Unattainable

Chapter 1

She was beautiful. Her shimmering pink hair fluttered as the wind caressed her hair. Her unique crimson eyes captivated his heart, as did her naiveté. She was the one person I could not ask out as easily as I did all the other high school girls. She was special and having just a shallow relationship with her would not suffice. I have watched her and teased her. Made her feel not as appealing as the other girls I dated... even though she was the most beautiful of them all. Daidouji Mayura, the daughter of the local priest. The girl I could not reach.

My obsession had started a few weeks into high school when I saw her for the first time. I had been talking to the weird class president about something inconsequential. She had come up to us eager and wearing weird glasses with swirls muttering, "mystery, it's a mystery!" At first, I had passed her off as the class geek, easily dismissed and ignored. I was above her, with my familial wealth and breeding. After all, I was the Kakinouchi heir and endured harsh training by my father to succeed him successfully when the time came. Coolly, I had walked down the hall ignoring her. I unwillingly turned back to glance at the strange girl and was surprised to see her without her glasses. They turned out to be a prop rather than a necessity for her to see. I looked at her eyes and was startled by the scarlet hues. Who had scarlet eyes anyway? Once I was home, I ordered one of the many underlings to find out more about her. I felt a need to know everything about her. Soon, my underlings returned with information, but I was not content. All it said was that she was the daughter of the priest in their vicinity and that her mother had passes away. She did not look like her mother or father. Which led me to question whether her hair and eye color were natural. I was dissatisfied with the thought that her she had colored them for attention, but I still needed to know. The next day I saw her again, and she was ecstatic that her mystery club was approved and somewhat disturbingly was bouncing off the walls in joy. I casually walked past her, hoping that she would notice my charisma and fall for me. However, she hopped down the hallway blissfully unaware of my handsomeness. In other words, another disappointing day.

Gradually time passed, and her awareness of me did not grow as much as I wanted it to. She was ignorant about my growing infatuation that bordered on obsession. I had my private stash of photographs of her showing every expression that one could have. I starved for information on her, anything would suffice. Each day it was an ordeal controlling my own desires and the temptation to kidnap her and keep her to myself. I remembered that she stayed after school in the mystery club room and was tempted to stop by and make her love me. But I always chickened out in the end, for I found myself longing for her to reciprocate my affections rather than force them upon her. Unfortunately for me, there was no way to naturally go up to her and talk to her. In other words, I couldn't get to know her personally and it frustrated me.

One day I had a surprising opportunity to talk to her. It was a tense situation for my family, and my father had asked me to personally supervise the necklace of Brisings, the next target for the phantom thief. Honestly though, what kind of name is the phantom thief?

That night, my father hired tons of security. It seemed like a waste of capital. I had no idea why my father thought that he could save his jewelry from a thief who seemed to have supernatural powers. If the phantom thief could single handedly lift up a beam of steel, taking out all the security guards would pose no problem at all. I paced through the hallways, bored out of my mind, hoping that the thief would come and get the stealing done with so I could go home and rest. Passing by the lobby for the twenty-seventh time, I saw a shock of pink hair. Ecstatic since there was only one person with pink hair in a 10km vicinity, I walked up nonchalantly and said, "Oh it's you, Daidouji,"

She looked up at me in surprise. Her eyes widening deliciously as she exclaimed, Koutarou kun! Why are you here?"

Casually, I answer with all the breeding I could muster, "Hey, this is a private art museum owned by the Kakinouchi Financial Firm."

Unconsciously, she repeats what I said, "The infamous Kakinouchi Financial Firm..." Her eyes begin to sparkle and she makes a chibi face and cries out in excitement, "Don't tell me your family is wealthy!"

I narrow my eyes speculatively and arrogantly reply, "It's not really a big deal...Besides, I don't have anything to do with my parents' money." Strangely, I wanted to impress her and show her I wasn't dependent on my background... However, she seemed to have other ideas. Her eyes sparkled with greed and she exclaimed, "Let's be friends, Koutarou kun." At this, I sweat-drop. I wanted her undivided attention, but not like this. I didn't want my wealth to be the basis for our relationship. But, it was better than nothing.

"Mayura, who is he?" a boy's voice interjected.

"Kakinouchi Koutarou kun, we go to the same school. He's really wealthy!" Mayura san answers cutely. I look speculatively at the young boy. Luckily, he was too young for Mayura san and was no competition. The young boy had deep emerald eyes that were too keen for someone so young, and wore formal clothing that resembled the clothing of a typical English nobleman. Perhaps he was from a foreign country? Nevertheless, I bristled at his casual manner in regards to Mayura san and I ask, "Daidouji san, so who's he?"

"Loki kun, he's a detective," she answers quickly, looking at me in almost a bragging manner. It was as if she really valued this relationship that she had with the boy.

"Ah~," I say out loud, contemplating this new information. "A detective..."

The boy looks up arrogantly and proclaims, "I'm Loki from the Enjaku Detective Agency." I blink at him in confusion. This boy was strange and I began to reform my opinion of him. He steps closer to me and asks, "Is the necklace in the display room?"

I point behind me, not taking my eyes off him, perhaps he could be a clue to unlocking Mayura san's heart and reply, "Yeah, it's back there." After a moment's thought, I decide that I would observe him and briefly state, "Follow me." I lead him into the room that my father had specially designed for the necklace. There is a statue that was created to look exactly like the goddess Freya. However, like my father's other purchases, one could not be entirely sure. Loki gasps as he enters the room, he intently stares at the statue and the necklace beneath it.

"Amazing, what a beautiful goddess. Which goddess is she? " Mayura san says breathlessly.

The boy answers informatively, as if he was familiar with the statue itself, "She's the Nordic goddess, Freya." He turns to look at Mayura san and states with piercing eyes, "She's the goddess of kindness, beauty, and a mother-figure..." Loki then walks up to the necklace itself and mutters, "The necklace of Brisings.." It seemed as if he knew the origins of the necklace and I continued to observe the boy speculatively. He was no ordinary boy. He turns to look at me and queries in a soft voice, "Where and how did you get this necklace?"

My eyes narrow further and I answer in the same tone, "I'm not sure... It seems to be have been in an auction. But I have no idea from where or by whom it was previously owned."

"I see," he responds quietly. The adult next to him leans over and mutters something I couldn't catch into Loki's ear. The necklace it seemed had a strange connection to the boy in front of me. The question was... how? And would it have an effect on Mayura san and my relationship?

We stop talking and I go back to observing Mayura san and the museum in general. Even though she was a distraction, I had to keep focused on the purpose at hand. Momentarily, there is a commotion and one of friends of Loki came to eat riceballs. Mayura san seems to hang around with strange people lately.

The watches ticks, accurate to the thousandth of a second. Soon it nears the hour of eleven, and I am more alert. My brow crinkled in concentration. The appointed time was nearing. Suddenly, there is smoke and I feel sleepy. I desperately search for my precious Maruya san before the bitter darkness claims me to it's heavy grasp.