Regular font indicates the present.
Italic font indicates flashbacking.
Bold italic font indicates thought.
Bold regular font indicates writing/typing.
"I think it would be a good idea to make replicas for the Ganymede jewelry, Arthur-san." Kiku decided as he continued to overlook the artifacts residing on his desk.
Since the Metropolitan heist two days ago, he had been meticulously inspecting the Greek pieces to check for any wire taps or cameras somehow imputed on the jewelry for obvious reasoning and hadn't found any sign of alteration. Still, as he and Arthur were living double lives as 'Japan' and 'England', both understood the importance of precaution regardless of how big or small the situation was.
"It seems a logical idea, Kiku," Arthur remarked, resting his hand on his cheek as he created an internet tab on his laptop. "Though why do you recommend we make them now when we've stolen the items and have no intention of giving them back?"
If there was any time we should have made replicas, it should have been before the Metropolitan heist, the Brit thought while typing the name 'Ayuramih' into his search engine on the Deep Web portion of the internet, clicking on the first website that appeared; a black market website. That way we could have swapped the originals with the fakes.
"Alfred-san saw the Ganymede jewelry two days ago and I told him they were fakes for my artifacts' class," the Japanese male reminded his dorm mate/partner-in-crime after turning off the lamp and standing up, stretching lightly as he did so as he had spent a long time in front of the computer. "Wouldn't it would be suspicious if we sold the jewelry and Alfred-san requested to see the 'replicas' again, only for them to be missing?"
The blond snorted a bit when taking the idea into consideration. "A step ahead of me as always," he smiled, clicking on the portion of the black market site only labeled as 'Ailateh', his green eyes scanning across pages of stolen artifacts up for sale. "Alright. I'll take care of finding a customer and sending the jewelry to them while you make the replicas. And though it'll take a while for me to complete the transaction of money and product (what with having to skirt around the police and all), I imagine you'll have plenty of free time to create the impersonations as you see fit."
The fact remains that it will be difficult for him to make realistic-looking artifacts to match the ones Alfred thought he saw, Arthur resumed thinking, creating a product profile for the Ganymede jewelry on the website and establishing a price. However, Kiku is capable of completing such a feat, if what he's demonstrated both recently and in the past is proof enough.
Another thought struck the blond when he logged out of Ayuramih, causing him to close his internet tabs and open up one of his computer programs. "Hey Kiku," he began, his mouse hovering over the folder recently saved on his laptop. "Could I check the security camera footage you gathered during the heist?"
The brunette nodded, a hesitant look present amongst his features for a moment. "Hai, Arthur-san," he spoke, standing behind his partner to watch what was shown on the screen. "Though do you remember what I said about that chip I gave you?"
"Yes," Arthur replied, watching the footage taken. "You said how you would be given access to a live video feed of all the cameras. Why do you ask?"
"What I said was correct, and I was able to see what was going on," Kiku acknowledged, playing with his fingers while watching the footage with Arthur. "However, as you'll see in a moment, the live video feed was cut off about ten minutes in."
This caught his partner off-guard. "Wait, what?" the blond sputtered, skipping ahead and stopping at the ten minute mark of the footage only to stare in shock when the feed abruptly cut off. "W-what happened to the security cameras?"
"I believe the security cameras were unharmed, as you and America-san didn't engage in fighting that affected the building," the Japanese male informed, noting the Brit's sheepish expression. "With the exception of that window you broke in order to escape," he reminded, smirking at the embarrassed blush on the Brit's cheeks.
"However, the thing that intrigued me about the heist wasn't the fact that my feed disconnected, but who disconnected it," Kiku hinted, leaning over Arthur's shoulder and moving the mouse until it skipped thirty seconds after the footage initially cut off.
Just seeing the image pop up on the screen again sent shivers down the brunette's spine. While it wasn't particularly horrifying or insightful, the mystery resided in how open for interpretation it was. The image was a plain white screen with a black 'O' in the center, like something out of the anime/manga 'Death Note'.
"Whoever disconnected my feed knew of our plan," Kiku explained, skipping further along the footage only to see the same image throughout the entire video. "And knew that you installed my chip into the security system, so they infiltrated the system and blocked off my live feed of the situation. When this happened, I tried to contact you through your communicator," he admitted, holding up the familiar pocket-watch so that his partner-in-crime could see. "But you didn't answer."
"And by the time that happened, it was already too late for me," the Brit muttered distastefully beneath his breath, his brow furrowing when recalling how the hero hugged him from behind and greeted him with a 'Ello love'. The bloody wanker probably thought it'd be funny to hold him all close like that and whisper in his ear like a lover, didn't he?
"I apologize for my inability to properly alert you, Arthur-san," the Japanese male bowed, standing upright when the Brit waved him off with a wave of his hand.
"It's fine, if anything I'm the one at fault since I didn't realize it until the last minute," Arthur mumbled, his cheeks blushing in embarrassment again considering a certain American idiot said the same thing about him during the heist. "Anyway, do you think it's possible that the burger-loving twat has a sidekick?"
"I wouldn't rule out the possibility," Kiku responded, still staring at the screen entirely blank save for that infamous letter, his fists clenched at his sides while his brow furrowed slightly. "Whoever or whatever they are, we should treat them with the same precaution we treat everything else, perhaps more if they prove to be a formidable foe in the future."
"If they had knowledge of our plan and met your technological prowess with a decapitation move, I say we tread lightly around this 'O'," the Englishman insisted, closing his laptop and redirecting his emerald gaze towards the Ganymede artifacts on the desk. He stood up from where he sat and began carefully wrapping up the pieces into the same fabric he used before. "Especially considering we have no idea what their full sidekick alias, real name, or face is. As I've encountered America in the past, it's only been him and I."
He snickered a bit, leaning on his arm to support himself even though his sprained ankle was mostly healed by now. "In a way, he's America's version of you," Arthur concluded, looking back to meet the Asian's dark brown eyes. "'Japan'."
Even though the Japanese male was wearing neither his Kitsune mask nor his black and white tuxedo he wore when masquerading as 'Japan', he placed his hand over his heart and bowed a miniscule amount.
"I promised that I would stay by your side to help you achieve your goal," Kiku murmured, his eyes closed as he reminisced within the depths of his mind of that day that seemed so long ago.
His dark gaze met the emerald gaze he'd become so familiar with, as he straightened out with his hand still over his heart.
"Your goal to make Alfred F. Jones confess his love to you. By any means necessary."
~ na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na~
"So you finished making the Ganymede replicas?" Alfred asked, one hand positioned on his wireless mouse as he scrolled down the recently added items on 'Ailateh' to see if England had already put the artifacts for sale, his other hand holding his iphone to his ear as he listened.
"Correct," the person on the end of his phone replied, their answer causing a smile to break out amongst the American's features. "Though I anticipate that England's sidekick—for I have no doubt he has one—will be making their own replicas shortly."
"Huh? Why would they do that?" The hero questioned, his blue eyes widening behind his glasses when he caught sight of the Ganymede jewelry already up for sale at a price of-
The blond had to massage his temple given how much England was asking for. Gosh, the amount of comic books he could buy with that kind of money was unfathomable.
"If they wanted to make the replicas, it would make sense for them to make it before the heist that way they could swap the originals with the fakes, right?" He continued, sighing a bit when his headache diminished.
"That's because some of our information has been leaked." the voice said, causing the American to turn pale.
"How long has it been leaked? Who heard what?" Alfred interrogated, trying and failing to keep his panic at bay. His sidekick was efficient; deadly efficient. It was rare for him to make a mistake, much less a mistake that could cost them dearly.
"Since the Metropolitan heist two days ago," the voice continued, putting a lid on the hero's anxiety as he sighed again, this time out of relief. "I assume it occurred while I was intercepting the program England installed into the security system, so that I could gain access into his helper's live video feed and cut them off."
"Between the time I began and finished the infiltration, there was a gap of time in which I was at my most vulnerable point. A short gap of time in which you'd have to be fast to act upon, but a gap of time nonetheless," the speaker admitted, pieces of shame evident in their tone. "During that point, I suspect that England's helper infiltrated us and accessed the basics of our plan."
"So there's a chance that England will lure us into a trap based on the knowledge he has?" The blond exclaimed, nervousness and fear wrapping around his nerves like a python would do to its prey, his grip on his cellphone increasing until a small 'crack' from his phone case forced him to relinquish it. "Should we change our tactics and catch him by surprise? Should we back away and wait for all of it to pass over-"
"No," the speaker on the end of Alfred's phone interrupted, surprising the American. "We will not run. If we run, we're giving into criminal activity and letting England win when we can clearly work this to our advantage."
"But you said he knows what we're going to do," Alfred expressed, exiting out of the black market website and closing his laptop, his heart beating erratically within his chest cavity. "Our plan will be rendered useless if he can anticipate our actions!"
"I said that England's helper knows the basics of our plan," the voice reminded, making Alfred's words die in his throat. "I never said they know it entirely, and that they told England."
"Why would they retain what amount of information they possess?" The American wondered out loud, standing up and walking to the window of his dorm. His dorm—much to his luck—was private and gave him a wonderful view of the New York University arch and park it was located in. "In spite of how much or little of our plan they know, it's obvious to tell your leader what the enemy is planning!"
"In some strategies, it's better to let your leader be oblivious of the things soon to occur," the voice answered, a hint of amusement in their voice. "Their actions, unaltered by knowledge of the future, prove to be more productive than actions altered."
"Right," Alfred agreed, letting his gaze wander downwards at the various students loitering in the park of NYU, a smile rising against his features again when seeing Arthur playing chess by himself on the grass. When they were kids, he and Arthur used to love playing chess together. Of course, Arthur always won. "Regardless, we should tread with caution around England and his helper, whether or not he's been informed of what we're going to do."
"That seems like a logical idea, Alfred," the voice remarked, as Alfred opened the door to his dorm and made his way downstairs to play chess with a certain Brit.
"Thanks, Oya."
Author's Note: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN~! I am LOVING where this is going so far! Notice how I uploaded this chapter two days after the first one? Hehe, though this doesn't mean that the future chapters I upload will correspond with the dates taking place within the chapters, keep that in mind.
I originally typed up a different chapter, one much more serious and dark than this one, initially. Though I decided against putting that one up since I wanted the second chapter to have the vibe this chapter I feel gave off. But don't despair, I'll post that other chapter later in the story, and I'll mention in the author's note whether it's that one or not, so keep your eyes out for it~
Here's a few things to explain:
*the 'Deep Web' Arthur mentions is the portion of the internet that's more reserved for criminals, pedophiles, drug/people-traffickers, all that dark stuff. As for the website's name 'Ayuramih' and the EBay-like section 'Ailateh', you can figure where I got the name for those things if you simply type it up backwards.
*As for the amount of money England/Arthur's asking for the Ganymede stuff, I can't find the estimated price range for the stuff ANYWHERE, so just assume it's a lot. Like, a lot a lot.
*At one point, England/Arthur said 'met your technological prowess with a decapitation move'. In strategy, a decapitation move is a move that achieves strategical paralysis by targeting political leadership, command/control, strategic weapons, things along those lines. Basically, killing the Hydra at its core instead of aiming for its heads. In the case of the Metropolitan heist, Japan/Kiku was acting as England/Arthur eyes, so without access to the cameras surrounding the area, England/Arthur was rendered unaware of his surroundings.
*Sorry for those of you who are more familiar with the way computers and hacking function. The interworking of computers are lost upon me, though I'd greatly appreciate it if someone who's more knowledgeable of such could leave a review explaining it so that I could revise this.
So that's the second chapter~! I'll try to update soon, but until then? Stay awesome.