Just gonna put it out here that my fic kairosclerosis is now canon so I'm gonna be in my corner and pouring me down some Pepsi and getting me some cake and celebrating
If Koutarou had to admit one flaw in his career (and he had very few of those of course), it was that he couldn’t take the silence. It was ironic, considering his job required stealth but the waiting and hiding made it hard. Like right now, he was pressed against a wall waiting for his target to walk by.
The corridor was as silent as a catacomb save for the wall clock ticking like a bomb timer (and Koutarou wasn’t so thrilled about those). The elegant music of the ball didn’t seem to reach the far end of the manor which was a shame. The silence seemed to drown him and he tried his very best not to tap his feet.
He was supposed to be coming out of the powder room, as his target would enter the corridor. He would then ask her about the way back and grin sheepishly. His target was bound to come because she had ‘lost’ her ring. It had slipped from her slender fingers, probably because she hadn’t eaten due to the stress of her position. A lady had politely mentioned she thought she had seen something glimmer under the faint hallway lights as she made her way to the powder room.
Of course, the ring was with Koutarou, who had inconspicuously taken her ring off while kissing her fingers in greeting. He would politely ask her why she looked so distraught and she would mention the ring. He would produce it from his coat pocket and show the ring. She would be grateful and she would insist on escorting him back to the ball. Koutarou would take that time in asking about her late husband and if business was going well. If everything went according to plan, he would get the necessary information he needed for his mission with an exchange of a few words.
It would normally be hard to get the lady to talk, but Koutarou had been told that it was hard to refuse him an answer. Plus, he was confident with his charms.
He stiffened as the familiar tread of heels echoed in the hallway. He adjusted his coat, fixed his tie and ran a hand over his hair. He took out a napkin and pretended to wipe his hands. He paused and looked around bewildered before allowing his eyes to find his target and smiled warmly.
The woman was in her late fifties, her hair dyed in a ruby red, heavy eye makeup and she wore an elegant black dress. She had stopped in her tracks and bowed her head a bit.
“Takahashi-san.” Koutarou said as he stuffed his napkin in the inner pocket of his coat. “Um, I think I’ve lost my way. Where did I come from?”
“A forgetful one aren’t you Hideki-san?” Takahashi chuckled.
“Ah I should work on my memory.” Koutarou grinned sheepishly. He waited for her to guide him. Takahashi Aimi was known to be a kind and lovely women from her friends and reports by those who observed her. But right now, Koutarou felt uneasy. The clocked ticked, its sound seeming to bounce off the walls and Koutarou genuinely began to wonder if it was some time bomb.
“I’m not the best for information.” Takahashi said, straightening her back and smiled knowingly. She resembled an adder ready to strike and Koutarou was her target.
“I just need ‘information’ to get back to the main hall.” Koutarou replied, keeping his easy grin. Inside his mind, he produced a mental map of the mansion. There was a window in the powder room; if he was cornered, he would make a run. He would keep the act of being oblivious to the situation till the very end. But he knew it would probably not work. There seemed to be a variable that he hadn’t considered.
That Takahashi Aimi probably knew who he was.
“I’m pretty sure you have other intentions Bokuto-san.”
Koutarou let out a chuckle. This was bad. His identity was Hideki Takeo, no one except Kiyoko was supposed to know of his identity in the entire mansion.
Kiyoko wasn’t a traitor, he knew that much. Which meant that he had been tracked. By some lackey of Takahashi Aimi? Or the suspected new ‘boss’ of the black-market trade? He chose the latter.
“Right, so does this mean that I must provide information?” he grinned, adrenaline rushing. He could hear someone else walking in, careful steps.
“Oh, I’m not interested.” Aimi twirled a lock of her hair, stepping aside for the new person. “But this gentleman may want something out from you.”
Koutarou raised his eyes to the man and swallowed. The man was tall and though his frame looked slender, Koutarou could tell by his stance that he was strong. He seemed to adjust the cuffs of his suit before studying Koutarou with an intensity that made Koutarou involuntarily shudder.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it.” Aimi smirked and stepped close to Koutarou. “It was time the old man passed away. Keep the ring as a keepsake.”
Koutarou’s eyes widened. He was certainly not prepared for this outcome. He didn’t bother turning after Takahashi. It was a failed mission. All he could decipher was that Aimi was the new boss. But that too would require an extensive research to present it to his seniors. He groaned and threw a dirty look at the stranger.
It frustrated him even more that he didn’t know who this person really was.
“What do you want?” he muttered.
“You should do something about your hair Bokuto-san.” The stranger replied, seeming to ignore Koutarou’s bad mood. “You stand out. It took Takahashi-san only a glance to realize who you were. And it took me quite some time to convince her that you weren’t an important spy. Just an immature starter.”
Koutarou curled his fingers into a fist. He had to be calm, he heard Kuroo’s voice in his mind echo. Make best of the situation.
“I think you’re the amateur here.” He started but the stranger pressed a finger to his lips.
“Trust me when I tell you this Bokuto-san. I know an amateur when I see one.” He walked leisurely towards Koutarou. “Please follow me.”
“And what if I don’t?” Koutarou folded his arms.
“Then we have a problem.” The man murmured. His face was only inches away from Koutarou’s. Under the faint lighting of the hallway, Koutarou noticed an eyelash on the other’s cheek and willed his entire being to not brush it off. The stranger was attractive, his dark curls framed his face and the light tan made his dark blue eyes stand out.
If the man attacked him, Koutarou could easily throw him off. But the stranger seemed more careful, as if he didn’t want them to be found out like this. More cautious and calculating. Koutarou couldn’t read him. He jerked away as the man tried to cup his face.
“Okay, um personal space? Did you reveal my identity to Takahashi-san to uh get on with me? Because you could have hit me up after my mission.” Koutarou held his hands up.
The man rolled his eyes and huffed. “I was intrigued. You have strange eyes.” He jerked his head to the side, indicating that something was behind Koutarou.
Koutarou turned around slightly and noticed a towering man at the end of the corridor.
“Sure, you can see them up close.” He held his hands out and the stranger stepped closer and cupped his face.
Koutarou felt his cheeks growing warm and he hoped that the stranger didn’t notice.
“Gold.” The stranger whispered before closing in the space, his lips close to Koutarou’s and for a fleeting moment Koutarou thought ‘oh my god he’s going to kiss me.’
But instead of a kiss the stranger whispered harshly, “We need to get out. The lady will be waiting. We’re being pursued. And discard the ring, it records whatever you say.” He pulled away, wiping his lips as if he had really kissed Koutarou.
The scuffle of feet confirmed that the stranger’s voice had been heard through the ring or whatever it was. Koutarou threw the ring and followed the stranger through the hallways.
They broke into a run, Koutarou looked back and saw that they were pursued by two big burly men. He could throw them off, but considering they were inside the Takahashi mansion, it wouldn’t be wise to be caught up. He glared at the stranger’s back. It irked him that he had no idea about the stranger’s identity. He definitely wasn’t on the guest list for tonight. And yet he had to follow him.
They halted in front of the main ballroom and the stranger brushed his suit jacket and adjusted his tie before mixing into the crowd. Koutarou ducked his head and searched for Kiyoko among the crowd. The men were coming closer and Koutarou knew others would be joining them soon. Someone patted his shoulder and he turned, ready to strike but paused when the stranger stood instead of some lackey.
“Come.” He grabbed Koutarou’s hand and weaved in through the crowd.
There was a yell and they both quickened their pace to the main entrance.
“Wait, I need to find-.”
“She’s outside waiting for us.” The stranger replied.
Koutarou nodded, dumbfounded. Somehow this person had taken control of the mission, his mission, and he felt like some ragdoll thrown here and there. They were a few feet away when a gunshot echoed in the room followed with shrieks and gasps drowning out the music.
“We have an issue.” The stranger said and Koutarou realized that four more men stood in their way to the exit.
Koutarou grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Well, that’s not much of an issue.”
The stranger quirked his eyebrow in question and Koutarou let out a laugh as he grabbed a silver tray from a server, shattering the glasses and throwing it at one of the men. It hit one who stumbled back, clutching his nose and staggering. Koutarou used it as a distraction to close the distance and punched the other man and kicked him to the side.
“A show off.” The stranger commented, wiping his hands as the other two men collapsed on the floor.
“You’re not bad as one either.” Koutarou shrugged. “You up for a drink after this?”
“Let’s focus on not getting killed first.” The stranger said and Koutarou yelped as a bullet grazed his cheek.
“Shit.” Koutarou muttered as his cheek stung. The two men from before were coming close. If worse came, he’d have to take out his gun.
A car revved and Kiyoko yelled, “Get in!”
The stranger and Koutarou glanced at each other before running to the car, ducking their heads to avoid being shot. Koutarou hardly got into the passenger seat when Kiyoko drove. The door slammed against Koutarou’s shoulder and he rubbed on it frowning.
“Are you normally this slow?”
Koutarou rolled his eyes, ignoring the stranger’s jab.
“Shimizu-chan, who is this?” Koutarou pointed at the back seat with his thumb, refusing to look at him.
Kiyoko looked straight ahead, “His name is Akaashi Keiji. He isn’t a threat to us. Kuroo-san will brief you on it later.”
“Was he supposed to be part of this mission?” Koutarou growled. There was no way Kuroo would do anything this rash. The entire mission had been a failure.
“Takahashi-san had figured out that you intended to question her. After all, her husband’s death wasn’t some heart failure. She was the rightful heir to her father’s business and smuggling trade.” Akaashi replied calmly. “She intended to kill you off in that hallway.”
“Right.” Koutarou huffed.
“The information was relayed after we left Bokuto-san.” Kiyoko said, glancing at Koutarou for a moment before resuming her gaze on the road. “Akaashi-san was nearby, and considering signals are unreliable in this area, there were too many risks involved.”
“Fine.” Koutarou muttered, rubbing at his shoulder again. “Just…leave it for later.”
“We’re not being trailed.” Akaashi noted.
“Because we’re still not an important intelligence service in some people’s minds.” Kiyoko replied. “We’ll be returning to our hotel for now. Then tomorrow morning we have to catch our train and return to the safe house.”
Koutarou shut his eyes and willed to even shut out the night’s events. He would tackle them tomorrow. And find out who exactly Akaashi Keiji was.
Daishou Suguru runs a simple tattoo parlor. But all is not what it seems in this world where shadows want to conquer. He possesses a power that has a price and he vows never to use it. But when Mika gets involved, he stumbles.
An au where Daishou dreams about Mika, and Mika dreams about him.
Fairy! Yachi and Demon! Kuroo au...ok listen Kuroo accidentally ruins a fairy ring and Yachi has to curse him but when she sees it's a DEMON she freaks out because demons are made of curses and now she doesn't know what to do but it is the rules and he's a big demon and she's kind of tiny and oh god the higher fairies will be really disappointed she had ONE job and she couldn't do it and now the demon is reassuring her and he's probably a high rank demon oh no she ruined his day too wait...did he just say he felt hurt when she said he was made of curses????
