Chapter 39 – No Turning Back


"Okay class! Remember, tomorrow we'll be starting our new history module and it will be on the Apartheid. And you know what that means~?"

"CLASS WARS!"

The whole class cried out in unison!

Ayame grinned from ear to ear, swept up by the excitement. She had to say, history class her second favourite, second to physics class of course. However, for most students it was their number one, and for good reasons too. Watanabe-sensei was as unorthodox as could be, taking on a more interactive learning approach than most teachers in Karakura High school which appealed to students and yielded great results. Perhaps it had something to do with his education degree from America, studying a multitude of learning styles rather than the classic Japanese textbook work. 'Class wars' had Watanabe-sensei's moniker all over it and it had all the other history class students from across the grade extremely jealous. They were like little orphans from Dickens, peering desperately into Watanabe-sensei's class windows, wanting to get in all the class fun.

How did 'class wars' work? There were always two sides to history and so, splitting the class into two opposing sides was one technique he used for the class to envisage the war. Hence the term: 'Class Wars'. Ayame also thought it was a fun and hip term for pretty much a class debate as well, only with a historical twist to it.

"Oh goody! I was hoping we'd get class wars this semester!" Chizuru-chan stamped her feet in excitement and giggled into her overly-long sleeve. Ayame nodded, relieved that they'll have an extra bit of fun to break up the exam stress.

The rest of the class buzzed and chittered, excited squeals and whoops traveled up and down the room as their teacher wrote in big Katakana script 'APARTHEID and POST-APARTHEID ERA' on the blackboard. Ayame quickly opened her notebook, ready to write down every single thing she needed to prepare for tomorrow's 'class wars'. What did she know already about the Apartheid?... Not that much, only it had something to do with racism in South Africa a while ago. She wondered if Takumi-kun learnt world history in Tootsuki too, or maybe their history module was restricted to only food related. Did Tootsuki even have a history module? She'd never even thought to ask…

"So!" Watanabe-sensei slapped the chalk stick onto his desk. "Tomorrow is going to be the eleventh of February, 1990. Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison after spending twenty-seven years in jail. Then flash forward four years later, Mandela is elected the first black president of South Africa. I'm going to need someone to be Nelson Mandela. Sagura-kun! You're going to be Nelson Mandela tomorrow"

Watanabe-sensei pointed at the boy teetering precariously on his chair at the back of the classroom. The brown-haired student startled at his name being called out and planted his feet back on the floor in time before his chair sailed backwards and he cracked his head open on the linoleum floor.

"Nelson Mandela, sir? I thought It was 'Morgan Freeman'!"

"No, Sagura-kun! They are completely different people. Morgan Freeman is an American actor"

"Sir! Sir! If Sagura-kun is going to be Morgan Freeman, can I be Matt Damon?"

"Matt Dam-!? What's wrong with you boys?! We're studying the Apartheid tomorrow, not Invictus!"

"Yeah, but the Invictus movie with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon was during the Apartheid"

"Well that's one thing you got right in my class for the whole year, Otowa-kun. I'll give you that…"

The class erupted in laughter at Sagura-kun's and Otowa-kun's expense. Ayame shook her head and suppressed her laughter. She would dare another student to say they had more fun in their own history class because Watanabe-sensei's history class was the best. She turned around and saw that Kuchiyose-kun was snoozing away behind her, unaware at the commotion going on with his head buried in his folded arms. At least those boys had some notion on the topic, even if it came from an American movie. Chizuru-chan might have a copy of Invictus with Japanese subtitles, so they could get a preliminary start and 'research' the Apartheid by looking at it in the context of a biographical sports drama film. That counted as 'research' right?

Suddenly the door swung open causing head to turn. Ayame craned her head over the other students and saw it was only Nissan-kun and Furutani-kun. Why were they so late? Oh... don't tell her they were reading porn magazines again and lost track of the time. Luckily, Watanabe-sensei was prepared for the question as soon as they crossed the threshold.

"Nissan-kun, why are you late?"

"Uh... Wheel-chair?"

Nissan-kun snapped his finger to the wheelchair he had been sitting in since... well, since Ayame had known him in middle school. He lifted a thick eyebrow at their history teacher and crossed his butch arms together in silent admonishment, and as if it was the most obvious reason in the world. Ayame was proud to say that she had helped him customise his light-weight wheelchair to look like a hot ride back in middle school. It was spray painted in white and patterned with racing stripes on the back to boot. Ayame had installed custom headlights at the front and back of the wheel-chair for him as well, which he controlled with his phone-app. He had told her that her customisation was the only thing that made him feel being in a wheel chair was pretty boss, which he had never felt before as a child. Too bad his parents said no to the spiked hub-caps. About third year middle school, he had earned the nickname Nissan-kun from the school much to his delight. It was his favourite brand of car.

Watanabe-sensei rolled his eyes "And you, Furutani-kun?"

"This thing doesn't push itself does it!" he too threw his arms towards his best friend in the wheelchair as if it was too obvious to miss.

Watanabe-sensei pulled another face which Ayame interpreted as asking himself Kami-sama why he even bothered with those two misfits.

"Look... please, it's Monday morning and you two are already giving me a hangover. Just go to your seats"

The two hi-fived each other before making their way to the back of the classroom where the rest of their gangs were.

"Alright! Now for the lot of you, this side of the classroom, you're all going to be the black South Africans. The other side, you're all going to be the white South Africans. Do a general search on the racial division between those two groups and get ready to present your findings in 'class wars', representing your group tomorrow. Then we're going to start the war" Watanabe-sensei sliced his arm in the air right above the middle line of the class.

"Yes sensei!"

"And if I find out that any of you little shits watched the Invictus movie instead of doing proper research, I'm going to demonstrate the torture techniques from Guantanamo Bay using a fire extinguisher on Sagura-kun"

"Oi! Why me, sir?!"

"Because you started it. Class dismissed!"

Ayame scribbled the last words before shutting her book. Phew! Watanabe-sensei sure talked really fast when he was pissed off. She could hear Sagura-kun wailing in the rear, with this friends rubbing his back with absolute pity. She turned around again and gave Kuchiyose-kun a quick slap on the shoulder to wake him up. Right on cue, the lilac-haired giant lifted hid head and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He stretched his arms up high, gave a gigantic yawn and popped a few joints before resuming back into his lackadaisical self. Meanwhile Chizuru-chan beside her rolled her eyes and grumbled about something or other. She tore out a page of her own notebook and passed it to Kuchiyose-kun who took it with a small nod.

"You owe me ice-cream at Meshina" said Chizuru-chan with a smirk.

Kuchiyose-kun smirked back. Ayame peeked over to see what was written and was pleased to see that she had jotted down the class notes and instructions for tomorrow's ''class wars for their sleepy friend. Welp, movie time with Chizuru-chan flew right out the window. It looked like she'll be staying up a bit later than usual to squeeze in some preparations for tomorrow. As the classroom noise began to rise again while the students packed up their belongings, Ayame's thoughts drifted towards Takumi-kun again. She wondered how his day was today. If he's learnt any new cooking techniques, if he's come up with a new 'Aldini-styled' recipe or—"

'I forgot… he can't do things like that anymore…'

Ayame sighed and bit the insides of her cheek. It was easy to lapse back into thinking Takumi-kun had a great time at Tootsuki, the same way as she did with her classes when obviously it was far from that. Takumi-kun didn't have many things to tell her about Tootsuki except for what was happening with the Rebel Alliance's plan to overthrow Nakiri Azami, so all in all, things were still dark and dreary with a tad of sinisternes. Even then, such news were getting sparse. He was being overly careful not to talk too much about it because he didn't want to burden her with sensitive information and make her worry. It was times like these where Ayame just wanted to roll her eyes when his inner gentleman was over-exaggerating the seriousness of the situation. Maybe that was why he was always asking her about the smallest details of her day. He wanted to hear something ordinary, positive, light and amusing to make him forget about the incredible tension at Tootsuki. Takumi-kun even joked that Ayame had enough happy stories for the both of them and he was content to just hear about her day. Even if he did pester her for lots of details, that adorable Italian.

True. The happenings at Tootsuki weren't any of her business but knowing about it or not didn't stop the fact that she was still concerned about her boyfriend.

"Chizuru-chan, do you have work today?"

"Nope, Kojima-san's given me a day off. He's gone to visit his parents for the weekend"

"Oh? That sounds lovely" replied Ayame. The two girls bade Kuchiyose-kun goodbye as he walked in the other direction, towards the back-field for his after-school soccer practice.

"Best part about it is that I get a break from Terunori too" snorted Chizuru-chan.

Ayame grinned. Ahh… Terunori Kuga. The thorn in her best friend's paw. The bane to her existent. She could go on. It was a catastrophic nuclear fission reaction waiting to happen between those two. She had not a single good word to say about Takumi-kun's senpai and she made sure that was the case every time Ayame asked about her part-time work. Those two bickered and squabbled like an old married couple from what she could tell. Chizuru-chan had to be the only person she knew in the whole universe who complained about getting free spicy food and all-expense paid for café trips, even if they were against her will. Her best friend was very strange. It made Ayame wonder if buried beneath the cussing and the convoluted insults Chizuru-chan spat about him, she was hiding something so much deeper… so much deeper… Because it was so amusing that she always blushed whenever she talked about Terunori Kuga. Ayame knew for a fact that Chizuru-chan didn't turn red for anyone, even if they angered the hell out of her. Then the other question was why Terunori Kuga-san was investing so much of his time, money and food to annoy Chizuru-chan? He made her, her favourite spicy foods twice a week and forced her to take it, dragged her out to eat at nice cafes at any given opportunity, and he plastered himself to her presence all afternoon.

The answer there was most obvious, yet it was the only subtext her best friend couldn't read.

'Dating Chizuru-chan without her realising… Terunori-san sure is sly'

"But you have to admit that Terunori-san's presence in the bookshop does add a bit of colour to your life, no?" said Ayame. It only earned her an irked response from Chizuru-chan.

"I've long ago just gave up trying to drive him out. You know, the other day he was mad at me…"

The two girls finally reached their shoe lockers. The students milling around, walking and rushing past them drowned out some of Chizuru-chan's words and Ayame had to lean in a bit closer to hear her. She detected a hint of both annoyance and resentment in her friend's tone and that befuddled her a bit.

"He said I smelt like a cinnamon bun and that he hates cinnamon buns"

Well that was unexpected…

"I happen to like your new cinnamon scent. Who would've thought rubbing a bit of ground cinnamon on yourself makes a good substitute for cinnamon perfume" Ayame said cheerfully, trying to bring back a lighter atmosphere.

"Tell me the truth… do you think I smell… weird …with cinnamon?" asked Chizuru-chan.

Ayame blinked rapidly as she slipped on her outdoor shoes and replaced her indoor shoes into the locker. She was definitely caught by surprise. Was Chizuru-chan feeling anxious? About the way she smelled? She hadn't seen this side of her for a really long time. Not since when they both began as first years in Karakura high school. Chizuru-chan's face was lightly dusted in pink and was avoiding eye contact, trying to pass it off as nonchalance, but she could tell from the way how stiff her fingers were from gripping her book bag that she was really bothered about the 'smell' concept again and the way she smelled. Ayame tried to answer honestly.

"Ummm… it doesn't smell like perfume, if that's what you're asking. I smells like you've been baking with cinnamon I suppose. Like cinnamon buns"

"Is that a good thing?"

"I guess it implies that… you didn't wash up after baking, so everyone probably thinks you've been baking cinnamon buns all the time and forgetting to shower. B-But I still like it!"

Chizuru-chan slapped her forehead. "Urghh! I knew this was a bad idea" The poor girl continued to groan and rub her hand all over her face in exasperation. She fell forward and banged her head against the shoe locker with a loud rattle. The students around them turned around and gave them both puzzled looks before getting on with their business. Ayame tilted her head trying to figure out what had gotten into her.

"Why so concerned about the way you smell all of a sudden?"

"As you know with congenital anosmia, I have a hard time judging if I smell nice or not. I look for cues like, am I wearing clean clothes? Did I brush my teeth long enough? What type of shampoo and soap am I using? What moisturiser am I using? Are people leaning away from me? That sort of thing"

"Yeah, I get that"

Ayame and Chizuru-chan slowly made their way out of the front doors and walked amongst the throng of students.

"Someone told me I'd smell better if I was wearing cinnamon…"

"Let me guess. You took that in the literal way"

"Well how am I supposed to take it?" Chizuru-chan fired back half-heartedly.

"Does this person also happen to be Hayama Akira from Tootsuki?" asked Ayame.

The short-haired girl froze on the spot and Ayame had to back track. Oh this was too comical. Her eyes twitched with such incredulity that in a comic she was sure they would pop out of their sockets. Her arms were stuck to her side, as if she would shatter in a million shards if she moved even a millimetre. Her face slowly flushed until her cheeks were all rosy. What? Blushing not only at the topic of Terunori Kuga but also Hayama Akira?!

"H-How did you know?!"

Ayame smiled serenely and beckoned her friend closer. Chizuru-chan moved stiffly closer and Ayame leaned in closer to her ear and whispered.

"Hayama-san also smells like cinnamon"

"WHAT!"

Ayame chortled and had to hold her stomach otherwise she would burst! Chizuru-chan flapped her long sleeves around, hitting her over the head and Ayame had to raise her arms to block them. She ducked and weaved when her best friend's actions got more frantic.

"When Takumi-kun took us to Tootsuki, and we saw our first shokugeki beteen Hayama-san and Mito-san. Okay, you can stop it now Chizuru-chan" Ayame made a grab for her friend's arms but she got in a few more wild slaps before she stopped and stomped her feet, glaring murderously at Ayame. "I noticed that Hayama-san has this natural cinnamon scent"

"Wh-Why… would Hayama…" Chizuru panted as she regained her breath "Want me to smell like… cinnamon? Answer me that, you smart-arse"

"It could be for a number of reasons. I'd say the most probably was that he wanted you to have the same smell as he does" said Ayame as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why the fuck?!"

Ayame smirked "To mark his territory"

She waited for the reaction and it didn't disappoint. Chizuru-chan flew back three metres and shrieked. Her face completely blew up and it might as well be the exact colour of blood. Ayame was having the time of her life. Getting reactions like this from her usually cool and unflappable best friend was rare. So she was happy to see that she was now getting under her skin so easily. Ayame crossed her arms and laughed madly at Chizuru-chan's expense.

"Really clever though if he knew you had congenital anosmia, and thus you'd never be able to tell that smell like him"

"What the ACTUAL fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

Ayame pushed on "That's probably the reason why Terunori-san was mad at you the other day. You smell like another guy and he didn't like it"

Chizuru-chan was now on the ground with her knees and hands. Her book-bag dangled against her shoulder. She shook from over-exertion. Ah, maybe she was being too cruel today. This was obviously too much for her friend to handle. Chizuru-chan was an attractive girl, in a rough and spunky kind of way. She was far from the cute idols most girls in their school aspired to be. She maintained her individuality by keeping her hair cropped short at her chin and letting it flick out to give it some edge. She pushed her fringe back with her headband rather than trying to style it. She was also petite, therefore her school uniform often looked a bit big on her frame which Ayame supposed made her look smaller and dainty despite her big, sharp and spiky personality and her barbed, fully armed words. So she could be unexpectedly rip one to shreds in a heartbeat and ruin one's image of her. The Queen Bitch of Karakura High school could give full testimonials on how violent and crude Chizuru-chan could be. She still griped about her Chanel perfume being poured down the sink by Chizuru-chan. Timid study-holic boys stayed away from her, but the foolhardy and rough boys might have a go to take her down a peg or two.

So was it so hard for Chizuru-chan to believe that there were brave boys out there who found her attractive?

"Putting ideas into my head like that... You think Hayama and Terunori... l-l-l-likes me!? Does Vincenzo know you can be so diabolical?" Chizuru-chan cried out. The short girl took a deep breath and pinched her lips together into a sour accepted Ayame's helping hand as Ayame heaved her up and the two girls helped each other to dust their knees from the dirt.

"Of course he does" giggled Ayame. "He said it's one of the things he likes about me"

"Well you do learn from the best. You must make the Superintendent General of TMPD very proud" Chizuru-chan puffed out her cheeks.

"I suppose I do"

The two girls continued on their way, smoothly weaving and out of the mass of students.

"So what am I going to do with H-Hayama and T-Terunori now...?" Chizuru-chan groaned into her hands.

"Don't think too much about it. You'll know what to do when the time comes"

"What kind of shitty-arse advice is that?"

"The kind you get from a shitty-arse best friend"

Ayame gave Chizuru-chan a hug at the front gate. She grumbled and murmured a quick goodbye and a promise to give her a call this afternoon before parting ways. Her best friend lived in the opposite direction, so the two of them almost never walked each other home. Also Kuchiyose-kun stayed late for soccer practice the majority of the time. Therefore, on most occasions Takumi-kun and Isami-kun took it upon themselves to meet with her on their way back from Tootsuki and either walk her back home, or back to their apartment.

Ayame waved at Chizuru-chan before turning around and heading in the other direction. She pulled out her phone to see if she had any messages from Takumi-kun since then. Oh! There was one. He was talking about shokugekis that were continuing to decimate RS clubs for the Survivor's Purge.

"Kanda-san, it's a pleasure to see you again"

Ayame flipped her head up at her name being called. She didn't recognise the voice. Her brows knitted in confusion and wariness as she stared at the person leaning against the brick wall of the front gate

"I-Isshiki-san?"

Was her eyes deceiving her? The tall auburn-haired boy was smiling at her so serenely and so happily. His eyes were crinkled up and dimples formed on his handsome face. She had only met him twice, when she came to see the Elite Ten reshuffle matches the first time, and when barging into his office with Takumi-kun when they spotted a suspicious person on Tootsuki grounds. She had no idea what happened to that competition. Takumi-kun said they shelved it and it was unlikely to continue. He was also the person who gave her passes to Tootsuki on Takumi-kun's request. His Tootsuki uniform was absolutely impeccable, the image of a president of a school committee. Not a wrinkle to be seen. Ayame dropped her hands to her sides, her phone dangling between her fingers. She wasn't expecting this at all!

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she approached him.

"I came to see you of course!" he said jovially.

Ayame darted her eyes around. Lots of students in school knew she had a boyfriend already as they often saw Takumi-kun and Isami-kun (which they were also aware was the younger brother) loitering outside waiting for her. She was already receiving stares and curious looks. She dreaded to think what rumours would stir up tomorrow just from an above-average looking boy she was acquainted with turning up out of nowhere, talking to her. She fought the sweat beading on her forehead.

"Oh okay. Thanks for visiting" Ayame bowed respectfully and Isshiki-san bowed back.

"How about we go to a quiet place. I want to have a chat with you" Isshiki-sam held out his hands respectfully, showing her the direction he wanted to take her.

Ayame narrowed her eyes at his hands. Suspicion crept under her skin. She remembered what Kobayashi-san said about him that one time. That he was capable of planning people's social suicide. She glanced back at Takumi-kun's senpai, trying to figure out if there was something underhanded to this, but his face was the perfect mask of innocence. Well, he was sort of 'leading' the fight against Director Azami... so he should be 'okay'.

"Sure. I know a nice café we could go to" Ayame walked right passed him, not bothering to acknowledge his hand. She heard him chuckle lightly and he followed her until he walked with her side by side.

"So how was your day? asked Isshiki-san.

"It was fine. I had physics, literature, gym and history today" replied Ayame amiably.

"They sound like exciting classes"

As expected, Isshiki-san was great at small talk. That small talk continued all the way to Karakura Honchou where Ayame lead them to Cafe Cioccolatini. As soon as she pushed open her favourite café's door, a chorus of welcome greeted her. Saori-san the waitress waved at her enthusiastically and took her and Isshiki-san to her favourite spot, which was towards the back. Saori-san was always trying to get her to work part-time as a waitress ever since she and Takumi-kun rescued their café during their first proper meeting together. It felt like a million years ago and yet, they always talked about it when she and Takumi-kun stopped by for their afternoon date. What an adventure for their first proper meeting! Next, head chef Jirou would appear through the double doors, trying and beckon Takumi-kun to also come work for him on the weekends, which Takumi-kun had to always politely decline as international students weren't allow to do any work, part time or full-time, as it violated the conditions on their study visa. Head chef Jirou understood, but always made a point to her boyfriend that the position of part-time chef was always there if he wanted some extra cash-in-hand.

"Oh! Where's Aldini-kun today?" asked Saori-san as she handed them the café menu.

"He's staying back at Tootsuki today for an… assignment. Oh! This is Isshiki Satoshi. Takumi-kun's senpai and friend" Ayame smiled, gesturing towards Isshiki-san who stood up and bowed to Saori-san. The waitress blushed and hurriedly bowed too.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" beamed Isshiki-san. Ayame mentally wished he could dial down the good-boy demeanour.

"L-Likewise" spluttered Saori-san.

Ayame ordered a focaccia and Takumi-kun's auburn-haired senpai ordered a penne carbonara. Ayame took the moment to analyse Takumi-kun's senpai while they waited for their food. He was just simply leaning back against the chair, looking around at the décor of the trendy café. His back was perfectly straight and he exuded an aura of harmlessness. Just friendly and benevolent. Ayame felt that being around him put her at ease now. His eyes were an astonishing blue as well. It was like ice. While Takumi-kun had lovely round eyes, Isshiki-san's eyes were more slanted like a cat.

Ayame had seen those eyes before, it was when Otou-san was watching his surroundings.

'He's being very careful about something… but what?'

Ayame leaned back and placed her hands in her lap. "What was it you wanted to chat about?" she asked.

Isshiki-san turned his head back to her and leveled her with all his attention. His blue eyes were eerie and very piercing. It was like it was cutting her with lots of tiny paper cuts. It slightly unnerved her, especially with that gentle smile on his lips. So much for feeling at ease now.

"How much do you know about what we're doing at Tootsuki?" he asked.

"We?"

"The Rebel Alliance" he clarified.

Ayame's heart thumped. She had to be very careful with her answer right now. She had to choose the correct words to show that she didn't know that much otherwise it looked like she knew too much about their affairs. The leader of the Rebel Alliance shouldn't be someone to trifle with no matter how sweet and gentle he looked.

"W-Well… not a lot. Takumi-kun's said that it's possible that Director Azami… p-poisoned his wife with umm… hemlock sixteen years ago? As part of his plan to t-take over Tootsuki?"

Isshiki-san smiled wider.

'Oh way to go Ayame! So much for choosing the right words! Now he thinks I know too much and will probably want to cut me off from Takumi-kun!'

Ayame mentally beat her own head. She really couldn't get her mouth running correctly in stressful times like this! Here it comes. He was going to be all The Godfather on her and in a deceivingly nice way to tell her to back off and stop asking Takumi-kun questions about their plans for Tootsuki, otherwise he would have her 'taken cared of' if she didn't quit it!

"Kanda-san, why do you look so nervous?"

"Eh? Oh um… j-just that—"

"I'm glad you knew at least this much. It will make it easier for me to explain" he said.

Saori-san came back with her foccacio and Isshiki-san's penne carbonara. He said a quick itadakimasu before he dug in. Ayame suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore and just nibbled at her afternoon meal.

"The room where Senzaemon-dono's daughter and Nakiri Erina's mother, Nadeshiko-sama, was residing in during her illness had been sealed shut for the past sixteen years. Nobody, even the maids are allowed to step foot in it to clean since her death"

Gross… sixteen years? Ayame thought of all the musty and murky things growing in there and how stuffy it would smell in a room that was full of sickness and death, untouched for over a decade.

"He sealed it off in his grief as a way of preserving the last remnants of his daughter" continued Isshiki-san.

Ayame kept silent and slowly at her focaccia. She didn't know what to say to that.

"I suppose that also works to our advantage"

Hold up… Advantage? What advantage? Ayame stopped chewing and gave Isshiki-san a quizzical look. He smiled and chuckled at her facial expression and Ayame narrowed her eyes. She didn't like being made fun of in any situation and continued eating, staring at him with suspicion.

"Our theory is that Azami-dono poisoned Nadeshiko-sama with hemlock, as Aldini-kun has informed you. But we have no actual, physical proof that he did"

Ayame nodded, following closely but not really knowing what Isshiki-san was going with this. His face didn't betray a hint of concern or that this conversation they were having was quite awkward for a casual meeting in a lovely café. They were discussing a murder case for Kami-sama's sake!

"That's where you come in"

A mouthful of bread immediately lodged in her windpipe and Ayame, with all the grace in the universe, coughed and spluttered all over the table.

"What!"

After yelling rudely at Takumi-kun's senpai's face, she grabbed her glass of water and chugged it down to get her throat nice and refreshed again. She gingerly placed her Italian sandwich down and wiped her mouth with the serviette. Tears stung her eyes as she still felt bits of food still clinging above her vocal folds. Today was just not her day. This, this had to be a goldmine of twisted luck. Isshiki-san continued to eat his pasta like nothing happened, smiling away like an imp.

"I don't u-understand" Ayame had enough of her food and just placed her hands back on her lap, staring at the sad half of her sandwich.

"I want to search for physical clues in Nadeshiko-sama's room that could help prove it was indeed hemlock poisoning, or any other murder weapon that could've been used, and Alice had told me that you are in possession of police equipment, including a small remote controlled drone with a mounted camera"

Ayame stiffened.

"Yes it's true… Otou-san works in the police force and he sometimes brings home broken police equipment or models they don't use anymore, like polygraph machines and stuff. He gives it to me to fix and play with. The particular drone I have is a mini stealth drone which I've recently fixed up"

Ayame and Alice-san emailed each other sometimes, discussing about the latest scientific findings in both the culinary and engineering world. They sent each other research articles to read over and presented their opinions to each other. Sometimes the email threads ended up squabbling over different views, but in the end they always respected each other's scientific minds and kept having friendly debates. In one of those email threads, Ayame remembered they were talking about their own private lives and she mentioned she liked to fix broken pieces of electronics and one of them was a remote controlled mini stealth drone

"Do you think you and your drone could help us?"

What.

The.

Hell?

That was a massive bomb. That was a huge ask. It had to be breaking numerous laws! Ayame chewed on her lip as the full weight of what he was asking her bared down on her shoulders. Are the Rebel Alliance really that desperate?! Isshiki-san couldn't possibly be understanding what he was asking of her, but there he was smiling away as if he just asked to borrow her pen. He was asking her to send a decommissioned mini police drone into a dead-lady's room to look for clues. Only a deranged conspirator, not a high school student should be asking this. This was utterly crazy. It went from zero to a hundred in a blink of an eye. Did Takumi-kun know Isshiki-san was asking her for this huge favour? What would Takumi-kun had to say about this?

"I don't—"

"Aldini-kun doesn't know I wanted to proposition you with this. However, feel free to talk it over with him. Take your time. At the end of the day, I hope it will solely be your decision" said Isshiki-san. He smiled at her reassuringly and continued to finish off his pasta, while Ayame's focaccia was still half finished.

'My… decision? As ludicrous as it sounds, I guess before I could make a decision, I need more information'

"How would the plan work…" asked Ayame.

"The room is locked of course. It's doors have been painted over to look like an elaborate mural. It is between Senzaemon's guest room and the main part of the manor. There are maids that walk past every day to get from one end of the Nakiri manor to the other. Alice-san's boyfriend, which is also your close friend, Kuchiyose Byakko is well versed in picking locks, as I'm told. He said he would agree to do it if you agreed too"

'Well of course Kuchiyose-kun wanted sign up for this…'

Ayame nodded for Isshiki-san to keep going.

"Alice-san and Kuchiyose-san would make an appointment to see Senzaemon-dono for an approximately one-hour social visit and properly introduce Kuchiyose-san as her boyfriend to her esteemed grandfather. He would have lots of questions to ask of him and his suitability to Alice-san. This would give them a reason to be walking along that corridor".

Was it just her or was Isshiki-san also using Kuchiyose-kun's and Alice-san's relationship to his advantage? What a wicked guy.

"On the way to meet Senzaemon-dono, Kuchiyose-san will pick the lock, and Alice-san will place the drone inside and close the door again. During this time, you would be controlling the drone and search for clues. After the one-hour meeting, Alice-san and Kuchiyose-san will pick up the drone, relock the room and be on their way with whatever findings you have"

"Why can't it be an actual person searching the room?" asked Ayame.

"A person would make too much noise, as the walls are thin. Also, it hasn't been clean in sixteen years, so I don't think it will be good for anyone's health to be in their for a prolonged period of time"

Ayame nodded again and digested the information.

"I have a few reservations…"

"Tell me"

"This theory you have about hemlock poisoning. Isn't it based just purely on one person's logic? Like, this contact of Arato-san, you don't even know this person. How could you trust what they say? They don't have a base for that deduction except for just knowing the combination of symptoms Nadeshiko-sama had was symptomatic of hemlock poisoning. Sorry, for saying, but it sounds completely mad!" asked Ayame.

That was when she realised that she hadn't voice these opinions to Takumi-kun at all, that their plan and their theories were absolutely madness.

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Arato-san is a close and personal friend of Erina-sama. She trusts her contact, whom she claims is an expert in their field, therefore we trust her"

Ayame chewed her lip in thought again. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was it? Isshiki-san was a well-learned individual and wasn't budging at all, and it was exactly what Takumi-kun said the last time they talked about this.

"What if I don't find anything?" asked Ayame.

"At least we tried"

'At least… we tried'

Isshiki-san was going through tremendous lengths to bring justice to the Nakiri-family and was even willing to disturb the peace and unlawfully search and ransack the room of the dead daughter of the grieving father. And get her to do it. She was seeing the love this boy had for his school and for the students of Tootsuki. He would go this far to get rid of the monstrosity of Nakiri Azami.

"If anything happens. You will take full responsibility?" demanded Ayame in a stone cold voice.

"Of course"

"One last question. Does Polar Star pack a swiss army knife they they don't mind ever seeing again?"

"I think soin our medical kit" Isshiki-san rubbed his chin in thought. "Why do you ask?"

"I want it. My mini-stealth drone probably needs to bring back physical clues one way or another. It's going to need an upgrade, don't you think?"


"No! Assolutamente no!"

"Takumi-kun, calm down"

How could he calm down?! How dare Isshiki-senpai go behind his back and try to lure his girlfriend into this! The blonde Aldini couldn't even begin to express how mad he was. This was the Rebel Alliance affair and his senpai had no right to get others involved, especially Ayame. He could ask everybody else on the planet to be an accomplice for all he cared. At first he was pretty concerned about Kuchiyose-kun giving a helping a hand, as he was now his friend also, but he eventually let it go. But to ask Ayame to participate? That was where he would build Great Wall of China!

Takumi paced up and down the living room furiously, his hands folded behind his head as he tried to walk off the steam. His body was full of pent up frustration and it was making every drop of his blood chase each other up and down his veins. He yanked his tie loose because he was starting to feel choked up and then he ruffled his hair, free from the styling he did this morning. Ayame sat cross legged on his sofa, biting her thumb nail, staring at the opposite wall with an exasperated expression. This was why did didn't want to talk about Tootsuki with her anymore, so that she could be as relatively far away as possible from this black cloud of misery. And how the Diavlo did Isshiki-senpai know that she even had decommissioned police equipment sitting in her closet?! That didn't matter, he could've found out a number of ways.

The most important issue was stopping Ayame from dirtying her hands. He didn't want to think what could happen to her if they were found out and Director Azami targeted his amore. He wasn't above destroying anyone's career, no matter how young they were or what field they aspired to get into. He had that many connections and his soul was that black.

"Okay, you are not going to take part in any of this. Comprendere?"

"It's still my decision to make. It's a remote control mini stealth drone, so I could be three football fields away and control it. I wouldn't be anywhere near the manor"

Takumi wanted to throw something at the wall. Why was his girlfriend so stubborn at a time like this? Ayame wasn't the type to bend into anyone's words and would always weigh her options carefully, so Isshiki-senpai must've prepared a full power-point presentation with at least twenty-slides and a really good award-winning speech to suck her in. He wanted to be angry at Ayame, but he couldn't. The truth was, he could never be angry at her, especially when she felt she had to do something to help him. That was the worst part. She shouldn't feel the need to help them. He was livid at Isshiki-senpai.

"I know you're thinking that Isshiki-san tricked me or something to help him, but he didn't. He didn't need to"

Takumi peeked from behind his hands to look at her and she was now standing up with her fists on her hips. Her long silky black hair laid across her shoulders in delicate waves, as she had pulled it out of her braid. In a perfect afternoon, he would be running his fingers through it, but it wasn't their perfect afternoon. Her grey school skirt was tight around her waist, making her school blouse balloon up. Her burning forest green eyes were glaring pits into him and her beautiful lips were twisted into a stern frown.

'Scary how she knows what I'm thinking…'

Takumi straightened himself out and smoothed down his school shirt to preserve the last remnants of his self-control before he flew off the handle. He strode towards the kitchen and he unbuttoned the first button around his collar. It was getting heated up in here despite the cool Autumn season.

"Doesn't the drone have serial numbers on it? If it gets caught, couldn't it be traced back to the police department and eventually you?" he attempted.

"I'll scratch the numbers off" she countered.

"What if somebody catches it and trace the signal back to your laptop? Like Mimasaka?"

"I can abort all connections permanently deactivate the drone remotely"

"Don't drones hum and make noises? What if somebody hears it?"

"It's a mini STEALTH drone"

"WHAT'S WITH YOU AND YOUR PERFECTLY IRON-CLAD REASONING?!" Takumi screamed.

It was a good thing that he made sure he got behind the kitchen counter before he mustered the guts to scream at her from the all the way on the other side of the apartment. Dio forbid what part of this body Ayame would cut off of him if he had the audacity to actually yell to her face. He prepared himself to duck behind the kitchen counter before Ayame threw her shoes at him. Instead, she slowly turned around and even more slowly walked towards him.

He took a step back

She kept coming forward.

He did this until his back hit the kitchen sink.

Finally, Ayame was toe to toe with him and Takumi turned his head to the side, his face fully flushed all the way down to his collar. He was a heated mess. He didn't want her to see his face and didn't want to look at her, for fear that he would unravel in front of her. He shivered when he felt her breath brushing across his collar, all warm and cool at the same time. It was deliciously torturous! His hands immediately gripped the edge of the sink to steady himself and he felt his muscles coil and tingle at her close proximity. He sucked in a breath through his flaring nostrils and it made him feel all dizzy from her raspberry scent. Dio mio, he waited with bated breath what Ayame was going to do next. Hit him? But no, she went onto her toes and gently touched his cheek with her slender fingers and turned his head to look into her deep green eyes.

One look and he knew that she wasn't going to change her mind. She was going to do everything to help them, whether he liked it or not.

Ayame pressed a soft kiss to his quivering lips and Takumi fell apart like he knew he would. Takumi slowly moved his lips against her, brushing lightly nice and slowly until he felt himself lean forward and dug his lips further into her. His head dipped down to catch as much of her soft lips as he could. His frustration petered away as he completely focused on Ayame. His hands left the sink and wrapped themselves around her. A small sigh escaped her as his lips hungrily trailed down to her jaw before returning back to her lips. He dipped his tongue between her teeth, scraping them along the roof of her mouth. His mind melted as he abandoned himself to his instincts. Takumi pulled Ayame's body up against his, his hand buried deep into her hair stroking and grasping as he devoured her whole. His amore slid her arms up and around his neck, pulling him down further as they continued to kiss each other so hard that their teeth were clashing. His blood began to pool in his lower gut and a groan threatened to spill from his throat.

Ayame pulled away, leaving him breathless.

"I want to help. If I can help to bring down a monster that's taken control of your future, Isami-kun's future and your friends' future. I definitely will. Isshiki-san wouldn't have come to me if he didn't think I am capable of handling this"

It was like a moment of de ja vu when Takumi was so adamant to distance himself from the Rebel Alliance for his and Ayame's sake, and his amore threw it all back into his face. How could he throw it all back in her face too? It was impossible. This was potentially the only chance they had to try and prove that Nakiri Azami murdered his wife and it tore him apart that she had to get involved.

Takumi gingerly gripped her shoulders and pushed her away a bit further so he could look at her. He cupped her beautiful face and gazed at her visage. Her lips were red and swollen, her beautiful green eyes were hooded and dark. Her cheeks were adorably flushed. He didn't remember a time he had loved Ayame Kanda as much as he did now. She closed her eyes and leaned her face into his palm and sighed in contentment. Takumi brought her face to his again and pecked her lightly on the forehead before enveloping his arms around her.

"As soon as Nakiri Azami even breathes in your direction. You'll drop everything and stay away from Tootsuki, no matter what Isshiki-senpai says" he whispered between gritted teeth.

"I promise"


Takumi is so over-protective. Well, he tries to be anyway. Will Ayame's father find out what she'll get up to? Depends on how busy he is as the head at TMPD... or how interested he is with his daughter's social life... So, now Ayame's involved, the story is going to move long to solving the crime! Good luck Rebel Alliance. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU (I saw the opportunity and took it)

Chizuru, you FINALLY know what the heck is going on around you! Let's see how she behaves around Kuga now that Ayame's planted a seed in her head.

Do you guys remember Takumi and Ayame rescuing Cafe Cioccolatini back in Chapter 3 or 4? That's what Ayame was reminiscing about in this chapter. This was like Throw-back Thursdays for me hehe.

Check out my poll and vote for your favourite OC Ayame, Chizuru and Kuchiyose! And see what others have voted too :)

Until we meet again, I've love to hear what you think!

Signing off

-TripWire-dono