Hanamichi looked at the white-haired man with narrowed eyes as the Kanagawa senior made himself comfortable on a velvet armchair in one of the big sitting rooms that the redhead rarely went into. Hisashi stood in front of his father beside Hanamichi, waiting respectfully for the old man to talk.

"Oi," said Hanamichi suddenly, "Why were you lurking behind the bushes just now?"

A vein popped on Hisashi's forehead before the older youth knocked his fist onto Hanamichi's head.

"You will regard him as Kanagawa-san!" barked the scarred-face brunette.

The redhead scowled.

"Ohohoho!" the white-haired man laughed, enjoying the rarity of a youth's brash. "I wanted to surprise all of you. I did not count on Sakuragi-san to surprise me instead."

The redhead laughed. "Ahahahaha!! Nothing gets past the tensai! By the way, just call me Hanamichi."

"Ah, sou. Hanamichi it is." Anzai smiled. Then he became serious and turned his attention towards his oldest son and said, "I came here in regards to the article about Akira."

Hisashi nodded grimly. "Yes. My secretary alerted me of it this morning."

"Someone must have leaked this information to the press," Anzai said, "And you know who it is."

"I do, otousan," the brunette affirmed, "We must put a stop to this."

Anzai stroked his moustache and nodded. "Yes. And I choose you to talk to Shinichi."

Hisashi gaped before he began to protest vehemently, "Iie! Otousan! Not me! You know he and I don't get along that well! He's always getting on my nerves since we were kids!"

His father blinked. "But he wouldn't listen to me, too, so it's no use of me saying anything to him."

"Otousan!" Hisashi wailed, "I can't! He's a-a... I just can't!"
Hanamichi arched an eyebrow, wondering how big of a mutual dislike Hisashi and Shinichi has. Knowing that it would get them nowhere arguing on who was up to the task, Hanamichi cleared his throat noisily.

"Why don't I go?" the redhead suggested, pointing to himself.

Two pairs of eyes regarded him in surprise.

"Kinda like the olden days, where the head of a family gives a messenger the family seal to do jobs in the name of the family," Hanamichi explained, "I can talk to Sinichi for you if you want."

Suddenly, Hisashi was grabbing his hand, his face flushing with relief and gratitude. "Doumo arigato gozaimasu!!!"

The redhead made a face as he tugged his hand away from Hisashi's grip. "Just don't tell Kaede that I'm going to see Sinichi. He'll freak for sure."


~~~~

A handsome well-built, olive skinned man stood alone in an art station, scrutinising his work with a critical eye. His brown eyes were unflinching even in the haze of smoke wafting from the butt of his cigarette between his lips and suddenly, his hand was in motion, making a grove here and there to create the perfect angle on the mold of clay. Satisfied, he stepped back to review what he has done when there came a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Kanagawa Shinichi called, not taking his eyes off of the soon to be head-bust.

A slender-built youth entered and bowed respectfully to the older man. "Sakuragi-san is here to see you."

Sinichi turned around, his face showing a miniscule of surprise. "Really?" he asked before he took out the cigarette from his mouth, "Bring him in."

His assitant sweatdropped. "He-"

"Yo! Oyajii!" The redhead greeted before he pushed himself past the young man who was blocking the doorway.

"He was insistent, anyway," finished the slender young man with a sigh. Shinichi looked at the redhead in annoyance and partly in curiosity before he dismissed his assistant with a nod of his head.
"Thank you, Jin."

"Hai," Jin replied, bowing respectfully before going out, closing the door behind him.

"What do you want?" Shinichi asked as he tapped the cigarette butt on an ashtray nearby.

"I came under orders of Kanagawa Anzai," the redhead said arrogantly.

The brown-haired man snorted before turned around back to his sculpture to continue scrutinising it. "Go home, Sakuragi. Send Hisashi to me. I will not deal with you."

"Temme!" the redhead growled. He suddenly whipped out a letter and held it up so that the man could see the name on the front of the envelope.
"See here!" Hanamichi declared, "This is a letter from Kanagawa Anzai himself giving me the right to talk on his behalf."

Shinichi merely looked at the redhead with an unreadable expression on his face. Hanamichi went on, "And I'm here to tell you this - Lay off with the stories on Akira. That's an order!"

Suddenly, the older man burst out with laughter, surprising the redhead for a moment before he frowned in annoyance.
"Oi! This is no laughing matter, oyajii!" the redhead growled.

"What I find amusing is that Kaede picked you to be his boyfriend," Shinichi said, chuckling.

Hanamichi blushed and sputtered in embarassment.
"We're talking about Akira here!"

"Of course." Shinichi smirked.

The redhead narrowed his eyes. "I told you what you must do. Lay off of Akira's case. If you are really a Kanagawa, you must listen to your uncle, who you know controls the Kanagawa family."

Shinichi sighed as he tapped his cigarette butt again against the ashtray, his smile looking resigned and sly at the same time. "They are always on Akira's side."

The redhead snorted. "Maybe 'cause you're nuts?"

The brown-haired man chuckled. "Maybe.... Alright. I will lay off of Akira's story. But you know that I won't give up that easily."

A sense of unease passed through the redhead like a cold shiver before he shook it away. Lifting his nose impudently, he scoffed, "Whatever you say. Ja ne."

Hanamichi stalked out of the room and as soon as Shinichi was sure that the redhead was out of his house, he called for his assistant at once.

"Yes, Shinichi-san," Jin said, entering the studio.

"Find out where Akira is," Shinichi said, grounding his cigarette on the ashtray, "I want to talk to him."


~~~~

"Yo! Kanagawa-san! I did it! I've talked to Shinichi about Akira and he says that he'll lay off with the stories-"

"Otousan and aniki are out," Kaede said as he walked down the stairs casually.

Hanamichi went still and began to curse inwardly. That was the second time that he bellowed out what was supposed to be a secret without watching who was around to listen. He sincerely wished that the architect who built the staircase was around for him to hit because people going down the stairs stay hidden from others standing at the foyer, until they reach the second level of the staircase to the ground floor.

The redhead tried to think of an excuse but only managed to stammer, "Uh... hi... ano... y'see..."

Kaede was suddenly in front of him and although the brunette was shorter than he was, the redhead was still intimidated by the fury blazing in the dark blue eyes. "Baka!" growled Kaede, "What possessed you to go see Shinichi alone after what happened to you!?"

Hanamichi scowled. "I had to! No one seems to get along with him and for Akira's sake I had to do it!"

Kaede stepped back and his blue eyes went cold. "For Akira's sake?"

"Yeah! I mean..." The redhead blinked before he began to realise what his words must sound like. "Oh c'mon, Kaede! You know what I mean!"

Kaede turned around and walked towards the stairs. As he reached the first step he looked at Hanamichi again. "Yes, you did it for Akira without regard for your safety. I understand that perfectly well."

"If it was you, I'd do it too!" Hanamichi said infuriated.

Kaede shook his head. "Don't risk your life for me."

"I would!" the redhead persisted.

A small smile appeared on Kaede lips before he spoke in a low voice. "You are like a jewel, Hanamichi."

The redhead blinked. "Nani?"

"And I am the keeper," Kaede continued, looking at the redhead deeply, "I know the stone, its value, its beauty. I keep it safe, fearing that it would be ruined or stolen by others."

Hanamichi stared at the brunette, his brown eyes wide with amazement.

"But I can never own it. That is how I see you."

With that statement Hanamichi realised that under Kaede's cool facade, the brunette's self-confidence was not what it appeared to be. The fox may look set in his decisions but the basis of them were unacceptable to the redhead who when knowing what he wanted would do anything to attain it.

If I am that precious to you, why are you content to just watch and keep me?

As Hanamichi sorted out his feelings, Kaede was calling for a maid. After the brunette ordered his servant to fetch someone to send Hanamichi home, the redhead spoke up in a steady voice, "In my opinion, you're the jewel."

Kaede looked at him again, this time his blue eyes showing surprise.

"And I will become the thief," the redhead said, fighting the urge to blush. "I'll own that jewel sooner or later. Whatever it takes."

And then he walked away, never looking back at where Kaede was standing, still stunned to react. After a while, an amused smile came onto the brunette's handsome face. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the banister of the stairs with a sigh.
"A keeper and a thief, Hanamichi? It sounds like we might have a conflict of interest..."


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