NOTICE

Hello all. Ahem, uhm, *cough* *cough*... *vomits blood* ...just kidding! Hehe! Alright, first of all, I AM VERY SORRY!

I know you might think that I'm dead or something but unfortunately I'm not. Haha! (What am I saying? I'm grateful to be alive!) The reason I didn't post ANYTHING is...well, let's just say I was bedridden for a while...yeah, I'll leave it at that. Thing happened and got et cetra et cetra... But I'm here now! Somehow reminded of this site I missed so much! Aaaaaannnnnddd I'm going into action again!

I'll be updating the story from now on. But, I have to apologize in prior. The story won't be up so soon. *hic* The draft where all the story concept, characters, and settings are written on...I don't know where I kept it anymore! So, as you might guess, I need to make a new one. There's a chance it would be a bit different than the original. (I forgot how this story was supposed to end up)

There! All caught up! Thank you for reading this, and I hope I'll be seeing your names on the review section! *wave*

SIDE STORY

"SISTER-COMPLEX KINGPIN OF STEEL!" (1)

Year 2023

Birds chirping from the sky are heard very nicely. Come as a set were clear sky and warm sunlight. Hot, to be exact. But it didn't seem to stop a 4-year-old boy from getting out of the car cheerfully and run directly towards the entrance of a traditional Japanese-ish building. There was an 'Amagi Inn' written on the gatewall.

"Yuki! Slow on your feet!"a woman with shoulder-height black hair told the boy as she also got out of the car from the front passenger seat. Still halfway until the entrance, the boy stopped and turned around.

"Mom! Hurry up!"Yuki shouted ever so happily. Wide smile was on his face since they entered the small city of Yasoinaba. He kept jumping and singing JUNES theme song along the way. His mother had to hug him and placed him on her laps to avoid any accident that could occur from a bumping car.

"Just go. I'll get the things."a grey-haired man on the other side of the car said then walked to the backside of the car.

"You sure?"the woman asked, closing the door.

"Yeah. It's just one big bag."

"Mom! Dad! Let's go!"Yuki shouted.

"Coming!"the woman then caught up with her son. Holding hands, they walked to the entrance. Just before the woman grabbed the door to open it, it suddenly opened from the inside.

"Yuki-chan!"an old woman wearing kimono appeared, smiling.

"Kasai-san!"both women shared a tight hug. Been quite a few years the last time they met.

"You just become more and more beautiful."the old woman said softly while they slowly parted.

"Haha, thank you. You look as charming as ever, too."

"Oh stop it. I'm old."they both chuckled then Kasai looked below on the small boy.

"Hello, Yuki."she greeted him.

"Grandma Kasai!"Yuki spreaded his arms asking for a hug. Couldn't refuse a demanding round cute face, she lifted him in her arms.

"Wow, you must be a strong man."she noticed how he got heavier than the last time she did the same thing. "I even heard your voice from inside. That's why I rushed over here.". Both Yuki and his mother giggled happily. "Where's that handsome guy? Is he still a handsome?"

"Do you mean my husband?"Yuki's mother asked jokingly.

"Over here."said the man from behind her, walking toward them pulling a huge travel bag. "Good afternoon, Kasai-san."he said when finally stood together with the three of them.

"Good afternoon, Yu. It's really good to see you."Kasai smiled.

"Yes, it's good to see you, too."the man named Yu smiled back.

"Thank you for looking after Yuki-chan."

"No, it's Yukiko who's looking after me."

"You look a lot like Yuki."she compared their faces by looking back and forth.

"Shouldn't it be Yuki who looks a lot like Yu?"the young woman said.

"Oh right. Haha!"she laughed. "Oh, almost forgot. Come in! Let's not just stand here all day."she opened the door wider and stepped aside to let the couple come inside. It was just how the woman expected the inside would be like. A lobby with lots going on. Visitors with heavy bags at the receptionist, some sitting on the lounge sofas, servants walking here and there, and a nice view of Japanese pond through the large glass.

"As always, huh."the woman said.

"What do you expect? It's summer."

"Oh I hope we're not disturbing or anything."the young woman said a little apologetically.

"What are you saying? A family is never a disturbance.". She smiled gratefully to the older woman whom she had known all her life.

"Well, I guess it needs an additional hand then."she made a movement of pulling up sleeves with her short cardigan sleeve.

"You're here to have a vacation. Why would you want to 'work'?"

"There's not a better vacation than doing a homey stuff."she smiled wide, feeling pride and nostalgic at the same time.

"Okay, if you insist. Not paid, though.". They both giggled in sync when suddenly the young woman heard a soft sigh beside her. Tilting to the side she found her husband's face looking not very good.

"Yu, are you alright?"she asked concerned.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine."Yu answered, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Oh I'm sorry. You must be tired from driving for so many hours. I'll call someone to carry the bag to your room upstairs."Kasai said putting Yuki down.

"No, really. It's ok-"

"Excuse me! Can you help with these?"Kasai ignored Yu's reply and called for a waiter. As soon as the waiter came, she told him to take the huge bag to the room reserved for them on the 3rd floor. Though he didn't show, Yu felt a bit of relief knowing that he didn't have to take the heavy weight upstairs anymore. "Alright, now, what do you want to do? Go to your room first or take a tour?"Kasai asked the last question while tilting toward Yuki.

"A tour of the inn? I want to take a tour!"Yuki said happily. "I want to see the orange fish again!"

"Haha! It's called Koi fish, Yuki. Let's go see then."

"You guys go on ahead. Me and Yu are going upstairs first."Yukiko said walking toward the stairs. Walking through the crowded halls with Yuki in her arms was a bit difficult. She could feel her upper arms twitching a bit. So she put Yuki down and held hands instead heading to the backyard pond.

Meanwhile in a certain suite room on the 3rd floor, Yukiko opened all the windows to let some air in. Surprisingly, she could view almost the whole Yasoinaba from the spot she was standing on. She inhaled deeply, letting go of the pressure from the big city. What she saw was a quiet, peaceful, and gorgeous scenery of a countryside. The sky was way wider and the air fresher. Just the way she remembered it would be.

"After all this time, Inaba stays just like this, doesn't it?"Yukiko mumbled. Hearing what Yukiko said, Yu walked slowly to her side.

"Yeah, you're right."he replied as soft as Yukiko's voice. It was hot, but somehow the wave of wind that was brushing their hair felt...soothing. Small smile began to form on their faces.

"Inaba's going to stay like this from now on, right?"

"...I hope so.". They looked downward remembering things that had happened. The murder case, shadows from another world almost engulfing the whole city, confronting a god, and most recently, a robot-kidnapping incident which led to a fighting tournament among them and their friends. "Nothing has occured since then, and neither do they made an appearance anymore."

"The Shadow Operatives?". Yu faintly nodded.

"To be honest, I'm still stuck on what Mitsuru-san had said."

"What?"

"That they'll pursue the incident further, and that we didn't need to put our nose into it. Of course, we didn't just sit and do nothing despite being told so. It happened in our city, we needed to solve the matter."

"But nothing actually happened."Yukiko added, completing what her husband was going to say. "Maybe...they really did take care of it?"

"...Probably."Yu made a slight turn looking straight at the flat screen TV in the room. His stare told everything he was thinking, and Yukiko was able to catch that. Taking a breath, she called his name a bit sternly.

"Yu.". He turned to look at her and suddenly greeted with stinging pain on both his cheeks.

"...Ow!"he realized Yukiko's soft palms were the cause of it.

"We're here to enjoy some time, am I right?"she gazed into his eyes. "I see there's no point in thinking about it now."her words slowly changed Yu's lips into a smile. He brought his hand on top of one of her hand.

"Yeah...you're right."he said softly.

"And also...you're tired. Why don't you get some rest?"

"I'm fine. There's still some energy I saved to surprise Nanako."he chuckled.

"Does Dojima-san really able to keep us coming here a secret from Nanako-chan?"Yukiko laughed.

"He's a detective."

"Right. I'm sure he can."she finally put her hands down. "Because I can."her smile suspiciously grew wider. Yu gave her a confused look.

"Well, we're the ones coming, I thi-"

"Not that."

"Huh?"

"Teheehee.".

A few days ago...

"So, you're coming in the next two days then?"heard a woman's voice across the phone Yukiko was holding to her ears.

"Uh huh. Yu got himself a very long free time, thankfully."Yukiko said while getting into different side of her house looking for things to pack. "Yuki's been wanting to go lately. He couldn't stop talking about Teddy and Nanako-chan."

"Oh that Yuki-kun. And Teddy is also all over him. Kids just want to have fun all the time, don't they?"

"Teddy's not a kid, Chie. ...I think."

"Hahaha! Oh, and about Nanako-chan..."

"What is it?"

"The other day I was passing by the shopping district, I saw her."

"...And? Isn't it normal for you to meet there often?"

"...With someone."

"Uh huh?"

"A guy. Possibly her age.". Yukiko stayed silent to hear everything her friend Chie had to say, even in bits. "Walking together, side by side.". The pause was too long Yukiko waited for the next part, so she voiced up.

"So...?"

"...Holding hands.". She could hear the cracky giggle in Chie's voice. By putting on together the pieces her friend had offered, she opened her eyes in realization.

"Ohhh is it...?"

"Yeah...I think so, too. And the guy's pretty good-looking, you know.". They both giggle to a similar suspicious thought.

"I shouldn't tell him, should I?"Yukiko had a tint of scheme in her eyes.

"Absolutely not. Hehe!".

Author thingy : alright, i guess that does for a warm up. i remembered i promise you guys for this...mischief on our Yu Narukami, so, here i go! Mwahahah!