Kazuma clenched his fists tightly. He had worked for years to build this company up to what it now was. But whenever he tried to expand his reach and bring in new clients, the Mikages seemed to snatch them up.
"Mr. Taisen," a voice broke through his thoughts over the intercom. "Mr. Kisho wishes to speak to you on line three."
"Thank you, Miss Hajime." Kazuma walked over to his desk and sat down. Reaching out over the pristine mahogany desk, he pressed a button on his phone.
"Mr. Kisho," Kazuma said coldly. "I hope that you have good news for me."
"I do sir." On the other end, Kisho wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead. "We have confirmation on Aiko Hinagata."
Kazuma's eyes lit up with pleasure. Things were about to change for Taisen International.
"Good work, Kisho. Keep an eye on her and let me know when she is released." Kazuma hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, pressing his fingertips together.
They had confirmation on Aiko Hinagata. Kazuma couldn't stop smiling. The risks he had taken in obtaining information on the Mikages various projects had paid off. He had discovered the source of their power. Very soon, the Taisen family would wield that power with more finesse and control.
Kazuma finally leaned forward and patched himself through to his secretary.
"Miss Hajime. Get me my son, Ichiro."
Yasuo impatiently paced back and forth in the hallway just outside of Aiko's hospital room. For a little over a half hour, Mr. Hinagata and a few policemen had been in there talking to Aiko. He wasn't allowed in yet, because he wasn't a family member and he couldn't help with the investigation any more. He had already given them his statement.
It had been a few hours since he and his father had arrived with Aiko. He had been worried that they'd be made to wait in the crowded waiting room, but after seeing Aiko's condition, the nurses had immediately taken her in. If they hadn't...well, Yasuo wouldn't go down that road.
Mamoru Hinagata, Aiko's father, had arrived a few minutes after receiving Yasuo's phone call. It was amazing the old man had dropped everything on such short notice. From what he knew, Mamoru Hinagata was a very busy, very dedicated businessman. He was pretty successful, business-wise. Family-wise, it was an entirely different story. Aiko seemed to have turned out okay, despite the rumors about her home life.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Yasuo leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It was extremely lucky for Aiko that he and his father had been coming back into town just at that moment. They were returning from paying an early morning visit to his mother's grave in Kuboku when Aiko burst onto the highway. If they hadn't decided to visit that morning, she might not have gotten anyone else to help her. Or she might have gotten the wrong person to help her. The world was so messed up these days.
"Yasuo!" An irritated voice echoed down the hospital's hallway.
Yasuo's shoulders immediately shot up to his ears. He knew that voice. Turning ever so slowly to his right, Yasuo saw Kaiya Hashimoto and Saiyuri Tsukimi, Aiko's two best friends.
Kaiya Hashimoto had blonde hair and dark eyes that she used to intimidate people into getting her way. She was pretty, he'd give her that, but she wasn't the type of person he'd want to date. She was too loud and outspoken. Everything she did was done with a flamboyance that would embarrass most, but not Kaiya. She thrived on the attention that she received with her usually shocking behavior.
Saiyuri followed closely behind. She was shorter with light brown hair and pale blue eyes. She was quiet and as polite as she could be. She could frequently be found blushing at Kaiya's behavior. She was usually the one to apologize for the stir Kaiya had caused. Sometimes she even succeeded in restraining Kaiya, but not very often.
Out of the two, Yasuo liked Saiyuri the best.
Saiyuri smiled pleasantly as Kaiya stalked up to Yasuo.
"Where's Aiko?" asked Kaiya as she reached Yasuo.
"In there," Yasuo jerked his thumb to a door on his left. "But you can't go in yet."
"And why not?" Kaiya asked, advancing on Yasuo, causing him to back into the wall.
"The police are in there with Mr. Hinagata. They're taking Aiko's statement right now." Yasuo replied, slightly ashamed that a girl had forced him to take even the tiniest retreat.
"Kaiya, stop pestering the poor boy."
Even before Yasuo turned, he knew who it was. He had only heard her voice once, but it was one he wouldn't forget.
Yasuo and Kaiya turned in unison towards the sound of the voice. Walking towards them was Ayane Hishi. Aiko's newest friend. Yasuo found himself inexplicable filled with anger at the sight of her. He didn't want her anywhere near Aiko, even though she was her friend. There was just something about her from the moment he first set eyes on her that he detested.
"This dear boy should be receiving our thanks. He did save our Aiko, after all." Ayane wrapped an arm around Yasuo's shoulders and fixed him with a dazzling smile. "Didn't you?"
Yasuo cast Ayane a cold look. She didn't have a right to say "our Aiko" just yet. She'd only known her for a day.
But what was bothering him the most at the moment, was that she was actually touching him.
"Excuse me." Yasuo brushed off Ayane's arm and headed for the hospital cafeteria.
"Yasuo," called out Saiyuri. "Where are you going?"
No answer came and the three girls watched as he rounded the corner and disappeared.
"Well!" Ayane breathed. "That seemed a little rude."
"At least he excused himself," Saiyuri said.
"Yeah, but he didn't answer you when you asked him a question." Kaiya pointed out.
"Oh yeah..." said Saiyuri thoughtfully.
The sound of a door opening had the girls turning around. The policemen stood in the doorway, holding their hats in their hands.
"We'll let you know as soon as we find anything, Mr. Hinagata." The officers bowed deeply before turning to exit the room. "Miss Hinagata, if you remember anything, please don't hesitate to call us."
The three girls stood quietly in the hallway as the officers passed by.
Once they were quite a distance away, Ayane turned to the other two girls.
"Come on ladies, let's go visit Aiko-chan." Grabbing each girl by the arm, Ayane led them into the room.
Yasuo stalked into the cafeteria. He was in a foul mood from having encountered Ayane up close. He wanted to run back to Aiko's room and...
And what? What could he do that wouldn't have him either in jail or the psychiatric ward that night?
Frustrated, Yasuo searched the crowded cafeteria for his father. Somewhere in this sea of people, was Hayashi Tachikawa. Finally spotting him, Yasuo made a beeline for his father's table.
Hayashi Tachikawa was a man who enjoyed food. At the moment, he was digging into a hamburger with a side of fries smothered with cheese. Next to that sat a bowl of steaming miso soup. A plate of half a roll of sushi was next to that, and some taiyaki lounged between the two.
Where his father could find all this in a hospital, Yasuo didn't know. The man had his ways, and Yasuo had given up on trying to find out his father's secret.
Pulling up a chair next to his father, Yasuo swiped a fry.
"Hey!" exclaimed Hayashi. "I was gonna eat that."
Ignoring his father, Yasuo munched on the fry and reached for some taiyaki.
"That's it young man, you're walking home!" swore Hayashi as Yasuo bit into his pilfered food. "Stealing an old man's meal, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
"I'm doing you a favor," Yasuo poked his dad's slightly bulging belly. "It's not like you're starving to death."
Hayashi looked indignant as he took a bite of taiyaki.
"That's all muscle." Hayashi flexed an arm. "You'd do well to remember that."
"Sure dad." Yasuo chuckled as he reached for some sushi. Being with his dad always cheered him up.
"Hey, why aren't you with your friend Aiko? I thought you were worried about her." Hayashi reached out and sprinkled some wasabi on a cheese covered fry.
"Well...her friends were there and I didn't want to be in the way." Yasuo shrugged. "They might talk about girl things. I don't need to hear about that stuff."
Hayashi eyed his son carefully. He had a feeling there was something his son wasn't telling him. It was his fatherly duty to find out what it was.
"Yasuo, you were really worried about that Aiko girl. The way you were acting, I didn't think you'd leave her side for a minute." Hayashi reached out and grabbed some sushi, then smothered that in wasabi. He loved wasabi.
"I just thought I needed to get away for a little while and clear my head." Yasuo chewed slowly and carefully as he ate his sushi. "Everything just happened so fast, and I haven't really had a chance to breathe."
"That makes sense," Hayashi nodded. He could tell there was still something that his son wasn't telling him. But Hayashi wasn't exactly a master at stealthily extracting information from teens. He decided it was time to be blunt.
"Look, Yasuo," Hayashi began. "I've known you for 17 years. I've seen you go from lying on your back and gurgling to running around the house and yelling at the top of your lungs. I've seen all your moods, and I'd like to think I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you. I can tell that there is something bothering you right now. Why don't you tell me what it is?"
Yasuo sat there and used a french fry to push around a drop of wasabi on the plate. Hayashi sat and stared at his son, waiting for an answer.
Finally, Yasuo sighed and looked at his father.
"Okay. There is something bothering me," Yasuo began. "There's this girl, and I--"
"Ah ha! My son is in love!!!" Hayashi slapped his son on the back. "Welcome to Manhood, son!"
"Umm, no. It's not like that." Yasuo made a face. "I don't like this girl. I don't trust her at all. Something about her doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?" Hayashi tried to suppress the rising sense of fear in his gut. "What doesn't feel right?"
"Well...she's been nothing but nice to everyone, but it seems like she's being TOO nice. I keep getting the feeling she has some...ulterior motive. But I'm not quite sure what it is yet." Yasuo finally ate the fry he'd been pushing the wasabi drop around with.
Feeling nervous, Hayashi pushed his chair back and stood up.
"I'm sure that it's nothing. You just had a bad first impression of her. You're just imagining things, probably." Hayashi reached out and ruffled his son's hair. "It's all that TV watching you do."
Yasuo doubted that, but nodded anyway. He could tell that his father was suddenly uncomfortable for some reason.
"Hey, I just saw the cops leaving. That means you can go in to see your friend now." Hayashi stepped out from between the table and chair, and motioned for his son to get moving. "Let's go."
Yasuo rose to his feet. He wanted to see Aiko and make sure Ayane Hishi didn't lay a finger on her. He didn't like the thought of the two of them together. Even if Kaiya and Saiyuri were there also. He felt he needed to be there.
Yasuo walked past his father and led the way. He didn't see the look of worry and fear that crossed his father's face as he gazed at Yasuo.