uiA/N: The next chapter of LTS (it's easier to do it that way) Grins I'm SO glad you like this story and are SO supportive of my genius. Gives a big thumbs up Yes, the authoress is getting a big head. Anywho… This seems to be taking longer than my other fics…. For those of you waiting for 'When Wolves Meet' or 'Run for Their Money', I'm terribly sorry. This story is sorta sticking to me and I'll have to finish it before I can do the others. I promise to start WWM again as soon as I'm done with this fic. And for my special reader I will also start RFTM. Until then, have patience with me and enjoy!

Thanks: Vera-Sama, Shirubaa Kitsune, Shos-lady, Guren, evil-pillow, clueless97, Raven, Hoshi-Hiru, sesshoumarus-little-kitsune, puppet-cat, Notta Writer, Pureheart13, Reese Craven.

Warning: Adult Language

Chapter IX

Kari watched her cousin lay on the bed with a box of Pocky in her lap flipping through the American TV stations for anime. She rolled her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. "Ichigo, PLEASE turn that TV off will you?" The elder one turned towards her, Pocky stick at the corner of her mouth and smiled. "Eh. Lighten up, Kari, we're in the New York City, the Big Peach…." "That's apple." Her cousin corrected dryly. Ichi frowned. "Oh, right. I knew it was some type of fruit." She broke off a stick and munched away. The blonde then lay flat on her belly when she found a show known a Duel Monsters: Yu-Gi-Oh in Japan. It was plainly called Yu-Gi-Oh here she learned. "This dubbing is…." She spoke out loud watching Seto Kaiba talk to the Pharaoh known as Yami. .Kari secretly watched as the older girl flopped on her back watching the show upside down. "It sucks…" "What?" The brunette propped herself up. "I said this dubbing suck." "She bit into her Pocky. "Kaiba shouldn't sound like that nor Yami. Mokuba's okay…." Kari sighed frustrated and slammed her pillow over her head, attempting to take a nap.

Ichigo obsessed WAY too much over anime in her opinion.

"Okay, it says here that the cemetery Kitazawa's buried in is….here." Kari said, pointing to her palm pilot. "All we have to do is get a taxi to take us there…"

"Taxi…" Her voice was low and little. "Taxi!"

Ichi shook her head; Kari'd never get a taxi that way.

"Taxi…" Another one passed them.

"YO! TAXI!" The blonde shouted then whistled loudly.

A yellow cab screeched to a halt a few feet a way then backed up. Ichi ran to the cab and threw open the door. "Step on it, cuz!" She hollered throwing herself into the vehicle. "Where to?" Said the American with Bronx accent. "My cousin knows…" She was breathless, now dressed in dark blue jeans with a pink hoodie, her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail. Kari got in after her and instructed, "To the cemetery." "Which one?" The guy was sucking on a cigarette. She gave him the instructions and he jerkily nodded, applying pressure to the gas peddle. Kari shoved another electronic device in her cousin face and the older girl could clearly see the business-like preteen had plotted the layout of the cemetery—which was kind of creepy to Ichigo, but it would help them. "This-" She poked her finger in the direction on the pad. "Is where Kitazawa's grave is located, understand?" "I understand." She shoved it back. "The plan is we get there and hope the headstone will give us some clues…" "Okay. Sounds like a plan!" The blonde then stuck a Pocky stick in the corner of her mouth. "Then what?" "We hope and pray there IS a clue there…." "And if not." "There's always my contact and yours…."

"Mine?"

"The computer whiz?"

Ichigo brightened. "Oh yeah! Forgot about him. Good thinking, Kari-chan!" She chowed down on the Pocky and shouted. "ONWARD HO!"

Kari grabbed her shoulder. "Sit down, baka!"

"You-you've never called me that before…."

"Because you ARE one." The Seguchi side of her said a little more roughly then she'd intended.

"Um-um…..waaaaaaaaaaah. You're SO mean, Kari-chan! Meanie meanie meanie meanie!" She tears came in a big flood. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH S BITCH, KARI!" Yep, her Shuichi-side was definitely showing. Kari groaned and put her hands over her ears, praying the taxi driver wouldn't kick them out. The elder girl kicked for a few more minutes then quickly clamed down and began stuffing her face with Pocky again, this time rapidly. Another Shindou trait; since she couldn't get drunk, she'd be a glutton instead. Ichigo continued to feed her face, this time switching to an American brand candy bar with nuts called Mr. Goodbar. She scarfed the chocolate and peanuts down her gullet, looking out the window and wiping the tears off her cheeks. Kari looked back to her cousin and sighed. She should have known to handle the situation more delicately; this was a Shindou after all! "Uh, Ichi…." "What?" "I'm sorry!" Her tears stopped. "WELL!" She was grinning like a lunatic. "That's more like it!" "Eh?" The poor girl looked confused. "OH!" Ichi plastered herself to the window. "It's beautiful!" "Oh, dear Kami…."

She could see the cab driver casting a disturbed glance.

Ichi very infrequently broke into her Shuichi crying jags—and even when she did she stopped very quickly. Kari sighed. The girl was ridiculous!

"Here we are…" The New Yorker said, stopping the car.

The two girls got out of the cab, the younger cousin paying him the correct fair amount. "This is it?" Ichigo asked looking to the cemetery. "Yes…" "Well, let's go. Kitazawa's grave is in there!" "Yes…" The two girls made their way into the grounds, passing by many gravesites with various headstones. American names of Hewits, Jones, and Brown etched into the stone slabs. "Do you know exactly where it is?" Kari nodded, bringing out her electronic device, using the plotting point. "It should be up ahead just a little bit." They kept walking. "So what will finding this grave do?" "Depends…" "On what?" "What it is says." "You mean," The blonde girl tried to understand this. "You mean, depending on what is written on the stone will depend where we go?" "In a sense. It will give us a sense of who this Kitazawa was…." She looked at the device again. "Yuki Kitazawa." "Yuki?" "That's right… Yuki Kitazawa." "Ichi frowned. So there was some connection between her beloved tou-san and this deceased man? Why did they share the connection of a single name?

She frowned some more.

"Don't frown like that, Senpai…" Kari sighed. "It won't help."

Time passed, and both of them were silent.

"Are we there yet?'

"Yes, it should be up two headstones." She pointed with her fingers. "That one."

Ichigo looked at approached it, single-mindedly. She stopped in front of it, kneeling down on both knees in the dirt. Her focus was solely on the name on the stone. The grass around the grave was well trimmed, the grounds itself well kept. She leaned over and hurt something being crushed. The blonde started and looked down at a bundle of flowers. She gingerly picked them up and lifted the buds to her nose. They looked like they'd been here for awhile. Not too long ago, but awhile. Someone cared for this name; this man who was connected to her tou-san some how. Someone cared and missed him enough to send flowers. Beautiful flowers by the look of it. She placed them down, leaning over though, seeing the name: Yuki Kitazawa. Ichigo traced her finger in the etching. "Yuki Kitazawa…..Who were you? How did you die? Who loved you?" She spoke out. "Someone apparently." The elder girl got up. "Can we find out?" "Possibly, but they probably won't tell us. Confidentiality and all." The other sighed heavily. "Darn." "Why would you want to know that anyhow?" "He's connected to tou-san. I want to know who loved him."

"We could look for his family here…."

Ichigo turned around, light in her eyes. "Really!?"

"Yes, it could help…"

"Good!"

"Look, what it says bellow his name…"

"'I hope heaven his soul is truly gone…..' Huh, that's rather harsh…"

"Sounds like not EVERYONE loved this Yuki Kitazawa."

"But someone must've…the flowers."

"I told you coming to the grave was a good idea." She smiled an odd chilling smile.

Ichi got up. "So we find any living relatives and figure out who wished him ill?"

"You got it, cousin…"

"Let's go then!" They both turned on their heels starting out of the cemetery.

"It shouldn't be too hard, right?" Ichigo spoke rapidly. "I mean, how many Kitazawa's can there be!?"

"Not many…" The brunette looked down the street. "It WAS 10 or so years ago…"

Her cousin flipped through the telephone residential book, scanning it for the surname Kitazawa. "You know what I always find interesting about American?" "What?" "In their telephone books, they do there name like our." "What do you mean?" Kari had NO idea what her cousin was talking about. "Like us Japanese…. Uesugi Ichigo…" "You baka…They only do it that way in telephone books." "Oh, really…" She resumed her searching, humming. Ichigo knew her younger cousin loved her. "Kitazawa Yoshiki!" Ichigo said in an excited voice. "Great now make the call." Her cousin replied looking at a strange man who was looking at them. She got shivers running up and down her spine. She leaned into her cousin a whispered, "Just rip it out…" "What!?" "Don't look.." She started to turn. "I said, don't look! There's a man looking at us. Cousin, I want you to rip it out, tuck it into your jeans." Kari looked around. "Then hail us a cab." "On three…." "One." "Two." "Three!" They said this both at the same time, Ichigo performing her task rapidly as she stuffed the page into her jean pocket. She looked both ways, grabbing the younger girl's wrist and hollering. "YO! TAXI!" Just like before.

A yellow one careened to a halt next to them, almost running over the curb. "BAKA! Where'd did you Americans learn how to drive!?" Ichigo shouted. "Ichi-chan…Please do not insult our disgruntled-looking driver. We still have to get back to our hotel, which is across town mind you." "Sorry, Kari-chan…" She opened the back door of said cab and slid in. The brunette did so too. "The Ritz-Carlton, Central Park and step on it." "Yes ma'am, little lady!" Kari stared out the window, she had a lot to think of. "Yoshiki Kitazawa…" He was their key.

Ichigo lay on the bed, on her stomach, listening to the phone ring and then…. "I'm sorry the number which you have dialed is no longer in service…." "Awww…" She exclaimed before slamming the phone back onto the hook. "What?" "No good…" "It's the only lead we have." "As I said…It's no good." "Damn." Ichi's eyes widened in surprise. "Time we played…as the Americans say, hard ball." She got out her cell-phone and dialed. "Hello, this is Seguchi. I have a VERY large personal favor to ask of you." She nodded as the person on the other line spoke. "Run a line on one Kitazawa Yoshiki." She nodded again. "Yes, its very important….Call me when you get the results." She hung up. For one so young she was VERY powerful in her own way. Ichigo looked up at her as Kari turned to face her. "What now?" "We wait." She sat down on the bed and folded her legs Indian style. "No! I have a better idea." The older girl got out her own phone and started rapidly dialing, bunching the buttons as is they were….a keyboard. Ichigo listened as the phone started to ring. "Pick up, Nakano." She whispered. "Pick up!"

"Hey! You've reached Sho's line. I'm not here right now so if you-"

"Hey! It's Sho! Don't go!"

"Cute, Nakano, you can rhyme…"

"All the time….Hey, Ichi…What's up?"

"I need your help."

He seemed to sit up on the other end. Most likely he'd been hanging over the edge of his bed, listening to the phone upside down. "Shoot!" "You sure you're listening.?" "Yeah, yeah." "Take this down." "Hold on a sec!" She could shuffling around then…"Okay! I'm ready! Spill you guts!" "Do you know how disgusting that sounds?" "Ichi…" There was warning in his voice. "Do you want my help or not?" "Oh, all right, don't be a sour puss." She took a breath. "I want you to dig up info on one Kitazawa Yoshiki." "Got it." He sounded like he was going to hang up. "WAIT!" "Yeah?" "I also want you to find him. Search all of Tokyo…" Sound of spitting up was heard on the other side of the line. "Say WHAT!?" "Find him…" "But we're talking Tokyo as a whole." Something was slurped. "That's a lot of ground to cover." "Can you handle it or not?" "Welll…." "Or maybe you're not quite the computer genius you portray yourself to be." "Hold it right there. I am THAT and more. I'll do it; in fact I'll do it in six hours." "You're sure?" "Yes, I'm sure. I'll have your results in six hours, Ichigo, count on that!"

"Good! You do that!"

She clicked off the phone with a satisfied smile.

"He says he'll do it. He says he'll give us results in six hours." She threw the cell on the bed. "Even your team can't pull that."

Kari looked skeptical. "Are you sure he wasn't bluffing?"

She threw her hair over her right shoulder. "When Sho says he'll deliver; he'll deliver." She crossed over to the hotel room door, I'm going down stairs to get a bite to eat. Wanna come with?" "No…" Her young cousin had plugged in her lap top computer and was now checking her email while simultaneously doing web searches. She sipped at her imported soda, eyes focused on the screen. She stopped by the door in her knee high pink boots and looked her cousin once more over. "Go ahead…." Her voice was bland and emotionless as she scrolled. Ichigo nodded and exited the room, hoping to get some pizza and maybe some ice-cream. She skipped down the hall way in her short black skirt with white angora top and pressed the button to the elevator. She began singing Bad Luck's Blind Game Again loudly, and then began to dance despite the high healed boots. Unknown to Ichi the bell hop who had brought their bags up to their room on the day of arrival was watching her with hungry eyes. Unfortunately for Ichigo, she was about a clumsy as her okaa-san and missed a step and fell.

She hit her head against the wall and began to cry immediately!

The bell hop saw this and rushed to help her. "Miss! Miss! Are you all right!" He kneeled down next to her and attempted to help her up. Ichi laughed and began singing again, murmuring, "It's okay. It's just my head. I'll be fine." The boy helped her up, his hand brushed her thigh. She didn't even think much of it. "Thank you." She took firm hold of his arms. "Ichigo Uesugi." She said in greeting. "Jamie Parker." He said with a smile after he'd successfully helped her to her feet. "Thank you." "You're welcome…" He laughed. "What's a good-looking chick like you doing all alone here in the Big Apple?" "Oh, I'm not alone…" She entered the elevator backwards. "I'm with my cousin." "Still…." "Thank you…" She said as the door closed. The elevator began its descent. "He felt my thigh up on purpose that pervert!" When the lift hit the bottom floor she made her way to restaurant, ordering herself a large supreme pizza. It was said she could finish them in 15 minutes flat. The waiter was surprised to hear she'd be eating it by herself. "Are you sure, miss? Would you prefer a medium or even a small?" She just glared at him and said, "Large."

The pizza arrived fifteen minutes later, all hot and delicious looking along with a large picture of American soda known as Coca Cola. "That'll be all…." This being said, Ichigo dove into the pizza, gobbling it down and sloshing the coke down her throat with great gusto, much to astonishment and horror of the restaurant goers. When she finished the waiter said, "Is that going to be all for you, young lady?" He was a young guy. "No. large ice-cream Sunday, the works." With that she ordered another pitcher of soda. The man complied at five minutes later the Sunday was brought out with more Coca Cola. She was nearly finished with her meal when a loud shrill voice rang through the place. "ICHIGO!" It had a reprimanding tone to it. "How could you eat so much?" Ichi-chan looked up with chocolate syrup at the corner of her mouth to see her cousin standing at the end of the table frowning with a bundle of computer papers in her hand. "Kari-chan…" She put down her spoon and wiped her mouth. "You said you were going to eat not GORGE." She blew an exasperated breath through her lips. "What's up?" "I found something that maybe of interest to us…" Ichigo's eyes lit up. "Really!?" "Yes, now pay the bill, wipe your mouth a bit more and follow me back up stairs."

Ichigo met her cousin Kari back upstairs, flopping down upon her bed. "What's the buzz, cuz?"

"This!"

She unfurled the computer paper.

On it was an old news paper story; it wasn't very big, in fact it took up a small portion of the paper. It read:

Three Gunned Down in Old Southside Building

Under it was picture of a young man, with the caption under it reading:

Yuki Kitazawa.

A/N: I wasn't sure whether Yoshiki was originally a boy's or girl's name. But I wanted them to think they were tracking down a man, make it extra interesting and hard.

TA DA! FINALLY FINSIHED! I'm SO happy! You don't KNOW how happy I am! Merry Christmas everybody, here's your Christmas present from me, as late as it is.