157 Reward & Plan 2 in 1 (2/2)

”Because Tsuna-san's methods to save her required me to be present. It's hard to explain so I can only say that much. I don't want to mention the secrets he has but because of him. Tomoyo is going to be alright.”

”She's alive!?” Yuriko was shocked. She already received reports that speculated that the Shiroyukis might have been preparing for a funeral but it turns out that the girl had survived. Her respect and admiration for Tsuna had grown more so she decided not to pry into her idol's secrets. ”Why didn't you tell me all of this when we were talking about the case?” she continued her inquiry.

”Because only recently found out myself. I asked several people about the case as soon as I got back and I found out a little about Shiriharu Kira. You know that I've already told you that I've been monitoring the activities of the Kurogane-clan quietly and it had occurred to me that they recently put their attention towards the guy who owned the prison.” Kazuya explained.

”I understand their intention to release Shiriharu Kira to get to Shiroyuki Tomoyo but why was she a target in the first place?”

”This was a question I found the answer to thanks to Kurumi here.” Kazuya gave a grateful glance towards Kurumi. ”because of a certain incident in school where in order to reject her confession, I mentioned that I had already been engaged with the arrangements of my family. The Kuroganes had assumed that Shiroyuki Tomoyo was the one I had been engaged to.”

”Assumed? It's not Shiroyuki-san!?”

”You're engaged!?”

The two reacted simultaneously. He had only given Jonson the quick version of the story, so it was not as detailed as it was when he explained it to Yuriko who needed facts and details because of her occupation. Jonson was a smart man that could read between the lines and didn't need that much detail to understand the situation.

Kurumi, who heard all of this felt guilty. Although Maron was the one who opened up the topic about having them change the one Kazuya was engaged with to Kurumi, she did not say anything to refuse the idea which led to the harm that was inflicted upon Shiroyuki Tomoyo.

”That is not all.” Kazuya put a hand on his pocket and placed a bullet that was inside a transparent bag on the table. ”This is the same round that hit Kurogane Shishio. This is an armor piercing bullet that would have hit my mother if she didn't have any protection on her.”

”!!” Yuriko picked up the bullet and confirmed that it was indeed one of the bullets that they suspected that hit Kurogane Shishio after an analysis of his wounds. This was not the most shocking part. What kind of protection could Kouzuki Kyouko have to have warded off such an attack?

”I believe you would find both the fingerprints of the culprit as well as his signature on the bullet.” Kazuya smiled. He had stopped to meet Anri before meeting with the Stocktons and he was not disappointed with what she had given him. ”if that is not enough then this recording would make better evidence.” He placed a small recorder on the table.

When she played what was on the recorder, a deep voiced man mentioned his name as well as proof of his identity. Yuriko almost dropped the recorder when she found out that it was a name she was familiar with! It was a hitman internationally wanted for various murders. He confessed to being paid by the Kurogane clan and even included every detail of the plan that they laid out for him.

”H-how did you get this? I saw your mother on that day and it didn't look like she wore any protection…” The amount of information that Kazuya provided was like solving the case that had baffled them so Yuriko couldn't help but have doubts.

”Let's just say that it was all thanks to Tsuna-san. Please feel free to get his testimony if need be.” Kazuya found Tsuna's identity quite useful after learning a lot about it. He didn't hold back and took advantage of it as much as he could. ”In fact, I have the same protection on me right now so if you shoot a gun or stab a knife at me, it would disappear without a trace.” He smiled at Yuriko after seeing her hesitation.

In fact, he didn't need her to prove this, another person's interest had been greatly aroused after hearing that an armor piercing round was blocked. Tessa, Kurumi's head bodyguard stood up from her seat and approached them from behind.

”Pardon me Kazuya-sama.” A blade appeared in her sleeve which she immediately stabbed towards Kazuya.

*TINK!* before the blade could hit the shoulder that was targeted however, the blade stopped as if it hit something solid and immediately broke into pieces. Kazuya only smiled as he glanced at the broken blade and praised the bodyguard for her skills silently.

”Tessa!” Kurumi immediately glared at her even though they all witnessed that the attack had failed.

”It's alright Kurumi. I would have asked her to do it if she didn't take the initiative. The conversation wouldn't continue without proving this.” Kazuya placated her. ”This method is somewhat similar to how Kurogane Shishio had gotten rid of Kurogane Nagisa in the past. The fact that she was against me being accepted as Kurogane Shishio's son prompted them to get rid of her in a way that would gain sympathy rather than suspicion towards them.”

”Why…” Yuriko was still digesting all the information that was suddenly being revealed to her. She felt sympathy towards Kazuya who had to bear such things so she couldn't help but worry for him. ”Why are you telling me this now? This is different from the current case so I don't believe you just found out about this now as well!”

”Because after I found out that they have been responsible for this as well, I came to a decision to change my plans a little.” Kazuya turned to look Yuriko straight in the eye. ”Now that I have you, I feel that I must just be able to pull this off. There is just one question; Are you ready to try and take down your first white whale Yuriko-san?”

”I…” seeing the determined look on Kazuya's face, she hesitated. Seeing his expression, Yuriko knew that he was going to go through with whatever he was thinking whether she agreed to help or not. It wasn't that Kazuya had been planning to do this, he was forced to do this by the very same people who coveted him.

In this aspect, she felt sorry for the Kurogane clan. The very person they're trying so hard to force into their family was already planning their demise. In her opinion, they deserved it.

Kazuya didn't stay in the Kurogane clan in hopes to learn and understand the ways these despicable people worked, he slowly studied their weak points, as well as thought of numerous ways to take them down. The only thing he was waiting for was the perfect opportunity to take them down.

What he didn't expect however was that although the Kuroganes haven't bothered with the Kouzuki clan for these past few years, that didn't mean that they weren't going to make a move on them. Kazuya had expected small secretive retaliations but they started out with trying to assassinate the current head of the Kouzuki can, his mother.

This had already doomed the Kurogane clan in his mind. The only problem left was choosing a specific plan to deal with them and making the necessary preparations. Who would have thought that they would decide to target Shiroyuki Tomoyo due to a misunderstanding?

Thus Kazuya had to make an immediate decision. The Kuroganes were already getting out of hand and their continuous failures have been making them bolder and bolder. With the current cards in Kazuya's pocket, he had to make these treacherous snakes think twice before making another move that he might not catch wind of.

This was where his recent acquaintance, Sanada Yuriko came in. Kazuya already knew her from his past as a stubborn girl who he had judged to be fearless due to her unwavering sense of justice. As he didn't know many people from the police force, he could only put his trust in someone who he knew, couldn't be bought or pressured.

Her role would be simple, she would use the evidences Kazuya had been collecting to put doubt and pressure on the Kurogane clan whose reputation alone was more than enough to open up a lot of suspicion. Kazuya would supply Yuriko with as many bullets as she would need to put the Kurogane clan on the defensive.

”I… I want to help!” Kurumi offered nervously. She felt partly responsible for what happened to Tomoyo so she expressed her desire to help.

”Thank you for your offer. I will definitely ask if I need your assistance, but right now, if Stockton International made a move on the Kuroganes, suspicion will definitely fall upon me. Since the Kuroganes are a paranoid bunch, they wouldn't hesitate to put suspicions amongst themselves because the current information in Yuriko-san's hands are more or less inside information.” Kazuya didn't neglect to point out that he was putting himself at risk as well.

”I can't help?” Kurumi felt disappointed. She wanted to be able to lend a hand so that Kazuya can be free from those shameless and bad people.

”You're already helping.” Kazuya felt her intentions even after hearing about what happened to Tomoyo and was a little moved. ”If I'm not mistaken, Kurogane Shishio and Kurogane Tenma have been making plans so that they would have the power to betroth me to you. As long as we continue to get along, they would be less inclined to put their suspicions towards me.”

”I'm helping?” Kurumi couldn't help but smile after she heard that. ”That's no problem! I would always want to hang out with you!”

”Please relay a message to uncle Jon for me that Kurogane Tenma requested that I get you to setup a meeting for them.” Kazuya told her and smiled after seeing the confusion on her face despite agreeing to it.

Kazuya decided to relay his message like this to make things clear. He knew that Kurumi would tell parts about the conversation they were having now to Jonson so he left it up to the clever king to come up with a way to dodge the people who tried to use his daughter for their own benefit.

”Kazuya…” Yuriko, who had been in deep thought for a while, called out. ”Since you've asked for my help, I'm sure you already have a plan in mind right?”

”I do. First of all, I want a list of people who you think can be trusted with this information. I trust you but I don't know them nor do I trust them.” Kazuya didn't mince with words. ”I hope you don't get offended, this concerns my safety as well. Though I've spent quite the amount of time trying to grasp their capabilities, I still do not know each and every individual that they can use or take advantage of.”

”I understand.” Yuriko nodded.

”After I've gone through them, we can begin with the evidences for the current investigations. Then slowly back them up with the other cases and evidences.” Kazuya explained his plan with such detail that Yuriko could hardly believe was thought of just recently.

If he could get the Kurogane clan on the defensive, they wouldn't be able to make any moves that would put them under more pressure. Though this might put himself under risk of suspicion as a mole, Tenma would disregard any of them as long as he showed off his friendship with Kurumi. With the Kurogane banquet closing in, Shishio and Tenma couldn't afford making Kazuya not want to take part in the most important gathering of the clan.

”Are you sure you just came up with this plan?” Yuriko wasn't one to hold back her thoughts so she immediately asked the first question that popped up into her head.

”I've only just collected these evidences. Moreover, we haven't known each other for long so how could I have thought this all out before?” Kazuya's look as if looking down on Yuriko's intelligence made her want to pounce and beat on him.

”So where do I say I got all of these from? You may have thought of the process already but what about this?” Yuriko retorted looking annoyed.

”Please…” Kazuya rolled his eyes. ”Even a layman who watches tv knows the answer to this. Haven't you ever heard of a 'confidential informant?'” Kazuya shook his head and started to wonder if he really did have the right person for the job. ”Though the information I provided you with might be sensitive information, it's not as if the police can't double check the information.”

”You…!” Yuriko couldn't believe it herself. She could have come up with the answers herself but for some reason, whenever she was around this kid, she already wanted to hear about his opinions before she would think about things by herself. She hated herself for that.

Watching the two argue, Kurumi couldn't help but feel a little out of place. This reminded her of whenever Kazuya and Maron usually argued. Though they looked like they were at odds with each other, in reality, they were close enough to have arguments like this without much damage to their relations. She was a little envious because of this.

”Kazuya-kun… I have a question I want to ask…” Kurumi glanced towards Yuriko who seemed to know what she wanted to ask.

”You're right! I almost forgot!” Yuriko nodded as well.

”What is it?” seeing these two who barely even talked to each other since they met agreeing like this made him feel something was wrong. This instinct of his made him want to make a quick escape but they were currently inside a plane that was in mid-flight.

”When I met unc… Kurogane Shishio, he and Kurogane Tenma told us about the arrangement between Shiroyuki Jirou-sama and Kouzuki Kou-sama.” Kurumi started to speak.

”You said that Shiroyuki Tomoyo was a victim because of a misunderstanding so…” Yuriko continued before both of them turned to each other and nodded.

””Who are you really engaged to?””

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