The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

11

"Sakura told me to tell you," the man murmurs.

Shinobu grips his face harder, his nails digging crescent shapes into the surface of his skin. "Sakura will be dealt with later. What do you suppose that Sakura has that you don't?" He asks, his eyes searching the other man's frantic eyes. It makes him giddy to finally see someone looking at him with primal fear after so long. He's missed this. Nothing satisfies his baser urges quite like seeing someone cowering before him. "What do you think Sakura has that might save her skin, whereas I'm about to skin you alive... metaphorically, of course."

"I don't know," he whines.

He shoves him back with such force that he stumbles back, hitting his head against the edge of the table beside the seat that Riku was sitting in earlier. The man carefully lifts his hand to the spot on the back of his head where his head made contact with the table. Shinobu smiles as he pulls his hand back in front of him, the tips of his fingers glistening with a dark red liquid. He makes his way to the man curled in on himself and crouches down, wrapping his fist in his hair. He pulls him closer so that his face is only centimeters away from his own. The tears tracing trails down the man's cheeks fill him with glee. Perfect. "Allow me to fill you in then. Sakura is smart. The first thing she did that saved her ass today was send you instead of telling me herself. You see, I've been in quite a mood today. Every time I come here I'm reminded of just how incompetent all of you seem to be. Nobody has initiative. Nobody has enough brainpower to realize when they're wasting my time. Everybody stays glued to my side. Sakura knows when to keep her distance. She's smart, as I said. She's got drive and skill. She provides me with viable intel and resources. To simplify, she's valuable. She'll get what's coming to her for her incompetence, but you... you aren't any of those things, so what should stop me from disposing of you right now?"

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I'll do better, I promise," the man sobs.

"Hmph. I would hope so," Shinobu snarls. He removes his hold on his hair and pulls it away to see it fully coated in the man's blood. He walks to the front of the room and pulls his cigarettes from his coat pocket. He leans on the table, his back facing everyone else. It's startlingly silent save for the man's stifled sobs in the back of the room. He takes a cigarette and lights it bringing it to his mouth with his bloodied hand. He takes a long drag, restraining himself from licking his now blood-coated lips. Just another moment. The door opens and closes, Riku quickly makes his way to Shinobu's side. He hands him a vial of blood, one cultivated specifically for meetings like this.

Shinobu quickly drinks it similarly to how he'd take a shot, careful not to ingest any of the blood on his lips yet. "All of you, go to your offices. We'll reconvene at noon in conference room D tomorrow," he commands. Everybody quickly gathers their things and makes their way out of the room, save for the man he left crumpled on the opposite side of the room. He sighs, "Riku. Make sure that you seem sympathetic while making your statements with any news agencies that might reach out. He was such a troubled soul, wasn't he?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, so long as you understand," he says. He quickly swipes his tongue over his lips, finally getting his fill of the wonderful taste of fresh blood. "You, go to the roof and take a dive for me, yeah? I want your head to be the first thing that hits the pavement. It's the least you could do." Shinobu turns in time to see the blank expression on the man's face. He never tires of that look, the look of someone in a chance, obeying his every whim. The man gathers himself to his feet and walks out of the room. "While we wait, I want to talk to you about something."

"Of course. What is it?" Riku asks.

"I want you to go grab some samples for me. It's about time some people made their way here, don't you think?" Riku nods. "I want you to oversee some people in Osaka for me, I have some critical players out there from headquarters and can't afford any missteps, too. Think you could handle that?"

"Yes sir."

"One more thing? Crack the window for me and go grab the lady who cleans my office. I need the mess that fool made cleaned up. You can go now. I want those samples on my desk in ten minutes."

Riku nods and opens the window slightly before making his way out of the room. The door closes just in time for Shinobu to see a body plummet past his window. He closes his eyes and waits a second longer. The sound of flesh hitting the pavement below them rings in his ears. He's sure the people below are horrified, but he wishes he could hear it again. He chuckles and makes his way to the back of the room, gently placing his cigarette on the table that had gashed the man's head open. She'll take care of this too , he smiles.

He pulls out his phone and dials a number, "Sakura, I need to meet with you in my office in twenty minutes. I have something I need you to do."