.

It was still dark but Jirou was running around his house and rushed towards Tomoyo's room. Just when he thought that they could all put yesterday's business behind them, he received a disturbing call early in the morning.

"[I want you to answer me honestly old friend…]" A serious tone was immediately heard when he answered the call from Doumyouji Gakuto. "[Is Old Kou's grandson still at your place?]" a hint of hostility could be felt from his voice as Jirou rushed out of his room.

"What happened?" he asked. His friend showing hostility towards Kazuya who Jirou, the old bat and the stubborn bull was proved that Gakuto wasn't thinking clearly. The fact that Kazuya was Kou's grandson to top it off made the way he acted unreasonable so Jirou knew someone serious must have happened.

"Just tell me! Is the boy there or has he ever left your house?" Gakuto was being emotional so Jirou decided to hurry on towards Tomoyo's room. He quietly knocked before peeking in when there was no answer.

"He's here. From the looks of it, my granddaughter has been holding onto him ever since last night" Jirou commented as he saw Kazuya being enveloped by both Tomoyo's arm and leg.

"Are you sure that he didn't leave last night?" Gakuto didn't give up.

"I don't know what you're so worked up about but I know my granddaughter's sleeping habits better than anyone" Jirou was getting annoyed as he scoffed at his friend. "She will not let go of him and I have experienced this while I was raising her. Tread carefully and tell me what is wrong. You of all people should know whose grandson the boy is"

"Sorry…" Gakuto who was on the other line immediately understood. He was but one man of one clan. To betray one of them, especially Kouzuki Kou was akin to suicide because of all the people that would give their all to help him. "My grandson… Kuuga is missing"

"Missing? Didn't he run away last night to avoid getting punished by your old ways?" Jirou snorted. He didn't have any good feelings towards this old peacock's grandson.

"That's what I thought as well but when I send some people over to fetch him, they found no trace of him except for… blood splatter that looked to be from a firearm" Jirou was shocked after hearing what his old friend had to say. It was no wonder he was so emotional. "Is your grandson…"

"He's dead" Gakuto finished the sentence Jirou couldn't finish. "I'm having the place he hung out in swept. Currently, they found brain matter scattered along with the blood so it's already a foregone conclusion"

"Are you sure it's him?" Jirou questioned. "I'm sorry to say this but your grandson isn't exactly someone who I call… a pacifist" he wanted to make sure. His friend wasn't in the right state of mind right now so Jirou could only act as the voice of reason. There was no telling what this old friend of his might do at the slightest bit of suspicion. He both had the means and the power to do so after all.

"There was no one else that entered after he did and no one left according to the udon stall's owner. The district is quite noisy so something like a single gunshot from a random place could easily be mistaken for something else. Don't try to console me by giving me false hope old friend, I already had someone confirm it and started finding which bastard had done it" Gakuto's rage was on the rise.

"Then you should calm down old friend. Your suspicion should be far away from the boy then. Do you remember how Dokuro Domon left this world?" Jirou asked in a serious tone. "The boy had been out cold ever since that time and I don't even know when he will wake up. I know how you are feeling since I've lost my son once but don't you think you're being too hotheaded?"

"That…" Gakuto was taken aback. His main reason for suspecting Kazuya was that he was the only one he currently knew that almost killed Kuuga if it weren't for his intervention. Kazuya had also shown amazing prowess that would put his own subordinates to shame. "It seems that I have really been foolish" remembering the pile of ashes that he collected a sample of as well, Gakuto thought that someone with Kazuya's abilities and intelligence would not leave such a bloody mess.

"I'll lend you a hand old friend" Jirou knew how it feels to lose a kin and offered his help.

"Thank you old friend but… I want to be notified if there are any leads" Gakuto made sure to clarify his last statement. "You of all people should know how I'm feeling and I intend to see this through to the end"

"I know" Jirou's brows furrowed but he understood. "Just remember to keep your head clear. You already know that we will help but what we help with depends on the actions you will take from now on"

"I got it" Gakuto ended the call. Jirou sighed and dialed another number as he walked farther away from Tomoyo's room.

Inside the room, both Kazuya and Tomoyo opened their eyes slowly. They heard Jirou coming over so Tomoyo immediately pulled Kazuya and made him into her hug pillow. What she didn't know was that Kazuya had been used to this to the point that he wondered if every single girl had a habit of hugging something in their sleep like a mother protecting its cub.

"Thanks, I really owe you this time" Kazuya yawned and stretched his legs. It truly had been very tiring night for him. He looked at the robot girl who provided him with the perfect alibi and patted her head with gratitude. "Did you a catch cold or something?"

*shake shake* Tomoyo looked a little flushed. This was something that he was not used to so he had to ask. Tomoyo on the other hand was feeling a bit confused and embarrassed. She couldn't put a finger on it but she felt that something had changed in Kazuya.

It seemed as if his gaze had grown sharper and he exuded a certain atmosphere that she had not felt before. Tomoyo looked at him hard but had no idea what exactly changed. Did something happen last night?

"…" Kazuya's hand stopped petting the robot girl's head as it slid down to her cheek.

It felt quite cold but it soothed Tomoyo who was still feeling embarrassed about what she did earlier. She was afraid that he would get mad at her because of what she did without asking him but she got praised instead.

"Good… night…" Tomoyo looked over him and caressed his face. She didn't care whatever he did or what has changed, to her. He could have done whatever he wanted and she would be right there beside him. She was glad that Kazuya counted on her and the feeling of being thanked made her feel satisfied and accomplished.

.

Inside the Kurogane clan's home, Suzaku hardly got any sleep. He couldn't wait to gain some recognition for his recent discovery. Kazuya didn't know how Kuuga knew Mei's involvement in Kazuno Tech's business so he was unable to stop him from informing Suzaku for money. No matter what, he couldn't stop the information so he didn't care to ask Kuuga of how he knew. There wouldn't be another soul he could pass the information to anyway.

"Hmm? What are you doing here Suzaku-kun?" Shishio entered the large dining room because he was preparing to leave for work early.

"I was waiting for grandfather" he looked a bit excited which caught Shishio's attention. Most members of their family would be afraid of interacting with the current head because not only was he strict, he kept note of any mistakes his children and their children had done. "I have some information that a lot of people weren't able to get"

"Oh?" there were only few pieces of information that the head of the Kurogane clan wasn't aware of. "Is it confirmed?" Shishio gave a serious look towards this nephew of his.

"Well…" he told Shishio about what Kuuga informed him together with the deal after they confirmed it. Suzaku didn't like Nagisa but he looked up to Shishio. This uncle of his was someone he idolized and wanted to learn from. He knew that Nagisa's role was just because they needed to swallow her family's business so he only acted polite around her because she was still technically Shishio's wife.

"I see" Shishio was surprised but kept a cool expression. He didn't want this nephew of his to know just how much this information was worth to him. "I suggest you wait till this has been confirmed before you tell father about it or you would get punished for telling him something that has yet to be verified"

"But…" Suzaku frowned. He stayed up and couldn't sleep because of the excitement of getting recognized for his contributions. He tried thinking about it but he couldn't refute Shishio's words.

"Tell you what, I'll help you confirm this information" he observed the hesitation in Suzaku's face and smiled. "I'll keep it to myself and help you out and let you tell father after getting confirmation, this I promise" he saw Suzaku's eyes light up and held in the urge to laugh at how gullible this boy way.

"Okay uncle, I trust you" Suzaku agreed. "This has something to do with the future of my fiancé's company after all.

"Leave it to me" he lightly laughed. "Keep this information from the Muiminas for now since they have been so excited in trying to take over Kazuno Technologies that they failed an attempt yesterday" Shishio, of course heard all about yesterday's fiasco and couldn't help but feel sorry for the Muiminas and their approach. "We should ask for father's opinion before informing them so that we can lend them some help. It should be easier taking over that company and you will be credited for the help we give as well"

"Yes!" Suzaku hadn't thought of that and got even more excited.

"You should go get a little more rest since you look like you've worked hard to get this piece of information" Shishio didn't want anyone else to be curious about what they were talking about so he sent Suzaku away. He had his own thoughts about this unconfirmed yet important piece of information.

He knew who Kazuno Mei was, she was the brat that Kyouko picked up and trained. He wasn't a stranger to the controversy surrounding Kazuno technologies especially since there had been an incident that involved the police in their headquarters just the day before. It was indeed a mysterious company that developed technology that was seemed mundane but had potential to anyone who was in the technological Industry.

"(Is that girl pulling a fast one on Kyouko?)" he thought about it seriously because he especially focused on the moves of the Kouzuki Corporation who desperately tried to make connections with Kazuno Technologies because of their intentions to step over the line which the combined efforts of Kurogane and Muimina clans have worked hard to prevent.

Shishio crossed his arms and recalled the story from his nephew's informant. There was no doubt that it was most likely Kazuno Mei that bought the land that was now known as Kazuno Tech's headquarters. The name itself made it even more obvious if one saw through the camouflage. There was just one thing that bothered him; what was his son doing with her that day?

From what he knew about his son, Kouzuki Kazuya had been hovering between average and below average in his old school. It wasn't until he had been hospitalized that everything started to go downhill. Kazuya not only blamed Lee for what happened, he did a complete change as if he had been hiding everything from the start.

From the early reports of Kazuya's progress as he was growing up, Shishio had already abandoned the thought that he was related to Kazuya. His mediocrity did not even make him want to recognize such a failure as his offspring. This lasted until he had received information overseas about the sudden troubles their family had suffered all because of the issues between his adopted son and his real son.

"(He's definitely involved in it)" Shishio was convinced. Despite Kazuno Mei's fame and capabilities, she was but a mere assistant of Kyouko's. She wouldn't have produced such a capital to build and develop such a company from the ground up with such an ordinary background.

This was where he thought Kazuya came in. He could have used the money that Kyouko may have assigned to his name without letting her know. He couldn't decide if it was Mei who could have initiated it by ensnaring his child or if It was his child trying to stir things up.

One thing was for sure; Kouzuki Kazuya was already someone that he could recognize as having his blood. Others may have not understood but Shishio thought that he could understand Kazuya's thoughts if he compared the boy to him in his younger days. The apple does not fall too far from the tree after all.

"Looks like I'm going to have to speed up my plans to come face to face with this son of mine"

.