Spring Blooms When I'm With You

"Miss Hanada got into an accident the night you had been taken away from the village. You already knew this fact but you didn't know why she only lost the portion of her memories. Specifically, she didn't remember anything from the first day you met till the night of the accident. Am I correct?" Akashi recounted what both of them already knew.

"Yes." Ren didn't want to waste his breath by telling Akashi he didn't need to remind him of that fact.

"I have already located the last place Mr. Yagi has been spotted. But he already left the place one week ago. So far, I haven't got a slightest clue about his current whereabouts."

"You haven't found him?" A face of an older man crossed Ren's mind. If only by thinking of that man would materialize the older man in front of him, everything would be so easy. He didn't have to torture himself by listening to Akashi spouting nonsense.

"Nope. He completely disappeared." Akashi went silence for a moment, as if trying to remember something. "It looked like he has been hiding from someone. There was a bunch of loan sharks looking for him too but I got a hint that someone powerful was hunting him down."

"And that man wasn't a loan shark? Are you sure?"

"Yes. For a fact, he's not the lowly loan sharks," answered Akashi. "That man hid his traces well, I need some time to uncover him. And we need to know if Mr. Yagi's disappearance was connected to what happened five years ago."

Ren didn't give any response. Remembering what had happened five years ago ached his heart. If he was not so weak, he could protect her and her memories about their time together would still remain. He couldn't undo the time nor change what had already happened but he won't allow it to mess with his life again.

"Send me all the doc.u.ments related to your recent search." With finality in his voice, Ren hung up before Akashi could say anything.

A few minutes later, a new e-mail from Akashi entered his personal account. Disregarding his work account, Ren quickly scanned the message accompanied a few files attached to it. As usual, Akashi didn't ruin his own reputation as a skilled PI. If only he could talk less, the better it was to work with him.

Several pictures of an older man in his fifties filled the folders. The man looked more haggard than what he remembered but the man in the pictures was indeed Yagi Takashi, Tsubaki's maternal uncle.

Ren didn't have any good impressions whenever Yagi Takashi came into the picture. If not for the fact that he was Tsubaki's uncle, he wouldn't waste his time trying to locate the gambling addict. Yagi was the one who truly knew what exactly happened on that night. But, the fact that the accident had been covered up by someone powerful indicated that it was not a simple accident.

What Ren wanted to know was whether someone had planned it from the start or that someone just using the accident since it fell into his plans perfectly. If the accident was premeditated, he would send the perpetrator to living hell. How dare he messed with his beloved?

Ren's phone rang again. It was from his personal one. Fuse Manor appeared on the screen. He didn't hesitate to answer it. An old man's voice could be heard from the end of the line.

"Master, would you be back for dinner? Old Madam has instructed me to remind you."

"Old Yuuzo, yes I'll be back. Tell grandma not to worry. I'll be heading to the manor now."

Fukuda Yuuzo was the butler of Fuse Main Manor. He oversaw the servants and even less tiny details happening there. The sixty five years old man had been working for Fuse Family since his father's time. He took over the position of the Head Butler after his father retired almost twenty years ago.

"Alright, Master. Please be safe on the road."

Ren grabbed his jacket and dismissed Assistant Matsuzaki from work along his way outside. That poor man had worked hard since last week. He wasn't a cruel employer who couldn't consider his employees' well-being.

Once Ren sat behind the wheels, he set off to Fuse Main Manor. He smirked when he remembered that he would need to face some old foxes during tonight's dinner. He would just sit back and watch what they wanted to scheme against him behind his back.

He had a feeling he would enjoy tonight's dinner.