Okay, now Haruhi finally comes in the story. Whoot. And so do the twins...
Thanks for the reviews!
(Edit 3/14/08: I really didn't like this chapter. I just had to edit it. There's a lot more explaining in the beginning.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran.
"When does Mommy come in?" Akari asked the next day. "She hasn't come in the story yet, has she?"
"True," Kyouya said. "But then the story would be out of order and it would make you confused."
"Oh, really? Then I guess it's okay."
He straightened his glasses. "I thought so."
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A door slammed open, and two young men rushed in.
"Did you hear? Haruhi! You got chosen for that new internship program! Only five people from our school got in!" one of them exclaimed.
"Come, come! The director's looking for you, and this is a chance for you to dress up!" the other said.
The girl in question was sitting at her desk in her dorm room, huddled over papers. She turned around, small dark circles just beginning to appear under her eyes. "Huh?" She stared back at her two friends, orange-haired twins.
"Haruhi, did you hear us?" the one with hair parted to the left said. The younger of the twins, Hitachiin Kaoru, was a lot calmer than his brother, who was hot-headed. Kaoru tended to be more sensitive to Haruhi, but he still joined in on his brother's antics anyway.
"Yes, Haruhi, you need to get dressed," the other chimed in. Hitachiin Hikaru, the older twin, was the more aggressive of the two. Although both were studying fashion at Tokyo University, it was Hikaru was had the flair and personality to carry on as the head of his mother's fashion business. Kaoru, on the other hand, was content with working behind the scenes, but he would still help his brother with all important matters.
They had befriended Fujioka Haruhi, a special scholarship student,at the start of the year. They found her highly entertaining and highly oblivious to their usual charms. It amused them, and that was probably why they referred to her as their "toy," despite her protests.
As for Haruhi, she wanted to concentrate all that she could on her studies. People like the twins could fool around all they wanted too, and still get well off, since they had their careers planned out along time ago. It shook her a bit that they could have their dream job without ever needing towork for it.
From a very young age, Haruhi had decided what her dream job was, but she had no easy means to attain it, unlike the twins. Haruhi wanted to be a lawyer, and the branch of law that she was most interested in was criminal law. That was what her mother had done, had excelled at. If Haruhi could be half what her mother was, then she would be content.
The 'was' was there because her mother had passed on when Haruhi was a child. She now lived on-campus at one of the dorms at school. Her father had also passed on, sadly, when Haruhi was thirteen.
Maybe that had been another reason why the twins took such an avid interest in her. After all, it certainly wasn't her physical beauty. Haruhinever thoughtof herself as a beauty, andher short cropped hair sometimes confused her as a boy - not that it mattered to Haruhi, of course.
Still half asleep, Haruhi did not register the words that the twins were saying to her."I got…chosen?" She blinked twice. Then she opened her eyes and pushed her chair back and stood up. "Thanks for telling me."
She walked towards the door, but the twins didn't let herout. When she looked up, her face looked confused. "Huh?"
"We said: you need to get dressed!" Hikaru repeated.
"And we have the perfect outfit for you!" Kaoru finished. He held up a Chinese-style cheongsam (qipao), obviously another one of their creations. It was a vibrant red with a floral design. The dress was actually quite modest - knee length. Hikaru also held some matching hair pins that were probably antiques, Haruhi thought. (AN: I'm sorry, I have no imagination. If you have a better Hitachiin creation in mind, please say so, and I'll change it.)
"It's very fashionable nowadays. It's traditional but still beautiful. It's perfect for you!" Hikaru added.
"Yes, indeed. Actually, there are many models who wear it. Our mother had a fashion line like this last year."
"Oh, Kaoru, are you having the same idea as me? Perhaps Haruhi..."
"...could be a model? Of course!"
"She would be perfect!"
"We would have so much fun!"
But then the twins noticed something was wrong. When they looked down, their petite friend had disappeared.
Haruhi was already gone.
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"First of all, I would like to congratulate you, Fujioka-san," the director said. He was rather young, in his twenties still, and he saw the potential in this young woman. Like many others, he believed that she would excel as a lawyer after she graduated.
"Thank you, Izumi-inchou-san. I'll try my hardest."
"I'm sure you alreadyknow what this internship is about. A chance to work with the Criminal Investigation Bureau in the NPA (National Police Agency) for a month is quite an honor. As the director of this program, I can help with answering your questions, but other matters you will relate to youradvisor in the Bureau-" he fumbled through his papers"-and...that is Houshakuji Renge.I wish you all the luck; usually, an internship leads to many job opportunities."
Haruhi bowed and thanked the man again. Then she left, feeling content with her good fortune; she wanted to take full advantage and learn all she could.
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Not to her surprise, she was the youngest person in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. She was still a student in the law program at Todai after all. Her first assignments included trailing a senior officer around his work; she watched what he did and took notes. She poured coffee, copied papers, and did other mundane office chores.
It wasn't until two weeks when she was called in for some real work.
"Fujioka, please take a look at this bank check," her advisor, Houshakuji Renge said.
Haruhi looked at a check handed to her. It looked normal, nothing wrong with it. "I'm not exactly sure, Houshakuji-san, since I'm not an expert in this area, but it looks fine to me."
"And that is where bank clerks have failed in," Renge said.
"Pardon?"
"Recently, there's been this person - we don't know if it's a group of people or not - but in any case, someone's been making fake checks, and cashing them in at banks. They've been using real company names on the checks, and it resembles an authentic check so much that these people have been getting away with it. This person, or persons,has already stolen hundreds of thousands of yen."
The amount was staggering to Haruhi, but she kept her face placid. "Do you want me to help you solve this?"
"Yes, I think you're quite capable of working on a job like this. But you'll be doing this on your own; you won't need my help - probably not anyway. I know thatyou've only been doing chores around here. It'll do you some good to actually do something worthwhile while you are here. If you have any questions, just talk to me."
"Is that it?"
"Yes, you're dismissed."
I've been assigned a case to catch a criminal? I'm a lawyer, not a detective!
But she decided to continue anyway with her given assignment. This kind of investigation might be useful to her someday. Who knows?
But dear Mother in Heaven, how strangely things turned out to be!
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In a rented apartment, Haruhi sat at a bare desk, tying in her laptop. Her first step in finding the criminal(s) had been researching the names found on the check. Since she was not a natural born hacker, this process took quite some time.
On the check, there was one name: Akiyoshi Satsuki. She tried researching all she could find about this person. She could only find basic information: birth date (this person is the same age as me?), social security number, and identification numbers. There was no picture or any news on this person. It seemed like this person did not exist other than basic information.
So she concluded that this name was in fact an alias. That means I can't be sure of the other information, huh?
She looked at the check again. In the top left hand corner she read the name 'Akiyoshi Satsuki' again. The amount the check was made out for was 100,000 yen, not an unheard of amount. (AN: That's about $973 U.S.)
It was actually quite small…unless this person made more than one deposits, which was apparently the case.
The checks were cashed in at various Japanese banks; most of them she noted were large and famous banks. So that meant this person had good connections or forced his way in. She doubted the latter – security would have noticed something.
Haruhi leaned back on her chair in exasperation. Who the hell is this person!
How do I trace a check that seems real! She needed some more information.
She had to admit herself that the person was good – obviously very, very smart.
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"So what do you think? This'll probably work, huh?" Tamaki used a magnifying glass and carefully eyed a check.
Kyouya, only a few feet away, gave his approval. All the checks they processed had been declared asone hundred percentauthentic. Otherwise, how had the two managed to steal nearly one million yen in the last few weeks?
The bank never knew.
Two weeks ago, Tamaki and Kyouya were sitting in a hotel room, thinking over their next plans. The room's quality was something both were not used to, but for the sake of frugality, they had swallowed their pride.
"Look at this," Tamaki said. He took out a checkbook, and ripped out one check. "If I manage to change the name on this check and write an amount, could I go to the bank and process it?"
"Depends. The amount can't be unreasonable, and the name shouldn't be real, otherwise the bank could trace it," Kyouya replied.
"So, I say we need to change our names!" He reached into one of their bags and took a manila envelope. Inside the manila envelopes were the documentations of both boys – birth certificates and passports.
Reaching for a whiteout pen, Tamaki said, "Hm…what should I change my name to? Kyouya, you should do this too. We have to change our names."
"Change my name? Tamaki, how many laws have you broken by now? Getting me into this will only create shame for not only your family, but my family as well."
"But we've already come this far."
Kyouya was against it, but he conceded. "Fine, but I'm not going to change my name. If you're going to make the checks, use just your fake name. Besides, we'll have a trump card because people will assume that it's just one person."
"That's a good idea." Tamaki was thinking.
"Do you have a name yet?"
Tamaki smiled - an idea had just occurred to him. "The best name..."
No one knew where they were. It was something that Kyouya tried to convince himself of, but surely, he couldn't do this forever. He didn't want to run away from the law as a fugitive – he wasn't a criminal, it was his friend.
But he knew that wasn't true. Over the past two weeks, he had joined his friend on his scams. They managed to beguile others into giving them loans and cashing in checks that were fake. They used sob stories, gave gifts, and it all worked.
Tamaki was unstoppable, but it wasKyouya who was keeping track of everything. Two weeksseemed likea long time, Kyouya thought; someday, soon enough, someone would be on their trail. And Kyouya had a suspicion that it would be he who would have to get them out.
While Tamaki made the checks, Kyouya covered their tracks.And that week, he came across some interesting information, and he chuckled. He had expected it – the NPA was after them, but they were sending a college kid after them, a girl at that too. She didn't even work there; she was a law student in a internship program.
So he began a different kind of plan. This certainly wasn't the end, Kyouya thought with a slight smile.
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Haruhi's eyes widened. This was it. She had actually tracked the two criminals to a hotel in the Kanto region. The Kanagawa prefecture!
Grabbing a phone, she dialed the number to Renge's office to request permission to take action.
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The cab ride to a rather remote hotel was quiet. Sitting in the back, Haruhi reviewed her information. She had been given a badge, which allowed her to claim to be part of NPA, even if just temporarily.
Rengehad also issued a gun to Haruhi, who had been greatly distressed. I'm a student! Not a cop! Nonetheless, Haruhi took the gun, albeit reluctantly. It was placed in her bag, which made it feel a lot heavier than it actually was.
Her instructions had been simple, but Haruhi had a bad gut feeling that it wasn't going to be like that.
The hotel was a Holiday Inn. She paid the money to the driver, and she walked in.
'Go to the front desk, and ask for the room numbers.' Haruhi could hear Renge's voice guiding her along.
"Hi, I'm looking for a Akiyoshi Satsuki. Could you tell me his room number?" Haruhi asked the young receptionist. She gave him a nice smile.
"I'm sorry, but we can't give that kind of information out. Are you a friend or guest of Akiyoshi-san?"
'And if the person doesn't give it to you the first time, ask again. We do this to try to show that we are persistent, yet polite.It's an important part of our protocol, so you'll do the same.'
"Oh really? I have a prearranged meeting with Akiyoshi-kun, and he specifically asked me to be here."
The receptionist eyed the girl. She looked young, perhaps in her late teens, but Akiyoshi was young too. "I'm sorry. Akiyoshi-san made no mention of a woman coming for a meeting."
'If they still don't give to you, just smile and show them the NPA badge. Trust me, it works everytime.'
"That's too bad." Haruhi reached in her bag, her hand reached past the gun. She took a small wallet and flashed it open. Haruhi saw the formal insignia of the NPA reflect in the receptionist's eyes. He did a double take.
"Ah…um. Um…I can look it up…um…yes. His room number is 313."
Haruhi closed the wallet and placed it in her bag. "Thank you."
'Usually, that does the trick. Oh, it's just like those old movies where the heroine fights and beats the bad guys!'
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Although she wasn't a natural athlete, Haruhi managed to run up the stairs to the third floor relatively fast, the adrenaline already kicking in. She wanted to catch this person and there were no elevators in this hotel.
Strangely, it seemed like there were no people on the third floor. It was eerily quiet and Haruhi walked along the wall until she reached room 313. The door was slightly ajar.
She peered through the door. It didn't seem like there was anybody inside, at least not from this angle. She crept in and looked around in disgust.
The room was messy. There were bed sheets thrown off the bed, some clothes dumped unceremoniously on the ground. When she looked at the tag on the clothes, the brand names confirmed her suspicions that the criminals had money and some amount of influence. Unless they stole, of course.
On the desk there was an empty case, and she found some checks, but she didn't have time to look at it. There was a laptop and its case was there too.
Towards the back of the room was a small bathroom. She though she heard someone inside.
Was the criminal still here?
Haruhi debated on whether to take out the gun, but in the end she decided not to. It was too foreign to her.
Then the bathroom door opened, and a man stepped out. He did not seem surprised that a woman was standing there.
A dark-haired man walked towards Haruhi. "Ah, you must that other agent who came to arrest the criminals, right? The bank fraud case if I'm correct. At NPA?"
"Yes," Haruhi replied though her voice bordered on suspicion. "And you are?"
"I'm in Internal Affairs. My name is Okita Souji. We've already caught the perpetrator."
"We?"
"My partner, Sakamoto Ryoma and I. He's outside right now escorting the criminal to the car."
"Really?" Haruhi hadn't expected Internal Affairs to be on the case, not that she doubted it. In the end, it was less work for her, and she could finally do a real internship, not a detective chase.
"Yes, he's right there. You can see him from the window." Okita motioned towards the window, and Haruhi looked out.
She saw a blonde man helping somebody into a car, but it wasn't a police car. As if reading her mind, the man said, "Of course, we used a civilian car to attract less attention. This hotel would suffer negative business if people found out that an arrest was made here."
Startled, Haruhi looked back at the man. In any case, this case was over for her. Who the man was didn't really matter. But something about the man still nagged at her.
"I apoligize if I sound rude, but who are you?" the man asked.
"I'm Fujioka Haruhi at NPA."
"Really? I used to be at NPA, too, before I transferred to Internal Affairs."
Before she could stop herself, Haruhi asked bluntly, "Why?"
The man didn't even flinch. "I had to reprioritize my life. In the end, I decided to leave NPA for Internal Affairs."
"Oh."
The man picked up a few bags and a briefcase, but then set it back down. "The look on your face seems incredulous about my claim. Here's my wallet; my badge is in there. I have to bring these items down to the car as evidence, but then we need to fill out some forms – paperwork and all."
He handed a brown wallet to Haruhi, who took it. She didn't look at it though, there was no reason why the man wouldn't be Internal Affairs anyway. There was no point. Sure, she had been a bit incredulous as the man had suggested, but it wasn't imporant. He seemed to be very intelligent to Haruhi, who had known him only for a few minutes, and he emitted an aura that said, I-know-what-I'm-doing-here.
Then Okita picked up the bags and briefcase and headed towards the door. "I'll be gone for a few minutes. I have to drop this off to my partner, and then I'll come back. Just wait here."
"Yeah, sure."
The man left. Haruhi sat on the bed, thinking about her next step. The case had turned out too easy, and almost pointless. But what would she do now? The internship would end in two weeks, and then she would be back at Todai, studying. Strangely, she longed for the simplicity of her previous life - studying, being with Hikaru and Kaoru. Wait, I want to be with those two?
She knew that getting the internship was an honor, that she was selected among the best in Todai. But being here, she realized that it was just a name. It wasn't really an honor. Haruhi had been doing office jobs - had she written plethoras of essays to do that? Of course, the answer was no.
Maybe she would reprioritize her own goals like the man. Next time, she would know better and pass on a prestigious "internship." Time would be better spent studying anyway.
Okita still hadn't come back. Haruhi looked at the wallet. She stared at it.
Then something hit her. No way...
She tearedopen the wallet, and gasped. There was no identification card, no badge, no ID. Just some random business cards and stickers. Stickers.
Instantly alert, Haruhi ran to the window. She saw the same blonde man and the same dark-haired man that she just spoke to. They were loading a car, but not the car that the blonde had helped someone into.
The dark-haired man looked up and saw Haruhi's enraged face, as she slowly comprehended the truth.
I was duped…
He gave her a slight nod before getting into the driver's side. Then the car drove off before Haruhi could notice the license plate.
She ran out of the room and down the stairs. She ran past the receptionist who looked at her in surprise.
She ran out the hotel, staring at the car that was long gone. Haruhi, having lost her breath by now, stopped.
Then she took out her cell phone and called Renge to tell her the bad news.
She was fuming, but this wasn't going to be the end.
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"We got away!" Tamaki exclaimed in the passenger seat. "But that girl was actually pretty cute. No-wait! I can't develop an infatuation on the enemy! That was quick thinking, Kyouya."
Ignoring Tamaki's historionics, Kyouya said, "Well, now we've both revealed our faces, so we've got to be even more careful. She's going to keep coming after us, I can tell."
"It's like a game!"
"A sick-minded game."
"Don't say that, Kyouya. Indeed, a game! A game of cat and mouse. To see who will outlast the other. I told you this would fun."
"Then we'll have to make sure we win."
"Of course! That's why I have you!" Tamaki laughed.
Kyouya inwardly groaned.
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It's the end of another chapter. Please tell me how I did. Maybe they're not too OOC…right? I dunno.
This was a mostly Haruhi chapter I think. Hopefully, she's in character. Anyway, I've probably set a record for the most OOC Kyouya already, and I'm not kidding.
Please review - anything is appreciated.