Chapter II
It took a lot of strength to reach his employers' office, leaving Kurogane fed-up and foul tempered as he paused in front of the shiny oak doors. But he imagined it was for the best. No matter how much Yuuko-san seemed to favor him in a situation that had spun out of control, the man strongly doubted that strangling his new secretary was valid, even in her eyes. Even if said bastard had had the cheek to call him Kuro-sama, of all things, on his first day of work. Not that he'd ever be as stupid to mention it, if he hoped to keep that last stretch of respect from his colleagues, who had enjoyed their own part of Kurogane's constant humiliated arguments with the head of the company. Or any of his sanity, for that matter…
Sometimes Kurogane wished he hadn't messed up on that one stupid operation last month. Everything had started to go downhill after that, even though he often mused it could have been far worse. For all he knew, had he been employed in any other company than Ichihara & Daitouji, he would probably be unpacking boxes at home, not in his new, 55 sq. ft. office. But Yuuko-san had always had a fetish for troublemakers and Tomoyo concluded it with her unwavering charity that even Kurogane often voiced as suicide in a position as high as her own. Only this time, he wasn't complaining. Not that much, anyway.
The man had struck him as suspicious the moment he had stridden so self-confidently out of the study of his heavily guarded mansion, his face friendly with charm yet hiding a side not many got the chance to see. A side that, in Kurogane's opinion, turned that entire well practiced, educational manner sour before it had a chance to conceal what it should, leaving a strangely bitter taste on the man's tongue. But he hadn't cared then. It had just been a job, a mission that he was to see through. It hadn't concerned him what sort of a man Seishiro Sakurazuka was, what methods he used to make himself pleasant to the general public's prying eyes, as long as he paid up in the end. So he had remained true to the task; he had heard the man out and carried out his orders as demanded, without a moment of apprehensive hesitation. Even now, a good three weeks after the incident, Kurogane often felt the urge to bang his head repeatedly against a wall in a meager attempt of the punishment for his stupidity that Yuuko had failed to carry out. A punishment that –at the end of the day- might have done him some good.
He had learned the hard way…again. And anyone within a hundred feet of him already knew that mentioning anything from 'last mission' to the name of that son-of-a-bitch who had chased a lawsuit on him for uncovering the presence of, what was discovered to be, five crates of drugs at his high-society dinner party, would return to work the next morning with a blue eye. Or worse. It didn't make it better that Seishiro Sakurazuka was the richest, most powerful businessman in Tokyo, nor that Ichihara & Daitouji offered a secrecy policy, which Kurogane had so readily violated. But attacking the man for insulting him in front of his hoard of lawyers had probably been the icing on the cake.
And, for all that mess, Kurogane had been promoted. Seriously, sometimes he wondered why Yuuko-san was still permitted among the public…
"Uhm…Kurogane-san?"
Kurogane snapped out of his uneasy musings to realize that he had frozen in front of the door and had a death-grip on the handle and Watanuki-kun – Yuuko and Tomoyo's ever nervous secretary- was gazing at him in anxious confusion. The man sighed and loosened his grasp of the door-handle.
"You can go in, Kurogane-san. There's no-one in there right now…" said Watanuki, managing a small smile as his fingers scurried around the loose papers on his desk, several of the telephones on his desk blinking for his attention. Kurogane nodded, feeling his body reel with reluctance but pushed himself through the polished doors nonetheless.
"Ah! There's our little menace!" Yuuko's voice hit him the moment he stepped in, followed by a thick, pungent smell of smoke which billowed from the long pipe in the woman's hand. His employer smiled coyly at him before laying one leg over the other from where she perched at the edge of her desk, breathing out another gust of vile smoke. Behind her, seated neatly in her voluminous chair, Tomoyo looked up from the file she had been scanning and gave him a heart-warming smile. "Good to see you, Kurogane-san, we have a new operation for you."
Kurogane smirked. He liked the sound of that. He had become sick of sitting around in his office, filling in reports – something he had done ever since the incident and being given a mission was proof that his usefulness to the company was still peaking. Giving Yuuko-san a glare that was mostly understood as a stifled consent, Kurogane crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, keeping as close to the door as possible. It was, as he had experienced before, always a wise decision. "This had better be good," he said, ignoring that evil grin Yuuko was giving him, a grin that would have rivaled that of any blood-thirsty cat before pouncing. "There's no way in hell that I'm leaving that idiot of a secretary you hired on his own so early if it isn't worth-while." His temper rose slightly as his thoughts returned to Fai and what he had said could have indirectly implied and he hastily swallowed.
"Ah, funny thing you should mention Fai-chan," Yuuko's grin widened and she leaned back, which, in Kurogane's opinion, no woman should do whilst wearing what she always did. Not if she wanted to maintain a respectful reputation in any way. "Always to the point, isn't he, Tomoyo-chan?"
Tomoyo set down the files and folded her hands neatly in front of her. "Indeed, Yuuko-chan. You see, Kurogane-san, the last thing we would want is for you to leave Fai-san on his own."
"If you get the drift…" Yuuko winked.
"I don't…" Kurogane stated bluntly, hiding a tell-tale blush that had started to creep up his neck. He forced himself to believe that their heater was turned out far too high, even for this time of year, and stuck his hands deep into his pockets, balling them into fists. If this was all some sick joke…
"Well, I'm sure these will help you then," Yuuko-san took the files from Tomoyo and leaned forward (again not a wise decision) and waved them up and down before Kurogane grabbed them. "You'll find this operation is somewhat…different from the ones we normally assign you to. But we've received a special request and both me and Tomoyo-chan here think learning some discretion is just what you need after the little..." -she coughed- "…slip-up,"
If Kurogane hadn't been so deeply interested in the files, the last comment would have most probably added a lot to his rising temper. But as he looked at the picture in front of him, rage attacks were the very last thing on his mind. For, from the somewhat faded photograph beside several police and missing reports the files held, a foolish smile shone up at him from a lean face half hidden behind golden hair. A smile that seemed almost painfully fake, as though it was hiding something the world would never be able to know. The very same gentle smile that had brightened the face of Fai D. Flowright this very morning in his office.
"I know this is unusual, Kurogane-san," From somewhere far away, Tomoyo's voice filtered through. "But this mission is one of the reasons why Mr. Flowright is currently employed in Ichihara & Daitouji. We have received a message a few days prior from Ashura-san, asking for our assistance." Kurogane ripped his eyes away from the file, looking up to Tomoyo, the shock still sitting tight in his chest. Ashura was one of the main investors of Ichihara & Daitouji and who, through the years, had come to own over a third of the company. Therefore, it was needless to say that he had his fingers deep in the actions of both Yuuko and Tomoyo and counted as an honored ally to the company. Almost everyone who worked for Ichihara & Daitouji knew him by name and was careful to stay on the good side of him, for along with a usually dignified air, he was also known for being the reason why several employees were fired in last year's audit for little to no reason at all.
"Apparently Ashura-san adopted Fai-san when he was very young…something tragic about his family, I think," Tomoyo continued. "He raised Fai-san close to him all those years, until he ran away at the age of fifteen and was lost for more than six years. Ashura-san did everything in his power to find him again, but he had literally disappeared. Only now has he reappeared in Tokyo, but judging by his résumés, he has been working for some time. Never once has he tried to contact Ashura-san and will still refuse to do so.
"Therefore, nothing is known about anything that has occurred in those six years of his disappearance. Ashura-san has expressed his concerns to Yuuko and me and has asked us to assign our best employer to the case. Of course, we immediately agreed to you," Kurogane felt a surge of adrenaline in his veins at this and kept his head down, controlling a smug grin that was spreading fast. "We need you to keep an eye on Fai-san, Kurogane…"
"Of course, Ashura has told us a little about his…erm, condition." Yuuko took over the explanation, pausing dramatically before each statement to pull at her pipe. "Fai-san has trouble opening up to people, trouble trusting, something Ashura-san noticed very early upon taking him in. It will prove very difficult for anyone to find out anything about him unless he was completely sure he could rely on that someone. This explains why drastic measures must be made.
"We require you to…stalk Fai-san," Kurogane gave Yuuko another glare at the choice of words, to which the woman merely smirked. "Become his friend, teach him to trust you. Spend time with him and form a…relationship of which Fai-san is certain he can trust. Only then will he be able to tell you what Ashura requires. You are to keep careful record of everything he tells you, where he lives, whom he meets, how he acts, which we will hand to Ashura each week. Sometimes, even private meetings will be arranged so he can discuss future actions with you in person.
"All in all, everything that occurs between you, both of us and Ashura-san is highly confidential. Fai-san will, of course, continue to work for you so utmost caution is advised. If he finds out anything about this mission, it is most likely that he will run away again." Yuuko sighed. "We cannot tolerate any mess-ups this time. Ashura-san is a vital part of this company and his loyalty to us is of utmost importance. This is a mission we cannot afford to fail". Tomoyo nodded her approval and Yuuko looked up to fix Kurogane with a questioning stare. "Are you up to it, Kurogane-san…?"
Kurogane opened his mouth to speak but the torrents of protests and insults just wouldn't leave his throat. Quite honestly, he would have preferred a mission that involved less…emotional substance. Something he knew he wouldn't fail, something concrete, solid and controllable. Not a game with a man's feelings who was probably messed up already, a mission that could fail in so many possible ways that Kurogane doubted he would ever see it through. But it was already decided for him that he would have to do it, the pride in his chest flaring with an urge to succeed and prove himself, to leave the humiliation of his last operation in the dust behind him. And after all, who cared what happened in the end, really? Fai was just a job, another –somewhat annoying- individual that would be watched and protected and analyzed and ended in a generous month's pay of both money and self-satisfaction.
Closing the file with a snap and tucking it under his arm, Kurogane nodded. "Count me in…"