Upon exiting your vehicle, your heels firmly click against the concrete as they make contact with the ground. Gracefully closing the car door behind you, you raise your head, facing the building before you.
The Ayatsuji Detective Agency.
As you take a deep breath in order to ease your nerves, the calm and gentle breeze begins to flow through your hair, your beautiful long locks waving through the cool sky.
Placing a strand behind your ear, you gently press a button that was on your earpiece.
"Calling support team, group code 4048. This is Inspector Y/n, I have been sent in as a temporary substitute for Agent Tsujimura-kun."
A few seconds pass, before a heavy voice with a serious tone makes their response.
"This is Sniper Support Team One.
"This is Inspector Y/n." You repeated. "Preparing to enter the building and monitor the interior."
"Roger. Shifting to position D-2 and monitoring. Target is in the building."
Once more, you take a moment to recollect yourself. This happened to be a deadly serious matter, and so it was perfectly natural for you to have unsettled nerves. However, it only took a few seconds, before you began to approach the building; striding in confidence.
You happened to be an agent of The Special Divison for Unusual Powers, a secret service under the Home of Ministry Affairs; which is in charge of maintaining national security regarding ability-related cases.
Their job was to monitor and regulate gifted individuals and organizations throughout Japan.
Extemely dangerous and powerful ability users were to be monitored by the agency. However, under certain circumstances, members were permitted to kill; and you were sent to monitor one specific ability user:
Ayatsuji Yukito.
The agent which he were originally assigned to - Mizuki Tsujimura - had an unfortunate accident and is currently hospitalized; therefore, in no condition to handle the task. And so, you, a top-notch agent, were temporarily sent in as a substitute.
Ayatsuji Yukito was listed as an A Ranked threat. According to the information listed in the files which were given to you, he held a deadly ability, Another.
The files describe it as a power that under certain conditions, it can one-hundred percent guarantee "accidental death" to Yukito's target. It didn't matter if the other person was on the other end of the earth, or had the capability to challenge God himself.
Yukito's ability would result in their ultimate demise.
Each and every time.
You had been told by other agents, including Tsujimura, that if the man were to lose control, he could easily demolish cities without even lifting a finger.
Agent Tsujimura had also often complained about Yukito's usual routine of killing each and every criminal that he tracks down. Ayatsuji's kill count was that of a criminal's in itself; but to him, it was divine punishment.
Absolute judgment.
This has resulted in Yukito earning a name for himself well-known among governmental organizations:
The Homicide Detective.
Knowing the fact that you were about to handle a highly intellectual murderer had you slightly unsettled, no matter how long you knew of the information that you were to pay him a visit.
However, you absolutely refused to allow yourself to be manipulated. To dance inside the palm of a man who was to be under your control.
After a few minutes of walking and navigating the building, you had finally arrived in front of Yukito's door.
Straightening your posture and recollecting your confidence, your gloved hand reaches for the doorknob and gives it a turn.
In a swift motion, the door swings open.
".....I'd prefer it if you knocked."
"Good afternoon, Ayatsuji-san. My name is inspector-"
You words suddenly start to trail off, as your eyes meet the gaze of the deadly man which you were facing.
Fiercely taken aback, you bite your bottom lip, and begin to nervously fidget with your fingers.
You felt blood rush to your face, your heart pounding within your chest.
You haven't felt this kind of feeling in so long...
And you hoped that you would never feel it again.
"May I ask who you might be, Miss Inspector?"
The emotionless yet harsh voice of Yukito caused you to snap back to reality.
"My name is inspector Y/n. I have been assigned as a substitute for agent Tsujimura-kun, as she is currently hospitalized and will not be able to perform for the upcoming days."
"...I see."
Leaning back inside of his chair, Ayatsuji inhales a considerable amount of smoke from his pipe before gently releasing it from his mouth.
He had been holding and reading some type of hard covered book, but his deathly glare continued to hold you yourself hostage.
You had made an effort not to lose your composure, but the task was difficult.
You felt the intense adrenaline thriving through your veins, and at that moment, you hoped and prayed that you would be able to even walk straight.
This dreadful detective.
The one who's killed countless of individuals,
Hidden away and guarded by the government.
He was absolutely captivating.
Your eyes were latched onto his hair that consisted of beautiful golden locks that were short and wavy, bangs falling across his face, with a part tucked behind his right ear.
His upper attire included a white shirt with a vermillion-based checkered border, covered with a gray knit vest that he wore over it. He also sported a jacket of a yellow ocher base with a red collar, lazily draped across his shoulders.
His most notable features were his black newsboy hat set atop of his head, and half-rimmed sunglasses of a lightly colored orange set across his face.
However, those were not the features that was currently holding you hostage at that very moment.
What had you completely lost,
Were his eyes.
Beautiful,
Alluring,
Bright yellow eyes.
They were so cold, yet so mesmerizing.
Those eyes had the capability to practically tear you apart. Intense, yet emotionless hues that had you completely at his mercy.
This was definitely not how this was supposed to go.
Shaking your head, you curse yourself for allowing yourself to be so naive... and vulnerable.
Vulnerability was something of value, something for you to keep.
Something that you would never show anyone.
Ever again.
"I'm a little discouraged."
The blonde detective begins to calmly yet skillfully spin his pipe within his fingers. Removing his grip from the book, he places his hand under his chin, his face written with disappointment.
He then heaves a sigh filled with clear distraught. "I had looked forward to performing certain experiments with Tsujimura today."
His eyes then begin to scan the entirety of your body, stopping upon observation of your hands. Then, suddenly, his lips curve into an amused smirk.
"But you will do nicely."
Expirements? You thought to yourself. Exactly what kind of expiremnets?
That sudden mischievous grin instantaneously made you uneasy.
"Now, would you please close the door?"
"...Ayatsuji-kun, please bear in mind that I have the permission to harm you if necessary. So, I suggest that you don't try any actions that will cause me to reach for my gun."
"Yes, yes. Please, spare me the foolish remarks, I have heard that said by Tsujimura-kun countless of times." Yukito rolls his eyes as he waves a dismissive hand towards you with evident annoyance.
Now, it was your turn to heave a sigh, one filled with impatience. So this was his demeanor. He certainly did live up to the numerous complaints that you had heard time and time again. However, you wouldn't allow this devious detective to just simply push you off the edge with hardly any effort at all.
Reluctantly, you step inside and gently close the door.
As you attempt to take a step forward, you're suddenly stopped short by feeling something soft wrap around your legs.
Lowering your head in order to see the source, you notice an adorable calico-colored cat circling your legs, looking up, its feline eyes meeting yours, purring softly. You couldn't help but pleasantly smile.
"Now, please do me the favor of making me a cup of coffee. I prefer it with two spoons of brown sugar, but no milk." Yukito raises two fingers as he returns to reading the book resting in his other hand. Leaning back further into his chair, he raises his legs and lays them across the desk in front of him.
"You may prepare it yourself. I'm afraid that I haven't come here to act as your maid." You casually reply.
"Aw, is that so? I thought the role would suit you perfectly. I would even go out of my way to buy you an outfit."
"You - what?"
"What?" He lowers his book and stares at you with a blank expression.
A few moments of confused silence pass by, before a grin had sprawled across his mouth once again.
"Please, Miss Inspector. At least have the common sense to not take everything that I say so seriously. You do have common sense, don't you?"
"...You -"
"Yes, I what?"
"...Nothing."
Momentarily satisfied with his amusement, the man playfully snickers and begins to pleasantly turn a page within his book.
Your hand bawls into a fist as you clench it tightly. What it shame it was, for such charming looks to be wasted on a man that was so distasteful.
After putting in much effort as to maintaining your composure, you swiftly make your way towards his desk. Placing an elbow atop of it, your rest your chin in your hand as you curiously eye the book which he was reading. The title seemed to be in Greek lettering.
"Might I ask what you may be reading?"
Ayatsuji's eyes continued to scan the pages, not even bothering to acknowledge your question. As he chooses not to reply, you briskly snatch the book out of his fingers and playfully hold it in the air.
The man's cold and piercing eyes quickly shot a loathsome glare at you in response.
"It must be quite intriguing for you to ignore me. Perhaps I'll take a look at its content myself." You then begin to scan the pages in playful spite.
Ayatsuji then gives you a smile as you read. "I'm afraid that it's much too difficult for a person of the likes of you to understand." He then takes the liberty of inhaling and blowing another cloud of smoke from his pipe.
"The entirety of it is in Greek."
Nothing but the sound of you grasping and flipping pages filled the air. Despite the blonde's remark, you proceed to read and skim amongst its content. This seemed to have aroused slight curiosity within the detective.
Curiosity increased more, as he then heard a low chuckle coming from you.
"Do not underestimate me, sir. I happened to have studied a limited amount of the language before being sent to Greece on an operation. So, there are a select few phrases that I am able to understand."
"Hmm, I see."
However, he appeared to be unimpressed, as his expression grew blank once more.
"Tell me, then, what exactly is this book about?"
In response to his challenge, you begin to quietly mumble Greek words to yourself as you take the time to translate. However, what you had read had left you completely baffled.
"This book.....is about love?"
"That is correct."
Startled, you close the book and flinch backwards, as Ayatsuji's face was inches away from yours. Smugly, he pried the book out of your hands and uttered a sarcastic "thank you" before returning to his previous position inside of his seat.
"I have recently taken the time to study love, as it has grasped my interest." He explains.
"According to the Greek, there are various types of love: Philia, Pragma, Storge, Eros, Ludus, Mania, Philautia, and Agape." As he closes the book and sets it aside, he then leans forward, folding his hands.
"The only type of love that I have not studied yet is Eros. That is 'romantic' love."
"Eros...as in, 'erotic?' " You inquire.
"Precisely." He then extends his index finger and points to yourself.
"And I would like you, the perfect candidate, to help with my experiments."
It took a moment for those words to completely register to your brain.
As expected, your reaction was to reject his claim with absolute ferocity.
"Absolutely not."
Swiftly backing away, your hand reaches towards the side of your hip, which held your handgun. You felt the need to place it there in case you felt in any way violated or unsafe.
Clearly both annoyed and irritated, Yukito begins to rub his forehead with his fingers in a pained manner.
"Please, you have done a fair job at hiding your idiocy. Do not let it show now."
The man then stands up from his seat and removes his hat and coat, hanging them both on top of a nearby rack. Running his fingers through his messy hair, he then opens a drawer and searches through multiple hand-written papers.
"For one, I have no interest in women, so you need not worry. As for two, I only say that you are perfect for my expirements because you have had experience with romantic love."
You proceed to blink your eyes in both astonishment and perplexity. "I assume that you have done research on me?"
"No, just simple deduction." He then seats himself onto his desk as he re-read the paper that he wrote himself.
"You were married."
"...How did you deduce that?"
"As I had stated, it is simple. You have a habit of fidgeting with your fingers; specifically your left ringed finger.
You tend to rub it in a circular motion with both your thumb and index finger, indicating that you were used to touching and fidgeting with a ring whenever you felt uneasy."
"So, what was it. A divorce?" Ayatsuji began to lightly tap his wooden desk with his pipe.
"Or are you, perhaps, a widow?"
Nothing but the steady rythm of a ticking clock and playful taps filled the room, blending chaotically well with the tension that flowed throughout the air.
Turning to the side, you crossed your arms wistfully as you lowered your head, your hair falling upon your face.
"...We were in love. It was a wonderful mixture of feelings and emotion. Happiness, freedom, excitement, adoration."
You bite your bottom lip as you began to recall memories of your previous lover.
"It left me helpless. Vulnerable...
I made the grave mistake of letting my guard down far too easily."
"Ah. So he left you for another woman."
The grip on your arms tightened, as your buried hatred and sorrow slowly arouses within you. Ever since that horrid experience, you had vowed to never trust another man for as long as you lived.
He didn't deserve you.
And he never deserved to see you in such a state.
To see you in such a different light, only to take advantage of you.
To toy with you.
"...I'm afraid that I lack empathy, and so I'd rather not give you an empty apology or meaningless words of comfort." Yukito then lowers his papers and faces you, adjusting his glasses.
A sad, yet gentle smile spreads across your face, as you release your arms and seat yourself next to him, folding your hands and crossing your legs.
"I don't want empathy anyway. I find that irritating."
For a moment, Ayatsuji didn't say anything. Instead, he stared at you longingly, filled with deep intrigue.
Finally, he began to speak again.
"Good, good. Now then, would you care to help with my expirements and studies?"
"If I am required, then yes." You respond, glancing at the sheet of papers. "What information have you learned so far?"
Lightly, Ayatsuji taps his lap in order to summon his pet. Quickly responding to his master, the adorable animal swiftly runs towards the detective and gracefully hops onto him, resting itself atop of his legs. Yukito then takes the liberty of gently playing with its ears as he spoke, earning a lovely purr from his cat.
"Answer this for me, Y/n. Do you believe love is a feeling, or a choice?"
You take a few seconds to both think about and construct your response.
"Why, I see it as a mixture of both. There is a lot of emotion involved, but we do tend to overlook flaws for the sake of it."
"Hm, maybe so..." The end of his sentence began to trail off as he enters a state of deep thought.
Looking back at one of his papers, he hands one to you.
"Some people say that love supposedly makes you 'sick.' Scientists have made the claim that it's never been proven that this is the case. However, it does raise levels of cortisol; a stress hormone that has been shown to suppress immune function." He points to a written paragraph in the center of the paper.
"Love also turns on the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is known to stimulate the brain's pleasure centers. A little bit of that mixed with serotonin - which includes a slight amount of obsession - and you have the pleasing, yet idiotic sense of infatuation."
"So, are you trying to prove that love is a feeling alone?"
"Not necessarily." He remarks.
"I was just stating a fact. My true question regards the feeling of attraction. There are different types of attraction, but I'm curious as to know if Eros love is included."
He then stares at the clock that was neatly displayed onto his wall, rubbing his chin as he seemed too be lost in the residence of calculation and deductions. As he watches the time tick by, he gives a soft yawn before taking the time to speak.
"Y/n, you don't love me. That is correct, yes?
"...What?"
"Need I repeat the question?" He stares at you by the corner of his eye.
You couldn't help but pause at the ridiculous and bizarre question. Was he actually serious?
"Of course I don't, we just met." You scoffed. "Why on earth would you ask such a question?"
"Ah, good. That answers my real question then."
"Huh?"
As he turns to face you, you were able to read a look of subtle amusement plastered onto his face.
"It was fairly evident that you were highly attracted to me the moment you saw me. I just wanted to make sure that Eros love was not affiliated with your attraction - "
".....Why did you feel the need punch me?"
"Just get on with your expirements already."
"For a female, you are considerably strong." He grumbles as he proceeds rubs his jaw in order to ease the pain. "Fine fine, I will 'get on with it.' "
Ayatsuji skims through his papers once again before taking another one out.
"There seems to be supposed rumors and expirements that tend to cause strangers - or people on friendly terms with one another - to fall in love. Some are psychological, but the most notable are physical. Apparently, physical touch triggers oxytocin. This stimulates other 'feel-good' hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin, while also reducing stress hormones. Would you say that this is true?"
"Yes yes, it's true." You wave your hand in a manner of complete and utter boredom. "But it really depends on the person."
Triggered by curiosity, Yukito raises a brow. "Is that so?"
"Mhm. See, someone who is touch-starved may feel excitement and pleased upon physical affection. However, someone who lacks emotion may not feel anything. For example - "
You take his left hand into yours and place your other on the side of his face. Leaning forward, you gently trace his lips, staring intently into his eyes. Your sudden actions caused his to widen. Startled by the lack of space in between the two of you, his calico cat quickly jumps off from his lap and swiftly runs away.
"Someone like you feels most likely nothing, yes?" You casually ask.
"...That is correct."
Slowly, Yukito grasps your wrist and removes it from his face. Steadily, he takes a nearby pen and begins writing on a blank sheet of paper.
"...And what else, might I ask, counts as 'affectionate physical touch?' "
"Hmm..." Momentarily deep in thought, you tap your fingers onto the wooden desk. "Well, there's certain ways to lovingly touch your significant other, like so."
Carefully, you remove the black glove covering his hand and tenderly rub his knuckles with your thumb. He furrows his brows and curves his lips in mild perplexity.
"That's such an odd display." He states mockingly.
"Maybe so, but there are other ways."
Next, you take your other hand and carefully remove the glasses from his face so that they wouldn't get in the way. Following that action, you began to play with his hair and caress both the back of his neck and his left ear.
However, once again, he seemed unamused and unphased.
Removing your hands, he proceeds to write on the same paper.
"I do not enjoy any of this, personally."
"You yourself aren't attracted to me, so that should be natural."
But nothing but a silenced and a concerned expression came from Ayatsuji in response to your statement.
"It's quite a stretch to identify it as attraction. However, I do find you to be an interesting woman."
"...O-Oh."
In attempt to hide your embarrassment, you quickly turn your head and face downwards. However, your unfortunate habit gave away your flustered feelings, as you began to shyly rub your ringed finger.
"Anyway, moving on." The blonde detective sighs and skims through his papers for the last time as of today.
"...Oh, it seems we've missed one more experiment regarding physical touch."
"Oh? What would that b - "
In a swift and sudden motion, Ayatsuji Yukito firmly grasps the sides of your face and pulls you towards him.
Before you could even respond - let alone react - you felt your lips gently interlock, as you remained frozen in your position.
Your eyes widening in complete and utter shock, you struggle to think clearly and fail the attempt to push him away. After a few brief seconds, he calmly detaches himself from you and once again rubs his chin in deep thought and consideration.
Then all of a sudden, he shrugs and reaches for that specific sheet of paper.
"Yep. I felt nothing."
As you sat there in total disarray, you take the time to fully comprehend what exactly just happened.
After your process of thought finally began to clear, you furiously grasp his arms and aggressively shake him back and forth.
"What on earth was that?!"
"An expirement." He casually replies, tilting his head. "Didn't I say that?"
"You didn't even ask, or give me a warning!"
"You would have said no if I did, so I figured it'd be best if I just performed my actions quickly."
"Y-You...You can't just do that! If I were any other woman, I would have shot you!" You growled.
"Yes, but you didn't. Plus, as I had previously stated, you have felt some sense of attraction to me, so I assumed that you wouldn't mind."
You were completely stumped, a flurry of emotions storming within you.
But before you even had the chance to fully express your agitation, you had been stopped midway by your lips meeting once again.
This time, the kiss was very different compared to the first one. Instead of nothing but gentle stillness and tension, it was more passionate and expressive. Before you could even search for the will to struggle, you found yourself reluctantly yielding to it, and made no effort to push him away a second time. Instead, your breathing steadies and you felt a sense of calmness, as the two of you finally began to move in sync with one another, secretly savoring each moment.
After it had ended, you both stare at each other with inquisitive expression, a mixture of confusion, and slight enjoyment flowing throughout.
"...I thought you said you felt nothing."
"That was true." The blonde mumbled.
"However, I took note that experimental errors do occur quite often, so I tried again, but at a different angle."
"...And this time?"
"...I wouldn't go as far as saying that I felt nothing."