The month's since that October eleventh press conference had been hard. Kunikazu Okumura's very public death had sent a ripple through the companies publicly trader stock and investor confidence. In the turmoil stand-in President Takakura had taken the helm of things at Okumura foods and managed to at least reassure the everyone that the company could continue. That had been enough to ease Haru's need to worry about her place in things.
And she had been with the Phantom Thieves. For almost the past year they had the run of the city and sought out any nefarious types that they could find. Nothing had compared to taking down Shido, but it wasn't about one-upping themselves or proving these existed anymore. It was about their brand of justice.
And they had special help within the prosecutor's office. Sae Niijima supplied tidbits of case files on some of the nastiest criminals. The Phantom Thieves hunted murderers and rapists for sport now, sometimes not even bothering to all go in on a job.
Haru had taken a special interest in a case that involved a young girl and a man who had tired to sell her into a seedy underground sex trade business. The girl was a foreigner who would fetch a huge price and these men had fought over her, which in turn resulted in her death.
The file was a depressing read, but Haru needed the details if she was to find this bastard's palace. Of course, she had taken to reading this file while sitting in on one of the board meetings that Takakura-san had insisted that she be there for. He was readying her to take control of the company someday or at least have some leadership role in it.
The pages all stapled to the inside of the file folder made noise as she flipped through them. Paper scratched against paper and the folder and the table as she moved. She let out a small sigh as she read over some details of the culprit's previous cases. Goza Rokubungi had a record stretching back to basically the moment that he became an adult.
Haru lifted her coffee cup and took a sip as she felt a gaze fall upon her and not move. She glanced up, trying to avoid being detected to see Takakura staring over at her.
"You would't happen to have a copy of the next quarter projections, would you, Miss Okumura?" Takakura asked with a slight bite in his tone.
"Oh," Haru said. "It's nothing but…university prep," she added.
Takakura stared at her a moment before addressing the rest of the board seated at the table. Haru never liked to sit with them and felt out of place when they asked her to. She resigned herself to sitting in the corner of the room in a loose rolling chair near a small one person table.
"When I more to tell you, I will let you know. But Okumura is looking brand sponsorship to expand to other food related sectors. In fact, I'm meeting with some people this afternoon…"
Haru tuned him out and went back to reading her file. When she next looked up some of the board members were passing her by, bowing as they went. "Oh, that's no necessary," Haru said.
Some of these people had known her as a little girl, it felt weird for them to speak to her with honorifics or bow. When they had gone and she was alone with Takakura he stopped in front of her to speak. "Though there was a slight disruption, I would just like to let you know that your grandfather would be very proud to see you here taking an interest in all of this," he smiled, patted her shoulder and left.
Haru packed up her things and headed out into the hallway. She clutched her folder tight as she went to find another place to sit. Surely they would have a use for this boardroom that didn't require her to be parked in the corner. She made her way to a reception area and plopped down in a seat near the door and next a man without even bothering to look over at him.
She was scanning those files again when he pointed over and said. "Those are police files, right?"
For the first time Haru looked at him. He was tall and muscular and most noticeably of all, black. His Japanese was really good, but she guessed that he was probably from somewhere in America. There was a certain style of dress about him, the cut of his suit and his posture. Americans tended to have very open, space absorbing postures that took up a lot of room, but he wasn't invading her space.
"I-I'm writing a crime novel," she had used this excuse before. "A friend works for the police and she's lent these to me."
"Good to see someone young taking an interest in writing about something that isn't vampires and love triangles…" he said. He didn't know the word for 'vampire', but she understood his use of the English word.
Haru closed her folder. "Kyūketsuki stories were never for me," Haru made sure to drop the correct word for vampire into her sentence, not in a rude, demeaning way, but in the way a teacher might use it.
"Kyūketsuki?" He said, running his fingers along his tightly trimmed beard.
"Where are you from?" Haru spoke English here, to the best of her ability at least. She didn't know much. She hadn't really had much reason to learn it.
"Atlanta," he said with a smile. "Where did you learn English?"
Haru smiled. "Where did you learn Japanese," she said in the same broken English.
He laughed. "I was born here. Military family. Even after we moved I was really into Japanese culture and I dreamed about moving back…"
"So you did?" Haru asked, going back to her native tongue.
"Nah," he said this in English. "I did maintain my Japanese though. And I've come to visit a few times," he said.
"Do you still miss it?" Haru asked.
"Oh, I think I'm starting to miss it more," he said.
"That makes me glad." Haru said not catching the connotation of what was being said.
He was smiling at her now, leaning forward with his hands poised together so that his fingertips were touching. "You really don't know who I am, do you?" He said bouncing the toes of his loafers on the floor with anticipation.
"I had guessed you were an investor or…I really hadn't thought about it," Haru said.
He pointed at her. "You are the first person to not point at me or get all crazy when they see me—let's see—the name you'd probably know me by is Nick Noir…" he said.
"Noir…" Haru said leaning closer. "Is that your family name?"
He laughed. "I'm a musician. My names Nick Wilkins, but that doesn't have the same feel."
Haru offered her hand out to him. "It's nice to meet you, Nick. I'm Noir…" before she could correct herself, he started laughing."
"Kawaii." He said. "Am I using that right?"
Haru blushed. "I think that you know you are…" she wanted to give a proper introduction now, but she froze up.
"You know, I have some business to attend to Miss Noir, but how would you like to get something to eat when I'm done here? You could make a suggestion, but it's my treat," said Nick.
"Oh, your treat…" Haru hadn't had men pay for her before, even with her fiancé she had to pay her own way when they went out to eat unless he was looking to impress someone else.
"Takakura-san will see you now," the receptionist had stepped out into the waiting room to speak to Nick.
"Just wait here for me, if you can?" Nick said as he got to his feet. "Please?"
"I will wait," Haru smiled. "I have more…novel research to do," she said.
Lazy snowflakes drifted to the ground outside. The streets were slick with slushed dirt-caked snow. Nick and Haru made their way toward the center of the Shibuya district. The people they passed were bundled up with scarves and knit hats. Their hands were hidden under mittens and gloves and they wore huge coats that puffed their bodies. It was Haru who commented on this. "I feel so small in my coat—everyone else looks like fluffy pastry people."
Nick laughed.
Their conversation had been idle chat so far, but this caused him to reveal his hand. "So, the receptionist told me who you were back there, Miss Noir," he said. "I had no idea I was hitting on majority share holder of Okumura Foods—there's probably some conflict of interest thing here."
Slush crunched beneath Haru's feet as she came to an abrupt stop. Her face turned a bright pink. "I'm being hit on…oh dear…" she said.
Nick turned to her. "If you aren't interested or…"
"It's not that," Haru said. "It's—difficult for me to put into words."
He offered his hand out to her and she took it, almost instinctively. Nick led her to a bench off to the side of the path and sat down first, leading her along with him. "We can stop and you can explain it to me, if you want?"
Haru took a seat next to him, smoothing her hair back away from her face. "In the past men haven't really…noticed me. Those that did only did so because of status or wealth, but I find neither to valid foundations for relationships."
"I made a lot of money when I was young and it was the same thing. People were looking for a handout or a chance to make it big. It's hard to trust anything." Nick said shaking his head slightly. "It's nice to come across someone who doesn't know who I am."
Haru tucked her hands into the hem of her sweater for warmth. "At school I hid who I was with varying degrees of success—eventually people would figure it out. I felt like one of those princesses in the old movies; my father had pledged my hand in marriage to a horrible person to help further his political career and he saw the people around him, my self included, as stepping stones."
As she spoke tears welled up in her eyes. How was she supposed to reconcile the facts of her father's betrayal? Though it was really her Shadow that she and the other Phantom Thieves had interacted with, it was still a part of him. The desires he expressed in that space station were real.
Nick dug down into his pocket and pulled out a folded up stack of tissue. "It sounds like you have a lot of unanswered questions, but you're unable to discuss any of it with the one person with answers." He held the tissue up. "May I?"
Haru stared at him blinking for a few moments before she said. "Sure." She nodded.
He dabbed gently at the tears around her eyes. After the first few pats she laughed and he returned the favor. "What's so funny?" Nick paused with the tissue right above her cheek.
Their knees were touching now, the dress Haru had worn to the office today was black and stopped at her lower thigh and she had worn her tights, but there was very little between them. It made her face redden before she could actually reply. "I didn't expect to meet a sweet man, cry in front of him, and then have him try to comfort me all in one day…" she said. "I'm sorry for being hysterical."
Nick stuffed the used tissues into his pocket haphazardly and put his arm around her. "You're not being hysterical," he said. "Do you still want to get food?"
"Heh, mmhmm," Haru nodded. "As long as you're treating."
Over the course of three courses Haru loosened up. Food had always been a comfort of hers, both the preparation and what came after. She loved to eat. The snow had grown heavier by the time they walked out of the front of the restaurant, small flakes clung to her hair making it shimmer in the street lights and what was left of the sun.
Nick had called a car to pick them up and for some reason they were waiting out under the small awning in front of the place. He gazed down at her. "Are you sure that you're not magic or something?" He asked. "You mentioned princesses and you actually seem to be some kind of Disney princess…" he said.
Haru laughed, pressing her hand to her mouth. "Sorry, it's just such a silly thing to tell someone." Her laughing became more outlandish after that.
"You are something else…" he said.
Haru didn't know much about cars, but she knew money. When the sleek, black Mercedes Maybach pulled up she recognized it. She had heard them talked about in her father's old social circles, but this was the first time that she would ever get to ride in one.
Nick opened the door for her, letting her climb into the back of seat. He walked around to the other side and got in, closing the door. "Where's your place?" Nick asked. "I'll have my driver drop you off."
"Viequ House Hiroo in Shibuya," she said.
"Yes ma'am, I'll put it in the GPS," said the bearded American in the front of the car before closing the privacy divider.
The car pulled out into the evening traffic, moving smoothly as it rolled out to join the lines of cars. Haru turned her body to face Nick, her hands resting in her lap as she sat there looking at him. "Thank you for dinner," she said, bowing her head. "It's been a long time since I just got out like this."
Lately, she had something that was more business than friendship with the Phantom Thieves. They were completely in each other's corner, but over the months of doing these things the enthusiasm for it had died down. It was an obligation now and one that seemed to have no end in sight.
"Thank you for joining me," Nick said. "Would you mind if I was a little forward?"
"What is it?" Haru asked.
"Is it okay if I kiss you?" Nick asked.
Haru's cheeks reddened and she rung her hands together in her lap. "I think…I think that I would like that." Haru instinctively leaned in closer to him.
Nick's hand caught her under the chin, positioning her face as he moved closer. She was shorter than him, but in the enclosed space of the back of the Maybach they were on equal ground. Haru pushed against his lips as they touched.
Kissing had always been odd to Haru, there was a wetness and a warmth that should have been gross, but it just wasn't. With Nick it felt better than not gross. It was good. His tongue tasted like mint, she decided that he must have slipped a breath mint in when she wasn't looking.
Haru reached down and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Wait," she said pulling away to climb up into his lap to straddle him. Her skirt was bunched up in his lap and her arm rested against his chest. She could feel the tight muscles of his chest just beneath the fabric. "Is this better?" she asked putting her face close to his.
"I didn't expect this, but yeah—it is," Nick said running his fingers up through Haru's curls. He brought his hand down against her cheek, letting the back of his fingers move slowly over her skin. His face was right down close to his and she could smell the mix of cologne and soap and a hint of fresh sweat.
Nick 's arms were firm, but not large. He was in shape; his body seemed like the natural progression of good genes mixed with a little bit of effort. His skin was dark and smooth and seemed to take on this strange glow in the purple accent lighting of the back of the Maybach. His beard's edging was so straight that she wondered if the person who had done it used a ruler.
She wasn't used to wanting someone in this way. There had been the performances that she put on with Sugimura, if you could call laying there while whatever went on a performance…
Nick was kissing her neck and she pulled her head to one side to give him more space. He nuzzled against her, sucking at her skin until she let out a soft little sound. Haru hadn't realized that she was squeezing his hand until he moved, his fingers were clasped tight in his. "Sorry," she said dropping his hand. There was a light feeling in her stomach and her chest felt hot. Everything felt too hot.
Nick took her hand in his. "It's okay, you're—just an awesome girl. I really enjoyed dinner and this."
"I think I might have enjoyed this a bit too much," Haru said averting her gaze. She moved to kiss him, her lips grazing the side of his. "Can we put a pause on this?" She asked.
Nick smiled. "I'm okay stopping if you want." He helped Haru climb into her seat and glanced away as she fussed with her dress to get the skirt down.
"I'm just not—I'm not used to being into men who I'm with," she said.
"I don't think I get it," Nick gave a little laugh, but it wasn't as much about humor as it was about honestly worrying about what would come out of Haru's mouth in reply.
"When I was in high school my father entered me into an arranged marriage to further his company. I was to be married to the son of a cruel wealthy man, Sugimura. His son was worse than him and when we…did anything I used to just imagine I had left my body. I told myself it was for the good of my company or that it was my duty as an Okumura woman, but…those were just lies. I tried to deny the fact that my father was an awful man."
For a long time Nick was quiet, the Maybach pulled up to a stop light and came to an abrupt stop. He put his hand on hers. "I'm really sorry. That's so fucking unfair and…" Nick said. "We can go at whatever pace you're comfortable with."
They rode along holding hands. It warmed enough that a rain shower kicked up. The patter of little droplets hitting the windows as they drove through the neon lined Tokyo streets filled the space left by the lack of conversation.
Nick got out ahead of her with an umbrella to escort Haru to the door of her building where a doorman waited. He nodded and spoke her name as she approached. Haru said her hello in return.
"I hope this isn't a conflict of interest, but I'd like to see you again," Nick said standing on the bottom step in front of the building, rubbing his hands together.
Haru stepped out from under the awning of the building now and reached out, Nick pulled out his cellphone, knowing exactly what she wanted to do. "This is my chat ID," she said. "We'll set something up," she handed his phone back and leaned in for a kiss, their lips touching only for a moment before Haru scrambled up the steps of the building waving back at him.
She took the elevator at the front of the building to her floor, the wall of the elevator cab was glass and she could see the street. Nick was just standing there next to his Maybach in the rain. It felt like he was taken with her, which was the part of this that felt so unfamiliar. Haru could hardly wait until she was behind the door of her room. The motion censored lights kicked on along with soft music.
Haru tossed her shoes aside, wiggling out of the dress so that it came up over her head and flinging it into a heap on the kitchen table. She'd never had this urge before or felt like she wanted to act on it, if she had stayed there with Nick too long she would have invited him up.
That was too far.
She couldn't imagine a scenario where that would turn out her way; in the past, with Sugimura, he had only been interested in Haru for two things: her appearing publicly as his "fiancée" and what her body could do for him. He used to say that it was a shame that she couldn't get this weight off. He had pinched her thighs and the sides of her stomach as she laid defeated beside him in bed. Those were the parts of her body he despised most, but he maintained an attitude that all of her was disgusting.
Haru's stomach wasn't flat and the inside of her legs touched. These were things she didn't really know how to help and for them she was mocked whenever Sugimura felt that she might be feeling a bit too good about her situation. Or whenever he had been drinking.
Nick wasn't like Sugimura; Haru was sure. But he might see her without all of the clothes and makeup and realize that she's more princess like in the dazzling lights of the Tokyo streets. He might even like what he sees and get the wrong idea about a woman who gives in so easily to charms. Haru was ready to give in.
Haru hunted through papers on the couch for a remote control. When she found it she used the remote to lower the blinds as she moved passed the marble countertops that enclosed the kitchen. She discarded the remote into a basket next to a bowl of fruit and hurriedly reached down into the right cup of her bra to slide her breast out. Her bra strap fell onto her shoulder as she began to fondle the nipple, moving the base of her palm in slow circles over it.
It wasn't until she was in the darkness of her bedroom that she slipped her other hand down the front of her underwear to find a slick layer of her fluids bonding inside of the fabric and the folds of skin that guarded the tiny opening. This was what Sugimura found disgusting. This was why she couldn't let Nick know about this.
Haru felt dirty when she put her fingers inside of herself, but her ex had found it repulsive. He had said as much about the prospect of doing it to her. Slipping her fingers in until they were engulfed in her warmth was an act of rebellion. There was a regret in what she was doing, but the thrill drove her on until she was forced to use her free hand to catch the wall as a ripple of sensation rocketed up her body.
She stumbled to grab the corner of the bed post and it was only after she had been stopped there that she realized she was moaning. Her breath was short and she could feel her face warming. There was a tightness as her body swelled around the fingers inside of her. Haru withdrew hand. Sugimura voice mocked her from the past, saying nothing in particular, but just throwing a wave of snide insults.
There was nothing to shut him out, she just needed release. She needed not to even think about that cruel person. Normally Haru might masturbate a few times a month if at all, things that caused it weren't really sexual in nature. She would just get an urge, or feel sad, or bored. It wasn't associated with pleasure and it was all very clinical.
With two fingers she rubbed the bulb nerves between the folds of her crotch. Usually she didn't finish, but when she felt the next muscle spasm she reserved to just sink to her knees next to the bed. Haru finished herself off with head resting against the thick dark wood of the bed frame, her moans and yips muffled from her neighbors by drone of the fan overhead.
As the heat in her chest tapered off she could feel the cold air against the sheen of sweat on her skin and the mess that ran down her inner thigh. Turning her head to the side to rest it on the bed she couldn't help but mumble to herself. "What's wrong with me?"