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Jade Chapter 8
Pairing: Akame. RyoxJin as brothers (not as a pairing). Various other characters.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, crime, romance, family
Multi-chapter
Disclaimer: I don't own them or anything else JE-related. But the story is mine of course^^
Summary: Tokyo, 1981: A young bride disappears, leaving no trace but an old necklace out of jade. No one has seen her, no one knows who she is. The woman that never existed.
Tokyo, 2011: Jin, a talented photographer, is known for his sixth sense when it’s about photos and other person’s emotions. When he gets the offer to work with Tokyo’s Criminal Investigation Department, he moves to Tokyo, together with his 16-year-old brother.
There he starts to work together with the skilled, but eccentric young detective Kamenashi Kazuya.They are part of the department for Cold Cases, where forgotten and never solved cases are investigated again. Despite their first rather bad impression of each other, they soon learn that their skills complement each other almost perfectly.
The case they are working on seems mysterious, but harmless: Jade, the woman that had been erased from everyone's memory. But soon Jin and Kame realize that with this case they are awakening a sleeping lion, bringing themselves and everyone they love and care for into danger. They suddenly fall into a network of intrigues, murders and threats. On top of that they are both hiding something from each other and from everyone else... something no one is supposed to know...
Jin wished he wouldn’t have seen Erika again. Well, gladly she didn’t see him. Because somehow he felt like he betrayed her. Like he was the reason for her grandfather’s death. Something burnt in his eyes when he saw her at the funeral, clinging to her mother and holding her brother’s hand at the same time.
He sighed tiredly, sitting down on the ground and watching the funeral from far away. He was no one they knew of course. So he had no right to be there. But he needed to offer his condolence somehow, even if it was just from far away.
Jin rubbed over his eyes, looking at the little girl once more. When he saw how she was comforting her brother, he had to smile. Just like him and Ryo. The moment their parents had passed away, Jin had sworn to watch out for the little one and protect him, no matter what.
Jin stood up, bowing towards the grave, then he turned around, walking back. He purposely decided to take the long way, so that he would be able to get his breath and his senses back.
He almost missed it. The fragile figure leaning against a tree and watching the funeral – just like Jin had watched it from another point.
Jin blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Kame to be here. When he walked closer he was even more surprised to see strains of tears on Kame’s cheek. He smiled softly at that. Jin had always been a softie – that’s what Yuu told him all the time – and seeing someone cry was the worst.
So it was the most normal thing for him to walk towards Kame and pull him into his arms, rubbing his back soothingly. “It’s okay…” he mumbled.
Kame was surprised first, but then he simply clung to Jin. He knew he shouldn’t react like that, he knew it wasn’t appropriate, but right now Jin’s arms and his strong chest were so promising. “It’s my fault.” Kame mumbled into Jin’s hug. “If I had been faster… more careful, he would still be alive. I should have gone there the same day we came back from our investigation at the park.”
“It’s not your fault.” Jin said unusually sternly, making Kame blink at that. “Listen to me. You didn’t kill him. It’s not your fault! You are an amazing guy, eager to save people and to solve their open questions, so that they can continue to live on. You, Kamenashi Kazuya-kun are a gorgeous guy. So don’t tell me it’s your fault.”
Kame smiled a bit at these words, leaning into Jin’s touches. He closed his eyes, for once letting someone comfort him.
******
Jin had decided to go home for a moment, before he would return to the office. There was still work waiting for him and Kame, but he wanted to check on Ryo and Yuu first. When he came home, he opened the mail box first, blinking when he found a white envelop, with no address written on it.
He opened it carefully when he was in his room, wondering why he felt so nervous about it, but the moment he read the line written on the plain paper, he gasped, his ears ringing, his eyes twitching.
You should watch out for your cute little brother, shouldn’t you? This is a warning!
Jin closed the door to his room, leaning against it. His heart was hammering against his chest like madly. Ryo… his brother… What did this letter mean?
He tugged at his hair desperately, before he hid the letter carefully, rushing back downstairs. In the kitchen he bumped into Yuu.
“Hey.” Yuu smiled brightly. “You are here for lunch?”
“No.” Jin shook his head. “I just have a short break. Where is Ryo?”
Yuu blinked at Jin’s troubled expression, then he shrugged, handing the latter a cup of tea. “He has to be home any minute.”
“He is not here yet!?” Jin blurt out.
“Jin…” Yuu patted Jin’s arm. “We talked about this, didn’t we?”
“Yes, but now things are different.” Jin told him nervously.
Yuu frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t tell you.” Jin pressed out. “You have to believe me.”
Before Yuu could say anything else, they heard the entrance door being opened. “Do you want to come in, Pi?” Ryo’s voice could be heard through the living room and kitchen, followed by Pi’s voice: “No. I can’t, my sister is visiting. But if it’s okay for you, I’ll drop by later.”
“Sure. See you later then.”
Jin put the cup on the table, hurrying to the living room. “Ryo!?” he said in a tune that made Ryo flinch.
“Aniki? Is there a problem?” Ryo stuttered.
“I’ll tell you something.” Jin frowned, looking at his brother sternly. “The next time you come home too late, it will have consequences!”
“But…” Ryo paused here, looking up at Jin in surprise. Something in his eyes made Jin cringe, he couldn’t help but remember his talk with Yuu the other day. So he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “I just…want you to be careful, okay?” he said, softer this time.
Ryo still looked at his brother warily, not sure what to answer. Since the last days every word could be a wrong word. “Yes…”
Jin shifted around a bit, worrying about Ryo’s almost too careful expression. As if he was afraid of Jin. The latter sighed tiredly, then he smiled, trying to distract his younger brother form this nervous state. “Where is Buddy by the way? He didn’t eat one of my shoes again, did he?”
“Of course he didn’t!” Ryo defended his puppy immediately. “He is a good and smart doggy.”
Jin chuckled at that, tousling through Ryo’s hair. “Then let’s search for your smart and good doggy.”
Ryo smiled in relief, glad that Jin was back as his normal self. At least for the moment.
******
Jin sighed, rubbing over his head a bit, his thoughts shifting back to Ryo. He didn’t want his brother to be afraid of him, but at the same time he didn’t want to tell him how serious things were. He wanted Ryo to be without worries, so that he could enjoy his time with his friends. This had highest priority for Jin. Ryo shouldn’t worry!
“You look bothered.” Kame smiled warmly, touching Jin’s arm to make his partner look at him.
“Sorry…” Jin sighed. “I got a letter today. Here.” He showed Kame the letter, his eyes never leaving Kame’s face, while the latter was reading it.
“This is the worst.” Kame blurt out, sounding so annoyed and worked up that it surprised Jin. He almost felt touched by it, because Kame was apparently really caring for him and Ryo. Kame looked at Jin insistently. “I’m sorry, really.”
“Why are you sorry?” Jin asked in surprise.
Kame winced for a moment, as if he was at fault. For a moment Jin felt suspicious, but then Kame sighed deeply. “I just feel responsible.” he tried to explain. “Don’t worry too much, alright? We’ll watch out for your brother!”
“Thanks.” Jin mumbled, sounding miserable. “Such a bad timing that we’ll be on this short trip soon. I can’t look after him that way…” He sighed, some frowns appearing on his forehead. This was actually really worrying him. Of course he could trust Yuu, but still… it was weekend and what if Ryo decided to go to the park or to another dangerous place. He wouldn’t stay in the house. Jin was sure about that. If just he could make Ryo stay at home while he was away! But how?
Jin rubbed over his head a bit, before he shifted his concentration back to Kame. They needed to make the final preparations for their short trip. “It’s close to Okinawa, right? Do we stay at a hotel?”
“Yes.” Kame nodded his head. “We’ll be going there incognito. Officially we are scientists, working at the biology-research department of a university.”
Jin grinned. “Good. I need to gather some information about sea-biology then.”
“Me too.” Kame chuckled. “I don’t know anything about it… But well, we’ll be on a business trip and we just stopped there for a weekend-break.”
“Great.” Jin smiled contently. “So we are there for holidays? Like a couple?” It was supposed to be a joke, but when Kame blushed a bit, Jin blinked in confusion. It was just a moment though, before Kame was his calm and stoic self again. Jin shook his head a bit. Did he get Kame’s glance wrong?
******
Jin sighed nervously. It was Thursday by now and on Saturday morning he and Kame would start their trip to the beach… to check on the professor’s secrets. If he really had such a thing like a secret place. But they needed to make sure. It was little piece of hope they had found in his office.
Jin closed his eyes, seeing the photo with the jade-woman again. Something inside him tensed, like always when he saw the picture. He knew theses signs… he always reacted like that when he had an intuition or an idea. He was a photographer after all, working for a magazine, and sometimes when he saw photos he could immediately tell if there was something wrong, or something special about it.
As for the jade-woman-photo… there were both. Something was off. And something was special. It almost drove Jin crazy. He needed to find out the truth about this woman.
He sighed when he went through his mail, his heart almost stopping to beat when he saw a white envelop. His fingers trembled when he angled for it. Like in trance he walked into the house and into his living room, before he sat down on the sofa, opening the letter.
How precious is your little brother really to you? Apparently he is not important enough! But for us he might be useful…
Jin’s hands trembled when he put the letter into his pocket, his thoughts spinning around. What was he supposed to do? How could he stop Ryo from being outside the house this weekend, while he was on his investigation with Kame.
Jin brushed through his hair nervously. Yuu was sleeping in his room. He had been working long yesterday and Jin knew he couldn’t ask more from him than he was already doing for them. Because basically Yuu did everything – he was there all the time. But he was also a bit more relaxed than Jin was and he didn’t take things as serious as they were.
Jin bit his lips. Should he tell Yuu the whole truth? And Ryo too? But he couldn’t do that… he couldn’t worry his little brother like that. Ryo shouldn’t carry these problems around too.
Jin sighed, his gaze shifting towards the watch. When he realized that Ryo was late again, he blinked a bit, suddenly realizing what he could do to solve his problems.
“Tadaima.” Ryo closed the door behind him, hurrying towards the living room. He dropped his bag on the floor, his stomach already complaining because he felt too hungry. When he rushed into the living room, he paused in surprise. Jin was standing right in front of him, his arms crossed, his gaze angry.
“Aniki?” Ryo stuttered.
“You are late! AGAIN!” Jin huffed, actually feeling pretty mean about what he was doing here.
“I’m sorry.” Ryo mumbled. “School took longer today. It was not my fault…”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses!” Jin blurt out. “I told you it will have consequences if you are too late again! I’ll tell you what…” he frowned angrily. “You are grounded!”
Ryo’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “But…Jin…”
“NO!” Jin bit out. “That’s my last word! I won’t discuss it!”
Ryo looked at him for a short moment, apparently wondering if he could do anything to get through to Jin here, but then he simply glared at his brother in utter anger and disappointment. He grabbed his bag again, running upstairs and closing the door loudly.
Jin sighed tiredly, when he heard how Ryo turned on some music, up to its highest volume so that he would avoid any possible attempt to be talked to. Jin dropped down on the sofa again, pulling his knees up and resting his head against his knees. “Sorry, Ryo.” he mumbled. He hated himself for what he had done here, but this was the best…
His brother would be save that way.
******
Note: Hey dear friends and readers! Thanks so much for all your support!! So, I wanted to tell you that my Request Post is open. If you feel like requesting a specific pairing or situation you can do so HERE
no subject
i think jin should discuss wif ryo about d letter..
i hope ryo will be safe n cannot wait 4 akame momment..,3
tanq 4 update...
cannot wait 4 more..<3
no subject
I actually posted this update some days ago, but I forgot to cross-post it *fail*
I'm really happy that you like this story <3
You are right, Jin should be honest about this letter and talk with Ryo and Yuu about it.
Oh,and I promise you that there will be more Akame moments coming ^^
Thanks so much for your lovely comment!! *HUGGLES*