Ami didn't immediately apologize when Amu walked back into the room with Nagi and Rima. Instead she watched her older sister grab the forms, and then go back to the main entrance.
"Don't you think that was your chance to say your sorry?" asked Kukai rubbing the back of his neck.
"I don't know."
"You've apologized to everyone in this room already including Yaya, Kairi and Noelle…so I'll take your stuff back into the car. You have three more to go," I said picking up every single vase filled with different assortments of flowers, teddy bears, balloons, and some other tiny trinkets.
Kukai helped carry the other half of Ami's things down to the main entrance where our cars were parked while Utau helped Ami into her crutches.
"You sure all this stuff can fit inside your car?" asked Kukai.
I shot a look to my baby. My beautiful black BMW and shrugged.
"We'll fill the trunk with as many teddy bears and other miscellaneous items. The vases can go under Amu's foot area, and if worst comes to worst we'll tie the balloons to the end of my car."
The two of us laughed before setting right down to work.
xxx
"You're kidding."
Amu walked towards my car with a curious frown on her face.
"You guys attached the balloons to the end of the car…"
"Wonderful isn't it?" asked Kukai in wide optimism.
"Looks like a wedding car," she grumbled quietly to herself.
I don't think Kukai heard her since he was farther away, but I heard her quiet mumble and smiled to myself. She shook her head once more before opening the door to the passenger's side and getting in. A few minutes after she was settled, she opened the door once more.
"You filled my foot area with every single vase?"
"We needed room," I replied with a sly grin.
Rolling her eyes, she went and stood right besides Kukai. A little while later, Ami, Utau and everyone else came out of the hospital. Amu began hugging every single person who had come to visit, thanking them immensely. My eyes, however, were on Ami. She had three more people to thank: Amu, Nagi and Rima. With the assistance of her crutches, she hobbled over towards Rima and Nagi who were talking amongst themselves and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'. Rima immediately pulled her into a hug and Nagi did the same afterwards. She turned her head towards and then shifted her eyes from me to Amu and back to me shrugging at the same time. I shrugged back at her and she looked up to the sky groaning.
"See you later lover boy, Utau's calling me," said Kukai flashing me smirk.
"See you."
"You and Utau are leaving already?" asked Amu walking up to us.
"Yeah, I need to drop her and Noelle off and then head to work."
"Okay…thank you for coming…and taking care of Noelle. Really, I appreciate it."
"No problem. I'll see you at work, whenever you happen to come by."
Kukai, hands deep in his pockets, casually walked past me. Or that's what it seemed like. He took a hand out of his pocket and placed it on my shoulder, looking like he was just saying goodbye. However…
"If you two don't get together then the world has officially gone corrupt," he whispered into my ear.
"Get lost," I smirked pushing him away.
"I can't," he grinned, walking backwards now. "I know the streets of Tokyo as though it was the palm of my hand."
Smiling, I shook my head and got into the car. Amu and Ami were already seated.
"Noelle's not coming?" asked Ami when I stuck the key into ignition.
"I'll explain on the way."
Amu POV
At Home
Ami had settled herself on the couch – resting her foot on the couch, by the time Ikuto and I delivered the last of Ami's little gifts into her room.
"Ikuto, I don't understand why you are so adamant on staying. You don't need to take care of me anymore."
"I'll stay tonight, and if there are no more nightmares then I'll be out of your hair by tomorrow," he replied ruffling my hair.
Groaning, I tried to fix it again.
"Besides, Ami's broken her leg. I'm sure I'll be of help somehow."
"Whatever, I'll be out for while. I need to go pick up the reports from the Chief's office and then begin my investigation."
"Good luck."
"You too," I said grabbing my keys and shutting the door behind me.
I opened the door to my white BMW that was parked besides his black one, and drove to Chief Fujimoto's office. When I walked into the building to see that the secretary had changed, I did a mental happy dance. However, I restrained my smile as I walked up to the dark haired man.
"I'm Amu Hinamori – I'm here to see Chief Fujimoto."
The man looked up, and I recognized him to be the very same officer who had escorted me and Ikuto to the Chief days before. His eyes also lit with recognition before breaking into a wide grin.
"You're the girl from before."
He held up his hand. "Go right ahead, no need in asking you if you have an appointment. I'm almost positive that you wouldn't be here on your own will."
I grinned and took the semi-familiar route to the Chief's office. I knocked on the wooden door once before letting myself in. Rude people would be dealt with rudeness – at least in my agenda. He seemed to be desperately trying to finish up a phone call. I took a seat on one of the couches and listened to him argue with the person on the other line about some sort of appointment. He mumbled a quick 'bye' before slamming the phone on the receiver and rubbing his temples with his forefingers.
"You've set fire to my office."
"Ah, and you've graced me with your kindness and hospitality," I retaliated with obvious sarcasm.
"Do you know what you've –
The phone rang once more. With a groan he picked it up, shouted 'I'm not interested in a damn interview' and slammed the phone back down.
"All day, I've been receiving phone calls…they want a fucking interview."
"Why?"
"Don't act dumb. The story is out on every TV screen, newspaper, and even on the magazine headlines."
"What story? I only came here to pick up the reports."
He snatched the remote that had been lying on his desk and turned on the TV in the corner of the room. The headline read: Sisters' Deaths Through Our Armed Forces. It began by presenting a picture of Karyn and Anju hugging each other with smiles before it flipped to the cruel scene where they were brutally murdered by a brigade of bullets. The film then zoomed up, showing me on the ground crying hysterically. Chief turned off the TV and tossed a newspaper and magazine in my direction. With the magazine in my hand, I looked up and squinted at the Chief.
"What are you trying to get at? That I just happened to send them the story?"
"Who else?"
I slammed the magazine down on the desk.
"For a grown man you have the brains of an ostrich! In the video, did it physically seem possible for me to be recording the incident?"
"You could've hired someone."
I placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward, my eyes still squinted.
"Are you trying to tell me that your pea sized minds believes that I did the case with the intention of murdering them? Look here, Chief, I came here with the sole purpose of retrieving the reports and investigating the case. I have no time to waste in this dump of an office to face your absurd accusations. As for who leaked the story to the press – I'll add to my list. The reports?"
He stared at me before turning around and grabbing a manila envelope and tossing it my direction.
"See that you get this shit back together."
Ignoring him, I made a grab for the reports and made a beeline for the door. When I got to my car, there was a little white noted sticking in between one of the windshield wipers. Probably just an advertisement, I thought as I picked up the paper and unfolded it.
Amu Hinamori
You will pay
Dearly
For what you've
Done to me…
I read the note once more before taking a quick survey through the parking lot. There wasn't a single person out at the moment. Hardly paranoid, I tucked the threat into my back pocket and got into my car. Next stop – my office. On my way there, I made a quick phone call to Ikuto and Ami. However much the note did not affect me, I had to make sure they were okay. Just in case.
"Hello."
"Ikuto is everything okay at the house?"
There was a quick pause before his response came.
"Yeah…why? Did something happen at Fujimoto's office?"
"Not really."
It'd be better for everyone if he didn't know about the note.
"Ikuto!" shouted Ami from over the phone. "Hurry…look at the TV!"
"Hold just a moment," mumbled Ikuto.
I held the phone to my ear and listened to his footsteps. A minute or two passed before he came back. I turned into the parking lot of our police building.
"Amu…have you seen the news?"
"Don't talk about it," I mumbled bitterly.
"Christ Amu…it's all over the news."
"I know," I sighed. "I should go…I'm at my office already."
"Oh okay. Bye."
"Bye."
"And Amu…be careful."
I hung up the phone and sighed. I was walking quickly with my head slightly looking downward. His words were echoing in my head like some annoying song. Only, when the words came out of his mouth, my heart skipped a beat. I scolded myself once more for that. You are not in love with him, Amu. Get it through your head. He's just watching over you because he feels obligated to do so. Satisfied with my own answer to the problem, I quickened my pace. I was turning to enter the hallway where my office was located when I ran into the wall. There were some serious doubts flying through my head when the 'wall' happened to grab me by my waist when I was stumbling backgrounds. Opening my eyes, I found myself to be in the arms of that officer who had those sharp gray eyes. The very same one who said I hadn't disappointed him the other day. Great, the 'wall' had been his chest. When I looked up to him, he grinned – a dimple forming on his cheek. He let go of me, and bent down to pick up the manila folder I had just dropped.
"Here," he said simply, his hand holding the envelope extended towards me.
I grabbed it, but I was still for an unknown reason at a loss for words.
"Thanks…um…your chest it pretty hard."
He ended up chuckling and I blushed with embarrassment when I finally realized what I had just said. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid Amu!
"N-no what I meant was-
"It's fine. Really."
When I looked at him again, he didn't seem to be in his mid-thirties as I had assumed on the first day I met him. He actually seemed like he was Ikuto's age… Then it hit me pretty hard, here I was, the third time I had run into him and talked to him…I didn't even know his name. Of course it'd be to random if I just asked 'Hey, what's your name?' But then again-
"I heard about what happened on your case on the news. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I'm just frustrated with myself because I wasn't able to save them."
"Cheer up, a smile suits your face better. I know, why don't you come out for a cup of coffee with me? You can take your mind off everything or talk about if you want."
"Thank you, I really appreciate it -
"Yosuke – the name's Yosuke."
"I really appreciate Yosuke, but I'll have to decline your offer at the moment. I need to find out who fired the first shot."
Flashing him a quick, sincere smile, I took a step to the side and started walking towards my office.
"They had a brother," he called out from behind me.
I spun around and faced him.
"Karyn and Anju said their immediate family died already. All they had left was an adoptive family and they didn't need them."
"The boy was an accident. Their parents weren't ready for the responsibility of the child and sent him into an adoption. He's in his late twenties now."
"What's his name?"
"Taro Hayashi. He lives on-
He pulled a folded white sheet of paper out of his back pocket.
"Aki Ha Street, house number 0903."
"How'd you figure all this out?"
"I read the case results in the newspaper this morning and found it slightly interesting, so I began investigating. As for the address, I found Taro's name in the phone book and tracked down his address."
"Would you mind if I borrowed the address?"
"Not at all. Here. Well…I really should let you get to your investigation. Good luck."
"Okay, thanks."
"Oh and Amu."
"Yeah?"
"Be careful."
I froze in place the minute he said those words, and watched his back retreat. Timidly, I raised a hand to my heart. It was beating slowly at its normal pace. It didn't skip a beat either.
"Odd," I mumbled to myself as I made my way back out towards my car.
Since he had already handed me Taro's address, I might as well begin interviewing than going over the reports. I followed the address to what seemed to be a two-story house. There was a large tree in the front yard and several bushes of flowers leading up the pathway towards the house. It seemed so peaceful that I felt guilty for even driving up here and talking to this man about his now dead sisters. Sighing, I pressed my finger to the doorbell and waited.
Soon enough the door opened, revealing a man with dark brown hair and brown eyes. His eyes were full of grief and I didn't blame him for a second.
"You must be Taro…I'm Amu Hinamori, the negotiator who was on your sisters' case."
His eyes lit with recognition – he must've seen me on TV.
"Come in."
I followed him inside of his house and took a seat on the couch.
"I'll make us some tea."
"There's really no need."
"It's fine."
He disappeared into the kitchen, and I took that chance to survey the living room. Every frame was turned down or flipped around to face the back. The guilt continued bubbling inside of me. Taro returned moments later with a tray of tea and biscuits.
"Help yourself."
I watched him pick up his own cup of tea and add some sugar into it. He had a handsome face I noted. He could become a model or even an actor if he wanted to. Putting my own thoughts aside, I waited for him to finish before speaking.
"I was the negotiator for your sisters' case."
"I know."
"I was determined to save them…My sister and I had a case just like theirs…I was so much more determined. But I failed. I failed them, you, and myself."
"How did my sisters, Karyn and Anju, die?"
"There was a man, Ryu, who had taken over the hostage situation your sisters had started. Karyn and I managed to beat him up to the point where he wasn't mobile. The three of us exited through the front doors. A single bullet was shot at us, and that one thankfully missed, but a submission of bullets followed afterwards."
For the first time since entering his house, he frowned and set down his cup.
"Yet you were the only survivor."
"Ye-
I froze. He was right. It was impossible for close to two dozen officers shooting at us and for me to escape unscathed. So were they only aiming for Karyn and Anju giving me and anyone else who watched that they were shooting at the three of us?
"How do you feel?" questioned Taro raising a single brow.
"Grief. Anger…I blame myself entirely. If I had made sure the officers were following my orders, then they wouldn't be dead."
Taro stood up.
I'd offended him hadn't I? He was going to kick me out now and-
"Follow me," he muttered, interrupting my thoughts.
Quickly getting off of the couch, I followed him up the stairs. The walk didn't last long. Taro stood in front a room. It was a pink little girl's room with two beds. There were dolls, and dollhouses, and mirrors, and a box full of puffy dresses.
"I was sent away to an orphanage when I was born. I was accident my parents weren't ready for. I grew up with my adoptive parents till I was 23, then I moved to this home. A couple years after I moved I found out that I had sisters. It was an accident – how I met them – I was at a grocery store and they just happened to steal some food. I learned from a cashier that the two would pay when they could or 'steal', and when they did they promised they would pay for it whenever they got money. One day, when I happened to run into them again, I chatted them up. I was curios about them in short. They were hesitant at first, especially Karyn. She was so overprotective of Anju; I told them about myself first – every little detail. And in return they told me theirs. When Karyn went to go pay for her can of soup and bread, Anju showed me a picture of their parents and how they had died. I had the exact same photo from when I went to visit them when I was seven or so. So I started designing their room each day, and just last week I'd finished it. But it was too late."
I traced a finger over the heart design on the wooden frame of the bed.
"I'm sorry," I whispered a tear managing to get past the corner of my eye and sliver down my cheek.
He walked away from the doorframe and wiped the tear away from my face.
"I feel the same. More grief than anger, but the feeling is still present. Yet, I'm not angry towards you but to the man who began the first fire."
We both got up and headed back into the living room. His company was enjoyable after I had stopped crying, so I stayed, despite all that I still had left to do. I left half an hour later, and drove back home. When I got back, Ikuto was sitting on the couch watching TV with a bowl of popcorn sitting besides him.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Startled, he stood up so fast the bowl of popcorn spilled its contents all over the wooden floor.
"Shit," he cursed picking up the remnants of the popcorn.
Snickering, I walked over and helped him.
"How'd the investigation go?" he asked after we had thrown the popcorn away.
"They had a brother - Taro. I talked with him today."
"Hmm...I didn't know Taro had siblings."
"You know him?" I asked slightly curious.
"Not really."
"Oh, well I'm going to go upstairs and go over these reports. I'm bound to find something."
I walked upstairs, and as I did, I saw Ami standing in her doorway. She limped her way over towards me and wrapped her arms around my waist firmly.
"I didn't mean to be rude this morning...I didn't know. I'm sorry Amu."
A soft smile grew on my lips and ruffled her hair.
"You know, I can never stay mad at you for long."
Ikuto POV
I pulled the vaccum, out of the closet, and began to clean out the tinier bits of popcorn when a white note caught my eye. I stopped the flow of the suction and picked up the white note. When I finished reading over the short message, I quickly turned to look at the stairs. Why the hell hadn't she told me about this?
A/N
Hello my lovely readers. Yes, some of you are frustrated with me not updating yesterday. I'm sorry TT . TT I've been working diligently on my parents' Christmas gift. 100 cranes...I only have 10 at the moment and it is 9:34 p.m. TT . TT On the bright side, I putting up a Christmas Story tomorrow. It won't be attached to any of my Scars Hidden chapters like the 9/11 story was, but it'll be a story on its own. I'm so excited, mainly because I love this idea so much that I'm dying to write it. If you guys want to read it, just look for Neko-Meme :3 If not, that's cool to, I'll talk to you guys in the next A/N :DDD
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