The FURUBA ROUND ROBIN PROJECT
Chapter 23: Pieceing Puzzle Pieces
by Ina-chan
edited by: Adria
Final draft posted: June 7, 2005
Daylight filtered brightly through the small gaps of blinds covering the window, lightening the dimness of the room. The room looked nothing like the prison Akito put him in, of which he had grown somewhat accustomed to when he was growing up. In fact it was really an ordinary room in what he figured as an old summer house in some isolated property. If the circumstances were different, he would even say that the room was very comfortable. He didn't recognize the place where his captors brought him, but there was a strange aura of familiarity about this place… this house… A lingering feeling of déjà vu, that perhaps sometime in his childhood or a former life, he had been in this house.
The door opened and the man, whose name he recalled as Toshizo-san, stepped in with a plastic convenience store bag containing what he assumed was breakfast in one hand, and a metal briefcase in the other. Yuki didn't know if he wanted to feel disappointed or relieved. As much as he worried and wanted to keep Honda-san within his sight, the fact that it was really Hiroga inhabiting Honda-sans's body still unnerved him. He couldn't help but feel that this was his fault. If he hadn't pushed with his selfishness about getting a part-time job, Honda-san wouldn't be in this position. So now, Uotani-san, Hanajima-san, his family… Everyone… they must be worried about them.
"It's probably not the kind of meal that you're used to, but it's the best I can manage," Toshizo said almost apologetically as he set down the collection of instant food before the younger man, "But at least this way, you know that it's not poisoned."
Yuki didn't reply or made a move to even acknowledge the presence of the food in front of him.
Whether Toshizo was bothered by the reaction, he made no indication whatsoever. Still holding on to the metal brief case, he walked over to the windows and pulled up the blinds before the boy could protest, allowing the light to flood the room, "What is it with you and dark places. No wonder you have such a depressing disposition. People are like plants too you know. We also need sunlight to stay healthy."
Yuki averted his eyes at the sudden change of lighting. In turn, averting his eyes fromthe damning things tacked onhis walls.Despite of himself, he couldn't help feeling puzzled over Toshizo-san's behaviour. He already knew from experience that Hiroga was not a person he would definitely want to be within 10 meters of. But Toshizo-san was a mystery. The logical part of his mind told him that this man was not to be trusted. He was, after all, one of his kidnappers. But his intuition seemed to tell him other wise… though he stubbornly held on to the comfortable blanket of suspicion. At least until the logical part of his brain agreed.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Toshizo inquired, seeing that the boy still hadn't moved.
"I already agreed to not run away," Yuki finally spoke. At least not to try until he figured out a way to free Honda-san as well, he added silently. "You don't have to put up a front and act nice to me."
"Look," Toshizo sighed tiredly as he stepped forward and pulled a seat to sit across the younger man. He set the briefcase on the table between the two of them and clasped his hands over it, looking all business-like, "I know we came off to a bad start. But this is the only way I could think of to protect you and Honda-san, AND keep Hiroga in line at the same time. Hiroga wasn't really a bad person when I knew him back when he was alive. I admit that I can't speak for his actions now that he's become a… vengeful spirit. But of all people, you already understand how desperate and dangerous he can be if we let him run amok. Besides, I promised someone that I'd look out for you when you left the sanctity of the Main House."
"Wha---" Yuki frowned at the other man's revelation as his fingers clenched into fists "Did Akito send you? Has Akito been spying on me all this time?"
"As hard as it may be to believe, there are many members of your family who care about you. I suppose if the Family Head knew exactly at how precious you really are, you would be under lock and key," Toshizo replied a-matter-of-factly, "You have an important destiny in store for you, Yuki. You are proof of the countless failures of your ancestors. It would be a great shame if you ended up throwing that glorious future away before you reached your potential."
Yuki's eyes widened upon hearing those words. He knew those words by heart. Though the man in front of him was practically a stranger, he knew from whom those words came from. And for the first time since this whole ordeal began, he started to feel truly angry. All this time he thought he was finally allowed to make his own decisions, but in the end, they were still making decisions for him. They were merely humoring his whims.
"Despite of how bad things look, this is really for your best interest," Toshizo said again in that apologetic tone of his, "I'm really sorry."
"The little fringe benefits that accompany your salary is probably sizeable enough to soothe your undeniable guilt," Yuki stated sarcastically
"Hiroga was 'recruited' to help solve this puzzle by a member of your family long before you were born. You can say that some time later, I was brought in to continue what he started. There were a lot of sacrifices made for this. When you arrived, we waited patiently for the time until you were old enough to understand the importance of this quest. You're the only one who can point us to the right direction." Toshizo began, completely ignoring the younger man's barbs
"If it's not Akito, then who is it?" Yuki demanded
"You know that you don't need to ask that question. You're an intelligent young man and based on the expression you had a while ago, you already know who it is," Toshizo stated bluntly
The other man definitely knew him too well for his comfort. It was a little unnerving. Yuki bowed his head, not wanting the other man to see what his expression looked like.
"You know how Hiroga works… I, on the other hand, believe in mutual collaboration," Toshizo started again, "The way I see it, it's now all up to you. You can work with me willingly. I can convince Hiroga to go along with my methods. He doesn't care how he gets it, as long as he gets what he wants. I'll accomplish what I've been hired to do, my employer will be happy, Honda-san will be free, and everything will be right with the world once again."
"Or…" Yuki prodded, challenging the older man to continue the sentence
"Or you refuse. In turn, I will be powerless to stop Hiroga from enforcing his methods and I cannot guarantee your safety and most specially Honda-san's," Toshizo stated. "I've spent more than half of my life chasing this dream. I'm not ashamed to say that in order to reach my goal, I desperately need your help. I'm willing to do anything to get there. Hiroga already lost everything, including his life. Now, his soul is stuck and angry. The only way to finally free him is to get him his treasure. There's a saying that there is nothing more dangerous than a man who has nothing to lose. What more for someone like Hiroga?"
Yuki clasped his hands. What could he possibly do to? He didn't understand any of this at all! He just wanted to get a part-time job like any normal high school kid his age. He just wanted to experience what was like to be normal… even if it were just for a very short time. Instead, this happens. The damning proof that if you're a Souma, there's no such thing as normal… "What do you expect to get out of this?"
"What got me hooked into solving this impossible puzzle from the beginning," Toshizo smiled and nudged the metal case in front of him towards the younger boy before motioning to the parchements tacked on the walls around them, "The truth."
"You lied."
That was all she said. Her voice was soft, almost like a whisper. He could tell that she was furious. The intensity of her rage was so great that the usual tempest that she was could not muster enough energy to express the storm raging violently inside of her. So she lay on the hospital bed, exhausted. Her simple words sounded no different from that of a child to a parent, who was disappointed to find out that a toy wished and longed for could not be bought.
In fact, facing a childish tantrum wasn't the worst crisis that Hatori Souma had found himself with his family since he officially assumed the role of the family's doctor. There were worse situations... like that four weeks of hell when a 72-hour Norwalk Virus-like stomach flu epidemic that literally infected every single inhabitant of the Main House. By the end of that month, he was quickly becoming a firm believer in euthanasia after coming to the conclusion that it was the lesser evil compared to outright murder.
There were also the more serious fires that he helped extinguish before the smoke became too evident to eyes belonging outside of their exclusive Inner House circle. Momiji's mother's illness… Kana… Akito's bouts of rage that brought various members of the juunishi within serious harm… not to mention her numerous attempts (of which some of them almost successful) to cause her Ren's sudden demise...
Somehow, Hatori Souma managed to survive all that. In fact this wasn't the first time that he found his virtue of honesty questioned by the owner of that voice. But… this was the first time she sat in front of him like this. Her accusing eyes seething in silent fury, glaring at him… burning a hole through to his very soul…
"You said that if I trusted you," she continued in that soft voice, "Yuki would be safe."
Hatori forced himself to snuff that tiny twinge of ire gnawing at the pit of his stomach upon hearing her finally say what he was expecting to hear. He never really showed it as much as the others… and he hated to admit it, but he was jealous in some ways. Everyone knew that there was an inexplicable bond between the Rat and their God. Yuki could probably get away with murder and Akito would turn a blind eye and forgive him. But still… Despite all that, Hatori never envied or wished to be in Yuki's position.
No one noticed it… not even Akito, herself... but he saw it very clearly. That very special bond tormented her. That constant incomprehensible need to have the Rat by her side gnawed at her like a plague and Akito had no other means of expressing her frustration with that need other than to lash out. It was probably no different than that of an allergy suffer who would soon curse the very air he breathes during the spring, yet to remove the cause of his torment would be his very death.
While Akito's suffering was caused by an illogically depraved obsessive delusion within the inner workings of her mind, the manifestations of Yuki's ordeal had been becoming dangerously physically real. Not many people knew or had been made to care of Yuki's condition. Not many people know about the series of incidents that eventually led to Yuki's departure from the Main House.
Of course, Shigure made an idiotic, yet convincing front on managing to take Yuki away. But the truth was, Hatori was the one most responsible. Despite his more noble intentions for his actions, he knew that he really wasn't that much different from Shigure. He was just as guilty and just as capable with playing this "manipulation game". So he was just as, if not even more responsible for this current crisis than anyone else.
That's why he couldn't bear seeing the look of betrayal in her eyes… he couldn't bear hearing the silent accusation in her quiet voice.
"You lied."
With that, she shifted from where she lay and turned her back to him. There was nothing else to do but to bow his head and quietly leave the room. He instinctively reached into his suit's inner pocket, but stopped himself as the pristine hospital corridors reminded him of here he was. He couldn't trust himself to leave especially with both Kyou and Akito here. The outcome of what had happened during the last time he left the floor was still quite fresh.
While they managed to keep the whole situation quiet without involving the interest of the press… they still had to deal with the police. He supposed he should be thankful that Shigure's recent bout with illness hadn't dampened the Dog's spin-doctoring skills.
But damn. He really needed a cigarette right then and now. The stress and his addiction finally winning over common sense, he pulled out the pack, lit up a stick and closed his eyes, letting the nicotine laced smoke calm his growing anxieties.
"Even though this section of the hospital is for the Souma Family's private use, this is still a public setting. It's going to be very difficult to explain why a doctor openly defies the no smoking bylaws…" Shigure's amused tone suddenly rang beside him, "…especially if the smoke triggers the smoke alarm system."
The Dragon didn't reply.
"Well, this is a sight. It's unlike you to cross to the dark side, breaking the rules and all," Shigure continued.
Hatori continued to take a drag and offered the package to his best friend.
"And bribery to boot! You're really starting to become a regular bad boy," Shigure drawled on, taking a cigarette from the pack, "Ah well, if you're going to go down, what kind of a friend am I to allow you to go down alone."
The Dragon simply let out another silent drag in reply.
Shigure lit his own stick and studied his friend for a few moments before stating the obvious, "It's frustrating. Everything looks bad. Akito's genuinely pissed at you. But, and this is coming from my own personal experience, things will turn out okay."
"It's just like you to take things lightly and float along like a jellyfish," Hatori finally muttered irritably
"Ha-san! How could you say something like that when here I am trying my best to cheer you up," Shigure replied in mock injury. When his final attempt to lighten the situation failed to bring a reaction from the Dragon once again, the Dog finally sobered down and went on in a more serious tone, "I do care."
Hatori finally turned to the other man, raising a skeptical eyebrow at his friend's sudden admission.
"I'm only saying this once and you'll never hear me say this again," Shigure sighed in defeat before taking an embarrassed drag, "As much as I hate to admit it… about what's going on… about Yuki… I do care… And I'm sure that things will eventually work out in our favour."
The Dragon's gaze softened upon hearing his friend's words. He was one of the few people who knew Shigure well enough to tell right off the bat if the Dog was telling another one of his stories, lying, or actually saying the truth. At that moment, while the words he heard were still difficult to swallow due to his a long experiences of skepticism, the feelings behind them as they were spoken were genuine. But then again, cynicism was a very difficult habit to get rid of, "You found out something, didn't you?"
"I wasn't sure at first, but I thought I saw her go in the elevator when I was on my way back after talking to the police," Shigure replied, not bothering to hide the excitement in his voice at his new discovery, "I thought it was unusual for her to be here. After all, she never visited Yuki when he was ill, even back in the Main House. So I did a little investigating of my own with the nurses."
"In other words, you discovered something while you were flirting with the nurses," Hatori corrected blandly
"In light of the significance of what I discovered, I'm going to ignore that comment," Shigure shot back in uncharacteristic annoyance. "It turns out that she was here inquiring about a new admission on the psych floor, and I'll give you three guesses as to who this new admission is."
Hatori simply gave the other man a muted bored look.
"You're no fun at all!" Shigure sighed as he raised a hand in defeat, "The name was Saori Takajima."
The Doctor didn't even make a slight twitch and blink.
"Apparently, Saori-san was Yuki's direct superior at his part time," Shigure explained, "Whatever it was that possessed Yuki was not very happy that I was digging some dirt up at the Souma Building where Yuki was working. I just managed to finish a phone call with an old colleague of mine whom I asked to snoop around for me when Yuki caught me and attacked me."
Hatori blinked at the revelation, "Yuki attacked you? How?"
"That's not really important now, " Shigure coughed, visibly growing pale at his friend's question , "My colleague gave me an interesting history on Saori-san. There was a complicated issue when she was back in high school… but at that time, she had a different family name, her stepfather's. So at one point in her life, at least through marriage, her name was Saori Souma."
"I see," Hatori replied slowly, though his expression didn't show that he was the least interested in the significance of this new information. But he'd known the writer in Shigure long enough to realize that this is just one of his best friend's dramatic build-ups. So regardless of the impatience starting to stir within him, he waited for the Dog to drop the climactic punch line.
"While she wasn't a Souma by blood, being one by name was enough to associate her with the Inner Soumas. There was a rumour of a scandal that happened with an unnamed juunishi member and an outsider who married to the Souma Family about a generation ago. They had to erase that girl's memory, and then she and her mother disappeared. If that girl was Saori-san and it was her parents who got divorced because of that scandal… then it would make sense, wouldn't it?"
"Shigure," Hatori began in a warning tone, "I don't see how old skeletons hidden in our family's closet have any significance to what's going on now."
"But there's more!" Shigure protested, "Apparently, before Saori-san's sudden separation from the Souma family, she was best friends with a trio of Souma cousins with important significance to certain members the current juunishi. One of them was Saori-san's visitor."
It was only then that Hatori realized that Shigure had conveniently left out the identity of the mysterious woman he had originally mentioned for last. As much as he hated to admit it, this seemingly insignificant piece of family gossip was starting to pique his interest, "Shigure… who was it that you saw in the elevator?"
Shigure made a satisfied smirk, upon realizing that he had finally gained the Dragon's illusive interest, hook, line and sinker. With a dramatic pause, he took a long lingering drag on his cigarette before finally speaking, "Yuki's mother."
"That was nice. I always knew that a kid like you would have made it big if you had chosen to be an actor," Tooru Honda's voice filtered sweetly through the summer house's reading room as Hiro Toshizo entered the door. The young woman was sitting before a makeshift of a study table in the middle of the room, surrounded by stacks of books, scribbled papers, and empty cans of vending machine coffee.
To an unknowing stranger, the scene didn't look any different from any over-achieving young high school student working on some impressive school project. But to those who knew Tooru Honda, they would automatically assume that she would have been possessed by some kind of supernatural force to assume this kind of relentless studious behaviour. But of course, only those who knew Akira Hiroga and the events that happened the past few days would understand for sure… that Tooru Honda was, in fact, possessed by a rather relentless and studious vengeful spirit.
"Whatever works," Toshizo replied as he put a can of hot coffee in front the young woman, "Though, it wasn't entirely a lie."
Tooru/Hiroga let out a rather cynical and unladylike snort, "After what that bitch did to me, and then what happened to that Saori woman, I thought you would have second thoughts about your continued loyalty to that power-hungry witch. Nothing's changed since you were a pup, has it? You're still following her around all love sick. I'm sure she's still hot, but she's still twice your age. To her, it'll be like making it with her older boy."
"Don't be disgusting," Toshizo glared at his companion, "Hearing your perverted thoughts from that body is simply wrong. Honda-san can hear everything you think and say, remember? Why don't you do all of us a favour and try not to traumatize her more than she already is. She's an innocent by-stander in all of this. Why don't you just let her go. If you talk to Yuki, I'm sure he would be than willing to take her place again."
"Are you kidding? This girl is the perfect hostage! I admit I had my doubts in the beginning. She's even more fragile than I was," Hiroga continued as he pulled the coffee can tab open, "But seeing how docile and cooperative Ratboy has become because of this little missy is worth the trouble. As long as it doesn't go against her delicate sensibilities, she pretty much leaves me alone to finish my work."
"Well I'm glad things are starting to work out for you," Toshizo murmured
"Now if only the both of you will let me drain a sip or two out of Prince Ratboy there, it'd be enough to keep me going at full steam for the rest of the day…" Hiroga began, only to suddenly freeze and double over in pain, as if he was struck by some invisible force
"No, and it would seem that Honda-san agrees," Toshizo stated with great amusement, "I kept my part of the bargain. It's only common courtesy to keep yours."
"This isn't fair! Why are you always like this? That kid is a natural life force generator. You already saw how quickly he was able to recover when a normal person would still be half-dead in a coma. He has lots to spare!" Hiroga whined childishly
"Yuki is more important to us conscious than half-dead. If you really want to have a long term supply, it'll be much simpler if you go about it the traditional way and ask for him to share instead of taking it by force," Toshizo smirked in self-satisfaction, already knowing exactly what the vengeful spirit's reaction will be to his suggestion before the words even left his mouth, "After all, you have the proper equipment for it now. All you have to do is be careful not to trigger his curse before you finish… AND get him to agree."
Toshizo couldn't help but burst out laughing as coffee spurted out of the surprised young woman's nose. After a long round of coughing and gagging, the girl finally managed to give the man a disgusted glare, "Punk! Calling me perverted when you… What do you think am I anyway, some kind of damned succubus? And HELL! I may be stuck in a woman's body right now, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm 100 man! Its disgusting enough that I had to kiss three of them back then to keep going… geez…"
"Whatever floats your boat," Toshizo gasped in between spasms of laughter.
"But seriously Toshizo," The possessed girl interrupted in a more serious tone, "We're just following hearsay. There's no guarantee that the Rat is the key to the treasure. Considering the source of that version of the legend came from a woman with few screws loose in the head."
"We don't know if that version is the real one, but we do know that Yuki can read the parchments when the rest of us can only see blank pages of ancient paper," Toshizo replied in a more solemn tone, "For me, that's enough proof to at least consider that some aspects of that juunishi legend version was true."
"Then why don't we just get it over with, if you're so sure?" Hiroga argued irritably, "Just slit the Rat's throat and pour his blood over the dam--- ARGH! DAMN BITCH!" Hiroga screamed in frustration as clutched his chest
"You never learn, do you?" Toshizo growled coldly, "I swear, Hiroga. Touch a single hair on that boy, and I will conveniently forget that you're just possessing that body and shut you up for good
"So, you ARE still in love with that power-hungry bitch after all," Hiroga retorted, "Even if you earn enough points with Ratboy, she's not going to leave her husband for you after all of this is done. You'll probably end up like that damned Saori-woman… or even worse, like me."
"Second warning Hiroga," Toshizo stated in a dangerous tone, "Don't make me call for a third."
"Whatever floats YOUR boat," Hiroga countered dismissively, before picking up a pad of scribbles and throwing it towards the man's lap, "I just finished deciphering that Heian Period juunishi legend from the journal your boss borrowed from the former Head's personal library. This one's much more interesting than that crazy old bag's version. Though to be quite honest, her version had elements of this one. It's possible hers was a derivation of this one."
Toshizo grabbed the paper scribbles and quickly scanned them as Hiroga continued on with his running commentary, "This one also deals with a gathering, a God figure, and happy little animals… though they're not originally animals."
"There was a story of a young God who was given the responsibility of keeping the balance between life and death," Toshizo read aloud, "But the God being quite young, proud and inexperienced, could not understand the importance of his responsibilities. The other Gods found him inflexible, unmerciful, and cruel. Thus, as part of his education to better understand his place in the universe, he was ordered to go down to walk on the Earth every one hundred years, to live and experience life as a mortal for the last thirteen days of each chosen year."
"It gets better," Hiroga interrupted excitedly, as he watched the other man flip to the next page, "The other Gods sent down an entourage to accompany and protect their master while he was in mortal form. I'll give you thirteen guesses who the guardians were… When gods and their servants assume their mortal form, they also risk the danger of dying a mortal death. It doesn't say exactly what happens to an immortal being if he dies as a mortal, but knowing from experience, dying in any way or form is not much fun. "
"Since the young God was chosen to come down to earth as a mortal human, his guardians didn't feel worthy of coming to earth in the same form as their master. So they each chose a specific mortal animal form," Toshizo continued as he stared at the notes, amazement lacing his voice, "It was said that the god's most trusted advisor chose to become a Rat so that he could be conveniently by his master's side to advise him at all times. For this reason, the Rat was the one chosen to gather the other twelve to lead them to the place their master choose on the final day of their pilgrimage. It was there that they held a banquet in celebration before they make their ascension back to heaven."
"This is the part where all the legends reach a common conflict," Hiroga commented as he pointed to a specific translation on the page, "The Rat was known to be a mischievous prankster. He played one particular trick on the Cat that caused the larger creature to miss the banquet and ascend to heaven late. The other Gods chided the young God for being so careless as to not take care of his servants. Thus, from then on, the young God vowed not to return to heaven unless all of his charges were with him. That's where this legend ends its similarities with the other versions. The conflict of the Cat and the Rat takes a darker turn. Embarrassed and angry at being left out of the important event, the Cat decided to teach the Rat a lesson the next time they descended to Earth with his own prank."
Toshizo frowned as he paused to stare at what was written next, before looking up at his companion, visibly upset by what he read, "Are you sure you translated this correctly?"
Hiroga simply gave the other man a sinister grin, "I told you it gets darker."
The frown on Toshizo's forehead furrowed deeper as he continued reading the rest of the story, "The Cat, in his desire for revenge, completely forgot about their vulnerability and in turn, accidentally killed the Rat. Horrified at what he had done, the Cat devoured the Rat's mortal body to hide the evidence of his crime. Then, he ran away to hide from the wrath of God. When both the Cat and the Rat failed to return in time for that year's banquet, the young God refused to ascend back to heaven without his missing servants. And so the young God set out with the rest of his servants to wander throughout the face of the earth in search of their missing companions."
"That's where the actual legend ends," Hiroga concluded, "But the author of the journal added various speculations that rooted from it depending on who was telling the story. Some versions said that the Rat was reborn and eventually found, but the Cat was still ashamed of what happened, kept hiding so the young God and his companions ended up being stuck on Earth until the Cat repents. Another version had that God and his companions died during their search and were separated. But they are reborn again every hundred years to look for each other, attempting to gather for that final banquet so they can finally ascend to heaven."
"One hundred years… that's just enough time for a generation of juunishi to be born, and gather…" Toshizo put the pad on his lap as he leaned back, drumming his fingers, falling deep into thought, "Do you think this could be the real one?"
"Idiot! You already know the answer to that," Hiroga snorted, "The real version is written in invisible ink on ancient parchment paper that only Prince Ratboy over there can read."
The other man chewed his lip thoughtfully for a few moments before quickly rising in his feet in firm determination, "I'm going back. I need to revisit our old research about the Souma Family genealogy."
Hiroga visibly bristled at the sudden announcement, "WHAT? YOU LEAVING ME ALONE HERE?"
"You're not alone," Toshizo replied, nodding toward the direction of Yuki's room with a sarcastic smirk, "I'm entrusting him to you. No funny business. All you need to do is to water him, feed him, make sure he gets enough sunlight, and take him to the bathroom."
"And what makes you so sure that you can trust me to not---" Hiroga began, but suddenly stopped and doubled over in pain before he could finish his sentence.
"I'm sure Honda-san will ensure that you don't try anything underhanded in my absence," Toshizo replied confidently
"Bitch," Hiroga muttered angrily as he picked himself up, "Well, if he tries to run away or do anything funny, I won't guarantee his safety."
"Don't worry. Unlike you, Yuki keeps his promises," Toshizo replied with a sly grin, "And as long as you hold on to your perfect hostage, Yuki won't attempt to do anything against you. Besides, he'll be too busy working to help us to even think of running away."
"What makes you think that?" Hiroga grumbled
"I've been watching this child from afar for a very long time," Toshizo's explained in an almost reverent tone, "I know for sure that he's a kindred spirit. Once he realizes the importance of the parchments I left him, there's no way you'll be able to stop him from trying to solve this puzzle or he'll die trying."
"You gave him the copies just like that? After all your bitching about the trouble you went through to get those made and sneak them out? You gave them to him just like that?" Hiroga stared at the other man with a baffled expression
"It's not like you and I can do anything with it in the first place," Toshizo shrugged
"You don't know what happened in the room?" Hiroga mumbled, an amused grin touching his lips
"What are you talking about?" Toshizo asked with a frown
"Ah, nothing important," Hiroga replied innocently, as he looked away, with a knowing smile, "I'm sure the Ratboy will do a great job."
"There's enough food to last the week, I should be back by then. If there's any emergency, use this," With that, Toshizo tossed a wireless at the possessed girl, "I know you're an idiot when it comes to technology that developed after you died. Don't worry, 'cause it's programmed to dial only my number. Even if Yuki manages to get a hold of that, he won't be able to call anyone else."
Hiroga smiled sweetly, cocking his head to one side as he clasped the wireless in his hands, milking every once of Tooru's sweet features, "Then please come back soon and safely, my honey."
Toshizo blinked in shock before visibly shuddering as he retreated out of the room, "AUGH! Don't you ever do that again!"
Hiroga let out a satisfied laugh as he watched his old colleague leave. But as soon as the other man closed the door, the smile faded to a thin angry line. He threw the telephone on the table and stared at the direction of the room where Yuki was staying with an impassive expression, "You obviously haven't been watching the Rat long enough, Toshizo. But you're definitely right about one thing. Copies or not…if that boy's initial reaction to the real parchments was any indication of what happens when the Rat attempts to break a juunishi's seal, he'll definitely die trying… just like what happened to the other Rats who tried."
At the back of his mind, he felt Tooru Honda cry out in protest. Hiroga smirked, lay on the floor, arms spread wide and closed his eyes, "Shut up bitch. I'm afraid there's nothing either of us can do now. I don't care if that kid's the only one who can read those parchments. It'll be much easier grabbing it once he's stiff. The treasure is mine and I'm not sharing."
To be continued…