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LionHeart

Chapter 21

Listen as your day unfolds, challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears, stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry.

- You Gotta Be, Des'ree

My fingers tapped anxiously on the steering wheel, the car radio played Hotel California softly in the background as I sped down the road, passing the road sign that read Bunkyō on my right. The roads were clear and rain fell from the sky across my windscreen. It was a miserable day. For both the weather and for me.

But raindrops weren't the only droplets that restricted my vision, as once again I mopped up my damp cheeks with my sleeve. I'd been like this all night, and all morning, ever since the gathering the night before. I replayed the argument in my mind over and over again, trying to make sense of it. But all I could hear in my ears on constant repeat was Tamaki's voice saying "you're not strong enough" And that cut into my chest like a knife.

It was always this same battle with them, even when we were young. I was the only woman and I was the youngest. That made me weaker. That made me their child to protect. There was nothing I could do or say that would sway their minds, everything I did in efforts to convince them, always went forgotten or unacknowledged.

After leaving the Hitachiin house, I ran. I just ran. Through the darkness and cold, until I couldn't run anymore. I could barely see buttons of my phone through the tears as I rang for a taxi to come and get me once I stopped down a road I didn't recognise. I could barely speak as I climbed inside, the poor driver must have been so confused as I sniffed and sobbed in the back of his car. I got back to Dad's apartment late, and laid awake the whole night. I packed, re-packed and re-packed again, just waiting for the sun to come up so I could head back to Adachi. Dad could tell something was wrong when he found me in the kitchen at 8am, nursing a cold cup of coffee and drying my eyes next to a box of tissues. I couldn't tell him why I was upset of course, he would have run straight over to their homes to fight my battle for me. Which if anything, was the complete opposite of what I was trying to argue. I was strong enough to handle my own battles. I didn't need my hand held.

My phone began ringing again from inside my bag on the passenger's seat. I blinked slowly, trying to drown out the noise. I didn't need to check the caller I.D, I already knew who it was. All night he had been calling, and all this morning. I hadn't answered once, I would just watch his name flash up on the screen and stare at it until the jingle would ring out to silence. Each time I saw his name, the tears would start again. I wanted to talk to him, I missed him so much, it were as if I'd lost a vital part of myself. And I hated myself for ignoring him. But I couldn't face him just yet, not after the night before and the things that were said. I needed to be alone right now.

I felt like such an awful person, I could imagine him right now. Pacing the room, his hands delving through his auburn hair frantically with worry, grumbling under his breath as he always did.

I missed him so much that it hurt.

I wiped my face one last time, "Stop crying stupid girl" I mumbled under my breath. The ringing from my phone finally cut out beside me, the silence was followed by a vibrating noise as he left another voice mail. I managed to listen to one whilst I was lying in bed restlessly the night before, he sounded so panicked and angry. I could tell I'd hurt him by leaving, his voice was raspy, loud and quickened. I guess that was way I was avoiding him, I couldn't stand hearing him that way. I couldn't face it.

I continued driving down the road, as far as possible until I passed the sign into Adachi not too long later. I kept going, driving straight past the area where my apartment was.

I wasn't going home. I had a point to prove, and to do that, there was somewhere else I needed to be.

"Haruhi?" Hiro questioned as I strode through the station doors. He stood up from his desk and looked at me in confusion, "I thought you weren't coming back until Monday"

"Change of plan" I mumbled in reply, "Where's Masashi?"

"He...he's in his office. Are you okay? You look...different..."

"I'm fine" I replied, throwing off my coat and hanging it on the rail beside the entrance. I walked past the desks, ignoring the odd looks I received from the other officers, and headed straight for Masashi's office. I didn't bother knocking, I just pushed right through the glass door.

"Fujioka?" Masashi raised an eyebrow as he watched me enter. I stopped in front of his desk, panting anxiously, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to work" I answered.

"You aren't booked in until Monday. Go home"

"No"

He sighed, "I have paperwork supporting your absence for today. You're not needed. Come back in on Monday and I'll have work for you"

"No, I'm staying. I don't care if I'm not paid, I don't care if I'm not assigned to anything. I want to make a start on this case. I want you to fill me in on what we know so far and I want to form a plan of attack and a strategy" I demanded, "I've taken all the time I need out of work, and now I'm ready to come back. Not on Monday, but today. And, if I can, I want to be in tomorrow and Sunday too"

"You want to work this weekend? I'm not even scheduled in for the weekend. One of the deputy inspectors will have my office then"

"Then we'll meet somewhere else to discuss it, I don't care how or where. I want to put this scumbag in jail, and I want to do it as soon as humanly possible. And that's only going to happen if we make the effort and put our heads together. And right now, I need to know what you know so we can move forwards"

Masashi stared at me, in a way he hadn't done before. It wasn't snide, it wasn't offensive, it was almost...a look of surprise. Pleasant surprise, "Fujioka...I admire your determination, however, it won't be a fast process to arrest him. There are details we need to sort out, plans need to be made, research needs to be done..."

"Then lets start now" I breathed, pulling up the chair behind me. I sat opposite him and folded my arms on his desk.

Masashi sighed, the stunned look still plastered on his face as he looked at me, "Okay..." he exhaled, "You're lucky I don't have plans for the weekend" he grumbled under his breath. He straightened up in his seat, then stood up and walked over to the filing cabinet across the room. He rifled through it for a few moments before pulling out a thick manilla folder. He threw it down on the desk right in front of my hands, then replaced himself back into his seat, "How much do you know about Shouta Ochi?" he asked as I opened the folder and began reading through the files. My fingertip skimmed across a photo of Ochi that sat inside the folder, his sinisterly jolly face grinned back like a Cheshire cat. A false smile that looked so unnatural on his rounded, chubby jaw. The photo had obviously been cropped out of a larger family photo, as you could see the shoulder and arm of a short woman in a white jacket. His wife I assumed.

"Not much" I admitted, "I know he's a wealthy business man, dabbles in the stock market, owns a chain of bars across this end of Japan. He's also involved in real estate...or so I've been told"

"Ochi Estates" Masashi confirmed, "Hugely successful, started by his father almost 70 years ago. Left Shouta Ochi, as an only child, with a fortune in inheritance and a multi-million business behind his back. He was set for life from birth. The bars were his own smug way of waving his wealth in front of his fellow successful friends, it gave him a place to gloat and control. If not as a way of taking money from his associates, but also a place where he could make his own rules"

"What specifically do we have hanging over him? It's not illegal to flaunt your inheritance" I commented, flicking through the pages.

"A lot" Masashi replied, "Illegal imports, embezzlement, tax avoidance. For his bar, we have harbouring fugitives, averting the course of justice, illegal prostitution, drug possession. Not to mention he's running numerous bars without alcohol licences"

I shuddered, remembering those girls I saw at that bar. I thought they were just strippers or raunchy waitresses. I recalled Ochi's offer in my head..."if you ever find yourself needing a little more of an income...my door is always open" I could feel the bile rising in my throat as the colour drained from my face.

"If we know all this...what's stopping us from heading over there now to detain him?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard that this isn't the first time we've tried to arrest him?" he answered, "But each time he's been taken to court, a witness will vanish, some evidence will vanish. I have reason to believe that many of our own inspectors have accepted bribes. They say he's untouchable for a reason, he's paid away too many enforcers, he can walk away free with no problem. Everyone knows he's guilty, we just can't prove it"

"Do we have evidence this time?"

"We have some statements in our possession, proving the fraud and tax evasion. Some witness statements from one of the prostitutes, as well as the statement you've seen from Kyoya Ootori"

I shuffled awkwardly in my seat at the mention of Kyoya's name. In response, Masashi gave me a look that made me a little unsure of his thoughts.

"Since we have this evidence and these witnesses, don't we have enough to prosecute?" I said.

Masashi's eyes panned over my shoulder, through the glass door behind me where he could see the other officers walking past. After a moment or so, he looked back at me, "Technically we do. Unfortunately, I obtained the evidence unlawfully"

"Unlawfully?" I questioned, "You mean you stole it?"

"Exactly" Masashi grinned, "Don't tell anyone, I'll be arrested"

I rolled my eyes, had this been concerning any other case, I would have an issue. This instance however, I let it slide.

"We can't use that evidence in court if we didn't get hold of it without proof of a warrant or something. In the eyes of the judge, that evidence doesn't exist"

"Which is why we're going to use the witness statements as a way of obtaining a search warrant. Then we'll stage it as if we gathered the evidence whilst we were under the shelter of that warrant"

"That sounds like an ambitious plan" I chuckled, "Have you enquired about a warrant yet?"

"Not yet. Before, I was planning to do that on Monday. I doubt I'll hear from anyone over the weekend. I can send out the request this afternoon, and we should have a warrant waiting for us on Monday morning. I can gather up a few more officers alongside you for when we head into his office for the search. I'm not going to leave you as the only enforcing officer"

I gulped, thinking about Masashi's plan. Ochi would recognise me instantly if I go in there with Masashi and a warrant. It wasn't that I was afraid he would send someone to dispose of me after I reject his likely bribe, I was more worried that he would reveal our connection to my colleagues.

I sighed to myself. No matter what I was scared about, I had a job to do. If he tells them, then that's my problem to deal with.

"Sounds like a plan" I replied finally, closing the folder on the desk. As I stared at the manilla cover, my mind went over the first stage in our plan. It seemed simple enough, apart from the ominous worry over bribed officers. We were the most local station to Ochi's office, if any officers or inspectors were going to be on his side, they would come from here. Masashi and I would have to be careful when handling evidence. It wouldn't be easy to hide our request for a warrant, but hopefully there would be little anyone could do to stop us from obtaining one. The element of illegality Masashi had put over us however, was concerning. Technically, we shouldn't be doing this. Unlawfully collecting evidence was a serious crime for a detective inspector, and we would be covering it up with this staged search warrant – another crime. But the evidence was big, and we needed it to prosecute. I could tell that Masashi was serious about putting Ochi away for a long time, I never saw him as the kind of inspector to cut corners like this.

"Uh...are you okay?" Masashi asked. His face was expressed almost as if he were cringing. Obviously he wasn't used to asking people how they felt. In fact, I was surprised he was showing any concern.

"Huh? Yes. Why?"

"You burst in here and demanded work..."

"I just felt productive. There's nothing wrong with that"

Masashi tilted his head to the side, his dark brown hair shining from the hair gel under the overhead lights as he raised an eyebrow at me in disbelief and confusion.

"What?" I questioned.

"You seem...weird today"

"Thanks"

"No, it's just...you're acting so...unnaturally authoritative, more so than usual. And you're...not wearing your uniform"

I gave a confused look and glanced down at my clothes. I was wearing jeans and a royal blue cashmere sweater I had pulled out of the pink backpack Mrs Hitachiin had given me the week before.

"You look so...normal" his voice came out in his usual dull, uninterested tone.

"Normal?"

"I always assumed you were...scruffy..."

"Scruffy?"

"Yeah, like, torn jeans and stained t-shirts" he explained with a shrug. The room went silent for a few moments, as I absorbed the weird statements I had been faced with. Was he trying to...compliment me? If this was how Masashi commended people, I guessed this was why Masashi didn't seem to have any friends.

"Thank you...I guess"

"I wasn't trying to be nice" he grumbled, refusing to acknowledge my thanks, "Coffee?"

I rolled my eyes and reopened Ochi's folder in front of me, as Masashi stood to get us both a cup of coffee. It looked like we would be here for a while, we had a lot to go through. I smiled to myself, I needed the distraction, and a sense of pride swam over me as I knew I was proving the others wrong. I could do this.

I drowned out the muffled sound of my phone ringing in my bag as I read through the pages.

"How did you even get hold of this?" I asked, my eyes trailing across the piece of paper in my hand. It was a bank statement taken from Ochi, it supported all of Masashi's claims.

"I accidentally stumbled into his office one day and there it was. Carelessly left in a locked drawer. It was just begging to be taken" Masashi explained, he picked up a heaping pile of noodles and threw them into his mouth. I grimaced at his poor manners and continued to eat mine slowly with my chopsticks in hand. We had been in the office for hours now, and after the sun went down, Masashi ordered in some food for us whilst we worked.

"He didn't notice?" I said.

"Well, he may have done. But I haven't heard anything. When we use our warrant to gain access, I'm going to need you to distract Ochi whilst I stage the whole scene. I can't have him or any of the other officers seeing me planting the evidence back in the places I found them"

"Why did you take them in the first place?" I wondered, "You had to have known you wouldn't be able to use them in court"

"I knew that" he grumbled, "I just needed to prove it all to myself. As long as I knew what Ochi was really doing, I knew it would make the whole process easier"

"I never knew you cared about your work so much" I commented.

"I don't usually. But when I start something, I always intend on finishing it" he replied, "I was in the first police team that attempted to arrest Ochi, we were unsuccessful and have been ever since. When I got the last memo about the case being reopened I put my name forward again"

"Can I ask. Why did you choose me to help you?"

Masashi shovelled in another mouthful of noodles and stared at me, "Well...it's pretty obvious that I'm not a people person"

"Obviously"

He smirked, "I don't know...any other officer or investigator would drive me mad, with their efforts to impress me, or to become my friend. You're easier to deal with, you're slightly less annoying than the others"

"Wow, thanks...I think" I raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged, "I know you're an enforcing officer, not an investigator or an inspector, but when it came to choosing a partner for this case - I decided you're input would be far more useful. You're a lot smarter than you would have people believe" he cleared his throat, "Not to mention Ootori's statement..."

"...what?" I blurted, my mouth still full of food.

Masashi smirked again, "I'll tell you tomorrow" he glanced down at his wristwatch and slumped back in his chair with a yawn, "Damn, it's late"

I blinked and looked at my own watch. 10.54pm. I then turned my head and looked out of the office door. Everyone had gone home apart from a couple of the night duty staff. I rubbed my face roughly, as if I were trying to remove the exhaustion from my face.

"We got a lot done today" I breathed, stretching my arms above my head, "When and where are we meeting tomorrow to continue?"

Masashi shrugged, sliding his takeaway boxes off the table and into his bin beside his desk, "I don't know...we could meet for lunch or something. I'd suggest my house, but my brother would spend the whole day looking over our shoulders"

"You live with your brother?"

"No, he lives with me"

"Oh"

"He gets bored lounging around the house alone all day. You would have thought at 28 he would have a job to keep himself busy by now"

"Is he your younger brother?"

"Yes. I'm 5 years his senior"

"5 years?"

Yikes, I never realised how much older Masashi was to me.

"So...why does he live with you?" I asked.

"No, no, no" Masashi chuckled, the gestured between me and him, "Work colleagues. Only friends share things like that. I don't ask about your life, you don't ask about mine"

"Oh...sorry, I was just trying to be nice"

He smiled to himself, "It's fine. I know you were"

I swear, I would never understand that man.

We cleared away our food from the office and grabbed our coats - just as another uniformed officer burst through the station entrance, a man who was handcuffed and drunk was dragged in beside him.

"Quickly, before we have to do paperwork" I heard Masashi grumble towards me. I laughed under my breath and followed him out onto the cold and dark parking lot. "Right, so tomorrow, 12, Caffeine Club?"

"Got it" I replied.

"Don't be late" he grumbled, then walked off over to his car. He didn't say goodbye so I just laughed a little and made my way over to my beetle.

My apartment didn't feel the same as it did when I'd last been there. It was cold, dull, empty. All my food in the fridge was rotten and out of date, and the clothes I had forgotten to take out of the washing machine now stank of musky damp. I sighed, slamming the machine door shut and settled myself down at the kitchen table, cradling a hot cup of coffee in between my hands.

After a few minutes of sitting there in silence, a loud jingle tore through the room. I closed my eyes and lowered my head to the table. My phone was still ringing.

Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it.

Tears stung my eyes as I fished my phone out from the bottom of my bag. I stared at the screen.

Hikaru.

The numbers at the bottom of the screen were in their doubles now, showing me just how many missed calls and texts I had. He must have been really worried, or just really angry. Hesitantly, my finger hovered over the answer button. But as I lowered it down, the phone went silent and dark. My breath hitched in my throat as I blinked the droplets down my face. I couldn't contain the sobs that clawed their way out of my mouth, I must have sounded like a wailing child to my neighbours. Through my blurred vision, I scrolled through my phone, opening some of the texts I had missed.

Haruhi, answer your phone.

Answer the phone.

I'm sorry okay? We shouldn't have cornered you, but we're just trying to protect you.

Just talk to me!

Answer the damn phone!

I sniffed, each message becoming more and more frantic and angry. I quickly wiped my face with my sleeve, trying to compose myself, just as another call lit up my phone. I choked as his name flashed up in front of me.

"H...Hello?" I answered, my voice raspy and quiet.

"Oh thank fuck" Hika practically heaved in reply, "What they hell do you think you're doing?"

"What?"

"I've been worried out of my fucking mind for the last 24 hours. I haven't slept, I haven't eaten, I haven't done a second of work because I've been so concerned about you. Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

"I...I needed to be alone" I croaked. He sounded so panicked, his words were coming out so fast I could barely keep up, but it was his voice. His perfect voice.

"You can't just disappear like that!"

"I didn't want to talk to any of you. I just wanted time to myself"

"Well you don't get that privilege anymore. That wasn't fair Haru, you shouldn't have just vanished like that, I've been going out of my mind, worried you'd gone off and done something reckless"

I exhaled, as I was reminded of Hikaru's possessive nature and cleared my throat, "Is that why you're calling? To continue the fight we had last night? Because I'm sorry to say that you're too late. I went in to work today and everything has been planned"

A gruff sigh echoed down the phone, "Dammit Haruhi"

"Great. So you were hoping to continue the fight"

"Please, see it from our perspective" he breathed, "I've been so worried all day that you'd gone out an done something stupid just to prove us wrong, but please Haruhi, I know Ochi, he's dangerous"

"And I know he's dangerous Hika, I read through his files all day. I know about the embezzlement, the fraud, the drug imports, the prostitution, I know everything. And I need to do everything I can to put him in jail. And I'm going to do that with or without your permission"

"You're only one person Haruhi, he has connections to some powerful people. He'll hurt you the second he recognises you"

"I have a gun" I uttered, "And I know how to use it. I'll be fine"

"And that's a better option? You'll shoot him?"

"Have you ever shot someone before Hika?" I choked down the phone, my voice becoming stern and serious, "Because I have, and no, it's not 'a better option', but I'd rather risk a confrontation like that than allow someone like Ochi to walk free. Think about all those people who will continue to be in danger if he's not arrested? "

"Haruhi, I don't know how I'll fucking cope if you're hurt" he blurted, "You may not be scared but...I am. I'm terrified. All day I was in a blind panic, and when you ran last night...I tried to follow you but you vanished into the darkness...I'm scared you're going to rush straight into this, that you'll go through with it as a giant middle finger to the rest of us and what we said"

"Please Hika" I sighed, resting my forehead in my hand, "I'm tired and this is stupid. Can't we talk about it some other time. I have to get up early tomorrow"

"It's Saturday tomorrow"

"I have work"

"Oh, for fu-"

"Don't, just don't" I grumbled, "Stop worrying about me and get some sleep, maybe tomorrow we can talk again, and you might have a clearer head and be more willing to think about what I want to do rather than just what you guys are stressing over"

Hikaru sighed loudly, "You're so stubborn"

"That I am"

"I miss you" his voice turned soft

I closed my eyes, "I...I miss you too" I whispered.

"I can't stand this" he breathed.

"Me neither" I replied, "But you need to stop being so overprotective. I don't think any of you consider me as an adult yet, you only remember me as a child. I just need some support, I want to be independent, make my own choices as an adult should. I shouldn't have to report back to my apparent 6 other fathers as if I need permission to do something"

"I guess we just can't help it...I mean...we love you"

Love.

A small smile crept onto my lips.

"Then you have to let me make my own decisions...I'll only start resenting you all if you hold me back. I knew what this job entailed when I signed up for it, and it's not your place to tell me what I can and cannot do. Police officers have to take risks, it's part of the job description"

"I just don't want you getting hurt"

"I won't get hurt Hika, I promise" I sighed with a smile, "You should go to sleep, it's really late"

"Okay" he answered, "Call me tomorrow? Please?"

"I will"

"Goodnight Pouty" I could hear his smile in his voice, I wish I could see that smile, "Sleep well"

I blushed hearing my nickname, "Goodnight Hika"

And after a few moments of hesitation, I hung up the phone. And the room went silent. I breathed a laboured sigh of relief and relaxed in my seat. It was nice hearing Hika's voice, no matter how scared I had been during the day. The stinging in my chest burned relentlessly, the more I thought about him, I missed him so much, it was agonising.

I managed to climb into bed, noticing the cold absence of another body beside me.

I laid there wondering when I would be seeing him next, ignoring the feeling of guilt I experienced as I recalled my behaviour from the last day. I guessed we were both in the wrong. Hopefully now though, he would understand what I had to do, and stop discouraging me.

I closed my eyes in the darkness and hugged my pillow tightly.

And slowly, I drifted off into sleep, my mind filled with images of Hikaru and I together.

A/N - This chapter was a lot shorter than I thought it would be, so I thought I would upload it since I finished it, even though I only just uploaded Ch 20. Anyway, I hope it's a success!

Reference photos are on my profile!

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Thank you!

Happy Christmas :D

- Yuli xxx