Pacing back and forth frantically had been an unrewarded plan after 20 minutes of trying to pull her thoughts together. Haruka's gaze darted left and right, quickly taking note of the thinning crowd. The pin-striped and tweed suits had disappeared from her sight, which left the nineteen year-old in even more of a dilemma. The streets were a dangerous place to wander, but the question was: Where to go?

Most of the surrounding buildings were corporations, which had to mean that she had trailed downtown into the business district. Pausing, Haruka checked her cell phone clock and sighed. 32 minutes late.

Trailing down the side-walk, her feet rejoiced at the sight of a bench near the curb. The brunette grinned slightly, hoping to collect her thought in peace while resting on the city bench. The streets were quiet now, which relieved and worried the girl at the same time.

Staggering forward, Haruka collapsed on the right side of the bench, crossing her legs and boredly leaning on the arm rest. Her options were limited and her worry for not only her own safety, but Hikari' as well gnawed at her internally.
Checking her cell-phone again, Haruka sighed disapprovingly and held her head in her hands, scrunching her eyes closed tightly.

"This day can't get any worse…" she murmured despairingly.

"Rough day?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. Haruka's eyes widened as she glanced up at the tall stranger that addressed her. Warm violet eyes stared down at her quizzically as a lopsided grin crossed his face. "You look like a lost puppy, chikoi wanko-chan (little dog)"

The brunette lifted a brow. "Little puppy?" she frowned.
"It's pretty suiting, hmm?" the stranger laughed, running a hand through his light gray-blue hair that spiked in the back and feathered down near his face in the front.

Haruka sighed. "I guess you're right about one thing, Oji-san (old man). I am lost…"
"Oji-san? How rude! I'm only thirty-two, wanko-chan," he frowned, crossing his arms playfully.
"But I suppose I, Daigo, can forgive a cute puppy for such a mistake." He grinned.

Haruka flushed, glancing at the pavement to collect herself. "I'm sorry, Daigo-san. My mistake."
Daigo stared at the azure-eyed girl with surprise before laughing. It was a sweet, melodic laugh that brought warmth to her cheeks. Her eyes locked with his as he addressed her.

"Wanko-chan, perhaps I can help you out,"

"H-Haruka!" she stammered, gazing at him with a line of blush across her face. "I'm Haruka…"

"Haru-wanwan, where are you trying to get to?" the thirty-two year-old questioned, his smile generally warm and friendly in comparison to the polite business smile she had expected to receive. Daigo had that CEO aura to him—a certain professionalism—even if she could never imagine him sitting sternly in a cubicle and attending to office work.

Haruka tapped her chin with her finger.
"I was suppose to meet my roommate, Hikari, at the café on 3rd Avenue at 5:20, but that was awhile ago, after I became lost without any cell phone signal," the girl quickly explained. Daigo nodded, his eyes calculating, which only resurfaced fond memories of her emerald eyed friend once more. 'Shuu…' she sighed.

"Ahhh," her companion commented, nodding at last. "You're a good mile away from your rendezvous point, Haru-wanwan. And… About 40 minutes late,"
The handsome male fiddled with his neck-tie for a moment before digging out his own cell phone. Glancing at the screen, he raised a brow.

"Funny. I have signal here. What about you, Haruka?" he questioned, not turning his glance away from the phone but extending his left hand for her to place the teal phone in. His gaze flickered to the teen's phone as a frown cross his face. "How strange…"

Haruka sighed, rubbing her temples. She was semi-grateful to have Daigo's assistance, but her sense of time ragged at her.
"I need to find Hikari," she huffed, frowning to herself moodily. Daigo chuckled.

"There's a slight possibility that I can be of assistance, Haru-wanwan, so don't worry that pretty little head," he nodded, the lopsided-grin returning.
"My manager has my car in for repairs, but I know someone who lives around here that might be able to help you."

Haruka's eyes widened, trying to suppress all the excited and relieved feelings that she felt at the time.
"Really!? Thank you, Daigo-san! Thank you!" she bowed her head humbly several times. The male laughed, versus his also pleasant chuckle before he ruffled Haruka's hair playfully and began to punch in several numbers into his phone's keypad. Satisfied with what he entered, the receiver was brought to his lips as he listened to ringing for a moment before a young male voice sounded on the other end of the line.
"Daigo-san?" it yelped, sounding surprised.

"Shuuka-kun, I need you and your car for about 20 minutes," Daigo stated. To Haruka, it sounded more like a demand than a request. Silence for a moment.

"Right now?" the voice questioned.

"Yes, now!" the older male shook his head, frowning to himself. "Meet me a block away from the Yume studios… And, yes, drive now, ask later. You see why soon enough" he stated mischievously.

Haruka's eyes filled with curiosity as she listened to the gray-blue haired man's half of the conversation, taking note of the slightest change in personality. Acknowledging the pair of sapphire eyes, Daigo smiled reassuringly as he listened to grumbling from the man of the other end of the line a bit longer before he finally agreed. Grinning half to himself, his hands shut the phone before he stowed it in his suit pocket once more.

Haruka tilted her head to the side. "What's going on?"
The violet-eyed man grinned again. "You'll see soon enough, wanko-chan…"

Shuu huffed, annoyed when he struggled to pull on his boots near the front door. He tripped a step or two, but caught his balance at the last second in a quick recovery before snatching his car-keys from where they hung neatly on the wall.

Having received a ridiculous call from his superior, he debated whether to fill the call or not. Daigo was a man who could be rather tricky and would occasionally toy with the older teen. He sighed. Still, Shuu admitted to owing the man more favors that he could even pay back.

'It's expected of me, I guess," the emerald-eyed boy thought to himself as he slipped into the driver's seat of his sleek sports car and quickly put it in gear. It was a 4 minute drive at best to the given destination, but still Shuu could not shake the feeling that Daigo would find something to nag about to him. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair several times.

Having stopped at the only stoplight of his entire commute, the emerald-eyed male plucked his cell phone from the arm rest and stared at the 'recent calls' list with discontent. Not a single call from Haruka, as predicted.
"What did I expect?" he sighed "She's probably avoiding the task of calling me now… but I hope she's alright.." his voice dropped to a whisper, shaking his head once more as he turned the corner and caught sight of Tsuwabuki Daigo.

Pulling up to the curb, Shuu put the car in 'park' and rolled down the window to glance up at his superior. "You rang, master Tsuwabuki?" he smirked.

A look of amusement was reflected on the older male's face. "Good kouhai. You made it after all."

"You probably wouldn't let go of the issue otherwise if I hadn't shown," Shuu shrugged. "So what is this request of yours?"

Daigo grinned, stepping out of the way to reveal the azure-eyed girl who gazed at the two timidly. Shuu had to contain himself from doing a double-take, or even a triple-take, for that matter. This girl was gorgeous and yet…. so familiar. Sapphire eyes locked with his emerald gaze, and for a moment, he felt as if he truly did know her. 'Impossible… It can't be, right? '

His gaze raked over the stranger, observing every little detail he could pick-up while being conspicuous. 'No, no! Haruka lives in Osaka, right? This girl just so happens to resemble her… a lot,' he soothed, managing a polite smile. Haruka's eyes filled with curiosity as she gently smiled back at the mysterious man.

Breaking his gaze from Haruka, Shuu could feel his heart racing, but tried to appear calm.
"Alright, I take it you're 'assisting' people again, Daigo-san," Shuu chuckled. The corner of the older man's mouth tugged into a devious smile.
"No, I just found this cute, lost puppy and thought you could help her find her way home." Daigo's eyes filled with badly concealed mischief.

"Right…" the emerald-eyed teen replied sarcastically. Haruka listened to the two chatter back and forth for a moment before managing to speak and remind them of her presence.
"Uhmm… Daigo-san?"

Turning back to his 'damsel in distress', Daigo smiled.
"Of course, of course, my dear. We can't forget about you." He stated, tone smooth and charming as he lifted the girl in a bridal-style carry. Haruka's face became more scarlet than a rose as she struggled and stammered words of protest. Shifting her weight in his arms, Tsuwabuki Daigo opened the door to the passenger's seat and placed her inside before turning to address Shuu again.

"You're chauffeuring today, Shuuka-kun. Make sure she gets to the café on 3rd, and not to your apartment," he winked, shutting the door and knocking on the side of the car-door in a way that was used when seeing someone off.

"That Daigo..." Shuu groaned, shifting gears and lightly tapping on the accelerator.
'Great. Now I'm a taxi-cab driver chauffeuring a temptress who resembles my unrequited lover. Isn't this the cherry on the whipped cream?'

Lupeh: So about half-way through this chapter, I learned that Daigo (Steven Stone) had a last name. Haruka is just not aware of it yet o:

Fufufufu c: I had fun with this chapter, and hopefully it's not as rough as it seems to me, having read it over and over for mistakes. I finally brought Shuu back into the equation, which means the next chapter is going to be Contestshipping :D
And, yes, many of you will wonder why Haruka doesn't recognize Shuu.. Well, now. First off, Shuu obviously dyed his hair for his career xD And, really. They haven't seen each other since they were 11, so it would be a little difficult to recognize someone you haven't seen in eight years. (*shakes fist* Stupid Satoshi-- trying to ruin Contestshipping)

Anyways-- Please continue to Read and Review, and look forward to the next chapter!