Hey guys! The next chapter is here ~
（＾ω＾）
I don't have my laptop anymore °(ಗдಗ。)°so I'm typing and posting everything on my phone, which keeps messing things up as it's really old, so I apologise for any mistakes etc.
Note: I'm keeping the names the Japanese way, surname then first name.
As always, I hope you enjoy this!
Senpai: used for someone who is older than you who is studying/working the same subject as you.
Chan: this honorific is normally used for girls or younger children to show affection so when Akihito uses it he was trying to irritate Haru.
Akihito stared at the contents in the pot, wondering what went wrong.
The recipe said to brown the onion and meat, so why is it all stuck to the pan bottom?
Akihito gave up scraping it. He dumped in the vegetables he prepared earlier and prayed for the best. Turning towards the rice cooker, he peered inside. At least the rice was still white.
Surely curry shouldn't be this difficult?
While the vegetables were cooking, Akihito went to the dining room to set the table.
Halfway through it, a burnt smell wafted into the room.
Crap, Akihito thought. He raced to the kitchen and saw the pot had boiled over.
It was this scene that Asami came home to.
"O-Oh, hey. You are home early."
Akihito smiled sheepishly, blocking the sight of the battle in the kitchen by standing in the doorway.
Asami looked surprised. "Are you cooking?"
"Uh-yeah. A change of pace? Hahaha."
There was a brief silence, then, "Did you hit your head?"
Akihito fumed. "Of course not. I've cooked before."
Half an hour later, both of them sat down at the table, with a plate of food resembling curry and rice in front of them.
In the middle of the table, there was a pot of cactus with flowers stuck on it, encircled by candles that made it seem like a sacrifice for a ritual.
To no one surprise, the 'food' was inedible. Akihito took one mouthful of curry before choking and quickly spat it out. It had a burnt taste that lingered in the mouth. The vegetables were still hard inside. So was the rice.
The only 'cooking' experience Akihito had before was boiling the water for instant noodles.
"You don't have to eat it, you know." Akihito watched as Asami brought the food to his mouth.
But Asami said nothing and soon finished the whole plate, even though Akihito couldn't swallow more than two bites. He wondered if there's something wrong with Asami's taste buds. Maybe too much high-class food killed his taste buds?
After dinner, they sat in front of the TV. Akihito switched between the channels aimlessly, his eyes flitting towards Asami every now and then.
Then, he cleared his throat and started. "Um, Asami, there's something I wanna talk to you about-"
"No."
"-I met this person yesterday who said you - huh? What do you mean?"
"Just what I said, no."
"Wait, wait, wait, I think we are having some misunderstanding, I'm talking about the new-"
"Akihito, if this is about the new guard I got you, no, I won't withdraw him as your guard."
"Seriously, I don't need a guard. Why do I need a guard? Am I a princess? Or some kind of endangered species?"
Yet, no matter how hard he argued, his protest fell onto deaf ears.
Akihito's mood was black. The furious clicking of the keyboard echoed ominously in the corridor. Nobody dared to approach him.
When they saw Kai approaching Akihito during lunch hour, they all muttered a silent thanks to him. No one could be angry for long around Kai.
"Hey Akihito-senpai!"
Kai's energy made Akihito so tired that he had no more energy to be angry, so he listened in resignation to Kai's complaints about his work.
"Mostly the work I get nowadays is going through their wife's or husband's phone or computer to see if they've cheated or not. Doesn't this make me a private detective instead? Should I just change my name to Kailock Holmes? And why am I the one being screamed at down the phone? It's not like I'm the one who cheated with their wives... Ah, dealing with people are so hard. One guy told me he will stuff me into a paper shredder. Why? Did God abandon me? Hey, please introduce me to some of your clients. I just did what they told me to and now I'm being threatened to be shredded. Hey Akihito-Senpai, if I die, you will avenge me right?"
"Oh yeah, was everything okay after you left yesterday? You acted kinda funny after you saw that guy."
"Uh- everything was fine, just thought he was someone I knew." Akihito replied lamely. No way could he tell Kai the truth. That he lives with a mafia boss who insisted he have his own guard.
He thought back to this morning.
*Several hours earlier*
Asami introduced him to his new guard in the morning.
"Akihito, this is Tsukushima Haru, your new guard."
Akihito was sitting with his knees drawn up on the sofa, sulking.
"I said I don't need one," he muttered. Better make the guard quit as soon as possible. Kirishima would no doubt throw another fit, but Akihito would be guard-free for a while before Kirishima finds him the next guard.
He turned to look at the new person. It was indeed the person that was watching him in the café yesterday.
The new guard bowed. "My name is Tsukushima Haru. It is my greatest honour to be able to serve you."
The man was quite young. Probably in his mid-late 20s. He was quite good looking, but every handsome men seemed to have their beauty diminished while in the same room as Asami.
Straight-laced, serious, with a face that never smiled, and a neatly brushed hair. It was those kind of people that harbours the most secrets, while seemingly so harmless on the surface. Akihito guessed it would take no more than a few weeks for this new one to resign.
He didn't notice Asami was smirking at him.
"I'm going to work."
Once outside, Akihito plastered a fake smile on his face. "Did you say your name was Tsukushima Haru? So is it alright if I call you Haru-chan? Sounds cute right?"
He was met with a blank expression, then, "Call me whatever suits you, Takaba-sama."
"Alright, I'm going to work now, Haru-chan, see you-blrgh?!"
Haru got him by his collar and was dragging him towards a shiny black car.
"Hey! Where are you taking me?!"
"Didn't you say you needed to go to work?"
"Yes, so let me go get my Vespa!"
"You think it's safe to ride on that piece of junk?"
"Junk?! How dare you call that 'junk'! That's my precious baby!"
Akihito was finally allowed to ride on his Vespa, only because he had called Asami and threatened to never speak to him again did Asami agree to let him on his Vespa.
Akihito finished the call and turned triumphantly towards Haru, who glanced at him and turned away. "Tsk."
"Wait, did you just clicked your tongue at me?"
"No, you are just hearing things."
"Seriously, what's with your change of attitude?!"
~ Present ~
Akihito stood in front of the hot food section in his usual convenience store, irritated. How come there was nothing on Tsukushima Haru? It's like the guy was deliberately wiped clean of any trace.
Or maybe it was a fake name?
All he could find was his name and address.
Maybe he should go through Kirishima's computer to find out...
While thinking, he opened his wallet and scowled.
That cactus plant costed a lot, so much that it rendered his wallet nearly weightless.
He wanted to make Asami in a good mood with dinner yesterday so he could ask him to withdraw his guard, but he only ended up spending unnecessary money.
That bastard probably knew what he wanted to ask the moment he came home.
He handed the yakisoba box to Natsume at the counter.
"Are you not going to buy a bottle of Ramune this time?"
"I'm trying to save up a bit."
Natsume grabbed a bottle of Ramune, and handed it to Akihito. "I used my employee discount here so you don't have to pay any extra for that." He smiled that smile that only pretty men can.
"Ah, I feel bad to inconvenience you, but thank you."
"Hmm~ as a thank you gift, how about we exchange numbers?"
"Huh?"
"Well, to be honest, I've always wanted to talk to you. Plus, if you do, I'll use my discount on you every time."
Akihito was a bit wary at the beginning, but the mention of discount got him. He took out his phone and they exchanged numbers.
Finally in a better mood, he hummed as he got on his Vespa to head back home. The roar of the engine drowned out the sound of his phone ringing.
Caller: Unknown