BLACK DIAMOND

A 30 days of writing challenge by Chiharu Tanaka

06 flame

They had arrived in Amsterdam the next day, and settled in at a suite at a five star hotel. Riku was insistent on having one room and she couldn't argue because she only brought U.S. dollars. She cursed his rushed timing - she was unable to visit the money changer at all. But thankfully he was considerate enough to get a suite with two separate bedrooms.

She took off her red-haired wig as soon as she got to her room. It didn't matter if she was red-haired or not now that she was in the heart of Netherlands. Becoming somebody she was not was one thing, but going in disguise was another story altogether.

After a shower, she got dressed into her usual clothes (not the 'Kairi' ones she was forced to buy) and stepped out into the common area of the suite. She sat down on the couch to turn on the television. To her dismay, most of the channels were in Dutch - except CNN, which thankfully was in English. She was glad that there wasn't any 'breaking news' about Ursula's jewel theft and her disappearance on CNN, but she was pretty sure Riku was up to no good.

She knew this because she picked up a brochure of Amsterdam at the airport - although by prior knowledge she knew Amsterdam to be a marijuana addict's heaven and a place full of art museums; she was surprised to find out that it was also one of the world's centre for diamonds back in the day - and they housed several valuable diamonds, including the Coster Diamonds on the Museum Square.

This was not good at all. A jewel thief just flew in from America, for goodness sake - to the one place where diamonds are abundant and probably very guarded.

She took the brochure and flipped through it again - just to check if there were any conventions or special displays of diamonds around Amsterdam in the near future. While she was engrossed in reading, she failed to notice Riku coming from behind her, and it wasn't until she felt something drip on her shoulder that she realised his presence.

Sharply, she turned around to face him and almost fell off the sofa. His hair was wet, covered in a short towel - but more importantly he was half-naked, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. She averted her eyes away from him - but what was seen cannot be unseen - she cursed him for having such a body that made her blush like a tomato.

"What're you reading?" he asked.

"It's just a brochure. Thought I'd go sightseeing," she said, standing up.

He picked up the book from the couch and flipped through it, smirking as he noticed that she wasn't looking his way and her cheeks were as red as that wig he bought for her. She was such a strange person sometimes - all the eligible, beautiful women he had met either tried to get him to kiss her and those who do not necessarily fall under that category would just stare at him.

"That's a good idea, actually. I thought of going sightseeing with you."

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. We're gonna be here a while, and it's gonna look suspicious if either one - or both of us - stays cooped up here too long when we're obviously tourists."

Naminé frowned. And here she was thinking of bringing her U.S. currency to a money changer to get enough cash to escape from this crazy man. She felt like knocking her head against the world - what made her think that this man was able to help her? He got her in this mess in the first place just to trap her and use her!

"Plus, we'll need to get you supplies. You can't do your work without it now, can you?"

A sigh escaped her lips. She would try another time, but for now, she would have to resort to making this...relationship...as professional as she could. "Okay," she said, giving in. "I'll just...be in my room."

She made a quick escape, and Riku felt himself chuckle as she briskly walked to her room and locked the door behind her. 'Does she really think I'm that kind of man?' he thought. 'But then again, lots of girls think that way.'

He looked at the brochure and a soft smile came to his lips, eyes twinkling at the illustration of the diamonds printed on the paper. The sparkling, colourless jewels always gave him so much delight and fascination. The thrill of stealing them was a bonus, too.

His eyes turned to the door once again, and a wish formed in his heart. He knew how much he needed Naminé to help him in his theft, but he couldn't find the reason which compelled him to present her with his most valuable possession - the watch - when her doubt blocked his path.

'I just hope she's taking good care of that watch.'

TO BE CONTINUED

A/n: Sorry for the slow update! Life's been hectic, as usual, and Tumblr is down so I'll be posting here first. Please review!

NOTICE: There's a poll at my profile, and I want to know which of my 'on hiatus' stories would you like to see me complete. Go ahead and vote, and thanks!