Error. File Does Not Exist.
You pinched the bridge of your nose and shut your eyes after the fatal error message displayed on the screen again.
"Dammit" you seethed under your breath.
This had been about your sixth attempt to gain access to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department files. You were successful at doing so many times before, but they were smaller scale, minimum security files. This file, on the other hand, contained all information of the suspects and leads in ongoing cases. It wasn't your usual run-of-the-mill shoplifter report, this was huge. Leads on serial killers and gang members were in these encrypted files.
This could help you find the men responsible . . . the men responsible for his death.
You heaved a sigh as you brought your hands up to cup the sides of your face. The sleeves of your brother's zip-up sweater planted against your skin.
If you could somehow break past the firewall of the police department, you might even have a chance at getting past the Japanese Public Security Intelligence Agency, or some of the other high class intelligence agencies.
You furrowed your brows in determination and decided to have another go at it.
"You need this, (Y/N), come on," you whispered to yourself in encouragement. "You've done this a thousand times before, do it again."
Bringing your hands back down to your keyboard and furiously typing away at your laptop as you tried tuning out the conversations around you in the café.
It was nearly sundown; the sky was painted in a bright hue of orange. Your phone was still blowing up from the constant messages and missed calls from your university friends and father. Ugh, your father. You dared not to even peek at your phone, knowing already what your father's messages were going to say.
Sweetheart, please answer.
Should I send Takeda over to pick you up from campus now?
Do you want me to come myself?
I am starting to worry, please pick up the phone—
Blah blah blah.
Truth is, you loved your father and he loved you. He was just overbearing is all. From constantly tracking your location to sending private security guards to keep an eye on you during class lectures—it would get overwhelming. You always questioned why he would take such extreme measures and his response to you would always be, "Dear, it's because I love you. I couldn't forgive myself for foolishly letting you out in the world without any protection."
It took you a lot of convincing for him to let you even reside on campus in a dorm. At first, he insisted to move in with you in an apartment nearby. That way he could always be close to you and you would have his security team on standby. You refused, of course. You were sick of being suffocated back when you lived with your dad in the family villa, despite you and your father being the only residents there. The random bodyguards stationed around your home provided you with an even less sense of homeliness.
The reason you chose to attend the Tokyo Institute of Technology was so you could place a significant amount of distance between your father and yourself. He didn't understand why you couldn't just pursue law like he did; always telling you that you would make a hell of a lawyer or even a politician like him. You didn't want that, though. You were already known as the daughter of the all-powerful politician Hiroshi Sawamura, following in his footsteps was not in your plan. You hated the many things he stood for when it came to the government. You loved him with all your heart, but not his political persona.
More importantly, you knew Daichi never approved of your father favoring corrupt industrialists and government officials. You knew he'd be happy with the public chaos you stirred by anonymously sending news channels the information you got from hacking the police department servers.
You chuckled at the thought of the havoc you must have wreaked within the police precinct.
To your dismay, your father agreed to let you move out on the condition that he would have the keys to your apartment off campus. It wasn't ideal for him to be able to pop up whenever he was in the mood, but it was better than living under the same roof as him 24/7.
You continued to look over your code, making sure to place semicolons and brackets in the respective spaces. The coffee you ordered earlier becoming lukewarm with every minute you glare at your computer screen, refusing to take your eyes off of it.
"Hey, kid! Get your ass back over here!" a burly thug called, chasing the boy. "We're not finished!"
Oikawa looked over his shoulder, wearing a shit eating grin as he yelled back, "Not in the mood! Maybe next time!"
This further angered the group of thugs chasing after him. They followed Oikawa as he cut through an ally. The brunette made an effort to knock over some trashcans behind him in hopes to slow down the hoodlums charging at him. Luckily, his efforts weren't in vain as once the three thugs reached the street connected to the ally, Oikawa was no longer in sight. They cursed themselves for not being able to detect a six-foot man on the crowded path. They weren't ready to give up yet. They were determined to bring Oikawa back to their boss, preferably alive, but they wouldn't mind if he wasn't.
Oikawa rounded another street corner and scanned the shop windows. His eyes landed on a book café at the end of the street. He hurriedly opened the glass door and huffed a breath of relief once he was inside. He studied the interior of the café; he had already been aware of the little coffee shop being a study hub for the students on campus. He took a mental note to not attract any more attention that could potentially bring harm to the college students.
It was a warm spring day in late May, classes should've concluded by now. It explained why the book shop café wasn't packed. In fact, he could count all the patrons on one hand.
He continued to scan the café.
The wooden floors were a rich dark brown that matched the color of the many bookcases along the back wall. A small spiral staircase was in the corner leading to the next floor where he was sure it housed more books, and a counter against another wall where one can place their order. There were small circular tables filling the space in the middle of the café while cushioned booths were lined up against the window.
His eyes finally settled on you. He stood there for a moment, processing the sight.
You chewed on the inside of your cheek, alternating between your right cheek and the inside of your bottom lip. The look on your face as you focused was absolutely adorable in his opinion. The way your brows pinched in resolve as you studied the screen of your laptop. He was sure that you would burn a hole through the screen with the angry glare you were giving it. He noticed your hair; it was on the longer side of the spectrum. It was strategically placed so your long locks didn't fall over your shoulder, but some of the shorter strands did find their way to tickle the side of your face. He swore he felt his heart stop when you blew a stray strand invading your vision from your right eye. Then he noticed the black zip-up hoodie you were sporting. Clearly it didn't fit you, the cuffs of the sleeves were riding up past your wrists.
But that jacket, it was all too familiar. Where had he seen it?
Not only that, but he felt like he had seen you somewhere before.
No, not possible. He could never forget a face that pretty.
Oikawa inhaled and smirked as he made his way over to your booth. You hadn't even noticed him walk up to you until he sat down nonchalantly. You peeled your eyes away from your monitor, blinking a few times as you registered the man in front of you. He had chocolatey brown hair swept to the side and eyes the same color. He looked like a fallen angel. Although he was sitting, you could tell the man in front of you was tall. His build was absolutely flawless, his biceps were on display in his white T-shirt. As said shirt was form fitted around his broad shoulders, you could imagine how his abs looked underneath. He was wearing baggy charcoal jeans to top it all off.
His skin was iridescent, so were his teeth. His canines poked out when he grinned playfully.
"Can I help you?" you asked.
"Yes, actually," he responded smoothly, he stared at you with a big smile plastered on his face as he leaned in close. God, even his voice was perfect.
"Do I . . . know you?" you quizzed, still puzzled at the fact that a gorgeous man like him had even approached you like this in the first place. Well, you had your fair share of attractive men walking up to in hopes of taking you home with them, but this guy was on a completely different level of attractive.
"No," he mused, "but I'm hoping you can get to know me better."
You sighed, coming back to your senses when you remembered your task at hand.
"Listen, I appreciate the offer, but I'm a little busy right now," you turned back to the laptop.
The brunette leaned forward to peer at your screen, "Watcha working on?"
You rushed to lower the screen closer down to the keyboard and out of his view.
"Homework," you stated, blankly.
"Aww, come on," he whined softly. "Don't lie to me. I already know the semester's over."
You glared at him.
"I just want to help you," his lips curled upwards again.
You placed your elbows on the table and leaned close towards him. You smiled sweetly, his grin widened even further.
"No, thank you," you said.
His smile dropped, "Fine."
He leaned back into his seat, he tilted his head and studied your face, and then your collarbone. His eyes trailed slightly further down, and he had to stop himself.
He smirked yet again, "You're very pretty, you know."
You scoffed as you continued hitting keys on your device, "I know."
He raised his brow in amusement, he couldn't deny how intrigued he was. He was half expecting you to start blushing and get all flustered since that was the usual reaction he would elicit from other girls he'd hit on.
He still sat there, not budging. You glanced at him after a minute had gone by and inhaled sharply.
"What are you doing?" your eye twitched in annoyance.
He folded his arms and hummed, "Just staring at you."
You pursed your lips before saying, "Whatever," and returning back to decrypting the file.
In a matter of moments, Oikawa's smug smile faltered when he caught sight of the thugs down the street from the window. He grew more worried when he realized the men were heading straight for the café you both were in. He didn't think the gangsters had seen him, though. In order to keep it that way, he needed to hide himself. There wasn't enough time, so instead he shot his arms over the table at your shoulders, gripping the front of your brother's zip-up. Before you could question what he was doing, he forcefully yanked it off your shoulders and draped over himself. After he put it on, he threw the hood over his locks and hunched over the table slightly.
"What do you think your doing?" you hissed.
The three men searching for the brunette earlier entered the café. The pretty man in front of you pressed his index finger against his lips and blew softly.
"Shhh. Don't attract any attention, it's not safe," he hushed.
You blinked at him as he gazed into your eyes. For some odd reason, you obliged. Directing your attention back to your work yet again. You understood immediately that he was hiding from the three scary looking men that had entered the premises.
You hit the enter key, expecting nothing other than an error message. You almost yelped when you saw your program run and download all the top priority files of the police department onto your device.
Deciding that maybe right now wasn't the best time for you to browse through the files, you continue the task you started earlier that week of infiltrating the PSIA. You had successfully been able to gain access to all the information the police department had to offer, how hard could this government agency be? Granted, it was a tremendously bigger deal than the city precinct computer systems, but nonetheless you were up for the challenge.
The hefty goons made their way up the spiral staircase to the second floor. You continued trying to hack the smaller scale operations of the PSIA, or at least get your hands on the top ten wanted list.
Oikawa was still hunched over, his head was buried in his arms on the table in front of you. Your late brother's hoodie engulfing his brown hair. You gulped as the men tracking Oikawa descended back down the staircase. They grunted in agitation and they made their way out the exit of the café.
Your gaze shifted to the man in front of you and he sighed in relief and lifted his head up.
"Worthless apes," he mumbled with a frown as he peeked out the window.
"What the hell was that about?" you asked.
He was wearing that same mischievous smirk again.
"I would tell you not to worry your pretty little head about it, but I like you too much," he leered. "I guess I owe you the truth."
"Mhm," you hummed with a scowl on your face.
"Well, I was actually here on a mission," he began.
"A mission?" your brow raised.
He nodded.
"I was actually looking for someone when I ran into those lovely fellas back there. You see, I roughed up their boss, Ichiro Yamazaki, not too long ago and I'm sure Mr. Yamazaki didn't take that too well," he explained.
"Clearly."
Wait. Ichiro Yamazaki? You've heard of that name somewhere.
Then it dawned on you. You read that name in one of the earlier police files. Ichiro Yamazaki was the leader of a small gang, specializing mainly in drug dealing. His customers included children. You had released his name to the public just weeks ago.
"What business do you have with that criminal?" you quizzed him.
"You sure do ask a lot of questions, princess," he cooed.
"And I have right to," you justified coldly, trying to ignore how the pet name sent chills down your spine.
His bottom lip jutted out and the sides of his mouth turned downwards.
"I suppose you do," he agreed.
He eyed your coffee. Dragging the cup closer to him and up to his lips.
"Mmmm, coffee," he sounded childlike. He began sipping your beverage and you shot him an annoyed look.
"Hey! That's mine!" you whined. Your whine sounded similar to his childish whines from earlier.
He pulled the cup away from his mouth and smacked his lips together to catch the lingering taste.
"What is this? There's not enough sugar in this?" he droned, he sounded offended at the lack of sweetness to his standards.
Your jaw slightly dropped at his statement because you knew damn well you ordered a cup of coffee with three cubes of sugar. To any other person, three cubes would be excessive but you loved your beverages to be on the sweeter side.
"Are you kidding? That already has three cubes of sugar!" you exclaimed.
He tutted almost in irritation, "No, no, no. That won't do. This needs four cubes. How do you drink it so bitter?"
You groaned.
He dropped another cube of sugar into the coffee cup and stirred it with the teaspoon that lied in the saucer. He brought the drink up to his lips once again and gulped.
"Aah," he sighed, "That's better."
You slowly typed as you wrapped up your code, praying for it to work. Your eyes met his again.
"Well, don't keep me waiting. Tell me what you were doing with that thug?" you asked.
A small laugh bubbled in his throat.
"Wouldn't want to spoil all the fun now, would we?" he said. "Isn't a little mystery fun? It would spice up the chemistry between us don't you think?"
Ignoring his shallow attempts at flirting with you, you clicked some final keys on your keyboard and hit the enter key.
Loading . . .
"At least tell me who you're looking for?" you pressed.
"The person who's been providing the media with confidential police files," he responded.
You felt your heart stop.
Meanwhile the code worked, Japan's top ten most wanted list appearing on your screen. It added even more pressure on you. You internally cursed yourself.
But you decided to play it off.
"Do you know who it is?" you asked, trying your best to look unimpressed.
"Hmmm," he hummed, setting down the coffee in his hand. His eyes are half-lidded as they meet yours. "You."
You froze, refusing to wear your emotions. "Me? That's funny," you told him, matching his show stopping smile from earlier.
He wore a dangerous expression, eyes drooping in disinterest, but one side of his lip twitched upwards. He leaned closer to your face, a mere few inches away from yours. You frowned, oh how your quick changes in emotion set a fire off inside him.
"You really going to lie straight to my face like that?" he pouted. "I thought we had an understanding."
"I'm not lying to you."
"Fine. Care to show me what you're working on then? You've been awfully distracted since the start of our date," he tittered.
"No, you can't see it" you declared.
"Why's that, princess?" he pushed.
"Because," you tilt your face upwards a bit so your nose was in the air, "my private photos are on the screen."
He excitedly leaned closer, "Oh, now I have to see."
You pulled your laptop closer to your chest. "Not a chance, pervert."
He laughed a little before his voice dropped several octaves.
"All the signs are pointing at you being the hacker. How about you make this easy on the both of us and just come with me," he offered.
You really had been backed into a corner, there was almost no possible chance of lying your way out. That's when your eyes flashed on the file displayed on the monitor. You almost choked when you see the picture of Japan's fourth most wanted. It was the pretty face of the man sitting across from you. You read his name.
"Tooru Oikawa."
His eyes widened.
You shut your laptop before shoving it in your black backpack. You moved as quickly as you could to get up, scrambling to your feet.
A large, rough hand clasped around your wrist. You looked over your shoulder to see his lips tugged mischievously, his perfect teeth on display. He roughly yanked to towards him, your right knee resting on the cushioned bench he sat on.
"Not so fast, darling," he cooed. "Our date's not over yet."
You tried pulling your hand away. "It is to me."
Your efforts went to waste as it only encouraged him to tighten his grip on you even more. Your nose was barely a centimeter away from his.
"Did your parents never teach you that it's rude to walk out on your date?" he teased again.
You gritted your teeth.
"If you don't let go of me right now, I swear I'll scream bloody murder right here in this café," you hissed.
To your surprise, you were met by a low snicker.
"You better come with me, if you know what's good for you," he growled, his lighthearted demeanor dropped.
Before you could retort he said, "Look down."
Your eyes drop to his other hand by his left thigh. It was a gun. Immediately you stopped squirming. Fear struck you at the thought of what he would do to you and the other unsuspecting people in the coffee shop.
Once you relaxed in his hold he purred, "Good girl."
His hot breath fanned against your jaw.
"We're going to have a lot of fun," he said as he hid the gun. "Come on. Let's go, princess."