Assignment 2, Finale
Fitter Happier
It was a cold bright day in January and the clocks were striking fourteen. Byakuya Togami stood outside the beating heart of his family's empire, bitten by the stark wind that lambasted his face and hoping for a smooth deal. Opening the doors to the large building, he strolled past the main desk, unfazed by the sterile and white austerity of every wall in the building offset only by the six-figure pieces of art that occasionally hung on the wall, a tinge of colour in the static sea. Pressing a button to go to the 53rd floor, where his meeting would take place, he recalled the text he read from his imposter that his meeting had gone 'smoothly.' He had refused to respond much past that and his father hadn't responded at all, making Byakuya's normally foul self even fouler. As the whirr of the lift finally ceased, Byakuya noticed he hadn't paid much mind to the elevator music he himself had chosen. "Fitter, Happier, more productive…" It echoed, as Byakuya stepped out into the room to see the figure of Taichi Fujisaki, sitting on a couch outside of the boardroom, on the phone and crying.
Byakuya was not normally one to inquire after the health of someone, but he was supposed to be doing business with this man and decided to do so when the man got off the phone. "Y-yeah… mm-hmm…" he sniffed and hiccuped, then continued. "I'll be right over… and I'll put Byakuya on. W-wait until he goes to go with him? O-okay. G-goodbye." Taichi stood up and approached Byakuya, before handing him the phone with trembling fingers. "Hello?" Byakuya asked whoever was on the other end of the line.
"Byakuya. You need t-" Kyoko's voice rang back on the other end.
"Kyoko? What're you doing talking to the parent of a student in the Academy?"
"This is a police issue. Do you really think the Ultimate Detective wouldn't be involved in some way with the police?"
"What's a police issue?"
"Chihiro's been kidnapped."
"She's been what?" Byakuya tried to hide the shock in his voice. He suddenly understood why Taichi was crying.
"Mondo came to me to report him missing. I reviewed some footage, found that he was there one minute and the next he disappeared from where he traveling to. There was some tampering with the security cameras on site. I got the police involved, but we're waiting until tomorrow to tell everyone who could be considered suspect because the Academy wants everyone back there so they can initiate a lockdown. Mondo says he knows who did it but… I don't buy who he named. Get back ASAP. Goodbye."
"Wai-" The line buzzed as Kyoko hung up. "Dammit!" Byakuya pointed at Taichi. "What're you gonna do?"
"I-I was asked to go to the station." He sniffed out.
"Well, let's go. I'll have my butler take you to the station and me to Hope's Peak."
"Th-thank you."
"Hmph."
Byakuya entered the lift with Taichi. The atmosphere was harsh and oppressive, depressingly so. Taichi refused to meet Byakuya's gaze and his teeth were gritted in attempt to plug his tears. And – over all this, the music Byakuya hovered over the both of them.
"Calm.
Fitter.
Healthier.
And more productive.
A pig,
in a cage,
on antibiotics."