"Let's get this clear. You're going to listen to what answers I need, and then you're going to tell me what I need to know."

"I will do no such thing... You don't know what you're involving yourself with."

"Oh, I'm fully aware... And I want to know exactly what I want to hear. It would be best if you didn't push my patience."

"I'm not going to do anything that you ask me to. You must leave at once."

"Leave? I won't be doing that... I need to get rid of the evidence, after all."

"You can't mean-"

BANG!

"Now, all that's left to do is pick up the pieces... You made the mistake of resisting me, and you paid the consequences. I don't regret anything I had to do. This is all your fault."

August 6

Lady Bird Studios

8:30 AM

Yuri Rinko

I couldn't contain my excitement at all as I stood outside the Lady Bird Studios alongside Mukuro, Chrysalis, Anton, Prosecutor Wood (wait, she's letting me call her by her first name now, so Niamh). I was practically bouncing on the spot, and they all watched me with wide smiles.

A few weeks before, I entered a radio lottery to get the chance to visit the set of Monsieur Cat, a popular superhero show filmed in our city. There were tons of people who entered it too, and I just so happened to win. I was able to bring along four people, and I decided to invite them along. After all, Chrysalis works with me at the agency, Mukuro is our friend through some cases, Anton is really tight with Chrysalis, and Niamh is a huge fan of the show. It just felt like the best thing to do.

Even if there are others at the agency who I could have brought along, I wound up going with those four because they're all a lot closer to my age. Lily just about died of jealousy as soon as I told her that I had the tickets, and you have no idea how excited Felicity was to hear about it too. I've promised to give them all the details from the scheduled tour of the set, so I'm more than ready to remember everything that I see. They're counting on hearing my story, after all.

"I can't believe this is happening!" I exclaimed, earning the attention of everyone in the group. "I know that I won the raffle ages ago, but it still doesn't feel like I'm actually here! We're going to be able to look around the set!"

"On top of that, we're going to be able to meet the cast," Mukuro went on with a smile. "Imagine that... I can't wait to see how everything plays out, honestly. I'm sure it's going to be great."

"I-I want to meet the leading a-actor!" Anton stammered, a wide grin on his features.

I couldn't help my enthusiastic nod of agreement. "Me neither! He's absolutely incredible on the show, and I imagine that he's even more amazing up close in real life... This is the best day ever!" I cried out.

James Devine was the name of the leading actor on Monsieur Cat. He plays a teenager who moonlights as a superhero saving all people from peril. He's my age too, and according to the people who have worked with him, he's a bit of a flirt. I am perfectly single, and I can't wait to see what happens when we finally meet! Maybe he'll decide that I'm the woman for him! Imagine dating a TV star! It would be nothing short of incredible!

"I'm honestly surprised that nobody has come out to meet us yet," Chrysalis admitted. "There don't seem to be all that many cars parked in the area either... Then again, I suppose there's probably a logical explanation for that."

"I'm sure it'll all be fine..." Niamh commented. For the first time in ages, she actually seemed calm. It was a completely different vibe compared to seeing her in court, and I couldn't help but be infatuated by it. She was always really panicky when in the courtroom, but something about her felt so composed and normal when outside of that situation. Even if she didn't really know any of us all that well, I could tell that she was having fun already.

A sudden, bright flash caught me by surprise, and I let out a gasp of shock. Light filled my vision, and I stumbled as stars danced feverishly behind my eyes. I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm, and when I looked over, I saw Chrysalis was keeping me from falling over. I shot her an awkward grin before trying to figure out what the source of the flash was.

Soon enough, my eyes fell upon a man holding a camera. He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and a few freckles were splattered across the bridge of his nose. He was wearing a black hoodie with a red hat, though the hat was turned backwards. He had dark pants on as well, and a large bag was strapped against his back. The bag was practically overflowing with film supplies, and it stood at about half his height. I couldn't tell how he was able to keep his balance while carrying so much extra weight.

"Who might you be?" Chrysalis questioned, ever the serious one. She made sure that I was standing fine on my own before pulling her hand away from my arm, and she started to fiddle with the edge of her braid quietly.

"Oh, yeah... I'm Lucas Gassman! I work as a cameraman at the radio station!" he exclaimed. "I was sent down here to capture video of everything that goes down here today! We're going to be putting it on our radio station's website and all that. You know, it's a great way to get promotion since so many people were looking forward to potentially winning these tickets. I figured I would start off by taking a few pictures before the actual tour started."

Mr. Gassman flashed another picture, and Niamh was the victim this time. Mukuro held up an arm to keep from being temporarily blinded, and Anton hid behind Niamh with a frown on his face. Chrysalis screwed her eyes shut before blinking rapidly. I managed to avoid the full force of the flash somehow, and I was certainly thankful for such after being subjected to the initial picture.

"What are we waiting on at this point?" Mukuro questioned. "Is there someone who's going to be coming out here to meet us so that we can start the tour?"

Mr. Gassman nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes! I know that one of the stars of the show is going to be showing you around the studios personally... Let me think... What was his name again...?" he murmured.

I glanced around to the rest of the group, unable to keep myself from grinning madly. I was praying with every ounce of my being that the person in question was James. This could be the first step to our starstruck romance!

"Ah! That's right!" Mr. Gassman suddenly exclaimed, snapping his fingers together. He nearly dropped his camera in the process, so he let out a gasp before fumbling to keep the device under his control. Once he was sure that the camera wasn't going to be falling, he looked back to us. "It's James Devine himself!"

I let out a squeal and started bouncing on the spot once again. Anton made his way out from behind Niamh, and he couldn't stop grinning either. I could tell that the other three were beyond overjoyed at hearing such information as well even if they were hiding it a bit better than Anton and I were.

"That's incredible," Niamh breathed. "I wonder when he's going to be coming out here then..."

As if on cue, the door to the studios opened. I did my best to stifle my remaining shrieks of excitement as a new person walked out. After all, I didn't want James to think that I was weird so soon after we first met, right?

Just as I suspected, the newcomer was none other than James Devine himself. He had a bright smile on his face, and his hands were shoved into his pockets. I recognized his green eyes and trademark blonde hair from all the times that I had watched him on television. Rather than wearing his costumes from the show though, he was wearing a simple light teal jacket over a white shirt. The jacket had been left unzipped. His pants were black, and his dark dress shoes were far more expensive than I would have expected him to put with such a casual outfit.

I heard a small beeping noise from behind me, and I knew that Mr. Gassman had turned on the recording button on the camera. James walked a bit closer, spreading his arms wide in a grand gesture. "It's nice to see you all!" he declared, sweeping his arms inwards in a mighty bow. "It is I, James Devine, the star of Monsieur Cat! It's a pleasure to meet you all! Welcome to Lady Bird Studios!"

I had to bite my lip to keep from squealing at his words, so I instead chose to take a step closer to him. James looked out over the group that I had brought along, his smile never wavering. "How about you all go on and introduce yourselves to me? After all, we're going to be around each other quite a bit for the remainder of the tour," he explained.

James' gaze fell on Niamh first, and she immediately flushed. "O-Oh, um... M-My name is Niamh Wood," she replied. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, instead forcing herself to stare at anywhere that wasn't his face.

James certainly noticed her dodgy behavior, as he was quick to close the distance between them and take her hand in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, planting a kiss against the back of her hand before allowing it to fall once again. I saw him give her a quick wink, and envy quickly rose inside of me. She had just gotten a kiss from the one and only James Devine! The things I would have done to be in her shoes!

"How about you?" James questioned next. His eyes were on Mukuro next, but I was far too distracted with looking at Niamh with wide, curious eyes to bother shifting my focus over to Mukuro.

"Mukuro," the detective replied. "It's nice to meet you too."

James repeated the process of kissing the back of her hand, but Mukuro didn't get anywhere near as flustered over it as Niamh did. Her cheeks certainly went pink, but she wasn't reading into it at all as far as I could tell. That would make sense, since as far as I could tell, she was still working on her thing with Aidan.

James looked to me next. He didn't ask me for my name since I answered him far too quickly for that. I knew what he was going to question me about, so I figured that I might as well save us a little bit of time. "I'm Yuri. It's a pleasure," I told him, shooting him a wink of my own.

He didn't seem to expect that. He stared at me for a moment before returning the gesture and planting a kiss on the back of my hand. Even after he had moved on, I couldn't stop looking at the place that he had touched me. I never wanted to wash my hand again!

James moved to Anton fourth, and after hearing the boy's name, he was more than happy to repeat the same kissing the hand gesture he had used on us three girls. Anton seemed to fall apart most out of any of us, rocking back and forth on his feet as he grinned wildly. He looked like a kid in a candy store, but I supposed I couldn't exactly criticize him for such. I doubt I looked any better, after all.

When he got to Chrysalis, James seemed to understand that she wanted no part in his introductory gesture, and he didn't even bother to reach out when she pressed her hands firmly against her chest. Instead, he gave her a nod, and she returned it silently. James didn't seem to care that she had rejected such, instead turning around so that his back was towards us and his face was directed at the entrance of the studios. "How about we go inside then?" James questioned. He beckoned for us to trail after him, and I was more than happy to bound in his footsteps with the rest of the group.

James opened the door without any issues, allowing us to walk in ahead of him. Once the five of us and Mr. Gassman had entered the building, he took his place at the front of the group once again. "I'm going to be taking you by the stage first," James explained. "This is where we keep the rooftop set. I'm sure that you're going to love it. Yes, there will be an opportunity for you to take pictures if you so please."

I must admit that the rooftop set was beyond what I could have imagined. It looked just as romantic as it did on the show. The titular Monsieur Cat often met his love interest on top of the building, and it was where they had shared their first kiss. Let me tell you that I had never envied a person so much until that moment. Seeing where it had happened was magical, and I couldn't help but hope that perhaps this would be the place where I would experience a similar first kiss with James.

"Um, one question," Chrysalis said, and I turned to face her. She didn't seem entirely sure about what was happening, and she was actually frowning. "Where's everyone else? When we heard about this tour happening, we got the impression that many other members of the cast were going to be here for us to meet with."

James hesitated at her words and shrugged. "In all honesty, I don't know what could have happened to them," he admitted. "Nobody else wound up showing, but I figured that I would at least show you around the set. If it wound up being rescheduled, nobody told me, and I'm sure that we'll be able to more than make up for it in the future."

Chrysalis nodded her understanding, but I could tell that she wasn't entirely convinced. Even so, she did her best to hide such suspicions, and I decided to look away from her to admire the set once again. I was still impressed at how absolutely incredible it appeared in person. Seeing it through a camera and a television screen really didn't do the area justice, and I was sure that I would be imagining this very same space in my dream for ages to come.

"For now, let's just enjoy ourselves," James smiled, gesturing to the rest of the set. "The cameras have been put away for the time being to ensure that nothing winds up being broken, but aside from that, this is exactly how we shoot scenes in this area for the show. There are other sets too, but this is easily the most iconic of the bunch, so it's going to be the only one that I show you on today's tour. If you want to take pictures, go right ahead. Just be careful not to break anything."

I grinned and pulled my phone from my pocket before starting to explore. I couldn't wait to go back and watch the video Mr. Gassman was filming of this later on. I knew that this was going to be an experience that I remembered for the rest of my life. I decided to further commemorate this joyous occasion with another string of pictures, and my phone's camera flickered madly with countless flashes for countless photos. I didn't even look back to see if they turned out well, not entirely caring since at least one of them was bound to be nice when I later looked back to see their quality.

The rest of the group seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much. James was standing off to the side and talking to Anton, whose eyes were lit up with pure admiration. Chrysalis was standing beside Anton with a gentle hand on his shoulder as he rattled off excitedly to James. Niamh and Mukuro were looking around the set, both taking pictures for later on just like I was.

After I had taken photos of everything that caught my attention, I looked over the remainder of my party before gesturing for them to come closer. Sure enough, they followed my wishes, and we were all gathered together soon afterwards.

"What is it?" Niamh questioned, tilting her head lightly to one side.

I thrust my phone into the air with a wide grin. "Let's get a picture together!" I exclaimed. "We're going to want to remember this wonderful day, right? We might as well take a picture as a group, and I can share it to all of you later on!"

There were no objections to the idea of a picture, and the rest of the group came in close around me. I took a picture of all six of us, and Mr. Gassman continued to film us with a wide smile. When I pulled my phone down, I smiled and tucked the device back into my pocket before looking over the rest of the set one more time. It sure was different in person when compared to how it was through a television screen. Without filters or extra lighting, it was a unique experience, and it seemed like a completely different place in my eyes.

"I doubt that the set is ever this empty when filming is going on," Mukuro commented as she looked at the set as well. "There are probably tons of other people around while you're trying to capture the right shot for given scenes, right?"

James nodded. "Yeah, you can certainly say that again... There are usually at least a dozen people in this area between the director, camera workers, and other actors. It can get a bit crowded at times, but I would be lying if I said that I wanted to be anywhere other than this set. The cast, crew, and I are sort of like a family, and I wouldn't give them up for the world," he replied.

"It's a shame that nobody else was able to make it," Mukuro frowned. "I know that I would have loved to meet your love interest from the show... Are you two a thing in real life, or is that just a rumor that magazines have come up with over time?"

James let out a chuckle. "I'm not dating anyone at the moment. Members of the media do enjoy stirring up drama for the sake of views though, so I suppose it's not too surprising. Still, the fact remains that I'm not involved with anyone, and I don't think that I would be able to date a member of the cast. Like I said, they're like my family above all else," he told her.

"So that means that you're available," I smirked, shooting him a playful wink. "I don't know if I mentioned this when I introduced myself to you earlier, but I'm very single."

Chrysalis snickered from nearby, holding one hand over her mouth to keep from looking too rude. "Way to be subtle, Yuri," she commented with a shake of her head.

"Admit it, Chrysalis! Most of us have had a crush on him at some point! I'm just the one who's actually saying something about it!" I exclaimed. I looked to the rest of the group for confirmation, and judging by the blush that rose in Niamh and Anton's cheeks, they agreed with me completely. Chrysalis and Mukuro proceeded to let out small strings of laughter at my words, but neither of them confirmed or denied what I had said.

James shook his head. "You seem like a nice girl," he commented. "In fact, all of you seem to be rather interesting people. What do you say that we exchange phone numbers in case we wish to stay in contact in the future?"

I don't think I had ever pulled my phone out of my pocket faster than I did right then. I couldn't stop grinning as I moved to the contacts area of my phone, ready to type in James' number as soon as he started reading it aloud. I couldn't believe it! I was actually getting James Devine's phone number, and he wanted to stay in contact with me after the tour! This really was the best day ever!

The exchange of phone numbers went by quickly, and all five of us sent James quick messages to make sure that we had typed in everything right. After confirming that everything was in order, our phones were put away once again, and James smiled before gesturing for us to follow him away from the set. As he turned around, I blew him a kiss from my place at the back of the group. Chrysalis snickered again, and I playfully hit her with the back of my hand. She simply didn't understand true love when she saw it!

James kept talking soon afterwards, and that was enough to keep me from bickering with Chrysalis. I looked up to him with admiring eyes as he spoke. "Now, I'm going to be taking you by the dressing rooms," he declared. "I think that it would be alright for us to head into my room, and you can see what the space is like. The costumes aren't in there now since we put them in storage after each major filming session, but you can still take in the space if that's what you want to do."

A chorus of agreement rose up from the group, and I scurried after James with a grin on my face. The walk to the dressing rooms was far longer than I had been expecting initially, but I didn't really mind. The idea of being in the Lady Bird Studios was far too exhilarating for me to get over even after so much time.

When we arrived at the hallways with the dressing rooms, James led us off to the left. "The right hall has all of the girls' rooms while this area is for the boys," he explained. "Of course, there's nothing against you coming in as long as nothing is going on inside. I wouldn't want to leave you lovely ladies behind, after all."

"Lovely ladies!" I whispered to Chrysalis. She shot me a playful wink, and I nudged her with my elbow. She wasn't going to let me forget about my behavior for quite some time, and I was fully aware of such, but it still wasn't enough to convince me to hold back on it. I was having fun, so what did it matter?

James finally arrived in front of his dressing room, and he stopped walking to turn and face the rest of us. "Here we are," he announced. "This time, I must ask that you keep from touching anything. I doubt that any of you would wind up stealing from my dressing room, but I still think that perhaps it would be for the best if you kept your distance. I can be a bit picky about how I manage my space, after all."

"He's organized. I love that trait in a guy," I murmured, looking over to Chrysalis with an uncontrollable grin.

"Funny that you say that, because last time I walked into your room, I could barely find the floor," Chrysalis replied. I rolled my eyes, and she laughed in response. Even if I was acting like I hated it, I loved seeing this side of Chrysalis. It had been quite some time since Chrysalis fully let herself go like this, and while she still seemed to be on her guard, it was a significant improvement to how distant she could be at other points in time. It was nice to see her so relaxed and happy, especially after the case at the theater from a few months prior.

James' features suddenly melted into a frown, and he looked down at his feet. He leaned over to pick something up, but I couldn't quite see what due to being at the back of the group and not being particularly tall. However, when James rose to his full height, I was able to see what he had found.

It was a sign of a bright yellow color. It said 'DO NOT ENTER' in bold black letters, and the string at the top had snapped. I realized that it had probably been hooked around the door's nameplate. James' name was written on top of a black cat sign at the center of the door, and a hook could be seen sticking out from the insignia. Chances were the sign had slipped off there somehow, but I couldn't say what could have shoved it to the ground.

"This is strange," James murmured. "As far as I know, nobody else has come by the set today... It's weird."

"Did you put that sign up?" Chrysalis questioned. Just like that, her easygoing attitude had faded away, and she was back to focusing on business. I deflated slightly at the realization before turning my full attention back to James. Did she ever try to have fun?

James shook his head. "No, I didn't... I never dropped by my dressing room after arriving either. I was too focused on setting up everything else for the tour," he admitted. He leaned down once again and leaned the sign against the floor before shrugging and shaking his head. "I suppose it isn't important though... How about we go on and look around the dressing room? I can figure out what happened there another time."

James' fingers curled around the door handle, and he pushed it open. However, as soon as he did, I couldn't help but wish that he had kept it closed.

On the other side of the door, there was a man stretched out on the floor. He was wearing dark clothing that seemed to be rather casual. His limbs were sprawled in every direction with no rhyme or reason, and the middle of the dressing room was in complete disarray around him. Shelves had fallen over, makeup was spilled across the ground, and a rack of clothing at the back of the room had been tilted against a mirror. The place where the rack hit the mirror, a magnificent crack could be seen, implying that the impact had been far from gentle.

The worst part was yet to come though. At the center of the mess, there was blood flowing from a wound at the side of the man's head. There was a hole in his temple, and my hand clamped over my mouth to keep me from getting sick. That was a gun wound, and the man had been murdered.

"Is... Is that who I think it is...?!" Niamh exclaimed, her face suddenly far too pale to be natural. She was shaking lightly on the spot.

"The director of the show..." Chrysalis murmured, her eyes narrowed in confirmation. "He's... He's dead."

"He isn't breathing...!" Anton whispered, his eyes wide as saucers. He clung to Chrysalis' arm immediately, and she pulled him in close before stroking at the back of his head gently.

"I-I'm going to call my father for help!" Mukuro cried out, fishing her phone from her pocket. She turned around to face Mr. Gassman. "You're getting this on camera, right? That's going to be important for the people involved with the case to know!"

Mr. Gassman responded with a nod, but when he moved, he nearly toppled over. He managed to correct his posture at the last minute, but his moment without balance was still concerning. The equipment on his back threatened to fully collapse, and he cringed as he settled his camera back into place in front of his eye as Mukuro pressed on her phone screen to call her father to ask for help.

I couldn't stop staring at the body personally. I knew that it was a terrible sight, and I couldn't just stand there watching it forever, but what else was I supposed to do? My stomach already hurt, but I couldn't force myself to look away in spite of the growing knot at my core.

Niamh moved over to James carefully, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. His expression was blank, but grief was blooming slowly in his eyes. Niamh led him away from the entrance to the room slowly, and James was more than happy to let her take him further into the hallway. Mukuro started pacing down the length of the space as she spoke to her father, but I couldn't process the specific words she was saying.

I finally managed to look away when a new sound distracted me. Anton was crying into Chrysalis' shoulder now, and she was staring at the ground with an inscrutable gaze as she comforted him. I placed a hand on Anton's back just between his shoulder blades, and he melted at the contact. I couldn't believe that this was happening, and my heart was pounding rapidly in my ears. Why did this have to happen today? Why in the world did the director of the show have to die? Who in the world was responsible for all of this?

I didn't know the answers to these questions, but I was determined to find out one way or another for the sake of everyone there.

Meet James I love him

-Digital