If you directly jumped to this chapter: Go back to the one before this! I added two chapters in one go. (If you can consider Mr. Creep's monologue a chapter ^^)

Have fun!

Chapter 9

He looked stressed. She once again noticed it as she came closer, with a few plates in her hands. Tao, seemingly busy and with dark circles under his eyes, had left immediately after dinner. Ajussi really looked like he could need a break, too. The feeling that she'd only make it worse gnawed on her. Uncertain what to do, she placed the plates next to the sink. From below her lashes, she glanced up to the man. Perhaps she should keep quiet about this? Too late. He had stopped fumbling with the tap and now gave her his full attention.

Without saying a word, Ajussi just stood there, his body half turned towards her, and his eyebrows raised in silent question. Yuna felt a blush tint her cheeks at his piercing gaze, but at least it kept her from dithering.

"Ajussi, I want..." She bit her lower lip and threw a securing glance back to the couch and the coffee table. Shinwoo still entertained the rest of the group with an embellished story of his display during the last outing to the PC bang. For a short moment, she felt something akin to jealously pass through her. So carefree. "I need to show you something."

She pulled out the folded picture from the back pocket of her jeans. Wearing the piece of paper on her person kept it safe, out of other people's eyes. At the same time, she felt disgusted whenever she let her thoughts touch the topic of who had held it in his hands before. She crossed her arms over her chest, almost hugging herself, as Ajussi took the photo to look at it. Relief and guilt fought for the upper hand of her emotions. It felt so good to talk about it, and she knew that he would help her. But the shocked look in his eyes almost made her jump forward to snap the picture out of his hands.

There was no need to strain her neck to look at the photo. She knew what she would see. The picture already burned into her mind: Suyi, Seira, and her. In the photo they walked together, animatedly chatting, and it was clear that the picture was taken without their notice for none of them looked at the photographer.

The things which made Yuna shudder, though, were the scribbles on the paper. Red, angry lines crossed out Seira and her faces.

"She's mine. Keep away," Ajussi read the lines on the bottom of the paper aloud but silently enough to not reach the excitedly chatting group on the couch. The already cool eyes got a hard glint that would have made her shiver if she wouldn't have known him. Yuna just felt glad that the glare wasn't directed at her.

"Fortunately, I got the mail this morning, not my parents. I don't know what my mother would have said if she would have seen it."

Ajussi didn't say anything, his eyes still glued to the picture. His eyes still were cold and angry. The rest of his face, though, resembled an expressionless mask. They were both silent as the seconds trickled away, Yuna startled as he suddenly talked again.

"You shouldn't visit Suyi until we solved this problem."

"She's my friend. I won't leave her alone now!" If Ajussi was surprised by the way she almost hissed her answer, he didn't show it. As his only reaction, he looked at her, his brows furrowed. For once, she could hold his gaze without blushing or looking away. She was angry. How could he suggest to leave Suyi alone with her worries? Especially now, she needed a friend to listen and to talk to. What kind of friend would Yuna be if she wouldn't stand by the other girl's side?

His eyes had rested on her the whole time, and now his lips curled up slightly to something akin to a smile. He resignedly shook his head, but before either of them could say something, Yuna noticed Seira's approach.

Her friend's eyes found the photo Ajussi still held in his hands. For a moment, Yuna held her breath, but no outshout followed, just a composed nod.

"I found one of those in the mailbox this morning, too." Such a calm voice. How could Seira always stay her serene self, even in this situation? Ajussi sent her an angered glance. Was he infuriated at her for not telling him earlier? More likely in Yuna's eyes, though, it wasn't Seira he felt furious with, but the one who took the photos.

"You're going to avoid Suyi?" Yuna kept her voice straight and without a judging tone. She would understand if Seira wanted to play it safe; she herself was scared, too.

"Why should I?" Honest surprise tinted her voice.

For a few seconds, Yuna stared at her friend, then she giggled. That was just so much like her! She embraced Seira in a quick hug that the other girl accepted gracefully. As she stood next to Seira, a part of the tension left her body as if the calmness of the other girl wrapped itself around her like a comforting blanket.

Ajussi took a deep breath. He set the piece of paper on the work space next to the sink and covered it with his hand as if he wanted to hide it. "Always stay around other people. Don't go somewhere alone. If there's no-one able to accompany you, call Tao or me."

Why did she feel like he only talked to her? Ajussi's insistent gaze lay on her the whole time, not once had he glanced to Seira. Perhaps because Seira already had heard a similar speech? And normally, Regis always accompanied her. No matter the reason, she felt grateful for the help the man provided.

"I promise," she said into the stretching silence. Seira, she saw from the corner of her eye, nodded, too. His shoulders relaxed a bit, and some of the stress lines in his face decreased.

"You're going to escort her home tonight?"

Yuna jumped at the sudden voice behind her and spun around. She looked into the headmaster's face, who wore a calming smile. Her heart beat loudly, and she only slowly answered the older man's smile.

"Of course," she heard Ajussi say behind her back. Yuna chided herself for being jumpy. There was nothing to fear. And after all, it was highly unlikely that someone would try to hurt her. At least, she thought so.

oO Noblesse Oo

It was late. Too late! Dinner was served at 7pm, and now it was almost three hours later. Frankenstein would kill him. Literally. Takeo pondered the idea to take a run for it, but he had nowhere else to go, so he had to take the risk for his own life and endure whatever would come at him. Takeo grinned wryly. He knew he was overreacting, but this situation with the stalker jerked on his nerves.

In the entrance hall, Tao greeted him, and almost literally dragged him into the living room as soon as Takeo had slid into his pink slippers. A quick glance told the sniper that the nobles already sat on the couch while Frankenstein worked in the kitchen. It smelled of tea and ramen.

"21?"

"He's patrolling. After seeing the photo, we decided to have someone watch over the children's houses just to be on the safe side," Tao explained. He fumbled with his laptop and set up the big screen.

Finally, Frankenstein came into the sitting area. Now their council of war could start. Frankenstein carried a tray in his hands, and as Takeo had expected it, set down tea and a bowl of ramen in front of his master. It surprised Takeo, though, as Frankenstein pressed a similar bowl into his own hands.

Takeo was left speechless as Frankenstein turned around after smiling once at him. He was so confused about this way of treating him that he was surprised as an arm snaked around his shoulders. As turning around, he looked right into Tao's brightly grinning face.

"If you don't want it, I can eat it."

That earned Tao a glare. He shrugged the hacker's arm off and slide on the couch to the side, his ramen bowl protectively held in his hand.

"Don't spill!"

Now it was Takeo who was on the receiving end of a dark glare. He meekly nodded to Frankenstein, and started to eat.

"Okay, since we're all ready and set, let me start. First, let's talk about the photos Seira and Yuna received. As you can see on this map, it only takes at most fifteen minutes at a leisurely pace from one house to the other one, even for a normal human."

A map of the mentioned area appeared on the screen with red dots as markers for their and Yuna's houses. Takeo put the half finished bowl of ramen on the table behind him. His appetite was gone. "There are a few routes the culprit could have taken, and since it is a residential neighbourhood, there exists almost no CCTV."

Glowing lines now connected the two houses on the card, and smaller dots marked the few security cameras Tao had found. Even Takeo could tell that you had to be exceptionally lucky to catch someone on tape like this. And if he knew something about the stalker, it was that he acted cautiously.

"What about the monitoring devices you established around the house?" Takeo glanced up to Frankenstein, who stood at his right, at that question, then to Tao.

The hacker grimaced. "They were pretty useless in this case. I caught the guy on some pictures, but his face is in the shadow of his hood. Additionally, in the darkness of the early morning hours, we see almost nothing. This isn't a movie. I can't take a tiny, dark picture and light it up like a Christmas tree. When there's no information to work with, I can't materialize it out of thin air! If he had actually entered the property it would be different, but he only went to the mailbox at the street."

Tao's voice sounded angered and defensive. Takeo had heard him like that only a few times back in the old DA-5 days, when Tao had felt annoyed by Shark and pressured by Krantz at the same time. Without really thinking about it, Takeo laid his left hand on Tao's shoulder. The muscles underneath his fingers felt tense. A slow rise and fall of shoulder attested to the deep breath Tao took to calm himself.

"To keep it short, we only have the height and the approximate build of the man. He wore a loose-fitting overcoat without any recognizable features. There are no fingerprints on the photo except for Yuna's, Seira's, and M-21's. Paper and print are run-of-the-mill products."

"And the point where he took the photo?"

"I found it just a two blocks from Suyi's house, but there were no CCTV cameras in appropriate places. Either the man is lucky or good. How big is the manager?"

"What?" Takeo looked at the hacker, dumbfounded. The flood of information followed by the sudden change of topic took him a few seconds to digest. He furrowed his brows to properly think about Tao's question. If his comrade asked something, he normally had a good reason for it.

"Around my height. Perhaps five to ten centimetres smaller? Why do you ask?"

"So you two are around the same height as the stalker. The manager just strolled along the corridor at the moment Suyi got the text message. Why was he there? Just passing by? Or did he want to see the girl react to his message?"

"He should know how to get through the corridors without being seen. And he wouldn't raise suspicion while visiting the concert hall or wandering around his agency," Frankenstein added and stared thoughtfully at the manager's photo that had appeared on the screen. The following silence stretched as they exchanged glances. Takeo sighed. His new job just got even more complicated.