XXXVI. Paper Cranes

The sound of a doorbell resonated inside a Japanese-style house situated in a peaceful, residential area in Tokyo. A few seconds later, the door of the house opened only to reveal a beautiful and intelligent-looking face of a middle-aged woman.

"Sakuno-chan?" the woman exclaimed, a hint of surprise laced in her tone. "It's been a while since I last saw you. I heard about what happened at the café. Is everything okay?" Concern was written all over Tezuka Ayana's face as she inspected the younger woman standing in front of her.

Sakuno couldn't help but fidget. She felt the penetrating gaze of Tezuka's mother rake up and down her body. The brunette was actually grateful that the sports jacket Ryoma lent her concealed her injuries from the woman. If the older woman saw the numerous bandages decorating her body, well, she wasn't sure whether the kind mother of their buchou would allow her to leave her house without fussing.

"H-hai. Thank you for asking," the brunette uttered politely, hoping their buchou's mother didn't notice anything amiss in her appearance.

Ayana temporarily looked up from the girl and noticed a boy wearing a white cap standing a few steps behind Sakuno. His apathetic, yet sharp eyes stared at her neutrally.

"So you came here with Echizen-kun," Ayana said, the brightness in her eyes dimming as she stared back at Ryoma. It was as if she already knew why the teenagers had come to her house. "Kunimitsu hasn't come home since he told us he'd be reviewing for college entrance exams at a friend's house. But if there's anything I can do for you, then just say so."

"Ano…" Sakuno bowed her head as she thought of a way to say what she and Ryoma came to the Tezuka's residence for. "We have a few questions to ask you, if that's okay," the brunette finished, still staring at the ground. She wasn't able to look into Ayana's eyes without betraying her emotions.

For the mean time, Ryoma allowed Sakuno to do all the talking. He wasn't as familiar with the older woman as much as the brunette is, so he figured it would be wiser if he just kept quiet for now.

It took a few moments before Ayana responded again. The occupied look on her face told the teenagers that she had debated her answer for a while.

"Why don't you come in and have some tea? I'll try my best to help," Ayana said as she moved to the side so Sakuno and Ryoma can have enough space to go through the door. The brunette bowed respectfully and muttered an "arigatou" as she went into the house.

Ryoma waited for Sakuno to enter the house before he casted a covert look behind him. To his dismay, or perhaps relief, he saw nothing but an empty street. It was disconcerting. Ever since they left the cursed love motel where his benevolent father dropped them at, he always had the feeling of being watched.

Hopefully, it was just the work of his overly paranoid imagination and nothing else. Because if not, then…

"Are you coming in, Echizen-kun?"

Ayana's question startled the prince out of his reverie. Looking back at the older woman, Ryoma mumbled "uissu," before he also entered the house.

"Ne, Chitose, since you're so good at predicting like a creepy fortune-teller and all, why don't you tell me how long it'll take them to figure out the riddle?" Kintarou asked loudly as he sat in Indian position on a chair in one of the rooms in Atobe's mansion. He was still mad at Shiraishi and his other teammates for knocking him out last night and forgetting to wake him up earlier that morning to say goodbye to Sakuno and Ryoma. Didn't they know he had wanted to join the two in investigating?

The Shitenhouji regulars had arrived at the mansion a few hours earlier to join the rest of the tennis players in preparing for the tournament. When they entered the residence, they found Oshitari's group, who had left earlier with Atobe's agents to inspect the dome, already gathered in the meeting room. The players had been discussing how they had found nothing out of the ordinary at the dome. But instead of being placated by their lack of discovery, they were more bothered by it.

Just what exactly is Tezuka planning?

A few minutes after the arrival of the Shitenhouji players, Fuji's group had also returned to the mansion bearing the riddle that they discovered from visiting the gun maker's shop. They showed the piece of paper to the rest of the tennis players.

"0 minutes and 0 seconds," Chitose answered his kouhai with a confident smile. He saw Kin-chan's huge, innocent eyes blink in confusion.

"Heh? That's not even a length of time!" the red head protested.

"Precisely. That's because they've already figured it out," Chitose patiently explained. "If you want me to be more exact, I'd say it only took Fuji and the others approximately 3 seconds after they read the riddle to figure out what the riddle was referring to."

"No way!" Kintarou exclaimed with disbelief clearly showing in his eyes. "They're that good?"

They heard Shiraishi's good-natured chuckle coming from their right side. "It's not that hard to figure out, Kin-chan. If you know your Japanese history, that is."

The first year prodigy from Osaka just gave his captain a blank stare before childishly sticking out his tongue at him. History and anything else related to education weren't exactly his strongest points.

"Doesn't the number 47 mean anything to you?" Marui Bunta, who had heard the Shitenhouji players' conversation, gawked at Kintarou incredulously. He had heard that the freshman was not the smartest of the bunch, but he had at least expected the boy to know one of the most famous stories in their country's history.

Kintarou directed his stare upwards as he scrunched up his nose, trying to recall anything he knows that has to do with the number 47. When he came up with nothing, he just smiled brightly, not bothered in the least bit by his cluelessness. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell!"

"The 47 Samurai," Sanada supplemented in a condescending tone from the corner of the room. As someone who practices the code of bushido and most likely a direct samurai descendant, he was displeased to know that someone can be as ignorant as to not know the story of the 47 samurai. "It's the story of forty seven samurai who bravely sacrificed their lives to defend the honor of their master."

"Really?" Kintarou leaned back on his chair, his arms crossed at the back of his head. "So the 47 in the riddle was referring to those 47 samurai? But they're all dead. They couldn't have beds now. Or do their futons still exist?" He gasped his last question out loud, thinking that he had also figured out the riddle.

"It's nothing but figurative speech. That's why it's a riddle," Fuji answered the red head this time. "Yes, they are obviously all dead now. What the word 'bed' indicated in that riddle meant their final resting place. More literally-"

"Their graves," Yukimura finished for the tensai. Most of the regulars in the room had pretty much arrived at the same conclusion.

"Nya, I guess that makes sense. But that doesn't explain the rest of the riddle!" Eiji pouted, frowning his brows in confusion. Like Kintarou, he also hasn't caught up with the others' deduction.

"The 47 samurai's graves are located in a temple here in Tokyo," Oshitari muttered out loud.

Shishido crossed his arms as he leaned against a wall. "So, 'keep those monkeys away from the 47's bed' meant to stay away from the temple? So why would he mention the temple at all?"

"Because he is directing us to the area around or near the temple and not at the temple itself," Yukimura asserted.

"And the four little monkeys? If I'm not mistaken, that nursery rhyme usually starts with ten little monkeys. Why did he deliberately change that part to four?" Oishi spoke to clarify the only part of the riddle he didn't get.

At this point, Inui and Fuji looked at each other. It was Fuji who spoke moments later. "Inui and I already have a hunch as to what the words 'four little monkeys' are referring to. But it can only be proven once we find whatever this first riddle is pointing us to."

"That's just crazy. How can we search for something we don't know?" Gakuto uttered, frustration clearly in his voice.

"Go by your instincts. As skilled tennis players with honed and heightened instincts, surely, you will be able to detect if something seems out of place in an area," Atobe said, a bit annoyed by Gakuto's whining.

Hearing the rich teenager's words, Momo energetically stood up from his seat and asked the large group in an impatient tone, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find this sucker!"

Sakuno and Ryoma were busy looking through pages of old photo albums that Ayana had brought out for them. Various photos of a kindergarten-aged Tezuka quickly flashed before their eyes. There were pictures of a little Tezuka wearing traditional Japanese clothing at New Year's Eve, of him reading beginning chapter books, of him fishing with his grandfather, and of course, of him playing tennis. Not surprisingly enough, Tezuka had only one expression in every single picture—his infamous, serious one. It appeared as if the captain has had that dry personality ever since he was a kid.

If Ryoma and Sakuno weren't on a serious mission at the moment, they would've found the opportunity to view their captain in his younger years much more amusing. In fact, Sakuno couldn't help but smile fondly as she stared a bit longer at some of the pictures. Even with that stoic face, Tezuka had been really cute as a kid. He looked like a little boy who was trying hard to act more mature than appropriate for his age.

But then, Sakuno felt a burning sensation in her chest as she remembered their real purpose in visiting her nii-san's house. They had wanted to learn more about Tezuka's relationship with the late Kenji Yamamoto and, hopefully, find some sort of evidence that can prove that their buchou is innocent. So far, they had gleamed nothing important from the photographs.

Sakuno was about to flip through another page of the album when she saw something that caught her eyes. On a page containing a picture of a young Tezuka holding a tennis racket, a little piece of a colorful, folded paper was stuck on the right, upper corner of the said photograph.

Frowning, the brunette somewhat recognized the creases that were present on the paper.

'An origami?' she thought uncertainly.

Sakuno carefully peeled back the transparent cover of the page of the album, which held the photographs and the colorful paper in their places. She then inspected the object that caught her interest. The creases were still crisp so she had no problem folding the paper back to its original shape.

Holding it slightly away from her, she finally recognized that it was a paper crane. It had been folded with absolute precision that no unnecessary crumples were visible on the origami masterpiece. Indeed, the crane was perfectly folded except for two extra horizontal folds located in the middle of its wings.

"Origami?" was the simple question that came out of his mouth before he can help it. His voice had come out as a monotone, as usual, but there was a hint of uncharacteristic curiosity in his question.

Startled by the unexpected question, the girl glanced behind her and a bright smile took over her face. "Hai," she nodded before turning back to her work. He didn't see the sad expression that followed her short reply.

"A classmate of mine fell ill and our class decided to fold 1000 paper cranes to wish her good health. Hopefully, she gets well soon."

Tezuka didn't say anything after that. Thinking that the buchou had gone back to reading his book, Sakuno also kept quiet and just focused on folding more paper. She was startled for the second time that night when she heard an almost inaudible rustle beside her. Looking towards her side, she found Tezuka with one of her square papers.

She watched in astonishment as the buchou expertly folded the paper into a crane. He made the action seem as if he folded paper cranes every day. Of course, she shouldn't be surprised. Tezuka is naturally good at everything he does.

Sensing the unspoken curiosity coming from the brunette, Tezuka sent her a questioning glance. Sakuno blushed upon being caught staring at him.

"Ah, gomen. I just…well, I just never thought that Tezuka-buchou would be so good at folding paper cranes. Not that it's too hard for you or anything!" Sakuno shook her head animatedly. "But I just thought that you would never bother with such a trivial thing."

The Seigaku captain remained silent as he finished yet another crane. The brunette couldn't help but stare at his creations. There was something odd about his cranes no matter how perfectly they were folded. There were two extra creases on the cranes' wings, giving his cranes a unique style. Though that didn't make them look too different from normal crane origamis, it was still a pretty distinguishable trait.

"It was a habit that I unconsciously adopted from a man I once called 'brother.'" His random explanation shook the girl from her reverie. "He liked to fold paper cranes in his spare time."

It took a few seconds for Sakuno to realize that he was referring to his paper folding skills. Thinking more about what he just said, she was kind of curious as to who this 'brother' figure is. It was pretty rare for Tezuka to talk about his personal life. In fact, it was probably the first time he mentioned something that went beyond everyday conversation to her.

"Did you find something?"

Ryoma's voice brought her back to present times. Her eyes were still somewhat dazed when she turned to look at the boy who was sitting beside her. His questioning eyes reminded her that she hasn't answered him.

"Oh, it's- it's nothing. I was just…remembering something," Sakuno replied distractedly as she unfolded the paper crane in her hands and returned it to the album. Ryoma looked like he was unsatisfied with her answer, but didn't question her any further. He simply settled to take the album that was sitting on her lap. The prince examined the item.

In contrast to Sakuno, what caught Ryoma's attention was the photograph that was below where the crane was—the one with a young Tezuka holding a racket and playing tennis at an uncemented tennis court. Behind him was what looked like a raised, wooden platform of either a dojo or a temple. The overall setting of the place told him that it was taken in a rural area surrounded by trees.

But wait a minute…it felt as if he'd seen that place before. Looking back at the other album he was previously examining, he found that he was right. There were more pictures of Tezuka playing tennis at that same place.

"I see that you've found the album you're looking for."

This time, both of them jolted at the unexpected sound of Ayana's voice. She had been in the kitchen preparing drinks for her visitors. The graceful woman walked around the low table Ryoma and Sakuno were sitting in front of and settled two cups of steaming, hot tea on the table for each of them.

When they did nothing but give her lost stares, she elaborated, "You asked me about Kenji-kun, right? Well, in that album," she sent a glance at one of the albums Ryoma was holding, "I believe there is a photograph of Kenji-kun playing tennis with Kunimitsu."

"M-maybe we haven't seen it yet," Sakuno answered for both of them. "We've only seen pictures of Kunimitsu-nii so far."

"Is that so?" Ayana extended one of her flawless hands and reached for the album in Ryoma's hands. The prince gave it to her without protest.

"Let's see, I believe it's around here…" the older woman mumbled to herself as she flipped through the pages. "Aha, here it is."

She showed a page containing more tennis photographs of her son to them. In one of them, a high school boy with jet black hair and shining eyes was standing next to a kid with a serious expression. There were sweat-drenched towels around each of their necks and it appeared as if they had just finished playing a set. Behind them was, once again, the noticeable wooden structure of the dojo (or temple) Ryoma has seen in the other pictures.

"Kenji-kun used to live in an apartment complex beside our house. He was a cheerful boy and was very friendly to the kids," Ayana explained as she watched the teenagers look at the picture more closely. "Because he also played tennis, he quickly developed a connection with my anti-social Kunimitsu and they quickly got close. I was overjoyed, especially since Kunimitsu didn't normally socialize with anyone back then aside from a close cousin."

"Where was this picture taken?" Ryoma couldn't help but ask the woman. The familiar, wooden building present in most of the photographs in the albums has piqued his interest enough.

Ayana blinked, not expecting that question.

"It's taken at our ancestral home in Kyoto. My brother's family used to live there until, well, sickness took his life and then the rest of his family moved somewhere else. As it was vacant and spacious, we used to give permission to Kenji-kun and his friends to use it as a makeshift tennis camp. It was a perfect place to get away from the busy city life too, you know." At this, a nostalgic smile crossed Ayana's face. "Kunimitsu always seemed excited to go to that place with Kenji-kun. They acted as if it was their secret base or something when, of course, all they did there was play tennis."

Ryoma flipped through the next page of the album and saw that there were more photos taken at that place. In some of them, other people were also shown—kids and other teenagers who played tennis with Kenji and Tezuka. There was a group picture of all of them sitting in front of the wooden building that Ryoma kept seeing. In that particular one, the entire front structure of the building was shown and by then, Ryoma was sure that it was indeed a temple not much different from his own home.

"But excuse me for a second. I need to check on the cookies I am baking for you two. I shall be back shortly."

With those words, Ayana left Sakuno and Ryoma alone in the living room once again. The two were silent as each was engrossed in their own thoughts.

Looking down with a heavy feeling in her chest, Sakuno whispered her next words to Ryoma. "There is no doubt that Kunimitsu-nii was very close to Yamamoto-san then."

Ryoma only sent her a brief, side glance before he returned his attention to the group shot he was previously looking at. There was something in that particular picture that was bothering him. He flipped back to look at the other pictures in the album then returned to the group picture again.

Finally making a decision in his head, he took out his cellphone from his shorts' pocket, quickly set it to camera mode, and took a picture of the photograph he was interested in.

Sakuno was surprised by the sudden flash in the living room and was about to inquire about it when Ayana came back carrying a plate of cookies for them.

The brunette never got the chance to ask her question.

"I feel like we're just wasting time."

Bunta ran his right hand through his red hair as he let out a tired sigh. The large group of tennis regulars had been searching the area around the temple where the 47 samurai were buried and hasn't found a single thing out of the ordinary so far. It was already past noon.

"Maybe we got the riddle wrong, after all?" the volley specialist asked his three teammates who were walking with him along a street full of merchandise stalls.

"It's possible, but unlikely. Especially since most of us arrived at the same conclusion," Jackal replied as he allowed his eyes to continually roam around the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Yagyuu remained quiet as he also scanned the area for anything suspicious. The gentleman player of the group suddenly halted in his steps when he sensed that Niou wasn't walking beside him anymore. It didn't take long for him to find where his doubles partner disappeared to. The trickster was standing a few steps behind them, staring at a particular food stall under a sakura tree on the temple grounds.

"Niou-kun?"

Bunta and Jackal also paused from walking when they heard Yagyuu call out to the trickster. Curiously, they watched as Yagyuu walked towards his partner.

"Is something wrong?" Yagyuu asked again before he turned his head to look at the food stall which caught his partner's attention. Looking closer at it, he saw the banner on top of the stand that labeled the place as a mochi food stall. There was no one manning the shop at that moment. A sign that said "on break" stood on top of its counter.

"We walked by this place when we started searching earlier. That sign has been there for almost three and a half hours," Niou muttered to Yagyuu.

Without any warning, the trickster walked over to the stall and suddenly jumped over its counter to examine the inside of the shack. Yagyuu, who had always been a law-abiding citizen, was easily scandalized by his partner's actions.

"Niou-kun! I don't think that's a good idea-"

Before he can finish his sentence, he saw a red blur pass by him. Bunta had followed Niou into the shack.

Yagyuu glanced behind to seek for Jackal's help in restraining their two teammates, but the dark-skinned player simply sent him a useless shrug before he also walked by Yagyuu and jumped over the counter.

"Somehow, it always ends up like this," Yagyuu grumbled to no one in particular as he shook his head. Letting out a defeated sigh, the gentleman player of Rikkai had no other choice but to follow the rest of his teammates.

Empty boxes.

That's all the Rikkai regulars found in the suspicious-looking food shack.

The oddity of the situation heightened the players' awareness. For all they know, the shack could actually be the place the riddle was referring to!

"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you're on our side, Niou?" Bunta said with a shadow of a smile on his face as he bent down to examine one of the empty boxes. Around him, his companions mirrored his actions. "You really are one sharp cookie."

A playful smirk appeared on Niou's face. "What makes you so sure I'm on your side?"

The joke wasn't received lightly by the volley specialist.

"Oi, that's not funny! What if you're- What is it?" Bunta frowned as he saw the smirk on Niou's lips suddenly get wiped off when the trickster opened one of the boxes in front of him. The red head instinctively walked over to see what was up.

Alerted by Bunta's question, Yagyuu and Jackal also moved to stand behind Niou.

Looking inside the box, they all saw a black, rectangular object with an LED display located on the upper half of its top. Below the LED display was a see-through, glass compartment that contained some sort of paper inside. All around it were red and blue wires that went in and out of its surface.

The Rikkai regulars' eyes instantly widened in recognition.

It's a frigging bomb!

Backing a few steps away, Jackal glanced at his teammates in panic. "Let's get out of here before-"

"Relax. It's not activated," was the calm reply that he got from Niou.

They saw the trickster reach out his hand towards the bomb. "One of the essential wires that allows the bomb to operate was cut," he explained to the others as he pointed to a red wire near the LED display that was disconnected from the body, "What I'm more concerned about is this…"

Yagyuu raised an eyebrow as Niou opened the see-through compartment below the LED display and took out the paper that was inside. Unfolding the paper, the trickster saw a familiar writing printed on it.

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed,
one jumped up and broke his head,
mommy called the doctor and the doctor said:

"Make those monkeys visit the 47's head."

Below the riddle were extra lines that weren't included in the first riddle they've seen before.

Tick, tock.
Time is running out.

"Ryoma-kun plans to visit the ancestral house that Ayana-san mentioned?" Sakuno asked in a tone that was softer than her usual one as she and Ryoma were walking away from the Tezuka's residence.

The prince was a few steps ahead of her. Glancing at his fisted hand, Sakuno saw that he was clutching the small piece of paper in which the prince had scribbled the address for the temple that he had asked Ayana for.

"Aa," was the monosyllabic answer that he gave her.

Sakuno frowned at that. The prince had pretty much kept to himself ever since the motel incident. Quite frankly, she was concerned. It was like he was reverting back to the way he acted towards her before all of this happened.

He was back to his apathetic self.

That thought scared Sakuno more than she thought it should. She didn't want to suddenly lose the connection that she had made with Ryoma over the past few weeks. Especially not after he had just started opening up—even just a bit—to her.

Insecurity.

That's something that will always be present in relationships wherein there were no commitments or confirmations uttered. Unfortunately, with Ryoma, neither of them can ever be expected. She somehow knew that he was incapable of making them, not when he had already prioritized tennis—and nothing but tennis—in his life. She was just, perhaps, a temporary distraction.

But even then…

Before Sakuno could help it, she had jogged the few steps that separated them and had gently grabbed his arm. Surprised by the sudden contact, Ryoma froze in his steps and turned to look at her.

He found that she was gazing at him with genuine concern and slight fear in her large, brown eyes. Staring down at her up close like that, he momentarily forgot everything that clouded his mind for the past few hours. His mind just blanked out. And for the first time in his life, he found himself unable to think.

"Daijobu?" Sakuno asked him as she held his gaze with her expressive eyes.

It took a lot of effort for the prince to force himself to look away from her.

"Aa."

There's that monosyllabic answer again. But this time, she was able to detect the lie that was behind his placating word.

Why is he suddenly being so secretive? Weren't they supposed to work together? Isn't that why their Fuji-senpai instructed him to investigate with her?

The brunette couldn't help but be hurt by his new attitude.

"I know that there's a lot going on, and I'm not sure what exactly is bothering Ryoma-kun so much. But I just want to let you know that I'm also here."

Sakuno looked up at him to show him how earnest she was.

"I'm here, Ryoma-kun. We're in this together. So please don't-"

"You're thinking too much."

The concerned expression in Sakuno's eyes turned to one of confusion. But before she can say anything in reply, he continued.

"Gomen."

Brown eyes widened in shock at his last word. It was probably the first time she heard the prince verbally apologize to her. He had apologized before through simple actions—such as offering Ponta or offering to teach her tennis. But this time, he actually said it.

"I didn't mean to worry you," Ryoma finished, his tone softer than usual.

His words had the instant effect of melting away all of her anxieties. Coming from the prince, the simple apology had been really sweet and touching. The frown on her face disappeared and a warm smile soon replaced her worried expression.

Yes, she had been thinking too much.

Sakuno shook her head and directed a small smile at him. "Iie, there is no need to apologize. Ryoma-kun was right. I was probably just worrying too much."

"What else is new?"

There was an innocent blink. "Mou, is that supposed to be an insult?"

The brunette pouted adorably at him. She saw him stare back at her with an inscrutable look in his eyes. He boldly stared for a quite a few seconds, which made her suddenly start to feel self-conscious. Did she have dirt on her face?

Just when she was about to ask him if something was wrong, she saw a blur of something white flash across her eyes that made her instinctively shut her eyes.

Sakuno soon felt something touch her head and her eyes opened again in curiosity. When her hand reached up to touch her head, she felt the tip of something that she belatedly recognized as the tip of a hat.

Looking back at Ryoma, she found that he wasn't wearing his famous white cap anymore. His bangs were slightly ruffled in a messy manner, though the prince still managed to make the disheveled appearance of his bangs look sexy. It was unfair. He naturally looked good without any help whatsoever.

Before she can even open her mouth, he started to mumble "an excuse" for his actions.

"With hair as long as that, people are bound to recognize you from a mile away." He turned away from her to prevent her from reading any other emotion in his eyes. "It's better to hide that ridiculous, long hair under a hat for now."

Yes, completely ridiculous but enticing—something that he would never ever admit to her out loud even if he was on his death bed.

He had always made fun of how long her hair is. Though deep down—deep down inside him, past all the surface pride (which Ryoma had a lot of)—he secretly adored her long hair.

"S-sou ne," was her discomposed reply as she felt her face getting warmer. Quickly, she followed his advice and tucked her braids under Ryoma's white cap.

"Is this good?" she innocently asked him.

He looked back at her, and this time, managed to conceal what he really thought behind an indifferent expression. Even with the absence of her cute braids, her bangs still fanned around her heart-shaped face, framing it in an angelic way.

"Not bad."

It's perfect.

He received a wide smile in return for his two words. She knew what he truly meant, though he was unable to literally vocalize it.

"Arigatou," she softly uttered.

Before he can allow her to distract him any further, he extended a hand towards her. They had other business to take care of.

"Ikou."

Sakuno blinked, not really expecting him to offer his hand to her. But of course, she didn't complain. How silly of her to think that they were reverting back to how they were before.

After all they've been through together, nothing could seriously come in between them now, right?

She was about to reach for his hand when a ring interrupted their simple moment.

Ryoma hesitantly retracted his outstretched hand in order to grab his ringing cellphone from his shorts' pocket. He took one look at the caller ID. It was from an unknown number. Nevertheless, he took the call.

Sakuno watched curiously as Ryoma listened to the person on the other line. She heard murmurs of a voice belonging to a man, but heard nothing comprehensible from where she was standing at.

It didn't take long before Ryoma turned back to face her. He silently offered his cellphone to her and she couldn't help but notice the slight change in his eyes. It seemed as if…

"It's for you," Ryoma said in an aloof—somewhat cold—voice.

Sakuno was surprised by how much his tone of voice had changed in merely seconds. With a shaking hand, she hesitantly took the phone from the prince.

She watched as Ryoma turned his back on her as soon as she took the cellphone from him. Now, she was seriously dreading what the phone call is about.

"M-moshi moshi?"

"Is this Ryuzaki-san?" the voice from the other end of the line asked.

"H-hai," the brunette replied uncertainly.

"It's Yanagi. I'm sorry to disturb you at this crucial time but I have urgent news to deliver."

Sakuno unconsciously held her breath to hear what the data man from Rikkai Dai was going to announce.

"Akaya had woken up and he's desperately asking for you."

Special Notes:

*The story of the 47 samurai (better known as the "47 ronin") was taken from real-life Japanese history. And yes, they were really buried at a temple in Tokyo.
*Tezuka, Ayana is not an OC. She is the canonical mother of Tezuka, Kunimitsu.
*For those who are unfamiliar with the story of the 1000 cranes, in Japan, there is a belief that if 1000 paper cranes were folded, a crane would grant a wish such as long life or recovery from injury.

Author's Notes:

Well, after focusing on the mystery part of the story for a few chapters, I thought I would give the romance part of the story some focus for now. I didn't develop those relationships for nothing! Lol!

Also, looking back at my chapters, it seemed as if I enjoy torturing Ryoma. Don't get me wrong, I love the brat to death but what is RyoSaku without slight angst, right? Hahah.

Anyway, we'll see what happens to them in the next chapter. It will be a short chapter :D

Japanese Vocab:

Uissu – a slang word Ryoma uses quite often, it's sort of like "okay" or "Roger" but that's a super rough translation

Aa – yeah; yes

Daijobu – are you alright? Is everything okay?

Gomen - sorry; I apologize

Sou ne – That's right, isn't it?

Ikou – let's go