The Means to the Ends (A Kaito-HiME piece)

This takes place roughly a week or so after 'I'm Fine' and it's when things get a bit serious. It's the introduction of Kanaye and Michiko too! Considering that the two of them are Kaito's best friends I was shocked I'd never actually written a piece where they had some substantial time. And Hideyoshi and Shizuru appear again too! And this is half Shizuru introspection, so it's not all Kaito-HiME I guess xD
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“And so that concludes today’s meeting, thanks for your time today everyone and for the hard work,” Kaito rose from his seat at the lone desk in the student council room and gave the room a smirk, “Meeting adjourned.” He heard a collective sigh of relief from the rest of the student council and let himself join in. The Tamayura Festival was such a huge event, bigger than the Founder’s Day Festival, and the Cultural Festival. The Student Council normally got stuck with the bulk of the planning and the production for the school’s contribution the the event. Not only that, but they ran the event since it was on school grounds.

“And with that we wait another few days before the project captains come running back to us in tears saying they don’t have any of their work done,” Kanaye snickered, leaning back in his chair and throwing a twinkling glance to his friend, “Ain’t that right Pres?” he questioned.

Kaito gave a small snort and stretched out a bit, “I suppose so. It figures though right? Same as last year. I don’t know how okaa-san put up with this…or the last kaichou for that instance…” he grumbled, feeling the bones in his spine pop as he arched back in his seat.

“Maybe that’s because you two are just lazy by nature,” Kaito’s burgundy eyes trailed over to where Michiko’s voice came from and rose a eyebrow at the ginger, “Seriously, I’ve known you two since we were kids, and you always put things off ‘till the last minute. It’s your fault we didn’t distribute projects until two weeks before. We should have been planning this a couple of months ago!” she heaved a sigh as she organized the papers in front of her, “Just be happy Suzushiro-sempai isn’t here to bust your butts about being lazy. Especially you Kana-kun. He’s going to kill you if you skip classes again,” she pointed out, narrowed amber eyes.

Kanaye made a derisive sound and stood from his chair, “Well, if Suzushiro can find me when I skip I’ll let him give me a detention,” a smile twitched at his lips, “Maybe,” he amended, grabbing his bag, “I’m off though. I got work today-and Okaa-san and I are having a horror movie fest today-so I gotta get my hours in early. Ja ne!” he called, leaving the President and Vice President alone in the room without another word.

Michiko made a face and shook her head as Kanaye sped out of the room, “Slacker. He was supposed to do the filing today,” she growled, scowling. She glanced to Kaito, who was already busying himself with the computer, “Say…Kaito-kun?” a sound of affirmation came from the boy, “Did something happen last week?” She caught the faltering of fingers on the keys before the rhythm picked up again. She knew a lie was coming before it was said.

“No.”

“You’re a horrible liar Kai-chan,” Michiko mused, leaning over the computer and glaring at the boy, “I know you better than that. Tell me what happened, okay?” she asked softer this time, and her gaze softened. “Please?”

Kaito looked up to meet her eyes and her furrowed his brow, “I think you already know what I do in my off time Michi-chan,” he answered, using the childhood nickname he’d given her. A smirk twitched it’s way to his face, “Since you know so much about me after all,” he continued, before looking back at the screen.

Michiko blushed, but scowled, closing the laptop before her, being mindful of the President’s fingers. “Did you get hurt?” she questioned, fearful, “You didn’t overdo it or anything, did you?” she murmured, looking at her long time friend’s right upper arm , where she knew the mark that branded him a threat resided.

Kaito ran a hand through chestnut locks and frowned slightly at Michiko, taking in the sight of the busty ginger with apprehensive eyes, “No. I’m fine alright Michiko? Seriously, I didn’t get hurt, I didn’t overdo it, nothing. I’m alright, okay?” he punctuated the last part again and stood. “Geez…I’ll go home and finish my work if you’re gonna nag me like this,” he grumbled, reaching for his bag.

“H-Hey! You know I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just…Kanaye and I are really worried about you!” Michiko stood between the teen and the doorway, “We promised we’d tell each other if there was something we needed help with remember? After what happened with Kanaye and the gangs…I thought maybe you’d learn to trust a bit more!” Michiko snapped, voice rising.

Kaito paused and heaved another sigh, “Look. What happened with Kanaye and those gangs had nothing to do with this. Besides-that was easy to fix. This isn’t something as easy as that. This is years in the making Michiko-not something that you two can fix by deciding to join in,” Kaito reminded, his voice grave. “I trust you, I do, but this isn’t something I want you guys getting involved in,” his face softened, “I don’t want you guys getting hurt, or getting in trouble because of me, alright?” he rose with his bag and brushed off his uniform, “So let’s drop it alright?”

Michiko watched as he silently made his way towards the entrance to the room and gulped, blushing a bit. “T-The Tamayura Festival…” she mumbled, causing the boy to pause, “Are you…going with anyone to the…Tamayura Festival?” She glanced at the now frozen boy in the doorway and watched him turn with a surprised look on his face.

“Michiko you…?” he furrowed his brow, confusion marring his face and swimming in his eyes, “Do you…?”

“I mean! Kana-kun’s going to be busy dealing with the whole security thing and making sure fights don’t break out with the Disciplinary Committee, so I was wondering…maybe, just the two of us could spend some time together?” Michiko’s words came out in a jumbled mess, slowing painfully at the end as she realized how much she was saying. Her face burned as she gazed in apprehension at her long time friend, albeit, also a long time crush.

Kaito stood silent for a moment, before turning away, “Sorry, but I wasn’t even going to be attending the Tamayura Festival this year,” he words were soft, but they bit into Michiko’s chest and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from blurting something out in defense, “I’m going to be busy doing other things that night. You could always go with Suzushiro-sempai, he’s pretty fond of y-“

“Damn it Kaito!” Michiko couldn’t contain it anymore. She yelled at the boy who wouldn’t even face her as he rejected her, “You’re letting D1 take over your whole life! You know what they used to do right?! Why do you trust them?! Why do you trust them more than us?” her last words were bitter, and she narrowed her eyes, fighting the burning tears forming in her eyes, “I want Natsuki-obaa-san back too. I do. But not like this Kaito-you’re no better than a prostitute! You’re selling your body for information! Do you think she’d be proud of you for that?” she snapped. When she go not reply but a stiff and silent back, she sniffed.

“Fine. Be an ass,” she snarled, grabbing her bag, “I’ll be waiting for an apology kaichou-san,” she sneered the title, “Once you realize who you can really trust, I’ll be waiting.” She pushed past the silent boy and stormed out of the room, long hair flowing behind her in a flurry of furious orange.

Kaito stood in the doorway, silent for a long while before a humorless smirk came to his face, An ass huh? I’m sorry Michiko…But I’m no good for you right now. I have to be focused, or I’ll never get her back.

“You seem to be in a dismal mood,” Hideyoshi mused, watching his grandson receive the newest test injection, “Did something happen at school?” he questioned, watching the boy rotate his arm after the shot.

Kaito gave him a nonchalant look, “No.” he rose from his seat and passed the man taking sure strides towards the test area. As soon as he stepped in he let out a sigh. Nothing. What a lie. How many lies had he told today in total? Including the one he sent to his mother…the list was piling up fast, and they were getting worse each time.

“Now, we’re testing the durability of this serum, so see how long you can prolong the side effects, alright Kaito-san?” a voice filtered in through the loudspeaker in the probed.

“Alright. I’m ready.”

“Fujino-sama? You son had a message dropped off,” Shizuru raised her head and nodded to the attendant who left the note on her desk and scurried out. Shizuru paused in her writing to take a better look at the crumpled note.

Okaa-san, I may be a bit late for dinner tonight, I have some Student Council work to deal with. Don’ t wait up for me since I’ll be home about the time dinner starts anyways.
Kaito.

Shizuru gave a small sigh at the note. The hasty writing and the messy scrawl could only belong to her wayward son. A slightly amused smile rose to her face at the thought of Kaito actually scurrying around trying to organize the Tamayura festival. He’d be begging Michiko-chan to help him finish the paperwork, and running around getting teacher’s permission for things. The smile slowly faded as she banished the thought. She knew Kaito wasn’t actually working on the Tamayura festival like he should.

True enough that during her own tenure as the Student Council President, Shizuru hadn’t really done much in the ways of helping prepare. She’d left most of the work in Suzushiro’s capable hands. Though, she had had much more to worry about. Protecting Natsuki for instance. Natsuki…the mere thought of her missing wife sent a stab through her heart. She steeled herself and took a deep and slow breath. Not here. Not at the office. She wouldn’t have a moment of weakness where all these people could see. Not even if the memories of the Tamayura festivals that she’d spent with Natsuki continued to taunt her mind with something she no longer had.

Focus on the present. Focus on the paper in your hand. Focus on Kaito. Kaito. She gave a shuddering sigh and shook her head. Enough of that. Though…what Kaito was doing worried her. After all, what with what happened last week…She furrowed her brow slightly and folded her hands under her chin. What had caused that outburst of emotion in her boy? She hadn’t seen him in that much pain in years. Not such apparent pain. That fear, that sadness, that pain in his eyes. It had hurt her to see it. It scared her. She had seen a look like that so similar in Natsuki’s eyes when they were young.

The thought that Kaito was in such danger…it sent a cold rush of fear through her chest. Yet what can I do? He is our child after all. He will chase after what he wants and will do whatever he needs to do to get it done. Stubbornness, if you wanted to put it in truer tones. A small, dark chuckle barely escaped her lips. Yes, you know all about stubbornness don’t you Fujino Shizuru? You’ve yet to sign those papers-the ones that consent to allowing Natsuki’s will to be followed through with. The file had been sitting at the edge of her desk for almost two years. Natsuki had made her the lone witness and the one to decide it’s giving in her absence. Shizuru was sure that this absence would not last much longer. Not if she had gotten this close.

She looked at the screen before her. Otou-san will scold me if he catches me doing this… she mused, a small smirk crawling to her face. Well, it would appear her truant and rebellious wife had rubbed off on her after all. What was the harm in using the connections you had to get what you needed? Hadn’t she encouraged Natsuki to that? So why not herself?

Of course, all leads she gathered lead to the same two places. D1, formerly District 1, and SEARRS. District 1 and her had bad blood already-so she wasn’t exactly keen on going back there and trying to ask them about anything. SEARRS on the other hand…She knew people who were from SEARRS. Not only that, but Fujino Corps had some direct ties to the company. She narrowed her eyes. Perhaps it was time for a direct assault.

“So, Kaito-san, are you prepared for this?” one of the attendants asked as the boy was fixing his uniform.

Kaito pushed the fringe of his hair aside and nodded, “Yeah. I’m going to do it. This newest serum gives me a full 20 minutes. That’s plenty long to get in the there and get rid of most of their security. The rest I can disable when the serum wears off,”

The man fidgeted, “And the side effects?”

“I can push the fatigue and drowsiness aside and give myself an extra hour before I crash. This week I’ll work on making that longer.” Kaito’s voice was resolute as he put his shoes back on. Hideyoshi watched as the boy headed towards the exit.

“So the date is set then?” Hideyoshi questioned, simultaneously as a underling of Fujino Corps asked the assistant director, “You’re sure you want to do it?”

Two heads of identical chestnut rose and four blood red eyes were grave, “Yes. The day of the Tamayura. That’s when I’ll pay SEARRS a little visit.”
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So It gets serious! The next bit will be the night of the Tamayura festival I believe. I've got it planned out in my head already. And in the next one, dun dun dun...Natsuki makes a guest apperance!