. [ # 20 ]
Ai stood motionlessly at the ground floor as she glared into the stairway that leads to the place she had in mind - the place when she was brought into 8 years ago.
'It's here. . . . ' 'Isn’t this the place where Takahashi-san was found in when she reported to the police 8 years ago? Could it be that . . .Tanaka had brought Gaki-san back to this place? Who's the owner of this apartment? Tanaka Juncho? Or? Why didn’t I checked about the ownership of this apartment then?' Hitomi thought silently in her mind as she stood by her car, watching the frozen figure of Ai by the main street, staring up the stairway aimlessly. "Takahashi-san! Wait up!" Hitomi shouted out desperately as she slammed the car door close and chased towards the direction of Ai.
'This is a good time for her to stop advancing forward. . . ' However, Ai did not regard any of the advances made by Hitomi for her to stay still. Instead, Ai had took a step forward and climbed her first step on the stairs. "Wait!" Before Ai could further proceed up the stairway, a firm grip grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back onto the main street. "It's dangerous for you to go up there by yourself, if Tanaka Juncho had really held Gaki-san up there." Hitomi warned as she shook Ai lightly by her shoulders. "Makoto, call for back up, just in case." Hitomi ordered as Makoto came over by her side.
"Hai!" Makoto responded loudly as she turned away slightly and began to dial back to the headquarters for the required backup.
"There's no time to wait. You know what can happen to that Gaki, don't you?" Ai grunted almost monotonously, with the intention to hide her nervousness behind her own customised character. After straight, Ai struggled to get Hitomi's grip on her shoulder off by forcing herself towards the direction of the darkly illuminated stairway. Though that, the strength that Hitomi possessed was way upper handed as compared to the petite figured Ai.
"Please, as much as we all wanted Gaki-san to be safe and sound, it's also our duty to keep yours as well, Takahashi-san." Hitomi pressed gently.
"Yoshizawa-senpai, there's a slight trouble." Makoto came back and stood beside Hitomi as she informed.
"What trouble?" Hitomi asked when turning towards Makoto, but still, not loosening the grip on Ai's shoulder.
"The headquarters would not dispatch backup. They say that if there's no concrete evidence that Gaki-san and the suspect would be here, they are unable to dispatch the PCs over here." Makoto whispered softly into Hitomi's ear. Though that, it did not remain unheard to Ai.
"So now what? Are we going to stay still over here, with us knowing that something bad will happen to that brat? Is that really the duties of the police?" Ai asked harshly. Ai ended the question abruptly when she heard her own anxiety in the questions posted.
'Why . . . Why am I acting this way?' Hitomi looked distressed. Distressed about the decisions she should make,
'What should I do now?' Hitomi thought worriedly in her mind while looking forth and back at Ai and Makoto, who were both staring at her intensively, waiting for her important command.
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Juncho smile inwardly by himself as he pulled away the scalpel he held by Risa's neck. "This is my chance. . " He breathed lightly on Risa's face as the smirk on his face grew wider. In the end, no one can put me into the justice, because I can say, your life is going to end sometime from now." He continued boasting to Risa who was already out in the cold. He placed the scalpel gently by the sides of the bathtub as he climbed into the bathtub, positioning himself right in front of Risa. He lifted his both hands towards the top first button of Risa's blouse and began to work his fingers on it, sifting the tiny button out of its slit, revealing the smooth pale collarbone of Risa.
'This is perfect.' Satisfied with what he had saw before him, Juncho moved his hands slightly lower to the second button.
Before he could sift the second button out of the slit, a long bang from outside the bathroom caused him to stop in his actions.
'What's that?' He thought as he pulled his left hand back to himself and his right to reach for the scalpel he had placed by the side of the bathtub and took it back to his possession. As he climbed himself out of the bathtub, a firm and sharp voiced echoed in the small space.
"Don't move!"
Thought commanded, Juncho did not followed as what was echoed. Instead, he brought himself to face towards the bathroom door as he instinctively raised the scalpel back Risa's neck. "It should be me telling you not to move, Yoshizawa-san. The life of your precious subordinate is in my hand."
"Gaki-san!" Both Hitomi and Makoto gasped in unison. The pistols that were once pointing at the target wavered. "Let go of her!" Hitomi demanded as she tighten her grip around the pistol, hoping that the action would secure the aim firmly.
Ai peeked into the bathroom at her position - just outside the bathroom, behind the walls where her presence would not be detected by Juncho. That was the agreement made between Hitomi and her, in order to ensure the safety of Ai.
'Fine. I believe in you that Gaki-san is up there. We will proceed up there, even without any presence of our backup. But you have to promise one thing - Stay behind Makoto and I at all times. That's the only way we can ensure your safety, Takahashi-san.'
The sight of the unconscious Risa, who was tinted in light shades of blue, had caused Ai to fall into a moment of unbelieve. As Risa had lost her conscious, she had lost her ability to stand her body weight on her feet, leading her whole body weight to be held by the handcuff on her hands with her whole body slumping forward.
'She looked exceptionally pale and blue. Could it be? Is she even breathing? How long have she been standing in the water? All the time? This is bad. . . ' "What do you think?" Juncho return nonchalantly as he pressed the scalpel closer, cutting into the surface of the skin at Risa's neck. Traces of blood were stained on the sharp surface of the scalpel.
'No! She can't be losing large volume of blood now. . . With a high chances of her suffering hypothermia, losing large volume of blood would worsen the situation right now!' Ai thought in desperation in her mind as she clenched her fist tightly, holding back her urge to rush into the confrontation.
'It's at the neck, where one of the major artery and vein is located.' Ai turned away from the view from the bathroom and began looking around the room.
"Stop!" Hitomi begged. "What do you want then?"
"Guns off to the ground." Juncho ordered.
Being thrown into a corner without any other options, Hitomi turned around and looked helplessly at Makoto as she bent slightly forward towards the ground where she placed the pistol in her hand onto the cold tiled floor of the bathroom. Makoto heaved in unbelieve at Hitomi's action. After regaining herself in a standing position, Hitomi turned and glanced at Makoto, signalling her to follow as such. Makoto furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
'Why is Yoshizawa-senpai doing that?' Was what ran in Makoto's mind. Almost unwillingly, Makoto bent over and rested her pistol on the floor.
'NO!' Ai shouted in her mind.
'He's still going to hurt the brat even more, even if you comply with him!' Ai urged in her mind. She directed her attention back to the haunting room and noted an old baseball bat lying on the other side of the room. She turned her glance back into the bathroom.
'She looked like she's in a really bad shape. . . ' Ai, deciding with her mind, had took a first small step out, wobbled over across the room as quietly as she could, and wrapped her fingers around the thinner end of the bat. She then returned back to her original position where she continued watching the situation in the bathroom.
"Let her go now." Hitomi negotiated.
"Do you really think I will?" Juncho mocked.
"So what do you want?"
"I want myself to be out of here."
'Impossible.' Hitomi thought in her mind.
'You had gotten yourself away from the hands of the criminal justice through the influences of your family name 8 years ago. There's no way I am going to allow this to happen again. What should I do now then?' Hitomi contemplated in her mind.
"I say, I want to get out of here." Juncho demanded again as he pushed the scalpel closer to Risa's neck.
Before Hitomi could reply an 'Okay' to Juncho's demand, a petite figure rushed past the two police and situated herself right under the nose of Juncho. "Takahashi-san!" Hitomi called out just as Ai struck the other end of the baseball bat on the left side of Juncho's face. Juncho pulled the hand that held the scalpel away from Risa as pulled his left hand to the spot where Ai had just attacked as an reflect reaction. Before Juncho could strike Ai with his upper hand, Ai had dropped the baseball bat onto the ground and pulled the scalpel off Juncho's right hand with her left. Turning the situation over, Ai held the scalpel with her back hand and raised it onto Juncho's neck.
"If I press the further in, it won't be just the few drops of blood like what happened to that brat. They will just pour out like a river." Ai threatened as she glared viciously at Juncho.
"You won't. You don't have the guts to. And there are two police right behind you at this current moment. I can charge you for attempted murder. They can be my witness." Juncho argued and expected that the cold touch of the sharp scalpel will pull back. However, it did not. Instead it was pressed in further, casing the thin capillaries by the neck to break. Red viscous fluid began to slide down the metal scalpel.
"Of course I have the guts to. Do you remember who was the one who walked out of Keio with a broken nose?" Ai grunted as she pressed the sharp blade tighter and closer. "I still can do that very this day as well."
"Takahashi-san!" Hitomi called out again, hoping that that would pull Ai out of her impulsiveness. "Don't do anything that is not to your advantage. "
Ai loosen her grip on the scalpel. She lifted her right fist and punched a heavy blow on Juncho's face before dropping the scalpel on the ground. Juncho bent forward in pain. Both Hitomi and Makoto headed forward and held Juncho against the wall before locking his right hand behind his back.
On the other hand, Ai had climbed into the bathtub and stood right in front of the limped body of Risa. Ai ran her two fingers nervously along Risa neck, trying to feel for any pulse that were present. After putting her fingers for a minute, Ai could still not feel any pulse from Risa. She removed her fingers from Risa's neck and began to pat lightly on Risa's cheeks. "Gaki?" Ai called out. She increased her strength in the patting. "Gaki?" And no, she was not getting the reaction she wanted. By the time she reached for the handcuff, Ai was too, totally drenched by the water pouring out of the showerhead. Ai tugged at the handcuff by the showerhead, hoping that that would cause the loosening of the handcuff. But it now. She now turned over in desperation. "Keys, anyone, Keys!"
Makoto heard the call. She rushed forward to the abandoned clothing of Risa on far end of the bathroom and began to work her way through all the pockets. As her finger ran against the familiar surface, she pulled them out and rushed forward to Ai, passing the set of keys to her. Ai took the set of keys over from Makoto and began her work on the small keyhole. As the handcuff unbuckled, it released the hands from it, causing Risa's body to fall directly on Ai's. Ai dropped the keys into the bathtub while trying to take the sudden weight dropped onto her. "Do you need help?"
Ai nodded her head as she settled the limped body of Risa by the side of the bathtub. "Ambulance." Came the simple request. As Makoto took out her mobile phone to call for the ambulance, Ai pulled the shower curtain down and wrapped it across Risa's cold body after pulling off the wet white blouse from Risa. She then climbed off the bathtub and carried Risa out as well, lying the almost lifeless body on the ground. "Gaki?" Ai patted Risa cheeks again. She leaned her ears onto Risa's check, listening for any breathing present."Gaki?" Ai called out again as she slapped on Risa's shoulders. She leaned down to the chest and checked for any breathing again.
"The ambulance is on its way." Makoto informed as she squatted down onto the ground beside Ai. "How's Gaki-san?"
Ai did not bothered to answer Makoto. Instead, she went onto her knees and placed the base of her palms on the sternum and began to press firmly on it as she leaned her body weight forward. After 15 solid pumps, Ai leaned forward to Risa's lips and placed hers gently on them, where she blew one mouthful of air into Risa's mouth. She then leaned back to her chest where she looked to hear breathings from the unconscious women. When she did not, she went back to the same routine and chanted at the same time. "Come on Gaki, you are not that weak, aren't you?" At the start of the third set, traces of water squired out of Risa's mouth, resulting in the return of the rhythmic breathing. "Thank goodness." Ai muttered softly. She pulled the shower curtain tightly around Risa's body, hoping that that would help to retain the minimal body heat left of the cool body.
"The ambulance is here!" Makoto shouted as she ran into the bathroom with a group of paramedics following behind her. They pushed Ai gently behind and began to move Risa onto the stretcher, where the silver-lined thermal was placed . Risa was then wrapped in them, before being carried down to the ambulance.
"Takahashi-san, would you like to go to the hospital with Gaki-san. Both Makoto and I have more important stuffs to handle." Hitomi came forward to Ai and asked, with Juncho, partially unconscious from Ai's final blow, in her possession.
Ai stared a deadly stare at the smirking Juncho, who went in and out of consciousness, before noting a silent acknowledgement to Hitomi. Ai then fasten up her pace to chase after the paramedics, who had all disappeared from their sight. "Hopefully, we can help Takahashi-san from the trial tomorrow. . . . " Hitomi muttered softly.
Makoto caught what Hitomi had just said. "Yoshizawa-senpai, I'm curious. You sounded like you had knew Takahashi-san from long time ago from the way you two had interacted just now." Makoto asked in curiosity.
"My mentor and I - I was the one in charge of her case 8 years ago. . ."Hitomi trailed of as she dragged the guy out of the room.
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"Are you the close kin of the patient?"
Ai remained silent at the question posted by the paramedics. She sat still at the seat as she glared intensively at the cardiac monitor, at the relatively low heart rate. She held her fingers tightly together as she shivered in coldness. Her lips quivered in fear.
"Are you alright, Miss?" The paramedic asked again as he draped a red blanket comfortably across Ai's shoulder.
'Please . . . let her be alive. . . It hurts just to have the thought of the brat ending up in the same way as where the little one had went. . . It's because of my case, she had went into the wolf's den . . . ' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why had the police brought me here? What offences had I made? And I will not agree to with my DNA for analysis unless there's a release of warrant for it." Juncho demanded.
Makoto frowned in her seat right opposite where Juncho sat. She turned around and looked desperately at the two way mirror, where Hitomi was seated in the observation room. Hitomi read the expression on Makoto's face and understood what Makoto was trying to put across. She strode across the room, down the hallway and to the CIL. "Are the DNA analysis out yet?" Hitomi asked the moment she set her feet in the room.
"Just barely!" Eri shouted over from her seat as she pulled a couple of sheets of paper from the printer and ran over to Hitomi, where she passed the sheets to her. "I think with this, it's enough to apply for the warrant for DNA sample from Tanaka Juncho-san.
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"Miss, do you wish to have a set of dry patient clothing for you to change into?" A gentle voice belonging to the ER nurse echoed into Ai's ear drum when she sat motionlessly with the red blanket given to her on the ambulance at the waiting area while Risa was laid in resuscitation room.
Ai shook her head lightly as she tightly her grip on the blanket. Her mind brought her back to the events that happened barely hours ago. i]'Why . . . why am I feeling this way. . . where did this urge of impulsiveness came from? I thought . . . I hate her. . . Why do I fear? Why do I fear at the thought of her lifeless body, her cold and icy skin. . . . '[/i] Tears wavered at the tip of her eyelid.
"Ai-chan? What are you doing here? Why are you so wet? Was it raining out there?" Aya called out and asked. She was on her way out of the hospital when she saw Ai sitting at the ER all by herself.
When Ai heard the familiar and comforting voice, Ai looked up immediately from the floor and towards the source of the voice. Not speaking a word, Ai rushed forward to Aya and lumped herself onto Aya, where she buried her face into Aya's shoulder, where tears began to fall off unreservedly.
'I'm . . . afraid . . Why Aya? I don't like this kind of feeling . . . Is that what they say . . when love hurts?' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ai-chan, are you alright?" Aya asked the lady who seem to be out of the world by her side as the duo walked out of the court house, down the long trail of steps. "It's really thankful that the police had managed to find concrete evidences to get Tanaka down with his wrong doings." Aya continued.
"Taking into the considerations of the situational conditions, I hereby announce that Takahashi Ai, is declared innocent for the said two charges by the MPD. On the other hand, the cases of the serial sexual assaults and illegal confinement of MPS SI Niigaki Risa will be push back till a fortnight time until SI Niigaki Risa is fit for court appearance."
"Ai-chan?" Aya called out again when she realised Ai was not responding to her.
"Hmmm?" Ai looked up from her spacing out and back at Aya. "Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Hmmm." Ai nodded her head lightly.
Knocking that Ai is unwilling to speak more, Aya decided to just let it go. "Do you want to return back to the hospital to visit Niigaki-san?" Aya asked.
Ai shook her head stubbornly. "I don't want to. I want to go home."
"Takahashi-san!" Before Aya could express the words that lingered at her lips, a third voice called out and interrupted the words.
"Ka-mei-san?" Ai stuttered at the sight of Eri.
"Is Takahashi-san going to return back to the department?"
"No . . . I'm not going to go back. . . "
"Why?"
"There's no more reason for me to, Kamei-san. Work hard, Kamei-san." With that, Ai turned back to her original direction, with Aya walking by her side, away from the courthouse.
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The trio were once again sat the café where the ate in when Ai and Aya had met with Asami.
"Nee, I'd just realised something." Aya giggled as she sip a small mouthful of apple juice.
"What, Matsuura-senpai?" The smile that was plastered on Asami's face had not faded off since their entry into the café.
"Our names all start with the A syllabus." Aya continued on as she stuffed a mouthful of the omelette rice into her mouth.
"Ah, that's true!" Asami squeaked in excitement at the realisation, leading to the continued giggling of Aya. On the other hand, Ai, who was seated right across the table remained unaffected by the little amazement between the trio.
"Ai-chan, are you alright?" Aya concerned.
"Aya, can you do me a favour?" Ai spoke across the table as she came out of her stillness.
"What? You tomatoes? Just place them on my plate like you used to be." Aya joked as she pushed her plate forward.
"Ah. . . " Ai quickly picked the remaining tomatoes that were left on her plate and transferred them over to Aya's plate.
"Takahashi-senpai is still the same. Tomatoes are still one thing that you can't eat. Just like -" Asami stopped, realising what was about to slip out of her lips.
'I shouldn't mention about that. . . ' "I just can't eat excessive amount of them." Ai argued gently and softly. She pushed the plate back to Aya and went back to her moments of silent.
"Is there any other thing else that you had wanted to ask from me, Ai-chan?" Aya asked again, realising that Ai was still acting weird after the issue of tomatoes.
Ai pulled her hands back from the utensils and reached them into her bag, where she took out two pairs of keys and placed it before Aya. "Do me a favour. Help me to sell my car and apartment away." Ai asked softly as she pulled her right hand back.
That caused the two to stop working their utensils on their food and looked queerly at Ai. "Why in such urgency?"
"There's something I had yet to tell the two of you." Ai spoke quietly. "I'm - I'm flying back to the UK tomorrow. I had pack out my stuffs out of the apartment and is currently staying at the hotel."
"What?! Why?" Came the unison surprised response that was followed after the loud clank of the metal utensils on the glassware.
'I want to leave this place. . .forever. . . just forever. The decision to come back was a wrong decision in the first place. . . ' Tears dwelled at her eyes and stayed where they were. "I won't be out of contact like what I did the last time. I . . . I just want to leave this place. . . "
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"Gaki-san! You are finally awake!" Eri exclaimed in excitement the moment she eyes of the sleeping lady stirred and flipped open. "You had worried death out of me, Gaki-san! You have been out for 3 days, do you know that?" Eri continued in a high pitched.
"Eririn, soften down. We are in the hospital." Came a second voice.
"How can I relax? Gaki-san is finally awake after such long hours of coma." Eri argued.
Risa laid confusingly on the hospital bed, looking weirdly at the two CIL officers arguing before her. Her mind was still trying to register her new surrounding after the long hours of unconsciousness. "Kame" Risa croaked through her hoarse and dry throat after stopping to ingest water orally for the past 96 hours. "What had happened to me?" Risa continued.
"We will talk about that later. I will get the doctor to assess on you first." Eri replied as she dragged Sayumi out of the ward with her.
As Risa watched the retreating figure of Eri, a distant memory sparked in her mind.
"I can see that . . . you still hold something for her. . . Now that . . . She's gone. . . I guessed . . . " "It's impossible . . . Really, Takahashi-san . . . it's not your fault. Yes, it's true that Haru-chan may had indirectly caused out breakup, but between Gaki-san and I, I guessed separation was necessary. I had moved on . . . I know . . .After the separation, I realised, we are better much off as friend as compared to lovers. Perhaps that's my life. . . "
'Is it true that Kame is still holding something on me? Is it true that Kame had never gotten the breakup off her mind?' Risa thought sensationally in her mind.
'Or was it like what she had claimed, that she had actually moved on. . . ' "Niigaki-san, I see you had regained your conscious." The doctor in charge greeted as she entered the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Just a little slight headache. It seems like I can't remember how did I manage to get myself here though. . . " Risa explained her situation to the doctor in charge.
"That's normal for hypothermia patients, Niigaki-san."
"Hypothermia?" Risa repeated.
"Yes. You were admitted into the ER with a core body temperature of 29 degree Celsius, which is considered as a moderate-high level of hypothermia. It's truly lucky that you had managed to survive through the cold body temperature. Right now, I will take you off the IV drip and put you through a series of blood test and a MRI scan to ensure that there's no serious damage to your vital organs."
"Ah. Okay." Risa nodded her head light.
"Please take a good rest." With that, the doctor exited the room, exchanging with the re-entry of Eri and Sayumi back into the ward.
"Feeling fresh?" Eri asked as she settled down on the chair, while Sayumi, at her own discrete, sat on the empty end of the bed where Risa was sat in. "Sayu, aren't you making yourself slightly too comfortable? Gaki-san is the patient over here. Stop snatching her space from her." Eri reprimanded playfully.
"Why? Are you jealous?" Sayumi pouted back.
"Ah, it's alright. It's not like I'm that huge sized to be needing that large amount of bed space." Risa intervened and smiled awkwardly, hoping that that would stop another endless argument from developing.
"That's mean. " Eri pouted.
"So Kame, what had happened to me?" Risa asked again, hoping that she would get the answer she desired this time round.
"You really don't remember?" Sayumi looked innocently at Risa and asked.
Risa nodded her head like a child would and continued to look curiously with her puppy eyes at the two CIL officers.
"You were being held by a suspect on a case you were investigating on, don't you remember?" Sayumi hinted.
"Takahashi-san's case." Eri added on.
'You were out for three days!' The second statement by Eri earlier in the day echoed in Risa's mind. That was when Risa had realised something important she had missed. "What's the date today, Kame? Did I miss the trial date? What had happened to -"
Before Risa could blabber out all her questions, Eri had answered all intended question with just one answer. "She's fine. "
Risa let of a sigh of relieve.
'Thank goodness. . . ' "In fact, she was the one who had found out the location where Tanaka Juncho-san had kept you. She was the one who had pulled you out of hell, when you had already placed one of your foot in the place." Eri continued.
"She did?" Risa asked in a raised tone.
"Come on Gaki, you are not that weak, aren't you?"'It seems so too . . . ' Risa concluded as she heard the vague voice of Ai lingered in her mind. She could felt her heart skipping a beat at the thought of the voice.
"You really don't remembered a single thing from the past few days?" Eri raised again while Risa shook her head in response again.
The ward fell into a moment of awkward silence. It was until Risa cleared her throat that the silence was broken. "You looked like you have something else more to say to me, Kame."
"I - I know you are kind of being bothered by what you had heard from Takahashi-san from the meeting room. "
"Is it true -"
" It's true that you had held this special place in my heart. Who had asked you to be my first love." Eri ended in a hashed voice. "It's also true when I said I had moved on." It was only then Risa had realised that Eri and Sayumi were locking their fingers together throughout their whole presence in the room.
"Eririn is mine now." Sayumi declared childishly. "But I'm not jealous of you, Gaki-san, because I think I have the ability to recover that space for myself one day. "
That playful, yet serious statement from Sayumi caused Risa to break into fits of laughter. "I'm glad about that, Kame. . . " Risa turned her glance away from the new known couple and directed her glance outside the window.
"I will leave you to rest for now, Gaki-san. Both Sayu and I have to return to the office before Fujimoto-san comes after us with a knife. " Risa nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Rest well!" Risa turned over with a smile, before waving goodbye to the two who were already at the doorstep.
"I will. Thank you, Kame." Risa whispered out softly when the two were out of sight. Risa heaved in a deep breath as she continued to stare out of the window.
'How are you, Haru-chan? What are you doing up there right now?' Risa thought sadly in her mind.
'I think .. . if you have knew the Onee-chan you love is your Mama, you would be really elated right, Haru-chan? I'm glad that she had finally gotten the justice that belonged to her, after all these years . . .' Risa thought as she closed her eyes. She was still a little tired and was hoping to catch a little rest. But that was only until someone had knocked on her door where her attempt of getting some sleep was interrupted.
"Niigaki-san, can I come in?"
"Sure."
The door slit open, revealing Aya in her white robe. "I heard from Rika-chan that you had regain consciousness from your coma. So I thought it would be nice to pay you a visit, Niigaki-san." Aya smiled as she settled in comfortably on the chair Eri sat previously.
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Matsuura-sensei."
"You are welcome, Niigaki-san." Aya reassured. "Ai-chan would be definitely be relieved to hear that you are up."
"Her?" Risa repeated.
'The nervousness, anxiousness of that voice previously. . . that was something that I had never heard from her. . ' "Hmmm." Aya sounded as she nodded her head lightly. "It's obvious to me that she's worried about you even though she didn't act like so."
"Really?"
"Yupps."
"Then . . .Did she visited me for the past few days?" Risa asked curiously. Inwardly, she hoped the answer would be yes. But right from her consciences and understanding about Ai, she knew that it was not possible. Especially when their last formal conversation ended in an awkward way, with Ai walking out of Risa, in anger that her trust was betrayed.
"No . . . But . . .that's the way Ai-chan showed her concern. Just like today. . .She refused to tell me anything about her flight details back to UK as she doesn't want me to appear at the airport, all upset about her departure. All what I knew is that it's a flight this early evening. That's just . . . Ai-chan. . . " Aya explained and complained with a smile.
"She's -she's leaving?" Risa shuttered in surprise.
"Yupp. All in a sudden, saying that she wants to return to UK." Aya sighed lightly. "Well at least she had left her contact details over in UK with me this time round."
'She's leaving? She's leaving Japan for good?' Risa thought silently in her mind as sadness sank into her heavy heart.
"Ah, Matsuura-sensei, I didn't know you are here." The nurse greeted in surprise when she entered the room without knocking. "I'm - I'm here to retrieve some blood from Niigaki-san for the blood test as requested by Ishikawa-sensei."
"It's alright, just go ahead. I, too, need to return back to my rounds." Aya assured as she stood up from the seat. "Niigaki-san, I will visit you again when I'm free. Rest well."
"Thank you for visiting, Matsuura-sensei." Risa snapped out of her thoughts when she realised Aya was leaving the room.
"Niigaki-san, your MRI scan is schedule this evening. I will come in again later in the evening to bring you to the MRI room." The nurse informed after she had drew the blood from Risa through the IV needle that were still stuck at the back of her right palm. "
"Sure, thank you for that information." Risa thanked with a small smile. The smile disappeared the moment the door was closed, when Risa was left to be alone in the ward all alone again.
'She's leaving. .. Why . . . why am I feeling this way . . . Could it be that. . . I had unknowingly . . . .fallen in love with the lady. . . whom I hated with all my guts previously?' Risa reflected her past encounters with Ai, and began to notice the change in her attitude towards her, though she had not noticed them then.
'No . . .she can't leave . . .' Risa thought stubbornly in her mind. She flipped the blanket off her feet and got off the bed. Shuffling slowly and quietly across the room and towards the door, Risa slit the door open quietly and sneaked out of the room.
She popped herself onto one of the taxi by the taxi stand area. "Uncle, can you please bring me to Narita International Airport please?"
"Har?"
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After Ai had checked in at the check in counter, she lifted her hand carry bag over her shoulder and headed towards the departure gates.
'It's really goodbye to you, my hometown. . . I don't think I will ever had the courage to step on this ground again . . .' Ai thought as she looked around her surroundings.
'There's so much thing about here. . .that I will want to forget about it. . .' Ai tightened her hold on her bag's handle and thought of the little white cloth given by Risa, which was placed executively in her bag. Just as she were about to head towards the security area, the gossiping between two women caught her attention.
"Have you seen that lady in the patient gown at the entrance? Which hospital do you think she had escaped from? Do you think it's a mental institute?"
"Well . . . I don't put that out of the point of consideration. She does look a little out of mind, running all over the place, chanting to herself, where is she."
"And she did have an IV needle in her hand. She's definitely an escapee from a hospital."
"Really? That's so dangerous! What if she pulls that needle out and used it an biohazard weapon?"
"Maybe we should report to the airport security."
Being curious about the said person, Ai moved away from the departure gates and back to the check in area. And there she saw the lady in description just like the two women were discussing about. She was amused and relieved at the identity of the lady.
'She's up! I'm glad. . . But. . . Once a brat, forever a brat. . .She really doesn't use her brain when she acts, don't she.' In fear that the security would come forth, Ai brisked towards Risa were she tapped her gently in her shoulder.
"Do you know you are like a lion in the zoo, an exhibit to the visitors of the airport?"
Risa's heart smile genuinely at the sight of Ai. "I had finally found you!" Risa exclaimed while holding back the urge to huge the lady before her, as she knew that Ai would definitely reject her, if she was to do so.
"Please wear this and come with me." Ai passed Risa her trench coat. That was when Risa realised how she was dressed. Ai directed Risa into a pharmacy, where Ai gathered the stuffs she would need to remove the IV needle for Risa. After exiting the pharmacy, Ai led Risa to a quiet corner where she removed the IV needle from Risa's palm and placed it in a solid plastic container. "Return this back to the hospital." Ai informed as she handled the container over to Risa and pasted a plaster over the needle hole. "You should be safe now. The security wouldn't be chasing you all over the place, treating you like a mental illness patient." Ai finished.
"Huh?" Risa sounded in a raised tone, not understanding fully on what Ai had just said.
"It's nothing important. " Ai lied.
Silence fell in, with the two of them stealing glances at each other from time to time. "I - I heard from Matsuura-sensei that you are leaving for UK today. . . When will you be back?" Risa asked after long moments of silence.
"I don't have the intention of returning." Ai replied honestly.
"Why is that so?" Risa blurted out suddenly, not realising her reaction was way too much for someone who had deemed each other as their hated enemy right from the first day they met.
'What should I say? to make her stay?' "I don't see any reasons for staying." Ai lied.
'There's no way. . . I can tell her that she's one of the reason for my leaving. . . I don't want to be in love. . .falling in love. . .it seemed to be a hurtful thing to do so. Why would I be so stupid to dive my whole heart into something, which would eventually lead to its own heartache.' "Do you have some free time?" Risa raised.
"Probably an hour or so."
"Wanna to grab some food? My treat for saving me." Risa continued.
Ai nodded her head in agreement. The pair left the quiet area and towards the café. As Risa watched the way AI ate her food, she could not help but to blurt out something that she would never want to say before Ai.
"Now, I had finally understood where had the pickiness of Haru-chan on food came from . . .." Risa blurted unknowingly when she saw AI pulling out a few pieces of tomato from her sandwich and placed it on the plate. And when she realised what she had just said, she apologised immediately. "I'm - I'm sorry. . .I didn't . . .mean to . . ."
"It's alright . . . I thought . . .it's harder for you to handle that truth than me . . .since you are the one who had watched her growing up." Ai gulped.
In the end, they ate the rest of the food in silence. As Risa walked Ai slowly back to the departure gates. That was when Ai had finally decided to put off the question she had been debating with her mind to ask. "So, Gaki, what are you doing at the airport?" Ai asked when the two stopped at the entrance of the departure gates.
Risa was got off-guarded by the question. "Eh. . ." The reason lingered at her lips, yet, she lacked to courage to voice them out.
"It's alright if you don't want to answer the question." Ai added on immediately. Ai stuck her hands into the pocket of her jeans as she stood in awkwardness.
"What.- what are you going to do when you get back there?"
"I'm not sure . .. I don’t think I can resume my position in the FSS. I guess . . .maybe a medical laboratory? I'm not sure. . . "
"Why don't you stay back here? About your position at the CIL, I'm sure we can work it out. I don’t think they would mind about that, since you are -"
Ai interrupted Risa before she could finish her sentence. "You talk like you are the high commission of MPD. That's impossible, Gaki." Risa let off a deep sigh. "Do you have anymore to say? If not, I have to leave. I think my flight is going onto the last call. . ." Ai continued.
"Why do you want to leave for UK? Isn't there anything in Japan . . . where you can stay here for? " Risa finally gathered enough courage and poised the question she had wanted to ask all these while.
"I don't think so . . .I had never wanted to return here in the first place. . . This place. . . it's just a nightmare to me . . ."
Risa parted her lips. But no voice came out. She could not find any words to counter Ai's reason.
'This place was indeed a nightmare to her. . . ' "Anyway. I haven't thank you personally." Ai spoke unexpectedly.
"Eh?"
"For being so stubborn about that case. Thank you for finding that piece of justice that I had been searching for . . . " Ai smiled at Risa for the first time. "I think. . . that's enough. . . Please continue that passion you had for justice. . .there are many people out there. . .still searching for their share of justice. . . " Ai finished. "I really had to go, Gaki. Take care." With that, Ai parted from Risa and took a step closer to the gates.
"Wait!" Risa called out as she rushed forward and pulled Ai's wrist swirling her around to face her. "If - if I asked you stay in Japan for me . . . would you do so?"
Ai laughed stiffly at that question.
'You better don't.' That was the question Ai feared the most. She knew. She knew that, she had unknowingly, grew a strong affection for the brat, after watching how she interacted with Haru, after watching the persistency on herself when she desperately pushes everyone who wanted to help out. "Did - did the cold temperature gotten your mind bad? I think you should ask your doctor to give you a thorough brain scan and analysis for any damage." Ai glinted painfully. "I really have to leave." Ai tried to pull her hand back, but Risa had tightened her grip in it.
"I'm not kidding. I'm - I'm serious . . ." With that, Risa sealed Ai's mouth with her lips, prohibiting Ai to further reject her. And when she did, Risa knew that the feeling she got from the first time she kissed her accidentally was true. For that, at this intentional kiss she had made, she was still feeling in this same way.
On the other hand, Ai stared wide her eyes at Risa at the sudden attack on her lips. She tried to pull herself back, but the other free hand of Risa was now wrapped around her waist, locking her firmly from moving away from Risa.
"Stay for me. I'm serious." Risa whispered softly when she pulled back slightly from Ai's lips. Ai quivered at this statement. "I think . . . you do feel this way about me, don't you? If not . . . You wouldn't had allow me to hold you right now. . . If not . .. you would not risk your life . . . to save mine, don't you? Don't deny it anymore. . . You will never know if love really hurts, until you get your heart to really love."
Ai dropped her head as tears dripped straight onto the ground. "Stay for me." Risa repeated for the third time as she cupped her hands on Ai's cheek and placed a gentle touch of her lips at the corner of Ai's lips.
'If it's fate . . . That I had adopted the daughter you abandoned as mine. . . Haru-chan . . . she had the intention to put us together. . . she likes you a lot . . . Just like how my heart do now. . . The search for my second spring . . . is over, I guess. . . My first spring . . . My little girl, who never fail to keep my day up and going. . . My second spring . .. the mother of my first spring. . . She's the one . .. who had brought my first spring into my life. . . . The search is over. . . It's over. . . Cause, I have found you. . . ' 。
(period)
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I had finally came to an ending before I board the plane back to the land of roo roos for my studies!! How fast time had flew and my vacation back home is over!!
@ Shiawase_Honoo: Thank you for the hug!! For the fact that Ai was the one who saved Risa? hehehehe
@ Kikk4r : hehehehhe Who did you had in your mind? I actually had it fixed in my mind as the ending was nearing. There wasn't really any much space for me to play with changing to roles heheheh . . .
btw i just got to know some intresting news not that you probably care though
What was that? hehehe. I'm curious. heheh
@ shenlog : She tough! hahaha
@ AlwaysYou : SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!!!!!!!!! I KNOW I WAS HORRIBLE. . .hahahha
@ T-chips : You are clever! A cookie for you!! heheh. That was exactly what's in my mind. Juncho had the mentality to kill Gaki-san. Therefore, that explains why he did not rape her. . . Hypothermia is the right word
heheheh
@ kano-chan : hehehhehe. . . . .
yupps yupps. she had grew to feel now.
And really really really a
HUGE THANKS FOR EVERYONE WHO HAD READ AND COMMENTED ON THIS STORY IT'S OFFICALLY THE END!!! heheheh
And . .. If you had the patience to scroll through this space, I do have a little surprise for you !! Just for TakaGaki sake
hehehehe
Do enjoy!!!
. [ # E ]
- ding dong -
Ai slapped on the sleeping figure beside her. "Your doorbell is ringing." Ai muttered in her tiredness.
Instead of getting up, Risa snuggled closer to Ai chest. "I'm tired. Let me sleep."
With the intention to not to open the door to the visitor, Risa wrapped her arms around Ai's waist, reducing the distance between them to zero. However, that was not what the visitor had in mind.
-ding dong-
The doorbell persisted, causing the faint eyebrow on Ai's face to burrow. "Go open the door." Ai whined.
"If it bothers you this much, why don't you get the door instead?" Risa argued in her sleep. "I want to sleep." Risa chided like a child as she leaned closer to Ai. However, that comfort she had did not last. Before she knew it, she was thrown harshly on the floor, with her butt contacting with the bamboo tiled floor. "Ouch!" Risa cried in pain as she sat up on the floor. "That hurts."
-ding dong-
"Get the door, Gaki."
Almost unwillingly, Risa got up from the floor and flunk the bedroom door open, where she stomped out of the room angrily. "Why can't she be more gentle with me?" Risa grumbled under her breath as she rubbed gently on the painful stop. Using the same anger and strength, Risa pulled the front door open, only to find a middle aged man standing at the door step.
"Who are you looking for?" Risa grunted. She was still angry with the early intrusion to her sleep and the fall she had on her butt.
"For you, Miss"
"Me? Do I know you?" Risa scratched her hair lazily as she registered the features of her visitor.
"You still owe me my taxi fare, young lady."
"It's You?! I'm sorry!" Risa started to apologise for her rudeness earlier. "I'll go grab the money." Risa returned back to the dining room where Ai's wallet was placed. - her own was still in the police possession. When she flipped the wallet open, there she saw, the young photo of Haru and the photo compartment of the wallet. Risa smiled bitterly at the picture. Brushing away the thoughts that were going around her mind, she pulled few number of bills off the cash compartment and passed it to the man standing out there. "Sorry for making you to come all distance for the cab fare."
"It's alright. So did you get the person you wanted?"
"Yes I did." Risa returned with a happy smile. "It's all because of your kindness that I had managed to caught up with her. "
"You are welcome. But please make sure that you do not jumped onto a cab without a cent. Not all drivers are as understanding as I am."
"I understand, sir. I don't think there should be a next time. Sorry for making you to run this trouble."
After Risa had sent the man off, she returned Ai's wallet back to the dining table and straggled back to the bedroom, where she threw herself tiredly onto the bed again.
"Who was that?" Ai asked curiously as she sat up on the bed. The position Risa threw herself was just right beside Ai, with her face buried straight into the soft covers of the bed. Risa did not bother to reply Ai. Instead, she closed her eyes and began to enjoy the quiet presence of Ai. The picture she saw in Ai's wallet made her slightly elate, as she truly knew that the merciless Ai majority knew was just a facade. "Who was that? It seemed like you had a long conversation out there." Ai asked again. Just to her expectation, no reply was received. So Ai, raised her right hand and slapped hardly on Risa's bottoms - the area where previously fell in. That had resulted in a loud screech from Risa.
"That hurts!" Risa screeched as she reached her hands to cover her bottoms.
"Who was that, Gaki?" Ai asked again.
Risa began to sit up on the bed on her knees at looked angrily at Ai. "It was the cab driver who drove me to the airport yesterday. I did not bring any money with me. That's why I gave him my address so that he could claim the money back from me." Risa pouted.
"I see." Ai was satisfied that she got her answers. With that, she got off the bed and headed towards the bathroom, in preparation to wash up for the start of the day. She had totally missed the pouting expression Risa had on her face. She was unsatisfied with Ai's treatment to her. "Why can't you be more gentle with me. " Risa complained again.
"Am I not gentle enough with you? That's how I treated all my friends. I think that's gentle enough." Ai turned back and answered.
"Is pushing your lover off the bed considered a gentle act?" Risa reasoned.
"That was to get you to open the door." Ai refuted.
"What about calling me Gaki. . . .don't you think it sounds a bit weird?"
"I don't think so. . . I think it fits your character very well."
"Shouldn't a lover be entitled to a . . .. cuter nickname, something like Rii chan . . . darling . . .why is mine . . . brat. . . " Risa pouted.
"Because, I like that name. It reminds me of the first day I met you." Ai reasoned.
"Please wear this before you further contaminate the crime scene with your snot. I never knew that the police force would allow a brat to take up the senior police inspector space. I am amazed by the police force once again, Gaki." A smile crept across Risa lips at the thought of the memory. However, she did not want Ai to know about that. Almost immediately, she furrowed her eyebrow and pouted. "Then. . I think I should continued to label you a thing, thingy."
"Isn't that perfect enough?" Ai caught Risa in surprise with her following statement, when Ai crept behind Risa and hugged her from the back. "The brat is in love with a thing, and the thing is in love with the brat."
That caused Risa burst into hysterical fits of laughter. "Where - where did you - you learn that from? Disgusting thingy."
"You." Ai shot back. "You were mumbling them in your sleep last night." Ai explained while she rocked Risa in her embrace.
"Did I ?"
"You did."
Risa broke into her uncontrollable laughter again. "Seriously, thingy, have you thought about what are you going to do now? I think you would make a great doctor, seeing how skilled you were with the IV needles last night."
"But that was not what I had heard, Gaki."
"Eh?" Risa wriggled off the arms on her shoulder as she turned around and faced Ai.
"I heard from Konkon that . . .you couldn't believe that I was studying to become a doctor. And that you will pity my patients, if I had really managed to finish my course."
"How did she - "
"Ask you best partner."
"Damn Mako-chan. She's going to get it from me after I'm back from my medical leave." Risa cursed quietly under her breath. "What are we going to do today?"
"Back to the hospital." Ai climbed off the bed once again and returned to the original journey to the bathroom.
"Why?" Risa whined, causing Ai to turn back and look at Risa.
"Because someone's an escapee from the hospital." Ai finished as shut the door after her.
"Let me in!" Risa whined. "I haven't got your toiletries for you yet."
"I can just use yours!"
"Eh?"
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"Why do we have to go back to the hospital?" Risa whined again as they stood at the lift lobby, waiting for the lift to come.
"Because you missed your MRI scan, Gaki." Hypothermia isn't something to play with. It's the best if you had a good thorough check up on your health. I - I don't want to lose you . . .like how I had lost . . .her without being able to enjoy any quality time with her. " Ai reasoned as she wrapped her arms tightly around Risa's waist.
Both Ai and Risa grew quiet. After the long wait, the lift had finally came. Just as Risa took her first step in, she began to screech loudly and ran out of the lift. "What happened?" Ai asked worriedly.
"AHHH!!!!!!" Risa screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran out of the kitchen. The 5 year old Haru looked queerly at Risa.
"Why did mama screamed so loudly? What happened?" Haru asked as she placed her favour Mickey Mouse on the couch and went over to the Risa who sat on the floor at the dining table.
"A cockroach!" Risa screamed.
"A cockroach?" Haru tilted her head. She marched into the kitchen and surveyed the area. When she noted the unusual occupant of the kitchen, she pulled it by its two long antenna and walked out of the kitchen. "Is this the cockroach Mama's talking about?"
"Flush it into the toilet, Haru!"
"A cockroach?" Ai repeated. Risa tightened her grip on Ai's waist as she hid her face behind Ai's shoulder. "Let's wait for the next lift then." Ai replied disconsolately.
'Aya. . . I think . . .you can't get away your duty as my, no , our personal cockroach slayer. The slayer you recommended .. . she's afraid of them as well. . .' Ai laughed ironically in herself. As the lift door closed, separating the couple from the cockroach, Risa came out from Ai's shoulder.
"Are you afraid of them as well?" Risa asked as she patted her chest, hoping that would help to slow down the racing heart.
Ai nodded her head. "You better be able to conquer your fear for them so that you may protect me from them, Gaki." Ai demanded.
"Eh?" Risa raised in her tone. "Why can't it be the other way round, Thingy?" Risa rebutted.
[end]
Hope that you had enjoyed this extra part !! It's entirely for fluff purposes
heheheh
Topic: SEARCH [ . C #28 + Epilogue ] 31 December 2011 (Read 53321 times)