The Tea Prince

Part Twelve: Red Tea

"What the Hell do you mean visiting with my brother? He's not even in the country," exclaimed Soujiro at his feet. "And how does he know Yuuki?"

"This just keeps getting better and better," said Rui quietly. "It's like watching a television program."

"They seemed to know each other well," said the guard. "They held hands as they went back into the hospital. They talked for a bit."

"Did you hear anything?"

"No," said the guard. "I had to stay out of the way. Nishikado-sensei might have noticed me."

Soujiro rubbed his temples. "Great. So they know each other. The two people in the world who are trying to avoid me know each other."

"Looks that way," said Akira almost glibly. "Now the hand holding thing that could mean any number of things."

"Shut up," muttered Soujiro. "Aniki went to school in Kyoto. That's where his medical school was. He didn't really want to stay in Tokyo and face our mother, so he went for school there. Not that I've been keeping track of him. What do you have on my brother?"

"He graduated from medical school a few years ago from Tokyo Medical University. He has lived in Kyoto before. It would coincide with Kinomoto-san's time there. He worked in one of the hospitals there."

"Which one?" asked Soujiro as he pulled up the file. "Is it this one?" He handed the copy that he had of Shun's birth certificate.

"Yes," confirmed the guard.

Soujiro looked at it again. His brother wasn't the doctor who delivered Shun. "This is crazy. He would have just graduated from medical school. He continued going to school even though Otousan said he would have to take over the tea ceremony from him, but Aniki only stayed for as long as he did for our mother's sake. But even then he couldn't take it anymore and got out."

"Maybe he treated Shun," said Rui. "What's Nishikado-sensei's specialty?"

"Pediatrics," answered the guard.

"He might have been Shun's doctor," said Akira quietly.

Soujiro turned and said to his guard, "What I am about to ask you to do is highly unethical and illegal. Mostly unethical. I need you to get a copy of Kinomoto Shun's medical records for me. A complete medical history. Do it by any means necessary and use the expense account. Just use cash."

"Yes, Nishikado-sensei." The guard bowed and left.

Soujiro then glowered at Tsukasa and said, "Don't tell Tsukushi about this."

"Whatever," said Tsukasa with a shrug. "We already agreed that we wouldn't talk about it until there was something to talk about. Yesterday, we had to talk about it. Personally, I'm tired of all this running around. You're only making it worse."

"Imagine if Tsukushi wouldn't let you see Hiroyuki?" asked Soujiro.

Tsukasa said, "I told her the same thing. She agreed with me, but she's trying to protect Yuuki, too. Yuuki needed more time. Her husband is barely cold. She's only thinking about protecting what she has. You're a threat."

"I'm not a threat."

"Not the way she sees it."

Akira interrupted, "Maybe you should contact your brother and see what he thinks. It seems like they know each other."

"They were probably having a meeting like this one," said Rui musingly. "Planning their next move."

Soujiro didn't think of that. Yuuki and Tsukushi might have been doing the same thing as well. He wondered what she would do next. Perhaps the only way he was going to get what he wanted was to go after it. He had another team ready to keep surveillance on Yuuki and Shun the following day, which was Saturday. He wouldn't say what his next move was going to be.

* * *

Yuuki and Ichiro had made plans to take Shun to the zoo. Yuuki didn't say that Ichiro was coming, but Shun was plenty excited. Yuuki was packing up some food for a picnic at the nearby park. She was the only packing part of the lunch; Ichiro had promised to bring the rest.

"I wanna see a panda," declared Shun. "A big roly poly one."

"What else do you want to see?"

"Penguins."

"I think those are in the aquarium. What else?" Yuuki made a mental note to take him to the aquarium next.

"Zebras."

Yuuki laughed. "How about some other animals with color?"

Shun got up from the floor. He was practicing his hiragana. "Can I take Papa's camera? Will they let me take pictures?"

"Which one?"

Shun dashed to his room and came back with an old 35 mm camera. "Lee-san said it was Papa's and that I should use it. He's going to develop the pictures for me. I want to learn to do it, but Lee-san said I was still too little."

"Take as many pictures as you want," said Yuuki. "Pack some extra film."

"Oh," nodded Shun as he ran back to his room with his little backpack. Yuuki had made it. "I already did. I have three extra rolls." He put the camera into the backpack and set it on the table next to the door.

"Do you know how to change the roll?"

"Papa showed me," answered Shun. "I can't show you right now, Mama. I've got some in the camera already."

Yuuki knew that Shun had misbehaved at school. She washed that Hinata-sensei wouldn't be too softhearted with him. Yuuki would prefer an honest report than a sugarcoated one because it would help her discipline him better. Shun had a lot of energy. Yuuki went to him and kissed his head. He looked up at her and beamed. "Again," he demanded with an irresistible grin. Yuuki kissed his forehead and poked his side. Shun shrieked with laughter. They went to the sofa. "Mama," he said as he settled into her arms. "Do you think Papa is watching over us?"

"He is," replied Yuuki. "He provided for us even though he's not here."

Shun still had a hard time coming to grips with the finality of death. Ichiro said that it was normal for children to be like that. "Papa wouldn't want us to be sad," said Shun. "He would want us to be smile and laugh all the time. Just like he did. Remember when we went to the beach? And then it started raining and we were locked out of the car because Papa forgot that he locked the bag in there."

"I remember," laughed Yuuki.

"You were so mad," giggled Shun.

Yuuki remembered that day. Shun just twirled around as the rain came down as Aki tried to get the door open. Yuuki remembered yelling at him for it. Aki didn't feel bad at all. All he did was laugh. He snatched her in his arms and kissed her as the rain came down on them. It was the most amazing kiss. A tug at her heart came, but she didn't cry. It was a beautiful memory. She didn't want to mar it with sadness. She held Shun closer.

"Your papa was a wonderful, silly man," she whispered. "I hope that you'll be as wonderful and silly."

"I'm already silly," said Shun as kissed her cheek. He then yawned.

Yuuki nudged him, "You need to get up and go to bed. You want to get plenty of rest to see the animals tomorrow."

"Okay, Mama," he said as he rubbed his eye with one hand. Yuuki took hold of his other hand and they stood up. She walked to his room and they got him ready for bed. Tonight was the night that she didn't have to bathe him. She might have been able to do it with little resistance, but she was just as tired.

After tucking Shun in for the night, Yuuki went to her room. She changed her clothes and got into bed. She was still sleeping just on her side. She turned and looked at the empty side. She didn't cry. She fell asleep dreaming of a kiss in the rain. She dreamed of the wonderful, silly man who had given her countless moments of happiness. At least for the moment, her prayer at Aki's grave had been answered by Shun.

* * *

Ichiro was no fool when it came to dealing with people, especially with the so called upper class. He knew that it was risky to be seen in public with Yuuki and Shun, but he didn't care. He was going to be there for them. Now, he wasn't really a cook. He only knew how to make instant ramen, so he ended up ordering some food from a good restaurant and packing it. He had a feeling that he was being watched. He wasn't about to dismiss it as simple paranoia.

As soon as he had the food, he made his way to the zoo. He soon realized that his paranoia was warranted. He recognized at least two guards from his parents' house. They were trying very hard not to be seen, but he carried on like he hadn't seen anything. When he got to the zoo, he saw Shun practically hopping up and down with anticipation.

"Let's go in, Mama," he urged his mother. "Before all the animals go away."

"Shun, the animals aren't going anywhere," laughed Yuuki. "Just a bit longer, okay?"

"I wanna go in now," whined Shun. "Everyone else is already going in."

Yuuki spotted Ichiro who was walking briskly towards them. "Look, who's come to see the animals with us today," Yuuki told Shun.

Shun spotted Ichiro. His eyes lit up as he ran up to him. "Ojisan!" he shouted.

Ichiro gave him a hug and said, "You were going to go in without me?"

"I didn't know you were coming. Mama said to wait," replied Shun.

"Then why are we still out here? Shouldn't we be in there?" asked Ichiro, taking Shun's hand.

"Let's go in," agreed Yuuki with a smile that rivaled the sun. She hadn't taken the time to straighten her hair, but she had it pinned up just the same.

Ichiro saw the guards, trailing behind them, readying to advance upon them. He calmly walked into the zoo with Shun. "So what animals do you want to see?"

"A panda!" declared Shun with a grin very much like his mother's.

AN: I really want to include Shun in every chapter. Ichiro is the inside man for Yuuki. Aki is like a ghost, but he's more of a protector of his family. This is one of the shorter chapters in the entire story. Just short and sweet. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Disclaimer: Kamio Youko owns Hana Yori Dango. I own this story. Please use this story with my permission.