DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH OR FRUITS BASKET. I DON'T PROFIT FROM THIS STORY.
Hi again,
I am very sorry for how long it took for me to get this chapter out. Thank you for sticking by this story for so long!
Previously…
"The Zodiac are a freaky bunch of people. But you, Hiro? If you really want to know more about this and are actively going to seek him out? You're not a freak," Her eyes turn to the ground before meeting his once again. "You're sickening."
"Fuck you." His voice is quiet but steely. Hiro's eyes bore into hers, daring Kisa to continue her tirade.
She huffs out a small laugh and moves to the end of the alley. "No. Fuck you, Hiro." She leaves without another word.
"I've found that it is not uncommon for one of the signatures to become dormant for a certain period of time, the longest break was about ten years. One of the signatures has been inactive for a number of years now, so it shouldn't pose a threat of resurfacing anytime soon."
"Hmm, be that as it may, you should still be cautious during your investigation. Focus your attention on the Sohma's, they are the best lead we have at the moment and are our best bet of getting to the bottom of this. Get as close as you can to the Sohma's without arousing suspicion. Do not tip your hand Hitsugaya, they needn't know what you're doing."
He places the load in his arms to the side before kneeling in front of the last box. Kazuma runs his fingers across the lettering, a wistful smile upon his lips. He removes the lid and he finds it impossible to contain the small sob that escapes him.
"There you are."
Peculiarities
Fifty-seven years ago…
"You know what? I'm gonna miss this place."
"You're on your own with that."
"Oh, come on! You can't sit here and tell me that you're not gonna miss this place? Not even a little bit?"
"I give zero fu-"
"Shut up!" Hoshiko bites at the two, her voice an angry whisper. Sawako and Chiyo – frightened by their friend's uncharacteristic seriousness – snap to look at her. Unfortunately for Chiyo, who is sitting beside Hoshiko, turns too quickly and cricks her neck.
"Ow." Chiyo whines. She rests her head on her knees and rubs at the sore area, trying to recoil from the damage.
"I don't know about you two, but I certainly don't want to get detention." Hoshiko continues, clearly unaffected by Chiyo's discomfort.
Sawako cocks an eyebrow at her. "You honestly think we'll cop detention, today of all days?" She motions to the students that surround them. "I think were in the clear, Hoshiko."
"I wouldn't put it past old man Akiyama." Hoshiko mutters, her attention returning to the front.
"Look, Hoshiko" Chiyo throws in her two cents. Her face is still pressed against her legs; she's obviously not coping with the pain. "If you haven't noticed, Akiyama has been droning on for the past forty minutes." She turns her head, slowly and painfully, to look at the other girl, "Forty minutes!" Chiyo seethes. "I can deal with five, hell I can cope with fifteen, but not this! Never this." She finishes lamely, quickly returning to her previous position.
"They should hire him at one of those sleep clinics. Their success rate would go through the roof." Sawako joked, drawing a snicker from Chiyo and a few of the students surrounding them.
Hoshiko steadfastly ignored them.
Sawako rolled her eyes. "Come on, Hoshiko. Even the teachers are bored out of their minds." She gestured to a group of teachers at the back of the assembly. "Look, they're playing Rich Man Poor Man back there. They're not even being quiet about it!"
"Be that as it may," Hoshiko begins quietly, "Their parents aren't here to keep an eye on them."
Chiyo suddenly sits up ram-rod straight and immediately focuses on Principal Akiyama. Her clenched hands are shaking in her lap, and she holds back tears. Her quick movement jarring her already sore neck.
For her part, Sawako nervously glances to the side of the assembly where her parents are sitting. Her Father is shaking his head and mumbling something to her mother, who is covering up a smile with her hand. While they don't look too upset now, Sawako knows not to push her luck, and reluctantly turns her attention to the Principal.
Akiyama was a tall, imposing man, who boasted an outrageously thick head of hair for his age. His attire rarely changes, always wearing a three-piece suit to work and a pair of oxford brogue shoes. He was rarely seen without his briefcase, regularly claiming that it held a student's permanent record, no matter who they were or how ridiculous it sounded.
How many times had Sawako been hauled into this means office? Akiyama never failed to find a reason to give her, and whoever she was with, a verbal tongue lashing. Yelling to the point that he would go red in the face and need to take a break to catch his breath. During these brief periods of respite, Sawako would state her case, which more often than not, caused more trouble for her. So what if she poured hot sauce down Juro's back? He took the last takoyaki roll. He damn well knew she called dibs.
That time with Chiyo and Kawaguchi was blown way out of proportion. She definitely did not incite a food fight in the cafeteria, nor did she command a small group of students to bring the fight to the teacher's lounge.
Nope.
Nothing to do with it.
Okay, so maybe there was that one time with Kouhei. Maybe they were caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing on school grounds. Maybe they deserved that detention and the subsequent groundings. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. Sawako has caught people doing a lot worse than what they were.
All in all, Sawako and Akiyama? Not a good match.
Not at all.
So who cares what he's got to say right now? It's not like it's going to matter; he's only getting a few seconds more of her time before-
"-congratulations to this year's graduating class!"
Applause fills the hall as parents and teachers stand and offer their congratulations. The students are up on their feet within seconds, eagerly celebrating with their friends and fellow students. As the applause dies down the students start to disperse and find their families among the crowd.
After removing herself from her parent's death grip, Sawako wanders around the School yard. The cherry blossoms bloomed just in time for the ceremony, their petals now falling as they are carried by the wind. She spots Chiyo and Hoshiko with their families, each of them the centre of attention.
"So, should I say something cheesy like 'we survived' or 'this was the best part of my life'? Because, I'm kind of leaning towards, 'thank god I don't have to see this place again.'"
Sawako smiles and turns to greet Kouhei with a quick peck on the lips. "I see you managed to get away from your parents."
Kouhei gins. "Yep!" He chimes like a bell. "Just pointed them toward your parents and that was enough for them to leave me alone. Bless them." He places a hand on his chest and gives a comic sigh.
"Your parents are pretty nice."
"No, I meant yours." Sawako rolls her eyes at his antics but lets him pull her into a hug. She tucks her head under his chin and marvels at how much they've changed since they met. Before, Kouhei was barely taller than her, but while he grew, Sawako did not. Which of course, lead to a plethora of jokes, bestowed upon her by her boyfriend.
"So, miss I'm-going-to-study-psychology-at-The-University-of-Tokyo." Sawako once again rolls her eyes and pushes away from Kouhei. She stares up at him with an expectant expression, which he returns with a wide grin.
Dork.
"I know that I said I was going to Ritsumeikan University."
"The one in Kyoto." Sawako nods her head. Kyoto is three and a half hours away by train from Tokyo. While Sawako knew that she loved Kouhei and that he loved her just as much, so many couples aren't able to survive long distance relationships, no matter how much love was there. Kouhei has been a part of her life for so long now, she's not sure what it'll be like to not have him around anymore.
"About that, I got a letter a while back from another university. They offered me a position, and I've decided to take it."
"Oh? Where is it?" Sawako cocks her head.
Kouhei smiles down at her. "Waseda University, in Shinjuku."
"Shinjuku? That's only a ten-minute drive from TokyoU." Sawako states, incredulous.
"I know." Kouhei rests his forehead against hers. "Isn't it great."
Sawako smiles. "It certainly is, Mr-I'm-going-to-study-zoology-at-Waseda-University."
Toshiro misses a lot of things. He misses the familiar warmth of his Granny's house, the quiet companionship that she so willingly bestows upon him. He misses the routine of his division, the drunken ramblings of an inebriated Rangiku. Even those two idiots that call themselves Taicho's.
But right now, what he misses more than anything, is that quiet little spot he found when he first started attending Kaibara High. He misses the shade of the trees, the breeze that flowed through mesh fencing, the smell of the freshly baked bread wafting over from the bakery across the street, he misses the quiet.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"
God, how he misses the quiet.
"Exactly what you think it means you, idiot."
"So now I'm an idiot?!"
"By all means."
"Man, they're really going at it today, aren't they?" Uo states disinterestedly at his side. Toshiro nods his head, utterly bored with the display the two Sohma boys are putting on. "Yuki isn't holding back at all." Uo snickers and leans back on her hands, the grass is soft under her fingers. "Not that he needs too, doesn't take much to rile up a hot head like Kyo."
"Even so," Hana briefly looks up from her card game with Tohru and Momiji, "Yuki seems rather…vindictive today. Perhaps he's stressed."
"He's been spending a lot of time with the student council recently." Momiji picks up a card from the deck and adds it to his hand. The boy grimaces and shows it to Haru, who's been watching the three play their game. The boy shakes his head, making Momiji pout.
The two boys are too caught up in each other to hear their discussion. By now the two are butting heads, Toshiro wouldn't be surprised if they start throwing punches soon. It's a good thing this spot isn't visible to the other students, or there would be quite the scandal on their hands.
Toshiro closes his eyes and sighs, drawing Tohru's attention away from the game. She frowns at his disgruntled look, realising that the tension between Yuki and Kyo is annoying the boy. "Thank you for eating lunch with us today, Toshiro." She smiles at him and idly picks are card from the deck. "I just wish it would be more-" She winces at a sudden large crash. Evidently, the boys have escalated to another level, "-pleasant." Tohru finishes awkwardly. She's gawking at Kyo, who lays sprawled across the ground.
"Thank you for inviting me." Despite the less than desirable circumstances, the invitation gives Toshiro the opening he needs to get closer to the Sohma's.
He still misses the quiet though.
"You should eat with us more often." Uo says, punching Toshiro on the arm, looking impressed when the boy merely fixes here with an 'are you kidding me?' kind of look. "Like Tohru said, it'd be better if those two weren't acting like complete morons-"
"I never said that!"
Uo waves her away. "The point is, we're not usually violent."
There's a dull thump and the group looks up to see Kyo once again on the floor. This time he's face down and doesn't look to be getting up anytime soon.
"Well, not this violent." Uo corrects herself.
Toshiro stares at Yuki. He's standing near Kyo, ready for when his cousin eventually picks himself up. The normally placid boy looks worse for wear, there are bags under his eyes and his uniform is unkempt, most likely from the scuffle the boy was just involved in.
After a few moments, Yuki finally notices the attention he's garnered. He looks up and meets Toshiro's eyes. The boy looks disinterested, and maybe even a little disappointed. Yuki would usually ignore the white haired boy, only speaking to him when absolutely necessary. He avoided him at all costs while at School, taking different routes around the building during their shared free periods.
But Yuki's tired and overwhelmed, and not even fighting with Kyo is making him feel any better.
But maybe fighting with this enigmatic boy will. So, colour him surprised when Hitsugaya beats him to the punch.
"Sit down, you look exhausted."
Well, that certainly wasn't what Yuki was expecting. He stares dumbfounded at Hitsugaya, as do a few other from the group. The boy sighs after a few moments and repeats himself.
"You look like you're about to keel over. Sit down before you hurt yourself."
And Yuki sits down, surprising both himself and his friends. He just plops down right where he was standing, and wow, Hitsugaya was right, he is exhausted. His breath becomes laboured as the adrenalin from the fight drains from his body and his arms feel like lead from the build-up of lactic acid. Yuki slowly stretches out his leg, Kyo had managed to get a few shots in before making friends with the ground.
As it stands, Yuki feels as though he could sleep for a week right then and there.
But how did Hitsugaya know? Yuki looks at the boy questioningly.
Toshiro cocks a brow at him. "You think is the first fight I've seen? I know when someone's about to drop. A few more minutes and that would be you on the ground," He gestures to Kyo, "Not him." Toshiro stands up and dusts himself off, not that he was particularly dirty in the first place. He walks over to Kyo and hauls the boy into a sitting position. The group is quiet as Toshiro gives the boy a once over, taking a particular interest Kyo eye, which is slowly starting to swell.
Toshiro sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You, on the other hand, need a visit to the nurse." He turns and starts walking back towards the school building.
Kyo sputters. "I don't need the fuc-" He abruptly stops as Toshiro turns and fixes him with an unimpressed look. Kyo quickly rises to his feet and hurries over to the other boy. "I think I need the nurse."
"A wise decision."
"The swelling should go down in the next couple of days." Kyo winces as nurse Watanabe prodded the area underneath his eye. "You'll have a pretty spectacular bruise though." Hideaki Watanabe pushes away from the examination table and moves over to his desk in the far corner of the room. He retrieves a notepad from the draw and begins jotting down a few notes.
"Great." Kyo grunts back at the man. He rubs at the left side of his face, grimacing slightly when his fingers lightly brush the slowly forming bruise.
Toshiro, who had been silently standing beside Kyo, leaned over and batted the hand away from the teen's face. "Do you like pain or something?"
"What? No!" Kyo screeched at Toshiro. The other boy merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Pleas refrain from yelling in my office. This is a neutral, quiet place" Hideaki stated disinterestedly as he approached the bickering boys. "Though, he does have a point. Try not to agitate the area much, it will only cause you more pain." Hideaki tears a sheet of paper from the notepad and handed it to Kyo. "This is a pass for you go home early. This type of injury usually comes with a few headaches and other aches and pains, so you're definitely going to need rest."
"Yeah, I get it. This isn't my first fight." Kyo grumbles as he pushes himself off the exam table.
"I have no doubt. But please, try not to do this on School grounds. If this happens again, I'm going to have to report you to the principal." Hideki looked between the two boys. "The both of you."
"Hey, wait a minute, you don't think-" Kyo starts off but he is soon cut off by scoff from Toshiro.
"Do you really think I would be stupid enough to get into a fight with another student, and then bring said student to the nurse's office for treatment?"
Hideaki frowns at the teen. "I think it's a bit coincidental that I have to start treating injuries that were clearly caused by a brawl, so soon after you transferred here. I have worked here for over seven years young man." The man sits down at his desk and turns to face to the two boys. "Do you know how many black eyes I have had to treat in that time?"
Toshiro rolls his eyes. He really doesn't have time for this idiot. "I don't know, how many times did you have to remove your head from your ass? Or have you yet to achieve that task?" Toshiro manages to add enough inflection to his tone to make the question sound genuine. Kyo barely manages to smother his laugh beside him.
"Excuse me?!" Hideaki thunders and pounds his hands on his desk. The violent movement causes a vase on the desk to topple over and shatter on the floor. "How dare you speak to me like that! You're nothing but a hooligan!"
"Please refrain my yelling in my presence." Toshiro barely blinks at Hideaki's outburst. The man was about intimidating as a kitten. "If you're having that much trouble with it I can recommend you a good proctologist. She helped my uncle with his polyps. I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking a look at your blockage."
'Huh, it seems as though Kyo has also developed quite a cough. Funny that.'
"You little-" Hideaki is interrupted by the bell signalling the end of lunch. The three can already hear students making their way to their next class. "Don't think this is over you little punk."
"Keep talking, someday you might say something intelligent. Now, as you can see lunch is over, and I must be heading to class." Toshiro makes his way into the hall with Kyo following closely behind. They leave Hideaki fuming in his office.
"Toshiro, you're back!" Tohru states happily as he enters the classroom. She looks quizzically over his shoulder as he passes her. "But where's Kyo? Is he still with the nurse?" Her question draws the attention of a few of the students around her.
"Watanabe said he needed to rest, he sent Kyo home." Toshiro answered as he sat down at his desk. Uo whistled at his answer and casts a glance over at Yuki. The boy steadfastly ignores the exchange.
"Oh no! I hope that he's okay." Tohru says worriedly.
Uo waves her hand dismissively. "Orange top will be fine. I'm sure this isn't the first time he's been laid out like this, and I doubt it'll be the last."
"Trouble does seem to find that boy quite easily." Hana says quietly as she flips through her book. "His injury must be a cause for concern if his being sent home is any indication. It is lucky that Watanabe-san took care of him."
Toshiro rolls his eyes. The only person Watanabe likes to care of is himself. Uotani must feel the same way as she lets out a derisive snort.
"Do you not like Watanbe-san?" Yuki turns in his seat to join the conversation. "He seemed quite amenable to me the last time I saw him."
"No offense Yuki, but there's a big difference between you and me, and even frostbite over there." Uo lazily gestures behind her, making sure that everyone knew who she was talking about. The action, along with the absurd name, draws and few snorts from the students.
The white-haired boy bristles at the nickname. "I can hear you, you know." It could be worse though, she could be calling him Shiro-chan. They are never to hear of that ridiculous moniker. Toshiro shakes his headand pulls out his phone. He needs to make a report for the Soutaicho before the end of the night, and since the majority of these reports would be made verbally from now on, it would be best to compose his thoughts before hand.
"I know. The point is Frostbite and I," Uo motions between herself and Toshiro, "would get a much different reception from Watanabe than you would, Yuki." She shrugs her shoulders and leans back in her chair. "It's nothing against you, Prince, Watanabe is just really into appearances. Which automatically puts me, Frostbite and even Hatsuharu on his shit list."
Yuki frowns slightly. "He can't be that ba-"
"He's that bad." Toshiro cuts the other boy off, not caring to look up from the phone.
"Ohhh," Uo grins manically and turns around in her seat to give Toshiro her undivided attention. "Sounds like you had a fun time with Watanabe." She raps her knuckles against the wooden desk to try and draw Toshiro's attention away from his phone. "So, what did you get? I got a two combo the last time." Uo stated proudly as if this was one of her greatest accomplishments.
"A two combo?" Tohru asks innocently from her side.
"It's where you get insulted twice within the same sentence." The blonde girl flips her hair over her shoulder. "Mine was delinquent and harlot."
This drew gasps from both Yuki and Tohru, as well as a few nosy students listening in.
"That's awful! He can't call you that!" Tohru said incredulously.
"Yes, that is quite uncalled for. It would seem that I need to pay a visit to Watanabe." Hana simply got up and left the room, bypassing Mayuko on the way. The teacher didn't even bother trying to call the girl back. What would be the point? She wouldn't listen anyway.
"All right guys take your seats." She says tiredly. "I know I'm a bit late but that doesn't mean you get to goof off for the rest of this period.
A hand shot up into the air. "You're not usually late Mayu-sensei. Would you mind me asking what kept you?"
Mayuko sighs. "I was just speaking with another faculty member. There is no need to worry, Mei." She turns to the black board behind her and readies some chalk. "Now, last week I assigned you several chapters of The Crucible to analyse. Who can tell me-"
"Who was it?" another student piped up from the back of the room. Mayuko turns and fixes the student, Sayaka, with a confused look. "Who were you talking to?"
"If it's that important to you, I was speaking to Watanbe-sensei." Mayuko turns back to the board. "Getting back to what I was saying-"
"What did you talk about?"
"Is that really appropriate?" Mayuko asks without looking away from the board. The students quieted down a few moments and Mayuko uses the opportunity to finish writing notes on the blackboard.
The students – except Toshiro, the boy didn't even bother to bring any books to his classes – were busy writing out the discussion questions when they heard a small squeak from the front of the room. A few students looked up, Tohru and Yuki included, to find the source of the noise but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The group went back to their writing, chalking the noise up to the old desks in the room. Only a few moments later did they hear the same noise again, only this time it was a little bit louder. When they looked up again a few of the students noticed that Mayuko's shoulders were shaking slightly. This quickly got the attention of the class. Toshiro even looked up from his phone.
"Mayuko-sensei, as you all right?" Yuki asks tentatively.
"Oh me? I'm fine…. just fine." Mayuko says quietly, her shoulders shaking even more than before. The students continue to watch her for a few moments, noticing that soon their sensei's body began shaking uncontrollably.
"Sensei-"
The students were shocked as their sensei suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. The older woman hugged her sides as full belly laughs escaped her lips. It was a damn miracle that the woman didn't collapse to the floor she was laughing so hard. Well, it's like they say, laughter really is contagious. It's not long before some of the students joined in with her joyful display.
"I'm sorry." Mayuko manages to stutter out. "It was just quite a funny conversation."
"Really, and I here I thought Watanabe didn't have a sense of humour." Uo says with a small smirk.
"Oh, he doesn't, but that's what makes it funny." Mayuko turns and leans back against the blackboard. "Hitsugaya," She points to Toshiro and takes a few moments to compose herself. "Did you really recommend that Watanabe see a proctologist so that his head could be removed from his ass?" The class gasps at her question and quickly turn to look at the boy.
Toshiro merely cocks his brow as the class dissolves in chaos.
"Ah, I see that you two made it home safe and well." Shigure greeted the group of teens as they entered the living room. It seemed as though Hatsuharu and Momiji would be joining them for dinner again. At this point Shigure wouldn't be surprised if the two boys decided to move in full time. "How was your day?" Hatsuharu ignores the man and lays down on the porch for a nap.
"Oh, it was pretty interesting actually! Toshiro ate lunch with us today which was very nice." Tohru said with a smile, "He even helped Kyo after he… well," Tohru trailed off into a nervous mumble.
Shigure smiled and held up a placating hand. "No need to explain Tohru. I saw enough to know what happened." He laughed and turned to look at his younger cousin. "Care to explain your wayward fists?"
"Not particularly." Yuki replied, his tone flat and disinterested.
"I expected you wouldn't. Anyway, please do try to be a bit gentler next time, Kyo will be sporting a fairly nasty bruise the next couple of days. Not to worry though," Shigure carries on, his voice taking on a jovial tone. "Kyo will spend the time sulking on the roof and then he'll be his normal self again."
"I can hear you!" Kyo calls down from the roof, startling the teens in the living room.
"I am well aware!" Shigure calls back happily. His smile only grows as the orange-haired teen doesn't respond. "He's been so quiet since he came home. It's been wonderful!" The man laughs to himself, taking no notice of the teens around him.
Yuki rolls his eyes and pulls a few books from his bag. He might as well get some of his homework done before dinner was ready. As he does this Yuki sees Tohru excuse herself from the conversation and scurry into the kitchen, no doubt working on dinner preparations. Momiji uses the lull to ask Shigure about his new book. The younger boy had become more interested in his cousins chosen career over the past few months. Yuki had no idea why anyone would ever be interested in the kind of books Shigure frequently put out for publication.
He ignores their conversation and starts his literature homework, it only consisted on the discussion questions they were meant to complete during class this afternoon. But nobody had been able to concentrate after Mayuko-sensei's and Hitsugaya's bewildering interaction during class.
"I hope you don't mind Shigure, but I invited Toshiro to join for dinner tonight." Tohru calls from the kitchen.
And of course, this causes everything to stop. Yuki stops writing, while Shigure and Momiji halt their conversation. Haru even sits up and starts blankly at the kitchen door. Ironically, the only movement was Kyo sliding down from the roof to join the rest of the group.
Tohru, obviously sensing the discomfort coming from the living room, pokes her head around the door. "Is that okay? I just wanted to thank him for taking care of Kyo today."
Shigure answers after a moment of silence. "Of course, that's alright. The more the merrier I say!"
"Now that my friend is a wonderful attitude to have!" A voice suddenly speaks up from the doorway.
"He's refusing to set foot in your division."
"Good, I don't want him anywhere near there." Toshiro says, searching through his clothes to find something suitable to wear for dinner. The invitation had been both a surprise and a blessing. With tonight's dinner, he would gain access to the house and hopefully get some answers.
"Toshiro, you really shouldn't alienate your comrades, especially the other taicho's. You could have been a bit nicer about it."
"I'll be nice when Kurotsutchi starts to take responsibility and do his job right. He was assigned to supervise Rangiku's stint as temporary taicho, a job which he neglected nor cared to do."
Ukitake sighs over the end of the phone. "I understand that you are less than impressed with his performance, but did you really need to bring up Urahara? You know that Kurotsutchi has an inferiority complex."
"A complex that is completely justified in my opinion." Toshiro settles on a plain maroon t-shirt and black pants. It's not as though this is going to be a fancy dinner.
Ukitake snorts. "So, I take it your happy with Unohana replacing him?"
"Of course, she is a fine leader and I don't believe she'll have any trouble keeping Rangiku in line." Toshiro pauses for a moment. Well, he hopes she'll be able to keep her in line.
"I'm sure everything will be fine, there's no need to worry. Anyway, we should probably move onto your mission report. Have there been any developments?"
"Not since my last report. There have been any more reiastu spikes in the past week, so either they are being careful, or they have developed a way of hiding it. That seems doubtful though." Toshiro puts Ukitake on speaker phone and begins changing out of his uniform.
"Yes, it would be rather odd to only start covering their tracks now. In any case, keep monitoring the situation and I'm sure some new information will make itself available to you. Do you have any plans moving forward?"
"I might have a few more leads after dinner tonight." Toshiro says distractedly as he pulls the maroon shirt over his head.
"Dinner? Do you have plans tonight?" Ukitake asks curiously.
"Tohru, the girl who lives with the Sohma's, invited me to dinner to say thank you or something. It will give me the chance to look around the place, maybe I can find some answers as well."
I hope.
Toshiro shakes his head. "Ukitake, can you put Rangiku on, please? I need to ask for a favour."
He's more than half-way to dinner when Toshiro hears a soft rustle coming from somewhere in the bushes around him. Normally such a sound wouldn't concern him – growing up in the streets of Rukongai had exposed him to a myriad of sights, sounds and smells that he would rather not recall – but nonetheless, Toshiro stops in his tracks. The rustling didn't sound as though it was particularly close, it had come from further into the thicket of trees, so it could possibly be chalked up to a few rabbits or other wildlife on the move. Toshiro waits for a few moments before the sound of a twig snapping reaches his ear. No doubt the piece of nature had given way under someone's foot. Toshiro cocks his head to the side and peers closely into the undergrowth. He's able to make out the figure of someone heading towards him from further into the area. Toshiro takes a step back and quickly searches the surrounding area for any reiastu.
'Which is what I should have done in the first place.'
Toshiro sighs as he focuses on a familiar signature now only a few feet away from him. He runs his hand through his hair and waits for the teenager to arrive.
Moments later, Toshiro is greeted by the sight of Tohru stumbling out of the thicket of trees. She's holding two cloth bags in her hands, both of them filled to the brim with an assortment of fruit and vegetables. He watches as the girl lets out a huff and shakes her shoulders in an effort to rid herself of any leaves or dirt clinging to her top, completely oblivious to her companion.
Toshiro clears his throat. "Good afternoon." The greeting is quiet and pleasant, but it's enough to give Tohru a small heart attack. The girl sucks in a shaky breath of air and nearly drops one of her bags as she finally takes notice of the other boy. "My goodness! I didn't see you there, Toshiro." She bows her head in apology.
"Don't worry about it." He haves away her apology before focusing his attention on the bags she was holding. "Is that for dinner? That looks like a quite a lot."
"It sure is!" Tohru holds one of the bags up a little bit higher so that Toshiro can scan its contents. "We have some unexpected guests joining us tonight, so I needed to get some more supplies." Tohru hands him the bag after he gestures for her to let him carry it. "Thank you." She smiles at the other teen.
Toshiro shakes his head. "It's the least I can do." He says as he surveys the area around them. It didn't look like there were any fresh produce stores near them, or any kind of store for that manner. The closest one was at least fifteen minutes up the road, and Tohru definitely wouldn't have to walk through the bushes to get there and back. Toshiro frowns and peers into the trees behind Tohru. "Where did you get all of this?" He asks as they continue on their way.
"Well, I didn't have time to go to the store, so I asked Yuki if I could use his secret base. But I couldn't take the normal path to get there because there was a rock slide last night, I had to go through the bushes instead." Tohru laughs at his perplexed look. "Yuki has a secret garden not too far from the house. Since I'm the only other one who knows about it, I've been helping him take care of it for the past few years. We grow all kind of fruit and vegetables there!" She proudly tells him.
"I see," Toshiro says slowly. This group of people really are peculiar. "So, you're telling me that Yuki has a 'secret' garden that only you know about, and he calls it his secret base?"
"Mhhm," Tohru nods her head excitedly. "That's right."
"How odd."
All in all, the visit to Storing Bytes! had been rather successful. A quick trip to the tip and a stop off at the donation bin had left him with only three boxes to take care of, and with a bit of rearranging he had managed fit everything into two new boxes. It wouldn't be hard to store the boxes at home, so Kazuma had returned to Storing Bytes the next day to happily cancel his rental.
The receptionist, the same one from the day before, was less enthusiastic about his visit.
The boxes were quickly stowed on the top shelf of the hallway closet and away from prying eyes. Normally, Kazuma would temporarily store equipment and resources – even for his home - in the dojo before he would find places for them to go. So, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for his students or the families to see a number of boxes stacked neatly to the side of the training area. The only problem is that some of his younger students have a nasty habit of going through the boxes before their training, and their parents have an even nastier habit of letting their children do so. While this wouldn't normally bother him, these particular boxes were special, and he didn't particularly want his students pawing over anything they could get their hands on.
But with that potential problem already dealt with, Kazuma was busy rearranging some of the knickknacks and other small items in his living room so that he could display what he found yesterday. It hasn't been a very big job, it's not as though he had a lot of things to begin with but with the new addition everything had seemed off.
'It's quite simple really.' Kazuma thinks to himself, moving the dragon figurine to the top shelf of the display case. The figurine is quite long so Kazuma turns it slightly to the left so that it will fit nicely in the space. He then bends down to retrieve another item from a lower shelf. The Rūjin statue he pulls out is slightly bigger than the dragon but smaller in surface area, so turning it slightly to the right is purely for aesthetic reasons. Once they're in position, it comes time to add to the new piece to the collection. He holds the delicate item in his hands and gently deposits it between the dragon and Rūjin. Kazuma steps back to assess his work with a critical eye, it would drive him mad if it didn't look perfect. His eyes roam over the three objects, making sure that not a single thing was out of place.
The man lets out a deep breath. "Perfect."
'It just needs to match.'
"-and Kagura didn't really like that, so she…well, she-"
Toshiro nearly breathes a sigh of relief as Sohma house came into view. The last five minutes had been filled with non-stop chatter from the girl beside him and the conversation was beginning to wane on him. It wasn't that Tohru made for bad company, quite the opposite, he would gladly take her company over Madarame or Ayasegawa any day. And it's not like he hasn't been exposed to mindless chatter before, god knows how many hours – hours that should have been spent on paper work - Rangiku has spent prattling on in his ears about who knows what. But maybe he's been spoilt for a certain kind of senseless babble, Rangiku's little observations usually surmounted to an interesting point, or it would come in handy at a later date. Or it at least distracted him from his responsibilities so that he could enjoy a few blessed moments of respite. Tohru's, however, only served to tire him.
"And we're here!" Tohru proclaims pulling Toshiro from his thoughts. Toshiro nods his head at the girl and once again takes in the home. Not much had changed since his last visit, there were a few more potted plants and it looked as though they were in the process of replacing some of the shoji screens. But if the wood and washi scattering the lawn were any indications, this was a very recent repair job.
Toshiro lightly kicks a small piece of wood by his foot. "Renovating?"
Tohru gives a laugh that is bordering on hysterical. "Oh, that? No, that was Kagura! You see she was very excited to see Kyo, she hasn't seen him in a long time, and she just couldn't wait, so she decided to just come in, which…well kind of broke the door. But then Kyo kept running away which made her upset and then-"
"I get it." Toshiro interrupts before the girl can go on. "Family can be weird sometimes." He and Momo had certainly gotten into some weird situations when they were younger. They had been reprimanded by Granny on more than one occasion. He places the bag of vegetables on the ground and picks up a small piece of washi, rolling the material between his fingers.
'I don't remember breaking down any doors though. Granny definitely would have had my head for that.'
"It can be, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Their all wonderful in their own special kind of way." She smiles at him.
"Depends on your definition." Toshiro smirks, drawing a loud shocked laugh from Tohru.
"TOHRU! You were gone for so long, Kyo is being so mean-" A brown haired girl, Toshiro assumes to be Kagura, comes barrelling out the house. No doubt she was drawn by the younger girls laugh.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, Kagura doesn't take any notice of the debris and catches her foot on a stray piece of wood. The teen's momentum keeps her moving forward even as she loses her centre of gravity, and in no time at all she collides with Toshiro and falls on top of him as they collapse to the ground.
Time stops as the girl lays on his chest. Toshiro feels the girl's breaths come to a sharp stop as she takes in her situation. He faintly hears the sound of more people joining them outside, the noise of the collision likely drawing them from the dwelling.
"Kagura, I presume?" Toshiro asks the girl on top of him. Instead of answering verbally the girl just nods her head he hair brush against him, Toshiro scowls as the stray strands of hair tickle his nose. "Would you mind getting off me?" Even as he says this he can faintly hear Tohru's hurried mumbling from beside them. 'She still hasn't moved. What is wrong with this girl?'
"Quick we need to…need to…what-why isn't…I don't understand." Tohru trails off as she takes in the sight before her. "Why didn't-"
Shigure quickly approaches the girl and throws his arm over her shoulder. "Not to worry! Just a little mishap, Kagura really is a beacon for trouble." He laughs and waves his hand back and forth. "The girl really can't go anywhere without something going wrong." He moves behind Tohru and begins ushering her inside the home, picking up the discarded bag of vegetables on the way. "Well Tohru, dinner isn't going to prepare itself. Kyo already volunteered to assist you, you know how much that boy loves his leaks. Don't worry, we'll be sure to take care of these two. Ta ta, Tohru." Shigure waves as the girls makes her way inside on shaky legs. She was quickly followed by Kyo and Yuki.
Toshiro sighs as the man quickly turns back to them. He bustles over to the pair of them, muttering all the way. "Now Kagura, why don't you get off the poor boy. You're probably cutting off his air supply by now."
Toshiro clicks his tongue and shakes his head. He'd grown accustomed to the sensation well over two decades ago.
As soon as they had gotten inside Tohru started to prepare dinner. Thankfully most of the prep work had been done before she had to leave to get more supplies, so it would only take around twenty minutes to prepare the rest of the meal. Kyo and Yuki watch as Tohru bustles around the kitchen, managing to keep an eye of several pots of boiling meat and vegetables while also fixing a sauce for the meal.
"I don't understand. Why didn't Kagura change?" She asks quietly.
Kyo sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I, we-" he shoots Yuki a furtive glance. "We may have an idea, but it's complicated."
"More complicated than a curse?" Tohru asks the two boys. She set down her spoon and turns from the stove, giving the pair her full attention. "Has it been broken?"
"So far as we know, no." Yuki answers quickly.
When Tohru looks ready for another question Kyo interrupts her. "Look, Tohru, it's complicated. Really complicated. We," He gestures to himself and Yuki, "don't even understand it completely. But I promise that we'll tell you."
Tohru fixes the boys with a hard stare, it's the most serious either boy had ever seen her. "Alright. Tonight, after dinner."
The addition of Ayame and Ritsu makes dinner a loud affair, and in a way, it almost makes Toshiro feel homesick. The two men's behaviour is reminiscent of Rangiku and Kira, Rangiku finding the fun in any given situation, while Kira spent his time apologising for things that he wasn't even responsible for. Ayame was definitely the life of the party, always trying to include everyone in the conversation or joke, whether they wanted to be or not. He had already corralled Shigure – not that he put up much of a fight - into sharing stories from their youth, much to the displeasure of those around them.
Not that Toshiro could blame them. Not many people were interested how their sibling or cousin somehow managed to find their way into a brothel, no matter the 'humorous' circumstances. Especially with the amount of detail the two men put into their story.
"I hear that you're making quite the splash already, Toshiro. I'm sure you have all sorts of fascinating stories, care to share?"
Toshiro bristles at the use of his first name but lets it slide. Ayame seemed like the type to ignore such formalities, no matter how much you pressed the issue. "It hasn't been that interesting."
"Well, I don't believe that for a second!" The man laughs hysterically and knocks over a glass as he leans closer to Toshiro.
"Ah! I'm sorry!"
"It wasn't your fault Ritsu." Haru says softly, lazily playing with his food.
"Surely there must be something to share with the group. Let's say, where you grew up? Such a fine young man as yourself must have had a few good role models in your life." The man tosses his long hair over his shoulder and smiles at Toshiro. Yuki sighs and hangs his head at his brother's display.
Toshiro frowns slightly. Clearly, the man wouldn't be letting this go. It would be best to give him something to latch onto. "There isn't much to say. I was taken in by an old woman when I was younger. I lived with her and Momo up until recently, when I left to attend school here." He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing much else to say." He took a sip of tea.
"Who's Momo?" Momiji leans across the table curiously, clearly interested in the exchange.
"Yes, I'm quite interested myself. This is the first time you've mentioned a girl. Please tell me more. Is she still in school?" Shigure taps his hand against the table eagerly.
"You've only met him once." Kyo mutters, only to receive a quick kick to the shin. "Ow, damnit!"
"Shigure, perhaps you should tone it down a bit. We wouldn't want your proclivities known, now would we?"
"Aya please, you make it sound so sinister. It's merely a passing interest, nothing more."
Toshiro purses his lips at the question. True, he had only met the man twice, but that was enough to expose him to the man's questionable, and at times, outright concerning interest in High School girls. In all honesty, Toshiro was finding it difficult to get a clear reading on the man's intentions. He had told Toshiro when he had first arrived that he was a writer and he often took inspiration from the world around him to use in his work.
"Ah, yes. That's why I choose to work at home. There's so much nature to take inspiration from, every morning I'm greeted with the sounds of birds singing and the wonderful smell of Tohru's cooking! I get the most delightful view from my office-"
But so far, the man only seemed interested in learning about his younger cousin school mates, the girls in particular. Toshiro is certain of one thing, he definitely wouldn't be a fan of Shigure's works. Toshiro shook his head at the man before turning back to Momiji. "Momo and I grew up together in the same house. She's practically my sister. And no," Toshiro scowls at Shigure, "She's not in High School, she's older."
"You see Shigure? You've made him upset. Now he definitely won't answer my questions." Ayame pouts and starts berating his friend. Well, as much as Ayame can berate someone.
Toshiro rolls his eyes at the display. This dinner was becoming more tedious by the minute, and in all honesty, Toshiro was growing bored with the company. He pulls out his phone and typs a quick message before sending it through. "Excuse me," Toshiro turned to Tohru as he placed his phone on the table. "Could you please tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Sure! It upstairs, the last door on the left." Tohru smiled and pointed to the stairs behind them. Toshiro nodded his head and gave a quick thank you before moving away from the table and up the stairs.
Toshiro breathed a sigh of relief as he ascended the stairs. The noise from dinner wasn't nearly as loud or intrusive on the second level of the home, it actually quietened to a pleasant hum that could usually be found in a family restaurant or a quiet café. "At least they'll be distracted for a little while." Toshiro took the opportunity to survey his surroundings. It was about time he got some answers, answers that he definitely wasn't going to get at dinner. He will need to return at a later time so that he can properly search the dwelling. For that, he would need to have a viable entry into the house, and he only had about three minutes to find one.
There were several doors that lined the long hallway, but that would be no use to him. They most likely lead to the bedrooms and Toshiro doesn't particularly feel like sneaking through anybody's bedroom window at the moment. He clicks his tongue and instead makes his way to the window at the end of the hall. It would be large enough for him to fit through without causing any problems, especially since there aren't any tables filled with knickknacks and other decorative items for him to disturb.
Toshiro braced his hands on the windowpane and stuck his head through the opening. It was a windy night and it was surely building up for a storm later, so there was a good chance that Kyo wouldn't be spending his time up on the roof, which would give Toshiro a bit more freedom to move around as he wished. But it also meant that the window would most likely be closed to ward off any drafts or debris finding its way through the open space. Toshiro purses his lips and lightly runs his fingers along the window jamb. His fingers leave a small amount of ice behind as his releases some reiastu through the digits. The thin sheet of ice should be enough for Toshiro to open the window from the outside even if the Sohma's think that is closed for the night.
Satisfied, Toshiro moves into the bathroom. He flushes the toilet before moving to wash his hands. It would raise suspicion if the occupants below didn't at least hear some sort of movement from the room, even if it was just Toshiro making sure the plumbing was in working condition. He was just drying his hands when he heard a familiar, but still humiliating, ringtone from downstairs. The shrill noise was quickly followed by the sound of something breaking.
"I'M SO SORRY!" Ritsu's voice rings loud and clear from down below.
"Is that 'Dontcha'? He faintly hears someone ask.
He grimaces and resolves to spend a few more moments upstairs. That song really is the bane of his existence.
"It's Toshiro's phone." Tohru says to Kagura as she picks up the device. She barely has time to take in the name flashing on the screen before Ayame snatches it from her hands. His face lights up as he reads the contact details. Tohru shakes her head at the man's antics before rising to clear the table of dishes. Ritsu was already dutifully clearing the area of broken porcelain.
"Matsumoto Rangiku. My goodness, could she be his girlfriend? How exciting!" The man practically squeals in excitement.
"I think it's a cute song. What do you think Haru?" The boy shrugged his shoulders, making Momiji pout.
"He says she's just a friend." Says Kyo as helps Tohru clear some of the dishes. She smiles as he takes he takes her pile from her to carry them to the kitchen.
"And how would you know?" Kagura demands from her place at the table.
"She called one time while we were at school. Why does it matter?!"
"Really you two, would it hurt you to keep your voices do-"
"Hello, Toshiro's phone, Ayame speaking!" Ayame voice rings above the din of the table and completely silences its occupants. Tohru stares wide eyed at the man as the others look on in shock. What did he think he was doing? "Toshiro? Oh, he's busy right now. Left his phone at the table. Gave us quite the fright when you called!"
Yuki grabbed Ayame's arm and hissed, "What do you think you're doing? You can't just answer his phone!"
"Hmm?" Ayame turns to Yuki and fixes him with a stern look. "Really Yuki, can't you see I'm on the phone? Don't be rude." He admonishes his younger brother before turning his attention back to the woman on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry about that, my little brother was begging for my attention." Yuki bristles at the unnecessary comment.
The group look on in disbelief as the man continues on with the conversation. "There's quite a few of us here actually! We all just enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by our wonderful Tohru. Here, I'll put you on speaker phone so that everyone can say hello." Ayame says joyfully. He pulls the phone away and, ignoring all of his cousin's protests, puts the phone on speaker. He holds the phone out proudly. "Say 'hi' everyone!"
There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Momiji broke it with a jovial "Hello!" The greeting was soon followed by several quiet greetings. Ayame uses the opportunity to introduce everyone.
"My, there certainly is a lot of you there." Now that definitely wasn't the voice they were expecting. Matsumoto Rangiku sounded open and friendly, a stark contrast to the boys she was trying to contact. While her voice seemed to have a slight timbre to it, it also had a light lilt which easily communicated her slightly childish nature. "I hope that Taicho-" the odd title draws a few confused looks from around the table "-was a good guest, you can probably tell that he's not well-versed in social gatherings." She laughs on the other end of the line.
"No need to worry, he has been a wonderful guest, it's us who have been in poor form tonight. Poor Toshiro was knocked to the ground before he even made it inside for dinner." says Shigure which causes Rangiku to laugh.
"Hey!" Momiji calls out, his voice entirely too loud. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course." Rangiku answers.
"Why did you call him 'taicho?" The teen asks curiously.
"Oh, that? He was captain of the soccer team at his old school. It was a co-ed soccer team, and I was his vice-captain. It just became a habit for me to call him taicho." She laughs again. "Only I could get away with it though."
"Only because you would have chucked a fit if I told you not to." Toshiro called as he made his way down the stairs. He casually wondered into the room, cocking his brow at the phone sitting in the middle of the table, seemingly unimpressed with the situation. Haru lazily points to Ayame, identifying him as the culprit. Toshiro fixes the man with a disapproving look, but the grey-haired man ignores him.
"That's so mean taicho." Rangiku continues, either oblivious or ignoring the obvious tension in the room. "You know that I'm your best friend."
"Debatable."
"Rude." Rangiku huffs from the other end of the line and Toshiro rolls his eyes. The group was surprised to see that the gesture almost seemed fond. "Anyway," Rangiku continues, "I need to talk to you."
Toshiro furrows his brows, his eyes taking on a concerned look. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine, it's just going to be a long conversation."
"I see." Toshiro trails off in thought. "Well, I guess I will have to excuse myself for the evening." He retrieves the phone from the table and takes it off speaker phone. "Thank you for the meal. My apologies for not being able to assist with the cleaning." He bows the group, just like his Granny taught him to.
"It's no trouble at all." Shigure waves away his apology.
"Thank you again." He says once more before taking his leave. He chooses to ignore the collected sigh of relief as he leaves.
He waits until he's a few paces away from the house before speaking. "Thank you, Rangiku."
"No problem, Taicho!" her voice practically sings from the other end of the line. "I know how much you dread social functions or having to be social at all."
"Uncalled for. Besides, I think I have been getting better lately."
"Getting through dinner without scowling at anybody hardly seems like progress, Taicho." The older woman tuts at him.
"About that..."
Rangiku laughs. "You really are hopeless sometimes Taicho."
"That's uhm, quite a story." The Sohma's are quiet, waiting for the brown-haired teen to absorb all of the information that had just been thrust upon her. Somehow saying it out loud and explaining it someone outside of the family made the whole story seem even more far fetched.
But then again, most people would find curses to be far-fetched as well.
Tohru rests her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "It's kinda neat though when you think about it. I mean, who could have thought that something like this would happen?" Ayame enthusiastically nods his head, while Haru pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"Only you would think of this as 'neat.' You always try to see the positives in everything, don't you Tohru?"
"Hana would love this!"
"YOU'RE NOT TELLING HANA!"
He waits until the early hours of the morning before returning. Hs suspected that by the time all of the cleaning had been finished and their guests had left for the evening, that the Tohru and the Sohma's would be too tired to stay up late in the evening. Even still, Toshiro waits until two o'clock in the morning to make his move.
He approached the window he had inspected earlier. From his position on the ground, he could see that the window had been closed sometime in the evening due to the impending storm. Toshiro pushed some reiastu beneath his feet and slowly rose into the air. Thankfully due to his previous preparations the window opened easily beneath his fingers. He quietly made his way inside, choosing to use his reiastu so that he could walk slightly above the floor. All of this would be for nothing if he managed to step on a creaky floorboard.
Now there was no point searching through the bedrooms, he doubts he would find any concrete evidence in Kyo's draws, so he quickly makes his way downstairs. Toshiro stopped at the bottom of the landing. The best place to look for answers would probably be in Shigure's office. The man didn't strike Toshiro as someone who took his work very seriously, he most likely spent most of his time goofing off in his office, rather than spend that time working on his craft. The only question is…
'Where is his office?' Toshiro clicks his tongue. Despite only being in the house once, twice is you count brazen act of breaking and entering, he already felt like he had a good feel of the house. The dining slash living area was connected to the kitchen and both were located near the entrance of the house. If Shigure was going to set up an office space, he would most likely set it up in the back of the house so that he could pretend he wasn't home and hide from any unwanted guests. With that in mind, Toshiro turned and made his down the hall. There were three doorways lining the hallway. Hedging his bets, Toshiro opened the first door on his left and was immediately assaulted with the stench of alcohol. Toshiro screwed up his nose as he was greeted with the sight of Ayame Sohma, still dressed in his dinner clothes, curled up on the bathroom floor, his arms encircling the bottom of the toilet.
The man stirred slightly, but he only moved closer to the toilet. "Yay, alcohol…" he slurred as fell back into a deep slumber.
Toshiro decides to leave the man to it and slowly closes the bathroom door. He lightly rests his head against the wood of the door and silently prays that Rangiku and Ayame don't ever have the chance to meet in person. That would be a colossal disaster. After a few moments of silence, Toshiro pushes away from the bathroom and opens the next door. He breathes a sigh of relief when it reveals a moderately sized office space. The room was a bit sparse, only containing a small desk, a filing cabinet and few potted plants. Surprisingly enough, the room looks clean. There didn't seem to be a speck of dust anywhere, almost as if the space was dusted on a daily basis. Toshiro quietly shuts the door behind him and approaches the filing cabinet, running his fingers along the top of the furniture once he gets close enough.
And when stands on his toes.
He pulls his hand back and rubs his fingers together. 'No dust there either, how strange.' Shigure didn't strike him as someone who would put so much effort into keeping his personal space tidy and certainly didn't seem like the 'neat freak' type, Toshiro would probably like him a hell of a lot better if he was. "Very strange." Toshiro mutters to himself. He pulls open a few draws, luckily the cabinet wasn't locked, but came up short. The folders mostly contained chapters and manuscripts from previous books.
He quietly shuts the draw and approaches the desk. There are a few documents, most likely finished chapters for the writer's new book that had yet to be filed, and a computer stationed to the left of the work space. Toshiro shuffles through the documents on the desk, checking to see if anything else was mixed in with the paperwork, before turning his attention to the computer. Toshiro wakes up the system with a few keystrokes, but not a moment later a dialogue box requesting a password appears on the screen. "Tch, damn." He grumbles and shuts the system down again.
He takes a step back and opens up one of the desks draws. It was filled with the usual suspects, a few pens and pencils – probably for annotations –, a dictionary and a textbook about the geological landscape of Japan. Toshiro shuts the draw disappointedly and moves onto the larger draw beneath it.
"This looks promising." The draw was probably the most chaotic thing out of the entire office. It almost looked as though Shigure had managed to stuff every single one of his messy or outlandish impulses into one draw. "There's a lot to unpack here." Toshiro carefully examines the contents, pulling out different items of interest. Most of it consists of small little trinkets of what Toshiro expects to be sentimental value but doesn't help him at all, they're promptly forgotten. After searching through the contents Toshiro is left with two items. One is a large manila folder labelled memories – along with a crudely drawn smiley face –, the other is a letter with what appeared to be a family seal printed in the upper right corner of the envelope. Toshiro leaves the letter and focusses his attention on the folder instead.
The folder primarily contained photos from what Toshiro suspected to be from his youth. Why the man didn't have these stored in an album Toshiro didn't know, but Shigure did seem like a rather odd individual. The photos depicted a young Shigure and Ayame, along with another unidentified teen, but it was obvious that the three were good friends. There were several photos that were taken at what Toshiro recognises as the Kaibarra High school grounds. Shigure and Ayame were causing a ruckus with some other students, while their friend was standing off to the side with a book in his hand. Toshiro quickly flips through the photos only stopping when one showcased the boys the eccentric behaviour. Soon enough the pictures changed scenery and depicted the boys with more subdued behaviour. They were standing in what looked like to be complex, all of them wearing sombre expressions, almost as if they were being marched to their own funerals. It's the first time Toshiro hasn't seen a smile on Ayame's face, the unknown teen looked as nonplussed as ever. The following photos could only be described as dim.
Toshiro frowned as he came across the very last photo. It was quite worn compared to the others and it looked as though it was taken a rather long time ago. It was different because it didn't have any of the teens before. In fact, there were two entire new people in the frame. One was a young boy who couldn't be more than five-years-old, he had his hand resting on the arm of an old wheel chair that an older woman was pushing along the path. The young boy was leaning forward to talk happily to whoever was in the chair, but in the process blocked the person from the photo. The woman was smiling sadly at the interaction and even with its worn state, he could see a lone tear sliding down her cheek. Toshiro runs his fingers over the silhouette of the woman. The sadness she conveyed was almost painful. Against his will, Toshiro hand snaps up his phone and takes a quick photo of the image.
'What is it about this photo?' Toshiro shakes himself out of thoughts and packs photos back into the folder, delicately putting it back in the draw.
He moves onto the letter from before. A swift peruse of its contents tells Toshiro that it's from a Sohma Hatori, most likely the family's doctor. He was requesting for Shigure to bring Yuki and Kyo to the Sohma compound for New Years celebrations.
"So, they have a compound."
Toshiro copies down the return address on the envelope and makes a hasty retreat.
He makes good time despite the weather. It's only just hit three o'clock in the morning and he'll have a good couple of hours before anyone would be rising for the day. Given the large compound, it would take a couple of hours and maybe a few more 'visits' to fully search the area, but at least he had a starting point.
As it would turn out, each of the buildings within the compound had its own lot number, it supposedly made it easier for mail to be distributed throughout the different families and services residing there. With Hatori's letter, Toshiro already had a viable lead to finally getting some answers. Not only that, the man was the doctor for the entire Sohma family, he probably had files on every Sohma living both in and away from the compound.
"And what's a better place to start than a doctor's office?" Toshiro smirks to himself, and silently creeps past the walls of the compound.
Another chapter down!
I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than usual just because I made you guys wait so long! It wouldn't be fair to post a really short chapter after such a long time. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it. I feel like an awful lot happened in this update!
If all goes well, you should see another chapter within the next few weeks. I have the next 2 weeks off work, so I'll have time to write. But some of that time will be taken up by playing Kingdom Hearts 3! Do you know I've literally spent more than half my life waiting for this game?
Thanks for reading everyone!