A/N- Here it is, fresh out of the oven, my new update! I am so happy it finally done.

I want to thank all the readers that take interest in this story. A special thanks goes to the people that made the effort to review: you are really helpful with your advices and you also help me correct my mishaps. Thank you very much! I hope you would like what I have cooked for you this time (*evil smirk*).

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Paper plans

What you don't know about people

It was such a hot day; the asphalt in the streets was almost liquefied, under the merciless sun, the air was heavy with humidity, and even the shades gave no comfort. It was a day so hot, no one was out, unless he had to, even flies did not bother bothering people.

Ayase took refuge in a small, air-conditioned coffee shop. If he knew the person who invented that amazing cooling machine, he would have worshiped him as a god today.

The ice coffee he sipped helped him feel a little bit better, as he worked on the file of Aida Osamu. He highlighted all the information that looked important and he wrote down notes and questions that needed to be answered. Still, he felt like he was getting nowhere, turning around the same corners, without a breakthrough. After few days like this, he realized he needed help; he needed…

"What the hell was so important for you to drag me down here, in the middle of this… hell?"

"Hey, Mie-chan."

The girl set in front of him, trying to position herself as close to the air conditioner's lovely jet of cold air. "Man, it's a killer outside, I felt like melting. Supposed to be autumn already, frigging global warming! You said it was an emergency so I came, but kiddo, you owe me at least an ice cream, you know. I prefer vanilla with chocolate chips, and don't be chip on the candy, ok?"

Ayase smiled "Coming right up." he got up to the counter, to buy her what she wanted. He needed help, and trading it for ice cream was a fair deal.

As Ayase returned to the table, he noticed Mie-chan was not smiling as usual, in fact she was on the borderline of sulking, even the ice-cream did not extract a hint of a smile from her lips. She took the cone from his hand and poked the cream with her little plastic spoon, letting it melt on her fingers.

Mie-chan not gobbling up an Italian, top quality vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips and extra candy on top? Something was seriously wrong.

"What is it?" Ayase shyly asked.

The girl kept her silence, poking the Ice cream, reshaping it to an unidentified lump.

"Mie-chan?" Ayase started to worry. "Are you ok?"

To his huge surprise the girl blushed, the color of her cheeks actually turned red. There were not many things on this earth, that could cause such an odd behavior; but Ayase knew for sure what it was. "Boyfriend troubles."

She blushed deeper, confirming his assumption.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Mie looked at the crowd of people, all smiling and chatting and licking their ice creams. "Not in here." she turned her gaze to the air conditioner, sending it a sentimental goodbye "Let's walk."

"There's a nice park not far from here." Ayase suggested.

"Yeah, whatever…" She threw the ice cream to the garbage can without as much as a blink; she took some wipers out of her bag and cleaned her sticky hands.

"Out." she pouted.

The heat wave hit them with all its force as they stepped out of the shop. The street was jammed up with traffic, and the soot that was vented out of the passing cars just added more heat to this furnace.

"Horrible!" Mie sighed and looked at Ayase miserably "How far is this park anyway?"

"Not too far." The boy pointed out at the patch of greenery, looking more like a mirage then an actual place.

They crossed the road and the few agonizing meters that separated them from that green haven. As they reached it, they took shelter under a willow tree.

This park was designed in a traditional Japanese style and had artificial water canals, circling a large, pagoda styled teahouse.

As expected, many people found shelter in this cool peaceful place. Older men set on benches and played 'Go', a group of young mothers threw a picnic on the lawn, watching their children play.

However, Mie and Ayase had more privacy here than in the crowded shop.

"So?" The boy began, watching Mie as she leaned on the tree trunk. "What is up with Tomo-kun?"

She snarled "Funny that you ask what is up, Aya-chan, because that is exactly the problem!"

"You mean he can't get it, umm, working?" now it was Ayase's time to blush.

"Hehehe… I wish! He comes back home ,ok? In those crazy hours, ok? And I'm like in bed, after a hectic, 'I wanna kill them all' day, ok? And he gets to bed, like, without a word, such as 'Hey, how was your day? It was crap, thank you…' and he starts reaching out, grabbing and groping and smooching, so I shove him off and, ok? Just get it, Aya-chan, he calls me 'A mean girlfriend'! And he goes all sulky and offended, Gah! Driving me mad!"

Ayase raised an eyebrow in confusion. That's it? That is the big issue that got her all worked up? Kanou-san does that all the time. "Mie-chan…?" He started but she was so into her angry ranting.

"I am the mean girlfriend, Aya-chan! You see, He comes back, straight into bed, not bothering on saying hello, not making even the slightest effort to set me in a romantic mood, and I am the bitchy girlfriend, why not?"

"Mie-chan?"

"How dense could a guy get? A detective, of all people, take a hint, will you! It's not like I was asking for something more then the basics!"

"Mie-chan?"

"What?"

"What has Tomo-kun done wrong?"

The redhead girl ogled Ayase as if he fell from the moon right in front of her.

"Are you for real?" She gasped, disbelieving, but the blonde gave her such an honest, innocent gaze, that gave her the answer. "Ayase-chan, I don't know about you, but I expect some respect from my guy, ok? Attacking me in the middle of the night without even a word of compliment or the most pitiful seduction moves? I… I won't except it, no way! You wanna have your way with me, you gotta put some effort in to it. You got it, kiddo? This is where I draw my line."

"Oh…" was all Ayase could say. He never knew one could draw lines with people, let alone with Kanou-san. No one can darw a line against that man, unless he is willing to see his line stomped upon and brutally erased.

"Ayase?"

"So, are you going to break up with him?"

"With Tomo-kun?" Mie giggled, "Did I sound like I was going to break up with him?"

Ayase nodded in silence, which made the girl giggle some more.

"Oh, boy, you only see things in black and white, do you? Let me tell you, there is a lot more of grey out there in world. No I'm not gonna break up with him, not over this. I love him to death, although he can be such an asshole sometimes. Well, maybe I'm too hard on him, he is having a rough time after the promotion, still this is not a way to treat your lover. You hear me, Ayase-kun? Never let your lover treat you like this. We are human beings, not tools to relieve someone else's pressures. You got that, kiddo?"

Ayase nodded again, not a word spoken.

Mie stated giggling again "And I've just used you to take out my steam, ain't that ironic?"

Ayase lowered his eyes to the grass below him and said nothing. Mie hugged his slender shoulder and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Ok, now, what is it?"

"What is what?" he whispered.

"The big old emergency thingy, that you needed my help with."

"Hmpf… yeah." Ayase struggled. All of a sudden, it didn't look like a good idea anymore, telling her this, and he might as well tell her all about his relationship with Kanou-san. Up until now, he presented Kanou-san to her as his guardian; he was too shamed to tell her the whole story behind everything.

"Come on, Aya-chan!" she tried cheering him up "I told you my shit, now it's your turn! That's what friends are for, ne?"

"You remember the picture I showed you?"

"A picture?"

"The security camera's picture? The guy with the baseball hat?"

"Rings a bell… Oh, yeah, what about it?"

"That guy there, he wants to kill Kanou-san."

Mie smirked "Aya-chan, overdramatic much?"

"I'm not kidding!" The usually timid boy snapped. "Mie-chan, if you don't believe me now, then I'm done talking to you!"

"Ok, ok! You are serious, all right. So…Let's take it to the police and be done with it."

"No! No police!"

Mie frowned "Ok, why not do the natural obvious thing?"

"Because… because…" Ayase blushed "Well, because Kanou-san has enemies in the police, and I.. I've also done an illegal thing…"

"Such as…?" Mie narrowed her eyes.

"Such as tapping into the police database and stealing away a police file." The boy took out the file and his notebook and placed them at her feet.

Now that it was out in the open, Ayase felt kind of relieved, he nearly smiled at the girl, but she looked like she was going to kill him or hug him, just could not make up her mind yet.

"I'm so sorry, Mei-chan. I know it was wrong, but Kanou-san won't listen to me and I think that if I gather more evidences, then I'll have a solid plan, and then he will definitely take me seriously."

"This could get Tomo into trouble, ne?"

"No! If anything happens, I'll come forth and tell whoever needs to know it is my fault. I'll take the responsibility."

She glared at the agitate boy and sighed, "Well, nothing happened yet, so let's not get carried away, Aya-chan. How can I help you?"

"Mie-chan!" It was his turn to charge her with a hug, his beautiful blue eyes filled up with tears.

"Ok, ok… what is it?" Ayase, her small, gentle angel, taking this kind of risk, she wondered, the things you don't know about people…

Ayase needed only few minutes to fill her in on the story, from the strange phone call, through the security guard incident to the police file snitching. It took him by surprise, as to show how little did he know about the threat Kanou-san was under.

"Nothing in the file is extremely relevant." He summed up his difficulties "All I have is a short biography of this man's life before jail. I bet none of the addresses or phone numbers here are updated. I'm not sure even if the people I marked here are dead or alive… and even if so, there is no way of tracking them down."

"You wanna hack the police system again?"

"Mie-chan!"

"Just checking."

"I don't know what to do." the boy sighed again.

They fell into a silent pause, listening to the sound of birds' chirping.

Mie tried her best to come up with something; she tried to think what Tomo-kun would do in their place. He often talked to her about his investigations, but she never really bothered listening, 'maybe I'm a crappy girlfriend after all…'

She always got bored with tiny details; she was more of a global, big picture person. However, Tomo did say something that she liked once. He said 'when an investigation is stuck in one end, that means you have to go from another end and meet in the middle.'

"Aya-kun…"

"Yeah?" The boy came to life again.

"Aya-chan, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Umm… Yes, I guess…"

"Aya-chan, how well do you know Kanou-san?"

"Kanou-san? But why?"

"Because, if that man wants to kill him; it is only reasonable to think the have a link between them, ne? Something they share in their past that made that man angry and wanting revenge. It will help if you snoop around Kanou's past, don't you think?"

"Umm… This is logical."

"I bet the key to this mystery lays closer than you think, Aya-chan."

The blonde boy gulped, he knew nothing about that man's past. The man who was sleeping with him every night; the man who caused him so much pain but also so much joy, was a total enigma to him. 'Do I really want to know Kanou's past?' Ayase asked himself but could not answer; he had a bad feeling about it, about what was lurking in the shadows, waiting to be found.

"You've helped me a lot, Mie-chan!" Ayase started picking up the papers and put it back in his backpack.

"So soon?" She pouted "But it was just starting to get interesting ..."

"I gotta go." he said, and it was not a total lie, his reservoir of courage was depleting fast, he needed a break.

"I'm sorry, we will continue later, ok?" He got up and ready, leaving her no choice.

"Fine, don't get into troubles without me, ok?"

"Ok." he smiled.

"I think I'm gonna nap here a little." She said. "So nice in here."

"Yup, I'll go back to the road to catch a cab."

"See you later, ne?"

"Later, Mie-chan!"

He watched the girl as she lay on the soft grass, closing her eyes to enjoy the soft breeze.

Ayase smiled again and left. 'Such a big help' he was grateful ' she really saved me.' but he could not help but wonder again, does he really want to know about Kanou's past. What was about it that made his stomach shrink with pain, what was there to be so afraid of?

He passed by some snoring bushes, as he let his mind wander. Hold it right there! Snoring bushes? What the hell? Coming closer to the source of those sounds, he spotted a white sport shoe, popping out of the bush. Looks like someone found refuge from the heat under the shads of those bushes and decided to take a nap.

Ayase could not resist sneaking a peek at that man. He leaned forwards, quietly, not to disturb that man's slumber.

What he saw made him gasp with surprise. He recognized that guy as soon as he saw him. It was none other than Isao-kun, the university thug that made his life miserable. No mistake with the bleached spiky hair and the golden ring on his finger. He was sleeping, head down on the ground, using his folded shirt as a pillow, with an empty bottle of alcohol next to him.

'Figures' Ayase hummed to himself, but that site was disturbing in more than one way. Isao-kun wore no shirt on his body, which left his muscular back bare, and on it, there was a tattoo. Not as elaborate as the one Aida Osamu possessed, but unmistakably, the same, identical one. Isao-kun, connected to Aida? How?

He wanted a picture of that tattoo, so he brought his cell phone out of his bag. It started ringing as soon as he got it out of the bag. "Shit!" Ayase dropped the phone with surprise.

He had nothing to worry about; a drunk's sleep is deep and not so easily disturbed. Isao-kun kept sleeping and snoring as Ayase answered the call, walking away.

"Ayase-kun?" a familiar, female voice.

"Yes?"

"Ayase-kun!" the woman on the other side wept.

"Someya-san? What is wrong?" He finally recognized her, but why was she so upset?

"Where are you? Kuba will call you soon; he is on his way to pick you up."

"Someya-san, are you crying?" Ayase whispered, getting more and more anxious. "Someya-san, please tell me what ha…."

"It's Kanou-san!" She cried. "He is fine, Aya-chan, don't worry… but…. but…"

"But what?"

"He is in the hospital, there was an accident."

He did not get a chance to recover, another call was waiting for him, and he did not know how to switch between them.

"Someya-san, it's Kuba-san on the other line, I have to hang up."

"Ok, Aya-chan…" The woman sniffled "Just… just hurry…"

oOOo

Tbc

OooO

A/N- Yup, reviews please?