In Memory of a Dark Era

Unexpected Encounter

"Akutagawa-sama!"

Upon receiving the urgency of the call, the mysterious man halted allowing the caller to come in contact with him which led to a hushed conversation that you didn't care to eavesdrop on. Your body was frail with different shades of fear as your mind fought to deal with the situation logically, so a barely audible conversation was not desired on your overflowing plate.

You took a deep breath and waited for this Akutagawa person to take his sweet time with the man. This delay was the perfect chance for you to gather your thoughts, after all.

The fact of the matter is, with all these men in suits prowling around the port, illegal goods are most likely being shipped in administration of this organisation. A fact, however, you were not so keen on relying on since if it were the case, these men wouldn't mind murdering whoever seemed the least suspicious.

Yet, there you are.

Being escorted to who knows where.

Logical thinking proved to be a problem, now, because with these assumptions you were growing warier and more apprehensive at the suspense of your future. You had your past experiences to thank for nurturing this fraud calm façade you displayed, though. Otherwise, you'd have been a quivering rabbit among wolves.

"Concerning tomorrow," you heard a man address his partner not far from your spot. "We're to report to Arata-sama's base of operations, that's where the mission will take place."

"And you're telling me now?!" his partner choked on the reply. "Are you talking about the Armed Detective Agency?"

"Must you ask?"

"Just trying to make it justifiable to call you an asshole!"

"Hey!" The sound snapped you out of a trance and you looked up to meet the grey gaze of Akutagawa. He was staring at you from the corner of his lifeless eye as if you were nothing but a nuisance in his day.

"Over here!" the same voice called for your attention. It was the man that's been conversing with Akutagawa earlier. "You're coming with me!" he ordered beckoning you to follow him.

After recovering from the daze of confusion, you nodded quickly and followed him never failing to miss the intense gaze of grey eyes on your back until the man finally directed you out of sight.

Now that you were with someone less threatening, chances of an escape stunt rose to your favour.

It was unwise of you to initiate any move at the moment, so you patiently waited until there was a reasonable distance between you and the port for the start of a scandalous action. You didn't want to be close for anyone to sniff you out or too far to be near wherever he's taking you.

You had to play your cards cleverly for your own sake.

Once the perfect moment presented itself, in the seclusion of a dark alleyway, your eyes spotted a can of beer on the ground and softly kicked it, making it roll right before the man as your hand grasped a nearby wooden strip.

"Huh?" the man looked down curiously to inspect whatever's disturbing the silence only to be hit right on the back of his head.

Without a moment wasted, you worked on moving the unconscious body to a safe place, seating him against a wall out of sight.

You, then, proceeded to take off your cashmere sweater, roll up the sleeves of your shirt, unbutton the first few buttons and tie your hair. It's true that you can't fool whoever'd seen you, but you thought you should at least make your appearance slightly different to trick any eyes that gaze from a distance.

Anxiously, your eyes drifted across the perimeter as you walked through another alleyway that definitely headed to the city.

Just when the thought of your plan succeeding occurred to you, the feeling of cold metal on the back of your exposed neck, froze you in place.

"If only another executive was in charge of the shipment..." a voice so familiar yet so dense with wickedness sounded, sending shivers down your spine. "You must be really unlucky... turn to me."

Steadily, you turned around to make eye contact with someone you never expected to meet.