L – B.F.F.'s


On the second day of February, Misa went to the Yotsuba headquarters for a photoshoot. She was surprised to find a few girl talking to Suguru Shimura, the vice president that kept an eye on everyone and personally interviewed every new employee. The blonde approached them cautiously, wondering if she was interrupting anything or not. She couldn't help but scan the other girl from head to toe.

The new girl had bleached out platinum blonde hair that was straighter than a string in tension, shining with an apparent softness that Misa always associated with magazines and edited photographs. It was flowing down to the girl's waist, tied up in a voluminous ponytail that looked so natural, but was most likely the result of layered extensions of natural hair. Her black coat was made of a fur so pretty, Misa wanted to touch it and see if it was for real. After all, real fur was extremely expensive and even forbidden in some parts of the world. She saw the girl's cigarette pant with a clearly ironed line stopping right above the edge of a pair of shining black ankle boots. She spotted a watch with a bunch of tiny sparklers inside that Misa couldn't see very well. Were those diamonds?

As she got closer, Misa recognized the red sole of the stranger's boots and she began hyperventilating. She had to bite her lower lip and mess up her hot pink lipstick just to hold back from squealing in delight and jealousy.

Shimura looked past the new model and saw Misa acting a little strange. She was clutching her red purse so tightly, her fingers turning even paler than they usually were. "Good morning, Misa. Are you alright?"

The blonde could only nod. She pointed towards the stranger's boots with a trembling hand. "Those are…!"

"From Christian Louboutin's latest collection? Precisely," the other girl turned around to reveal a romantic Valentino vaporous shirt that contrasted with her porcelain skin and showed a bra in the palest shade of nude.

All this time, Shimura became more and more confused. "If any of you would care to explain, please, be my guest."

The stranger held out her hand adorned with matte black acrylic nails and a single silver ring lacing up around her index finger. "I'm Yulia. You must be Misa – I'm so glad to meet you. We'll be shooting together for Yothuba Homes this week, if I understood correctly…"

Misa shook her hand slowly, trying to comprehend what was happening. "We're… shooting together?"

"I tried to call and tell you, but you didn't pick up!" Shimura quickly attacked her. "In lack of a clear answer, I interpreted your complete lack of interest as a silent agreement. When you can't be reached to state your opinion, others are entitled to decide for you. It's on page 6 of your contract, second paragraph-!"

"It's so perfect!" Misa chuckled. "You look so good! And so thin – that's very chic. And Valentino? I can't wait to afford it! Misa has been posing for years, but my first promoter had a tragic accident on a yacht and her daughter is pretty hard to convince. She doesn't like Misa very much."

Yulia smiled in amusement, bearing a set of perfectly aligned pearly whites. "How old is she?"

"She's… 18, I think? Misa didn't ask!" she began to laugh in hopes Yulia will let it slip. "Misa is 19 though."

"We've still got a whole career in front of us. Believe me or not, this is my first real job as a model," she chuckled.

"No…!" Misa's brown eyes widened as Yulia rolled her blue ones.

"Yes! Well, my daddy is an engineer and now he's a corporate director too, so he doesn't want his baby girl posing for magazines and having all those nasty men drooling all over the page. But he agreed with this one, since it's for a real estate company."

That explained the boots and the shirt and the watch… Misa scanned her again with a hint of regret and jealousy. Why did some girls get the full pack by mere luck, while she had to chase contracts and do her very best-est every single time? "Life is so unfair sometimes…"

"I know, right? I could have started my career as a model way earlier, when I was 14 or so. I would have been a supermodel by now. But I'm already 20 this month, so… you know, I'll try to do what I can for the next five years."

Shimura cough in his fist. "Girls, if you don't mind… There will be a car waiting for you outside in a few minutes. I'll have your contract ready tonight, Yulia. Thank you for providing us with all of the information we need. I expect professional results."

"I'll try my best!" Yulia promised with a wide and almost childish smile that fit her so well…

"Let's go for some coffee while we wait," Misa suggested. She already felt Yulia overshadowing her.

"Coffee stains the teeth. Let's go after the photo shoot, what do you say?" Yulia smiled softly towards her new friend. "Who knows? Maybe we could be friends. You know, it's pretty hard getting around…"

Misa followed her to one of the couches lining the walls of the main hall. "Misa wants to know more about you before we're friends."

The other carelessly tossed her fur coat on the arm of the couch. "Oh, wow… I never know where to start!" she laughed. "I'm studying robotics here, like my daddy wanted me to, but… I don't really like it," Yulia wrinkled her nose like a kitten.

"Like making robots? Don't nerds do that?" Misa asked and the other nodded.

"…Nerds with weird fetishes. Nerds who've never seen a girl that doesn't look like a board. Nerds." The look of horror on her face was enough for Misa to understand.

"Don't go on! Stop right there. That's enough for Misa."

Yulia began to laugh. "I thought so! By the way, what's your style called? Is it some sub genre of Gothic?"

"Misa never thought of it before. It's Victorian Gothic mixed with Lolita fashion and some art deco influences. Misa loves all three~!"

"That's great! It means you created your own, personal style. That's very rare to find and so original!"

Before she knew why or how, Misa began pouring out her heart to a complete stranger. Yulia had something almost magnetic about her that made her smile contagious. She told Yulia about her childhood, about the robbery and how her parents were killed, about her fear and the horror that followed every night since, and the therapy sessions. She told her about the nights spent looking at the door and waiting for someone to break it down and shoot her, or stab her to death, about her paranoia creeping up on her from time to time.

By the time their car arrived, Yulia already knew more about Misa than she'd initially hoped. It was an incredibly promising beginning, as Misa kept talking and Yulia encouraged her. A few compliments and a couple of pitiful comments were enough to make the childish blonde open up in no time. Even so, she was afraid to ask about the Dragon's daughter yet or about the vice presidents – she couldn't risk breaking Misa's trust, even if it was easy to earn.

While the models were off to shoot a new commercial and ad campaign for the poorest business under the Yotsuba Corporation label, Caterina went to check on the evolution of the orphanage project.

"Good morning, Mr. Ooi. I would very much appreciate it if I didn't have to run after you and you had the decency of treating me according to my status." Although still fairly young – too young to inherit her father's business empire – Caterina hated it whenever someone treated her like a secretary. "Your personal assistant is right down the hall," she reminded Takeshi with a polite smile and a glare that could burn a hole in his bald head.

Even so, Ooi didn't look impressed. "Whatever it is, you can write a report and leave it on my desk. I'm going to eat during the first break of my day, so if you will excuse me…"

Caterina ran in front of him and stopped, forcing the man to do the same. "So you can ignore it like the last one? Please! I'm not that dumb, sir. And since when are you allowed to take a breakfast break at 10:30, while the other vice presidents can barely afford a lunch break between 2 and 3 pm, which happens to be your preferred interval for meetings?"

Rolling his eyes, Ooi pushed her aside by her shoulders. "Make it quick. What is it this time? Have you run out of money?"

"It so happens that you should have already known what the problem at hand is. The company that will build the orphanage and the familial houses for St. Nicholas still hasn't received the funds that you are supposed to allow. All I need is a signature with a stamp that will tell the bank to make the transaction. The next day, they can begin working on the first building, the largest and most important."

"Just leave it on my desk…" he mumbled.

Caterina crossed her arms over her chest. "Good. Because if it gets ignored again, I'm going to sue you and ask to be granted full rights, and you will have to pay me compensations for humiliation."

Ooi stopped to look back at her over his shoulder. "You can't do that unless you're married."

"You have no idea how far I would go to get what's mine. Please, enjoy your breakfast." Caterina threw him a smile, but she was boiling with rage. She hated being treated like a fool, like some inferior being – simply tolerated and ignored whenever possible.

The man glared after her, then kept walking. He was pleased that Caterina went in the opposite direction and sighed to himself. This was exactly the reason why he and the Dragon had turned a little distant over the years – he was too ambitious, too obsessed with every goal, with every single detail. The Dragon took everything as a challenge and was competitive to the extreme. By now, it was starting to show that Caterina had inherited at least some of her father's annoying character.

On the other end, Caterina wasn't the tiniest bit more pleased about their short interaction. She felt inferior, pushed aside and labeled as insignificant, almost like Ooi would reject any idea coming from her side simply because it was her initiative. Caterina stopped at the top of the stairs and set a small agenda on the railway. She flipped through her planner and looked over the tasks. She had to meet with Yukimura again and pay him even more money, since the case was nearing its final point now. After that, she had to call and make sure the construction company was still willing to wait for the funds. By that time, she should be able to go home and talk to Rin about other possible threats aimed at herself or Namikawa.

Caterina turned to address Ooi's secretary. "Good morning. Please make sure Mr. Ooi finds the file I left you three days ago on his desk as soon as he returns to his office."

The brunette raised one eyebrow at her and typed something into the computer. "The one about that charity association…?"

"Yes. I hope you didn't throw it into the shredder already."

Looking more bored and antisocial than her boss, the woman nodded. "I will look for it in Mr. Ooi's office."

With a nod, Caterina left. While going down the stairs, she passed by her lover without even looking him in the eyes. He stopped her for a moment to kiss her forehead and they held hands briefly, but then he was on his way, and so was she. Caterina had left her coat and her bag in his office, since she didn't receive one for herself yet.

Reiji was off to meet with Mido, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Director of Financial Planning. Recently, the two of them began sharing similar ideas that were still different enough to allow a friendly and productive debate. Also, Mido happened to share his love for mind and strategy games like shogi and its western cousin, chess. Reiji found Mido in his office, negotiating his presence at an international conference on avant-garde marketing strategies and innovative ways to predict the general flow of the market. It was called the Wildcard Marketing Annual Conference.

Sitting down in one of the two armchairs placed in front of Mido's desk, Namikawa waited patiently for his colleague to state his free days through the phone. He knew from last year and the one before that the Wildcard Conference had no fixed date and it was usually held sometime in February, according to the schedules of its many participants. There were about 100 seats available only to those invited and it was an honor for any corporation to have a representative among them. This would be the third year in a row for Yotsuba Corporation.

After he was done and hung up the phone, Mido looked up. "Is there any way I can help you?"

"I'm not certain of it myself, but that's not the reason I came. I think we should meet somewhere private and talk. There are a few matters that I'd like to share with you and I'd appreciate your advice on some of them." Reiji knew that at least in theory, there were no cameras or microphones in the personal office of any of them. However… he began doubting Ooi's integrity.

"Sensitive topics, I assume? Personal, maybe…?" Mido had heard of his lover's age and couldn't help but think about it. There was no clear evidence that could accuse him of doing anything mature with the girl, but it was obvious to everyone that they did have a relationship that seemed to be going quite well – at least from the outside.

"Sensitive, indeed. Personal? Not so much. Collective, almost. Would you care to dine with me and Caterina this evening? We can play a few rounds afterwards, if you'd like."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Mido nodded. "She does seem to avoid looking at me whenever we meet… Do you happen to know the cause of this behavior? I wouldn't want to offend her."

But Reiji was just as confused. "I'm afraid I have no idea. But you can ask her yourself. My assumption is that maybe you remind her of someone. It seems to be the most logical explanation."

"At what time should I meet you? I'd hate to bother any of you." Mido looked over the files on his desk and over the open agenda that he had by the phone.

"If we can manage to leave work around 7, then perhaps 8 in the evening will be a reasonable hour." Namikawa stood up as his colleague nodded once again.

"Very well. I will meet you then." Mido pressed a button on his phone that called his personal assistant. "Please update my schedule for February 11th. I will be at the Wildcard Marketing Annual Conference from 12 pm to 8 pm. Free me one day before the Conference and make me some coffee, please. Also, today I will leave one hour early. Make sure that's possible."

Reiji left Mido's office and went into his own. He was disappointed to see that Caterina's coat was missing. He walked out and looked at his assistant with a lost, curious stare.

The woman smiled shyly. The man looked so innocent, almost like a child trying to find his words. "Yes, sir?"

"Caterina… When did she leave?"

The blonde looked at the clock on the wall. "About half an hour ago. Right after you left the office, sir. Would you like me to call her?"

Frowning, he shook his head. "No… Don't bother."

Before he could walk back into his office, the woman stopped him. "Sir? Would you like some coffee?"

Reiji nodded quietly and closed the door behind him. He just realized that he saw Caterina right before she left and they didn't even exchange hellos. He sat down at his desk and skimmed through the reports and weekly situations sent to him by his subordinates. It seemed that Caterina was right again – the sales were now stagnating, with a very shy tendency to grow on a few types of products. Hopefully, once the murder case will be solved and he will be declared a victim of rash conclusions and unsupported claims, the sales will increase significantly.

The way that the press was now covering his case was entirely different. There were supporters of his cause who spent hours debating on TV or on the radio with those who tried to accuse him. Perhaps his greatest advantage was his perfectly clean and transparent financial evolution. Nobody in the world could accuse him of stealing or manipulating contracts, of making dirty money or hiding his affiliations. He was never late with his payments and the National Bank spoke of him as an ideal client.

His personal assistant brought him a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a new report. Someone forgot to send it earlier. Usually, Namikawa would have sanctioned such behavior, but he didn't feel like it today.

"When should I schedule the monthly evaluation of the sales department, sir?"

He sighed. "…Tomorrow, unless anything else comes up. Do not announce it, like usual."

The blonde nodded. She left Reiji by himself and went back to playing a new online game. She had a virtual bakery for which her character had to produce everything. She had fruit trees and could order milk, eggs and flour in order to craft jams, pastries and meringue and make a pie for an order. It was quite relaxing and it allowed her to work on important documents at the same time.

Around noon, Misa eventually got to crush on the bench of a mall with Yulia. "My! Misa is sooo… so, so tired!" She only had two bags of her own on her hands, but agreed to carry two bags for Yulia as well. Her newest friend clearly had no worry about spending money, because she dragged Misa though the most exclusive and expensive stores available. They had strange drinks for which none could tell for sure their ingredients, ate cakes that claimed to be all vegan and no-bake, and very likely the most costly salads in the entire mall.

"Walking burns calories, darling," Yulia laughed. "Or that's what I heard. But it feels like it, right?"

Misa nodded and bent down to rub her calves. They were as hard as rocks and had been aching for a while now. "Misa can't take another step!"

"I know… me neither," Yulia sighed. She leaned against the back of the bench, then suddenly got up. "We forgot the most important thing ever!"

Trying the puppy eye trick, Misa looked up in hopes of making the other change her mind. "Is it really so important?"

"Well – duh! I just remembered that I'm throwing the coolest party ever and I've had such a good time with you today, that I want to invite you too. I'll print you an invitation when I get home."

Her brown eyes widened in shock, which quickly melted into excitement. "ME? I-I can't even believe! My God! Misa is so super happy!"

Yulia welcomed the bear hug coming her way with open arms. She held Misa for a moment, then gently pushed her away. Apparently, she should get used to receiving a lot of girl hugs for the sake of this friendship… Hopefully, the Dragon's daughter won't be so clingy.

"It's for my birthday. Oh! And I'd really love it if you brought someone along. You can take a friend of yours on your invitation."

In the meantime, Caterina had already finished her earlier tasks and decided to use a few hours to look for a few professors. Because of her situation, she had to drop out of high school, but there was no possible way she could lead a business empire without learning the basics of marketing and economy, financial education and the management of investment. She had to find someone who could help her catch up and give her a home school document so she could take an exam and graduate.

Once she noticed Ryuk in the room, she rolled her eyes and hang up. "What does he want now? I thought I told him there's nothing he can do to get me back."

'Hey, I'm just the messenger. No need to get mad at me!' the shinigami defended himself.

"Well…? Say what you have to say, then!"

The creature grinned. 'Light found some details that he thinks you would want to see. I can't say anything more, but it's a big deal. You know the people involved.'

"I can't meet him these days. I have a few things to deal with…" she mumbled. "Is it urgent? Life and death, or can it wait?"

'I wouldn't say it's really urgent, but it kind of is a matter of death…'

While Ryuk found it amusing, Caterina saw it as yet another problem she had to solve. "I'll call him about this… Tomorrow, maybe the day after. But I'll try to call him tomorrow and set up a meeting. It's best not to use cell phones or emails for details."

The shinigami flew through the wall and disappeared. Left alone, Caterina called the King to inform him about Ooi's promise. She intentionally left out the part where she threatened to marry and sue him – it was a last resort solution that she hoped she wouldn't have to use.

When Namikawa arrived home, he had brought along the maid. Caterina heard something about a dinner for four and some extra money on her salary from the top floor, so she walked out of her room. "Are you expecting anyone for dinner?"

"Yes, Mido is coming over. I'm starting to doubt Ooi's integrity, but I couldn't discuss this at work." He climbed up the stairs and kissed her briefly.

"Does it mean I have to wash my hair?" Rin whined from the living room.

"And wear something decent," Namikawa answered her. "Our guest should be here around 8."

"Aw, man… I'm not wearing any skirts or feminine stuff, hear me?" the teenager continued.

Caterina laughed a little. "Whatever you want, Rin, but try to avoid jeans and anything torn." Indifferent towards her lover, she went back into her room. "I have to decide what to wear." That was obviously an excuse, but as long as Namikawa let her get away with it, everything was fine.

She didn't come out until she heard the engine of a car stopping in front of the house. The girl checked her hair again in the mirror out of habit, then walked downstairs to welcome the only vice-president that reminded her of Light. True, he was a few years older and less optimistic, but she could easily picture Light exactly the same in another decade. However, at the rate things were moving in the world, she couldn't be sure both of them will still be alive in ten years.

"Good evening, sir. It's a pleasure to have you." She stepped out of the open door and let Mido step inside.

The man left his shoes by the door and hung his coat. It was merely something to show off his wealth since he didn't spend one minute in the cold. Mido had probably hopped into the car as soon as he locked his front door just as fast as he entered his colleague's house. "Good evening. I hope it won't be such a discomfort if I ask to speak to Mr. Reiji alone."

"None, though you might want to consider if this privacy is really necessary. After all, it's only a matter of minutes until I will find out the subject and the details of your discussion."

"I would rather not have servants or other employees listening, then. It's the least you could offer, I believe." He shot her a look, but only for a split moment. If this girl was going to inherit the entire Yotsuba Corporation, then Namikawa will most likely advance on a more powerful position. After that, their closest friends and partners were the very next to get promoted. Mido knew he was on Namikawa's white list for now, but he had to make sure he would stay there.

The head of the house was already at the table, watching Rin. The girl looked more like a boy to Mido, but he didn't question it. The man was glad that he had an opportunity of meeting the hacker that most likely slipped vital information from the Police to Namikawa's lawyer, whatever his name was.

"Mido, I'm glad you could accept my invitation." Namikawa stood up and extended his hand in order to shake his guest's. "Please, have a seat."

Mido shook his hand and sat on his left. Caterina had already reserved the seat on her lover's right side by leaving a cardigan on the back of the chair. "Yes, about the delicate matters that you've mentioned earlier…"

"It's about Mr. Ooi, the legal administrator of the Yotsuba Global Corporation until the end of July," Caterina brought it up.

"I've been suspecting him of keeping a rather close eye on us lately. It's almost like he expects us to commit some kind of mistake that would offer him an excuse to replace us. Naturally, I couldn't afford talking such a sensitive topic there, at the headquarters. Rin confirmed my suspicion."

When Mido looked at her, the girl sighed and turned her laptop around, playing a black and white film. Soon, Mido recognized the scene. It was Namikawa entering his office.

"A hidden camera? I have a… A bamboo pot and a lucky frog statuette in that corner. The camera must be extremely small and expensive, some last generation gadget, I think. There is no other way I could have missed it."

"Such cameras exist in every office, hidden among things," Namikawa sighed.

"There's this new brand, Apricot. They started with mobile phones running their own brand of operational system that must be upgraded every six months. Everything with the silvery apricot on its back is just a tiny bit better than the competition, but about three to five times more expensive, if we add the costs of updates. They're rumored to have created nano surveillance cameras that can be installed anywhere and controlled from any side of the world through a satellite. Up until now, I've only seen descriptions and requests on the dark web. Apricot never confirmed the rumors, but I think they sell these to spies and whoever can afford them on the black market for fabulous sums. Either that, or through acquaintances and relatives… you know, trustworthy clients. Some people want someone to guarantee that a said client is not some undercover cop, or someone selling the technology to their competition for millions – hell, it could be billions!"

"Rin, watch your language," Namikawa warned her.

All this time, Mido sat there in silence. "It's... extraordinary. I can't believe it. Ooi? Buying nano cameras from the black market in order to spy on us? What is he trying to prove…? There must be something he wants."

"To spend my money on useless acts of intimidation, perhaps," Caterina frowned.

The guest shook his head. "No… It's much more complex than simply a show of power. Ooi is very aware that his funds are limited in time and so, he is trying to make use of them while he still has access. Reiji, what do you say? Would it be possible for us to run a thorough check of our department activity? Perhaps there are unregistered sales that you've missed. Perhaps there are expenses I failed to notice. One great flaw of our system is that every department is able to function nearly independently. Such autonomy can create discontinuities that someone could use to their advantage, especially when that someone has to supervise the entire system."

"…Without his knowledge? No, I don't think it is possible. The 79th article mentions that the administrator of the continental branch or the owner of the Global Corporation need to sign the report containing the results of such a thorough check."

"The report, of course, but a report is always written after the action is complete. We need to read the regulations again. If we can follow my idea, I am confident we will find many inconsistencies to prove that Mr. Ooi had been taking money out of the company."

Rin watched the two men talking. "It might take me a while, but I can try to break into the system and download the files you want. If I get the files, you're gonna have to work from home for a while."

"Yes, that's a good idea…" Caterina agreed. "I'm going to help you if you tell me what exactly we are hoping to find."

"That's a titanic amount of work. It may take us over two months…" Namikawa disagreed. "We would need to compare and follow the course of every transaction and see the justification of every payment. This is the work of an accountant."

"We can hire an accountant," Caterina offered.

"That's a waste of money. There must be an easier way… Besides, we still don't know the motive. We can't accuse Ooi of anything unless we have a motive and a complete theory," Mido intervened. "I'm thinking that maybe we should check with the European branch and see in what state they are now. Lately, Russia has been putting a lot of economic pressure and even threatened to block the access of our corporation on the market of ex-communist countries in Eastern Europe. Doesn't it seem strange that we've never been threatened about the North-Western Asian countries?"

Caterina froze. "One of my father's worst enemies… No, I can't believe this. But it makes perfect sense!"


Author's Notes:

Chapter proofread by AbandonedSock, as always.

I have so very little time to write and several stories competing for attention, but I'll get to it! At least until the end of the year, I plan on writing as much as possible. Of course, I'm still glad to hear from you and it really makes my day whenever I see someone writing a review!