Posted: 07/07/2007
1st Revision: 21/07/2007 (Fixed small error.)
一
Stain
Thanks to Astarael00 for beta-ing.
Chapter 12
一
Natsuki stormed into the hospital, taking long, quick steps; it almost felt like she was running, except for her stiff posture.
She ignored the calls of the nurses telling her visiting hours were over.
There was only one thing she needed to know, and she needed answers now.
She jerked the door to Shizuru's room open roughly.
" - find her, quickly."
Grey eyes glanced at her.
Reito.
He signaled for the nurse behind her to leave them.
Silence reigned. Then -
"Report to me once you have found her," Reito said, calmly, into his phone. "Dismissed."
And he shut his phone, sliding it into his pocket.
Natsuki's green gaze was as cold as glaciers.
"...Kuga-san."
Her fist tightened, eyes darting to the empty bed before falling back to him. She noted, with slight satisfaction, that his face was black and blue.
"Where is she?" Her tone did not hide the malice. It was tempting, so tempting...
There was a pause before he replied. "Unfortunately, Kuga-san, I know only as much as you do now."
Her eyebrows creased further. "When?" she asked tightly, almost unwillingly. Oh, how she was loathe to ask information of him...
"The nurse noticed only an hour ago, during check-up time."
Natsuki replied by glaring at him like he was the lowest scum on earth.
He returned her gaze coolly.
There was a long, long moment, before she spoke again. Dangerously and murderously.
"Hurt her again, and I will goddamn kill you."
He smiled wryly at that. "Duly noted."
She snarled at him.
But then the phone rang.
Casually, he took out the phone from his pocket and flipped it open.
"Kanzaki speaking."
A pause.
"I see." The former vice-president stared at Natsuki calmly, even as he spoke into the phone. Another pause. "No, that's all right. You may call them off. Good work."
He flipped the phone shut. "They have found Shizuru-san."
She said nothing, waiting for him to speak.
"Apparently she is back in her apartment," he said, his tone almost curious. "With Yuuki-san."
For a long moment, Natsuki did not speak.
The raven haired girl took two long strides towards Reito, raised her fist, and socked him in the face. Hard.
He stumbled, but did not fall; it was something he had half-expected, even if he did not raise his guard against her.
Natsuki disappeared from the room with parting words.
"You got no right to say her name, bastard."
Reito only rubbed his nose gingerly, and let out a sigh.
He looked thoughtfully at the open door, before flicking his phone open.
Now, what are the chances Shizuru-san brought her phone with her?
He pressed the call button, waited two seconds, and heard the sound of another phone ringing from the direction of the bed.
The black-haired man sighed again.
Shizuru's apartment phone line would not do, he knew. The possibility it may be tapped was too great, and he did not want to risk it.
I wonder what Yuuki-san's phone number is?
He glanced at the bed; or the bedside table, rather.
Striding purposefully to the table, he opened the drawer, and retrieved Shizuru's handphone.
一
A month after the start of new semester for Fuuka Gakuen...
She watched, expression devoid of emotions.
The man, the old man in his late sixties, paced around the room.
"Something is wrong here, Shizuru," he said, weariness apparent in his voice. "Very wrong."
Shizuru stood, and slowly guided her father to the chair. "Sit," she requested softly, "You are unwell, father. You should not even have journeyed all the way here. I could have returned."
Fujino sighed, but acquiesced to the gentle request.
"You have seen the reports, Shizuru," he said tiredly. "It is obvious that someone, or some organization, wants us to go."
"We are still coping," reminded his daughter, even if she agreed. She kneeled by his side, taking his hand into hers, squeezing it supportively.
"But not for long. Not for long, Shizuru. It's only a matter of time." Another deep breath. "Already our sources are diminishing, and that person..that bastard..."
She almost flinched from the use of that foul word. Her father never cursed. Never.
"That...that whoever is playing a game with us, Shizuru. A cruel game where we can only defend ourselves. He the cat," Fujino said bitterly, "And we the mouse."
"Father..."
"It's so clear that he has all the resources to just take over our company," he intoned flatly. "But he chose to use little by little, and...and..."
"You need rest, father," Shizuru said quietly, her crimson eyes alight with a hint of concern. "This issue is - "
"If it wasn't for you," he cut in, his tone suddenly subdued and gentle as he regarded his daughter, "Our company would have been gone."
She managed a little smile, at that. "It is my duty after all, as a Fujino, father."
"But you are so young," came the reply, broken, painful, "Still so young, and already burdened. It is because I'm too old and so incapable, I...I... "
一
"Hold on." Nao lifted a hand.
"Yes, Yuuki-san?"
"You said this happened a month after your graduation?"
"Yes."
"And some guy, who's obviously more powerful and richer than your family, wants your company dead?"
"Yes."
"In just a month?"
"A month, yes. Although it actually started around two weeks after graduation."
"So, two weeks was all that guy took to put your family's company in danger?"
"Two weeks," confirmed Shizuru.
"...and you were there for the whole two weeks to take care of things?"
Shizuru shook her head. "No. I was only called back at the end of the third week, and it was only then did I realize what had happened."
A pause, then;
"That means you took just one week to steady your company again?" Nao's tone was filled with disbelief.
The other only smiled, and shrugged modestly.
"It all comes down to management skills, Yuuki-san."
一
He lifted a hand to caress her face, brown eyes, with deep hues of red, staring into her own burgundy eyes with love and sadness both shining in them.
"You shouldn't have to deal with this, Shizuru," he muttered. "You are only eighteen. Eighteen."
But she did. Oh, she did.
一
"How sweet," Nao interrupted, rather mildly.
"You were the one who wanted to know everything," was the pointed reply.
"Tch."
Shizuru chuckled. "Shall I skip this part?"
"Skip it," came the fast reply.
一
It was a hard and long investigation, especially when she was juggling the company's best interests at the same time, but Shizuru's effort proved to be fruitful.
The perpetrator that wanted to take Fujino's company down had been found.
Minagi Hiruta.
一
"Did you just say Minagi?"
"Minagi, yes."
Nao arched an eyebrow.
"Eh..."
"A distant relative to Reito-san." A pause. "And Mikoto-san."
"I guess this somehow intertwines with the little rumor around you and Kanzaki?"
"Well...yes, in a manner of speaking."
"In a manner of speaking?" Echoed Nao.
"A mere small contributor to the equation, Yuuki-san, but hardly the reason, if at all."
一
But she chose not to tell her father.
At least, she did not intend to tell until she was certain. Minagi Hiruta...
Minagi...
Was Reito into this, as well?
She paused, thinking.
No, the answer came as quickly. Reito was not that type of person. He did not even have a reason to come after her or her family. Reito, she knew, moved only if there was a purpose. Without one, it would be a waste of time.
Similar to her, in that respect.
Reito wouldn't have used such underhanded tactics, either.
The one who did this, she thought, a little coldly, was a coward. Not daring to appear in front of her and her father, instead remaining in the background as his underlings moved about.
A coward.
And so she delved deeper, deeper, until she almost reached the point of no return.
A point where she almost stained her hands, once more.
There, she found her answer.
There, she found the simple truth, entwined with and hidden by many lies.
The First District.
She closed her eyes.
Ah, how foolish she had been...
Shizuru watched her father. A frail, old man, unable to take charge. A man in his sixties, who should have retired long ago, who should be allowed the peace he needed for what little is left of his life.
Shizuru did not tell him what she found.
Instead, she called Minagi Hiruta out, using what she found as bait.
A foolish decision.
A dangerous option.
But she had no choice.
It was just a matter of time.
The Fujino company was breaking down, bit by bit.
Just a matter of time.
The place of meeting was switched, however, when he requested such.
She had agreed, after some contemplation, despite the fact it was a strange request.
Minagi Hiruta had asked to meet at the dojo; the dojo where she practiced her skills of Aikido.
In Fuuka, no less.
一
"Huh. Weird guy."
"I will have to agree. But...it became apparent why he wanted us to meet there, when I saw him."
Nao blinked.
Shizuru smiled.
An empty smile.
It reminded Nao of the time in the festival, and her blood ran cold.
The redhead stood up abruptly.
It was Shizuru's turn to blink, and she looked enquiringly at Nao.
"Yuuki-san?"
The smile - that cold, hollow smile - was gone, and concern was in those eyes.
"No," she folded her suddenly shaking hands, and shook her head. "It's nothing. Continue."
Those deep red - like blood - eyes told Nao that Shizuru knew, exactly, what warring emotions were going through her.
But, of course, Shizuru did not mention it.
The hazel haired girl continued with the story, a casual air around her.
But Nao knew better.
Oh, she knew much better.
For a brief - very, very brief - moment, Nao wished she had her HiME's powers back
Her hands did not stop shaking for the rest of the night.
A/N:
Hrm. Well. I don't have much to say this time. However, I will confirm right here and now that I have no plans to bring back HiME and all the racket that accompanied it. So, meh. Aside from this, I will apologize for the delay - if you've been checking my bio recently, you may have noted that the delay was due to the problematic time line of Mai HiME. And where the timeline is concerned...it's rather problematic. While I will not change the plot without good reasons, I may return to previous chapters to tweak the dates and all to suit the set timeline. More info can be found in bio.
The delay was also affected by the fact I've found a new fandom to drabble in. -coughs-
Anyway, this is more of a transition chapter and some background filling information; and.. -gives amused look- I think I have good reasons to believe that ShizNat fans may want to kill or hug me for the next chapter, since, after all, it's the long awaited confrontation between the two.
So until then,
Eagle.