Mastermind | Chuuya Nakahara.

FIVE.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER FIVE:
Let the games begin.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Aki woke to the disturbing sound of a default iPhone alarm. Which at first, seemed strange, since she was more than aware that she didn't have her phone. The moment she jolted awake and spotted the phone beside her beside table, she hit the snooze button over and over again, at first, planning on going straight back to sleep. But then she noticed that she had one unopened message displayed on the default wallpaper.

Groaning, she took the phone in her hand and opened the message. The phone didn't have a passcode.

                 Mori.

Good morning, Akira. I hope you slept well. This phone is your gift from the Port Mafia, along with the present in the gift bag by your bed. We are scheduled for a meeting at 9am in the dining room. We hope to see you there.

"We hope to see you there," Aki mimicked in a childish voice. "Yeah right, asshole. Like I have a choice." She grumbled, putting the phone back on the dresser and sliding out of bed.

She slipped her feet into the slippers by her bed, enjoying the feeling of the fuzzy material between her toes. After all the running around she had been doing in her bare feet, it felt great to have something so comforting against her skin.

Upon standing, she noticed the gift bag Mori had mentioned in his text sitting on the bottom of her bed. Her interest piqued, snooping in the gift bag was the first thing she did. She happened to notice that the bag itself was bright and cheerful, with 'Welcome' written across it in a bubbly font. It certainly wasn't her idea of a gift from a terrifying Mafia Boss. But nevertheless, she reached into the bag, feeling around for this gift she had received.

There was a small box at the bottom of the bag that she pulled out. Opening it, the first thing she seen was a piece of paper with a handwritten note on it. The handwriting reminded her that of a doctors—hard to read and Italic.

Welcome to the Port Mafia, Akira. We are ecstatic to have you with us. Please accept this gift on our behalf. — The Port Mafia.

Aki scrunched up her nose. With all of the gift giving, she felt like a child—a spoilt child at that. Sighing, she removed the note to see what was beneath. And suddenly, I don't feel so spoiled, she thought to herself. Inside the box, was a red silk ribbon. The colour itself was the colour of blood, a deep shade of crimson. It was pretty, to say the least, but what exactly did Mori expect her to do with it? Wear it in her hair like a fucking child?

Placing the box down, Aki approached her vanity before sitting down. She brushed her hair out before trying out different styles with the ribbon. In the end, she hated them all. She had never been girly enough to do much with her hair. It was always left poker-straight, free to fly around at her shoulders in a breeze—and besides, she wasn't really sure how to do her hair. Everything looked messy and unkempt. It was silly, how hard she was trying to make the ribbon work. But what the fuck else was she supposed to do? She had to accept the offering. She needed to fit in as soon as possible for her plan to work. She needed Mori to trust her.

In the end, Aki had decided not to put the ribbon in her hair, but instead, tie it around her neck in a criss-cross and then complete it with a bow. It looked good enough adorning her neck, making it no longer look bare. She actually kind of liked it.