Differences
Chapter 2 – Connections
Written by: Hinamori Henzie (tennis-player)

Still very irritated from the day before, Yagyuu grudgingly rolled out of bed, once again waiting till he hit the floor to get up, and checked the clock.

11:00 am…

Well, he supposed it didn't really matter. It was his first day off in way too long.

Once he was ready and dressed, Yagyuu headed for the small kitchenette and began mixing the ingredients for a home-made pancake flour mix. He didn't understand the point of buying pre-made flours if he could make his own, better tasting one anyways.

Flicking on the TV once more, the news reporter started off his morning with his low, monotonic drawl, explaining the most recent break in, followed by an interview with Fuji Shyuusuke, a companion at Yagyuu's building.

'Fuji-kun…?' Yagyuu thought to himself. 'That can't be right… Fuji-kun is still in Hawaii, tailing a outlaw…'

Panic immediately flushed through his veins, though he showed no sign of shock outwardly. Quickly standing from his seat at the table, he pulled on his shoes and coat in a rush and ran off to find where the interview was taking.

By the time Yagyuu reached the site of the interview, it was too late. Fuji-kun was long gone, and no one knew where he had gone…

But someone posing as Fuji-kun in his absence? Whatever for? And more importantly, who could possibly know about Fuji-kun being away, besides him and the others in is building…?

Frowning, Yagyuu headed back towards his workplace. So much for a day off…

Yagyuu hustled back to the office, inwardly panicking. How could that imposter have gotten information from their firm? It was unheard of!

Once he had arrived at the building, he headed for the second to top floor, making a beeline straight to Tezuka's office. He banged the door open without even a knock.

"Is Fuji-kun still in Hawaii?" he asked hurriedly.

Tezuka raised an eyebrow at the rude entry, but nodded. "Yes, in fact I just received a phone call from him. It seems his case is going well… why do you ask?"

Yagyuu frowned. "May I borrow your computer?"

Before Tezuka even had the change to reply, Yagyuu had moved to his companion's laptop and opened it, typing the password, and hitting the browser.

Tezuka frowned, noting the strange behavior from his long time colleague.

"What is it, Yagyuu-kun?"

Yagyuu found the website for the local news station and clicked the link to the interview.

Tezuka stiffened visibly as he watched the imposter perfectly imitate Fuji's voice, way of speech, and even his little habits as he talked, such as gestures with his arms. The smile was absolutely flawless.

"Wha-…?" Tezuka frowned, and turned to Yagyuu. "What is the meaning of this?"

Yagyuu frowned. "I don't know. However… all the information presented in the interview is true. Why would this criminal go through all the trouble of impersonating Fuji-kun, and not do anything…?"

Tezuka frowned. "Because he wanted us to know that he had access to our information…"

Yagyuu stiffened. Its true… all the information that had been presented in the interview was true, and had yet to be released to the public… moreover, only those in the building knew of Fuji's absence. That really meant…

"God really does hate me, doesn't he…?" Yagyuu mumbled to himself, and wandered out of his friend's office.

He walked into his office, and grabbed the papers on the newest case. It had yet to be named… so much for his day off.

He flipped through the papers, deep in thought. The newest incident… he wondered if it had a connection to his case…? It seemed like one of the flashy, sneaky crimes this criminal would do…

Yagyuu wrote up a document on the impersonation. He added the URL to the interview, as well as the information presented, and the police files on it, before dropping it off in Tezuka's box. If he thought it was the work of their newest enemy also, then they had gotten into a bigger mess than they had first thought…

"Hm? What are you doing here today, Ya~gyuu~?"

Oh, great. Just who he had wanted to see.

"I'm working, Niou-kun, what else is there to do?"

"You don't have to be so touchy, Ya~gyuu~."

Yagyuu sighed, and turned to Niou. "As much as I would love to waste time, chatting here, with you, Niou-kun, I have work to do. If you would please excuse me…" and with that, he walked off, leaving Niou to chuckle after him.

"You should really be careful who you mess with, Ya~gyuu~" Niou chuckled to himself, walking off in the opposite direction.

That night, Yagyuu went to bed early. That is, if you could call that going to bed… really, he just lay under the covers in his dark apartment, thinking over the case. In all the thievery, trickery, and whatever else this criminal had done, no one had seen his face… he was, so to speak, a master of disguise…

He had connections, too, apparently. To their firm, and their data bases… For all Yagyuu knew, it could be Tezuka, or Fuji, his boss, or the others, like Sengoku, Shiraishi, the Oshitari's…

Sighing, he sat up in his bed, and glanced at the clock. 3:00 am. It was a little early to get ready for work, but he wouldn't be getting any sleep like this.

He turned on the lights, and stepped into the shower. He was rubbing his Old Spice 3-in-1 into his air, and over his body, when Niou's face popped into his head.

Sputtering, Yagyuu stumbled lightly. Who's face was he thinking of, in the shower of all places! 'God, I really must be overworking myself…' Yagyuu thought to himself, shaking his head. Of course that was it… what other reason would there be for… such thoughts?

He quickly finished up, pulling on a pair of jeans and draping his towel over his shoulders, to catch any stray drops of water, which might drip from his pathetically dried hair.

'Maybe I should go out for breakfast?' Yagyuu thought. '….. like a good breakfast place would be open at this time of day…'

He popped out a pot, and boiled some eggs, before going to check his emails.

When he saw one from Tezuka, he opened it, and quickly skimmed it through.

Yagyuu,

I think you are right. This definitely seems like something that would relate well with that case. However, I believe our priority should be naming this case. For now, we have far too little evidence to be worrying about subjects. We should just see how this criminal works for a while, before actually acting.

Thank you,
Tezuka.

Yagyuu nodded lightly. It was definitely too early on to be suspecting people, as well as releasing any information on the case.

As his eggs finished cooking, he flicked to the news, as he did every morning, only to drop the pot, and his eggs to hit the floor, and crack.

There, on the TV, was him… only, not in a false interview, like Fuji had been…

He was dead.

And next to him, written in blood, were the words:

DON'T MESS WITH ME
-Petenshi

A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update! I have been really distracted lately… I had writing the second chapter to this a long time ago, but I LOST IT, and had to completely re-start… so again, sorry for the wait xD

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! And yes, Old Spice, three-in-one is a shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, all in one. That's hot, so I decided to add it in. I'm not weird, I swear. XDDD

THANKS FOR READING! Reviews are more than welcome :3