|| A Bouquet of Red and White Roses || [Yu Yu Hakusho Fan-fic] {Edits}

Invisible Key

"There's nothing in this file. Did she already deliver them to her !?" 

"If that's the case, then we can't waste anymore time. We have to tell them."

"What'll we do after ? What if they succeed in closing the gate !?"

"Then that'll be a problem. From this point, the only thing we can do is watch."

"What about Izumi ? She's also caught on hasn't she ?"

"Regarding Izumi, they said that they'd take care of her. So there's no need to worry."

"But even if you tell me that, we both know we can't take them lightly."

"This is why we're starting with Izumi. Afterwords, she'll be next."

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To think that she was able to get her hands on these. I'm surprised that she's managed to get away with things like this. Someday she'll get caught, I know. This type of luck doesn't always last that long.

I studied the photographs that Izumi had given me the other day. There were a total of 3, one of which that had caught my automatic interest. It was a picture of Sara and Azalin. Not only were they standing by the fountain, they were also with a familiar looking person... I identified that person to be Tsukiya. In the picture, they seemed to be talking about something important, judging on the expression on their faces. I sighed in dismay and spun around in my chair, trying to process my thoughts. Although they're standing by the fountain, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. The only thing I questioned was the affiliation with Tsukiya. It was possible that they were aiming for the same thing. Could it be that they were the ones who linked up the Gate of Makai to the fountain ? If that was the case, then we needed to seal it away. 'Destroy it before anything else happens', a voice whispers in my head. I frowned. Could this also be related to those shadows ? I gathered up the pictures and left my room. I went over to Ciel's room and knocked on her door.

"Nani ?", she asked from the other side of the door. "Ciel", I said, "Open up, there's something you have to look at." From the other side of the door, rustling. There was a 'click' before she opened the door. She was already in her sleepwear, probably getting ready to sleep. I, on the other hand, wasn't. I walked past her and walked into the room, taking a seat at her chair. "What is it ?", she asked with a yawn. I held the photos out. "These", I replied, "Look at them." She took them from my hand and looked over them. An uneasy look appeared on her face. "What is this ?", she asked, not bothering to look up at me, "Where did you get this from ?" "Izumi", I replied, "She took them from the Ikeda Clan. Apparently even they are looking into the fountain now." Ciel grinned. "That girl", she mumbled, "She sure knows how to take risks huh ? Such a sly girl Izumi is." I forced a laugh. "It is Izumi after all." Ciel returned the pictures to my hand. "If this connects to the shadows and the fountain", she started to say, "Then this is the answer that we've been looking for." I noticed her eyes land on my neck. She seemed surprised. "The mark is gone", she said with a mischievous grin. I placed a hand on where it used to be and slightly blushed at the thought. "Oh yeah", I muttered, wanting the topic to change, "It's gone now." Ciel pushed on. "Did he remove it ?", she asked, tilting her head to the side. I nodded my head slowly. "It really bothered him you know ?", she said with a sigh. "The moment he noticed it, he got really quiet." I slowly began to smile. 

In a way, that was what I liked about Shuichi. He noticed things that were usually not questioned. Actually scratch that, that's something that I shouldn't like about him. What if sometime in the near future, he found out that I was in an affair with someone ? Wouldn't he just kill me without a second thought !? (cough cough, as if that'd ever happen.) I'm just kidding.

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After he dragged me around, we finally arrived at his house. I was reluctant since I didn't know what I was getting myself into. When we entered how house, Minamino-san was home. She seemed to be doing something in the kitchen, most likely cooking. "Tadaima [I'm home]", Shuichi had called out when he closed the door behind him. The kitchen faucet turned off and Minamino-san peered over to us. When she saw me, she smiled. As usual, it was one of her gentle smiles. I couldn't help but smile back at her. She reminded me so much of my own Mother. 

"Hello Hanamura-san", she said when she saw me, "I'm glad that you've come to visit again." I slowly nodded my head and bowed. "Thank you for having me over", I replied, "I apologize for the sudden visit. I hope that I'm not a bother." Minamino-san shook her head. "Oh no, no", she said optimistically, "I'm very happy that you've come and visited. It's been a while since we've last met." I tilted my head to the side and smiled. "It has", I replied back. "Have you been well ?"

While we spoke, I was surprised that Shuichi didn't step into our conversation. He waited for Minamino-san and I to finish talking to each other. So while we were talking in the foyer of this house, he went ahead and put our things up in his room. Although our conversation was short, it was enjoyable. When we finished, Shuichi was looking down at the both of us from the stairs. There was an observant look on his face as he watched us. Right as I was about to go up, Minamino-san told me something. The thought of it makes me somewhat uneasy. There's a weird feeling in my heart.

"Hanamura-san", she whispered with a carefree smile, "I know we've only met each other a few times but.. could I ask you for a small favor ?" I nodded my head. "Of course", I replied, slightly interested in what she wanted to tell me. She motioned me to come closer. "I know that it's a sudden thing to ask of you, but will you take care of him for me ?"

Shuichi closed the door behind him. As I had expected, his room was just like his personality. Well organized. I turned around to face him. "Well ?', I asked him, "What is it ?" He didn't reply, his head slightly tilted down. I couldn't see his eyes. About a 5 seconds later, Shuichi glanced up, a dangerous look dancing around in his eyes. He slowly began to walk over to me in silence, which caused me to take a step back. I kept moving away from him until my back finally hit a wall. Before I knew it, he had his arms against the wall. I couldn't escape anymore. I uneasily grinned. Shuichi was looming over me with a sharp look in his eyes. "Wh..what is it ?", I reluctantly asked. Our gazes locked.

"Shiori", he said, his voice sharp and stern. I straightened up and could feel my heart beating faster. "N..nani ?", I asked him. Again, I was take by surprise. From the walls, his arms wrapped around my waist. They pulled me closer to him, as if he was going to hug me. I was too uneasy to move. "Shiori.." I shivered. This guy.. he had whispered my name into my ear. "N..nani ?", I asked again. 

"Wh..."

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I flinched when I heard the sound of rustling being me. When I came to, I was clutching onto my heart, taking in deep, slow breaths of air. I put my head down on Ciel's desk and started thinking about how much of an idiot I was. "And so ?", Ciel asked from behind me. "Judging from what I just saw, Shuichi must've did something didn't he ?" I turned to her, slightly embarrassed. My heart beat was fast again.

"That guy..." I slowly began to say, looking down at my hands. "He.. he bit me !!"