"And what is that you wanted to talk about in private?" Dio asked the moment he set foot inside Aqua's bedroom, not caring about how it resembled the office of an insane detective.
Multiple parchment of papers were stuck against the left side of the room, a red string pinned on top of them to symbolize their possible connections with each other.
"I... need your help," Aqua mumbled in a hushed tone as he handed dio some of his files.
"I assume this is about the revenge?" Dio whispered with a delighted smirk as he snatched the documents away and read them.
His almost maniacal gaze of happiness soon turned sour the more he continued to read, eventually ending with a disappointed sigh as he threw away the folders like they were trash, making Aqua flinch slightly.
"Aqua Hoshino, I had come across my fair share of plans, and those looked like a child had drawn them in a fit of rage."
Dio's words cut deep in Aqua's pride, but he tried not to let them get to him. He had known it from the start, so he had expected to be criticized.
"That's the best I could come up, I don't have the leisure to spend that much time on planning." He mumbled an excuse, making Dio frown even more.
"Hmph, a pathetic excuse." He shook his head before opening up the third and final file.
"...ho?" He whispered in an amused tone as he quietly placed the folder down on Aqua's table before tapping his chin."Now this plan... is amusing."
"That plan?" Aqua asked in a surprised tone,"You're kidding, right?"
"Hmph, the great dio doesn't make jokes," Dio deadpanned before sliding the folder off the table and to the ground next to Aqua's feet.
"That plan of yours seems amusing, I do say that should be the path you take."
"But... I can't do any of it." Aqua mumbled as he picked up the folder and dusted it off.
"Aqua Hoshino, must I knock some sense into that skull of yours before you stop making such pathetic excuses?" Dio threatened, punching a nearby wall, which resulted in a small dent.
"No..."
"Good," Dio smirked before pocketing his hands. "Is that all? I have no intention to help you figure out how to act out that plan of yours. My part of the deal was merely capture or help in carrying them out."
"Well..." Aqua mumbled as he took out Ai's phone and handed it to Dio. "Can you use your time stop ability to unlock this?"
Dio frowned as he grabbed the phone and noticed the pass code. Though he had committed several atrocities in the past, he was always a man of manners and a man of his words. Protecting Ai meant securing her privacy, yet if he were to open the phone, that would be breaching his own promise.
"Hmph, very well. Follow me." Dio sighed as he walked out of Aqua's bedroom and began walking down the long, winding hallway.
"H-hey, wait up!" Aqua called out to him and did a light jog to catch up. The mansion was big, needless to say, and each room had a fair distance between them to keep the resident's private life secured and comfortable.
"Where are we going?" Aqua asked Dio, who simply chose not to answer and kept his gaze straight ahead, towards the end of the hallway where a small balcony awaits them.
From where they were, Aqua could make out a familiar silhouette standing outside the balcony. He couldn't quite put a finger on it as the moonlight obscured most of their figure, but he knew he had seen the silhouette somewhere.
"Ai Hoshino." Dio called out, surpising Aqua as he had been by his side mere moments ago, yet he had easily crossed half of the hallway in the span of a second.
"W-wait!" Aqua called out in panic and frustration. He couldn't believe that Dio would involve Ai of all people in their investigation.
"Hmm? Y/N-kun?" Aqua heard Ai's voice as the silhouette turned around to face Dio, who stood at the entrance.
"I require your passcode. Please open this phone." Dio bluntly asked, making Aqua curse at him inside his mind.
There was no way that would work. The whole point of stealing her phone was that there was no way she'd allow them to look at it under any situation.
"Oh, sure." Ai mumbled as she accepted her phone and unlocked it before handing it back. "Can I ask why, though?"
"Hmph, you need not worry with details such as that." Dio deadpanned as he grabbed the phone back before patting her head as a form of thank you.
"Hmph, you always keep things from me." Ai muttered with a pout yet didn't press things further and returned to gazing at the moon above. "Just return it, okay?"
"Of course." Dio nodded as he walked back into the hallway and handed Aqua the phone. "Easy, as I had told you."
Aqua merely stared at Dio in shock and to the phone in his hands before rushing past the blond-haired man to continue his investigation.
"I swear that child is weirder than me." Dio muttered, dropping his air of authority the moment he found himself to be alone inside the hallway.
"Oh, right." He heard Ai speak behind him, making him sigh before turning around to gaze at her with a calm and composed stare.
"What is?"
"The president asked me to call for you, I kind of... I forgot to tell you." Ai giggled nervously, making Dio deadpan.
"Let's go together?" Ai asked with a playful smile. "That's okay, right?"
"Hmph, do as you wish."
Dio and Ai walked in silence through the hallways of the mansion, the only sound being their footsteps echoing off the walls. Dio was lost in thought, wondering why Ai's producer had called him in for a meeting. He ran through a list of possible reasons in his mind, trying to anticipate what was coming.
Meanwhile, Ai was practically buzzing with excitement. She obviously knew the reason for the meeting, but she kept silent about it, which annoyed Dio even more as she was simply starting to become unbearable with how much she smiled.
As they turned the corner, Ai suddenly stopped and put her hand on Dio's arm. "We're here," she said, grinning from ear to ear.
Dio looked up and saw the door to Ai's producer's office. He took a deep breath and tried to steel himself for whatever was coming. He had a feeling that whatever it was, it was going to be big.
With a nod to Ai, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.