Sora may not have been able to get her cell phone back, but she managed to cajole the nurse into helping her contact her 'guardian'. After all, doesn't she need to inform her 'guardian' that she is fine and well, thanks to the excellent healthcare she has been receiving from Ryushin Hospital? And she needed to make outpatient arrangements, doesn't she?
Seemed like Nishimura-san - the Concierge Manager in charge of her account - had played his part as her 'guardian' excellently. She hadn't been able to catch the conversation the nurse had with Nishimura-san, but within an hour of the call, Nishimura-san had turned up at her bedside, accompanied by an unfamiliar woman.
Before she knew it, Nishimura-san was assisting her (she refused to be wheeled out in a wheelchair!) out of the hospital, with the woman - who was apparently the concierge doctor - firmly but patiently reassuring the hospital doctor that her patient may be currently unfit for discharge but she will definitely be receiving the best health services to compensate for it.
Thank god for efficient and effective staff…
And she got her cell phone back! The flood of missed call messages and text messages within moments of switching her cell phone on was nothing sort of spectacular.
She frowned as she cleared through the most recent messages from Chuuta & Makise asking, quote on quote: where the hell did she go; does she need their help; when will she be coming back; they sent Izaki to the hospital; Izaki's alright and recovering right now, what about her?; Where is she; is she ok; etc.
A soft smile of relief graced her lips as she read the updates on Izaki. One less worry to think about.
There were also the numerous missed calls from the Ebizuka Trio, even from Mako. Had they already known that she and Izaki got done in by Tokaji Yuuji? But then again, news travel fast in that school, especially news of this magnitude. She may have been a nobody in Suzuran but Izaki is one of the leaders in Suzuran, and the strategic brains of GPS, to boot. No doubt the news was spread by Tokaji. She would have done the same in his shoes. What's more, she would have seized the chance to recruit more people to Serizawa's Army and give a warning to other students to stop them from joining the other gangs, namely GPS.
If she were to text the Trio to let them know that she is fine now, they will probably call her back. She definitely do not want them find out that she is a mute. She has her pride, and who knows what they might do?
She will call them back later to let them know that she is fine - once she got her voice back.
And then there was the voice mail message from Mizutora Hideki - the private investigator whom she had purchased her current alias for enrollment in Suzuran. He was an ex-Suzuran graduate, whom Nishimura-san had recommended when the latter heard her requirement for certain illicit services.
From the time of the message, it just recently sent a few minutes ago.
Strange... What does he want? Hadn't she already made the payment for engaging his services? There is no need for him to contact her again until the time for her to hand over the graduation diploma. Or had she missed out on something?
Frowning slightly, she played the voice mail message attached to his text message.
"The real Asamori Sora gave us your contact! He said you would help him get a high school diploma! Where is the person you sold his identity to? Did you do anything to him? Where can I find him?"
What was unmistakably Kirishima's voice came through the phone speaker. Sora started in shock, alerting Nishimura-san who was sitting next to her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hideki-san's calm voice filtered through the cell phone speaker. "Even if I do, I cannot tell you on the grounds of client confidentiality."
Sora shook her head slightly at Nishimura-san and turned away to face the limousine window, trying to quell the panic inside her heart. How on earth did Kirishima find out?!
There were the sounds of scuffling, causing Sora to wince inwardly. It sounded like Hideki was being roughed up.
"Hiromi! Calm down! He's just doing his job." This time, it was Mako's voice - ever the voice of reason - filtering through the phone speaker. This time, even he sounded agitated. Things are serious if even stone-faced Mako is getting worked up.
"It sounds like you know this person who is wearing the identity of Asamori Sora. So whatever information you want, shouldn't you go to him directly instead of going behind his back to get it?" Hideki-san's voice remained unruffled. Sora pulled a face at that. Is it just her or did his words have a double meaning to them? "The way I see it, he refused to tell you. Therefore, even if I know, why should I tell you?"
" Look, our friend - the one that we know as Asamori Sora - went missing after getting beaten up real bad. He's seriously injured, and we have no idea whether he's OK or not. So, whatever you know, can you reconsider and tell us?" This time, it was Pon. The concern underlying his voice made the question sound almost like a plead. But that definitely can't be it. The Ebizuka Trio are proud folks. "We don't care what reason he has for masquerading as Asamori Sora but we need to know how he is."
And that was it. The end of the voice mail message. Nothing else from Hideki-san but Sora heard enough to know that her friends are on her tail.
She pursed her lips. Now, Hiromi, Mako & Pon know she has a false identity, and even knew to go after Hideki-san. How had they known anyway?! If they continue on like this, they'll definitely find out her secret. Although, to be honest, she was actually impressed with their tracking skills. She was sure that she had covered all her tracks since the first day she stepped foot into that school. First day..?
Of course!
The enrollment forms... She had written Asamori's family address in order to properly cover her paper trails. She had wanted to be meticulous. Well, that certainly backfired…
She need to find a way to stop them from finding out any more than what they already know. What is she going to do, now that they are catching on?
She replayed the voice message again in the hopes of stimulating her mind in finding a solution. So what can she say to get them off her back?
"It sounds like you know this person who is wearing the identity of Asamori Sora. So whatever information you want, shouldn't you go to him directly instead of going behind his back to get it? The way I see it, he refused to tell you. Therefore, even if I know, why should I tell you?"
And yet… somehow the thought of lying to them & hiding things from them… Just doesn't sit right by her...
"Our friend - the one we know as Asamori Sora - went missing after getting beaten up real bad. He's seriously injured, and we have no idea whether he's OK or not. So, whatever you know, can you reconsider and tell us? We don't care what reason he has for masquerading as Asamori Sora but we need to find him."
On impulse, she hit the text button and dropped a message to the Ebizuka Trio, letting them know that she was alright. At least, they'll know enough not to worry.
Almost immediately, her cell phone rang, with Kirishima's name flashing brightly on her phone screen. She sighed inwardly as she rejected his call.
Dude, I said I'm alright! She texted hurriedly before he could call again.
She had barely sent that message when her cell phone rang again, displaying Pon's name across the screen this time round. Another call rejection.
What's wrong with them? What part of 'I'm alright' did they not understand? And why are they taking turns to call me?!
She continued rejecting phone calls from the trio, even Mako, whilst studiously avoiding Nishimura-san's amused, inquiring glances. On hindsight, she should not have told them she was fine. Why had she decided to text them..?
Right, because she felt bad for all the trouble they have gone through just to find out if she is really OK...
She should have let them stew a little while more and save herself some peace and quiet for recovery. Once more, her phone rang and Sora contemplated throwing her phone out the car window. But wait, this time, it was Hideki-san. She hit the answer button, placed the phone call on speaker mode and passed the phone to Nishimura-san.
"What does Hideki-san wants?" She scribbled her question on Nishimura-san's documents.
"Nice of you to call back so quickly." She heard Hideki's voice came through the phone dryly. "I'm just about to get murdered by the Suzuran Trio."
Huh..? Hadn't they already left? She didn't know the trio are still with Hideki-san. Are they causing problems for him still? Sora sighed inwardly. She had not wanted to make things difficult for Hideki-san. That guy is just trying to do his job, that's all.
"Hideki-san, this is Nishimura-san on behalf of Sora-san." Nishimura-san said steadily, based on what Sora hastily scribbled out. He probably must have gotten used to all the weird requests from his clients. "She wished to tell her friends that she is fine."
She could hear Hideki-san relaying the message. Sounds of scuffling could be heard.
Damn Hideki-san! Why on earth would he send her that voice mail when they are still around? Although now that she's on that topic, why would he also call her after that, when the trio were still around? Her relationship with Hideki-san had been purely business after all. There weren't any reason for her not to pick up his phone call, since Nishimura-san can be her 'voice', so to speak. The trio, on the other hand...
Damn...
That man manipulated the situation to have her reveal herself, and she had played right into it. Hideki-san is helping them out, however discreetly and within the parameters of his contract... The nosy bastard! I ought to have left him to the Trio.
"Teme! Is that you? Why did you pick up his call instead of ours?!" Kirishima yelled into the phone. Nishimura-san instinctively held the phone away from his ear in an effort to protect his hearing. "You rejected our calls!"
More scuffles and even the sound of something crashing in the background. And then…
"Teme*!" It seemed like Hideki-san lost in whatever fight that had erupted in the battle to take control of Hideki-san's phone. Then again, it was the three strongest Suzuran freshmen vs. an ex-Suzuran graduate. "Where the hell are you?"
To his credit, Nishimura-san remained polite and unfazed. "Sora-san wished to inform that she is fine and on the road to recovery. S… He is unable to take this call."
There was silence at the other end of the line, a stark contrast to the commotion that had just occurred. "Where is he? Who are you?" Kirishima demanded coldly and curtly. "Put him on the phone immediately."
It was disconcerting, to say the least. In the short time she had known him, Sora hadn't seen this aspect of Kirishima. He is stubborn and hot-tempered, she knew that. But she hadn't known he can be this fierce.
Nishimura-san looked at the document that she scribbled on. "Kirishima-san, as you know, she is injured and therefore unable to speak to you. Please be assured that she really is alright. She'll be back within a week and she will answer your questions then. For now, she need to rest."
Kirishima gave a disbelieving snort.
"You gotta be pretty stupid if you think I'll buy that crap. If Sora is really alright, he would have been able to speak to me on his own." Kirishima said, sounding like he was speaking through clenched teeth. "Either you put Sora on the phone, or I'll hunt you guys down. It won't be hard for me to find Sora's details from Hideki's office."
Nishimura-san looked at Sora with a raised eyebrow. Whether it was because of Kirishima's threat or his rudeness, she didn't know. Sora sighed and nodded in defeat. "Understood. Please come and meet Sora-san at this address."
Kirishima dropped the phone onto the table, as he turned to face Mako and Pon, who are currently holding Hideki back. The other two looked at him in askance.
"The man said that we can find Sora at this address." Kirishima grunted out. "Let Hideki-san go."
"Then Sora is OK?" Pon asked as both him and Mako released Hideki.
"The man said he is, but he wouldn't let Sora speak to us." Kirishima replied. He looked down at the address he has hastily scribbled on a notepad. "He said Sora will meet us at this address. It's somewhere in… Roppongi Hills."
"Can we trust this man?" Pon asked skeptically.
After obtaining the information of the man who purchased Asamori Sora's identity, they had left the boy at the alleyway, with the promise of retaliation if they found out that he had lied to them.
At first glance during their meeting, Mizutora Hideki - the private investigator who had purchased Asamori's identity - had looked like an unassuming man, plain and nondescript, sitting at his office. If not for the fact that they had known his occupation beforehand, they would have simply assumed he was like any other office worker running a small private business. But their subsequent interactions made Pon realise that this was a man skilled at his job in extracting and withholding information… And at pushing other people's buttons.
Of course, thanks to the events that had transpired in the morning, Kirishima's buttons had not been that hard to push, and he had blown up as the man continued to evade answering their questions and giving ambiguous answers. Mako and Pon barely managed to restrain a livid Kirishima as he grabbed the private investigator with the intention of walloping the older male. Just as they got Kirishima to return to his seat, the sound of their phones vibrating cut through the tension in the office like a knife through butter.
It was a text message from Sora!
But strangely enough, Sora refused to pick up their calls after that. In the midst of their attempted callings, they failed to notice Hideki using his phone until he spoke, and relayed Sora's message. Kirishima had jumped at him, in an attempt to wrestle the phone and speak to Sora.
However, the person on the other line had been a stranger, even if the phone number dialed really belonged to their friend. That set off the proverbial alarm bells.
Kirishima sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. The way this situation is turning out, it seemed like Sora got himself kidnapped. Why not? That guy is rich, so that is actually a probable scenario, especially given his current injured situation.
"Can we not?" He replied tiredly. If Sora is really kidnapped, they will have to help him out, don't they? His friend's explanation better be worth the trouble he apparently brings.
"Izaki is in the hospital, and he's awake. If all goes well, he can be released in 3 weeks." Chuuta turned to see Makise walking towards him. "Has there been any news on Sora?"
Chuuta shook his head. Makise's shoulders sagged slightly as he leaned against the railing. It had been a few days and still, there hasn't been anything from their friend.
"Damnnit..." Makise cursed, kicking at a can nearby. "Where the hell did that kid go?"
He accepted a can of beer from Chuuta, downing it all at one go. Things has spiraled downhill ever since Izaki and Sora got attacked. He desperately needed the alcohol kick.
Sora was probably around the same age as them, yet Makise couldn't help but think of him as a kid. He's so soft - a complete change of character compared to most Suzuran punks. Most of their gang mates, him included, truly thought that Sora wouldn't last long in Suzuran. Makise privately believed that the main reason the kid even survived this long in Suzuran was thanks to Genji.
But the kid turned out to be a surprise. From what Izaki said of their fight with Tokaji's gang, Sora refused to back down from the fight and had lasted as long as Izaki did, even taking a hit for the blonde haired second-in-command.
Who knew the kid has such guts and a streak of stubbornness a mile wide? Even Izaki had been impressed.
Not to mention, the kid was the smallest among the GPS members but he sure packed some fire power in his throws and joint lock techniques. Wait, fire cracker would be more appropriate since that kid gassed out faster than one can say "Hajime!^". And his punches can't hurt a fly. But other than that, he can fight pretty alright.
Whether he knows it or not, Sora has gained the respect of most GPS members, who had come to view the shortie as a De Facto leader of GPS. That still didn't stop Makise from thinking of him as a kid though.
If not a kid, then a girl.
"Sora'll be fine." Chuuta said comfortingly. "He'll call us sooner or later."
"Yeah, you're right." Makise said. Chuuta had mentioned that the kid held his own with the Ebizuka Trio during the Freshmen War. He'll be alright. "Hopefully sooner than later. Izaki's asking and I don't know what to tell him."
They drank in companionable silence, watching the sun set over the horizon.
"Makise!" One of his own came running in. "Genji's beating up the first years again!"
"Dammnit!" Makise cursed and dashed off, followed closely by Chuuta. He was getting tired of this.
Not for the first time, he wished Sora was here. That kid probably has a way to help keep Genji in check.
Following the address given by the stranger, the trio found themselves in front of a posh high rise building in Southern Tokyo. Unlike their neighborhood with familiar rundown streets and old buildings with older rickety poles and graffiti all around, this area obviously caters to the rich, with all the skyscraper buildings, fancy shopping centres and cozy cafes. There was a marked increase in the number of westerner, tourists and expensively attired Japanese.
To the trio, it seemed like they had ventured into another world altogether.
The doors of the lobby were opened by two doormen, both of whom gave them the stink eye as they entered. Kirishima ignored them. His attentioned was on the man stationed at the reception desk who had looked up at them upon their entrance. The man, clean cut and dressed in a black suit common to most hotel staff, gave nods of acknowledgement to each of the trio, his blank expression betraying nothing of his thoughts at the sight of crumpled uniforms with the logo of the infamous School of Crows.
"Good evening." he greeted politely, coming out from behind the desk. "You're being expected. This way, please."
Kirishima started, recognizing the voice of the person who had answered Sora's phone.
They entered one of the elevators along the wall and the man scanned a key card along a scanner located at the bottom of the elevator panel. The ride up was so smooth that Kirishima didn't even sense when they had reached their destination.
He felt his jaw drop in surprise when the elevator door opened directly into a spacious living room, designed in a black and white contemporary theme, and accentuated with brightly colored artwork and highlighted by tasteful lighting. Full length windows ran along the side of the living room that was directly across the elevator where they came out of, showcasing a view overlooking the city of Tokyo. In the darkening evening, with the black curtains pulled up, the city view was amazing.
In between the bay view window and the elevator, black leather sofas around a black glass coffee table in a sunken square faced a long wide dark glass panel that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, giving the impression of an amphitheater. A section of the glass panel slid to the side, revealing a large screen TV, almost a mini cinema screen, currently playing the latest movie.
From the corner of his eye, Kirishima could see Pon raise his eyebrows. Mako, as usual, was expressionless. Everything spoke of bespoke luxury.
Is this Sora's home?!
Author's Notes:
1. * Teme means Idiot/Bastard/Asshole. I picked that off Naruto.
2. ^ Hajime means 'Start' in Japanese. It is also the call word used to signal the start of sparring matches in Japanese martial arts competitions.
My previous laptop spoiled, taking all my plots, writings and ideas for this story with it. So I actually had abandoned this story for 2 years, until I saw a few reviews trickling in, reminding me that I had an unfinished story left hanging. So here I am... ^_^lll I'll try to recall what I previously planned in order to complete this story. My original plan was to continue on into Crows Zero II, but since my muse died, I'll probably speed this story up and end it by Crows Zero. Whether I still continue on into Crows Zero II or not... Well, we shall see.
Kirishima can be very stubborn and persistent once he puts his mind to it. In the Crows manga, the Trio were the only ones in Suzuran who did not give in to Bando's rule. So there...
Until next time (soon, hopefully)...