[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/RgZSNep.png[/img] [sub]FANFICTION | DANGANRONPA | MATURE (18+) | [url=http://unxi.tumblr.com/post/149898694358]ART CRED.[/url] | [url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJeqL6Iir6OqL-v6TbCIIL6gK7Zro6Wj_1lTXpNKa_I/edit]CAST & CREW.[/url][/sub][/center] [center]"Are you running again?"[/center] Silence. “Are you running again?” “I don’t need your commentary, Nanami-san.” Sitting elegantly on one of the velvet couches hidden behind the velvet curtain in the room of sin, Kyouko’s eyes were locked onto the threshold of the VIP room, seeing the familiar figure of Nanami’s bodyguard, Komaeda Nagito, as well as the figure of the man she had run from multiple times. “Komaeda-kun says he saw Togami-kun. Is it him you’re running from?” She was silent as she pours herself another drink, something stronger than the ice water she had been sipping a moment ago. “What is he doing here?” She asked her yakuza friend, violets meeting magentas gently as the two friends shared a moment of silence. “What relation does he have to you?” “He’s a detective,” Nanami explained, “And some of my higher-ranking subordinates have gone missing. Hashimoto was his informant before, so I’m speaking through Hashimoto to communicate with him. I want to bring the members of my family home. The history that you and he share doesn’t really… matter to me.” “At least you’re honest,” Kirigiri sighed, watching Komaeda successfully turn Togami away in silhouette, and she slinks down lower into her chair. Looking over the cutely-dressed yakuza, the gambler queen crossed one leg over the other, letting milky-white skin be evident in the low, scarlet light. “He bought me a drink.” “Was it a nice drink?” “Cognac,” Kirigiri replied, nodding. “I had already ordered one for myself on my tab, but when I had finished mine, the bartender had presented me with another, and we shared a toast.” Her neck popped as she let her head fall back, standing. “I think I am done playing for tonight.” “Then sit down, Kirigiri-san,” Nanami smiled at her friend, trying to get her to sit back down, not to leave the casino just yet. “Give Togami-kun some time to leave the casino. We need to talk, anyways.” Agreeing silently with her pink-haired friend, the woman in the black dress took a seat again, sighing as she slipped out of her heels. Bare feet pressed against the plush carpet of the VIP room, and she let her ankles pop with a slight curve to her feet. “You make it sound like I’m in trouble,” Kyouko chuckled, “I haven’t broken the rules of the Digital Dragon, have I?” “No, never,” Nanami smiled at her friend, drumming her fingers against the table she sat at. “Instead, I wanted you to be careful…” “Careful?” Kyouko asked for more information, plucked and filled brow arching at the yakuza boss. “I am always careful; you know this. What’s prompting this? What’s going on?” “I’m scared,” Nanami revealed to the other, sighing softly. “I’m going to be safe. I have Komaeda-kun. But the other members of the yakuza… my family… you. You’re my family, Kirigiri-san, whether or not you like it. All this business you’re doing in my casino right now… we have cashed in on so many debts. We don’t have to steal so much. You’re doing all of the stealing for us.” A joke made at Kyouko’s expense, pulling a giggle from Chiaki’s lips. “Because people know you, you’re going to be a target. And… you might be kidnapped, too.” “I am going to be just fine,” The gambler reassured her friend, reaching over to pat her knee. “We both know that I don’t die so easily.” “I know.” Chiaki sighed softly at Kirigiri’s sureness in her ability. “You always exude confidence… I’m impressed…” “I exude because I have to,” Kirigiri laughed at the other’s comment, “You have to put on airs of confidence to be in my line of work. You simply have the manpower to intimidate others into submission. Myself? Not so much. I have to make people believe they’re winning. I have to make people suffer mentally, not physically.” “Scary.” Nanami chuckled, interrupted by the fluttering of the velvet curtain in front of her. Bowing politely, her white-haired bodyguard, Komaeda Nagito, entered the room with a submissive aura. “I apologize for entering so rudely, Young Mistress,” Komaeda bowed politely again, reassuring his boss that he was completely subordinate to her. Drumming her fingers against her thigh, Nanami lifted her chin to him and shifted her head to the side, as if she was curious as to what Nagito had to say. “I followed the detective in the casino, like I was asked,” Komaeda explained, pulling a reaction from Kirigiri as her head snapped around to glare at Nanami, knowing her friend better than she knew herself. Confused at the gambler’s reaction, Komaeda continued on with his report, “He was meeting with Hashimoto-kun again.” “Did Hashimoto-kun deliver my message to him?” “Yes, ma’am,” Komaeda nodded, “He will be back in the casino tomorrow night to talk to you about the disappearances. He made an attempt to follow Kirigiri-san into the Velvet Room, but I intercepted him.” “Thank you, Komaeda-kun. Is there anything else I need to know?” “No, Mistress,” Komaeda nodded, pocketing his hands into his dress pants. “Is there anything that I need to do for you? My life is at your command, as you know.” “Just keep standing guard, Komaeda-kun. I want to go home soon, so I’ll need an escort.” “Of course,” Nodding politely to both her and Kirigiri, Komaeda excused himself from the Velvet Room, pushing past the maroon curtains and letting his silhouette be visible from the inside of the room. Sighing softly, Kirigiri sunk down lower on the couch, her gloved hand pressed against her browbone with a look of exasperation. “Are you ready to go home, Kirigiri-san?” Nanami asked, chuckling at her friend’s behavior. “You look like it.” "More than you know,” Kirigiri replied, adjusting herself into a seated position. Shrouded hands smooth down the tresses of her evening gown, midriff exposed in the two-piece dress. “Have I pulled enough people into debt for you tonight?” A joke, hidden within words of truth. After all, that’s why Kirigiri Kyouko came home to Japan after spending time in London with her grandfather: she had been requested by one of the most infamous yakuza families in the East. That’s not an invitation you turn down, especially when the requester is an old high-school friend. In an attempt to slow down the rate of active stealing so that they couldn’t be tracked by the Japanese Police Department, Nanami had requested the help of Kirigiri to assist her in luring people into the Digital Dragon and driving them unnecessarily into debt so that Nanami simply had to cash in her debts with businessmen when she needed things taken care of or erased. Between that and the lucky instincts of her cousin, the Nanami family was absolutely unstoppable. Standing, Nanami retrieved her jacket from the back of the seat she was sitting on. Draping it over her shoulders, Kirigiri was prompted to stand as well, her fur wrap placed properly around her arms to protect herself from the cold of Japan’s rainy nights. As both girls exited, Komaeda’s brows arched, as if he was ready to leave, as well. When Nanami nodded, silently prompting him to escort them both to the car, Komaeda’s arms folded neatly behind his back, taking a position in front of the two to protect them from attacks from the front. His keen senses would render him with enough time to protect them from the rear as well; after all, only thirty percent of attacks came from behind. The car parked above ground could have been easily missed by the passerby. Completely black, unrevealing that it was made of completely bulletproof material, tinted windows. To those that walked by it, it simply looked like an empty police car or the abandoned car of a celebrity. Opening the door, Komaeda allowed Kirigiri and Nanami to enter the back before sliding in as well, sitting in front of them with his back to the driver. Nimble fingers found the window in the panel behind him, opening it to address the chauffeur. “We need to take Kirigiri-sama home first before we take the young mistress home. She lives in Shibuya.” “Yes, sir,” the driver politely acknowledged Komaeda’s words as he shut the panel, crossing his arms and slinking down lower into his seat, as if he was tired. “Thank you for taking me home,” Kirigiri smiled to both Nanami and Komaeda as she leaned down, reaching at her ankles to unbuckle the strap of her heels that kept them on. Sliding out of her shoes, she sighed softly in relief, as if she was just as tired as the bodyguard, if not moreso. “I didn’t want to risk someone mistaking me for a hostess.” “Any time you need a ride, just let me know. We have some drivers in Shibuya, still, right?” Looking to Komaeda for reassurance, Nanami nodded in correlation with her words as Komaeda did, confirming her suspicion. “Thank you. Now I know that…” “Stop worrying about him.” Having been interrupted by the yakuza head, Kirigiri arched an eyebrow at Nanami, who simply crossed one leg over the other. “I understand that you’re worried. That you want to run away again. But you don’t need to worry about him anymore, Kirigiri-san.” “He-” Kirigiri began to plead with her friend, trying to get her to side with her instead of keeping a neutral ground on the situation, as she was wont to do. “I know what he did,” Nanami nodded, rubbing her hands together to warm them up. “And I know what you’re going to do. So listen to me as your friend: You need to stop it.” Letting her eyes examine the paneling of the car for longer than she should have, Nanami’s words continued to barrage Kirigiri’s ears, prompting violet brows to furrow. “You live in Shibuya. He lives in Ikebukuro. That’s at least a half-hour drive from your house to his, maybe longer depending on where in Ikebukuro he lives, and traffic… and… anyways.” Nanami leaned over, placing a hand on Kirigiri’s arm. “Just relax. You’re known for getting wound up about things like this. Stop it.” Her eyes flickered to Komaeda, who by now had begun resting his eyes and leaning his head back against the leather of the luxury seats. “You’re right,” She agreed with Nanami, nodding. “I’m sure that drink was simply a sign of good faith. Old friends saying hello.” “There you go,” Nanami smiled, grinning at her friend. “You’re going to be just fine. Kirigiri sighed. “I hope you’re right.” [center]— IKEBUKURO, JAPAN — — 2315 HOURS —[/center] Running warm hands through his hair, the detective exited his shower, once-tense shoulder muscles slightly relaxed now, but never completely so. After drying himself off with a towel, the blonde adorned a grey, cotton robe, finding himself comfortable in the gift from his father. Wiping the condensation from his glasses before putting them back on, the detective picked up his cellphone, checking the messages he had received: none. Settling down into his reading chair, Togami picked up a copy of some sort of psychology study, flipping through it to find the dog-eared page to pick up where he had left off. Barely getting through the first page, Togami was interrupted by his cellphone vibrating twice, the assigned ringtone for a text message. Dog-earing his page again, he leaned over, picking up the silver cellphone and scrolling through a complex passcode to check his message. [center][ UNKNOWN | 23:16 ] Thank you for the drink.[/center] He was expecting something like this, he wasn’t going to lie. Kirigiri was known for doing things like this. Getting ahold of contact information. Scaring people in submission. In Togami’s case, he inferred that she was trying to scare him into leaving her alone. His lips curled up into a smirk. Nice try. His finger hovered over the number, hitting “save” and saving the number under her full name. Of course, he would have to do this a number of times, with a number of different numbers, but this time, he wasn’t letting her go so easily. [center][ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:17 ] My pleasure. I hope you enjoyed it. [ KIRIGIRI KYOUKO | 23:18 ] You could say I did. I have a soft spot for French liquor. What are you doing back in Tokyo? [ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:19 ] Ask your yakuza friend, why don’t you? [ KIRIGIRI KYOUKO | 23:20 ] You know that’s not how I like to play games, Togami-kun.[/center] The smirk on his lips was ever-present as he re-created her voice in his head. Perhaps you could say he had an obsession with her, like a husband who could not let his ex-wife go away. What did you expect from a detective whose only mistake was letting the daughter of the head of Japan’s most dangerous gambling ring share his bed and go free? Exhaling softly, Togami’s thumb hovered over the send button. [center][ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:22 ] I’m in Tokyo working on a series of disappearances that I believe to be kidnappings. Nanami Chiaki has enlisted my help because the last three disappearances were higher-level members of her yakuza. But you already knew that, didn’t you? [ KIRIGIRI KYOUKO | 23:24 ] Curiosity killed the cat, Togami-kun. [ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:25 ] But satisfaction brought it back.[/center] She was such a curious character, Togami mused; if she truly wanted to be left alone, why did she contact him first? Why did she know he was going to pursue her just as much as he was going to pursue the series of disappearances? Why did she know him better than he knew himself, and why did he know her better than she could ever hope to know? Leaning back in his chair, Togami closed his eyes as the two traded words back and forth. Nimble hand ran down his sharp jawline, waiting for her response. Perhaps he had won this argument. Perhaps he had pushed her into submission. Pursing his lips, his cellphone vibrated in his hand, prompting his eyes to open and examine the text message. [center][ KIRIGIRI KYOUKO | 23:30 ] You’re going to the Digital Dragon again tomorrow night, correct? To meet with Nanami-san? [ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:31 ] That’s correct. [ KIRIGIRI KYOUKO | 23:32 ] Arrive early. Meet me at the bar. I’ll buy you a drink. [ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:33 ] Chardonnay Brise. I expect it to be cold. We need to talk. [ KIRIGIRI KYOUKO | 23:34 ] That we do. I’ll see you then. Go ahead and delete this number, Togami-kun. I won’t be contacting you from it. [ TOGAMI BYAKUYA | 23:35 ] Thank you for saving me the trouble. Good night, Kirigiri. [ UNKNOWN | 23:36 ] Good night. [/center] Closing the cellphone completely, Togami rose from his chair, not even returning to his book for the night. Shedding his robe, Togami slipped into silken pajamas, navy blue, sliding into bed. Taking off his glasses, the detective reached behind himself to flip off the light, laying flat on his back. Ceruleans stuck to the ceiling, letting the events of today settle into his mind. Blinking on occasion, Togami recalled the events of today over and over in mind, praying he could find a bit of evidence that he missed initially. Something to give him the upper hand. Something to give him a lead. “Nothing,” he groans, closing his eyes. Togami Byakuya would not get a lot of sleep tonight.