Author's Note: Sorry for the slightly longer wait! Thanks for your patience and the lovely reviews!
kensingtonkid : Hi good to see you back! Wow thanks so much for reviewing each chapter! I see that the previous three chapters were really quite unexpected - an overdose of angst. I'm afraid the overall tone of this story is going to be quite angsty though – please be prepared. :)
Reius Devirix: Ah a new reader! Welcome and thanks so much for your kind and encouraging comments!
Blackcat: Another new reader – makes my day! I'm so glad that you like this imaginary background of Rui, and that you think it's convincing.
Rui *sulking* you could have given me a much happier life you know, Sheen.
Sheen : Oro? (borrowing Kenshin's pet "save-his-ass" word)
Rui : Yeah, I could simply be autistic.
Sheen : er … … hee hee hee … … *sheepish grin*
Rui : Stop all these lame comebacks! *the chase begins again*
ToinKs : Ah! You smell romance in the air :) What do you feel after this new chapter? Does it change your perception or confirms it in anyway? Thanks for your encouragement!
Lian: Ah! I'm sure I don't know who you mean *wink* Tis a real mystery ne :) Yes, I felt that Shizuka is really quite mature as well, however, you know the mentality of a girl is usually 3 years older than a guy her age, so by rights she should be at least 5 years older than the rest of the gang. However, Rui is also exceptionally mature for his … …
piglet : Thanks so much for your kind comments !!!! I'm sooooooooo delighted that you think this helps in explaining Rui's character … … I was soooooooo hoping that my feeble attempt would succeed a little!
*Yan* : It would really be great if I would be able to show what the others think as well. However, that will make this story too long and repetitive, so I decided to write it from Rui's point of view. Thanks for reading.
xin2005 : Thanks thanks for your comments! I'm not too sure when Tsukushi will be coming into the story as yet – probably in a couple more chapters – but how long have I been saying that for? Ooooops! This time I think it's really almost there ;)
Drina : *blush* I must confess that I never really thought about my narration style. You are quite right – I think the bulk appears to be written as if Rui was thinking back. Only very rarely is he "living in the present". That was very insightful – this shows how unorganised and out of it I am!
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Chapter 12 – A New Mission
"How did it go?" No trace of emotion was revealed in the male's voice.
"Better than expected. He fell for it hook line and sinker." The young female responded just as calmly.
"Good girl, Cleo. What would I do without you?"
"Send the next gal on the list."
"Ouch! That hurt, my pet."
"Mother told me that you can't hurt – she says you'd need a heart for that."
"What's wrong, Cleo? I've never seen you quite so … … shall we say … disturbed before." The male was deadly serious again. "Don't tell me you're going to crack too."
"He's my friend." Softly spoken.
"We're are helping him, not harming him." The male pointed out.
"By using his weakest point against him and making him reliant on me?" There was a slight incredulity in her voice.
"Not against him but for his own sake. You've seen him deteriorate - only you can help him through this. When he's better, we will teach him to let go."
"And hurt him again?"
"Well, if you still feel so strongly for him a few years down the road, you need not let him go. You can be with him – it will be quite a good match." The tone was almost thoughtful, "however, you are both still young – things may change. So first and foremost, help him to recover first."
"Eeeww … … Please J, he's just like a cute little brother that I never had. Just like the rest of them, only of course he's a bit more special."
"Keep me updated with progress reports and let me know when you need any other help," was the sole rejoinder … …
My life fell into a fixed pattern as a couple of years went by pretty much uneventfully. I still remained cold, aloof and pretty much untouchable, but I was healing. It was summer again and we were playing a pretty rough game of basketball at Soujirou's place. I was paired up with Tsukasa against Soujirou and Akira as per normal. When the match finally ended, we collapsed tired and sweating under the cool shade of the huge tree next to the court. I closed my eyes and was about to drift off to sleep, letting the physical and mental exhaustion overtake me when I felt a sharp jab to my ribs.
"Hey don't sleep, Rui!" My eyes flew opened and I gave the grinning and unrepentant Soujirou one of my coldest "don't mess with me when I'm tired" looks. I could feel the beginnings of a migraine, having been up all night coding a complex document. "Akira and I are going to this new nightclub again tonight, want to come along both of you? We could pick up some girls." His eyes twinkled as he looked at Tsukasa and myself.
Tsukasa gave a rude snort, "I've got better things to do than to … …"
"Ah, he means that Tsubaki will whip his ass for being a naughty boy," Akira cut in helpfully.
"Aww … … how sweet! Tsubaki is worried that we will pollute her little brother's mind." Chimed in Soujirou.
"And make his lose his virginity at sweet sixteen … …" Akira sung in complete agreement.
"Wake me up later," I said closing my eyes, waiting resignedly for the impending outburst. I did not have to wait long. Tsukasa let out a roar of rage as he pounced on the two boys with the intention of pounding them to pulp. The noise of fighting slowly faded into the background as I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again, the noise had stopped and the three bruised guys were sitting on the ground. I sat up and stretched lazily before taking a closer look at them, as I stifled a yawn. Akira had a black eye and a split lip, Soujirou had this ugly bruise on his cheek and a few scratches on his arm, whilst Tsukasa's hair was completely in a mess and his nose was bleeding. Their clothes were dirty and in disarray.
"I swear, Rui, you can sleep through a thunderstorm," mumbled Akira. Quite obviously his lip was hurting him.
"Anyways, do you want to come along with us?" Soujirou really had a one-tracked mind when it came to girls even in his teenage years.
"No."
"Come on, Rui. Surely, you don't want to be like Tsukasa and remain a virgin until you're fifty … …" He suddenly stopped in midst of his rambling and his voice took on a new note of urgency. "Rui? Are you alright? Why are you so pale?"
I winced involuntarily at the unintended cruelty of his words, feeling the blood drain from my face as they brought back images of rough, encroaching hands that bruised and abused tender flesh … … They thought that I was an untouched innocent like Tsukasa? If only they knew the truth - I was probably far more "experienced" than those two playboys put together. I quickly closed my eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath before turning to them with my mask firmly in place. They were all looking at me with deep concern, even though it was evident that Tsukasa was trying to hide his worry beneath an unusual ferocious scowl. Probably afraid that I would repeat my performance of a few years ago and collapse at their feet in another epileptic fit, I thought wryly.
"Headache … … I'm going to bed." I rose to my feet with one hand rubbing my temples for extra effect and walked away, preventing them from asking me any further questions. I did not feel very well anyways – the lack of sleep was getting to me.
"Do you think Rui's really okay?" I paused when I heard Akira's voice. "I mean is it healthy to need so much sleep?"
"Rui's just a pig! He's always been that way. I'll rather sleep than go out with you both anyway!" Obviously Tsukasa.
"So it's just you and me to wow the gals tonight again." That was Akira.
"Yeah, we'd better go home and clean up … …" I left once I was sure that their suspicious were not roused by my behaviour. Really, I need to work on my acting skills. It is quite embarrassing, not to say dangerous, how vulnerable I still am to these flashbacks … …
"Hey Shizuka, fancy meeting you here!"
"Why am I not surprised to find you both here?"
"Oh, meet Mary and Linda. And Suzanne … …" Polite greetings were exchanged.
"Tsukasa and Rui's not with both of you?"
"You know both of them – Rui's having a headache."
"Really? Is he okay?"
"Don't know he was really pale today, right Akira?"
"Yeah, we were teasing Tsukasa as per normal and then he suddenly looked as if he was going to faint."
"You were both teasing Tsukasa again? What was it about this time?"
"Eh? Well, just the norm that Tsubaki would beat him up if we brought him gallivanting."
"Uh huh and sleeping around, you mean."
"Why Shizuka, you will make us blush with your … …"
"Shut up Soujirou, I'm two years older than you … … Good boy … …"
A few hours later, "J, Rui's still hung up over the incident."
There was a short silence, then "I expected as much. Thanks for the update Cleo, I'll do something about it … …"
I frowned at the e-mail that I had decoded. A team was going in to intercept a message that would be passed by certain shady political characters during an important function at the Sheraton Towers Ballroom. J wanted me to be stationed in one of the rooms to decode the message and code a new replacement. That meant that … … I did a quick mental calculation. Giving the team sufficient time to strike, I would only have about three hours to accomplish the allocated task as the ball would last for only about five to six hours. I sighed heavily getting mentally prepared for another one of those extremely stressful missions. Too conveniently, my parents were invited to another important function that was overseas for the duration. Seeing that many of the large companies they dealt with were owned by the government or had certain important government figures sitting on the boards, I suspected that J had something to do with the timing of these functions.
So here I was dressed to the nines in a tuxedo (one had to be prepared for any eventualities), sitting in one of the suites surrounded by bodyguards. My heart started beating a little faster as the hour approached. Then suddenly, there was a coded knock on the door and I heard a hushed exchange between the bodyguards before a slim figure entered into the room. A brief glance informed me that she resembled Shizuka before I turned my attention to the message was slipped into my hand. I quickly got to work. Fortunately, the code was not difficult to comprehend. Within forty-five minutes, I had the message deciphered and had more or less understood the coding system. I quickly coded the new message the J gave me, changing the words slightly where I was not 100% certain about the codes. In the connecting room, a couple of agents were finding the best match of the paper, ink etc for writing the replacement and forging the seal. When I was done, I went to the other room and passed them the message. To my surprise the slim young lady had returned and she took over the job of forging the message. A woman of many talents, she must be one of their top spies I mused.
I observed her quietly as she fully concentrated on her task and decided that my first impression of her was not really correct. Her brown wavy hair and slim built was similar to Shizuka's, and they were probably about the same age. However, their similarities ended there. Shizuka is the classical flawless beauty and she exudes an air of confidence and grace. On the other hand, this young lady although sweet in her own way can by no means be defined as a knock-out. Furthermore, she did not have the presence that Shizuka had. It was not difficult to imagine her merging with the crowd and slipping away unnoticed into the shadows – it would be definitely more difficult for Shizuka to do so. When the note was written and sealed, she slipped off leaving the rest of us waiting tersely in the room, sipping drinks of our choice.