Winterside Up

[estirose]

If there was anything a spy hated, it was publicity. Or, to be exact, publicity that ended a career. Two careers in Taiga's case: both his public position as the president of Development and Pioneer, and the career he'd had as a spy.

And it was all Suzuki Mio's fault.

The woman was his cousin Junsei's current research assistant. The man went through research assistants like water, especially after he married his first one. As far as he was concerned, Junsei should have kept Tomoe on instead of hiring someone as incredibly curious as Suzuki Mio. She was the one who had exposed his secret to the whole world, causing him to be made a Duke.

Suzuki Mio, who was sleeping in one of the castle's bedrooms. It was his staff who had brought her in, and he would have gladly sent her onto a hospital had there been a way to do so. But the snowstorm that was blowing outside had effectively cut out all signals, and some kind of disaster had done the same with the landlines.

So, Taiga was stuck with a visitor he didn't want. He furiously pictured her from the last time he'd seen Junsei. Her hair was mousy and long, with glasses that swallowed half her face. Junsei had told him that she was an extremely good researcher, and indeed she must have been, both to keep her job and to expose Taiga like that.

He had refused to even see her even after his butler had told him what happened. He might have had to take her in due to the weather, but that didn't mean that he was happy to have her there.

At least when the storm subsided - or some other way of making contact with the outside world happened - she would be out of his hair. She could be sent to a hospital or someplace else. He didn't care, as long as it was away from him.

He shook his head. He should go to the extensive library and read something. Or do something other than brood about things he couldn't change.

There was a knock on the door, a knock that Taiga recognized as his butler's. "Come in," he called.

"Sir," his butler said, after opening the doors. Taiga scowled as he recognized Suzuki Mio behind him. Wasn't she supposed to be asleep, or at least staying out of Taiga's way?

She hadn't changed much. Oh, she'd gotten slimmer glasses so that she looked a little more normal, but she looked much the same as she had when he'd met her before.

"Yes?"

"Um, this man here says that you're the owner of this place. Um, thank you." She bowed deeply, and her words made him frown. How could she not recognize him? The man that she'd ruined?

"Yes. I am the Duke of Sagarc." He tried to moderate his tone a little, for his butler's sake. The man wasn't Kurosawa, his frequent partner who could pass off anywhere as a servant, but he was a good staff member.

And at least unlike Taiga's adoptive father a businessman back in Japan, the man seemed to actually care about him.

He realized, as he looked at her, that she didn't seem to know who he was. Strange.

"Um, I don't know how I got out here, but thank you very much for your hospitality," Mio said. In practically any other circumstance, Taiga would have been drawn to protect her, because she sounded so pitiful.

And, after all, he had gone into the spy business to do some good.

"You don't know who I am?" he asked.

"Um, your people said your name was Nobori Taiga." At least the verbal pause in her sentences was familiar. "I can't remember - I think I ran into a tree."

He remembered Junsei mentioning that she was good at that. And tripping over her own feet. And getting lots of papercuts. Shaking his head, he sighed. "You're responsible for putting me here."

Mio's eyes widened. "I... I am?"

"Yes." He didn't feel like elaborating. And yet her wide eyes made him wish he was in a better mood. Or at least that she was somebody different.

But he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Um... why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her voice growing soft.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Um, like that." It was not exactly a useful description.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He folded his arms and turned away. Why would he be looking at her in a particular way anyway?

"Um...." She was quiet after that, and Taiga waited until she would hopefully go away and not bother him anymore.

"Yes?" he hoped to hear silence. It was bad enough that he was still thinking of her.

"I... can you tell me anything about me?" she asked. "You seem to know me."

"Not very well. You're my cousin Junsei's research assistant, that's all." That's all he cared to think about, and then he wondered if Junsei would want to know where his assistant was.

Whatever was going on, obviously Taiga wasn't going to stop thinking about her until she was long gone.

"Oh, okay." She was quiet once more, and then she spoke again. "Thank you anyway."

"For what?" he asked. He hadn't given her anything beyond what he knew of her, which wasn't very much.

"It gives me something to go on." There was certainty creeping into her voice. Suddenly, she was less the timid research assistant and more the knowledgeable expert that Junsei might have even hired her to be. Taiga vaguely remembered that her specialty was European history, but Junsei had her researching Japanese folklore versus various European folklore. To be honest, Taiga had liked Junsei's novels, even after Junsei's researcher had outed Taiga.

Apparently, Junsei could actually hire some competent help.

"You can't research much here." Not with everything out. "Let me get you some books." Maybe she'd remember something of herself by looking at history.

Who knew, it might work. It wasn't like they had many other alternatives. And it would give him something to do while the storm outside raged. He couldn't do paperwork forever, after all.

She gave him a smile. He didn't return it, but instead, stepped towards her. Even if he didn't like her, it would let him keep an eye on her. "Let's go," he said. "After you."

Mio gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she said, and they went to the library together.