Badgers From the Same Hole

Rean is a young detective of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide division, and a member of a specialized branch utilizing experimental new technology. He’s always been uniquely sensitive to others’ emotions—which makes him the ideal candidate for the prototype of the “VALIMAR System”, a partner program which allows him to delve into the subconscious mind of a subject as long as he maintains eye contact.
He’s proud of the work that he does... but having to internalize the emotions and motivations of scum who show no remorse has taken a mental toll on him. The nature of his job keeps him pretty busy, but he still tries to make time for friends and family... although his mental capacity for socializing has been dwindling by the day. And forget relationships... even if he wanted to give it an honest try, his heart was too muddied by his complicated situationship with someone who was admittedly pretty useful as an informant, even if he was damn annoying... it was just complicated.
[Inspired by the “AI: The Somnium Files” games. I know the concept of “AI” has become really cringe and we all hate it, so just pretend it’s the cool cyberpunk version of AI everyone imagined in the 80s and 90s lol]

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 – Diamond

OOO

[Author’s Notes: Hey everybody, just a bit of preamble—this story takes place in a fictionalized version of Tokyo, inspired by modern-day setting JRPGs (Shin Megami Tensei/Persona etc.), so some things may not be true to life lol. And just for funsies, I gave everyone the surnames of their Japanese voice actors to fit a little better ^_^ Also, I’ll be keeping some words untranslated with an annotation (i.e. “Wakagashira” for second-in-command boss), but I feel like constant honorifics like -san or -sama will only be distracting. Lastly, no one needs to have played any of the AI: Somnium or Spike Chunsoft games to enjoy this :) It’s just a similar premise, since I’ve been really into those games lately!

Also MAJOR WARNING: The crime Rean is investigating is sexually violent in nature, so read at your own discretion. I removed the “Non-con” tag so it doesn’t get misconstrued that the tag was for Rean and Crow—it’s not, don’t worry!

All right that’s all, hope you all enjoy! ^_^]

9:14am – Thursday – April 5^th, 20XX

Her swollen purple breasts were spilling to the side like crossed eyes, her glassy stare pleading up at someone who was no longer there. The dyed rope digging into her torso was a rich scarlet orange, contrasting beautifully against the pale white of her stomach—at least, Rean couldn’t help but observe so, though the morbidity of the intrusive thought made him wince...

He tentatively approached the bed where she lay, face-up and completely exposed to the world—both arms were bound straight down her back, her hands cruelly tied in a permanent prayer. One leg was bound in two places from shin to thigh, her heel resting at her buttock—the ties on each area of the body were all made with separate ropes, all in striking matching red. A flash from the camera went off, the second investigator stretching up to take a top-down shot of the bed.

Rean observed the scene carefully, internally apologizing to her for intruding—the dark bruising around her neck indicated strangulation, which ultimately led to death by asphyxiation. The petechial hemorrhaging on her eyeballs was evident as he got closer. Estimated time of death was around two or three in the morning. Hmm... He’d need to consult with an expert on whether the placement of the hands indicated proper breath play, or if whoever was with her was just straight-up trying to choke her.

No other external injuries were visible, besides bruising and red marks from struggling against the rope... The diamond pattern going down her torso was quite elaborate—it would’ve taken a long time to tie this up, not even including her arms and leg—she was likely cooperative during the initial tying, and only started struggling once she was being choked. The perfectly symmetrical pattern also indicated that whoever tied her up must have been an expert, or at least familiar enough with the art, and this wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment thing between amateurs. But... he didn’t think shibari was supposed to actually restrict bloodflow like that, even in extreme play—so their perp was either an over-confident hobbyist, or they deliberately tied it incorrectly. Whether it was bondage play gone wrong, or just a way to torture her before ultimately killing her, it was hard to say... Did she ask to be choked, and her partner just did it wrong and fled when they accidentally killed her? Or was this their intention from the start? The crappy security camera footage they got from the front desk was practically useless—with how covered up the perp was, the analysts probably wouldn’t be able to glean much even if the recording quality was better.

Rean was trying to preserve the victim’s dignity in death, but his eyes kept snapping to the horrific sight of her painfully swollen breasts, highlighted front and center in the elaborate tie—they looked like sheer purple socks filled with sand spilling over either side of her chest, covered in a spiderweb of thick blue veins... For a vanilla guy like Rean, it seemed unfathomable that a woman would allow such a sensitive area to be bound to the point of cutting off circulation like a back-alley amputation—even for a true masochist. Even her vulva was framed by red rope, disappearing between her buttocks—it just seemed so uncomfortable, for both parties. But obviously Rean wasn’t the target demographic, so what did he know...

Another camera flash went off, while the second inspector moved her hair aside to get a clear shot of the bruising. The putrid smell of cheap perfume and disinfectant permeated the gaudy room. Another camera flash went off. The investigator circled the corpse, taking a closer shot of her face. Her mouth was cracked open, her eyes speckled with burst blood vessels partially rolled back into her head—it hurt Rean’s heart just to look, but it was part of his job.

He nodded to the other investigator, clad in a blue protective suit with a face mask and gloves. Time to stop delaying the inevitable... “Are there signs of sexual activity?”

“Yep.” Rean impulsively looked away when the investigator’s gloved hand reached for her crotch area. “Whoever did this to her really got his rocks off from it—the semen can’t be more than a few hours old.” So their perp was a man—or at least someone with a penis who was capable of ejaculating. “I’d estimate around the time of death... I wouldn’t be surprised if he came right as he choked her out.” What a disgustingly callous way to put it, even if he was trying to cut the tension with dark humor... “But we’ll know more after the rape kit.”

“... I see.” Rean circled around the other side of the bed. This seemed redundant, but... “Are there any signs of a struggle?”

“The rope dug into her arms and her leg—and you saw her chest. I don’t know if that’s how tight it’s supposed to be tied—but she has mild rope burns in all those places. No sign of foreign blood in or around her mouth, or on the sheets—she didn’t bite him. And if she kicked him she wasn’t lucky enough to knock out a tooth or give us some blood—that was pretty much all she’d be capable of doing.”

“Any personal effects left behind, or anything missing that should be here?”

“Hard to say—the only thing we know for sure was hers is her wallet. Some keys and a phone with with a cute strap are here, but nothing that could point to a possible perp. Unless those were his.” He made it sound like the most outlandish thing in the world, for a guy to have a cute cell phone strap... “The phone’s locked, of course, but it’s probably hers. She had kind of a lot of cash on her, and it’s still in there.” Another camera flash went off. “She checked into the room under her own name, and called the front desk to give her ‘friend’ a key to her room—our perp met her here a half-hour later. Not unusual, lots of guys don’t want to be caught cheating on the missus, so they don’t book the room themselves...”

“And what was her name?”

“Rika Okamura—we found a business card for She Shells—” He got stuck on the tongue-twister. “Ugh—SHE SELLS Seashells Club in her wallet.” Great... “Probably a pro—those Sakurai guys ain’t gonna be too happy one of their girls turned up dead.”

Rean’s stomach sank—he really didn’t want to have to deal with the Sakurai Group on this one... “I imagine not.” He took a couple tries to slide her ID out of her wallet with his gloved thumb—he’d have to try to contact her family ASAP, he’d prefer to be the one to do it himself. At least one good thing he could say about Seashells—they treated their girls well enough that they probably had her family’s contact info on hand, and she wasn’t trafficked into the country and untraceable.

He peered around at the gaudy love hotel décor—this place wasn’t the worst dive he’d ever been called to investigate, but it wasn’t high-end, either. Without the projected lights, the periwinkle walls just looked washed-out. Rika had booked the whole night, rather than the hourly rate—that might also point to her actually knowing the perp, and this possibly being an accidental death during rough play. Since she was meeting a client or an acquaintance in private outside of the club, it’d make sense for her to choose a more low-profile spot, outside of the Sakurai Clan’s territory—but they couldn’t rule out that the perp chose this place himself, and just asked her to check in first. She paid cash upfront, and used her own card for the incidentals... If the perp chose this place, he probably didn’t make that much money—in Rean’s experience, these kinds of guys felt compelled to show off to the girl, and spend money they don’t actually have to maintain the illusion that they’re not pathetic for paying for sex. That was the usual pattern, anyway—it was just human nature. Even the type of johns that looked down on the “whores” they bought still didn’t want to look broke or cheap. Unless emasculation was their thing... But then, he probably wouldn’t have tied her up like that. But... haah, Rean would just have to ask an expert, it’s not like he really knew much about bondage or that whole world. But high-quality rope like this probably wasn’t cheap, either—it wasn’t coarse or poorly-made, it just dug into her skin so badly because she was struggling. This certainly wouldn’t have been provided by a hotel of this caliber...

Rean looked up, catching his own eyes in the mirror mounted on the ceiling. Rika Okamura’s eyes were so clouded-over, he couldn’t even make out her irises.

He slid her ID back in her wallet. “I’m heading to Seashells now—please call me if anything unusual jumps out during forensics.”

“Will do, Uchiyama.”

Rean threw away his gloves, walking out into the too-bright morning. Most office workers were probably still polishing off their morning coffee at this time...

The same LED billboards that lit up the night still glared above the busy square, but every single neon sign was off. Only Rika Okamura persisted, crossing the barrier between worlds of the red light district, the harsh line between nightlife and weekday business hours...

OOO

Haah... He knew this was just going to be a huge pain.

Rean steeled himself, walking through the tinted glass door of Seashells while a few staff members quickly crossed back and forth across the polished floors. This place looked so different during the day, almost like a normal bar and restaurant... Rean wove his way towards the bar, expecting to be stopped—unfortunately all the hosts recognized him on sight and one even greeted him, so nobody even gave him the courtesy of questioning why he was here... haah.

Their No. 1 host was behind the bar, peering up at the bottles while scribbling in a journal—probably their monthly order. At least it was just her—if she could answer his questions well enough, then he could slip out before anyone snitched to the “boss” that he was here...

Rean reluctantly slid between the cushy stools at the well-polished mahogany bar, and the host’s face lit up instantly when she saw him. “Oh hey, sweetheart! What brings you in so bright and early?” Then, her expression fell just as fast. “Oh... It’s business and not pleasure, huh?”

He sighed heavily. “It’s always business.” He flashed his badge out of formality. “I need to ask you a few questions about your employee, Rika Okamura.”

“Rika?” Angelica’s brows furrowed, and she set down her pen and closed her notebook. “Why, what happened to her?” The end of her sentence wavered a bit, which was rare for her.

Rean took a seat on one of the barstools. “It’s not good. You might want to sit down.”

She pressed both her palms flat on the bar, her expression uncharacteristically stony. “What happened?”

“... She’s dead.” He watched the color drain from her face in real-time. “She was found by the cleaners in a love hotel this morning. We’re still determining whether it was an accidental death or homicide.” A thousand thoughts flashed behind her stunned expression.

“Oh my god...” Angelica deflated into the bar, her hand pressed over her mouth, looking at nothing. “I can’t believe that... I just talked to her last night!”

“You did?” Rean got out his notebook. “Please—anything at all you can remember about when you last saw her will be helpful. Was she going out to meet a client, or a partner?”

“No—our girls aren’t allowed to take clients outside the club, you know that.” Rean winced internally at the fact that he did know that, and she knew that he knew... “And she’s not dating anyone, as far as I know—I can’t believe this...” She cradled her forehead in her hand, shaking her head slowly. “Why would she go meet some guy without telling me?!” She pressed her forehead in frustration. “Damnit... That stupid—how am I supposed to look out for her if she goes off and does her own thing under my nose?! And with some psycho who roughed her up...”

Rean wanted to pat her shoulder or do anything to comfort her, but he had to maintain that professional line... “I’m sorry... We’re still trying to determine whether it was an accident.” He knew that wouldn’t be much consolation at all...

Rean sat in silence, giving her a minute to process the news, and her own grief.

OOO

Angelica shook her head, her eyes closing. “... Wow. It still doesn’t feel real. We haven’t lost any girls since the boss man took over—how many clubs can say that?” Well... “... Why would she do that? Was it that much money...?” She trailed off, cupping her chin in her hand, hiding her mouth. She crossed her other leg, leaning her weight against the bar on the stool across from Rean.

He didn’t want to be callous and rush her, but time was of the essence and he had so precious few leads as it was... And he still had to contact her family.

Rean swallowed at the invasive question. “Angelica, did you know Rika to have a preference for rough play?”

Her eyes flicked up to his. “Well—I guess that depends on your definition of ‘rough’.” She relaxed her posture, laying her arm on the bartop. “I guess no more than your average working girl—she was willing to do play that didn’t leave any marks, like low-temp wax dripping—but we had a policy that a separate consent form had to be signed for anything resembling bondage, or even using toys—you can never be too careful.” Her eyes narrowed, still looking down at nothing. “I didn’t think she was particularly into bondage on her own time, but she’d done it before... Shibari rope play, that is. Honestly—it’s hard to say what she’d actually want to do on her private time. Some girls have a hard line to keep work separate from personal—or they don’t want a real kink being ruined by random clients who don’t do it how they want it.” She looked right into his eyes. “Why—was she killed by someone who knew her? Did anything at the scene indicate that?”

“We have no idea at this stage—that’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He tapped his notepad, just to escape the eye contact, if anything. “But what you’ve told me does paint a clearer picture... If she had a boyfriend or even someone she met up with casually, would she hide that from you?” He rolled his eyes before he could help it. “Does the ‘boss’ not like that?”

“No—I mean, he doesn’t care, and she’d have no reason to hide it from me—” She cut herself off. “Well... I guess only if she was embarrassed, or she wanted to sit on it until she knew how serious it was before telling me...” Her forehead collapsed in her hand again. “I don’t know... It’s so frustrating. Why didn’t she just tell me? Even outside of work...”

Rean finished writing, ‘No boyfriend or FWB’—he felt a little weird writing that, but it was short and concise. “I see... So, the club doesn’t have problems with the girls ‘freelancing’ on their own?”

“Well, yeah—that’d be a huge problem.” She sat up straight. “First of all—it’s unsafe! There’s no protection out there if they’re essentially hooking on their own—and most places don’t have nearly as much security and cameras as we do. We’re not running some sketchy dog-and-pony show here—you know that.” Ugh—quit saying that, Angelica, please... “And not only that—it’s just bad for business! If you’re a hairstylist paying for a chair at a salon, you can’t just cut hair for a thousand yen at home and pocket all the money—it’s crappy business practice, and it’s a slap in the face with how hard that guy works to keep everything cozy around here.” She ran a hand back through her short hair, pushing her choppy bangs off her forehead. “I know you don’t like brothels on principle—but our girls have it pretty cushy compared to other shops. They have no reason to risk that on some sketchy client off the street—especially not Rika, she was raking in money.”

“I see...” Rean scribbled some more notes. That wasn’t the perception he got—given the location and the extremity of play, he assumed she wasn’t earning much at the shop or was in dire straits for cash... He hated to admit it, but the hotel where they found her might as well be a hole in the ground compared to Seashells. “She might have had debt, or another sudden expense you didn’t know about.”

“I guess that’s true...” Angelica crossed her leg. “If she really needed the money, she might have been offered such a fat wad of cash, it’d be dumb to turn it down... And she decided to just give herself a little cheat day and pocket it all outside the club...” She folded her arms, like she was hugging herself. “Still... I really wish she would’ve just told me. I wouldn’t have snitched—I just want all our girls to be safe.”

Rean closed his notebook. “I’m sorry... I’ll be honest that we have very few leads, but I’m trying my best to follow up on what I can.” He finally looked her in the eye. “Her body is waiting down at the morgue for her family to identify her—I’ll need their contact information before I go.”

“Of course—I can get that for you.” She stood up. “Come to the back office with me—you should come back later too, when the boss is here.” Rean flinched—if he could get all the info he needed out of Angelica in one swoop, that would be highly preferable...

Angelica led him down the narrow hallway through the back rooms, which were much less disorienting during the day with normal indoor lighting. “... I still can’t believe she’s gone.” She got out her key, unlocking a door that read ‘Staff Only’. “Haha... Why does it feel like she’ll still come waltzing in the front door looking like a mess to tell me a story about some creepy guy she met at a bar last night...” She folded into herself, turning away from Rean and pushing the door open with her body weight. He had the instinct to reach out and give her a hug—but he stopped himself.

OOO

1:42pm – Thursday – April 5^th, 20XX

Rean snapped back—he’d been spacing out in front of his computer screen, for who knows how long. Oh, it was after noon, and he hadn’t eaten lunch yet... He just couldn’t get the image of that poor girl’s body out of his head, and her glassy eyes, and her purple breasts that looked like one giant bruise, and the casual way the investigator touched her in such an intimate place when he really didn’t need to... Ugh, he needed to go to the bathroom—

Rean quickly pushed out of his desk, and the Chief Inspector called out to him as he rounded the corner. “Rean—everything okay?!”

“Yeah—sorry, just headed to the restroom.”

Chief Inspector Machias’ brows sloped. “Well—all right.” Rean quick-walked down the hallway, seeking refuge in the bathroom.

He quickly ducked to make sure no one was in the stall, then flipped on the faucet. He absently let the cold water rush over his fingers, washing his hands before gently splashing some water on his face, careful to not get any on his shirt...

He looked at his own eyes in the mirror. He looked like shit... He wasn’t even up that late, and he wasn’t called to the scene ungodly early—just that one call drained him that much. He didn’t even have to use VALIMAR yet... He probably should’ve used it on Angelica, just to be able to eliminate her as a suspect—but her grief was so palpable, even through her numb shock and disbelief, and she was almost angry at Rika for putting herself in such a dangerous position—he just couldn’t bear the thought of taking those emotions on directly. He probably had to talk to her again at some point, just to be able to cross her off the list for the higher-ups... Especially Superintendent Towa, it was probably killing her to not be able to give Angie more details from the scene, or be able to comfort her in person. Rean just didn’t have it in him to do it... he couldn’t look her in the eyes that long.

Rean flicked his wet fingers in the sink, quickly drying his hands with a brown paper towel, and left the bathroom.

OOO

Rean was staring at the phone, and the white pages of his open notebook. He licked his lips, realizing with shame that his hand was shaking as he picked up the receiver.

He dialed the numbers one at a time, the tones beeping in his ear.

He waited while it rang. It rang a second time, agonizingly ringing in his ear.

“... Hello, this is the Okamura residence?”

Rean licked his lips. “Hello, am I speaking with Mrs. Ritsuko Okamura?”

“Yes, how can I help you?” She sounded like such a pleasant middle-aged mom, like the women he saw every morning in his neighborhood...

Rean stared at his notebook as he spoke. “Mrs. Okamura, this is Detective Uchiyama calling from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.” He paused for just a second. “Is now a good time to talk?”

The silence on the other end was palpable. “... Has Rika done something?” Her voice was quivering ever-so-slightly. “Did something happen to her?—” Her voice broke.

Rean closed his eyes. “I’m very sorry to inform you of this, Mrs. Okamura—Rika passed away last night. She was found in a hotel in Kabukicho this morning.”

Her mother’s wailing crackled as it blew out the receiver, flooding his heart. It took everything in him not to cry. He listened while all the pain twisted out of her like smoke that would never dissipate...

OOO

She had a thousand-yard stare as she beheld Rika’s face, peeking out from the sheet covering the state of her body. “... that’s her.” Her face scrunched up. “That’s my Rika...” Her hands pressed into her face, and her body rocked in sobs that she tried and failed to contain.

OOO

Rean was staring at a puddle reflecting the upside-down traffic signal. Green arrow. Yellow light. Red light. Green arrow. Yellow light. Red light.

He sipped his coffee—it was mostly cold now, and tasted like how he imagined Hawai’ian black sand tasted. He stared out the window through the raindrops clinging to the glass. Yellow light. Red light.

OOO

7:30pm – Thursday – April 5^th, 20XX

Rean was anxiously tapping his fingers on the desk—no fingerprints, no blood, no DNA matches in the system from the rape kit—the rope was high-quality but could’ve been bought at any sex shop—George was on the very last attempt before her phone locked them out, but he was still waiting on the subpoena for the cell carrier—the shitty security cameras at that second-rate love hotel were useless, and the guy was wearing a mask, sunglasses, and a baseball hat anyway. He even wore a damn hood over it to hide his hair—they had shit-nothing, and it was already twelve hours after the estimated time of death—no, more than that. That scumbag could’ve gotten on a plane and left Tokyo by now...

... Rean really didn’t want to have to go back to She Sells Seashells. Juna had already interviewed the other girls at the club, couldn’t Towa go instead... Haah. No, he couldn’t work up the stones to ask the Superintendent to do something like that, even if she probably would...

Rean stood up abruptly, smacking his chair with the back of his legs. It was just making him more frustrated and anxious putting it off—he’d go and get it over with, then probably go drink alone to get it off his mind. Or he could invite Jusis, or Laura if she wasn’t busy... Actually, the more he thought about it, he really didn’t want to end up drinking alone... At the very least, he could get a taxi over to Gaius’ to get some dinner and just stay over at their place after he closed up downstairs... That didn’t sound so bad, actually. Hopefully Elliot was home, too...

Rean grabbed his coat and threw it over his shoulders. The sun was just starting to set, dying the sky burnt orange between the packed buildings...

OOO

They weren’t open quite yet, but staff were flitting about getting ready to flip over to dinner service—“dinner service” as if anyone came for the food. Even if that guy insisted that it was actually pretty good, Rean would never have any on principle. Maybe if his bottom line got low enough throwing away so much money on ingredients every month, he’d close the doors and leave town for good...

“Haah...” Rean pulled open the tinted glass door, dread washing over him as he stepped inside. The terrible dreamy music with unintelligible whisper-singing that was somehow way too loud hit him like a wave of tepid bathwater...

A guy with a loud dress shirt and messy grey hair was looking up at the chandelier, watching as a server unscrewed all the light bulbs. “How’s it look, like it could use a good dust?”

“No, actually—it still looks pretty clean up here.” The guy carefully set a lightbulb in the bag slung over his shoulder.

The annoying guy with the messy hair smirked to himself. “Yeah, well... Just dust it off anyway, it’ll make me feel better.” He must’ve sensed someone behind him, and turned over his shoulder. “Oh—hey, baby.” Crow gave him a tired smile, running a hand back through his hair with irritating casualness. “Sorry we don’t get to see each other under better circumstances.”

“—for the last time, don’t call me that.” Resisting the urge to just turn around and leave, Rean stopped a good few feet away from him. “I need to ask some follow-up questions about Rika Okamura’s whereabouts last night.” He flashed his badge to make it abundantly clear he wasn’t here on his own time.

“I hear ya.” Crow’s tired smile looked more tired than usual—Rean could make out the bags under his eyes from here, even with the club’s mood lighting. “Let’s go grab a booth, yeah? Or we could sit in the back—”

“—a booth will be just fine.” Rean pushed right past him. He knew better than to go “sit in the back” somewhere with Crow where no one could see them, after last time... Or maybe that was a few times ago—ugh.

Rean scooted into the circular booth, practically hugging the edge so Crow wouldn’t try to get cozy with him in the middle. If he actually tried to scooch all the way around to this side, he’d just make himself look like a desperate idiot in front of his staff—not that that had ever particularly deterred him.

“... So.” Crow stayed on his side of the booth, his tired tone uncharacteristically serious. “Can I ask if you have any leads at all?”

Rean folded his hands in his lap. “None, unfortunately.” He decided to give “the boss” the benefit of the doubt that he could maintain some level of seriousness and professionalism, after the sudden death of one of his employees. “I already spoke to Angelica this morning, as I’m sure you’re aware—and a junior colleague of mine interviewed the others who knew Rika best. As far as anyone knew, Rika wasn’t seeing anyone, at least not exclusively—and it would’ve taken a lot for her to take on a client outside of work.”

Crow spread his arms along the back of the cushioned booth. “Yeah—they all know better. Besides being against our policy, it’s just damn dangerous to take a client on the fly like that. Most love hotels don’t even have cameras like we do.” He was looking off at nothing, and a pink swirl from a distant strobe light traveled over his face. “She must’ve been offered a shit-ton to do it—or she just ran into a once-in-a-lifetime hottie and it was purely personal.” Rean saw him roll his eyes before the pink lights danced off his face. “But I doubt a guy like that would go and kill the girl afterwards.”

“—it’s not like traditionally attractive or successful killers are unheard of. Like Ted Bundy from the US.”

Crow leveled his gaze right at him. “So—you’re a hundred percent she was murdered? Not a scene gone wrong?”

Rean had to be careful with his wording here, like always... “It’s unlikely to have been an accidental death, given the state of the scene. But we’re still in active investigation.”

“Shit.” Crow leaned over his legs, almost smacking his chest into the edge of the table. “Damnit—what the hell was she thinking?” He bit the inside of his lips. “Gelica told me you asked her if Rika was into ‘rough play’—how rough are we talking?” He scratched the back of his hair. “She was willing to do a little kink at a higher rate—but everyone has a floor, they’re not just gonna do whatever because a client asks for it. We have girls that specialize in different play for a reason.” He folded his arms. “Shit—maybe she wanted to get some experience on her own before trying it out at the club? But we could’ve paid to have her train with a professional—it just doesn’t make sense. What was she thinking?” Rean noticed that Crow was rubbing his bicep with his thumb while he talked. “I didn’t know she had an interest in being tied up, but Gelica said she’d done it before—to be honest with ya, she was known for her amazing blowjobs, and she liked to get bukkaked and covered in cum—being tied up just sounds like it’d get in the way.” Well, he really could have gone without knowing that... “Whoops—sorry for being so blunt, I just thought it would help.” He nodded to Rean, failing to hide his little smirk. “Ain’t you gonna write that down in your little notebook?”

“I’ve made a mental note of it.” Rean kept his hands firmly folded in his lap. “So—as far as you knew, she didn’t have a personal interest in bondage, and it wasn’t something she engaged with at the shop?”

“Nope—and it’s not like these girls are shy, she would’ve just told me if she wanted to try new stuff. Like I said—we woulda paid to have her train with a proper expert and learn all the safety precautions. It’s just damn stupid to try it out for the first time on your own—unless the thrill of it did it for her...” He stared down at the wide empty space between them. “But... That just doesn’t seem like her. Something about it’s not right.” His eyes flicked up to Rean’s, which surprised him. “Hey—did it look like she’d been kidnapped, or held against her will?”

“... It’s a little hard to determine with a situation like that, but she was on the hotel’s security camera checking in by herself.” Rean kept his focus on the shiny stripe reflecting the colored lights on the table between them. “It’s possible she could’ve been threatened beforehand—but it takes a long time to tie those ropes, right?”

“I’ll say—you’re supposed to take it slow, from what I understand. It’s the buildup, and ‘seeing your mobility gradually being taken away’ that’s supposed to be the erotic part.” He shrugged. “That’s just how Sana explained it to me, when she was trying to plan out time tables for shibari sessions—it’s not really my thing, so that’s the extent of my knowledge.” Crow propped his arm on the back of the booth. “Hey—I can ask her to show you a demonstration. Come back tomorrow night—it might help you get in the killer’s head, or understand the scene better. She can tell you more about the psychological aspect of it.”

Rean’s first instinct was to say, “I don’t think that’s necessary”—but to be honest, they had so little to go on, it wouldn’t hurt for him to have a better understanding of shibari. He didn’t even know how long it took, or that stuff Crow just told him about why it was appealing—he knew that it was considered an art form in its own right. Its purpose was to make the body look beautiful, in conjunction with restricting movement. It might help him understand Rika’s state of mind, or the killer’s, if he knew more about it...

“Tomorrow night?” Rean stopped himself from licking his lips, though he still bit down a little out of habit. His eyes flicked up to the guy dusting the chandelier from the top of the ladder. “I’m surprised you haven’t closed down for tonight.”

“Well... With how in shock everyone is, me and Gelica thought it’d be best to give us all a distraction.” His low tone was a little softer. “We’re changing the lights to those horrible pink bulbs that she liked, and all the money we make tonight is going towards giving her a proper burial.” Crow had a small smirk. “I don’t know much about her folks, and whether they have a family grave—but I doubt they could afford a cremation and a whole ceremony. I want to have the donation ready by tomorrow, so they don’t have to wait more than a day after the wake to have her funeral.” Crow never struck him as the superstitious type to care about Buddhist burial practices...

“You’re not going to just pay for it yourself and give everyone the night off, if she meant that much to you?” Rean regretted it as soon as he blurted it out.

“Haha—well, of course I’ll make up the difference on top of whatever we make tonight.” He gave Rean a tired smile. “It’s more about having everyone here together, and throwing a big night in her honor. Plus, it helps me feel like less of an asshole boss to lecture everyone about why you’re not allowed to go hook on your own, under any circumstances.”

“Uh huh...” Rean just said it out of habit, but he didn’t mean for it to come off so dismissive. “Well—whatever you think is best for the girls.” Honestly... hearing that, if he really meant it—he wished he could give Crow a little more details about what happened to Rika. Right now, the precinct was still forbidden from talking to the press, but it was only a matter of time before such a sensational story made headlines—it was more rare for an escort to be found dead rather than just quietly disappearing...

Crow gave him an unreadable look, with a slight disingenuous smile—though it was hard to tell in the dark. “You should stick around for a bit. All the girls are gonna do their best to make the most of it for Rika’s sake—like a ‘celebration of life’, ya know?” He caught Crow’s wink when the pink light washed passed over his face. “I’ll even buy your drinks!”

“How generous.” Rean finally got out his notebook. “I really need some more information before the first twenty-four hours have passed. I’m sure you understand.”

Crow didn’t answer right away. Rean couldn’t tell if he was looking directly at him in the dark, but he was stubbornly focused on the blank page of his notebook, his pen poised on the first line. “Well, ask away. But—” He cut Rean off before he even took a breath. “If you want to get a look at my ledgers or something like that without a warrant... I’m gonna need a little tit-for-tat. Know what I’m sayin’?” He gave Rean that obnoxious wink.

Rean scribbled out the date and time in the margin, pressing his pen harder into the paper than was needed. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Aww, man! Guess I won’t have the cops roughing me up for being non-cooperative after all! ♡” He couldn’t believe the audacity for Crow to still be making that stupid joke, in this circumstance...

“Don’t you have any shame at all?”

Crow had a small, disingenuous smirk. “Nope—but if Rika was here, she’d be giggling at your blushing face like always.”

“You must be going blind—or it’s those tacky pink lights.” Urgh—he regretted saying that. “Just answer my questions—otherwise I will have to drag you downtown for an interrogation, and you’ll miss your precious ‘celebration of life’.”

“Geez—don’t get mad at me that you guys can’t do your job right and don’t have any leads. I should be the one gettin’ pissy over here.”

“Don’t even start with me.”

Crow put his hands up in mock-surrender. “All right, all right—sorry I said that.” He sighed loudly. “I wanna find out what happened to Rika too, so I ain’t got nothin’ to hide.” He smirked. “You just look like shit is all—just trying to lighten the mood a little.” His eyes closed. “... Fuck—I thought I made things the best I possibly could around here. I’m pretty proud of the club compared to some other sketchy hole-in-the-walls out there—don’t you think it’s pretty nice?” Crow wasn’t really asking him—he was running his hand through his hair a few times in frustration, staring unfocused in the middle distance. “I can’t believe she’d fuck around behind all our backs and get herself killed.” Rean wasn’t sure what to say to that, his pen poised on the next blank line.

OOO

“Even if I had clearance to show the photos... You wouldn’t want to see it.”

Crow rubbed his chin, staring unfocused in the booth. “Shit... I’m no expert, but you can’t tie the knots that well and still be enough of an amateur to cut off the circulation that badly, unless it was intentional. Fuck—one thing I do know, is that Rika was not into pain. Fuck—it’s making my titties hurt thinking about it.”

Honestly, Rean was growing more tempted to just give in and have a drink to calm his nerves by the minute... Just talking about it was upsetting and stressing him out all over again. He for damn sure wasn’t going to mention that forensic investigator... Crow would probably just straight-up have him thrown into Tokyo Bay. “So by your assessment, Rika wouldn’t have willingly engaged in extreme restraint play, no matter how much money she was offered.”

Crow looked at him with his chin heavy in his hand. “Well, if she wasn’t forced, then apparently she was willing to do it—haah. If I had to guess, she was willing to do some shibari once he got out such high-quality rope—maybe he said he’d take pictures and give ‘em to her, who knows. Honestly, she might’ve even just impulsively done it to have some stunning pictures to show for it later.” That was an interesting angle—Rean had to keep reminding himself that a working girl like Rika just had a different relationship with sex and intimacy than he did... “But—maybe as soon as he got her hands tied back, he tightened that shit up without her consent. Shit—it’s making me sick thinking about it.” He pushed his messy hair off his forehead. “Were there at least signs that she fought back?”

“... The ropes dug into her, which indicated a struggle—but she had one leg free. There wasn’t any blood found at the scene...” Once again, Rean had caved and started giving details he wasn’t cleared to give—he knew Crow wouldn’t narc on him to the higher-ups in the police department, but... “If forensics finds bruising on her foot, then she might’ve at least gotten a good kick on him...”

Crow’s irises looked so large and dark in the dimly-lit club. “What was the guy wearing on the security camera?”

“A baseball hat with a hood over it, and sunglasses with a mask.” Rean sighed to himself. “This particular hotel didn’t ask guests to remove masks for the sake of the camera, apparently. Since the room was in her name, they didn’t even ask to check his ID.”

“—what kinda rinky-dink shit—I can’t believe that. There’s no way she’d go slumming at a hotel with such bad security, I can’t believe she’d willingly do something so stupid—not with how up everyone’s ass me and Gelica are about being safe. Fuck—” Crow’s eyes scrunched closed. “—I’m not trying to talk badly about her, it just doesn’t make sense! Either she got offered like a billion yen, or it was someone she knew—” Crow’s eyebrows went up. “Or it was someone she couldn’t refuse. Like the Prime Minister, or something.”

“... That would be quite a scandal.”

“Hey—it was definitely the boss of the Nakata Clan, you should go arrest him right now.”

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Rean couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I highly doubt Giliath Nakata could skulk around Kabukicho without your sixth sense going off, even if he was completely concealing his face.” The person in that grainy footage definitely wasn’t tall or imposing enough, either... “Hmm...” Rean rubbed his chin. “Is it that uncommon for love hotels to not have guests remove their masks and show ID? Or have all parties register their names? The investigator on the scene said it wasn’t uncommon for guys who were cheating, to have their partner check in first under their name—the perp might have gone to this particular hotel for that reason. He might have even been a regular...” There was really no way to know, since that ridiculously checked-out front desk clerk couldn’t describe one single distinguishing feature...

“It just depends on the hotel, honestly—some that seem on the up-and-up might be more lax about getting names, because that would scare away all the teachers and cheaters.”

Rean stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Blackmailing is still illegal. The hotels would have nothing to gain from attempting to expose their own clientele.”

“You’d be surprised, babe—I had one girl we had to let go try to—”

“Don’t call me that—” Wait—“What, you had a girl who tried to blackmail you?”

Crow smirked. “Not me, personally—but we had a girl who said she took a bunch of ‘photos’ of ‘sensitive business information’ that she’d take straight to the Nakata Clan if we didn’t pay her off—something like that, but we just called her bluff and sent her packing.”

“Are you sure she didn’t actually have anything on you?”

Crow snickered. “It was such a specific threat, she was probably sent by some low-level goon in Nakata to infiltrate us. There wasn’t shit she could find laying around here that would be helpful to them at all, anyway.”

“I see...” Wait—none of that was relevant to his investigation at all. “So—you’d say Rika had enough awareness to know how risky it was to meet someone at a hotel with security that lax? That it would be out of character for her to do that under her own power?”

“Definitely—well, that’s what I want to believe.” He had his hands clasped on the table. “It’s not like Blue Velvet Kitty was some obscure hotel, either—they’re not even that far from us, even though it’s not in our territory.” Crow was rubbing his chin. “... Shit, it might’ve actually been someone super rich and powerful, and she was hoping to blackmail him. That’s the only way I could believe she’d do something so risky without even running it by Gelica first.”

“Were they that close?”

“Well—it’d be like meeting a guy on a blind date without texting your girlfriend first to let her know exactly where you’d be. It’s just dumb not to do it. Shit...” Crow laughed bitterly to himself. “I hope I didn’t awaken some thrill-seeking rebellion by being so strict around here—I’m just trying to keep everyone safe, you know that.”

“... I do know that.” He saw Crow’s brows slope in relief as he said it. Rean did know that... As much as he despised the yakuza, and the fact that Crow had inexplicably taken over a leadership role in the Sakurai Clan... Even though he still thought of legal sex work as exploitative, Rean at least understood his intentions. Crow was trying to do the best with what he inherited from his adoptive family—the one time Rean had the patience to try to listen to Crow explain himself, he said something along the lines of, “Brothels and sex clubs are always gonna exist—it’s just one of the three big human needs. Food, sleep, and sex—at least I want my girls to have a safe place they can work and get their fair cut—is that so wrong, baby?” Ugh—of course he had to ruin that brush with near-sincerity by tacking on that he was trying to get a gay club going too, and he’d give Rean free drinks for life if he helped him out as a “consultant”... whatever among the Amida Buddha’s cherry grove that meant.

“Haah...” Crow ran a hand back through his hair. “Shit, for all I know she got too comfortable working such a cushy gig, and she jumped at the first chance to get a huge payout all to herself. And that’s why she didn’t want to tell anyone about it.” He smoothed down the choppy back of his hair with his fingers. It was getting pretty long... “Goddamnit... I try to be a cool boss, and they walk all over me. Shit—oh!” He shot forward. “Did you get the, uhh...” He snapped his fingers a few times. “The ‘toxicology report’ back? Were there any drugs in her system?”

“We’re still waiting on the full tox screen, but she did have signs of habitual cocaine usage just judging by her nostrils.” He gave Crow a flat look.

“Well...” Crow settled back in the booth with a sheepish expression. “Hey—long as they can walk in and out the door under their own power, I don’t care what else they do.” Haah... so hypocritical—what happened to “safety first”? Crow probably only had a rule that if it was snowing, they had to chuck a snowball his way, too...

Rean was staring at the last line he scribbled down. ‘Potential client blackmail.’ “I’m going to ask some very direct questions—does your establishment require condom usage?”

“Well of course, what kinda place you think I’m runnin’ here?!”

Rean’s eyes flicked up. “So it’s unlikely that Miss Okamura would engage in unprotected penetrative sex with a client?”

Crow’s eyebrows went up. “She didn’t... I can’t believe that.” He looked genuinely stunned, his chin falling into his hand. “Fuckin’ god... Well, she musta known the guy then!” He sat up straight—he was getting more agitated with each question. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same girl? She knows better than that—she musta been coerced, or something...” The implication hung over the booth like a dark cloud. “Maybe she just wanted to get tied up for fun—but once she was totally helpless, he stuck it in raw against her will.” Rean winced at the vulgarity of his phrasing. “... That’s the only way I can see that goin’ down, unless it was her secret boyfriend.”

Rean’s eyes felt strained trying to read and write his own notes by the flash of the club lights. He just needed a break... “I’m going to step outside for a bit... I’ll have more questions before I leave.”

“Oh—sure.” Crow slid out of the other end of the booth. He never attempted a cheeky “scoot closer” maneuver, thankfully... “You want some water? How about an iced oolong tea?”

“... Actually, yes. Just water—thanks.” Rean closed his notebook, dropping it into his large coat pocket. Oddly enough... Since he was being so cooperative, visiting Crow under such dour circumstances had made talking to him more tolerable... It was almost comfortable, like—

Rean winced at the intrusive thought, pushing through the edges of the dance floor while Crow went off to get him some water or whatever.

OOO

“—geez, I thought you actually took off.” Crow popped his head out around the tinted glass door, the too-loud dreamy music spilling into the noisy street. The sun had well set while they were talking, and the neon lights of the red light district were flooding the night, reflecting off the puddles left on the road from the afternoon rain. “Uh... You want a couple more minutes? I still have a booth set aside for ya... You sure you don’t want some tea?”

“... I’m fine.” Having Crow fuss over him like that just made him feel more antsy—and he hated that he remembered he liked iced oolong tea when he was feeling tired...

Rean just walked right past him through the open door, back into the noisy club that smelled faintly like incense. He didn’t actually mind the smell... He was just getting overwhelmed, and he felt like an intruder since this was a “celebration of life” for a girl he honestly couldn’t remember ever meeting or talking to before... Though apparently, she knew him well enough to laugh at Crow’s attempts to rile him up by being overly-familiar... Haah. Just how much did the “big boss” of the Sakurai Clan gossip to the girls at his own brothel about his one-time fling from high school... It was really pathetic when he framed it that way. Yeah... Crow Sakurai was just pathetic at the end of the day, he was “down bad” for someone he sort-of dated over ten years ago, he was just another pathetic loser stuck in the past, despite all his money and power and influence. Rean just had to keep telling himself that... It made the fact that he came crawling back to such a pathetic guy in a moment of weakness every couple of years slightly more bearable.

He had subconsciously drifted back to the same booth, and the second he sat down, Crow’s huge bodyguard handed him a glass of ice water. “Here ya go, pal—it’s cucumber water, it’ll perk you right up.”

“Oh... thank you.” He took a sip, absently watching while Crow settled back into his side of the booth. The coolness felt good going over his chapped lips, and the subtle cucumber was nice... oh, they even left Rean a little ramekin of lemon slices on his side. Ugh—it wasn’t “his side”—just the side he happened to be sitting at before he went out to get some fresh air. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been standing out there people-watching... Their lack of leads was just so frustrating, he couldn’t even say anything to Rika’s grief-stricken mother—he had to push that out of his mind, or he’d really snap the spider’s thread he was still dangling by.

The antsy standstill he found himself in all day had completely wiped him out—he just wanted to go straight home, he didn’t even have the mental capacity to head over to Nord Kitchen... But he still had to do his best to follow up to the extent that he could. It was his job. For Rika’s sake... that was the least he could do for bringing the mood down and hogging the boss’ time at her own celebration of life. He hoped none of the other girls saw it that way... Most of them had left them alone while they were talking though, thankfully.

Rean sipped at his water. “Is Angelica coming back tonight?”

“Yeah—but she won’t be on the clock.” Crow nodded to Uncle—his bodyguard, and he went away into the crowd.

“I see...” He still couldn’t fathom why Angelica pushed herself like such a workhorse at this seedy club—she never needed to work a day in her life with her family’s money. But she still insisted on “looking out for the girls”—once Crow decided to take over the Sakurai Clan, this club came with it... and by “look out for”... Actually, from what Rean could tell, Angelica did serve as a pretty effective deterrent against shitty customers and bad clients... Even if she still considered the girls in “her stable” more than Crow’s.

“Yeah—so if you’re feeling better, you should at least—”

“Waka!” A girl bounced up to their booth. “We all want to open a bottle of Verve Cliquot for Rika!” [A/N: “Waka” being short for “Wakagashira”, the second-in-command only under the “Kumichō/Oyabun”, the godfather of the clan.]

Crow smiled up at her. “Well, go ahead, then.” He laughed a bit. “Are you sure she wouldn’t get huffy about you pouring such an expensive bottle?”

“As if!” She huffed. “She should be honored!” Something about that... it didn’t sit right with Rean. It almost came across as jealousy, or trying to assert some superiority over Rika—and he didn’t like the way she had bounced her titties when she stopped short right at their booth.

“Excuse me?” Rean sat up straight, looking right at her face. His own voice echoed in his mind, “VALIMAR—heed my call.”

“Acknowledged. Initializing... ”

The second she turned her head, their eyes met—time dilated.

d̵̢͉͍̞̩̈ő̶̧̠͖͇̈̌͛s̶̥̪͙̻̜̍̎͗͝t̴̨͇͑̇ ̸̢̮̼͑͂t̸̬̬̍̑h̴̨̛̬͈͗́̈̆ͅȏ̴̯̱̺͉̟̀̚ü̴̗̽͋ ̴̖͚̈̃d̵̳͇͇͍̥̐̕e̷͓͔͔͆͑̎s̷̻̜̽i̶̧̝̝͌̎́ŕ̸̯e̵̢͍̝̥͋́̏ ̴̨͕̀̆̕ẗ̸̡̬̣ó̷̻̈̿ ̴̩͓̞̬̺̌͊l̷͎̭̇͒͋̍ǐ̷͖ŝ̸̯̼͎͛̋͘͜ͅt̴̨̧̳͆̐̚͠e̶̯̲̥̮͇͒̂̅̓͆ń̸͓͍̥̜̾̒̽͝ ̷̬̦͐̋̌ä̷̹̳́ǹ̶͇͉̼͙̔̎d̴̜͎̰͋̋ ̴̦̌̒f̴̯͚͘̕͘e̸̥̹̺̯͂̀̀̋ê̴̛̗̩ĺ̸̞̲͚̅̚ ̴̣͍̙̼̬̅͗̋͝w̸̛̭͆į̷̨̖͍̭͋̏́͐͝t̷͚͖̞̻͋͝h̴̡̩͓̮̀̍͐͋͒ͅ ̸̹̀̊̅́͠ț̸̢̰̭̏̑͌͝h̵̡͖̑į̶̢̦̮̯̓̎n̶̳̋̊͑ȅ̷͙͓͎ ̶͇̬͚͖͔̋̂͆́ò̸͖̃̕w̶͈̞̕n̶̪͑̍̅͝ ̴̥̘̜͉͒̎͂̓͠h̴͕͖̬̋̔͐̃e̴̤̰̍̅͘͘͝ͅǎ̵̛͉̖̔̇̔ͅr̸͍̞̒̐̊͐͜t̵͎̗̋͝?̴̡̳͆͑͒͜ͅ

She flipped her billowing hair off her shoulder, the wind laden with sakura petals suspending her on an unseen throne. She crossed one long leg over the other. “Why should I suddenly pretend like I liked her, just because she died?” Her titties threatened to spill out of her low-cut dress as she leaned over. “Like, make it make sense!”

Rean peered up at her, his eyes unblinking. “Did you resent Rika?”

“Pft.” She huffed, turning her nose up like a purebred dog being served dry kibble. “Me? Everyone knows I’m the top earner when it comes to pouring bottles—she just spread her legs more, so she technically brought in more money. But it’s not like that’s hard—selling a one hundred thousand yen bottle is way more impressive to Waka!”

“I see... Do you feel like ‘Waka’ favored Rika unfairly?”

Her face scrunched into itself like she just sucked on a lemon. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rean was surprised by the pushback... “... Were you jealous of Rika? Are any of the other girls here jealous of her?”

“Why should I be?” She clicked her tongue, the wind blowing back her hair with a howl. “It’s not like Waka looks at any of us with heart eyes, no matter how much we bring in. Especially not that loose slot Rika.”

“... Is that true?”

She gave him the flattest look he’d ever seen. “Are you seriously asking that? What, are you dumb? Or just blind?”

Rean was so taken aback, his consciousness was sucked back out like a reverse water slide, being yanked back through a dark tunnel—

s̶̰͕̥̐͛ͅë̵͕̱́v̷̨̯̂͘̕e̸̮͙͓̳͆̍̾͝r̶͖̘̯̋̒i̶̙̅n̷͖̦̔̄́͠ͅg̵̦͇̖͌͗͊̽̈́ ̸͇̙͐͛͛͝c̷̨̹̼̠̏̄̇̔ǫ̶́̋ͅͅṅ̶̟̘́̎n̶̳͎̪̖̄̽̾é̸̦c̶̫͒͜t̴̜̲̫̆ị̷̢͕́̌̓̏̈o̷͉̣͓͒n̸̘͉̏͒

“... Connection terminated. A rest period is recommended before attempting again.”

The girl blinked, staring right into his eyes. She slowly turned her head, looking back down at Crow again in a daze. “So... Can I open the bottle of Verve Cliquot?” Her speech was a bit slower—it couldn’t be more obvious.

Rean was internally kicking himself—he must really be at his mental limit, he couldn’t believe he did something so amateurish as letting himself slip out of the delve before he finished asking all his questions. Well... She didn’t seem like she’d have any good information anyway, but...

Crow was giving him that knowing smirk. “Yeah—go for it. Make sure everyone gets a glass—even if it’s a half-pour.” He practically shooed her away, clasping his hands on the table smugly. “What was that about? You think one of my girls killed Rika?” Rean had to stop himself from swallowing. “Why—jealousy? That doesn’t even make any sense—when the club does well, everyone gets paid more. I don’t leave anyone out in the cold if they had a rough month and didn’t get any requests...”

“—just the way she said it threw me off.” Rean’s eyes scrunched closed. “I couldn’t imagine talking about a coworker who just passed away like that...”

“Rean—these girls live in a different world. They see fucked-up shit all the time—you just gotta get used to it to survive in the gutter.” Rean couldn’t look him in the eye. It wasn’t that he thought he could get away with doing it right in front of Crow, like he wouldn’t notice—but it almost felt like Crow could tell that he fucked it up and booted himself out early. “Hey—you sure you got enough juice to be doing that, anyway? You look really rough—don’t pass out on me, or I’ll have to put you down in the swinging bed! ♡”

Suddenly Rean tasted burning bile—he almost threw up in his mouth.

“Whoa—” Crow was up in a second, kneeling down next to him at the edge of the booth. “You okay? Seriously—go lay down in the back for a minute. Want me to call you a cab?”

“I’m fine—” Rean wanted to push him away and get him out of his personal space... but his arms felt so weak...

“—shit! Damnit—hey Uncle, gimme a hand with this guy!”

OOO

Rean was curled up on his side—ugh, his throat burned, he could still taste stomach acid—where the hell was he?!

He shot up on one arm—his vision was still blurry... a bedroom with gaudy wallpaper and no windows? Ugh... stupid Crow, he must’ve put him down in his own room in the back...

“Ugh...” Rean collapsed on his back, his arm covering his eyes. He could hear the dull thump of the obnoxious music through the wall... He needed to have VALIMAR call him a cab, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to look right at his bright-ass phone screen right now...

“Oh, you’re up! How ya feelin’, champ?” A deep voice boomed out from somewhere in the room. He recognized that voice... Uncle Vulcan. No wait, shit—he was just Crow’s scummy bodyguard now.

“... I’m leaving. Tell Crow I still need to ask him some questions... but tell him after the first twenty-four hours have passed, the trail gets colder... exponentially so...”

“Whoa there...” Two huge hands gently pushed on his shoulders, forcing him to lay back down. “You just take it easy for a sec—I’ll get the Boss, okay little buddy?” “Little buddy”... “Oh, hey...” Rean was manhandled and turned on his side before he could even process it. “And stay on your side! There’s a trash can right here, okay?” Rean heard the sound of a plastic bag shaking. “Be right back, bud!” Ugh... Why were all of Crow’s stupid people so stupidly familiar with him... It was just humiliating...

After a minute or however long, he heard the door open again. “Hey... how ya feeling?” Rean kept his eyes closed, and he felt the blanket pull slightly as Crow sat on the mattress next to him. A hand started rubbing his back. “You scared me there for a sec—I’ll call you a cab so you can get home, but I at least need you to be able to walk out the door yourself before I send you on your way.” His freaking hand was cold, he could even tell through his shirt... “Or you want me to call an ambulance?”

“... No.” Rean finally cracked his eyes open, the soft amber glow of the lamp not as harsh as he was expecting. He was only looking at Crow’s legs sideways.

Crow knuckled his shoulder blade, like he was reproaching a child. “Geez—can’t believe you blew the last grain of rice you had whipping out your magic eye trick. Did you even get anything useful?”

“... I learned that Rika pulled in a lot of money. At least more than her...”

“Geez—you coulda just asked me that, you know. I was just fucking around about the ledger—I’ll show you anything you need to catch the guy that did this. And don’t think I’m just gonna sit on my hands, either.”

“—don’t interfere with a police investigation.”

“Aww—you know you take the high road while I take the low road, baby! ♡” He knuckled his shoulder harder—it felt pretty good. Gah—he didn’t mean to think that... “I’ll probably be able to dig up more than you will, honestly. You just go home and get some sleep, I’ll burn the midnight oil for both of us! ♡”

Rean didn’t have enough energy to keep tensing all his muscles like that... So he just let himself unclench and melt away, while Crow palmed his back... Stupid Crow, why did you have to become yakuza scum... You should’ve just left the family when you had the chance, while you were still a clean citizen... [A/N: Other members might use the term “katagi”, which means the same thing; a normal civilian unaffiliated with any organized crime.]

Crow gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll see what I can dig up before I see you tomorrow.” He just decided that on his own... “I have to go inspect some of the casinos—I’ll be at Taj Mahjong most of the day, so come find me there.” He was scratching Rean’s back with his hard nails, but really lightly... “You like the food there, right? I’ll tell ‘em to let you order whatever you want on me.”

“... I’ll order every single thing on the menu and waste all your ingredients.”

Crow laughed. “Hey, good plan! Then we can have a staff party.” Hrrmmm... Even if Rean really wanted to do that to be petty, there’s no way he could just sit there and let perfectly good food rot on the table, it would be such a waste...

“If you’re so rich, why don’t you treat your staff to free food all the time...”

“I do, geez! Everyone gets a paid meal on their lunch, and I don’t care if anyone takes something that’s about to go off home with ‘em. Long as it’s not rotten.” He knuckled Rean’s shoulder blade. “What—didn’t Akemi tell you what a good boss I am when you used your ‘special eyes’ on her?”

“...” He couldn’t believe he wasted so much valuable mental energy on something like that... He just did it impulsively because he was frustrated from having no leads, is all...

“Yeesh—you really are out of it, your eyes look so bloodshot...” Crow leaned down into his field of vision, but Rean was too tired to even turn his head or look away. “I’m gonna go complain to George that using that shit takes too much out of you.”

“—that’s not how it works.” That was a bold-faced lie, and Crow knew it, too...

“Yeah, well—couldn’t hurt to get more user reports to work out the bugs.” He clapped Rean’s shoulder, then stood up. “C’mon—up and at ‘em! This room doesn’t have good acoustics for rest and relaxation—trust me.” As if the horribly formless music thumping through the wall wasn’t already giving him a headache... “Weelll, if you wanna stay the night with me, then scooch and make some room~♡”

Rean pushed himself out of bed and went over and grabbed his coat, throwing it over his shoulders—one of his sleeves was inside-out. “... If you really don’t sleep with any of your girls, why do you have a bed back here?”

“I get tired, geez! I’m not just fuckin’ around gambling all day—I work all the damn time! Probably just as much as you.” Crow’s hand was on his hip. Was it just Rean’s imagination, or was his stupid obnoxious silk shirt unbuttoned one more button than when he first came in... “Why don’t you use your ‘special eyes’ to scan for cumstains? Oh—wait, there’s probably a few from me rubbing one out so I can relax...”

“... I’m out of here.”

Crow laughed obnoxiously. “I’ll walk ya out—you have all your stuff, right?”

Rean checked all his pockets—badge, wallet, keys, phone, notebook. He had everything. “... yeah.”

“Alrighty.” Crow opened the door, the club music hitting him like a wave. The pink and purple lights were reflecting off the artificial fog, and it had an odd incense-like smell.

His huge bodyguard was right outside the door. “Nothing to report, Boss.”

“Good—hey Uncle V, the cab’s still waiting, right?”

“Yep—you sure you don’t want me to drive?”

He imagined Crow rolling his eyes, even though he couldn’t see his face. “Well, I’d prefer that—but this guy doesn’t want to be seen in a ‘yakuza car’ in his neighborhood.” He said that like it was unreasonable... Rean already had the neighborhood aunties gossiping about him, he didn’t need to add any more fuel to the fire. “Actually—do me a favor and post yourself up outside the front door. G can keep an eye on the floor.”

“You got it, Boss.” Vulcan gave the thumbs-up. “Glad you’re feelin’ better, ane.” Ugh... [A/N: “Anego/ane-san” is the affectionate term for the wives/girlfriends of yakuza members XD]

They followed Vulcan out through the crowded dancefloor, as his huge presence practically parted the waves for them.

“—oh, hey sweetheart.” Rean could tell that was Angelica by her husky voice. “How you doing? Are you feeling okay enough to head home?”

“... I’m fine.” He didn’t want to be rude to her, but he was so over everything he just wanted to be gone and in his own bed, yesterday.

“Sorry, Gelica—this guy burnt himself out using his magic eye ‘cause he was jealous Akemi pushed her tits in my face.”

“Haha—did you really? Rean...”

“—that wasn’t it at all.” Rean could barely hear his own voice over the noise, as Crow led him by the shoulders through the pulsating crowd. This music was driving him crazy—it was so slow and droning but way too loud to be relaxing, he felt like gross honey was dripping all over his brain... “... this music is terrible.”

He could barely hear Crow’s laugh, then he felt his warm breath tickling his ear. “Haha, sorry—this foreign dream pop stuff was Rika’s favorite.” He clapped his shoulders. “Just put up with it ‘til we’re outside.” Stupid Crow, stupid club, stupid yakuza...

Vulcan opened the front doors for them, then went to go open the door to the cab that was already waiting. “Have a good night, ane—I hope you sleep well.”

Rean had a split-second of conflict—he had no reason to be rude to Crow’s “Uncle”, he had known him just as long as he’d known Crow—but he also couldn’t stand being referred to as “ane”, but... “Thanks... I’ll try.”

“That’s the spirit! Haha—one of those turmeric canned drinks from the konbini always does the trick for me!” [A/N: “Konbini” are 24/7 convenience stores, but they have a lot more stuff, like prepackaged food.]

“Haha—I think that’s more for a hangover, pal.”

“... Oh, yeah! Well, same difference, Boss.” They both laughed so loud for two people who just had someone from their circle murdered...

Rean was about to slip into the cab, but Crow wrapped his arms around him. “Hey.” He pushed his hair away from his eyes—Rean didn’t even want to know what his bed-head looked like right now. “Thanks for your hard work—I know you’re doin’ your best to catch this guy.” Crow was looking right into his eyes with a tired smile, and the bags under his eyes were pretty prominent. “I promise I won’t get mad if the trail runs cold—just do your best for Rika, okay?” Before he knew it, a warm kiss was planted on his forehead—why were his freaking hands so cold if his lips were so—ugh, Rean just wanted to go home. “Hey.” Crow’s low voice was still audible under the street noise of the red light district. The bright yellow neon sign was reflecting off his hair. “Don’t let this one eat you up inside—just do your best.” His cool thumb brushed under his jaw, his lips were warm—shockingly he didn’t taste like booze or like he’d been smoking—wait—

Rean pushed him away. “—how dare you do that just because I’m tired.”

“Aww—but you gave me such cute wet seal eyes when I kissed your forehead, I thought ya wanted a little more! ♡” Ugh...

“I’m going home.” Rean almost hit his head jetting into the back of the cab. “Take me home, please—” He slammed the door, then winced at how loud it was. “—sorry. It’s by Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Naitomachi...”

OOO

The lights were still on inside when he got to the front door. He almost dropped his keys, managing to fit it in the lock after a few tries...

“... I’m home.” He delicately stepped out of his work shoes, leaving them by the door.

Emma was watching TV in the living room. “Oh, welcome home!” She fiddled with something in her lap. “Come on, Celine—I have to get up!” She laughed lightly.

“It’s okay—I’m heading right to bed, anyway.” He didn’t even want to pour himself some water, he almost passed out in the backseat of the cab on the ride over here... “Sorry—I’m so exhausted. I hope you weren’t staying up to wait for me...”

“Oh, no—I got caught watching an interesting documentary about Mongolian and Russian nomads!” She smiled up at him from the couch, with Celine looking annoyed at being disturbed in her lap. “I thought it might give me something interesting to talk to Gaius about next time we see them!”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate that, honestly.” It was a lot less likely to get him worked up than trying to talk about Taiwan right now... “Actually—do you want to meet me at Nord for lunch tomorrow? It’ll help me to not put off taking a break...”

“Oh, yes! That sounds lovely.” She smiled up at him. “I’m sorry you’re so exhausted—was it another long investigation?”

“... a girl was killed in a love hotel, and she worked at one of the clubs owned by the Sakurai Clan.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, how awful!” Her eyes widened a bit more. “Wait—Crow isn’t involved, is he?!”

“No...” He didn’t know why he just answered automatically—it’s not like he used his “magic eye trick” on him. “I guess I can’t rule that out yet—I still have to question him some more.” He realized he didn’t even bother to ask him basic questions like his alibi, him or Angelica... haah. Well, for all his faults, he highly doubted Crow was the type to just kill one of his own girls. And Rean knew his secret—he was too much of a romantic to be that kinky. Ugh... his brain was just running on fumes now... “I’m sorry, Emma—I’m so tired, I’m just going to go to bed...”

“Oh... okay.” Her brows sloped. “Well—I’ll make us some yummy mackerel with miso soup for breakfast tomorrow, how about that?”

“Mrrrow~”

“Heehee—maybe you can have just a bit of mackerel too, Celine...”

Rean smiled tiredly. She really was a good roommate... “Thanks, Emma—I’ll make breakfast next time, I promise. Oh—and I’ll treat at Nord Kitchen tomorrow.”

“Oh...” Her brows sloped. “Well... If you’re going back to see Crow tomorrow, I’d feel a bit bad horning in, haha...” Haah... He should’ve just said nothing. He knew she meant well, but...

“I’d welcome the distraction—I hate having to go see him at work.” Her brows went up in surprise. “Sorry—it was such a long day, I just have to sleep it off.”

“All right... Good night Rean, I hope you sleep well.”

He was already at the stairs. “Thanks—you, too.” He quickly went upstairs with his hand on the banister. He wished he had the mental capacity to at least be more pleasant to her... She was doing him such a huge favor just by being here, he wasn’t sure if she even realized how hard he was struggling when he was just living alone...

Rean got changed for bed in a daze, then cocooned himself up in his blankets. He just wanted to wake up before he even realized he’d fallen asleep—no swirling thoughts, no replaying the day’s events—just slipping into true Nothingness. He’d even recite a sutra, if it worked...

Ugh—he couldn’t stop the formless emotions from flooding his heart without words—everyone in his life was so nosy, trying to smash him and Crow back together like two repelling magnets—couldn’t they understand that the Crow he met over a decade ago was long gone? The Crow he lo—knew, that guy would never throw his whole life away and join the syndicate, even if he felt obligated to because of his old man... Pops would be rolling in his grave if he saw his grandson join the Sakurai Clan, after everything he did to try to keep their worlds separate—it was just disgusting. It didn’t matter how “oldschool” or “principled” he tried to portray himself, how much of a “good boss” who “took care of his people” and “protected the territory”—a criminal was still a criminal. Rean just couldn’t wrap his head around it—he could only imagine what kind of mental gymnastics Crow was doing to justify it to himself—

Rean curled up into himself, wrenching the blankets tighter around him. Even though it drove him crazy, and he’d probably never understand it his whole life—he’d rather live with that feeling than ever dare to delve into Crow’s mind. He knew that whatever he found there, good or bad, he’d never be able to recover from it... It was less torturous to just not understand. To never understand...

His own voice echoed in his head, “VALIMAR, sleep mode.”

“Acknowledged. Good night, Rean.”

His mind finally felt quiet... the mini-fridge in his room hummed like a deafening train going by without end...

He already told VALIMAR to go to sleep, but Rean still quietly whispered to himself, “Good night...”

OOO

Hey everybody, thanks for giving this one a read even with such an oddly-specific premise XD This isn’t going to be a very long one, just a fun distraction while I work on the next arc of my main story “Mandala” :) I’ve always wanted to write a weird, gritty supernatural crime drama inspired by Shin Megami Tensei—but the more I developed the outline, it ended up being a lot more grounded in reality, with Valimar being the only real sci-fi element haha. Or is he? 👀

It actually took a while to decide the title—the working one was “How Could You Do This to Me?” because that’s the dumb inside joke I say with my friends all the time, and I’ve always wanted to name a story that lol. Then I really liked “Ace Up One’s Sleeve” after deciding to title the chapters after playing cards, but it actually didn’t fit well with the overall theme. So I went looking for Japanese idioms that had a short and snappy shorthand that was easy to translate—and I came across 同じ穴の狢 (onaji ana no mujina), literally meaning “badgers from the same hole”. It’s like “birds of a feather”, but with a more negative connotation—think the cliché “We’re not so different, you and I” villain speech lol. It also sounds a bit suggestive, so I thought it fit well for a more seedy story taking place in Kabukicho XD Just a little fun behind the scenes stuff for those interested in the writing process ;)

The premise is more inspired by the quick “Wink Psync” mechanic from the second AI Somnium game—I thought it’d break the pacing too much for Rean to drag these people in and hook them up to a sci-fi machine haha. Plus, I wanted the dubious element of Rean being able to just do this on the fly without his subject’s knowledge or permission (it’ll be explained later that nothing he sees in someone’s mind is admissible in court, and can’t even be reported or recorded officially—it’s just an enhancement tool to aid in his investigation, like a buff to his own natural detective’s intuition). 100% illegal and unethical if it really existed, but it’s gay fanfic, baby X’D

On that note, as much as I love writing with dual protagonists—I think it’s important in this one that we never get to see Crow’s perspective. So it’s “Oops, All Rean!”

Also, major disclaimer—I’m doing my best over here as a dumb American, but my exposure to Japanese culture is mainly through the lens of the media they produce. I did try to learn the language a long, long time ago, but not much of it stuck lol. And the extent of my knowledge to what the yakuza is actually like comes from three sources: The Yakuza/Like a Dragon games, some Takashi Miike films, and reading a fuck-ton of yakuza bara manga XD On a side note, I have recommendations out the ass, if y’all are into that sort of thing ^_~

Thanks for reading, see ya in the next one!

Chapter 2: Club

Chapter Text

Badgers From the Same Hole

Chapter 2 - Club

OOO

A gentle breeze blew over the rooftop through the fence, lightly jingling the windchime hanging in the music room window one floor below.

“... That fuckin’ thing drives me crazy.”

Rean snickered. “You sound like such a grumpy old man.” He raked Crow’s wispy fringe that was getting in his eyes back off his forehead. “I don’t know if the whole ‘growing my hair out’ thing is working... You should at least trim your bangs so they’re not just in your face.”

“No way—how am I supposed to have that sexy Malice Mizer hair if I cut my bangs?!”

“That’s such an old reference...” He was looking down at Crow’s sleepy upside-down face, his head rested lazily in his lap. “I literally only know Gackt because of that cheesy song from the Dirge of Cerberus trailers.”

“Oh my god...” Crow snickered, cracking a smirk while his eyes stayed closed. “You mean that fuckin’ awesome song—‘REDEEEMPTIOOON!’” He tried his best to mimic Gackt’s odd wavering singing voice, while whisper-shouting like someone who was playing on voice chat but trying not to wake up their roommates.

“If you say so...”

Crow just snickered. “You don’t get it—I love cheesy shit like that. When it’s hard to tell if they’re self-aware how cheesy it is, or if it’s totally genuine. I’m all about that shit.” Crow’s eyes cracked open, and another breeze blew across the rooftop. “Hoo—it’s gettin’ cold, baby!”

“Want to head home?”

Crow had an odd look—his eyes were unfocused up at nothing, and his hand lazily resting on his chest almost looked like he was covering his heart defensively. “... yeah, I guess.” He reluctantly pushed himself up off of his favorite nap spot. The place where his head was laying on Rean’s thigh instantly felt cold by comparison.

“It is kinda cold for March, huh...”

Crow was smoothing down the back of his messy hair with his fingers, looking out over the city through the high fence surrounding the rooftop. “Hey, so... I’ve been meanin’ to talk to ya about my old man. Hoo—maybe we should just go back to your house first.” It wasn’t like Crow to sound so unsure of himself...

“Why?” Rean’s brows sloped. “Are things not looking good?”

Crow was staring out at nothing, still messing with the back of his hair. “Well... I might end up having to move away. After he passes.”

Rean’s stomach sank—Crow had never mentioned that that was a possibility. “Oh... You can’t stay with the family friend you’ve been staying with?”

Crow got an odd smirk. “Not really—it’s kinda complicated.” Rean thought he was going to elaborate, or at least make a joke or something, but he didn’t.

“... oh.” He couldn’t think of anything else to contribute—he was still stunned that Crow was leaving this until now to mention. “Move away to where?” He couldn’t hide the irritation in his voice. Why would Crow make such a big deal about all that “I’m not normally such a mushy guy like this” stuff if he was just going to fuck off at a moment’s notice? Well—that wasn’t fair, obviously the circumstances were beyond his control... It’s not like he could help Pops’ health taking a nosedive... And knowing Crow, he probably felt like he was burdening the family friends he’d been staying with... Whatever the situation was there. Rean had never even been their house, Crow didn’t talk about it too much... It must be complicated.

Crow gave him a really tired smile. “I dunno, to be honest with ya. But I can’t exactly stay where I’m at once Pops is gone—and it’s at the point where I don’t think he’s gonna make it through the end of the year.”

Rean felt a lump in his throat. “I see... You don’t have anyone else in the family for the ceremony? My Dad said he could help out...”

“Ah, Pops doesn’t give a shit about stuff like that—he says I can just chuck his ashes in the ocean for all he cares.” Crow smirked to himself. “I’ll probably still wanna keep the little bones, though... I had a bad dream I was eating ramen, and suddenly I was fishing bone fragments out of my broth...” [A/N: This is part of the burial ritual, to sift out the bone fragments when picking up the ashes after cremation—you can see Yuji doing it in the first episode of JJK.]

“I’m sorry...” Rean felt so guilty for being mad—this wasn’t about him, he couldn’t even imagine what Crow was feeling right now. “Well—I’m sure my Mom and Dad will help out however they can.” He licked his lips. “You could probably stay with us... if it comes down to it.”

“Well that’s sweet and all—I bet your folks’ll get pretty sick of that real quick.” Crow gave him a smirk. “Thanks, though... Can I stay with you?” He gave him the puppy-dog eyes... “If we share the bed, you won’t have to step over me when you wake up to go to the bathroom...”

“Geez—I think my parents would probably draw the line at that.” Well... “Actually... I don’t know.” He licked his lips. “If it was an emergency, I think they’d just want you to stay with us no matter what... they probably wouldn’t be finicky about the details, unless you were there for like, years—a twenty-year-old NEET still living in my room.” [A/N: Acronym for “Not in education, employment, or training”, negative connotation.]

Crow snickered. “Well, that’s not how I’m gonna go, I’ll tell you that right now.” He was staring unfocused at the concrete again. “I can at least stay where I’m at ‘til I turn twenty. I just have to decide if that’s really what I wanna do.”

Another cold breeze blew, and Rean actually got goosebumps. Hoo... “So you can stay?” He shifted to sit cross-legged. “That’s good—are they just giving you a hard time limit on getting a job, or going to uni?”

Crow had a rare look—a sad smirk. “Something like that.” He looked up at him with another tired smile. “Geez—it’s freaking cold, let’s just go home already!” Another unseasonably cold breeze shook the tall caged fence.

OOO

7:29am – Friday – April 6^th, 20XX

The fatty mackerel was tender and delicious, the white rice was nice and fluffy—the miso was just salty enough to not compete with the fish, chock full of soft and flavorful kelp and tofu cubes. “Thanks for breakfast, Emma—it’s delicious.”

“Oh, I’m glad!” She delicately picked up some more sunomono. Celine was pigging out on her fishy treat in the corner of the kitchen. “Do you want to take some rice with you to work?”

“That’s okay—we should keep it for leftovers, the konbini near the station is always pretty well-stocked.”

“All right—would you like to take the rest of the sunomono, at least?”

“... Actually, I will. Thanks—I might as well take some rice, too.”

“Teehee—you should just save your money instead of going to the konbini all the time!”

“Haah... I know.” He took another small sip of tea. He didn’t particularly want to take food on the train with him, since he had to take such an unfortunate detour... He still had to get his car out from the parking garage next to Seashells. He was so out of it last night, he forget he even drove himself in the first place... He felt like he was taking a walk of shame... “It’s just...”

“—oh, that’s right! You’re going to meet Crow for lunch today.” Her genuine smile was so mischievous, in its own way...

“Emma—can you do me a favor and meet me for dinner at Nord Kitchen? And preferably call me beforehand...”

“Well...” Her brows sloped. “I certainly don’t mind having dinner with you—I have a light workload today, if I finish my project early I should have plenty of time!”

“Thanks.” He just needed an excuse to leave and not get trapped there all night... There wasn’t really room for subtlety or nuance when it came to Crow.

Obviously Emma knew that Rean needed to meet with him to discuss the case, and he wasn’t just going there for fun—but her tone almost sounded like she was excited that they were “getting the chance to catch up”, or something like that. It felt like everyone secretly had that attitude—that it was “too bad” things happened the way they did, and both Rean and Crow just needed to “stop being so stubborn and make up.” As if it was just some misunderstanding... their life philosophy and moral values were totally at odds. There was nothing to “make up”—what Crow did was what Rean would call an “irreconcilable difference”. Crow made his choice to live in the gutter as yakuza scum—that meant they’d be eternally on the other side of the glass to each other. That’s just the way it was.

OOO

12:45pm – Friday – April 6^th, 20XX

His lunch break was over, but he hadn’t worked up much of an appetite... He did cave and grab a salmon onigiri from the konbini, but... Having that stupid dream about high school just threw him off, the dread kept mounting thinking about meeting Crow at his stupid mahjong parlor, and breaking his rule about not eating the food—and then awkwardly sitting next to him while one of his escorts ties another girl up in front of them, trying to imagine what it’d feel like to be a guy who strangles women to death—it was all just overwhelming. VALIMAR was supposed to help him regulate his own emotions better, like taking anti-depressants... Why did it feel like he was just... feeling more?

Rean quietly pushed out his chair, walking past the Chief Inspector’s desk on his way out. “I’m going to stop by the lab at headquarters, then I’m following up on more interviews.”

“All right—call me if anything comes up.” Machias was stressed out, too—he was being hounded by the press since some lookie-loos outside Blue Velvet Kitty apparently caused enough of a stink that the media was sniffing around. Oh—he should swing back by to see Towa before he left, that might calm his heart before heading off into Crow’s den of iniquity... Angelica wouldn’t even be there as a buffer, unless she moonlighted as a host at all his properties...

OOO

George had a mellow smile. “How’s VALIMAR been treating you, has it made your day-to-day life more convenient?”

“Oh...” Rean suddenly felt a bit sheepish. “Well... To be honest, I guess I’m just so used to doing everything the old-fashioned way, I don’t really use him to help me with anything I can’t already do from my smartphone...”

George’s brows sloped a bit. “Ah—I see. Well, it’s totally up to you how you want to use it—obviously it’s more helpful to me to get as much data as possible.” His mellow smile returned. “But the goal is to help streamline how you do your job, and you’re already good at that.”

“Thanks...” Haah... that was nice of George to say, but Rean still couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t “upholding his end of the bargain”—it was quite a privilege to be the one to test the prototype out in the field. “Well—I do need to talk to you about VALIMAR, if you have a minute.”

George spun his chair around. “Of course!” He lifted his magnifying glasses so they were sitting on top of his hat. “Uh—are you having problems with it?” His brows sloped again. “Is it the fatigue, or are you having side effects like auditory or visual hallucinations?”

“Nothing like that...” Yeesh—was it only a matter of time before that started happening? That was a little terrifying to think about... “Well—I guess about the fatigue.” Rean wheeled over another chair, sitting down across from him. He rested his hands on his legs, trying to think of how to phrase such an abstract feeling. “It’s not just that I get physically tired... It’s more like I feel mentally exhausted. And...” He realized he had scrunched up his hands, and relaxed his fingers. “It’s like... I just feel more. More than I even did before...” He bit his lips. “When I was on the phone informing the victim’s mother, it was like I could feel her pain as clearly as when I’m delving with VALIMAR... but I wasn’t.” He looked up at George. “Is that just ‘rubbing off on me’ through repeated usage, or can it activate on its own?”

“Well—it can’t just activate on its own, so don’t worry about that.” George rubbed his chin. “Outside of calling one-one-nine in an emergency, if it senses your vital signs taking a sudden hit.” Rean nodded. “Besides that—it needs to read your very specific brain waves of your intention to use it, along with addressing it by name.”

“Right—that’s what you said before.” Rean plucked a bit of lint that was clinging to his slacks. “I guess I’m just asking... Does ‘delving’ into people’s minds and reading their emotion have a lasting effect on my own psyche?” He licked his lips. “Or does it just feel that way because I’m getting more used to seeing how other people think?”

“Hmm... It may be a little of both.” George swiveled his chair, making a few mouse clicks and bringing an infrared image up on his computer screen. “These are your brain scans from last time—I’m not seeing anything concerning, like a tumor or odd growth patterns...” Rean swallowed before he could help it. “—but I do see an increase in activity in your frontal lobe, which is the ‘decision-making center’.” He circled his pen around the orange-red bloom on the top half of the image. “See how it’s nice and red here? That means you’re using your ‘rational brain’ more, for lack of a better term.”

“... Does that mean I’m not using my ‘emotional brain’ as much?”

George laughed lightly. “Well—I don’t mean ‘rational’ like ‘logical’—it’s just to differentiate from the parts of your brain that are more responsible for motor functions, or spatial awareness—things like that.” George relaxed in his chair, clasping his hands at the top of his stomach. “Your frontal lobe is responsible for emotional regulation, too—normally, the most active part of the brain is the cerebellum and the brain stem, which controls our motor functions and automatic things like breathing. It’s usually the most red on a brain scan.” Rean nodded. He appreciated George’s attempts to explain it to him in layman’s terms. “But since you’ve been using VALIMAR, your frontal lobe is seeing more active usage than normal. That’s the part that allows you to ‘connect’ to other people’s emotions—if I could get a brain scan of them while you’re doing it, their frontal lobe would be nice and red, too.”

“I see...” [A/N: Just take this all with a grain of salt lol]

“Well—that’s the best scientific theory we have at this stage, anyway. Really, all parts of your brain are constantly working in tandem, like a busy beehive.” George smiled. “The parietal lobe is responsible for processing information during conversation, too. The human brain is pretty complicated—we still don’t fully understand dreams and how they work, for instance. There’s still mysteries to be found about the human mind—that’s why I get so excited when I see stuff like this.” He tapped his monitor with his pen. “So—thanks for helping me out with my research, Rean.” He smiled warmly. “I really appreciate it.”

“Well—of course.” Rean smiled a bit shyly. “I’m happy to help—thank you for recommending me as the candidate to test it out.”

He laughed lightly. “Well—it didn’t all come down to my recommendation. The Superintendent General genuinely thought you’d be the best candidate.”

“Wow...” Rean had already heard that Superintendent General Vandyck went out of his way to recommend him—but it was still so humbling to hear. [A/N: I always assumed “Vandyck” was his last name, since it seems weird for all the kids to call the principal by their first name—but he only has one name listed on every source I could find, so since Principal Vandyck is just cool like that I guess that’s what everyone’s gonna call him XD His surname will be Horii though, if it ever comes up. Also to clear up the ranks, since I’m using a translation of the Japanese system—SG Vandyck oversees all of the Metropolitan Police, then under him will be Commissioner Heinrich, then we’ll skip a few to get to Superintendent Towa, who is the station chief, then Chief Inspector Machias directly under her, who’s the squad commander. Rean is a detective, but he’s a regular police officer as far as rank is concerned, same as Juna. George and Professor Schmidt are the lab and tech guys, and for the sake of brevity they just do everything lol]

George smiled. “To be honest, I think you’re the one who’ll be able to utilize it to its full potential, once you get used to it.”

“Really?” Rean was still feeling shy about getting such praise out of nowhere. Well, since he wasn’t very good about remembering to utilize VALIMAR outside of delving... “VALIMAR?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to utilize you to your full potential?”

“Yes. I have faith in your ability as my awakener.”

“I see... Well, thank you for your support.” Rean had an odd smile when he turned his focus back outward. “It’s a bit odd to hear an artificial intelligence say something like ‘I have faith in you’...”

“Haha, is that what it said?” George smiled brightly. “See? Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah. Oh...” As heartwarming as that exchange was, he still had some pretty important things to bring up to George... “Well... actually, I do want to make some user reports. I still have some questions... I just don’t want the fatigue to really start becoming a problem, if it’s really VALIMAR that’s causing it.”

“Hmm.” George’s eyes closed. “Well... I did come in to a pretty pissy email this morning.” He swiveled his chair back around to his desk.

“Geez...” Rean rolled his eyes. “He actually sent you something?”

“Yeah—you should read it, and tell me if you think that’s accurate to what happened.”

“Haah...” Rean scooted his chair closer, so he could read the screen over George’s shoulder.

‘Crow Sakurai
To: George Mori

Subject: Bug Report

Your magic eye thing is making Rean pass out, and he looked like he was gonna throw up. Hurry up and fix it! I’m sick of being cock-blocked by that thing ( +･`ω･´)

-Crow’

Rean blinked. “That...” Ugh—he was so humiliated reading that, knowing that George read it this morning with absolutely no context—“cock-blocked”?! As if Rean would have just gone to bed with him in his seedy club if he hadn’t gotten dizzy... how delusional can you get? He was still on active duty... “Ugh—I’m sorry you had to read that, I can’t believe he sent that to your work email.”

“It’s okay... I’m more concerned about the nausea symptoms.” George swiveled his chair back around, his brows sloped. “Did it happen right after a delve? You don’t think it was a coincidence, like something you ate?”

“No—it happened almost immediately after a delve.” Rean’s hands were rested flat on his thighs. “It was the only one I did that day, too—I almost threw up in my mouth, but nothing came up, then I felt really dizzy and passed out. I was only out for about an hour...” Actually, he just had to estimate that based on what time he got home. “Oh...” He still wasn’t used to having such an omni-tool at his disposal at all times. “VALIMAR—how long was I unconscious last night before I went home?”

“You were unconscious for forty-two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Your vital signs remained stable, and I determined the most likely cause was exhaustion.”

“I see... According to VALIMAR, I was out for forty-two minutes. He says my vital signs never took a dip, and that I was probably just exhausted. So I guess that’s good...”

“Well—that’s reassuring.” George smiled. “I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m harping on you—I just want you to remember that you can use VALIMAR for more than just delves.”

“... VALIMAR stays active even while I’m unconscious, right?”

“Yeah—it wouldn’t be able to call emergency services, otherwise.”

“I see...” Rean suddenly felt really annoyed... “VALIMAR—did Crow bother me while I was unconscious?”

“Two individuals monitored your condition while you were unconscious. Vulcan Fujimoto occupied the room for the duration of the forty-two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Crow Sakurai entered the room to check your vital signs after ten minutes and four seconds, and then again at thirty minutes and nine seconds.”

“... What did he do?”

“He checked your temperature by touching your forehead.”

“... that’s it?”

“That was the only action I could determine was made for the purpose of monitoring your vital signs.”

“What else did he do??”

“To describe the actions from a third-person perspective: Crow Sakurai moved your hair with his hand. He also spoke aloud, ostensibly to your unconscious body. His exact words were, ‘You idiot... You’re always pushing yourself too hard.’” Hearing VALIMAR’s almost robotic voice repeating something Crow said was pretty surreal...

“... I see. Thanks for telling me that...”

George was giving him an odd look—Rean realized he’d probably been giving him a thousand-yard stare while he was talking to VALIMAR in his mind. “... I was just asking VALIMAR what happened after I passed out.” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know where Crow gets off sending you that email like he’s so concerned about my health, if all he did to check that I wasn’t dead is touch my forehead.”

George almost looked a little shy, laughing awkwardly. “I see...” Haah... Well, he knew better than to try to put George in the middle, let alone expect him to take his side. Even though Rean felt like he was pretty close to George by now, he’d always be Crow’s friend first. Even if they were literally on opposite sides of the law... How could George stand it?

“Hey George—” Rean cut himself off. There was really no point in asking... “Uh—nevermind. Oh—but I have a few more things to report.” Rean sat up straight in the rolling chair.

OOO

“Absolutely not.” Towa’s brows were deeply furrowed, clutching the receiver to her ear. “I can’t stop them from reporting on her death, but there will be hell to pay if the news outlets refer to her as a ‘prostitute’ or a ‘sex worker’.” She saw Rean hovering by the doorway, and she motioned for him to come in. “... No. I see... Well, I’ll do what I can on my end.” Rean sat down in the chair across from her desk. “Thank you... No, it was only a matter of time. All right. Thanks again... I will. Goodbye.” She hung up the phone, exhaling laboriously. “Whew... Well, I’m sure there will be a report tonight on the news about Rika’s death—I forbid them from using any photos of her besides her headshot on Seashells’ website, and they have to say she was a hostess!”

“I see...” Rean’s brows sloped. “Is that so the story doesn’t get buried? Will people be more willing to call in tips if they don’t think she was just a ‘dead hooker’?”

Towa’s eyes scrunched. “Well... I suppose that’s one way to look at it.” She sighed. “Poor thing... she was only twenty-two.” Her brows sloped while she looked to the side at nothing. “Crow told me that she wanted to be a model, and she really liked going out and having ‘picture dates’ with the other hostesses—they would go around Tokyo just taking pictures of each other all day, heehee—it sounds fun, I’ll have to ask Angie if she wants to go to the Imperial Palace gardens and do that with me...”

“When did Crow tell you that?” He felt rude zeroing in on that part—it just stuck out to him.

Her brows sloped. “Well... I guess it’s okay to tell you. Angie called me just after you left Seashells, and later I got on a group call with her and Crow.” She rested her cheek in her hand. “He wasn’t able to tell me anything that wasn’t already in your report... but it was just nice hearing about Rika Okamura as a person.” She had a small smile. “You know—I have my own feelings about sex work, but I’m at least glad to know that Crow’s such a good boss. That he actually knows about the people who work for him...”

That wasn’t exactly what Rean wanted to hear right now. “Yeah, well—you might not think that if you heard him and Angelica keep saying how ‘stupid’ she was to get herself in that situation...”

Towa looked upset. “Well... Can you blame them?” She folded her small hands on top of her desk. “Grief manifests in different ways... I wouldn’t blame them for being in shock, especially if someone they knew to always follow the rules did something so out-of-character... The whole thing just seems like a contradiction.” She opened the file on her desk. “... The scene reads like a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion—but according to Angie, it takes so long to tie those ropes, they had to have agreed on it beforehand—especially since there weren’t any sleeping agents or anything that would’ve rendered her unconscious in her system.” Her brows sloped deeply. “I suppose it’s possible she could have been unconscious before he started tying the ropes... But there wasn’t any sign of blunt force trauma, or suffocation prior to the strangulation... She wasn’t on any medication, and she didn’t have any medical conditions... It just feels like we’re still missing a major piece of the puzzle.”

“Yeah...” They sat in uncomfortable silence for a bit, then Towa’s desk phone rang.

“Oh—I’m sorry, let me get this.” She picked up the receiver. “Superintendent Nonaka speaking. Yes...” Her eyes flicked up to Rean. “Yes... May I put you on hold while I gather the documents? Thank you.” She pressed a button and docked the receiver. “I’m sorry, Rean—this call will probably take a while, but if you want to come back later we can continue our discussion?”

“Oh, no...” He stood up, smoothing down the front of his dress shirt. “That’s okay—I just wanted to let you know I was heading out for more interviews.” He gave her a flat look. “I’m heading to Taj Mahjong in Kabukicho, so...”

“Oh! Is Crow going to be there?”

“... Yeah, he told me that’s where he’d be when I said I still had some follow-up questions.”

“I see.” She had an inexplicable small smile. “Well—please let me know right away if you come across any promising leads! I’ll keep my personal phone line open.”

“Thanks, Towa—I’m hoping to get at least a little more than yesterday.” Even one was more than zero...

OOO

2:34pm – Friday – April 6^th, 20XX

Rean was spacing out watching the Shinjuku cityscape go by... He’d driven Kokudō 20 so many times going to and from the station, driving through that long tunnel and then constantly sandwiched between rows of buildings—it just felt like there was nothing new to look at. The view going to the lab at headquarters was always nice, going around the perimeter of the Imperial Palace gardens with all the trees... Maybe it’d be fun to tag along with Towa and Angelica if they actually did go out and do that, on the next day it wasn’t raining. Well... Maybe they’d just want some girl time. Towa’s job as Superintendent was way more stressful than his...

... Annoyingly, it was easy to remember the way to Crow’s stupid casino, since you could see the Godzilla head peeking up over the buildings... He had to keep reminding himself that it wasn’t “Crow’s” personal casino, he just inherited responsibility for all the buildings owned by the Sakurai Clan’s shell real estate company, when he got adopted into the family... It’s not like he built any of them. Each one of their properties still had managers and people who handled the day-to-day. The only one you could argue was really “his” was Seashells, since he did so much work renovating and overhauling the business model. “Business model”...

After managing to find a parking garage with open spots, Rean walked the few blocks down the wide sidewalks, weaving around tourists marveling up at the Godzilla head with cameras on sticks. He passed by an okonomiyaki stand with its windows open... It smelled pretty good, Rean was starting to work up an appetite after that one onigiri he had for lunch.

He rounded the block to where the street narrowed, entering the large building with the casino up on the cursed 4^th floor. It’s not like Crow could have planned that... but it was an odd coincidence. [A/N: 4 is an unlucky number mainly because “shi” is a homonym for the word for death—some hotels and buildings just won’t have a 4^th floor, like many in the west won’t have a 13^th floor.] Crow happened to get four 4s in the first cell phone number he ever got... and like a weirdo he meticulously upgraded his phones over the years so he could keep that absurdly unlucky number. Geez... why was he thinking about dumb stuff like that? Stupid dream...

The lobby was nice and clean, and the receptionist bowed from behind the desk as he entered. Honestly a swanky building like this didn’t fit Crow at all... He would seem more at home in some smoky back-alley mahjong parlor that was exclusively patronized by old men like Pops.

The little old man greeted him from the elevator. “Good afternoon, honored customer.” He bowed and welcomed him inside. “To which floor are you going?” [A/N: “Kyakusama” is the word for “customer”, which has a venerable connotation already, and you can make it really fancy by saying “okyakusama”, which basically means “honored customer/guest”. It might sound like overkill, but it’s not uncommon :)]

“I’m going to the fourth floor, thank you.”

“Very good!” The little old man pressed the button, the old-fashioned lattice doors closing. Rean couldn’t remember his name for the life of him... he took a peek at the old man’s nametag.

The elevator hummed, coming to a smooth stop at the 4^th floor. “Thank you, Mr. Koki.”

Mr. Koki bowed. “The pleasure is mine, honored customer! Enjoy your time here!”

“Thank you.”

The doors slid open, the potted palm trees and bright blue walls of the casino instantly contrasting with the sleek modern lobby below. This place kind of reminded Rean of photos he’d seen of The Forum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas—it was a completely indoor space with a false skybox, and mood lighting that made it look like a rustic city street at perpetual twilight. But this place had a cheesy desert theme, which definitely wasn’t accurate to the beautiful architecture of its namesake. Well—they did have a really long aqua-blue carpet leading to the main floor, that was kind of like the reflecting pool leading up to the main mausoleum... Rean couldn’t help but wonder if whoever in the Sakurai Clan built and named this place thought the Taj Mahal was literally a palace, and had no idea it was actually an ornate crypt.

Rean strolled up the aqua carpet, admiring the touches of orange and yellow in the sky box, and he almost bumped into someone. “Oh—I’m sorry!”

“Hah? Ah, don’t worry about it, pal.” Uncle Vulcan looked down over his shoulder. “Oh, ane!” He turned around, clapping Rean heavily on the shoulder. “Glad you made it—the boss is still in a meeting, so just relax and order some food!” He started leading him away by the shoulder before Rean even got a word in edgewise. “Get whatever you want! It’s all taken care of.” He clapped him heavily on the back. “I’ll be watching the floor if you need me.” Then he went away, just like that...

Rean was left awkwardly standing in front of the host podium at the mouth of the restaurant. The host gave him a namaste gesture. “Welcome, honored guest.”

“—thank you.” Rean was caught off guard by the gesture, and awkwardly decided to return it a second too late... “—I’ll take a table for one, please.”

“Certainly. Right this way.” He gestured broadly into the restaurant, leading Rean to a private booth towards the back. Ugh—how much money on that being Crow’s private booth...

The host was certainly interesting—he had a big but neatly-trimmed beard, and he was wearing a sharp dark blue suit with a purple turban. Crow might’ve tracked down and hired the only actual Indian guy in Shinjuku...

Rean took his seat in the booth. “Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure.” His Japanese was quite polite. “I am Samir, the restaurant manager. Please call me if you need anything.”

“Oh! Thank you.” Rean felt a bit sheepish. Manager Samir went back towards the host stand, and Rean took out the menus which were embedded in the center of the table. It would’ve been nice if Uncle Vulcan told him that the guy at the host stand was the manager, before he made a fool of himself...

His eyes scanned down the menu, with each item listed in four languages... Honestly, he had no idea what to order. “Chicken korma” seemed like a safe bet... it just looked like yellow curry.

“Welcome, Owner.” Rean’s ears perked up—Crow was at the host stand, exchanging a namaste with Manager Samir. He caught Rean’s eyes, and gave him a tired smile from across the restaurant.

Crow waved off Manager Samir and started walking through the restaurant floor himself. “Hey—thanks for coming.” He slid into the other side of the booth. For some reason—Rean didn’t want him to, but it was odd that he didn’t try to hug him or call him “babe” or something like that... Crow still looked pretty tired, but his hair was less messy—it looked like he properly washed and dried it, for once.

“Is your meeting over?”

“Not quite—Uncle just told me you were here so we took a smoke break.” He grabbed a menu for himself. “I already told the staff to get you whatever you want—I’d get the palak paneer, if you just want something light and easy on the stomach.” Crow gave him another tired smile. “Trust me—it’s like warm comfort food, and it’s not spicy at all.” Rean didn’t like the look in his eyes—it was like he was only halfway there.

“Are you okay? You look really tired.”

Crow snickered a bit. “Well, that’s to be expected—I didn’t sleep much last night.” He set the menu back in the table. “How about you?”

“... I was so tired, I passed out as soon as I got home.” That wasn’t quite true—but he was at least out within half an hour, if he had to guess. He wasn’t wracked by as many intrusive thoughts and images as he was expecting...

Crow gave him that manipulative puppy-dog smile, which looked so off because the rest of his body language was so exhausted. “Can I sit over by you? It’ll perk me up before I have to go back to my boring meeting...”

“... That’s fine.” It wasn’t worth fighting him over... and obviously Crow was going through it just as much as he was.

Crow scooted around the booth until he was sitting next to him. “Hey... so I found something that might point to Nakata.” His low voice gave him goosebumps. “I’m still having my guys poke around.”

“... Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Crow was leaned in so close, his hair was tickling him. “We can talk more about it when I’m all done here.” He finally sat up straight, giving Rean his precious personal space. “Haah...” He reached under the table and clasped his hand. “I don’t know about you, but I could go for a hot chai.” He was rubbing Rean’s warm hand between his cold ones... “Geez—I’ve been running around all day, why do my hands feel so cold compared to yours?”

“... I don’t know.” Rean just let him hold his hand without complaining... maybe it was that stupid dream last night, but he just wasn’t in the mood to get into the whole back-and-forth with him. At least he was just doing it under the table...

Crow clasped their fingers, sandwiching their hands together. “I’m being healed~♡”

“Oh, brother...” Why did Crow have to be like this...?

A young woman came up to the table, dressed in a breezy-looking yellow sari—although she just looked Japanese. “Welcome, honored guest.” She bowed. “It’s good to see you again, Owner.”

“Thanks, Katsumi—hey, can you get us two messy chais?” He stroked Rean’s hand with his thumb under the table. “What kinda milk do you want? They make it real frothy.”

“... Actually, I’ll have coconut milk.” He smiled at their waitress, although he still felt awkward that he was seen with the “Owner” sitting so close to him... “Thank you.”

“You want another minute to look at the menu?”

“Oh—” Rean glanced at it again, hit with sudden decision paralysis. “—I’ll just have the palak paneer. Thank you.” He went to hand her the menu, then remembered that it was supposed to go back in the groove in the table. Geez—Crow being all touchy-feely was throwing him off...

Katsumi bowed again. “I’ll bring your chai right away.”

“Thanks, Tsumi.” “Tsumi”, huh... Well, Rean wasn’t going to blow his energy on a delve again for no reason...

When she went away to the kitchen window, Crow snickered. “What? You’re not gonna use your magic eye to see if I’m cheatin’?”

“We’re not dating.” Rean tugged his hand free, and Crow let him go without fuss. “Ugh—and tell your bodyguard not to call me ‘ane’, especially in front of your staff...”

“Aw—you’re gonna hurt Uncle V’s feelings! He’s just sayin’ he considers you part of the family, is all.”

Any shred of goodwill he had left towards Crow was shot out into Tokyo Bay. “I want absolutely no association with the Sakurai family. You should’ve just kept Pops’ name if that was so important to you.” He had to hold firm, and swallow the regret he instantly felt after saying that. Crow just needed to hear it...

Crow scooted back down the booth. “Guess I showed ya where my priorities lied a long time ago, huh?” Urgh—why did that feel like a knife twisting in his gut... “That’s probably long enough for a smoke break—I’ll meet back up with you later.” It was torture looking in his eyes—Rean had to swallow every urge to blurt out, “Sorry.” “Feel free to wander around if you finish before I’m done—I like the fountain room, it’s relaxing.” He stood up out of the booth. “See ya later. Go grab V if you need something.” And he walked away, stopping by the kitchen window as he left—probably telling them they only needed to make one messy chai.

Rean felt like his face was burning—no, he needed to say that. Crow was already well aware of it—he didn’t have the right to make that passive-aggressive comment about his “priorities”. They could’ve lived a comfortable life together in Pops’ ramshackle old house after Rean graduated, but apparently that wasn’t good enough. Crow couldn’t even wait—the second he turned twenty, he let himself be adopted into the Sakurai family register and took over as their little figurehead. And with Yun Ka-fai Sakurai gone, Crow had all the money and power he apparently ever wanted... ugh. Rean didn’t have an appetite anymore...

[A/N: This was my bad—I didn’t think about the fact that Crow’s birth name should’ve been Sakurai after his VA, and he should’ve been adopted into the Chiba family, after Yun Ka-fai’s VA. I just really liked the name Sakurai and got used to it, then realized afterwards, whoops lol. He’ll have a different birth name, though ;)]

OOO

Rean stirred his spoon in the creamy spinach dish... It actually was tasty, and simple like comfort food should be... he just wasn’t hungry enough to finish it. He polished off that frothy messy chai, so hopefully he’d have more energy...

“There you are, love.” He snapped out of it, seeing Auntie Scarlet waltzing towards his table. “That big lug told me you were here.”

“Oh, hello... How are you, Auntie?”

“‘Auntie’?” She crinkled up her nose. “At least call me ‘ane’ if you’re going to, my dear. I’m not that old yet.”

He laughed a bit. “Sorry... it’s just a habit.”

Her brow furrowed. “What’s the matter, you don’t like the food?”

“Oh—” He set his spoon down against the bowl. “No—it was pretty good, I’m just not that hungry.” He felt like such a brat—he was embarrassed by his bad manners. “I’ll probably take the rest with me to-go.”

She smiled. “That’s good.” She slid into the other side of the booth. “Well—don’t be afraid to give me some honest feedback. This place is like my second home—I won’t accept mediocrity, especially when it comes to the restaurant.”

Rean clasped his hands down in his lap. “Well—the staff have all been friendly and attentive.” He scratched his cheek before he could help it. “Do you not have a host today? I was surprised that the manager himself seated me...”

“Who, Samir?” She smirked over her shoulder at the host booth. “He’s a real people-person—he likes to be the one to greet our guests himself.”

“Oh—I see.” Hmm... Well, whatever that little smirk was about, it was none of his business. Manager Samir was a handsome guy, and he seemed like a gentleman, so she could certainly do worse... “Oh—is the meeting over already?”

She leveled her mischievous gaze at him, resting her chin on her hands. “Not quite yet—I just slipped away to powder my nose while the Boss made boring talk with the contractor.” She was peering right into his soul with her good eye. “So... Have you and Crow finally made up?”

His eyes scrunched closed. “There’s nothing to ‘make up’—I need his statement for the case, and he has more information for me. That’s all.” There was an awkward tense vibe over the table.

“I see.” She folded her arms. “Well—I hope you’ll be able to put aside your differences and work well together. For our darling Rika’s sake.”

“—of course. I never half-ass my investigations.”

She smirked to herself. “I know that, darling.” Then she pushed out of the booth. “Well—since I’m such a meddling old auntie...” She lightly pinched his cheek. “I just want to remind you that the boss loves you very much. Even if it’s not reciprocated.”

“... I’m aware of that.”

She laughed. “Haha—I’m sure that you are, my love. Ciao for now~♡” She blew him a kiss, then went on her way. She whispered something to Manager Samir on her way out, giving his muscles a squeeze while clinging onto his arm.

Rean stared down at his half-eaten palak paneer. He might as well ask for it to-go now, just so the staff didn’t think he wasn’t satisfied with it...

He peered around the restaurant floor, making sure no one was headed over to check on him. He leaned his elbows on the table, covering his face with his hands, taking a deep breath in and out. He pushed his hair out of his eyes, trying to mentally reset himself. Of course he knew that... that’s what made it so difficult.

OOO

Rean would call this a “waterfall room” more than a “fountain room”... but it was relaxing. The beautiful lapis lazuli tile made the space nice and bright, and watching the wall of water perpetually flowing into the shallow pool like the gentle side of rain, flanked by potted palm trees like a mini oasis... it was calming. Rean never bothered to actually poke around the casino floor... He was still on active duty, after all. Hopefully nobody wanted to use the massage chair he was sitting in, since it was in the ideal spot to be both out of the way and visible to where Uncle V was standing watch...

Rean relaxed against the plushy chair, and pulled the footrest up. There wasn’t really anything else he could do until Crow was done with his meeting, besides obsessively comb over Juna’s statements that she got from the girls at Seashells again... Rika’s mother was still grieving, so it wasn’t appropriate to ask her more questions than what he was able to gently pry out of her... Apparently they weren’t in regular contact after she left home, anyway. The father wasn’t in the picture...

Rean let his eyes close, listening to the gentle sound of the waterfall...

OOO

“... Hey, baby.” Rean jerked awake. “Haha, sorry—didn’t mean to startle ya.”

“—geez, did I actually fall asleep?” Rean sat up in the plushy chair, rubbing at some crust at the edge of his eye. “Sorry, honey—thanks for—” The words died in his throat. He bit his lips—did that seriously just slip out?

Crow had a small smirk, but mercifully he let it pass without acknowledgment. “Told ya the fountain was relaxing.” He pat his shoulder, taking a step back.

Rean pressed down the footrest with his legs, then tried to stand up gracefully. “I’d call it more of a ‘waterfall’...” He waited to make sure he didn’t get dizzy after standing up. “VALIMAR—how long was I asleep?”

“You entered the first stage of sleep forty-one minutes and two seconds ago. The time is now four thirty-five PM.”

“I see...” He realized he said that out loud.

Crow snickered. “What—you talkin’ to your invisible friend?”

Rean gave him a flat look. “He’s always watching, even while I’m asleep. I just like to make sure nobody bothered me or touched my hair unnecessarily.”

“Whoopsie.” Crow put his hands up in surrender. “Geez—you should ask him if Uncle V at least checked on ya while I was gone!”

“...” Rean sighed. “VALIMAR, did anyone check on me while I was asleep?”

“Yes, Vulcan Fujimoto left his post for one minute, then returned after observing that you were asleep. Although he did not check your vital signs.”

“I see... thank you.”

Crow had an annoying grin on his face. “All good?”

“Would you be mad if Uncle V touched my forehead?”

His grin fell. “What, seriously?”

“Pft—no.” Rean walked past him. “Oh—I asked Miss Katsumi if they could store my leftovers in the fridge until I’m ready to leave.” He pushed his hair out of his eyes, trying to comb it subtly with his fingers. He probably had to go to the bathroom to fix his bedhead... “Is there somewhere more private we can discuss the details of the case?”

Crow peered back over the floor towards the restaurant. “Well—I’m gettin’ pretty hungry, to tell you the truth. I can tell Tsumi not to seat anyone near our booth.” He didn’t need to say “our” booth...

“Well...” He was about to say that he already made plans to meet Emma at Gaius’ restaurant, but... there really wasn’t a point driving all the way to Ginza, only to come back to Kabukicho to meet Crow at Seashells... Plus, he was just in such a weird mood, he probably wouldn’t be good dinner company, anyway. Since it was Crow’s fault, he could be the one to deal with it... He just had to message Emma and apologize, and take a rain check. “I guess we can sit in the restaurant—I’m still not hungry, but I’ll order another drink.”

Crow smiled tiredly. “Please do.” Obviously that dry meeting wouldn’t have perked him up... but he did have a bit of a glint in his eye. Haah... it was probably from Rean’s slip-up earlier—stupid half-awake brain. “Hey, uh—your hair’s lookin’ pretty wild there.” Crow grinned. “If you wanna go fix it, I’ll meet you in the restaurant.”

Rean pawed at his fringe. “... I’ll be right back.” He walked quickly away, to where he saw the restroom sign from earlier—he spotted Vulcan at the far side of the room, keeping watch from a distance—he gave Rean a broad smile, his hands locked behind his back like a professional. His vibe really was different wearing that suit and tie... but his personality was completely the same. Just like Auntie Scarlet...

Rean made his way to the bathroom, which was thankfully quite clean, and had infinity mirrors on either side—he wet his hands before going about fixing his hair with his fingers. If he was being honest... He was starting to feel bad about last night. Knowing that Uncle Vulcan stayed in the room with him the whole time while he was passed out, and that he checked on him when he fell asleep in that massage chair... He’d known the guy since high school, when he used to go over to Crow’s place before Pops got really sick—there was no reason for him to think of him as “Crow’s scummy bodyguard”. It was just hard... to see another person who could have had a normal life get swallowed up by that world.

Rean stared at his own eyes in the mirror, an infinite number of himself stretching off behind him. He washed his hands, carefully picking out some goop from the corner of his eye.

OOO

“I don’t know if you gave the donation to Rika’s mother already... But we can’t release her body just yet.” Rean had his hands folded between his knees. “There are a few more things the lab needs to follow up on from the autopsy.”

“I see.” Crow was giving him an oddly serious look, but also like he was looking right through him. “Like what? If I can ask.”

“Well...” Rean didn’t have the heart to say it... They were trying to pinpoint the order of events more accurately—in which order did the bondage, penetration, strangulation, death, and ejaculation occur... It was kind of important... But he couldn’t stomach explaining it. “The order of events.”

Crow’s look was unreadable, but his eyes darkened just a bit. “I see.” He stuck his fork in another chunk of curried chicken. He never knew Crow to be the biggest fan of chicken...

“Oh—this restaurant probably doesn’t serve beef, does it?”

“Nope—the whole menu’s halal, so no pork, either.” Crow chewed his big bite, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “—that was Samir’s input, when he took over as restaurant manager.” He swallowed, giving it away that he didn’t finish chewing his food before talking behind his hand... “Apparently there’s enough crossover between the Muslim and Hindu community, he said it’s better to just be halal across the board.”

“I see—that’s interesting.” Rean picked up his spicy lemonade—apparently it was called a “nimbu pani”. Rean wouldn’t exactly say he was ignorant about other cultures, but he did enjoy learning new things.

Crow wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Can I get some naan bread for the table, or something? It feels weird that I’m the only one eating.”

Rean snickered. “Fine... if it makes you feel better.” Some fluffy naan bread did sound good to snack on, actually... “Is there a dip you recommend?”

“Yeah—this real tangy yogurt sauce.” Crow raised his hand, and Katsumi spotted him from across the floor, making her way over to their booth.

OOO

Crow was tapping his fingers quickly on the table, peering out over the restaurant floor. “Actually... We should probably just go talk in the back office.” His fingers didn’t stop. “It’s just too sensitive to be talking about out here.”

“I understand—I’d prefer that as well.” Rean wiped his fingers on the moist towelette Katsumi brought them. “Do you have an office here?”

“No—we’ll just borrow Scarlet’s.” He got out his cell phone. “She should be out and about on the floor now.” He kept looking at the mouth of the restaurant—oh, Uncle Vulcan was standing across the hall just out of sight. Geez—did he ever get bored just standing around watching? “Hey—mind if we borrow your office for a bit? No, it shouldn’t be... thanks.” He hung up. “Okay—we’re good to go.”

“All right.” Rean was about to slip out of the booth, then his eyes fell to the half-eaten plate of naan bread. “Oh... This might be strange to ask, but can I bring the bread?”

Crow chuckled. “Sure. Maybe it’ll be easier to talk about with a distraction.” That’s exactly what Rean was thinking. “Let’s go—just take the plate. I’ll bring it back later.”

OOO

Crow tore a piece of naan bread in half, leaning off the plush chair. “So one of the girls who wasn’t working yesterday, Minh, told me something interesting.” His eyes flicked up to Rean’s. “Apparently Rika liked to check dating apps, and try to get more customers in that way... And Minh told me and Gelica she sent her a screenshot of this guy who was bragging about being in Nakata.” He dipped the bread in the yogurt sauce. “She sent it to her and said, ‘Should I match with him, w.’” [A/N: Japanese equivalent of “lol”, often times with multiple wwww.]

“I see... Did she?”

“She did—and he matched with her, too.” Crow kept turning the bread, getting a fat glob of sauce on it. “Now, just because she works at Seashells, she’s not really ‘part’ of the clan. So I don’t know if this guy knew who she was before they matched. But she started talking to him, basically just fucking around with him, seeing if she could convince him to come into Seashells for a ‘date’.” He kept his fingers on the bread while his hand stilled. “As soon as she mentioned Seashells, he unmatched her.” He cupped his other hand under the sauce-laden bread, bringing it up to his mouth. “... but that raises a red flag, doesn’t it?”

“It does—do you have the screenshot?”

“Yeah—Gelica already tried looking on Minh’s phone, but she couldn’t find the guy. He either deleted his profile, or the algorithm just wasn’t bringing him up.” He wiped his fingers on a napkin. “Allegedly his name’s Takumi, but who knows.” He got out his phone. “I’ll send it to ya. The screenshots Minh took of their conversation, too.”

“Thank you.” Rean waited, getting the messages after a few seconds. This Takumi kid looked just like a typical punk-ass twenty-year-old who thought being in the yakuza was cool—slicked-back hair, not smiling—the two guys on either side of him looked more trendy, they were probably members too if he was bragging about it in his profile—although with their hairstyles and flashy shirts, they kind of looked like hosts... “Any idea about the other two guys in the photo?”

“We found one on social media by reverse-searching it—but no idea on the other one.” Crow sent the other screenshots. It looked like a typical conversation between girls—laughing back and forth, with Rika sharing screenshots of her conversation with “Takumi”. “I already sent ‘em to George to see if he can work his magic.”

“I see—thank you.” George didn’t mention that this morning, just Crow’s naggy email... “On that note—I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t send my colleague unprofessional emails from your personal account.”

“Aw, man! George sold me out!” Crow snickered, not sounding like he felt bad at all. “Hey—I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.” Rean would highly contest that anything was “cock-blocking” Crow besides his own behavior...

“Haah...” Rean kept reading the text exchange between Rika and Minh, pinch-zooming so he could read her screenshots with Takumi better... Honestly, it just sounded like basic flirting—he complimented how hot she was, asking where she was from, if she’d ever shot pool before, if she was really twenty-two or if she was lying to get on the app—she did look younger, especially with her pastel pink dyed hair. “When was she talking to this guy?”

“Tuesday—so not the day she was killed.” Crow sent him one last text—it was a link to the other host-looking guy’s social media. “But it was just one day before—time enough for some dumbass kids to stew over being made a fool of by a sex worker from Sakurai.” He pressed his phone to his chin. “That’s just one possibility.” His red eyes had a dark glint to them...

Rean went back through the text exchange... It did seem like he unmatched instantly, after she said she was a hostess at Seashells—the next message she sent failed, with a notification, ‘You can no longer message this user.’ So he must have blocked her... “I’m surprised she would even reveal where she worked to someone who said he was from Nakata...”

“Everyone knows where Seashells is, they wouldn’t dare come to our turf to start something—but Blue Velvet Kitty is outside Kabukicho.” Crow set his phone on the table. “It all seems like too much to be coincidence.”

“... That would be really bad if someone from Nakata acted on their own to do this...” He finally looked up at Crow. “What would you do if this was the kid that did it?”

Crow pressed all his fingers together. “Well, I can’t answer that to a cop.” He sat back in his chair. “But I’ll tell you what Nakata’s only options would be—” Crow’s eye contact was pretty intense, even though Rean knew it wasn’t directed at him. “Turn him over to us within twenty-four hours, or turn him over to you guys without trying to pass off a substitute...” [A/N: It’s not uncommon to offer up a “fall guy” to do prison time instead of someone more important to the clan, when they need to either placate a rival clan or the police.] “Or... Things’ll get real messy real quick.”

Rean swallowed. “Would it really come to that?”

“Rean—if one of them killed one of ours in such a fucked-up way, even if he was acting alone—if they didn’t do anything to atone for it, then yeah.” His stare was too intense. “For all we know, this was done deliberately to provoke us to retaliate. Let’s pray that that’s not the case, but it’s too potent to ignore.” He sat up straight, clapping his hands on his thighs. “So now you know why I couldn’t sleep last night—I was calling in everyone I could to try to find out who these kids are, and dig up whatever we can before we confront Nakata blind.”

“But—that’s only a possibility.” Rean licked his lips. “He could’ve just unmatched her, and that was that. She could’ve kept swiping and met up with a totally different person.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Crow didn’t relax at all. “But she didn’t send any more screenshots to Minh. If she was actually gonna go meet someone, why wouldn’t she? She didn’t tell Gelica or anyone else, either.” Rean was suddenly aware of the ticking clock on the office wall. “You guys still have her phone, right?”

“Yeah—we already subpoenaed the cell carrier, and George has one more attempt before the phone locks us out.”

Crow ran a hand through his hair. “None of the girls said they knew her password—so it all comes down to getting those phone records.” His intense gaze didn’t let up. “But if someone from Nakata really did this just to fuck with us—it’s not gonna end with Rika.”

Rean’s eyes scrunched. “I have to take that seriously. I can’t just not include it in my report that you told me that.”

“Go ahead.” Crow clapped his legs. “Maybe you’ll get those phone records faster.”

Rean felt like his mouth suddenly went dry. The situation was bad enough... It was almost better to have no leads than the potential one they had now. This could get really bad, really quick... The Sakurai Clan wasn’t small either, and they had just as many hot-headed young members as Nakata—if this got out, and one of them decided to take matters into their own hands—

“This is really bad—” He pleaded with Crow with his eyes. “Please—if you find any of these kids, take me to talk to them first.” He licked his lips. “Even though it’s not admissible as evidence, just let me delve into them. It’s extremely difficult to lie or hide anything—especially for hot-headed young kids.”

Crow had a small smirk. “Well—I’m not trying to doubt you, but if they tell you they ‘didn’t do anything wrong’, and they really believe they didn’t—what then?”

Rean bit his lips. “I can tell the difference, when someone’s trying to justify their own actions. Even if they genuinely think they ‘didn’t do anything wrong’—they won’t be able to hide it if I ask them what they did.”

“Yeah?” Crow laughed humorlessly. “That ‘prototype’ is pretty amazing—if it’s so accurate and reliable, how come you’re the only one who has one?”

“That’s—” Rean really didn’t have an answer to that—he couldn’t deny that he was essentially the guinea pig. “... I’m sure George told you all about that interview. When I spoke to the last serial killer who operated in Tokyo.” His fingers scrunched up on his legs. “He couldn’t hide anything from me, either—and he had been the most difficult and uncooperative up until that point. But with VALIMAR he coughed up where his final two missing victims were buried—so don’t underestimate me.” Rean started breaking out in a cold sweat just remembering that interview—that young man who was even more baby-faced than he was, and his blank, expressionless smile. “And I’m sure you know what happened after he was brought back to his cell.”

Crow was silent for a minute. “Well... Guess it wouldn’t hurt to have you take a crack at it.” He relaxed back in his chair. “If the fucker who did this to Rika cut his own guts out after confessing, the world won’t miss him.” Rean didn’t say anything to that.

OOO

They were getting ready to leave and lock up Scarlet’s office, but Crow was hesitating at the door. “Look... I was trying to avoid the ‘r-word’ yesterday when we were speculating what happened.” He winced—they both did. “... But when you brought up the ‘order of events’... I can’t think of it any other way.” He was smoothing down the back of his hair, almost like he was trying to comfort himself. “That’s why—I hope you understand that if we get our hands on this kid first—”

“I get it.” He didn’t want to hear any more. On principle, he couldn’t condone vigilante justice, but...

Crow was looking unfocused at nothing, rubbing his jaw. “There’s no way Rika would’ve done something so risky, no matter who it was... Whether the guy she met up with was from Nakata or not—let’s just take that out of the equation for a second.” Rean was staring down at the empty plate he was holding. “Even if she was feeling frisky and down to get tied up—penetration would’ve been off the table. The guy probably planned to rape her from the start, and just waited until she couldn’t fight back.” He grit his teeth. “She probably requested to have one leg free just in case—but that wasn’t good enough. Fuck...” He pressed his hand to his forehead, his bangs scrunched up between his fingers. “I hope she kicked him in the dick so he’ll never piss the same again.”

Rean almost laughed—as morbid as it was, he wouldn’t complain about that, either... “Well—if that’s your assessment as someone who knew her well, then it does help us to better understand the scene...”

Crow wiped his nose with the back of his wrist. “Well—good. That’s one thing, at least. Haah...” He sniffed the snot back in his head. “Geez—I just wanted to tell you that, if you decided you don’t want to see the demonstration after all...” Rean hesitated for a second.

He set the plate on the table by the door. “Come here.” He hopped up and wrapped his arms around Crow, patting the back of his hair. “Thanks for working with me on this. Every little bit gets us closer to what happened.” Crow let his forehead touch down on Rean’s collarbone. “We’ll get justice for Rika—I promise.”

“Geez...” Crow’s voice sounded snotty. “You can’t go promisin’ stuff like that—that’s how you got that family mad at you.”

How did Crow know about that... “I can at least promise I’ll do my best.”

Crow finally put his arms around him back, lightly rubbing his shoulder. “Well hey, I won’t complain about that.”

He knew better than to blur the lines or give Crow any false hope... but it would just be cruel to stand there and do nothing. He was already regretting forcing himself to maintain that “professional line” with Angelica yesterday... he just had to make it up to her next time.

Rean kept stroking Crow’s long hair—he half-expected him to make a bad joke, or push it and get a little handsy—but he didn’t. They just stood there in the back office in silence.

OOO

6:07pm – Friday – April 6^th, 20XX

Rean followed Sana and her robed assistant through the back hallways, and they opened one of the private rooms. Oh... that wasn’t exactly what he was expecting—for some reason, Rean imagined this demonstration being out on the main floor. To be honest... he was glad he and Crow had that conversation before they left, but now he wished he waited until after the demonstration was over—

“Relax.” Crow put his hands on his shoulders. “I’ll post Uncle V outside the door so no one just waltzes in.”

“Okay...” That wasn’t really what he was worried about... but there was nothing to be done about that now. Like he said, every scrap of information helped... If he could get inside either Rika or the killer’s mindset just by watching, that would inch them that much closer to the truth. Although... maybe he should just tell VALIMAR to go to sleep, it just felt like he experienced things more intensely whether he was actively calling on him or not...

Sana stepped up onto the little stage, and her partner followed. “May I see the photos, please?”

“Yes—” Rean still didn’t want Crow to see it... He’d probably never be able to get the image out of his head, like Rean couldn’t. He turned his phone gingerly so Sana could see, and she studied it with a blank expression.

“... I see.” She closed her eyes. “That’s the Hishi Karada tie around her torso—it’s popular due to how eye-catching it is.” [A/N: Literally “full-body diamond”.] She leaned her face a bit closer to the phone. “Can I see this? I want to zoom in here...”

“Sure.” Rean handed her the phone, and the flicked her fingers on the screen.

“... this isn’t right.” Rean circled around, gazing with some reluctance at the tight zoom in on her swollen breasts. “The tie should never restrict bloodflow like this—you usually start at the top of the body and work your way down, so she would have corrected it early on if her breasts were in pain.” She flicked her fingers to focus down near her armpit. “See this here? There’s an extra rope around the chest that was tied on after—the entire body tie only requires one rope.” Her voice sounded so emotionless... maybe she was just in shock. “Rika is rather large-breasted, so I don’t know if she requested extra ‘support’... but I can’t imagine she would make a request like this.” Her eyes closed. “This was probably done after she was bound and unable to resist.”

“... I see.” Rean could see Crow’s pained expression from here, out of the corner of his eye. It might be even worse for him to hear all this, having his imagination run wild for something so awful...

Sana zoomed the photo back out, then flicked to the next one. It was a shot of her arms and back, after the investigators turned her over. “... I think I’ve seen enough, thank you.” She handed Rean back his phone. “Her right leg was in a double frog tie, and her arms were back in a simple elbow tie, ending with her hands in a prayer tie, as the name suggests.” She smiled gently. “If you’re ready, I can begin the demonstration.”

“Go ahead.” Crow spoke for them while Rean made his way back to the booth. This small room just felt too intimate... He almost wished they could leave the door open or something.

Sana measured out her length of rope with her arms. The rope she was using was dyed black. “Now... I won’t be giving you a step-by-step tutorial, but I’ll go at about the pace you would for play.” She smiled gently, though Rean couldn’t help but feel that her eyes looked a bit vacant. “Typically, you would start with your partner standing up... this helps keep the tension while you perform the tie.” She turned her model around, who finally removed her robe, and she was clad in nothing but a small white bikini... “Now—normally for a demonstration, she would be wearing a skintight bodysuit... but I thought it would be helpful to see how the rope interacts with the skin.” Sana smiled gently. “Are you ready, Makoto?”

“Yes, Master.” Rean flinched a bit—he thought Makoto was just another girl who was willing to help out... this wasn’t going to get awkward, was it?

He glanced sideways at Crow before he could help it. “Geez—don’t sweat it, Mako’s a professional.” Crow crossed his leg at the ankle, relaxing back into the booth with his arm draped along the top. “Go ahead, ladies—and thanks for indulging such a last-minute request.”

Sana finished measuring her rope. “It’s my pleasure, Owner.” Makoto stood perfectly still, with her arms raised above her head. Sana started by making a singular knot in the middle of the rope with two tails hanging off, pulling a bit to form a loop. She placed the knot behind Makoto’s neck, with the two lengths of rope hanging down over the front of her body. “I’ll start tying down the front, and then work my way around her back.” She left some slack and tied a single knot at Makoto’s clavicle, and it took a while to pull both tails of rope all the way through the knot. “Pull the rope through nice and slow, savoring the intimacy of the process...” She used her fingers to create another loop, then pulled the tails up and through slowly and methodically, tightening the knot as it fell right between Makoto’s breasts. “And again...” Sana was able to eyeball where to tie the knots so they were all equal lengths from each other—about six inches apart, if Rean had to estimate.

Once Sana tied the knots down to her bikini area, she paused. Rean realized he and Crow had been sitting and watching in complete silence...

“Now, this next part is up to personal preference. It depends on your partner’s genitalia, and how you want to frame it. I suppose you could say, ‘Ease of access.’” Oh, my... “I will be matching the photo.” She unceremoniously strung the rope right between her legs, turning Makoto around and bringing the rope up between her buttocks. If she didn’t have that bikini on, it would’ve slipped right inside... it just seemed so uncomfortable, but evidently that was the point... “Now...” Sana stretched the length of rope up her spine, pulling it through loop she left behind her neck. “We’ll just make sure the knots are aligned where I want them to be across her chest.” She gently directed Makoto back around, sliding the rope down behind her neck, which shifted all the knots up on her body. “There we go...” She adjusted the knot between her breasts like it was a necktie. “Now—I will lace the rope back to front, front to back, and so on...” When she brought the tails back forward around her chest, she spread the length of rope between the first two knots, pulling the tails through to the side—creating the diamond pattern. “Just like this.”

“I see—so it just repeats like that.”

“Just so.” She gently directed Makoto to turn around. She had dutifully kept her arms above her head like a meditating yogi. “I like to make a simple square knot for extra tension...” She made two loops, snapping them quickly closed at her back—Makoto started a bit. “And now...” She turned her around to face them again. “The pièce de résistance...” She wrapped the rope under Makoto’s breasts, pulling the tails through the space between the knots, stretching it out into a diamond. Her breasts were framed by rope above and below, with two diamonds down the center in an aesthetically-pleasing way.

“I see.”

Sana brought the two tails back around Makoto’s torso, holding them tight at her spine. “You see how it would be very difficult to squeeze her breasts like in the photo? Her entire ribcage would be squeezed as well, since the ropes are flush against her body...”

“I do see it—I didn’t notice that there was a separate rope there until you pointed it out. Or I guess—I assumed that was done during the process.”

“No. I can tell that it was wrapped around later—and rather crudely, there was no technique. Just like winding mooring rope around a post.” She demonstratively circled her length of rope around Makoto’s small chest, though she was much more petite than Rika. “Now... I will work in silence so you can focus on the demonstration. Teehee—just know that if this were a real scene, there would be a lot more touching and teasing. The process is meant to be enjoyed by both parties, after all.” Oh, dear... Well, at least they were both professionals...

He watched as Sana quietly and methodically wrapped the rope around Makoto’s torso and back, spreading the diamonds all the way down her body. After seeing the way the pattern repeated, it was actually deceptively simple—perhaps their perpetrator wasn’t an expert after all.

As Sana circled around her, making little adjustments on her bare skin as she maneuvered the rope, Makoto let her arms drift down softly like a butterfly. They were both definitely savoring each action, with Sana taking her time... it almost reminded Rean of the intentional slowness of a tea ceremony.

He was trying to keep an open mind, while he internalized the process... The shibari knots were beautiful and framed her body well, he could appreciate the artistry of it, but... the process was so long, he couldn’t imagine being able to keep that initial “spark” through the whole thing, even if he was doing it with the love of his life...

“Geez...” Crow stretched his arm along the back of the booth. “This must really do it for some people... I couldn’t imagine keeping it up the whole time fiddling with all that rope.”

Rean couldn’t help but laugh a bit, though he felt bad. “... I was just thinking the same thing, actually. I’m sorry, Sana—I mean no offense.”

“That’s quite all right. I don’t take any offense at all.” She continued to patiently tie the rope around Makoto’s hips.

“So, you don’t like it when it’s too slow?” He could feel the smirk in Crow’s tone. “Well, good—at least we’re on the same page.” Rean was tempted to slap him on the arm—but he just let it go. “I mean—if you really wanted me to do that to ya and take my sweet time, I would... You know that right, baby?”

“Why would I be the one getting tied up? What about you?”

“Me? What am I supposed to do?! Just lay there like a dead fish while you do all the work? Ugh—sounds like torture.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

“Heugh—count me out.” Crow crossed one of his legs at the ankle. “Thanks for showin’ us, girls—but uh, I realized this stuff just ain’t for me. I don’t see the point if you can’t wrap your arms and legs around me~Ow!” Crow rubbed the side of his bicep. “Geez—I don’t like that kind of play, either!”

“Then just shut up and watch. Don’t make Sana and Makoto waste their time.” He realized after he said it, that there really wasn’t a point to Crow watching along, too—besides his own dumb curiosity, and probably hoping he could see Rean get all embarrassed or flustered from it... That seemed rather inappropriate, given their conversation before they left Taj Mahjong. Well—Rean wasn’t going to get all flustered from it, he didn’t find this particularly erotic, personally—and besides that, this was all to aid his investigation. He was trying to understand for Rika’s sake...

When Sana got down to the bikini area, she pulled the ropes under and spread one final diamond, giving the tails a twist for extra tension—then she spread the diamond apart even more for better “ease of access”. That must have been what Rika’s partner did—no, he wasn’t her partner—he was just a rapist, and her killer.

“Would you normally tie it like that if you don’t plan on doing penetration?”

“... It all comes down to personal preference.” She pulled the slack of the ropes, spreading the diamond nice and wide. “That is why I would tie it this way. Others enjoy the sensation of the ropes digging into their vulva and labia.”

“I see...” Would Rika have known that, too? Would she have said anything, or would she not want to interrupt the flow and make things uncomfortable? Was her only intention to be bound and photographed? Was she okay with having sex if the other person wore a condom, but they tore it off at the last second? They didn’t find one at the scene, unless they flushed it down the toilet...

“Now...” Sana reached up, clasping Makoto’s wrists together high above her head. “If all you wanted to do was restrain your partner, there are much faster and easier ways to do it. Handcuffs and restraints attached to the headboard, for example—or even a stretcher bar for the ankles.” She circled around Makoto’s back, making a few more ties at her spine and tightening the rope like a corset, which made her jerk just a little. “To engage in shibari is to engage in slowness—for both you and your partner. Savoring every moment, your partner surrendering more and more of themselves to you...”

“So, the purpose of taking it slow is for your partner to show you absolute trust.”

“Yes... Exactly.” Sana smiled. “The anticipation of having your freedom sealed away by someone you trust completely, knowing that you are clay in their hands...” She lowered Makoto’s arms down behind her back, pinning them in place. “Knowing that they’ll give you absolute pleasure and pain... there’s nothing like it.”

Rean was asking from the perspective of the person doing the binding, but Sana had answered from the perspective of the person being bound... Honestly—Rean had a hard time imagining trusting anyone to that extent—from either perspective.

“Now—I will begin binding her arms.” She jerked a few more knots at her back. “It is best to use a new rope for each part of the body.” She picked up a fresh ream of black rope off the stool. Makoto stood patiently, her arms back behind her like a mermaid figurehead on the prow of a ship.

... There was one way that Rean could truly understand it. But it would be so invasive... Both Sana and Makoto were already letting them glimpse at such an intimate part of their lives, Rean was involved in the “trust” aspect now, too. It’s not like VALIMAR was some widely-known technology—he couldn’t just ask someone, “Hey, can I look inside your mind? I have this sci-fi chip in my brain that lets me feel other people’s emotions, but it plays out like an abstract conversation in one second like a DMT trip...” Haah... If he could explain it and they actually believed it, they might actually be amenable to it... But who should he choose, Sana or Makoto? He could understand Sana’s perspective more, wanting to treasure your partner and giving them exactly what they wanted... But he also wanted to know what it felt like to give yourself over to someone completely, like you were putty in their hands and they knew just what to do with you...

Rean made a shallow swallow. He had to just do it quick the next time Makoto looked his way. Just one second is all he needed... Sana wouldn’t even notice, she was busy tying her arms—

Crow subtly put his hand at his lower back. “Don’t.” Rean’s breath caught in his throat. How closely had Crow been watching him?

Just barely perceptibly, Rean nodded. Crow gave his back a little rub with his thumb, then his hand retreated back to his own side. No... he was right. Some things were just too intimate and sacred... What was he thinking?

Rean was feeling really uncomfortable sitting there, his blood rushing in his ears—he felt like he just forfeited the right to be here, like he had violated their trust...

Sana finished tying up her arms and hands behind her. “Now Makoto, will you lay down for me?”

“Yes, Master.” Hoo—this was a mistake, he should’ve just tapped out when he had the chance. No—no, he owed it to them and their efforts to see it through to the end.

Makoto sat down, and Sana helped lower her onto her back. “This would be more comfortable for her arms on a bed—depending on the tie, it would be easier to bind her legs while she lied on her stomach.” Makoto arched her back, so she had enough room with her hands bound in prayer. Her ribs were popping out against the rope. Sana guided her leg to bend, her heel resting at her buttocks. “I wonder why only one leg was tied... It’s not common to do.”

“Did Rika have a pre-existing leg injury?”

“Not that any of us knew about.” Crow crossed his other leg at the ankle. At least his open body language showed that he wasn’t getting too sucked into this demonstration... “Honestly—she might have just wanted a leg free in case she had to get up to go to the bathroom—or kick him in an emergency.”

Sana notably said nothing, looping off a length of rope to wrap around Makoto’s thigh and ankle. “I should have said this from the start—it’s so ingrained that we in the scene just take it as a given. But consent is the cornerstone of all play.” She stopped what she was doing, letting the slack of the rope rest on Makoto’s leg. “Consent must be authentic, informed, and explicit. Every partner has ‘cans’ and ‘cannots’, and ‘wills’ and ‘will nots’.” She looked Rean right in the eye. “If consent and boundaries are not firmly established, then you must walk away from the scene. Even Rika would know that.” She looked at Crow next. “I can tell just from the photos that the person you’re looking for is not a member of the community—rogue or otherwise. I imagine this person learned how to do the ties from watching videos on the internet, and has had very limited or no experience creating a scene prior to meeting Rika.”

“Really?”

“That is my appraisal, as someone who’s been in the community for many years.”

That helped paint a clearer picture of their perpetrator, but... it still doesn’t explain why Rika would go along with it, much less meet up with them in the first place. “So—since shibari requires such a high degree of trust and intimacy between partners, someone who wasn’t particularly used to it wouldn’t just do it in the spur of the moment with someone they didn’t know.”

“In most cases, no—but a person who doesn’t understand bondage might find the impulsivity or the risk factor thrilling.” Sana picked up the rope, continuing to tie the knot around Makoto’s ankle. “But a true practitioner understands that it’s the trust that’s thrilling.” She pulled the knot tight. “At any rate—any member of the community would know that even degradation and rape-play are rooted in consent.” Urk... “It must be agreed upon by all parties beforehand. It is possible that Rika asked for a scene mimicking non-consent, and her partner was an amateur who took it too far—but even that seems out-of-character for someone like Rika.”

“I see...”

“What about the bruising?” Crow’s flat voice cut through the small room. He made a gesture with his finger along his throat. “Amateur mistake, or intentional?”

“... It’s hard to say. Many straight men see women being choked in pornography, and think that that is just a normal thing to do.” Yeesh—talk about chronically online. “There is no completely safe way to practice erotic asphyxiation, even for those with experience. An amateur may not know to focus on the softer bands on either side of the neck, and avoid pushing on the larynx and trachea...” She demonstratively slid her fingers down either side of her windpipe. “But given the extent of the bruising... It would be hard to believe that it wasn’t intentional.”

Crow’s eyes were dark. “Got it.”

“The foundation of all dangerous play is trust—and in the event that the partner in the submissive role wishes to stop, everything must stop, at once. Those are the tenets of bondage.”

“Geez—you mean just ‘common sense’.” Crow practically slammed his back into the booth. “Obviously we’re dealing with some psycho rapist—he probably just looked up how to tie up women as a means to an end.”

“... That is my assessment, as well.” Sana closed her eyes. “In all play, even the most extreme—the submissive is the one in control, always.”

The whole time, Makoto just laid there, waiting for Sana to make her next move. “Sana—I don’t think Rika was a sub.” She was looking up at the ceiling as she spoke. “She liked the way her body looked in bondage, but that was it—she wanted her body to be worshiped and admired. That’s why she liked to be cummed on—she just wanted to be seen as cool and down, like a pick-me girl.” Umm... “Maybe her partner got angry that she didn’t submit to him like he wanted, and that’s when he got violent. If he’s an amateur outside the community, then he wouldn’t understand or respect the dom-sub dynamic.”

Sana smiled gently. “That’s a very good point, Mako.” She lightly flicked her heel, making her squirm. “But you spoke out of turn, you know~”

“—ah, forgive me, Master.” Oh, dear... Well—they had been so patient and professional this whole time, Rean wasn’t going to get all uppity now...

Hmm... That did raise an interesting point. At first blush, it did seem like Makoto was just completely at Sana’s mercy, following and reacting to her whims like a plaything... but if that’s what she wanted because she liked it, then she really was the one in control, and the one setting the pace of the “scene”. Fascinating...

“Uh oh—you shouldn’t have told this guy all that.” Crow snickered. “Now I really have my work cut out for me!” Rean pushed him, and Crow started laughing. “Hey!” Crow pushed him back, but not very hard at all—it was like two little kids fighting.

“Stupid—” Even if Crow just said that to cut the tension—he was still damn annoying.

“Snrk—” Someone laughed—it must’ve been Makoto, since she got the sole of her foot tickled some more as punishment.

OOO

Sana’s hand traveled over Makoto’s bound thigh, admiring her handiwork. “Does that help elucidate the scene for you?”

“It does, actually—what you said about the control dynamic really helped put it into perspective.” Rean had his hands clasped between his knees. “At first glance, I thought the person who tied the knots must have been an expert, because it looked elaborate to the untrained eye—but now I think you got them pegged, they probably are just some weirdo who learned how to do it on the internet.”

“I imagine if this person was in the bondage scene, word would have spread about them being abusive immediately.” She kept stroking Makoto’s leg, maybe a little too much... “Have you ever heard this expression? ‘The masochist said, “Hurt me,” and the sadist said, “No.”’”

“Damn...” Crow rubbed his chin. “Makes sense.”

Sana was gazing into Makoto’s eyes. “If you’ll allow me to be a little personal... Mako enjoys being in a position of vulnerability and helplessness—she enjoys being in discomfort and pain, and she enjoys being teased and humiliated, because she is a masochist.” Sana tickled her foot, causing Makoto to squirm again. “And I give her that pleasure, and a safe space to explore her own degradation, because I love her and want her to feel good. Do you understand the difference?” She looked up at them from the small stage. “I don’t think Rika was a masochist. Whether your would-be rigger perpetrator is a sadist...” Her eyes closed. “Perhaps they merely wanted to put a victim in a weaker, more helpless state than they are—they may have little control or power in their personal life.”

“Over-compensating...”

“Tch—this guy gets more losery by the day.” Crow clasped his hands behind his head. “If our guys find him first, might as well just put him out of his misery like a sick dog.”

“...” Well, Rean couldn’t very well endorse something like that as a member of law enforcement... but he could understand it.

“Hmm.” Sana had her eyes closed. “I’ll refrain from commenting, Owner.”

“Hah—it’s okay, you don’t have to say it. We’re all thinking it.”

Rean smiled tiredly at Sana. “Thank you, both of you, for your time.” He smiled at Makoto, who was looking up sideways from the floor. “It really did help put things into perspective for me.”

“You’re very welcome, ane.” Haah... He was even willing to let that go, since they helped him out so much.

Honestly... Not even just about the case, but it gave Rean a lot to think about in his personal life. He couldn’t relate to being a masochist, since he expended so much time and energy avoiding humiliation and discomfort... Honestly, between the two of them, Crow seemed more like the one following Rean around like a dog, awaiting his next order... Hmm. Maybe all this stuff was more complex than he gave it credit for...

“Uh oh. Now what are you thinkin’?” Rean didn’t bother to smack him this time—honestly, Crow probably knew damn well what he was thinking. “Ah, shit—thanks a lot, Sana!”

“Teehee—it’s my pleasure, Owner.”

OOO

“Haah... Stupid girls. They totally threw me under the bus.”

Rean snickered. “I don’t even know what you mean by that.” He took another sip of his ice water. “You have no idea what I was thinking.”

“Oh, I know what you were thinking.” Crow ran his hand back through his hair a few times. “... You know, you were gettin’ pretty wild there for a sec.” He looked right at him, and Rean was caught off-guard by the sudden eye contact. “Who were you trying to look into—Sana or Makoto?”

“... It was just an impulsive thought.” He looked down at his melting ice, palming the wet glass in both hands. “... I’m glad you stopped me before I actually did it, though.”

Crow sighed. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well... does it matter?”

Crow had a small smirk to himself. “Nah—guess it doesn’t matter.” He ran his hand back through his hair. “Yeesh—you jumping into either one of ‘em woulda just made me jealous.” Rean rolled his eyes. There probably was a grain of truth to that...

He cupped his palm under the glass. “Honestly—I learned more from Sana’s explanation about trust and consent at the end. I mean—like you said, all that stuff’s common sense...” He lowered his voice. “... it just seemed muddy from a layman perspective, since bondage was thrown in the mix. But it’s actually way more well-defined than I thought.”

“Yeah—those kinksters love their rules.” Crow checked his watch. “Well—if you got something valuable out of it, then it was worth it.” He tapped his fingers a little hard on the bar. “I just wish any of this got us closer to Rika.”

“... I think it did.” Rean rolled his cool glass back and forth between his palms. “I was serious when I said every little bit of information counts. I’m just glad to have something—even something abstract like a criminal profile, it was so frustrating yesterday just staring at my computer, parsing through interviews that didn’t lead to anything...”

Crow had a small smile. “Well—I think you’ve done enough today. It’s not like you’re the only one workin’ the case—you should stay and just relax for a while.” Crow raised two fingers when the bartender saw him, and he nodded and started mixing drinks. Apparently Angelica wasn’t working tonight... “Unless you wanna interview Minh some more about those texts, there’s not much left you can do—you should just unwind and give yourself a break.” The lights went down, and some plucky funky music started playing—the dance floor echoed with smattered cheers when the disco ball lit up from the ceiling. “Haha—well lookit that, some better music than yesterday.”

“She said I was the tiger she wanted to tame~”

Rean was gripping his glass of melted ice water. “... I don’t know if I should be seen here ‘unwinding’...”

“Aw, what’s the problem?” Crow rolled his eyes, the white ovals cast from the disco ball traveling across his face. “You know it’s just a normal dance club, right? Only difference is you can go get busy in the back if you want.” Crow leaned his arm on the bar. “Better than the bathroom. You’re really out of the loop if you think people aren’t hooking up in the club anyway—at least my place is clean!” The bartender set two drinks down in front of them—something pale amber in a frosted glass with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint.

Rean licked his lips. “I don’t think I should drink. I drove myself here.”

“Don’t worry about it—I’ll have Uncle V drive you home.” Crow squeezed the lime in his drink. “If you really don’t wanna drink, I’ll have ‘em make you a tea mixer instead. Just try a sip, at least—it’s ‘refreshing like a spring breeze.’”

Rean eyed the drink in front of him. There was a lot of ice... Rean wasn’t very knowledgeable about drinks, but he was still craving something cold... He hoped whatever it was was watered down a lot...

He raised the glass to his lips, giving it a smell... It didn’t smell like straight vodka or gin or anything... he could mainly just smell the mint. He took a small sip... It was sweet, which he wasn’t expecting, with a minty shock like drinking water right after brushing your teeth.

“... it is refreshing.”

Crow laughed. “See, told ya! Try it with the lime, too.” Rean took his recommendation, squeezing the soft lime slice evenly over all the ice. He took another sip...

“... that is good. What is it?”

Crow gave him a thumbs-up. “It’s my Freebird Special! Me an’ Gelica came up with it. Hardly tastes boozey, huh?”

“What is it?”

“Weellll, that’s a trade secret! ♡” Haah... why did he expect a different answer. “But... it’s made with bourbon, so if you’re gonna have another drink, just don’t mix alcohols.” Crow threw his head back, taking a big gulp. “—hoo, that hits the spot—I might have another~♡”

Rean just watched him in the dark, as the lights from the disco ball swirled across his silhouette. He held his drink in both hands, the condensation making his palms cold. At least they were playing decent music... it was actually oddly-danceable. It sounded like western “funk” music, but more mellow. [A/N: “Western” in this context just meaning American/European, very broad lol] They did have a real disco ball... Why did the swirl of lights washing over the walls make it look more like a school dance than a club for grown adults?

Crow smirked at him, his arm resting confidently on the bar. “Wanna dance?”

... against his better judgment, Rean did find himself wanting to dance... The music reminded him of some of the more tolerable stuff Crow tried to play for him when they were listening to music in his room a lifetime ago... What was that one group called, Earth, Wind & Fire? It made him think of that, but more low-key...

Rean gulped down the rest of his drink, pushing the glass forward so they knew he was finished... He didn’t even need to see him in the dark to know that Crow had a self-satisfied smirk on his face, leading him by the hand out towards the dance floor... Once they got to an open spot near the center, Crow sure didn’t waste any time “getting down”...

“Whoo!”

“Get it, Waka!”

“Electric eyes that you can’t ignore—now the passion burns like never before~”

Crow was... an interesting dancer, let’s just put it that way. He was certainly doing something—he was like moving his shoulders back and forth, throwing in little arm movements here and there... honestly words escaped him to describe it. But he was obviously having fun—and the little “Whoo!” and “Waka!” shouts only encouraged him. Rean couldn’t help but cynically wonder if his staff only sucked up to him because he was the owner... but in his heart of hearts, he begrudgingly acknowledged that everyone probably genuinely liked him—Crow was unfortunately just charismatic that way.

“... Now we’re sharing the same dream... And our hearts they beat as one~”

Rean knew enough English to catch a word here and there like “dream” and “heart”—but for the life of him he couldn’t understand the kickoff to the chorus. [A/N: “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” by Billy Ocean. Also, me when I listen to J-Pop/Rock hearing “yume” and “mune” being like, “Dream! Heart!” XD]

Well... he was already screwed if anyone saw him here. He might as well just let go and try to enjoy himself for once... There really was nothing else he could do...

“And our hearts they beat as one~”

OOO

“DANCE! Nothin’ left for me to do but DANCE!~”

Crow was whipping his hair all over doing his weird “dance”... but every once in a while their eyes met—Rean felt like he was on a runner’s high—he was an even worse dancer than Crow, but it just felt good to get it all out—

Crow kept swaying a little closer, eventually he clasped their hands and held them up while he jerked around and did his best approximation of dancing, and Rean just let him...

“—off these bad times I’m going through—just DANCE!~”

OOO

These stupid cramped hallways were so disorienting when it was dark... Geez, he almost bumped his shoulder into the wall.

“Whoops—almost there, baby.” Crow steadied him with his arm, then awkwardly dug out his keys in his opposite pocket. “Stupid keys... There we go.” He opened the door, ushering Rean inside while he flipped on some nice soft amber lights.

Rean walked over to the bed, letting himself collapse onto his back. His brain felt pleasantly fuzzy... even though it didn’t taste that strong, just the one drink got him in the nice yellow zone before it started dipping into too much. The loud wallpaper was disorienting to look at, so Rean just stared up at the ceiling, feeling his heart beating in his chest from the surprising amount of dancing he did... He was pretty sure he heard someone belt out, “Yeah, get it ane!” though...

Crow got out his phone. “I’ll get you some water—you want anything else? How about some food? Kitchen’s still open ‘til we close.”

Rean licked his lips, trying to relax his spine while his legs were still danging off the edge of the bed. “... maybe something fried. I’m craving something a little greasy, like tempura.”

“Shrimp or veggies?”

“Just veggies—thank you.”

“You got it.” Crow pressed the phone to his ear. “—hey, it’s me. Bring us some tempura and yakitori, and two big glasses of water.”

“... actually, could I get some yakitori, too?”

Crow grinned. “Sure—two yakitoris. Thanks.” He hung up and set his phone down on the nightstand. “Oh—want me to leave Uncle V posted up outside the door?”

“What?” What an odd question—in case they wanted more food? Rean almost asked why... then he caught the implication between the lines... “Um...” He licked his lips, getting a faint lime aftertaste. “—that’s okay.”

Crow sat down on the edge of the bed. “Alrighty.” He started taking his shoes off... Rean hoped that wasn’t as much of a “signal” as it felt like... why was he suddenly feeling nervous? He had just gone with the flow until now... ugh, he felt so simple-minded—having the “big boss” looking only at him while they were dancing, everything else around them melting away as that drink finally hit... it just made him feel special. Ugh—who was he kidding, it wasn’t just Crow who was “down bad”...

Rean swallowed, almost having it go down the wrong pipe since he was laying down—he used his core to push himself up, and bent down to take his shoes off. He could feel Crow looking at him over his shoulder... Rean just kept focusing on neatly untying his laces, pulling off his dress shoes and setting them together next to the bed.

OOO

[A/N: They’re going to nerd out and spoil Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance lol, skip ahead to Rean saying, “That’s okay—I haven’t even picked it up yet” if you want lol]

“Haha—tell me about it.” Crow pushed his messy hair off his forehead. “Man—I was really digging the changes and extra stuff, like I liked having the two girls with you playing ‘devil’s advocate’ and like, the angel on the shoulder—then your freaking husband dies! Ugh, I hate it—I like Aogami better, I don’t want to finish the game with fuckin’—what’s-his-name, the freaking Prime Minister.”

“Um... Shoot, what was his name?” Rean reached for his phone. “Kuchi... Koshimizu? That sounds right...”

“That might be it—”

“I really only remember that he’s really Tsukuyomi...” Rean looked it up really quick. “Oh man—I can’t believe I remembered that.”

“Haha—you’re even more of a nerd than me, why are you surprised?” Crow rested on his back, getting cozy like a cat. “Oh, man—I want to start playing again now. I think you’d like all the quality-of-life changes, you should pick it up too.” He made a vague gesture with his hand. “You know—after all this shit is over with.” He pushed his hair off his forehead.

That was the last thing Rean wanted to talk about... he started typing another question in the search bar. “Do you want me to look up if Aogami comes back, or if you’re stuck with Koshimizu? I doubt they’d just kill him off like that, since he’s so prominent in the marketing...”

Crow eyed him from an angle. “... Yeah, actually—look it up for me. But don’t tell me! I mean—just tell me if he comes back, don’t tell me how or what happens.”

‘does aogami come back at the end of smtv vengeance’

Hmm... He started reading forum posts—honestly he didn’t want to be spoiled either, even though he hadn’t had time to pick up the new Vengeance version... “Um...” He took a chance and showed a hidden spoiler... “Okay—he does come back.”

“Whew—sweet!” Crow shot up off the bed. “That’s a load off my mind—honestly I put it down for a while ‘cause it just felt wrong to finish the game with that other guy’s partner—oh shit, sorry if I spoiled it for ya, baby. I won’t tell you why you’re with him.”

“That’s okay—I haven’t even picked it up at all yet.” He set his phone down. “Honestly... I haven’t had much time for games or shows lately.” What else was new—Rean felt like he didn’t even have time for his life. It was all work—and it felt like it shaved a little bit off whatever he had left every time he used VALIMAR—oh. No—that couldn’t be true, George wouldn’t let him test it out if it was doing something like that to him—he was just too mentally-exhausted from his workload, and not having a good work-life balance at all—that just made it worse, it’s not like Rean could blame VALIMAR for him not managing his mental health properly...

“Hey.” Crow reached up and smoothed some of his hair back behind his ear. “Just let it go—whatever you’re thinking.” His red eyes were half-lidded, his fingers lightly brushing the shell of his ear... “Nothing you can do about it right now... just take it easy. You deserve it after working so hard.”

Rean knew that was objectively true... but he couldn’t help but feel guilty. Like he wasn’t doing enough... he always felt like that, it just got worse after that girl’s family—

“Just let it go.” Rean was nuzzling Crow’s palm without realizing... “C’mere.” He let himself be guided down, resting his head on Crow’s chest. “You’re off the clock. Just enjoy being alive.” He let his eyes close, feeling Crow’s distant heartbeat under his cheek... Crow was running his fingers through the back of his hair—he kept getting stuck on knots since his hair was such a rat’s nest...

“... can you scratch my back?”

“Sure thing.” He felt Crow’s chest rumble a bit when he snickered. His hard nails felt so good... “Oh—I caught this movie the other day, you might be interested in it...”

OOO

Rean was getting tingles when Crow gently pushed his hair away from his face, brushing the shell of his ear with his fingers... “Do you wanna stay the night?”

He did want to stay the night, that was the problem—why were they in the windowless back room of this seedy club instead of Pops’ cozy old house that got drafty in winter? Why did Crow have to live in a completely separate world from him, and the only times their paths would cross was for a quick hookup like this? Why did Crow have to throw his whole life in the gutter? It just wasn’t fair... Rean felt like he wanted to cry.

“Hey...” Crow cupped his face. “If you wanna go home, I’ll call—”

“—don’t.” Rean cupped his hand over Crow’s. “I...” He didn’t have the guts to say, “I want to stay.”

Wordlessly, Rean let himself get pulled down into his kiss. He tasted like bourbon and mint... at least better than cigarettes. Even though he’d been drinking, Crow wasn’t a sloppy kisser—it felt so intentional, like he was really savoring it... Just kissing Crow was getting him going—unfortunately he just had that effect on him...

“—mm...” He couldn’t help but make a little noise when Crow rolled him to the side. Crow wasn’t that heavy, but when he put just enough of his body weight on him, it was oddly comforting... He liked the way Crow was touching him, his fingers were wrenching in his hair but not that hard, he was pressing all up into him so he could feel how hard he was—he was just being honest, which helped ease down the walls of self-consciousness Rean had built up around him since he became an adult...

Crow’s hand was sliding up under his shirt when Rean finally stopped him. “—wait.” He licked his lips, which were already wet and a little puffy. “Can you...” Being face-to-face like this just made his heart hurt more when it was over—he didn’t want to be sucked into the illusion that they were lovers “making love”. It was just sex... just something to take the edge off, for both of them, no different than that drink... “... can you spoon me?”

He thought he heard Crow sigh in the dark, but he wasn’t sure. Crow did as he asked, laying down next to him and scooting all up behind him, running his calloused hand down his bare thigh, enveloping him with his muscular leg like he wanted to absorb him into his own body. He was feeling up his chest under his shirt, which he really liked... Rean couldn’t help but squirm all over at the places he was being touched, getting impatient that it felt like Crow was taking his time to savor his body... He was already hard, just internally begging Crow to touch him—right now, he felt like he always did when he reached an emotional low—he wanted Crow to mess him up.

“—ah!” Rean gasped when Crow squeezed his chest—he was all over him like a praying mantis, kissing his neck, his long hair falling over his face and tickling his cheek—Crow’s other hand snaked under the pillow, pushing his chin up to kiss him. A voice in Rean’s heart went, “I don’t want to kiss.” He didn’t want to be kissed, he didn’t want to be treasured—he just wanted to be fucked so he could forget his own thoughts and stuff his heart away for one night. Oh—“VALIMAR—sleep mode.”

“Acknowledged. Good night, Rean.”

Rean winced before he could help it—he wished he’d thought of that before. “Hey—” Crow’s low voice sounded throaty... “You okay?”

Rean nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. “—yeah.”

Crow eased off of him a little, lightly brushing his nipple with his thumb. “Anything special you want?”

“I just want you to fuck me”—he couldn’t say that. He didn’t know what he wanted—when Crow was being all carnal and drunk, he just wanted to go with the flow and let him do whatever he wanted, but now he was asking—it wasn’t fair, like he did that on purpose—bastard. He didn’t know what he wanted—part of him wanted to just roll over and let Crow just hold him and kiss him, it wasn’t fair—

His heart leapt into his throat when his phone started going off. He definitely put it on vibrate—there were only three people he set to be able to push through and call him like that—

Rean licked his lips, his heart pounding. “I have to answer that, I’m sorry...”

Crow disentangled himself, his hand sliding out from under his shirt. “Go ahead.” He sat up, pushing his messy hair off his forehead.

Rean scrambled to the edge of the bed, picking his glowing phone up off the nightstand—his stomach sank, it was Towa. “—hello?”

“Hello, Rean? I’m sorry if I woke you up...”

“It’s okay—” Rean licked his lips. “Did something happen?”

She paused. “Yes... another body was found.” A stone dropped into the pit of his stomach. “Just an hour ago, at a hotel in Shibuya... She was tied up in red rope...” He knew what she was going to say, but it didn’t stop it from hitting like a truck. “We may have a serial murderer on our hands.”

Rean pushed his hair off his forehead, feeling like he was going to have a panic attack. “I see—thanks for informing me.”

“I’m sorry to ask on such short notice, but we need you down here at the scene...”

“—I’m on it.” He stumbled over to the chair where he left his folded slacks. “Send me the address—I’ll leave right away.”

“I just sent it—thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you.” He hung up, awkwardly trying to tug on his slacks with one hand. He felt like he was moving in a daze. “VALIMAR—wake up.”

“Initializing... Good morning, Rean.”

He heard the mattress creak when Crow stood up. “What’s up, emergency call?”

Rean made a long exhale, taking a deep breath. “Yes... A body was found in a similar state.” He couldn’t see Crow’s face very well in the dark, but his body froze. “... It may be the work of the same person.”

“... Shit.” Crow rubbed his hand over his mouth and chin. “Japan hasn’t had a serial killer in like a decade...”

“—it might just be a similar scene with no correlation.” In his heart of hearts, Rean didn’t believe that for a second...

“Well, fuck—want me to go with you?” Crow grabbed his shirt off the edge of the bed. “You good to drive? I can have Uncle take us.”

“No—I mean, I can drive.” Rean paused after buttoning his slacks, standing in the middle of the room to collect his thoughts for a second. Crow could go with him, even if he wouldn’t be allowed on the crime scene... “No—you should probably just stay here.”

“... Well, all right.” Crow walked over to him, running his palm along his back. “You just be safe out there, okay? Wanna take a bottle of tea with you?”

“... I might do that, thanks.” He needed all the help he could get to perk himself up and get out of this mindset...

“I’ll grab you one from the kitchen—meet you out by the front.” Crow walked off and out of the room, without even putting his shirt on. Rean just stared at the door for a second as it closed behind him, then he snapped back and bent down to slip his shoes on.

After weaving his way through the dark club to get to the front door, Crow was waiting for him with a bottle of black tea in his hand. He could see all his tattoos in the light coming in from the city outside—he finally got them colored in. “Here—it’s nice and cold.”

“Thanks.” Rean wrenched the cool glass bottle in his hands. “—sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. That’s just the way shit happens.” Crow rubbed his shoulder, then he went in for a full hug. “... Just be careful, okay?” He rubbed up and down his back. “I’m serious—you don’t know if these psychos are the type to return to the scene.”

Rean let himself be hugged, wrapping his arms around Crow tightly. “I will... Towa’s already there.”

“By herself?!”

“No—there must have been responding officers first, and they called her in because the M.O. is similar. I bet Machias is there, too—or at least on his way.” Rean didn’t want to flatter himself, he was probably the last one to be called. It’s not like his abilities were useful on a corpse...

“Okay... Well, good luck.” Crow finally let him go. “Wait—where are you going?”

“A hotel in south Shibuya—it’s not in Sakurai territory.”

“Shibuya?” Crow’s brows furrowed. “Where in south Shibuya? Half of that place is run by Nakata.”

“...” Rean got his phone back out. “Dogenzaka?” It was kind of a crappy area with lots of cheap motels...

Crow’s eyes closed. “Fuck... I’ll go with you.” He started marching back toward the back rooms. “Just wait for me a sec.”

“—wait.” Rean quick-walked to catch up to him. “I’ll send you the address—we should drive separately, if you really want to go.”

Crow rubbed his hair. “Sure—I’ll meet you there. I’ll have Uncle drive me, don’t worry.” Rean realized that even if Crow showed up in a separate car, he’d still have to explain to Towa why he was there... Well... at least if they drove separately, Rean wouldn’t feel pressured to go back to the estate with him...

Rean quickly headed down the winding hallways, to Crow’s little room in the back.

He was sitting on the bed, yanking his boots on. With the light on, Rean could see his tattoos clear as day—he couldn’t help but observe that the swirling pink petals going over the dark shapes on his arms almost looked cute.

Crow’s head jerked up. “What’s up—you change your mind?”

“... No.” Rean touched his knees down on the bed, half-crawling over behind Crow, careful to not let his shoes touch the blankets. He wrapped his arms around him from a sideways angle—it felt awkward, but it was the best he could do. “Sorry... I think after I’ve seen everything at the scene, I need to just go home and sleep...”

“I get it.” Crow put his hand on his arm. “Probably a good call.” The cramped room felt quiet. Even though there were at least a dozen other people all sleeping in the club, it felt so still and empty.

Rean wanted to say something, he kept fighting the urge to kiss him as a wordless apology—but he didn’t. He let his head droop into Crow’s shoulder, his leg muscles aching from suspending his feet behind him and keeping his shoes off the blanket, until the moment when it felt like he was neglecting his duty putting off leaving for another second.

OOO

These first two chapters took quite a lot of research, so I’m glad folks out there are enjoying it—I feel like I’m definitely on a list somewhere for all the hyper-specific stuff I had to look up X’D Ah well, you only live once!

Lol I feel like Crow would fuck with Jamiroquai—I had this really dumb idea for a short animation I never got around to doing—there’s a parody of “Virtual Insanity” on a certain American animated sitcom that goes, “Dancing, walking... Rearranging furniture~” And for some reason what popped into my head was, “Dancing, walking... Murdering the Chancellor~” I can just picture Crow sliding towards the camera with his gloved hand out, decked out in his CS2 outfit XD Just a peek into my inner world X’D Thanks for reading, see ya next time!

Chapter 3: Heart

Chapter Text

Badgers From the Same Hole

Chapter 3 – Heart

OOO

3:14am – Saturday – April 7^th, 20XX

The narrow alleyway was already cordoned off by yellow tape that read ‘CRIME SCENE – DO NOT CROSS’. Crow was standing under a wide umbrella held by Uncle Vulcan, staring down the rain-slicked alley from outside the barrier. An officer was standing firm with arms locked, not engaging him at all.

Rean parked as close as he could on the street, stuffing down his instinct to fix his park job so his car wasn’t sticking out as much. This whole area was under a police barricade, anyway...

He saw Uncle Vulcan turn and whisper to Crow, and they walked over to meet him when he got out of his car. “Hey.” Crow stood back a ways to give him some room, and Uncle V held the wide umbrella so it covered Rean, too. “I’m surprised we got here before you.”

“I still try to obey traffic laws—unless it’s an active emergency.” He shut his car door, pressing the fob to lock it.

Crow nodded to his car. “You’re still drivin’ that thing around?”

He was getting irritated already... “Yes—what’s wrong with it?”

Crow had an odd smirk. “Nothin’.” He started walking back towards the alley, and Rean followed, not wanting Uncle Vulcan to be put in the awkward dilemma of who to cover with his umbrella. Pft—it might’ve been funny to see—honestly Crow probably would’ve said, “Geez—cover him, not me.”

Rean nodded to the officer posted at the mouth of the alley. “Good evening—” He showed his badge. “I’m Detective Uchiyama from Shinjuku Station—is Chief Inspector Sato here already?” He realized it was technically already morning...

“Chief Inspector...” The officer looked up in the corner of his mind. “—ah, yes, that gentleman arrived shortly before you did. Superintendent Nonaka is already inside.” Of course Towa would be known even outside of Shinjuku.

“All right—thank you.” Since they weren’t on their own “turf”, he had to be careful bringing up Nakata in Shibuya. The responding officers would’ve been from Shibuya Station, under the supervision of the “Ice Queen” Superintendent Claire Koshimizu. Oh, geez—no wonder he remembered that guy’s name from that game.

Rean lifted the police tape and ducked under. He had to assume anything he said here would end up back at her ears... “Should I just wait out here?” Oh—

“Well...” He turned back to Crow and Uncle Vulcan. “You can’t enter the crime scene, but it’s fine if you want to wait in the lobby to get out of the rain.” He made a split-second decision. “This person has information regarding the investigation.”

The officer eyed him for a second. “Well, whatever your Superintendent will allow.” Whew—Towa probably would huff and tell Crow to just come inside and get out of the rain... He just hoped she played it off that he was even here in the first place. Who knows if your average Shibuya officer would recognize Crow Sakurai on sight. He was pretty flashy...

Crow lifted the tape next. “Well, you heard the man.” Uncle Vulcan was quite tall and beefy, and he had a hard time ducking under the tape while holding the umbrella. Pft—why did Rean’s brain still feel mushy, that tea didn’t help at all...

He entered the narrow door which was propped open to Hotel Passionnée—he was used to cramped alleyways in Shinjuku, but this one especially felt like a rat maze.

“And what time did they exit the building?” Machias had his notebook open, interviewing the person behind the front desk, a middle-aged woman with a short bob. Hopefully she would be more observant than that burnout kid from Blue Velvet Kitty...

“Ehh... Left ten minutes before three. I remember, because one more commercial break for my show.” She didn’t sound native Japanese. She raised one finger, shaking it slightly. “I could tell it was a man—the body type.”

“I see...” Machias wrote neatly in his notebook. Rean stopped to listen before entering the hallway, where he could see the tail end of a camera flash. “And about how tall was he?”

“Ehh... Not too tall. One hundred seventy centimeters, not more than one seventy-five.” [A/N: Around 5’8”.]

“Got it.” Machias noted down the number. “And what body type did you say, exactly?”

“Ehh... Average. Not muscular. Not too skinny, like those idols. Wearing heavy coat, though.” He could hear the frustration in Machias’ silence as he wrote down ‘average body type’. Well—at least it was something, that certainly ruled out Giliath Nakata... One of the boys in that screenshot Minh sent was “tall and skinny” by Rean’s assessment, but the other two, including Takumi, were “about average”...

Rean touched Machias’ shoulder, and he started a bit. “—oh, Rean.” His brows sloped. “I’m glad you’re here—that was quick.” His gaze traveled behind him, and his brows furrowed behind his glasses. “What is he doing here?”

Crow and Uncle Vulcan were standing quietly by the vending machine, Crow talking at a low volume while Vulcan was shaking his umbrella out the open doorway.

Rean’s brows sloped. “I called him and asked him to come here—he might have some valuable information.” He leaned a bit closer, not wanting the auntie behind the counter to hear. “There might be a possible connection to the Nakata Clan.”

Machias’ eyebrows went up. “Are you serious?” Rean nodded.

“It’s only a possibility—that’s why I wanted him to talk to Towa about it.”

“... haah. What have we stepped into...” He closed his notebook. “Thank you for your time, ma’am—another officer may have more questions for you before we leave.”

“Ehh, I don’t need to go to the station?”

“No—not unless we have reason to believe you’re involved or withholding information.”

“Oh, no!” She waved her palms. “That’s all I saw—we respect our guests’ privacy! No face showing—just sunglasses and mask!”

“Did you see his hair?”

“No—hood up!”

“I see—thank you for your time.” He nodded to Rean. “Let’s go... Towa’s already back there.”

“All right.” He glanced at Crow again, then followed Machias down the hallway. As soon as they were around the corner, he put his hand on Machias’ shoulder. “Machias...” They stopped halfway down the hall. “... I’m sure the photos weren’t pleasant to look at, but...” Rean’s eyes scrunched. “... If it’s anything like the scene from yesterday, it’ll be really hard to look at... I’m just warning you.” When he opened his eyes, his vision dilated a bit. Machias looked like he paled a shade, but his mouth formed a hard line.

“... All right. Thanks for the heads-up.” He adjusted his cuffs sticking out from his jacket. “But—this is our job.” He and Rean shared a solemn look.

Rean nodded. “Right.” They kept going down the hallway, as another camera flash lit up the wall.

When Rean rounded the doorway... he was already prepared, but it was still a grisly sight. Another girl in her early-to-mid twenties, judging by her profile—this time she was lying face-down, her head twisted to the side. Rean could mostly remember what the ties looked like, especially after Sana’s demonstration—her arms and hands were tied the same way, at the elbows and in a prayer motion—but her legs were different. Both legs were in that “double frog tie”, so now he could see how it got its name. The rope was all scarlet red.

He could see her neck clearly because she was wearing a ponytail... dark bruises were forming, in the vague shape of finger-marks on the side of her neck. Unfortunately... he could see the wet spots on the cheap red satin sheets, and the evidence that the perpetrator had ejaculated inside...

Towa was looking down at the young woman’s face with a forlorn expression, gingerly moving her curtain bangs aside with a gloved hand... Even though Machias had steeled himself outside, he still looked upset... Rean didn’t even want to know what he looked like right now.

Towa finally looked up at them, her big eyes dewy. “Thank you for coming in on such short notice—both of you.”

“It’s no problem—this could change the nature of yesterday’s case entirely.” Machias adjusted his cuffs again—it looked like he just threw on the same dress shirt, at least that made Rean feel a bit better showing up in wrinkled clothes... “Do we know anything about the victim?”

“Yes—her name is Haruka Nishi. She just turned twenty.” Even younger than Rika... “Her wallet is still here—but if she had a phone with her, we haven’t found it.” Her eyes scrunched. “The perpetrator might’ve taken it...”

“Hmm... Everything of Rika’s was left at the scene, including the money in her wallet—they might’ve panicked and left in a hurry the first time.” Whether it was to hide evidence that could be obtained from the phone, or to take a “trophy” with him...

“Well...” Towa got out a folder, opening it to the photos of Rika’s crime scene... “We still can’t say conclusively that this is the work of the same perpetrator... but the similarities are certainly too numerous to ignore.” Another camera flash went off.

Rean swallowed shallowly. “Can we turn her over, please? I want to see if it’s the same diamond pattern.”

Towa looked up at the investigator taking photographs. “Is that all right?”

“Yes—we’ve taken enough photos of the back.” He tapped the other investigator, and together they gingerly turned her over, laying her on her back. Her eyes looked the same—petechial hemorrhaging and glazed over. On her torso... was the Hishi Karada tie. The position of the marks on her neck was different—he must’ve strangled her when she was still face-down. Rean couldn’t help but wonder if she could see her killer’s face when... Ugh, it made him sick to think about.

Machias grit his teeth. “This sicko probably saw the news broadcast and recognized Miss Okamura’s face.” His eyes scrunched closed. “No details were released—so he repeated the same M.O. on purpose, just to taunt us...”

Towa’s brows sloped. “That is a possibility... Although the ropes and everything else might just be a preference.” Her voice wavered a bit as she said it. Their perpetrator certainly could be unhinged enough to try to taunt the police, but... Something about the crime scene was too methodical, they were at least smart enough not to leave fingerprints, even if they left in a hurry the first time... He was starting to question whether it really was some punk-ass yakuza kids.

“—I consulted an expert, and apparently the Hishi Karada is deceptively simple to tie.” Both their eyes turned to him. Well—he was expecting to get some looks when he told them... “The diamond pattern is achieved by lacing the rope back to front around the body, and ‘spreading’ the space left between the knots by looping it through.” Rean indicated with his pen, hovering it in the air above her chest. At least it was tied normally there—she didn’t suffer unnecessarily by having her breasts painfully bound. Not that that was much consolation... She was quite flat-chested, so maybe it was more that the perpetrator couldn’t do it... “Anyone could learn it by watching a video on the internet—I could probably even muddle my way through it after seeing it once.”

“I see...” Towa was taking notes on her phone. “That is interesting—it looks so elaborate to me, I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Me, neither—I was going to make a full report tomorrow, but I learned a lot from consulting that expert. She said she’d be willing to come in and make an official statement, if you want.”

Machias sighed softly, taking his notebook back out. “And when, exactly, did you consult this ‘expert’?”

There was no point beating around the bush, especially since he was here in the lobby... “I asked Crow if he knew anyone who was familiar with shibari, and he arranged for me to interview them.” He could fudge it a little and not mention that it was a live demonstration... Maybe he’d tell that to Towa privately later, since Angelica would probably blab about it anyway... “I’m curious why both her legs are tied this time, when Miss Okamura still had one leg free... if it is the same person.”

“Hmm... Maybe it was a personal preference. Or they just ran out of rope...”

“Oh—that is possible. The expert I consulted did say you were supposed to use a new rope for each part of the body.”

Towa gave him a small smile. “It sounds like you learned a lot, Rean—thanks for getting that info for us, I wouldn’t have had a clue about things like that.”

“It’s no problem...” Even though it was under such bizarre circumstances, it did feel nice to be praised for his efforts by his superiors...

Machias was solemnly reading his notes again. “What you said really concerns me, Rean—I don’t know if it would be better or worse than just a random serial killing.”

Towa’s eyes widened. “What—did you learn something, Rean?”

“Well... Crow told me something that was pretty concerning.” He walked behind Machias so he could whisper to her. He didn’t necessarily want the Shibuya investigators to hear... “I brought him here so you could hear it from him... But the victim from yesterday was talking to some young guys from the Nakata Clan, about six hours before her estimated time of death.”

Towa’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh... That is bad.” She seemed a bit stunned, like the ramifications came to her in waves. “And now the second victim is in Shibuya... This area is in the Nakata family’s sphere of influence, isn’t it?”

“Yeah... That’s what Crow told me.”

Her eyes were wide. “You said you brought him here? I need to speak to him about this right away.”

Any excuse to not have to look at the state poor Miss Nishi was in a second longer... “He’s out in the lobby. Uncle—” He winced a bit. “—his bodyguard is with him, they should both be there.”

“I see. Come with me.” She wasn’t literally dragging him by the hand, but it felt like she was. They quickly exited the room, with another camera flash going off behind them.

“—Crow.” Towa made a beeline for him. “I need any and all information you have about this exchange between the first victim and a person of interest.” Whew—even though they were all obviously exhausted, at least she was a true professional and didn’t blurt out “Nakata Clan” in this cramped building.

“Hey, Short Stuff.” Crow gave her a tired smile. “Got it all right here—it’s just screenshots of a text exchange and some messages on a dating app...” He was thumbing through his phone quickly. “But I can have the girl I got these from come down and talk to you in person, if you need.”

“That would be very helpful—thank you.” She was swiping up and refreshing their most recent conversation, waiting for the messages to pop in.

Rean was hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion—he felt like he just needed to sit down.

He closed his eyes, sinking into a nearby chair... These love hotels had pretty stringent cleaning practices, right...? Even the crappy ones...

“Hey.” He almost jumped—a cold can touched the back of his hand. Uncle Vulcan was looking down at him with a concerned expression. “Drink this, pal—it’ll perk you up so you can still drive home. If you need, the Boss can always drive your car and I’ll follow along.”

“... That’s nice of you to offer.” Rean took the cold can of coffee from him, just barely managing to get his nail under the tab to crack it open. “We’ll see... Maybe this’ll perk me up enough.” He closed his eyes again, taking a drink while Crow and Towa whispered in hushed tones...

OOO

“I think I’ve seen all I need to see.” Rean was wrenching the empty coffee can in his hands. “In my opinion—it’s the same guy.” He pressed a dent in the side of the can with his thumb. “Sana showed me the specifics—she doesn’t think whoever tied them is part of the bondage community, they probably looked up how to do those specific ties, and that’s all they know how to do.” He licked his lips. “In their opinion, the rope aspect was just a means to an end.”

Machias pushed his glasses up. “I see...” He looked absolutely drained as well. “Well—we can’t consider that a ‘criminal profile’—but it certainly paints a clear picture, if that’s her expert opinion.”

“I don’t think we should discount it just because they aren’t career profilers.”

“‘They’, plural? How many experts did you consult, exactly?”

“Oh—it was two girls, two employees at Seashells.” He forced himself to stop fidgeting with the can. “She Sells Seashells host club, in Kabukicho.” He actually wasn’t sure how well Machias knew about Crow’s “business ventures”—they weren’t even particularly close before, so he probably preferred to keep his nose out of it unless Sakurai business became their problem.

Machias sighed. “All right—I’ll trust your judgment on this. Better to have them make an official statement so we have it on paper.”

Rean smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Machias.” Whoops—well, they weren’t at the station, so it was fine to not call him “Chief Inspector”.

Machias was looking over at the auntie behind the counter. “Rean—I’m sure I’ve asked you this before, but can you glean information with those ‘delves’ if the person is a little fuzzy on the details?”

“Well—not really.” His brows sloped. “VALIMAR isn’t clairvoyant—if the person doesn’t remember or remembers something incorrectly, that’s all I’ll see. It’s more like... I’m communicating directly with their emotions, and their self-perception.” He glanced at the auntie, who was speaking to another officer from Shibuya. “If all she remembers is ‘average build’ and height, a specific number isn’t going to be pulled out of her subconscious. It’s not like they have a tape chart by the door, like a store in a bad neighborhood.” Although that would be a good idea...

Machias sighed softly. “All right—then it probably isn’t worth trying.” He gave him a sympathetic look. “You look exhausted enough already. I wouldn’t want you to faint on your feet if it’s not going to get us anything useful, anyway.”

Rean accidentally snapped the pull tab off the can. “—if I thought it would get us any new information, I would—even if I did pass out on my feet.”

Machias pushed up his glasses. “I know you would—that’s what I’m worried about.” Rean didn’t have anything he could say to that.

OOO

Towa was still talking to Crow, and Uncle Vulcan was holding the umbrella for them... His windshield was blurry with rain, but he didn’t even have the energy to sit up and start his car... Rean felt like he was about to collapse against his steering wheel, he might have to take Uncle Vulcan up on his offer to drive his car back to his apartment, just to be safe... That coffee felt like it did nothing for him, besides quench his thirst. He didn’t even use VALIMAR once today... Well, besides just talking to him and asking him questions... That wasn’t enough to drain him so much, right...?

OOO

Rean started when someone gently rapped on his window—geez, he almost nodded off. It was Crow—he opened his door, careful not to let the rain inside.

“Hey—scoot over, I’m gonna drive you back.” Crow’s face appeared in the open door. Oh... it wasn’t raining anymore. “Uncle’s gonna follow us in my car.”

“... okay.” Rean pushed himself up on his hands, awkwardly trying to scoot himself over his shifter and center console...

“—geez, not literally! C’mere...” Crow snickered a bit, but he sounded tired, too. He helped lift Rean by the arm out his door, and Rean circled around the front of his car in a daze, pulling the handle to his passenger door—it was locked. “Whoops—sorry.” He heard it unlock, and finally opened the door, ducking inside... He laid back against the seat, fastening the seatbelt while his heavy eyelids closed... “Sorry about all this—we’ll be at your place soon enough.”

For some reason—the idea of going back to his dark house, quietly padding upstairs so he didn’t wake Emma up... it just sounded so lonely. He didn’t want to go back... He didn’t want to be alone.

“... can I go back with you?”

The car started. “Sure.” Crow’s voice was soft. Rean let himself relax... Crow had driven his car before, the rain had stopped, it would be fine... “He’s following us, so he’ll figure it out.” Uncle Vulcan was following right behind them...

OOO

Crow sat at the edge of the bed, leaning heavily over his legs. “Rean... Can I see the photos of Rika?” A gentle stream trickled in the garden on the other side of the shoji. “Please.”

Rean gingerly sat down next to him, getting out his phone. He brought up the photo, barely looking at it as he handed it to Crow.

He stared down at the phone silently, the washed-out glow reflecting off his eyes. He turned the screen off, setting Rean’s phone down on the nightstand. “Let’s go to bed.”

Rean barely had the dexterity to undo all the buttons on his shirt—he just wanted to crawl into bed with what he had on...

Eventually he unbuttoned it enough to slip the dress shirt off over his head, just tossing it somewhere on the bed. He felt like he could pass out sitting up...

Crow had a million blankets on his bed—he could only imagine how often he complained that his room was so cold only having shoji and fusuma for walls. [A/N: Traditional sliding doors made from tough washi paper over a wood frame.]

He snuggled up to Crow under the thick cocoon of blankets, his eyes finally closing. Crow wrapped his arm around him, his fingers lightly brushing up and down his shoulder...

OOO

There were birds chirping, and lots of light coming in from his window—why was he so hot, he wasn’t getting a fever or—

Rean shot up on one arm—shoji, glowing with natural light... oh god, he spent the night at the Sakurai estate, that’s right...

He collapsed back onto his stomach, throwing the way too many blankets off him, pushing his messed-up hair off his forehead. Geez... Well, it’s not like he didn’t want to... He just didn’t want to be alone and go home to a dark, empty house with Emma and Celine still asleep... He just wanted to be next to someone.

Rean peered blearily around the surprisingly-traditional room. It didn’t suit Crow at all... he probably didn’t want to change much out of respect for the late Yun Ka-fai Sakurai. This wasn’t his room, but the whole manor had touches of his eccentric tastes...

“Haah...” It was way too warm in this bed—Rean swung his legs out and waited a second, standing up slowly so he didn’t get dizzy. “VALIMAR—wake up.”

“I am here. I did not enter sleep mode.” Oh... he didn’t even put him in sleep mode last night, he was that tired... “Good morning, Rean.”

He laughed a bit. “Thanks... good morning.” Where the heck was Crow, anyway? Maybe he got called away on some business or another...

Rean saw his red dress shirt, crumpled and discarded on the edge of the bed. Crow’s clothes weren’t here... Honestly, he was tempted to just quietly slip out without saying anything. Haah... It would be almost impossible to walk out of this compound without somebody seeing him, this place was like a maze—no doubt Uncle Vulcan or someone would snitch to Crow, and he’d get his dumb feelings hurt...

Rean sat at the edge of the bed, buttoning up his shirt. He just went to bed wearing his slacks and dress socks... His slacks were wrinkled beyond belief, he’d have to send them off for dry cleaning. His shirt, too...

He walked over to the old-fashioned vanity with a round mirror mounted on the wall. He looked awful—he tried his best to fix his hair with just his hands, but he needed at least water or mousse to make much of a difference... At least he didn’t have hickeys or anything like that. Ugh—he remembered Crow being all over him before he got the call to Hotel Passionnée, thank Masakado Taira and the Four Heavenly Kings he didn’t show up with hickeys then... Although you didn’t need to be a deductive genius like Towa to figure out why Crow had arrived at the same time as him—even a dense guy like Machias probably guessed. Haah...

Rean stared at his own eyes in the mirror, resisting the urge to pick the crust and goo from his eyes until he could wash his hands. The bathroom should be just down the hall... by the Amida Buddha’s mercy Crow insisted on having modern toilets.

Rean took a centering breath, sliding open the shoji to the bright morning. The awning shielded his eyes from the brunt of the sun—the garden was quite lovely, he had to admit, Rean found traditional landscapes like this calming. Apparently it was Old Man Sakurai’s personal hobby to maintain it, and the staff had done a good job honoring that. The little waterfall in the pond he kept hearing looked nice and clean, with a few lily pads and no unsightly algae...

“Hey, you’re up! Mornin’, ane.” Uncle Vulcan’s loud voice wasn’t as bombastic as it could’ve been—apparently even he had some situational awareness. “The Boss is cookin’ us up some grub—why don’t you head down to the dining room?”

Rean gave him a flat look. “Crow is cooking? Himself?”

Uncle Vulcan laughed. “Well he better be—I’m starvin’!” He clapped Rean on the back. “I’ll walk with ya.”

“Oh—that’s okay, I need to head to the restroom...”

“Ah—then take your time! I’ll walk with ya when you’re all finished.”

“... You really don’t need to do that.” He couldn’t exactly relax and do his business knowing Uncle Vulcan was posted up right outside the door...

“No worries! ‘Sides, it’s Boss’ orders!” Haah... Crow probably stuck him here so Rean couldn’t sneak off without saying goodbye... that jerk. It’s not like he would’ve tried to hop the wall or something—that’d be a great way to get himself shot.

Rean gazed out at the peaceful garden... the walls looked a little too high for him to scramble over, anyway. He saw two little birds fluffing and preening their feathers in the birdbath. “Does Crow do anything to maintain the garden himself?”

“Well, the Boss is pretty busy—but he does feed the fish! And he scatters seeds for the little birds.”

“I see...”

Uncle Vulcan laughed, scaring the birds in the fountain away. “He’s been trying to get them to fly up and eat out of his hand, but no luck yet!” That probably wasn’t entirely his fault...

“I see... Well, I’ll be right back.” He walked around him, heading towards where he was pretty sure the bathroom was.

“All right, ane—it’s right in front of you, you remember, right?”

“... I got it.” He slid open and closed the fusuma, pulling open the regular door to the modern-style bathroom. Before he did anything else he washed his hands, delicately plucking the goo from the inner corner of his eye with his pinky nail. Then he did his best to fix his hair with some water in the mirror...

He closed his eyes. What was he doing here? Was he really going to stay for breakfast?

He steadied himself, his hands curling around the edge of the cool countertop. This wasn’t the first time he’d stayed the night at the estate... but it was just the once. He’d paid a visit to the Sakurai compound a few times over the years—but only to collect information. Although... in the beginning, he and Crow still played the song and dance of Crow offering him information and taking a peek at documents without a warrant, if he was willing to do a little tit-for-tat.

... Maybe he could understand Makoto a little more than he wanted to admit. Back then... whether it was because he was lonely or just wanted to make himself feel worse—there was something thrilling about sucking Crow off, telling himself it was for “vital information important to the case”—it was like a safe form of humiliation, because he knew it wasn’t like Crow wasn’t going to show him the documents, or try to destroy them before he came back with a warrant the few times he refused... It was almost like a play, it was just theater—an excuse to do something he didn’t have the guts to ask for authentically. Or as Sana put it—“a scene.” Haah... Even though Crow wasn’t even good at playing his part, since he’d always feel bad and make sure Rean finished, too... Geez, some yakuza boss. Even just the intimate way he brushed his fingers around the shell of his ear... Crow really was a sappy sucker.

Rean snickered to himself. Maybe that’s why he put up with that kind of humiliation—it was mutual, like two kids who were being forced to apologize after fighting.

OOO

Whatever he was making, he definitely burned it... “—hey, mornin’ baby.” Crow dumped more water on the pan, quickly covering it with a lid while it hissed and steam bloomed out. At least he put a tank shirt on—Rean’s eyes went right to his tattoos going down his back and biceps, though. “I got some rice on the table—go ahead and dig in if you’re hungry.”

“... do you need a hand?”

“Nah—I got it.” Crow turned the small fan on the counter towards the stovetop, clicking it up another notch... “Food’s almost ready. Oh—there’s some daikon salad on the table, too.” [A/N: Matchstick daikon mixed with tuna and mayo, like something you’d find at an izakaya. Not breakfast food XD]

Daikon salad? Crow actually had the patience to julienne all that radish... He didn’t have the patience to make proper sunomono—maybe the chef already had that all cut up, and Crow just swiped it from the fridge...

Rean took his seat at the low table, electing to sit cross-legged on the cushion. Uncle Vulcan joined him, surprisingly—it felt surreal for the Wakagashira to eat at the same table as his underlings, but then again—that was just Crow.

“—ah, shit.” He turned over whatever it was in the pan with chopsticks, the steam sizzling and blooming up into the cooking range.

“Turn the heat down and leave the lid off!” Uncle looked like he was going to stand up, but stopped.

“—I got it, I got it...” Crow sighed loudly to himself. “Haah...”

Rean picked up his tea—simple genmaicha with a warm toasted flavor. He wanted to wait until all the food was ready and everyone was seated at the table, per his ingrained sense of manners... but he was pretty hungry. It didn’t seem like proper “breakfast food”, but the tuna mixed into the daikon salad did smell pretty good, like the mayo tuna filling of his favorite onigiri... Well... he supposed since Crow told him to dig in, the best compliment he could pay was doing just that, rather than waiting for him while the food on the table got cold...

Rean touched his palms together, whispering quietly to himself, “ Thank you for the food. ” [A/N: Y’all have probably heard this before, “ Itadakimasu! ” Apparently young people don’t necessarily always say it , so this is more to indicate Rean’s innate politeness and the way he was raised. It can also be said as a sort of apology if your food is ready first and you want to start eating before everyone else, Japanese is a nuanced language lol. ] He picked up the nice decorative chopsticks, and took a small bite of the daikon salad. It was pretty good... the radish tasted fresh and crunchy, not like it had been pre-chopped and stored all night... Crow probably didn’t make the sauce from scratch, but it was tangy and blended well with the salty nori flakes... Did Crow actually make this all from scratch? He found that hard to believe... He certainly wasn’t an early riser. Oh... “VALIMAR—what time is it?”

“The time is currently nine twenty-four am.” Later than he thought... Towa wanted him to be back at the station by 11:00am. No, wait—she wanted everyone down at headquarters... [A/N: I made minor edits last chapter, I don’t think I properly established that George and Professor Schmidt’s lab is at the MPD headquarters in Chiyoda (by the Imperial Palace gardens, the view Rean likes when he’s driving back and forth)—but he, Towa, Machias, and Juna are all at a local Shinjuku precinct, where Rean lives and the Sakurai Clan operates—Kabukicho being a popular shopping/entertainment district within Shinjuku City. If you’ve seen that famous archway that looks like two wide horse shoes interlocked, that’s Kabukicho Main Gate! Sorry for any confusion XD]

Rean could feel his expression go flat. “What time did Crow wake up? Did he bother me and touch my hair, or anything like that?” He’d be shocked if Crow didn’t sneak a kiss on his forehead while he was asleep, even subconsciously while he was dead-tired...

“Crow Sakurai’s vital signs indicate that he awoke several times throughout the night. He exited and returned to the room once. He did not ‘bother you’ by those parameters.” Crow woke up more than once? He was usually a pretty heavy sleeper... “Would you like the exact times?”

“—no, that’s okay.” Well... he really didn’t need to know that badly.

“What’s the matter, ane?” Uncle Vulcan’s brows sloped. “You don’t have much of an appetite when you first wake up?”

“—oh, no—it’s good, I was just thinking.” With some self-consciousness, Rean grabbed the bottle of sesame oil on the table, dabbing some out over his rice. The pleasant pungent smell helped him feel a bit more awake... Thankfully the burning smell was mostly gone from the kitchen.

“... Alrighty.” Crow dabbed whatever he was working on with a paper towel, then finally came over to set a bamboo steamer on the table. He made a bunch of gyoza... obviously he didn’t cook them in that steamer, though... It was almost funny seeing his clumsy attempt at presentation, given that they could all see him struggling in the kitchen... “Let’s eat.” [A/N: We can usually assume Crow’s saying the short/informal/somewhat rude way of something lol, in this case, “Itadaku.”]

“Thanks for the grub, Boss!” Uncle Vulcan used his chopsticks to grab a gyoza, dipping it liberally in his little cup of soy sauce. This wasn’t breakfast food at all... It’s probably all Crow knew how to make. When Uncle said he was making breakfast, he thought Crow was going to just fry some eggs over-easy with shredded cheese and soy sauce on top... It’s not like he had any nostalgia for it and was looking forward to it or anything... [A/N: I had a friend in high school who was Chinese/Cambodian, and when I went to her house she made eggs like this, and it was so good I’ve made my eggs that way ever since ^_^ Also yes, Rean’s the one who’s being extremely hot-and-cold and dishonest, for a change lol]

“Thank you for the food.” Rean picked out a gyoza from the steamer.

Crow chewed quickly, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “—that salad’s pretty good, I copied it from this place around the block.”

“Yeah—it’s crunchy.” Geez—he realized Crow didn’t ask him if it was good, he just declared it was...

Rean pinched the gyoza a bit between his chopsticks. They were cooked really funky, with one side being all burnt and the pinched edge looking gummy and over-steamed... Well, Rean wasn’t one to complain about the food put in front of him. He took a bite... the ginger pork filling inside was actually pretty tasty, it had a nice zing and bite of garlic—it’s too bad Crow warped the dough so badly.

Uncle Vulcan was eyeing him expectantly. “How’s the gyoza?”

... There really wasn’t a point in being overly-critical, but it wasn’t like he was going to mince words, either. “The filling is really good... I think your boss just needs some more practice steaming it.”

“Haah...” Crow grumbled to himself. “I did my best, okay? It’s been a minute...”

“You should actually use the bamboo steamer, instead of just as a serving tray...”

Uncle Vulcan’s brows sloped. “But the filling was pretty good you said, right?”

“... Did you make these, Uncle?”

“You bet!” He flexed his bicep. “Old family recipe—I love ginger pork with lots of garlic! Haha—I even pinched ‘em closed myself!” They did have that non-uniform look of being homemade...

Rean sighed. “Well, you should show Crow how to steam them properly so the filling doesn’t get overshadowed...”

Crow sighed loudly. “I get it, alright? Geez—you don’t gotta rub it in.” He shoved another gyoza into his mouth. “—I don’t even think it’s that bad.” Maybe it was just his parents’ upbringing, since they were taught to appreciate every single thing they had, and not letting things like ingredients go to waste or be used improperly—but since the food was already made, it would be a waste to not eat Crow’s gummy gyoza.

“... Thank you for cooking.” He picked up his tea. “Since you’re so helpless, I’ll show you what to do so you don’t waste Uncle’s food next time.”

“Heh—sweet!” Ugh—he knew that was a mistake to encourage him. But... ugh, now wasn’t the time to be thinking about all that.

As soon as he was done eating, Rean had to get his head in the game and mentally prepare to walk into quite a stressful conference at headquarters... Given the state of the scene, it was highly likely they were dealing with a serial killer. And since the details of Rika’s death weren’t made public, there wasn’t a chance of a copycat, either. It had to be the same guy...

“Hey.” Crow chewed quickly, swallowing his bite. “—no thinking at the table.”

“No thinking at all?”

“No over-thinking, like what you do.” Crow took another gyoza. “It’ll be what it’ll be. Don’t burn yourself out running over it in your head until the second you walk through those doors.” ... That wasn’t half-bad advice, honestly... Rean did make things infinitely worse by obsessively thinking about the mounting dread, creating a feedback loop that just caused it to mount even higher... He didn’t have to devote his own private thoughts to things beyond his control, until he was right up in it. There’d be plenty of time to discuss their findings and where to go from here at the conference... For right now—he just needed to eat the food in front of him.

Rean breathed in and out, quietly but deeply. This kitchen was oddly small and cozy for being in such a sprawling manor—maybe there was a more spacious dining room for receiving guests somewhere else, and this was Yun Ka-fai Sakurai’s personal breakfast nook... who knows. He was a lot like Pops, in some ways—that’s why they got along so well, despite their wildly different backgrounds. Pft—it was kind of cute imagining those two gruff old men as little kids, one timidly playing by himself and the other approaching him with a bright smile, asking if he could play with his sand excavator, too—and the shy boy saying, “Aren’t you afraid of playing with me?” And little Pops going, “Pft, no—I’m bigger than you, why should I be?” Geez—at least that was the story Crow told him, who knows if that was actually true... But it was true that they stayed friends until Pops’ dying day.

Rean took another sip of his toasted brown rice tea, enjoying the simple earthy flavor, and the gentle morning sun making the shoji glow from the other side.

OOO

Crow walked him out to the front of the estate himself. He nodded to Gideon, who was keeping watch at the gate, and he pressed something on his phone to unlock it. [A/N: This one’s a little tricky since they always called him by his last name, so his name’s going to be Gideon Matsumoto. Same with other people referred to by their last name.]

“I hope if it’s the same guy, he was stupid enough to leave some evidence behind...” The iron gate noisily creaked open in front of them. “Hopefully you’ll get somewhere, and this meeting won’t just be a huge waste of time.”

“—it won’t be a waste.” They walked through the gate, onto the pebbled drive in front of the Sakurai estate. “Having us all organized and on the same page will help the investigation run smoother, even if our leads are still limited.”

Crow scratched the back of his hair. “If you say so.” His eyes closed. “I’m gonna have to press harder on finding those kids from Nakata—just giving you a heads up.”

“... I see.” Well—there really wasn’t anything he could do about that, it’s not like he could stop anyone in the Sakurai Clan from gathering their own information... Even if he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Crow was just going to shoot this kid in the head if he found him, he still couldn’t bring him in for what was essentially “thought-crime”—they still didn’t know if that boy Rika matched with or any of his friends were even involved at all. The Nakata connection might just amount to nothing... He just hoped Crow didn’t end up putting himself in deep shit poking too far deep into their affairs. Giliath Nakata was quite a terrifying man, even to the police...

“Hey.” Crow rubbed his shoulder. “I’m not about to run off and do something stupid, like storming that old bastard’s office.”

Rean laughed a bit, nervously. “I certainly hope not...” Well... Since Crow made breakfast and all, and he hadn’t been pushy with the fact that Rean had stayed the night with him—he could at least stomach hugging him goodbye. “Bye—” He smoothed down Crow’s messy long hair. “I’ll contact you if anything comes up—and Towa might reach out if she wants you to come in and give an official statement. I’ll follow up with George about those socials, too.”

“Thanks—definitely do.” Crow rubbed his back with his wide palm. His hands weren’t super-cold, for once. “Love you.”

“Lo—” Rean froze. His arms slipped out, and he was looking down at the bushes. That fucking—he couldn’t believe Crow said that just now, and that he almost—

Crow smirked, looking tired. “‘Long time since I’ve been by’? Tell me about it.”

Rean’s face was burning, and he just walked away quickly. “—call me if anything comes up.” He couldn’t get to his car fast enough—thankfully no one was around to park it for him last night, he could just get out his keys and go—

He could see Crow wave in his peripheral while he started his car, twisting around to look back through his windshield while he reversed. He put it back in drive, looking anywhere but at Crow as he peeled out of the lot, his tires spinning on the white pebbles. The electronic gate opened for him automatically—Crow probably had a control for it on his phone. At least he didn’t feel like humiliating him by trapping him in front of the gate...

Rean’s fingers wrenched around his steering wheel. He couldn’t believe he said that—how naturally it almost came out. Fucking god... He should’ve just gone home when he had the chance.

OOO

10:55am – Saturday – April 7^th, 20XX

“Good morning, sempai.”

Rean smiled. “Good morning, Kurt—it’s nice to see you again.” He felt a bit sheepish. “Although—there’s no need to call me ‘sempai’—we’re the same rank, after all.”

He smoothed his tie down his impeccably-pressed dress shirt. “... As you wish, Mr. Uchiyama.”

“Geez—I’m not your senior anymore, can’t you just call me ‘Rean’, please?”

His icy-blue eyes went to the side. “Very well...” He notably didn’t say it, though.

“—oh hey, Kurt! You’re here already.” Juna came walking down the hallway with a cup of coffee in one hand and a sesame rice cracker in the other. Quite the combination... “Have you greeted your ‘sempai’ properly?” Her teasing tone couldn’t be more obvious, and she bit into her rice cracker.

“... I did.” To someone who didn’t know him well, Kurt probably looked collected, but... “Do you call sempai by his first name, Miss Toyama?”

“Huh? Well, yeah—why wouldn’t I?” She talked while still chewing her rice cracker, chasing it with some coffee. Heugh—well, her odd taste was none of his business. “Mr. Rean asked me to, anyway!” Haah...

Rean was starting to feel embarrassed that they were making such a big deal out of it... “—I guess ‘sempai’ is fine, if that’s what you’re used to.” Then he got the split-second thought to apply a little reverse-psychology—“I think it’s cute.”

Kurt was naturally a pretty cool customer, and good at hiding his emotions on his face—but not that good, not to his “sempai” who knew him too well. That’s right—he did still have someone at Shibuya Station he could trust implicitly. He just hoped he’d never have to call on Kurt as his “man on the inside”...

“Aww—what’re you getting all embarrassed for, huh, Kurt?”

“—I am not. It’s warm in this building with my jacket on.”

Rean decided to slip away into the meeting room while his juniors were teasing each other. Oddly enough, it did make him feel a bit better going into this dreaded meeting—being called “sempai” reminded him that he was a real person outside his job...

There were more officers occupying the tables and leaned up against the wall than he was expecting—well, this case potentially spanned across multiple districts, now. Rean found Machias first, going over his notes at the table with a serious expression.

“Hey—you look nice and refreshed.” Thankfully they both looked like they had time to shower—hopefully Machias was able to sleep well, too.

“Yeah... I’ve been trying to organize my notes before the Superintendent asks me to speak, but—” He looked up at Rean with a stern expression. “We need to decide definitively if we want to bring up the Nakata connection.” His eyes went to the side. “The Shibuya Superintendent is here herself.”

Rean tried to subtly follow his gaze—Superintendent Koshimizu was a sharp woman, as icy as the color of her minty-blue hair. There had long been rumors that she was in the pocket of Giliath Nakata—and if she was, all of the Shibuya police were.

Rean softly bit down inside his lips. “I think we should keep it to ourselves for now—Crow is still trying to gather information on his end, and we have no definitive connections as of yet.” He decided to just sit down at the table. “Those cell phone records still haven’t come in?”

“No—you know how these things are, the judge is so backed up she hasn’t even approved the subpoena yet.”

“Are you serious?” Rean’s eyes scrunched. Since they had a second victim on their hands, they couldn’t afford to be mired up in red tape. Maybe they had to skirt the professional line and beg Judge Aurelia Sumitomo personally... Surely she’d be able to bump their subpoena up her docket a little since it was a violent crime against young women.

Towa was walking quickly down the aisle, a large folder in her arms. Everyone turned towards the front when she pulled the projector screen down.

She adjusted her lapel mic, switching on the transmitter at her back. “I want to thank every member of the Metropolican Police for joining us this morning. My name is Towa Nonaka, Superintendent of Shinjuku Station.” There was a bit of a feedback hiss, but it evened out. The murmur in the room quieted down. “As you’re all aware, the sexual nature of these homicides may make the photos we have in evidence difficult to look at—but I ask that you not look away, out of respect for the victims.” Even Rean felt a little lump in his throat. “We’ve tentatively dubbed our case the ‘Diamond Killer’ case, or ‘DK’ for short, based on the perpetrator’s signature style. I’ll be presenting our findings surrounding the first victim, Miss Rika Okamura—and then Superintendent Koshimizu of the Shibuya precinct will present their findings surrounding the second victim, Miss Haruka Nishi.” She clicked the remote, bringing up a night shot of the exterior of Blue Velvet Kitty. “Our goal is to determine whether these two incidents should be treated as a string of serial killings, and narrow the focus of our search down to one perpetrator. From there, we will determine how best to collaborate between our two districts.”

Rean’s phone buzzed in his pocket—shit, he forgot to turn it off. Cursing himself internally, he tried to turn it just enough in his pocket so he could see the screen and turn it off—it was Crow.

>> ‘On my way, gonna see George first.’

Rean held the volume down to put it on silent instead, tucking his phone back in his pocket. Machias was giving him an annoyed look, then he turned his attention back to Towa at the front.

“... At eight thirty-one am, the first victim, Rika Okamura, was found at the hotel Blue Velvet Kitty in southwest Shinjuku...” She clicked to the next slide—Rean steeled himself, and didn’t look away. An uncomfortable murmur went through the room like a small ripple.

OOO

Superintendent Koshimizu pressed her palms flat on the desk. “I have no doubt that these crimes were perpetrated by the same individual.” Her commanding voice carried to the back of the room, she didn’t even need to use a lav mic. “The Shinjuku Superintendent made the correct call by not allowing the press to get a hold of the more sensational details of the crime—such an eye-catching crime scene would spread like wildfire across the internet, and would serve as attractive bait to copycats. We may have had more deaths, whether accidental or intentional, on our hands.” She stood confidently, with one hand on her hip, commanding the whole room’s attention. The “Ice Queen of Shibuya” was pretty good, Rean had to give her that... “However—our psychological profiler has indicated that there is a high likelihood that this ‘Diamond Killer’ left behind such a similar crime scene as a ‘calling card’—possibly signaling that he plans to kill again.” She fixed her gaze on every officer as her eyes swept the room. “We believe that this perpetrator possesses a methodical mind, given the careful lack of fingerprints, and the patience required to execute his preferred methods—the small differences in the state of the bodies were most likely intentional deviations to create ambiguity.” Well... as morbid as this was to think about, he might’ve just felt like doing it from behind the second time... or it was even too much for him to look into his victim’s eyes as he was choking them out.

Rean pressed his eyes closed, but only for a moment. As much as he hated it, it was part of his job to get inside the mind of these criminals...

Superintendent Koshimizu leaned into the table, placing down her hands with finality. “Therefore, the Shibuya precinct will devote its full cooperation to catching this killer.”

OOO

Rean walked quickly down the hallway, spying Crow and Uncle Vulcan shooting the shit in some chairs lined against the wall—hang on, a woman was with them, wearing a simple white sundress. Who the heck—“What are you doing here?”

Crow turned up over his shoulder. Shockingly, he was dressed somewhat-normally—he was actually dressed really nicely, with a well-tailored dark navy suit with a light blue dress shirt that was actually buttoned up. “Hey—Towa asked me to come in. Me and Sana are gonna make official statements about a few things.” Oh—he didn’t even recognize her in casual clothes. And her hair was just down instead of in that high ponytail...

She made a small wave from around Uncle Vulcan’s other side. “Hello again, Detective Uchiyama. Teehee—it’s lovely to see you in your natural element.”

“... thank you.” He didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment—but at least she didn’t call him “ane”. “It’s good to see you.”

Crow smirked up at him, relaxing obnoxiously in his chair. “Don’t worry—she’s just giving her ‘expert opinion’—no need to mention our private show.” Ugh—he was just barely trying to keep his voice down.

“Is there anything you need from me?” Rean tapped his foot on the carpet. “Because I have places I need to be, as well.”

“No, no—” Crow put up his hands in mock-surrender. “I just needed to get some info from George.” His silly expression hardened somewhat. “He got a hit on those two kids.” He sat up straight in his chair, talking a little lower. “One of ‘em doesn’t have social media at all, as far as he can tell—but we at least know his name from a photo someone else posted.”

“Okay—are they all part of...” He trailed off. The walls had ears...

“One of ‘em for sure—think the other’s just a friend. He looks like one of those guys that shouts outside restaurants and tries to pull tourists in, or some kinda romance scammer based on his fashion sense—that’s probably why he doesn’t have social media.”

“I see...”

Crow tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair. “I’m all done with George—I’m just waiting for Towa to get done talking to that damn Ice Queen.”

Rean tried to look nonchalant as he gazed around the hallway. “... Do you think those rumors have credence?”

Crow looked up at him flatly. “I’d give my left nut if it wasn’t true.”

“... I see.” Rean smoothed down the front of his dress shirt—he still needed to drop off his dry cleaning, if he could even find time to... “Well—I’ll leave that to you. I need to go talk to George, too.” He gave them all a nod, then went off towards the lab.

“Oh hey—tell him I’m gonna be mad if he doesn’t fix those bugs!” Ugh—just be quiet, you idiot...

“Hahah—geez, Boss! You spent all that time fussin’ over your clothes, now you wanna embarrass ane at work?” Rean couldn’t walk down the hall fast enough—he thought he even heard Sana giggling.

OOO

Rean had his head in his hands. “I can’t believe that idiot—how’d he even get through the metal detector?”

He heard George laugh softly. “Crow still knows how to function in normal society—when it suits him.”

“Ugh...” Rean sat up straight, running his hand back through his hair. He probably messed it all up again... “Well—I had some stuff I wanted to ask you, too. If you have time.”

“Go ahead—I always have time if it’s to make improvements on VALIMAR.” He smiled easily. “You look a lot better today, by the way.”

“I do?” He was honestly shocked to hear that... “Well—I wanted to know, does it ‘drain’ my mental energy to just be talking to VALIMAR? Even if I’m not using him for a delve?”

“Hmm...” George’s brows knit in thought. “Well... I’m sure just having it implanted at all affects your brain differently—a device that’s turned off but plugged in still uses a small amount of electricity.”

“I see...” Well—that was discouraging. Sometimes he just liked talking to VALIMAR when he was alone—even though he knew he was just an artificial intelligence, sometimes he had an odd sense of humor—like saying “Good morning” to Rean even though he wasn’t waking up from sleep mode. It even felt like when he asked if Rean wanted to know the “exact times” Crow kept waking up, it was with an almost cheeky self-awareness, despite his monotone voice... Or at least, the way his “voice” was perceived by Rean in his own mind... This stuff hurt his brain to conceptualize sometimes.

George smiled, even with his brows sloped. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that, Rean—it’s not like you have ‘MP’ or something like an RPG—VALIMAR’s not taking anything away from you.” He clasped his hands on top of his stomach. “Remember those brain scans I showed you? Your frontal lobe is just getting more of a workout—it’s just like working the muscles in your body, once you get over that ‘hump’, your frontal lobe will become stronger, and you’ll be able to handle the mental load better.”

“I hope so...” Rean leaned his elbow on the desk. “Actually—that’s encouraging to hear, when you put it that way.” He smiled, feeling a little better that George couldn’t tell how exhausted he was by looking at him. “I just have to get over the hurdle until I’ve built up enough ‘brain muscle’...”

“Exactly!” George had a mellow smile. “That’s what I meant when I said using VALIMAR could help you regulate your own emotions better—it’s like training with weights on.”

“... So I’ll only notice a difference when I stop using it?”

George chuckled softly. “Maybe that was a bad comparison—it’s like adding more weight to your reps. You’ll get used to it soon, then the weights you used to lift before will feel lighter by comparison.”

“I see...” Rean folded his arms. “So, I shouldn’t shy away from using VALIMAR to avoid fatigue—I just have to get used to it.”

“That’s what I’d recommend, based on your brain activity, and the results you’ve shown me so far.”

Rean smiled a bit. “Okay—I’ll stick with it, and I’ll try to get in the habit of using him more outside of delves.”

“That sounds good to me—have you done a delve since that one you told me about on Thursday night?”

“No... Should I be doing them every day?” He pursed his lips. “To be honest... It just feels kind of invasive if it isn’t for an investigation. I can’t justify doing it in my personal life, or for trivial reasons.” Well—that wasn’t quite true, unfortunately—but he steeled his resolve to never do that again.

“I understand.” George’s eyes closed. “It’s definitely a grey area, ethically. But—if we already have a cooperative interviewee, you should make it a point to perform a delve at least once every day. You’re not doing anything immoral, since they agreed to give a statement, anyway.” He smiled up at Rean from his chair. “It’s no different from a polygraph test, in that regard.”

“... I suppose you’re right.” But... even in that example, someone who agreed to come down to the station to be interviewed still has to consent to undergoing a polygraph separately...

OOO

Crow got out his fancy European cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?”

“... I’d prefer it if you didn’t.” Rean relaxed his back against the concrete bench. “But it’s the smoking area, so I can’t really stop you.”

“Well, I asked if you minded.”

Rean really wasn’t in the mood for Crow’s flirtatious tone here, at police headquarters, of all places... “Just sit downwind from me.” He scooted down the bench, farther away from him.

“Of course.” Crow tapped one out. He really didn’t like the smell of cigarette smoke—but at least those slim ones wrapped in tobacco paper were slightly more tolerable. They had a slightly astringent organic smell, like the bitter juice inside a plant stalk. That’s just what it made Rean think of, anyway.

He gazed out at the overcast sky. It would probably rain again tonight—Emma might not want to go out to dinner, in that case. Or at least not drive all the way out to Ginza and back... With everything going on, Rean felt like he just had to veg out at home watching some shows, and sleep in his own bed to get back some sense of normalcy. But everything about this case was so taxing emotionally, he just wanted to see his friends—anyone else besides Crow. He’d seen about enough of him to last a lifetime the past few days...

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve been trying to quit.” Crow took another drag, that slightly-sweet pulpy flower smell blooming in the small rest area. “Just a little de-stresser until we get this shit all sorted out.”

“You say that every time.” Rean leaned heavily over his legs, letting his back slump. “But nothing ever changes.”

Crow snickered quietly. “Sorry—I’ve really been trying this time.” Well... he didn’t smell or taste like cigarettes these past few days, it wasn’t clinging to his clothes and hair like it usually was—and there wasn’t an ashtray in his room or right outside the door, Rean looked. Maybe he actually was trying.

“Why don’t you go sit in the fountain room at Taj Mahjong, instead of smoking?”

“Hey—I’ll put this out right now if you run your hands through my hair instead? ♡” Rean just felt so tired... “That’s the ultimate de-stresser.”

“I don’t want anyone here to see me doing that.”

He took another drag. “What, like it’s some big secret?”

Rean felt like the bags under his eyes drooped a little more—honestly... it probably wasn’t a secret that “someone” consulted a member of the syndicate on matters concerning “their territory” throughout Shinjuku... But probably only Towa and Machias knew about Rean and Crow’s history with each other. Well—and George. But he was very careful to keep his personal life separate when he went through the academy training—he didn’t want his impressionable juniors like Juna and Kurt to know about it. If it ever got out and became a big scandal... He’d just have to leave Tokyo, maybe change his name and build a shack out on the beach in the Kyushu Islands... that didn’t sound half-bad, actually.

“... Will you seriously put that out if I run my hands through your hair?”

Crow stubbed it out on the concrete. “It’s already out.”

The little open courtyard behind headquarters had that odd energy, like a storm was coming. “Did Sana take a cab home?”

“Yeah—I think she wanted to hit up a café in Ginza.”

“Did you park in the garage?”

“Nope. We’re a couple blocks down, by Hibiya Park.”

Rean pushed himself to stand. “Okay.” It wasn’t the most humiliating thing he’d ever done... That time he had to call out of work because Crow accidentally came right in his eye was worse. Honestly—this was just what Crow deserved, getting blue-balled by Rean running his hands through his hair with no payoff—there was no way he was going to kiss him if he tasted like cigarettes...

OOO

“Hey.” Crow was gazing out the tinted back window, the park mostly obscured by trees and tall bushes. “This is for your ears only, okay?”

“... Is it about the case?”

“Maybe.” He shifted to sit up straight in the seat. “I really hope not—well, I don’t know if that would be better or worse.” Rean’s stomach sank. “Minh didn’t show up for work. And Gelica hasn’t been able to get a hold of her.”

Why did that give Rean such a bad feeling... “Is anyone able to check on her at home?”

“I already know she’s not there—I have a guy posted up outside her place. Someone who works security at Seashells, so she won’t run when she sees him.” Crow bit his lips. “Her situation is a bit... Let’s just say her passport says she’s from Vietnam, but she’s not originally from there.”

“... I see.” So... she had a falsified birth certificate. “Can I ask where she’s originally from?”

“Somewhere she doesn’t want to be deported back to, no matter what.”

“I see...” Well... Rean wasn’t with the immigration bureau, that really wasn’t any of his business to follow up on.

“So, you can see why we’d rather just find her first, before having to file a missing persons report.”

“Do you think she might go underground because she didn’t want to have to speak to the police?”

“It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.” Crow tapped his thumb on the window console. “To tell you the truth—Gelica had to beg her to send her those screenshots. Heh...” He laughed a bit, though not humorously. “Sorry—she had to convince her that I was just gonna show ‘ane’, and no one else.”

“I see...” He felt like he was at a loss—what could Minh be so afraid of that she’d go off the radar? Was it just the idea of having to make a statement, was she just that terrified of talking to the police? Because from what Rean could gather, Minh herself didn’t have any interaction with “Takumi” or any of the Nakata guys... And even if she was threatened by them somehow—as loathe as Rean was to admit it, Sakurai was the only clan that was capable of opposing Nakata and keeping them in check... Their sphere of influence had never made it north of Yoyogi and into Shinjuku, not since the days of Old Man Sakurai—and the line hadn’t budged since Crow took over. Some people might argue that the Sakurai Clan was a “necessary evil”, in that regard... “Well—is there any other reason you think she might want to go off the radar? Anyone else she could be staying with?” He was sure Crow already exhausted all those possibilities, but...

“I suppose it’s possible things just got tense where she’s living—she’s in a small apartment with a bunch of other people. Immigrants.” He rubbed his chin. “To be honest, I usually just let her spend the night at work, even if she doesn’t have any clients. That’s what’s got me so worried.” He tapped his fingers on the console, almost pressing the window button. “... I think it’s time we prepare to have a meeting with Nakata.”

Rean swallowed. “Me, too?”

“No—there’s no need for you to be involved.” He gave Rean a tired smile. “I’m pretty much gonna lay out what we know about Rika and Takumi, and demand they hand him over, as well as the other two in the photo with him.” Crow’s serious gaze was pretty intense, even though Rean knew it wasn’t intended for him. “Once we have them, it’s just a matter of deciding what to do with ‘em. If we turn ‘em over to you guys, you can use your magic eye on ‘em if you want.” He clasped his hands, tapping his thumb quickly. “... It’s not worth getting you involved if I’m the one requesting a formal meeting with Nakata.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts’.” Crow almost gave him a smirk. “Under absolutely no circumstances am I dragging you into their den with me. Heh—” He slipped down the backseat, his knees resting against the back of the driver’s seat. “Even if I thought you could get fuckin’ Giliath Nakata himself to spill all his dirty secrets, it still wouldn’t be worth it.”

Rean’s hands clenched on top of his legs. “This is my job. I’m not just some civilian.”

Crow’s tired smile didn’t change. “It doesn’t matter what your job is—you’re katagi, which means you get to keep clean while the rest of us roll around in the gutter.” Rean didn’t really have anything to argue that with—that’s pretty much what he’d been throwing back in Crow’s face these last ten years, just from the other side... “But—I don’t think that old bastard would be dumb enough to start something with me. Not if I’m requesting a meeting on his turf in good faith—even if they already know their underlings are involved, they’d be quick to offer ‘em up instead of escalating to full-blown gang war.” He looked Rean right in the eye. “But I have some failsafes in place. Gideon pretty much never leaves the compound—I’ve instructed him to get into my safe and give you some documents and a USB drive, just in case something happens.”

Rean felt the blood drain from his face. “In case what happens?”

Crow smirked. “In case my trigger finger isn’t as fast as that wily old bastard’s short sword.”

Rean was staring at the spot on the car mat between his shoes. He couldn’t even think about that... He didn’t even know what he’d do if something like that—

Crow snickered. “Hey—I’m just bein’ dramatic.” He reached over, gently brushing his thumb up into the back of Rean’s hair, right at the nape of his neck. Unfortunately, that was one of a few spots that could almost make his eyelids flutter... “I ain’t plannin’ on dyin’ just yet. I got too much unfinished business—sounds like one of those crappy dramas, huh?” Rean barely caught what he said—his face was closer, he had scooted down the seat at some point. “It just makes me feel better to have some contingency plans in place.” His fingers traveled up into the back of Rean’s hair, giving his scalp a gentle scratch. “Hey—I know that was frustrating for you, too.” Crow looked so smart and put together in that nice suit, it wasn’t fair—Rean couldn’t stuff down that flare of jealousy that hit his throat like bile when he saw some woman sitting with him—sorry, Sana... “Hey. You know I smoke those because they don’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, right?”

“—I don’t believe that for a second.”

Crow snickered quietly—he was so close. “I gotta fess up, I smoked a couple back-to-back when Gelica told me about Rika... You couldn’t taste anything, right?” ... It was frustrating, sitting in the back of the car running his hands through Crow’s hair like that, every second of it made his heart ache, he hated it... “Hey—I’m not gonna charge in there guns blazing and get myself killed, so don’t make that face.” He didn’t taste like cigarettes... Just a little like flavored canned coffee. Why did Rean still feel like he wanted to cry... he just let himself melt into it, pretending for a moment that they were in the back of his car with no tinted windows, parked several blocks away at the far side of the neighborhood park, just praying none of his parents’ friends recognized his car, Crow’s hand gentle yet firm at the back of his neck...

OOO

Rean made his way back through the metal detector, and spotted Uncle Vulcan at the vending machine. For some reason Rean just assumed he had followed them out to the car from a distance, but Crow made a fair point when he said, “You really wanted that guy to stand on the corner and watch while you ran your hands through my hair?” Haah...

A can of cold coffee dropped noisily from the vending machine. “Man, we need to get one of these at Seashells! You guys got the good stuff!” The can looked so small in his huge fist. “Oh hey, ane! You all done with your walk?”

“... yeah, Crow said he’s ready to leave if you are.”

“Oh.” His pointy eyebrows sloped. “He’s not with you?”

“No—he said he wanted to take a ‘cat nap’ in the car, apparently.”

“Oh.” His brows furrowed. “Goofy Boss—how am I supposed to keep an eye on ‘im if he sneaks off like that?”

Rean actually laughed. “I don’t know...” “Goofy” was about the last word he expected a guy like Uncle to say... Ugh—it just made him think of that not-quite-BL show “My New Boss is Goofy”.

“Whoa—everything okay, ane? You want a cold drink? My treat!”

“I’m fine.” He lightly slapped his own cheeks. “Your boss is pretty goofy, isn’t he...”

“Haha! That’s true enough.” Uncle Vulcan had a broad smile. “Though I’d say only a couple guys like you, me, and Scarlet know it—to most of our guys, he’s as cut-throat as they come.”

... Rean had one of those split-second thoughts, and once it was in his head, it bloomed and pressed painfully against the walls of his mind, refusing to shrink down. George told him he had to exercise his “brain muscle” every day...

“Uncle? Can I ask you something?” He focused right on his rugged face.

“Sure, ane—what’s up?” Time dilated into a single point as their eyes met.

“VALIMAR—heed my call.”

“Acknowledged. Initializing...”

Whoa—this wasn’t what he was expecting. Uncle Vulcan was standing proud, he looked about ten feet tall—he was adorned with full dō-maru armor with brilliant red and green plates like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, with a bow and quiver of arrows strapped at his back and two katana sheathed at his side. He looked like a samurai in service of the Emperor himself—like a character out of a war game. Honestly, he looked really cool...

He smiled widely. “What’s up, ane? You wanna talk to me, little buddy?”

Uncle Vulcan was a pretty straightforward guy—Rean didn’t feel conflicted about delving into his heart like this, because he would probably tell him anything he wanted to know if he just asked, anyway. Well—maybe not some secret that could ruin the Sakurai Clan financially, but—just about anything else.

Rean sighed to himself. Now that he was here, he didn’t even know where to start... “Does Crow talk about me all the time?”

“Of course!” He laughed loudly. “You know the Boss always has his lover on the brain!”

“Ugh... We’re not lovers.”

Uncle Vulcan rubbed his huge chin, his armor clinking. “You sure about that, ane? Seems that way to me...”

“...” Why did Rean feel like he was the one being delved into, here... “Is that what Crow says?”

“Uh...” His pointy eyebrows sloped. “Well, that’s kinda private... But sometimes when the Boss is bein’ a smartass, he’ll say somethin’ like, ‘Well, the love of my life doesn’t like it when I smoke, so I seriously need to quit’...”

Rean covered his face in his hands—the real Vulcan wasn’t even really perceiving him, but... “I see...” Ugh—this was a bad idea.

“Hahaha! What’re you so surprised for, ane? Ain’t you the same?”

“—no.” This was a really bad idea—he just wanted to cut it off here. But—it’s not like Uncle would remember this conversation anyway—“It’s not the same—if Crow loved me so much, why would he throw our whole life away to be some scummy crime boss?” Rean looked right into Uncle’s eyes, and his pointed brows were sloped in sadness. Ugh—it wasn’t the real Uncle, he just had to push through it. “Why would he stab me in the back after he said he wanted to be with me? Why would he drag you with him, when you could’ve gotten a respectable job instead of just waiting around to take a bullet for him? Huh? Can you answer me that, Uncle?” Ugh—he felt like he was going to cry—

Whoa—that was different. He didn’t know people could touch him in a delve—well, he couldn’t feel it physically, but he could feel the intention of Uncle Vulcan putting his huge hands on both his shoulders, the small plates lining his tekko clinking . “Ane—I know it hurts your heart to see Boss livin’ this kind of life. But you just gotta have faith in what he’s tryin’ to do. All right ?” His sharp eyes had an uncharacteristically soft expression. “Boss is tryin’ to protect everyone in his own way—just like you. It’s just the other side of the coin, ya know?”

“—that doesn’t make any sense.” Rean almost bucked Uncle Vulcan’s hands off his shoulders—even if this wasn’t the real him, he still didn’t want to hurt his feelings... “We’re on opposite sides of the law—me and Towa are always the ones who have to clean up after his mess, and any progress I try to make to clean up Kabukicho is undone by you guys.”

“Aw—that’s not true, ane!” There was no point talking about it—if that’s what Uncle Vulcan truly believed, then that’s just what he’d keep saying, ad nauseum.

“... Just forget I said anything.” Saying that was pointless—it just made him feel better. “... What exactly is Crow trying to ‘protect’? Yun Ka-fai Sakurai’s legacy?”

He saw Uncle Vulcan take a deep breath. “... Listen, ane—I’m not supposed to tell ya, it’s a huge secret that could blow the whole Sakurai Clan wide open.” He had a solemn look, bearing down right into his eyes. What? “But just trust me on this—the Boss is takin’ it all on himself, ‘cause there’s something he’s gotta protect, no matter what.”

Rean licked his lips. “What is it?” Was it “something”... or “someone”?

“Ah, I can’t tell ya!” His whole face scrunched, like he was in pain. Whoa—that must be some secret, if he was able to hide it even when his subconscious mind was laid bare. Everything in him was dying to know—but he couldn’t just pry into Uncle Vulcan’s heart any further than this. Whatever Sakurai Clan secret it was—Rean might be in danger even just knowing it...

“VALIMAR—sever the connection.”

“Acknowledged...”

Rean’s consciousness was sucked back out, but less forcibly than the last time.

“... Connection terminated. I do not foresee any issues should you need to attempt again.” Oh—well, that was... “reassuring” wasn’t quite the word.

Uncle Vulcan blinked a few times. “Oh, hey ane!” He looked down at the can of coffee in his hand. “Want somethin’ to drink? My treat!”

Rean tried to smile. “No—I was just on my way out. Thank you, though.” Oh—“Crow should be waiting where you parked the car, by Hibiya Park.”

“Ah—you did say that, right.” He cracked open his coffee can. “Man—I need a boost! Waitin’ around while you had your meeting wasn’t exactly thrilling.”

“I can’t imagine so.” Rean was still a little shaken up by the weight of that vague “secret”—at least Vulcan was still out of it enough not to notice. “Well—thanks for all your hard work.” He rolled his eyes. “Good luck with such a lazy boss who makes you walk to him, instead of just driving around the block to pick you up himself.”

Uncle Vulcan laughed loudly. “Folks can say a lot of stuff about the Boss—but ‘lazy’ ain’t one of ‘em!” He clapped Rean on the shoulder. “See you around, ane! Good luck catching this guy.” He went away, chugging his canned coffee.

“Thanks—I’ll do my best.” He watched Uncle Vulcan go, that feeling of dread sinking in... He’d never be able to pretend he never heard anything, and convince himself that “secret” was none of his business...

OOO

3:59pm – Saturday – April 7^th, 20XX

Rean was just watching the clock, the minute hand inching ever so slowly towards the twelve. Towa had pretty much laid down the law—even though everyone was all pumped up to hit the streets after that inter-precinct meeting, Rean had so much overtime yesterday he HAD to leave at four. He “deserved a break”... it just made him feel guilty, because he did so much sitting around while he was “on the clock” yesterday, eating twice at Crow’s restaurant and taking a nap in the massage chair in the fountain room... At least he felt like he made up for lost time today.

He managed to get on a phone call with Rika Okamura’s estranged father—he was working overseas in Sweden, and he had a solid alibi since he was having dinner at the hotel with the rest of his conference. It seemed like he had cut his affair partner and illegitimate daughter out of his life a long time ago—it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he learned his lovechild was a sex worker and didn’t want that to potentially come back to bite him, as cynical as that sounded—but in that case, someone wealthy giving orders from overseas would’ve just made sure Rika disappeared and was never found. It would cause way more of a scandal for her to be found in that state, what they call the “Streisand Effect” after that American singer—Rean determined that the father had nothing to do with it, and he sounded genuinely shocked that not only had she lived the last few years of her life as a sex worker, but that she was dead. He felt like he could cross him off the list of suspects, at least...

... Speaking of disappearing, Rean had been turning over whether to tell Towa about Minh in his head all afternoon. Crow trusted him with that information—but the more eyes looking out for Minh the better, especially in the first forty-eight hours. It was fifty-fifty whether she was laying low, or something happened to her. But—he’d never forgive himself if, after just trying to make sure she was found safe and sound, something ended up being discovered in her paperwork and she was repatriated back to wherever she had originally escaped from. He couldn’t even imagine...

Rean got out his phone. Besides this morning, he and Crow actually hadn’t texted back and forth in a while... if Rean needed something from him, or if Crow just wanted to bother him, he usually just called out of the blue...

<< ‘Can I tell Towa about what we discussed? I’m just worried :(‘

He tapped his fingers quickly on the desk. Rean was still paranoid about his text messages ending up in a database somewhere, after watching that special about—oh, he replied quickly...

>> ‘I’ll take care of it.’

... What did that mean? He was going to tell Towa himself, or he was going to find Minh himself? Oh—another text.

>> ‘I mean I’ll call her.’

Pft—he read his mind. Haah... Oh—it was already four oh-four...

Rean pushed out his chair, gathering his coat. Keys, wallet, phone in hand, badge... he had everything. Now—he just had to say goodbye to everyone in the station, and do himself a favor and make sure he had a distraction tonight.

OOO

5:20pm – Saturday – April 7^th, 20XX

Emma pushed aside the noren first—the wonderful smells of Nord Kitchen hit them immediately, and whatever Gaius was flipping in the wok from the kitchen sizzled invitingly. The small space wasn’t quite packed to the gills, but there was a healthy Saturday night turnout. “Oh—I’m so glad we were able to make it tonight!”

Rean smiled from behind her. “Yeah—me, too.” He spied a shock of red hair—Elliot was sitting at the counter, talking to Gaius while he cooked.

“Elliot!”

He looked up over his shoulder, a bright smile lighting up his face. “Welcome in!” He hopped off the high stool, weaving through the tables to greet them. “I’m glad you could make it.” He hugged Emma first.

“Teehee—me, too, I’ve been thinking about Gaius’ cooking lately!”

“Haha—you should tell him that, he’ll be glad to hear it.” He moved on to hug Rean. “I feel like it’s been so long!”

Rean smiled sheepishly, patting his back. “I’m sorry—I had a long day of overtime yesterday, that’s why Towa forcibly cut me loose early.”

Elliot pushed a loose lock of hair behind his ear. “I can see that... Well, I’m glad you could get some time off.” Haah... Knowing their friend group, someone had blabbed... Either that, or they had seen the news report and made the connection themselves.

Rean smiled, trying his best to put it out of his mind. “That’s a really cute outfit.”

“Oh! Thank you.” Elliot somewhat shyly turned his boot, brushing the front of his pleated skirt.

“I agree!” Emma clasped her hands. “The high-waisted silhouette really suits you!” He did always look cute, once Elliot got more comfortable wearing feminine clothing his taste level shot up dramatically—he had on a high-collar long-sleeve blouse tied with a scarf at the neck, with a muted sienna and yellow flower pattern like something a singer-songwriter from the 70s would wear—and he paired that with a long white high-waisted pleated skirt and simple brown suede ankle boots. He seemed to favor long dresses and skirts, since they gave the illusion that he was taller. He was still almost thirty centimeters shorter than Gaius, though... But that just made them look more cute together. [A/N: 6’3” vs. 5’3” lol]

Elliot looked quite shy—but happy. “Thank you... Oh—I have a table saved for us!” He went over to the low square table in the corner closest to the kitchen, taking off a little ‘Reserved’ sign. “Darling—Emma and Rean are here!”

Gaius looked up from back in the kitchen, a huge flame shooting up under his wok. “Oh, hey!” He had a warm smile, his face glistening while his hair was hidden by a plain white kerchief. “Go ahead and get comfortable—I wanted to get ahead of the rush, so I have some zongzi up.” [A/N: Bamboo-wrapped sticky rice with fillings.]

“Oh, thank you!” That was kind of him—he knew just what fillings each of them liked, so that would tide them over while he made it through the dinner rush.

“Behind you!” Thoma scooted past him in the kitchen, carrying a big pot of something. Whew—at least Gaius had help tonight.

“Can I get you some tea?” Elliot hadn’t sat down yet.

“Sure—let’s get a pot for the table.” Rean sat down on the cushion that faced the door, as was his habit. “Whatever you’re in the mood for.”

“Well...” Elliot’s brows sloped. “You’re our guest, so what would you two like?”

He and Emma exchanged a glance. “Emma, do you have a preference? I’m pretty simple when it comes to tea...”

“Well, I like the sweet red tea that Gaius makes.” She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “Teehee—I know you do too, so it’s a win-win!”

“Haha—then let’s get some.”

“Coming right up!” Elliot hurried around the counter into the kitchen. Rean felt a little bad being “waited on” by him—they usually tried to come before or after the rush so Elliot could relax, too. But—he did technically have partial ownership in the restaurant, so Rean knew it made him happy to feel like he was contributing.

Elliot put his hand on Thoma’s shoulder as he sidled past him in the kitchen—Thoma turned and gave them all a broad wave over his head, which they returned. He was such a sweet kid—Gaius was lucky to have such a close relationship with all of his siblings.

Elliot returned quite quickly with a cute teapot, and a tray of little triangular bamboo-wraps. “Here we go...” He gingerly set the tray on the table with one arm, then went to pour the tea into the little cups already on the table. Elliot had set out their nostalgic mismatched cups from when they first opened on a shoestring budget—Rean had made the right decision to come tonight, just being here again was healing his heart.

Rean held his cup while Elliot poured the eye-pleasing red tea. “Thank you, Elliot. I’m glad we could make time to see you.”

He had a small smile. “Me, too.”

Rean waited until Elliot had poured tea for Emma and himself, then finally sat down before he took a sip. The cooled roasted barley tea sweetened with brown sugar was comforting, even on a rainy day.

“Oh...” He got out his phone. “I’m going to invite Jusis—even if he’s too busy, I know he always appreciates the invite...” He hadn’t texted Jusis in a hot minute either—haah, he really was bad at the whole work-life balance thing... He hadn’t talked to Elise in a while, either...

“Please, do—I hope he can actually join us, even if it’s just for a little bit!” Emma delicately sipped her tea. “... I suppose Machias is still busy?”

“... Yeah. He can’t exactly get away like I can.” That, and... He wouldn’t mention this to the others, but it seemed like things had been awkward between Jusis and Machias lately. He hadn’t tried to press Jusis about it... Now probably wasn’t the time anyway, Machias had even more on his plate than Rean did. Plus—if he tried to ask Jusis about Machias, even gently—he’d only turn it around with his signature sharp gaze and say, “And how has your love life been? Busy ‘gathering information’?” Ugh—he just didn’t need a mirror being held up to his face right now...

Still—he never wanted Jusis to feel left out, and he hoped he could find time to make it out to dinner, even if he could only swing by towards the end... The others would be willing to stay later just so they could all chat, and maybe order more sticky rice for dessert.

“Oh! Should I invite Laura, too?”

“Well...” Rean’s brows sloped. “You certainly can, I’m sure she’d appreciate knowing we were thinking about her—but she’s so slammed right now at the prosecutor’s office, I doubt she’d be able to come out...”

“Oh... I see.” Emma’s brows sloped, but she still got out her phone. “Well—I’ll at least let her know we’re thinking of her, like you said.”

Elliot poured her some more tea. “When does Fie get back from her trip?”

“Oh, in just another two weeks!” Emma smiled brightly. “Teehee—I can show you some pictures, silly Uncle Xeno is always taking candid photos of her—in one, she really does look like a sprite peeking out of Angkor Wat!”

“Haha—that’s so cute, I can picture it.”

Rean smiled to himself—he was glad Fie was coming back, but... it would feel lonely not having Emma in the house anymore. Haah... Maybe it was time to downsize to a one-bedroom apartment... His place just felt so lonely and empty with just him. He could at least get a cat—although he was so busy and had such inconsistent work hours, he wouldn’t want the cat to get lonely, too... Maybe he could get two.

Gaius came to their table, with a mellow smile. “What will you be having?”

Rean didn’t want to ask for something complicated... Honestly, he just wanted some comforting beef noodle soup—he got addicted to the texture of the pickled mustard greens since the first time Gaius made it for him.

OOO

Oh—Jusis had responded about twenty minutes ago...

>> ‘Thank you for the invite. I would love nothing more than to join you; unfortunately I’m trapped at a shareholder dinner. I would walk out if I felt that I could get away with it.’

Pft—geez. Poor Jusis... Well, that’s just what came with the territory being the de facto head of the Hirakawa Real Estate group... Who knows if Rufus was every coming back, wherever he gallivanted off to...

“Well—it looks like Jusis is busy with work.” Rean’s brows sloped. “I’ll try to invite him with more advanced notice, next time...”

“That’s all right—he probably appreciated that you invited him regardless, like you said.”

Rean pocketed his phone. “I hope so.”

“Here we are...” Gaius and Thoma both came around from the kitchen, setting down bowls and trays all around the table—it all smelled so good. “It’s still quite hot...” Gaius carefully set down Rean’s bowl of beef noodle soup.

He smiled up at him. “Thank you, Gaius—you’ll be all right in the kitchen by yourself, Thoma?”

“Oh, yeah.” He had a relaxed stance, wiping some sweat from his brow with his arm. “Sheeda’s right upstairs if I need her to jump in and help with prep.”

“That’s good—maybe we can head up and say hello before we leave?”

“Haha—sorry, she’s still a little too shy to come down and eat with you guys.” Thoma surveyed the small restaurant. “Although that handsome guy’s not here.”

“Teehee—if we invite Jusis next time, will Sheeda come down and join us?”

“Haha...” Gaius finally sat down at the table, crossing his long legs. “I imagine that would make her shyness jump up tenfold... but she just might.” He realized he still had his kerchief on, and slipped it off. His long hair should’ve looked really sweaty and mussed from the kerchief, but somehow the little fly-aways just made him more handsome.

Elliot leaned in and lightly flicked some of his cowlicked baby-hairs back from his forehead. “—there.”

“Haha—thank you.” Gaius’ mellow smile looked ever-so-slightly shy. “Now—go ahead and relax, Thoma’s more than capable of handling the kitchen.”

“Thank you—Thoma too, and you too, Elliot.” Rean touched his palms together. “Thank you for the food.”

“Yes, thank you for the food!”

OOO

“Oh, Gaius!” Emma set down her cup painted with a misty moon. “I watched an interesting documentary about Mongolian nomadic tribes—Elliot, have you ever seen a ‘horse-head fiddle’?”

“Oh—you mean a morin khuur?” He and Gaius smiled at each other. “Yeah—we have one upstairs! It’s really cute—the horse on top bobs up and down as you play.”

“Haha—it wasn’t my father’s originally, but we were able to order a real one from an ethical trader.”

“Oh, how lovely!” Emma clasped her hands. “Perhaps I can see you play it sometime!”

“Haha... it’s a little different playing it, because it has two strings divided into an upper and lower octave—but it’s fun once you get into it!”

“Teehee—yes, I saw that in the documentary, the player was ‘shredding’ quite spectacularly!”

Gaius had a contented smile, and Rean saw his hand settle lightly down on Elliot’s back.

OOO

Gaius smiled. “Rean, will you come upstairs with me for a minute?”

“Oh—sure.” He glanced at Emma—she and Elliot were absorbed in looking at pictures from Fie’s family trip.

Gaius put a hand on Elliot’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

He looked up. “Oh—okay, darling.”

Rean followed Gaius out down the little hallway in the back, taking the sharp turn up the stairs to their loft.

Sheeda was watching what looked like a C-drama with Japanese subtitles in the living room. “—oh, big bro!” She grabbed the remote, thumbing down the volume. “Um—hello.” She smiled shyly at Rean from the couch. “Um... do you need me to go downstairs and help?”

“Oh, no.” Gaius smiled. “Well—I’m sure Thoma wouldn’t turn down the help. Why don’t you head down so you can greet everyone?”

She pushed her hair behind her ear. “Well... okay, I can help out.” She paused her drama, then quickly turned the TV off all the way. This was embarrassing, but Rean recognized one of the actors, and his really long wig... she was probably watching “The Untamed”. [A/N: Live action MDZS, you know Gaius’ sisters would XD] Ugh, stupid Crow—he only knew that because one time a long time ago he told Crow he was the biggest simp in the world, and he said, “Nuh-huh—freaking Huā Chéng is the biggest simp in the world—like damn, can you imagine waiting for the same guy for eight hundred years and you’ve never even fucked?” That just made Rean curious to check out the author’s work, and he got sucked down a Chinese danmei rabbit hole...

Sheeda smoothed down the front of her casual cheongsam. “Um... it’s nice to see you.”

Rean smiled at her. “You too, Sheeda—it’s been a little bit, hasn’t it?”

Her body language relaxed a little. “Yes... I’ll go head downstairs.” She bowed, and they made room so she could pass them in the narrow front room.

“Come with me.” Gaius led him to their small personal kitchen. “Oh—first of all.” He turned and gave Rean a big hug, clapping him on the back. “Sorry—I completely forgot.”

“Haha—that’s all right.” Rean clapped him on the back in return. “—thanks for doing all the cooking, maybe we can all go out to eat and treat you next time.”

“Haha—I’m fine if you all want to get conveyor belt sushi. I’m not fussy.” He clapped Rean’s arm. “How have you been lately?”

What a loaded question... “Well...” He exhaled—Gaius was the one person he felt like he could be honest with, without feeling like a downer or a burden... “Not good, to be honest.” He leaned back against the counter, curling his hands around the edge. “This case I’m working has been pretty emotionally-taxing—sex crimes always are.” His eyes scrunched. “—thank you all for not asking about it, but I’m sure you’ve seen the news.”

“I have.” He folded his arms. “How involved has Crow been in your investigation? Just as the club owner?”

Rean pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes. “... He’s been more involved than I would have liked.” He dropped his hands with a loud exhale, feeling like he just messed up his hair. “—I can’t tell you any details, but he brought up a potential lead that could have wide-reaching ramifications...”

Gaius’ eyebrows went up. “Oh. I see.” His face looked stern. “Do you feel safe continuing the investigation?”

“... I’m not so much worried about me, but...” He licked his lips. “I just don’t want Crow doing something stupid by himself.”

Gaius joined him at the counter. “I see.” He crossed his arms, leaning back on his tailbone. “Well—you just have to trust Crow. He’s at the top of the totem pole for a reason.”

“... I know.” Rean pushed his hair out of his eyes. “It’s just...” He felt like his eyes glazed over. He always figured Crow’s main motivation for joining the Sakurai family was to keep the Nakata Clan in check—he had a personal reason to hold a grudge against Giliath Nakata, after what happened to Pops’ shop on the south side of the Gardens. [A/N: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is split down the middle horizontally, with the south half being considered Shibuya.] But... after hearing about this “big secret” that Crow needed to protect—he couldn’t help but—

“Rean.” Gaius put a hand on his back. “It’ll be all right.” He lightly clapped his back twice. “Crow still owes you an explanation for why he did all this, right?” He smiled down at him. “So he’s not gonna go off and get himself killed until he can get down on his knees and beg your forgiveness.”

“Pft—” That was some image. “It’ll have to be a full dogeza—I might have to step on his back and grind my heel into him a little before I even consider forgiveness.”

“Haha—I think that’s fair enough.”

Geez—knowing Crow, he’d probably like that. Well—he’d just consider it payback for the time Crow rubbed his shoe—ugh. He didn’t want to think about that... He couldn’t help but notice Crow was wearing those same stupid shoes in the car, those chestnut Italian leather shoes—he probably did that on purpose, that—

Gaius gave him a mellow smile. “Would you like a little something to take with you?”

“—oh, no. I’m fine.” He realized he was wringing his hands around the edge of the counter, and relaxed. “Honestly—George has been doing brain scans for me down at he lab, to make sure I’m taking to VALIMAR well—I’m just worried he might want a random urine sample, or a hair test or something...”

Gaius laughed lightly. “I understand.” He clapped his shoulder. “I doubt he’ll want either of those, but if it makes you more nervous thinking about it, then it’s not worth it.” He opened his cupboard. “Would you like some tea to take with you?”

“... Can I take some mountain tea?”

“Of course.” Gaius had a warm smile to himself, as he took a jar of wild Taiwanese tea down from the shelf.

OOO

Emma hopped up on her toes to give Gaius a hug. “Thank you for having us—the food was delicious as always.”

He pat her back. “You’re welcome. Our place is your place—come over anytime.”

Elliot gave Rean a hug. “I’m glad we got to see you—you know you can call me anytime!”

He rubbed Elliot’s back. “Thanks, Elliot—I know.”

Elliot gave him a smile when he pulled away, then he went to hug Emma. Suddenly—the space in the tiny restaurant felt different. Rean hadn’t had anything to drink... but it felt almost like when the first drink “hit”, when your vision dilated just a bit and the walls of the room felt a little farther away than they did before. His friends felt a little farther away...

“There’s plenty more tea where that came from.” Gaius pulled him into a hug, clapping his back. “Like I said, I have a way to buy it fair trade now.”

Rean hoped the others weren’t looking at him... Gaius was just a little taller than Crow, and he let his forehead lightly fall into his collarbone. “Thanks... I appreciate that.” Gaius was a pretty emotionally-intelligent guy, quick on the uptake... He gave Rean a nice heavy hug, wrapping his arms around his back. Rean still couldn’t help but apologize in his head, “Sorry, Elliot—it’s just for a second.”

Gaius pulled back, clapping his arm. “I’ll make sure Thoma and Sheeda are more comfortable in the kitchen by themselves—then I’d love to join you all for conveyor belt sushi.”

“Oh, that sounds fun! We can invite Machias, too—haha, I imagine Jusis wouldn’t be too excited about conveyor belt...”

“Haha—well, if it gives him an excuse to leave his office, I’m sure he won’t complain.”

“Oh—and don’t forget Laura, too!”

Rean gave his friends a smile that he could just tell looked tired. Honestly... maybe he should’ve just taken a little, since Gaius offered... It might actually help him relax and take the edge off. It just made him think about those times he stayed over at Pops’ old house, when he’d be laying in bed with Crow while he smoked a joint, and he’d ask him if he wanted a little shotgun, and he’d nod his head just so he could get a nice, slow kiss afterwards... Just thinking about smoking by himself just made him depressed.

OOO

“Rean?”

“Hm?” He realized he’d been spacing out while driving—“What is it?”

Emma had her hands folded demurely in her lap, looking out the window at the Shinjuku City skyline. “... I know things are complicated between you and Crow. I know that.” He focused on the road ahead of him. “But... I think you can trust him to not hide anything from you.” He saw her tuck her hair behind her ear in his peripheral. “... Maybe something will just ‘click’ for him as he works together with you on this. That’s what I believe... I think he just needs a reminder of what’s most important.” He was gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Haha... If you don’t believe me, you can always ask VALIMAR...”

He grit his teeth—he’d rather drive his car off Shinagawa Wharf than that. If he asked Crow, “Who’s more important—me or the clan?” And he said—

OOO

9:03pm – Saturday – April 7^th, 20XX

He waited outside the gates of the compound, his cell phone in hand. He felt so stupid... What was wrong with him? But... he just had to know. It would eat away at him inside until there was nothing left...

“Who goes there?” The flat voice made him flinch—he hadn’t even sensed anybody around. “Oh—it’s just you, Detective Uchiyama.”

His heart was still beating a little fast, but he finally recognized the outline of Gideon’s messy hair in the darkness. “—I’m just here to see Crow. Is he home?”

“The Wakagashira is home. Shall I call him for you, or would you like me to escort you inside?”

“... Take me inside, please.”

“Very well.” Gideon got out his phone, and the heavy iron gate creaked open noisily in the night.

“... You guys need to grease up that gate or something.”

Gideon chuckled lowly. “I’ll pass your recommendation on to the contractor.” He walked Rean in through the front garden, up the little steps and down the winding veranda going all throughout the compound. There were lights spaced out under the awning and decorative outdoor lanterns out in the garden, but it still would’ve been disorienting for Rean to find his way to the back on his own... He couldn’t help but spy red dots from security cameras all along their walk...

Rean swallowed shallowly, following behind Gideon. Part of him just wanted to turn around and leave... but he knew it would just keep him turning all night, he wouldn’t even be able to sleep.

Gideon got out his phone, holding it to his ear. “Wakagashira. I’m approaching the interior of the mansion with Detective Uchiyama. Yes... Very well.” He hung up. “The Wakagashira will meet you here.” He bowed. “Have a good night, Detective.” And he walked away, back down the winding veranda.

Rean stood awkwardly—he didn’t know whether he should literally wait here, or try to make his way towards where he thought Crow’s room was...

Rean walked to the edge of the porch, sitting down and gazing out into the garden. His shoes didn’t quite touch the ground... It was too bad the fireflies didn’t quite come out in spring, the garden would’ve looked quite picturesque with them flitting about.

“Hey.” There was an air of relieved surprise in Crow’s tone. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He squatted down, joining him to sit at the edge of the porch.

“... I just felt like talking to you, is all.”

“I see.” Crow chanced it and pushed his palm along his back. Rean didn’t tense up or move away, so Crow started rubbing his shoulder. “You hungry? I can get you a midnight snack?”

“... I’m fine.” He felt like he was balancing on a precipice, emotionally. Everything depended on what Crow had to say... “You have a TV in the room attached to yours, right?” He pushed his hair out of his eyes. “I’m fine if you just want to sit around listening to music... or if you want to play Shin Megami Tensei V some more, I’ll watch.”

Crow snickered. “Sweet—I’m down for some gay god-on-human action.” Rean rolled his eyes. He still felt like Crow was reading a bit too much into the “husband” vibe of the androgynous male lead fusing with a handsome god in a forbidden soul-binding ritual... Well... okay, maybe not so much...

“Sounds good... I’m glad you’re motivated to play again after I read that spoiler.”

“Yeah, buddy—well, what’re we waitin’ for?” Crow pushed himself to stand. “Oh—but if you change your mind about wantin’ some grub or something to drink, I’ll just call G. He’s on the night watch.” Crow held out his hand, and Rean took it to stand up. “Don’t feel bad about botherin’ him—that guy walks all around to keep himself busy, so he’d probably like something to do.” But... if he was supposed to be guarding the compound... Well, whatever. There were probably other goons besides Gideon lying in wait, Rean just hadn’t seen them...

Crow kept walking down the winding walkway, and Rean quietly followed behind him, his thoughts swirling in his head. “Just relax, and watch Crow play his game... then when he’s in a good mood, just bring it up. He’ll be honest with you... He’s always stupidly honest when it’s important.”

Rean stopped while they were walking. He had planned on getting Crow nice and relaxed before trying to ask—but he just couldn’t wait. It was eating away at him...

“What’s the matter?”

Rean gripped his arm before he could help it, almost like he was shielding himself. “I heard something interesting from Uncle Vulcan...” He licked his lips. “Do you really say stuff like, ‘Well the love of my life doesn’t like it when I smoke’ when no one else is around?”

“Haah... that snitch.” Crow was still standing a few meters ahead of him, rolling his eyes. “When the heck did he tell ya that?” His eyes darkened in sudden realization. “You didn’t... Hey, why did you think that was necessary? You don’t trust Uncle Vulcan now?”

“—that wasn’t it.” Rean’s eyes scrunched. “George told me I should use it at least once every day, so I can get more used to it—I thought Uncle Vulcan would be a fair person to do it with, since he’s so honest with me anyway...”

“And that makes it okay? Did you ask him first?” The pond trickled in the dark garden. “Fuckin’—well, whatever, you already went and did it. Is that why you’re acting so weird? One of my ‘scummy underlings’ tell you something you didn’t wanna hear?”

Rean gripped his elbow. “If that’s really how you feel... then why did you throw everything away?”

Crow walked towards him—Rean could only bear to look at his feet. Crow reached out and rubbed his shoulder, giving him a little squeeze with his thumb. “I’m playin’ the long game, here. You just have to trust me on this. Okay?” He pulled Rean in, patting his head, smoothing his hand down the back of his hair... It wasn’t fair. “Just wait for me a little longer. I’ll be able to make up for lost time soon—I promise.”

Rean’s teeth clenched. “There is no ‘making up for lost time’—” He pushed Crow away from him. “You’ve already hurt me beyond repair—I can’t believe you’d spit in my face every day and then tell me to get over it—you’re spitting on Pops’ grave just living here, how can you not see that?!” His eyes flicked away from Crow’s face—just catching a glimpse of his hurt expression shook his resolve—but he couldn’t let up, this was the truth. “You think I’ve just been waiting around for you all this time?! That I don’t have my own life?! You’re so stupid—you’re so—fucking stupid!” He was out of breath, his palms aching from clenching his nails so tight.

The stream trickled into the pond somewhere. Rean took ragged breaths in through his nose, hearing a whistle in his head.

“Yeah—maybe you’re right.” Crow’s voice was so flat and empty. “Maybe you’ll understand someday—maybe you won’t.” He clapped Rean on the shoulder. “Either way—I gotta do what I gotta do.” He walked past him, his footesteps on the wooden veranda fading away.

Rean stood there stewing in silent anger and humiliation, trying to steady his breathing. He knew he was right—nothing Crow could possibly say could justify him throwing himself into this pit. He didn’t care who or what he told himself he had to “protect”—if Yun Ka-fai Sakurai had a secret heir, that was the Sakurai Clan’s business and had nothing to do with Crow. Damnit—how could that possibly be more important than their life?

“Hic—” Rean’s eyes scrunched closed—he clenched his fists, trying and failing not to let the stinging tears fall down his cheek.

OOO

D’X

Oddly enough, getting out all this emotional turmoil, drama, and scummy sex stuff has been therapeutic X’D I just want my boys to be able to have a loving, fully-trusting relationship (eventually) in “Mandala”, so it’s good to get all this stuff out of my system so my goblin craving for messy drama doesn’t start creeping in. I hope that makes sense XD

Thanks for reading, see ya next time!

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skelly_goat, dezin, ZalelTribal, Cdswalkthrough, knockplease, JoleneTheGreen, WayWard_Animal, Eurythimie, rfnaga, and RL_Velven as well as 6 guests left kudos on this work!

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Cdswalkthrough on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Apr 2025 04:09AM UTC

Publish on fanfiction.net

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1. skeevy_nyx on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Apr 2025 07:01AM UTC
  
  Haha I'm not sure if this is just an automated comment, but for anyone curious--fanfiction.net was actually my old stomping ground in the 2000s, up until around 2014. I was actually simultaneously publishing here and on FF when I first started "There's Something Wrong With Me"--but I ended up deleting the fic there because of a lack of engagement (drastically less), and also their interface is just a pain, having to upload your document separately, then update the chapter with that document. For someone who likes to comb through past chapters on my phone and obsessively make small edits, that's just not user-friendly at all lol
  (If this isn't a spam comment and was genuine advice, I'm sorry if I come across as rude 😅 But for those reasons, I won't be publishing on FF.net anymore)
  
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ZalelTribal on Chapter 3 Sun 13 Apr 2025 11:47AM UTC

Omg I always imagined a AU involing the yakuza so this immediately caught my interest 👀 and to add AITSF to it?? I am sat. I have been sat! 😤
I wonder how getting Valimar installed worked, since it doesnt seem that Rean got his eyeball yoinked and replaced 🤔 (it'd be so funny to imagine Valimar pops out he be shaped like a tiny knight lmaooo)
And this crrn situationship.. oh boy 😭 I was half expecting Rean to look in that birdbrain's subconscious and hear nothing but caws with how stupid Crow is 🤣 Cant wait to see how those two progress now that Rean is wary of a secret~ 🤭

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1. skeevy_nyx on Chapter 3 Sun 13 Apr 2025 12:31PM UTC
  
  Whew I'm glad there's other folks out there who are down for such a specific premise 😂
  I just imagined it as a little chip in his head, like an RFID--but it would be cute if Valimar could get up and walk around 🤭 Maybe he'll possess a little legally-distinct Gundam figurine 😂
  Poor Rean, how could I subject my child to all this drama 😭 Lol glad you're digging it though, thank you 😊
  
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dezin on Chapter 3 Wed 23 Apr 2025 11:46AM UTC

Rean x Crow crossed with AI Somnium Files? Pure amazeaballs. I’m loving their relationship ship dynamic. Great job! I also love that they all call Rean Ane. XD

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1. skeevy_nyx on Chapter 3 Wed 23 Apr 2025 12:12PM UTC
  
  Yay, thank you! I'm glad this has reached its very specific audience haha
  It's been refreshing writing about a messy adult relationship for once 🤭 As much as I like cute BL too!
  Haha all of Crow's people know what's up 😂💕
  
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