by T L Brevis
They stepped up to the reception counter after a quick glance around them. In a few seconds, they were standing across the counter from a middle-aged woman, sporting glasses, a nametag, and very formal clothing. The woman had her nose buried in a book, and Shoji Tanaka cleared his throat sounding extremely irritated, attempting to catch her attention. The woman practically jumped out of her seat and began to speak.
“Oh, my apologies sir, what do you need? Are you here to check-in?” the woman asked in a jittery, and surprised tone.
“Actually honey, I was wondering if I could take you out on a nice dinner date with me tonight. Maybe to a fast food joint if that's fine with you? This here’s m’number,” said Shoji Tanaka, slurring his words as if he were heavily intoxicated, extending his sentence way past the length it should have been, while also handing her a folded sheet of paper which she snatched from him immediately.
The woman had a disgusted look on her face throughout Shoji Tanaka’s speech, but right as Shoji Tanaka finished, her face went blank for a split second and then returned to its formerly disgusted look.
“Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. That is very inappropriate and not acceptable here,” said the woman, sounding as if she were holding back her anger behind a thin layer of the typical “Customer Service” look and tone.
“But why ma’am, I couldn't help myself, you’re just lookin’ so great today,” responded Shoji Tanaka, looking offended, but using the same slurred tone, nonetheless.
“Security!” the woman shrieked.
Two bulky men arrived seconds later, looking annoyed, but not surprised. The two proceeded to drag the duo out of the hotel by the back of their hoods, while one muttered to the other.
“She's as uptight as always. She always does this when someone even remotely hits on her. She thinks she's just all that doesn't she?”
By the time he finished his sentence, the security guard had already taken Shoji Tanaka off the premises and threw him against the pavement, while his partner followed suit with Naoto Watanabe a split second later.
“Take care of that lunatic. Dear god, I hope for your sake you’re not related to him,” one of them shouted back at Naoto Watanabe right before stepping back into the hotel.
The pair stood up from their sprawled positions on the sidewalk and appeared to be quite frustrated, especially Shoji Tanaka. Not even thirty seconds after the two were dropped on the ground by the security guards, Shoji Tanaka received a text on one of his disposable cell phones with a message that simply said, “No”.
Shoji Tanaka smiled and Naoto Watanabe began to speak.
“Alright, onto the next one then.”
The Day Prior…
“Alright, so what strategy do you suggest? We certainly can’t just go door to door to find Kaito,” said Shoji Tanaka
“I think I have something in mind. Although we are unable to hack into Kaito’s devices, it would not be entirely difficult to access these hotels. As Ito said, we will most likely not find Kaito this way due to him more than likely using an alias, but I have different plans. I will personally hack into their databases, then we will do this. I will discover who the receptionist working at any given time we visit each hotel is, then I will hack into their customer’s, and manager’s reviews on them and uncover what sets them off the most. We will then say or do that exact thing to them to attract their utmost attention. We will easily make five seconds of eye contact with them and control them to have us kicked out of the hotel to ensure that no suspicion comes our way.
After which, we will have them recall if they saw someone in the days prior who resembles Kaito’s appearance, either in real-time, or in the databases of check-ins, which I know for a fact from previous experiences that receptionists are required to check. We will pass them the number of one of our disposable cell phones on this same piece of paper or material we would have used to alert them of Kaito’s description. They will then send us a text message either simply stating “Yes” or “No”,” explained Naoto Watanabe.
“Well firstly, if we do this in enough hotels, they will surely trace it back to us, and secondly, I'm not about to sacrifice part of my life just to find Kaito and his brat, and I recommend you to not do the same either,” said Shoji Tanaka.
“There's quite a simple solution to both of those issues. Firstly, we will use common hooded clothing as disguises, purchasing four pairs of different styles and colors, two for each of us to use for each visit. As you have surmised, this means we will visit two hotels. As Ito said, Kaito is cocky and is hiding in plain sight, completely plain sight.
“This will mean, he will be in one of two hotels, the most prestigious ones. The Palace Hotel or the Citz-Rarlton Hotel. So, each of us will use our Noromi once, not squandering either of our lifespans,” responded Naoto Watanabe.
“Hah, not bad,” said Shoji Tanaka, with a smirk.
“Alright, so I take it you accept the plan with no complaints?” asked Naoto Watanabe.
“Yea, yea. However you want to put it.”
“Alright good, because I’ve already breached the Palace Hotel and found out that their receptionist is absolutely against any form of sexual harassment, and is very vocal about it.”
“Hah. Perfect,” Shoji Tanaka responded with a wider smirk.
Chapter 7
“Ito, we’re outside of The Citz-Rarlton. If this is not where Kaito is, you do realize either you will have to accompany us next time, or we will have to wait for a full week to elapse to attempt this at other hotels,” said Naoto Watanabe.
“Yes, but that is certainly a risk worth taking. You came up with a relatively solid plan that has a high possibility of success. Kaito is quite a strange case appearance-wise in that area of Tokyo anyway. It is predominantly full of businessmen and women, so his relatively well-built physique will stand out, not even mentioning his informal usual attire and his abnormally dark black hair. I never did quite grasp why he never enjoyed more expensive clothing. In any case, I estimate a 90% chance Kaito is somewhere through those doors, so proceed with extreme caution,” said Mugen Ito.
“I always do, Ito,” responded Naoto Watanabe.
Naoto Watanabe pocketed his communication device and cautiously entered the Citz-Rarlton Hotel with Shoji Tanaka.
The pair, as they had hours prior in another, very similar establishment, swiftly entered and approached the receptionist desk. This time, however, Naoto Watanabe decided to look around himself much more thoroughly. Perhaps it was intuition or the knowledge it was much more likely that Kaito was inside the building, but whatever the reason, Naoto Watanabe decided upon doing so.
When he did, he laid eyes on him. Kaito, seated directly inside of the Hotel’s restaurant, in a completely open area, albeit with a suit on, it was unmistakably him. Naoto Watanabe swiftly but firmly squeezed Shoji Tanaka’s wrist to alert him of the abnormality. Shoji Tanaka casually glanced back at Naoto Watanabe and followed his gaze to where Kaito was seated.
The two darted their vision squarely at their feet and the ground surrounding them below and redirected their movements toward an area outside of Kaito’s line of sight, one of the walls on either side of the receptionist desk.
“We did not expect him to be so out in the open like this. It’s almost suicidal levels of foolishness. Or is it genius? Did he mean for us to find him this easily?” blurted out Naoto Watanabe, finally beginning to break his composure.
“Get ahold of yourself. There’s no room for panic here. Whatever the case may be, we must confront him. If we don't, you know how Ito will get. Besides, I personally want to meet the man I’ve yearned to encounter again,” said Shoji Tanaka, with a smile toward the end of his sentence.
“Alright, no matter. In such a public area, he would not dare pull something bold regardless, and we don’t need to either. Our goal with this mission does not require violence or even contact. We have the edge here,” rationalized Naoto Watanabe.
&
nbsp; “Agreed. We do have the edge here, but proceed with caution regardless.”
∞
Hiroshi was just finishing his meal, and Kaito was flagging over the waiter for green tea when he’d noticed something. Two figures with hoodies pulled all the way up. Hiroshi had seen many people use them but had never seen anyone with their hood that far up except if it were raining.
The only reason for it would be to hide one’s face. Hiroshi pretended not to notice, but as the two crept into a blind-spot, he was then certain of who it was. He clenched his fists as hard as ever, bringing him back to many times before when he expressed his rage in that manner, but now it was necessary. A few minutes passed, and he caught a glimpse of the two approaching from another angle out of his peripheral vision just before they reached the table.
“Long time no see, Kaito,” said Shoji Tanaka.
Shoji Tanaka and Naoto Watanabe both appeared behind their table.
Shoji Tanaka was a man with poor posture, very neat, completely white hair and pale skin, almost matching his hair in color.
“Shoji. I thought you’d be dead by now,” said Kaito, dead serious.
“Well, I think I still have a few good years in me, old friend,” responded Shoji Tanaka, in an extremely cocky tone.
“Friend? Hah. Regardless, what are you gentlemen here for, hm?” asked Kaito.
“Well, not gentlemen quite yet, one gentleman. Perhaps I will have an opportunity to address you two in that way in a few of those good years you have left,” Kaito looked at Naoto Watanabe then looked back at Shoji Tanaka throughout his sentence.
Only after Kaito had finished did Hiroshi turn to glance at Naoto Watanabe for the first time. He was shocked in the moment, but not surprised. This was his counterpart. The other boy with the Noromi. He had to be.
Naoto Watanabe was a boy looking to be around his age with very light blonde hair, enchanting and gorgeous light blue eyes and skin as pale as his counterpart’s. The aura he gave off was pure confidence and elegance, Hiroshi knew at that moment he was outclassed, and even though he could not express it in the way he could previously, the rage inside of him boiled to its peak at the thought.
“Well, since these two old men are catching up, why don’t we have our own conversation. I'm Kunieda Etsuya. What would your name be?” asked Naoto Watanabe with a smile.
Hiroshi did not budge. This boy was heading straight in with an offensive move. He was attempting to essentially size Hiroshi up for future reference. Hiroshi had to ensure the boy would know he would not be one to be taken lightly.
“Oh, not going to talk. I see how it is. You don’t feel like playing my games I suppose. Perhaps you will be a challenge for me in a couple of years. At long last, someone my age who isn’t a fool,” said Naoto Watanabe, smile widening
Hiroshi was taken aback. This boy was quite similar to him, at least in their view of their foolish peers. Perhaps in an alternate universe, they could have been allies, or even friends. Unfortunately, he was with the organization that had murdered his parents and made themselves his objects of vengeance, the faceless beings he pictured dead every chance he got, only this time, they were not faceless.
“Well, I suppose I shall get us each a glass of water, maybe all you’ll need to speak is a clearer throat,” Naoto Watanabe said after quickly glancing at Hiroshi’s near-empty cup.
Naoto Watanabe sauntered up to a waiter. Instead of simply requesting a few cups of water or other drinks, he visibly dragged on their conversation to its limits, staring into the man's eyes with his own stunningly beautiful deep and rich scarlet ones.
Hiroshi immediately understood their situation and he lightly tapped his foot on Kaito’s under the table without making a sound, and not even changing his blank facial expression. Kaito nonchalantly glanced over for a fraction of a second to realize the situation himself before returning his eye contact to Shoji Tanaka.
After a few seconds that felt like centuries, Naoto Watanabe had finished his conversation with the waiter and began his return to his seat, his eyes returning to their original sky blue.
As Naoto Watanabe was walking back nonchalantly, Hiroshi saw that the same waiter had begun to fumble in his pocket and pulled something out of it. Hiroshi knew exactly what he was attempting. Luckily, there was another waiter walking next to Hiroshi and Kaito’s table, whom Hiroshi then practically dragged towards him as inconspicuously to the other guests as possible. He positioned the man in the middle of himself and the original waiter and began dragging out a sentence. It was less than a week after he had used it at Yabuto Sofu’s mansion, but he had no choice but to extract the remaining time from his lifespan
“Hello sir, I am very, truly sorry for pulling you away from your duties, but I am in extreme need of an ice-cold beverage, say, some green tea. Oh and bring extra wasabi as well,” Hiroshi said slowly.
The man looked mortified by Hiroshi’s rudeness, but his expression turned to a blank stare after mere seconds. The man changed his course to brisk walk toward the other waiter, who now had his phone pointed blatantly in Hiroshi’s direction, which now appeared to be an empty seat as Hiroshi had ducked down immediately after his waiter had left the table.
Hiroshi’s waiter made his way to the other man through gaps between tables of guests. He was making his way through the right side of tables, so Naoto Watanabe’s waiter began to make his way through the left side to reach Hiroshi, both somewhere between a leisurely pace and a brisk-walk.
Hiroshi’s waiter did his best to intercept Naoto Watanabe’s waiter without causing any sort of suspicion but was ultimately unsuccessful. There were simply too many restaurant customers taking up space and being inconsiderate when the waiter kindly requested them to move.
Naoto Watanabe’s waiter made it over to the table without much of an issue in mere seconds. Hiroshi glanced up in horror as he knew exactly what was about to occur, but was powerless to it since he could not attract any attention to himself, so he prepared for the worst. Owari would know his face and he would have to be even more cautious in the future.
Hiroshi was heavily disappointed with Kaito in that moment. All of his instincts had told him to think more rationally, but instead, he gave in to his emotions and blindly trusted Kaito, and look where it had gotten him. Never again he thought. Never would he blindly follow his convoluted emotions again. Owari would now gain the upper hand, and his revenge would be delayed even longer.
Just as he was finishing up his miserable thoughts, when his spirits were at their lowest, the waiter suddenly snapped his gaze away from him and redirected his attention to Naoto Watanabe. The waiter snapped a photo of a now shocked and horrified Naoto Watanabe and simply turned around and stepped away casually.
To say Naoto Watanabe was gobsmacked would be an understatement. His jaw was stretched to its limits in shock, and he froze.
Naoto Watanabe composed himself in a little over two seconds, and said, “Let's go, Tanaka,” then, as casually as he could muster, slowly walked away with Shoji Tanaka, who had a similar reaction, and recovery process.
Even Hiroshi had also shared a mutual reaction and was the most confused he had ever been. Just then, he heard a notification from Kaito’s phone, which Kaito promptly showed Hiroshi. His eyes widened to their limits along with his jaw at what he saw. It was the picture of Naoto Watanabe.
Kaito simply smiled as he leaned back in his chair to enlighten his young pupil.
“Well, it looks as though everything went according to plan. You see Hiroshi, when I requested that you trust me, they were not only emotionally powered words, I meant them and had the ability to back them up. I know Owari, as I said. I know just how to manipulate them. You see, I made them believe I was cocky and foolish enough to stay in this hotel, and furthermore in plain sight without any sort of disguise.
“I’ve been building up their perception of me being cocky for years now, just for a moment like this. I knew they would eventually fi
nd us. Whether it would be out here, or in our room. I made plans for both scenarios, and I initiated my plan immediately after I saw the two enter. It was quite obvious it was them. The most suspicious-looking pair out of anyone else. Of course, I cannot blame them, it was quite necessary for them to do something like that to disguise themselves.
“Anyhow, after I saw them enter, I flagged down the waiter for ‘more green tea’ but as you may or may not have noticed, I dragged out our conversation for quite a lengthy period of time, enough time to use my Noromi on him. Something the two, currently hiding from our sight, would not possibly pick up on.
“I then made the man hover decently close to our area, so that eventually, when one of them would control him to take a picture of you, which is what I knew their goal would be, he would instead take a picture of the boy instead. Little did Owari know, we were not the mouse in this chase. They were. I had the same goal as Owari all along.
“I wanted a reference of the appearance of your doppelganger. They would have never even considered the thought that I would be bold enough to attempt such a task when they wholeheartedly believed they were the ones hunting us down.