I do not own Tsubasa
No extra warnings for this chapter!
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Today had been a whole lotta what the FUCK?.
Kurogane didn't think it was possible to have a more WTF-vibe going than the one that had been plastered all over yesterday—but today blew that out of the fucking water.
The morning had been rushed after having spent the night at his parent's house letting off steam and drinking with his old man till well past midnight. He had been brooding and wondering why Fai hadn't texted him—before having to remind himself that blondie probably wasn't going to be texting him again.
Ever.
The weird feeling of rejection that washed over him every time that had happened pissed him off beyond belief. So there had been a lot of steam to work off.
His old man was one of the few people he knew who could not only drink him under the table—but the bastard never seemed to feel it the next morning. His pops had woken him ungodly early for 'family breakfast', but at least had the decency to do it with a mug of coffee and a quiet voice.
Breakfast was a bit of a tradition in their house. So even though he didn't go in until the afternoon and could have slept a few more hours, Kurogane dragged his sore ass outta bed and headed down to join everyone.
Even with a pounding headache and iffy stomach, Kurogane enjoyed breakfast just as much as he always did. The good news was that food always helped a hangover—and the calm routine of watching his old man read the paper, his sister finish up homework and his mother pack lunches helped stop his mood from going south first thing in the morning.
At least it did till his dad quirked a brow his way and gave him that look that always meant he was in for a talk he didn't want to have. Kurogane caught the look as he glanced up from checking his phone—and just stared back with a frown waiting to hear the issue.
"You hear from pretty boy yet, kiddo?" His old man watched him long enough to catch him shake his head, then refocused on the newspaper. "You gonna do what he says?"
Yeah.
While Fai having some issue with the law would probably help Kurogane get over him a hell of a lot faster… He didn't have any intention of looking into the bullshit Blondie had been spouting off about.
Not right away, at least
Blondie might have been the one to tell him to look into things, but he wanted to give Fai a chance to come clean about it himself, if by some miracle, he ever decided he wanted to work things out.
He knew, deep down—Biggs did, too—that Fai was a good person. If he wanted help getting out of whatever mess he was in, Kurogane would gladly help him.
Kurogane shrugged because that was too much of a mouthful this early in the morning. It had only taken a bottle of sake to get him to spill the details about Fai to his old man… Not that his dad would ever judge him—but admitting out loud that he had fallen for a certifiably insane blond, who was 9 years older than him and had more than enough emotional baggage to sink a fucking ship—well, that had been an experience.
He could stand by his instinct that Fai was a good guy till the cows came home, but he was obviously not into the commitment thing, and probably too broken to have enough pieces to put back together.
Getting upset over him was idiotic.
He would give Fai time to make a move if he wanted to—but if he didn't, Kurogane would have to accept that.
The more he thought about it, the more he got the feeling it would be a damn good thing if he never heard from Fai again. Kurogane made a point not to go looking for trouble and was not about to adopt the idiot's fuck it mantra.
Kurogane checked his phone again—even though the fact that he was glancing at it every few minutes damn near obsessively made him wanna kick his own ass. His old man sighed and Kurogane sipped his coffee and waited to see if he was in for another lecture.
His old man didn't seem to think that his plan to let Fai go was a good one. As an old school romantic, for him, the fact that Biggs had chosen that idiot might as well have been a sign from the gods that he had met the love of his life. It had been the debate of the night… Kurogane trying to use reason to convince himself as well as his father that it was just a stupid fling and shouldn't mean anything.
Obviously, he hadn't done so hot.
"Might learn something interesting." His old man set the paper aside and pushed his chair back from the table to take his plate and mug to the sink. He was going to be heading to work soon—day shift in the Nagano prefecture was going to be starting in less than an hour.
"Probably, but that's not the point." Someone with as much going on as Fai—with as many lies, masks, and covers—probably had tons of interesting shit following them.
Fai could damn well fess up and drop the act or Kurogane didn't want to know.
"Suit yourself." His old man ruffled his hair before making his rounds—hugging Tomoyo, kissing mom and reaching down to give each of the dogs a pat. "I do have something I want you to look into for me if you get a chance."
"Sure." Kurogane got up slowly and took care of his own dishes and hit the coffee pot for a refill.
"Got an email this morning. Request for backup on a bust your department is running tonight… ask and see if you can get me some details so I know who to send. Wanna give my boys a heads up if they're going to be pulling an allnighter." Kurogane watched his old man pull on his jacket before grabbing Shiva's harness—the dog shot up from her spot next to Biggs under the table and ran over to his side.
"I don't know anything about it. I'll find out and give you a call…" he hadn't been in yesterday so he may very well have missed something exciting. The only big bust he knew of wasn't going to take place for a few weeks—but maybe it had been moved up?
"You're a good kid, son." Shiva held still a hell of a lot better than Biggs ever did and she was harnessed and leashed in no time at all. "Keep your chin up and keep me posted."
"Will do." Kurogane always did. He downed his coffee and refilled while listening to the family exchange their usual goodbyes before the front door opened and closed.
His mom and Tomoyo knew something had happened—but neither of them pressed him as he continued to nurse his hangover and check his cell absent-mindedly while sucking down more coffee and petting his dog.
Blondie didn't text.
Kurogane gave his baby sis a ride to school and came back to chill with his mother. Her health had always been frail and while recently, it had been holding, it was the time of year where she usually came down with something. His mom worked from home running the breeding program, early training and sales of their dogs - and that involved a lot of outdoor time in the crisp fall air.
He always pitched in when he was home and jumped into the morning chores as soon as he was back. Moving around sucked at first—but the hangover was more or less gone by the time he had finished cleaning kennels, running the dogs and helping with the daily grooming.
Kurogane ducked out to head back to his apartment to get ready for work just after lunch and Biggs went for that damn pillow as soon as they got in the door. He showered, dressed and loaded up into the cruiser before heading into the station—swinging by his usual gas station on the way, to get another coffee and a treat for Biggs.
He didn't even manage to make it to his work locker before he picked up on the tense mood of his fellow officers and he didn't get a chance to lock the damn thing before his superior, Iorogi, was calling his name and stomped over like Kurogane had personally just set the bastard's house on fire.
"Suwa. A Moment." Biggs got between them and Kurogane let him as he closed his locker and turned to face the man with a neutral expression.
As far as he was aware—he hadn't fucked anything up. So it probably had something to do with the overall mood of the joint today.
"Sir?" Kurogane didn't have to correct his pooch—his superior stopped a respectful distance away and his calm demeanor had Biggs settling enough to sit in the space between his feet and watch their fellow officer like a hawk.
"My office in 15." The man glanced down at Biggs—he was not exactly friendly at work and his coworkers and supervisors had learned quickly that they needed to mind their distance.
Bummed a lot of them out because the rest of the K9s at the station were green behind the ears and less focused on officer protection and suspect apprehension and more focused on using their sniffers and giving a feeling of security. Meaning they were a hell of a lot friendlier than Biggs.
He was a good boy—but when the vest was on, he was in work mode and reactive. His independent streak meant that he had no issue telling anyone to back off—superior officer or not—no one got past Biggs without his handler's approval.
"Yes, Sir. Everything ok?" Kurogane kept his tone casual, Iorogi was easily riled these days.
"We got a dangerous job to do tonight. Office. 15." the man's face was set in a firm scowl, not that that was unusual for him—Kurogane could tell he was just as uneasy as the rest of the officers buzzing around.
"Yes, Sir." Kurogane nodded and Iorogi turned on his heel and walked off.
Getting info for his pops was gonna be easier than he thought. Hopefully, the meeting meant he was gonna be in on the action and with any luck, it would also be a hell of a distraction from Blondie maybe or maybe not texting him today.
'Sides, it's been damn near a month since the last time they had gotten any real action.
Kurogane checked in with his trainees and told them to hang tight while he was in this meeting and depending, he might be sending them out on normal duty or possibly pulling them for their first real gig with the K9s. Might be better not to have them there if it was gonna be a big operation, but the boys were shaping up nicely.
Next was the kennels in the back—Biggs did not like to be kenneled but being in a small room with who knows how many high strung cops would be worse for him—even if Biggs didn't know it.
Didn't mean the furball didn't protest.
As soon as they got through the doors to the kennels it was like Biggs' mood did a 180. It wasn't even like the department had a shitty setup and they were usually quiet until Biggs started making a racket.
He loved on the big guy as long as he could before heading to meet Iorogi. Not surprisingly, Kurogane wasn't the only one called in. He was still in his first year with the Tokyo police, but given his experience, he wasn't treated like the rest of the fresh officers. It was interesting to be the only one in the room with less than 15 years under his belt—which meant whatever was going to go down tonight was going to be big.
It was just what he needed.
Too busy to think about Blondie.
Kurogane was raised to mind his betters and greeted them accordingly before finding a nice spot to lean against at the wall.
It was a standing room only, anyway.
The tension in the air was palpable and it had his curiosity peaked—he had never been one to feed off other's emotions—especially fear. He was definitely not one to fear something he knew nothing about.
A few minutes passed and Kurogane assumed they were waiting for stragglers—he had not expected the last man to arrive to be none other than the commissioner himself, Zouchou, to storm in and slam the door closed behind himself with enough force to rattle the walls before heading behind the desk to stand next to Iorogi.
Well, shit.
Kurogane had never met the bastard before and what a hell of a first impression.
Zouchou was very well respected both in and outside the Tokyo metropolitan area, and everything about the man screamed cop.
Standing well over 6 ft tall, he towered over most of the men in the room. Zouchou might have a desk job and was rocking the appropriate suit and tie combo these days—but he looked ready to put the uniform on himself and take care of business.
He was the kinda guy you couldn't help but respect.
"Listen carefully because we don't have a lot of time, gentlemen." the commissioner barked as he scanned the room and took the time to make eye contact with each of them before continuing. "Most of you are aware of that kid, Seji Hondo. He is a 19-year-old university student that was last seen at Akai Heya less than 48 hours ago. I am sure a good deal of you were also aware of the raid we were preparing on that building, as well."
Several men around the room nodded. Kurogane had been off last night so he hadn't heard about the missing kid—but he knew about the planned raid.
Part of him had to wonder why this particular kid going missing at this particular club was significant. Thousands of people went missing in the city every year after all.
He didn't have to wonder about that long—Zouchou continued and things started clicking into place.
"—We have reason to suspect that the missing boy's disappearance has something to do with a well-known drug ring that operates out of Akai Heya as well as several similar establishments around Tokyo. I personally got a judge to sign off on a search warrant to tear that place apart in hopes we might be able to find out what happened to the boy and if at all possible, gain evidence against some of the higher-ranked members of the ring." The commissioner paused as quite murmurs swept across the room.
Kurogane knew there was supposedly a shit load of drugs moving through that place—hence the original plans to raid the joint—but this was an interesting development.
It was news to him that there was a big drug ring in Tokyo. He assumed most illicit substances moving in and out of the city came from the local Yakuza—but—now that he thought about it…
They didn't see much of the Yakuza.
They were only really active in Shinjuku and even then they rarely ran into them in the street.
"With all due respect, Sir." Vision, a senior officer that now worked in the missing persons unit, glared hard at the floor as he spoke. "I personally checked out Akai Heya last night—Seji Hondo was last seen in the club, but there's been hundred—hell—thousands of people in and out of there since. They are anything but sloppy. That aside, if they had something to do with it, we all know the kid is long gone."
"Because they aren't sloppy, we needed something like a missing person's investigation to get us in the door." The commissioner sighed and rubbed at his temples. "We haven't had an opportunity like this in years—after the big bust we had just a few weeks ago—this could be how we finally shut them down for good boys."
Kurogane watched as the senior officers looked around the room—all with the same expressions on their faces—fear.
Fear…
What the hell were they all so afraid of?
"And if he's expecting us?" Another officer from the other side of the room spoke up-Kurogane didn't know him personally—but he knew he worked over in Organized Crime for the last 20 years. "You willing to risk us walking in there blind? Facing Flourite's boys? When he has the home advantage?"
Kurogane scowled as his brain registered that name.
Fluorite.
Fai Flourite?
"We all know that is not his MO." The commissioner seemed pretty confident in that answer but the senior officers didn't look convinced.
"Pinned between a rock and a hard place? Who knows what the hell that psychopath is gonna do to make a point?"
"He might as well be declaring war—"
"I mean no disrespect, Sir." Vision cut the commissioner off—eyes still glued to the floor and hands balled into tight fists as he spoke. "—What do you think we're doing by pulling this raid?"
"Our. Damn. Jobs. Fluorite has had free run of the city for damn near a decade and its past time we get him behind bars." The commissioner all but snarled and Vision finally looked up to meet his gaze—holding it for several long seconds as silence hung in the air.
"He's doing his job, too, and we know he has no issue sending you reminders in the form of body bags." the younger officer replied.
"In case you have forgotten—" The commissioner's voice lowered to a hair raising level and he glared hard. "—We are here to protect the public and uphold justice and order. Not just when it suits us. Not just when it's easy."
Zouchou paused and looked around the room with a look that dared anyone to oppose his authority. When he was satisfied that his words had hit home, he cleared his throat and continued. "—Fluorite and his group have terrorized and poisoned Tokyo for too long. He has murdered countless officers—our brethren—in his pursuit of corruption. We will not tuck our tails and cower. Do I make myself clear?"
The last sentence was barked out and answered with a chorus of "Sir." in acknowledgment from his underlings.
"Fluorite might be a smart bastard, but he is far from invulnerable. An internal power struggle isn't something that happens often under that merciless of a leader, but it's an opening we can't pass. He will make a mistake and when he does, we will catch the bastard and put him where he belongs." The commissioner turned his attention to a stack of folders that were neatly sitting on the corner of Iorogi's desk. Grabbing them he handed the stack to the nearest officer with a gruff order of 'take one and pass.'
He waited until every man had a file in hand before continuing. "—that there, boys, is your bible. Read it. Memorize it if you have to. It's got details on tonight's job and what you need to keep your peepers peeled for in the coming weeks. With internal and external pressure on Flourite, he will trip and if you can jump, you damn well better do it or I'll have your badge."
The commissioner glared around the room again to make sure his point was understood before sighing. "Chances are, Fluorite will know we are coming—hell, I wouldn't be shocked to see that he has cleared out by this late in the game… That being said—tonight is going to be dangerous, so study up and kiss your loved ones. We meet back here at midnight."
With that, he stormed out of the room with the same gusto as he had entered. The only thing Iorogi had to say in following was "Dismissed." and a very confused Kurogane waited for the senior officers to file out before doing the same.
By the time he made it back to the kennels to snag his partner, his mind had started working again—and he decided he wouldn't even try and figure out if this Flourite was his Fai until he had gotten Biggs out and settled. He could hear the bastard telling the world how much he hated the kennels before he was halfway to the room where they were kept, and rolled his eyes as he pulled the heavy door open.
Biggs was pacing back and forth in the 10x10 ft space like his feet were on fire, and the cop paused in the doorway and shook his head slowly. The furball reached the far end of the chain link that separated him and the pooch next to him, and as soon as he whipped back around and laid eyes on his handler, he rushed the door and started jumping at the closed entrance and doing the dog equivalent of cussing Kurogane out.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it." The bastard sounded about ready to eat someone's face off, but given how fast his tail was swishing back and forth as he put on the man-eater act, Kurogane could only roll his eyes.
Biggs was not an all bark and no bite kinda dog—but that was all his temper tantrums were.
Well—if anyone else but Kurogane tried to open the cage right now, his boy might actually go for the throat—but right now, he was just complaining.
Loud.
As soon as his handler put a hand on the latch to the kennel, the K9 backed up and sat. As soon as Kurogane bent to get him in his harness, he started his eager wiggling and they did their usual dance of Kurogane telling Biggs to hold still, and the dog trying his best to listen but also 'help' get the job done faster.
They figured it out, like they always did, and Kurogane dug a treat out of his pocket and offered it up to Biggs before they headed back to his desk. Biggs laid down on the floor next to his seat and he sighed before flipping the file open.
Paper clipped right to the top of the left-hand side of the folder was Fai's mischievous, yet undeniably pretty eyes staring back at him.
Fuck.
FUCK.
Right next to the photo—a mugshot of a younger-looking but still ungodly beautiful Fai, were big bolded caps letters that spelled out FAI D. FLOURITE plain as day.
For a split second, he was saying a silent prayer that his Fai had an evil identical twin he didn't know about… Same last name, same face… but there was no denying that his Fai—was this Fai.
Fuuuuuck.
The date of the booking was from 2005 for a PCS charge that had apparently been investigated and promptly dismissed after the arraignment. The attached report stated that Fai D Flourite had been picked up outside of a downtown nightclub. He had been stopped at random and searched, where the officer discovered a large quantity of several illegal substances and had been taken into the station for questioning.
The suspect had refused to give up any information and lawyered up.
Smart.
That was the only arresting reports they had on him—underneath the report were a handful of interviews the police had done relating to various crimes the police suspected Fai might have been a witness to—but nothing in any of those reports stood out to Kurogane
Fai never gave an ounce of useful information and the reports were all painfully short, given the severity of crimes being investigated…Murder, drug trafficking, promotion of prostitution, child trafficking, a slew of charges connected to organized crime…
Below the interviews were open cases that were still pending investigation spanning from 2005 all the way to the bust that had just happened last month. Kurogane felt like the air was sucked out of his lungs as he flipped through the skeleton reports that had been including on the open case.
More of the same and worse…
Murders—Murders of Yakuza, of cops, civilians, and members of his own group. The real kick in the gut where the photos of the corpses—Kurogane had never had to work on a murder case and he hoped he never had to…
Fuck.
Could Fai—the goofy, sweet moron who he had just spent the night with—really have done all of this with his freakishly soft hands?
Kurogane's eyes lingered particularly long on the report and photos detailing the murder of some old Yakuza boss—Tatsou Sakurazuka—that was particularly stomach-turning.
Well, all of them were stomach-turning, but this one looked sloppy but most of all personal.
Really fucking personal.
The corpse laid in the middle of an oversized canopy bed surrounded by bloodied bedding that had one time been a luxurious white. The man was naked and laying on his back… his arms had been tied to the headboard above his head and his throat looked like it had been sawed open by unskilled hands. Blood had sprayed everywhere and there had been bloody hand- and footprints on various surfaces within the home…
The report itself was even more sickening and Kurogane was enranged by the time he had finished reading it… the main suspect for the murder was the person who had taken Tatsou's place as head of the local Yakuza—breaking the group away from the parent organization and changing the direction of their focus.
Fai D Flourite.
The evidence that linked him to the murder was damning—yet the case had been thrown out on a technicality… Mismanagement of the body by the coroner coupled with the fact that Fai claimed he had been Tatsou's lover was enough to tank the PA's case apparently…
Kurogane didn't buy that for one fucking second.
The rest of the murders had less evidence pointing at Fai being the actual killer or even just an accomplice. They might not turn his stomach like Tatsou Sakurazuka's had—but they were not pretty by any means.
In a few cases, there had been entire families killed—the suspected motive was simply Fai ordering their deaths to send a message.
Fuck…
FUCK.
What the FUCK?
Kurogane didn't know if it was a good thing that most of the killings were supposedly 'ordered' by Fai rather than committed by him personally—but the alarming number had the cop's blood boiling.
There were reports and investigations looking into human trafficking and prostitution taking place in buildings and businesses he was connected to were just as disgusting. Growing less so in current days, but that may just be due to hiding their operations from police better these days.
Supposedly, Fai owned a few brothels and staffed prostitutes at a few of his higher-end clubs. Kurogane's eyes scanned over these reports far more quickly—but he almost dropped the file when he skimmed over a name that was familiar.
Kyuden.
Kyuden had been the club he had first met Fai at…
Kurogane was hit with the sudden realization of how fucking stupid he had been for not picking up on more. The beautiful woman hanging out on the first floor—the privacy of the booths in the balcony area—the fact that the waitress had dropped off a stack of god damn napkins for them?
The reports didn't get somehow managed to keep topping themselves until Kurogane needed to put them down.
The reports that linked Fai to police deaths had been fucked—eyewitnesses from the force had seen him shoot other officers point-blank to again 'send a message' about them 'poking their nose where it didn't belong.'
Eye witness was all they had—no one knew what happened to the body and with nobody proving that a murder had taken place… well, that was that.
It took a few hours to read through the reports and Kurogane was planning to take a break before moving onto the details of the planned bust they had tonight when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
For a split second his mind thought it might be Fai finally reaching out and Kurogane was instantly disgusted with the half moment of excitement—anger took excitement's place and he dug the damn thing out and swiped to answer when he saw it was old man calling.
"Hey." Kurogane leaned down to pet Biggs out of habit and leaned back in his seat.
"Having a shit day because you're weak ass is hungover or because something bad happened?" Kurogane's father spoke in his usual cheerful tone and Kurogane was punched in the throat by the realization that he had just spilled all the details about Fai to him the night before.
He sure felt really fucking stupid right about now…
"I got info on the bust." Kurogane didn't have time to address it with his pops now—he needed to process the shit load of information that had just been shoved down his throat. Then he would get this call over with and clear his head before finishing the rest of the reports.
"Lay it on me, kiddo."
"It's a raid on a nightclub looking for clues on a missing person and any illicit substances. There is a possibility that it's going to be dangerous given the rap sheet of the people who run their business out of there." Kurogane wasn't sure about the amount of detail his old man was looking for, but he figured he would start there.
Leaning down, he snagged Biggs' leash and got to his feet, feeling suddenly confined by his cramped cubicle. He needed fresh air and there was no reason he couldn't talk and walk at the same time.
"They requested K9 back-up. What kind?" His old man sighed on the other end so he assumed he had basically told 'em what he already knew.
"Focus on the missing person and drug search. Sounds like they don't expect anyone to actually be there, though it's not a sure thing." Biggs wasn't hopeless at those things but he specialized in officer protection and suspect apprehension.
"Gotcha—You tagging along?"
"Yeah. Reading through the info now. I'll send an update if those need changes." Kurogane pushed the door that led to the back alley open with a little too much force and paused so he could lean down to pat his partner's side in apology for the unexpected bang.
"You gonna be careful and not do anything stupid?" his father didn't use his 'dad voice' often—only because Kurogane usually wasn't an idiot—but given how angry he was at the moment?
He took his tone and his words to heart and took a deep breath.
"Yeah." he led them up the alleyway and then down the street towards their favorite lunch spot and listened to his old man chuckle softly.
"Good, cause you sound pissed off and like you're temper is gonna shut your brain off." Kurogane huffed but didn't disagree with that statement.
He was fucking steaming.
He had no idea how to feel or process what he had just read, and he really just wanted to clobber Fai for lying to him. For being such a flawless fucking liar that he had fooled both Kurogane and Biggs into thinking he was—FUCK.
He needed to hit something.
"I'll be careful. Promise." Kurogane slowed his pace slightly and consciously made an effort to relax his shoulders, unclench his jaw, and unfist his hands.
"I'll believe you. Don't make me explain to your mother that her son is in a body bag because of his temper. That group you guys are dealing with is dangerous. Watch yourself." the sternness in his pop's voice caused him to shiver and Kurogane let out a stream of cuss words while his mind caught up with that statement.
"You heard of 'em?" If the name had rung a bell last night, he would have spoken up, but Kurogane had only ever referred to Fai by his first name, "that bastard" or "the idiot."
"Some real horror stories have come out of Tokyo about that group over the last few years. The police have been in a standoff with them since they fractured away from the Yakuza. You got briefed on the history, kiddo?"
"Yeah, been reading through all the shit we got on 'em. City seemed so quiet." He sure as fuck never would have guessed they had this sort of shit going on here.
Even more than that… That he would run into someone so fucking dangerous in such a casual situation. Kurogane should have listened to his fucking gut. He might not have been aware of Fai and his rapt sheet, but that bastard KNEW exactly what it was he was fucking doing.
Kurogane felt his temper spiked again and had to take another deep breath. He again had to slow his pace, and internally reminded himself that it was gonna be a long night. He needed to chill the fuck out and do his damn job.
"Well, when tensions were at their highest you were only a kid. Tokyo has been quiet the last few years… That's why I felt comfortable sending you there to work…Quiet or not, I am surprised this is the first you're hearing of it." His father gave a stressed laugh and Kurogane hummed in acknowledgment.
Maybe that was why his mother had cried when he told her he was taking a job in Tokyo… Over a dozen officers murdered and a couple dozen missing by none other than Fai's fucking hand.
"I'll be careful and call you with an update when my shift is over." The offer was more for him than his old man—but he knew his father was going to be worried sick. Kurogane could handle himself, but those numbers made your blood run cold.
"We'll be up, son." Kurogane stopped outside the door of their usual coffee shop and had Biggs sit with a gentle command.
"I gotta grab a bite but I'll talk to you later tonight, dad."
"Good. Love you, kiddo, and we'll be seeing ya."
"Yeah—Love you, too, and hug mom for me." With an affirmative, Kurogane hit the red button and tucked his phone into the back of his uniform pants before making quick work of his lunch run. The walk back to the station was uneventful and the outing did help him clear his head.
He needed to separate his personal and professional life for tonight and get pissed at Fai playing him for a fool after his shift.
Arresting the bastard would be pretty fucking satisfying, though.
Biggs didn't complain at having to go back to laying next to the desk and watched the people bustling around the office with half interest as Kurogane got back to the file.
The right-hand side had details on the bust they were going to carry out tonight with damn near as many reports and briefs to look through. Most of it was important, so he buckled down and tuned out the hustle and bustle around him.
The layout of the Club was not ideal by any means and Kurogane had to wonder if that was on purpose. Most of the square footage was taken up by the main room of the club that housed the bar and dance floor. Not that when buildings were designed or remodeled they were done with how easy it would be for the police to search and secure the space.
There were various back rooms that were disconnected from one another, each with their own entrance leading into the main room. It made searching a pain in the ass but once the rooms were cleared, it was easy to make sure no one had snuck into one of the cleared spaces.
Not surprisingly—K9 officers were going to be sent in first. He wouldn't be allowing the rookies to join them on this one—not when they didn't know what they were walking into.
The Tokyo police had their eye on the place for weeks and it looked like the group had closed up shop and cleared out—there had been an announcement on Akai Heya's Facebook page that due to unexpected circumstances they would be 'temporarily' closing their doors.
Chances were that the place was going to be empty, but the commissioner wanted to be prepared in case the drug ring was planning on falling back into old habits… K9s would be in first to search and clear the place—and the majority of the officers were there to step in should there be a surprise waiting for them—but mainly as a show of strength.
Sending the dogs in first would also keep any scents that remained from the missing kid as well preserved as possible. Chances were high that any stores of narcotics would have been cleaned but even finding traces of them would help the PA with their case.
Could be a straight forward night.
Could be a shit show…
Kurogane really hoped it was straight forward.
The reports detailing the investigation into the missing boy were dated only just yesterday and detailed a routine questioning conducted by two officers in the missing persons division. Apparently, they had been greeted with 'open arms' by Fai Flourite himself.
Fai.
Fucking hell.
Two dots just connected and Kurogane felt anger starting to boil to the surface as he realized the timeline at hand. The kid had gone missing two nights ago—the night that Fai had called him out for drinks at Kurōbā.
Was it a stretch to wonder if the reason the idiot had been so fucking stressed was because he actually had had something to do with the kid that had gone missing?
Kurogane ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. The understanding that Fai—the sweet moron who cherished his family as much as Kurogane cherished his own… that his dog loved even after only meeting him once… that had looked so fucking distraught at saying goodbye to him—was the same man in these damned reports, was still sinking in.
He could remember his thoughts on the blond when he had slept over at his small apartment just days ago… before he had seen the way Biggs had taken to him like they had been old friends…
The way he had been unsettled by the happy-go-lucky smile that Fai had rocked from the second he had pulled him over until he had clunked out… That had registered as a huge red flag, that Fai was probably capable of some fucked up shit, but he never could have guessed that blondie had actual skeletons in his fucking closet.
Real fucking bodies.
Fai had dropped him off—had 'reluctantly' turned down his offer to blow off work and rest because he had to 'run his business.'
Reluctantly…
Fai had gotten out of the car to snag one last hug—that last fucking kiss. Kurogane closed his eyes and could practically hear that exhaustedly soft admission from blondie—that he really liked Kurogane—that Kurogane made him feel like he could be himself.
Only…
Who the fuck was Fai?
Because apparently, Kurogane had no fucking clue who he had been sticking his dick in.
Who he had gotten attached to…
FUCK.
Kurogane made Fai feel like the man who ordered people's deaths, peddled women and imported and sold deadly drugs that poisoned the city? Or did he make Fai feel like the brat that mouthed off to his stepdad about a fucking PB&J? Like the idiot that was totally content as long as Kurogane had his arms wrapped around him and wooed his fucking dog to the dark side.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK.
It was impossible to be both people. So which was the lie?
More importantly…
Why the hell did he care? So he got played by a fucking psychopath… Someone who didn't give a shit about who suffered at his expense. Didn't care who they sold their poison to—didn't care who they killed—didn't care whose body they sold—didn't care about who they fucked so long as they got what they wanted.
Whatever it was that Fai had wanted from Kurogane—he had gotten it—gotten it at the risk of Kurogane's fucking career.
Blondie had done what he was wired to do.
Use people.
So why the fuck did Kurogane feel like he just got stabbed in the back when he had really just dodged a bullet?
All of Fai's talk about things being too complicated… of not wanting things to end…
Damn this all to hell.
Kurogane was pulled out of his brooding when Rasetsu leaned on the side of his desk and flashed him a worried look. "You glare at that file any harder and the damn thing is gonna burst into flames, Suwa."
"'t's a lot to take in." He sure as hell wasn't gonna bring up the fact that he had recently gotten to know the apparently infamous Fai D. Fluorite intimately.
Well—his body intimately at least—everything out of the fucker's mouth had probably been a lie.
"You carry yourself so well, I forget yer just a newbie… Nasty stuff, huh?" Rasetsu ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
While he wasn't green behind the ears like Kurogane was, the other man had only been in the department a few more years than him. According to the reports in the file, there was pretty much no exchanges between Fai's group—gang—drug ring or whatever the hell he called it—and the police in the last few years.
He had come in on the tail end of the last of the incidents, more than likely.
"Had no clue there was a psycho like this in the city." Kurogane leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He tried to ignore the start of a tension headache that was coming in hot.
He would have to scrounge up something for that soon or tonight really was gonna be hell.
"You know—for being one dangerous son of a bitch, he's actually a pretty friendly dude." Rasetsu flipped through the reports until he was back to the front page where Fai was smiling like a cocky bastard in his mug shot.
He had a screw loose, all right.
That photo made him think of the cocky, overconfident smiles from Kyuden that first night. How Fai had acted like he owned the fucking world and knew it, too… how he had been totally confident that Kurogane was going to be interested in him—how he had been so fucking pleased with himself at riling the cop up.
Fai hadn't known he was a cop then, though. He didn't have his occupation listen on his Tinder account and they haven't talked about it.
Blondie's surprise had seemed genuine when Kurogane had pulled his ass over—but who the fuck knew. Maybe the whole loving son shit was an act, too…
"That so?" Kurogane rubbed at his temples and sighed.
Rasetsu watched him for a long moment. His only answer was to quirk a brow at the senior officer. "Yeah. Every time he's in here for an interview or to bail one of his goonies out, he puts on a hell of a Mary Poppins act… you doing ok there, Suwa?"
No.
Being totally mind fucked by a gorgeous, flirty and apparently homicidal blond was a new experience for Kurogane—and sure as fuck not a fun one.
Considering fucking enemy number one would more than likely cost him his job—and the excuse of not knowing any better was not solid enough to save him from that fall… Well, he was going to have to keep that info to himself for the time being.
"Just a headache. I'll be fine." Biggs nosed at his hand and Kurogane absentmindedly scratched around his collar like he knew his pooch liked.
"Drink some water." Rasetsu chuckled and relaxed a bit. "Thought you might'a been picking up on the general vibe of the joint today… Iorogi wanted me to come warn ya bout it since you're one of the first in."
"Noticed it—can see why everyone's on edge—but according to the reports, there shouldn't be much to worry about." If there was something he needed to worry about—nothing Rasetsu was gonna say would make a difference.
He was more pissed than nervous, anyways.
"Course—you got nerves of steel, right?" His senior officer was looking at him like he was a fool—and while Kurogane currently felt like one—it wasn't for the reasons the older man thought he should.
"No. It's not logical to be afraid of doing the job tonight. Just cautious." Wasn't like he couldn't understand why his betters would be nervous—they had first-hand experience to trigger a fear response.
He would be fearful, too, if he was in their position.
Kurogane wasn't, though.
He, unfortunately, had a very different picture of Fai in his head. He needed to get the image of Fai curled up naked in his bed, snuggling Biggs, out of his fucking head.
"Be cautious. Flourite has a pretty face but he and his minions will fuck you hard… Though you're far more likely to run into one of his goonies than the puppet master himself." Rasetsu was back to giving Kurogane a serious look. "Especially his 'enforcers.' Those bastards are basically psychopaths for hire and extremely dangerous."
"They weren't mentioned in the file." Kurogane hadn't seen the term 'enforcer' at least.
Where they like his personal army or some shit? What the hell kinda name was that?
"Yeah, I noticed that. Save for a few exceptions, they're usually huge dudes. Usually rocking a black tee-shirt and black pants like the bouncers in his clubs." Kurogane nodded in understanding and mentally cursed.
That Seishiro bastard more than likely was an enforcer then. Given his conversation with Fai the other night? The way he had mouthed off about Kurogane being a problem—which at the time had made no fucking sense…
Now it did…
But the point was—he was a big fucker who probably worked closely with Fai on the day to day, given how comfortable he was with him. Blondie had been pissed that that Seishiro bastard had fucked something up. Something to do with Reed?
The name Reed hadn't been mentioned in any of the reports, though.
Didn't matter—he would find out more about it when he dug through the department records. About Fai—about Seishiro—about Reed.
"Okay." Kurogane glanced down at Biggs who had taken to resting his head on his handler's thigh. "I'll keep that in mind."
"If you run into them—or you run into Fai—hell, even one of his dealers or girls… avoid them, ok? Don't be a hero. You're not gonna bring Flourite's operations down with one arrest—you're going to put a target on your back."
Kurogane's attention snapped back to Rasetsu. "You're joking, right?"
"Nope. Tonight we have safety in numbers and we're gonna make some arrests, if at all possible—on a normal night you let them pass you by. Let the big bosses call the shots—don't fuck with them unless your explicitly told to." he was dead serious and Kurogane nodded slowly, processing his words.
So definitely don't pull Fai over for going 30 over the speed limit?
Fuck.
How the hell did that idiot have the entire Tokyo Police department so fucking terrified of him, they were like trained fucking animals?
Fai.
Fai who called Biggs god damn "puppy bear".
"That's fucked up." There was no other way of putting it.
His senior officer was telling him to ignore known criminals for his own fucking safety and that was as fucked as it got.
"Yup. I didn't like it when I got this same talk as a newbie. Wish we could do more… but you read those reports. Remember them when you're feeling like a hero." Rasetsu didn't wait for a response. With one last serious look, he gave a nod and headed back towards his own desk, leaving Kurogane to his brooding.
A quick glance at the clock told him there wasn't much time before the final briefing and they would be heading out. Kurogane needed to get Biggs and himself ready for this sort of operation. Biggs needed to stretch. He needed to stretch… get some fucking Aspirin… drink some water.
Mentally shut his fucking emotions about Fai off until the end of the night and get his head in the game.
It was easier said than done.
Biggs was feeding off his energy, though—and keeping him calm while they waited for the action did a hell of a lot to keep conversations with blondie from playing on repeat in his mind.
At midnight, they met back in Iorogi's office and Kurogane had no choice but to bring Biggs into the cramped room that was buzzing with fearful and anxious energy. The backup that had been requested from his father was someone Kurogane knew well.
Lafarga and Inuova had known him since he was a kid and as soon as he locked eyes with them he started to relax. It helped Biggs settle as well—and while they waited for things to get rolling, he only had to correct him once. Given his experience—there was no way he would be expected to take point even if those two were technically his backup.
Kurogane was never afraid to step in and give orders when he needed to—but given his personal hang up…
It was better this way.
Safer.
Commissioner Zouchou was calmer as he entered this time and Kurogane was thankful for that. Biggs was the opposite of gun shy and loud noises like slamming doors riled him into protection mode like little else.
The door was closed and Zouchou cleared his throat as he leaned against the side of the desk. "I trust you've all done your homework and we're on the same page about the plan for tonight… What I am about to tell you all needs to be kept hush-hush. Understood?"
There was more?
How the fuck could there be more?
Kurogane had no clue how anything else could be added into this clusterfuck…
"As I briefly mentioned earlier… There is currently an internal power struggle going on in Flourite's gang." Commissioner Zouchou's expression was grave and he sighed deeply before continuing. "A foreign associate that had ties with the Chinese Triads… According to our information, his name is Fei Wang Reed. We need to keep an eye out for any information on this man or anyone working with him."
Reed—well—that was who that Seishiro bastard had fucked something up with… If this Reed fellow was trying to cause issues for Fai—blondie's reactions the other night were making more and more sense.
So avoid Fai and look out for Reed?
"We do NOT what this man slipping into Flourite's role. Flourite might be one hell of a sadistic fuck—but he keeps consistent order in his business affairs and that keeps the rest of the underworld quiet. Our goal is to use the conflict between these two to take them both down." The commissioner looked at the file that was on the desk and flipped through a few pages until he hit the first notes on what was planned for the op tonight.
"We've had eyes on this joint for weeks now and I am going to go over with you all what you need to know. This info is to be kept on a need to know basis. Fluorite has been known to persuade officers into doling out information before…"
Brutally murder them and hide their bodies never to be seen again?
Yeah.
Best to keep the info hush hush…
"It's common knowledge in the department that most of the drugs the college kids are doing come from Akai Heya—which is owned by a corporation that has ties to Flourite's group… Usually, they run a tight, clean ship—meaning Flourite himself isn't there very often at all—" The commissioner paused and turned the page of the file to the missing person's report for the kid.
Kurogane hadn't taken the time to count how many bars, clubs, and other businesses had been in the reports in connection with Fai—but it had to be a hell of a lot.
No wonder the lying bastard was so fucking stressed out all the damn time.
"—The night of Friday, November 14, Fai Flourite himself was seen arriving at Akai Heya at approximately 21:00 hours. Before and after his arrival, traffic in and outside of the club seemed to be flowing normally. A high ranking member of the drug ring known only as Kujaku, was seen arriving at approximately 21:30 and left the premise again after only 10 minutes. Fuuma Sakurazaka, another high-ranking as well as very dangerous member of the ring arrived at approximately 22:15. He was seen driving a white utility van and its assumed he entered and exited the building through the back fire door."
Fuck him.
Fai had called him for comfort after doing who the fuck knows to that kid. Who the hell did that bastard think he was?
"Fai left the premises at 0:00 and we lost eyes on him until the next day at 16:00 where he returned to Akai Heya for 4 hours—departing again at 21:00 hours. At 4:00, after last call, the place seemed to be packed up and there has been no activity at the building since. Which is good news for us." The commissioner looked up from the file he had been reading and scanned the room before continuing.
"The chances that Fai and crew will have everything out in such a short amount of time is damn near impossible so the chances that we will find some evidence is good. It also means we won't be working around civilians that may be lingering—and if we run into trouble, we have the maneuverability that we need—" Kurogane had read the plan of attack and couldn't focus on what commissioner Iirigi was saying.
He had never been so fucking pissed in his life.
Fai had probably fucking murdered that guy, then called him to fuck. Called a COP to fuck him after pulling shit like that?
If that wasn't fucking insulting enough, Fai had paraded around this sweet loving alter ego that had wanted him—had refused to admit it—and Kurogane had fallen for it hook, line and fucking sinker.
Blondie had fucking known what he was doing—had fucking told Kurogane to ask about him at work.
He KNEW he had put Kurogane at risk.
It was a fucking game to that beautiful bastard.
To ice the fucking cake, he had gotten Biggs to fall in love with him after meeting him ONCE. Hell, he had gotten Kurogane to fall in love with him by the end of the third night.
Kurogane could deal with this a hell of a lot better if it wasn't for that last goodbye… if Fai hadn't brought him into his home—introduced him to his fathers—clung on to him or hung off of him every chance he got.
Why the fuck had someone like him—a career criminal who had just got done murdering someone—looked so distraught that he and Kurogane were "too different."
At least now he knew what the fuck blondie meant.
They were on different god damn planets.
The meeting ended and they geared up, loaded up and headed out to the edge of downtown, where the club in question was located. Kurogane rode in the back of one of the large police vans along with the back up they had requested from surrounding departments, including his father's men.
It was more or less a clusterfuck.
A good, distracting clusterfuck.
But a clusterfuck, nonetheless.
The plans for the raid were detailed and specific. The K9 units would search the building first—they were planning to hit hard and fast—collect as much evidence and make as many arrests as possible.
Carpooling was expected in such situations—but whatever idiot thought putting 3 high energy K9s in the back of the same van was a good idea needed someone to slap some common sense into them.
The dogs liked to work and getting them excited about work was an important part of getting the best results from their training. Cramming one into a moving metal box with its handler, several officers and 2 other highly aggressive K9s was not a good way to get them excited.
All three of the dogs were high strung and stressed out by the time they had reached their destination and Biggs being especially sensitive was the worst off. He had a hair-trigger personality and while the other two dogs were used to working together to an extent—Biggs was the odd one out in this case.
Due to the tight schedule and nature of the work, there was nothing they could do about the transport plan now. From the second the riot gear had gone on and they headed for the loading docks at the back of the station, Biggs had started to get excited.
Not how he got excited when he had gotten to see Fai—Not how he wouldn't hold still when it got time to go to work in the morning… To someone who didn't know any better Biggs might seem unusually calm when you put him next to the other dogs.
Kurogane was the last one into the van and his first order of business was giving Biggs a firm command to lay on the limited space between Kurogane's feet and stay there. The other handlers had their dogs sitting up and facing them—keeping them distracted with petting, praise, or treats.
Biggs was at his limit just getting in the damn van with so much going on around him—he was ready to roll and had no interest in affection, treats or anything but his frustration of people and dogs being in his personal space.
Kurogane's own tense energy wasn't helping and he had to keep unclenching his jaw and relaxing his shoulders as he kept an eye on his hyped-up pooch. He knew his dog—he trusted Biggs with his life but he was realistic about his limitations and so kept a firm grip on the handle of his harness to catch him if he decided someone had made a wrong move.
Sound echoed around the back of the utility van in a way that was overwhelming for he himself—so he could only assume how hard it was for Biggs to hold still. The way the dog's ears were pinned back against his skull and his body occasionally trembled with pent up energy were just more obvious signs that his boy was not happy about this trip.
It was too damn loud with the other dogs and officers for him to hear it, but he could feel the deep rumble of Biggs' low growl as the dog watched his surrounding with a sharp stare.
The short trip to Akai Heya seemed to take fucking years.
Good thing about being the last ones in—they were the first ones out. Kurogane stood, keeping his grip firmly on the handle of Biggs' harness and hopped out of the back of the van which had been backed up to the sidewalk in front of the main entrance of the club.
A quick glance showed him that everyone was in position—the street had been blocked off by cruisers with flashing lights—as was the alleyway that would prevent anyone from slipping unnoticed out of the back entrance.
As soon as his feet made contact with the pavement, Kurogane tightened his grip on the leash and released his hold on the harness. Biggs shot forward to test his range of movement and when the leash pulled tight he doubled back to his handlers side and stayed there as they moved to the side to allow the other officers out of the van.
Biggs was panting, whining and shifting his focus between Kurogane and their surroundings. K9's were in first and Kurogane fell into line behind Lafarga, who was going to lead them into the building and take point.
Kurogane and Biggs were the pair that specialized in subject search and apprehension and would be the ones to hit the back rooms with the other two K9 teams following behind to sweep for drugs and any sign of their missing teen.
Biggs would be off-leash for the search while Kurogane and their back up followed loosely behind him, giving him room to do his job unhindered. As soon as the 3 back rooms were cleared and the ally swept, their job was done.
If they ran into anyone they had probable cause to arrest on sight—and if they tried to resist, Biggs would get to sink his teeth into something living for the first time in weeks. Chances were slim—but Kurogane was going to run them through this like they were expecting it.
Lafarga was leading them into the building and Kurogane and Biggs fell in behind him as they crossed the short distance to the large glass doors that led to the small lobby area before the main room of the club. The bathrooms here were their first priority and the lobby was where they were to fall back to should they run into trouble.
He didn't know if it was a good or bad sign that the front door was unlocked—but he shortened his partner's leash and followed in on Lafarga's heels. There had been a note on the front door stating that Akai Heya was permanently closed and pointed patrons to check out the joint's Twitter or Facebook for updates on when they would be open again.
Inside, the lobby was lit with black lights that left poor visibility when coming in from the brightly lit downtown Tokyo street. The lights had been left on for them—and Kurogane was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Inuova cleared his voice before calling out their presence and asking for anyone in the building to come out with their hands up. Kurogane held his breath for half a second and frowned when the only sound in the joint was that of the dogs panting. Lafarga nodded in his direction and he turned his attention to the first bathroom on the right. Biggs stuck to his hip as he pushed the door open and called out the same warning—Biggs letting out two booming barks that reverberated off the black tiled walls—both of them falling silent and listening for any signs of life.
They searched the stalls one by one and Kurogane shouted clear as he punched back out into the lobby before repeating with the next bathroom.
No one.
Inuova was the first one into the main room of the club as well. Still no response—and Kurogane unhooked Biggs from the leash and waited for another nod before letting him loose to search freely. The big shepherd mix meandered about the room and returned to his handler when he didn't find anyone hiding behind the bar or in any of the nooks and crannies along the walls.
Save for a few items on the bar there was no furniture, decorations, glassware or liquor one would expect to find in a place that had been fully operational less than 24 hours ago.
Kurogane figured if they were going to run into someone in this place, it was going to be in the back rooms and he headed to the first of the doors and pushed it open a fraction of an inch to call his warning before letting Biggs in to do his job, following him with his gun drawn.
What every they had used this room for—they had packed it entirely up. There wasn't so much as a fucking dust bunny on the floor waiting for them and it was quickly cleared.
The next room was larger—directly behind the bar, it was some sort of storage space with a walk-in deep freezer and kitchen facilities.
Nada.
The last room had Kurogane covering his nose as soon as he followed Biggs inside—the overwhelming chemical smell was enough to make his eyes water—the source of which was unknown.
This was the largest of the three spaces. Empty wire shelves lined the walls, giving no clue as to what they may have held—employee bathrooms were clean and empty, and the very back area that sported the door that led out to the ally was completely bare—nothing but empty concrete walls to greet them.
Kurogane releashed Biggs before letting him back out into the ally—but like the rest of the place, it was devoid of human life. Heading back inside and out to the lobby, he called clear and stood by while the other two K9 units started their sweep of the joint.
They finished their sweep as well—finding nothing, not so much as a trace of narcotics, let alone any trace of Seji Hondo's scent.
Damn.
Commissioner Zouchou stormed in and ordered one last sweep with the dogs and when Kurogane finished up double-checking, he found the superiors standing at the bar looking at the only items that had been left behind.
Kurogane hadn't paid them much mind. A bottle, two glasses, some paper and some flowers.
When he stopped to think about that—given how bare everything else was in the joint—it was strange. And given how angry Zouchou looked as he read the paper?
Kurogane assumed that the items left were intentionally placed there for them to find.
So Fai was fucking with them…
Surprise, Surprise.
Even before the mindfuck of the reports he had read about blondie tonight, Kurogane had known that the idiot had a sadistically playful side to him and teasing to getting a rise out of people seemed to tickle him fucking pink.
Like a grinning cat playing with a house mouse before leaving it to bleed to death…
Bastard.
Kurogane watched as the head of the Tokyo Police department slammed what was apparently a greeting card down onto the bar and stormed out—his dress shoes thundering against the polished mat wood flooring of the main room as he went—the sound definingly loud in the silence of the mostly empty room.
Iorogi, who had also led the raid, snatched the card up and looked it over. As he read Kurogane caught sight of the front cover of the card and could only imagine given the front—what the idiot had written inside…
"Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience our error has caused." was scrawled across the front of the card in frilly print. It was the only decoration on the otherwise plain-looking white card—the envelope—a light sky blue, similar to the color of Fai's fucking eyes, was torn open and on the countertop.
As Iorogi's brows furrowed while he scanned the print, Kurogane got a quick peek at what had actually been left on the counter. A beautiful bouquet that had to be made up of a few dozen, large, blood-red roses, was sitting next to a partially empty bottle of champagne and two glasses.
One of which only had about an inch of golden liquid left in the bottom.
Iorogi shook his head back and forth slowly—recapturing Kurogane's attention. He didn't expect to be handed the card as his superior walked away—but he scanned the inside and understood.
That fucking bastard.
Handwritten on the inside of the card in scrawling writing, Fai had left the commissioner a note.
Sorry I missed you, Darling!
I waited around as long as I could, but as you know I am a very busy man. While you were out looking for your poor missing boy… I can see why you felt the need to check up on what your dear old friend was doing.
Rest assured that the situation is well within my control and I would appreciate if you would continue to not cause me further inconvenience. As much as I know you love watching my ass as I walk away from you… I have more important things to do than play games with you and your department.
Please accept the Champagne and flowers as a sincere token of apology over wasting your time. If you would be so kind as to lock the door on your way out, it would be greatly appreciated.
Yours,
Fai D. Fluorite.
Kurogane shook his head back and forth slowly at the blatant threat disguised as a casual apology. He didn't know which was worse—the note itself—or the fucking lipstick-stained kiss mark that was left next to blondies signature.
Fuck.
Biggs whined and jumped up, his front paws landing on the bar as he leaned in to sniff at the items left, eagerly.
Fuck.
Kurogane really wanted to punch that rat bastard in the nose.
A soft command had Biggs back on the floor where he belonged and Kurogane leaned down to praise him for a job well done, leaving the card well outta reach. He didn't know if he had caught Fai's scent.
Wouldn't be the strangest thing… but did the furball have to look so damn disappointed right now?
He took Biggs back out of the club to wait for their orders. The commissioner was talking to a few reporters that had caught wind of something exciting going on and Kurogane stayed as far away from that bullshit as he could manage.
The team that had actually run the sweep was dismissed, as was the majority of the officers that had been brought along to cover their just-in-case bases. The ride back to the station was just as fucking awful—but Biggs needing to be settled gave him something to worry about aside from the fucking bullshit.
A quick text to his old man to let him know he was alive—and Kurogane took Biggs down to one of the large gymnasiums that was set up to run the dogs indoors. His trainees were in the field today and Kurogane turned his radio up to make sure he heard them should they need assistance before getting set up for the first drill.
He and Biggs kicked ass down in the gym until a few hours past his shift and he only headed home after he was sure his pooch didn't have an ounce of energy to continue. He would need a good night's sleep and some dinner to be ready for work tomorrow—and Kurogane himself probably needed the same.
He checked his phone to see a reply from his dad telling him to call tomorrow—his parents were going to bed now that they knew he was safe and sound. No messages from Fai.
Not surprisingly…
Packing up and heading home went quickly. Biggs was beat and laid down in the back of the cruiser quietly as they made the drive to his apartment. He waited with uncharacteristic patience as he fished out his keys and unlocked his apartment—his dog waiting by the door as he was unhooked from the leash and harness and he listened to him pad off as he started to ditch his own jacket and work belt.
He looked up just in time to find Biggs reemerging from the hall—one of his pillows—the one Fai had used when he had spent the night—in his mouth. Kurogane was tempted to curse when Biggs walked over to his dog bed and carefully placed his prize in the center before curling around it.
Fuck.
Fuck Fai.
Kurogane tossed his cell on the couch and headed into the kitchen to make something simple for dinner and ignored how fucking cute his dog looked curled around the damn thing. He wanted to hit something. He really fucking wanted to hit something.
Fai would never have any idea how bad he had just royally fucked Kurogane up.
The realities of the fling were still revealing themselves, but this whole situation was screwed right the fuck up.
Dinner was a ready meal tossed in the microwave and Kurogane changed the dog water and filled Biggs bowl and watched his pooch reluctantly leave that damn pillow alone to eat. He ate standing at the kitchen counter and had just tossed the plastic container in the trash and silverware in the sink when he heard his phone go off.
Kurogane's eyes narrowed skeptically at the device and after a damn near 30 seconds, he stalked across the room to check the damn thing.
Fai.
He unlocked his phone in record time and clicked the notification banner and felt like he had just been punched in the gut as his eyes scanned over the messages.
3 photos from yesterday morning… in the car, with Biggs…
Kurogane swiped through them twice before smashing the tiny green phone icon that was on the far right of the idiot's name and raised it to his ear.
The damn thing rang once, twice, then the automated voice started in with the "The person you are trying to reach is unavailable—please leave a message after—" and Kurogane growled in frustration.
That fucking bastard.
He called again.
One ring.
Two rings.
"The person you are try—"
Hanging up again, Kurogane hit for another try and damn near threw the phone at the wall as his anger hit a boiling point when he got a "The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service" line from that same fucking automated voice.
He settled for punching the wall as he understood what was going on.
The fucker had blocked him.
0o0o0
So this ended up a lot shorter than the last few but I think this was a good spot to end it. I really dragged my feet with this chapter simply because I was finally forced to fill in the blanks of the Tokyo police department and it took a lot of work! I am directing all credit for the nitty-gritty details here to my Co-Author who has been so friggen helpful! I don't know what I would do without her!
Switching pov's is really hard for me. It seems as though I finally get into the character's head and its time to switch again? The next chapter is also going to be Kuro's pov though so hopefully it's a little easier for me to just... well write! We will see Kurogane and Fai together again in the next chapter as well I know its been a minute...
As always I am drying for your feedback. I am also excited to hear if you have any guesses for how the reunion chapter is going to go! We have some big plans but I love taking inspiration from the readers as well.
Thank you for all the love and support!