Izumo took a drag from his cigarette, looking around in disinterest.
He was in a bar on the opposite side of the city from HOMRA's territory, waiting patiently. After all, this was a rather unorthodox meeting, and he had a rather unorthodox request.
"Kusanagi-san."
The blond looked up, a grin on his face, "Ah, Seri-chan, you look lovely as ever."
Seri ignored him as she shrugged out of her coat, draping it over the back of her chair before sitting down.
"I'm rather interested in what you want, Kusanagi-san, you were very vague when you called earlier."
Izumo just hummed, tapping the ash off his cigarette into the black ashtray in the middle of the table.
"Ah, that's because I have a favor to ask Seri-chan."
She raised her brow, but didn't say a word.
"Scepter 4 has the best surveillance system in the city," he leaned his forearms on the table, "including access to cameras in major centers of transit."
"This has to do with the recent disappearance of Kobayashi Umeko, does it not?"
Izumo sighed, but didn't deny it.
"We're turning up dead ends," he explained, "it doesn't seem like anyone in the city took her."
"And you want to know if she left of her own free will, and to where."
Izumo nodded, taking another drag, "I know it's not typically allowed, but HOMRA needs to see footage from any cameras in major transport centers the day she disappeared."
"Absolutely not," Seri immediately fired back, "Scepter 4 is not sharing access to its surveillance system with HOMRA."
"Understandable," he conceded.
Seri went quiet, eyes glancing over the room before returning to the blond in front of her.
"I will look at the footage, and send you the files if I find anything."
Izumo smiled, more relieved than he wanted to admit.
"Thank you, Seri-chan. I owe you."
She let out a slight grunt, standing from her chair and putting back on her coat, "Yes you do."
Umeko bolted up, swallowing the scream that was crawling up her throat. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and tears were streaming down her face. The nightmare, the horrible twisted nightmare she'd just woke from still tore at her mind. She could still feel her father's hand around her throat, and she cradled it against the phantom pain.
It had been so long since she'd had a nightmare, she'd nearly forgotten how potent they were. She should have expected it though. Her nightmares had stopped because sleeping next to Mikoto had soothed her soul and let her fall asleep feeling safe at night. Now that she was alone, there was nothing to stop the darkness from creeping back in.
Her hands shook as she ran them through her hair. Maybe this was a onetime thing. She'd been here over two months now and had been sleeping fine.
She got up to get a glass of water, shaking off the invisible hands on her skin. She really hoped this was a onetime thing.
"So, what do you think?"
Umeko blinked, turning her eyes from the painting to Benjirou.
"Well it's pretty," she conceded, looking at the painting of a park in mid-summer, "I'll be honest though, I don't know a lot about art."
Benjirou chuckled, "That's fine. You don't need an art degree to know if a painting is good or not."
Umeko smiled, "Why do I get the feeling you're just humoring me?"
"I'm not, I'm not," he waved her off, "I don't know that much about it either."
"Eh? Then why did you want to come to an art museum?"
He shrugged, eyes turning back to the painting in front of them, "I used to know someone who loved art, so I ended up visiting a lot of these places with them."
He flashed her a grin, "And I thought I'd impress you with my vast knowledge of fine art."
Umeko laughed, shoving him lightly as they headed off to the next exhibit. Their current date was going as well as the last one, but Umeko still felt troubled. There was absolutely nothing about this man that she didn't like, and she still couldn't imagine him as anything but a friend.
And she didn't want that. She was doing well in Tokyo, and all she wanted was for the feeling of loss in her chest to go away. She wanted the nightmares that had been wreaking havoc on her mind to stop. She wanted to be happy here, especially because she knew there was nothing waiting for her where she'd been before.
Which is why, a few hours later when they final left the museum, Umeko made up her mind. She grabbed his wrist, and Benjirou paused, looking back at her questioningly.
She didn't give herself any time to second guess, and pulled his lips to hers.
Munakata was in a bad mood.
Reports of a massive warehouse fire on the south docks had just hit his desk, and judging just on the sheer size of the fire he had a good idea who was behind it.
The red king had been in a worse mood than normal lately. This was the second large scale destruction of property HOMRA had engaged in this month.
Munakata had no desire to involve himself in red clan business, but if they were going to be so blatantly violent he would have to.
He leaned back in his seat, his fingers drumming against his desk.
He liked Kobayashi Umeko. Unlike her other half she was pleasant and kind and a lovely person to have a conversation with. He didn't know her very well, but they had bumped into each other in public spaces and talked long enough for him to know he liked her as a person.
He wouldn't say he was concerned with her whereabouts, but he certainly hoped she was fine wherever she was. That said, if her return meant the difference between Suoh's power remaining stable and his loss of control, he might very well have to take a more active role in her recent disappearance.
He had a suspicion Awashima was already looking into some things for Kusanagi, so he would continue to let her investigate on the side and keep a watchful eye over the red clan's movements in the meantime.
Munakata sighed. How one woman could cause so much trouble he'd never understand.
Mikoto stubbed out what was left of his cigarette and immediately lit a new one. He was standing outside a bar not far from HOMRA. He forgot who suggested it originally, but someone had suggested the clan go out and soon they'd all made their way to a local pub not far off. Everyone was inside, most of them half way gone already.
His head was buzzing, and not just because of the drinks he'd just had. Izumo had told him he'd reached out to Awashima, and that she'd gotten back to him that morning.
Mikoto inhaled deeply, letting the smoke go deep to the bottom of his lungs before blowing it out harshly.
Seri had found footage.
Izumo had shown him the video on his PDA, of Umeko in the bus terminal the morning she'd disappeared. She'd looked tiny in the sea of bodies, arms wrapped tightly around herself and not a possession on her. He watched her get onto a bus, and had almost burned the PDA when she disappeared from view.
There was no way he could avoid reality anymore; she'd left. She hadn't been forced, she hadn't been taken, she'd chosen to leave. Worse yet, he still had no fucking idea where she was. The bus she'd gotten on had been scheduled to make stops in four different cities, and she could have gotten off at any one of those. She'd even left her fucking phone in the hospital, so they had no way of even attempting to contact her.
And he fucking hated it. He felt like his mind was pulling itself apart.
When he was first crowned, and even still in the years after, controlling his power had been something he struggled with. The last red king had killed 700,000 people because he couldn't control it. Umeko could though.
All she had to do was smile and no matter how far gone he felt his mind would come back. She was his anchor when he felt like he was losing control, had been since the moment he'd met her, even if he hadn't known it at first. He almost felt like she had more control over his powers than he did.
And that had just fed into his feelings for her. Mikoto had never imagined he could be so utterly consumed by another person. He loved her so much it was ridiculous. Everything she said and did, from her obsession with history books heavier than she was to how she always knew when he was about to run out of cigarettes and would have a fresh pack on hand, made him want to wrap her in his arms and hold on as tight as he could.
Now that she was gone he felt like he was falling again.
He'd felt his control slip some at the warehouse. He'd hardly even noticed because it had been so long since he'd last lost control. His power had been more balanced than he could ever remember up till a few months ago.
He dropped his cigarette, grinding it out with his heel. He'd go have a few more drinks then go home, he could talk to Izumo about what to do next tomorrow.
He was almost at the door when it swung open, and a second later a brunette came out, eyes down as she rummaged through her purse. She bumped into him, stumbling back slightly.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."
Mikoto eyed her but said nothing. Her hair was dark, but it held a slight curl that looked so familiar his fingers twitched. While she'd seemed slightly nervous when she'd first saw him, he watched as the apprehension quickly gave way to a look he was equally as familiar with.
"Not to be too forward or anything," she purred, moving till her front was just a few inches from him, "but are you here with anyone?"
His first instinct was to tell her to get lost, but then he remembered he didn't have anyone to stay loyal to anymore. She wasn't who he wanted, not at all, but her hazel eyes were just light enough that in the low light he could pretend the green in them was red, that the hand running up his arm was familiar.
"No, I'm not."
Because for one second he just wanted to forget.
They stumbled through his door, kicking the door shut behind them. He pushed her back up against the wall next to the door, and Umeko jumped up, wrapping her legs around his hips. His hands ran up and down the back of her legs, but there was no shudder of pleasure, not like she wanted.
She moved her mouth more aggressively against his, searching desperately for it, pulling back just long enough to ask where the bedroom was. He let her down, taking her hand and dragging her down the hall. His hand just felt odd in hers.
As soon as she was in his bedroom, she wasted to time in shedding her top and getting on the bed. She rose to her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him when he approached her again. He pushed her back, and together they moved to the top of the bed, Umeko settling underneath him.
Umeko shifted, trying to find a better position. For the life of her she couldn't seem to get comfortable. She felt his tongue drag slowly against hers, and she sighed, because that action felt so familiar, Mikoto had done it so many times…
She grunted, placing her hands on his chest and pushing.
"Benjirou-san," she sighed as he pulled back, and she could see in his eyes he already knew what was coming. He sighed, pulling back off of her and sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked at him sadly, shifting till she was sitting next to him, feet brushing the floor.
They didn't say anything for a while, both just starring at their laps.
"I'm sorry-"
"Hey no don't apologize."
"No but I-"
"Umeko-san," he smiled at her sweetly, and she blushed ashamedly, "you don't need to apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for."
She looked sadly down at her hands, wringing them together nervously, "It's just, I was recently-"
"In a very committed relationship and are still trying to get over him."
Her head snapped up, gapping at the amused look on his face.
"Yumiko-chan told me," he laughed, not even looking a little angry.
"She doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut does she?" Umeko sighed.
"Not really, anything you tell her you can just assume is public information."
"Ugh," Umeko fell back onto the bed, putting her hands over her face, "I'm sorry can we just, I don't even know go see a movie or something?"
"Now?" his eyebrow rose as he looked down at her.
Umeko nodded, removing her hands from her face and sitting up, "Yeah, I'm sure there's something playing this late, it's only," she looked at the clock, "10:30."
He gapped at her for a second before throwing his head back and laughing. She liked his laugh; it was big and lively and seemed to fill the whole room.
"Yeah sure, I'll go see a movie."
"Great," she stood up, picking her shirt up off the floor, "would you be okay with us getting-"
"Um, Umeko-san?"
"Yeah?" she looked back at him, surprised to see him blushing slightly with an awkward smile on his face.
"I kind of need to- you know…"
She blinked, finally noticing the bulge in the front of his pants.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well," she started towards the door, "while you do that I'll make some food- wait we're going to get food um- coffee?"
He laughed again, nodding as he stood up, "Yeah coffee would be great."
Mikoto watched the cigarette smoke swirl slowly up, disappearing into the dark room. He listened as she pulled her cloths back on, the quiet shuffling grating on his already frayed nerves.
"I had fun tonight."
He didn't respond.
"I guess I'll wait for you to call-"
"Don't count on it."
She froze at his harsh tone, shrugged further into her coat and turning on her heel, closing the door forcefully behind her as she left.
Mikoto took another drag, letting it burn for a second before releasing the smoke into the air. Still, it wasn't enough to take away from the pain burning in his chest. He pressed the heel of his hand holding the cigarette into his forehead, clenching his eyes shut tightly. What had he just done?
"Wait, wait, you actually liked the lead?"
"Well yeah," Benjirou shrugged, "he was cool."
"He was not cool," Umeko rolled her eyes, "he was a total dick to everyone."
"Yeah but I feel like that was just part of his image."
They were sitting in a 24-hour dinner a block over from the movie theater, sharing a plate of fries and talking about the god-awful spy movie they'd just seen.
"You can be a good spy and not be an asshole."
"You're speaking from experience I assume then? Cause you know so many secret government agents."
She couldn't help but grin at that, throwing a fry at him, "And you know so may secret agents that you know I'm wrong, right?"
He waved her off, taking a sip of his drink instead.
Umeko looked at him for a second, weighing whether she wanted to bring up what was on her mind or not.
"Benjirou-san?"
"Yeah?"
Umeko picked at her napkin nervously, "Yumiko-chan said you recently got out of a relationship too, right?"
Benjirou stiffened, and for a second Umeko was horrified she'd fucked up bringing it up. But after a second he relaxed, and a sad look came to his face.
"I did, her name was Naomi."
"And did you guys agree to part ways or…?"
"Not at all," he replied, "she died. Cancer."
Umeko's eyes widened in horror.
"Benjirou I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked, I'm so sorry I-"
"Hey, hey," he smiled, "you asked and I told you."
His eyes went out the window, "It's a lot easier to talk about now anyway."
Umeko bit her lip, "Was she the one you used to go to art museums with?"
Benjirou grinned, "Yeah, she was an artist. Went to school for it and everything. She could tell me a twenty-minute story about every painting in the portrait gallery."
"She sounds wonderful," Umeko replied quietly.
"She was," he nodded, "we wanted to get married, I was actually looking for rings when she got her diagnosis."
Umeko's heart broke, and she reached across the table, taking his hands in hers.
"I'm so sorry Benjirou, that's an awful thing to have to go through."
He just hummed, looking at her hands holding his for second before asking, "And you? Did you agree to split or no?"
Umeko paused. Her break from HOMRA was still a mess of emotions in her head, but she wanted to share it. She wanted to show him that she was willing to be equally as open.
"We never technically agreed to anything," she shrugged. Benjirou let her hands go and she leaned back in her booth.
"I was pregnant a few months ago. Didn't have a clue I was."
She kept picking at her napkin, and Benjirou didn't say a word.
"I put myself in a situation where I lost it. He thought I'd done it on purpose so I wouldn't have to have his child."
She shook her head, pushing the shredded napkin away from her, "I could tell he didn't want me anymore, so I left."
"And he hasn't tried to contact you?"
Umeko bit her lip, "I left my phone."
Benjirou looked at her incredulously.
"How can you be so sure he wanted you to leave?"
"Because the last time he looked at me, he looked at me like he didn't even knew me."
Umeko pulled herself up, shooting Benjirou a smile she knew didn't reach her eyes, "And besides, he's the type of man that if he really wants to find me, he will."
I'm back! I've honestly had this chapter done for a while but I've been busy working on my other K Project stories so I haven't put in the time to edit it. I am happy to announce that COVID quarantine has done wonders for my writing- I've been writing this and Accismus pretty much constantly, and have lots of future chapters prewritten already. To those who left reviews for last chapter, thank you! You were all so positive and supportive, I really appreciate it! Like I said, I've got the next few chapters of this written so if I get enough reviews, I'll post it soon! Also expect the next chapter of Accismus to drop soon! I wish everyone good health and I hope you and your families are safe!