Chapter 27

"There it is." He pointed to a mansion a little further up the road as he walked ahead of her.

"It's huge!" she cried.

"Is it?" He stared at it as they reached the gate, pressing his had to a scanner which would open it. "I never thought so."

"You live here…" she murmured.

"Young master Kazai…Confirmed." An electronic voice droned as the gate swung open.

"Let's go." He took her hand and led her through, the gate closing abruptly behind them.

"…What are your parents like?" she asked, staring at the house.

"Huh?"

"I'm feeling a little nervous about meeting them." Her eyes wandered over the lush gardens.

He stopped, his footsteps not longer echoing on the granite walkway. His head lowered.

"…"

She felt her heart speed up a little. Had she hit some sensitive spot? Were his parents divorced or something?

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean…" She stumbled over her words, flustered.

A sigh…Then he smirked, "You're a bit naïve, aren't you? In any case, don't worry about my parents."

"…" she growled, "Why not?"

"They don't live here. It's just my sister and I. They're at the main house on the opposite side of downtown Konoha."

"Why?"

"It's closer to Kurenai, of course." He smiled, "To get here from the main house would be torture in morning traffic."

Inita pondered for a moment. His sister…What was she like?

Just as he reached for the door it burst open and a girl with long white hair tackled him. "Onii-san, you're home!"

"Honestly, Akane, get off!" (Pronounced Ah-kan-a)

"No..."She scolded, "Nee-chan."

Inita felt a bit awkward but at last managed to mutter, "Good evening…"

Akane looked up instantly, detaching herself from her brother.

"Ah…Do you go to Kurenai Academy too? I've never seen you before."

"No, I…"

"She's someone I recently met." Kazai covered for her.

"Recently met, huh?" she pulled out a notebook, "Name, please."

"Inita…"

"Uh-huh….Age?"

"S-sixteen." She wondered if these interrogations were normal; and where was it going anyway?

"So you're legal, huh?"

"Legal?"

"You really don't know my brother well do you? You know…Like if he gets 'hot' and wants to…"

Kazai clamped his hand over her mouth. "That's quite enough, nee-chan."

"Oh? Alright, I'll go call Marika-chan."

"You do that." He said, turning back to Inita, "Welcome to my humble abode."

She winced. Humble and this place definitely didn't fit well together at all.

"You're tired right?" He asked as they reached the top of the stairs. "There's a bathroom over there with extra towels. Go take a shower."

"But I …"

"If it's clothes you're worried about, I'll borrow some from my sister for you."

"That's not it. I…"

"I'll leave them in this bedroom here, ok?" he pointed to the door in front of them. "After that I might take a shower myself and go to bed."

"Kazai…" she whimpered as he walked away. It was no use…He wasn't listening. Oh well. A shower wasn't such a bad idea.


"That's not a bathroom…" she thought as she closed the door behind her, "That's a spa."

Clutching the lily scented towel in place, she pushed open the bedroom door. Somewhere down the hall, her ears detected the sound of water running. She shut the door and walked slowly over to the bed, running her hand over the soft sheets.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed some blue silky pajamas.

"His sister is a little shorter than me…They may be a bit small." She was right. The spaghetti strap top just barely covered her stomach and the shorts looked much shorter when she put it on.

She started at herself in the mirror and sighed. She saw a door in the corner and pulled it open to discover a small kitchen. The cold tiles tickled her toes as she walked over to the fridge.

Naturally, when Kazai entered the bedroom with a towel around his neck and a pajama bottom on, she didn't hear.

"Where is she?"

The closing of a fridge door.

"Is this how the other half lives?" She stared idly at the glass of soda she'd poured for herself.

"Not all of us." He answered, sitting across from her.

"Come to check on me? I'm fine. You can go back to your room, where ever that is."

"This is my room."

A chill went through her body. "Really?"

"Yes. Is something wrong with that?"

"I'm just a little worried because…Well, you're a guy and…"

"Go on…"

"It's nothing…I guess I'll just go room with your sister." She stood quickly.

"Where? She's not going to let you in since she got ideas that I might be 'curious' about you. As for anywhere else, this house goes into total lockdown in less than a minute, activating all the alarms and traps. I'm sure you don't want to be setting those off all night."

"Ummm…." She stared at him. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"In other words…The safest place for you is with me."

He said it…