Chapter 21 : Unexpected Fact

Tapping her index finger on her nose tip, Satomi Himeko stared at his youngest son who currently nibbled on his toast. Nibbling! For these past five years, Shino never nibbled on her food except when he felt little bit under the weather. Himeko frowned then asked, "Shino, do you have something to tell us?"

The boy looked up from his almost untouched food then shrugged off. "No."

"Do you have stomachache? Your mother also said you barely ate last night." Akimitsu put down his morning newspaper and watched his son in concern. "Do you need to see doctor?"

"No, Dad," he answered with a soft voice, "I'm fine, really. No worries." After that, both Himeko and Akimitsu said nothing. They continued eating their breakfast as usual, but they could not help glancing at the purplish-haired boy who was quieter than a week ago.

Yes, a week. Shino had been gone through a week with dreadful feeling. Since the day he accidentally overheard the heated argument between the lnukawa twins, Shino had not contacted Sousuke yet. He also had not visited the lnukawa's house again. He purposely went to school earlier in order to avoid meeting Sousuke in front of their houses or train station. Even Rio could sense there was something wrong with Shino not going to Sousuke's place. The blonde had asked about that matter but Shino had quickly said that Sousuke had been very busy with college. Rio had given him a weird look yet not asked anything again. To distract himself from an urge to see Sousuke, Shino had been tailing Shinobu almost everywhere. The boy went straight to Shinobu after school. He waited for Shinobu to finish the student council daily meeting. The girls at their school were in fact rather amused by Shino's behaviour.

"Shino, are you going now?" Rio asked when Shino had finished his milk. "You want to go to station together?"

"Hmm, okay. I'll get my bag." The boy shrugged, glancing at his plate. He had only finished half of his toast but he had already felt full. Wrong. It was his stomach that could not digest more food. When Shino had gone back downstairs after snatching his bag, Rio was waiting at entrance. They walked in silence to the train station. It was too silent for Shino's own liking but, again, he tried to ignore the uneasiness.

Being Shino's brother for sixteen years, Rio knew him really well. Moreover, because of Shino's illness during childhood, Rio had been trained to detect any early sign of distress from Shino. Thus, when Shino suddenly had become very quiet since several days ago, Rio had guessed there was something wrong with the boy. However, it was easier if Shino had been ill because they could just make an appointment with the family doctor immediately—much to Shino's dislike. This time, Rio was quite sure the problem was between Shino and the Inukawa's older twin. "Shino," said Rio when they were waiting for train at platform, "Something has happened with Sousuke, right?"

"What? No!" Shino's eyes went wide but soon he dropped his gaze onto the platform floor.

Rio sighed. "Shino, look at me. You will tell no lie in front of me." The blonde stated firmly. However, his little brother was still avoiding his eyes. "What has happened?"

Much to Rio's own surprise, suddenly Shino grasped his hand. "Please, Nii-san, don't tell this to mom and dad." His voice was barely above whisper. "I...I am dating Sousuke."

'Dear Shinto's gods, please tell me the world would end up tomorrow' was what Rio really wanted to scream on top of his lung at the moment. If he had not remember that they were at train station, Rio probably would have lost any control. Well, yes, he was surprised but not that shocked. After all, he had noticed how his little brother had shared affection with Sousuke. He was not that oblivious, especially with those constant teasing coming from the younger twin. Speaking about Ao, Rio had not seen the arrogant man lately. Was he busy or...wait a sec people! Why on earth he thought about Ao?!

"...but I think we are going to break up."

Rio frowned. That was an unexpected development. Even though Rio had not really like Sousuke, he somewhat had grown a little bit of tolerance because Sousuke had been trying to please Shino. Now, seeing how unhappy Shino was, Rio began wondering if his latest impression on Sousuke had been completely wrong. "Care to explain?" Rio finally asked with a faint growl.

"It's rather complicated."

Complicated, oh yes. Rio did not even believe that kind of word escaped from Shino's mouth. "Shino, did Sousuke do or say something which offended you?"

"What?! No! He will not!" Shino abruptly replied. Finally, he looked up to meet Rio's eyes. He regretted the gesture because Rio obviously noticed his teary eyes. "I-it was…Ao who asked Sou to break up with me. He somehow found out about our relationship. I overheard their argument a week ago. Ao said Sou should have not dated a minor and…" Shino inhaled, feeling his body trembling. "…and then they—"

The sentence was cut off by the screeching sound of train approaching the platform.

"Let's go." This time, Rio grasped Shino's shoulder and pushed the boy gently into the train. Luckily, since they were earlier than usual, the brothers got seats not far from the sliding door. During the train ride, both Shino and Rio did not say anything. Shino just stared at his neatly folded hands on his lap. As the train arrived at Shino's stop, Rio finally spoke up, "Shino, take care, okay?"

Shino nodded with a small smile on his face. "You too, Nii nii."

The train door slowly slid close. Rio sighed. Had he just tried to console his little brother on love life? Gosh, this was so absurd. He did not understand what had happened between the twins. Ao had shown no sign of dislike on his brother and Shino's closeness. He even had teased them. He… What had happened? Rio took a look at his smart phone. Today he got no appointment and only one class in afternoon. He had planned to study in library and help his professor with papers. Well, that could be changed, couldn't it?

.

Then the reality hit him. Rio was standing in front of a campus gate—not his campus area where his faculty was located but the one which was three stations away from his. 'Remember, there's a thin line between a genius and an idiot,' Rio made a mental note. He had no idea why suddenly he had purposely missed his stop and gotten off at this campus' train station. He had no idea why during the rest of the ride from Shino's stop, he had called Kaname to ask Ao's university. Thank gods Hamaji had been with Kaname at that moment so Rio could get the information quickly. It turned out that Ao attended same university with Rio but with different campus area. And to think the man's major was psychology! Rio frowned deeply as he walked toward the faculty of psychology's building. He had thought about visiting the administration room to get any information on Ao.

To be honest, he did not want to meddle with Shino and Sousuke's lovey dovey business. However, again, he could not help but worried about how upset Shino was. His little brother had barely eaten for this past week and Rio had noticed his parents were beginning to worry. The blonde had to talk to Ao immediately! Rio stopped in front of the administration desk, looking at a lady in her mid-thirties.

"May I help you?" asked the lady.

"Yes, I'm looking for a student named Inukawa Ao," Rio answered in a serious tone.

She nodded then typed on her computer. After some moment, she wrinkled her eyebrows. "I'm sorry but we don't have a student named Inukawa Ao here," she said, looking up, "Are you sure he's from this faculty?"

Rio was bewildered. He was pretty sure Kaname had given him the right information. Besides, even though Kaname was always up to mischief, he would not have purposely given him false information. "We'll, I'm sure he studies here," Rio replied, "Could you check it once again?"

"The computer said so."

"Then, could you give me any information about this student."

"I'm sorry, we can't do that."

"It's urgent."

The lady sighed. "You need to get permission letter in order to access our information."

The blonde cursed inwardly. He rolled his eyes, glancing at his surroundings. Gradually he leaned over the administration desk and said almost in whisper, "I am really sorry, but I need you to get the information due to my father's request."

"Your father?" The lady raised an eyebrow.

"Satomi Akimitsu."

The lady gasped when she heard the name. "Don't tell me you are Satomi Rio!" She said in surprise, then received a nod from the young man. Every staffs and faculty members had known the Satomi as one of the big names in political world. Moreover, almost all members from the Satomi were graduates from this university. According to some rumors, a prodigy son of Satomi Akimitsu—the city council member—currently studied in law faculty. The lady hurriedly typed again on her computer."Inukawa Ao, yes. He dropped out last semester," she said, "His hom—wait, Satomi-kun!"

Rio already stormed out of the building. Okay, this was getting very strange. First of all, Ao had dropped out from university months ago. Then, did it mean that he had been lying all these times to everybody? Rio was pretty sure Ao had made some excuses about campus activities and such before. Did Sousuke know? How about Hamaji who was very close to the twins? More importantly, why did Ao have to lie? Shaking his head, Rio took out his smart phone and tried to make call to the Inukawa residence... Wait a damn minute, he did not have their number! There was no way he called Shino now since his class had started. He called Kaname but the call line was very busy. He called again but then Kaname's phone had been turned off. Only gods knew what Kaname and Hamaji were doing now, Rio growled.

In the end, one place came into his mind: Kobungo's restaurant, Felicitá. He rushed to the train station, taking a ride to Shinjuku area. The restaurant was still closed by the time Rio arrived. The staffs were busy preparing for lunch and did not notice Rio had slipped in from back door. He went straight to kitchen where Kobungo would likely be there. True, the tall brunette was helping one of his chefs.

Kobungo almost jumped when Rio tapped his shoulder. "Rio! What are you doing here?!"

"I need to find Ao."

"Huh?"

"You must know his phone number, right?"

Five minutes later, they were standing inside Kobungo's office. Both stared at Kobungo's smart phone screen, listening to its loud-speaker. Only dial tones could be heard, followed by automatic reply from provider's operator. "...is out of service. Please try to call again—" Kobungo pushed the end call button.

"Seems he turned off his cell phone," Kobungo said.

Rio only nodded. They had tried to call the Inukawa's house too but nobody was there. Rio had avoided to call Sousuke and Shino, thinking it was better to leave those two alone for now.

"Don't you think he's having class?" asked the taller man.

Judging from Kobungo's expression and gesture, Rio instantly knew the man had no idea about the drop out thing. "Perhaps..."

"Oh, but you can try to go to La Lune. He and Sousuke often go there to meet their mom's best friend."

"La Lune?" Rio asked.

"Their mom's bar. Well, practically they owned it now but a family's friend run the management. The place isn't far from here. Would you like me to draw you a map?"

.

Kokonoe was well-known as owner of La Lune, a high-profile bar in Shinjuku. People did not really know the fact that the bar was actually owned by her best friend's sons. She treated the boys like her own sons. She looked after them after her best friend's sudden death. She even took the management of La Lune since the boys had no idea about business industry. Both Sousuke and Ao, in return, respected Kokonoe and regarded her as family. They always discussed important stuff such as their mother's inheritance with Kokonoe. She had watched how the Inukawa boys had grown up to be fine young men which she put so much pride on. However, several days ago, Kokonoe had been surprised by an unexpected visit from...

"...a detective?" Ao lifted his glass up to eye level. "What was he doing here?"

"What do you think?" Kokonoe asked back, serving herself a glass of gin tonic. Hearing no reply from the young man, she stared at him intensely. "You don't get yourself into trouble, do you?"

Ao snorted.

"Ao, answer my question. Do you ever go to the main house after the day of your mother's funeral?"

"No."

Kokonoe exhaled. She opened a drawer and took a piece of paper out. It was a picture of Ao standing in front of building with three men who dressed like bodyguards surrounded him. Ao glared at picture before Kokonoe lifted his chin up rather forcefully. "Tell me the truth, Ao. Don't make me drag you all the way to your mother's family grave."

"You don't understand, Kokonoe."

"Truth." The woman demanded with sharp eyes that could kill.

Ao glared back but said no word. He put down the glass and got on his feet With a swift move, Ao removed his jacket and dark blue t-shirt, revealing his bare chest and...tattooed back. The design was very detail—two bluish green dragons intertwined with each other. He turned around to show the tattoo to Kokonoe only to be greeted by a shocked blonde standing frozen on the bar entrance. The dark eyes met grayish blue ones.

"Rio," Ao whispered, and within seconds he brought Rio out of the bar using the back door. He had expected his hand to be yanked roughly by the time they had reached back alley, but no, the younger man just stared at him, disbelieved. The tattoo looked clearer under outdoor light. Rio could see its trace on Ao's shoulders. He slowly looked at the man's face, almost lost in his thoughts. "...who are you?"

"Come," was only answer from Ao. He covered his body with jacket before taking speechless Rio to parking area.

.

.

tbc

*longer chapter!