Thank you Prudence-chan for reminding me about Watari. I don't know why I haven't put him in yet, but he's in this chapter.
Chapter 2
Muraki in America? Well that's just fucking great.
"Are they absolutely positive that Muraki committed the murders?" asked Tsuzuki.
Aaron stood up and faced us. "We had an eyewitness who told the police that he saw a pale-skinned light-haired Japanese man murder one of our victims. The police didn't pursue it because they didn't believe his story. I guess none of them had ever seen a light-haired Japanese man."
I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't surprised to see Aaron speaking Japanese fluently. He was Japanese after all.
Tsuzuki seemed floored by it.
"The witnessed was then murdered himself and my partner Bethany and I picked him up. He spilled his story to us. Our boss Miss Jackson had her assistant Shane look up profiles of cases in Japan, and that's when we found out about your Mr. Kazutaka Muraki."
"What has been done about Muraki?" I asked.
"The authorities don't believe the story," said Aaron. "Meaning he's running loose killing people and our hands are tied."
I swallowed. Muraki loved to cause trouble.
"Um, why did they send you here to tell us?" asked Tsuzuki. "They could've sent a fax."
"Because I'm the only one in my division that can speak Japanese," stated Aaron.
Kachou coughed. "Tsuzuki, Kurosaki-kun."
"Hai?" Tsuzuki and I said at the same time.
"We want to send you both to America and assist their JuOhCho."
My jaw dropped. They're sending us to America?!
I came from a grossly wealthy family so I managed to learn some English at an early age and be able to read most of it. And from what Tsuzuki told me his English sucked more than mine did.
Kachou and Tatsumi must be out of their minds.
Tatsumi seemed to have read my mind. "You two are the most familiar with Muraki's patterns of killing. Nobody in America does. They'll need your direction in order to bring him down."
"But neither of us speak English fluently!!" I said. "I can only speak and read a little, and Tsuzuki can barely speak it!!"
"I'll be an interpreter for you," said Aaron.
"You'll be leaving in two days," said Kachou. "Try to get some lessons from Watari in the meantime."
My eyes bulged. Watari knew English?!
***
Like I said, I'm completely surrounded by idiots.
Aaron seemed to stick to us like glue. Then again, since we would be working for him for-who-knew-how-long, it was probably better if he did.
We did go to see Watari. That's why I said idiots surrounded me.
Aaron didn't seem convinced by Watari due to his looks. He walked right up to Watari and spoke in fluent English. I could barely understand what he said, making my stomach sink.
Watari responded in English eagerly. Aaron raised an eyebrow before turning to us.
"You won't get much help from him," he stated.
"Why not?" I asked.
"I asked him in English how the weather fared here in Japan."
"What did he say?" asked Tsuzuki.
"'I get bloated when I'm pregnant'."
Tsuzuki burst out laughing. I didn't see how it was funny, but then again I don't think many things are funny.
"You can rely on me!!" declared Watari, not knowing what we were talking about. He said something else in English, which caused Aaron to snicker.
"What now?" I asked, feeling a headache settle in.
"'I think I'm a girl'."
Like I said. Everyone is an idiot.
***
Despite Watari's pleads, we opted to learn some quick English from Aaron. He was definitely more reliable, as Watari translated 'the cat is in the tree' to 'it's going to rain today'.
On the day we were to head to America, Tsuzuki started crying his eyes out. As did all the girls.
"Come back soon!!" cried Wakaba.
"Don't ever come back!!" Terazuma yelled to Tsuzuki.
"We'll have more ribbons for you when you get back!!" cried Yuma and Saya.
Watari was also there to greet us. "I'll be your link here!!"
I was puzzled before Aaron told us, "you send him any reports and he'll get them to your boss."
"I'm gonna miss this place!!" wailed Tsuzuki.
I felt a sudden urge to hit him, but didn't. "It's not like we won't ever see this place again, Tsuzuki."
"I know, but it feels like we are!!"
I rolled my eyes. Inwardly I was going to miss this place, but I wasn't about to ball my eyes out over it.
Tatsumi came up to us. "Give us a call when you get there. Send any updates to Watari, but if it's an emergency call us."
I nodded to this. We had a low budget in our office, and the last thing Tatsumi wanted was to have horrible phone bills.
Tsuzuki suddenly clung to Tatsumi, causing him to blush and my eyes to bulge. I'd never seen Tatsumi blush.
At the same time a strange feeling overcame me. It was making me feel angry and overprotective of Tsuzuki.
"I'm gonna miss everyone!!" wailed Tsuzuki.
Tatsumi patted him on the head. "You'll be back soon. But you have to get going."
I didn't know why, but my anger was growing. I didn't like how Tsuzuki was clinging to him and how Tatsumi was letting him.
"We need to go," I ground out, still wondering about my anger.
Tsuzuki let him go. "Okay. Let's go."
Tatsumi seemed surprised about my sudden anger. "Good luck, both of you."
***
Getting to America's JuOhCho was harder than I thought. Turns out we actually had to be in America to get to it. So we had to go to Chijou, and hop on a plane going to America.
We were in coach, of course. Tatsumi always got on our cases about spending, and first-class tickets were too much.
"Where are we headed?" I asked Aaron.
Aaron shrugged. "I think Oregon. But that doesn't matter. We just need to teleport to my division and we're set."
I nodded and settled back. Tsuzuki was jumping all over the place, getting on the flight attendant's nerves. He had never been inside a plane, as we didn't need planes to get to places in Japan. He was having a ball. I'd never been inside a plane either, but I wasn't as hyperactive.
"You were jealous," said Aaron.
I shot him a look. Tsuzuki was out of earshot as he was getting lectured by a flight attendant who was trying to be angry but was also ogling at him. That was making me angry, too. "What are you talking about?"
"When he hugged Mr. Tatsumi. You were jealous."
"Why the hell would I be jealous?!" I demanded.
Aaron shrugged. "Probably because you like him."
I turned several shades of red. "I do not like him!!"
"Could've fooled me."
"What, are you a psychic all of a sudden?!"
"I don't have to be with that murderous glare you were giving Mr. Tatsumi."
"I was not-" I cut off and turned even redder. I had been glaring at Tatsumi like I wanted to tear off his head.
Jealous. It would explain what I felt. I had felt that feeling when we were protecting Minase Hijiri. I didn't like him getting close to Tsuzuki, and I didn't like Tatsumi getting close to Tsuzuki.
Once again, my cursed self-doubt bared its fangs.
Who are you to be jealous of Tatsumi-san?! it growled at me. He certainly treats Tsuzuki a hell of a lot better than you do!! And it's not like you're in a relationship or anything!! You're just partners and best friends!! And don't think otherwise because Tsuzuki is too insecure to ever admit to feeling more for you!!
I REALLY wanted to shoot that voice.
"Something wrong?" asked Aaron.
I closed my eyes and let out heavy sigh. "I'm not jealous."
Aaron scoffed. "Whatever you say."
Tsuzuki finally came over and sat down. I was glad he did so I wouldn't have to discuss the subject with Aaron.
Then again, with my own conflicting emotions, I really didn't want him near me.
"So how old are you, Aaron?" asked Tsuzuki.
"I'll be twenty-nine this year," he said bluntly.
Tsuzuki's jaw dropped. I stepped in before Tsuzuki could say something stupid.
"You mean you're twenty-nine by age?" I asked.
Aaron nodded.
"I think Tsuzuki meant what your age was when you died?"
"Oh. In that case, I was twenty-one."
This time my jaw dropped. Twenty-one?! I was sure he was my age!! He certainly looked my age!
"I had a growing disorder," explained Aaron. "Because of it, I look younger than I actually am. I almost didn't get into college because I look sixteen."
I took this all in. Tsuzuki once again seemed fascinated by it and asked more questions. Aaron answered as much as he could, though he didn't explain the circumstances of his death at first until Tsuzuki talked him into it.
"I was walking home on my college campus. I had evening classes so it was dark. When I crossed the street a speeding sports car ran me over. The driver was drunk, stopped and backed up to see what it was he had run over and in the process he ran me over again. When he realized he had run me over twice he sped off, running me over a third time. A half hour later someone found me, but I was already dead."
I knew why he was so hesitant to tell us the circumstances of his death.
We talked about odd things until the plane landed. Once we landed Aaron was quick to lead us to America's JuOhCho.
"We need to get there so I can report," he explained.
I nodded to this. "Let's go."
Chapter 2
Muraki in America? Well that's just fucking great.
"Are they absolutely positive that Muraki committed the murders?" asked Tsuzuki.
Aaron stood up and faced us. "We had an eyewitness who told the police that he saw a pale-skinned light-haired Japanese man murder one of our victims. The police didn't pursue it because they didn't believe his story. I guess none of them had ever seen a light-haired Japanese man."
I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't surprised to see Aaron speaking Japanese fluently. He was Japanese after all.
Tsuzuki seemed floored by it.
"The witnessed was then murdered himself and my partner Bethany and I picked him up. He spilled his story to us. Our boss Miss Jackson had her assistant Shane look up profiles of cases in Japan, and that's when we found out about your Mr. Kazutaka Muraki."
"What has been done about Muraki?" I asked.
"The authorities don't believe the story," said Aaron. "Meaning he's running loose killing people and our hands are tied."
I swallowed. Muraki loved to cause trouble.
"Um, why did they send you here to tell us?" asked Tsuzuki. "They could've sent a fax."
"Because I'm the only one in my division that can speak Japanese," stated Aaron.
Kachou coughed. "Tsuzuki, Kurosaki-kun."
"Hai?" Tsuzuki and I said at the same time.
"We want to send you both to America and assist their JuOhCho."
My jaw dropped. They're sending us to America?!
I came from a grossly wealthy family so I managed to learn some English at an early age and be able to read most of it. And from what Tsuzuki told me his English sucked more than mine did.
Kachou and Tatsumi must be out of their minds.
Tatsumi seemed to have read my mind. "You two are the most familiar with Muraki's patterns of killing. Nobody in America does. They'll need your direction in order to bring him down."
"But neither of us speak English fluently!!" I said. "I can only speak and read a little, and Tsuzuki can barely speak it!!"
"I'll be an interpreter for you," said Aaron.
"You'll be leaving in two days," said Kachou. "Try to get some lessons from Watari in the meantime."
My eyes bulged. Watari knew English?!
***
Like I said, I'm completely surrounded by idiots.
Aaron seemed to stick to us like glue. Then again, since we would be working for him for-who-knew-how-long, it was probably better if he did.
We did go to see Watari. That's why I said idiots surrounded me.
Aaron didn't seem convinced by Watari due to his looks. He walked right up to Watari and spoke in fluent English. I could barely understand what he said, making my stomach sink.
Watari responded in English eagerly. Aaron raised an eyebrow before turning to us.
"You won't get much help from him," he stated.
"Why not?" I asked.
"I asked him in English how the weather fared here in Japan."
"What did he say?" asked Tsuzuki.
"'I get bloated when I'm pregnant'."
Tsuzuki burst out laughing. I didn't see how it was funny, but then again I don't think many things are funny.
"You can rely on me!!" declared Watari, not knowing what we were talking about. He said something else in English, which caused Aaron to snicker.
"What now?" I asked, feeling a headache settle in.
"'I think I'm a girl'."
Like I said. Everyone is an idiot.
***
Despite Watari's pleads, we opted to learn some quick English from Aaron. He was definitely more reliable, as Watari translated 'the cat is in the tree' to 'it's going to rain today'.
On the day we were to head to America, Tsuzuki started crying his eyes out. As did all the girls.
"Come back soon!!" cried Wakaba.
"Don't ever come back!!" Terazuma yelled to Tsuzuki.
"We'll have more ribbons for you when you get back!!" cried Yuma and Saya.
Watari was also there to greet us. "I'll be your link here!!"
I was puzzled before Aaron told us, "you send him any reports and he'll get them to your boss."
"I'm gonna miss this place!!" wailed Tsuzuki.
I felt a sudden urge to hit him, but didn't. "It's not like we won't ever see this place again, Tsuzuki."
"I know, but it feels like we are!!"
I rolled my eyes. Inwardly I was going to miss this place, but I wasn't about to ball my eyes out over it.
Tatsumi came up to us. "Give us a call when you get there. Send any updates to Watari, but if it's an emergency call us."
I nodded to this. We had a low budget in our office, and the last thing Tatsumi wanted was to have horrible phone bills.
Tsuzuki suddenly clung to Tatsumi, causing him to blush and my eyes to bulge. I'd never seen Tatsumi blush.
At the same time a strange feeling overcame me. It was making me feel angry and overprotective of Tsuzuki.
"I'm gonna miss everyone!!" wailed Tsuzuki.
Tatsumi patted him on the head. "You'll be back soon. But you have to get going."
I didn't know why, but my anger was growing. I didn't like how Tsuzuki was clinging to him and how Tatsumi was letting him.
"We need to go," I ground out, still wondering about my anger.
Tsuzuki let him go. "Okay. Let's go."
Tatsumi seemed surprised about my sudden anger. "Good luck, both of you."
***
Getting to America's JuOhCho was harder than I thought. Turns out we actually had to be in America to get to it. So we had to go to Chijou, and hop on a plane going to America.
We were in coach, of course. Tatsumi always got on our cases about spending, and first-class tickets were too much.
"Where are we headed?" I asked Aaron.
Aaron shrugged. "I think Oregon. But that doesn't matter. We just need to teleport to my division and we're set."
I nodded and settled back. Tsuzuki was jumping all over the place, getting on the flight attendant's nerves. He had never been inside a plane, as we didn't need planes to get to places in Japan. He was having a ball. I'd never been inside a plane either, but I wasn't as hyperactive.
"You were jealous," said Aaron.
I shot him a look. Tsuzuki was out of earshot as he was getting lectured by a flight attendant who was trying to be angry but was also ogling at him. That was making me angry, too. "What are you talking about?"
"When he hugged Mr. Tatsumi. You were jealous."
"Why the hell would I be jealous?!" I demanded.
Aaron shrugged. "Probably because you like him."
I turned several shades of red. "I do not like him!!"
"Could've fooled me."
"What, are you a psychic all of a sudden?!"
"I don't have to be with that murderous glare you were giving Mr. Tatsumi."
"I was not-" I cut off and turned even redder. I had been glaring at Tatsumi like I wanted to tear off his head.
Jealous. It would explain what I felt. I had felt that feeling when we were protecting Minase Hijiri. I didn't like him getting close to Tsuzuki, and I didn't like Tatsumi getting close to Tsuzuki.
Once again, my cursed self-doubt bared its fangs.
Who are you to be jealous of Tatsumi-san?! it growled at me. He certainly treats Tsuzuki a hell of a lot better than you do!! And it's not like you're in a relationship or anything!! You're just partners and best friends!! And don't think otherwise because Tsuzuki is too insecure to ever admit to feeling more for you!!
I REALLY wanted to shoot that voice.
"Something wrong?" asked Aaron.
I closed my eyes and let out heavy sigh. "I'm not jealous."
Aaron scoffed. "Whatever you say."
Tsuzuki finally came over and sat down. I was glad he did so I wouldn't have to discuss the subject with Aaron.
Then again, with my own conflicting emotions, I really didn't want him near me.
"So how old are you, Aaron?" asked Tsuzuki.
"I'll be twenty-nine this year," he said bluntly.
Tsuzuki's jaw dropped. I stepped in before Tsuzuki could say something stupid.
"You mean you're twenty-nine by age?" I asked.
Aaron nodded.
"I think Tsuzuki meant what your age was when you died?"
"Oh. In that case, I was twenty-one."
This time my jaw dropped. Twenty-one?! I was sure he was my age!! He certainly looked my age!
"I had a growing disorder," explained Aaron. "Because of it, I look younger than I actually am. I almost didn't get into college because I look sixteen."
I took this all in. Tsuzuki once again seemed fascinated by it and asked more questions. Aaron answered as much as he could, though he didn't explain the circumstances of his death at first until Tsuzuki talked him into it.
"I was walking home on my college campus. I had evening classes so it was dark. When I crossed the street a speeding sports car ran me over. The driver was drunk, stopped and backed up to see what it was he had run over and in the process he ran me over again. When he realized he had run me over twice he sped off, running me over a third time. A half hour later someone found me, but I was already dead."
I knew why he was so hesitant to tell us the circumstances of his death.
We talked about odd things until the plane landed. Once we landed Aaron was quick to lead us to America's JuOhCho.
"We need to get there so I can report," he explained.
I nodded to this. "Let's go."
