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Title: Jellyfish Love [Chapter Fourteen] Author: Matrim Email: matrim _ no _ aijin @ yahoo . com Warnings: People being referred to as puppies. Oooo puppies!! Watch closely because this is going to go pretty fast. Comments: I was going to post this last night but I was so brain dead and I wasn't in the mood to beta it and I got distracted by this cool thing on TV called Angels in America and it was wonderful *^^* Um...I'm sorry if I repeat myself? I tend to do that when I'm tired but you know I'm not very good at beta-ing or whatever and you guys don't care, right? ^.~ ++ Die watches as Shinya attends to paperwork and sends people off to do errands for him. Kaoru and Die sit at the couch as usual until Die finally decides to say something. "I don't like this." Everyone in the office stops, stares at Shinya in fear and waits. Shinya continues to work on his paperwork as if nothing is wrong. Finally, he speaks after he puts a folder away. "Why?" And with that, he smiles benignly to his people and gestures for them to leave. They all file out the door quietly and close it behind them. Die glares at him but Shinya notices. He stares back at Die. "You're putting yourself in danger! If something should happen, what are we going to do?" "Nothing will happen, Die." "How can you be so sure?" "Because I'm in charge." Shinya tells him with such self-assurance that Die wonders if he really is wrong for questioning him. He looks to Kaoru, who only gives him a reassuring look. Maybe he's in the right for questioning Shinya just a little. Shinya picks up the mail on his desk and begins to go through it. He picks up a letter opener and opens each envelope. There's a bit of rhythm to it all. Shinya opens each letter but doesn't read what's in the envelope until all of them are open. He sets the letter opener down then goes back to the first envelope and reads. After a moment, he sets it down and reaches for his planner. And he speaks. "I'm in good hands. It's like taming a puppy, Die. When he gets out of hand, you must remind him that you are always ultimately in control." "But you don't love this puppy," Die spits out bitterly. "No, but I love you. All of you. And if you don't behave yourself, I'll whack you on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. I would kiss it better, too, but I think that would be enough humiliation, hm?" Shinya beams at him serenely from his desk. Die hates it when Shinya gets one over him. He's about to argue again but the door opens and the assassin walks through, prostrates himself before Shinya's desk and bows so that his forehead nearly touches the ground. "Ah, just the man we needed to see. Shall we go over this one more time, Die? I did choose you and Kaoru over Yomi and Hitsugi for a reason." Shinya sets his mail aside and stands from the desk just as the assassin straightens. Shinya smiles to him and stands in front of Die and Kaoru. "I need you two to make this work. Now tell me what I want you to do." Kaoru speaks up this time as if trying to shut Die up that way but no way. Die is just waiting for his second wind of words to try and trample Shinya down. "We're to keep everyone else from following you back to your other office. We keep everyone alive. The puppy," He shoots Die a wry glance, "Is the only one allowed to follow you. Officially." "I don't like it." Die says again. "I know you don't." Shinya gives him a strange smile. He pats Die's head and the older man growls. "Don't worry, Die. You'll get your chance soon enough. Your handling the club will end tomorrow." The one good news in the midst of all the crappiness. Die figures he can leave Shinya alone. For now. ++ Toshiya strokes back Kamijo's sweat drenched hair and kisses a line from his forehead, down his nose and stops at his chin. The blonde man smiles blissfully and shifts lazily under Toshiya. "You shouldn't be touching me. You just took a bath." "It won't be so bad. I'll be covered in smoke and sweat too when I get to work so what's the point being clean?" "Your logic's messed up. Why did you bother ever taking a bath in the first place?" Kamijo laughs and cups Toshiya's face in his hands. "Is this what you do all the time? Leave men sweaty and tired in the bed while you leave impeccably dressed and pristine to work?" "I was pristine until you touched me," Toshiya giggles and kisses him anyway. "I'll be home as soon as I can. You can stay here if you like but if you go anywhere, you'd better call." Kamijo rolls over with a groan of affirmation. Toshiya eyes him for a second and slaps his sheet covered ass for the hell of it. "Hey!" "See you later, honey." Toshiya snickers and tries to sashay out of the room but Kamijo throws a pillow at him. It makes him break out into what could be called a giggle and he closes the bedroom door behind with a smile. He picks up his duffel bag from the table and exits through the front door. He stops off first at Kyo's office. He changes into his work clothes—a version of his clubbing clothes that he first met Kamijo in but the material is different. It makes no sound when he moves and silence is key in the battle. Kyo simply nods at him and Nene kisses his cheek for good luck. Izam hands him the rapier and stiletto. It had been hard trying to explain the cuts and scrapes he received at Imai's hands but he managed to do it in a way that didn't have Kamijo glaring at him in disbelief. Toshiya bows low to Kyo and when he leaves, Nene waves goodbye to him. Kyo's car takes him to the train station. He catches the train to Shinya's territory. It's not as if regular people can tell where it ends and where it begins. But Toshiya can. He can almost physically feel the difference in the atmosphere when he crosses over. It's not anything specific except the feeling of 'not-belonging'. But Toshiya looks like everyone else—like all those crazy kids—and not something else entirely. When he gets off of the train, he moves through the crowd quickly to get out of the station. He makes his way to a building across the way from the club. He gets up onto the roof. He waits and he watches. There are all sorts of people who go in and out—employees and customers and…Kengo. Toshiya's eyes narrow as he sees the man. As if he can sense this, Kengo turns to look over his shoulder at Toshiya. The assassin would've glared back at him but he has no time for that and instead, he ducks and hides behind the wall that juts up from the building. He has better things to focus on instead of a man obsessed with a pink haired stripper. Toshiya only resurfaces when he's sure Kengo's gone. And then he waits. There is a pattern to the club. Patrons will come as soon as the doors open along with late employees. The doors are all manned by two men, wired and armed to the teeth. Shinya never leaves the club before performances start. When Shinya does leave, he only does so after the third performance. Kamijo told him that and all Toshiya had to do was ask innocently. Toshiya has seen bare glimpses of the man. He is of a medium height—not as tall Toshiya, definitely, but taller than Kyo. He had soft looking light brown hair and he is always surrounded by men. No less than two and no more than ten. Lately, he's been leaving with two and he knows what they look like. So he waits and after an hour, the front door opens and the two men guarding the door bow to Shinya. Kaoru and Die bow to him as well after they walk him to the car. There is, however, a figure that Toshiya does not recognize. He stands beside Shinya and gets into the car after Shinya does. Toshiya leaps off of the building even before the car moves. Traffic is always bad in this section of the city and so it won't be hard for him to follow behind the car. He doesn't follow too closely. He doesn't want Shinya to see him. He has no idea where the other man is going—perhaps home, perhaps somewhere else—he doesn't care, really. All he has to do is kill him. ++ "Do you know if he's following?" The assassin suddenly asks him. Shinya looks at him over his sunglasses. "No. I don't." "He is. I'd almost miss him if I weren't careful." He pushes back his hair with a gloved hand. "We’re almost there. Nervous?" Shinya smiles as he tests the other man. The assassin doesn't snort like Kirito would—his poor recovering Kirito—no, this assassin gives him a smile in return. "It wouldn't be bragging if I said no?" "No, I don't think so." ++ It is twenty minutes later that the car finally stops in front of a building with reflective glass windows. Shinya steps out with the strange man and Toshiya curses the fact that he is too far away to see the other man's face. He is wary of things he doesn't know—Imai and Kyo have taught him that. The two walk into the building through the front entrance but Toshiya can't go that way. He slips into an alley and finds a fire exit. He picks the lock with the tools he's strapped to his leg and slips into the building. Now, here he is at a brief disadvantage. He has no idea where the two men are headed. Toshiya thinks for a moment in the empty stairwell and opens the fire exit door that opens into the lobby. It's a small crack but it's big enough for him to listen. "Twentieth floor as usual?" "When have you ever known me to change?" Shinya's voice is deep—deeper than Toshiya expected for a man so skinny. Toshiya closes the door quietly and glances up the stairs. He does not have a time limit in which to kill Shinya in—only that he must kill Shinya. He could take the stairs but that would tire him even more and he's been pacing himself so far. He goes back to the door and opens it. The pair are gone and the lobby is otherwise empty. Toshiya slips out of the stairwell silently and decides to use the elevator. He presses the eighteenth floor button and decides to use the fire escape the rest of the way. He does not want to walk into a trap. When he gets to the eighteenth floor, Toshiya is faced with office doors but he ignores them all and is back in the stairwell again. He walks up the steps slowly and centers himself. Toshiya focuses himself on the task set before him and tries to ignore the strange smirk that Kyo gave him when Nene waved goodbye. When he reaches the door that leads to the twentieth floor, Toshiya lets out a shuddering breath. He stretches his neck, stretches his arms and his back. He removes the rapier from its sheath and the dagger from his left boot. He opens the door and closes it silently behind him. It is a large office with a dark wooden floor. There is artwork on the walls, but Toshiya doesn't pay too much attention to them. The walls are red and lit by dim lights. He does not see the other man that he previously saw with Shinya. Toshiya frowns and slowly makes his way further into the office. He passes a receptionist's desk. No one's there. It looks like the secretary has left for the day. Kyo doesn't have a secretary. Kyo doesn't need one. Toshiya wants to snort but he doesn't. He looks over his shoulder warily and continues on. It doesn't take long for him to see Shinya's slim figure standing in front of his desk, rather than behind it. It seems as if he's looking through some papers. Toshiya has made no noise but Shinya straightens and slowly turns to look at Toshiya. He is no longer wearing sunglasses. His eyes are cold and amused. He's smiling a closed lipped smile and it looks almost as if he's turned wicked, but not Kyo-wicked. No one could beat Kyo's weird smiles. Shinya is also too beautiful and too young. He stands tall and confident. "Hello, puppy." ++ To Chapter Fifteen Jelly Home Fics Home |