A young man in his early twenties sat behind a large, intricately designed mahogany desk. Piles of papers and files were neatly organised on the desk, leaving enough space in the middle for the young man to work without hindrance. The sound of a pen scratching across paper resounded in the completely silent room. With one last glance at the documents before him, the young man closed the file and added it to the stack on his right, waiting for his secretary to come and collect them.

Placing down his pen, the young man leaned back into his large leather chair with a barely noticeable sigh. Turning his head to the right, his gaze fell upon the massive letters that spelled out the name of his company; Akashi Corporation.

Reigning as the most famous business corporation for years, there was no one who did not know of Akashi Corporation. In contrast to the world-famous name, the previous owner of the company, Akashi Masaomi, had rarely showed himself in public and hardly anyone knew his true appearance. But that all changed when he introduced his heir to the business one day.

Akashi Seijuurou; with his eye-catching red hair and heterochromatic eyes, he drew the attention of the world when he inherited the business from his father. But it was not merely just because of his appearance, but rather, because of his near frightening abilities as a businessman. At the tender age of only eighteen, he assumed the position as president and owner of Akashi Corporation. Many were skeptical at first, but when Akashi Seijuurou raised the reputation and quality of the business to nearly tenfold of what it was in less than a year, all doubts were cleared and Akashi Seijuurou's name became one that terrified rival businesses.

Akashi Seijuurou was no longer known by the title 'Akashi Masaomi's son and heir', and instead, Akashi Seijuurou's name established its own position in the world, where just hearing his name would cause one to shiver in dread.

With a blink, Akashi drew his eyes away from the wall and from his recollections. He stood up from his chair, walking over to the row of full-length windows to his left. He stared down at the streets below, watching the people hurry to and fro in the lunch hour rush. He quickly ran through his schedule for the day in his head, and decided that he had enough time for a leisure lunch.

Just in time, a knock came from the other side of the room's door.

"Enter."

His secretary opened the door quietly, and smiled at Akashi as she saw him standing by the windows. Momoi Satsuki; Akashi's highly capable secretary. Her long bright pink hair, large eyes and a slender figure with a large chest had men falling over their feet trying desperately to gain even one second of her attention. But none were successful.

"Akashi-kun, will you be having your lunch outside today?" Momoi asked.

"Yes." Akashi nodded.

Momoi smiled serenely, as though she was already expecting this answer. "I've made a reservation at the hotel two streets away, the one you've taken a liking to recently. Will you be going by car?"

A faint hint of a smile was seen on Akashi's face, and that was enough of an answer for Momoi.

"The car is ready." She informed him.

Akashi lowered the cup of tea, placing it back on its saucer.

As expected of Momoi, she had reserved a private room for him, and she even made sure to request a room where he could get a clear view of the streets. Momoi never once questioned his 'hobby' of 'people-watching', and only silently accommodated him.

Akashi Seijuurou holds a secret that no one knows, for he has never told anyone.

He has the ability to see into a person's future.

However, describing it in such a pleasant way didn't quite truly explain his ability. While it is true that he was ultimately seeing a person's future, that was only one part of it. What he sees is the way a person will die, and the timing of their death.

When he was a child, every time he so much as glanced out a window, he would often have images flooding into his mind, and they were always scenes of people dying. It scared him terribly, and he would always run to his kindly mother for comfort.

And such soothing comfort she gave to the young Akashi, whose face was often covered in snort and tears as he came running to her. In her arms, surrounded by the soft floral scent of her shampoo, Akashi felt safe and secure, felt that he could even face the scariest of demons.

But when his mother passed away, he had no one else to turn to, and his strict father would not allow him to display any weaknesses. He spent many nights curled up in his blankets, too fearful to sleep. He could only fall asleep when his body was too tired to go on after days of inadequate rest, but using such a method wasn't healthy, and Akashi knew that.

And so, at the age of ten, he began training. He trained himself to block out the images, to be able to look a person in the eyes and hold a conversation without being overwhelmed by the scenes of their death.

It took him some time, but eventually he succeeded.

But his success came with a cost; his left eye lost its vibrant red colour, and was replaced by a golden yellow. Even so, it was only a small price to pay. He became able to control his ability, choosing whose 'future' he wanted to see, and how far he wanted to see.

Now as he gazed out at the streets below, he was searching for someone interesting enough to look into.

At the pedestrian crossing on the left, a man in his late thirties wearing an expensive tailored suit was irritably checking his watch as he waited for the light to turn green. Akashi focused on him, and activated his ability. A ring of light appeared within his left eye, encircling the pupil.

A flood of images appeared to him, of a speeding red car swerving off the road and hitting the unfortunate man before crashing into the car before it. The images were then replaced by a single line of numbers, which showed the exact time of death to Akashi.

Akashi blinked, deactivating his ability. All of this was shown to him in mere seconds, and Akashi only expressionlessly looked on now, awaiting the impending death of the man. Not too long after, the thick walls and glass of the private dining room muted out the sounds of the car crash and screams. Picking up his teacup, Akashi sipped at his tea as he scanned the rapidly forming crowd below.

Movement at the corner of his eye drew his attention, and he immediately placed the cup down. He narrowed his eyes, searching for that sudden irregularity that caught his interest. But even after looking at each person carefully twice over, he was unable to find it.

And this has never happened to him before, no one has ever escaped from his eyes.

Highly curious, Akashi stood up from the table and headed over to the window. Where was it? Where did it go? There was something that clearly stood out to him earlier, but when he tried to focus on it, its presence completely disappeared.

Akashi blinked his eyes, and a smirk slowly stretched across his lips.

How intriguing.

To be able to completely disappear in front of me, I wonder what kind of person they are. Did they notice that I was watching? Akashi silently mused to himself.

His phone rang at that moment, breaking him out of his thoughts. Pulling out his phone, he glanced at the name displayed across the screen before answering it.

"What is it, Momoi?" Akashi asked.

"Akashi-kun, you have a visitor at the office."

"A visitor? I do not believe that I have scheduled any meetings with anyone until this evening." Akashi frowned slightly.

"Yes, that is indeed so. However, Akashi Masaomi-san has turned up at the office for an unexpected visit." Momoi's clear voice carried an apologetic tone as she spoke her sentence.

Akashi held in a sigh. He knew what his father has come to visit him for, and he did not blame Momoi for being unable to stop his father.

"I'll head back now." Akashi informed Momoi, carefully softening his voice a little, conveying to her that she had no need to apologise nor feel guilty.

Momoi, as sharp as she was, immediately picked up on the subtle change of Akashi's voice.

"Yes, I understand." She replied with a happier tone than before.

Akashi disconnected the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. With one last check at the crowd below, he turned away from the window and left the private dining room.

Akashi sat before a man who appeared to be in his forties. This man had on a stern, unreadable expression on his face and was wearing a well-tailored black suit, paired with custom-made leather shoes. This man was none other than Akashi Seijuurou's father; Akashi Masaomi.

The one who spoke first was Masaomi.

"Seijuurou."

"Yes, father?"

"I'm sure that you understand the reason why I've come here today."

"Yes, I do, father."

"Seijuurou, you are already twenty-four years old, delaying this any longer will not be beneficial to both you and the future of the company."

Akashi Masaomi's eyes glanced towards the closed door of the office, before settling his gaze back on Akashi Seijuurou.

"That secretary of yours, Momoi Satsuki, was it?" Masaomi asked.

Akashi nodded, "Yes."

"She is certainly capable, and has a good personality as well as attitude. The Akashi family has no need for a woman that is only docile, therefore, Momoi Satsuki is a good choice."

Akashi stared at his father, not harsh enough to be considered a challenge, but enough that his father could see that he was serious.

"Father, do you not remember the agreement we made when I became independent and inherited this company?"

Masaomi's lips twitched and the slightest of a frown appeared on his face. That tiny change of expression would have been enough to frighten any other person, but Akashi Seijuurou was not any ordinary person. He did not even react to seeing the change of his father's expression.

Masaomi opened his mouth to speak, his voice carrying a hint of displeasure, "Our agreement was that once you are independent and have made a mark in this company, you will be allowed to choose your own partner."

He continued, "Indeed, you have made good progress on improving the company's structure as well as reputation. I do not intend to break our agreement, but I believe that there is nothing to stop me from advising you to do what is beneficial."

Akashi maintained a steady gaze on his father as he replied, "Yes, that is correct, father. I will take note of your advice, however, I would like for you to not interfere with my choosing of my partner."

Akashi Masaomi hummed lowly, but said nothing else. He slowly stood up from his seat, keeping his head still as only his eyes shifted, staring down at his son.

"Well then, I do hope that you will be sensible and make the right choice as someone who carries the Akashi name."

With those final words, Masaomi left the room without a single glance behind.

Akashi stared after his father, not moving an inch. Once the office door had quietly clicked shut, he finally stood up and made his way over to the windows. Barely a minute later, Momoi daringly entered the office without even knocking.

"Akashi-kun, I've made some tea." Momoi informed.

Akashi turned his head slightly, enough that he could see Momoi out of the corner of his eyes. "Leave it on the desk, I'll have it later."

But Momoi did not move even after hearing those dismissive words.

"Akashi-kun, teas are best when they are hot. Won't you have some right now?"

Akashi's eyes narrowed, but then he let out the softest of a chuckle. He turned around fully, staring at his fearless secretary who was watching him with determined eyes. Akashi briefly wondered just how far Momoi would go to get him to drink the tea, had he continued to refuse.

Though he was mildly curious, he did not attempt to provoke Momoi and walked over to his desk where a cup of hot tea was waiting. He picked it up, and a sweet scent of honey drifted over to him.

"Honey, hm?" Akashi commented.

Momoi only smiled back in reply.

Akashi took a sip, the hot tea hydrating his throat and pleasantly warming his stomach. A couple more sips later, Akashi's mood eased up and the tension that coiled around him disappeared.

Lowering the cup, Akashi gave Momoi a smile. "Thank you, Momoi."

Momoi smiled once more and bowed, "You're welcome, Akashi-kun." Satisfied that Akashi's mood had improved, she excused herself and left Akashi's office.

In the dead of the night, where there were barely any cars left on the road, a silhouette of a young man appeared on the roof of a hotel's building. The man didn't seem to be very tall, and he carefully kept himself away from the lights, so much so that it was nearly impossible to distinguish him from the darkness.

The man turned his head, gazing in the direction where a tragic accident had occurred during the day, claiming a life as a result. The man's face showed no expression even as he recalled what he had seen earlier that day; an unfortunate businessman had received a direct hit by a car, causing instant death. He had even broken so many bones from the impact that his body was completely twisted out of shape.

The young man had surveyed the reactions of the crowd that had gathered in the aftermath of the accident, and many looked as though they were about to throw up, both men and women alike. It was a truly understandable reaction, though he himself did not display the same reaction. People die every day, and this man has seen too many deaths to be so easily affected.

However, as he was observing the crowd, one gaze in particular stood out to him. It was not one of concealed horror, but of a constant steady gaze. Faced with such a scene, to be able to maintain such composure was surely out of the ordinary. The man had quickly sought out where it was coming from, and then the appearance of someone he recognised well met his searching eyes.

Akashi Seijuurou.

The man did not know Akashi Seijuurou personally, all the knowledge he had was through the news and rumours. Even so, to think that Akashi Seijuurou would not even flinch after seeing a mangled body, was unexpected. While Akashi Seijuurou was a fearsome businessman, he was still human. It would have been much more normal if he had showed some emotion.

But he did not.

Instead, his reaction was too eerily similar to the man's own. It made the man both curious and wary at the same time. So he did a little test, shifting around enough that it would catch Akashi's attention. And when it did, the man vanished; hiding himself away from that pair of heterochromatic eyes.

He could clearly see the interest within those eyes as they searched for him, but remained unsuccessful. It's a pity that Akashi received a call at that moment and had to leave, but the man had made his decision by then.

He would make contact with Akashi Seijuurou.

The man blinked, focusing back on the night scenery of the city. He raised his head to the sky, and judged the time by the moon's position. There was several more hours until dawn; he should get some rest.

There was no rush to meet with Akashi Seijuurou, not for him at least. He would have to check the news much more often now, and carefully plan the most appropriate timing. He didn't have any intention of interrupting Akashi's work, but a little inconvenience couldn't be helped.

The man turned around and completely blended into the darkness, disappearing without a sound.

X

It's been three weeks since Akashi experienced that strange presence, and five days since he last visited the hotel.

One thing that Akashi noticed these past few weeks was that there was something strange about his left eye. Sometimes, a sharp pain would suddenly flare up and caused a throbbing headache. It didn't last for more than a couple of seconds, but it was enough to put Akashi on guard. A side effect such as this has never happened to him before.

It only started after he detected that mysterious presence.

It was without a doubt that whoever it was, was the cause of Akashi's building annoyance. Not only that, but that presence had completely vanished for a while now, and Akashi had no way of tracking the person down. Visiting the hotel during his free time was both in an attempt to find and let himself be found by the other party.

If you can't catch a prey, dangle a bait and let the prey come on its own; that is Akashi's policy.

Unfortunately, it didn't work this time.

And as Akashi Seijuurou did not do well with failures, he stopped going to the hotel.

X

Almost two months later, it finally happened again.

Akashi had sought out another place where he could eat quietly; though the restaurant is quite a distance away from his office. There was no flashy accident this time, but just a tragic death. Akashi had not planned on using his ability much that day, he only did a cursory glance out the window when a line of numbers jumped out at him.

A line of numbers that contained only mere seconds left.

Immediately, his attention was drawn to the sidewalk on his right. A young girl, roughly six years of age, was happily skipping alongside her mother, an ice cream in hand. The girl's face was beaming with happiness as she ate, and in the next moment, the ice cream had fallen out of her hand as she clutched at her chest, face painted with pain and fear.

It was fortunate for the girl, for her agony did not last long; less than five seconds. Her line of numbers counted down to zero, and the girl's body fell lifelessly to the floor. Her mother panicked, screaming for her daughter to respond, and passerbys rushed to help.

But such an action was futile.

Because to Akashi's eyes, the little girl's line of numbers had already faded away. Anyone who had their line of numbers disappear meant that death is certain. If a person could be saved, their line of numbers would remain and continue to tick away.

It was truly tragic, for the life of such a young child to be taken away.

Just as Akashi had formed the thought in his mind, a flash of something at the corner of his eyes alerted him in an instant.

There was no way he could forget it.

That presence.

His head whipped to the side, eyes widening a little as he searched, and then, something met his gaze. It lasted for a mere second, but without his control, Akashi's body was forcefully pushed back into the chair by a strange, incomprehensible pressure. Their eye contact was broken, and by the time Akashi had regained his senses and overcame the shock, that presence had vanished once more.

What was that?

Akashi stood up, moving towards the window even though he knew that he would no longer be able to find the owner of that mysterious presence. His mind was whirling, trying to somehow make sense of what had just happened. Never before had he felt such a phenomenon.

He couldn't even see what it was that made eye contact with him, his vision was completely blocked during that single second of contact. There were no visions, no line of numbers, just black. Or rather, just pure darkness.

Akashi frowned, eyes narrowing.

It was frustrating that he lost the opportunity to find out what that presence was, however, the one thing that bothered him most, was the feeling of fear that had taken over him in that moment.

Whoever it may be, the owner behind that presence was strong.

Akashi has met many types of people ever since he was young, but this was very different from what he was used to. There were people who are strong physically, and those people emit a certain aura that told Akashi that they were confident in their physical strength. And then there were those who were strong mentally, they too, emit a certain aura. Learning how to read and understand the natural auras that a person exude, and how to handle (manipulate) them, was what made Akashi a terrifying businessman.

But this, the presence that he felt, left Akashi speechless. He couldn't even categorize it; it was neither physical strength nor mental strength.

All Akashi could feel was that it was strong.

"Akashi-kun?"

Akashi glanced up, his pen pausing over the document he was about to sign. A slightly nervous looking Momoi came into his view.

"What is it?" He asked.

Momoi hesitated a little, before obviously gathering up her courage with a deep breath.

"Akashi-kun," She said, "That document before you needs no signature."

Akashi simply stared at Momoi, providing no reaction at all.

"It's a wedding invitation, Akashi-kun." Momoi stated.

With a blink, Akashi lowered his head. Indeed, the piece of paper before him was an invitation from one of his major business partner to his wedding.

It was not like him to make such a mistake.

"Akashi-kun, are you alright?" Momoi dared to ask.

Akashi placed his pen down, leaning back into his chair with a barely audible sigh. This action left Momoi quite surprised, since Akashi did not like showing his weakened state in front of anyone. But Akashi didn't seem concerned about that right now.

"Momoi."

"Yes, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi raised his head a little and stared straight into Momoi's eyes.

"If I recall correctly, you have an amazing ability to search through thousands of anonymous people just to find one person, don't you?" Akashi questioned rhetorically.

Momoi answered Akashi with a single nod, her eyes widening with curiosity. Did Akashi perhaps want to locate someone?

"Is it possible for you to find a person through their presence alone?"

Momoi blinked.

"Through their presence?" She repeated.

"Yes, presence. With no information on how they look like at all, nor their name, can you still locate a person with 'presence' as a single hint?"

Momoi's lips parted, as though she was about to say something, but no words came from her. She only stared at Akashi blankly.

Akashi chuckled a little as he saw Momoi's flabbergasted expression.

"Is it too much to ask?" He inquired.

With a couple blinks, Momoi gathered herself and replied, "I am unsure if I will be able to successfully search for the person, since I've never attempted such a method before."

Akashi hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

After which, he asked, "Will you be willing to try?"

Momoi tilted her head to the side, considering it. And then she nodded with a smile.

"So, who's the person you are looking for, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi fell silent for a while, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

He slowly started to speak, "I do not know why this is so, but the person I am looking for is very different from an average human being. The reason I say so is because I have never met any human who has ever given me such a feeling before. The person that I am looking for has a very, very mysterious presence."

"A mysterious presence?"

"Yes. Their presence was too strange, too heavy yet non-existent at the same time. When I first came across that person, it was that irregularity that drew my attention. But when I tried to focus on it, the presence disappeared. And also, the last contact I had with it left quite a bad aftertaste."

Recalling what had happened, Akashi frowned deeply, creating deep furrows between his brows.

"What happened?" Momoi asked.

"I couldn't even maintain a second's worth of contact with it. Something had blocked me, pushed me away from seeing." He readily explained.

Momoi's hand flew to her mouth, to muffle a gasp of surprise that slipped out.

Akashi didn't appear to mind it.

Momoi lowered her gaze to the floor, staring fixedly at one spot. Akashi noticed, and momentarily entertained himself with the thought that Momoi looked as though she could burn a hole through the floor with how fiercely she was staring at it.

Momoi lifted her head after some time, and said, "So that means that you want me to find someone, something, that may not even be a human being?"

Akashi's lips lifted into a small smirk. "Yes."

"Then… Do you perhaps know the gender of the person?"

Akashi shook his head. "Unfortunately, I do not."

Momoi frowned, biting her lower lip unconsciously.

Akashi stared at her in silence, and then raised a question.

"Momoi."

"Yes, Akashi-kun?"

"Do you fear divine retribution?"

Momoi startled, blinking at Akashi. "Pardon?"

Akashi shifted forward, resting his elbows on his desk. "You looked very hesitant, much more than before. And your hesitance stemmed from hearing that the person I am looking for is perhaps not a human being."

Momoi shifted on her feet.

"Well… Getting involved with spiritual things can be quite dangerous." Momoi simply answered.

Akashi nodded, "I do agree with you. Therefore, I won't force you. But you will certainly be of great help, even if you are unable to find this person, because I would be able to hear your opinion and experiences as you search. That will allow me to learn more about whatever it is."

Momoi said nothing as she observed Akashi. She knew what Akashi was doing, knew that he had especially worded it as such in an attempt to manipulate her into doing what he wants. And she also knew that Akashi knew that she was aware of what he was doing.

Because Momoi wasn't easily manipulated, and Akashi had learnt that from very early on. He did not hide his intentions as he would have had he been dealing with his business partners instead. Which actually meant that Akashi trusted her to quite an extent.

With a sigh, Momoi gave in.

"Alright. I will try."

And Akashi smiled.