La Nuit Tourne Red

Chapter Nine

We arrive back at the quarters as Kenzo sees us walk in, his face sours.
"Where have you two been?" He says angrily as he stands up to face us.

I'm assuming Itsuki didn't tell Kenzo about his plan...

Itsuki begins to scratch the back of his neck as he tries to avoid the question, but Kenzo is not going to back down, so he fesses up.
"I told you that my plan would work..." He begins as Kenzo cuts him off.
"Your plan was reckless, and endangered many others. Not to mention a bad plan."

"I got the information we needed." Itsuki says as he looks down at the floor.
"At what cost?"

I begin to think about the several people running around afraid and the men that attacked Itsuki. Kenzo's right... per usual.
"What happened to your shoulder?" He asks as he points at where Faye's bullet grazed Itsuki's arm.
"Faye works for Leon now." He says as Kenzo begins to laugh.
"That's amusing."
"It's true."

They both become quiet as they both start laughing together. I blink a few times to make sure reality is still real... yep. Still on the planet.
"Midnight tomorrow is when the shipment arrives." Itsuki says once they've both calmed down.
"We'll arrive an hour before hand and set up." Kenzo says as he walks away from Itsuki and I.

Itsuki walks over towards the kitchen as I follow behind him. Finally. He pulls out a box of pizza from the fridge as we both begin to stuff our faces. I begin to get lost in the savory cheese as Itsuki's words pull me out of my trance.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you where we were actually going." He says as he shoves more pizza in his mouth.
"You don't have to be sorry... I know I'm safe with you." I assure him as he smiles awkwardly at me and stops eating momentarily.

Silence passes for a second as he finally speaks.
"The drinks I ordered were nonalcoholic. I just wanted us to blend in." He goes back to eating his food as it finally makes sense why the drink was so tasty, and didn't make me feel tipsy.

"Why did Faye say that you left her behind?" I say, knowing that I've pressed too far...
Itsuki stops eating as he makes eye contact with me and doesn't let it go. He stares at me as he softly chuckles at me.
"Faye was jealous. She was jealous of my advancements and achievements. One day she was caught stealing weapons from an armory, and she tried to use me as her alibi." He pauses for a moment as he sighs deeply.

"I couldn't break my own moral code for her. I've always followed rules... until recently."
I slightly smile at him as I prepare myself for the next question I'm about to ask.
"What changed recently?"

He narrows his eyes at me as his soft glance all of a sudden turns into a deep, intense glare as he raises his eyebrow.
"I'm not sure. Ever since I was assigned Asa's case... It's felt different."
He breaks the stare as he looks away from me towards the floor.

"I know what you mean... but someone once told me that change is not always bad." I tuck my hair behind my ear as he chuckles.
I notice him staring at me again as he begins to lean towards me.
"You missed a piece..."
He slides his fingers through the piece of my hair as he tucks it behind my ear grazing his knuckles across sending shivers across my body.

He leans back as he smiles at me, his smile suddenly turning into a yawn. His yawn transfers to me as we both definitely need some sleep. He begins to stand up as I stop him.
"Let me patch up your wound." I say as he shakes me off and continues to walk towards the living room.
"I'll have Kenzo stitch it up tomorrow, no worries."

He walks over to the couch and plops down onto it and fluffs the pillow. I stare in confusion as he chuckles at me.
"My room is the door on the left. You're welcome to anything you need in there." He pulls the throw cover from the back of the couch as he stretches, then yawns again.