After Story: Desire

Chapter Five: Contract Killer

As I approached the café where I was to meet Hashimoto, I thought back on my brief conversation with him the day prior; even though I hadn't known him for very long, it hadn't been difficult to detect the tension in his voice when he'd requested this meeting. The sound of an anxious person was pretty universal, after all.

I adjusted my tie, relieving myself of the extra pressure on my throat as I entered the relative warmth of the café; Fall was still on its way out, and I needed to remember to start wearing my overcoat. I gave a friendly wave to a waitress who approached me before gesturing to the older man seated at one of the many booths. Her nod and smile told me that she understood, and she moved to help another customer.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Hashimoto greeted; his voice sounded just as anxious as when we'd spoken yesterday, and I noticed a few beads of sweat on his brow as I took my seat across from him.

"No problem," I replied, feeling some sympathetic tension. "What can I do for you?"

He looked around before speaking again. "I asked you to meet me outside of Hikarizaka as well as Tokyo for a reason, and that reason is..." He looked around again before leaning forward and lowered his voice. "Someone has illegally modified our contract."

Red flags went up, but I simply made note of them for the time being as I leaned forward as well. "'Our contract'? As in, the one between the...my group and...your company?" I opted to keep the names a secret, just in case.

He nodded with a grunt. "To be honest, we have had this problem several times in the past, but it has not happened in so long that we thought the perpetrator had quit not too long ago."

"So...what did they change?"

He sighed heavily, causing me to dread what would come out of his mouth. "They....changed the clause that would allow your group to have romantic relationships."

My heart sank. "And...our signatures are still on there and everything?"

He nodded solemnly. "I do not know how this could have happened. I'm terribly sorry, Okazaki-san." I heard him sigh again as my eyes lost focus. "On behalf of my company I have a request to make, but I make it with...reservations."

My gaze snapped back up to his. "A request? What kind of request?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it as though he'd changed his mind as to what he wanted to say. "We...can re-do your contract, of course, but as long as whoever did this is not found and brought to justice, he or she will be free to do it again."

Even I could see where this was going. "So you want Rie and me to honor the altered contract while you try to find the culprit?"

He nodded with an apologetic expression. "I've talked to Daisuke – you remember him, right? – and we decided to pretend that I've quit to start my own idol company, one that will allow idols to have relationships. We're hoping that whoever's doing this will try to infiltrate this fake company and at least help us narrow down who it may be."

"And you're sure that Daisuke-san isn't part of this...problem?"

"As close to one-hundred percent as I will allow myself," he replied confidently. "He and I have worked together for nearly two decades, and have been friends almost as long. I have every good reason to trust him." He smiled sympathetically. "I can certainly understand your caution, though."

"I appreciate that." My eyes lost focus as I tried to imagine acting as though Rie wasn't my girlfriend; we'd been through so much together since literally running into each other in the hallway what seemed like a lifetime ago.