"Due to extreme storms and the oncoming cyclone all flights in Japan have been cancelled from four am onwards today. Deputy Reporter Akashi Yamada here with more."
Faitsu knew something was wrong. She was always good at this sort of thing. Knowing when something was wrong, feeling it.
Rakutsu hadn't texted her that morning. She looked at the texts now, biting her lips as she walked on sunlit steps to the office.
She knew it was odd. Just a few days ago they'd done... something beautiful. She could still feel his soft whispers against her ear.
But he had been a bit strange in their conversations from then on. Faitsu had even cried about it a little- but what was new with her and her crying? Hah. Probably she was going to get her period or something.
And Rakutsu was right there. When she opened the door, he looked healthy- happy, even.
And he didn't even look at her.
It was such a contrast. Such an emotional roller coaster. The ups and downs of being with him.
She said good morning in a soft voice, and all she got in return was a nod, which both wound and saddened her- if not for Ruri who pulled her away right that instant to show something on the computer.
"You're all over the net," Ruri rapidly scrolled through websites, articles, "I guess they found out about your history as a serial protestor."
"I do like that term," she smiled, although the news didn't exactly make her ecstatic. After all, the media had been all over her ever since the suicide, hailing her as a hero even though all she herself could feel was guilt.
And she didn't trust the media much, either.
"This would be useful," Burakku joined them, and she couldn't help but be surprised at the fact that her senior looked more put together than usual, in a proper shirt and tie than his usual hoodie, although his unkempt curls still came over his forehead.
Admittedly, Faitsu still liked that.
"Don't be too depressed about the flights," her senior gave her a nice pat on the back, "I actually have a friend who could help us about that."
"A friend?"
Ruri cut in, softly, "I feel like we should talk about this somewhere else, maybe."
Burakku and Ruri exchanged looks, which Faitsu couldn't guess was about.
"Let's meet in my office at lunch break, then," Burakku's smile was lighthearted, although Faitsu could quickly put two and two together and nod, right before she turned around to Rakutsu standing behind them, looking quite grim.
"Are you guys making a ruckus about the news again? Instead of actually working-" his tone was humorous, but god she could sense the coldness from miles away.
"It's a big deal, you should give her credit for that."
As usual, Burakku had come to her defence. But Faitsu really didn't like the energy that they were creating here, she wasn't particularly interested in angering Rakutsu even more than he'd been before.
"It's okay, you know, we should be getting back to work-"
"I guess your public fits finally brought something useful to our office- journalists." Rakutsu was still smiling but Faitsu wasn't so stupid that she wouldn't understand the sarcasm in her superintendent's words.
Burakku frowned as hard as if he was prepared to get wrinkles at thirty.
Faitsu sighed. It wasn't a heavy sigh. Just anything to deescalate the situation.
"I think you need your morning coffee, Rakutsu Kun."
And that was that.
"I don't understand why you'd call me up so suddenly-"
"You know I have things to do, son," he wiped his glasses, looked down at his son carefully, "but I knew you'd come. Either way."
He was right, of course. It was very rare for Rakutsu to deny anything to his father.
Gifts of service. That was Rakutsu's own way of showing his love.
Faitsu could guess that there was something on Burakku's mind, or he wouldn't have been so unusually quiet.
"I'll let the facts explain the situation," he said, "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."
"A few years ago, on a June morning, a man by the name of Yoshimura Daisuke was acquitted on trial for raping three kids. On that day, four witnesses- fairly important figures in public, by the way- lied their way out of his fate so they could protect him. One of those witnesses, was Rakutsu's father."
Faitsu nodded, though it was hard to express the feelings in her all of a sudden, or if she was feeling anything at all.
It raised a lot of questions, for certain.
Whether Rakutsu knew about it, she feared to ask, because she didn't know what the answer would be.
And in her heart, she'd already decided that she'd help Burakku, no matter what.
As long as it didn't interfere with her morals.
"What... do I need to do?"
Rakutsu looked blankly at the plate of steak before him, whilst his father began cutting his meat with an almost- clinical precision.
"That woman," he began, following Rakutsu's stark silence, "the one in your department. Did she stop causing trouble?"
Rakutsu smiled wryly, making the father look up from his very steak with an expression of slight disappointment.
"Couldn't bring her under control?"
"She's not someone who can be controlled," Rakutsu explained briefly.
"Still- you should've tried- what if she tried looking too deeply in matters that don't concern her?
The hand that was reaching for a fork immediately stopped.
"Is that why you brought me here? To ask me this?"
If there was anyone who could face Rakutsu's intimidatingly strong gaze, it'd probably be his father.
"I was worried about you," his father responded, "with the way things have been going on..."
"What is that?" Rakutsu asked all of a sudden.
"Yes, son?"
Rakutsu stopped chewing.
"That thing in your hand..." he said, "you've been fumbling with that ever since you came in."
"Oh..." His father paused, "have I?"
"As I was saying," his father began again, "you mustn't let her well- cross the limits. If she looks at that case again and figures out that I- we-"
"Is this one of those cases where I ask about it and you don't answer?" Rakutsu said motioning to the drive, "And we pretend everything's fine even though we both know there's probably something terrible in there?"
"It's true," his father finally answered, clenching the drive in his fist, "that it's been causing me a lot of trouble..."
"Then I'll take care of it for you," Rakutsu replied simply.
"What?"
"It's what I usually do, right? Take care of your mess- that's why you called me."
It wasn't hard to miss the tone of his voice.
His father sighs.
"I raised you since you were a kid..."
"Which is why I won't be asking any questions," Rakutsu responds, raising an eyebrow- the pendrive is already in his hands, "good evening, father."
He leaves before the latter can garner a reply.
It wasn't usually that Faitsu got a day off, not that she minded, since she loved her work so much- but it was nice now to walk along the beach in awe, brushing back her hair so it didn't go astray in the wind.
Until she saw a familiar figure in the distance, making a smile rise within her lips.
"Been surfing?" She asked, glancing at Rakutsu's diving suit and the surfboard in his hands.
He looked quite good today, she must admit.
"Hm," the man replied as briefly as ever.
Faitsu brushed a stray hair behind her ear, "Were the waves good?"
"So-so," Rakutsu replied.
Oddly enough, she couldn't help but laugh a little at that.
"Well, sorry about you, but at least I had a good time."
There's a pause after that. Rakutsu looked at her with the strange, penetrating gaze she wasn't quite unused to.
"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" His voice was as blank as expected.
"Not really," Faitsu shook her head, smiling genuinely, "I mean- I kind of figured you were an asshole when I started dating you- especially without that morning coffee-"
Rakutsu let out a rare smile at that, making her laugh.
"That's true," he agreed, and it didn't take much more than a second for Faitsu to decide the next step.
"Wanna walk together?"
"Hey-"
"Where are you right now?"
Faitsu paused, looking at the time on her phone. Burrakku's voice seemed urgent.
"Probably an hour or two away from the city," she whispered, "Is this important?"
"Did you ask him yet?" Burrakku continued worriedly, "About the incident we talked about?"
Faitsu looked down at the ground, feeling a little bit embarassed.
"No, not yet," the detective sighed, "I just don't know how to put it to him- I mean, he is his father-"
"You don't have to worry about that anymore," the elder responded, "anyways, just- you're an hour away right? Could you come to the place we talked about before? I'll send you the directions."
"As soon as I can," Faitsu responded, looking over her shoulder- Rakutsu wasn't close by, it seemed, maybe she should just leave on her own and text him about it later?
"Faitsu-"
"I'm coming I'm coming," the detective replied already calling an uber.
By the time Rakutsu had come back, however, with the snacks he'd brought from the fair- Faitsu was already gone.
She just keeps acting strange these days.
The address was for a bar, typically the kind where friends and coworkers went after work- more casual if anything. Alcohol was abound but it was more of a classy place than anything, with muted golden lighting.
Burrakku, as usual, was sitting by himself at the bar when his face immediately lit up at the other approaching.
"You're here-"
The detective immediately went in to hug the other- first of all, because he looked pretty stressed out and seemed to need it, secondly, she hadn't really seen Burrakku much after work- given he was way more involved in his secret "projects" that he wasn't really telling her about-
Burrakku looked slightly surprised about the hug- but not really, his face still had a smile on his lips.
"So, what's this about?" The detective said sitting on the chair beside, hoping to get some clear instructions.
"Oh well, my friend from the FBI is coming in a few minutes, he'll probably let you know about our action plan for now-" the elder blabbered, "though we aren't quite sure as to how-"
"You have a lint in your hair," Faitsu paused merrily, taking it out of his hair.
"Uh- thanks-" Faitsu pretended not to notice the look the elder gave him.
"So, what about your friend? How come he's even later than me?"
"He's just busy with some things- I'm sure he'll come soon-"
No sooner did he speak of the devil, the man in question really showed up.
A young Japanese-American man, handsome and brown-eyed with a smiling disposition, clearly sat right beside Faitsu.
"It's good to finally meet you," he said, extending out a hand, "Red Katsuki, member of the International Operations Division, as I'm sure you'd know."
"She does know," Burrakku offered, "I told her all about you."
"Oh, that's good then-"
Faitsu smiled at the newcomer, though not so much a "newcomer" since she already know about him-
"I wonder what did you come to Japan for?" The detective asked curiously, "Was there an emergency of some sort?"
"I'm working with Japan currently," Red explained, "there were reports about corruption within the police, so the FBI sent our team here at the start of the last year."
These words were already enough to impress Faitsu, who looked at Burrakku joyfully.
"Finally someone understands what's going on here and willing to do something about it," the detective replied gracefully.
"And I'm sure you'll have some idea of what I came here for, then." Red looked between them both, only to look back at the young detective, "Our investigations found direct transactions between influential members of the board of police and-"
"and Rakutsu's father," Faitsu said, and her heart dropped. She didn't even have to guess that hard, it was what all their investigation had been leading up to, including her conversations with Rakutsu-
It didn't come as a surprise, is all.
"I'm sure you're shocked-"
"Not really," Faitsu replied blankly, "just disappointed."
"I'll give you a breather, then- really I thought I was going to be more tasteful, not say this kind of stuff right off the bat-"
"It's okay."
She stopped drinking. Her eyes were almost piercing.
"So?"
"So?" Red repeated.
"What is it that I have to do," Faitsu clarified, "I mean, you guys brought me here for a reason. I can only assume it means what I think it does- something to do with Rakutsu, right?"
"Yes," Red sighed, "in fact, you're the only one who can access him-"
"You have to steal some information," Burakku cut in before she could say anything else, "that is, if he has any on his laptop."
"So you guys are just assuming that he'd keep this sort of info a secret... I mean, it doesn't seem like you're trusting him all that much in the first place-"
"It's not that we're not trusting," Red answered, laughing a little to make her feel comfortable, "we're just verifying. And hey, if it works out well and you find nothing- all the better for you, right?"
She stopped drinking. Her eyes were almost piercing.
"So?"
"So?" Red repeated.
"What is it that I have to do," Faitsu clarified, "I mean, you guys brought me here for a reason. I can only assume it means what I think it does- something to do with Rakutsu, right?"
"Yes," Red sighed, "in fact, you're the only one who can access him-"
"You have to steal some information," Burakku cut in before she could say anything else, "that is, if he has any on his laptop."
"So you guys are just assuming that he'd keep this sort of info a secret... I mean, it doesn't seem like you're trusting him all that much in the first place-"
"It's not that we're not trusting," Red answered, laughing a little to make her feel comfortable, "we're just verifying. And hey, if it works out well and you find nothing- all the better for you, right?"
Faitsu was quiet. Red was looking at her, as if he was in anticipation- all of a sudden, she couldn't help but stand up, all of this was making her nervous.
"I'm sorry," she said, "It just... doesn't seem right. I have to go."
The both of them looked at each other, surprised at the way Faitsu had left them, just like that.
Faitsu raised the speed of the treadmill higher, jogging a bit more to see if she could clear her mind with some exercise- as she usually did.
Rakutsu had been acting stranger. But why? Why did he act that way?
He had known of the rape cases, thus he must have also known that his own father was a witness defending that criminal.
Moreover he'd seen from how own eyes that this criminal was in fact very far from being innocent.
Thus he'd known about his father being dishonest.
And yet he had these frequent dinners with his father... and he was nowhere close to being in jail either.
Faitsu raised the speed even higher- she didn't want to think about it, didn't want to think about whether Rakutsu had betrayed her. Whether she could trust him.
Whether it had all been a farce.
There was nothing she was afraid of more than being betrayed...
And now it seemed her biggest fears were coming true.
The next morning, she found a text from Burrakku in the shower saying-
Don't let him go. We need dirt on him.
Faitsu sighed, opening the closet so she could prepare for her date that evening with Rakutsu.
The first thing Faitsu noticed when she appeared clutching her bag at the restaurant- was Rakutsu, dressed perfectly for the occasion, looking as good as usual with his messy and curly hair and nice brown eyes.
But the eye candy thing was just not as important as soon as he opened his mouth-
"You come in dressed up prettily from head to toe, and yet you didn't even have the strength or discipline to be early for once and ended up fifteen minutes late-"
Faitsu said nothing, casting her eyes away as she stood up again and took her bag from the table, about to leave-
"Wait, where are you going? Did I say anything wrong?"
"You know very well what you did," she muttered under her breath, "I'm leaving."
"I don't understand," he quickly muttered, "you should sit down and glare at me from right in front of me. I bet that'll feel better. Just, don't leave. You don't need to."
"Oh, I don't need to?" She scoffed a little, before attempting a pleasant smile, "I need something nice, Rakutsu. A compliment."
"I complimented how prettily you were dressed up-"
"That doesn't count," Faitsu grimaced again, smiling, "You were so nice to be before, but I need you to be as nice to me now as you were before we had sex. That right time is now, Superintendent."
"I'm going to, but please sit down first."
"I am sat," she said, dropping to the chair reluctantly.
"Alright," he said, looking at her eyes, eyes smiling, "you're patient."
"Patiently waiting," she corrected.
"Right, that compliment-" he paused, "I just needed to look at you first." He coughed awkwardly, as if preparing himself, "I'm not sure if you know this, but I have a past..." He paused again at the look she was giving him, "I used to only make relations with women... for the sake of my work. Because I wanted to get them, get what I wanted from them. I had to be sweet with them, and then I'd had to break it off after a short amount of time."
"I'm not exactly sure what that has to do and where it's going with me."
Rakutsu smiled again in answer.
"What I mean is," he leaned forwards, voice just that bit softer, "I know we have our problems going on at work, different views and things or whatever, and I know I can't be nice all the time, but I'm trying to. And even when we're fighting about important things I'm thinking about the ring in my closet that I got two weeks after we started dating. So what I'm saying," he continued at Faitsu's surprised and awed face, "is that you make me want to be myself, but you also make me want to be a better man. Because I don't just want to get you, I want to have you."
Faitsu stayed motionless, for just a tiny second. Then, she put her bag back on the table.
"That's too bad," Rakutsu joked, "I was hoping I'd make such a bad compliment it'd drive you away."
"You overshot a little," Faitsu answered smiling to herself, she opened the menu and turned the page, "now I'm stuck here for the rest of the day."
"That's what I like to hear," the superior answered grinning.
