~ Author's Note ~
Woohoo! Good news – bad for Kana-chan though. Tsurara is returning this chapter!
Tsurara: Yippee! *jumps up and down* I'll be getting more screen time! *_*
Kubinashi: -_- F**k.
Rikuo: TT_TT Why?
Kana: ^_^; D.T-san, looks like Rikuo-kun and Kubinashi-kun are sadder than me.
Tsurara: Yay, I'll finally get to spend more time with Rikuo-kun! *glomps Rikuo* :D
Kana: *evil aura*
Rikuo: QwQ Save me somebody . . . . . . .
Disclaimer please, Kubinashi. ._.'
Kubinashi: Special thanks to Zhane 17, Rose Rain 7, Fede 194, Marchioness Scarlet, Hikage-Sama, Silver Gold Moonlight, Vampire Princess, Nakumare, Nayrael, Kuro Shiro Neko-Chan, Dark Lord 5198, The Crest of Anubis, Dennou Writer, Night Dreamer, Night Star 09, , Micar, Sakura Tsukiyomi Lefey, Skylar-Midnight, Chizora, Ash Covered Warrior, ajiehuang 1997, hannapqc2, wish389, Miriae and Evil Texan Girl for supporting this story. A BIG thanks to the anonymous readers as well.
Oh and thanks a lot Princess (you know who you are ;) for being my beta reader! Enjoy!
Rikuo: Silver gold moonlight, I think you're blind.
Please don't mind him. ^_^;
Ch. 13 – Research
Kana peeked out of the gate of her house, clutching her brown sling bag tightly. Finding the street to be quite empty, she breathed in relief and walked out. Seemed like Saori was sick and wouldn't be able to come pick her up. So, the brunette had decided to take a cab to college. She had somewhat expected reporters and the press to be stalking outside her house and was VERY glad to find none of her thoughts to be true.
I sure hope none of them saw me with Rikuo Nura yesterday.However, as Kana passed by the house of old Mrs. Emiya, who was sweeping her gates, the kind old lady looked up and beamed at Kana. "Ah, Kana-chan, good morning!" Then, turning towards her house, she shouted in an unstable high-pitched voice "Shirou, come here! Get the newspaper!"
"Good morning!" Kana wished back but was a bit confused as to Mrs. Emiya's last sentence. The newspaper? Why the newspaper? As she and the gray-haired old lady exchanged a few more words on the weather and politics, a gray-haired old man dressed in loose brown khakis and an orange striped sweater came out with the morning paper in his wrinkled old hands.
"Why, what is it Saber-? Oh, Kana-chan! How are you? Lovely morning, ain't it?" he asked with a warm smile on his face, admiring the chirping birds and the nice breeze of incoming autumn.
Kana bowed low and returned the smile. "Yes, Mr. Emiya." Then, turning to the trees in their garden, she smiled again. "It is a lovely morning." An orange-colored leaf fluttered down on the street and Kana caught the flying leaf on her palm.
"Shirou, the newspaper!" Mrs. Emiya exclaimed, snatching the newspaper from a startled Mr. Emiya. The old lady quickly flipped through the pages until she reached the "Celebrity Status!" section. Then, standing beside Kana, she showed the brunette a photo that almost made the latter's eyes pop out of their sockets and her legs give way to weakness. "Kana-chan, you never told us you were in a relationship with one of the most eligible bachelors in Japan!"
Kana clutched the newspaper weakly in her hands, her legs shivering with sheer panic. On the newspaper, under the 'Hot News!' section was a photo of her and Rikuo Nura, walking through a mass of people. On top of that, they were holding hands – it was of precisely the time he'd been almost dragging her through the persistent public. Kana narrowed her eyes in annoyance. The f**king media was everywhere!
"My, my, our dear old Kana-chan seems to be dating Rikuo Nura of all people!" said Mrs. Emiya, patting the brunette on the shoulder while her husband chuckled light-heartedly. Kana could only smile weakly, confused as to whether she should be feeling happy or scared about the situation. "Why, Kana-chan, you're perfect for him! I'm sure you'd make the sweetest and nicest wife!"
That sentence made Kana blush a dark shade of red and Mr. Emiya, noticing it, elbowed his wife gently. "Now, now, Saber, don't go making such blunt statements! Give the girl her time!" And the old couple began giggling and chuckling to themselves, leaving Kana flustered and nervous.
"W-Well" the brunette spoke with some awkwardness, her face resembling a round beetroot, "I-I'll be late for College. So, goodbye!" She walked away rather rapidly and when she was a few meters away from the couple, she broke into a light jog.
Mr. Emiya and his wife exchanged a few more comments as they light-heartedly laughed at the brunette's nervous retreating figure. Then, Mr. Emiya walked in while Mrs. Emiya continued to stare after Kana till the brunette disappeared into the intersection leading to the main road. "Hope it'll be a lovely autumn or her!" she commented to no one in particular and continued dusting the front of her house-gate.
Kana, having seated herself into a taxi, quickly sputtered the words "H-HCSM." The driver gave a brief nod and then sped off, having very well memorized the route to the popular college. The brunette just stared out the window as they passed through crowds. It was a warm, sunny day but with a light breeze flowing around. The crowd in the main city was moderate, but then, it was only 9:23 a.m now. The main city was in a buzz during the afternoon – the rush hour.
As they passed through the city square, Kana realized what a long while it'd been since she'd gone to College in a cab. Most often, Saori would pick up Natsumi and her or if she wouldn't make it, her dad would drop her off on his way to his office. But since both of them couldn't make it, she had to hire a cab. Not that she minded.
The feeling of watching the world pass by in silence, as you pondered about things, was pleasant in its own quiet way. But Kana didn't have the mind to enjoy the scenery. Her heart was still fixed on the image in the newspaper shown to her by old Mrs. Emiya – that too Hokkaido Now!,a daily favorite. At least 70% of the population had seen it – regarding the popularity of Rikuo Nura.
Which meant she had to brace herself for an attack at College.
As Kana spent the time thinking up excuses she should tell her acquaintances about, she did not even realize when they pulled up in front of the familiar, metal gate. The driver had to honk his horn twice and smirk "Miss, we've reached your destination."
Shaking out of her reverie, Kana muttered a small exclamation of "Oh!" before fumbling in her sling bag for her pink purse. Then, taking out the required money, she handed it to the driver and got out of the car. "Thank you!" she cheerily said, rushing inside the College gates.
Kappa stared after the strange brunette and his master's new found interest. Letting a small, unusual smile play on his lips, he reversed the taxi and sped off in the direction of the Nura residence.
As soon as she walked inside the campus, Kana just wanted to melt into a puddle and disappear. Even though she'd expected it, she was also hoping that no one would have read the celebrity corner in the newspaper. But of course, it was unreasonable to think so. Hopes were nothing when reasonable facts were displayed before.
Everyone stared and whispered at the brunette, some even bold enough to outright point at her with their index fingers. Some girls glared poisonously at her and in those moments, Kana almost felt that they'd come and beat her up. But as soon as she looked at the gossipers, they'd immediately avert their gazes and change to some other topic. She was so busy looking around her that she forgot to look in front and crashed into someone.
However, before she could fall, strong, masculine arms grabbed her waist and straightened her up. Kana looked up in shock and embarrassment, a terrified expression on her face. Kiyotsugu stared back at her, one of his eyebrows raised. "Did you see a yokai or something?" the Kiyojuji heir smirked jokingly.
Kana breathed in relief. Natsumi and Jiro were standing beside him, grinning from ear-to-ear. "I take it that your date was a success!" Natsumi cheered, pointing to the same picture in the same newspaper she seemed to produce out of nowhere.
"Did you guys kiss?" Jiro exclaimed making childish kissy faces enthusiastically. Passersby had to stifle their giggles as the scarlet blush covered Kana's face.
Kana hissed "Shh!" as she covered Jiro's lips with her hand. "N-Not here!" she stuttered, blushing horribly. Kiyotsugu and Natsumi chuckled and Kana whined "GUYSSSSSSSSSSS!"
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Rikuo was enjoying a very delicious cup of black-coffee in his pleasant air-conditioned office, checking through some of his files that held data on the different branches of their company. Of course, it was one of those rare peaceful mornings when your grandfather wasn't insulting you to death or you didn't have to rush here and there covertly, to take care of . . .'work.' But the moment he heard loud, metallic footsteps approaching his office he instantly knew his peace was doomed.
The glass door to his office slammed open with such force that Rikuo was surprised it didn't break into a million little pieces. Tsurara, dressed in a violet, high-waisted pencil skirt, smart red stilettos, a crop tube top with a low halter and an animal scarf draped around her neck, walked with such a fierce stride that she was right in front of Rikuo in only 4 seconds of her arrival. And his office was really VERY large.
"Explain this!" she spat in a poisonous voice, slamming down a page from the daily favorite newspaper, Hokkaido Today!There, in the 'Celebrity Section' under the 'Hot News' corner was a photo of him and Kana, escaping Eden Gardens after their deadly experience. When he'd been literally dragging her through the annoying crowd. But his attention was more fixed on Tsurara's sharp, black painted nails that were writhing so much with anger that her veins looked ready to pop out.
"Ah, hey Tsurara" he said with a small, awkward smile. "When did you return from Moscow?"
Tsurara leaned in till she was only a few inches away from him. "Rikuo, WHO. IS. THIS. GIRL?"
Rikuo's red eyes again narrowed into their usual cold stare and a scowl settled itself onto his pale lips. "I have no compulsion to answer you."
Tsurara opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. What would she say? What COULD she say? Instead, she pulled one of the black reclining chairs and settled down on it. There was a heavy silence as both of them stared at the ebony desk, until Tsurara spoke in an almost inaudible voice. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Rikuo smirked a little but wiped it off when he knew how out-of-place it currently felt. "No."
"Do you love her?" Tsurara asked, her large blue eyes staring into his red ones.
They held this gaze for quite some time until Rikuo answered "No."
"THEN JUST WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING WITH HER?!" she screamed, slamming her hands down on his table and jerking up from her chair. Rikuo gave no answer – just continued silently staring at her. She stared back at him, her mouth twisted into a broken "O". Then, she finally settled down and stared at the floor.
"Just what-what is she to you?"
Rikuo stared off into distant space, searching for words to answer her with. But his mind presented him with a blank, for he didn't really know the answer to the question himself. Tsurara's words weighed their importance over him – what was Kana Ienaga to him? A friend? A lover? Or . . . just someone he needed to use?
It was only 5 minutes after her outburst that Rikuo spoke. "That girl is nothing to me but I need her for some business purposes." Tsurara looked up at him, her face blank. "I suggest you put her out of your mind, Tsurara," said Rikuo, an intimidating aura surrounding him. "She's just someone I need to use for my personal benefit – not someone I plan to establish a romantic relationship with."
Tsurara nodded slowly despite not understanding the meaning of half of the words Rikuo uttered. Neither did she care. "So there is no one you actually love?" she whispered, her eyes holding a faint glimmer of hope.
Rikuo just smirked cruelly. "After that incident, I don't think my heart can love anymore, Tsurara."
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Kubinashi rushed up the stairs to the main headquarters of the Hokkaido Police Department, popularly known as HPD, dressed in a thin overcoat, faded blue jeans, a white full shirt and a red necktie. In his hands, he clutched the morning newspaper, Hokkaido Today!The young detective was well-thorough with the large police building, having already spent a week visiting it every day.
On his way to the office of ACP Kidomaru, he was greeted by many officers, both young and old, who saluted him smartly. He was well-respected among the Police force, due to most of his cases having been successful. He acknowledged them with a slight nod of his head. As he turned on his right at an intersection, he almost crashed into a shorter body, if not for his presence of mind.
Standing before him was one of ACP Kidomaru's most trusted confidantes and one of the most prominent female officers in Hokkaido – Officer Kejoro Yashio. Even though she was only 27 years of age, she'd already made a splash in the newspapers due to having tracked down a drug gang. And to match with her wits and bravery was a curvaceous figure, long, silky, curly brown hair that was always in a pony tail and flirtatious brown eyes.
"Ah, good morning Kubinashi-kun!" she cheerfully greeted him in that playful tone she always used, smiling at him. Kubinashi had never given her the permission to call him 'kun' but even after reminding her, she never stopped. So he decided to just skip that part.
"Is ACP Kidomaru present?" he asked, gesturing towards the door just ahead in the corridor, the last one on the right side. Kejoro, having noticed the newspaper, nodded.
"About Rikuo Nura again?" she asked with a slight smirk.
Kubinashi did not say anything but just replied with a slight nod. He'd never been really close to her – though she did not stop giving him flirty hints – and he wasn't really interested in such things either. Though there was no information given to him about having informed Kejoro about that Nura note.
Kejoro leaned closer towards him and whispered in her husky voice "Why do you always avoid me, Kubinashi-kun?" Her large breasts slightly touched his toned chest. "Don't you like me?"
"We're acquaintances, Yashio-san" Kubinashi said, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her to the right. "And I don't really see the point in becoming something more."
Kejoro frowned but sighed and smiled again. "ACP Kidomaru is in his office." And with that, she walked away, her black heels clicking smartly against the floor. Kubinashi stared after her and shaking his head slightly, continued on his way towards the ACP's room. Women. I'll never understand them.
As soon as he stood in front of the thoroughly polished wooden door, he knocked three times and spoke in a loud, clear voice "Detective Kubinashi reporting!"
A muffled "Come in!" floated from inside the room. Kubinashi turned the silver doorknob and walked smartly into the air-conditioned room. A tall, well-built old man, probably in his sixties was seated behind an oak desk, sifting through some papers. His grey hair was smartly matted till it reached his nape and his grey beard and moustache were trimmed. As soon as Kubinashi entered, without smiling, he greeted "Ah, Detective. Please take a seat."
Kubinashi, not a man of many words, nodded in acknowledgement as he took a seat in front of the ACP. Spreading the newspaper in front of the ACP, he asked "I've come here to talk about this subject."
The ACP inspected the photo with interest, running his stern eyes over every nook and cranny. Mumbling silently, he read the whole half-page article dedicated to the photo while Kubinashi sat straight and rigid, thinking up probable theories in his head. After about 5-10 minutes, the ACP pushed the paper towards him. "So what do you suggest we do?"
"I suggest you run a cross-check on all the celebrities who look like this girl and-''
"We've already done that Detective" the ACP interrupted briskly "Kejoro already suggested the idea." Kubinashi's eyes slightly narrowed at the interruption – and at the mention of the brunette officer. "And we found no satisfactory result. There is no celebrity or wealthy girl who looks like this woman. So she must be a commoner."
A commoner?Kubinashi's mind had already started thinking. What is a commoner doing with Rikuo Nura? And that too – holding hands?"Well, then we-''
But Kubinashi was yet again interrupted by brusque knocking on the ACP's door. ACP Kidomaru seemed to be a little irate as well. "Come in!" he said in a loud voice.
Officer Itaku walked in, holding a white notepad in his hands. Kubinashi stared as he walked in, apparently holding some vital information. "Ah, Detective Kubinashi. What a pleasure to see you again" Itaku greeted, smiling briefly as they shook hands.
"You too, Inspector Itaku" the blonde said, returning the greeting.
Itaku then gave a smart salute to ACP Kidomaru. "Sir! I've tracked down the girl with Rikuo Nura in this photo." He referred to his notepad and read out aloud "Kana Ienaga, 2nd year student of Hokkaido College of Science and Medicine. She's the daughter of two business advocates, Eren and Mikasa Ienaga. No one special."
"Well, looks like she is someone special to Rikuo Nura," Kidomaru slightly chuckled, which surprised Kubinashi a little. It looked like he was quite fond of Itaku. Then, adopting his stern tone again, he said "Itaku, I want you and Detective Kubinashi to keep tabs on this Ienaga woman. She may be involved in the scandal of the note. One single suspicious move, you report it to me. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Itaku smartly replied while Kubinashi just nodded.
"Good," Kidomaru nodded as well, shifting his attention back to his papers. "You both are dismissed now." Itaku nodded and together he and Kubinashi left the air-conditioned office and into the warm, pre-autumn afternoon.
As the two walked in the corridor together, Itaku asked a question that was bothering his mind. "Who do you think this Kana Ienaga is?"
Kubinashi shook his head, no answer available to his mind. "I really don't know. But if she's as close to Rikuo Nura as depicted in the picture, I'm sure she plays a pretty important role in the note scandal."
Itaku nodded, as if in agreement with Kubinashi. They continued walking in silence together before Itaku slightly smirked to himself. Kubinashi, as alert as ever, turned to look at him. "What's so funny?" he asked, not understanding the source of his acquaintance's amusement.
Itaku turned to look at him, a playful glint in his usually stoic eyes. "I can't believe how you ignore Kejoro-san. I mean, she literally throws herself at you and you . . . . . Woah! It must take a lot of self-control not to ogle at those curves."
Kubinashi had to smile a little. "I was always the weird and the not-interested-in-girls-kid at school. Some boys even thought I was gay." The blonde was confused as to why he was telling all this to the young officer. He hardly told anyone about his personal life details. But for some reason, he felt comfortable to talk to the black-haired young officer.
Itaku chuckled lightly at the statement. "Yeah, I've been around such kids before." There was silence again for a few moments between the two. "But I really hope that whoever this Kana Ienaga is, she does not take us on a wild goose chase. I hope it doesn't appear that we're making a mountain out of a molehill."
Kubinashi had felt exactly that when he'd read the note. It could have been the result of a bored prankster for all he knew. But how things were recently taking turns, he was beginning to suspect that some poisonous brew may be cooking underneath it all.
Kana Ienaga; just who are you?