Seishiro frowned slightly as his knock at Subaru's apartment door brought no response. That wasn't at all like Subaru; the young man always strove hard to be punctual, because he didn't want others to waste their time waiting for him. In the same vein, he would never let anyone, even a complete stranger, stand waiting at the door while he ignored them.
There was only one explanation that made any real sense. Seishiro turned and, without bothering to knock, went straight into the apartment across the hall. Sure enough, there was Subaru, standing in the middle of his sister's main living area/dining room, looking bewildered. It made him look even more cute than usual, Seishiro decided. As for the apartment, while Hokuto had never exactly been a model of good housekeeping except in the kitchen (and even then, half the time she cooked at Subaru's anyway), the place looked to be even more in disarray than usual. A number of outfits were strewn around the room, laid over furniture or just dropped on the floor.
A moment later, Hokuto herself cannoned out of the bedroom with another two outfits in her arms. Seishiro saw her coming just in time to shift the bouquet of flowers he carried to his left arm so they weren't squashed when she ran into him.
"Oh, Sei-chan! Which do you think looks better, this one or this one?"
"The fish, I think," he replied with his usual aplomb.
"Arrrgh! It's supposed to be a mermaid! What do you think, Subaru?" she said, rounding on her brother.
"Hokuto-chan, keep it down; you'll disturb the neighbors!" Subaru protested helplessly. To Seishiro he added, "I'm sorry that I wasn't at home, Seishiro-san, but. . ."
Seishiro chuckled.
"It's all right, Subaru-kun. Sometimes I find your sister to be very hard to resist, too. Here, these are for you."
Subaru blushed as the older man handed him the flowers.
"Th-thank you, Seishiro-san. I'll go put these in some water."
"Sei-chan! Roses? How romantic! You're always so attentive. It's not every man who would think to bring his boyfriend flowers."
"Confidentially," he told her in a stage whisper, "I did it because your brother is so cute when he blushes."
"I know. I'm so jealous! My face just gets puffy."
Predictably, Subaru blushed even redder at hearing this exchange. He came back from the kitchen with the half-dozen roses tucked into what looked like a mint julep glass.
"Is this all right, Hokuto-chan? It's the closest thing to a vase that I could find."
"Oh, of course; just remember to give it back when you're done. Not like that frying pan you kept for a week!"
"That was because you brought it over to cook with and left it without telling me!" he protested.
"A man should know what he has in his own apartment," she told him primly. "After all, as the Americans say, 'a man's home is his castle.'"
"Shall I help you start digging the moat?" Seishiro contributed.
"That's it!" Hokuto exclaimed. She shoved the clothes she was carrying into Seishiro's arms, ran into the bedroom, and came back with a green and black dragon outfit, complete with tail. Seishiro decided that any comments would be completely superflous.
"What are you doing here anyway, Sei-chan? And with flowers, no less?" Hokuto asked as she held the dragon outfit up against herself, looking in the full-length mirror mounted across from her bedroom door.
"Well, Subaru's been working very hard on this Kigai case for the past three days with no luck, so I thought that I would take him out for dinner and then a walk in Ueno Park to help him relax."
"Oh, that's nice; I'm always telling Subaru that he's working himself too hard." Hokuto stepped back into her room and slid the door closed so she could change. "Especially on this case!" she called, her voice only slightly muffled. "It's really hard for Subaru because he keeps trying and trying without success."
The problem, Seishiro knew, lay in the ephemeral nature of the Shadow Golem. Usually, magic formed a link between caster, subject, and location, and a sufficiently skilled practitioner could follow that link from any one of the three to another. It was not likely that the killer of Mirei Kigai was so powerful that his or her magic was beyond the head of the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan to trace, but the form of the spell used affected how long the link remained active and traceable. Some magic--most of all, badly-prepared magic used by amateurs--left a clear, bright trail that remained for years. The magic of the Shadow Golem, though, was as misty and fragile to follow as the smoke it used.
"It would be different if Subaru-kun had the censer to focus on," he commented. "The spells of enchantment placed upon it are much more strongly connected to the caster than the summoning incantation. Of course, that is no doubt why he or she removed it after the crime."
"So far, the police have had no luck finding out who did that, either," Subaru said.
"It's annoying!" Hokuto called through the door. "Their failure is negating the best argument I have to get Subaru to quit this case! How can I tell him to let them do their jobs when they aren't doing them? If I see Detective Yamakawa again, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"
"Hokuto-chan, that's not fair! The police are working very hard to catch the killer!" Subaru protested.
"Hah! 'It's just a woman,' I'll bet they're saying. No need to spend their full effort for just that!"
"Hokuto-chan! You know that isn't true!"
"Hmph." The door opened. "Well, what do you think?" She struck a pose, modeling her outfit.
"It looks very charming, Hokuto-chan," Seishiro told her. It was not every woman, he reflected, who could wear the kind of outrageous costumes Hokuto liked without appearing strange, even foolish, but the elder Sumeragi twin always carried it off without trouble. Perhaps it was that joie de vivre that she seemed to bring with her wherever she went, or maybe it was just her physical appearance, but either way she made her normal clothes seem cute, pretty, and stylish.
"I like it too," Subaru agreed.
"It's settled, then."
Seishiro checked his watch.
"All right, then, if you're done with Subaru-kun, we need to be going. Our dinner reservation is for 7:30."
"7:30! What time is it now?" Hokuto exclaimed.
"Ten to seven."
"AAAAARRRRGH! I'm late! I'm supposed to be meeting Jack at seven!"
"You have a date, Hokuto-chan?"
"That's why she's so concerned about what she's going to wear," Subaru told Seishiro. "This is her first date with the American she met at World Pacific, Delevant-san."
Seishiro nodded firmly, his face set with determination.
"No brother-in-law could stand idly by in such a predicament!" he declared. "Since there's no chance of you getting there in time if you have to catch a train, you will have to ride with us. We'll drop you off on our way."
"Thank you, Sei-chan!" Hokuto hugged him impulsively.
In less time than it took to tell, Seishiro's car was rocketing through the streets of Tokyo. His driving style was best described as offensive; he cut ruthlessly through the lanes of traffic when any opening presented itself, hurtled through alleys and twisted side streets that seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and darted in front of other cars and pedestrians alike with apparent disregard for the odds of causing an accident.
"Ooof!" Hokuto exclaimed, as a sudden turn tossed her across the back seat into her brother's lap.
"You really should wear a sear belt, Hokuto-chan," Subaru advised as she climbed off him.
"Sei-chan, I always thought you were hiding some dark secret, and now I know what it is!" Hokuto declared.
"What's that?" Seishiro asked, expertly accelerating and taking a corner just in time to beat the changing traffic light.
"You put yourself through veterinary school by working as a cab driver here in Tokyo! Admit it!"
Seishiro laughed heartily before pulling over and braking to a sudden stop. Hokuto bounced off the seat in front of her, recovered her bearings, and looked out the window.
"Hey, we're here!"
"At 6:59, no less."
"Thanks, Sei-chan! You're the best!" she exclaimed happily. Hokuto adjusted her wings, which had been knocked slightly askew by the wild ride, straightened her hat, and got out. She saw Subaru get into the front passenger seat before Seishiro drove off at a more sedate pace. Hokuto waved goodbye, then turned to scan the tables at the sidewalk cafe where she had agreed to meet her date. Thankfully, it wasn't raining. Delevant was there; he waved to catch her attention, as if his stunning blond good looks weren't attention-getting enough.
"Hi, Jack!"
"Good evening," he said, getting up from his seat to chivalrously help her with her chair. "That's an amazing outfit!"
"Do you like it?" Please say yes, she thought.
Jack nodded.
"Uh-huh. It looks really cute on you, Hokuto--I mean, Miss Sumeragi."
"Oh, Hokuto is fine," she assured him. Of course, as an American, he was used to calling people by their first names even when they were only casual acquaintances, and Hokuto was not one to stand on ceremony. Besides, she wanted to be more than just a casual acquaintance. "And thank you very much; I made it myself."
"Really?" He smiled dazzlingly, reminding her a lot of Seishiro. "That's amazing; you must be very talented."
"Oh, not really; it's just a hobby," Hokuto demurred. "It's just, well, I have a whole lot of ideas and they don't sell clothes like that, so I make them myself and that way, I can look exactly how I want to. I do male clothing, too," she added with a grin. "It's handy to have a brother for that; Subaru gets to be my dress-up doll!"
Delevant grinned back.
"So that's the secret behind the fashion trends of today's young onm--onmi--um, what's the word for what your brother does?"
"Onmyouji."
"Thanks." He smiled sheepishly. "My Japanese still isn't as good as it should be. That must be a fascinating line of work, though, especially at such a young age--it's really astounding!"
"I keep telling Subaru the same thing," Hokuto commiserated. "Sometimes, I just can't believe how dense he can be! I mean, if I hear the words 'just an ordinary onmyouji' one more time, I think I'll scream--you can't use 'ordinary' and 'onmyouji' together at all and have it make sense! What's more, he's the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan. Our family has been protecting Japan for over two thousand years, even working for the Emporer. It's not false modesty--my brother has no idea at all how special he really is! Humble people," she decided, "can be extremely annoying."
"And how special are you, Hokuto?" Jack asked teasingly.
Hokuto blinked.
"Me? Oh, I'm nothing like Subaru. I only have a very little bit of the family talent. That's why Subaru is the clan head even though he's the younger twin."
"Ah, I see, so you'll just have to settle for being beautiful, vivacious, witty, and charming then--not to mention well-dressed."
"Flatterer!"
"I'm just an observer of truth," he said while giving her his best innocent smile.
"Did Sei-chan lend you that smile?"
"What?"
"Never mind; you looked just like someone I know for a moment there."
"Oh; I hope that's a good thing."
Now that, Hokuto thought, was a very good question indeed. Did it mean anything that she was attracted to a man who kept reminding her of Seishiro? Or did it have some other significance entirely that she should be aware of?
Or, on the other hand, did it mean nothing at all?
Something of her concerns must have shown itself; Delevant picked up on it at once.
"Hey, is something wrong, Hokuto? This other guy, he isn't an old boyfriend you're just getting over or something, is he?"
Hokuto laughed.
"Oh, no, nothing like that. Actually, he's Subaru's boyfriend."
"Subaru's? But I thought. . .oh." He thought that one over. "Is that a problem for you, that your brother's dating a guy?"
Hokuto shook her head. "I've spent nearly the last entire year pushing the two of them together, in fact."
Jack laughed.
"Really? That's too funny."
"So you say! You try matchmaking for someone as thick-skulled about romance as my brother for a while and see if you're still laughing!"
"Believe me, I have! I've got this cousin back home, a really gorgeous girl, but she's one of those people who's always got her nose in a book and has no idea how beautiful she is. I swear, I went to college just to get away from the temptation to set her up!"
Hokuto giggled. Jack grinned at her, and the waiter chose that moment to get to their table. As they ordered, Hokuto impulsively reached across the table and took Delevant's hand in hers.
She was sure it was going to be a very good night indeed.