Premonition

It didn't make any sense.

It was a beautiful morning, but she was in her room reading the letters. They were now in Belgium, resting a bit before the next day of the tour. Yamamoto was sorely tempted to create origami out of the damned parchments. She had a general profile of this stalker, but trying to find clues as to where and how they would strike was another thing entirely. They were now halfway through the tour, but so far this person hadn't made their presence felt yet, not even a shadow. Miterhause was getting highly anxious, but Shagswell was a bit humorous about it. "Maybe they couldn't get tickets for the tour's duration," he joked one time.

She read one of the letters again, still disturbed from the words written on the parchment.

Darling,

You thought that I could keep away from you, but, my dear, I cannot. I will not. I know you would not keep away from me as well; that's how strong our love is for each other. I shudder to think that other women would pine for you when I am the one who truly loves you. I am the only one who has the right to love you. It would be painful to think that you would disagree, wouldn't it? No, you won't. You are my heart, my life. Betrayal is not part of your make-up, nor is mine.

She rubbed her eyes, tired from reading. She could not go on anymore. The next few words showed an insanity that was chilling. Whoever wrote the letters spoke in a calm manner and almost casually. The writer forced assumptions, giving them as fact. The letters after this just degenerated into outright threats.

No one deserves you than me, and only me. Your death by my hand will be proof of it. My love will be the only thing you will remember.

Love, indeed. The person was clearly insane. Yet, she could not determine if this person really was a woman. Could it be a man, bent on revenge? Despite Shagswell's assurances that he knows no one who would hold a grudge against him, what if there was still the possibility that someone out there saw him as a rival, or a downright usurper of a woman's affections?

All will know that I am the one who finally caught you...

All I ask is for you to be with me...

No, it couldn't be a man based from these words. Delusional and narcissistic, with obsessive qualities; that is what she saw in the letters. No wonder the editor was alarmed.

Also, the person was smart enough, as well, to hide whatever that would physically describe them, not even the color of their eyes. She frowned, finding that odd. She would think that an overzealous fan would describe their best feature, in order to impress their idol, but she found none here, but only mentioned about their "beauty". What did it mean?

"Kuzou!" she swore softly and rubbed the fatigue from her eyes. She was about to throw the parchments into the air in a fit of irritated whimsy when there was a knock on the door.

She quickly placed the parchments back in her file and went up to get the door. She saw the editor's assistant when she opened it. "Yes?" she asked gently.

"Miss Miterhause would like you to see the set-up," she said. She blushed, looking down and wringing her hands. "Um, I also wanted to tell Lord Shagswell but, but..."

"You're too shy?" she finished for her. This time the event would be held in Belgium's biggest Quidditch pitch. They would have to Apparate towards there. When the girl nodded, she smiled. "Alright, we'll be down. I'll call on him. Thank you." With a final nod to her, Yamamoto went to the connecting door and knocked.

"Lord Shagswell?" she called out. Hearing no answer, she tried the knob and found it unlocked. Slightly wary now, she opened the door. "Lord Shagswell?" she called again. The room was empty when she went in, but she could hear water splashing from the bath chamber and surmised he was bathing. She went to it and knocked loudly on the door.

"Yes?" came the muffled reply.

She took a deep breath, relieved that he was really taking a bath. "Ms. Miterhause wants us to see the set-up for tomorrow's event," she said loudly.

"What? I can't hear you."

"Miterhause wants us to Apparate to the Quidditch pitch!" she almost shouted. Was it because of his shower that he could not hear her?

"What?"

Yamamoto took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. She decided to open the door and go inside a bit. She felt the warm mist kiss her face when she entered, but she still kept near the door. "Lord Shagswell," she said as loudly as she could without actually shouting. "Miterhause wants us to see the set-up."

"Samara wants us to what, again?" he replied, the water still splashing around him.

She wanted to scream to the high heavens, but instead took two steps further inside. She tried to see anything in the generated steam from the bath, hoping that the shower curtain was blocking him, but from the thickness of the steam, she thought not. Unfortunately.

Then she heard the water stop. She sighed, relieved that he could finally hear her. She quickly spoke up before he turned it on again. "Miterhause wants us to see the set-up down---AH!"

Shagswell suddenly appeared from behind the screen, naked and dripping wet. His silvery hair was streaming down his back, with some strands over his chest. She quickly turned around and closed her eyes, but not before she saw the broad chest and the fine hairs that draped across its expanse, and his trim V-shaped torso. There was not an ounce of fat to be seen, as much as she could unfortunately see.

"Why, Irika," his voice rumbled softly. She thought she heard a note of laughter in it. "I never knew you were that curious."

"I was NOT," she emphatically said, her hands clenched into fists. "You could not hear me so I was forced to come inside. Miterhause wants us at the Quidditch pitch. I will wait for you outside." With that, she abruptly left the bathroom and out of the whole hotel room entirely. She did not hear the chuckle when she almost slammed the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Shagswell exited his room, already dry and dressed up. He regarded Yamamoto who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. "Forgive me, Irika," he said with a smile. "I really did not understand what you said. I was just teasing you awhile ago."

With her poker face back in place, she nodded. "It's alright," she said. She stood straight and walked beside him as they went outside the hotel to Apparate.

"Any luck with the letters?" he asked

"Not yet," was the reply. "I know I'm missing something, but it still eludes me. I need to further study the letters later tonight."

"Would you like some help?" he offered. He knew that almost every night she would return to her room to pore over the letters, trying to look for a clue. He figured that she would need some privacy to do her work and did not disturb her during those times.

She looked at him for a few moments then nodded. "Yes, thank you. I would guess that you'd give me a new angle into finding who's after you. You are the target after all."

Shagswell laughed at that. "Good point! Very well, we'll brainstorm tonight!" As they reached the Apparition Point, they then Apparated over to the Quidditch arena.

"Oh, Orion, Irika! Come! You'll be stationed around here," Miterhause called when they arrived at the Quidditch arena. She quickly jogged over to them and pulled them to one spot. "Your tent will be here, and the line will start over there."

Yamamoto looked around, studying the surroundings. It was a typical stadium structure: a huge depression in the ground surrounded by high benches for the spectators. It was similar to the stadium used during the Quidditch World Cup, but since the local team used this for practice, it was much smaller. Yet it still gave Yamamoto some concern.

"Do we have security for this? It seems like a large place."

"Oh, yes, the local wizarding police have been informed, and they'll lend us some of their personnel," Miterhause replied. She was interrupted when her assistant called her.