Chapter 4: The Secrets of Her Past (Part 1)

Hey, it's me again. Kuroba Kaito. Remember me? I hope you still do, since I consider myself unforgettable.

I already told you about our first meeting right? With that girl named Miyano Shiho. She was cold to me and, well, at the time, I really thought I could defrost her with a few sweet words. Some good that did.

Anyway, here's what happened later that day. I'll skip the classes, since you probably won't be interested about that. I know I'm not.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Sensei," I called out, raising my right hand, the other massaging my temple.

My English teacher looked up from her notes. "Nan desu ka~ (what is it), Kaito-kun?" she asked, in her broken Japanese.

I put on a pitiful expression on my face. "Jodie-sensei," I said in a pained voice, "My stomach hurts."

"You are feeling unwell~? Would you like to go to the infirmary~?" she asked, looking concerned. I mentally gave myself a clap on the back for my great acting skills as I nodded, looking like the pain was gonna kill me. She wrote out an excuse slip and handed it to me. I opened the door and was about to walk out when she said, "Oh, and Kaito-kun?"

"Hai?" I turned my head to look at her.

She gave me a wink. "You hold your stomach when you have a stomachache, okay~?"

I smiled at her. "Yokai. (Roger)" I gave her a small salute, and then switched my hands from my forehead to my stomach.

I closed the door behind me, and I stuck my hand inside my pocket, probing for the piece of paper which contained Kudo's schedule. I took it out and scanned the page. Social Studies... Chemistry... Phys. Ed! Perfect!

I grinned to myself. Boys and girls have separate classes so I won't have to worry about Kudo.

That made me stop. Standing alone in the empty corridor, I frowned at my reflection in the window. Why am I thinking about Kudo? He's never been interested in anyone before. Why start now? And it's not like he'll be a bother to me anyway. I can easily outdo him… Can't I?

I shook my head. What is wrong with me? It's just Kudo. Kudo for God's sake. He's not a problem. So why am I-

I clapped my hands on my cheeks. Hard. That managed to snap me out of my current string of thoughts. The ring of the dismissal bell reminded me to get to my destination.

I headed for the girl's locker room. As I reached it, I heard female voices through the door, telling me that they were changing. Not wanting to be surrounded by my admirers when I charm my new target, I hid behind the stairs, sure that she would pass through.

As the new student, she'd either be the first or the last to come out, that's what I deduced. So I waited. The first girl to get out was my 25th girlfriend. Or was it 52nd? Not that it matters. It just means my target will be the last one out.

As just about every girl from Teitan High came and went, my patience was getting thin. It's already been three minutes since the last girl passed by. Three whole minutes! How long could it possibly take for a girl to change?

When I finally saw her, all I wanted to do was storm over and give her a piece of my mind. But I didn't do that, no. If I did, that would ruin all chances of getting her. So I put on a friendly face and left my hiding place.

"Yo."

Her eyes did not even acknowledge my presence as she walked in my direction. "Listen Miyano-san," I said, doing my usual trick. I snapped my finger, a rose suddenly being held between my forefinger and my thumb. I offered it to her saying, "I'm not sure what kind of start we had, but maybe we could start over?"

She walked past me, making me feel completely ignored. I gritted my teeth and caught up. I stopped right in front her, blocking her path. "Miyano-san."

I would've called her Shiho, but I try to keep my promises when possible.

"What do you want?" she asked. Her velvety voice rang through the silent corridor, carrying a harsh tone with it. Somehow, it matched her cold exterior.

I leaned my face closer to hers.

"Normally I won't even care, but with you, it's different," I told her in a soft voice, staring deep into her blue-green, impenetrable eyes. For a second, an emotion I wasn't able to identify flickered there, but it disappeared so quickly, it made me wonder if I even saw it at all.

The stare that immediately followed rooted me to the floor, effectively paralyzing me. It was a look of... No, not rage. Not hate. Not any emotion I've ever seen on an angry girl. It was a look of indescribable emotion that made time stop. For me anyway.

When I came to my senses, she had turned the corner and disappeared from sight. I instantly ran after her, but by the time I got there, she had disappeared. I followed the corridor, but she wasn't anywhere. It was like she had vanished into thin air.

"Damn…" I banged my fist lightly on the wall. "What is wrong with that woman?"

I gritted my teeth. Then bit my lip. Then smirked. I'm not gonna back down Shiho, no matter what you do.

Deciding that I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything else, I made up my mind to know more about her. First things first, I gotta talk to the girl information center of Teitan High.

"Hondou-kun," I addressed the bespectacled shounen (boy) sitting at the first row of 2-1's classroom, a laptop on his desk.

"H-H-Hai!" At my voice, he immediately stood up, his arms stiffly at his sides. Now, it might seem like he's afraid of me, but believe me, he's not. Not really. As you all know, I'm popular. The most popular guy at school. And since I talk to him, that boosts his reputation so he's gotta be careful with what he says around me.

I gestured for him to sit down as I settled myself on the seat beside him. "What do you have on that new girl?"

He sat down and at the mention of 'new girl' his face brightened. "You mean Miyano Shiho-san?"

"Duh. Who else could it possibly be?"

"Well… Miyano Shiho… Miyano… Miyano…" he murmured as his fingers raced over the letter keys. "Atta! (Here it is!)"

His gaze shifted from the screen to me. "Actually, my research networks told me that it would be a guy. A kid from a rich family so I didn't try to look too closely into it. I was surprised when I heard that the transferee was a girl. But during lunch, I was able to get most of her personal information."

He adjusted his glasses as he read them out loud. "Her name's Miyano Shiho. Her parents are Miyano Atsushi and Elena." He looked up at me. "It seems she's a half. Her mother was British."

No wonder she has those looks...

He continued reading. "She has a sister, Miyano Akemi. But from what I can tell, they don't look alike. I believe her sister takes after her father while she takes after her mother. As for her past school, she transferred here from America but I wasn't able to get exactly which school she came from. Ummm…"

He frowned. "Now, her profile gets kinda sketchy. I believe she used to live in Japan, but she and her sister moved to America to live with their relatives when their parents died in some sort of accident. They lived there for six years. Now, for reasons unknown, they came back to Japan."

Hmmmm... So her parents are dead? I could-

He looked up at me, apologetic. "Sorry, but that's pretty much all the information I have on her. I don't have her attitude, likes and dislikes yet. Ummm… Based on feedback I got from our classmates, and my own personal observations, she appears to be cold and hasn't talked to anyone yet. Except Kudo. That's pretty much it."

He switched off his laptop and closed it. "I don't have her address, either. They just moved here yesterday so the school's database doesn't have it yet. I'll check it out later, or do you want me to-"

I cut him off saying "No need, Houndou. That's good enough." I didn't want him stalking her. That would be too obvious. "Just tell me her address when you have it."

"H-Hai…" he said, relief on his face. That was probably because the last time a new girl came, he had gotten suspended for a week for stalking her. He never told the teachers he was doing it for 'information' or for me. He wouldn't dare. Not if he didn't want to his social standing going down the drain.

"Kaito?"

My head snapped up. "Kudo? What are you doing here?"

He cocked his head in confusion. "It's already five Kaito. Practice is over."

Oh God... I forgot track practice... I shrugged it off. Oh well, who cares? I've got better things to do.

I put back on the smile on my face, hiding the plans I was making. "So Kudo... Let's go home?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, that's it. But I surprise myself. Even that time, I was already aware of Kudo's... strangeness. Do I have the makings of a detective? Yeah right.

And about Shiho's past... I thought about using it to make her closer to me, but I had to be careful to keep it a secret from her. Otherwise, she'd think I was looking into her. Not a good thing when you're trying to get close to a girl. You have to have her open up to you. In other words, you can't know things she didn't tell you. She'd close up if she knew you knew.

Alright, enough with the advice. I gotta go now. As for what happens next...

The one and only, ~Kuroba Kaito~