Caffeine Addiction
The story of an assassin who is tired of killing, a dense genius, and a cup of coffee.
Nazuka Sachiko
Apart from killing, she had no worth whatsoever.
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Sachiko was supposed to be reporting in at the office. Unfortunately, the brunette had not a single intention of moving a single step from her current spot. The aroma of the coffee beans that attacked her nose, the caffeine that infiltrated her system, the beautiful cup of fragrant brown liquid that sat in front of her... there was no other place with coffee like this place.
Despite all this, the lovely cafe was not the main reason why she had chosen not to meet with her father, who happened to be the head honcho at the place she worked. The brunette had screwed up a job. Perhaps not enough to fail in ending the life of her target, but she had screwed up enough for her dearest father to interrogate her. After all, as part of the batch of genetically engineered human weapons, if she could not accomplish such a simple task of ending a life perfectly, she had no other reason to be alive.
The first screw-up meant a long write-up. The second screw-up meant a long 'heart-to-heart' talk. The third meant the termination of your existence. It was as simple as that.
And Sachiko was already on her second one.
At the moment, all she wanted to do was to sink into all the caffeine that she had managed to ingest, and be at peace. Nothing else mattered. She shut her eyes, and sighed, leaning back against the soft cushion, hoping to be able to forget this fact temporarily.
She really did not want to face the wrath of her 'father'.
Lavi Bookman
As a part of the Bookman family, he was supposed to be working in the government, translating ancient documents, recording history... Important things like that. But, as the second son of the Bookman family who was not nearly as capable as the first, he was rejected, and spent his time wasting about in the mansion, lazing about. Perhaps 'capable' was not the right word to use here. There was no way Lavi Bookman did not match up with his brother, Deak, in terms of their ability. Whatever Deak was able to do, Lavi was perfectly capable of doing it, perhaps even better.
Now, there was no reason why Deak would have been chosen instead of him. The Bookman family prioritised ability above anything. Things like age and order of birth did not matter, as long as the ability needed to be a Bookman was there. The reason he was rejected was simple, said his grandfather, and that was because he had too much emotions.
Emotions led to attachment. Lavi knew this well enough, but he was confident that he would not feel attached to any human, just because they were all so dumb. He stubbornly chose to believe that it was due to sheer bias that his brother was chosen, despite partially realising that he might just be a little too attached to the people around him.
After all, even though he had a personality like that, he still is a very proud man.
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The summer sun hung blissfully high up in the azure sky, unaware of the heat that it spread through the city. Lavi was positively burning under the globe of flames, already sweating buckets after barely five minutes of being out of his lovely air-conditioned room. Did he have a choice not to leave the house? Obviously not, since his parents had decided to make him go on a blind date that he desperately needed someone to whine to. There was one and only one place to go to find the person that he needed.
Cafe Innocence.
As he approached the quaint little cafe, he could spot the familiar silhouette of his favourite Japanese man (who does not reciprocate these thoughts) and instantly jumped on the man without a second thought.
"YUU!" The redhead clung onto the shorter male, who had reacted a little too slow to the attack and was now screaming obscenities at Lavi. Lavi, however, paid no attention whatsoever as he snuggled the ravenette, earning a loud hiss of disgust as the beautiful Asian teen grabbed Lavi's arm and threw him into the nearby rubbish dump. Lenalee Lee, the owner's little sister, had her head peeking out of the back door upon hearing the loud commotion, and was unsurprised when she spotted the redhead lying headfirst in the bundles of trash.
Lavi never learns. Mainly because he doesn't want to, and also because it's just fun teasing the samurai with temper issues.
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The redhead took a comfortable bath on the second floor of the shop, where the Lee family resided, and managed to cleanse himself of the horrific smell that permeated every pore of his body. Kanda Yuu, the male that he had foolishly angered, had the closest thing to a smile on his face when he noticed the grimace on Lavi's face, before returning to the back of the kitchen for work. Lavi had mentioned once that he would marry Kanda if he were a she. Now he would only do so if he were female and did not have violent tendencies.
As Lavi sauntered down the stairs, having borrowed the owner's clothes (a little too loose, he might add), his usual irritating smile reappearing in seconds upon entering the cafe. Komui Lee, the owner of the cafe, was amazing with coffee. One might think that the little cafe would be swarmed with customers, but with Komui's obsession over his little sister - he actually had good reason to - all male customers were chased out in a matter of seconds, and the cafe ended up with a females only rule. Of course, there were a few exceptions, like Lavi, but these were really rare exceptions, and even he had to take great care of not offending the owner if he wanted to live.
The cafe being attacked by beautiful women was not a rare sight. Most of them were attracted to Kanda Yuu, with his delicately carved Asian features and lean, muscular body, and his ability to cook. A selected few were interested in the owner with his maturity (most gave up upon noticing his sister complex) while the rest came for the occasional glance of the one eyed, red haired teen, also known as his fabulous self. This particular day, though, the only ones who were in the cafe were more or less focused on the bad-tempered Japanese in the kitchen, and paid no attention to him. The lack of attention made his mood drop slightly, but he instantly brightened up when he saw the attractive brunette, dressed conservatively in black, resting at his usual seat in the cafe.
Time to begin what he was best at: hitting on women.
Nazuka Sachiko
Sachiko opened her eyes, exhausted. The little nap that she took to rejuvenate herself did nothing to help her, and only served to worsen things. She groaned softly, pushing herself up into a more comfortable position and massaged her sore neck. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she finally noticed the shock of bright crimson hair that appeared beside her, as though out of nowhere, and could only stare at the single emerald eye in surprise.
"Good morning!" The redhead chirped happily, his face coming much too close for comfort. Sachiko smiled sweetly, before pushing said face away as she stood up to leave. She frowned slightly as she realised that the male was blocking her only way out, and said male seemed to be reluctant to let the brunette leave. She raised a delicate eyebrow, to which the other replied with a cheeky grin as he pulled her back down onto the seat.
"I need coffee," she pointed out, yawning slightly to prove her point.
"No worries!" The redhead grinned as he waved at the pretty barista and raised two fingers. The pretty ravenette shot her an apologetic look - it seemed as though he does this all the time - and headed to the counter, giving the owner the order. She then bobbed back quickly, with a steaming cup of rich brown liquid that she was completely in need of.
An espresso double shot. The exact thing she needed to clear her mind.
Now how did that man know what she wanted?
"Curious?" He winked (or blink - it's hard to tell with only one eye visible) as she stared at him. She blinked a few times, then hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. He laughed, before leaning in close and whispering, "It's a se-cr-et!"
Sachiko scowled, before slapping the man on the forehead, and turning back to her coffee. The fragrant liquid made it's way down her throat, and she sighed blissfully as caffeine was pumped through her system. If she was not addicted, she didn't know who was. The redhead grinned happily at her, obviously proud that he had gotten her tastes correct, and Sachiko returned it with a frown, slightly irritated at the man.
"Lavi."
Sachiko merely stared at the one-eyed man calmly.
"I'm Lavi."
"And?" She replied effortlessly.
"Your name."
"I don't see why I should tell you," she stared at him coldly for a few moments, before turning her attention to her prized coffee.
"Come on~" He prodded her arm relentlessly as he responded in a whiny tone, pouting slightly. "If you don't tell me your name, I'm going to give you one!"
Sachiko merely stared at him calmly, as though trying to tell him: Go ahead, do your worst. Lavi grinned devilishly, taking her silence as consent.
"Chomesuke!"
"What?"
"I mean, you end your sentences with 'cho' and-"
"No."
"Why-"
Her phone sounded. It was time to go before she got into anymore trouble.
She stood up, somehow managing to make her way past the redhead, and headed out of the cafe, with not even a single glance back at the redhead who was yelling at her to call him either way.
Today was not a good day.
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Nazuka Sachiko returned 'home' in the worst mood of all. She flung herself down into the pile of comfortable duvet covers, snuggling into the soft, fluffy fabric.
If only she could just sleep, and not wake up tomorrow.
Lavi Bookman
He had been pretty pleased with himself as he returned home, having met such a cute girl at the cafe. Even if he did not manage to get even the name of the girl, and said girl had been so cold to him, at least she had been slightly interested (or so he thought). His mood, however, took a three hundred and sixty degree turn for the worst as he opened the doors of the building, and found people seated at the table, seemingly waiting for his return.
His mother, his father, the old panda, and Deak.
Of all people, he had never expected to see his brother again, with his holier-than-thou attitude towards everything and anything. Lavi, of course, was not pleased, and that was to say the least of it. Especially because he had a faint idea of what was about to happen. After all, if even Deak was waiting for him, the news that awaited him could only be that sort of news.
"You will be meeting your engagement partner tomorrow."
"Excuse me?"
"She is the eldest daughter of the Noah Clan, and this marriage would prove to be greatly beneficial for us." A pause. "The meeting will take place tomorrow at the Daemon Hotel, at one sharp. You are not to be late."
There was nothing more to be said. That was how the Bookman Clan worked. Emotions were worthless.
Lavi hated it. He hated it so much. And yet there was nothing he could do about it.
"Fine."
A loud slam could be heard as the redhead entered his room, with the rest of the Bookmans still seated at the table, silent.
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The reason why Lavi found himself in front of the apartment belonging a certain murderous Japanese male was simply because he needed advice, and Kanda was the only person who would give him the special Truth-Fucking-Hurts treatment, something that he happened to need at this point in time. Lavi Bookman simply needed someone to shout at him to clear his mind, so that he could finally decide what he should do regarding the stupid engagement that he had no say in. As much as he hated Lavi (or pretend to in any case), Kanda Yuu was certainly the person to look for if he ever needed comforting.
"YUU!" The redhead jumped onto the Japanese male as he opened the door, who replied with a loud hiss and proceeded to throw him off and out into the corridor before slamming the door shut. "YUU, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO MEEE!"
The door opened slightly, and the black-haired male poked his head out from the gap, staring at Lavi, already fairly irritated.
"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."
And with that, he slammed the door shut.
"YUU~"
"PISS OFF!"
"I WON'T UNTIL YOU LET ME INNN~"
"SHUT UP!"
"YUU~"
"SHUT-"
"YUU~"
"YOU LITTLE-"
"YUU~"
After what seemed like an eternity but was actually a mere twenty minutes, Kanda Yuu allowed Lavi Bookman to enter his house, unwillingly admitting defeat. He was still clad in his Kendo garb, his pale skin glistening with sweat.
"Spit it out."
Lavi stared at the ravenette in surprise, shocked that the grouchy Asian would actually will him to talk. Kanda raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other to speak. It seemed as though Lavi had underestimated Kanda, for he appeared to have completely seen through him.
"I'm engaged."
Pause.
"To Lulubell, the oldest daughter of the Noah family."
Kanda did not respond, the only reaction he had to the news was the slight twitch in his expression. He had never liked the Noah Clan, especially since his best friend, Alma Karma, was taken by them and never seen again. Lavi knew this as well, which was the reason why he had expected more of a reaction from the Japanese.
"And?" The raven-haired male finally spoke, not bothering to look at the redhead as he spoke, picking up his shinai continuing with his Kendo in the corner of the room. He seemed to be slightly more aggressive than usual, his strokes losing a bit of their elegance this morning. Kanda was obviously not too pleased about the arrangement, but who was he to say? "What do you want to do about it?"
"I don't know," Lavi muttered, his single green eye flitting about the bare room as he tried to distract himself. When that failed, he resorted to reciting all the historical events he could remember in his head.
"Do you want to go?"
"Not really."
"Then don't."
Lavi looked up at the Japanese, who looked ever so graceful as he swung the shinai down, droplets of sweat flung into the air from the swift movement. His eyes were proud and arrogant, but beneath that lay a focused, clear glow that not many could see. In a way, Lavi could describe that as 'Innocence', but using that word on Kanda seemed to be wrong in so many ways, he decided to stick with 'straightforward' instead. He laughed, feeling slightly better already.
"Yuu, how about you marry me instead? You know me soooo much better~"
Snap.
"Rabbit," Kanda stared at the redhead, shifting slightly so that his weapon was pointed at him. "Get the fuck out."
Bits and Pieces :
ø Nazuka is the surname of Chomesuke's seiyuu. I used it on a whim.
ø I totally forgot Kanda hates being called by his first name, so please pardon that. By the time I remembered, five pages were already written.
ø This was meant to be a oneshot. Then I got carried away and this much was written. Hopefully this will stay as a twoshot at most.
ø Chomesuke may seem OOC now, but she will return to her usual self in the next installment [Hint: The her right now is what I imagine she would be like before Cross modified her.]
An author(?)'s sincere apologies :
First off, I am really sorry for those who may be looking forward to my other fics like Day by Day and Frozen Over. I am recently really busy with my homework, and the reason why I finally started writing once again is because of my English Literature teacher. See, I completely forgot that I have to hand in a literature portfolio, and by the time I remembered, there is only a few months left. So now I'm basically churning out ideas desperately so that I can stuff some of my works into my portfolio, and I'm posting them here or on Fictionpress is so that I can get ideas on how to improve and stuffs. The Alice in Wonderland fic I have recently written, Dearest Sister, is one of them. Also, I am afraid that this spam won't be for long, for I have to hand the portfolio in around three weeks, and following that would be my exams that I will certainly fail without studying. On the bright side, I will return again in late October, although maybe not as active with my many activities planned.
As of now, please enjoy this, and I'm really sorry. *bows*