A/N: Welcome back to When The Brothers Cry! Sorry for going AWOL again, but that fanfic wiki that I mentioned both on my profile page and the last chapter did make me get really into it. The worst parts are the Biographies sections, where I have to summarise a character's role in each story. And if you think of how predominantly Adam is featured in these stories, then you'll know exactly how much that is to write. Anyways, I'm rambling. Enjoy Chapter 6 - The Day After!
Chapter 6 – The Day After…
After their race (which the Charger had won), the brothers had returned to their home, and after Jamie had made a fairly mediocre attempt at a dinner, they retired to bed. The day after, Adam noticed that Jamie had left early, as his Skyline was missing. "He must be driving Shion to school." He said, before he opened the door to his Charger, and drove off, but instead of heading to school, he headed to the Furude house, where he skidded to a stop just as Rika and Satoko reached the bottom of the stairs. Rolling down his window, he smiled at his crush. "Can I offer you girls a ride?" he asked, before Rika smiled. "Sure." She said, before the girls entered the car, with Rika taking the passenger side seat. "Let's go!" they said, before Adam smiled, and shifted his gearstick, peeling off.
After picking up Rena, the group continued to head to school. As they got closer, Adam saw Jamie's Skyline drift out of a corner in front of them. Looking to Rika and Satoko, who nodded, Adam shifted his gearstick, and pulled up beside Jamie. Looking over, he saw that Shion, Mion, and Keiichi were accompanying Jamie. Smirking, Adam picked up his walkie-talkie. "Alright, brother?" he asked, before Jamie's voice replied, "Not bad, bro. Yourself?" Smirking, Adam said, "Well, I feel like a race. Next quarter mile.", making Jamie look to his passengers. "Let's do it." He replied, before Adam nodded, and placed the walkie-talkie back down. "Ride or Die." He said, before Rika piped up. "Ride or Die." She said, causing Adam to raise an eyebrow, before he smirked. Keeping his eyes on Rika, he shifted his gearstick, speeding up, and quickly overtaking the Skyline.
In the Skyline…
"The hell you doing, Adam?" Jamie asked, before shifting his own gearstick, and trying to catch up to Adam, but the Charger stayed ahead of him. Even though he tried, the Skyline couldn't catch up. Eventually, the Charger skidded to a stop, allowing Jamie to drive up. Rolling down the window, the older brother saw that Adam had done the same. Looking in, he said to Rika, "He did the 'Stare and Drive' on you, didn't he?", looking to Adam, who smirked. "He got that from me." He continued, before driving off, missing the raised eyebrows Adam and Rika exchanged. Chuckling, Adam quickly drove after his brother, and soon after, the two cars pulled into the school.
"Not bad, Jamie." Adam said, after locking the Charger. "Oh, bite me, Adam." Jamie retorted, causing Adam to smirk. "Fair enough." He replied, before the group entered the school. After getting settled in the classroom, the friends waited for Miss Rumiko to start the lesson.
"Alright, class, before we get started, Adam, Jamie." Chie said, causing the brothers to turn to her. "There's someone here to see the both of you. He's waiting at the front entrance." She said, before the two nodded. "I'll give you two a pass for this class." She said, before Adam and Jamie stood up, and left the classroom. Heading to the entrance of the school, they saw that there was a grey-haired man standing there.
"I presume that you two would be the Robertson brothers?" the man asked, before Adam nodded. "No offense, but who the hell are you?" he asked, before the man smirked. "My name is Ōishi Kuraudo. I'm a detective with the Okinomiya Police Station. I have some questions to ask the two of you. Could we talk outside?" he asked, before the brothers looked to each other. "Alright, but not in the parking lot." Jamie said, before Ōishi raised an eyebrow. "Where then?" he asked, before the brothers walked out the building. "Think you can keep up?" Adam asked, pointing to the Charger and the Skyline. "I'm more than capable behind the wheel." Ōishi said, before the brothers nodded, and walked over to the cars, as the detective got into his cruiser. After the two Robertsons had got into their cars, Adam heard his brother's voice come over the radio. "You think we can trust him?" he asked, before Adam replied, "Not too sure, but let's hear him out." Looking over, he saw his brother nod, before starting his engine. Pulling the car into a doughnut, Adam sped out of the parking lot, closely followed by his brother and Ōishi.
After driving through the village for a while, the three cars pulled to a stop on the cliff edge where Adam had met Rika the previous night, before their drivers cut the engines and exited the cars. Shutting his door, Adam looked to Ōishi. "So, what's this all about, Detective?" he asked, before Ōishi passed him a picture, and leaned against his car. "Do you recognise this man?" he asked, before the brothers looked down to the picture, where they saw Tomitake lying on the grass, with his throat torn open. "Holy crap!" they both thought, before they looked back to Ōishi. "Yeah, we met him at the Watanagashi Festival. He's a photographer, right?" Jamie asked, before Ōishi nodded. "Yeah, he was. At least until we found him on the side of the road last night, with his throat torn open, with what looks like his own hands." The old man said, before Adam raised his eyebrows in shock. "Damn. I mean, he was a bit…strange, but he didn't seem like the type to commit suicide." He said, before Ōishi nodded. "Yeah, I'm in the same boat." He replied, as he pulled out a box of cigarettes, and went to light one. "Can you keep that downwind?" Adam asked, looking sideways to Jamie. "What's the problem?" Ōishi asked, before Adam sighed in exasperation. "One, we don't want to go back into that school stinking of cigarette smoke, and two, Jamie there's trying to kick the habit." He said, before Ōishi looked to Jamie, who was visibly shaking. "Fair play." He said, before replacing the unlit cigarette into its packet.
"So, what's this got to do with us?" Adam asked, passing the photo back to Ōishi. "When you spoke with Mr Tomitake, was there a woman with him?" the older man asked, before Adam looked to Jamie. "Yeah, I believe her name was…Miyo Takano, right?" Jamie asked, before Ōishi nodded. "Well, she's missing. She disappeared the night of the Watanagashi Festival." He said, before the brother's eyes widened. "It can't be…Oyashiro's curse?" the brothers thought, before Adam cracked his arm. "So, why are you telling us this?" Jamie asked, before Ōishi shrugged. "I think you know." He said, his eyes narrowing. "Oyashiro's curse." Adam stated, causing the old man to nod. "Correct. Tell me, what do you two know about the curse?" he asked, before Adam squirmed slightly. "Every year on the night of Watanagashi, one person dies, and another disappears." He explained, before he looked to his watch. "You got somewhere more important to be?" Ōishi asked, before Adam nodded. "Yeah, we actually do. So, we done here, or is there more you want to ask us?" he demanded, before Ōishi smiled and shook his head. "I'll let you two get back." The detective said, before getting into his cruiser and driving off.
"So, still think there's not a curse, bro?" Jamie asked, stepping up to beside his brother. Reaching a hand up, Adam pulled him down by the shoulder. "Alright, I'm convinced, now shut up." He spat, before releasing his grip. "We should get back to school." The younger brother said, before the two got back into their cars. Looking to Jamie, Adam nodded, before the two skidded off.
Arriving back at the school, the brothers walked back inside, where they saw the class preparing for lunch. "Damn, were we away that long?" Jamie asked, before they saw Shion waving them over. Getting their lunch out of their bags, the two sat down with the rest of the Club, and got engrossed into the ongoing conversation.
"So, what's going on? Why'd you two get called out?" Mion asked, before Adam shot a look to Jamie, who he saw tense slightly. "Just the housing officer who helped us get our house in Hinamizawa. They just wanted to clear a few things up with us." He formulated quickly. "We heard your cars drive off. Did they go with you to the house?" Rena asked, before Adam nodded. "Yeah, they wanted to see how the place is before they sorted out the paperwork." He said, before he and Jamie saw the Club look to each other. "Alright, so, everything alright?" Rika asked, before Adam shrugged. "For right now, but given our experiences with the Council back in Scotland, they'll probably find some way to screw us over." Jamie said, causing the Club to laugh. "The Council in Scotland really that bad?" Keiichi asked, before Adam nodded. "You've no idea." He said, swallowing his last bit of meat. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you two are okay." Rena said, before Adam smiled. "Believe me, Rena, we're glad too." He said, before he looked to Jamie, who, although he was smiling, Adam could see he had clenched his fist.
"Well, we should probably get back to our tables. We've got the next class coming up." Jamie said, before the Club nodded. "Alright, we'll talk to you in a bit." Mion said, before the Club members returned to their original seats. Soon after, Miss Rumiko entered, and started the next lesson…
Later on…
After classes ended for the day, Adam and Jamie exited the school, and were making sure the cars were ready for travel, when the Club walked up. "Want a ride home?" Jamie asked, before the Club nodded. "If it's not too much trouble, could I talk to you two in private for a minute?" Rena asked, before the brothers looked to each other, before nodding. "Alright, you lot…" Adam said, before he tossed his keys to Rika, and Jamie tossed his to Shion. "Get into the cars, and leave the keys on the dashboard. We'll be back in a minute." he said, before the Club members entered the cars, and the brothers followed Rena behind the school. "Alright Rena…" Jamie said, leaning against the wall. "What's up?"
"You two were lying earlier when you spoke about that housing officer, weren't you?" Rena asked, before the brothers straightened up. "No, we weren't." Jamie said, before Rena clenched her fist, her face darkened. "Liars." She said quietly, before Adam raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" he asked, before Rena looked back up. "LIARS!" she yelled, causing numerous crows to fly out of a nearby tree, and the brothers would be lying if they said they weren't shocked by their friend's sudden mood swing. As Adam looked at her now angry face, he saw her eyes now looked like those of a cat. "Rena?" he asked, before Rena stepped towards him. "You two were with an old man. After getting into the cars, you three drove off somewhere." She said, before taking another step towards Adam and looked him straight in the eye. "Who was he?" she demanded, before Adam backed up slightly, and looked to Jamie, before both the brothers smirked. "Does this act work on everyone?" he asked, before Rika faltered for a second, making her lose her scary face. "W…what are you talking about?" she asked, before Adam leaned in. "Don't try the scary face on us, Rena. We're Scottish. Nothing's scarier than what we had to go through there." He said, before he nodded to Jamie. "Alright, we'll be straight with you." The older brother said, before Rena nodded. "The old man was a detective. He told us that Tomitake's dead. And Miss Takano's missing." He said, before Rena's eyes widened. "Dead? But…how?" Rena asked, before Adam held up a hand, silencing her. "Not now. Some other time, we'll explain everything." He said, before Rena nodded, and shook her head, before looking back up. Adam immediately noted that her eyes had returned to normal. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going." She said, in her normal cheery voice, before walking past the brothers. Looking to each other, the brothers shared the same thought. "Can't believe we pulled that off."
Following Rena, the brothers arrived back at the cars, and Adam saw that Rena was situated in the Charger. Cracking his neck, the younger Robertson slid into the driver's seat. "Ready?" he asked, picking up the walkie-talkie. "Ready!" Jamie replied, before the two Robertsons shifted their gearsticks, and reversed out of the car park. After burning rubber for a couple of seconds, the two cars split off, heading to their separate locations. Adam, as he usually did, headed towards the Ryuugu house.
As he drifted round a corner, the younger Robertson brother said, "Let me just tell Jamie something", to his passengers, before picking up the walkie-talkie. "Yo, Jambo!" he said into the receiver, before waiting a couple of seconds. "What's up, bro?" his brother's voice came through the receiver. "If you somehow beat me home, can you stick on the kettle?" He asked, before Jamie sighed. "Sure…dickhead." The older brother said, before Adam smirked. "Love you too, bro." he said, before replacing the walkie-talkie in its holder. Looking back up, he slammed on the brake, skidding the car to a halt. "Miss Ryuugu, I believe this is your stop." He said, before Rena looked out the window. "Oh, so it is. Thanks, Adam." She said, before exiting the car. Rolling down the window, Adam and his remaining two passengers waved to her as she entered her house, before Adam tore off again.
As for Jamie, he had just dropped off Keiichi (who had given Mion a goodbye kiss), and was on his way to the Sonozaki house, before Shion spoke up. "What were you yelling at Adam for this morning? That 'Stare and Drive' thing?" she asked, before Jamie smirked. "It's a move that I perfected. You keep your eyes on your passenger, and don't look to the road. I'm an expert at it, if I do say so myself. Adam just did it to impress Rika, I'm sure of it." He said, before his crush nodded. "As if you wouldn't do it." She said sarcastically, before Jamie shrugged. "I'm allowed to do it. I made the bloody move, after all." he said, before he looked to Shion, who raised her eyebrows. "Don't you dare…" Mion started to say, before Jamie shifted the gearstick, and sped up, keeping his eyes on Shion. After a few seconds, he slammed on the brake, coming to a stop under some traffic lights, as his passengers laughed. "Okay, I'll admit, that was fun." Mion said, before Jamie smiled, and continued driving. Soon after, he slammed on the brake. "Your stop, Miss Mion." He said, before Mion nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, sis." She said to Shion, before exiting the car. Looking to Shion, who nodded, Jamie shifted gears and sped off.
After driving a while, he pulled to a stop outside of the house Shion was staying at. "Why'd you usually have me drop you at Mion's place?" he asked, before his crush smirked. "Grandma, the head of the Sonozaki family, wanted to discuss something with me." She said, before Jamie nodded. "Alright, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said, before Shion smiled, leaned over, and kissed him. "Goodnight." She said, before exiting the car. Smiling, Jamie reached over and picked up his walkie-talkie.
"Adam, I'm on my way home. Where're you?" he asked, before Adam's voice blared. "I'm on my way to the Furude house to drop off Rika and Satoko. Chances are, you'll beat me home. I'll see you then." He said, before Jamie sighed. "Alright, see you then." He said, before he replaced the walkie-talkie back in its holder. "Alright, then. Time to get home." He said, before he shifted gears and sped off.
Back with Adam, after he had placed his walkie-talkie back down, he had driven towards the Furude house, and had currently skidded to a stop, allowing his passengers to exit. To his confusion, only Satoko had exited the car and ran up the stairs. "Rika?" Adam asked, before the girl looked to him. "What's up?" he asked, before he was caught off guard by Rika's eyes, which looked darker than they usually did. "Oh, it's nothing, Adam. ~Nippa!~" she said, before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, and exiting the Charger. "Bye!" she said, leaning back in through the window, before running up the stairs. "That was…weird." Adam thought to himself, before he shrugged. "Eh, fuck it." He said, before shifting his gearstick, and driving off.
Arriving back at his house, Adam parked his car next to the Skyline, before locking it and entering the living room, where he saw Jamie standing at the kitchen counter. Walking over, Adam shot his hand out just in time to catch a steaming cup of coffee that Jamie had slid over to him. As he took a swig, Jamie's eyes darted towards him. "What's up? Something's bothering you." Jamie asked, before Adam raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" he said, before Jamie looked at him condescendingly. "I know you, Adam. You have tells. For example, you're never this silent. Something's bothering you." He stated matter of factly, making Adam scowl. "Fine. It's Rika." He said, sliding into a chair. "What about her?" Jamie asked, sitting down opposite him. "She was acting rather…odd, when I dropped her off. Her eyes especially looked darker than usual." Adam explained, before Jamie scowled. "Did you tell her about Tomitake?" he asked, before Adam shook his head. "No, I didn't. You think she knows somehow?" he asked, before his brother shrugged. "It's possible." He said, before they were cut off by a phone ringing. "I'll get it." Adam said, placing his cup on the counter, and walking over to the phone. "Hello?" He asked, taking the receiver off the wall. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Okay, we'll be there." He said, snapping his fingers to Jamie, who took the signal and passed a piece of paper and pencil over to Adam. Quickly scrawling something down, Adam passed the note back to Jamie, who read…
"Our mysterious benefactor wants to meet. Two days from now, at the old warehouse near the dump."
Looking back up to Adam, Jamie nodded, before Adam held up a thumb. "Right, we'll see you then." He said into the receiver, before replacing it on the phone. "Right, Jamie…" he said, turning to his brother…
"We've got work to do."
A/N: Ohhh, now it's getting closer to the good stuff! I know I usually say that curveballs can happen in my writing, but I do actually have the entirety of the story planned out. Anyways, I'll see you all next time, in Chapter 7 - Revelations. Madman out!