The Hunt

"You already know what to do, be discreet and leave no evidence." Hizashi hung up and gave a sigh of relief and sat down more relaxed now staring out the glass wall of his office. It slowly started raining, he couldn't help but wonder if Hayato was really back, if he was actually one of his employees.

"I had a good time Enji, thanks for tonight." June said and pecked him on the cheek. They both went outside and saw the weather was getting worse.

"I would offer to take you home but…" The valet suddenly brings her car over, "It seems you drove here and… I don't… ummm… I don't have a car." He said bowing his head again. June started laughing and got her key from the Valet.

"You're funny, I like you." She said with a smile, "Please don't be the rabbit; all I can do now is prove your innocence." She thought to herself. "Want a ride?" She asked.

"No, no…" He laughed nervously stroking his head, "I'll go by taxi, I'm sure you have other important things to do."

"Okay, good night!" She said. The Valet helped her with an umbrella till she entered the car. Enji quickly rushed into the rain to her window, she lowered the glass and saw a desperate look on his face but he tried to mask it with a laugh.

"What is he planning?" She kept thinking.

"Umm… Miss June, I know you said you had a good time but I hope it wasn't a lie. I umm… I… like you too; can we do this again sometime?" He asked standing in the rain with a smile on his face.

"Yes, I would love that." They both smiled and she drove off.

"I really should've brought an umbrella." He muttered sadly and entered the rain after waiting 20 minutes before seeing a taxi. He walked a good distance before hitching a ride back to his apartment.

The next day he came to work looking horrible and sleep deprived. June kept an exclusive watch on him with the CCTV cameras. Niko walked in on her completely focused on Enji.

"What are you doing? Stalking him after your first date? That's creepy." Niko said and sat down on a long sofa in the office with her legs crossed.

"It's not like that. The date went so well, I don't want him to be the rabbit because…"

"Because you love him?" Niko said waiting to see her reaction.

"No, no… No of course not. No, I just think he's a good guy." She said blushing.

"That's a lot of 'No's'. You definitely like him. But if he's the rabbit then that's a big problem. Dad's methods of doing things are different from yours but I managed to convince him to let you investigate Enji." Niko said and sighed.

"I called him to see why he's been so tired all day. He's probably going to lie; maybe he was up all night digging up his next victim." Niko said but before June could react, Enji walked in dragging his feet.

"Enji? You're here. Why do you look like that?" June asked concerned.

"*Sniff* Umm… After you left, I umm… I wasn't able to get a taxi so I walked under the for a while. I got a taxi later on but somehow I caught a cold, I promise it won't affect my work performance though." He coughed and sneezed, breathing through his mouth.

"I know it's not contagious but I can't be here, there's mucus coming from his nose. Eww!" Niko got up quickly and ran out.

"I'm really sorry about this Miss June, I should have carried an umbrella or have better immunity, I…"

"Lie down." June said, she grabbed him the shoulders and guided him to the sofa, "You don't have to be sorry about anything, you got rid of my annoying sister so it's ok but you should have accepted my offer then to drive you home." She got a blanket and covered him.

"Is this really okay, I mean… I shouldn't be here and…" She pressed her finger against his lips and hushed him.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" She asked him out of the blue with her face screaming 'Say Yes Please.' He opened his mouth to answer but ended sneezing on her.

"I'm so sorry, sorry. I'm sorry, I wanted to say yes. I understand if you fired me." He jumped up and bowed his head in shame. Instead of getting angry she suddenly started laughing which frightened Enji more. He broke out in a nervous laughter himself with his eyes darting round the room looking for the nearest escape route.

"Stay here; I'll go get you a hot soup and some drugs." She left him there alone. He laid there looking at the ceiling wondering what type of luck he had to have survived sneezing on his employer's daughter's face.

"Maybe she's in love with me." He thought out loud to himself, "No that can't be. She's amazing and I covered her in snot. She probably going to get a knife and stab me to death in her office without anyone knowing."

Weeks later after their first date, June had been scarce and Enji wondered if she had forgotten about him or probably avoiding him. It was a Saturday morning and he didn't have to come in for work so he sat on his couch and turned on his TV to take his mind off June ghosting him.

"Breaking News, the number of the XK-24 victims is skyrocketing and has reached an all time high. It's not just in New York but in other states of America, the drug known as XK-24 has been said to be very addictive and has multiple side effects including death if the victim does not get another dose in 48 hours. A single tablet is enough to drive someone crazy." Reporter Jennifer Crew said.

"I can't believe some people are still buying it after knowing this." Enji muttered.

"Some of the victims have claimed to have no knowledge of consuming the lethal drug while the rest gave reasons such as depression, pain, escape. We are live at the Fukuda Grand Welfare Clinic where the daughter of the president of Fukuda Inc. and leading scientist in the search for the XK-24 cure, June Fukuda, is desperately trying to save as many people as she could. Tell us June, what do you think of this devastating situation?" Jennifer asked her handing her a microphone and the camera turned to her.

"June!" Enji exclaimed jumping to his feet. "She has been at the Welfare Clinic all this time? How could I have been so stupid, I have to go see her and help out." He started getting dressed and rushed out immediately.

"Some of the victims appeared to have been drugged with XK-24 without knowing. This is some sort of sick game by the owners of the drug or some powerful idiot. I don't know what their aim is or if they're just playing with human lives. It's kind of ironic, to keep them alive we have to keep giving them a certain amount of the XK-24 or else they'll die. We're just poisoning them and prolonging the inevitable." June said sweating and panting. She hasn't slept well in days. While the news was still ongoing, an ambulance brought in three more victims who were having seizures and amongst them was Enji who collapsed on his way to June. June left Jennifer and the news crew and helped rush them in.

"Isn't that Enji? They got him too? Who's supplying this much XK?" Niko asked.

"Can you keep a secret Niko? It's me; I drugged everyone with it including Enji. It's the only way to find the rabbit. So June doesn't suspect me, I drugged other people who weren't Japanese. This is a war and I'll fight it with everything I've got and in any way possible as long as I win." Hizashi said with watching the news with Niko in his office.