Chapter 6

On Monday morning, Takashi awoke earlier than normal. He let out a long breath and went in to the bathroom to take care of business before making his way down to the home gym. If he wasn't going to sleep anymore he might as well get a good work out. He started with cardio to warm up and then moved on to strength training, mostly in his arms. Nationals were in four months and before he could get there he needed to go through local and regional championships.

Nearly an hour after he started his workout, Satoshi came wandering in still looking a bit sleepy, but ready for a decent morning run. He mumbled a hello and got started. Fifteen minutes later, Takashi left the gym and made his way back to his room to shower and get ready for school.

By the time Takashi had made his way to the dining room for breakfast, Satoshi was just leaving the gym to take a shower.

"You had better hurry, or you're going to be late," Akira stated as he made his way to the dining room as well.

Satoshi picked up his pace while Takashi took his seat at the table. Akira looked him over for a moment before spooning some food onto a plate for himself. The two ate in silence for several minutes. Akira broke the silence first.

"You're going to make up with Mitsukuni-kun?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," Takashi answered.

"Good," he said back. "And are you going to stop looking for this woman who has been troubling you for the past week?"

"Why would I stop looking for her?" Takashi asked.

"She is taking your mind off of your studies. If you're not careful you may not be able to catch up," Akira explained.

"Yes, Sir," Takashi paused. "But I am still going to look for her. It's a game and she's asked me to play. I have a feeling if I stop playing she will become more bothersome."

Akira hummed and then nodded, "Take care of this situation quickly."

"Of course, Sir."

Satoshi came running into the room and spooned a large helping onto his plate. The boy shoveled the food into his mouth. Takashi wasn't sure if his brother was even chewing his food. Five minutes later they were both grabbing their bags, saying goodbye to their father, and getting into the car to be taken to school. Satoshi was dropped off first. He went running down the walk and caught up to Yasuchika who was waiting just outside the entrance to the high school.

Takashi leaning back and took a calming breath. He had to face Mitsukuni and try to get through this day without being distracted. His dreams the past couple of nights had him reliving his first year of high school. Mitsukuni was always in these dreams but so were faces he thought he had forgotten. He remembered his first client in the Host Club. She was a friend, and two years his senior. She was quiet like him, but smiled a lot like Mitsukuni. He didn't remember much else about her, though. He always woke up to the remembered scent of cherry blossom trees.

The car stopped in front of the university. Takashi gathered his things and climbed out of the car. He made his way up the sidewalk to the entrance. He saw his cousin sitting on a bench just outside the doors. Takashi silently came to stand in front of him. Mitsukuni looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Hi Takashi," Mitsukuni greeted calmly.

"I am sorry, I acted so rudely toward you on Saturday evening," Takashi answered.

Mitsukuni's face fell, "Takashi, please don't apologize. I know your father is making you, but I also know that's not what you really want to say."

Takashi gave a slight nod. He opened his mouth again, "I am still hurt that you lied to me, but you know I cannot be mad at you forever, Mitsukuni."

Mitsukuni stood up, gave his cousin a tight hug and said, "I know."

They both took a deep breath and made their way into the university. They had cleared the air for the most part, but they both knew it would be some time before things would be completely back to normal. They parted ways to head to class and agreed to meet in the library at the end of the day.

Takashi made his way to his class and took his seat. This was his heaviest class today; a two hour lecture on the theory of law. It was tedious, but very informative. His professor was bland but not completely boring. He shared stories of his time working as an intern at a law firm. Takashi enjoyed listening to his stories. It gave his hand a break from writing so many notes.

At the end of the lecture Takashi made his way to the library. He found a seat at a table and opened the book for his next class which he had in an hour. After twenty minutes of being fully engrossed in his textbook, one of the library assistants came up to him. He looked up and saw she was holding a manila folder. He groaned inwardly.

"A young woman dropped this off for you, Morinozuka-kun," she said and handed him the folder.

"Thank you," he said taking the folder gently and offering the assistant a small smile. She blushed and nodded before walking away from him.

Takashi sighed and opened the folder. It was a flier for the National Championships in mixed martial arts. The date was circled in red pen. He flipped the paper over and saw a message written in the same handwriting as all the other messages.

I suppose I'll be seeing you at Nationals this year. I'm going to be taking a hiatus from our little game for a while. Until then, I'm leaving you with the task of figuring out the clues I have given you. The last photograph was not only to show you your cousin's involvement but to tell you something about me as well. The dragons have great importance.

-Ryo_

That was it. Takashi sat back and reread the letter. He supposed she was signing the letter with ryo as the first part. That was when it clicked.

"It's part of her name," he whispered to himself. He picked up his pen and circled the signature. He wrote name under it as a reminder. He put the message back into the folder and placed it in his bag. He got back to his studies.

Ten minutes before his next class he packed his things away and stood up to stretch. His next two classes were easy and weren't as heavy in note taking as they were in discussions. Those classes gave him a hard time as he was not as eloquent or outspoken as he would like to be. He managed and got through them as best he could. He had a fifteen minute break until his last class. He took the time to go out to the gardens on the quad.

He took a seat at the base of a large oak tree and looked around. He didn't recognize anyone today. There were a few girls drinking tea at one of the picnic tables not far from him. A few people were studying. He took the time to let the tension roll off his shoulders.

By the time he had to make his way to his last class, Takashi felt calm and a little refreshed. He was feeling better than this morning. He wanted to talk more with Mitsukuni after school about what happened with this odd situation, but right now he had to focus on his last class.

Just after four in the afternoon Takashi made his way back to the library to study a bit more and meet his cousin. Mitsukuni wasn't there yet, so he set up a study space at a table to kill some time.

Not long after, Mitsukuni came strolling in with his book bag and Usa-chan. He took a seat across from his cousin and placed a textbook and notebook on the table. He pulled out a pencil and began doing math problems.

The two cousins sat quietly study for an hour before packing up their things and heading out of the college. As they walked, Mitsukuni pulled out his cellphone and called for a car to pick them up.

"I got another folder from her," Takashi announced.

"What did she give you this time?" Mitsukuni asked as they reached the end of the sidewalk.

"A flier for National Championships of mixed martial arts. She's going to be there," Takashi paused. "She also gave me hint about the dragons."

Mitsukuni nodded, "What was the hint?"

"I think it's part of her name," Takashi answered.

Before they could continue their conversation, the car pulled up and the driver got out to open the door for them. They each slid into the back seat of the car.

"You're right," Mitsukuni said after a couple of minutes. "It is part of her name. Part of her last name to be exact."

"Can you tell me anything else?" Takashi asked believing Mitsukuni would tell him no.

"You met her just before middle school graduation," Mitsukuni surprisingly answered.

Takashi thought that over for a moment as he looked out the window. He remembered the clue about the Sakura trees. They were often in full bloom around April, just two months before graduation. He knew she came from a well off family, practiced muay thai, and knew enough about photography to take good quality photos. Takashi couldn't think of any women in Ouran who practiced muay thai.

"Did she graduate from Ouran?" Takashi asked hoping to get an answer from his cousin.

"Yes," he said. "She's two years older than us. She went straight into university after graduation and finished with her degree last spring."

"Was she a photography major?" Takashi wondered.

"I can't say anything else, Takashi," Mitsukuni told him. "She wants you to figure it out on your own. I've already given you so much information."

"Hmm," Takashi nodded. He waved goodbye as Mitsukuni got out of the car. The car then took him home. Takashi carried his bag with him up to his room. He dropped it next to his bed and powered up his laptop. Just as he logged on to the internet there was a knock on his door.

Takashi turned to the doorway. His father was standing there in his suit, just home from a meeting.

"Hello, Otou-san," he greeted.

"Did you make up with Mitsukuni today?" his father asked.

"Yes, Sir, I did," Takashi answered.

"Very good, and how is your search for the woman coming along?"

"A bit better. Mitsukuni was able to give me some information," Takashi said. "I was just about to do a bit of searching myself."

"Let me know if you find anything pertinent," his father turned away and went down the stairs.

Takashi turned back to his laptop. He went back to the Ouran University website and ran a student search in the photography department. He looked for a female student with a family name starting with "Ryo." He looked through the list over the past four years but found no name matching what he was looking for. Takashi came to the conclusion that she was an amateur photographer.

Piyo hopped into Takashi's lap. He patted the bird's head. His tanuki was curled up on his bed napping. Takashi did a university wide search for the name. He found twenty-five results, ten of which were female. He looked through the list and recognized five of them. Two graduated in his class, the other three graduated anywhere from one year to three years before him.

Takashi sighed, having been searching for almost two hours. He could smell dinner and hear the kitchen staff setting the table. Satoshi knocked and told him dinner was ready and that their parents wanted to talk to him. He nodded, shut down his laptop, and headed down the staircase.