A/N: Just some insight in Nowaki finding out one half of his parentage and also Tsumori catching Hiroki out one day on one of his bar hopping nights with Kana. Who he thinks is Hiroki's girlfriend and tells Nowaki just to discourage his interest since he figured out Nowaki has a crush on him.

Aikawa isn't Akihiko's editor in his AU, she is an investigator who gets paid to find people with whatever information she can find. I didn't want to introduce too many OC's in this story which is why she is in this role. Although, Nowaki's parents make little cameos too since Nowaki finds them.

Thank you all for enjoying this fic and leave a review telling me what you think.

-Lucicelo

Chapter 8: Days Fly On By...

A red haired woman with painted red lips with a pressed brown suit, looked through the files in her desk and caught the young man in front of her fidgeting in his seat. There were no other appointments for a whole hour, she didn't have to hurry in her findings and they could have a small chat before Nowaki left. She had done many background checks and tracking down people for whatever reason, police investigations, children wanting to find their families, she had seen it all. Nothing surprised her after so many years of working her job. Although, there were some cases that ultimately surprised her enough to recollect them when she was alone.

She remembered when she first met Nowaki, his tall stature, the desperate tone of his voice to find his parents. She understood that many orphans wanted to know whether their parents were dead or alive. Up front, she had to tell him that many of these investigations didn't come out with a happy ending. There were hurt feelings, disappointments, the illusion of having someone happy to see them broke before their eyes.

There were a few times she accompanied her clients to meet the person but she stopped after a handful of times when she was a newbie. The awkwardness and anger these people displayed was something the clients were never prepared to face or predict. She warned them plenty of times before she gave them a phone number or an address at the end of her investigation.

In Nowaki's case, she was dealing with someone who lived overseas and only had an old letter which specified a name of a man who came from America. Nowaki explained that his biological mother might have written it and pinned it on his blanket before leaving him at the orphanage. She was just lucky Nowaki's father knew Japanese or she wouldn't have gotten to talk to him properly and explained how Nowaki wanted to meet him. He sounded kind and she was happy that he honestly wanted to meet his son. When she compared the two, they almost looked exactly alike.

It seemed this time, a happy ending was coming in the horizon. Although, she knew it was up to them to make such a distance between them work out. From the manner Benjamin Jones expressed wanting to set up a meeting almost immediately, there didn't seem any problems.

Nowaki bit the inside of his lip as he watched the older woman looking through some of her folders. He was so nervous in finding out about his parents, if he only got to meet one, that was more than enough for him.

He saw her grabbing one particular folder from a stack and she looked through it fast before she closed it with her manicured hands.

"Aikawa-san.." Nowaki broke the silence. "Is there anything that you found about my parents?"

Aikawa presented him with a folder. "Yes, I found your father in New York. He's a retired military general with a family of two adult children, his wife died a few years back from cancer, and owns a repair business. And," She grinned. "He wants to meet you."

Nowaki's eyes widened as he held the folder close to his chest. "Really? He wants to meet me? Are you sure?"

"Yes!" She pointed to the folder. "All of his information is right in there, his phone number, his address, anything you need for you to contact him. I talked to him for a little bit and he speaks perfect Japanese so there was no miscommunication."

Nowaki sniffled as he opened the folder and he stared at the picture of his father. He had bright blue eyes, white streaks going through his dark hair and he had on a pair of glasses. It was only a simple bust photo but Nowaki knew there was a resemblance between them. The kindness presented through that smile made him feel so much better in meeting him.

He read the name of his father, Benjamin Jones. The man was fifty-four years old and had lived in New York all his life, except for his time in the military when he was in his twenties.

Aikawa sat back with a smile on her face, after all of her conversations with Nowaki, he grew on her. The younger man was so earnest in finding any indication of his family, he was just like many orphans before him who found out they were abandoned and only wanted to move on. Knowing about any family would sate their curiosity or have them want to really meet them.

Either way, she was highly regarded in finding anyone which was why she was always so busy. All of this work did cut in her own personal life but after so many failures in dating, she pushed it aside to focus on her job. As a result, her mother badgered her to get married, accept to go to an omiai, it was a good thing she changed her number.

Such conversations from her mother almost aggravated her more than consoling her clients who were lashed out on by the people she found for them. The numerous amounts of tissues she had to carry on herself or place in her office was turning into another thing on her shopping list.

Nowaki smiled he read the information on his younger biological sisters, both only a year apart and were already married and out of his Benjamin's home. Alison and Jane, 23 and 22 years old. There was no picture of them provided but when he called his biological father's home and talked to him, he might visit them in the U.S. to get to know them all better.

All he had to do was find out how much time New York differentiated from Japan, especially Tokyo, and then he would set up a list of what to talk about. He knew if he didn't prepare himself, he ended up in a stuttering mess and he forgot what he would say.

Nowaki asked Aikawa with excitement in his voice, he kept flipping through the contents of the folder. "I can call him anytime right?"

Aikawa snickered, she waved her hand nonchalantly when she told him. "Don't ask me that question, you can call him yourself when it is daylight in New York. He told me any time but I am sure he will want to get some sleep."

Nowaki nodded his head as he stood up from his seat. Aikawa got up as well to follow him out of the door. Leading him to the entrance, Nowaki shook her hands with the biggest smile on his face.

"Thank you so much, Aikawa-san! Thank you! Thank you! I don't know what I could have done without you!" Nowaki gratefully told her, Aikawa smiled in amusement at his enthusiasm.

He bid her goodbye before he walked out of the room and went directly down the hall to the elevator.

Aikawa stood against the door, lost in her thoughts as she collected what she was going to say to her next client. This next appointment resulted in real bad news for the young lady who hired her and she needed to prepare on what she was going to tell her. An hour later, the young lady walked down the all and went into Aikawa's office, she closed the door behind them both.

Tsumori stood beside the counter of the bar, holding his cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey on the other, he searched the dance floor through the crowds of people. He had stood there for a while, this was his second glass of whiskey and his cigarette was already at the half point. There were not many people who caught his eye, quite frankly, most didn't suit his criteria of physical appearance to even want to talk to them in the first place. This was the second bar of the night and nothing spectacular has happened yet to him.

Nowaki's smiling face appeared in his mind, the handsome young man was all he thought about for the last few weeks. It took him a while to realize it but he had a slight crush on him, which was rare on his part when he had many lovers he didn't remotely care about. Then again, he obscured plenty of things he did outside of his job to gain Nowaki to gain his same romantic interest in him. It was tiring hiding all of this from the guy but he didn't seem like the type to enjoy his lover to go bar hopping.

Nothing he had done had worked in his favor. After all of the research from his other co-workers and talking to Nowaki, he had not spent much time with Nowaki other than that piano concert. A place he wished he never invited Nowaki to accompany him under the guise of his little white lie.

Slamming his glass onto the counter, he gritted his teeth. After weeks had passed, he noticed how Nowaki was enamored by that blind piano player. Their conversations took a turn to anything piano related or even Nowaki commenting on how he had coffee with him. The twinkle in those blue eyes sparkled even more when he talked about Hiroki, this was something he couldn't stand. He didn't understand, was it pity? Was Nowaki tapping into his empathy where he had not realized he felt bad for the guy?

Snuffling out his cigarette in the ash tray, he crossed his arms across his chest. The smell of the smoke was slowly replaced by the combined smell of the various perfumes in the room. The sweat and the various people breathing the same air made it all the more dense. It was turning suffocating to him, checking his cell phone, he was going to leave in ten minutes to a more secluded bar.

He didn't know why he bothered coming to such crowded clubs but these places always had someone eager for a quick lay. In his early twenties, his free time was spent in clubs but after he finished university and got his job, he only had the weekends to party. He wasn't about to lose his job from coming into work hungover and his boss didn't have a tolerance for alcohol in the first place.

Music filled his ears, there were people kissing in the corners of the bar, others were pulled toward another direction to have sex. He had seen plenty of things during his younger days so anything that might happen when he was there wouldn't surprise him.

He rubbed his eyes, he would deal with the tiredness in the morning after he had a good time. There were already some hungover remedies back at his apartment, no need to wander to a convenient store to buy anything. He wasn't an amateur in partying and Friday's were perfect to find someone after leaving their jobs for the day to release their tensions. Hating to admit he was now sufficiently older, he took a long swig of his drink. He was almost thirty, but age was a number, it was state of mind and he was still the twenty year old who always had a lover in his arm by the end of the night.

He saw someone from his peripheral vision walking to his direction, he felt his gaze looking at his whole body. There was nothing to worry about, he wore clothing which accentuated his muscular figure. Feigning not noticing this person, he kept his eyes on the dance floor. He felt a hand curl around his lower back and looked down without a care.

The young man had short dyed blond hair, his tight jeans and unbuttoned shirt showed off some skin. This stranger had a lithe figure and his face held no abhorring marks which would have turned the taller man away. Tsumori knew he found someone who would be more than eager to jump into bed with him.

"Hello." He lowered his voice a pitch and saw the younger man smirk when he caught his intention.

"Why hello," The fake blond said seductively as he ran his fingers on Tsumori's forearm. "It seems you need some company tonight."

Tsumori gave him a charming smile. "I'm not sure you know exactly what I want from my company."

"Oh I know," He wrapped his arms around Tsumori's neck as he got close to his ear when he told him. "My place is only a few blocks away. No need to get a hotel to do what we are going to do." Lightly kissing Tsumori's neck, he pushed his body against him.

Tsumori ignored the young man as a ploy and almost smirked when he saw the pout on his face from his peripheral vision. This was all so easy, playing hard to get always made someone to fight harder to get what they want. In the case of getting a quick lay, no one wanted to waste any time with talking with each other for long.

"How about it?" The younger man turned Tsumori's face to his direction and nipped his chin.

The physical appearance and the voice were not displeasing to him but the image of Nowaki appeared again inside of his mind. He pushed it aside, he was going to release himself without any guilt, it wasn't like he was already in a relationship with Nowaki. Until then, he was going to have a good time with anyone who offered to have sex when he was out.

"Alright," He got up from his seat and placed his hand on the young man's back. "Lead the way."

Tsumori was about ready to tune this guy from his ear.

The incessant chatter wasn't what he wanted, the willing body that belonged to that voice was what he needed in a bed to satisfy his needs. This short way to this apartment turned into a ten block walk, the blond even apologized to him and forgot he wasn't in the usual bar he attended in the weekends. He faked an understanding smile and when the young man turned away to lead them to the apartment, he rolled his eyes.

It was still early in the night, more people were walking past them to go to the clubs. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave with the first person that caught his interest but it was too late to back off from his arrangement. Besides, from the way the blond's body felt underneath his hand, it was a prediction of how perfect his body was without clothing.

They turned a corner into a more slower street where the shops were closing for the night. The workers brought in their signs, cleaned the front of the store, locked their doors, anything relating to closing. Tsumori considered himself well above these jobs which was why he used the guise of studying to have his parents pay for everything so he didn't have to work in any of these places to pay his books or his tuition. It worked like a charm and his parents were always gushing on how studious and serious their eldest son had become. This was all a fabrication and he was glad his acting was spot on to convince them.

The fast food places were still open all over the block with them filled with plenty of customers but the cafes were closed. He saw the young man staring at the menu through the window as they passed one of them, he lightly pushed the younger man's back to keep his mind on their journey.

Tsumori got out of the way of a group of teenagers, one bumped into him and didn't apologize to him. He bit his tongue, he wasn't going to make himself look bad by yelling at that rude teen, he had better things to do.

His eyes widened when he saw a pair walking toward his direction. Right in front of him, Tsumori saw a young woman with short hair clinging onto Hiroki Kamijou's arm. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, the alcohol might have dulled his vision or maybe the cheap cologne the person he picked up at the bar was overwhelming him. She was whispering something into Hiroki's ear, which earned her a smirk in return while he responded to what she told him.

Their fingers were even interlaced which was something he knew lovey dovey type of lovers did when they were first starting their relationship. From the outside, it seemed they were in the beginning stages of their relationship and they didn't pay attention to the outside world other than each other.

A grin appeared on Tsumori's face as he watched them.

It was odd seeing the pianist out of his fitted tuxedo. He wore a simple blue cardigan with black slacks. In the outside world, no one would have known about Hiroki Kamijou, he was as normal as everyone else. Except for his blindness.

He was going to love breaking this to Nowaki. This piano player he had a crush on already had a girlfriend and wouldn't be remotely interested in another man. The image of him comforting Nowaki appeared in his mind, Nowaki would grow to like him in the manner he wanted in no time. From the manner Nowaki behaved, he wouldn't want to impose feelings on someone who was already with someone else.

His eyes caught brief contact with the young woman who had a suspicious expression on her face. Her body language went on the defensive and she didn't break eye contact with him until he looked away from her. He turned back and her body language didn't change one bit, he was certain she was even glaring at him.

His partner for the night pulled him around a corner, he vaguely heard him exclaiming that his home was close, he was distracted by this young woman. He caught her giving him a more warning look before she disappeared when he was pulled to the right.

Hiroki felt Kana become rigid for the last few minutes. Kana didn't scare easy, he was slightly worried that something was going on and with his lack of sight he couldn't help her.

When her body relaxed against him, he asked her. "What's wrong, Kana?"

Kana frowned as she held Hiroki's hand tighter. "Some guy was staring at us as he walked past us with some other man."

Hiroki arched a brow, he asked her. "Is he gone?" He lifted his cane which was held with his free hand. "Do you need to borrow my cane to beat the guy up with?"

Kana smiled lightly at his suggestion while she watched over her shoulder for any indication of the man. "Yeah he is gone, but it was strange, he kept his eyes on you most of the time." She had a bad feeling about him and she didn't want to find out what it was going to entail.

"Too bad I can't give an actual description if he ever tries anything against me or you." Hiroki pushed up his sunglasses. "Good thing we rarely do these walks this late at night."

Kana huffed. "But you need your exercise and playing the piano doesn't count! Your fingers are strained enough as it is and you need to remain healthy if you want to keep on playing the piano."

Hiroki rolled his eyes, "This is what I get for having a nurse as a best friend."

"But you love me anyway, Hiroki-kun." Kana grinned. "Buck up, we are going to get some prepared food at the convenience store. Think of it as a reward for all of this walking."

Hiroki turned to her direction when he told her. "You are lucky I actually like the food or I would call you a liar."

Days later, Tsumori strutted over to Nowaki's desk as he told him straight up. "I saw your beloved piano player with another woman on Friday when I was out." It was an awful way to start the morning but if he left it toward lunchtime then their other co-workers would steal him away before he said anything.

Nowaki turned from his paperwork and stared up at his senpai in confusion at what he was told. "What did you say?" His eyebrows furrowed when he inquired. "You saw Kamijou-san?"

Tsumori held back a yell of victory at the betrayed expression on Nowaki's face when he explained everything, well the things that were the most interesting. "Yes I did. He looked pretty chummy and he was even whispering in her ear about something. I have no idea what it was all about but it seemed to be something interesting if she was smiling."

Nowaki opened his mouth but then closed it, lost in his thoughts. His chest constricted painfully at the thought of Hiroki with another person, a pang of jealousy went through him of someone constantly talking to this fascinating man. It dulled away when he remembered what Hiroki told him on their coffee meeting. He only had one close female friend and she was especially touchy since they each other since childhood and their understanding on going constantly to hospitals.

Hiroki gave no description of her or his other friend Miyagi for that matter. The young lady might have resulted in this friend of Hiroki's, who at times accompanied him out just to get him out of his home. This friend was probably a regular at Hiroki's secure apartment with extra cameras and security to protect the inhabitants inside. He wasn't at all sure of this theory but it was the best he came up with on the spot.

Quite frankly, Hiroki was very good at identifying people who were coming close for some type of interest. He knew which people he would let enter in his life without having someone else tell him. Also, they were only starting to talk to each other and he had no reason to be jealous of someone else he didn't even know.

"The girl was odd too, she gave this angry glare as if I was doing anything wrong." Tsumori crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not used to having any woman giving him any other looks that were not favorable. "All I did was stare at them."

Nowaki said. "Kamijou-san is blind, of course his friend would find offense to someone staring at them. Especially Kamijou-san who she must have noticed you were only looking at."

Tsumori snorted as he rolled his eyes. "Any normal person is going to stare at the cane and the sunglasses, it is pretty obvious that he is blind. The girl is probably with him for his money."

Nowaki let out a sigh. "Thanks for looking out for me senpai but please don't offend, Kamijou-san or this young lady."

"No, I wasn't—"

Nowaki gazed up at him. "Yes you were. Besides, have you ever thought that this young woman was just Kamijou-san's friend? He told me that he only had few close friends and a young lady is one of them." He rolled his chair back and stood up. "And this friend is a nurse, she would have no need for money on his end."

Tsumori frowned. "How are you so sure? It's not like you have ever seen this girl in your life."

"No, I haven't. But I am not going to make assumptions on something that I don't know about." Nowaki passed Tsumori when he smiled lightly. "I will go find it all out on my own, so you don't have to keep an eye out for me. I can take care of myself." Nowaki walked away toward the direction of the restroom, leaving Tsumori standing next to his desk.

A marring frown formed on Tsumori's face.

This was not the reaction he imagined would come from Nowaki. He needed to break this infatuation in the bud before it started to bloom and fast.

TBC