"Confidential"

by Alena S. Anigor

It was fairly quiet in the small, blandly colored room, its occupant currently sitting in front of the computer, the gray plastic box whizzing soothingly beside her. Letters and words were forming on the white screen as Yuizaki Hiyono typed diligently, preparing another set of interesting news for the school newspaper.

Delicate fingers were flying over the keyboard, pressing keys expertly; after all, she was a computer genius...or so she liked to deem herself.

Her eyes traveled to the right for a brief moment, glancing at the pile of papers lying on the desk, her small pink notebook almost buried under a messy heap. Her favorite pen was attached to the cover of it, patiently waiting to be used for marking down crucial information about everyone around her.

She smiled softly before she diverted her eyes back to the monitor, continuing to type the article she was working on. After a few minutes spent like that, sitting in a somewhat uncomfortable position, she stopped briefly to take a small break, lifting her arms up in the air and stretching in the chair. A few bones cracked and she cringed slightly, reminding herself to sit straight while typing instead of staring at the screen with her shoulders and back hunched.

The window was open, enough to let a mild breeze waft inside and she relaxed a bit, gazing at the perfectly blue sky and breathing in a breath of warm, summer air.

Her brows furrowed slightly in contemplation when her mind reminded her slyly that she had plans for today; something involving a certain ruby-eyed Blade Child and her companions. She let out a soft breath when she remembered that it was Ryouko’s big day today and, of course, what kind of journalist would she be if she weren’t there to witness and write about the event. She kept on staring out the window and at the track field, noticing a few people standing beside and watching ahead. She was trying to find a glimpse of a spiky red hair, knowing very well that Asazuki Kousuke would be somewhere around, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. She decided to close her eyes for a moment, enjoying the way the wind played with her hair and cooled her skin, thinking how she could spend hours and hours like that...

She drifted off in her own world without even noticing it and snapped quickly out of her stupor when the doors opened abruptly and Narumi Ayumu peeked inside, raising his eyebrows at the girl questioningly when he caught her sitting on the chair peacefully and staring out the window pensively.

She blinked and craned her neck to look at the intruder, her eyes lighting up slightly when she saw him, even though he was wearing his, already famous, stoic mask on his face. Apparently, Kousuke and Rio had somehow managed to talk him into coming with them to see Ryouko running in the end. She just hoped they didn’t threaten him by something horrible.

“Hello, Narumi-san!” She exclaimed on which he frowned slightly.

“I thought you were out there on the track field,” he replied and then grunted in annoyance when he was brusquely pushed inside by Kousuke whose head popped between him and the doors.

“Oi, what are you still doing here?” He asked her in surprise, making her blink at him in confusion. “The competition is about to begin!” Hiyono failed to notice the glare Ayumu was directing at the redhead who only grinned in response as her eyes widened drastically. She looked at her watch quickly and resisted the urge to smack her forehead.

“Ahh! I’m late!” She exclaimed and quickly got up from the chair, grabbed her jacket, whirled around and stormed by the two, making some of the papers on the desk rustle and fall down softly, now creating another messy heap on the floor. Kousuke left after her, leaving Ayumu to gaze dismally at the empty room and at the still whizzing computer. He let out a heavy sigh, wondering why on earth was he doing this when there were far better things to do than roast out there in the sun and watch people run in circles.

He shook his head and wanted to turn around when something caught his eye and he hesitated, staring blankly at the small, pink notebook on the desk, now pretty much uncovered due to the fallen papers. He spent a few moments looking at it keenly, frowning at the thing as if expecting it to come to life and grin at him mockingly. After all, he knew that little notebook and it wasn’t just an ordinary little notebook, no – it was her notebook, the notebook. The unimaginable source of information she had gathered by now and he was sure he was in there somewhere as well.

His facial expression changed a bit, a mixture of annoyance and curiosity playing across his features. Curiosity, because he wanted to know just how much and what she knew about him, while the other, annoyed part of him, rebelled against the urge to find out what was written in there, claiming that it wasn’t right to meddle in other people’s businesses and he was supposed to be on the track field, watching Ryouko run, seeing Asazuki, Rio and Hiyono cheer wholeheartedly, all while deadpanning at everyone around him, anyway. Right.

And while it seemed that the reasonable, annoyed part of him, had won, his eyes were still fixated on the small, pink notebook, unable to turn away from the tantalizing piece made of cardboard and paper. He stood there for a while, still torn between the desire to just take a small peek inside, just to see what was in there, and the urge to turn away and run while he still could...And the notebook was lying there innocently, mocking him, beckoning him to take a peek, turn a few pages and see what was hidden inside and what was going on in the girl’s head. He already had a feeling she was a little bit odd sometimes, acting like a spy...what if she was a secret agent, or perhaps, involved in the Blade Children mystery and he didn’t know about it...

He shook his head after he decided his imagination had gone too far and sighed, his shoulders slouching slightly. He turned around, spotting an empty hall and no one in sight. So, he was free to take a look without anyone catching him red-handed and after all – it was just a notebook, right? Not like it would bite him if he touched it...

He growled and closed his eyes, not believing he was wasting his time by rambling about the stupid notebook. And while his mind was screeching at him to turn around and get the heck out of the room, he took a few steps forward until he reached the desk, glancing out the window to see Kousuke yelling something at someone and then looked at the notebook. His fist clenched and unclenched, palms damp. Tentatively, he reached for the pink thing, touching the papery surface with his fingers gently. After another mental battle with his conscience (which went on a vacation once the curiosity took over) he lifted the notebook off the desk, carefully opening the first page to see Hiyono’s remarks and comments, neatly written and recorded in her handwriting.

His eyebrows rose after reading the first few paragraphs that were, ironically, all about the mysterious incident that happened on that fateful day when Sayoko was pushed off the building. He turned another page, now reading about Madoka and Wataya. Turning pages, he encountered other information about people he knew and some he had never heard about, some of them concerning other police inspectors caught jaywalking, smoking near the flammable things, cursing out loud and even checking some women out. His eyes widened in shock; he knew she was good at gathering information and analyzing them but he didn’t know she was that perceptive, almost to the point of acting like a real snoop. He was sure she would make a great paparazzi someday. He leaned back, letting the desk support his waist while reading about the data collected on the Blade Children and his brother. He decided to skip those pages.

Turning the next page he finally found what he was searching for. His name was neatly underlined, and below were basic facts about him – his birthday, his address and his in-laws. Next came her remarks about his personality traits and there his eyes widened again when he saw just how much she knew him. He shook his head in disbelief again, not being able to comprehend when and how she managed to gather so much information about him.

He decided to read further, finding some kind of odd pleasure in the fact that she had spent three full pages on him solely. She obviously thought he was very important. His face turned serious for a brief moment, wondering just why had she spent so many pages on him like he was someone important and significant...He wasn’t, nor did he want to be.

The wind that wafted by made him snap out of his thoughts and he looked down again when he saw that the mild breeze had turned the corner of the page, covering his thumb. He turned it back, glancing at the last few paragraphs in the end of the page three of Narumi Ayumu.

Involuntarily, he smiled at her comments regarding his cooking and deducing skills, his talents and even his physical appearance, but it was the last remark that made him gape at the paper in wonder, not knowing whether to laugh, blush, or close the notebook and leave. He suppressed the laughter and the blush somehow, but he couldn’t resist the thought that came to his mind after reading about how he would make a great husband someday and how she wished to have a husband like him. He unclasped the pen from the cover and bent down to add his own two cents, murmuring to himself.

“Stupid girl.”

A little more than half an hour later, Hiyono was on her way back, having a nagging feeling that she had forgotten about something. Her assumptions were proven correct when she entered the room, found Ayumu leaning on the desk and looking out the window.