Chapter 1—
'Pick a card', he said, and for that she instinctively went for the one in the exact middle of his unfurled pile. She picks it up, ignoring the smile forming across his face as his playful stare bore into her body.
Unceremoniously did she turn it to give it a glance before sliding it back to his side, faced down.
He picks it up and smiles.
It was genuinely unsurprising.
'An ace of spades…' he announces. 'Looks like you win.'
It was not a question of whether or not she wins this game, because for sure, she will never win the war. Instead, it was a question of whatever it was she decides herself to be: a spade or a heart? A revenge for love, or a love for revenge?
So he lets her get over him; he lets her follow. He lets her run as fast as her legs can carry her, and lets her believe all the lies she can and cannot muster.
He lets her experience everything, from immense, overjoyed love to pure, cold-hearted hatred. The heart wants what the heart wants, and he lets her discover that for herself.
And he waits until she does…
…For only then will she realize why 'spades' are called 'inverted hearts'.
-…-
Hanging by the fact that she wanted to find her beloved lord and the fact that she wanted that guy out of her tail once and for all, Whi-Two had decided that joining the Interpol was the current best option she had.
The sound of ceramics thumping against the metal table collided with the sound of guffaws and a lively rhythm. Whi-Two can only allow herself to just passively join in.
Seeing all these men—and the astonishing lack of women—have made her doubt her decisions once more.
Unfortunate that she's already in that point of no return.
The sound of a spoon hitting against glass caught everyone's attention, and killed all the livening noises down. All eyes were directed to the man who was sitting on one end of the rectangular table, raising his glass of rum with a prideful smile plastered over his bearded face.
"Alright, alright, you goons," his voice boomed, loud enough to subdue whatever noise was left. The room was finally silent.
"I would like to propose a toast," he said. "To yet another successful operation done by Team C as service to the good of humanity."
Several chuckles danced along, but everybody cried "cheers!" nonetheless, followed by the clinking of glasses against each other.
"Also, I would like to acknowledge the presence of one of our youngest superiors yet in the history of the Interpol." He gestured to the young boy who was quietly watching the festivity in the comfort of his seat.
"Lack-Two, thank you for your invaluable performance to this mission!"
The roaring grew louder as they all applauded (if you could call the banging of the table and the clinking of the glasses as an applause), and the boy acknowledged it all with a polite nod and a small smile, raising his glass to them.
"And last but not the least," the man announced, turning his attention to the silent girl who was playing with her untouched wine.
"To Whi-Two."
The girl's head shot up at the sound of her name.
"You may just be new to this environment, but you have proven that the special exception given to you by the higher-ups was not a mistake." He raised his glass.
"To this marvelous power Team 2 has been blessed to receive!"
More applause and all glasses were raised to the dumbfounded girl, who watched it all with confused eyes. But, somehow, the friendly smiles have made Whi-Two feel at ease, and soon, she too was raising her glass to them, and everyone began cheering, began giving her such lovely words and a look of unmistakable respect.
All except for Lack-Two, who, from the ocean of welcoming grins, was the oasis of disdain and doubt.
-…-
"Hello, my dear Whi-Two."
The feeling of warm breath against the sensitive patch of skin at the back of her neck have made the young brunette almost jump forward, over the railings and into the busy streets of Asperita. She instinctively grabs the railing and pushes forward, letting the opposite reaction help her regain her balance.
"My, my," Lack-Two comments, joining her by the railings, breathing in the cold December air as he leans forward.
"Someone's a little too on edge… Mind explaining to me why?"
Whi-Two's face immediately changed from shocked to downright annoyed.
"Oh, I don't know," she hissed. "Maybe it's because some douche just suddenly decided to blow against my nape without any warning?"
Lack-Two only chuckles as he shakes his head, giving her an amused look. Whi-Two rolls her eyes.
"What are you doing here, Lack-Two?"
"Come now," he whispered in a honeyed voice. "You're always so cold to me… You weren't like this back at the University—why the sudden change of character?" He gives out a snort as he directs his gaze into the view.
"You hurt me so, Whi-Two…"
"Cut the act," she says, crouching to her side to pick up her bag. "I'm in no mood to joke around with you tonight…"
She hangs the strap of her messenger bag to her shoulder and begins making her way out of the balcony and into the almost empty dining room, not giving the least bit of glance to the boy's direction.
"And if you're still wondering, try being arrested in your own school by an Interpol member who disguised himself as a student. Maybe then, you'll understand…"
"You're always walking away whenever we get the chance to be alone," he points out in the whiniest voice he could muster. "Honestly, dear Whi-Two, if I didn't know any better, I'd think there's some intense sexual tension going on between us that I don't know about…"
Whi-Two looks back at him and makes a point to show him her eyes rolling away as she shakes her head in disgust. Lack-Two can only chuckle.
"You amuse me, Whi-Two," he muses, fishing out a deck of cards from his pocket. "If only the circumstances are not so, I would've considered taking you as my pet…"
He begins shuffling the deck.
"Too bad you are what you have become…"
That stopped Whi-Two. Again she pauses, and looks back at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asks warily. Lack-Two only smiled as he stepped closer to her, handing out the deck for her to see in all its mighty glory.
"Pick a card," he said with a smile. Whi-Two looked at him suspiciously.
"Don't worry, I'm not trying to pull another trick on you," he reassures her. "I've already gotten what I needed from you back when we were still both students at the university, so what's the point? I'm not the kind who pokes fun at people without any hidden motive."
He presents the deck to her again.
"Now, pick a card…"
"Why…"
"Call it an ice breaker, if you like," he explains. "Frankly, if it can be helped, I won't simply cut to the chase… Let the other feel welcomed and at home before telling them exactly what I need from them."
Whi-Two snorts. Of course; that was exactly how he got her to reveal her secrets to him back then, which only resulted to the predicament she has found herself in at this very moment.
Back then, she always blamed herself for being so gullible, but after getting to know Lack-Two even more after three months of staying with the Interpol, she realized that as long as Lack-Two was on her case, this ending will be inevitable, and she'll never get her peace.
With an exasperated sigh, she reaches forward and instinctively reaches for somewhere in the middle, pulling out a random one. She holds it to her face, gives it a look, and then looks back at Lack-Two.
"Are you trying to do a magic trick, or something?"
"Even better," he says.
"It's a queen of hearts," she monotonously announces, handing the card back, faced up this time. "Can I leave now?"
Lack-Two laughs. "I'm not trying to guess your card." He places two fingers on the top of his deck, slides it inward towards him, dragging the top card.
"I'm trying to get a card higher than yours," he said. "That's my game. If I win, you stay, and you answer my question… If I lose, you can leave this building, and I won't bother you." He smiles his mischievous smile at her.
"What do you say?"
"Even if I said no, you still won't let me go without a fight, am I right?" She lets out another sigh as she puts her card down and gestures at the card held by Lack-Two.
"Let's see it…"
The boy nods and flips the card face up.
A jack of spades… Indeed, a higher value.
Whi-Two could only inwardly scream.
"So let's get to business, shall we?" he says, taking back Whi-Two's card, placing it back to his deck and into his pocket.
"It's been three months since you suddenly made the decision to join Interpol in exchange for you and your mother's pardon for your crimes… However, aside from your relations with Team Plasma, I know almost nothing about you." He crosses his arms over his chest and gives her a look.
"The Interpol may allow giving you the benefit of the doubt, since you've proven yourself in combat, but to me..."
"It's not enough?" Whi-Two suggests with a small smile.
Lack-Two chuckled a bit as he turned back into the view, gesturing for Whi-Two to follow him. Unova was no doubt beautiful in the evening, especially now that winter was already upon them. The darkness the season has brought in has made the skyline burst even more in color, and they dance along with the silent music from the harmonies of the cars and the people and the noises they make.
Unlike Whi-Two who loved to look up at the stars, he was the type who liked to look forward and below, letting himself be mesmerized by dancing city lights.
"Then maybe you should start telling me what you want to know..." Whi-Two points out from behind him, assuming the same position as he.
"So, I'd have an idea of how much of me should I give you..."
Instead of replying, Lack-Two suddenly turns his head to her direction, making them both aware of how close they actually were. Whi-Two recoils a bit, with which Lack-Two responds by stepping closer. He reaches for the back of her head and pulls her in until their noses were already touching.
Lack-Two watches as the girl's two blue irises dilate as she stares at him in shock.
The boy had to smile. He still hasn't lost his touch.
"L-Lack-Two..." she stammered, not averting her gaze.
"I've been holding back with regards to you," he whispers, using his other hand to trace a strand of her long, brown hair, letting it interlace with his fingers. Whi-Two follows it with her eyes, her whole body stiffening from his touch.
"But if it's you who's giving me the signal to ask, then by all means, I will ask."
Gently, he nears his lips to her ear, deliberately breathing his warm breath to her neck.
"Tell me everything you know about Team Plasma's leader..."
At that, Whi-Two regaina movement, and all too immediately, she pushes him away with full force, even backing away for good measures.
"W-What...?"
"You heard me," he says, taking another step closer to her. There was a small playful smile forming in his lips.
"I want to know everything about your beloved Lord N..."
Whi-Two's body grows even stiffer as she backs away again.
"W-Why...?"
Lack-Two sighs as he crosses his arms, finally assuming his true persona to her. A serious Lack-Two. A Lack-Two that Whi-Two could actually like.
"Most of the subordinate teams are not aware of this but, the officials of Interpol, along with us internal officers have been planning to search for the lost King of Plasma, along with the remaining members of the so-called Seven Sages." He breathes for a sort moment as he looked down. "But, unfortunately, none of the arrested members know much..."
He stares at her.
"Because of that, the officials concluded that Plasma has no transparency when it comes to authoritative figures, meaning we will actually have no lead if we just ask the 'normal' members... But I do know someone who might know..."
Whi-Two swallows hard as her fingers involuntarily felt for the invisible locket that used to hang around her neck.
"So, how about it, Whi-Two?" he asks, reaching forward and brushing a strand of her away from her face. Whi-Two recoils from his touch.
"And then what..?" she whispers. Lack-Two raises an eyebrow.
"What will you do after that?" she asks, looking up at him. "After you find Lord N? What will you do to him?"
Lack-Two gives a mocking sigh.
"That... is classified information." He gives her a look. "Unfortunately, I cannot disclose that much information to just anyone, and it doesn't help that that anyone just happened to be you."
It was then that the firmness in Whi-Two's eyes returns.
"Tough luck, then," she replies. "Because I may be called a 'criminal' by having my name be associated to this so-called band of criminals, but I'm no traitor..."
Lack-Two only watches her, his expression unchanged.
"By refusing valuable information to your superior, you most certainly are to the Interpol..."
Whi-Two inwardly growls, obviously not moved by his threat.
She can take anything. That's what they have trained her for.
"Come now, Whi-Two, you did say you will tell me everything, no?" He gives a short chuckle. "Now, you're just being unfair..."
"No, Lack-Two, you're the one who's being unfair," she retorts. "Do you really think I'm going to give you such valuable information without anything good in return? Please."
Another smile forms in Lack-Two's face. Whi-Two inwardly swears to herself.
"So you do know something, yes?"
Whi-Two only replies with a stare. To that, Lack-Two laughs.
"Still as predictable as ever, are you not, my cute little Whi-Two?" he mocks, his voice reverting into that high-pitched tone he always used back when he was still investigating her at the university.
Why was he returning that persona now of all times?
"Besides," he continues, returning his gaze back to the scenery. "Who told you I wasn't going to give you anything in return?" He reaches for his pocket and pulls out what seems to be a chain, and throws it at her. Whi-Two reacts quickly, and soon, a small, familiar locket was resting in her trembling hands.
Her locket. The locket they entrusted to her.
The only memento of her beloved Lord N.
Lack-Two's image was still present in her peripheral vision even if she tries her best to focus on the locket and the locket alone.
Even from the corner of her eye, she can still see his mocking smile.
"Don't you want to see your Lord N once more?"
-End of Chapter One-
Author's note: The game Lack-Two played with Whi-Two at the earlier part of the chapter follows the suit order in the game "Spades", which is Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. Just in case you guys didn't know.