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Jade Chapter 15
Pairing: Akame. RyoxJin as brothers (not as a pairing). Various other characters.
Rating: PG-13 (for this chapter)
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...
Ryo smiled a bit when he entered the coffee shop, waving at Ueda. “Tatsuya-kun, you are working here?”
“Yes.” Ueda smiled warmly. “Every Saturday. I love coffee you know.”
Ryo nodded his head, sitting down. He was waiting for Uchi to meet up with him, now that he finally was feeling healthy and was allowed to go out again. He could see Uchi immediately, or rather hear him, because he stumbled into one of the waitresses and apologized like a hundred times. Uchi was so clumsy and cute.
Ryo waved at him, smiling brightly when Uchi finally dropped down on the seat next to him. He looked at Ryo shyly. “Is it okay to kiss you?”
Ryo frowned. “No way! It’s a public place.”
Uchi looked around a bit, checking their surroundings, then he bent forwards, pecking Ryo’s lips shortly. He grinned proudly. “No one was looking.” he explained to a very embarrassed Ryo.
Ryo wanted to repeat something, but when he saw how Ueda was already bringing him his tea, he decided to better stay quiet. “Thanks, Tatsuya-kun.”
“You are welcome.” Ueda smiled. “What do you want, Uchi-kun?” When he had taken Uchi’s order, he grinned a bit, bending forward. “By the way, you should be careful with kissing someone at a public place.” he teased, grinning a bit when he saw how Ryo was blushing and how Uchi glared at him for ruining this moment. He chuckled. Kids.
“I told you it’s not a good idea.” Ryo complained when Ueda had left them alone again.
“But I can’t resist your lips.” Uchi argued. “I’m addicted to them. They are beautiful. Your brother’s are beautiful too.”
Ryo stayed quiet, then he looked down at his fingers. “Step-brother.” he finally admitted.
“What?” Uchi blinked.
“I got to know it a few days ago.” Ryo mumbled. “I’m adopted.”
“Shut up, no way!” Uchi blurt out in disbelief. He shook his head. “I don’t believe that! But… I never would have thought that you are adopted.”
Ryo sighed slightly, a frown appearing on his forehead. “But it’s true!”
“What is true?” Ueda asked, when he brought Uchi his hot chocolate.
Uchi looked at Ryo expectantly. “Tell him. Come one.”
Ryo sighed in frustration. “I’m adopted…”
“No way.” Ueda blinked in surprise. “I can’t believe that.”
“Don’t you think he resembles Jin, at least a bit?” Uchi wanted to know.
Ueda inspected Ryo carefully, then he nodded carefully. “I’m not sure. You for sure aren’t looking very similar to each other. The way you walk, though, and how you laugh. It resembles each other.”
“Well…” Ryo stuttered. “That’s something that comes from living together, right? He is my brother after all, just not blood-related.”
“Maybe you are a cousin’s child?” Uchi suggested. “Someone of the family who abandoned you.”
“I’m not sure.” Ueda agreed carefully. He rather believed in an illegitimate child of either Jin’s mother or father. But there was no way he could tell that Ryo. Ryo loved and admired his parents dearly after all.
Ueda was still wondering what to do, when he saw Pi walking towards them. He smiled in relief, but unfortunately he didn’t have the chance to change the topic because Uchi was faster.
“What do you think, Pi? Do Ryo and Jin resemble each other?”
Pi blinked. “For real now?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s nothing huge… but the way they are walking is the same, definitely. It’s totally awkward sometimes, because it’s so similar.” Pi answered warily.
“Really?” Ryo looked at Pi in surprise, his heart suddenly beating faster.
“Hey.” Uchi interrupted them out of a sudden. “How about we track down your mother? It might help us! Am I right, Ueda-kun? Didn’t you work at the registration office once? I bet you have contacts…”
Ueda shifted around a bit, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Jin for sure had a reason why he never told Ryo the entire truth. But then he saw the hopeful glances of the boys, he just couldn’t deny them this wish. What harm would it do to check out on Ryo’s mother anyway?
******
Kame looked at Jin warily. They had been walking next to each other for half an hour now and Jin had stayed quiet the entire time. “You don’t say anything…”
“Neither do you.” Jin stated.
Kame shifted around nervously. He was feeling so far away from Jin right now. Well not that he could blame the other for that. But still, he would have given his life for Jin to put his arm around his shoulders. “You are angry, am I right?”
“Truth is…” Jin mused. “I don’t know how to feel at the moment. Should I be angry? Disappointed? Frightened? Nervous? Crushed? Encouraging? Curious? Caring? Furious?”
“Well, that’s a whole lot of emotions.” Kame stuttered.
“I searched the car I saw. You know Tatsuya, do you? He has connections everywhere and he helped me. I’m talking about the car you got out off when I picked you up some days ago.” He paused. “It was like a walk through the supermarket for Tatsuya to find out whose car it was. I can’t believe you have relations to the political cabinet and to the department of inner affairs. You could have told me who your father is. Everyone knows him! You were smart enough to change your name though…”
“It’s my mother’s name.” Kame mumbled. “Kamenashi was her name.”
“What else, Kazu?” Jin took a deep breath. “You could have really told me that these letters were coming from your home. Now I understand your guilty feeling towards me and Ryo…”
Kame looked at Jin, not sure what the other was really feeling now. He had to feel betrayed for sure. “Can we talk at home?” he finally asked. “I’ll tell you the truth… and my reasons.”
Jin sighed a bit. “Alright. Is your place okay? Because I don’t need Yuu or Ryo to listen to us.”
As much as Kame wanted to get rid of the things standing between them, he also felt immensely afraid when he closed the door of his apartment behind them. Jin sat down on his sofa, looking at the ceiling, apparently lost in his thoughts. Kame took advantage from this moment to prepare some coffee for them. It would at least be a bit more relaxing like that. But when he placed the cups in front of Jin and himself, there was no running anymore.
“So?” Jin asked piercingly.
“He isn’t my father.” Kame looked down at his fingers. “You already know that I’m adopted. Well, I got raised there. I hated it. No one there liked me… that’s not a lie. For me this place was a cage. I always wanted to become a detective and after lots of fighting I was allowed to become one. Just…he never let go of me, he is not leaving me alone even for a single second. I bet even now someone is watching my apartment to be sure when I leave it and where I go to.”
Jin blinked at that. He hadn’t expected such an explanation at all. “You have to be kidding me!? As if you are imprisoned…?”
“I just…couldn’t talk about it… I mean, me, the son of Matsuzaki-sama, one of the most corrupt politicians. It’s…everyone would judge me, though it’s not my fault. I’m not even part of this.”
“I can understand that.” Jin mumbled. “Just, you should have told me about it the moment these letters started to come.”
“It wouldn’t have changed something…” Kame answered warily.
“Of course it would have changed something!” Jin huffed angrily. “I would have known who is behind this. It’s a different feeling to know what’s happening than to be totally clueless! You left me tapping around in the dark. Damn, Kazuya, that’s why I am so angry!” He took a deep breath. “You didn’t need much effort to research on the car that drove away with the bride back then, am I right? It’s way too similar to the car your father is driving…”
Kame looked at Jin through scared eyes. He had never expected Jin to make the connections so fast. He shook his head, hiding it behind his hands. He simply couldn’t help the tears from dropping down. “You don’t understand. All my life I’ve been kept like a hostage.” He sobbed out. “How should I have explained that? How?”
Jin wavered for a moment, then he stood up. He knew what Kame did to him was actually close to betrayal, because it involved Jin’s whole family, but still… some part of him was feeling so much sympathy. Wasn’t he himself not also betraying someone? Ryo? He wasn’t that much better than Kame. So who was he to judge him? Jin sighed, sitting down next to Kame and putting his arm around the other’s fragile shoulders. “Idiot. I swear, don’t ever lie to me again.”
Kame leaned against Jin’s shoulder tiredly. “There is something else.”
“What?”
“This case is related to my family. I don’t know why and how… I just know that the car she drove away with is similar to ours. The bride was or is related to us.” Kame looked at Jin through begging eyes. “I need to find her. I need to know what happened back then.”
******
This time Ryo didn’t tell it Uchi or any of his other friends when he packed some stuff into a little bag. This was his journey. He grabbed his bag, silently sneaking out of the house. It was already deep at night. He knew Jin wouldn’t allow it, neither would Yuu. He looked at the photo in his hands and at the address, sighing nervously.
He walked down the staircase silently, pausing for a moment in front of Jin’s door. He was still out, gladly, otherwise it would be difficult for him to leave this house. He knew that his brother would be worried like crazy and that he would be in serious troubles afterwards. But nevertheless he needed to do this travel. It was a travel into his past and he needed to make sure about some questions that were bothering him.
******
“You know…” Jin mused when he drove to his house together with Kame. “I feel like I know her.”
“Eh?” Kame blinked. “Who?”
“Jade.” Jin answered warily. “I just never told you because...it’s just a feeling. I don’t know why, I feel like I saw her somewhere.”
Kame blinked in surprise. “For real?”
“I’m not sure.” Jin sighed helplessly. “You know, I’m really good with peoples’ faces. I always remember someone I saw once. Often I forget the names, but even when I bump into someone in the supermarket and exchange some words with this person… I will remember the face.”
Kame stared at Jin in disbelief. “Can’t be…” he breathed. “You saw her somewhere!? You need to figure out!”
Jin nodded his head. “I know. But for now, I need to show you what I saw on the photos.”
Kame frowned. “You found something out, am I right?”
“Yes, I think so.” Jin smiled proudly. “I was quite productive recently.” he joked as he parked his car in front of his house. He turned his face towards Kame, taking his hand. “And besides that… I need to tell you something.”
“Your secret?”
“Yes.” Jin said silently. “I have to get rid of it. And tomorrow morning I will tell Ryo.”
Kame almost jumped out of the car in expectance. He couldn’t await it anymore to see the photos and hear what Jin had found out. And finally he would get to know this thing Jin was keeping from him.
Jin smiled a bit when he followed Kame into the dark room, which wasn’t dark right now. Kame stared at the photos in interest, shaking his head a bit. “You know what?” he mumbled.
“What?”
“I somehow know her too.” Kame answered blankly, his face expressing highest surprise and wonder. “Don’t ask me how and when and why… but… somehow I know her.”
“Yes.” Jin said silently. “It’s the same with me. Do you think we both saw her coincidentally?”
“Wouldn’t that be too much of a coincidence?” Kame asked carefully.
“You are right…” Jin mumbled, shaking his head. “We have to think about that carefully. You just recently got the feeling you know her?” he asked. “Not before when you were working on the case yourself?”
“No.” Kame shook his head. “It started during the last weeks. This feeling… that I have already seen her somewhere.”
“Just where?” Jin mused. “Do you think she is around us?”
“I highly doubt that.” Kame mused, before he looked at Jin curiously. “Now tell me. What did you find out?”
Jin smiled a bit, angling for some of the pictures and putting them next to each other. “What do you see on these photos?”
Kame bent forward, taking a closer look at them. He looked at Jin in surprise. “You were right! Do you remember when you analysed the photo for the first time? You said she wouldn’t look sad. And you are right. She isn’t crushed. Well, maybe there is some desperation, but something inside her is sparkling.”
Jin nodded his head. “And?”
“She is walking strangely…” Kame mused. “Or, I don’t know, maybe not strange, but still… not like a normal person would walk.”
“Yes.” Jin smiled. “Maybe she is protecting something?”
“Eh?” Kame blinked. “Through her walking?”
Jin smirked a bit. “Look where she placed her hand?”
Kame blinked at that, staring at the photos again, inspecting the woman’s hand. It was sometimes on her hips, sometimes directly on her stomach. “Oh my god…”
“Yes.” Jin nodded his head.
“She is pregnant!”
******
Ryo’s nervousness grew with every step he took towards the house. He had so many questions. It was not like he absolutely needed to know his mother, because apparently she abandoned him, but there were things he didn’t understand and he felt like he needed to get rid of these questions. He wanted to finally understand everything, also Jin.
When he knocked at the door a woman opened. She was quite young and beautiful. “I… I am sorry to disturb you.” he apologized politely, his fingers trembling nervously. “I’m looking for Nishikido Shizuka”
“That’s me.” The woman smiled warily, looking at Ryo through questioning eyes. “What do you want from me?”
Ryo stared at her in disbelief. This was her? His supposed mother? He bit his lips. “I’m sorry for being so blunt…” he mumbled nervously. “But I just need to make sure…Are you my mother?” he finally breathed out.
Shizuka blinked in surprise, inspecting the boy closer, then she frowned. “Ryo? Is that your name?”
“Yes.” Ryo mumbled.
“Oh god.” She sighed in frustration. “I already wiped you away from my memory and here you are again. They promised me to take
you far away and never make you come to me again…” She looked back into the house when she heard footsteps approaching her. “Stay quiet please, Ryo-kun.” She told him, before she turned around completely, smiling at the little child that was approaching her.
“Who’s that Mommy?”
Shizuka took the boy into her arms, wavering a bit. “Ah, someone I know from when I was younger.”
“Ah.” The boy smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Ryo’s eyes were twitching a bit. He had never expected this woman to actually welcome him in any way, but this here was almost cruel. He swallowed the knot in his throat, wishing for Jin to stand next to him right now, to protect him and comfort him. He wished he had never come here, he wished he had asked Jin and told him how important it was to know things, then he wouldn’t have come to this place all alone.
Shizuka shifted around a bit, then she sighed. “Wait here.” she mumbled, carrying her child back into the house.
Ryo was wondering if he should really wait or if he should just leave and return home. But before he could make up his mind, she was back, handing him an address. “This is where I gave birth to you.” she mumbled as silently as possible. “You can visit the place if you want to. It’s a birth and rehabilitation centre. They often keep photos and documents there, so maybe you will find the things you need.”
Ryo was totally paralyzed when he walked through the street. Everything inside him was hurting at the moment. He wondered if he should call Jin or if he should simply drive back. But when he took a look at the address, he simply couldn’t. He was already here anyways, why not going for it then?
******
“Hey guys…” Yuu mumbled tiredly, when he came down to the living room. “You are still up?”
“Yes.” Jin smiled a bit. “We were working till now.”
Yuu yawned, stretching a bit. “You two are impossible.” He shook his gaze, blinking a bit when his gaze fell towards the wardrobe. Maybe it was ridiculous to freak out over such a small thing… but Ryo’s jacket was missing. Was that normal?
He turned around swiftly, running upstairs, leaving the other two surprised men behind. A few minutes later he was back, eyes widened in fear. “He is gone, Jin!! AGAIN!”
“Eh?” Jin blinked. “Who?”
“RYO!”
“What?” Jin’s eyes widened in shock. “He is not here?”
“No.” Yuu shook his head. “His jacket is gone and his bag… Damn, what is he thinking!?”
“Did you have a fight?” Kame asked immediately.
The other two shook their heads, looking at each other through nervous eyes. Five minutes later they were already calling Ryo’s friends and inspecting the area. But nothing… there was nothing. Jin sighed, when he sat down on Ryo’s bed, rubbing his head. What the heck did happen? Ryo was not in a bad mood recently and they got along so well…
“Jin?” Kame whispered when he came to the room as well. “Let’s gather all our ideas, okay? Like we are working on a case. We will for sure find him then. Because this time I think that his running away has a purpose… I already called some of my colleagues.”
Jin nodded his head, feeling thankful. But before he could get up, his gaze fell on a tiny sheet of paper lying on the floor. He blinked, picking it up to read it.
“Jin?” Kame asked in worry when Jin stayed there, staring at the paper, not moving at all.
“Oh god…” Jin pressed out. “This can’t be… Who gave him the address!?”
“Eh?” Kame blinked. “You know where he is?”
“Yes.” Jin mumbled silently, his hands trembling. “I really need to talk to you Kazuya… Let’s go downstairs.”
Kame stared at Jin in surprise, following him downstairs again. He wondered what it was that Jin was keeping inside him. What could possibly be so bad not to tell it anyone?
******
Note: Dear friends and readers! Thanks so much for all your support <3 To thank you I opened up a Request Post. If you feel like requesting a one-shot with a specific pairing or situation you can do so HERE. For Song-Drabbles go HERE.
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is that even technically possible??*facepalm* I am developing fantastic hypothesis - one after another...Geez, and I am getting more and more confused trying to figure out the next step of the Amazing Author! You've created such an intense plot darling, I am swallowing each chapter so fast, that I have to re-read it then to sort things out, lol
Waiting for update!!!!!!
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It's slowly getting down to the point now, right? I promise you next chapter you will know more <3
I'm so happy that you like this story!! *bouncy* Really, it makes me so happy to know that!! *huuuuugs*