Chapter 14: Investigative breakthroughs...

Hiroki's manager, Masahiro, handed Hiroki a pair of gloves before they left Hiroki's apartment. Leather on the outside with extra padding to provide extra warmth. It helped that he carried an extra pair in his pockets. Since he started managing the pianist, Hiroki often forgot something before he left his apartment. He figured it out when he tried searching for it later on inside of his messenger bag. Hiroki thanked him as he pulled them onto his once cold flesh.

He lead Hiroki through the busy streets. His hand placed on his shoulder to guide him along. Their usual place of discussion happened in his apartment. No one overheard their business and Hiroki's senses were clear. His secured building provided the silence they needed to conduct business. Better yet, to talk about their usual separate lives and nonsensical topics.

He sought to bring Hiroki the best possible gigs through his old connections. A favor to his closest friend. It helped that Hiroki caused no problems and he grew a fondness for him. Hiroki's affliction didn't dampen his drive to practice each piece. He sat in Hiroki's practices. He watched Hiroki's hands and the crinkle of his nose through each time he pressed a wrong note. On occasion, he commented on slight mishaps at the end of the piece. Hiroki applied his advice without much complaint.

In recent months, he noticed a change in Hiroki. His music presented a light passion, transcending into a subtle sense of delight. Playful and charming. The audience still heard the same music which enraptured them from the start. Ones who understood Hiroki's nature observed this phenomenon blossom. Soshi's sharp ears missed nothing. He turned to him, silent questions rose in between them. He offered no answers and a shrug of his shoulders.

He didn't understand this change. Hiroki commented on nothing new happening in his life. He frequented the same people and went through his normal life.

For all he knew, Hiroki found a new kick to ramp up his performances. Something which transitioned into his music and the new smile he caught. Nothing to do with alcohol. To his knowledge, Hiroki drank nothing of the sort. His humiliation at an old performance put a stop to any recreational drinking before a venue.

He tried not to impose any questions on Hiroki. They met up over business ventures but their personal lives clashed. He found Hiroki's stint in university as a small dent in his musical career. Through his doubts, Hiroki stayed committed to his practices and performing at his venues. The young man had a stubborn streak in him. He never wanted to quit in any challenges in his life.

He recalled Fuyumi's concerns over Hiroki's constant hobbies which overlapped on certain days. Her stubborn son wouldn't quit them unless he burned out in exhaustion. Less chance happening with his lack of eyesight. Now, Hiroki stuck his energy into perfecting each piece of music he learned. Dedicating hours after he woke up to practice. Nothing changed. Except, Hiroki went into intervals to give his fingers a rest. Damaging those hands meant losing his career.

He lead Hiroki through the busy lobby. Keeping a hand on his shoulder as Hiroki gripped his white cane in his hands. In the early morning, a majority of the residents hurried out to their jobs during that time. They shuffled toward the elevators and luckily, no one came along with them. A brief discussion happened between then as they waited for their stop.

Masahiro fiddled with the buttons on his sleeves. "When are you taking that vacation with Miyagi? I might take a breather myself during that time."

"Hmm...in a few days." Hiroki answered as he let out a sigh. "He finished his usual grading piles and decided on a hot spring not too far from here. We just have to take a train to get there. His old injury is acting up again and he wants to go with me. I owe him a favor anyway so I don't mind going. He is paying for my half after all."

"That gives me enough time to deal with our little problem."

"Problem?"

The elevator doors opened and they set down the hall.

"I'll tell you when we get into my apartment. I don't need anyone else knowing our business."

"Got it." Hiroki wrinkled his nose at the oncoming smell permeating from one of the doors they passed. He didn't hide his displeasure. "That smells revolting. I thought you lived around people who knew how to take care of themselves. Ugh."

Masahiro shrugged his shoulders. "The one who lives there is a pampered college student. Whenever I bring you here he's not around so you never picked up on the smell. I complained about his shitty cooking but he claims he is practicing."

"Practicing for what? Poisoning someone he hates?" Hiroki covered his face with his gloved hand. "Has anyone else complained?"

"People are too nice. They don't want to rouse any problems. The wives are more than happy to help the little pretty boy out with his cooking."

"They are doing a bad job at it."

They made it to Masahiro's apartment and he pushed open the door, the strong smell of citrus washed onto them. A new change from his old air fresheners which didn't stick around for long. Masahiro stood at the door, waiting for Hiroki's comment. He didn't have to wait for long.

Hiroki piped up. "You switched the air freshener. Good timing. Your last one amplified the dirty socks from your hamper."

Masahiro snorted. "I don't need to hear that from the guy who complained about it last time. Your nose is too sensitive." He closed the door and kicked off his shoes. "Although, I've gotten less complaints from my dates."

"Told you." Came Hiroki's smug comment as he stepped onto the wooden flooring. "Listen to me more often old man."

Masahiro scoffed. "You're lucky I tolerate your ass or I would have quit managing your career years ago."

Hiroki nursed a cup of green tea with honey. He fiddled with his scarf to reveal some of his neck. His high neck jacket warmed him up way faster inside of the apartment. Despite the lack of a heater, this tea sufficed. The steam warmed his bare hands and he inhaled the scent. He blew on the liquid before he slurped it down. He shivered in delight. His gloves remained a slight distance away from him. He didn't need them indoors.

The sounds of Masahiro shuffling through the kitchen filled the air. He leaned back against his seat and awaited the news. Hearing Masahiro's frustrated declaration on a problem caused him to worry. It meant one of two things: details pertaining his venues or their overseas concerts hit a snag. Either one turning into a problem would result into a huge headache for everyone involved.

He interrupted the silence between them. "What's going on Masahiro?"

Masahiro coughed into his hand to clear his throat. He served himself whiskey on the rocks, he sipped a bit before he answered. "We have a little problem with the booking situation for your performance coming in a few weeks."

Hiroki arched a brow. "Problem? How big of a problem?"

"Someone messed up on your next venue." Masahiro snarled. "The idiots booked your slot to someone else without informing us. An indie band I have never heard of before. I already brought up the written contract the venue signed with us. They are sniveling in their shoes due to the possible lawsuit and the band won't bend to our demands."

Hiroki sighed as he rubbed his temples. "I'm sure you can find a different venue with a more reliable staff. Such a shame, overall I enjoyed the venue. The staff let me do as I wished during my stay. Most of the time, they left me to my own devices and didn't undermine me."

"Nah, I'm ready to fight these people. It's a bother but I can handle a few calls." Masahiro swirled his glass, the ice clinked. "It's nothing too big where we have to bring in Motou."

"Remember her policy in calling her for important matters? This doesn't count."

"Yeah, yeah, the woman loves making people tremble at her feet. Any wrong move against your family and she jumps right in with her claws." He scoot back his chair and slumped down. "I'll suggest an alternative venue for that band before they get uppity with me. This way they don't even think about trying to do anything against us."

"How charitable of you." Hiroki snorted.

Masahiro rolled his eyes. "Barely. I'm doing them a favor. Their manager did nothing but yap away and solved nothing. We have these written contracts to prevent any miscommunication from happening. Either way, I wanted to tell you about the situation before someone told you some unknown band took your place. You know how rumors spread through the internet."

"I don't frequent the internet much," Hiroki pointed out. "The voice system on my computer malfunctioned and I haven't found the time to get someone to fix it. It holds no big interest to me."

"Yet, you still pay for the internet bill."

"I have family coming over who end up asking for the wi-fi password. It's better to prevent their complaints about my lack of internet connection." Hiroki fiddled with the button on his watch and it told him the time. "It's not as expensive as I thought. I don't require too much usage."

Masahiro noticed a bruise on Hiroki's neck. Scooting closer, he silently gasped in shock. Getting over his reaction, Masahiro chortled. "I see little Hiroki is getting some action. I'm impressed. No wonder you've worn scarves in recent weeks." He poked the bruise on Hiroki's neck, Hiroki slapped his hand over the spot. "Is this why you're behaving so odd at your performances?"

Hiroki hissed. "Odd?" He touched the spot in mortification, he didn't know Nowaki left hickeys on his skin. The next time he met Nowaki he would give him a piece of his mind.

"Yes, odd. Your father picked up on it during your last performance."

"Shit. He knows?" Hiroki muttered under his breath. "Mother probably confirmed it with him. She already knows about Nowaki, well, my date. She called around the time Yuki gave birth to her son."

"Nowaki?" Masahiro drank the remainder of his whiskey. "Is that a nickname you use in bed or something?"

Hiroki scrunched up his face in open disgust. "Never repeat that phrase again. I hear enough of those jokes from Miyagi when he's drunk off his ass. I don't need them from you. You're older than my mother. Anyway, that's his real name. I should know, I touched his business card and felt the indentations."

"Ah, so he's a business man."

"Nope. Social worker."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Some months, not too long. He was a friend before this went into something deeper." Hiroki sipped down his tea. "I met him at one of my performances here in Tokyo. We had coffee and then started spending more time together. A majority of my family knows I went on a date because of my mother. My cousin saw me with Nowaki during a coffee run. Although, they don't know it's gotten this far."

Masahiro placed his glass on the table. "I'm guessing your father knows nothing about your escapades." He had no problem with Hiroki finding a significant other, unless, it impeded his usual work ethic. The first few months distracted the person from their routines and from other people. So far, Hiroki behaved normal despite fooling around with someone.

"He commented nothing about Nowaki during his last phone call. He might leave this topic until we meet in person. After all, the gossip mill in my family runs quick after one phone call."

"That's for sure." Despite the family's initial denial, they loved hearing gossip from each other. "They haven't tried finding out his name for a background check?"

Hiroki held his cup tight in his hands. "I'm not sure. They should trust my judgement and not sneak around to acquire information. I'll simply introduce Nowaki at the next family reunion. Mother likes him so far. I have nothing to worry about with the rest of the family." Hiroki added in. "You're not going to have Motou's brother investigate Nowaki."

"You're no fun." Masahiro stood up and served himself another drink.

Miyagi sunk his body into the hot water, toward the middle of his neck. Hiroki sat across from him, rubbing his face with the towel provided. Before their shared bath, they ate their fill and warmed their bellies with tea. They decided on having a couple of beers after they finished their bath. Sighing in bliss, he closed his eyes. His leg relaxed underneath the murky mineral waters. His muscles went lax, giving him a chance to stretch out his leg and he massaged it at a slow pace.

He attempted on calling Shinobu to accompany him. The young man found the hot springs for him during one of his research sprees. He didn't call him back or reached out to him at his job. This standoffish behavior worried him. He dove into planning out the finals, giving them to his students, and then grading once his hours passed. A menial distraction which needed usage of his brain power to complete.

He caught Hiroki dunking his head into the water and resurfaced. Rubbing his face with his now damp cloth with closed eyes. These hot springs trips happened less frequently than Miyagi desired. On one trip, Kana accompanied them to the co-ed hot springs in another town. She saw enough naked bodies where she held no embarrassment of seeing anyone in the nude. He grew used to seeing her nude after a small amount of time.

Too bad she couldn't make it to this one. Two coworkers called out sick and she worked double shifts for the weekend. Her displeasure showed through the phone call as they finished packing their overnight bags.

Miyagi asked. "Do you think Kana will try calling us tonight?"

"Nope." Hiroki rolled his shoulders and positioned himself better in the water. "She'll fall onto her bed and fall asleep. Her thoughts will swirl on her warm bed and cuddling with her pillows. Calling us is the last thing on her mind."

"I share her feelings. I wouldn't want to call anyone when I want to sleep..." Miyagi trailed on the end and he shut his eyes.

Hiroki snapped. "Miyagi! Don't you dare fall asleep!"

Miyagi tried not to laugh when he opened one eye. He watched Hiroki fussing from his spot with a marring frown. His relaxed state disappeared, leaving nothing but a steaming blind man in his wake. Hiroki grabbed onto the towel from the top of his head and wrung it out. Hiroki might not see anything but he always managed to hit something on the body.

Miyagi wished it wasn't his bad leg or his junk.

"Okay, okay, I'm not sleeping. I was joking."

"Your jokes suck. Take some lessons from these comedians you enjoy so much." Hiroki huffed, he folded his towel and stood up. "I'm ready to leave. Are you going to continue on staying in here?"

Miyagi got up and ruffled Hiroki's wet hair. "Might as well, we have stayed here far longer than I expected."

Hiroki scoffed. "I'm not a child." He shuffled over to his left and got out of the water. From the crashing waves of the water and padding feet, Miyagi followed after him. "When is the dinner supposed to come into our room?" They went inside of the locker room and put on their robes.

"I'll call the front desk and tell them we're hungry." Miyagi informed him, his stomach grumbled out loud. "I'm getting hungry too."

The young lady placed the dishes onto the table until they filled the majority of the table. She tried hard not to snicker at the jabs the men made to each other. The last group ended up arguing for most of their stay. Dampening the mood and causing them to behave rudely at times. She overheard about their busy schedules and the struggles of the holiday season. Fights ensued when she returned with their beverages.

These two older men caused no such commotion so far. The front desk received no frantic calls or complains. The room remained somewhat clean due to the scattered clothes. She hoped the peace stayed throughout the night.

She raised her voice to gain their attention. "Is there anything else I can fetch for you two?"

Hiroki informed her. "I suggest bringing a bottle of aspirin for the drunk sitting across from me. He tends to get overboard whenever he starts serving himself beer and doesn't know when to stop."

Miyagi winked at the server. "After finishing up finals week for my students, I need the extra pick me up."

A smile still showed on her face when the young woman bowed. "I'll bring the aspirin right away. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me." She raised her hand and gripped the sliding door.

Miyagi gave her a thumbs up. "No problem. Thank you for the amazing food." She nodded her head as she closed the door and they heard her footsteps disappearing down the hall. "Ah man this smells so delicious." He rubbed his hands together and he licked his lips. "I just want to dig in."

Hiroki whiffed the food and agreed. "They took meticulous care in the preparation. Whoever gave you the recommendation to this place knew their sources well."

"Thanks again for coming along with me. I needed to relax after correcting all those finals. All the stress made my leg cramp up throughout the week." Setting aside the proper plates for the both of them, Miyagi poured himself his beer.

Hiroki tipped back his iced tea and smacked his lips. "I don't mind. I left my schedule open in case this happened. When finals week comes along, you need a small vacation to get you back to your usual annoying self. Without that vacation, you call me to complain." He set the cup down a short distance away from him before he curled his hand around one of the bowls.

Miyagi grinned, "Aw, you do care about me. How sweet."

"Barely." Hiroki felt for the spoon and scooped up the soup to his lips. He blew on it before he took an experimental sip. "I can predict your topics whenever you call me during this time of the year. It will happen again next semester, then the next one and the following years afterwards."

Miyagi picked off more of the side dishes. "I love teaching. It's the large amount of papers I have to grade which gets on my nerves. Did you know most of them end up writing about entirely new topics? I'm not vague in my prompts whatsoever."

Hiroki moved his hand around to emphasize his point. "Rant away. Are they still trying to text in class while you're not looking." He continued on eating while listening on stories of Miyagi's students as he relished in the delicious food.

Nowaki ended his last call for the day. Stretching his arms above his head, the strain left his muscles and he groaned. His coworkers started leaving and said their goodbyes when they passed his cubicle. He grinned and waved back at them. The improvements of the case he worked on brought up his mood for the afternoon. Nothing which caused him a headache and lowering his smile. He still craved a good sleep when he returned home.

He checked his personal email and saw emails from his younger sisters. A huge grin formed. His sisters were such a delight. Alison and Jane included him into the family without any problems. Their husbands accepted him as well. It took some time for him to get used to this new aspect of his life. Having actual family members send him messages throughout the day. Each topic more different than the last.

Talking with his family brought a warm pool to develop in his chest.

Clicking the star next to the unread emails, he logged out. Pushing himself back, he got up from his chair and collected his belongings for the day. He looked through his phone and saw no missed messages or calls. Putting on his jackets, gloves, and scarf, he hooked his bag over his right shoulder.

Tsumori caught Nowaki in his sights and hid close enough where to Nowaki's cubicle. He smoothed down his hair as he watched Nowaki go through the motions of getting his possessions in order. Days earlier, he noticed Nowaki's calendar had no memo on Friday. In fact, Saturday and Sunday had nothing on the calendar as well. This meant he had a bigger chance to convince Nowaki to go out with him somewhere.

No excuse of having to help someone or meeting an old friend out of town. The perfect time.

Nowaki jumped when he heard his cellphone ring. Picking it up from his desk, he answered it without checking the caller I.D. "Kusama Nowaki, how can I help you?"

"Good thing I caught you, it's me Aikawa."

"Aikawa-san, how're you doing?" Nowaki leaned against the wall and waved at more co-workers on their way out the door. "It's been so long since you called me."

"This cold weather isn't giving me a good time. This overabundance of snow is more trouble than it's worth. Then again, some of the other cases I've worked on in recent months have turned successful. I don't know where I'm getting this good luck from. How about you?"

Nowaki pushed his seat toward his desk. "I'm perfectly fine. You caught me at a good time. I finished my work on time and I'm about to leave my building. I have plenty of time to talk without work cutting it short. Have you found something new?"

This peaked Tsumori's interest. He knew one Aikawa and Nowaki mentioned she was the investigator he used to find his father. One who managed to find a man overseas. He suspected she used more than her expertise to gain such information.

"Yes, I have your mother's new address."

"You do! Wow! You're amazing, Aikawa-san! You are seriously amazing at your job. Okay, now what is it?" Nowaki grabbed a pen and wrote down the address she gave him, he stuck it inside of a small planner he kept in his messenger bag. Half the time, he used it to write something important so he made sure it stayed with him. "This is in such an affluent neighborhood. I think it's even gated..."

Tsumori narrowed his eyes. He pondered on the importance of this location. Knowing Nowaki, he wrote it down and left it somewhere in his bulletin board. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see his friend staring at him with an curious expression. Leading him away, Tsumori chatted him up fast, trying to get him to leave him alone.

"It's your choice if you want to see her. I double checked everything about her and she's caused scandals in her professional career. At this point, she's divorced according to the paperwork. She might give you an answer you don't want to hear."

"I have to face her myself." Nowaki placed his pen back in a cup which kept his pens, pencils and markers. "I'll be fine. If I manage to keep a cordial relationship then it would be enough for me. Then again, I never expected such a great result with my father so maybe it might happen with my biological mother. I can't help but keep the hope burning."

Aikawa asked him. "I've meant to bring this up but it kept escaping my mind. How is everything going with your father? Last time, you said the initial skype call went smoothly."

Nowaki grinned big enough that his cheeks hurt. "My father and my sisters welcomed me into the family. They planned on visiting me in the summer for a few weeks. Everything has turned just picture perfect. Nothing has gone wrong with my life so far and I'm over the moon."

"I'm so happy for you. Now, I have to end this call before the train arrives. You can call me if you have any more questions."

"Thank you so much," Nowaki unzipped his messenger bag and placed the planner in the contents. "Have a good day, Aikawa-san." He ended the call and shoved his phone inside of his pocket. "Might as well grab something at the store before going home. I feel like hot pot today." He walked away from his area and hurried down the hall.

Tsumori returned to his spot, catching Nowaki making his way toward the end of the floor. He cursed his luck. Then again, he wanted to check on the address of this affluent neighborhood. This wasn't a total loss. Walking toward Nowaki's area, he heard no one going toward his direction.

He did a quick scope of the small bulletin board and found nothing new. The same old colorful notes in different sections. Tsumori gritted his teeth. None of the post-it notes showed anything new. No addresses or phone numbers.

From his peripheral, he saw a new frame right next to Nowaki's computer. An older man with slicked back white hair and a huge smile which made his blue eyes crinkle in delight. On each side of him were two young women. One with blonde curls hair pinned back and brown eyes. The other woman had light red hair just above her shoulders and blue eyes. Both of them grinned and showed peace signs.

Nowaki's family.

He frowned. Nowaki told him nothing about having a new photo. He pushed his hurt emotion aside. Before the holiday season, their office went into overdrive trying to finish everything before a good portion went on vacation. Nowaki probably forgot to show it to him.

"Tsumori?" A young woman inquired as she checked inside of Nowaki's space. "Did you forget something?"

Tsumori snapped his heard toward her, he tried masking his displeasure at getting caught, but it still showed through. "I thought I dropped my phone when I walked through his area earlier. I'll go check in my office." He strutted past her without another word.

She shrugged her shoulders and went on her merry way.

Masahiro blew a line of smoke as he gripped the stack of papers in one hand. "You're saying this Nowaki kid is squeaky clean? A few scuffles in school but no arrests?" He tapped his foot on the floor. "That's good. I won't have to do anything on my part to soothe Fuyumi's concerns. Although, she already liked him according to Hiroki." He read along. "Shit, he's actually a social worker. I almost thought that was a lie."

"Well, new additions to his files surfaced in recent months." Motou typed in his laptop and n new information popped up on his screen. "His personal documents got an addition of his parents names. A father living in New York with two daughters. The mother's location is unknown but we have her name. Turns out, Nowaki Kusama was left at an orphanage, that's where he got his last name."

Masahiro tossed the papers on the table. "He's a kid from the Kusama orphanage? Huh...I remember that place burnt down years ago. A fire started due to an electrical short circuit in the first floor. From what I remember, everyone managed to get out but plenty of them received injuries which needed medical attention."

Motou arched a brow. "You know about such an incident? Since when do you care about orphans?"

"I donated to rebuild the place during a fundraiser they held days after the fire." Masahiro leaned forward and tapped his cigarette in the ashtray. "I met the head of the orphanage without disclosing I donated anything. Poor guy looked tired from the stress of handling new arrangements for those kids. Most of the caretakers quit on him because of the lack of pay. The money went to rebuilt the place and hospital bills."

Motou sucked his teeth. "Damn that sucks. Losing everything in a fire and having to start from scratch..."

"Surprisingly, some of those kids got adopted when everything settled down."

"Weird. No one adopts kids very often around here." Motou exited out the files in his desktop. "Not even my aunt and uncle adopted any kids. Old fashioned in the sense where they don't see themselves loving an orphan more than their own."

"Ridiculous if you ask me." Masahiro had another drag of his cigarette. "Your sister ended up adopting twin ten year olds."

Motou glanced down at the photo of his nieces. "And my parents spoil them rotten. They preen at the attention and discipline they receive. The lack of focus from a parental figure does make kids starve for it." He looked up at Masahiro. "Did you want me checking on someone else? You always have a list."

Masahiro sniffled as he lounged in his chair. "Just him. You already investigated that Usami guy and he's far away from Hiroki to cause any trouble."

"I should be charging you for all this time I spend checking on people you find suspicious."

TBC