A tall brunette and a similiarly tall redhead were seen walking under the trees of a big estate, both young men very aware of the other's presence instead of minding the falling leaves blown by the cool wind in that fine afternoon. The two of them kept quiet until one of them spoke, "It seems that you're winning, Hanamichi."
"Kaede..."
The brunette turned towards Hanamichi suddenly, "How were you able to get Sinichi to work with you? Why him?"
The redhead grinned. "Our partnership serves each of our purpose," he said simply.
Kaede arched an eyebrow. "What does Sinichi want?"
Hanamichi rolled his eyes. "He wants to see Hisashi down."
The brunette looked at the redhead in disbelief. "He wants that? I thought he wants to make everyone's life difficult."
"Nope," Hanamichi said, grinning again, "Only Hisashi-kun."
"Is there something that I should know about them?"
The redhead scratched his head, looking innocently clueless. "Not that I know of. But after what I've seen on you and Akira, I wouldn't be surprised if there is anything going on between them."
Kaede shook his head, again not comprehending why Sinichi's focus was his brother.
"Rivalry is human nature," Hanamichi said, "But do you know what my purpose is?"
Kaede looked into his eyes to see the brown eyes full of determination and sincerity. And he dared to guess, hope.
Hanamichi gazed back at the brunette and saw the trapped look in the other young man's face. "Do you want me to say it?"
"He won't say it."
"Who says what?" Hisashi asked, walking up to his brother who was watching outside the window to where Kaede and Hanamichi were at.
Akira shook his head and turned his back to the window. "Kaede won't ask Hanamichi to be with him. He'd say it to me but it's taboo if its for Hanamichi. He still won't dare himself to want Hana-kun after all these years."
The tall brunette sighed dramatically. "Oh well, it looks like it's all up to me."
Hisashi arched an eyebrow. "To do what?" "To get back into Hanamichi's good graces," Akira replied, winking rougishly.
"You're welcome to try," drawled Sinichi, "I'll just sit back and watch. I didn't know working with Hanamichi would be this fun."
"You asshole!" growled Hisashi, striding towards his dark-skinned cousin, "How could you play around with my beloved brothers' life like this!"
"Are? Who do you love more, Hisashi-kun? Me or Kaede?" Akira teased, clinging onto the scarred-face man.
Hisashi's face turned red as he struggled out of Akira's embrace before the youth could kiss him. "Not you if you're still acting like this!" he grunted, pushing the surprisingly strong body away from him, "I'm your brother for God's sake!"
Sinichi chuckled. "Do you really hate Hanamichi?"
"Like a mongoose to a snake," Hisashi hissed.
"Hmmm.... then what would you say if I give Hanamichi my half of the partnership?" Sinichi asked slyly.
"Temme!!"
Suddenly, the door to the sitting room banged open and in strode Hanamichi, as furious as hell.
"Sinichi-kun! Let's go home!"
The olive-skinned man blinked. "Hm?"
"My guess was right," Akira said under his breath as he walked towards Hanamichi with seduction in mind.
The redhead was still busy fuming that he did not realise that Akira has approached him until the tall brunette touched his shoulder. "Hana-kun... Did you forget about me?"
"Huh?"
Akira backed the redhead against the door and leaned towards the youth. "I thought we had something going on between us. Don't tell me you forgot about that?" he whispered huskily.
"Akira..."
The brunette smiled. "Hai?"
"I want Kaede," Hanamichi said simply before he pushed the spikey-haired actor away. As Akira was busy feeling the impact of those words stomping down his pride, the redhead walked towards the couch and bodily pulled Sinichi off of it before dragging the older man away.
"Let's go Sinichi-kun. We've got some important stuffs to do."
However, before Hanamichi could drag him fully away from the room, Sinichi pulled himself back and called to the scarred-face man from over his shoulder. "Oh yes, Hisashi. Starting next month, the hotel will start preparing for its inaugural ceremony but during that time, I'll need Kaede with me."
"Nani?!"
"I already have Anzai-san's approval in this matter," Sinichi said firmly, smirking when he saw the shock on the man's face, "Please tell Kaede that."
"Yamero!!" roared Hisashi, "If you hurt Kaede, I'll kill you!"
Akira sighed. "Yare, yare."
~~~~
As soon as Hanamichi and Sinichi left, Akira went to search for Kaede and it was not long that he managed to find the younger youth in the dining room alone.
"They've gone?" the fox-eyed brunette asked.
Sendoh nodded. "Hai."
A few moments later, Hisashi appeared with a frown on his face. "You two have the weirdest taste in men. Why that crazy redheaded monkey, I'll never know."
"You haven't been close to him before, aniki," Akira said good humouredly, "He's a difficult person to get but also difficult to let go off."
The next day, while the class waited for the arrival of their sensei, Haruko stood beside Hanamichi's desk as they chatted.
"So during the holiday, you'll be at Hakuba?" Haruko asked forlornly.
Hanamichi nodded. "Hai. I need to be there for the preparation of the inaugural ceremony."
"And Sendoh-san?"
"Him too. And Kaede as well."
"Hmmm..."
"Nanda?"
"It's just.... I'm still worried about the card, that's all," Haruko said, taking the King of Clubs out of her bag.
"Oh, that?" The redhead sniffed. "It's just a torn card Haruko-san. It's nothing to get worried about. It won't be the first time your reading has gone wrong. Anyway, didn't you say before that will be someone with bad intentions? But as of yesterday Sinichi officially became my partner."
"That's true..." Haruko nodded hesitantly, "But the Joker card still keeps appearing from the deck. Trouble is still there."
A few days later at the resort, preparations were well under way. The focus of the head of operation's attention at that moment was at the dining hall where a couple of workmen where busy shifting a patterned mobile screen to fit the layout.
"Yes," said Sinichi to the workers, agreeing at the over-all effect, "That's it. Right there. Kaede! have you got the design plans with you?"
"Hai," the brunette replied, walking up to the older man with the plans ready in his hand.
A few metres away, Akira and Hanamichi sat on a big crate covered with a cloth, watching the activity going on in the same room.
"I hope you're happy," the spikey-haired actor grumbled to the redhead, "You have the upper hand on us now."
Hanamichi shrugged carelessly.
"Especially Kaede," Akira continued, "He's being ordered by Sinichi. I bet he's feeling humiliated right now. Why do you allow Sinichi torture him like this?"
The redhead snorted. "Ch. Look again, Akira. Does Kaede look tortured to you?"
Akira turned his attention back to the two talking to one another and strained his ears to listen to their low-voiced conversation.
"...Sinichi... don't think.... not right... should be this way.... " Kaede was saying.
"... you're right.... think.... then how..." Sinichi was asking.
"... how about... we.... put this...."
It was difficult but Akira did manage to snatch a few words but what caught his attention more than what they were saying was the expression of concentration on Kaede's face. The tall brunette has never seen Kaede look so determined before and he liked seeing that look on the youth's face. For Akira, determination meant that passion exists and it was there to see in the fox-eyed brunette's demeanor.
"Hmph... I guess so.." Akira finally relented.
Hanamichi rested his chin on his palm and smiled. "Even if Kaede doesn't like Sinichi, as a man Kaede can't forget about his responsibility and his responsibility happens to be working under Sinichi. I like watching Kaede like this. That's how a man should be - to have determination to succeed in his dream."
Akira nodded grudgingly in agreement.
"Watch out, Akira-kun," Hanamichi continued cheekily, "If this keeps up, Sinichi might steal Kaede's time away from you."
The tall brunette's eyes widened at that possibility. "No way-"
"Akira!" Sinichi barked from his position in the middle of the hall, "Are you here to flirt or to work?! Get your lazy ass here! "
"H-HAI!" Akira yelped, running towards his step-brother who was waiting for him with a glare set on his chiseled face, leaving the redhead chuckling behind him.
Hanamichi leaned back and continued his watch on the three Kanagawas busy at work. Hakuba hotel was the place where these men's dreams lie. All their rights, wrongs and hopes will be laid out before him. Who will take hold of their dreams was left to be seen. What Hanamichi wanted to do was to watch and see the parts each men play.
A few hours later, Sinichi climbed up to the balcony of the second storey and met Hanamichi who was holding out a cool drink for the tired man.
"Shimatta. Being a businessman isn't so easy at it seems," the man grumbled.
The redhead grinned. "I bet you'd rather stay at home and work at your art, eh?"
Sinichi snatched the juice from the redhead's fingers and growled. "You think? What I hope for now is this project to be done and over with!"
"You've got 5 more years to go," Hanamichi told him, "Ganbette ne, Sinichi-kun!"
The brown-haired man groaned. "K'so! Why did I listen to you? My real skill will be gone by that time!"
Below them, a woman approached Kaede as he was busy sketching a layout idea in his mind.
"Ohayo, Kaede-kun. I'm just dropping by to watch how you're going," she said.
Kaede bowed to her. "Oba Matsui."
"Hm?" Sinichi looked down to where the people where still working on the ground floor to see an elegant looking woman past the age of forty, talking to Kaede.
"I know her," Hanamichi said after turning to where Sinichi was looking at, "She's your father's youngest sister, isn't she?"
Sinichi was quiet as they heard the woman talk again to the fox-eyed brunette, "The layout there is a bit awkward, Kaede-kun. Stand in the middle and you'll be able to see what I mean."
"She is," Sinichi finally affirmed, "She's one person you have to watch out for."
Hanamichi stared at him in surprise. "Huh? Why?"
Sinichi wiped his brow with a cool towel he has in his hand before replying to the redhead, "When I was in New York, she was one of the people who kept hindering in my promotion and bid for Hakuba resort. She wanted Kaede to stay on the lead of the project but that was because she had a hand in Kaede's promotion in the first place. I was suspicious but I wasn't able to find anything that I can pin her with."
Hanamichi discreetly pointed to the mentioned woman. "Her?"
"Yes. She's up to something," Sinichi murmured, "We need to keep an eye on her."
Hanamichi was startled, suddenly feeling chills in his bones. Does that mean that the Joker card actually belongs to that woman and not Sinichi?
"It looks fine, Obasan," said Kaede to his aunt.
The woman shook her head. "No, move a bit to the left and you'll see..."
"What's she doing?" Hanamichi wondered out loud.
Sinichi frowned before his eyes swept at the area around Kaede and his aunt. As an after-thought, he looked at the ceiling and he was startled to see one of the chandeliers swinging dangerously from a sudden jolt on it's chain.
"The chandelier!" Sinichi gasped.
Hanamichi quickly looked up and saw a side of one of the links break.
"Shit! It's going to fall!"
Sinichi quickly leaned against the balcony and yelled urgently to the people below them, "Hey, down there! Move! The chandelier is about to fall!"
Kaede looked towards Sinichi and when what he heard processed through his brain he looked up but the lamp was already falling.
"KAEDE!" yelled Akira lunging towards the other brunette.
There was a sudden crash and a few moment's later the place went silent in shock as everyone saw what has happened.
Under the broken chandelier lay Akira on his stomach, his back cut and bloody from the sharp edges and broken pieces of glass from the chandelier and sitting sprawled in front of him was Kaede, frozen in shock.
"Kaede.... you're alright...?" Akira asked weakly.
Kaede stared at him, speechless.
"Good..." Akira exhaled as his eyes slid closed.
The fox-eyed brunette was still unmoving as Hanamichi ran down the stairs as fast as his long legs could carry him with Sinichi right behind him.
"AKIRA!" the redhead yelled, "Kaede! Don't just sit there! Call the ambulance!"
"H-Hai..." Kaede stammered and immedietly bent towards Akira's bloody prone figure in front of him.
Kaede no baka!
"Akira..." Kaede murmured.
This is funny. Us two building the business....
"A-Akira..." Suddenly tears gathered in Kaede's blue fox eyes before slowly slipping past his cheeks as the young man's body shook.
Hanamichi stopped short when he saw Kaede's composure break right in front of him. When the brunette screamed Hanamichi's heart cried with him.
"I-IE!!!!"