Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

07 - lies and kisses

"just a minute!" Koko shouts as he jolted up from his chair.

Hikari also did so in alarm, her speculations brought to a halt upon recognizing Sanzu's voice. she looks at the door with panicked eyes, feeling as if such wood couldn't do anything to protect her from him.

calm down.

except she really can't calm down. she feels Koko grab her by her shoulder as he faces her to him.

"hide under the table, over there. I'll get them to leave somehow and I will lock the door. stay here, okay? wait until I come for you later—no matter what, don't go out."

Hikari usually had a knack for going against instructions. well, usually, she had only received instructions regarding her safety only from Ran before, and from Rin now. maybe it's not really being told what to do, but rather, whether or not a Haitani had said it.

"what's taking so long?!" Sanzu yells.

she nods at Koko, not trusting herself to sound unafraid, before she walks over to his desk. as silently as she can, she moves the swivel chair and climbs down to crouch underneath the table. Hikari wasn't so tall that she struggled to fit herself in so at least she felt some relief of being fully hidden from their view.

just as she pulled the chair in closer to the table, Koko had opened the door for them to come in. he was sweating a bit, but other than that, he looked like he usually does. Mikey was glancing behind him, and like he was plunged with cold water, he realized that he had been staring at his desk. maybe he opened the door too soon.

"what, you've been jacking off or something?" Sanzu asks.

Koko grins as he steps aside to let them in, bowing deeply to Mikey as he does.

"what have you been doing, Kokonoi?" Mikey lowly mutters, although he didn't sound particularly interested.

much to his relief, both Sanzu and Mikey sat on the couch without speculating about his desk any further. he walks over to them but doesn't sit down himself. they needed to get out as soon as possible. they may have let Ran live—until now he still doesn't know what exactly happened as to how he managed to remain Bonten's valued executive despite his betrayal—but Hikari was definitely in danger here.

"what brings you guys in here?"

"there was a woman intruder," Sanzu cooly says.

Hikari could only hold her breath.

"is that so? was she found?"

"not yet, but that's not why we came here. Red Flower's prized club is already in heaven. Mikey wants to review our profit in relation to this."

"not here, let's go to the meeting room."

"you make orders now?" Sanzu scowls.

Mikey raises his hand to stop the barking dog, rising from his chair as he wordlessly walks out of the room. both Koko and Sanzu follow short, Sanzu leaving the room last as he casts a short glance on his desk.

Hikari heard the door close, and shortly after, the lock was clicked. for now, she was safe to go out, right? she waited for a good five minutes before silently crawling out of the table.

+++

some time later, the knob rattled, and Hikari more so. she instantly got up from where she sat on Koko's chair, the girl having been looking through his documents for any clue. the door flies open before she could even hide from sight. she wishes more than anything that it'd just be Koko—no, that's wrong. more than wishing it was Koko, she wishes it was Ran.