I was about to step out of the elevator when Bladen shoved me back in with one hand and pounded the button with the other. The doors slid shut, and he let himself fall back against me with a sigh, now considering himself safe from whatever he�d been running from.
�Dakumi wasn�t even behind you.�
He tilts his head back against my chest to look up at me, grin starting to spread. I suddenly get the feeling I should flee for my life, and I would had someone not shoved me back into the elevator, which was now making its way back up to Ishiro�s office where I�d just come from.
�Hello there, Devon.�
�I really have no idea where he got that from. Luna asked him why week before last, but he just shrugged and stole her coffee so she�d forget about it. That was a mistake, because Luna gets trigger happy when she�s denied her coffee, especially when it�s at five in the morning. There�s a lot of bullet holes in the wall of the staff room now, the lights were replaced just last week, and people tend to avoid being in there when Luna and Bladen are.
�You did something to Dakumi, didn�t you,� I say, stating the obvious with a sigh and slight shake of my head, �what was it this time?� The only reason Dakumi hasn�t killed him yet is because Himeko keeps Dakumi on a tight leash when it comes to him going homicidal on his co-workers. That, and Luna pouts at him and he melts. It�s kind of cute, really.
Bladen smirks and opens his mouth to say something, but I remember something and interrupt him.
�And if you�re thinking of giving a demonstration, don�t forget we�re in an elevator and you�re not getting out for five more floors. It only takes me half a floor to shoot you.�
�That�s ten shots, Devs! You�re so talented!�
I just stare at him. He giggled.
�Hit the liquor hard this morning, did we?�
�I�m not drunk,� he says with annoyance, looking put out, ��Risu gave me painkillers.�
�Normally I�d say you were a lying son of a bitch,� I tell him, earning a pout, �but I suppose since I can actually understand what you�re telling me instead of having to decipher your slurring, it must be true.� I pause to look him over a minute, before continuing with my statement, �Taijou did say you were injured, but all I see is a rather unsightly bruise under your jaw.�
�I know! It�s totally ruining my air of beauty,� he exclaims with outrage, �but that�s not what I got them for, really. It was more for this.� Before I can even think to ask �For what?� he has his shirt off in roughly the amount of time it took me to blink.
�Yes, that� a rather lovely bullet hole you got in your chest there, Blade,� I tell him, leaning back comfortably against the wall of the elevator. He pouts at me again, probably because the general reaction to his bare chest is to jump on him proclaiming you want to bear his children. Apparently he thinks the fact we�re related shouldn�t change this. �Anyway, Taijou wanted to talk to you. I could tell you why, but I�m lazy. And if I did, then you wouldn�t go see him, and then I�d get in trouble because he�d think I didn�t tell you.�
With that, the elevator door dinged open, announcing it had decided to arrive at its destination. I was feeling sadistic, so I stole Bladen�s shirt and shoved him out of the elevator as he was about to press the button again. �Good luck explaining the no shirt thing to Taijou, since you�re too lazy to go back downstairs and get another one,� I called as the doors closed. A loud thud proved he kicked the closed doors to tell me to shut the fuck up as the elevator began its descent.
Arriving back on the first floor, Dakumi greets me by pressing the barrel of his gun to my temple. Working here is such fun, I tell ya what.
�Dakumi, chill. No red hair or green eyes, see?�
The gun was lowered with an annoyed sigh from the owner. �So where is he?� I held up the shirt in my hand.
�I stole his shirt and shoved him out on the presidential floor.�
Dakumi actually laughed with this statement. I�d be afraid, but I�ve seen stranger things. The twins drunk, for example. Quality entertainment right there.
�Oh, hey,� Dakumi�s face suddenly became serious, and he glanced back over his shoulder before looking to me again, �you shouldn�t hang around. Himeko�s close by.�
�Ah, I�d better get going then,� I say. He nods to confirm this and suddenly Himeko appears around the corner and Dakumi gives me a pitying look. My face pales at the prospect of what doom will befall me in the next two minutes.
�Arare-chan!� She practically screeches this, as she sees me standing with Dakumi, with the volume and tone that would make a harpy flee. I actually have to cover my ears because the lobby tends to echo, and that�s not helping things. Himeko�s running to me now, arms flung open so that the second we collide she can capture me in some sort of death grip hug of which I have no chance in hell of escaping. So I do what any sane person would do in my situation.
I throw Bladen�s shirt in her face, and then, in case obstructing her vision isn�t enough to stop her (and it�s not), I shove Dakumi into her for backup and then run like hell.
�So no sane person would actually do that to Dakumi unless they had a death wish. I panicked, okay?
After Dakumi so graciously took a hit for me, he and Himeko landed in a pile on the floor just as I was yanking open the glass doors and heading out into the overcast world.
�Azarze-kun!�
I glance back to see Luna running after me, so I slow to a stop instead of telling her she was putting my escape to a halt and my life in danger. Luna�s actually a really pleasant person to be around, if you haven�t tried to steal her coffee from her at any point in your life (she holds grudges like nothing else). She somehow manages to have this innocent charm, despite the fact I�ve seen her shoot down and/or kill people without remorse.
�What�s the plan,� she asks as she catches up, �the twins were talking about it, but no one�s giving me any details. I have a right to know as his partner, don�t I?� This is Luna-speech for �I�m beginning to think it�s too dangerous and it�s worrying me.�
