In his ferocious romp outside, Togami's eyes met Kobayama's, and the Planner forced himself to trot along to match the young heir's stride.
"The car is waiting outsi—" He couldn't finish. Togami's outstretched hand forced him to silence, as he stopped right outside the front door.
"Open that damn ears of yours, I'm not saying this twice. Whatever backlash Fukawa suffers thanks to this fantastic journey you made her go through, will be cut off your pay. You better stay away from me until I shake off this urge to break your jaw. And I'll have nothing of your taped car antics" he snapped, his blazing blue eyes pinning the older man in place " I'll get a cab to take us back, thank you very much for nothing, you rotten eel"
She held the pen in her hand, sheets of paper under her arm.
"Give me that" Togami's voice was spiteful "Why did you have to embarrass me further, taking that – that cheap excuse for a compensation… "
"It's not… a compensation" she protested. "Kojiro-sama might have used tricks a-and deceit to get me talking… but I only told him the truth. I was taught to never reject a gift, it's a sign of one's education… and I also believe… this gift was the only thing… he did in good faith."
Togami scoffed. "I wouldn't be so sure. For all that I know about the Head, it can have a microphone, poison or a drug hidden in it…"
Touko threw the pen away as if it had been a snake. "That… that can't be…"
Togami extended an arm, catching it with ease in mid-air. "Oh yes, it can. I'll be keeping this and if it's not safe to use, the Head will hear from me..."
He smirked bitterly. "Welcome to Wonderland, when your tea comes with March Hares and Mad Hatters… Yes, Wonderland… that's how I call the Manor. A place where nothing is what it seems, and you have no alternative but to play the game…or get your head chopped off"
"It sure was d-difficult to get used to… but is it that bad?" Touko's eyes looked into Togami's, who were now fixed in an indefinite point in the horizon.
""Let's see, how can I put it… You never have privacy there, every single room has a camera hidden somewhere, monitoring day and night. There is a midget of a security manager who tends to them and replaces them whenever one is not working. My room was no exception. I remember spotting their location as a pastime when I was six – so this guy were always shifting them around and hiding them in the most outlandish places..." He stared into her eyes, a shadow of slumber in his pupils, lit by an undead light of cold fury, as he resumed his diatribe.
"I was, as every single being in the Manor, under control. The Head, of course, enjoys having his offspring in permanent display… He has a control room built into his bedroom, where he has round-the-clock access to his very own soap-opera, or reality show, you choose."
All my life has been standing in front of a camera, reciting the part of the Perfect Heir. Fukawa could hear that phrase, although he never pronounced it. She could understand his stiffness, his harsh demeanor, his distrust. Also the way he naturally stood in front of the camera.
"I can't complain much, since I'm not the only one. My former siblings elsewhere in the planet endured the same treatment."
"Former siblings? I-I thought you were an only child…"
"The ones that lost to me on the way to headship" he sighed, tiredness showing in his blue eyes "They are estranged, ousted from the family records, no longer family anymore… but we went through the same things… Anyway, it's the fate of the defeated, so there…"
Proud as he was with his triumph, Touko saw in his eyes that, in a sense or the other, he regretted they were ousted. No one would understand what he had been through, now that they weren't there. He was truly alone at the top.
She jumped when she felt his glacier-blue eyes looking down to hers.
"Seems you have a lot of queries… Ask away, you earned the right to get Level One answers… that is, basic answers that aren't business oriented or security filter concerns" he quipped, pushing his glasses against his nose.
Touko tried to put order in the stream of unanswered riddles she had just experienced.
"The camera thing,too, seemed very… outlandish" she quipped timidly.
"A question expected from a complete outsider" There was a faint hint of pride in his voice as he continued. "The Manor has a very tight security that outsiders can't really see. Since there have been forgeries and claims of foul play in other rival industries, the Group chose to record contracts under high-security voice protocols. In that way, there are no chances of getting sued over a contract. What you saw is our standard procedure, we store the videos in an encoded cloud location, so Group facilities can have access t-… But why the hell am I discussing business with you?!" he burst, suddenly angry.
Touko jolted in place, her frame shrinking under his glacial stare, murmuring excuses.
"Stop the victim game. You were sent there because you were associated with me… which in a sense is your fault for following me around… but those sick clowns from the System have no right whatsoever to just kidnap someone and play cat-and- mouse with them…"
Togami's shoulders could barely hold his angry shaking. Though grateful for what she thought a display of concern on his part, she was legitimately scared of his wrath.
The writer's hands started fidgeting. She was unsure how to ask, and if she was allowed to ask…
"Now what?" Togami's voice had a ring of annoyance.
"Did Maya-san… you know, the woman with the tray… know everything and h-helped Kojiro-sama w-with his plan? Just to make fun of you… back you into a corner? She s-seemed to be a nice person… but y-you said she was aware… "
At every pause of her quaky voice, Togami tensed more and more, his eyes flashing behind his glasses. "Don't tell me- you spoke to her" he hissed.
"A-aaahhh… I-I did… s-she seemed understanding… but n-now that you tell me…" She gulped audibly "Was she… your nanny? She s-seemed familiar with you… but – s-she looks a bit too young…"
"Did you think she was – part of the household staff? No wonder, with that embarrassing behavior of hers…" He sighed again, slightly exasperated "She may not look the part, but she is the Chosen Wife and the Heir's Matriarch" he stated stiffly, a vague hint of contempt in his statement.
Touko's eyes widened. Maya was… his mother?! That didn't make sense… she spoke of her own son with the distance a nanny would keep from her charge…
Then there was the fact that she seemed the polar opposite of her son… cheerful, cheeky, happy-go-lucky, not crushed by the weight of living within the Togami Manor…
"I can't blame you for thinking that, though. As you witnessed, she likes to play secretary to the Head" he paused to shake his head in disgust "and bring him his foul-smelling tea. Such a childish behavior… but I warn you, you don't want to get her bad side. She can be rather scary."
He didn't even sound like a son talking about his mother… She felt much better that she was distant, though in better terms, with her two mothers.
"Maya-san… sama… had s-sort of an accent… I noticed… B-but her name is Japanese…"
"The name she goes by in the Manor is Maya-san, but her full name is Amaya de Montecler. She descends from a long line of French nobility… and was a full-fledged economist genius since she was young, to boot, which may explain why she was chosen." He looked out of answers. Still, that doesn't explain how she always manages to be around the Head."
He scoffed loudly, and Touko understood, painfully, that he thought about her no better than any of the other 'chosen women' who bore Kojiro's children.
Another idea crossed her mind. Was that… the reason why he acted so bothered when she trailed love-sickly behind him, was that his mother did the same with his father? Yet she chose not to ask that. Togami wouldn't think twice about throwing her out of the car.
"Any other question?" Togami's eyes were closed and he looked tired.
There was just one other question. The most important question of all. Touko gulped and searched for words: they were usually friendly and at her reach, but when talking to Togami, she had to be extra careful with what she said…
"Y-you c-came back to the Manor… skipping classes… W-was there a reason to come… o-or y-you m-merely came for m-me?"
His slitted eyes turned to look at her. He was fighting against drowsiness just to answer her. "You really want to know? It's simple and… unflattering. I suspected something was fishy… when those peasants in our class… said you left in a black car…"
"You are the only one…" Togami stifled a yawn, pretending to align his glasses.
Fukawa anxiously contained her breath. Was that… what she hoped to hear?
"… in the class who knows… which is the primary use of a book… How am I supposed to cope with the populace… if there is no one who can tell… Homer from Virgil? I would lose it badly… that's why I came."
Fukawa breathed in relief. Secretly, she knew she couldn't take a statement of liking from Togami, it would've been too much for her. Yet, the blond-haired Heir's words warmed her more than any fluff he could say. It was difficult for him to confess he cared about her even a bit, even as a reading companion.
Apparently, he had depleted his reserves of physical and mental energy, for his eyes finally closed and his head dozed to one side. They were still far from reaching Kibougamine, so Fukawa, quietly, took his glasses off and placed them in his now open hand. He clutched them in his sleep, while the braided writer stared into his face, now more placid and soft than ever. She refrained from stealing a kiss, dipping herself in the white beam that seemed to come from his perfect body.
The time would come. One day, she might be worthy enough to receive a kiss from her biggest crush, not steal it as Syo could've done. One more reason to keep the killer in check.
Now she was allowed to keep him company. By his family, no less... Her life, now, had a value and a meaning besides writing and concealing her alter ego's existence.
Her life, now, was validated by the Togami Conglomerate. She was as good as Byakuya Togami's property. And she would be his shield, his cocoon, his ear and shoulder, his errand girl. Whatever he needed, she would become… for he had bought the fearful Togami System to breakdown point, just for her sake.
*/*/
Kojiro Togami sipped his evening Rooibos tea, while giving a last glance at the file. Amaya, sitting across the table from him, merely smiled as he stamped a seal over a ribbon wrapped around it.
"I'm committed to my word", he stated stiffly "This file is terminated for us"
"You won't regret it, mon cher. She will keep her word, she may be a killer but she's no liar"
"She'd better, I dare not imagine what would happen if she lets that she-devil around and about"
"You dare not?" Amaya smirked. "You already know… but she's way better than that wife of yours who has embarrassed you so…"
Kojiro coughed. It was his way of interrupting whenever a conversation was reeling out of his comfort area. His Chosen Wife simpered widely, as he locked the file in the "review for archive" section of the library and sat back to take another sip of tea.
Both of them held a power in their hands that was far beyond a common mortal's reach. And still, their major pleasure was playing games with the very devices set to control their ginormous power. So far, they had succeeded, and it seemed that their only common son was going to be able to follow in their footsteps.
It was a game, a mere power tussle game. However, putting to rest the whole Genocider Syo file and investigation, because she was the Heir's acquaintance, was some major feat. Even for skilled deceivers like them, who wore a false heart up their sleeves, this was a jackpot.
"The champagne is coming" she mused, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "I'll take the tray away to make space"
Kojiro stared at her, his blue-green eyes serene. "When you are perfection, you need not to have perfection by your side. A little flawfulness is needed to spice things up and keep things interesting. Otherwise Zeus would've had children only with goddesses"
"My point exactly, mon tresor" Amaya smiled cheerfully "I'll go pick the glasses, don't you dare move, Kojiro-sama!"
The ice-blond millionaire grunted. But he knew she was right. Byakuya wouldn't have a chance to be bored with that young writer by his side, and would control his nasty tendencies better.
As if he didn't knew, he thought with mild amusement, what was life like when you had a not-so-perfect partner.
It was almost as fun as sending the System's gears into collapse.