Standard disclaimers applied. Thank you for the reviews!!!!! I thought I'd
dump this fic cause it seemed like not many people are reading it but,
since I have feedbacks, I'll write it!!!
Lilian : Sorry, girl. Can't tell you yet. You'll find out when the time comes. So, till then, stick around!!!
Cookies: Continue YOUR fic!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Cat's Eye..." Rukawa was more than just surprised to see her. 'Why'd she come here?' Rukawa thought to himself.
Booyo looked at Rukawa while rubbing his pinched side. "How'd you know she's from Cat's Eye Café?" Rukawa looked at Booyo and then at Dynah. She was holding a delivery bag and wore casual clothing without any make-ups. She looked like she was around Rukawa's age and was pretty pretty. (Quite pretty!). Booyo (who was in between the two) noticed them staring at each other like they have been acquainted. He pinched Rukawa's side and he yelped.
"Ow, hey..." Rukawa gave Booyo a death glare which was breezily shrugged off.
"Ya' comin' in or not, girly?" He asked, turning to Dynah. She shook her head no.
"I have some more deliveries to make and my sister is waiting for me. Here's your order, sir." She replied, speaking English and handing Booyo some boxes of noodles and Rukawa the rest of the order. He took it and she winked at him. He just looked at her with a blank face. "The bill comes #### yen" she said to Booyo who nudged at Rukawa and went inside to enjoy his lunch. She looked up at Rukawa and gave him a sheet of paper.
As Rukawa took out his wallet, (reading the bill at the same time), he noticed something at the bottom of the bill. 'Come to Cat's Eye 2pm ~ (picture of a winking cat)' He pretended not to look at it and gave her the money for the bill. She put her hands on her lips, a gesture of keeping quiet and said,
"Domo arigato," she bowed and went to an awaiting car. Rukawa saw the woman in the café inside. He shut the door.
In the car, Dynah sat and looked at the huge mansion, "That was the guy, sis."
"Rukawa Kaede, Son of Konzen Rukawa, age: 17, Shohoku High School, Star basketball player, A.K.A, Super Rookie. Super Player now." The older woman took off her sunglasses. "Cute face." She gave an 'interested?' look at her younger sister.
"Boring personality." The little sister replied, rolling her eyes. "He knows I'm Cat's Eye. What are we going to do? He has a police friend. We must get rid of him." Dynah stated.
"Calm down, Dy. We have a lot of crews all over Japan's police station." She started the engine. "Besides, we might be able to pull him over to our side." She winked.
Dynah rolled her eyes. "We still have a lot of paintings to collect. We can't get busted now. You're taking things too lightly." She sighed, crossing her arms.
"You're taking things way too seriously, Dy." They zoomed off. "Besides, we may rob but we don't kill. Remember that." She glanced at her sister who folded her arms, looking away. "You're so stubborn sometimes." She chuckled, shaking her head.
Rukawa was watching them from the living room's window. "Thinking of someone?" he turned and saw Miyuki smiling. "Well, this is something new, isn't it?" Rukawa 'hmph'ed and gave an 'I-don't-know-what-you're-talking- about' look. She smiled.
Suddenly, a knock came and Miyuki answered the door. As she opened it, a blur of white entered the house very quickly. "I SO HATE that STUPID RED- HEADED JERK!!" It was Adam. Rukawa ignored him and settled down to eat while the others (the girls and Booyo) looked at the newcomer.
"What's wrong, Adam?" Riri asked, puzzled. 'What did he do this time?' she wondered.
"Wrong? EVERYTHING about him is WRONG!!! I'm sick of his face, attitude, voice, EVERYTHING!!!!" he was holding his forehead. Somehow, Rukawa knew what the commotion was all about.
"You got head-butted?"
"How'd you guess?" He took his hand off his forehead and revealed a lump. Everyone turned chibi and sweatdropped while Rukawa continued eating; a funny traditional-Japanese music played as the scene was displayed.
"So, this is Booyo?" Adam asked, motioning to Booyo. "Hi, I'm Adam Garcia." Adam can speak English fluently.
"Hey... wait just one mamamia second, arencha' the kid who used to come and play some balls weth Kade?"
Adam smirked. "So you remember me huh? I thought you'd forget."
"Yea... Your face kinda' change a lot. Still a peepin' tom?" he winked and nudged Adam playfully who turned dark red. Riri and Miyuki eyed Adam carefully. Adam felt them looking at him.
"Hey, come on, you don't believe him, do you?" The girls looked at each other, their features turning more dangerous as they eyed him.
"Why?" they asked. In the background, Rukawa was sleeping and Booyo was drinking a cup of tea like Anzai sensei.
"Oh man... Booyo!!! How dare you make up stories!!" Booyo held out his hands defensively.
"Hey, I'm just tryin' ta save da gerls from a hungry hyena like ya'self." He replied.
And so, the morning was filled by Adam's excuse and convincing the girls to not believe Booyo. Unfortunately, neither of them believed him and from that day onwards, kept their distance from him. Adam put Booyo in his black list, together with Sakuragi. Booyo just laughed at the young police officer.
"So, herd yar dad's paintin' got stolen." Booyo said as he sipped some tea. (He never seem to need any refilling for it, does he?)
"Why would YOU want to know?" Adam glared at the dark skinned man across him, using all his willpower to not lunge and choke him to death. The girls went to Riri's room while the 3 men sat in the living room. (Rukawa slept on his favorite couch.)
Booyo shrugged. "Just interested. Also herd' you were the police in charge. Good job." He smiled sarcastically. Adam laughed dryly.
"Very funny. Cat's Eye is a professional painting robber." He replied. "She managed to break through any security systems and steal paintings without a trace. It's like magic."
Booyo nodded. "It's kinda' hard ta hear all this comin' from that empty head of yers. Wait a sec, ain't Cat's Eye a café?"
"I did a thorough research on her." Adam narrowed his eyes. "And, yes. They have been notified so they'd change their name. Unfortunately, they got a lawyer and protested. Since they won, they get to keep their name. Our police force are keeping an eye out on them. But they seem to be in the café everytime a case happened."
Booyo knitted his eyebrows. "How 'bout at night?"
"Their house is second floor to the café."
"Oh."
Meanwhile, in the café, Dynah was listening to the conversation using an ear piece. She giggled as she washed the dishes. Business was pretty good, as usual.
"What's so funny, Dy?" her older sister asked beside her.
She whispered, "I'm being praised."
"By?"
"Rukawa's police friend, Adam Garcia. You know, the new captain of the 'SWAT' team?" she giggled.
"What? You 2 are talking about everything and leaving me out of it. No fair." A girl suddenly came to them, wearing an apron and holding an empty tray.
"It's nothing, Emily. Just some business." Dynah replied, wrinkling her nose.
"Hmph..." Emily pouted. "Say, Carmen, you're gonna' go to the 'place' right?" she turned to her eldest sister.
Carmen nodded. "The next place will be kind of tight. We'll have to be secured first. So, who'll do the next job?"
"Me. As usual." Dynah replied, drying some plates. She turned to Carmen. "You're going to Hitsu's place? And what about you?" She turned to Emily.
"I'll go to Shingo's place. We have some Science project which we must submit tomorrow."
Dynah nodded and sighed. "Seems like I'm the only one stuck here."
Carmen smiled and looked at the clock. "Well, I better get going. You take care of this place, okay Dy?" she took off her apron, took her handbag and sunglasses. It's not like the sun was bright or anything, it was near winter anyway. Just for style.
"What time are you going?" she turned to Emily.
"Around... 3.30. Why?"
"Good. You can accompany me then."
"Where?"
"Nowhere. I'm expecting somebody and I want you to use that little memory- losing potion you just created. Can you do that?" Emily rolled her eyes.
"Give me a break, Dy! That thing is NOT a memory-losing potion. It's just a perfume I invented and I named it Lost Memory." She 'hmph'ed her sister with a 'shame-on-you' look. "That teaches you to stop eavesdropping."
Dynah made a face and then, she heard a new conversation through her earpiece. "Shh..." she motioned to Emily.
"???" then, she sighed, "Eavesdropping... again."
At Rukawa's mansion, he just woke up. He looked around and saw the television on. Booyo was sleeping on the couch across from him and Adam was nowhere in sight. He must have gone home. Rukawa scratched his head and looked at the clock. 'Almost 2...' he thought.
"So, you're finally up." Miyuki appeared near the kitchen's door, holding a box of chocolate. Rukawa nodded sleepily and yawned. She went to sit next to him. Rukawa took a chocolate and gobbled it down. Miyuki giggled. "Booyo sure had had a long day."
"Ah." He replied. "Where's Riri?"
"Upstairs. Don't worry, she's fine." She put another chocolate in her mouth. "Adam called and said to meet him in the you-know-where gym. Mind if I come along?" she asked.
Rukawa shrugged. "Why not? You've gone from bad to worse." He cracked a joke.
"Very funny." She said and pushed a chocolate into his mouth.
"You're gonna get fat eating that."
"You calling me fat?!!" she screamed. Rukawa walked to the front door. "Where are you going?"
"Out. Tell Booyo and Riri I'll be back before dinner." He said and went. He walked down the street, looking at a lot of leaves on the ground, leaving the trees bare of anything. Autumn was one of his favorite seasons aside from Summer and winter. He liked summer because he can enjoy playing basketball. He liked winter because it allows him to hibernate at home. Riri usually bring him skating though. Autumn was in between hot and cold. He liked it. Just like rain. But, for some strange reason, it was colder than the usual in-between Autumn; it WAS late autumn after all.
He walked down a familiar street, in which he usually passes when he cycles to the basketball court early in the morning for some shooting practice. Suddenly, he saw 2 familiar faces.
"Ah, Rukawa." The glass-eyed guy waved at him, a girl was beside him.
"Kogure-sempai." He stopped and greeted them.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Around." He shrugged.
"Ano, Rukawa-kun, have you seen Mitsui-san anywhere?" the girl beside him, identified as Haruko Akagi, A.K.A, Gori's sister, asked him. She doesn't blush anymore when she speaks to him, he noticed. However, he still find her voice very, very annoying. And to think she's the assistant manageress of their basketball team. He shrugged off his thought.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we bumped into his mother and she's worried sick about him." Kogure said.
Rukawa turned chibi and scratched his head, recalling the scene when Mitsui called up his parents. "Ah... I think he's home." He replied. (SO KAWAII!! ^O^~*)
"Eh?" Kogure and Haruko both turned chibi.
Rukawa shrugged and sighed at the two's busybodyness. The two really make a good couple. They were both... in a way, similar their timid attitude, shyness and sometimes, annoyingness. Aside from that, Kogure was Akagi's best friend. So, personally, Rukawa think they make a cute couple. And it also means one girl out of the over 1000 girls' names' list. (The Rukawa Brigade)
"I have to go now." He said and left.
"Ne, Rukawa!" Kogure called. Rukawa stopped and turned. "Nice to see you again. Ganbatte ne? (Work hard, ok?)" He said, smiling. Rukawa just nodded politely.
"Domo. You too." Then, he left. After a while the wind started to blow from god knows where and sent all the leaves flying, whirling and dancing through the crisp air. He began to feel cold. 'Shoot. I should've brought my jacket... it's colder than I thought.' He took his hands out of his pocket and folded his arm across his chest in an attempt to get some warmth - no such luck. It just got colder.
At the same time, in Cat's Eye café, a lot of their customers went home due to the sudden change of weather and the frequent opening and shutting of the door caused the place to get colder.
"Br... it's freezing here. Emiko*, turn on the heater will you?" Dynah turned just in time to see Emily/Emiko switching on the heater.
"Done." She said, giving a thumb's up. "I'll be right back, I have to change into something warmer." She went to a door behind the counter and footsteps can be heard as she ascend the staircase. Dynah was wiping the table, clearing whatever mess the customers made and sweeping the floor when the bell on top of the door rang. Automatically, she said,
"Welcome to Cat's Eye." She was shocked to see Rukawa in the café. He actually came! But, what shocked her most was his pale face. He looked like he'll collapse anytime soon so, reflexively, she hurried to him and supported him before he lost his balance. "Are you all right?" she can feel his skin as cold as ice under hers.
He was shaking a little and turned to look at her. "A hot cocoa please." He managed to stutter through his chattering teeth though he controlled it with all his might.
"Sure." She said and helped him to a table nearest to the heater. Luckily, no one was around, otherwise, it'd be so embarrassing! Imagine, Dynah the dangerously short tempered and egoistic cat's eye helping someone! (Well, that's how she thinks about helping people...) She went to the counter and quickly made some hot cocoa. As she did so, Rukawa was thanking every one of his lucky stars that he didn't collapse outside and that no one was in the café.
Rukawa was getting a terrible headache and he felt as if his nose was blocked. He sneezed. Great, a cold. He looked around as he enjoyed the warmth radiating from the heater. Dynah was the only one working it seems. Suddenly, he felt as if his head was throbbing. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his head, trying to message it a little. It was getting worse and worse and unbearable.
As Dynah poured the cocoa, she looked at the thermometer outside of their window. It read 0 degrees. 'Wow. No wonder it's so cold.' She suddenly heard a groan from behind her and saw Rukawa holding his head. "Are you okay?" she asked as she ran to him, quite alarmed. Yet, another groan replied. She bit her lower lip. She knew for sure that the sudden drop of temperature and his sudden environmental change from cold to warm must have caused the sudden headache he was experiencing and she can help him but... there it was again, the H-word. She really need to get the bad habit of unhelpfulness out of her.
She sighed, clicked her knuckles and removed his hands from his head. "Sh..." she let his head lean against her stomach as she messaged his head. At first, he grunted at every muscle 'cringing' she did (I don't know a better word for that... ^__^;) but soon, he relaxed a little. She messaged his head gently but strongly. For once, she was surprised that she didn't mind much helping. At least, she doesn't grumble or complain.
Suddenly, Rukawa nodded off to sleep. She noticed this and stopped. 'Great...hm?' being a thief, she felt the presence of someone watching from behind the door. Since Rukawa's head was on her stomach, (she was standing, you perverts!!) she only said in a low but not the least gentle voice, "Emiko, get me a blanket. NOW."
"You didn't say the magic word." Came a reply from the door which was connected to the staircase.
Dynah rolled her eyes. "Do it or you'll never go to Shingo's house ever." She said, sternly.
"Okay." Emiko squeaked. That was as good as a magic word. She dashed upstairs. As her sister went off, Dynah looked at the guy she was supporting. He didn't look as pale as he did when he came in. She smiled.
"Now, you owe me." she said to the sleeping figure, brushing off his wild bangs aside so that his eyes can be seen clearly and as she did so, to her surprise, she saw a pair of ice blue eyes looking back at her. She was startled at first but hid it. "Does this mean you're just playing a drowned dog?" she said in an accusing tone and raised an eyebrow.
Rukawa smirked but didn't say anything. He stared at her. She felt uneasy. She has never been this close to a guy before. The last guy who attempted to get close to her ended up with a broken nose, badly bruised and severely injured in the... ehem family jewel. 'Really, you're lucky you are cute. You should thank god for gifting you with the face you are in now.' She thought.
Rukawa closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He pulled his head from her support, saw the cocoa and reached for it. She cleared her throat and walked to the counter. 'Well, so much for helping!' she thought quite angrily.
"Dynah." He called to her. Surprised, she turned. "Arigato." He nodded at her but never tear his eyes off her.
"You should have known better than to just wear such thin clothing." She said as she walked to the counter. She bent down to take something. Rukawa was eyeing her carefully and she felt kind of embarrassed for being watched so closely. "What? Something on my face?" she asked him, bringing a pot of cocoa. She poured him some more cocoa.
Rukawa took out something from his pocket. "Yours?" he asked.
"Where did you find it?" she tested.
Rukawa rolled his eyes, took her hand and put it in. The sudden contact somehow created a sensation to the 2 but, brushed it away. His hand was huge against hers but her hand was quite rough. Even her figure is very slim and slender. Then, he recalled the time when she jumped and climbed out of the elevator. From the information, he made a conclusion.
"You do gymnastic?" he asked, sipping some of the warm liquid.
She smiled, "where'd you get that idea?"
"Do you?"
She looked at him before nodding. "Yes. I do a lot of things, in fact."
"'Collecting' paintings?" he asked, drinking some more. The cocoa seem to finish so quickly, it's strange to think he saw Anzai sensei drinking his tea without once ever refilling it!
She looked away and then sighed. She sat next to him. "Look, I told you, that painting was originally my dad's. Garcia took it in a despicable way. He was lucky I only took it back without any harm fallen onto him and..." she trailed off and sighed. "You'll never understand." She stood up.
"Make me." he replied.
She sighed again. "Look, you know who I am. Since you owe me your life, I need you to keep this little piece of information a secret. If you don't, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life." She said in a dangerous tone. Rukawa didn't even flinch. 'Damn, what is this guy? Some kind of ice block?'
He shrugged, "I don't take warnings or threats. But, I do owe you my life." And drank.
"Does that mean you'll keep quiet?" she said hopefully but careful not to make it too obvious.
"I'm ALWAYS quiet." He replied monotonously.
She smiled. "Keep your promise."
Rukawa noticed this girl doesn't trust anyone. Just like him. He nodded in response. 'Looks like I don't have to kill him after all.' She thought. Suddenly, through the glassed wall, she saw snowflakes falling. She smiled happily. "Beautiful weather." She said.
"Ah." Rukawa replied. The two didn't realise a hidden camera was placed on the ceiling, near in the light's bulb.
Upstairs, Emily was watching her sister and Rukawa through her computer's monitor. "Hee..." she smiled. "Way to go, Rukawa-san. You just captured the heart of the most impossible person on earth." She turned and looked at the blanket she was supposed to deliver. "Better not disturb them now, shouldn't we, Kuro?" she said to the black cat behind her. The cat was sleeping near the window and heater.
To Be Continued...
Lilian : Sorry, girl. Can't tell you yet. You'll find out when the time comes. So, till then, stick around!!!
Cookies: Continue YOUR fic!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Cat's Eye..." Rukawa was more than just surprised to see her. 'Why'd she come here?' Rukawa thought to himself.
Booyo looked at Rukawa while rubbing his pinched side. "How'd you know she's from Cat's Eye Café?" Rukawa looked at Booyo and then at Dynah. She was holding a delivery bag and wore casual clothing without any make-ups. She looked like she was around Rukawa's age and was pretty pretty. (Quite pretty!). Booyo (who was in between the two) noticed them staring at each other like they have been acquainted. He pinched Rukawa's side and he yelped.
"Ow, hey..." Rukawa gave Booyo a death glare which was breezily shrugged off.
"Ya' comin' in or not, girly?" He asked, turning to Dynah. She shook her head no.
"I have some more deliveries to make and my sister is waiting for me. Here's your order, sir." She replied, speaking English and handing Booyo some boxes of noodles and Rukawa the rest of the order. He took it and she winked at him. He just looked at her with a blank face. "The bill comes #### yen" she said to Booyo who nudged at Rukawa and went inside to enjoy his lunch. She looked up at Rukawa and gave him a sheet of paper.
As Rukawa took out his wallet, (reading the bill at the same time), he noticed something at the bottom of the bill. 'Come to Cat's Eye 2pm ~ (picture of a winking cat)' He pretended not to look at it and gave her the money for the bill. She put her hands on her lips, a gesture of keeping quiet and said,
"Domo arigato," she bowed and went to an awaiting car. Rukawa saw the woman in the café inside. He shut the door.
In the car, Dynah sat and looked at the huge mansion, "That was the guy, sis."
"Rukawa Kaede, Son of Konzen Rukawa, age: 17, Shohoku High School, Star basketball player, A.K.A, Super Rookie. Super Player now." The older woman took off her sunglasses. "Cute face." She gave an 'interested?' look at her younger sister.
"Boring personality." The little sister replied, rolling her eyes. "He knows I'm Cat's Eye. What are we going to do? He has a police friend. We must get rid of him." Dynah stated.
"Calm down, Dy. We have a lot of crews all over Japan's police station." She started the engine. "Besides, we might be able to pull him over to our side." She winked.
Dynah rolled her eyes. "We still have a lot of paintings to collect. We can't get busted now. You're taking things too lightly." She sighed, crossing her arms.
"You're taking things way too seriously, Dy." They zoomed off. "Besides, we may rob but we don't kill. Remember that." She glanced at her sister who folded her arms, looking away. "You're so stubborn sometimes." She chuckled, shaking her head.
Rukawa was watching them from the living room's window. "Thinking of someone?" he turned and saw Miyuki smiling. "Well, this is something new, isn't it?" Rukawa 'hmph'ed and gave an 'I-don't-know-what-you're-talking- about' look. She smiled.
Suddenly, a knock came and Miyuki answered the door. As she opened it, a blur of white entered the house very quickly. "I SO HATE that STUPID RED- HEADED JERK!!" It was Adam. Rukawa ignored him and settled down to eat while the others (the girls and Booyo) looked at the newcomer.
"What's wrong, Adam?" Riri asked, puzzled. 'What did he do this time?' she wondered.
"Wrong? EVERYTHING about him is WRONG!!! I'm sick of his face, attitude, voice, EVERYTHING!!!!" he was holding his forehead. Somehow, Rukawa knew what the commotion was all about.
"You got head-butted?"
"How'd you guess?" He took his hand off his forehead and revealed a lump. Everyone turned chibi and sweatdropped while Rukawa continued eating; a funny traditional-Japanese music played as the scene was displayed.
"So, this is Booyo?" Adam asked, motioning to Booyo. "Hi, I'm Adam Garcia." Adam can speak English fluently.
"Hey... wait just one mamamia second, arencha' the kid who used to come and play some balls weth Kade?"
Adam smirked. "So you remember me huh? I thought you'd forget."
"Yea... Your face kinda' change a lot. Still a peepin' tom?" he winked and nudged Adam playfully who turned dark red. Riri and Miyuki eyed Adam carefully. Adam felt them looking at him.
"Hey, come on, you don't believe him, do you?" The girls looked at each other, their features turning more dangerous as they eyed him.
"Why?" they asked. In the background, Rukawa was sleeping and Booyo was drinking a cup of tea like Anzai sensei.
"Oh man... Booyo!!! How dare you make up stories!!" Booyo held out his hands defensively.
"Hey, I'm just tryin' ta save da gerls from a hungry hyena like ya'self." He replied.
And so, the morning was filled by Adam's excuse and convincing the girls to not believe Booyo. Unfortunately, neither of them believed him and from that day onwards, kept their distance from him. Adam put Booyo in his black list, together with Sakuragi. Booyo just laughed at the young police officer.
"So, herd yar dad's paintin' got stolen." Booyo said as he sipped some tea. (He never seem to need any refilling for it, does he?)
"Why would YOU want to know?" Adam glared at the dark skinned man across him, using all his willpower to not lunge and choke him to death. The girls went to Riri's room while the 3 men sat in the living room. (Rukawa slept on his favorite couch.)
Booyo shrugged. "Just interested. Also herd' you were the police in charge. Good job." He smiled sarcastically. Adam laughed dryly.
"Very funny. Cat's Eye is a professional painting robber." He replied. "She managed to break through any security systems and steal paintings without a trace. It's like magic."
Booyo nodded. "It's kinda' hard ta hear all this comin' from that empty head of yers. Wait a sec, ain't Cat's Eye a café?"
"I did a thorough research on her." Adam narrowed his eyes. "And, yes. They have been notified so they'd change their name. Unfortunately, they got a lawyer and protested. Since they won, they get to keep their name. Our police force are keeping an eye out on them. But they seem to be in the café everytime a case happened."
Booyo knitted his eyebrows. "How 'bout at night?"
"Their house is second floor to the café."
"Oh."
Meanwhile, in the café, Dynah was listening to the conversation using an ear piece. She giggled as she washed the dishes. Business was pretty good, as usual.
"What's so funny, Dy?" her older sister asked beside her.
She whispered, "I'm being praised."
"By?"
"Rukawa's police friend, Adam Garcia. You know, the new captain of the 'SWAT' team?" she giggled.
"What? You 2 are talking about everything and leaving me out of it. No fair." A girl suddenly came to them, wearing an apron and holding an empty tray.
"It's nothing, Emily. Just some business." Dynah replied, wrinkling her nose.
"Hmph..." Emily pouted. "Say, Carmen, you're gonna' go to the 'place' right?" she turned to her eldest sister.
Carmen nodded. "The next place will be kind of tight. We'll have to be secured first. So, who'll do the next job?"
"Me. As usual." Dynah replied, drying some plates. She turned to Carmen. "You're going to Hitsu's place? And what about you?" She turned to Emily.
"I'll go to Shingo's place. We have some Science project which we must submit tomorrow."
Dynah nodded and sighed. "Seems like I'm the only one stuck here."
Carmen smiled and looked at the clock. "Well, I better get going. You take care of this place, okay Dy?" she took off her apron, took her handbag and sunglasses. It's not like the sun was bright or anything, it was near winter anyway. Just for style.
"What time are you going?" she turned to Emily.
"Around... 3.30. Why?"
"Good. You can accompany me then."
"Where?"
"Nowhere. I'm expecting somebody and I want you to use that little memory- losing potion you just created. Can you do that?" Emily rolled her eyes.
"Give me a break, Dy! That thing is NOT a memory-losing potion. It's just a perfume I invented and I named it Lost Memory." She 'hmph'ed her sister with a 'shame-on-you' look. "That teaches you to stop eavesdropping."
Dynah made a face and then, she heard a new conversation through her earpiece. "Shh..." she motioned to Emily.
"???" then, she sighed, "Eavesdropping... again."
At Rukawa's mansion, he just woke up. He looked around and saw the television on. Booyo was sleeping on the couch across from him and Adam was nowhere in sight. He must have gone home. Rukawa scratched his head and looked at the clock. 'Almost 2...' he thought.
"So, you're finally up." Miyuki appeared near the kitchen's door, holding a box of chocolate. Rukawa nodded sleepily and yawned. She went to sit next to him. Rukawa took a chocolate and gobbled it down. Miyuki giggled. "Booyo sure had had a long day."
"Ah." He replied. "Where's Riri?"
"Upstairs. Don't worry, she's fine." She put another chocolate in her mouth. "Adam called and said to meet him in the you-know-where gym. Mind if I come along?" she asked.
Rukawa shrugged. "Why not? You've gone from bad to worse." He cracked a joke.
"Very funny." She said and pushed a chocolate into his mouth.
"You're gonna get fat eating that."
"You calling me fat?!!" she screamed. Rukawa walked to the front door. "Where are you going?"
"Out. Tell Booyo and Riri I'll be back before dinner." He said and went. He walked down the street, looking at a lot of leaves on the ground, leaving the trees bare of anything. Autumn was one of his favorite seasons aside from Summer and winter. He liked summer because he can enjoy playing basketball. He liked winter because it allows him to hibernate at home. Riri usually bring him skating though. Autumn was in between hot and cold. He liked it. Just like rain. But, for some strange reason, it was colder than the usual in-between Autumn; it WAS late autumn after all.
He walked down a familiar street, in which he usually passes when he cycles to the basketball court early in the morning for some shooting practice. Suddenly, he saw 2 familiar faces.
"Ah, Rukawa." The glass-eyed guy waved at him, a girl was beside him.
"Kogure-sempai." He stopped and greeted them.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Around." He shrugged.
"Ano, Rukawa-kun, have you seen Mitsui-san anywhere?" the girl beside him, identified as Haruko Akagi, A.K.A, Gori's sister, asked him. She doesn't blush anymore when she speaks to him, he noticed. However, he still find her voice very, very annoying. And to think she's the assistant manageress of their basketball team. He shrugged off his thought.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we bumped into his mother and she's worried sick about him." Kogure said.
Rukawa turned chibi and scratched his head, recalling the scene when Mitsui called up his parents. "Ah... I think he's home." He replied. (SO KAWAII!! ^O^~*)
"Eh?" Kogure and Haruko both turned chibi.
Rukawa shrugged and sighed at the two's busybodyness. The two really make a good couple. They were both... in a way, similar their timid attitude, shyness and sometimes, annoyingness. Aside from that, Kogure was Akagi's best friend. So, personally, Rukawa think they make a cute couple. And it also means one girl out of the over 1000 girls' names' list. (The Rukawa Brigade)
"I have to go now." He said and left.
"Ne, Rukawa!" Kogure called. Rukawa stopped and turned. "Nice to see you again. Ganbatte ne? (Work hard, ok?)" He said, smiling. Rukawa just nodded politely.
"Domo. You too." Then, he left. After a while the wind started to blow from god knows where and sent all the leaves flying, whirling and dancing through the crisp air. He began to feel cold. 'Shoot. I should've brought my jacket... it's colder than I thought.' He took his hands out of his pocket and folded his arm across his chest in an attempt to get some warmth - no such luck. It just got colder.
At the same time, in Cat's Eye café, a lot of their customers went home due to the sudden change of weather and the frequent opening and shutting of the door caused the place to get colder.
"Br... it's freezing here. Emiko*, turn on the heater will you?" Dynah turned just in time to see Emily/Emiko switching on the heater.
"Done." She said, giving a thumb's up. "I'll be right back, I have to change into something warmer." She went to a door behind the counter and footsteps can be heard as she ascend the staircase. Dynah was wiping the table, clearing whatever mess the customers made and sweeping the floor when the bell on top of the door rang. Automatically, she said,
"Welcome to Cat's Eye." She was shocked to see Rukawa in the café. He actually came! But, what shocked her most was his pale face. He looked like he'll collapse anytime soon so, reflexively, she hurried to him and supported him before he lost his balance. "Are you all right?" she can feel his skin as cold as ice under hers.
He was shaking a little and turned to look at her. "A hot cocoa please." He managed to stutter through his chattering teeth though he controlled it with all his might.
"Sure." She said and helped him to a table nearest to the heater. Luckily, no one was around, otherwise, it'd be so embarrassing! Imagine, Dynah the dangerously short tempered and egoistic cat's eye helping someone! (Well, that's how she thinks about helping people...) She went to the counter and quickly made some hot cocoa. As she did so, Rukawa was thanking every one of his lucky stars that he didn't collapse outside and that no one was in the café.
Rukawa was getting a terrible headache and he felt as if his nose was blocked. He sneezed. Great, a cold. He looked around as he enjoyed the warmth radiating from the heater. Dynah was the only one working it seems. Suddenly, he felt as if his head was throbbing. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his head, trying to message it a little. It was getting worse and worse and unbearable.
As Dynah poured the cocoa, she looked at the thermometer outside of their window. It read 0 degrees. 'Wow. No wonder it's so cold.' She suddenly heard a groan from behind her and saw Rukawa holding his head. "Are you okay?" she asked as she ran to him, quite alarmed. Yet, another groan replied. She bit her lower lip. She knew for sure that the sudden drop of temperature and his sudden environmental change from cold to warm must have caused the sudden headache he was experiencing and she can help him but... there it was again, the H-word. She really need to get the bad habit of unhelpfulness out of her.
She sighed, clicked her knuckles and removed his hands from his head. "Sh..." she let his head lean against her stomach as she messaged his head. At first, he grunted at every muscle 'cringing' she did (I don't know a better word for that... ^__^;) but soon, he relaxed a little. She messaged his head gently but strongly. For once, she was surprised that she didn't mind much helping. At least, she doesn't grumble or complain.
Suddenly, Rukawa nodded off to sleep. She noticed this and stopped. 'Great...hm?' being a thief, she felt the presence of someone watching from behind the door. Since Rukawa's head was on her stomach, (she was standing, you perverts!!) she only said in a low but not the least gentle voice, "Emiko, get me a blanket. NOW."
"You didn't say the magic word." Came a reply from the door which was connected to the staircase.
Dynah rolled her eyes. "Do it or you'll never go to Shingo's house ever." She said, sternly.
"Okay." Emiko squeaked. That was as good as a magic word. She dashed upstairs. As her sister went off, Dynah looked at the guy she was supporting. He didn't look as pale as he did when he came in. She smiled.
"Now, you owe me." she said to the sleeping figure, brushing off his wild bangs aside so that his eyes can be seen clearly and as she did so, to her surprise, she saw a pair of ice blue eyes looking back at her. She was startled at first but hid it. "Does this mean you're just playing a drowned dog?" she said in an accusing tone and raised an eyebrow.
Rukawa smirked but didn't say anything. He stared at her. She felt uneasy. She has never been this close to a guy before. The last guy who attempted to get close to her ended up with a broken nose, badly bruised and severely injured in the... ehem family jewel. 'Really, you're lucky you are cute. You should thank god for gifting you with the face you are in now.' She thought.
Rukawa closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He pulled his head from her support, saw the cocoa and reached for it. She cleared her throat and walked to the counter. 'Well, so much for helping!' she thought quite angrily.
"Dynah." He called to her. Surprised, she turned. "Arigato." He nodded at her but never tear his eyes off her.
"You should have known better than to just wear such thin clothing." She said as she walked to the counter. She bent down to take something. Rukawa was eyeing her carefully and she felt kind of embarrassed for being watched so closely. "What? Something on my face?" she asked him, bringing a pot of cocoa. She poured him some more cocoa.
Rukawa took out something from his pocket. "Yours?" he asked.
"Where did you find it?" she tested.
Rukawa rolled his eyes, took her hand and put it in. The sudden contact somehow created a sensation to the 2 but, brushed it away. His hand was huge against hers but her hand was quite rough. Even her figure is very slim and slender. Then, he recalled the time when she jumped and climbed out of the elevator. From the information, he made a conclusion.
"You do gymnastic?" he asked, sipping some of the warm liquid.
She smiled, "where'd you get that idea?"
"Do you?"
She looked at him before nodding. "Yes. I do a lot of things, in fact."
"'Collecting' paintings?" he asked, drinking some more. The cocoa seem to finish so quickly, it's strange to think he saw Anzai sensei drinking his tea without once ever refilling it!
She looked away and then sighed. She sat next to him. "Look, I told you, that painting was originally my dad's. Garcia took it in a despicable way. He was lucky I only took it back without any harm fallen onto him and..." she trailed off and sighed. "You'll never understand." She stood up.
"Make me." he replied.
She sighed again. "Look, you know who I am. Since you owe me your life, I need you to keep this little piece of information a secret. If you don't, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life." She said in a dangerous tone. Rukawa didn't even flinch. 'Damn, what is this guy? Some kind of ice block?'
He shrugged, "I don't take warnings or threats. But, I do owe you my life." And drank.
"Does that mean you'll keep quiet?" she said hopefully but careful not to make it too obvious.
"I'm ALWAYS quiet." He replied monotonously.
She smiled. "Keep your promise."
Rukawa noticed this girl doesn't trust anyone. Just like him. He nodded in response. 'Looks like I don't have to kill him after all.' She thought. Suddenly, through the glassed wall, she saw snowflakes falling. She smiled happily. "Beautiful weather." She said.
"Ah." Rukawa replied. The two didn't realise a hidden camera was placed on the ceiling, near in the light's bulb.
Upstairs, Emily was watching her sister and Rukawa through her computer's monitor. "Hee..." she smiled. "Way to go, Rukawa-san. You just captured the heart of the most impossible person on earth." She turned and looked at the blanket she was supposed to deliver. "Better not disturb them now, shouldn't we, Kuro?" she said to the black cat behind her. The cat was sleeping near the window and heater.
To Be Continued...