The Tangled Web

The Tangled Web

Chapter Two

By Bottou-chan

A/N: In honor of Chris' birthday, which was the 16th. :o)

"Name?"

"Iwahara Neon," answered Neon dutifully, dabbing at one eye with a Kleenex.

"What brought you to Osaka?" inquired the officer. It was obvious by her accent that she wasn't a native of their city.

Neon's lip trembled. "I'm a member of Mori Kurei's support staff," she explained. "He was in town for a business meeting, and I came along to help make sure things went smoothly. The domestic things, you know… he's so enthused about doing his father's humanitarian work that he forgets to eat, to sleep, and that sort of thing." She offered a nervous, quavering smile. "I'm a glorified babysitter," she confided. "But he had some private business to take care of, and so I'd heard about your lovely botanic garden. I love flowers, roses especially, and thought it would be nice. Odokemono Hiroji came with me, as he knows the area, and wanted to make sure I was safe." Again, her voice quavered on the brink of tears. "But… but… but… I never would have come here today if I knew…"

The tears won out. She spent the next several minutes crying into the Kleenex, while the officer waited patiently for her to pull herself together.

It * was * true, in a way. Kurei was in-town meeting some top-dog Yakuza officials. When he had some private business to discuss, Joker and Neon had been curtly dismissed and told to meet up with him later at the hotel that evening.

"And what does Odokemono do?" asked the officer.

Neon's mind raced. "He's his private assistant. Very confidential," she confided.

"And he didn't stay with Mori Kurei?" inquired the Officer, writing in neat, cramped characters in his notebook.

"It was very confidential," confided Neon. Something clicked in her mind. Joker's probably making up some stupid stories about how we were taking a romantic walk…

She mentally rolled her eyes before blushing and adding, in her shyest voice, "Errmm… and, you see… that is… Odokemono and I… well… Hiroji and I… you know how it is," she finished, and lowered her eyes modestly.

"Ah. Now, tell me what else happened…"

******

Joker sat in a small gazebo overlooking the koi pond. It was a romantic spot; very scenic. A nice place to take a girl.

Too bad he was stuck here with a pencil-mustached police officer.

"You from here?" asked the officer.

"Used to be," shrugged Joker. "Business made me move elsewhere."

"Name?"

Joker's mind raced. He couldn't claim to be himself… Odokemono Hiroji. Hiroji was on the missing-persons list, was wanted locally in connection for assault and theft, and a score of other various charges which he preferred to keep under wraps.

Then again, he couldn't call himself "Joker", either. He might as well call himself Fluffybunnykins.

"Raiha," he answered. "Takagi Raiha."

He was quite proud of himself—he hadn't skipped a beat. As he rummaged in his wallet to produce a picture ID which conclusively proved he was Raiha, he had a haunted feeling. Neon * did * remember the agreement they'd worked out? It was harder to keep track of Joker's aliases than Neon's, as Neon usually went by her own name. Hiroji worked just fine in most cases. Except for when there was a chance of police reports being filed. Especially when there were police reports being filed in his home city.

The officer laboriously spelled it out.

"What brings you back in town?" he asked.

"Business meeting," answered Joker. "I work for Mori Kurei as his personal aide. Neon-han and I — the girl — were given the day off. I knew the area, and decided to show her the sights."

"Ahhh." The pencil-mustached man nodded as he wrote. There was an impish gleam in his eye as he looked up. "A nice place to bring a woman, eh? There's terrific atmosphere here." He winked suggestively.

Joker grinned back. Suddenly, they weren't officer-and-civilian… it was more of a man-to-man moment. But Neon's probably swearing up and down that she wouldn't go on a date with me if I was the last man on earth, he thought, suppressing a laugh. Neon's vehement protests were an endless source of amusement for him. Aloud, he said, "Yeah, well, I wish. But Neon-han's dedicated to the boss." With another man-to-man wink, he added, "I can look, but I can't touch. You know how it is."

"Yeah," agreed the officer, writing once more. "Now, tell me about how you came across the body."