| Fan Fiction |
by SilverDragon
Aaron peered up from scooping ice-cream as he heard the doorbell chime, in time to see his sister enter the parlour with that same sad look on her face. He returned to finishing his task as she went to sit in her usual seat, handing over the order once he was done for A Chord to deliver while he went to see his sister. She smiled fleetingly as he came to sit in the chair opposite.
“Nothing’s improved?” he asked.
Rainie shook her head slowly. “Not exactly…” She let out a sigh as she came to lean her arms on the table. “Mother’s no longer in debt.”
Aaron stared back at his sister, shocked. “What? But, how? You didn’t even take the NT$15,000 I tried to give you the other day!”
Rainie let out a small bitter laugh. “That’s what even I’m not sure about.”
“What do you mean?” Aaron peered at his sister, wondering what she was getting at. Then he remembered what she had suggested the other day. He reached forward, gripping his sister tightly by the wrist. “You didn’t, Jie! Don’t tell me you traded yourself with that bastard to clear Mother’s debts!”
Rainie shook her head, slowly prying her hands out of Aaron’s grip. “I didn’t do anything of the sort, Aaron. I even slapped him instead and that’s what makes me wonder why he still cleared Mother’s debts.”
An amused smile crept onto Aaron’s face. “You slapped him?”
Rainie couldn’t help but grin along with her brother. “Yeah, but I thought he would fire me for that. Instead, he cleared mother’s debts for us and gave her some more money. What do you think he’s trying to do?”
Aaron frowned as he turned to glance out the window. He wasn’t feeling too comfortable with this turn of events. “I don’t know either, but it probably doesn’t mean anything good.” Aaron reached for Rainie’s hands, holding them firmly. “I want you to quit that job, Jie. I don’t want you working near that shark for another night. Who knows what he’s thinking?”
Rainie let out a sigh, staring at her little brother’s hands on hers. A small smile crept onto her face as she remembered how Aaron used to always cling to her side, letting his older sister protect him from harm. She knew that he wanted to repay her for those times and act like the man he had become, but she still could not let go of her protective instincts.
“I can’t quit. Not until I find out why he cleared Mother’s debts.”
“Who cares why? Jie, listen to me; if you won’t quit because of yourself, then do it for me. Please… Rainie?” pleaded Aaron, his eyes boring into Rainie’s in desperation.
Rainie slowly removed her hands from under Aaron’s, placing them on top of his in an assuring grip. “I’m sorry, Aaron. If I don’t go back, I know that this will not be the end of it. He may have cleared our mother’s debt, but there is obviously a price he expects me to pay.” She stood up then, picking up her handbag. “I’d better get going. I’ll see you around, okay, Aaron?”
Aaron watched as Rainie walked out of the shop, a worried look on his face. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a sense of foreboding that nothing good was to come out of all this. The doorbell jingled as the door came to a close and his sister’s form disappeared from the front window.
“Jie…” he whispered with a heavy feeling in his heart.
-
“Nooooo!!” shouted Ella as her ball missed the hoop for the fifth time in a row. She fell to her knees, her head hung low as Chun went to grab the ball, bringing it to the other side of the indoor court.
Seeing that Ella was not going to move anytime soon, Chun stopped dribbling the ball as he turned to jog over with a smile. “Come on, now, Detective! Didn’t you say you knew how to play?”
Ella turned to glare up at him, wishing that he would just go die. “Of course I know how to play! It’s just you have an unfair advantage by being twice as tall as me!”
Chun couldn’t help but laugh at her retort. “Twice as tall? I think you need to take high school maths again.” He pulled Ella up to her feet. “See? Your head reaches just below my shoulder. And besides, I’ve given you lots of chances. You just don’t have the skill.”
“I don’t have the skill?” she repeated incredulously. “I’ll show you who doesn’t have skill.”
Ella snatched the ball away from Chun, dribbling it back towards her end of the court. Chun followed lazily behind, smiling as she bounded away with a determined look in her eyes. She came to a stop just before the hoop, taking careful aim before she threw the ball. It flew through the air, connecting with the backboard before falling through the hoop. Ella threw her hand in the air as she turned to smile at Chun triumphantly.
“Ha! I told you I have the skill!” she laughed.
Chun smiled back at her, shaking his head. “Okay, you have skill.” He then turned to scan the rest of the court. “By the way, where have those other three cops gone?”
Ella followed his gaze, also searching for any sign of her comrades. “Oh yeah… Where have they gone?” Her mobile phone suddenly rang over by the bench and she jogged over to pick it up. “Wei?”
“Hey, Detective… this is kinda awkward… er, Nathan’s wife is about to give birth so I had to take him over to the hospital. I hope you don’t mind us leaving without telling you first,” said Sung over the phone nervously.
“Of course not!” replied Ella with a little too much cheer as she pursed her lips with suppressed anger. She did mind that they had left unannounced. “Send my blessings to his kid. And what about Simon?”
“Simon? He said that he was going to stay.”
“Oh, really? Well, he seems to have disappeared as well.” Ella’s voice had grown slightly deadly.
“Um, maybe I can explain Simon’s disappearance,” said Chun from behind. Ella spun around to peer at Chun, noting the small grin he was wearing.
Ella hung up her phone, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Chun. “Explain.”
Chun walked around Ella, sitting down on the bench as he opened a bottle of water. “I sent him off to buy water and when he returned, I told him that it wasn’t necessary that he should hang around anymore. He seemed rather relieved to hear that.”
“You what?” said Ella through clenched teeth. “So that means I’m the only one left to guard you?”
Chun swallowed a mouthful of water before smiling up at Ella. “It seems that way.”
Ella felt like boxing his ears. She then turned away, taking in deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down. “First, you order my superiors to make me your bodyguard. Next, you dismiss my crew, to leave me with you! What is it that you want with me?”
Chun stared at her back, no longer smiling. He took another swig from his bottle, glancing away. “I just thought that you’re an interesting person… Is wrong to try and get to know an interesting person more?”
Ella slowly turned around to peer at Chun, shocked at what she had just heard. There seemed to be some sadness in his downcast eyes and Ella suddenly felt guilty for yelling at him. She let out a sigh, walking over to sit next to him.
They sat together in silence before Ella spoke. “What… is so interesting… about a tomboy detective like me?” she asked after several minutes, rocking slightly back and forth on the spot.
Chun turned to peer at her, smiling a little. “I don’t know… maybe it’s because someone like you is hard to come across. After being flattered by everyone all the time because I’m Wu Lang’s son, it’s somewhat refreshing to have someone act naturally around me, someone besides Jiro.”
“It must be hard… living under an influential person’s shadow,” said Ella quietly.
“Yeah…” Silence fell between the two once more and they sat together on the bench, wondering what to say to the other. Finally, Chun suddenly said, “I wonder… What’s the time?”
Ella had completely forgotten about the time and quickly scrounged around in her pockets to retrieve her mobile. “It’s nearly seven! We’re going to be late for that charity ball of yours!” She hopped off the bench and began to try and pull Chun up to his feet. Chun let her pull him up, grinning widely. “What are you grinning about? Aren’t you worried that you’ll be late?”
“Who cares? It’s not like I really want to go,” replied Chun before he turned to pick up his suit jacket.
Ella peered at him suspiciously. “You already knew the time! You knew that we were late!”
Chun just shrugged as he turned to stroll out of the court. “We’d better hurry, right Detective?”
Ella continued to stare at him through narrowed eyes, storming out angrily after him. “Stupid rich boys…” she mumbled, trying to hide the hint of a smile touching her lips.
-
Hebe had been wandering through the whole resort, trying to find where Danson had disappeared off to. After he had refused to join them for a game of tennis, the four of them had not heard from him since. Hebe was beginning to grow anxious over her brother’s absence and so she had decided to trek through the extensive resort grounds. Show followed at a small distance behind, having given up on trying to persuade Hebe to return back to their rooms to wait for Danson there.
She suddenly tripped over a rock at the side of a path that wound through the rose garden, Show coming to catch her just before she fell forward. He carefully helped her back onto her feet and Hebe shoved his hands away before adjusting her clothes back to normal.
“You can leave me alone, Show. Nothing will happen at a first class resort such as this,” snapped Hebe as she began to walk down the path again. Show continued to follow behind.
“I won’t leave you alone, Hebe. If I wasn’t here, you would’ve fallen back there,” replied Show, growing slightly agitated at her stubbornness.
Hebe stopped walking. She spun around on the spot with her hands on her hips, glaring at Show. “I don’t need you to babysit me, Show. Just let me look for my brother in peace.” She turned back around to continue walking down the path.
“Look, Hebe,” said Show suddenly, grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him. “Danson said he wanted to be alone and you know why. He said he would come back later and you know he always keeps his word. So why worry about him so much?” He then began to drag her back along the path. “It’s getting late and we should go find something to eat. You already skipped on lunch today. I’m not going to have you faint on me from starvation.”
Hebe pulled her arm out of Show’s grip, staring back at him angrily. “Why should I listen to you, Show? For however long I’ve known you, you’ve always been clinging to my side. Why can’t you get it through that thick skull of yours that I don’t feel the same way you do?” Seeing the hurt look in his eyes immediately made her regret what she had just said.
A sad smile suddenly cracked onto Show’s face as he softly laughed bitterly. He began nodding his head, as if accepting what Hebe was saying. “Yeah… I’ve always known that Hebe, but it has never changed the way I feel about you. I know you love Danson and I won’t force you to change your mind. But if my being around you all the time is really annoying you, then I guess I’d better leave you in peace.” He turned around, his gaze never meeting Hebe’s. “But do go and eat some dinner. I’m worried for you.”
Hebe watched as he slowly walked off, his hands in his pockets and his head hung low in disappointment. Something about the way he looked so sad seemed to tug at Hebe’s heartstrings and she attributed the feeling as one of guilt. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she hurried after him. “Wait, Show; I’ll come w-”
Her sentence was cut midway when she tripped once more, landing in a rose bush. Show spun around as she fell, running in an attempt to try and catch her but he was too slow. Hebe had fallen into the bush, wincing in pain as he helped her up. Show peered at the dozens of small cuts that the thorns had nicked her along the length of her arms.
“Can’t you be more careful, Hebe?” sighed Show after he examined the cuts and saw that they were nothing serious. He peered up into Hebe’s face, trying to hide the smile on his and earning a little slap on the shoulder from Hebe.
“It’s not like I wanted to fall into the bush!” she snapped back at him.
Show just laughed as he shook his head. “Come on; we’d better go put some antiseptic on these cuts.”
Hebe allowed Show to lead her away, grudgingly permitting him to hold her hand. She watched him walk before her in the early evening light, still feeling guilty about her outburst at him earlier. It wasn’t that she hated him and the feelings he had for her, but rather that she didn’t feel the same rush she had every time she saw Danson. A tired sigh escaped her lips as she thought about her adopted brother. Ever since the first day her parents had brought him into their family, Hebe always had that rush of excitement as she laid her eyes on him. The feeling had confused her innocent mind back then but as she grew older, she soon realised that she was in love with Danson. That revelation alone had brought along so many internal conflicts, for everyone saw them as brother and sister, let alone the other fact that her brother’s heart seemed to have been give to that Xuan girl. It was not until recently that Hebe had decided to throw away all her misgivings about the fact that they were siblings, but she still did not have the courage to pursue him further if his heart was still with that girl.
Show suddenly came to a stop at the corner of a building and Hebe was startled from her musings. He quickly shuffled back behind the wall, motioning for Hebe to stay quiet while he tried to peer around the corner. Curious, Hebe crouched down beside him, also peering around the corner.
“Had a nice walk, Selina?” said a man leaning against one of the posts that supported the large patio.
Selina seemed to pay no attention to the man as she casually strolled past him. The man seemed to smile a little before he grabbed her arm.
“Yi Xia says we have to return. A new job has just come in.”
Selina peered at the hand on her arm before looking up into the man’s face with an expressionless look. For a second there, it seemed to Show that she had glanced in their direction and knew that they were eavesdropping. He retreated a little behind the wall, just in case.
“I was just planning on returning tonight,” she answered in a voice as cold as her eyes.
The man removed his hand, smiling widely. “Good… Then let’s head back to pack together. I’m sure you’re looking for something interesting to do after being cooped up in this boring resort for nearly a week.” He then walked off, leading the way down the path.
Selina watched him walk off, glancing ever so slightly over her shoulder with a small cold smile. Her shoes then echoed along the path as she followed Zhi Ping.
Show retreated back behind the wall, leaning against it with a frown on his face, seemingly lost in thought. Hebe peered up at Show, wondering what was bothering him.
“Why did you just eavesdrop on those two? Do you even know them?” she asked curiously.
Show shook his head. “No… But something about that woman is really familiar. When I saw her walk by our table this morning I thought I saw a ghost, but… I guess I was wrong.” He then turned to look down at Hebe, smiling. “Anyway, we were going to get your cuts cleaned up, right?”
Hebe stood up and together they headed towards the first aid room of the resort. All the while, she continued to wonder what it was about that woman that had caught Show’s attention. She began to feel a little agitated that his attention was even now probably still on that woman. Then she took a mental step backwards; why should she be fretting over the fact that his attention was now on some girl other than her? It couldn’t be that she was… jealous?
No.
Absolutely.
No.
Way.
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A/N:
Hmm... I disappeared for two days to revamp my blog and mess with photoshop. Anyway, so here we had a little bit of Aaron and Rainie sibling relationship, Chun and Ella playing basketball in suits and Show/Hebe bickering. Perhaps they also heard something they shouldn't have? lol
Next Chapter: A nice long chappie on Jiro and Rainie. Maybe he'll reveal why he still payed Rainie's debts off?
A caricature of Danson I recently did: http://pics.livejournal.com/sd999/pic/0002f4sg.jpg
Tell me what you think of it ^_^
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6th January 2008
3:16PM GMT+09:00
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