TRIGGER: CH 15

Chapter 15

The end of the case felt much like the passing of a great storm; everyone involved were left feeling exhausted after the roller-coaster that was the serial murder case. After successfully wrapping it up last week, the following days have been a row of legal procedures. Right before the court meeting, the full autopsy report came in and with that the truth about the crime was also put to light.

It was the first time the case of the experimental drug is made known. Naturally, none of the people in the Main Division suspects anything about the case. But neither of them said anything about that. They already have their doubts about the Main Division long before any of this happened. However, since they got that warning from Dr Kujou, things in between the two divisions get even rockier. Naturally they kept the warning as a secret; they couldn’t risk anything by letting the Main Division into that matter. At least, they can push those thoughts aside for the moment and take some well deserved rest.

Mornings starts as it always do although the office is noticeably more empty than usual. Rian and Aguri are over at the court dealing with the legal part of the matter, leaving Ryuga and Takeru in house. Supposedly. Oddly, Takeru is nowhere to be seen this morning. Is he still sleeping?

The space in the office felt so much bigger now that there’s only him inside. The consistent ticking of the wall clock softly echoes in the wide expanse,

Maybe he should've slept in too.

Absentmindedly he scratched his head.

What am I supposed to do now?

Suddenly he started feeling jittery over having nothing to do. For a while he lost track of time as he sat there blankly staring ahead.

Flopping onto his desk, he lets out a sigh. The last few weeks were really demanding - everyday is in high tension that having it end left him with some sort of withdrawal effect. Wonder if he'll be pushed back into his previous mundane routines again. Just thinking of it made him cringe in displeasure. Should I just transfer over to his group instead?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, his phone buzzed with a new mail.

Hm? So early in the day.., just who it might be?

 

Checking the mail, the sender reads 'number withheld'.

 

Of course, who else it'd be.

 

< Come over tonight. >

 

And it was literally just that with no other details whatsoever. Eyes flicking towards the calendar he took note of the next day, marked in blue ink with 'off day' written within the box. Back towards the message he narrowed his eyes at it as if it offends him.

How did he-? But then he got reminded of how they broke into his house last time.

 

Sigh. Let's not think about it.

 

Hm, maybe he could put that thing to use later...

 

He dropped it off at that shortly after. Seeing as there is nothing else to be done, he took to cleaning up the place to fill up the time. To think of it, the store room was quite messy the last time he went in there. Overall their office could really use some rearrangements. It went on well until lunchtime for him to regain the sense of order in the room.

Not long after that he hears footsteps getting closer from outside, familiar clicking of heels echoing in the empty hallway.

 

"At last! I can get some rest-" That was first thing Rian said after more or less kicking the office's door open.

"Sounds like it was tough."

"It's always tough, but at least we're done with that for now."

"Are you alone? Where's Aguri?" Ryuga asked as he is putting away dusty folders. Rian walked the short distance to her table before plopping into the chair.

"He went straight home muttering that he needs to 'hibernate' for a while."

Her reply had him laughing in return. So even Aguri hit his limit this time. "Takeru didn't show up too. It wasn't until lunchtime that he messaged me saying that he overslept."

Now she's the one breaking into a laugh in response. "So that's why you're busy cleaning up the place instead?"

"Had to fill up the time somehow. So what are you doing after this?"

"Go home and rest because tomorrow night I have a date~"

"Date? Haven't heard you going on one for a long time. With who?"

"Hehe, that is a secret. What about you?"

"Just laze around I guess. It's been quite long since the last I take a day off, not counting that time I got warded."

"Well, you worked hard this time. Take it as a well deserved rest."

Humming in agreement, he stacks the last of the clutters away into the store room, now having some semblance of order compared to before. Their office is practically non-functional now that the case has ended, still it's a working day. They decided to go home early that day and had closed the office not long after their little exchange.

 

 

*

 

Nighttime is when this part of the city truly comes alive. The later the time the brighter it gets, unlike the rest of the city. Well, for someone who works night shifts like him it’s more than convenient. There’s less peering eyes in the dark, more freedom to carry out his business. But the competition in the underworld is much more dangerous compared to the surface world.

She was right. Things are beginning to get harder than it was previously. Though thankfully it seem like they haven’t realise his presence yet. It took him quite long to set up his web in the city and more or less take control of it in the background. Unfortunately thanks to them he couldn’t expand it any further.

Running a shadow empire is no easy task.

Breathing in the cool night air he pushes the heavy thoughts aside. There’s no need to mull over that tonight. Maybe I should go back in first.

Strangely he’s feeling a little excited tonight. Is it because he is coming? Ridiculous.

Looks like you finally found a friend. Good for you. He can see Fusa nodding with that tired face.

 Good for me.

 

He was just sipping on his wine when Ryuga walked in through the large doors. Unlike the first time, they're completely alone tonight - he had made it explicitly clear to his men to keep it that way. It's been quite a while since the last meeting and he'd grown a little impatient.

Well, he did let the other man get their job done first. That much is nothing. He can be somewhat benevolent when he feels like it.

Shifting his attention away from his glass, he turns towards the other person.

Oh, look what we've got here.

He'd seen a bit back then during his surprise inspection, but the situation didn't really allow for much to be done. They really went the extra mile to make the other man look somewhat different from usual, to give off just the right vibe to lure the target in. The loose red shirt, the tight leather pants. Wonder whose great idea this was.

Supposed all of that translates to 'enough to make people want to jump him'. Not an advisable course of action, though. You might end up breaking more than just a couple of bones.

"I guess the outfit really does work that well, if it got you staring for that long."

"Oh, it sure does. Sadly, it won't stay on you for much longer."

"Insatiable, are you?" Eyes narrowing, still not an inch away from his spot in front of the door. His body language seems more relaxed compared to the first time - calmer, sharper.

"Well, when you practically served yourself like this,-" he gestures with a downward movement as to emphasise, "-why not enjoy it?".

Ryuga simply sighs in exasperation. This man is a lost cause. Deciding to not give much thought over it, slowly he made his way closer.

"Oh, I suppose I should congratulate you on solving that murder case. So, how was it?"

"What we solved was just the surface, there's still more to uncover. We still need to find the ones backing him up." Humming in response, as expected, eh? They're quick to notice the things hidden in the backgrounds, though unfortunately they're bound by the so call laws and regulations. Silently, he kept his eyes on the man.

"By the way, have you checked out that thing I gave you last time?"

"..Yeah."

"And?" A knowing look and a smirk partially hidden behind the glass. Rhetorical question.

Ryuga stops right in front of him, just an arm's length away. His expression is more or less the same as usual but there's a certain edge to it tonight. "Was it true? The person that I saw in the recording."

"Exactly how you saw it. I have no reason to fabricate the recordings." Ryuga looks away to the side at the reply, frown deepening. If eyes can kill. The look wasn't directed towards him, yet he still can feel the burning heat.

"Now you get why I pulled you into this?" He set his glass on the side table to reach out towards the man standing before him.

"You're saying now we have a common enemy?" The other man simply hums in return. An arm goes around his waist, diminishing the distance that he had put earlier. Nevertheless, Ryuga remained rather unperturbed at the proximity.

The enemy of my enemy is a friend. Classic strategy. But that alone isn't enough to fully convince Ryuga that Jinga wouldn't betray him later. There's still much to be cleared up in this issue despite having been chasing after it for years. Too many lies woven together in a too tight web. Furthermore, that person is in an unreachable position, attacking him now would put the rest of his team in serious danger.

Deep in his thought, Ryuga barely registers a pair of hands actively getting him out of his clothes. Feeling slightly annoyed he looks downward to catch said hands working on his belt. "You're really impatient, aren't you?"

Jinga looks up with an eyebrow raised. "What? Aren't this is what we're here for?" Having done with the previous task, the hands flatten themselves against the warm skin of Ryuga's waistline, lightly caressing it.

The wandering hand stops abruptly, curious by the sudden difference in texture. "Are you wearing lingerie?"

"Just felt like trying something different." The reply came in a very dry voice, as if it was something exceedingly common.

"And by that you mean this? Amazing." He replies while lightly tugging the garter belt.

"Otherwise I wouldn't have any use for it. So, why not." Ryuga leveled him with a look and a shrug.

"Hmm-." He resumes his conquest and works on divesting the other's pants off. "Well, I'm not complaining."

And, damn, black really does work on his skin.

"..We might not reach the bedroom like this." Hooking his hand around Ryuga's thigh to pull the man down onto his lap. On reflex, Ryuga's hands came up to push against his shoulders. He looks a little shocked at the remark.

"-You better have this area soundproofed as well." Ah, thought so.

He leans forward to close the distance, voice dropping to a whisper. "Why, worried someone would hear you screaming?"

The corner of his eyes twitched in offense. Bastard.

"Don't worry, I'm the only one that can hear all the little sounds you make in here."

"Well that's good to know. Though I'm a lot more concerned that we're doing this inside your office. Your employees next door might get traumatized."

"What, you noticed?" This guy is too sharp for his own good. And now said man is wearing a look of pure judgment while still firmly seated in his lap.

"Last time I was stressed out so I didn't have the freedom. The wall padding outside was there to filter out noises from the work room. What kind of workaholics builds a bedroom inside his office?"

"It's my office so it's up to me." This is getting dragged out, and he's already out of patience.

Keeping his grip on the other man, he swiftly flips their position, pushing Ryuga to lay on the sofa. Eyes widening in surprise at the sudden change in position.

"Now then, shall we go back to our primary business?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

*Bonus*

 

(Main control room, sometimes earlier)

 

"Hey Gou, look at that." Urgently tapping his friend seated next to him to look into the monitor.

"What is it, Rai? I'm busy." Annoyed by the sudden interruption, nevertheless he heeded the request. "Him? You know him, he came here last time."

"I know that. Just- What's he's doing?" He couldn't understand the urgency, there's basically nothing suspicious at all. The aforementioned man in the monitor is now leaning close to the padded wall, specifically the wall to their work office, seemingly trying to listen in. "Did he hear us?"

"He won't hear us in here. You know how thick the padding are. Humans’ ears aren't that sharp. Also, even if he did, what's wrong with that? It's not like we're hiding anything."

"Yeah, just don't you think it's weird?"

"He's a cop. It's quite natural I think."

"You think it's normal? What kind of cop would say 'thank you for your hard work' to a member of the mafia? I mean, look at Gan over there, he's still in shock."

Firmly pointing towards said man, who is currently sitting in a corner blank faced, with his cheeks still tinted pink.

Ok, so maybe the man's not as normal as he thought. Though now he couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

The man in question had moved away and entered the suite opposite to the office room while they were busy bantering.

 

"Ah, I want someone to tell me that too.."