Being In Love Is Never Easy!
By: Sailorjj07
16. Investigation!
A/n: TA DA! I'm here everyone! I know, it's been forever, lol, but I still love you! ^__^ So thanks for reviewing and here's a reward for your trouble! A new chappy! Oh and by the way...This fic WILL have a sequel too. It'll be about Yai and Chaud next time! WHOO!!
THIS IS THE REAL CHAPTER 16! I just realized I had an entire chapter sitting in my computer, staring at me calling me an idiot. Sooooo, SORRY GUYS! You got a peek before you were supposed to, so, you can re-read this again.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READ AND REVIEWED!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
"Natalie, honey, wake up. The plane's landing."
Tory shook Natalie's body gently, wondering just how much it would take to wake the younger girl up. She had been out like a light as soon as their plane had taken off from the Sharo Airport and now that they were back in Dentech City, he had expected her to wake up just as quickly.
Apparently, that wasn't the case.
"Honey..." Tory leaned very close to the slumbering girl's ear, still continuing to shake her softly although to Natalie it felt more like a caress. He poked her cheek gently, and she stirred awake, her purple eyes almost gray with haze from sleep.
"Hmmm? Tory? What's...the matter?"
"Nate, we're landing in Dentech City. Wake up, honey."
At his response, Natalie stretched, her half lidded eyes sliding open fully, "Oh, we're here?"
"Yeah. So wake up already." Tory told her, a smile spreading across his face. His midnight blue eyes warmed to a deep blue color, as Natalie leaned forward and kissed him. Tory blushed heavily, as he hadn't been expecting the kiss and he watched Natalie in surprise, who giggled mischievously.
"Good morning, Tory." She said, her devilish smile totally messing up the meaning behind the simple phrase.
"Good morning to you too." Tory couldn't help but laugh; Natalie was just so cute!
Lan looked over from his seat across the isle and smiled at the two of them, happy to see Natalie awake,"Hey you two. The four of us were just talking!"
"And we think it'd be best for us to go in groups of two." Maylu finished for Lan, leaning forward in her seat so that she could bee seen too.
"Split up? For what?"
"I think it'd be better if Yai and I went to go pay a visit to Chiaso's father in jail. I want to go alone, but-! Ow!"
Chaud held his stomach as Yai dug her elbow in even further, "I refuse to let him go in there alone. And no one will touch us; we're entirely too prominent."
"They have a point; Yai's big forehead used to be a shining example of-! OW! Darn it, Yai!" Lan groaned as a hand slammed down on the top of his skull.
Yai stood holding her fist up in irritation, leaning over the back of her seat to deliver Lan another blow, should he open his mouth and say something else stupid.
The group shared a laugh before Maylu continued where Chaud left off, "And we think it'd be best for us to go and see the relatives that Chisao was living with."
"And you want us to go visit his mom?" Tory questioned, although he pretty much already knew the answer.
"Well, yeah, I think having Natalie meet their mom would probably be the best idea," Maylu said, thoughtfully. "The fact that she was the only other girl to love Dex beside herself will warm her heart and make her a lot more willing to help us."
"I only got to see her once too and it was from a distance..." Natalie remembered that meeting as if it had happened yesterday. Dex's mom was a beautiful woman, pretty enough to be a model. She never understood how a woman like that could fall for a man like...Dex's Dad.
"All passengers please grab your belongings and exit the plane. And remember, safety first!"
Natalie watched as Tory reached up, grabbing both of their belongings from the overhead compartment, before handing Natalie her bag, "We should hurry home, Nate. I miss Anastasia."
Natalie was all smiles as she got in line behind Tory, "Oh! Me too! I wonder how our little angel is doing?"
Maylu giggled behind them, "You two sound just like real parents!"
Natalie tried her hardest not to blush, but failed miserably, "Heh, well, she's still our grade, you know?"
"And Mom's been calling us every hour about something else that Sakura's done. She thinks she's just the cutest baby in the world. She even said she's cuter than I was!" Lan cried, pouting from his spot behind Maylu.
The entire group of friends laughed as they shuffled off of the plane.
Two Hours Later
"Alright, we're heading to visit Dex and Chisao's mom," Tory told everyone, taking Natalie's hand gently. She turned her face away from their friends as a pretty red blush stained her cheeks and waited for Maylu's response.
"And we're going to visit the relitives that Chisao is staying with right now." Maylu replied, nodding resolutely.
"We're off to visit Chisao's dad in prison." Yai added, pushing Chaud towards the limo, "We can drop you guys off where you need to go; the jail is the furthest."
"What about Dex's dad? Should we go see him?" Natalie interjected, the thought coming to her mind almost instantly. Truth be told, she had never met Dex's father and she definitely hadn't though of him until just now.
"Oh darn. I forgot all about him," Lan commented, smacking his hand on his forehead. He sighed and shook his head slowly, as if the idea had been staring him in the face all along, "Will he be with Dex's mom or alone?"
"Well, really I don't know. When we met Dex, Chisao was staying with their mom. I'm assuming she was with Chiaso's dad then. So do you think her and Dex's dad got back together, since Chisao's dad is in jail now?" Maylu crossed her arms over her chest as her mind ran through all the possibilities of the unusual relationships going on in Dex's family.
"We should ask her," Natalie said, bluntly.
Tory shook his head, fixing his navy gaze on Natalie, "That's not really something you ask, Nate. What if she doesn't want to talk about it? What if Dex's dad doesn't even know about Chisao?"
Here, Chaud had to speak up, "If he didn't know about Chisao, there would be no way he would just let some random man's kid under his roof. He has to know."
"Chaud does have a point," Lan agreed, although he really didn't want to.
"Anyways, I say we go to each place and get info, then work our way from there. No point in guessing about things we don't know about," Yai was already opening the limo door as she spoke, getting in with Chaud following close behind her.
"Right."
At Dex's Mom's House
"Bye everyone!" Natalie waved happily as Yai's limo pulled away from the curb, while Tory managed a small wave of his own. He wrapped his arm around Natalie's waist and turned her around, so that she was facing the door of the blue house with him.
"Are you ready, honey?" Tory asked, glancing at Natalie out of the corner of his eyes. He saw her give a brief nod, her purple eyes going a steely violet as she stared up at the door with a sense of dread and anticipation.
"I've never been more ready in my life, Tory. Let's go." Natalie took the first step towards the house, taking Tory's hand as his arm dropped from around her. He let her lead him up to the front door where they stopped side by side and Natalie rang the doorbell.
"Here we go," Tory whispered, smiling reassuringly at Natalie. She gave him a nervous smile back as the door popped open, revealing the prettiest woman Tory had ever seen in his whole life. (Notice "pretty" and not "beautiful"; that word was reserved for Natalie.)
"Oh hello there! I remember you...Um, Natalie, right? I was so worried that something had happened to you! How are you doing?" Mrs. Oyama's deep green eyes looked from left to right at both teens before she stepped away from the door, "Oh, I'm so rude! Come in, come in! Have a seat!"
"Thank you. Mrs. Oyama, this is Tory. He's my new boyfriend." Natalie told her softly, following the woman inside. She ushered them into a living room where a man was already sitting and having tea.
And boy, did he look just like Dex! Tory had to blink repeatedly to make sure he wasn't seeing a ghost.
"D-Dex?"
"Oh no, not at all. That's my brother-in-law, Mr. Oyama's twin brother. He just came by to pay me a visit; he was worried I wasn't doing too well." The woman sat down on the couch across from the two teens on the love seat. "I take it those flowers on Dex's grave were from you, Natalie?"
"Yes ma'am. My mom helped me order them. I had hoped they had delivered them properly; I guess I had worried over nothing."
"You sure did, dear. But my, they were breathtakingly beautiful flowers. They're blue roses, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
Mrs. Oyama took a sip from her own tea cup, her forest colored gaze falling on both Tory and Natalie, "So what can I do for you two?"
"Well, ma'am..." Natalie started, but she just didn't know how to continue.
"We came to see if you had any way to communicate with Chisao. We wanted to see if he was doing okay without Dex around, since we were Dex's closest friends." Tory's lie came out smoothly and without a hitch. If Natalie didn't know the truth, she'd have believed his story wholeheartedly.
Tears sprang to the older woman's eyes, "Oh, you children are so sweet to one another! But sadly, I haven't seen or heard from my baby in months. They sent him off to a boy's private school, I've been told, since his father went to prison. That poor man." Mrs. Oyama's eyes filled with grief at the mention of both her son and her incarcerated ex.
"Were you there when he was arrested?"
"Oh no. I had just left to patch things up with my husband so he and Chisao were together when he was sent to prison. I tried to get Chisao from him and his family, but since he had full custody, I couldn't have him."
"Patch things up?" Natalie questioned, sipping her tea nonchalantly to cover up the magnitude of her question.
It seemed Mrs. Oyama didn't mind very much, "Well, you see, I had an affair with Chisao's father. We were high school sweethearts and some how we ended up working together. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had run away from home to be with the man I truly loved."
"But you went back?"
"Well yes, because Chisao's father felt terribly guilty for taking me away from my husband and Dex. It got so bad that he went to visit Mr. Oyama," here, the woman's eyes filled with even more sadness, if it was possible.
"Wow...what a brave man." Tory commented, taking hold of Natalie's hand. Her violet eyes looked a bit sad too.
"I'd say. That's why I love him so much. But when he came here, my husband thought he was trying to rob the house or something and attacked him. I walked in just as the two began to fight. Chisao's dad became distracted because I had walked in and stupidly took his gaze from my husband. It was curtains from then on."
Natalie nearly choked on her tea as Tory patted her back softly. He smiled nervously at Mrs. Oyama and asked her continue, "Then what happened?"
"I had to tell him the whole truth; I spared nothing that night. During my story, though, my husband was so enraged that he attacked Chisao's father yet again. This time, the two went at it tooth and nail. I was so afraid I called the police!" Mrs. Oyama gasped for breath during her story telling, while the two preteens scooted up in their chairs. The story was pretty interesting, to say the least.
"My brother had Chisao's father arrest on the spot," the man sitting beside Mrs. Oyama spoke up for the first time since the two arrived. Natalie's violet gaze fell on Mr. Oyama's twin brother. The man truly did look like Dex, but his voice was much more mature and confident.
It sounded odd coming from Dex's face.
"On what charges?"
"He was trespassing. And who could deny that it wasn't assault. The only person who would say otherwise is my sister-in-law here-"
"And I wasn't about to put my own husband in jail," Mrs. Oyama replied smartly.
"So you sent your lover in his place?" Natalie questioned, forgetting herself for a moment. All eyes fell upon the girl, but she wasn't going to back down. Whatsoever.
"...I did, didn't I? But...But, I had to! If I didn't, my husband would've-!" Mrs. Oyama cut herself off as she covered her mouth, tears starting to flow down her lovely cheeks. She knew her actions only proved Natalie's accusations. The younger girl fought the urge to shook her head and stood up. Tory followed suit, feeling that now would be an excellent time to leave.
The look on Natalie's face said she was slowly becoming furious.
"We...ummm...I think now would be a good time to go." Tory said softly, as the twin Mr. Oyama patted his sobbing sister-in-law on the back. He nodded slowly, though he had a gentle smile on his face.
As Natalie made her way to the door, Tory followed her, but could feel the man's eyes still on him. He turned slowly, and the Dex-look-alike continued to smile at him as he said softly: "Perhaps you two will find a way to bring my brother home..."
Tory shut the door behind himself softly.
With Chaud and Yai
"My father will be very angry if you won't let me in to see Mr. Oyama!" Yai cried, pushing roughly against the guard's shoulder. The man wouldn't budge, but Yai could see the fear in his eyes.
And she wanted to eat his sorry behind alive.
"I'm telling you, Ms. Yai, there's no such man in here!"
"But there has to be! He was arrested for like eight different things!"
"Ms. Yai, he's not-!"
Chaud held his hand up in front of the man's face and turned to his girlfriend in slight irritation, "Yai. He isn't here."
"What?! Chaud, my sources can't be wrong! We know-!"
"No, we know that Chisao's father is in here. But Chisao has his MOM's last name. We won't find a Mr. Oyama here because he's not in jail. This man...Chisao's father must have a different last name." As Chaud pondered the validity of his claim, he took his PET out of his pocket slowly. The guard glanced between the two rich tweens, the fear still clear on his face.
Finally, Chaud turned his PET in the man's direction, "We need him. This man, right here."
"Oh! Y-you mean Ruchiki? Ayako Ruchiki? Y-You t-two w-want to see him?" The guard glanced between the picture and the two very mean looking tweens nervously. He really didn't want to lose his job; these were prominent kids.
"Yeah, dufus. Lead the way, if you can." Yai told him indignantly, lifting her chin high in the air. Chaud glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, as a smirk warmed its ways across his face.
He really loved the proud, rude girl beside him.
"Y-Yes Ms. Yai." The guard didn't hesitate to lead the two down a dark, gray painted hallway. There were bars everywhere, over the windows, over the doors; all over the place. Even with the sunlight gleaming in through the barred windows, the Dentech City Penitentiary looked nothing short of desolate.
Their path was boring and had nothing of interest to look at. Yai ignored the cell mates that jibbed and called out to her, her chin raising as she completely ignored them. Chaud could only follow the princess with his smirk still planted on his face.
"Ruchiki! You've got visitors!" The guard called, knocking on the gate of the very last cell at the end of the hall.
Yai and Chaud peered in between the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of the supposedly dangerous man. What they found there was...surprising to say the least.
The gate slid open to make the way for a smiley faced man with rosy cheeks. His brown eyes were wide with innocence and joy, "Why hello there! I definitely wasn't expecting any visitors! I wish I had tea, but...well, they told me I wasn't allowed to go in the kitchen without permission."
"Permission granted. Go ahead and show our g-guests to the Warden's dining room. He's already given his permission."
"Well, thanks so much! Although, I'm worried we won't have the best tea here in this dark place," Ayako smiled warmly at the two as he led them away from the guard, who still looked pretty terrified of the blond devil known as Yai.
"That's alright, Mr. Ruchiki."
"Oh, call me Ayako kids! I won't be mad, I promise." Ayako opened the door and ushered the tweens into a lavish dining room, complete with a royal purple velveteen table cloth and golden china.
"I'll have your tea ready in but a moment. For the meantime, have a seat, okay?" Ayako went about his task of heating the water on a hot plate for the tea, and then came back to sit at the table where Chaud and Yai waited for him. "So...to what do I owe this visit?"
"Well, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Yai," here Yai pointed to herself, then her boyfriend beside her, "And this is Chaud. We're here to ask you a few questions about your son."
"Chisao? Well, last I heard he was with my family. He's not hurt, is he? What's wrong with him?!" Ayako stood by the hot plate, his hand resting on the tea kettle before he set it down gently. His hazel eyes grew wide with worry, though it appeared as if he was trying his hardest to hide it.
Yai raised her hands in a defensive gesture, hoping to calm Ayako's panic over his child, "Please calm down. We aren't sure if this is true or not, but we have reason to believe that your son, Chisao, has joined an underground terrorist organization. Have you ever heard of the World Three?"
A tea cup plummeted to the ground and shattered to bits as Ayako stood still, totally worried now, "W-World Three?! MY DEAR SON!" Ayako slumped down in the chair closest to him, clutching his arms to his chest in obvious pain. "W-What has happened to him while I have been in here? What's going on?"
"You mean, you didn't know?" Today was a very surprising day for Yai.
"Well, I have been in this place for...nearly three years now. I have no clue what's occurred on the outside...Oh, my little Chisao!"
Yai tried not to feel any sympathy for the man because he was a criminal, but the action was easier said then done. She could tell that Ayako was a doting father; one of those who protected his son with everything he had. How was this man put in jail? It appeared like he really didn't belong here...
"Ayako, we really don't know where he is or what he's doing. That's why we want to ask you questions, to see if you can help us. We know Chiaso's not a bad kid. He's never been," Yai told him, as kindly as she could manage.
Chaud fought the urge to chuckle in amusement; Yai wasn't this nice to very many people.
"W-Well," Ayako stuttered as he leaned his head back against the chair. There was sadness written all over his face as he spoke to the two tweens, "I'm not sure if I know where to start."
"You can start by telling us how you got here," Chaud told the man firmly. He received a solemn nod from Yai as Ayako looked between the two. Both tweens matched his gaze evenly and equally, as if daring him to deem them not worthy.
Ayako sighed loudly and dejectedly before he began his story.
With Lan and Maylu
"Are you sure this is the right house?"
Lan looked down at the tiny slip of paper one more time, before he took another glimpse around. There were about three cars in front of the house and for some reason, it still seemed kind of empty.
"Maylu, I'm sure. See, here, you look," Lan handed her the paper slip as he shoved his hands in his vest pocket. He didn't wait for Maylu to read the words on the paper, though, and began at a steady pace towards the door.
"Something just doesn't feel right for me..." Maylu whispered softly as she slid the paper in her pocket. She followed behind Lan closely, examining the area as closely as she could. Lan nodded and swallowed thickly as they came to the front door.
"You ready?"
"I'm behind you all the way, Lan."
Lan's heart pound in unspoken joy as he rang the doorbell.
DING DONG!
Once.
DING DONG!
Twice.
DING DONG!
Three times.
Lan turned his gaze towards Maylu, but before she could open her mouth to speak, the door began to slowly creak open by itself. Maylu gripped Lan's arm and together, they walked into the house.
"L-Lan..."
"I know. Don't worry, Maylu. It's fine." Even though Lan was saying this to Maylu, he wasn't sure if he believed himself. The couple strode into a beautiful living room together, that looked very cozy and homely. There was a fireplace with one long sectional couch around it and a large flat-screen TV, that for some reason, was still running.
But what Lan and Maylu noticed wasn't the show on the TV's screen. No, there were much more pressing matters.
The hard wood floor of the living room was splattered in red liquid. There were three bodies there, two adults and a child. One step towards the kitchen and another body was lying face flat on the floor, clear as day.
Lan bit down on his bottom lip, wanting to close his eyes, but it wouldn't help erase the image. It was burned into his mind, probably forever. The Net Op was just about to open his mouth to speak when a footstep drooped heavily on the stairs.
An 11-year-old boy with brown hair and rosy cheeks walked with his head downcast, not even noticing the two in the living room. There was blood on his face and hands. Lan stepped in front of Maylu, in case something went bad, but as soon as the child was close enough, both tweens knew who he was immediately. Lan felt his breath leave him nervously as the boy finally looked up and saw them.
The two stared at the solitary kid as his haunted gaze regarded them as well.
"C-Chisao?! O-oh my God!" Maylu's voice broke the dead silence, as she clung even tighter to Lan, if that was possible.
And that was all it took. The boy gave a choked sob and ran over to the couple immediately, and Lan wasn't sure if he should hit him or run. But when Chisao got to them with her arms wide open and nearly tackled Maylu to the ground in his tears, Lan knew otherwise.
"M-Maylu! I-I-! I d-didn't do anything! I swear it! I swear!! N-Nothing, I d-d-didn't do anything!" Chisao cried at the top of his lungs, clinging onto Maylu like a lifeline. Maylu's heart strings pulled painfully as she patted Chisao's back in comfort.
Lan lowered himself to his knees to be on a face-to-face level with the child, "Chisao...w-what happened here?"
"I-I don't know! I was at school! D-Daddy had paid for me to go to a private school! I-I go there n-now, and live-e t-there. I only come home for the weekends and breaks! MAYLU, MY AUNT IS-!" Chisao couldn't even finish his statement as he choked on his own words. His sobs increased in volume and intensity of that was at all possible.
"Wait, so if you've been at school this whole time..." Lan began, patting Chisao's back solemnly.
"Then it wasn't Chisao." Maylu finished for him, looking at Lan's face over the young boy's shoulder. "Lan, Chisao isn't the one doing this."
RING RING
Both Lan and Maylu froze as their PETs began to ring at the exact same time. Maylu looked at Lan in slight shocked, and immediately hit the answer button, holding the PET up in front of her face, while holding Chisao to her at the same time.
Natalie's panicked face popped up on the screen, "Freakin Dex's Dad sucks!"
"I was just about to say that! He really does suck!" Yai cried from Lan's PET. Lan shook his head at the two girls and waited for them to continue.
"What're you two talking about?" Maylu questioned, holding her PET next to Lan's so the two could hear one another.
"Dex's Dad sent Chisao's Dad to jail because he was angry," Natalie started to say, but Yai cut her off quickly.
"Yeah, and Chisao isn't even living with his relatives anymore! He's in private school!" Yai cried, in anger.
"We know. He's here with us. And all of his relatives were murdered..." Lan told both girls quietly, turning his camera in Chisao's direction.
Silence was his answer.
Finally, Tory took the PET from Natalie gently, "Chisao is innocent. The person behind all of this drama, all of this mess...The person who killed Chisao's family-"
"Is me!"
Lan and Maylu barely had time to register the big man looming behind him. As pain and darkness filled their minds, Lan found himself wondering if he was hallucinating.
Was that really Dex?
End Chapter 16