Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
The pendulum inside the lone grandfather clock in the room continued swinging as the minute-hand slowly edged its place beside the hour hand on the clock's face. A deep, ringing sound chimed thereafter, making Letizia Verdi look up from flicking the pages on a worn-out journal.
She turns her head, angling her body to look at the grandfather clock before reverting her gaze to the wristwatch resting on her dainty wrist. Set with Swarovski crystals on silver, her wristwatch mirrored the exact same time displayed on the grandfather clock.
Midnight, Letizia mused before she closed the journal she had been reading, placing it atop the glass surface of the center table in front of her. She reaches out to a half-full wine glass across the table, swishing it sideways before she took a diminutive sip. Just in time.
As if on cue, her phone rings, and Letizia carefully swipes it off the table, pressing 'Receive' and placing it over her right ear.
"Ciao." She answers the phone call in a clipped, business-like tone; her lips in a tight line as she addressed the caller on the other side of the line.
"Signora, the first shipment is scheduled for next week." The voice from the other line had a brusque, manly voice as it gave the report. Letizia's lips curled at his words.
"Perfect. Continue as planned, this shipment's been twice delayed already." Letizia replies as she picks herself off the couch and walking towards the hotel's blinds. "We can't afford to tarry."
"Si. Understood, Signora." The other voice remarks. Letizia takes another sip from her wine glass as she opens the blinds, pinning her gaze to the well-lit streets of Yokohama down below.
"And the other matter I asked you to look into?" She queries, leaning against the wall as she continued to assess the view underneath her. "Have you done it as well?"
A small silence washes over the two, and in irritation, Letizia clicks her tongue.
"Well? Have you or have you not done it?" The woman hisses through gritted teeth, her grip on her wine glass tightening as she speaks.
"I have finished my investigation, Signora." The man replies. "I will send the details to you in a while."
Letizia scoffs. "Very well, then." She narrows her eyes against the reflection of the glass windows, her green eyes dimming under the hotel lighting. "Send it over, now."
"Understood." The affirmation was quick, and a beep from her nearby tablet signalled the arrival of the files. Once it did, she hangs up, ending the call with a swipe of her fingers.
Letizia returns back to the couch, her fingers reaching over her tablet. Placing the wine glass on the table, she swipes the screen open, revealing several profiles. She taps on one particular file, her green eyes browsing through one man's specifics. A smirk etches its way on her face at the photo of a brunet with blue eyes, leaning over a bar counter, speaking with a familiar figure of a girl with braids.
"Nakahara Chuuya, huh…?" Letizia mumbles before tapping at the photo and zooming in the photo of the girl. "Looks like I have the perfect bait."
She takes her gaze away from the screen and returns to her half-empty glass, the top smeared with her red lipstick. Letizia pours the remaining liquid down her throat.
I will crush the Port Mafia. No one will interfere with my plans from now on.
Morning sunlight streamed through the blinds of his room, waking Chuuya from his slumber. He blinks the sleep away from his eyes, attempting to roll over to the other side of his bed, but stops when he feels a weight against his chest, his arms wrapped around something soft and warm.
His vision refocuses and he almost chokes when the familiar face of Kurosawa Ayaka sleeping soundly against his chest comes into his view.
Her bare legs where tangled with his in the mess of his bed sheets; her long hair in messy tufts around her face. Her neck and collarbone were peppered with his 'love bites', the little red marks juxtaposing against her fair skin. The steady rise and fall of Ayaka's chest and her slow, peaceful breathing showed signs that she was still asleep.
Chuuya curses under his breath, his mind processing the events of the night prior. He places a hand over his face, warmth slowly spreading on his cheeks.
Shit, I lost control last night. He mulls over in his head. What do I do when she—
"Mhmm."
Chuuya's train of thoughts were interrupted when the female against his chest stirs, a small moan coming out of her mouth as her sleep was disrupted by his earlier fussing. Ayaka yawns, blinking her sleepy blue eyes twice before looking up to the male next to her. To Chuuya's surprise, she greets him with a sleepy smile.
"Hi." Ayaka murmurs into his skin as she nuzzles against his chest. She pulls back—still close enough to touch—the same sleepy smile etched on her face as she stares at the male beside her. Chuuya found her expression oddly endearing.
"H-hi. Morning." Chuuya murmurs back, the words coming out of his mouth in stutters before he could stop himself. Ayaka sighs, slowly detaching herself from their embrace. Her body warmth slowly ebbed from his skin and Chuuya unknowingly scowls.
Ayaka notices his furrowed eyebrows and chuckles lowly, making the Mafia executive frown.
"What? Why are you laughing?" Chuuya spats out and Ayaka reaches out to his face, her fingers smoothing out his scrunched-up brows.
"Keep frowning like that and you'll get all wrinkly~" She teases, a grin on her face as she uttered her statement. Chuuya scoffs, refusing to comment further and Ayaka draws back, drawing the blankets up to her chest as she sits up on the bed.
Chuuya watches as she sweeps her long hair across her back, the brown tresses resting like a dark curtain on her back. Her delicate fingers brushed through the tangled mess of locks before she reached down to pick up her undergarments from the floor. Silently, Chuuya watches her as she dressed up, his blue eyes tracing the slender curve of her body as she throws on the dark blue shirt, the material barely reaching past her thighs.
"Ogling my behind, Chuuya?" As if sensing his intent gaze from behind, Ayaka tilts her head back, a smug smile on her face. "You're enjoying the view, if I may say so myself." She angles her body so that she was leaning over him, some of her hair spilling over her face as she locks gazes with him.
"Shut up, Kurosawa." Chuuya barks back, his blue eyes immediately averting to the side to avoid her gaze. He misses the way Ayaka's lips curl into an affectionate smile, and Chuuya gets caught off-guard when she suddenly presses her lips against his in a brief kiss.
Heat was slowly creeping on his cheeks at her gesture, but before he could retort back, she was already drawing away from his touch, her back to him as she approached his door. Gathering his wits, Chuuya sits up from the bed, the blankets pooling on his lap.
"Where are you going?" He calls out to the female. Ayaka halts in her steps, angling her head so she could look over her shoulder to face him.
"I'm going to go shower." She quips, shrugging her shoulders good-naturedly. Chuuya falters a bit, his hand coming up to ruffle his hair in a show of frustration.
"Oh, right. Sure, go ahead." He grumbles under his breath, his blue eyes narrowing at Ayaka as a flare of disappointment swells inside his chest. The girl suddenly snorts, and the sudden seductive smirk she sent his way threw him off-guard.
"You're going in with me, silly boy." Ayaka purrs, her blue eyes glinting with barely-hidden desire. "We'll shower together."
Her suggestion surprises Chuuya, evident in the way his body flinches at the tone of her voice. He draws out a sigh, his breath shuddering as he composes himself. A smirk curls on the corner of his mouth.
"Fine by me."
"About last night…"
Ayaka looks up from strapping her heels at Chuuya's genkan, straightening her posture as her gaze flies to the man in front of her.
He was dressed in his work clothes, while she had donned her dress from last night, the fabric dry and fresh after putting it through Chuuya's dryer while they showered—which took a while, considering they fell into each other's arms again while in the bathroom.
"Hmm?" Ayaka hums, slinging her coat over one arm as she places her clutch under one arm. "What about last night?"
To her surprise, Chuuya reaches out, his gloved hands grasping for her hand. Drawing her close, his fingers interlocked with hers. Chuuya's blue eyes stared right through her with an unreadable expression on his face, his gaze intent. Something with the way he looked at her right now, sent a flurry of butterflies inside Ayaka's stomach, her heart pounding a bit loudly in her chest.
"About last night…" Chuuya continues, squeezing their interlocked hands gently as he stares at her face. "…please don't let that be a one-time thing."
Ayaka blinks, processing his words in her mind. Heat crept up to the rest of her ears as his declaration floored her. Sighing as she recomposes herself, she gives him a soft smile before pressing a soft kiss on Chuuya's lips, surprising the male. As Ayaka pulls back, a wolfish grin rests on her face.
"Well, Chuuya…" She leans to rest her forehead against his, her thumbs rubbing over Chuuya's knuckles soothingly before she continues. "…that proposition of yours can be arranged."
From his position on the third floor of the motel two blocks away from Chuuya's apartment, Luigi Verdi observed with a pair of binoculars as Kurosawa Ayaka emerges from Nakahara Chuuya's front door.
He watches as the girl mutters something to the Mafia executive before slipping a small paper in Nakahara Chuuya's hands—no doubt her phone number or an address, Luigi deduces. In a swirl of blue skirts, Kurosawa Ayaka walks away from the residence, on the way to the train station.
Luigi pulls the binoculars away from his face, his fingers tapping out a message on the screen of his phone.
'Confirmed. Kurosawa Ayaka is connected with Nakahara Chuuya.'
A beep. The reply after he sent his report was immediate.
Luigi glances and taps the message, hazel eyes scanning over the content.
'Perfect. We will proceed as planned.'