Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ A Heart that is Cold ❯ Nightmare aka. Breakup ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own the charecters in Vampire Princess Miyu. I am only using them for this fanfic. Please do not sue me.

Acknowledgment: Okay. This is a revised version. Rociellac went through the whole chapter and corrected most of the mistake. Thank you! I hope you like this chapter. Have fun reading this chapter, everyone. You ought to recognizes some characters in this chapter.

Nightmares aka. Break up

"And that just made us equal."

Miyu put her booklet away and reached for her cup. She took a sip and looked around the coffee shop. "Hmmm...I wonder what is taking Larva so long." She smiled and stretched herself. For these past two months, she and Larva had officially announced their partnership. Although they admitted their partnership, they actually tried to solve the cases on their own. Miyu erased her old records and openly challenged Larva's abilities. Taking up her challenge, Larva and Miyu were constantly battling each other with their wits. Miyu was winning by one case but Larva just tied it when he solved yesterday drug-rape incident. After a long night of investigation, Larva arrived to the hotel a second earlier than Miyu to catch the suspect. Currently, he was just finishing up the final details while she waited for him in the coffee shop.

She lifted her hand and idly played with the red ribbon that was weaved within her hair. She smiled when she recalled how she obtained this ribbon. Irritated by her flowing long hair, Larva complained that her hair was always hitting him in the face when she fought him. One day, he walked into the police department and gave her this red ribbon. When she looked at him in surprise, he took the ribbon and pulled her hair into a bun. He set the bun to the top left side of her head and wrapped it with the ribbon. A few strands of her hair flowed down from the bun and he weaved the rest of the ribbon around them. From that day on, Miyu had always worn her hair in that style. She pulled her hand away from her hair and set her cup on the table. Her eyes rested on a girl that is sitting near the window. The girl was of about the same age as Miyu. Her brown hair was at shoulder length and her front bang was fluffed up. Her brown eyes were constantly staring at the elevator like she was anticipating someone. Miyu narrowed her eyes as she continued to observe the girl. "There is something wrong with her. She is restless." The girl's eyes lightened up when the elevator door opened to reveal three foreigners. One of the gentlemen was wearing a loose blue blouse and long black pants. His light brown hair was comb to his right side, covering some part of his face. The two men standing next to him were without doubt his bodyguards. Miyu watched in silence as the girl paid for her drink and started to advance towards the brown hair gentleman. She quickly dumped some money on the table and followed the girl closely. As the girl approached the young man, her hand slipped into her jacket. Miyu caught a gleam of light as the girl drew back her hand and quickened her pace towards the man. Miyu broke into a run and before the girl could reach the young man, she grabbed the girl by her right hand and twisted her around. The girl screamed out from pain and surprise as she lost her balance. Before she knew it, Miyu tossed her lightly over her shoulder. The knife slipped from the girl's hand and clattered loudly onto the floor. Before the girl could make for an escape, Miyu was on top of her.

"Let go of me!" Miyu continued to hold on to the girl as she struggled to loosen herself from Miyu's grip. Miyu quickly took out her badge and handcuffed the poor girl.

"Impressive." She looked upwards to find the brown hair man smiling at her. "Thank you for saving my life."

"Do you know her," Miyu asked. She lifted the girl to her feet. To her surprise, the girl leaned limply onto Miyu.

"I've never seen her before." Miyu looked at him straight in the eyes. She gave him a little smile when she shifted the girl's weight from her body. To her annoyance, a crowd was starting to gather around them. The manager walked up to them, and Miyu showed him her badge.

"Oni-chan," the girl whispered. "I've failed you. Will this nightmare never end?" Miyu looked at her. Two cops arrived to the scene and took the girl away from Miyu. She was giving them an account of the incident when someone called out her name.

"Miyu!"

"Larva!" She turned around and waved her hand towards Larva's direction. Larva walked straight towards her. To her surprise, he stopped in the middle of his track. His face displayed a look of disbelief as he stared right past her. She turned to find the brown hair man smiling at Larva.

"Long time no see, Larva," said the young man. "How have you been?" Larva narrowed his eyes and calmly walked up to Miyu. She could feel the alertness radiating from him.

"Yes. It has been a long time, Jake," Larva replied coolly. "What are you doing over here?"

"I am just taking a look around the city," Jake returned light-heartedly. He looked at Miyu with great interest. "Aren't you going to introduce this beautiful lady to me?" Larva took a step forwards to shield Miyu from Jake's glance. "You called her Miyu. That is a beautiful name. Is she your partner?"

"I'm not a child," thought Miyu. "I don't need his protection." However, she did not move. Whatever it was, Larva was highly alert and this indicated that the matter at hand was very serious.

"Yes," Larva quietly answered. He turned to Miyu and lightly pushed her towards the exit. "We have to go. Good-bye Jake."

"I'll see you around." Larva held his glance for a brief second before he turned and walked toward the exit with Miyu by his side.

"STOP HER!!!!" They turned around to find the girl running away from the cops. A waitress was pushing a cart with a pile of utensils on it and stopped in shock when the girl ran straight at her. The girl grabbed a knife and to everyone's surprise, she stabbed herself right in the heart. By the time Miyu and Larva reached her, she was already lying unconscious on the floor with blood pouring out from her wound. Her mouth moved as she called for a certain person one last time before her breath stopped.

"Oni-chan," Miyu whispered. "Brother."

*****

"Who is it?" A tired middle age woman opened the door to her house to find Miyu standing outside. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry for calling in so late," said Miyu. She took out her badge and showed it to the woman. "Do you mind if I come in." The woman nodded and showed Miyu into her house. Her husband was sitting near the fireplace. He looked up sadly when Miyu walked into the room with his wife.

"She's from the police," said his wife as she sat down next to him. "How can we help you? We've already given you all of the information that we know."

"I didn't come here for police business," Miyu answered. She switched from her normal emotionless tone to a more sympathetic one. "I know that this day have been a rough day for you." She placed her hand on top of the woman's hands as she wept on her husband shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her as they cried for their dead daughter. After their daughter had committed suicide, the homicidal police department contacted her parents and for the whole day, they had spent their time in the police department answering various questions. Miyu and Larva were kept out of this business because this was not under their department. Miyu didn't know why she was pursuing this issue. Maybe it was because the way the girl looked at her before she died. "No," she thought to herself. "It has something to do with what Larva told me about Jake."

*Flashback*

"Larva?" asked Miyu. She looked at him as he sipped his coffee. Night had fallen, and they finally got to sit down to a peaceful dinner after a day of hectic work. He laid his coffee on the table and answered her unspoken question.

"His name is Jake Fox. Do you recognize that name?"

"Yes. He is a famous composer in the United State. He is quite well known over here, too."

Larva nodded his head. "In LA, he is also known as Night Gia."

"Gia." Larva raised his eyebrows in surprise when Miyu spat out his name with great venom. When Miyu didn't expand on that issue, Larva continued.

"Yes, Night Gia. People named him that because they thought he was dream-like and mysterious. However, some other people gave him this name because it was believed that he brought nightmares to some people."

"Nightmare?"

"Don't ask me," Larva answered. "I don't know what that meant, either. It might have to do with the rumours that were spread around in the LA police departments. They said that half of his financial benefits came from drug dealing." Miyu waited for him to continue but Larva remained silent. She nodded her head in comprehension. They both had made a silent agreement not to question each other's past unless one wanted the other to know. At this moment, Larva was not willing to tell her about it.

She raised her hand to call for the bill when Larva stood up to leave. Like always, they splat the bill in half. In silence, they walked out the café and headed for their motorcycles. "Where are you going," asked Miyu.

"Somewhere," he replied. He raised his helmet and put it on his head. "How about you?"

"Somewhere," she answered with a smile. To indicate his annoyance, Larva revved his engine and sped away from her.

*End of Flashback*

"Excuse me?" Miyu pulled her mind back to the current situation and looked at the woman who was addressing her. "If you did not came here for police business, then what did you come for?"

"I was the one who stop your daughter from committing the crime," said Miyu. "I was there when she died." She stood up and walked up to the fireplace. Her eyes focused on a picture with the image of a young man with the unfortunate girl in his arms. She turned back to look at them. "I came here because I am interested with this case. I am not in the homicidal department so I am excluded from the case but I want to do everything I can to help you answer your question."

"Our question?"

"The reason why your daughter committed suicide," Miyu explained. "I want to know the truth regarding to this incident." She took the photo and sat back down on the chair. "But I can't do anything without some facts. I need your help so that I can bring your daughter's death to justice." Not completely to her surprise, the man jumped up from his seat in rage.

"TO JUSTICE!!! WHAT JUSTICE CAN YOU GIVE HER WHEN SHE HAS ALREADY COMMITTED SUICIDE?!!!!" He trembled with anguish and in a split second, his composure collapsed and he sank down on his chair in defeat. "Chisato," he murmured in sadness. "She was such a good girl. She...I don't know why she did such a thing. Why?"

"Honey," his wife whispered. Miyu sat there in silence as she observed the couple. Her face set back to her unemotional display as she settled down for business.

"I have a theory," said Miyu. "I think I know why your daughter did what she has done." They both turned to look at her. Miyu shook her head to indicate she was not going to tell them about it now. "I don't have any clue to prove my point and it might be wrong. Until I have enough evidence, I cannot give you a definite answer." She leaned forwards and placed the photo that had Chisato and her brother in it on the table. "Now, I need you to answer me some questions. Can you do it for me? No...for your daughter." The two of them looked at each other before they nodded their head.

"What do you want to know," asked the woman.

"Before Chisato died, she mentioned her brother." Miyu looked up in alarm when they both gasped. She proceeded with the question cautiously. "Where is he?"

"Hiyoku..." The man clutched his heart in pain. "He's dead." Miyu sat up when she heard the news. However, she was not surprised. In fact, it was starting to fit into her theory.

"How did he die? Why did he die?"

"He...he...committed suicide," said the mother in frustration. Tears fell down from her cheeks as she recalled the death of her son. "They found him in his apartment...I don't even know why he...he did that!"

"Chisato found him," said the father. "He slit his wrist and she found him in the bathroom..." He sighed as his fingers grasped the photo in his hand. "We really don't know why he did it. Chisato...she loved him so much. She was so devastated when he died." Miyu nodded her head to that comment.

"Did you notice anything strange with Chisato and Hiyoku's behaviours before they died?" They both shook their heads. "Can you tell me more about Hiyoku?"

"He...was a good-for-nothing," said the father. His wife looked up in alarm but his look silenced her. "He dropped out from college and went out to the Great Northern Plains to work on a bird sanctuary." He sighed before he continued. "I was mad at him for dropping out of college but...his dedication to his interest started to pay off. He was supposed to receive a reward for his work but...he passed away. He killed himself just when his life started to turn for the best!" He banged his fists on the table. "That idiot!!" Miyu continued to look on with no emotion. To the couple's surprise, she stood up and offered her hand.

"Thank you for answering all of my questions." They took her hand into theirs. "I will tell you what I come up with." They watched in silence as Miyu headed for the door. Once she was outside the house, she looked back. With a determined look, she pulled her black jacket tighter around herself. "Night Gia." She turned around and drove off on her motorcycle.

******

Larva stopped his motorcycle in a desolated area. He looked around the surrounding before he proceeded to enter the forest. After a few minutes of driving, he finally reached his destination. Stopping his motorcycle at the front gate, he announced his presence through an intercom. A voice acknowledged him and allowed his access to the mansion. Although this mansion was newly built, it contained all of the features of the Old English structure. Larva parked his car on the driveway and rang the doorbell.

"Mr. West," said the butler when he opened the door for Larva. "Mr. Fox has been waiting for you. Allow me to show you the way." Larva nodded his head and followed the butler through the main hall. His serious face displayed no emotion as the butler opened the door to the living room. Night Gia was relaxing on his chair near the fireplace when they entered. He looked up to find Larva stepping into the room. He smiled and stood up.

"You may go, Victor," said Night Gia. His butler nodded and closed the door behind him when he left the room. "So Larva...it has been such a long time. Are you just going to stand there? Aren't you even going to give your old friend a hug?"

"I'm no friend of yours," Larva replied coldly. "Why did you come here?"

"Tsk..tsk...always so serious." He sat back down on his chair and poked the fire with a poker. "I do detest talking to people when they are standing. Why don't you sit down and relax on the chair that is beside me?" Larva hesitated before he walked across the room and sat down on the said chair. "Now that is good, Larva boy."

"Don't play games with me, Night Gia. Answer my question, now!"

"Awww...Larva. Is this how you talk to your old friend?" he asked in a mocking tone. He leaned forward and looked at Larva straight in the eye. He smiled with amusement. "I've missed you, Larva. I came here so that I can see you again. Do you believe me?"

"Where's Cait Sith?"

He shrugged his shoulder and leaned back onto his chair. "I have no idea who you are talking about." He continued to eye Larva's stiff and serious position. "But I have to say, we've all missed you. You were the best in our team. We even thought that you would make a great future leader of the team. Your ruthlessness and cool demeanour...hahaha...who would have ever believed that it would end up like this?"

"I was never in your team," Larva replied flatly. He frowned with annoyance when the other man clutched his heart in pain with an exaggerated dramatic gesture.

"It hurts me to hear that, Larva. After all these years." Night Gia sat back on his chair and picked up his wine glass. He took a sip before he proceeded with his taunting. "But I guess I can understand you. Your partner is quite a cutie, isn't she?"

Larva's eyes narrowed when he heard that last comment. "Don't touch Miyu," he warned.

"Oh...yes...I forgot that her name is Miyu. Beautiful name isn't it? I wonder how she will look when I am done with her?" Before he knew it, Larva jumped up from his chair and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He was lifted off his chair when Larva pulled him close to himself till their faces lay inches away from each other.

"If you touch one hair on Miyu, I will make you pay," said Larva in a dangerous tone. However, his opponent was not affected by it. In fact, he seemed much delighted.

"My...my...temper...temper, Larva. Miyu is not a married woman. I have the right to court her." He smiled when he saw anger surging through Larva. "I can't help but notice her beauty. It would be a shame that anything happen to her." His grin widened when Larva pulled back one of his fists to strike him. "Oh...no..." He shook his head in a teasing way. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Police assault is not good for your record."

"Stay away from Miyu!" He pushed Night Gia on the ground before he stormed out of the mansion. Night Gia brushed himself and stood up laughing.

"Now I know your weakness, Larva." He picked up his wine glass that had fallen down on the floor. "Little Miyu and protective Larva. Your nightmares have just started."

Larva grabbed his helmet and jumped onto his motorcycle. He sped straight towards Miyu's house and managed to reach there in one piece. He rang her doorbell and waited when he heard her footsteps approaching it.

"Larva?"

"Stay away from Night Gia, Miyu! I know that you don't take orders from me but just listen to me this time." With that said, he headed for his motorcycle. However, Miyu grabbed him by his arm and forced him to turn around.

"Come in," she said. Larva looked at her before he nodded. He followed her into her apartment in silence.

******

Larva looked at the door to Van's office again. When he and Miyu walked into the department this morning, they were surprised to see Sergeant Satou and Van waiting for them. Before, Larva could ask anything, they pulled Miyu into Van's office. He sighed as he looked over the information for the third time. Somehow the information was not sinking in. He closed it in frustration and glanced in the direction of the office. "They've been in there for two hours already. What is the problem?" Somehow, he could not shake off a sense of forbidding. Another hour passed by and still they were in the office. Larva was about to knock on the door when they finally came out. Miyu shook Sergeant Satou's hand and the sergeant left with a smile. Van patted Miyu on the shoulder before he headed back into his office. She turned to look at Larva as he approached her. "Miyu..." He was interrupted when a deliveryman asked for Miyu.

"I'm here." The deliveryman walked up to Miyu with a bouquet of a dozen of red roses. He handed her the bouquet and took up the order form.

"Would you sign this please, Miss. Yamano?" Miyu signed it and looked at the flowers. Ranka, Ichiro, and Aoi came standing near her when she took out the card.

"Thank you for saving my life," read Miyu. "Jake Fox." To everyone's surprise, Larva grabbed the flowers and card away from her hand and threw them into the trashcan.

"Thirsty, Miyu?" She nodded her head and followed him out of the office.

*****

"What!!!" Larva slammed his cup down on the table. He ignored the glances the other people were giving towards them. Miyu calmly looked at him and placed her cup on the table.

"Larva, calm down." He took two deep breaths before he spoke.

"I've told you to avoid Jake. Why won't you listen to me?!"

"I guess you weren't listening to me, Larva, or else you would have heard me telling you this is Van and Sergeant Satou's order."

"I am not interested in starting a verbal battle with you right now, Miyu." He sat back on his chair. "Night Gia," he thought in anger. "When do you start working," he asked Miyu out loud.

"Tomorrow." She watched Larva in amusement when he frowned.

"Stop smiling," he muttered.

"I dislike the arrangement as much as you do. Jake wanted a full time body guard and he only wanted me to be his body guard." She frowned and sighed. "I'm a detective. Not a body guard!"

"He doesn't even have the right to....ugh! He must have coax the police department in fulfilling him this need by using his position and fame." Miyu smiled at him. "Miyu, I am not a sentimental person but I am not lying when I tell you this. If something did happen, call me." She nodded her head in silence.

"There is something that Larva is not telling me," she thought. She took a sip of her drink. "I can take care of myself," said Miyu. "I don't need you to worry about me. However..." She smiled at him. "I'll be careful."

*****

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate it for you to stay over here," said Night Gia. "Miyu..."

"Please call me Miss. Yamano, Mr. Fox." She stepped into the mansion and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Where do I stay?"

"You are staying in the room across mine. Victor will show you the room." He took her hand but she quickly drew it away. Amused by her reaction, he watched in silence when she headed up the stairs. "Miss. Yamano. I will be delighted if you dine with me tonight."

"Dinning with you is not my job. My duty is to protect you." She turned around and smiled at him. "Not to entertain you."

*****

"Done. Now we just have to wait." Larva leaned back on his chair and stretched himself. He looked at the clock on his desk and sighed when he realized it was only 8:00pm. "Ranka..." After Miyu have left for mission, Larva was teamed up with Ranka to solve a drug ring that had recently started in the past week. After paying a visit to Cain, they were informed that the next operation was to take place two days later. Larva sighed when his stomach rumbled in protest. Switching off the light of his room, he walked down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. Just when he had settled down to enjoy his sandwich, his telephone rang. "Hello." He dropped his sandwich and frowned when he heard Night Gia's voice.

"Hello Larva. I am just calling to tell you what a beautiful evening I am having with Miyu tonight. Lauburu surely does serve some great food. The pork over here is quite a delicacy. Hmmm...it's amazing how they fatten the pigs before they actually kill them."

"Night Gia," he hissed. He slammed his phone on the table when the line disconnected. Forgetting his own dinner, Larva grabbed his long black coat and ran out of the house. It took him only half an hour to reach Lauburu. When he finally got there, he was highly annoyed to find out that the company have left fifteen minutes ago. After interrogating the waitress for another three minutes, she finally told him that they went to Canal Café for a drink. He sped towards that direction and managed to reach there in fifteen minutes. When he arrived, Miyu and Night Gia were stepping out of the café. "Night Gia!" They both turned around to find Larva storming toward them. His fist pulled backwards to assault Gia but to their surprise, Miyu stepped between them and blocked Larva's fist from striking.

"Larva! What are you doing over here?"

"Let go of me Miyu!" He struggled to pull his hand away from her. He watched with annoyance when she places one arm protectively in front of Jake.

"I don't know what is the matter with you, Larva. But Mr. Fox is under my protection and it is my responsibility to look after him. I won't let anyone hurt him, even if the person is you." They stood there, staring at each other. To her relief, he relaxed and backed away. "Larva?"

"I got a message from Jake at eight tonight," he explained. "He..."

"You must been mistaken," Miyu interrupted. "I was there with him the whole time. He didn't call anyone for these past few hours."

"It was his voice, Miyu. I heard him loud and clear."

"I'm sorry Larva," said Night Gia. "But I didn't call you at all. I was with Miss. Yamano in the last two hours and I never did left her sight. I didn't make a phone call to you."

Larva's anger flared up but he controlled it this time. He looked at Miyu before he walked away from them. Night Gia and Miyu watched him as he drove away on his motorcycle. She turned to look at Night Gia and warned him.

"Don't try anything."

"I wasn't doing anything," said Night Gia. "I must admit that Larva and I have a grudge against each other in the past, but that is all done and over with." To his surprise, Miyu smiled at him and shook her head. Little did he know, that smile indicated Miyu's anger. For the rest of the evening, Jake tried to start up a conversation but to his annoyance, she ignored him. When they reached his mansion, Miyu accidentally bumped into Victor, causing him to drop some of his stuff.

"I'm sorry," said Miyu as she bent down to help him pick up his glasses, tape recorder, notepad, and a set of gloves. She bade them goodnight before heading back to her room.

*Two days later*

"Hey Hisae! Come on! We are already late!"

"I'm coming, Yukari! I just have to straighten up this bed and..." Hisae jumped up in surprise, when Miyu stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. "You surprised me, Miyu."

"I'm sorry," said Miyu. "Thank you for cleaning this room for me."

"It's alright," said Hisae. "It is our job anyway." For the last two day, Miyu had made some friends and some enemies in this household. After bumping into Victor two nights ago, he had formed a personal grudge against her. If it weren't for Jake's presence, he would have gladly kicked her out of the household a long time ago. It didn't help when she defended Yukari Kashima and Hisae Aoki from one of his tirade. Well...ever since then, these two had become her friends.

"Hisae!!!" Yukari stuck her head into Miyu's room. She smiled at Miyu and quickly gave Hisae a glare. "Are you just going to stay here and chat while I have to clean up Mr. Fox room by myself? Come on! You don't want Victor to yell at us again."

"I'll help," said Miyu.

"That's okay," said Yukari. "We can handle it, Miyu. You are, after all, a guest."

"I'd rather do something than sitting here all day," said Miyu. She followed them into Jake's room. She had been in there four times since she started her mission. In the right corner of the room was the chimney. A basket of firewoods was placed next to it. Next to the fireplace was his drawer and right next to the drawer was the door to the bathroom. His bed lay in the middle of the room, with the head by the wall, and Hisae went straight to it. Miyu walked up to the piano that was located near the balcony and a bookshelf. She touched the music sheets that Jake had been working on. Yukari headed into the bathroom while Hisae straightened up the bed. Miyu looked inside the piano and touched the strings in it. She turned around and looked at Hisae when she gave off a scream.

"What is the matter, Hisae! Don't tell me you have tipped over Mr. Fox's firewood again. You know he doesn't like it when people touch them!" Yukari ran out the bathroom to find Hisae standing on the bed.

"There is a roach!!! There!!" She pointed at the roach that is scrambling across the floor. Yukari went chasing after it and cursed when Hisae found another one on the bed. For the next moment, the sounds of pounding feet and screaming radiated out from the room as Yukari tried to kill these roaches and Hisae was screaming out of fear. Miyu watched with amusement and stayed close to the piano. When the commotion finally died down, Yukari calmed Hisae down and pushed her to the bathroom. She ended up cleaning up the bed. While she was working, Miyu settled in front of the piano and started to play a little piece. When she finished playing, Hisae came out from the bathroom and joined Yukari.

"That sounded nice," said Yukari. "However, you missed some notes."

"Did I?" Miyu giggled and walked up to the fireplace. She picked up one of the wood pieces and smiled at it before she placed it back into the basket. "I've played them but you must not have heard them."

Yukari and Hisae looked at each other before they followed her out the room. For the rest of the day, things went fairly the same. When night came, Victor told them that Mr. Fox did not want to be disturbed. Miyu idly walked around the household and stopped by Jake's room. She heard him mumbling to himself as he played on the piano. "Amazing," thought Miyu. "Amazing indeed." As she headed out of the house, she passed by Yukari. She bade her good night and started to walk around the house.

******

"All in position." Larva nodded his head and motioned his team forward. Three guys saw his gesture and they quietly proceeded forwards. They watched as some people push their products out of the warehouse.

"Ranka, now!" Larva pounced out from his hiding place along with the three people that were under his command. Lights lit up the whole parking lot as Ranka and her fellow team members moved in for the capture. "Freeze!" Larva pointed his gun at the target suspects. Police cars surrounded the drug dealers to block their escape. To his surprise, neither one of the dealers bother to struggle against the arrest. Instead, they calmly raised their hands and allow the capture to occur. Although he was supposed to be happy about this, he couldn't shake off the funny feeling that something was wrong. "It was too easy," he thought as Ranka rounded up the rest of the gang. He walked into the warehouse with a flashlight. Not bothering to search for the switch of the lights in the room, he rumbled through some of the stocks.

"Good job, Larva." He spun round and the beam of light landed on Night Gia's smiling face. He was standing near the back door and watching Larva with apparent amusement.

"Night Gia!" For a moment, Larva was too stunned to move but by the time he shook off the shock, Night Gia had already run out of the warehouse. "Stop!" Larva ran right after him but stopped when he saw that Night Gia had jumped into his car. He watched in frustration as the car pulled away. Running to his motorcycle, he told Ranka to take over the operation before he sped off. Within an hour, Larva had sped through the traffic and arrived at Night Gia's house. He parked his motorcycle outside the gate and knocked on the gate. Miyu happened to pass by and was surprised to find Larva pounding on the gate.

"Larva?" She opened the gate for him and he took her by her shoulders. "What are you doing over here?"

"Where is Night Gia?"

"He is in his room." She followed Larva into the mansion. They proceeded to go up the stairs but Night Gia was already there to greet him.

"Hello Larva. What brings you here?"

"You know why I am here. What were you doing in the warehouse this evening?" They all gave Larva an alarmed look.

"Why Larva. I was in my room the whole night. I didn't leave this room at all."

"Liar," said Larva, trying his best to suppress his rage. "I saw you in the warehouse."

"Larva," Miyu said softly. "He was speaking the truth. I heard him when I passed his room an hour ago. Since then, I had been patrolling the ground. No one left the building or enter the building except you."

"Are you saying that I am lying?"

"I am just saying that your statements doesn't seem plausible."

"I know what I saw, Miyu. It was him who was in the warehouse."

"And I know what I saw and heard. I didn't saw anyone leaving the house or entering it." They eyed each other with anger as the others watched on. Noticing their presence, Larva pulled Miyu out to the front garden. He stopped when he had made sure that no one could hear them from this distance.

"Miyu. Night Gia was in the warehouse tonight. I didn't saw an illusion."

"Larva, I know what I saw and heard. Are you questioning my abilities?"

"Yes!" They glared at each other with suppressed fury. "Damn it Miyu! For God's sake! I am your partner! Don't you even trust me?!"

"DON'T ask me that question, Larva," said Miyu in a cold and hard tone. "You WON'T like the answer." Larva was shocked for a while since he had never heard Miyu using this tone before. He turned his back to her and started to laugh bitterly.

"I should have known," he whispered. "I should have known this would not work. We are both too independent, too headstrong. This partnership has been a failure from the start."

"Are you suggesting what I am thinking," asked Miyu. Her voice was steady but inside of her, she was a little bit sad.

"Yes," said Larva softly. He turned to look at her. "I think this is the best path." She nodded her head silently. She watched as he turned to walk away. If Larva would have turn back to look at her, he would have seen her hand reaching out to him. He stopped midway from the gate and she quickly dropped her hand. "Last advice for you, my Miyu. Watch out for Night Gia." With that said, he left her standing out in the garden, alone. She turned around and walked silently back into the mansion.

"I'd say that went fairly well, don't you think, Victor?" Jake lifted his glass of wine to his lip and elegantly took a sip. He released the curtain of his window and smiled at his butler.

"Yes, sir."

"Our poor Larva has lost someone he cares about. Tsk..tsk." He placed his hand on the bookcase and smiled as the bookcase opened, revealing a hidden passage. "You know what to do." Victor nodded and walked out of the room. He proceeded to the kitchen and found Hisae and Yukari there. He took the trash bag from them and headed out to the dumpster. However, a bag was suddenly thrown over his head. The before he knew it, four fists started to pound on him.

"That's what you get for sleeping with my wife," said one of the men as he proceeded to punch Victor on the stomach. Victor fell down on his knees.

"Jackass! Trying to ruin my sister wedding," said the boy. He kicked Victor on his back and proceeded to pick him up for more beating. He suddenly dropped him and cursed out loud. "Damn! We got the wrong man!"

"What do you mean the wrong man?"

"The man that Nina was seeing did not have a left thumb! Let's jam!" They pushed him onto the ground and one of them accidentally fell on Victor. Victor was too dazed to realize what was happening and it took him a few more minutes to finally catch his breath. He pulled the bag off his head and looked around the area.

"How did they get in here," he thought. He stumbled to get up and reached for the garbage bag. Greatly alarmed, he reached into his pocket to see if they had stolen anything. He sighed in relief when he realized that nothing was taken. When he walked back into the house, Miyu was upset to find him all beaten up. She went and patrolled the ground that night.

******

Larva placed his cup of coffee on the table. He looked around the office and watched his fellow teammates busy with their work. His eyes lingered at the desk where Miyu used to sit. Five days had passed since their partnership officially broke up. However, that did not end Night Gia's taunting. For three days straight, he kept getting calls and every single time, Larva would rush to the scene just to find Miyu quite all right. He did not show himself to Miyu because he knew that she would not believe him. He sighed in frustration. His thoughts were broken when Ranka slammed a huge pile of paper work on his desk.

"I've look at all of the information and still, we are not able to tie Jake Fox to them. Are you sure that he is the master mind behind these drug trades?"

"Yes, Ranka." He reached for the telephone when it rang. Ranka watched with interest when Larva nodded his head and wrote down the information. "It's from Cain. He said that there is another pick up tonight at eight o'clock."

"I'm on it," said Ranka. She turned away from him and started to fire out orders. Larva leaned back on his chair and frowned when the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Hi Larva."

"What do you want, Night Gia?"

"Oh Larva...don't sound so annoyed. I am just wondering are you interested in knowing that Miyu and I will be dinning at Lauburu again. We hope that you can come. We will be there around eight o'clock. Don't be late, Larva or else you will be sorry." He started to laugh. Enraged, Larva slammed the phone down.

He picked up his black coat and proceeded to go out. However, he checked himself. "The trade will be around eight o'clock tonight." He sat down on his chair and contemplated about the situation. "I can't risk Miyu's life but so far, he hasn't done anything. But what if he does hurt her this time?" His face set with determination when he realized whom he was thinking about. "She is Miyu. She will be able to take care of herself." He slowly forced himself to put down his coat and stuck to his desk. "I know Miyu. She's going to be alright." With that to comfort him, he walked up to Ranka to discuss about tonight's operation.

*****

"Sir?" Jake looked up to find Victor addressing him. Miyu quietly ate her meal when he excused himself. "I've checked, sir. Larva had gone to the pier instead."

"Good," said Jake. He glanced at Miyu who was still quietly eating her meal. "I guess he finally chooses his work over Miyu. Too bad...I'll just have to remind him how important Miyu is to him." He walked back to the table and smiled at her. She ignored him and continued to eat. He nodded his head toward Victor's direction. Understanding what that meant, Victor went out to grab a water pitcher and came in to fill Miyu's almost empty glass. She muttered a "thank-you" before taking a little drink. Jake didn't have to wait long before the drug started to take effect. Miyu looked at him before she fainted. "Too bad, little Miyu," said Jake as he touched her beautiful face. "I didn't want to do this to you but...Larva needs to be taught a lesson and what better way to teach him than to hit his weakness?" He picked her up and dismissed the manager of the restaurant. He assured them that his little lady was just tired and that their food has nothing to do with her unconscious state. With Victor's assistance, they put her in the back and drove off to an isolated area. Following Jake's order, Victor had bought an isolated warehouse in a worn down area in Tokyo. Jake had already planned to use this place when he first saw Larva and Miyu together. Now, he finally had the opportunity to do so. With Victor's help, they bound her hands and feet with wires and put her in the warehouse. Stacks of wooden boxes were piled up in the room and only a dim light lit the center of the whole warehouse. Jake drag Miyu's unconscious body towards the light and asked Victor to keep watch outside.

An hour past before Miyu started to stir. Jake smiled when he saw her slowly gaining her conscious. Her eyes snapped open when she realized that she was bound and lying on the floor. She blinked from the light for a few seconds before her eyes focused on Jake's figure. The whole warehouse was in darkness and only this small area was dimly lit. Jake laughed when he saw Miyu struggling with the wires. He walked up to her and touched her on the cheek. She quickly turned her head away but he grabbed her roughly on the chin. His smile widen when his eyes met her defying glare.

"Dear Miyu. Why do you look so offended? Don't you like my surprise?"

"Night Gia," she hissed.

"Yes?" He backed away from her and took out a fencing sword. "I guess Larva told you that name didn't he? Night Gia? Hmm...I made that name up myself, you know?" He swung the sword in the air with a playful air. "If you would have called me that name in the past, I might have spared your life. However, it is too late." He smiled at her when she looked down on the floor. "Oh Miyu. Don't think that I am doing this because I am mad at you. You see, Larva needs to be taught a lesson. You are just the bait." He pointed his sword towards her. "In case you don't know why I am called Night Gia, I shall tell you. I bring nightmare to people. I love to inflict pain on people slowly until they do not want to live anymore. Guns may be a quicker way but I like swords because they cause more..." He stopped his gloating when Miyu started to giggle. "You know what? I've always find your giggling annoying and your smile irritating." He frowned when she continued to giggle. Somehow, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. "What are you laughing at!" He shook his sword at her as he waited for her answer. To his surprise, Miyu looked straight up at him. Her eyes were cold and her face displayed amusement.

"Night Gia," said Miyu in a playful tone. "You are so naïve." She smiled at him when he backed involuntarily away from her. "Why do all of the villains like to gloat so much? It always backfires you know?" She stood up straight slowly and stared at him with defiance. "You've lost, Night Gia. It's time you give up!"

"What?!" Jake backed up in shock. For a moment, he stood there looking at the little girl that was bound by wires. Helpless as she was, she managed to make him feel a little bit uneasy with her speech. "Empty boast," thought Night Gia. He walked towards her with his sword raised. "Very good Miyu. But you should know I don't...." He paused when he heard two clicks coming from behind Miyu. He watched with shock and rage when Aoi and Ichiro stepped out from the shadow with their guns pointed right at him. Without taking his eyes off of Gia, Ichiro bent down and untied the wires round Miyu's hands and feet.

"Thank you Ichiro," said Miyu. She turned to look at Night Gia and flashed him one of her annoying smile. "You are under arrest for trying to kill an officer." She borrowed Ichiro's handcuff when Night Gia put up his hand. "You have the right to remain silence." With that said, Miyu walked up to Night Gia. She paused when she heard him muttering something. "What did you say?" When Night Gia did not answer her, she pouted playfully. "I hope you are saying your prayers." Night Gia smiled when she approached him. To all their shock, a shot pierced Night Gia's right arm and he fell down on the floor. Miyu paused in surprise when Night Gia uttered a curse clutching his right arm. "Larva?" She looked at him when he stepped out from the shadow with his gun aimed at Night Gia.

"You should not underestimate him," said Larva. He walked up to Night Gia and pulled out a little pistol that Night Gia had hidden under his sleeves. He tossed it to Miyu, and she frowned when she saw it.

"Larva," Night Gia grunted from pain. "You...you..."

"You've underestimated us, Miyu and I," Larva simply replied. "You should not have done that."

"Night Gia," said Miyu. He turned to look at her. "You bring nightmares to people by blackmailing them." She smiled at his surprised expression. "Drawing and inflicting pain onto them every single second." She shook her head and smiled at Larva as she handcuffed Night Gia. "You're pretty weak when you are not bringing nightmare to people. Right, Larva?" Larva gave her a warm smile.

"Yes, Miyu."

*****

"Alright! You guys better tell me what is going on!" Miyu, Larva, Aoi, and Ichiro all smiled at Ranka as she cornered them. Van joined her to listen to the whole event.

"After Larva told me about Night Gia, I went and paid a visit to Chisato's family," said Miyu. "Before Chisato passed away, she mentioned her oni-chan. She also mentioned him when I captured her. She said that she had failed him and that the nightmare would never end. Larva also told me that Jake Fox was called Night Gia because he brought nightmare to people. For a moment there, I tried to figure out what did they mean by nightmare. I came up with two possibilities. One was blackmailing and another one was drug dealing." Ranka and the others nod their heads because they understood how she came up with those assumptions. "I talked to the family but yet, I wasn't able to figure out which one is the right assumption."

"While Miyu was at the Inoue's house, I was visiting Night Gia," said Larva. "I had a little conversation with him and decided to head towards Miyu's house." He looked at Miyu and smiled.

*Flashback*

"Come in," said Miyu. Larva looked at her before he nodded his head. He followed her into her apartment in silence. Once they were in her house, she pushed him lightly onto a sofa as he refused to sit down. "Do you want anything to drink?" Larva looked at her before he answered.

"Coffee." Miyu nodded her head and went into her kitchen to make some. From the way Miyu was behaving, Larva knew that she had something important to discuss. He walked into the kitchen when he heard her dropping the coffeemaker. "Do you know how to make coffee?" He smiled when she put the coffee in the coffeemaker before the filter. "Now I know what you can't do," he said with a smile when he took the coffeemaker away from her. She watched in silence while he brewed the coffee. After fifteen minutes, they were sitting in her living room. Larva was sipping his coffee while she was drinking her tomato juice.

"Larva?"

"Hmmm?"

"Night Gia..." He looked at her and placed his coffee on the table.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Do you think it is blackmail or drug?" Her question caught him by surprise. He sat there for a moment as he contemplated her question.

"Drug...no. I don't think it was drug. It was quite obvious that he was somehow connected to drug in the United States. They gave him the nickname Night Gia for another reason." He looked at Miyu and smiled. "I believe blackmail might be the case."

"You think?"

"I do." They both smiled at each other. He watched her when she stood up and came to sit down next to him. She clicked her glass of tomato juice on his cup of coffee. He looked at it and understood what she meant. The last time they toasted, they confirmed their partnership. Now it was time for a test. "Your plan?"

"I am his target so I'll be the bait." Larva frowned at her suggestion but he knew this was the only choice that they had. "Since he knew that I am your partner, he will try to find a way to contact me. While I am with him..."

"I will try to find some clues to tie him up with the drug dealings." He nodded his head with appreciation when she smiles.

"His main goal is to break us up so why not let him do it? You hate him and he knows it. Why don't we just play along his plan?"

"You have to act," said Larva.

"And so do you," she said. "This whole operation will depend on what course you want to take. I just have to improvise." Larva nodded and drained his coffee. He walked into the kitchen and washed it.

"So that is it," said Larva. Miyu nodded when she appeared beside him to take over the dishwashing. He sighed when he looked at her back and put his hands on her shoulders. She paused from her washing when he leaned forward. "Take care, my Miyu," he whispered. With that, he left her standing over there and went away.

*End of Flashback*

"Like we predicted, Night Gia requested to have me as his bodyguard," said Miyu. "When Sergeant Satou asked me do this mission, I got a feeling he wanted me to look into Chisato's case. He left enough clues to let me deduce that he needed my help to solve that case." She turned to smile at Larva, Ichiro, and Aoi. "Larva and I have already started our mission, but we still need some help. I asked Ichiro and Aoi to help us in this case and they agreed."

"We agreed to look after Miyu while she was with Night Gia," said Ichiro.

"If Night Gia tried to do anything to Miyu, we were to report to Larva at once and contact Van about the situation," said Aoi.

"With that planned," continued Larva. "We carried on with our mission. Miyu acted like she usually do while I acted like a jealous boyfriend." He smiled when Miyu frowned. "Ranka and I were partnered with each other, and we successfully rounded up one of Night Gia's gang. Although we broke that drug trade, we didn't gather enough evidence to implicate him. Miyu on the other hand, was quite successful, am I right?"

She nodded her head and smiles. "On the first night of my bodyguard mission, Larva came barging in on us after we had just come out from the cafe. He said that Night Gia made a call around eight o'clock but I could swore he didn't. However, on that same evening, I bumped into Victor and one of the objects that he dropped was a tape recorder. When I saw that, I wondered could it be possible that he recorded Night Gia's message before hand and played it to Larva while I was dinning with him? That was possible, and I knew that he would use the tape recorder again in the future in order to form a wall of mistrust between Larva and I."

"Larva had already informed me about the drug trade that was going to happen on that night, so in the same morning, I paid Night Gia's room a visit. Night Gia was famous for his piano solo so I did a little sabotaging. While Hisae and Yukari were busily killing the roaches that I implanted, I managed to cut off two pegs of the piano. These pegs were responsible for the middle C and D minor. I cut those two pegs because they were the main notes on the music sheets that Night Gia had placed on his piano. To test my work, I played the piece to Hisae and Yukari. They both noticed that there were some missing notes but they thought that I just forgot to play them. That night, I walked pass Night Gia's room and found him playing the music with amazing precision. The notes that were supposed to be missing were played to perfection. I knew that he must have used the tape record again. When Larva came running over here and claimed that he had saw Night Gia, I played my role. Larva intentionally dragged me to the front garden so that we could continue our act in a clear full view of our observer."

"After our staged break up, I knew Night Gia was just waiting for me to give up on Miyu. For the first few phone calls, I continued to react to his warnings until he decided to test whether I preferred Miyu or the drug operation more. I knew that Aoi and Ichiro were watching over Miyu, and I knew that Night Gia would not do anything to Miyu while I am around, so I went to the drug operation instead. When I received a call from Aoi, I left the situation to Ranka to go after Miyu." He smiled at her. "I guess you got careless, my dear Miyu. You almost got yourself killed." When Miyu didn't say anything, he knew he won this part of the battle.

"Well, I guess Night Gia underestimated me too," said Ranka. "After rounding up the whole gang last night, we now have enough evidence to tied him to the operation."

"Not only him," said Aoi. "Victor too." Before Ichiro and Aoi sneaked into the warehouse, they jumped Victor and knocked him out. Ichiro tied him up with a wire and gagged him before he joined Aoi. Now Victor and Night Gia were locked up safely in jail.

"What about the evidences for blackmailing," asks Ranka. Miyu walked up to the basket of firewood that they have extracted from Night Gia's room. She touched the surface of one of the wood before she managed to find a little opening. Placing her fingers in the opening, she tugged on it and managed to pull open a hidden slot. From that hollow slot, pieces of paper and photos fell down onto the floor. She bent down and picked them up. Larva took them from her and sorted through them. He secretly took an envelope from the pile and handed the rest to the others. They looked at Miyu as she started to explain how she came up with this solution.

"Yukari gave me the hint when she said that Night Gia didn't like it when people touched the basket of fire wood. This made me wonder why. Why did he hate it when people touched it? When I picked up the firewood from the basket, I heard a little noise coming from it. It was not that noticeable and the weight of the firewood was quite heavy so if a person did picked it up, they won't suspect that there was a hollow slot in it." She tossed the firewood on the table. "Night Gia was quite smart for coming up with this hiding place. Who would have thought that he would put things in the firewood? One easy toss into the fireplace and all the sources for his financial benefit would go down the drain. He was taking a great risk putting them in there."

"However, if one of the victims would want to steal back the blackmailing materials," said Larva. "They would hardly look at the firewood. They would search for hidden passage or somewhere else. It lowered the risk of materials being stolen." They nodded their head and Miyu shared a little smile with Larva. Van sighed and stretched himself.

"Well...I gotta say. That went fairly well. Now we have enough evidence to incriminate Jake Fox for blackmail and drug dealing." He turned to look at Ranka. "Go and give the blackmail evidence to Satou." Ranka nodded her head and headed out of the office. Van rubbed his chin thoughtfully and muttered something before he walked away. "I wonder who gave the tape recorder to the police?" He shook his head and walked away. If he would have turn and look backwards, he would have found Ichiro and Aoi grinning at each other. Their little escapade managed to steal the tape and tape recorder from Victor before he could destroy it. Yukari would testify that the recording from the tape was exactly the same thing she heard on the evening of the first drug trade. Aoi and Ichiro walked away leaving Miyu alone with Larva. She looked at his direction to find him lost in thought.

*Flashback*

"This isn't over yet, Larva." Larva looked at Night Gia when he whispered into his ear. He lifted Night Gia up and walked him to the patrol car.

"It's over Night Gia."

He gave out a little painful laugh. "I'm not the only one out there, Larva. I'm only one pawn and you know that. As long as you live, you and Miyu will always be in danger." Larva shoved him into the patrol car and turned to look at Miyu. She was standing next to one of the officer and was telling them about what happen.

*Ends of Flashback*

"Larva?" He stirred from his thoughts to find Miyu looking at him.

"Night Gia is right," thought Larva. "As long as I live, I put Miyu in danger. I can't be her partner anymore." He turned to look away from her. "Miyu...." he started. To his surprise, Miyu put her hand firmly on his shoulder.

"We're partner, Larva," she said firmly. "Don't think otherwise." He watched her as she walked away.

"Miyu," he whispered. "Thank you."

*****

Standing near the entrance of the Saikawa cemetery, Larva and Miyu watched the gathered crowd as Chisato's coffin was lowered down the hole. Her parents watched in sadness, while her friends cried for their dead friend.

"Larva?" He looked at her and noticed the unemotional expression on her face.

"Yes, Miyu?"

"Did I do the right thing?" He stared at her before he answered her.

"They have the right to know. You did the right thing, Miyu." Ever since Larva had extracted the envelope that contain Chisato's secret, Miyu and Larva contemplated with each other whether they should burn it or give it to Chisato's parent. Miyu finally decided the latter because she felt they had the right to know. "They have suffer long enough," said Larva. Miyu looked at him when she realized that he was repeating the same thing she told him the day before. "They've been in the dark for so long. It is only right that they should know why their children chose to end their lives like that." He smiled at her when she nods her head.

"Larva, let's go."

"Yes, my dear." He followed her out the cemetery. Before they drove away, they took one last look at the cemetery.

"Pitiful...another one died for love." She drove away with Larva following right behind her.

"Miyu," asked Larva when they stopped at a red light. "When I asked you if you trusted me, you…I know we were acting at that time but…"

"Larva," said Miyu. "Don't ask me that question."

He nodded his head, and they drove off to the police station. "I don't know what happened to you in the past but I'll try, Miyu," he thought to himself. "I'll try to earn your trust."

Author's notes:

I know...some of you might recognizes some part is quite similar to the Shin Volumes...especially the capture scene...hehehe...I hope you like it though. Thanks for reading! But I gotta say, this chapter didn't come out to be as good as I thought it should be...sigh. I might end up revising it.