A/N: Hello wonderful people of the internet!
Third installment of the lawyer AU, yaaaay~! I need to get this out of my system so I'm writing like crazy. Hope you like it, lovelies.
Thank you everyone for reviewing and liking this, you're keeping me motivated.
Title: Laws of Attraction
Genre: Humour, Romance, Slice of Life
Alternative Universe: Modern Day AU, Lawyer-Cop AU, Buddy-cop AU
He had just emerged from his bedroom, towel used on his hair to dry them. Rai was already rubbing himself on his fresh clothes, to leave his scent on his owner that just got himself clean. He didn't have time to pet his dog though, as his phone rang for the third time in ten minutes. Huffing, he rushed for it before it fell off the coffee table. It was Tokio; probably the other two missed calls were from her, too.
He groaned; she was going to complain he wasn't answering again.
"We were not supposed to meet tonight; what do you want?"
"I know;" her voice was hushed and urgent; he perked up. "I need your help; you need to come pick me up quickly."
"What happened? Where are you?"
He didn't need more than three seconds to stand up, and head back to his bedroom; he needed to put on different clothes, grab his gun and get the hell out.
"I'm at a bar, half an hour away from your place called Tobacco; I need you to come as fast as you can." Tobacco was a well-known nest of scumbags; what was she doing there? "I scheduled to meet with a not so law-abiding citizen, because I need him for a case; though he doesn't want to go on record, his info is invaluable. And, while I'm interviewing him, whom did I see?" She paused for dramatic effect. "A wanted man who was tagged as a flight risk over a year ago, convicted for financial schemes but he's actually a suspect to three rapes and one murder."
He froze for a moment. "Are you sure that's the same person?"
"Hajime, I was the one who tagged him; I couldn't overturn his exoneration—my first pro-bono cases, they were a triplet and no one would touch them, but I managed to pin some other things on him, so he just...skipped. Hadn't seen him anywhere for a year; this is the first time I ever see him and, I heard him say to the people he came to meet, this is goodbye for good."
She was whispering all the while, tones hushed and careful. Good choice, in his opinion. Also, his arrival needed to be expedited. He started rummaging his drawers to find his other keys.
"He's leaving the country and just finished his drink. Considering we are an island, I say he's going to the airport, he's too spoiled to go by boat. He wants his comforts. I bet you he's trying to escape to Russia."
"Okay, Tokio, leave; I know where Tobacco is, I'll go there by myself."
"You don't know what he looks like and he's not alone. He came with friends that also drove him here—I can see the driver in the car right now. If I could detain him, I'd already have, but I can only offer my knowledge. The only reason I called you instead of the police is because he can escape a siren but not someone he doesn't know he's after him."
"Your choice is sound; I just rather you'd leave it to me."
"No way; I'm taking the bastard down. Come quick."
"I'm ready to leave; but first: what are you wearing?"
"Blue jeans, leather jacket and black boots; also, contacts. But why?"
"You have the car's make and plate?"
"Yeah. It's a white Honda some years old; very well-kept, spotless. Plates are Kyoto bound 88; beneath the numbers, it writes in Latin characters NaHa, capital N and H."
Saitou froze for the second time that night, just as he was about to leave the apartment, all geared up. "Are you sure you saw that right?"
"Uh huh, looked twice." A second passed that he said nothing and she grew immediately suspicious. "Why?"
"That's the same as a coworker."
But it can't be him; he refused to believe that. No, no way. She did say that's the car and the plate, he couldn't deny her sight but there had to be another explanation, right? His stomach became a knot. And her overly enthusiastic, yet reasonably quieted "you think we might have found our mole?" helped none with his disposition. So he ignored her question. "Can you see the driver?"
"No." She considered. "But I could!"
"Tokio, no."
"I'll only be a minute."
The line died; she hang up! Fuming, he pushed himself to open the door. "I'll be back late Rai," he warned as he flew down the stairs, banging the door behind him. He barely had time to wave at his landlady that had just come back from dinner with her daughter.
"Be careful with that!" she shouted as she saw him heading for the garage with all that he held. "You haven't used it in years."
"Three, in fact," he mused out loud but cared not. He didn't skimp on the upkeep, he knew she was running. So, he simply took out his cell and texted: use your bluetooth if you have it with you and call me immediately; don't do anything stupid. I'll be there in fifteen minutes tops and drove off like hell-hounds were behind him.
It hadn't been five minutes he was driving, his cell rang. "Answer," he commanded his bluetooth and it obeyed. "Damn it woman, what did you do?"
"I met the driver; he's a gangster, he looks and talks the part perfectly. His hair was in a mohawk—a mohawk in our day and age, Hajime! It was all dyed blond while the sides he dyed red. Brr...! He was all muscle and arrogance, too."
His heartbeat relaxed significantly; that was good. The man she described looked nothing like him.
"He even shared his name with me; Nagakura Shinpachi."
Saitou almost stared disbelievingly at his ear. "That's not Nagakura. Yes, that's the man the car belongs to, but there's no way that's him. He's thin, with long curly hair; someone either stole his car or Nagakura was careless to whom he lent it."
After all, if the – apparently – dirty cop who did this put the man up to introducing himself as Nagakura Shinpachi that only meant he went to great lengths to incriminate him or that because it was easy to disprove that, keep his own hands clean. And he very much doubted he found a thug with the exact same name. What were the odds of that? Of course, whoever the brain behind this was, that facilitated this flight-risk criminal to escape, had no idea a lawyer would happen upon their escape or that said lawyer would be friendly with a person who knows the detective being impersonated.
Maybe this was a step in the right direction for them, too. Hopefully.
"So, it isn't him?"
"No way. What's the status on your criminal?"
"He's finishing his second beer—he drinks very fast. And he just told them he'll be heading to the airport."
"He's in a hurry that's why," Saitou muttered darkly. "He didn't make you, did he?"
"Hajime, I know what he looks like from mugshots and photos—he never saw my face."
"Thank Buddha."
"Just drive; if anything changes, I'll call you again."
For the second time that day, she hang up on him. He could have smothered her, really. But he just kept driving. Until she called, another five minutes later. "Hajime, he's leaving. He stood and he's heading out the door with three more people." She pretended to sigh over something Saitou said on the phone to have an excuse to look out the window. "Yeah, he's entering the car. They are driving away in ten, nine, eight—nope, now! Hajime, hurry! They went left—hurry, hurry!"
"I'm almost there; go pay for your drink and come outside."
"Okay, I'm going right now."
"I'm close, don't hang up again; are you using your bluetooth?"
"Yeah, called you when I connected it. Why?"
He didn't answer; he waited for her transaction to be completed. "You'll see. I am about to take the turn to the bar; are you ready?"
"Yes, I'm wearing my jacket as we speak."
"Tie your scarf well and bundle up; I'm there."
"I'm out."
"I see you. Don't hang up."
She kept looking left and right anxiously; where was he, where was he, where was—? Her brain came to a screeching halt three seconds later, when a large, black motorcycle, savouring something of a what a biker gang would give its members, stopped right in front of her. The driver, wearing a helmet, deceptively resembled Saitou who, in his left hand, held a second helmet.
"Get on. We don't have much time."
She gawked just as he handed her the helmet. At least that explained why he asked for her clothes.
"...I never rode a bike before."
"One leg at a time. First the helmet, then the leg. Come on."
Her hesitation was outweighed by her sense of urgency and she hopped on. "Hold on tight." She grabbed his own leather jacket from the sides. He shook his head. "Tight Tokio." She simply applied more pressure. "Never mind."
He actually grabbed both of her hands and put them firmly on his middle. "Tight," he spelled out for her and kept her hands in place for a second before letting go. "Now we're leaving." First gear was in and the started; she yelped, but otherwise held on as he showed her. Good start. "I think Kansai is the best choice because it's the most suited for international travel but Central isn't that bad of an idea."
"Kansai for me, too; can't see him going from Kyoto to Tokyo to catch another flight and Central has more Japanese people than tourists. He wouldn't want to run into anyone that knows him."
"I'll take that road then; I'll try to keep an eye out for them."
"Me, too."
"You better keep them closed coz I'm about to go very fast; you'll get scared."
"No, I won't."
"You will."
"I won't."
"Suit yourself."
He accelerated without warning; inertia pulled her back but she held on – a little too tight, he felt her nails digging into him – and fell forward. "This is why you need to hold on properly. Also, don't put all of your weight on me, I can't maneuver as I like."
"Got it." She made the mistake of looking away from his back then and felt getting dizzy. "We're going too fast..."
"Of course we are. We have to outrun them. They mustn't see us follow them or they'll just run away." After some explicit language from her part, he chuckled. "Don't worry; I have my ins. End call."
Her line went dead; she flinched. What was it with this person? Why couldn't he just say goodbye?
She should stop complaining though; after all, she was more than grateful to him: he was very dependable. The more she stared at his broad shoulders, the guiltier she felt; quick on his feet, too, came at a very short notice. It was knew to her, to have someone she could rely on. No man at the firm cared to make her life easy and the women—poor women, much like her, had to try their one hundred and fifty percent just to get by.
Suddenly, her phone rang; it jolted her! She used her shoulder for resistance and pressed the button with her head, against the helmet.
"We just passed by them; it's safe to assume they are going the same way. Be aware, it's a long ride, at least a couple of hours. I do have people alerting me to their movements, but it's more than likely we'll stop only once we reach Kansai."
"Got it."
"I'll focus on the road; if you need anything just tug on my clothes, I'll call."
"Fair enough."
It took two and a half hours to reach their destination; they made two stops along the way and three phone calls. The first was to tell her his contacts assured him the car was going their way, the second brought on by her to ask him to rest on her own and the third was when they were almost there.
"We can't be seen together at the airport, he may have eyes there, too. I'll drop you off near the airport where I arranged for a cub to pick you up. You'll show up alone. Try not to attract too much attention to yourself."
"Won't it be better if I do?"
"Explain."
"I'll try to get him to talk me up; men tend to forget to look around them when flirting. That way, while he tries to make a good impression, you swoop in and arrest him."
"Tokio, don't flirt with the criminal."
"But it's the fastest way."
"...I do not approve of, but I can't stop you either. Do whatever you like." A beat of silence. "How do you know he'll hit on you anyway?"
"Hajime, be serious; I had two cases where he raped two women and I know what both look like. I'm his type...give or take."
"That is a horrible premise," he deadpanned.
"I'll be fine."
Five minutes later, when the artificial land of the Kansai International Airport came into view, they pulled over. A taxi came and picked her up as promised, just as Saitou sped away. Upon arrival, she saw him. He was standing by his bike, leaning on it in fact, with a devil may care attitude. He was having a smoke, looking all around him supposedly idle, but she knew, in fact he was looking out for both her and the criminal. She resisted the urge to smile, wave, or even wink at him and simply walked through the doors that lead inside, sparing him only a glance. He stroke quite the pose though, she had to admit, it was a shame she had to go inside.
The wait was long and grueling. She actually called Hajime and asked when their targets would be arriving and his answer was, no Honda could ever match the speed of his bike. No car, in fact, unless it was a racing one. So she simply hang up and proceeded to stare at her glass in sad contemplation.
Until, about an hour later, her phone rang; she had disconnected her bluetooth, thinking it would look suspicious.
"He'll be here in a short while. Be ready."
"Do me a favour. Just as you see the Honda coming in, call me. Take out the bluetooth and let me say whatever I want. I have an idea."
"Okay, but don't speak too much."
"Yes, detective, I know. Bye now; thanks for the heads up."
She immediately stood and went for the bathroom. She looked at her reflection and only after making sure she's completely alone did she make the necessary alterations to her appearances: she renewed her make up, making sure her lips were a bright red and her eyes the smokiest she could make them. She took off her scarf, then, stuffing it in her bag. She ruffled her hair to make it look much wilder than usual and then tied it in a hasty bun; casual, but sexy. She even tightened her bra, just to make her breasts look perkier.
Satisfied with the way she looked, she walked out. Just then, Saitou called.
"Showtime; close your ears, it'll get loud," was all the warning she gave and suddenly, the entire hall heard her scream at her phone.
She walked to the front, where she was previously sat, and watched the criminal come in...with no custody. Oh? Interesting. Even better.
"What do you mean you're not coming, you asshole? I tripped over myself to reach the airport in time and you're saying you changed your fucking mind? To hell with you! You good for nothing gangster! After all we said, after all you promised—you promised! How dare you get cold feet now?"
By now, she was sure he had his attention; he was glancing her way more often than proper and when she turned a certain way to show off her assets, she noticed she captured his interest, too. Perfect. Time for the big ploy.
"You are a coward; don't ever call me again! Lose my number and go back to your boring wife and eat her sensible, unseasoned food for the rest of your miserable life! Maybe her big doe eyes can set you on the right path, bastard. No. Never contact me again. Never, ever, you ASSHOLE!"
She hang up. After that, she almost smashed her phone on the ground but pretended to catch herself in time and instead kicked the chair! As if the entire airport wasn't big enough for her, she started looking for somewhere to go; she decided the bar was the best option and made a beeline for it. With the edge of her eye, she watched him follow her there.
Plan, success!
"Hey there," he started barely a minute after she sat and flagged down the bartender "want me to buy you that drink?"
Alright, she needed to be convincing as this wild woman persona she made for herself. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him with contempt. "Do I know you?"
"Not yet."
"So why are you here?"
"To introduce myself: Hiroshi; pleasure."
Wow, he gave his real name; she pretended to be thinking it over, playing hard to get. "...name's Setsuna," she shared with cautiousness.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."
She snorted, cutting him off. "I wasn't being quiet."
He smirked. "True; so, I heard you are now officially single again. And at an airport with a will to travel abroad, but no companion. Why don't you come with me instead? I'm going to leave the country anyway." A pause, to look her over seductively. "I have no need for a boring woman...and you don't look boring at all."
Her lips slowly curled into a smirk, eyes suggestive. "And where are you going, Hiroshi?"
"No set destination; what about you?"
"Hawaii or New York. We hadn't decided yet."
"Definitely Hawaii; I'd kill to see you in a bikini."
Before Tokio had the time to act surprised and flattered by his comment and he to touch her in any kind of way, he jolted when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, causing him to look back just as surprised as Tokio wanted to act.
"Sir," a familiar voice accompanied said hand and Tokio had to fight not to smile again "I need you to step away from the bar and the woman, right now; hands where I can see them."
The handcuffs were produced before the criminal had the time to protest with a "What the fuck is—?"
"Your name is Handa Hiroshi, wanted and convicted for various crimes; you're on my list, sir. Now stop resisting; you're under arrest."
Saitou, just as leather-bound and devil-may-care as she remembered him from the airport's entrance, who could have easily been a fellow criminal rather than a cop, was arresting an obviously shocked and confused Hiroshi. He was no idiot of course; he might have been paying attention to the perp's hands and actions, but he also kept an eye out for suspicious behaviour around him.
So far, one person caught his eye: a foreign woman, dressed to impress, with luggage next to her...that looked a little too heavy to be carried by one small woman, thinner than his nephew. And yet, as soon as all this happened, she took out her phone, stood and pretended to be heading for the exit with not one, but two huge red suitcases, both stacked with a matching duffle bag.
If those weren't empty, he'd eat his gun; she was definitely a lookout...or the strongest woman in the planet.
"Convicted?" Tokio echoed, supposedly shocked. "What sort of crimes?"
"Madam, stay in your stool and stop asking questions; we'll need your deposition, but the less you know, the better."
"Let me go, bastard!"
"Stop resisting arrest or I'll have more to charge you with. Let's go."
The airport security swarmed the scene a little after and escorted them to a safe room; some time later, but impressively fast, considering the closest precinct was almost half an hour away, Osaka police came at half past twelve; until all the witnesses were interviewed and they had taken Tokio's deposition, and the criminal was properly booked – Hajime scared the uniforms into keeping him under lock and key until he came to interview him personally or called – the clock read two o clock in the morning.
"Let's just go..." Hajime almost complained and tried to drag her away.
"Where—home?" He nodded. "Are you serious?" That took him by surprise. "I still have two days left on my leave, so I can oversleep...but you can't. You work early. If we leave now, you'll be home at four—two hours of sleep at best. You'll be a mess. Not to mention you'll be driving for the most part of the night."
"I'll be home at five actually, but so be it; I don't m—" She slapped his chest with the back of her hand; he blinked. "Tokio, what in earth?"
"I already feel guilty as it is, I don't want to cause an actual accident, too. Look, this is what we'll do: we're gonna go to Osaka, have a nice dinner because I haven't had a bite of anything since seven and then we're gonna drink a bunch of teas and coffees! That'll keep us awake enough to drive back home; you'll leave me at a bus stop and you're gonna go straight to work. You'll just have to leave on time to come home and sleep the rest of the day away."
"We were supposed to work on the case in the afternoon."
"Hajime, it's alright; it can wait one day. Besides," she elbowed him "we just made great headway! Right? We're on the right track."
He considered for a moment. Many thoughts went through his head but finally, he decided on a course of action. "Fine. Let's go."
Naturally, his plan was thwarted by her stubbornness. Just as they approached the turn for Osaka, while on the road, he passed by it without taking it. She realised and started pulling on his clothes with a vengeance; he tried to ignore her but when she almost made him lose balance, he had to begrudgingly stop and address her problem.
"I'm not getting on," was all she said, hands crossed once she jumped off the bike. Seeing this wasn't a car he could simply shove her in, he accepted his fate. She made him promise and only then did she get back on. Just as she'd suggested, they went to Osaka for some food and drink.
Once the clock read half past four, they got on the road and finally headed home.
It was when they had just entered Kyoto, she tugged on his clothes again. "You passed my stop," she informed him when he called.
"I won't drive you home but I won't leave you on the street; it's still early."
"Hajime...!"
He chuckled. "Don't fret; it's a solution you'll agree to."
She remained silent for the rest of the trip, accepting his words at face value. And when they pulled up at his house, at six fifteen in the morning, she finally saw what his alternative plan had been. She got off, frozen from the cold and the fact she wasn't wearing anything proper for the weather at this time of the year to be on a bike, she shook and jumped up and down in her spot until he emerged from the garage.
They walked up the stairs and Rai almost knocked both of them over. "I know bud, sorry."
The dog paid no attention to Tokio for at least over three minutes but once he was satisfied with his owner's affection, he did turn to her to smother her in big and smothering kisses.
"I'll go have a shower, change and go to work; you stay here, sleep and take Rai out for a walk." He pointed at his keys on the table. "Take them; you don't have to lock when you leave, my landlady is always here this time of day. I don't like leaving Rai alone for more than five hours and since I hadn't called his walker for today because I thought I would be able to walk him, you'll have to be here; we are going to meet at eight so, do the math. He mustn't eat anything other than his dry food and his dental sticks. Take some of the pills I have in the first drawer in the dresser; people have been poisoning dogs lately, don't want anything happening to him. Don't do anything stupid. But other than that, make yourself at home."
She nodded, sleepy, but mildly impressed, too. She hadn't pegged him for the type of person who would easily open up his home to others. If Okita did this, she wouldn't be surprised. But to offer her his key and trust her with his dog...she felt her face flush. Nodding modestly, almost numb, she headed straight for the couch.
"Idiot; use the bed," he teased as he headed for his bedroom. "I have a guest room you know."
"This is cozier..." she murmured and even without needing to gesture, the large dog came and lay next to her. All that fur surrounding her, she didn't even need a blanket. Still, he covered her with one before he went for his shower. "You didn't have to," she said half-asleep half-awake.
He simply shook his head and went ahead per schedule.
.
.
"Hey."
"Oh my god, Saitou Hajime is calling me all on his own." He clicked his tongue but was secretly amused by her reaction. "What could he possibly want?"
"I just finished with work; we're still meeting up right? I have good news to share, too."
His "bribe" made her chuckle. "Yes we are; what else do you want?"
"Your location."
"I'm at your place; come quick, detective. Your dog missed you."
A bark and a giggle accompanied her words; taken aback by the news, he hang up, looking at his phone. Today was a day full of surprises...but they wouldn't stop there, not at all. When he came back, he was greeted by a most peculiar sight: his house was in order.
What the hell?
"Welcome back," he heard her sing-song voice all the way from the kitchen "come inside, close the door. You're letting all the heat out."
Rai came to lick his face; he petted his head, to make him settle down and very much confused, kicked off his shoes and walked inside. He's letting the what out? "Did you turn on the gas?"
"I sure did; your place reaches freezing temperatures up here, I'm telling you."
He tried to protest, but upon a closer look, damn, his floors were clean. He looked at the cupboards and their colour was...lighter than he remembered. What the hell?
"Also, I had a lot of free time, so I cleaned up some of the things I bet you never bothered with in the entire house; but I didn't go into your bedroom for that, obviously. I have boundaries."
"No you don't, but go on. What did you do with the dog?"
"Oh! Well, I opened my eyes around eight for the first time so I woke up and took Rai out to do his business. I came back, put some clothes in the washer, tidied up a bit, made myself breakfast and then took him out for his big walk, around half past nine. We went to the park, he was a good dog," Rai barked "listened well. Only thing he did was he tried to attack another doggie, but he stopped, so that ended well. Then we came back around twelve and he was really tired so I decided that after hanging up the clothes was the best moment for me to go over my place." He stared. "What? Can't leave clothes in the washing machine, they'll start to smell. Anyway, I took a bath there, changed, and came back immediately, don't worry. Oh, I bought some groceries, because you had nothing in your fridge other than take out and beer and I wanted to cook. Your clothes are all dry and pressed by the way, just finished with them half an hour ago. And now, food is almost ready, I put it in the oven for the finishing touches as soon as you called, so go clean up and change or whatever, it's time to eat."
He opened his mouth to speak; nothing came out. She wasn't even looking at him anymore or the entire time she spoke, she was making salad and some side dishes. But she did sense his prolonged presence and turned to him. "What? Go already! I bet you're hungry right?"
He blinked. "Tokio, what the hell?"
"Pardon?"
"I didn't tell you to stay so you...do everything. You didn't have, need to, just, when and why? I..."
She chuckled. "Look, I had nothing to do; two weeks leave? Come on. My house is spotless, my cases are taken care of and I'm on top of all of the developing ones. Now, I could either do all that or just read a book. But I've read many books; and your house really needed the makeover. You need to clean more often. Or better. Why don't you have a woman?"
He blinked again.
"I have one; she helps when I can't take care of the house. Since you seem to be the very definition of a bachelor, hire one, to come over once a week. No big deal."
Okay, his mind went completely in another direction. Thank god she had gone back to her preparations and didn't witness the dumb look on his face. But finally, he felt like himself again and shook his head. "If I do that, my landlady will kill me; I call her that, but she's actually a friend of mom's and she's been begging me to ask her for help for ages. But I don't want to."
"Well, naturally; tell her she's not a cleaning lady. But that's what you need."
He snorted. "That's worse because then she'll try to set me up with every single, eligible woman of my age she knows and I have no intention of going through any of that."
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that." He raised an eyebrow; she said that in a way just now. He went closer to her and Tokio averted her eyes. "I am under the impression she is under the impression we're dating." He stared harder. "While I was hanging the clothes she asked for my name, made all sorts of cute little comments and how finally there's a woman in the house and it will finally be in order and how your mother would be happy and I just...smiled? I think I nodded, too, I don't remember. She had a...cheer about her and I couldn't disprove her."
"Tokio...!"
"I'm so sorry, she looked so happy! She even gossiped about the bike, how I should keep you off of it and it isn't as cools as it seems, I'm so sorry. She was really sweet."
Great; as if it wasn't enough she thought they were together from when they walked the dog, now this.
"And she also said that it was great the dog liked me because you are very attached to him and then...gave me a recipe and I sort of made it."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to control his temper. "You made it? The thing that's in the oven? Is it stew?" She nodded guiltily. Her whiny "I'm sorry" was ignored. "Is it lamb?" She nodded, even more guilty. "Damn it. What else did you tell her?"
She stopped working her hands, salads ready. She turned to look at him. "Before you say anything mean, keep in mind, she was really sneaky. She didn't start with the comments before I told her, but—"
"What did you tell her."
"—everything." He closed his eyes for a moment again. "I'm really sorry, but I had no idea where she was going with it! I didn't mean to affect your relationship with her, I'm really sorry."
"Tokio, you're not affecting my relationship with her; you're affecting my reputation. You just—you're taking over my dog, you're taking over my home, you're taking over my entire life." he spelled out for her, torn between angry and impressed. "Stop. Please, just stop."
"I'm not taking over your—don't be ridiculous, I am...I'm not..."
"You told her you slept over, didn't you? And she saw you walking Rai, too. That's why she told you about the stew."
"The lamb stew?"
"Yeah," he nearly barked and looked to the side "it's my favourite dish." Seeing he didn't know whether to be furious or laugh, she mimicked his behaviour. "Yeah, well, you've better made it terrible, 'cause if I like it, I'm going to kill you. I'll kill you both."
"I mean, I'm a good cook...can we change the conditions a bit?"
"Both." She fought to keep quiet. "Just set the table," he sighed, giving in "and we'll talk about what I found out after we eat."
Dinner was a quiet affair; it consisted of them eating and him glaring at her almost after every mouthful.
It wasn't fair, she made it very close to what his mother always did. He wanted to smother her with his bare hands...! And then thank her. It was very tasty damn it, why did she have to be so talented all around? She even went the extra mile to help him but it all served just to anger him more because, yes, obviously he lacked the time or care to do basic chores and yes, it felt very satisfying to come home and see they were all done and that his house was actually clean after a very long time. Of course he'd like it!
He didn't mind she did it, he minded she did it.
Why did it have to be her? Why did he have to come home and find her wearing an apron he didn't even know his mother had stashed somewhere in his kitchen shelves happily cooking away?
He...
He liked it. He had been married what felt like an eon ago, but this was one of the parts he always loved and now missed the most: coming back to a nice, well-kept home, to a woman, cooking. In his mind, it conveyed affection and a very clear way to show that you cared. One of the reasons he began to realise Yaso was drifting away was that she stopped preparing him dinners, stopped taking care of the house, stopped asking him about work...she always just said she was busy with some of her friends who needed her help about a venture or two, but she never took the time to look for a housekeeper, or make sure she had whipped up something, no. She just didn't care. And that wasn't her character from the start, so something must have changed.
And now that the practices returned, even for a day, without an actual relationship preceding it, it put him all out of sorts. He was a creature of habit after all and now everything was thrown into chaos. Even after they finished their food, she stood, cleared the table and started washing the dishes. It was...eerie.
"So what did Nagakura-san say about the car?"
That snapped him out of it.
"I informed him confidentially and he almost punched the wall; said he had actually lost both set of his keys and couldn't move it for two days but, guess what, today he found them." She nodded, knowingly, giving him a sly look. "They magically appeared back in his locker, just in another place. He thought he misplaced them by accident, but apparently, it was all according to plan. We asked Hijikata and he gave us permission to search the precinct's records of the security cameras...we found the culprit. It was a lowlife that managed to get there undetected. Nagakura promised to arrest him by the end of the week and once he does, we'll make him spill. We searched for who left the keys, but we couldn't find anything. But we're on a very good track."
"That's just what we needed." She turned the water on again, dishes done, to clean her hands from the bubbles. "Anyone you suspect he may be linked to?"
"While I was booking Hiroshi yesterday, he said something interesting; I called to follow up on him today and they informed me he killed himself in his cell."
Her chin hang; he understood her shock. "But that only means whatever he said is all the more real. And now it's confirmed: there are more suspects than one."
She heaved a deep sigh and went close to him. "That's some news."
"What's best is I followed up on a hunch and they may be connected." She tilted her head, curious. "There's a coworker who's been acting shady lately and he was most definitely involved in this...and I think I have it on tape."
"That's amazing."
"You bet. I just need to find a way to get him alone and talk to him. If I could do that, case closed."
She hummed. "I see..."
He tried not to smirk then. "Tokio, will you keep doing this for long?"
"What, am I allowed to sit in your lap only when I'm wearing stripper clothes?"
He nodded sagely; she hit him on the chest. "But right now you're only wearing a low cut blouse—that's not very daring, is it?"
"Next time I'll combine it with a short skirt and my other stockings, see if it qualifies."
He shook his head. "How many of those do you have?"
"They aren't identical, but the concept is the same," she admitted through chuckles. "Now," she sobered "I washed your dishes, there's plenty of food left in the over and I found some Tupperware for you to put it in, in portions. Your house is clean, your clothes are fresh; you're all set. So, I'm going to go now."
"What, really?"
"Hajime, it's half past eight already; you have to walk Rai, I bet you'll want to look at some files of your own case—two hours will have gone by easily. And you didn't sleep a wink yesterday; you need the rest."
He nodded, feeling the exhaustion slowly creeping up on him. The coffees did their job while he was at work but now that he's eaten well, he started getting sleepy. Maybe she was right.
"Let's reschedule, okay? I tortured you enough," she joked then "I am satisfied."
He whistled then, scaring her for a second but it served its purpose: Rai came bounding in the kitchen two moments later, with the leash in his mouth. "We'll walk you to the station," he informed her "you came by train right? I didn't see your car anywhere."
"Yeah, I didn't drive."
"Ten minutes to the stop; another ten to come back. Twenty minutes seems like a good walk for the night. Right Rai?" The dog tilted his head in question; Hajime nodded wisely as Tokio scratched behind his ears. "Come on," he slapped her thigh "get up." She did, heading straight for her coat and shoes. "And, despite my complains, thanks for everything. I do appreciate it."
"You're welcome. And I'm sorry if I caused trouble with your mother's friend. I really didn't want to. In fact I was trying...to show you my gratitude. Not many people would have done what you did. Thank you." She looked to the side. "I know I tend to be overly demanding; I do. The fact you not only put up with me, but also help, means a lot. And I want you to know that. So, thank you and I'm sorry."
For a moment, he saw her in another light. It was satisfying to hear her thanks but to know she knew her own flaws so well and did all she could to make it up to him...was sweet. He shook his head, trying to shake the creeping smile away at the same time. "I'll worry about it tomorrow, once I've had enough sleep."
"Maybe once you do, it won't feel like a very big deal...!"
"Doubtful," he remarked, trying to keep her in check. "Come on Rai, we are leaving."
The dog stopped right in front of him so he could leash him. Hajime grabbed his own coat, put on his shoes and all three descended the stairs.
"Hey!" the voice of the landlady was heard the moment they passed in front of her door; huh, she was lurking in the shadows, was she. "How was the food?"
"Oh, it turned out delicious! I did the thing you told me with the bay leaves and it worked;" Hajime started pushing her to walk faster, hopefully stopping her from talking to the woman "but I added a little bit of cinnamon, too because those two go very well together and it really worked—you should try it, too!"
"That sounds actually delicious," she mused out loud.
"It is! Add a spoonful but rub it on the lamb."
"Yeah, yeah, you're a good cook, move."
She chuckled and waved at the older woman. "Bye Misses Yamaguchi!"
"Bye sweetheart."
The moment they were out of earshot, he glared. "You weren't supposed to make things worse."
"I didn't; and she's really nice...!"
"I'm really going to kill you."
"You left your gun at home, right?" He nodded. "Then I'm not worried."
"Tokio, if I ever decide to kill you, God as my witness, I'd never use the gun, but my bare hands."
She snorted. "Good luck with that—I'm very slippery."
He decided to drop it there, because he knew the conversation would devolve into something incredibly stupid, or strangely enough, a pissing contest. This woman was hell bent on proving to everyone she was the best at everything she did and apparently she did a lot. He simply changed the subject and chose to let her rant about unrelated things; he recently noticed it put him mind at ease.
.
.
"Hajime, are you still forgetting your scarf? It's Christmas!"
He rolled his eyes. "I don't get easily cold," he repeated exasperated maybe for the hundredth time since November 20th, "nor were we supposed to meet in the middle of the street at nine in the afternoon."
"I can see your tie; if I can see your tie that means your neck is exposed; and that means you might catch a cold. Speaking of tie, Hajime, why don't you ever tie your tie properly? This is ridiculous."
"Really? Again with the tie?" He shook his head, unable to fathom how this person could be so obsessive with certain things. "Just move."
But she didn't; instead, she turned to face him fully, still very much in the middle of the street – well, pavement anyway – and huffed. "Hajime, you must learn how to do your knot properly." She actually grabbed the offending piece of fabric and yanked it out of the coat.
"Tokio, you can't be serious;" he started tapping his foot, hands crossed "we have to hurry, it's almost Christmas and Okita is expecting me at eleven."
"Are you suddenly Christian? Who cares if we are a little late? And stop that." Even with gloves on, she persevered. "Just let me fix this."
"It's not about the religion, but punctuality."
"If you weren't late to come here on the first place, this wouldn't be an issue. And would you stop that."
Surprisingly, he did. "If you hadn't told me last minute about it, I wouldn't be late."
"For the love of—my boss told me last minute, too! Don't think I had any more time than you to get ready just because I look like this."
"We are going to interview a witness damn it, not run for a pageant! You could have gotten ready for your family dinner after."
"I'll be going straight to my parents, so it wasn't an option—ugh, damn these things!"
She literally bit her gloves and then dragged them off of her hands, keeping them in her mouth. She could finally perform the dexterous motions the tie required and did it as she wanted. She had forgotten her gloves were still in her mouth because she dropped them the moment she exclaimed an exuberant "there! Oops," she bent down to pick them up.
"You are so weird."
"You are so obnoxious...!" Once she did, she wore them. "Now we can go."
"Finally."
They started walking towards Saitou's car, which was parked not five metres away; the look of satisfaction on Tokio's face made him seethe all over, but he bore with it and even deigned to open the door for her.
Yaso, who had happened to walk by that intersection on her way to the limo waiting for her remained perfectly still, looking at them from afar. Their voices didn't carry over to her; all she saw was two well-dressed people, arguing in the middle of the street for insignificant things while the woman waged war with the man's tie.
And that's when she finally accepted it: Hajime was attached, to someone other than her, too. Looking at them like this from afar, left no room for doubt. The realisation hit her like a bolt of lightening and something weird happened to her insides. But, instead of accepting defeat, another feeling was born in her heart altogether: jealousy; and that was an inescapable after affect of possessiveness which only led to frustration...and resolution. The resolution that this young thing would not take him, discarded or not. Yaso was better than her and she would prove it as if her life depended on it.
Determined, she recommenced walking to her limo, trying to figure out how to go about this the best way possible. Heh. She'd steal him back, even if she didn't know what she was supposed to do with him. This woman had no right coming into his life, not when Yaso was still calling him. That would teach her—both of them: She was not someone easy to get over.
.
December 27, the Kyoto police became everyone's focus. The evening news, the evening newspapers as well as the entire internet blew up with a huge scandal about corruption in its ranks. The names of not one, but two detectives being caught up in it made the full rounds; every source made sure to inform both of these people were fired and were soon to be jailed, too...but not one mentioned the names of the ones who uncovered the truth.
That was a well-coordinated effort from Saitou, Okita and Tokio as well as Hijikata and surprisingly, Tokio's firm. All of them wanted to protect the identities of the implicated in case anyone got any ideas of retaliation, especially since, as Saitou reminded everyone, the ones running this corruption ring were never found. Takeda, spilled about the other one they caught, hoping it would reduce his sentence, but the other one, Itou Kashitaro, was a smart bastard and kept his mouth shut throughout the entire process. Thus, the trail went cold and momentarily stopped.
"We're gonna pick it up again, of course, but for now, let them think we are none the wiser," Saitou advised a fuming Tokio.
"Our names were never mentioned in his interrogation nor was there ever any indication anyone suspected us," Okita corroborated "we can keep fighting the good fight; we just need a break to arrest this bastard who killed all these people—our original cold case."
"And with Takeda and Itou behind bars, their cases more people will be willing to help. All those who fell victim to their schemes and didn't help voluntarily will come forward easily. They just need a little pressure...and I know just how to apply it."
"Sexy," Okita teased and Tokio winked.
"Idiots."
Tokio sobered a little too abruptly though. "Speaking of idiots, I remembered...I have something I need to tell you."
"What is it Tokio-chan? You sound so serious...!"
"Well, my bosses congratulated me for my efforts, said I did something monumental for this firm and the city of Kyoto undoubtedly and how this only goes to show what a great lawyer I am...but no one likes getting caught up in cases like these. I explained that that's where the case took us; they said they understood." A pause. "And told me to stop."
Both detectives' eyes grew a significant margin, whether it being from shock or concealed anger.
"I am expected to hold my end of the deal and withdraw only once the second case is closed, too but, they'd rather I stayed, for the most part, out of it. Then they went on to threaten my prospects and how they were going to bury me under corporate law for as long as they could and whatnot, but that's insignificant, they do it all the time."
There was a silence stretching between them then, not awkward but certainly full of tension. Tokio had folded in on herself, looking sad and away; Okita and Saitou kept exchanging glances and appeared to be having an entire conversation conveyed through looks and breathing patterns.
"That's terrible," Okita finally decided to say "how can they be so selfish?"
"They are lawyers," Saitou retorted "the real question was how they allowed this to happen on the first place." He snorted. "Goddamn it. We were doing really good."
"I mean, you were very excited about this collaboration, too—even if you happed upon Saitou in the process."
"Idiot," both Saitou and Tokio supposedly insulted him at the same time but she went on. "Yeah, well...I can't do anything about it. Only try and change their mind. Which I will try but, I don't hold my breath." She shook her head. "Let's not dwell on that! I only told you because I had to; let's focus on this Sakaguchi bastard who needs to be put in jail, too. Many people are waiting to find peace with his arrest, let's give it to them."
"I'll go talk to Furuta again," Okita declared "I have a feeling he'll be more willing to share what happened now that his job could be on the line."
"And I'll subpoena Sakaguchi's medical records on the nights of the murders again."
"I know what to do;" he turned to Tokio "just make sure you get that in writing for me asap."
"Yessir."
She did the military salute, like many times before and he couldn't help but linger. He liked this person. It would be a shame not to be around her anymore. The truth Okita omitted was that Hijikata decided to put their internal affairs promotion on hold in order to pick up the slack from Takeda and Itou; not just them though, Toudou and Nagakura would be affected, too—the load was enormous after all. So, it would take at least another year for them to leave their current position, unless something huge happened, thus, they'd definitely be together for a while longer.
And despite really wanting that promotion, Hajime hadn't minded the hold up; and he found out she had played a big part in it. But this now? Not how he planned it. With dread, he came to the conclusion he liked working with her and now he no longer would, he was sour. A little pissed, too. Heh, this is what he got for trusting lawyers. Just because Tokio turned out to be a decent person didn't mean the rest of her bosses were, too.
What a mess.
.
.
"Congratulations on your case, Saitou, Okita" Hijikata praised his men, an unreadable expression on his face. "You closed your first cold case, using the term liberally. Well done. Sakaguchi is now safely behind bars and it is all thanks to you two and your lawyer."
They nodded. "Thank you, Hijikata-san," they chorused.
"You and your lawyer did a lot of damage to certain people, too, quite impressive; you have to introduce her to me."
"Well, you better hurry with that Hijikata-san, because her bosses say they no longer want her playing with us." Okita actually pouted, hands crossing stubbornly. "They say our next case is the last one."
"Really? That's odd; because these two just came in for you. They are from Tokio's firm."
Hijikata held up two very expensive-looking, cream envelopes, with no markings or designs on them other than their engraved names respectively. The two detectives looked at one another curious. "They arrived with courier while you were working on the case."
"What are they?"
"We'll read them, idiot," Saitou snubbed his friend and grabbed them out of his superior's hands. He gave the one to Okita and opened his. Ugh, it was actually scented; how extravagant. But as his eyes slid on the paper, the more they grew and started glancing at his friend. "Is...are they...is this serious?"
Hijikata shrugged. "If it's on there..."
"Why are they inviting us to their New Year's party? They want nothing to do with us," Okita almost threw the piece of paper to the trash out of sheer frustration. "I'm not going."
"You can't go anyway, you moron; remember how you have to be here for information on the second case?"
"Yeah," he admitted and something told Saitou that was why Okita made such a grand declaration of not going. "What about you?"
"I don't know; I don't feel like going but I fear what will happen to me when I dare tell her that."
Okita broke out in laughter; Hijikata did a double take. "She's a little opinionated," Okita made sure their superior knew "and likes getting her way."
"All the time."
"And she'll want to have at least one of us there, in her effort to change her bosses' minds."
"So if I dare, say, ruin her plans because of my "antisocial tendencies" as she puts it, you'll never find my body."
"Now I really want to meet her."
Saitou rolled his eyes; he didn't even know her and was already siding with her; not him, too! What did he do to deserve this? "I'm sure you'll get the chance, sooner or later."
Okita's smile became sly. "Drop by his apartment, sir, I bet she'll be there."
The man leaned forward, hands on the sides of his armchair. "Are you two sleeping together?"
Saitou couldn't understand if Hijikata was scandalised or in a gossiping mood. He decided he didn't care. "She comes by for work. If it gets too late, she sleeps on the couch. That's all."
Hijikata clicked his tongue. "How boring."
Saitou looked all around him to make sure he was still in Hijikata's office, or in this reality altogether, because that comment did not match that man. Just as he was about to protest or make any sort of sound, though his phone rang. Like the child he was, Okita peaked over his shoulder to see who was calling.
"It's her! Answer, Saitou, answer."
"I'll call her b—"
"Answer," Hijikata agreed "that's an order."
Well, it looked like everyone was against him today; almost huffing, he answered the damn phone. "What do you want?" But he wouldn't do them the favour to stay in there, no; he walked out of there, even if, naturally, their eyes followed him.
"Did you receive the invitations?"
"Yes; that's suspicious timing. Are you watching us?"
She clicked her tongue. "I've better things to do with my time, Hajime; are you coming?"
He tried not to smile. "No."
There was a moment of silence. Then, she spoke again. "I'm giving you ten seconds to rethink that answer and give me a proper one."
"Okita can't come, he has to attend our New Year's Eve party for info." He heard her swear under her breath and did smile. "I, on the other hand, don't want to."
That must have irked her. "Saitou Hajime, I swear to everything I hold dear, I will personally come and pick you up in your pajamas if I have to; you're coming and that's final. This is a great opportunity to introduce you to real people from work, not just the pig. The pig doesn't count." She sighed. "I know you don't like lawyers but soldier through it; there'll be other type of guests, too: you, for instance."
"No."
"Hajime, you don't understand, you can't say no." His amused "I just did though," was ignored. "I had to fight for those invitations, don't make me fight you, too because you I don't mind physically attacking. And I know where you live, just remember that."
"Your threats are amusing but not effective."
"You drive a hard bargain."
"So far no bargain has been attempted."
"Fine then; I'll give you one allowance."
"Oh?"
"One thing you do that pisses me the hell of? One time, I won't even address it."
"...make it a day and we have an agreement."
"Deal. Now, do I have to tell you what you should wear or can I trust you?"
"It's a black tie event, I'm not an idiot."
"True; do you have anything like that to wear?"
"...I'll manage."
"It's in two days from now, not weeks. You need to go shopping for—ah..." she sighed again. "Forget it; I'll come pick you up from work in two hours and we'll go shopping."
"We will do no such t—"
"This isn't negotiable; see you at five."
She hang up. He put his head in his hand and stood there for a long moment. "Why did I just agree to that?"
"She didn't give you much choice, I presume," Okita commented as he opened the door; both went back in. "So what did you just agree to?"
"I told her I didn't want to go to her party but she told me I had to so, naturally, I'll go. Then she asked if I had anything to wear, I said I'll manage, so, naturally, she decided we'll go shopping." Okita was laughing from the second he uttered that first "naturally" but no on expected his superior to chuckle, too. "I'm glad I amuse you."
Hijikata's face finally reverted to that neutral expression everyone knew and feared. "Saitou, want my advice on this matter?" He nodded. "Sleep with her." Two sets of eyes became large at the sound of that, staring at the man; he simply shrugged. "She already leads you around by the nose; at least have an excuse."
"This is highly inappropriate," Saitou simply stated, shaking his head, unable to believe that that's what just came out of his very serious, very proper superior's mouth.
"But you don't understand, Hijikata-san," Okita hardly spoke through the tears and the chuckles "Tokio-chan is more like me when it comes to relationships. Hajime doesn't approve."
"Okita, shut it."
But it was too late; the damage was done. Hijikata had given an impressive snort and a meaningful stare. "You saw what your Yamato Nadeshiko turned out to be like, give her type a chance. She might surprise you."
"You're both being ridiculous. And, seeing I only I have two hours left before the slave driver comes over, I'd like to get some actual work done, I'm leaving."
.
"I'm not going in there."
They were standing in front of a large glass front which only consisted of male mannequins in different poses, dressed in suits and coats of all types and colours. Without even looking at the price tags, he could tell this was an expensive clothing store because everything just screamed luxury: from the fabrics of the clothes, to the props used to the actual decoration inside that he got to peak for three seconds.
"Yes, you are—we both are; we don't have time to tailor something and this is the next best thing."
"Tokio, I won't spend half of my savings on a three-piece. Find some place else."
She smiled. "Alright, how much are you willing to spend?"
"No more than 65.000 yen;" he finally looked at the prices "but that's the price of one pair of pants in this place."
"I understand; no need to blow so much money for a thing you'll wear probably twice in your entire life. But consider this: my coworkers are elitist bastards. And I don't want to give them the right to comment on anything like that. So, I'll make you a deal: we go in there, buy whatever we want and I spot you for anything over the 65."
"No."
"Hajime, stop being difficult! I understand you not wanting to spend a fortune but I also know the people I work with. If this was any other occasion, I wouldn't have cared, trust me." He glared. "Please?" His glare was tempered down a bit. "Pretty please?"
He looked away, still upset, but if he broke eye contact, she knew she won! She graced him with a bright smile and actually grabbed him by the arm, lest he changes his mind, to drag him inside the store. Sighing, he walked next to her.
"Welcome," the woman closest to them saluted, a small bow following "how may we help you?"
"Hello. We need something for the gentleman." Tokio had let go to display him instead and smiled.
To that, the woman nodded, and another woman came out of nowhere to take their coats. Tokio curtly nodded for him to do it, seeing he was a little hesitant.
"We want the best fit. I know it isn't tailored but I'll only tolerate small imperfections. Now, I'm going to be honest: I am a difficult and maybe irritating customer so, I'd like to have your most tolerant salesperson; reserves of patience."
The woman blinked, polite smile never fading. "I see; please follow me." She showed them deeper in the store, leading towards the back. "Hiromi-chan, I would like you to help this lovely couple" Hajime glared at Tokio; she shrugged, as innocently as possible "find what they need."
"Of course." She bowed both to the older woman – Hiromi-chan was no older than twenty five – and then to them. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Hiromi and I will be your guide this evening. Please, tell me what you're looking for."
"We want a three-piece for the gentleman." Immediately, Hiromi-chan grabbed the measuring tape she had hanging around her neck and approached. "But we don't want another black suit; gray is a nice option. Cigar, maybe; or plain brown. Blue, definitely."
Hiromi hummed in agreement, as she struggled to properly measure Saitou's shoulders.
"Stay still, Hajime," Tokio advised through chuckles "the woman can't reach you." Hiromi shot her a grateful look. "I wouldn't say no to maroon, or burgundy, but that would depend, so go for milder colours."
"Excuse me sir, I will need to measure your waist, too."
"For the pants, obviously; stop squirming." She shook her head. "Like a little girl."
"I thought you said this wasn't tailored."
"Yes but the pants have waist numbers; how will this woman know what to bring you?" Hiromi shot her another grateful, almost relieved look and Tokio tried not to chuckle. "As you've undoubtedly already noticed, Hiromi-chan, he's taller than average and he may look lean, but he's deceptively muscled; we still need something to fit him near perfect though. What do you have in the colours I mentioned?"
"I have plenty; please come with me."
Saitou knew, if Tokio somehow knew his size, she wouldn't even need him for this; because the moment Hiromi started showing them suits, he had been turned into just another mannequin, whose sole job was to stand straight so these women could contrast the colours with his skin. Once that was done, which took no less than fifteen minutes – just to choose what to wear, dear Buddha – he was shooed into a dressing room and condemned to trying each and every one on.
"Why does the fabric have to be like that?" she lamented and nearly cried. "Look at the colours; look how nicely they suit you! Why does it hitch up there? And why is the fit like this, ugh!"
Hiromi shook her head in begrudging agreement. "And I really love this suit, too, one of my bestsellers."
"I'll make a note to complain to my parents for making me tall."
Tokio nearly slapped him at that, but she held back, simply glared, crossed her hands not to do anything stupid and then blew air out of her nose. Hiromi remained tactfully impassive.
"Just hurry it up," was all he said "this is the sixteenth suit I've tried."
"It's not my fault you have such broad shoulders!" He took a deep breath then, struggling not to say what he really thought of that. "Let's just try the blue one again..."
"You know," Hiromi-chan began thoughtful "the owner did tell me we can mix and match, if it comes down to it." An unsettling gleam took over Tokio's eyes. "What if we take this whiskey brown vest you both thought was perfect and combine it with the third blue pair of pants and jacket—the royal blue?"
"That sounds incredible! Hajime, go put that on. Oh, oh, wait; let's make this a complete look." She turned to Hiromi-chan. "Bring me a lighter blue shirt in his size and a nice maroon or wine red tie."
"Tokio-san," her tone was carrying a definite leave-it-to-me vibe "I have just the thing."
Not one minute later, Hiromi came back with what was asked and handed it all to a very irritated Saitou. "I believe this will be the very last thing you'll try," she tried to encourage him at the glare he shot her "if you have a problem with the tie, please call."
"He always has a problem with his tie," Tokio bit out as he retreated to the changing room and he had to try really hard not to throw her something.
He didn't call them though, and emerged after five minutes. When he did, he knew this would be the last thing he'd try indeed because instead of complains or half-smiles, he was met with absolute silence. He could tell it was the appreciative sort because slowly, both women's faces took the most satisfied expression they wore all evening and started exchanging glances repeatedly.
"Yes."
"Yes."
This "conversation" happened at least ten times between them yet every yes was spoken differently, carrying a different meaning; it would have gone on much longer, if the woman that greeted them when they arrived hadn't come to check things out. Before she managed to ask how they were doing, she looked at Saitou and her smile grew.
"Ah, I see we found what we wanted."
"Yes," the women chorused.
"Perfect. Sir, you may change, so we can fold your clothes for you." She didn't manage to finish her sentence, Saitou had turned about. The woman was surprised, but Tokio bit her lip guiltily. "These are ready to wear, as you can tell, but we also offer services to get them clean before your big event. Would you like to use it? It adds an additional 5.500 yen fee to your purchase."
"Can you have them ready by tomorrow?" The woman nodded. "Then please do so; I will personally pick them up, around eight."
"As you wish." And with that, the woman left, after nodding to Hiromi to get the clothes who waved her away.
"Thankfully, we found what we needed," she said instead to a very relieved Tokio.
"Yeah; I sort of lost hope for a moment there, but we made a comeback." They giggled. "I'll hear it once we leave though," she admitted "he hates being inconvenienced. But hey, we didn't even take an hour—two hours." She checked her clock to see it was fifteen to seven. "We even have time to spare before shops close."
"Don't even think about it," he snubbed because of course he chose that moment to be ready "I have nothing else to buy."
"Actually, you do; you need shoes to go with your new suit and a better coat."
"I'll kill you. I don't even care I have a witness, I will literally put my hands around your throat and squeeze." Despite his impassively spoken threat and the slight alarm on Hiromi's part, Tokio simply laughed.
"But am I wrong?"
"I actually have shoes that are more than adequate." He paused for a second, looking away. "Shoes are the one thing I spend money on. And I have a pair of cap toe oxfords that match the colour of the vest."
"You know what a cap toe oxford is but don't know whiskey brown; amazing." This is why he didn't want to reveal this; she'd tease him to death. "And coat?"
"We spent enough money as it is, let's go."
Hiromi could spot a good deal when she saw one; she smiled. "We have some very reasonably priced long and short coats that would fit him well," she addressed Tokio specifically and he really didn't appreciate how this salesperson was overriding him "of all sorts of textures and weaves."
"Please show us something very formal, long and leaning towards blue. Wouldn't say no to a brown."
"Please follow me."
"Do I get no say in this?"
"You'll thank me later."
Ten more minutes – because, he would never admit it, but that blue coat was actually amazing and he agreed not just to be quick – and 310.000 yen later, they left.
"So?" She turned to look at him quizzical. He sighed. "How much was it?"
She patted his shoulder. "What you don't know, can't hurt you."
"Oh God, that much, huh?" She offered a wide smile instead. "We still have an hour left; do you have to buy anything for yourself?" She shook her head no. "How come?"
"Hajime, I knew I'd be going to that party all year. Think I'd leave it to last minute?" Reasonable answer, he accepted it. "So, I'll come and pick up everything tomorrow and bring it to you the day after tomorrow, day of the party—I'll be already dressed. They assured me all will be in order. Have we forgotten anything?"
"To eat; I'm starving. Let's go eat something greasy." A smirk. "My treat."
Laughing, nodding, she accepted his offer.
A/N: End of chapter three! Hope you enjoyed.
Now, as a side note, I wrote this last entire scene just because it's always the woman who gets this scene, you know? Where the rich man takes her out shopping and she tries all of the dresses and whatnot...I wanted it reversed just this once, lol. Also, I want you all to know, Yaso isn't just a villain in this story. She has her own problems, needs and wants and has her own arc. It's just that I enjoy this catty version of her a little too much for now, sorry.
Love you all~! Don't forget to review.
Kisses, FAI.