"We should get dressed and then go check out the area," said Ikuto opening up a map across the wooden table.
"To sight see?" I asked hopefully.
"No. We have-
"Lighten up Ikuto, we can sight see and scope out the area at the same time," smiled Kain sending a wink in my direction.
"Whatever…I guess we can sight see too."
Smiling, I rushed up the stairs and flung open my suitcase. I pulled out a navy ruffled tank top with printed floral designs and white shorts. I brushed my hair and brought along a pair of sandals and sunglasses. Unzipping my duffel bag now, I pulled out a pastel yellow bag with a brown flower charm hanging from it. I hung it across my body, and then put the necklace Ikuto gave me in it along with some other trinkets and money. The file I had taken from Ikuto's office caught my eye once again. Briefly, I thought about taking it with me, but it wouldn't fit in my bag.
I was just about to put it away when I slipped on the t-shirt I had changed out of. I landed right on my butt. Moaning in pain, I looked for the file only to find it closed but with half of its contents spilled across the wooden floor. That's when two things caught my eye. The big bold letters stamped across the file saying 'Do not open'. The other thing was that it had my name written in the top right hand corner. Why did Ikuto have my file?
Curious, I took one of the pages that had been lying on the floor. It was an article. The Case in Depth: Sure it's been only a week since the incident on June 6, but do we really know what triggered this hostage situation. We know the facts: 10 year old Amu Hinamori was caught robbing a bank filled with more than a dozen helpless victims and her 3 year old sister. We also know that young 17 year old Ikuto Tsukiyomi was the fearless negotiator that saved those poor hostages. So what triggered all this? Well doctors think it's a mental issue called Mo-
I stopped reading. This article was a load of bull, I didn't have a mental issue and Ikuto wasn't the one who saved me. I know because he would've at least said something right? I mean I'd told him about my wishes to find the negotiator that had saved me. I scanned the other pieces of papers – all of them holding the same information: I was the 10 year old criminal and Ikuto was the 17 year old negotiator. But…there are other people named 'Ikuto Tsukiyomi' right? The last piece of paper was the smallest.
September 24:
I've given Ikuto the day off…I knew he was going to ask anyways, but I gave to him. I already knew why he wanted the day off, today was the day Amu would be going to court as a witness for her friends that had been murdered. I don't remember his name quite well and Amu doesn't seem to want to say anything. Oh well. Yes, Ikuto now I feel so much pity towards him. Its Amu's birthday today, as well as the court day and he had absolutely no idea what to get her. Poor Rima was stuck with him for 3 hours shopping.
~Tsukasa
My eyes stung. None of this was true. But of course to prove me wrong, a photograph slipped out of the files I had gathered. It was a photo of a younger me and Ikuto. He was holding Ami while I showed off my missing teeth in a wide smile. I stuffed the papers into my bag and held onto the bed as I got up, not trusting my legs. If this was all true…he was right beneath my nose the entire time. Taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart, I headed out.
When I got downstairs, someone suddenly pulled me to the side. Panic bubbled up in my lungs but when I came to scream out for help nothing but a faint whisper exited. My kidnapper released me and let out a faint but nervous chuckle. I whirled around ready to beat down whoever took me…only to see Kukai.
"Kukai? What the hell?"
"Sorry about that Amu, I had to get your attention some how without getting their attention."
"Okay what is it?"
"Remember the thing I told I would tell you later? Well turns out Ikuto spent all night trying to get us into this hotel, which they finally did after they found out who he was."
"Who he was?"
Does he mean my negotiator?
"That's a longer but different story that Ikuto will tell you eventually. Anyways, instead of going to sleep, he had to make sure you got a room with a view of the Eiffel tower."
My warped back to a couple hours ago when I had commented on the Eiffel Tower. Then I replayed Kukai sentence back into my head.
"Ikuto won't tell me," I said finally.
"He will in his own time."
"No, he won't. Just like how I'm never told anything important…like the fact he's the negotiator that saved-
My eyes widened and I clasped my hand over my mouth. Kukai also stared at me wide eyed. That wasn't…I wasn't supposed to have said that.
"You know?"
He knows?
"I-
Instead of explaining, I pulled out the papers from my bag and handed them to him.
"Where'd you get these from?"
"My file."
"Your file? Files are off limits to all employees."
"So why did Ikuto have a whole ton of them in his office?"
"Tsukasa must've asked him," mumbled Kukai darkly under his breath.
I waited a beat.
"It doesn't matter how I got it! He knew how important this was to me. He knew that the only reason I'm living this life is because of this negotiator. So when I find out that the person I've been chasing all this time is him – it hurts Kukai. It really does, especially when he knew."
Kukai grabbed my hand and rubbed my knuckles before letting go.
"Amu, he didn't know. Well not until the day he broke up with you…" he whispered the last part as if trying not to strike a bad chord.
"It's been days since then! Why didn't he ever think of telling me?" I could already feel the tears in the back of my eyes.
"Maybe be-
"What's going on here? We're leaving," interrupted Ikuto.
I squeezed my eyes shut then forced myself to look at Ikuto in the face before running away.
"Amu!" shouted Kukai behind me.
I ignored him knowing that if I turned around I'd meet him. My negotiator and Ikuto. Not knowing where else to go, I headed into the kitchen where Hana was cooking something. As I took a seat, she turned around and frowned. Just as she was about to say something, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Yes. Will do."
She hung up the phone and pulled out a cake from the fridge.
"Don't they understand that I have my own life? Damn it!" she cursed as she smoothed out the chocolate gateau and sprinkled raspberries over it.
"A homemade cake for their anniversary? Can't they just go downtown?"
Hana cut out a chunk of cake and called for room service. She then cut another piece, larger than the one she had cut out for the couple, and put it in front of me.
"Cake?"
"It's good for a sad heart," she whispered gently. "Eat it."
I toyed with the cake before taking a small bite. It was delicious; it lit a flame in my heart and warmed my stomach.
"Words are simple. You can say them whenever you want and however you want. But with every word a feeling and thought is attached. As a person you know the right moment to say something. As a person, when you're waiting for someone else to say something, you think 'This is such a perfect opportunity, why won't they say it?' In the end they don't and you feel frustrated and crushed. But think, isn't there a reason they can't say those words to you? Maybe that person wants to, but there's something stopping them."
I looked up at her.
"It's not that simple, Hana. He knew how important that was to me. I've been searching for that negotiator almost my entire life, only to find out it was him."
"Do you remember what I told you? If he knew that was important to you then at one point he must've offered to help."
"He did."
"Meaning, he didn't know yet. But you're saying he found out and then didn't tell you. Think about this, if he was so determined to help you and in the end didn't tell you want you wanted to know, there must be something stopping him."
"B-
"No 'Buts' they're probably looking for you and causing a ruckus in my hotel. Now get going," she said shooing me out of the kitchen.
"I- Thank you Hana."
"No problem."
I wiped my eyes and walked out the hall where everyone else was waiting. Kukai rushed up to me.
"Amu, are you-
"Sorry…it was just a meltdown. We should probably get going," I said trying to convince myself the same thing.
Kukai and Kain headed out first and as I came to follow Ikuto grabbed my arm. I froze; we hadn't talked since the breakup. So why now? Did I do something wrong? Does he know that I know?
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked in the familiar husky voice.
I didn't look up at him. I didn't dare, because I knew once I did all my defenses would crumble to my feet. I pulled my hand out of his grasp and stepped back.
"I said I was fine," I said regretting the icy chill that followed with my response.
He didn't say anything; instead he just followed me out of the hotel. Once outside, all I was surrounded by was different shops. The street was narrow and had motorcycles lined up on it. I was just about to go check on a nearby shop when Kain grabbed my arm.
"Where are we?"
I stared at him quizzically.
"How should I know?"
"Exactly. Ikuto, where are we?"
He pulled out his map and studied it.
"Right now we're on a street called 6 Rue Copernic. If you just happen to get lost, remember the name of this street or the name of the hotel, Jays Paris Hotel."
I actually hadn't had a chance to see our hotel. I stepped back and took a long look. It looked so much like a fairytale cottage. The door was painted a cerulean blue while the roof was a lighter shade of blue. There were flowers on the roofs, window sills and in front of the doors. Intricate designs here and there in gold and teal gave it an old Victorian look.
"Looks like it came out of a fairy tale," I mumbled softly under my breath.
No one had paid any attention to what I had said but Ikuto who had a soft smile on his face. My heart did a flip but I ignored the sensation. I didn't need this right now.
Near our hotel were other hotels and homes along with a few shops. The closest was a hair salon called Lucie Saint-Clair and a bar and café duo called La Copernic. The streets were narrow but they had motorcycles lined up in a row on one side. As crowded as it was…it looked almost elegant.
"I think for today we should just get familiar with the area."
"What about the metros?" asked Kain.
"I think we should probably leave that off for another day. They're pretty complicated especially for people who haven't been in France. Although I don't it would be a problem, I've given all the metros information about Kyou in case they see him trying to escape."
I took a step toward Kukai.
"Kukai, are they selling gelato over there?" I asked pointing to a café that was across the street.
"I think so. We should probably check it out…you know just to make sure Kyou's not there," he said with a smirk.
"Probably."
Without consulting Kain or Ikuto, Kukai and I made a dash to the café. We waited for the cars to stop before us along with tons of other people crossed the street. In front of Café Brassac's entrance was a small vendor. The man had peppered hair and a dark moustache. But his dark green eyes were bright with amusement as he bounced a baby on his hip and fed it some gelato. He was currently speaking rapid French to the baby's mother.
"I don't think he's Japanese," I whispered to Kukai.
"Worst case scenario is that we'll have to get Ikuto."
Kukai and I walked up to the man like two shy little kids. Still bouncing the baby on his hip, he turned to us and smiled pleasantly. Kukai nudged my elbow.
"Ah…um…Bonjour!" I exclaimed.
"Bonjour Madame, monsieur. Gelato, oui?"
"Uh…"
I understood the gelato part, but what did 'Oui' mean. Instead, I just nodded my head with a confused grin on my face. I must've done something right, because the man's eyes filled with warmth as he pulled out two bowls.
"Ce Saveurs?"
Now I was really confused. What was he saying? I looked to Kukai for guidance but he was just as confused as I was. The man tapped on the glass where all the different flavors of gelato were kept.
"I think he's asking us what flavors we want," I whispered.
"I think so too."
I peered into the cart. It was like a rainbow crammed into a cart. Each tub had its own little card sticking out with the name of the flavor. Some of them were easy to identify: 'Chocolat' meaning chocolate, 'La Vanille' meaning vanilla, and orange was orange.
"Um…one chocolat and one…
As I was looking into the cart, a reddish pink flavor caught my eye. But I didn't know what 'Framboise' was. What if it was like a fish flavor? Sighing, I decided to take my chances with this one. I mean how bad could fish gelato be?
"One," I said holding up one finger, "One chocolat and one f-framboise," I said completely butchering the word.
The man chuckled at my attempt and scooped out the gelato for me. He looked to Kukai.
"Ah…one café and one chocolat."
As the man scooped Kukai's gelato, he said something to the woman near us and they both burst into laughter.
"Est-elle votre amie?" he asked Kukai.
"Does that mean if we're ready to pay?"
Confused, he nodded his head and the man gave the woman a satisfied smirk.
From behind us, Ikuto chuckled.
"I didn't know you and Amu were going out Kukai," smiled Ikuto.
"We're not!"
"Then why'd you say 'Yes' to the man?"
"What?"
"He asked you if you and Amu were going out."
"I thought he was asking us if were ready to pay."
"Bonjour monsieur," said Ikuto pushing past us. "Il a mal compris, ils sont juste des amis."
The vendor frowned and then both the man woman burst out laughing. She was clearly amused.
"Telle une jolie fille," interrupted the woman, her eyes on Amu.
"Oui. Deux gelato s'il vous plait."
"Ce Saveurs?"
"Café. Kain, what flavor gelato?"
"Orange."
"Une café and une orange."
"Oui."
Ikuto turned to us and gave us a thumbs up.
"What were you guys talking about?" asked Kukai.
"Oh, I told him you misunderstood the question and you guys are just friends. The lady over there, his wife, said Amu was very pretty. Then I ordered some gelato."
"Thank goodness you're here," sighed Kukai.
"Ici vous etes," said the man handing Ikuto the gelato.
"Combien je vous dois?" asked Ikuto pulling out some money.
The man shook his head and smiled.
"C'est sur la maison."
"Merci."
Ikuto handed Kain his gelato and we started to head down the sidewalk.
"Why didn't you pay him?" I asked.
"He said it was on the house."
"Ah."
I fell into silence as I ate my chocolate gelato. It was very cold and creamy. It wasn't too sweet or too bitter; it was in my opinion perfect. Then I tried the framboise, it tasted like raspberries.
"What does framboise mean?"
"Raspberry."
Guess I lucked on that one too.
After finishing our treat, we threw the containers away and continued scoping out the area.
Later
"I'm beat!" exclaimed Kukai falling onto a bench and scaring away hundreds of pigeons.
"It's only been 2 hours," said Kain even though he took a seat too.
Ikuto took a seat as well, leaving me standing.
"How can you guys be tired so soon?"
"Because we've been walking for hours," moaned Kukai.
"Well whatever, I'm going to check out some shops nearby."
I walked away from them and decided to head down to a nearby bridge. Though the weather outside was hot, the sea under the bridge blew a cool salty breeze up above. It was so calming. Leaning on the railing, I pulled out the broken necklace and dangled into in between my fingers. Something I'd been doing a lot lately.
How can we just break up and then talk to each other like we're friends? How can I have such a deep feeling in my heart and release it all when I'm around him? Does this spell only work when I'm by myself? Aren't I supposed to be mad at him?
I'm in such a turmoil. Is this all because I didn't tell him the truth? Is it wrong for me to hold on to the tiny break of happiness? I'd finally gained some memento of fulfillment in my life; I'd finally created a ladder just to have it crumble under me.
Is it so wrong to still have feelings for my negotiator?
"Bonjour, mademoiselle."
Startled, I stepped back and messily stuffed the necklace back into my pocket. I looked at the man in front of me. He had blonde hair and these unusual but captivating red eyes that reminded me of two rubies. In his hand he held an easel and canvas while his sets of paints were hung over his shoulder.
"Ah…I don't speak French," I sighed realizing that he probably doesn't understand Japanese.
Maybe he knows sign language?
"Well, I can see that," he chuckled.
I gaped at him.
"You speak Japanese? Thank goodness…"
"You had a bad time with the locals?" he asked raising his brow.
"Not a bad time…it was more difficult. Let's just say it took a while before I finally got my gelato," I replied with a grin.
"I can see how. Oh…I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Tadase."
"Amu. So, you're an artist?"
"Yeah."
"Are you any good?"
"I guess. I've sold about 65 paintings ranging from $450,000 to some worth in the millions."
"Do you have any with you?"
"Ah afraid not."
"Oh well – Excuse me," I groaned when my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Amu, Ikuto and Kain want to head back home. He just got an important call."
"I thought you guys were tired?"
"We're getting a cab."
"Fine, I'll be there."
I snapped my phone shut and gave Tadase and apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry; my co-workers want to head back already."
"Co-workers? Where do you work?"
"Oh, I'm a negotiator. Well, I guess I'll see you around maybe."
"And if you do, I want to paint you."
"Paint me?"
"Of course. It would be a privilege to paint such a pretty woman," he said kissing my hand.
"Thank you…bye," I exclaimed before running off.
I'm pretty sure my face was red with embarrassment.
I walked back to the bench where the guys were waiting. Kain was the first to speak.
"You're kind of red for being a couple minutes away."
"Yeah…I was kind of being hit on," I shrugged.
"Oh really?"
Kukai was definitely amused.
"So tell me, what happened?"
"I was thinking about stuff when a guy came up to me. We talked; he said it would be a privilege to paint a pretty girl and then he kissed my hand."
"Should've just said you were being hit on. There's no 'kind of' in it," said Kain.
"If you think of it that way."
I couldn't help but notice how dark Ikuto's eyes had gotten and how he had stayed quiet this entire time. He called a cab and we went back into the hotel.
The Next Morning
I stretched on my bed then got up. Last night had been a handful. I'd forgotten that I was supposed to have called Utau the minute I landed here, so I received an earful about keeping my promises from her. I talked to Ami, Yaya and Noelle before having to hand the phone over to Kukai so he could chat with Utau. Noelle had then wanted to speak to Ikuto, which he obliged happily. I couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed content but me.
I pulled out navy striped button up shirt along with a pair of mid-thigh shorts. I tucked the shirt into my pants then tied a thick tan belt around it. I tied my hair into a high ponytail then headed downstairs. As I got to the main floor, I couldn't help but wince amongst the loud shouts.
"Good morning," I whispered.
"Good morning."
I didn't bother asking them who was yelling or why. Hana emerged with a frown on her face and slid two waffles onto my plate.
"What's going on?" asked Kain.
Hana grimaced.
"Seems like the boy is arguing with his father about his job."
"I thought he'd already given this battle up," said Kukai to no one in particular but with a disgusted look on his face.
Hana shrugged then patted her apron, "You'd better get some energy into those bones, you're going to need it."
Just as she left, Ikuto emerged, his face was pale. Even though he looked like he had just seen a ghost, he silently took a seat and ate his breakfast.
"Are we scoping the area today too?" asked Kain.
"Actually, I forgot to mention this because of…the phone call, but there's this orphanage that called me yesterday. According to them, they have information on two kids adopted by some one fitting the description of Kyou."
"Already?"
"Yeah."
Once we were done with breakfast, Kain and I helped carry the dishes back into the kitchen before we left. Ikuto hailed a cab then gave the man the instructions to the orphanage. In the midst of it all, I still can't believe we got information that fast. I mean we've only been here for 2 days, how'd they find us so quickly?
I rested my chin on my palm as I looked out the window. We were living the city. The tall buildings were diminishing in size and the Eiffel Tower didn't look like the stand out icon it was supposed to be. We passed by the sea and I lowered my window a little bit to get a smell of that aromatic salt.
Soon the sea had stopped and we were on a dirt road surrounded by thousands of trees. Was there really an orphanage here?
After a little while, the cab stopped.
"Merci," said Ikuto handing the man some money.
I took note of the orphanage. It looked like an abandoned castle. A tall building made of old red bricks and several pointed tops. Though if you looked closer, you could see a couple bricks were missing. Vines, alive and dried hung to the exterior of the building giving you a 'Stay out' vibe.
Ikuto walked up to the wooden door and used the metal lion head knocker to knock on the door. The lion actually sent shivers down my spine. The flung open revealing a tiny lady. Her eyes were dark in contrast to her pearly white hair. She looked from Ikuto to us in disdain.
"I didn't know we had company," she mumbled.
"They're part of my team," answered Ikuto coolly stepping in.
We followed him in, ignoring the lady's probably rude French comments she mumbled under her breath. The inside seemed a bit friendlier than the outside. The walls were painted a pale pink with different portraits hung here and there.
Just as were settling in, another woman emerged. She too had dark eyes that contrasted with her pearl white hair, but unlike the lady who greeted us; her eyes were full of warmth.
They looked so much alike.
"Ah, you must be little Ikuto's friends," she smiled putting out a tray of cookies and tea.
We sent Ikuto questioning looks.
"Family friends…"
The woman sat next to her identical friend. I just couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance.
"Excuse me, but you two look so much alike."
The nicer one answered.
"We're twins actually. I'm Tsuki and she's Taiyo."
"Which is ironic," interrupted Ikuto. "Because Taiyo has a milder, vicious temper and her name means 'sun'. Where as Tsuki has a bubbly, happy personality when her name means 'moon'."
"Don't just discuss us like we're not here," snapped Taiyo.
"Yes, yes. Anyways, about the case."
A grim look fell upon the twins' faces.
"Follow us," they said in unison.
They got up from the couch and moved up the wooden staircase. At the top, we were greeted by a group of kids.
"Who're they?" asked a little boy that looked just like Kukai.
"Company," answered Tsuki.
He glared at us before he returned to the play room with all the other kids following them.
"Sorry," sighed Tsuki, "Ever since they disappeared, he's been protective of the others."
"Disappeared?" I asked.
They led us into a room with two sets of bunk beds. Taiyo and Tsuki stopped in front of the neatest bunk centered closest to the window.
"They were twins like us. A boy, Ichiro and girl, Hikari. Both of them were 7 and were adopted two weeks ago," said Taiyo in the gentlest voice she could offer.
"The problem is that usually the kids write back to us, but they didn't. After not hearing from them for a while, we checked the address of the house the man gave us – it was empty. The phone number was a fake."
"How do you know if it's Kyou or not?" asked Kukai sternly.
"A man with a dark hair and brown eyes. A crooked nose and a jagged scar running along his cheek. Fit his description?" snapped Taiyo.
"Well yes, but there are a lot of people who look like that," argued Kain.
"We'll give you the address and everything; will you please just check it out?"
"Okay. We'll set out first thing tomorrow," said Ikuto with a frown.
"Oh thank you so much!"
"Here's a picture of them," said Taiyo.
I grabbed it and looked at the brother and sister. Both of them had orange-brown hair with gleaming hazel eyes. I sighed and tucked it into my purse.
In the taxi it was absolutely quiet. I knew they were disturbed with the case now. Sure the three of us didn't have a close connection to the case like Ikuto did; I mean his sister was taken with the others, but it still put a heavy feeling in our hearts.
And just yesterday I had been exciting to sight see the city. Just yesterday I was all emotional over Ikuto. I can't help but feel disgusted with myself. I can sightsee another time when this is all over. I can come back. And I'm not going to be in love with Ikuto for the rest of my life. I'm not going to go teary eyed just thinking about it every time. There are other people. But there's one life. One life in one small child. A life that might be taken out of this world if I don't help.
Authors Note
Hi :] Okay so I finally updated this chapter after 3 days worth of research. First I had to find a hotel near the Eiffel Tower so Amu could look at in the morning, not to mention it had to be at a walking distance. The streets and stores around it were real as well; and it took forever to find especially after I had a feud with Google maps.
Second I feel really bad about this chapter. There's a lot of 'he said' 'she said' 'she this' 'he that' in it. I know how annoying it gets when chapters are like that, but I couldn't help it in this chapter because of all the groups of people. I'm also sorry about the French in this chapter. I was on Google Translate finding them, but I know my readers aren't all French. I'm not French either, so the only way I know what they're saying is if I read the descriptions. So I had Ikuto translate it. But not all people in France are Japanese so I had to have some people actually speaking French. So I'm really really really really sorry if it got confusing.
'Oui' means yes.
'Ce Saveurs' means what flavors.
That's all I remember. Yes, after much debate I put Tadase in. Oh the chapters when they're in Paris are longer than my usual chapters. This one was 16 pages. Chapter 28 was actually supposed to hold 3 days worth of events but the whole gelato thing and the incident about Amu finding out about Ikuto came up. So yeah…only two days, but I don't think that it really matters.
Yeah, Amu's confused about her feelings. Sorry if she's kind of moody sometimes. Sad. Angry. Confused. All I can say is she's a mix of emotions right now.
Wow, what a long Author's note. Hehe!
Love,
Neko~Meme
