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Chapter 29
- - - When Kai got back to the house, he watched his Okā-sama head to her room. Tala was installed in a guest room next to the late Akiko's room. Changing into something comfortable to sleep in, he decided not go into Tsukiko's room even though he wanted to. It was late and he was tired.
Waking up the next morning, he walked with Tala down to the dining room. He found his Okā-sama and Takayoshi already eating breakfast. He found it strange that Tsukiko was not with them.
"Is Tsukiko-san still sleeping?" asked Kai's Okā-sama
"No. She is not here" answered Takayoshi
"Did she stay over at a friend's house?" she asked him
"No. She left" stated Takayoshi ending the conversation
Kai was not going to leave things like this. "When is she coming back?"
"I suggest you forget about her. She might never come back" Takayoshi stood up and excused himself before leaving the room.
Kai's Okā-sama turned to him. "Did you know anything about this Kai?"
Kai slammed his napkin on the table. "No. She never mentioned anything to me"
"How would she? I thought you didn't like her much less speak to her Kai" stated Tala sipping his coffee.
Kai glared down at him. He could not tell Tala he was wrong because it would mean he would have to tell him everything in front of his mother who would also want to know. Then all hell would break loose and his Okā-san would find out what he and Tsukiko had been doing these past weeks.
Kai stood up. "I will go look for her"
"She could be gone from the city or the country Kai" stated Tala looking at him
"It is not safe for her to be on her own"
His Okā-san stopped him. "Kai, Tsukiko-san is in a much better state. She does not need a babysitter any more. She is a young lady who needs to learn to live on her own"
Kai could not disagree with his Okā-sama. Tsukiko was in a much better condition. She was no longer a threat to herself. Yet, why would she leave without saying anything to him?
I would have stopped her. He answered his own question. Yet he knew this should not surprise him. He was going to leave as well without saying anything to her. Why should he care that she left a lot earlier than he did?
Kai sat down back and finished his breakfast. He tried looking as normal as he could get since Tala was staring at him. When his mother finally excused herself and left, Tala turned to him.
"You are going to still go look for her, aren't you?" asked Tala
Kai stood up. "Yes"
"Why? You don't like her" smirked Tala catching on
Kai glared at him. "I lied. Now let's go."
Tala finished his coffee before following Kai out of the house. They walked all the way to the main part of the town. They split up and looked around. They met at the park around twelve in the afternoon. When Tala arrived without the white-haired teen, Kai got an irritated look on his face.
Tala sat down and handed Kai a drink. Even though it was spring, Tala felt like it was summer with all the walking and running he did. He turned to Kai when he finished drinking. "Once we find her I won't waste time and ask her on a date"
Kai turned to him and grabbed him by the collar. "Don't get near her. I am only warning you once"
"What the hell Kai? I thought…" Tala was cut off
Kai pushed him back on the bench, letting go of Tala's shirt. "I lied. She and I…"
Tala cut him off and grinned "You are having sex with her. If she isn't your girlfriend then she's still fair game"
Kai glared at him. "Don't test my capability of restrain Tala"
"You're leaving in three weeks Kai. She just left. What is there to do?" Tala stood up
Kai massaged his temples. He would not tell Tala he was right. Tsukiko might as well be with her nii, nee or with the twins. They walked back to the house.
- - - Tsukiko made some lunch. Her Otō-sama's secretary brought her some groceries and other things she might need for the week. She waited until it was the afternoon to walk the pup. She had an idea that Kai and the rest already knew she was not at the house. Takeshi or Aiko would figure it out tomorrow. Now she would enjoy some quiet time and a good use of her Otō-sama's credit card.
She walked inside a candy store and almost walked out. It brought memories back. Memories of Akiko and the love she held for candy. She sighed and got Akiko's favorite and paid. Walking back she ate one by one as tears formed in her eyes.
Tsukiko stopped and stomped her foot on the ground. It was only the first day of being on her own and she was already feeling like crap. This was going to be a lot harder than she imagined. She walked back to the apartment and let Chokorēto roam around while she cooked some dinner. She ate in the kitchen next to the pup.
Turning off the lights, she lay down on the bed. Chokorēto came to lie next to the bed and made a sound of sadness. She reached down and scratched him behind the ears.
"You miss her huh?" she asked the pup. "I miss her too"
Tsukiko gave Chokorēto a last scratch before rolling over and falling asleep.
We want to live our lives, until we find a way.
- - - On the second day Takeshi and Aiko stormed in. Kai answered Tala's question before he could ask it. "They are Tsukiko's nii and nee"
Tala nodded and they stayed on the stairs. Something was going to happen. Kai could see it in Aiko's eyes.
"Takayoshi!" yelled Aiko
After a few minutes went by Aiko was getting ready to yell again but was stopped by her brother Takeshi. Takayoshi walked out from the shadows and stepped up to his eldest daughter and son.
"You will not come into my home and disrespect me. Take off your shoes and come to my study." Declared Takayoshi
Takeshi and Aiko took off their shoes and dropped them by the entrance. Takeshi stopped Aiko before she could yell at her Otō-sama. "Otō-san where is Tsukiko?"
"She left the night before yesterday" answered Takayoshi
"Where did she go?" asked Aiko
"She did not say" answered Takayoshi glaring down at his eldest daughter
Aiko launched at Takayoshi but Takeshi wrapped his arms around her and held her back. "What did you do to her? Where did you send her of to?" she yelled
Takayoshi was no longer glaring at Aiko. He stared at her. In mere seconds Aiko stopped trying to free herself from Takeshi's hold. She looked frightened.
"Don't stare at me like that..." she mumbled
Takeshi catching on placed his palm over her eyes. "Otō-san do not torment her"
"She is weak"
Aiko flinched but did not move to assault her Otō. She held onto Takeshi's arm.
"I hope you remember our deal, I expect to see you soon Aiko" Takayoshi turned away and walked
"I expect a call if you know anything from Tsukiko" stated Takeshi
Takeshi walked up to a maid and left his phone number. When he caught Kai on the stairwell he turned to him. "Do you know anything about Tsukiko?"
"No" answered Kai
Takeshi gave him a nod before turning away and pulling Aiko to the front door to leave.
Tala turned to Kai. "Are we going to go look for her again?"
"Yes. Takeshi and Aiko don't know where she is which means she is somewhere doing something stupid" stated Kai walking out of the house with Tala
- - - On the third day Tsukiko thought she was going to die of boredom. She was running low on food for Chokorēto. She always thought that after meal he was getting bigger. He ate more than she did in two whole days.
"I will be back. Be good" Tsukiko ruffled his ears and he barked
Tsukiko had to walk four blocks to get a big bag of dog food. After purchasing it, she walked out of the store and nearly ran back inside the store. Across the street was Kai's friend Tala. She was sure Kai was not far.
What to do, what to do? She chanted in her head. Tsukiko looked down at the big bag of dog food. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. She lifted it up enough so it would cover her face. She walked out of the store. She was walking in a quick pace but had no idea what was in front of her. Before Tsukiko knew it, she bumped into some one.
"Hn"
She recognized that grunt anywhere. It was Kai. Why me?
"Uh…my apologies sir. Good day" Tsukiko spoke in English hoping he would not recognize her. She went around and counted twenty seconds. Once they were done she would start running like hell.
Tsukiko heard someone whistle. "Kai over there"
She didn't know how she was running with this big bag of dog food in her hands but she was. Tsukiko could hear people yelling and grumbling at the male who was pushing them to get passed them.
I can't get caught. I just can't get caught. The whole experiment will go down the drain if Kai catches me. Three days is not a whole week. She thought stretching her legs to run faster. She was close to the apartment.
Tsukiko saw the light was soon to turn yellow. This was her chance. Kai would not cross on red. It would be stupid if he did. There were honks but she crossed. She didn't look back and kept running. She ran all the way to the apartment and shut the door behind her. Locking it, Tsukiko leaned her back on it before sliding down. There would be no way he would be able to find her now.
Tala spotted her. It was the person who bumped with him carrying the bag of dog food. She must have taken the pup with her. As soon as Kai chased her she was already running. She was a fast runner but he was faster. Kai looked up and saw the light was going to change. He would reach her but nearly yelled when she crossed in yellow. He watched her keep running. When the light turned green he ran up to the point where he had last seen her. There were at least six different directions she could have gone to.
Kai cursed.
"Did you get her?" asked Tala running up to Kai
Kai didn't answer. Tala didn't say anything else knowing that if he did Kai would attack him. He waited five minutes to pass before he asked him anything else.
"Are we going to wait right here?"
"No. She saw us and will not be coming back today. We will come back tomorrow"
Tala followed Kai back to his house.
- - - Once Tsukiko got air back into her lungs and breathe, she got Chokorēto to quiet down. She went over to get the phone and called Ogawa-san. She would want to know about this.
"Moshi Moshi"
"Ogawa-san it's me Toushiro-san"
"Is everything okay Toushiro-san?"
She went to sit on the bed. "Hiwatari-kun saw me today. He chased after me."
"I assume you got away. Why did you not stop and tell him what was going on?" asked the therapist
This was a dumb question. "Because if I told him everything he would avoid me and the experiment would've been of no use or he would do the opposite and drag me back to the house"
She heard Ogawa-san make a sound of approve. "You did good Toushiro-san. What are you going to do now?"
"Stay in here until the week is over. Hiwatari is going to come back and look for me" Tsukiko said in a huff
"I suggest you do what you think is best" stated Ogawa-san before saying good bye and hanging up
- - - As the days went by, Tsukiko lost how many times she had cried. She lost the reason for being in this room. The pup was as depressed as she was. She cried for the loss of her Okā-san, for her broken family and for Akiko.
Tsukiko stayed an extra day in the apartment. If she did she knew that she was stronger than the limit someone thought she could achieve. In this last day in the apartment, she thought of everything in a positive way.
- - - Tuesday morning there was a knock on the front door. It opened before the maid could get to it. Chokorēto ran in and barked. The driver took her things. Takayoshi walked out of the dining room. Kai's Okā-san, Kai and Tala stood by the entrance. Tsukiko smiled at them and ran. She hugged Takayoshi. Everyone looked shocked, even Takayoshi himself.
"I missed you Otō-sama"
Takayoshi looked down at his daughter and patted her back. "I assume you did not enjoy your time alone?"
"Ie! You know I hate being alone" she smiled up at him. "Chokorēto missed you too"
The dog barked and Takayoshi glared down at it. Kai stared at her. He could not understand her behavior. Tala analyzed Kai. He could tell that this was not Toushiro's normal behavior. The girl backed away.
"Come on dear, we've been holding a special seat for you since yesterday" said Kai's Okā-san leading her back to the dining room.
"Arigato. I'm glad to see you as well"
Kai's Okā-san paused on her step before walking again. Kai helped his Okā-san sit down to Takayoshi's right. He noticed how Tsukiko's eyes lingered on the empty first chair to Takayoshi's left. He offered her the seat and she looked up at him.
"A-arigato Otō-sama" stated Tsukiko sitting down
Kai, Tala and Takayoshi sat down next. They served Tsukiko her breakfast. They ate quietly. No one minded except Kai who wanted some answers but was not going to make a scene here and so early in the day.
Takayoshi spoke. "You are a day late"
"I wanted to stay one more day" answered Tsukiko before looking at her watch. She moved to stand up. "Gomen I can't stay. I'm going to be late for my appointment"
Tsukiko hugged Takayoshi and waved at the rest before running out of the room.
Kai looked at the dining room exit and glared. He waited for his Okā-san and Takayoshi to leave the room. Before he could give Tala an order he spoke.
"I know. We are going to go and confront her. Sometimes you are too obvious Kai" said Tala following him out.
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