kanou. "Not really." He replied after a while, but the reluctant glance he gave to Misaki told her he was partially lying.
Their eyes met in a firm lock for a moment, as if they could speak carelessly before a high-pitched, ear-piercing sound shook them off their trance, making them jump up a little a startle.
"Oh, I beg your pardon, it's my phone. I won't take long. Please, carry on with your research." Larry excused himself politely and walked out of the room quietly and in haste to get some privacy.
"Should we take photos of the files?" Kanou instantly suggested after letting a sigh of relief out.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt, right?" Misaki agreed and Kanou swiftly appeared his cell with which he photographed every sheet of paper or even picture he found. "Hey, idiot, they even have a whole record of you too." Misaki held up a file which had 'Takumi Walker' written on it with bold, black marker.
Usui nodded nonchalantly. "Of course they do. They've been calling me as 'Ayuzawa's unexpected accomplice' all over the news."
"Oh, right… I'm sorry…" the girl suddenly felt guilt crushing upon her for getting an innocent person involved in her problems. But what would have happened to her if he hadn't chosen to stick with her? "I'm glad however I've got Usui by my side."
Her words took even herself by surprise. For some reason, she felt content to see that caught off guard expression on his face, glad that she could be unexpected to him as much as he was to her. He let out a chuckle in the form of a sigh. "Ayuzawa…"
"I don't mean to ruin the moment or something, but wouldn't it be better not to call her by her name, Takahashi-san?" Kanou intruded, forcing a frown of irritation on Usui's discreetly delighted face.
"Well, look at that. You actually came up with a decent idea…Kyoya-kun!" he deadpanned, a murderous intent clearly evident to the boy and yet so well hidden from Misaki, on purpose of course. Kanou backed down a bit in sudden fear, satisfying Usui's ego. "So did you take all your pictures, Kyoya-kun?"
"I-I did."
"Good. Then let's get out of here. I feel we've stayed here too long."
It was clear as the sky to Misaki that something was crossing his mind, a not so happy thought. Thinking of the exact same thing, she nodded and hurried to file the paper-sheets and photos in the folders.
"All ready?" Usui glanced between the two once Misaki was done. They both nodded firmly. "Good. Time to go then." And they both started heading to the door. They all flinched in surprise as the door suddenly slammed open, revealing a rather flustered Larry still holding his cell.
Usui plastered on his face his polite smile of genuine sincerity, giving Misaki the impression that he definitely had a good chance of developing into a great actor. "Oh, officer, we were just on our way to inform you that we-"
"Are about to leave?" The trio stared at him curiously, crossing their fingers behind their backs for the best. "You're not from the Japanese embassy, are you?"
Instantly, the exact same thought crossed everyone's mind. Damn, we're so busted.
Misaki stepped forth. "We-" a certain blond, however, placed a hand before her, preventing her from saying anything more, probably unnecessary.
"I don't know who you are, but in a minute I will." It didn't take long for them to realize he meant that in less than a minute he'd get reinforcements. Misaki only flinched at the thought, men with guns pointed towards her, calling her a murderer, destroying her already difficult life.
"Kyoya-kun." Usui's voice, strong and fearless, pulled her out of the puddle of her fears and horrific thoughts. "Why don't you share your secret with Larry-san over here?"
The officer immediately pulled out his gun and aimed it at Kanou. "Your hands in the air now!" he ordered with a shaky voice, his hands just as unsteady.
The boy immediately obeyed, raising his arms while taking his hood off as well. "Larry-san, don't be afraid. I only want you…to look into my eyes." the boy said cheekily.
The small guy only stared at him perplexed. "Eh?"
Thirty minutes later, the three were speeding through the british streets of London in the Volvo with Usui on the wheel.
"Kanou, how long till he's out of it?" Misaki looked over her shoulder at the boy at the back seat.
"I hypnotized him for a week. In seven days, my hypnotism will wear off."
"But I must say, I'm impressed, Kanou. How did you manage to do it so quickly? Making him say to the other officers he was wrong and that we're actually his friends pulling pranks on him? Not an exactly convincing excuse but still. Where did you get your skills?"
Kanou only shrugged his shoulders. "I was born with this. It's a gift and a curse. Because of it, I never had any friends… they were all afraid of me."
Misaki knitted her brows. "Really? I don't find anything scary about you…" she admitted, making the boy's eyes widen just a bit. "I think you're pretty interesting!"
To say that he was speechless would be an understatement. The truth is that other people had found his skills interesting too but only because they wished to use it for their own idiotic purposes. That's why he had never had any friends. He had decided on his own to drive away those people who wanted to use him which only fed his fearful reputation among those who were already scared of him.
"Ayuzawa-san-" he started with a soft voice full of appreciation but was cut off as the driver took a rather abrupt turn.
"Hey! Watch your driving, you idiot! Do you want to kill us?!" Misaki scolded him like always and he dismissed her with a not-so-regretful 'Sorry, sorry.' But Kanou didn't miss the weird looks he got from the blond through the driver's mirror and he decided to sink back in his seat and in his silence. Maybe the President was right after all, Usui-san was weird and hard to read.
So, I'm really sorry for the belated update! I had to deal with uni exams so I had no time to update or write! Thank you for being so patient with me *bows* So how was it? Guess where I got the 'Tomoe' name from O:) Yes, such a hardcore Kamisama Hajimemashita fan!
Anyway, I hope you don't find this chapter stupid! I kind of do but while writing it, I asked myself, "If it was a movie, what would the script writers have the characters do?" and that's what I think it would be! Yes, Hollywood people like this sort of thing I guess XD
So, till next time! Hope you find the time to review!
Love you!