The Innocent (A 'Finder' Fanfiction)

Shadow of Pluto - 11 - Fei Long

He turned around for the probably 100th time. Of course, he could claim that the birds chirping outside were the culprit which kept him from falling asleep again, or the light of the early dawn which was hardly hindered though the curtains were very thick. But all of that would have been lies. The only thing that kept him awake was his restless mind.

Finally, he got up, dressed and stepped outside the bedroom which had been offered to him by Maxim. For a moment, he listened to the silence of the guesthouse's hallway, then he walked over to the room some doors down. Even though the master of the house had not appeared happy about his unexpected visitors, he had given him and Mikhail the two biggest, most luxurious chambers, which both had a large balcony and their own bathrooms.

In front of the other door, he stopped. He touched the wood with his fingertips while he listened for any movement or noise inside. Yet, there was none. Which was not really surprising. It was only short past 5 in the morning, and Mikhail had proven to him to be far better in sleeping several times before.

He should just go ... yet his fingertips remained on the door a little longer. Mikhail would not mind if he entered ... if he snug beneath the sheets ...

With his hair flicking behind him, he spun around and hurried outside. The guesthouse was connected to the mansion with a row of arcades that passed a beautiful fountain where birds were taking a bath and did not care about the man walking past with quiet steps.

Once inside the main house, the silence and dimness of the large villa wrapped around him. This place seemed little like it was a home to anybody. There were no private pictures or personal items anywhere. Everything looked like someone had wanted to recreate living without actually putting any life in it. All the rooms were beautifully furnished and decorated in warm colors, but it felt sterile and arid, nonetheless.

After the little information Fei Long had been able to catch in one evening, the mansion and grounds still belonged to Asami's father, who was furthermore still the head of their family's organization – and it bugged Fei Long that he had never learned about any of that. Maxim dealt with most of the businesses from afar and had moved into the house in which he had lived in as a child, yet it seemed like he did not dare to change much about that place. Just as if he was still a guest here himself.

It made Fei Long wonder how he would feel if once he set foot back into his childhood home. He had not done so, since his father had died there. Today he paid for the house to be preserved, though he did not want to go there.

On the steps upstairs, he halted for a moment and tried to imagine how it would be if he walked through his old home ... Then he shook the thought away before it managed to make him feel sad, and hurried further up.

There was a cat in front of the bedroom door, behind which both Asami and Akihito would most likely rest. She tried to push the little cat flap open with her head, but it did not move. Then she noticed the approaching man. She ran up, greeting him with little meows, and cuddled around his legs.

"Good morning", Fei Long spoke softly. There was a tiny bell beneath the cat's neck that rang almost inaudibly. She followed him onwards and tried the cat flap again, yet it seemed to be blocked.

Cautiously, the man turned the handle and pushed open the door. With another 'meow' just like it meant 'thanks!', the cat flit inside.

The curtains had not been drawn in the evening because they had decided to not allow darkness to engulf the room fully. There was some lighting in the garden at night and the sky had been clear, the moon bright. Now the morning sun stood on this side of the building and bathed the chamber with golden light.