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— Intentions —

17# - Compromise
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"Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears."
— L. Brown

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— A. Misaki

August 4, 2:21PM:
T: Social event on saturday I have to attend. Be my date?

I quickly responded to his text, as Aoi was using the restroom.

August 4, 4:45PM:
M: Where at?

I didn't really like going out to any kind of events or anything.

I sighed.

During all my life, I've always been surrounded by commoners; realistic and normal citizens. The few upscale person I've encountered could be counted with the fingers of my hand. Thanks to my work —and my position, I experienced few interactions with the kind of high-society persona. And granted, I could say that they weren't a very pleasant memory.

Appearance.

And money.

This was all that mattered to them.

My phone buzzed, the telltale sign of another text. I pulled the screen up to my sight and unlocked the screen in a swift flick of the finger.

August 7, 4:52PM:
T: Four Seasons Grand Palace. Looking forward to our first dance, sweetheart.

Ugh... Grand Palace? Such a prestigious and promising name for an expensive night, indeed.

"What's with the long face?"

I peered up, my eyes meeting with ultramarine ones. Soft caramel hair were falling in waves and curled around a fine face; Aoi was standing up beside his chair, eyeing me down.

"Ah, you're done with bathroom already?" I asked, playing the dumb card.

He slowly sat down, his gaze still fixated on me.

"What's up? I mean, I saw you texting with a smile on your face..." His eyes suspiciously narrowed at me. "It totally creeped me out," he added in a hiss, acting as if goosebumps was crawling up his arms. He crossed them and hugged himself, a fine gesture to accompany his words.

I chuckled. "It could've been Suzu, won't you stop assuming the worse thing?"

"Suzuna? No way, you never laugh or smile like that when you read her texts," he knowingly interjected. "For all that I know, it could be the other creeper you've got in trouble with... You know? The one who wanted to marry you for your job."

My head shook in a sluggish motion. "It's not him," I contested. "It's just that..."

"That?..." Aoi repeated, urging me for the end of the sentence.

"Uhh... Someone, I met..." I vaguely described. "A few months ago," I slowly ventured.

"Someone you met a few months ago, and you haven't told us?" He looked at me, dumbfounded, his jaw slacking wide open.

I nervously shifted in my seat. "Long story short, I'm invited to some sort of gala with him and uhh...—"

"—A man you met a few months ago, and he invited you to a gala?" he cut me, standing up as his palm slammed on the light weight wood table. Our cups of tea shook at the impact, and a few curious gazes turned to look at the commotion. He curtly sat down, flashing easy smiles around as a token of apology.

His gaze reverted to me. "Where is your event held? Do you need a dress? Outfit? Shoes?" He excitedly asked, his eyes burning with a new fire.

"Four Season Palace, this Saturday," I said, checking out the message Usui sent me earlier.

His eyes bulged out of him. "That's the freaking Parnassian award ceremony!" he loudly spoke. The curious glances came again and were again dismissed with a smile.

"Uhh, I have no idea, but—" I prompted, but his eager mind took him somewhere else.

"—I totally know what you need! I am in the middle of sewing a strapless sheath evening dress, it's going to be—..." he started to ramble, his voice flying a pitch higher.

I stopped him. "Aoi," I strenuously called. He stopped mid-talk. "I have something else to discuss actually..."

—

I eyed my phone sitting on the low table from my comforter, and softly patted the little feline playing with the tip of my fingers. He stirred me out of my thought, his mischievous eyes telling me he was longing for my attention tonight. I ran my hand into Nero's soft fur, his velvety pelage unfurling underneath my palm.

I rolled him on his back, and he stared at me, wiggling his little paws at my face as if he could reach me. Softly chuckling before sitting up, I lunged for my phone on the table.

August 7, 6:23PM:
M: I don't really want to go...
Unless we can settle on some sort of agreement?

I sent him the text, my attention shifting back to the little monster that started gnawing on the end of my blouse. I lightly tapped on his nose, and he recoiled, before jumping on my lap. Before I could mess with Nero furthermore, my phone started ringing, startling me for a short bit. And the name registered on the screen made my guts churn uncomfortably in my stomach.

I didn't expect having to directly talk to him about this.

"Uhh, hey, Usui..." I slowly responded. I really, really didn't feel very brave right now.

"Misaki, your text was... surprising," he lightly chuckled, apparently amused by my offer.

I froze in my posture, all stiff because I didn't really know what to reply. And then, as panic overwhelmed my sense, I backed out.

"Right?" I affirmed, as if trying to humor him. "Actually, we could call if off, I wouldn't mind really," I voiced as if I had been joking around, my mirthful voice ever so foreign to my ears. He probably could hear the tension I went through, because it rang clear and sharp to me.

He went silent for a moment, before replying with a serious tone. "You wouldn't happen to have anything in mind, would you?" Professionalism was now oozing from his inflection.

"Not really..." I lied. "But it's alright, really, nevermind it."

I really was a coward. He hummed briefly, surely trying to pierce through my reasoning. And then he sighed.

A full and heavy and unhindered sigh.

As if he was getting tired of this purposeless turnaround that were my replies. I felt my heart sink along with his exhale.

"I really want to see you, right now." His low voice resounded from the speaker, a little out of breath. "Just to know what is going on behind that beautiful head of yours... You make me worry sometimes."

"But fine, I'll give you one wish, tell me about it later," he kindly granted.

Relief washed through me and I slowly breathed out the air I had unknowingly been holding in.

And then, words slipped out of my mouth, my heart pouring them instead of my brain.

"I kind of want to see you too..." I shyly confessed.

A sharp intake followed my admission.

At last, he eventually said, his voice uneven and slightly rugged, "you can't say things like that over the phone, Misaki." before hanging up.

I just sat there, unmoving and utterly baffled. The phone was still held to my ear as the regular beeps beeps echoed in the thin air.

—

"So, that was why you couldn't take the case back then," she accounted, her finger pushing the rim of her glasses further back on her nose. Shizuko was once again sitting in front of me, this time at the office's cafeteria.

I took a quick gulp from my bottled water. "Pretty much, I guess..."

She quietly stared at me, her brains turning full time. "I know you probably wouldn't agree but..." she hesitated, before going on, "if you could get me something from him, would you?"

"It depends on what it is," I blankly told her.

Her finger scrolled the pictures down, showing me several more of them. All were of me and Usui.

"Do you have access to any of his credential informations?"

I swallowed the large forkful of pasta I had stuffed in my mouth, before casting her a neutral glance. "I could be, why?"

Her eyes surveyed the room before replying me a tone lower. "There are discrepancies in the data I found compared to the one sent by the Government. It's offsetting, Misaki..." she revealed. "I need confirmations."

I leaned in, frowning. "Are you absolutely certain of what you are stating here?"

She fervently nodded in reply, the thrill of the recent discovery sparkling in her tired eyes.

The process in researching was always that way; we'd spend days and nights on the concerned case, looking all over the internet, the newspapers, or trying to contact witnesses in order to retrieve anything that we could get from them. And what they handed were in many instances something we were already aware of, or something unrelated to the topic. Rare were the times we'd find something unconcerting; something that could change our whole perception over the current thought we already had upon the case.

And this sliver of gold she dug in a milestone of garbage was probably what Shizuko had discovered right now. Naturally, she had to attempt to decipher it, with any means she could use.

And a means I was.

Especially when she knew I was directly linked with the man who was the mystery wrapped in an enigma she had to solve. The one she had to learn every fragment of his life in order to discredit him as convincingly as possible.

"It could be a counter product to the case, do you realize that?" I warned her. She only shook her head at my advice.

"I need to know anyway and you can help me, Misaki," she affirmed, her eyes silently trying to strike the deepest part of my mind. "Only... Will you do it?"

Guilt. It was a feeling that was present in both side of the story, no matter who I'd stumble to. And yet, I couldn't help but recall those intense and warm emerald eyes of his.

A long and full of meaning exhale escaped me. She blinked, presumably already aware of my answer. I didn't want to regret my choice for the rest of my life, so I went ahead with what my conscience was telling me.

"I'm sorry, Shizuko," I apologetically told her. "One could assume I should've helped, I mean, I'm familiar with the case. But I'm now an outsider to it." I shifted, relaxing into my chair. "And I assume that you already knew my answer," I cheekily winked, a weak try to humor the conversation.

I knew she'd accept whatever my decision would be. But that didn't mean I felt good about it either. The choices we made sometimes had no good or bad; they were only distinct paths that sometimes crossed, but eventually led to disparate ways without us deeming ourselves praiseworthy about any of them.

They were mere choices that defined your life.

Gladly enough, my attempt to lighten the discussion fairly worked, because what she said afterward blithely caught me off-guard. And that was one of the reason why I loved my colleagues very much. Because no matter our professional choices, they never limited our relationships and interactions.

"Well, that's too bad. At least, I tried right?" she grinned, before sending my wink back. "And it's a relief that you wouldn't betray your acquaintances that easily." Our eyes met, and we both smiled. "Afterall, I wouldn't be very pleased to be backstabbed by a friend."

There was something in her words that dawned on me right then. She added sneakily, the tension fading out when her voice softly murmured, "That would've hurt like a bitch, I bet."

We both merrily laughed at her smartass comment.

Author's note:

Thank you for the reviews as always, you guys are lovely! *-*
And yes, Takumi is such a tease & pervert! But admit you guys love it xD!

To answer reviews about lemony stuffs:
Hehe... ;p