Chapter 9: Shall we Dance?

The Next Day:

What the hell was that? Kai thought to himself. Even today he couldn't get over it. I've never seen her like that—I've heard darkness in her voice, but nothing like that. Kai sighed as he rummaged in his closet looking through his clothes. He knew he had to focus on their objective tonight, but he was worried. Not only because she seemed off her game, but in that moment she didn't seem to want to be anywhere near him.

On the day of his dance lesson, Kokona had already seemed annoyed when she'd tossed her brother's Hakama to him and it had fit him perfectly. Then he'd made things worse by opening his big mouth at tea. He sighed, balling his fists. What's going on here? He wasn't really angry—he knew she was upset about her brother, but still. It was a feeling he didn't like.

Finally, his hands relaxed and he settled on a white long-sleeved shirt, a black suit jacket, and a dark red tie. The only problem were his pants. He sighed again walking over to the closet. He pulled out an ironing board, plugged in the iron, and waited. Over and over again he thought about calling to check on her. He bit his lip, holding his fingers on the phone connected to his belt. Damn it.

The iron made a small noise indicating that it was ready to use. He walked back over to the ironing board, laid the pants across it, and started ironing. When he was done he picked up the pants and slid them up his waist before putting on the shirt.

He went into the bathroom and fiddled with the tie trying to get it straight. He would see Kokona soon enough. In fact, he was about to go pick her up, so it was best not to rock the boat…right?

The truth was, he had no idea. But he stuck to his guns and decided to just let it go, hoping Himari had come up with something by now. He sprayed on some cologne, slipped on his shoes, then grabbed his keys and headed to the front door.

He arrived at Kokona's house a lot faster this time, probably because he'd been there before. He walked up the cobblestone path and knocked gently on the door. "Haruka-san?!" Kokona's mother slid open the door. "Konichi-wa," he said bowing to the woman.

Unlike her father, Kokona's mother had a soft smile on her face. Kokona really is a spitting image of her, Kai thought.

"Konbanwa Kai-Kun," she said, bowing before guiding him inside.

Her greeting took him aback a little, shaking him out of his thoughts. Normally an adult would have addressed him as "kohai" or "junior." He bowed as was tradition and nodded, "Konbanwa, Haruka-San." He straightened up before noticing the look on her face. She seemed unsettled. "Are you all right?"

The woman nodded as she smiled. "Yes, I hope you don't mind the informality. Kokona-Chan told us how you defended her yesterday in class, and given how cold she was to you last night, I thought maybe we could try to have a new understanding."

Kai nodded. "I appreciate that, but you can't blame Kokona-San for her response. I said something I should not have."

The woman nodded. "Even so, it means a lot to us that you have her back."

"Like Akio's partner?" he asked.

The woman stayed silent for a moment then nodded again. "So that's what bothered her. It's not your fault—it's just that Akio and Kokona were as close as could be, and when he chose to go to America with his partner it hurt her very badly. She blames Cassandra, but it was Akio's choice."

Kai tried to understand, but the truth was, he couldn't even imagine how Kokona must have been feeling. The closest thing he had to a family was the Hinata's and they'd never left him.

"Anyway," Mrs. Haruka said, snapping Kai out of his thoughts, "Kokona should be out any second. Would you like some tea?" He held his hand up.

"Thank you, but no."

Mrs. Haruka smiled and picked up her mug taking a sip. "I don't know what's keeping Kokona, but she should be out soon."

"Oh, I'm not in a hurry. I'm early so we still have plenty of time to get to the party," Kai said as he drummed his index finger on the table softly. "Besides, I'm sure that she just wants to make certain she's completely ready."

Just then he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. "Ouughhh…what the—" He turned around to see Kokona standing behind him, arms crossed.

"Are you saying that I take a long time to get ready?" she asked glaring at him.

He rubbed the back of his head, looking up at her. "Hey, I'm just going from what I've seen so far."

Kokona's mother couldn't help but let a laugh escape as the two looked at her. "Kokona-Chan, that was not very nice."

She rolled her eyes, taking a chair next to Kai and sitting down. "So, are you ready or what?" she asked shaking his arm.

He nodded. "Yeah sure, let's go." Getting up he turned, finally getting a good look at Kokona. She was wearing a dark red gown with laces that draped across the waist.

"Hey, put your eyes back in your head and let's go," she said smugly.

"Shut up. The hardest thing about this is that I gotta keep looking at your stupid face." He stuck his tongue out at her as she walked towards the door.

She stopped and smirked. "Oh, really?" she said waving her hand. At that moment the whole room went dark and Kai stumbled, stubbing his toe on the threshold of the front door. "Ouuurrfghh!! That wasn't funny!" he growled. Part of him was indeed annoyed, yet part of him was relieved. At least she seemed to be feeling better. He stopped, extending his arm and leaning on the wall. "Now, would you mind restoring my sight please so we can actually go?!"

"Speak for yourself!" she hollered, "I'm already at your car!" She chuckled, snapping her fingers.

Colors came back first, with everything around him appearing like puddles and blobs of color. The disorienting shapes slowly but surely began to make more sense until finally, his complete vision returned. He was still a little confused, but managed to make it out the door and to his car, hopping in the front seat.

"How long did it take you to master that one?" he asked sarcastically.

She looked at him, smirking. "You didn't think I was all about plant tricks, did you? Now shut up and drive, bucko."

He rolled his eyes and turned the key. "You got the address?"

She smirked, handing him a sheet of paper from her pocket. "So unprepared," she teased as he backed out of the driveway groaning inwardly.

It took them about 45 minutes to finally arrive at their destination. Kai was particularly surprised by the immense size of the estate. Although the size was impressive, the outside of the structure wasn't. It was an older building, probably built around the 60s or 70s, with bricks that looked like they were starting to fall out. There was a small balcony below an open window, which Kai supposed was either the owner's room or some other room of importance.

He nodded to Kokona who immediately snapped her attention to the same spot. It was a pretty good vantage point, but he knew very well that the best thing to do was look for many points of interest along the target area. She walked closer to him and linked her arm around his. "Ready partner?" she asked.

"Yep, let's go."

They walked to the entrance together, where a line of people stretched out the door; men in suits, and women in the most gorgeous of gowns. They both gave their best smiles as they came up to a man in a 20th-century tuxedo with lace and silk. His hair was combed nice and neat, and he had the whitest teeth Kai had ever seen in his life. The man seemed to be in his 30s, but was way younger looking than Kai and Kokona's instructor, Mr. Sato.

"Invitations, please." The man's voice was smooth as silk.

Kokona smiled turning to Kai. "Love, the invites?"

He nodded then reached into his jacket pocket and handed the man two envelopes, each with a red seal and a large H in the center. The man looked it over then smiled.

"Welcome Mr. Hiramo and Ms. Hurusha. Please enjoy the party." He gestured them inside and smiled as they walked through the large oak double doors.

The inside of the home was a lot different from the outside. There were crystal chandeliers in a line along the ceiling, and streamers and ribbons draped on balconies. The floor was highly polished wood that you could literally see your reflection in when you looked down at it.

The ballroom was huge—there had to have been about a thousand people inside, and it wasn't even half-filled. There were a few servers walking around with platters of finger sandwiches and shrimp puffs. Strangely, when you looked them in the eyes, they didn't seem to be under a charm, so why did they willingly come here?

One of the servers came up to them offering a plate. Kai grabbed one of the small sandwiches and popped it into his mouth, but the sauce inside caused him to make a sour face. Kokona chuckled softly and Kai shot her a look as he raised his hand to politely dismiss the server.

Soft music played out of the speakers placed strategically around the room. Kai shimmied on his toes a little looking away. He knew they needed to look like they fit in here, but he was still a bit unsure and nervous about how Kokona was feeling. His eyes darted from side to side for a moment before he felt her grab his arm.

"May I have this dance, Mr. Hiramo?" He nodded, gently taking her hand as she led him towards the middle of the dance floor. She stepped closer and rested her head on his shoulder. "Just remember what we practiced," she whispered as Kai gently lead in slow, smooth steps.

Kokona leaned in, changing positions to give better access to her ears. "I count four exits so far, and still no sign of the target." Sliding his hand halfway down her back he nodded. "According to the file, however," she continued, "he's usually fashionably late. He chooses one person at a time from the party, leads them away, and attacks."

Kai took in the information little by little until he finally spoke. "Then maybe we should work the party—go through the guests until we see the target." As if on cue a man dressed in a shapely tux walked up, smiling brightly as he tapped Kai on the shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Kai turned to face the man, looking him over carefully. Nope, not him. He came to the conclusion this wasn't the dangerous man they were looking for. Nodding, he promptly stepped out of the way as the man gently lead Kokona away. Kai stood there for a few seconds before he turned around and walked in the opposite direction. He began to scrutinize the guests as he looked for more exits and vantage points.

Meanwhile, Kokona was smiling as she talked to her new dance partner.

"So, what brings you to this party?" Kokona asked the man. He seemed about her age, had dark brown hair, and glasses with a shapely form.

"Mr. Hitoshi may be a little eccentric, but he puts on a good, classy party. I always come."

Kokona pushed on the man's shoulders, looking up at him and raising an eyebrow. "How many of these have you been to?" she asked suspiciously.

The man touched his finger to his chin for a moment as if to think. "Let's see, Mr. Hitoshi has been putting on galas like this for six years? I myself have gone the last four."

Kokona leaned back on the man as he lead slowly, but something was going through the back of her mind. Six years? Then why hadn't they been stopped and Hitoshi only now drawn to their attention? Something about all of this was starting to feel really off. Then she saw it, a picture hanging on the ceiling of a man dressed in regal clothing with a smooth beard and hard face. The picture looked like it was taken at least 60 years ago.

"So, that must be our host?" she questioned, gesturing to the frame. The man chuckled slightly before turning back to his dance partner.

"That is the father of our host, Hitoshi, Sr."

So, there's a Hitoshi Sr., she thought. She didn't know if that was really important, but she took in the information anyway. The question was, where was the target? It was already 9:00 and still no sign. Not to mention she had no idea where Kai had gone. That idiot. He better not have found something without me, she thought to herself. She turned around to look past the crowd of people until a set of fingers on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

"Hey…ummm, are you all right?" the young man asked.

She smiled, shaking her head then moving a strand of raven hair from her face. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was just kind of wondering where my date ran off to," she half lied.

The young man seemed taken aback, crossing his arms. "Well, that's a strike to my ego," he said chuckling softly. "I'm just kidding," he continued as though the words even mattered in the context of the conversion. Kokona bit the inside of her cheek.

Man, at first I thought he was charming, but this guy is just plain annoying. I have to figure out a way out of this. She shuffled backward, trying to get away when suddenly she felt her shoulder bump something causing her to stagger forward. She turned slowly looking up, staring right into the face of their target, Hisao Hitoshi. She smiled.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

The man gave her a kind smile. Unlike most of the guests, he had blond hair, was a bit taller than the rest of the men, and his eyes were a brilliant blue. His appearance made him seem to be only a few years older than Kokona.

"That's quite all right. I hope you're enjoying yourself. Mind if I cut in?" he asked gently as he extended his arm. The other young man politely excused himself, walking away. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she grabbed the man's hand, lacing their fingers together.

Damn it Kai, where the hell are you?