A Haunted Love - 4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Friday morning, Hideki sat at the dining table waiting. He sipped his coffee, swiftly sorting through his email. He answered queries, marked business opportunities, and discarded unnecessary information. All through that, his gaze constantly returned to the door…waiting.

“Who are you looking for?” Haru asked.

“Hmm…” Hideki glanced at Haru. “Eat your breakfast, Haru. Aoki won’t be pleased if you leave a full plate.”

Haru picked up his fork and ate a piece of his omelet.

Hideki sipped his coffee with a frown. He glanced at his watch. It was almost eight-thirty.

Where was Kazuma?

“Morning,” Kazuma walked in, heading straight to the side table and the coffee pot.

Hideki felt relief flood him, a smile tugging on his lips at the sight of Kazuma.

Haru dropped his fork and Hideki glanced at him with a frown.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Haru said with a scowl.

Hideki watched Haru push back his chair and get up.

“Leaving already?” Hideki asked.

Haru was acting weird today.

“I’m not that hungry. I need to get to the green houses. There’s a truck coming to get flowers for the shop.” Haru glanced at Kazuma, and for a moment Hideki thought he read hostility. It disappeared too fast for him to be sure. “Be safe, Hyde.”

“I will be,” Hideki said, glancing at Kazuma with a smile. “Call me.”

“Yeah,” Haru said.

He started to leave, but then stopped and turned to Hideki.

Hideki glanced at him in question. His eyes widened when Haru leaned down and kissed him on the lips. Haru’s kiss tasted of salt and eggs. Hideki was too surprised to respond. Haru ended the kiss as abruptly as he’d started it and stepped back with a satisfied smile.

“See you,” Haru said, hurrying out of the dining room.

Hideki sat back in his seat, confused.

“Busy morning,” Kazuma said, pulling out the chair on Hideki’s right.

Hideki frowned and reached for his napkin. He wiped his mouth and shook his head.

“Haru is a bit emotional today,” he said.

“I highly doubt it’s a bit,” Kazuma answered.

Hideki frowned, his gaze on Haru’s unfinished food. He made a note to ask Haru what the kiss was about.

Turning to Kazuma, he demanded, “Where did you go yesterday?”

“I told you, I was running an errand.”

“What type of errand?”

“A personal one,” Kazuma said with a small grin.

“Are you going to be stubborn about this?”

“Yep,” Kazuma said.

“Tell me,” Hideki pushed, needing to know.

For what reason, he had no idea, but the thought of Kazuma not being around him disturbed him.

Kazuma sipped his coffee, swallowing with an appreciative moan that distracted Hideki.

“Stop that,” Hideki said, when heat skated down his spine.

“What?” Kazuma asked.

Aoki came in carrying a tray for Kazuma.

“Where is Haru?”

“He left,” Kazuma said, his gaze on Hideki who was frowning at him. “Aoki-san, does Hyde always frown this much?”

“No,” Aoki said, she placed the tray before Kazuma, her gaze going to Haru’s full plate. “Why did Haru leave?”

“He said something about flowers. He looked upset,” Hideki said.

Aoki walked around the dining table to Haru’s uneaten breakfast.

“The only thing that would upset Haru would come from you Hideki,” she said.

Hideki stared at her, confused. He couldn’t remember any altercation with Haru this morning. They’d woken up their limbs tangled on his bed. He stumbled into the shower, and dressed while Haru showered. Maybe he shouldn’t encourage Haru sleeping over anymore. Had something happened last night?

He couldn’t remember.

“I guess I’ll have to call him later to ask,” Hideki said with a sigh.

“Hyde,” Aoki sighed and took Haru’s tray. “You’re so blind sometimes. Kazuma-san, please look after this child.”

Kazuma smiled around a mouthful of banana pancakes.

“Yes, madam,” he said, winking at Hideki.

Hideki felt heat suffuse his face and he dropped his gaze to his ipad.

Aoki grinned and left the dining room with Haru’s tray.

“So, we’re headed out of town today,” Kazuma said into the ensuing silence. “Is there something I should know? You changed the schedule this morning.”

“I have to meet someone today.” Hideki closed his ipad and sat back in his seat. “I bought a warehouse full of merchandise yesterday morning. I want to go see what I got.”

“You blindly bought a warehouse full of things you haven’t seen.” Kazuma chuckled. “What if you were tricked?”

“The person I bought the merchandise from is very reliable.” Hideki smiled. “It’s a good deal, I promise. However, we need to go out of the city to see it.”

“Fine,” Kazuma nodded. “Your father gave us one of his cars until yours can be replaced. He was worried.”

“He’s always worried.” Hideki didn’t know what to say to his father anymore. He didn’t know what he could say to make the situation easier, so he never tried. “We should get going.”

Kazuma glanced at his half-eaten plate of pancakes.

Hideki chuckled.

“We can wait until you finish eating.”

“How kind of you,” Kazuma said with a small smile.

“You like Aoki’s cooking,” Hideki said, leaning his elbows on the table.

“I do. I don’t get home cooked meals easily.”

“Is it because you live alone?” Hideki asked.

“Well, yeah,” Kazuma said, sipping his coffee.

“Can’t you cook?”

“It’s lonely to cook for one.”

“But you need to eat,” Hideki said.

Kazuma glanced at him.

“You’ve never lived alone too long, have you?”

Hideki frowned. He had never lived alone. In his college years, he lived in Tokyo with Haru as his roommate. After college, he moved around, working for different companies, but he always had someone with him.

Kazuma chuckled.

“Don’t over think it. It’s not a requirement in life.”

“The way you say it, it feels like it should be,” Hideki said.

“Alright, forget I said it then.”

“No,” Hideki said.

“Why not?” Kazuma frowned.

“Because,” Hideki shrugged. It seemed to matter to Kazuma. “Why is it lonely to cook for one?”

Kazuma blinked, staring at him. He dropped his gaze to his plate, and the last bite of his pancakes.

“Meal times were always loud in my family. Everyone shared what they were going to do in the morning, and in the evening, they shared what happened during the day. When you’re alone, it’s you and the walls, no one to share anything with.”

Kazuma ate the last bite of his pancake.

Hideki wondered if Kazuma missed his family.

“Well,” Hideki said. “We’re sharing.”

Kazuma glanced at him with a smile.

“Yes we are.”

A wave of warmth swept through Hideki and he got up looking forward to the day out of the city.

“I’ll go get my laptop,” he said, unsure why that needed explaining. “I’ll meet you outside?”

“Sure,” Kazuma said with a nod.

He looked up and Hideki saw a crumb stuck to the dark stubble on Kazuma’s jaw.

Hideki reached out and wiped the crumb away without much thought. Kazuma’s eyes widened slightly, and Hideki dropped his hand. He left the dining room in quick strides.

***

Hideki’s reliable source turned out to be a twenty-one year old girl who lived in a busy market area. She greeted Hideki with a tight hug.

“Glad to see you ditched the suit today,” she teased, touching Hideki’s beige shirt and the leather jacket he wore. “You’ve disappeared. I haven’t seen you ride lately.”

Kazuma didn’t miss the wince that crossed Hideki’s handsome features. It was obvious he missed riding his motorcycle.

Hideki stepped back, and brushed his fingers over the young woman’s short hair.

“I lost my motorcycle.”

“You’re joking,” she said, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Who would dare steal your motorcycle?

“It happens, Yui,” Hideki said. “How’s your mum?”

“Mum is fine,” Yui said, glancing at Kazuma, her eyes wide with curiosity. “New bodyguard?”

Kazuma gave her a short bow and she returned it with a small smile.

“He’s Kazuma,” Hideki said, not looking at him.

“He’s handsome,” Yui said, “better looking than Daniel and Patrick.”

“How would you know?” Hideki asked. “Stop ogling him and show me my goods.”

Yui smiled at Kazuma before she turned to lead the way along a narrow path lined with warehouses. She opened the fourth door with a flourish, and allowed them into a spacious warehouse packed with goods.

For the next two hours, Kazuma watched Hideki and Yui go through a warehouse full of knick knacks. Hideki called it merchandise, but it all looked like junk. One section had over one hundred boxes of white socks. There were non-stick cooking pans in another corner and even hello kitty clocks in dozens and dozens of boxes.

Hideki moved from one pile to another like he’d come upon treasure.

“Kazuma,” Hideki said, at around twelve o’clock. “Are you hungry yet?”

Kazuma shrugged. He could eat.

“Yui has invited us to lunch.”

“Where?” Kazuma asked.

“The beach,” Hideki said with a wide grin. “Come on, you’ll love it.”

Kazuma signaled Daniel and Patrick and they followed Hideki and Yui to her home.

They ended up at a house built right by the beach. Yui raced ahead, dragging Hideki with her, to an open deck with a wide roof. They disappeared into the house.

“Who lives here?” Kazuma asked Daniel and Patrick, who slid into the comfortable deck chairs as though they were home.

“Someone we don’t talk about,” Daniel said, stretching his arms above his head.

Before Kazuma could ask more, an older woman in a green sundress came out of the house, her hair long and around her shoulders. She smiled at them.

“Daniel, Patrick,” she said, her tone warm, welcoming. She greeted both men, and turned to him. “You’re new.”

“Kazuma,” he said, giving her a short bow.

“Very nice to meet you, Kazuma-san.” She held out her hand. “Call me Aunt Naoki. Everyone does.”

Hideki’s mother, Kazuma thought in shock.

The eyes should have been the clue: they similar to Hideki’s, a pretty brown.

Hideki came out holding a pineapple slice. He handed it to Kazuma, and broke any awkward moment that might have arisen. Naoki seemed to take his acceptance of the fruit as a stamp of approval.

They spent the afternoon in Aunt Naoki’s serene home. They ate a delicious lunch, and then moved to the beach where Hideki and Yui played along the beach like little kids.

Kazuma sat watching Hideki run along the beach with Yui. They had their shoes off, and Hideki had left his jacket with him. Yui bent down and scooped water. She splashed it at Hideki and he laughed. He pushed his hair out of his face and reciprocated making Yui run away to escape his attack.

“He looks happy.”

Kazuma glanced up to find Naoki beside him. She pulled the edges of her sweater closed and sat down beside him.

“Hideki,” she said, nodding to the laughing pair. “I worry about him.”

Kazuma turned to study her instead.

Her gaze followed Hideki like a stalker would his obsession. There was love, and…regret in her eyes. He wondered what she regretted.

“He comes here when something has happened.” Naoki glanced at him then. “Your presence means Hideki is in danger, isn’t he?”

“He’s safe right now,” Kazuma said, returning his gaze to Hideki. They’d stopped running. Hideki and Yui were now standing watching the horizon. “Is Yui your daughter?”

“Yes,” Naoki said, pride in her voice. “Hideki supports her anyway he can. I’m grateful for that.”

“You don’t call him Hyde,” Kazuma noted.

Naoki chuckled.

“No, I don’t. He won’t let me.”

“Why not?” Kazuma asked remembering Hideki telling him to call him Hyde.

“I don’t know.” Naoki sighed. “He’s a strange child, won’t let me visit him at home either, not that his father would allow it. Which reminds me why I came out here,” she glanced at him. “Don’t put this in the report you send to Riku.”

Kazuma watched Hideki laugh.

“Why?”

“It causes trouble for Hideki,” Naoki said. “His father and I don’t see eye to eye. It’s easier if he doesn’t know that Hideki comes here.”

Kazuma nodded, though he wondered why Riku would object to seeing his son happy.

Hideki and Yui walked up to them.

Hideki’s clothes were disheveled, his hair damp, but the smile…that smile…Kazuma couldn’t look away.

“Yui,” Naoki said, getting up. “Let’s go get towels and make tea. You two, come up to the house when you’re ready.”

Yui started to protest, but Naoki took her hand and led her away.

Hideki sat down beside Kazuma with a happy sigh.

“The water is cold, but refreshing,” Hideki said, wiggling his toes into the sand. He leaned back on his elbows and turned his face up to the sky. “I love this place.”

Kazuma shifted until he sat facing Hideki.

Daniel and Patrick were at the front of the property. Yui and Naoki went into the house.

Kazuma moved closer.

“If I kiss you again, are you going to get mad?” Kazuma asked, his gaze on Hideki’s parted lips.

Hideki looked at him, but didn’t move away. After a few minutes, he said, “I don’t know.”

Kazuma removed his earpiece and turned it off. He didn’t need Sora as a witness through this.

He kissed Hideki then, a soft brush of his lips on Hideki’s.

Hideki took in a short breath, holding his gaze. Kazuma remembered Haru’s messy kiss in the morning, and he wondered if Hideki was going to push him away. He started to move away, but Hideki stopped him, bringing his left hand up to touch his jaw.

Glad to see invitation in Hideki’s brown eyes, Kazuma cupped Hideki’s cheek, kissing him again, this time without hesitation.

The afternoon sun was warm on his back. The taste of sweet fruits and sunshine on Hideki’s lips was addictive. He was glad for the plant covering around the house. No one could see them at the beach.

Hideki sank back on the sand, and Kazuma followed, lying over him, never breaking their kiss. When they were both breathing hard, he ended their kiss slowly, trailing soft kisses along Hideki’s jaw. He pushed damp hair back from Hideki’s forehead, and pressed a kiss on his brow.

“You’re destroying me,” he murmured, when he looked into brown eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“How am I destroying you?” Hideki asked, his hands moving over Kazuma’s back.

“I’m your bodyguard.”

“So?” Hideki asked.

“I can’t afford to get distracted.” Kazuma shook his head. “Kissing you, I forget where we are.”

Hideki smiled.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not if I’m supposed to keep you safe,” Kazuma said, tracing a finger over Hideki’s lips. “Your smile however makes me forget all reason.”

Hideki chuckled.

“You’re such a softie, Kazu.”

“Kazu?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“I like it.”

Hideki nodded, his hands rubbing up and down Kazuma’s back, driving him insane in the process.

“We should get up,” Hideki said, not making a move to shift.

“Yes, your mother might come back.”

“She’s curious about you.” Hideki smiled. “She thinks you watch me too closely.”

“Does she?”

Hideki shrugged.

“I told her it’s your job to watch me.”

Kazuma frowned and Hideki rubbed the lines away with his right thumb.

“I have faith in you,” Hideki said then. “I know you’ll protect me.”

Kazuma felt a hollow dip in his stomach, as he saw the truth in Hideki’s eyes. The trust there…he sat up then, moving off Hideki.

With a trembling hand, he scratched his jaw, and cursed his inability to separate his personal interests from the job at hand.

Hideki sat up beside him.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” He managed to keep his tone from betraying his anxiety. “Should we go back to the house?”

Hideki glanced at his watch.

“Yeah, it’s almost four o’clock. My staff will be waiting for me later.”

“Do you have to do that?” Kazuma asked, getting to his feet. He reached down to pick up Hideki’s jacket. “Can’t you change the venue?”

“Worried about my crazy stalker?” Hideki asked.

“You can’t ask me that after yesterday’s attack,” Kazuma said, remembering Hideki’s stricken look after the fire bomb. “Take them to Club H.”

“It’s Friday,” Hideki said. “The club is packed tonight. Jin barely has time to breath in the VIP lounge. I can’t add on a staff party.”

“Then cancel the night out,” Kazuma said. “You can also let them go out without you.”

“I’m the boss,” Hideki said.

“Collect the tab, and let them have fun without you.”

“Jeez, you’re no fun,” Hideki said getting up. “What do you want? Me stuck at home? Is that better for you?”

“You’ll be safe,” Kazuma said, wishing Hideki would agree to stop placing himself in danger.

“I won’t hide,” Hideki said and turned to leave.

“Hideki,” Kazuma started, but Hideki was already heading to the house.

Kicking the sand, Kazuma cursed under his breath and followed Hideki.

***

On the ride home, Hideki tried working on his laptop, but his thoughts kept wandering to the kiss at the beach. Kazuma was taking him over, bit by bit.

He glanced up to look at Kazuma who sat in the front passenger seat, his gaze straight ahead. No doubt plotting how he was going to handle security later.

Maybe he could cancel, Hideki thought.

It wasn’t like he did much at those night outs anyway. Besides, Aoki would cook at home.

He frowned.

No, he shook his head. Why should he change his routines because someone wanted…to kidnap him, maybe kill him? He couldn’t tell anymore.

Hideki closed his laptop and placed it on the seat beside him. It started to slide over, and he bent to reach for it just as the car was bumped hard from behind.

His seatbelt tightened across his chest, and he bumped his head on the back of the driver’s seat. Sitting back, he glanced back to see a large pickup truck tailgating them.

Kazuma cursed under his breath.

“Hideki, tighten your seatbelt.”

The truck bumped them again, and his driver increased speed hoping to get away from the crazy bastard behind them.

Hideki gripped the door handle tight, his stomach in knots as they sped down a hill, the pickup truck in hot pursuit.

Daniel and Patrick’s car was in front, there wasn’t much they could do.

Kazuma was talking rapidly into his cell phone.

Hideki closed his eyes when the pickup truck caught up with them, and hit them hard. The driver fought to keep their car in control, weaving between lanes, the motion made Hideki sick with fear.

He glanced back to see how far the truck was just as they were hit hard…again.

The driver cursed, and Hideki turned back in time to see them get off the road, driving into trees, their speed too fast...the seat belt across his chest tightened, and a scream lodged in his throat.

***