~ Author's Note ~
*camera zooms in on a messy room with broken furniture and bullet holes in almost everything. Distant screams of three girls and shrieks of two boys can be heard. A face looks in the camera*
Kana: Oh, hello dear readers! ^_^; We uh . . . have certain problems so . . . no guests for today!
Kubinashi: *stares at the background* Oh boy . . . . anyways. Let's have the disclaimer Kana-chan.
Kana: Okay. Special thanks to The Shameless Carrot - Zhane 17, Rose Rain 7, Fede 194, Skylar Nightwalker, 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, Evil Texan Girl, All My Life and Mariseseki for supporting this story. A BIG thanks to the anonymous readers as well. And a very big thank you to Silver Gold Moonlight for beta-ing the story! And thank you to Nayrael too for his supportive info!
*screams, banging and an unnecessary shower of profane words heard from the background*
Kubinashi: Kami help us . . . . . . . STOP ROSE!
Ch. 16 – Threat
Spring. The season of rebirth and inspiration. The season of flowers and nature. The season of joy and love.
All in all, the season of life.
"You can cut the flowers but cannot stop spring from coming" the reader of the quote raised his eyebrows. "Hah," he mocked "what a joke."
"It's the truth" said the girl lying by his side, staring at the azure, cloudless blue sky with dreamy eyes. "Even if you cut all the blossoms, plough out the roots and tear the leaves, spring will always come and rejuvenate the plants. It's like a redemption angel."
The boy rolled his eyes but remained quiet, staring at a lone white cloud in the distance. "But what if you're broken beyond redemption?" His eyes flickered with a hint of sadness. "What if you're so messed up that you cannot be healed again?"
The girl turned to look at him before fixing her gaze to the sky again. Picking a wild dandelion that grew in the grass beside her, she twirled it around and replied, "There is always someone who can heal you, no matter how 'messed up' you are." She turned to him and gave a small smile – so unlike her. "I know you won't understand what I'm saying right now. But when you find that person, your own Messiah, you'll remember my words."
The boy held her gaze for a little while before turning to look at the sky again. "There's no one who can fix me. I'm too drenched in blood and sin to be washed clean again." His eyes opened, looking like dancing red fireworks. "I'm gonna have no 'redemption' or 'Messiah.' "
The girl sighed and blowing the petals of the flower said "You will someday, Rikuo. I'm sure you'll find your Angel someday."
Rikuo woke up with a start, sweat drops running down his shirtless body. He brushed his hand through his hair before his attention snapped to the ringing iPhone on the drawer beside his bed. Muttering an expletive, his sleepy red eyes widened when he saw the caller I.D. "Kuromaru?" he mumbled, staring intently to make sure whether he was seeing things or not. "What does he want at 2:00 in the morning?" The Nura heir quickly pressed the receive button and said, "Hello?"
"Greetings, Rikuo-sama," floated the black-haired man's voice from the other end. "I'm sorry to disturb you right now but something important has come up." His voice was nervous.
Rikuo's eyes narrowed. The person he'd put Kuromaru's nose on wasn't a very pleasant person. "What's the matter?" he whispered, afraid to take on a higher tone.
"She's arrived." Those two simple words put cold chills in Rikuo's body and he almost dropped his iPhone. Kuromaru continued "She arrived right now. I'm at the Hokkaido airport and-" his voice seemed to get more nervous "-Tsuchigumo's here too."
There was silence on Rikuo's end before the Nura heir ordered "Kuromaru, back away. Try to spy on them from afar but if you have even a lingeringsuspicion they're watching you, retreat immediately."
"Yes, Rikuo-sama."
"Okay. Call me when any significant developments occur. And Kuromaru?"
"Yes?"
"Be careful."
"I will be." And with that, the connection between them was cut off.
Rikuo placed his iPhone on the wooden desk again and folding his hands behind his head, stared at the ceiling of his room. A tired sigh escaped his lips. "Welcome back, Hagu-nee-chan."
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"Saori, you're back!" greeted Kiyotsugu in his dramatic way, arms wide open.
The busty blonde grinned, showing her perfect white teeth and patted Kiyotsugu on the shoulder. "Good to see you too." Kana and Natsumi smiled at them. Suddenly, a dark aura seemed to enter the atmosphere of the College corridor and as the four friends slowly turned their head to the side, the saw Jiro Shima moping in his emo corner, holding a crumpled piece of paper.
"Jiro?" Saori asked, hesitantly approaching him.
Jiro turned back with a snot-dripping and tear-stained face and cried "Those liars! THEY'RE ALL LIARS!" He bawled like a kid and ran in Saori's arms, snuggling his face in her (large) bosom. Saori sweat-dropped but nonetheless comfortingly patted the crying Jiro's messy hair.
Kiyotsugu snatched the paper out of Jiro's hand and his eyebrows furrowed as he silently read it. Kana and Natsumi peered at it over his shoulders. "What does it say?" asked the brunette in a worried tone. To turn the ever-optimistic and cheerful Jiro Shima in such a crying mess must've taken something big. Kiyotsugu cleared his throat to start reading:
Dear Jiro Shima
We're deeply sorry to inform you that the message you got for Tsurara Oikawa's Paris Calendar Shoot was a mistake. We'd already received our winners and that your code came second to theirs. However, to compensate for your loss we offer you 5 gift hampers from Snow Princess, the brand endorsed by Ms. Tsurara Oikawa.
Again, we are deeply sorry for the mistake.
Sincerely,
Teen Vogue
"Liars, liars, LIARS!" exclaimed Shima, having changed his position from Saori's bust to a wall. "THEY'RE ALL LIARS!" he screamed, banging his fist on the said wall. Students walking past gave the group weird looks. Kana sighed but was quite unfazed. They were used to getting strange glances by now.
"Calm down, Jiro," said Kiyotsugu, patting his best friend's shoulder. The blond male seemed to have retreated into silent sobs. "At least you tried, right? And anyways, we have the gift hampers!" But even the raven-haired boy's cheerful statement had no affect on Jiro.
Natsumi, meanwhile, was excited at the mention of the hampers. "Ooh, gift hampers from Snow Princess!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together as stars danced in her cat-like eyes. "That brand's so expensive!" She turned to Jiro "Are the hampers at your . . ." her question faded away as she saw the dark look in his eyes.
Jiro strolled up to her and yelled "I get a message that I'm not allowed to see my beloved Tsurara-san and all you care about are the HAMPERS?" Natsumi whimpered a "sorry" and immediately took refuge behind Saori. Jiro burst out crying again and it looked like the whole school would be flooded from his volley of tears.
Saori seemed to be thinking about something and then punching her right fist into the palm of her left hand, she exclaimed "Guys! How about we go to the Kyuso Dreams?" Everyone stared at her, confused as to why they should go to a nightclub. Saori took in a deep breath and explained "There's gonna be some sort of party there on tomorrow, i.e. Saturday called 'Autumn Arrival.' And the passes aren't that expensive too!"
"Aren't we too young to go to a nightclub?" Kana questioned, not too thrilled with the idea. For some reason, the chandelier fall flickered into her mind and she pursed her lips.
"We're responsible 20 year olds!" exclaimed Saori, hands on her hips. "It's not like we're gonna wake up with a hangover, naked beside some stranger in a shitty hotel room."
"Quiet down, Saori-chan" implored Natsumi, feeling uncomfortable due to the sneering and questioning gazes from others.
Saori seemed to be a little embarrassed too and said in a lower voice "Besides, I'm sure it's gonna be okay. We won't be there for more than a few hours. And it starts pretty early so we can just chill out and return by 9."
"I don't know" mumbled Kiyotsugu, seemingly far away "Our semesters are coming. . ."
"A few hours aren't really gonna matter!" said Saori, now annoyed. "Come on, guys! It'll be perfectly fine! It's not gonna come every month you know!"
There seemed to be a bout of silence before Kiyotsugu muttered "Fine, I'll come."
Natsumi piped up "Me too! It may actually be a lot of fun!"
Saori stared at Kana expectantly. The brunette didn't want to disappoint her so she offered a smile and said "I'm in."
Now everyone stared at Jiro. The blond wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.
"YES!" exclaimed Saori, pumping a fist in the air. "I assure you, you guys aren't gonna regret it!"
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In the meeting room of the Hokkaido Police Station sat 5 figures; technically, 4 of them were sitting. ACP Kidomaru, Inspector Itaku, Inspector Kejoro and a new figure, Inspector Ryota; all stared at the standing Detective Kubinashi. Inspector Ryota had been assigned to the case after Hitotsume Nyudo's murder as he had been an acquaintance of the deceased man a few years ago.
Detective Kubinashi finished writing on the whiteboard and placed the black marker on the table. He then folded a hand behind his back and with the other, pointed to the words written on the board. "As we all know" he started, his gaze roaming around the room "The Nura and Sons Company consists of a board of 11 directors, two of them related to the head of the Company, Rihyon Nura, by blood. Those two are Danuki Inugamigyobu and Abe no Seimei."
Everyone just nodded.
"Then" Kubinashi continued, pointing his index finger to a different name "We have 8 other directors, all close acquaintances of Rihyon Nura. Setsura Oikawa, Gyuki Shikinami, the deceased Hitotsume Nyudo, Mokugyo Daruma, Gagoze Kishitani, Kyuso Raimon, Hihi Kisaragi and Karasu Tengu. They're all close acquaintances of Rihyon Nura and his missing son, Rihan Nura."
A silent, tensed atmosphere seemed to have entered the room at the mention of Rikuo's father. Suddenly, the blonde detective saw a hand being shot up and inwardly sighed. He should've expected a question from her. "Detective," asked Kejoro "I do not understand the purpose of drawing a chart on the Nura and Sons Company and its eccentric board members."
Kubinashi sighed – inwardly of course – again. "Inspector," he said in a respectful but slightly annoyed voice "I understand your curiosity but I assure you I'll explain everything in given time." The curvaceous woman seemed to smile mockingly at him.
"As most of us know," continued Kubinashi, wanting to explain things as clearly as he could, "Heirs are very important in the Nura Company since it is a private one and therefore, does not allow any board member from out of their ranks. Most of the board members have heirs except for Kyuso Raimon as he is still quite young and Gyuki Shikinami. However, there have been some rumors that Shikinami-san has had children out of wedlock."
"I saw into those rumors myself," Itaku whispered to Kejoro with a wink.
"Let's move onto the heirs now," Kubinashi said and this time, there were photos of 12 people on the whiteboard. Kubinashi pointed at the first one. "Rikuo Nura, as we all, the future head of the Nura and Sons Company. 25 years of age and a charismatic man but mysterious about his personal lifestyle. Grandson of Rihyon Nura and son of Rihan Nura."
Then his finger moved on to the photo of two girls below Rikuo. "Tsurara Oikawa and Reira Oikawa, 24 and 17 years old respectively. Daughters of Setsura Oikawa. One is an A-list supermodel and the other, a promising high school student."
Then his finger moved lower. "Now we come to Hagoromo Gitsune." For some reason, Itaku's grip on the table tightened unnoticeably. "The 27 year-old daughter of Abe no Seimei and the manager of King Fisher Airlines, Japan. Quite a beauty and that too, with brains."
"Then," Kubinashi's red eyes narrowed at the next photo and the atmosphere of the room tensed. "Tamazuki Inugamigyobu, son of Danuki Inugamigyobu." His gaze settled on ACP Kidomaru. "If I'm wrong, correct me, but didn't he get into some trouble with the police some time ago?"
ACP Kidomaru nodded, his expression hard. "He killed a young man and it made quite a riot in the newspapers last year." A sigh escaped from the old officer's lips. "However, he was proved innocent and said that he fired the man only in self-defense."
Kubinashi nodded. "And the police think it was on purpose?"
Kidomaru's gaze was unsettling. "They do."
Kubinashi nodded and stated "Moving on. Now we have Hihi Kisaragi's son, Shoei. 16-year old kid but really tall and well-built for his age. Goes to the same school as Reira and is quite close to her. Or at least that's what it seems like."
"Then there's Hitotsume Nyudo's 12-year old daughter, Kokehime Nyudo. I don't think she has a role to play in all this but . . . who knows."
"You think a 12-year old girl would murder her own father?" asked Kejoro, raising an eyebrow.
Kubinashi glared coldly at her. "I've seen 9-year olds murder, Inspector." The brown-haired woman flinched a little and Ryota looked a little unsettled as well. Kubinashi quickly realized he was being too harsh and instead continued his lecture. "Anyways, Mokugyo Daruma has a 28-year old son who, quite interestingly, is a Biology teacher in HCSM, the same college attended by Kana Ienaga. His name is Zen Daruma."
Ryota's eyes widened. "You mean the girl who was photographed with Rikuo Nura?" Kubinashi nodded. Ryota muttered "Interesting."
"Gagoze's daughter, Yukari Kishitani, is still in primary school so I don't think she's actually involved."
"Who knows," muttered Kejoro, using his own words against him. Kubinashi resisted the urge to glare at her. Damn this woman.
"And finally, Karasu Tengu's three children; Kuromaru Tengu, Tosakamaru Tengu and Sasami Tengu. Two sons and one daughter. The oldest, Kuromaru, is the lead guitarist for a quite famous band, Imitation Black. The middle child, Tosakamaru, is a national-level soccer player. And the youngest, Sasami, is a forensic scientist."
"Now that you have finished your documentary on the Nura board members and their heirs," said ACP Kidomaru, leaning forward in his chair "Would you please give us all a proper reason as to why we wasted 20 minutes here?"
Kubinashi could feel everyone's gaze trained on him and he slightly felt nervous. It was highly possible that his theory was utterly unfeasible and if that was the case, all the respect he'd spent years earning would blow away like dust in a couple of minutes. But he couldn't back down now.
"Officers," he said in a low voice, his bangs slightly shadowing his face "I presume that one of the Nura Company Board heirs is Hikage Daito Ryu in disguise."
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Kana quickly scanned her cupboard, looking for proper clothes to wear. She wanted something not too conservative but not too skimpy as well. She blew the bangs off her face in frustration. What was she thinking? She didn't haveskimpy clothes.
Kana settled for a sleeveless red lace dress with a turtle-neck and a mid-thigh length hemline. She also decided to pair it with black stockings, black wedges and decided to curl her hair, which was a request from Saori. The brunette glanced at her Physics notes on the table, feeling slightly guilty but dismissed the thoughts. She was already done with studying and she only needed to do revision.
Kana was beginning to strap her wedges on when she heard a creak coming from downstairs. "Mom?" she muttered. But wait.
Her parents were still in Los Angeles. They weren't coming before Sunday. So. . . who?
Her eyes widened in shock and she dropped her shoes on the floor. The nasty feeling in her stomach bloomed.
It was him. The face from the streets. It hadto be him.
The brunette's heart started thumping faster. Did she mishear? She slowly made her way towards the door of her room before . . . . .
Another creak. This one was on the stairs.
Kana clamped a hand over her mouth to stop from screaming out and quickly switched off the lights in her room, crawling towards her bed. Someone was coming up the stairs. She could clearly hear it.
Profusely sweating, the 20-year old crawled under her bed, the oversized covers hiding her body. He was coming. Someonewas coming. She snaked her arms around herself, sweat trickling down her jaw and dripping on the floor below. The footsteps were getting louder now. More rushed and spastic.
Her hand was clamped over mouth and she had to try really hard not to scream. Her eyes widened in fear, her body convulsing violently. One squeak and she was dead. At this point of time, Kana really wished she'd never gone to spy on those people, back during Rihyon Nura's lecture. If she'd just avoided them, kept her curiosity in check, she'd never be in this mess. Her life would've been normal. Longer.She'd never have to deal with Rikuo Nura or assassins or Hikage Daito Ryu.
She wanted to live. But all her hopes shattered when she saw her door opening. A shadow appeared inside her room.
Goodbye everyone . . . . . .
A loud honk came from outside, almost making Kana scream out loud. The figure froze in its place. "Kana!" Saori's voice called from outside "Are you done yet?! We're getting late!" The figure made no movement.
"Kana-chan, are you there?!" asked Natsumi but the brunette of course couldn't reply. The figure was still there, somewhere outside her room. She saw his shadow moving.
"Oi, Kana!" it was Kiyotsugu's voice "We're coming up!" And then, the figure moved. Disappeared just like that.
Kana did not know how long she stayed like that, hidden under her bed, hands clamped over her mouth, eyes wide in fear, shivering violently. The next thing she knew were loud footsteps and her friend's voices calling for her.
Saori was the first one to appear in the doorway. "Kana?" her voice called out, noticing the empty room. "She's not he-" But before the blonde could complete her sentence, Kana slowly crawled out from under the bed. Saori's mouth dropped when she saw her. "Kana, whaaa. . . ?"
But the brunette gave no explanation. She just ran into her friend's arms and cried.
Tsurara suitor's list
Gozumaru (5) – Nayrael, Silver Gold Moonlight, All My Life, Skylar Nightwalker, Fede 194
Jiro Shima (2) – Rose Rain 7, Night Dreamer
Kubinashi (1) – The Crest of Anubis
Shoei (1) – Dennou Writer