They say love comes when you least expect it, Kiyoteru never really believed in the phrase. He thought those who were easily caught love's trap were fools, so it was no surprise to him when people thought of him as someone who was heavily guarded, though sometimes he felt the walls he built around himself were too strong, but he would quickly remind himself that this was for his own good. Kiyoteru had many goals of his own, and he didn't need things like love to distract him.

He sighed as he leaned by the gates of the Shion yakuza house. What did he even love about Meiko anyway? She was nothing special. Not only did he have the worst first impression of her, but he had to swallow his pride and apologize to Meiko when he found out she was Kaito's teacher instead of drunkard, and not to mention they had been on bad terms ever since Kaito's suspension. Despite all the bumps and hurdles in their relationship, Kiyoteru had told Luka he loved Meiko instead of her.

Telling Luka that he had fallen for her best friend may have not been one of the smartest ideas, but he felt she had the right to know. Still...he couldn't get Luka's crying face out of his head. He never thought such a cool and composed woman such as Luka would be able to cry so much. Kiyoteru had reluctantly agreed to go out with her, he never thought Luka would treasure their relationship so much. He had felt so guilty. He had wanted to comfort her in some way, but he didn't want to accidentally give her any false hope, so he stayed with her as she cried feeling unsure of what to do. He felt like such a jerk.

I swear, I better know what I'm talking about, He thought, frustrated. Kiyoteru's feelings were all jumbled up in one big mess. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. While his feelings for Meiko were true, he decided it would be best not to push on a relationship with her. It would be too cruel. He didn't want to hurt her, or anyone else. Besides, Meiko would never agree to go out with him. As much as he hated to admit it, Meiko was in love with his brother, not him. Not that he blamed her. Kaito was a good kid when he wanted to be.

His heart lurched. No, no, no, no! He was not jealous. He was better than that. He trained himself to be better than that. A look of defeat pressed onto his face. Who was he kidding? Kiyoteru was human, just like everybody else. How sad. It seems Kiyoteru had also become a monster in love.

Well now that he had admitted this, he decided to answer his previous question. What did he love about Meiko? There had to be something. He couldn't simply love something or someone without a reason? Could he? Was that how love worked?

He thought back to their first meeting. It was evening, and he had been fighting with Kaito in an alleyway. He was in an extremely agitated mood and didn't want anyone getting in his way, which was good for him since most people who spotted them quickly walked past, ignoring them, but somehow this only annoyed him more.

"Kaito, you don't seem to understand that Father has given you a chance to prove yourself. Why can't you see that?"

"Why can't I prove myself at your school?"

"Because your reputation is already ruined!" He grabbed him by his shirt. "You better behave yourself at your new school."

"Who are you to tell me what to do? You're not my teacher anymore."

Why that little― Now he was just being immature. While he was used to his younger brother's tantrums, he wasn't in the mood to deal with it today.

"Hey stop your fighting."

That of course, is when Meiko had interfered. Kiyoteru had quickly sent her away with his rudeness, but had thought she had been brave and possibly very stupid to interfere in their business. Either way he didn't care. He would probably never meet the woman-drunkard again. Oh how wrong he'd been. The day he went to meet Kaito's homeroom teacher was the day he admitted to losing to her. He had to apologize for his behaviour for Meiko to do what he wanted, and how smug she looked as he did! He was sure he wouldn't be able to get along with her.

Despite his thoughts, he and Meiko got along surprisingly well. They'd meet each other once or twice a week and talk about Kaito and sometimes other things. He knew Meiko was growing more and curious with his true relationship with Kaito, he could see it in her eyes, but he refused to let anything slip. He would ruin everything if he did. There were times where he was tempted to confess everything to Meiko, but he'd quickly remind himself of the consequences and quickly push the thought away.

As the weeks past, Kiyoteru grew to like Meiko, not in the romantic sense, but in a friendly sort of way. He respected her as a teacher, though found her to be a little dense. When she talked about her teaching job, she failed to mention her problematic students. Kaito would often talk about them when he would visit. He was surprised Meiko knew nothing about them. Kiyoteru had noticed them straight away, though that was because had a sharper eye than most. Maybe it was because student's had a knack at hiding things from teachers. Kiyoteru not mentioning anything was a fail on his part. He knew teachers hated being lectured on how to deal with their own students, but he shouldn't have assumed the same for Meiko.

Kiyoteru heaved another sigh. While he had noted a few of Meiko's good parts, he still failed to see what exactly he had fallen in love with. What was it, he wondered. He thought long and hard about it until another memory had surfaced.

The scene had taken place a few days prior to Kaito and Miku's suspension incident. Meiko and Kiyoteru had met up as usual, but Kiyoteru had been in a bad mood. Meiko had noticed.

"What's the matter?"

"Huh?"

"You don't seem like yourself."

He was surprised she noticed. Kiyoteru had a talent at hiding his emotions well. "Um, well...can I ask you something?"

Now it was her turn to look surprised. "Yes?"

"What do you think about unwanted children?" He had meant to ask her a cover-up question, but ended up asking her his real question instead. In all honesty, he wanted to know her thoughts on them. Where had this question come from? Well the last time he had visited Kaito, he'd overheard a few of his father's underlings talking about him. Long story short, they spoke about his unneeded place in the household and in his family.

"Hm, well it's always sad when children are unwanted..."

He mentally sighed. He knew it. Everyone always said the same thing.

"But I think they should strive to create a stronger bond with other people who they can care for and can care for them equally as much, especially when parental relations are weak to the point of nonexistent. Children aren't going to need their parents forever. One day they're going to realize that they are their own person, and if they find themselves alone then its their own fault."

Her answer surprised him. She had been harsh, but that had made her words greater. He was glad he asked her.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He said a little too fast.

Meiko raise her brow in suspicion, but didn't push further on the question.

Kiyoteru supposed it was around that time Meiko started looking "beautiful" in his eyes. He denied that fact many times. He didn't want to find an evil woman beautiful, especially after she betrayed his brother. In reality he'd just been stubborn, he didn't want to admit that he cared for Meiko more than he realized. He was angry more than he should have been and he didn't understand why, so he avoided her and when he got the chance to meet her he'd develop an unbelievably crude attitude. Kiyoteru had been the one to break off their friendly relations, so being mean was the only side of him he could show her and the only side that he knew would occupy Meiko's mind, even if it wasn't in the good way.

He frowned. Kiyoteru was more childish than he thought.

He checked his watch. Meiko was late. She was the one who told him wait outside the gates for her. He had no idea what she had planned, but he decided he should put his faith in her and trust her for once. Her tardiness was not helping.

"Kiyoteru!" Meiko ran up to him tired and out of breath. "I'm not late am I?"

"Well only fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds, but I'm a patient person." He said clearly annoyed. "What's your plan anyway?"

Before she could answer, a huge group of unmistakable looking yakuzas trailed behind Meiko. Kiyoteru opened his mouth, and closed it. He shook his head. He didn't want to know anymore.

She smiled. "We're going to break in and kidnap Kaito. Then were going to cause a commotion and call the cops. Once they see that this is not a proper environment to raise a child, then you'll have the legal right to take Kaito." She turned to the group. "Let's go!"

They cheered in response and went through her order. They charged at the gates, breaking through it by sheer manpower. It was scary and amazing both at the same time. This was probably a mistake, but Kiyoteru decided to play along with this plan of hers. Things might turn out unexpectedly well, he thought.

Once they were broken through, members of the opposing side quickly threw themselves into the action. Things got violent fast. Just as Meiko wanted, a commotion was started. Noise could be heard throughout the neighbourhood. It wouldn't be long before someone would call the cops.

"Kiyoteru go get Kaito." Meiko ordered.

"Huh? You don't expect me to leave you here, do you?"

"I'm fine. I can take care of myself." Just as she said that, a Shion yakuza came up behind her, unknown to her, and prepared to strike. Kiyoteru lunged at him, punching him square in the jaw before he collapsed onto the ground.

Kiyoteru soothed his aching knuckles. "How about we go together?"

"...Fine."

Kiyoteru led her inside. They snuck through the complicated halls, hiding from yakuza's that went to check on the commotion outside. The whole thing was nerve wracking. They were coming close to their destination. Just when Kiyoteru thought they'd make it, he heard his name being called out. "Kiyoteru." He hid Meiko in a nearby closet as soon as he had heard the voice, though he knew it was useless.

"What are you doing here? It's not your visiting day, is it?"

"U-um no...I mean yes!" He cursed himself. He had to calm down. As long as he was calm, he would be able to get away with anything. He blocked the door in a not so subtle manner in an attempt to protect Meiko.

"How'd you manage to make it through the commotion outside?"

"I-I, that is, uh..." Oh forget it. He punched the man in the nose.

He groaned in pain. "Traitor." He muttered before passing out.

Kiyoteru opened the closet and pulled Meiko out. "Come on, we're almost there." He said before they both dashed down the hall. Kiyoteru stopped by the second-last door on the right and knocked on it.

"Come in."

They entered to find Kaito looking bored as he read a book on his bed. "You're late." He said not looking away from the book. After a pause he said, "I'm guessing you guys are the reason for the noise?"

"No time to explain." Meiko said. "Let's go before things really get out of hand."

Kaito followed them outside. Once they made it out safely, the three paused for a moment to look at the scene before them. Everything was a violent mess. The fighting between opposing sides was gruesome. Several police cars were parked outside with police trying to stop the violence with a few curious but cautious bystanders. Things had really gotten bad fast.

Kaito, Meiko, and Kiyoteru slipped through the violence without being noticed. Meiko separated from the other two and grabbed a bystander by the collar and muttered something in his ear.

"Huh? Why should I―"

She whispered in his ear again. As she did, the man's face went pale. "A-alright. I will."

She smiled at the man and made her way back to Kaito and Kiyoteru. "What did you do?"

"I just gave you a witness."

"What do you mean―" He was interrupted by the sound of Kaito's ringtone.

"Hello?" He said answering his phone. "What? What are you talking about―" His eyes widened. "Okay just hang there...hello? hello!?"

"What's the matter?" asked Meiko.

He looked visibly shaken. "I-I don't know. I was on the phone with Miku and was saying something about her father in some fit of rage and the woods. I...I think she was abducted." As soon as he realized what he had just said, he ran away.

"Kaito, wait!" Kiyoteru said running after him. A realization also hit him as well. His plan to help the Miku girl had apparently backfired on him. Crypton had officially bought over the Hatsune corporation which removed Mr. Hatsune from his position as head of the company. Kiyoteru had done this so could be properly judged by the law for his crimes without any sort of advantage. Of course Kiyoteru never imagined he'd have a mental breakdown and drag his daughter into this, but after all the disgusting things he heard about him, he should have known better. If anything bad happened it'd be his fault.

Kaito had called Miku several times. It was only until his sixteenth call did she finally pick up. "Where are you?" He demanded. After a pause he said, "Alright, we'll be there as soon as we can, okay?"

"Where is she?" asked Meiko.

"She's near here. By some sort of hill. She said her father is armed and in the state he's in, I don't think he's afraid to use it." He looked around his surroundings. "I think we should split up―"

"No!" Meiko and Kiyoteru said together.

"We'll stick together." Kiyoteru finished.

"But―"

"Kaito." Meiko snapped. "I know you think it'll be easier to find Miku if we split up, but it's too dangerous. We need to stay together. Do you understand?"

"...Yes."

She smiled. "Good."

Kiyoteru was impressed. Meiko knew how to handle Kaito well even in a dire situation such as this.

The three were quick to scan the area. They trekked through the grass and hid themselves in trees and bushes before moving forward. It wasn't long before they spotted two figures by a steep hill. There was no mistaking it. It was Miku and her father. They quietly climbed the hill with caution until they reached the top. The three had unspokenly agreed to jump him before he noticed their presence.

Almost there. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Almost...almost―

"Who are you people?" He yelled.

Dammit, he cursed. They almost had him.

Mr. Hatsune pulled Miku into a headlock and pointed his gun to her template. "If anyone of you move, I'll shoot her. I swear!" He yelled.

"You're sick. How could you do this to your own daughter?" Kaito yelled.

"Kaito, don't anger him when he's unstable." Kiyoteru muttered.

"Shut up! It's your fault I lost everything." He started to cry. "I'm a nobody."

"J-just put the gun down. We can talk if you want." Meiko offered.

"Talk? Talk? How will talking help me now you stupid bitch!?" Out of rage pointed his gun at her. Time seemed to move slowly from there, and Kiyoteru's mind went blank. As the trigger was pulled Kiyoteru felt his legs push him forward, in front of Meiko, in front of the incoming bullet. He felt a sharp pain in his chest before everything went black.

"Kiyoteru!" Meiko screeched.