After Mel was escorted out of the building, he just starts walking around the block to help clear his head.
He blames himself for letting things get to the way that they went.
And he feels that he didn't even try to help you.
That he wasn't doing enough to get Hanma to back off.
To get him to leave you alone.
But how can he?
Hanma is way taller than him and he had men by his side.
So even if he wanted to do something, he can't.
And that's what he hates..
He once had that power when he was president but after he lost his title AND his business.
He's just as defenseless as a school boy..
And he knows its only a matter of time before they end up kicking him out of the business completely.
The only reason he still works there is because the transfer is yet to be completed.
But once it is...
He knows it'll all be over for him..
But no...
I can't make that move...
He doesn't want to end up putting you in danger.
She has nothing to do with this..
So as long as she's safe..
And they're treating her fairly...
Then I don't think I'll need to go that route...
He keeps on walking until suddenly, he ends up at the street where his usual lunch spot is.
So deciding that he'll just take an early lunch, he calls up Star to see if she's up to join him.
Who always agrees to food no matter the time.
So after about half an hour, she shows up and they both sit down and order their food.
All while Mel discusses his concerns to Star without mentioning names.
Because if she's as crazy now as she was then..
Then he will NEVER win..
Not that he has a chance anyways..
Star- "Are you doing okay after that Mel?"
Mel sighs.
Mel- "Yeah...I took a walk after that but still..."
Star- " 'But still' what? This is all your fault.."
Mel- "What?! How is that MY fault??"
Star- "Why didn't you just tell that creep that (Y/N) is your girlfriend??"
Mel- "Because she's no-."
Star- "-And who's going to tell him that??"
Mel pauses.
Star- "If (Y/N) didn't wake up after all that then you obviously would've gotten away with it."
Mel lets out an annoyed sigh.
Mel- "I wasn't thinking alright?"
Star- "Of course you weren't.."
Mel- "What the hell is that supposed to mean??"
Star- " I mean you LITERALLY had the open window to defend yourself AND her and you just choked."
Mel- "He was very intimidating, of course I didn't think of anything else!"
Star tisks.
Star- "Why bother venting to me if you're just going to keep throwing excuses at me??"
Mel- "You weren't there! You don't even know how bad the situation got."
Star sighs.
Star- "Yeah, you're right....But I still think you should've lied.."
Mel takes a deep breath then takes a sip of his water.
Mel- "Yeah....But I just couldn't go through with it.."
Star- "At this rate....You'll never have the guts to tell (Y/N) how you really feel."
Mel rolls his eyes.
Mel- "That's different though.."
Star- "Is it really?? Because you literally watched a creep get so close to her right?"
Mel pauses.
Star- "Did you get in front of (Y/N) after that guy whistled at her?"
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"Did you stand behind her to block her backside from that creep??"
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"Did you report that guy to your boss?"
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"Because if you didn't do ANY of those things."
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"Then how can you expect (Y/N) to put her trust towards you?"
Mel lets out a deep sigh.
Mel- "Like I said, you weren't there....So you don't understand the situation even if I tell you."
Star sighs then takes a sip of her water.
Star- "Yeah.....I didn't mean to get harsh on you, but I honestly wouldn't want my best friend going out with someone if he can't protect her."
Mel nods.
Mel- "I get that, but you also don't know who I'm dealing with."
Star- "Why? Are they dangerous??"
Mel- "Something like that.."
Star- "Then call the police."
Mel chuckles.
Mel- "Its not that easy.."
Star lets out another sigh.
Star- "Whatever you say...."
Soon the waitress comes back and she gives them their food order, as well as their refills and their condiments.
Star- "Well I think we've spent enough time talking, lets just eat so we can get back to work."
Mel nods.
Mel- "Yeah...I have alot of work to do anyways.."
Star- "Are you going to call (Y/N) after the meeting??"
Mel- "I will when I get around to it, she doesn't have an assistant today so she'll probably have her hands full once she gets out."
Star- "Don't you guys get like back-up assistants if that ever happens??"
Mel nods.
Mel- "Usually yes, but (Y/N) just prefers to handle the day herself."
Star- "That sounds exhausting.."
Mel chuckles.
Mel- "Yeah...But you know (Y/N).."
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"She's always overachieving.."
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Mel tried calling (Y/N) after the meeting ended, but she texted back and told him that she's too tired to go back to the office or to do her plans.
So Mel told her to just call him back when she can.
Which she replies with a thumbs up.
But after about 8 hours..
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She never did..
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So Mel tried calling her but it led straight to her voicemail.
Meaning that her phone had probably died.
'Damn...She must've been really tired if she didn't put her phone to charge...'
So he decides to just send her a text, telling her to just text him when she wakes up.
And that's if he's still awake by that time.
Its not the first time she's slept the day away.
And it definitely won't be the last.
But in the end, he just wants to know..
Are you okay?
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And if Hanma did anything to you after he left...
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He just wants to make sure you're not in any kind of danger..
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Because he's already worried for you as is..
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And the last thing he wants to hear is to find out that you are being threatened by these criminals..
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((One Week Later))
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Because of the changes of the new drug that had been shipped over, the meeting ended up being a staying overnight kind of thing.
But they weren't about to wait out on something that should've been completed prior..
The group thought that they could just go back to base and come back when its all done, but Mikey ordered them to stay.
Which annoyed the hell out of them.
Not because they had to stay somewhere else for the time being..
But because they had to deal with Ran's constant whining and complaining about how much he misses his bed..
And how little sleep he's getting without it..
Not that he stayed awake anyways...
"Yay! We're finally here!"
Ran shouts as the car enters the familiar hidden road.
Takeomi- "Yeah, so you can finally shut the fuck up.."
Ran tisks.
Ran- "Just like how I can't sleep without my bed, you can't smoke a different pack.."
Takeomi huffs as he brings his smoke up to his mouth to rest it between his lips.
Takeomi- "Shut up....."
Rindou chuckles a bit as he rubs his head a bit.
Rindou- "As annoying as Ran can be.."
"Hah??"
Rindou- "He's actually right this time...That meeting was so fucking exhausting.."
Takeomi hums.
Takeomi- "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to unwind a bit before meeting up with my team."
Rindou- "Yeah...I have something that I have to take care of before meeting up with Koko.."
Takeomi nods and soon the car pulls up in front of the hideout.
The three men stepping out of the car to go inside the hidden mansion.
Takeomi is about to go in the livingroom to sit on the couch for a bit.
But freezes when he sees Sanzu is already upside down on the couch, watching TV.
Sanzu- "Hmm...."
He greets.
Which made Takeomi sigh before turning around to make his way upstairs.
Takeomi- "Nevermind, I'll be in my room.."
He says as he leaves.
Then Rindou goes to stand besides the couch.
Rindou- "Where's Mikey?"
Sanzu- "Sleeping..."
He replies while keeping his eyes on the TV.
Ran- "Just like I'll be doing.."
Ran says as he goes up the stairs as well.
Leaving Sanzu and Rindou in the livingroom.
Rindou- "And the others?"
Sanzu- "Don't know....Probably eating??"
Rindou nods as he checks the time.
5:57 pm.
Rindou- "So what did you do all this week?"
Sanzu gives Rindou a quick side glance before turning his attention back to the TV then shrugs his shoulders.
Sanzu- "Nothing..."
Rindou sighs.
Rindou- "You must've been bored this whole time huh?..."
Sanzu- "Not really....I found another traitor a few days ago.."
Rindou- "Oh yeah? And how did that go?"
Sanzu- "Don't know, I haven't interrogated them yet.."
Rindou- "Are you waiting for something to do it?"
Sanzu- "Something like that..."
Rindou hums then turns around.
Rindou- "I'm heading up to my room."
Sanzu- "Kay..."
Rindou goes up the stairs and heads up to his room.
Not even surprised to see Ran already under the covers.
Shirtless and all.
Rindou- "Ran, seriously? You could've asked before barging in??"
Ran- "Can I sleep in your bed?"
Rindou- "No.."
Ran- "Whyyy?"
Rindou- "Because you drool in your sleep."
Ran- "I do NOT.."
Rindou- "Yes you do, now get out.."
Ran huffs in annoyance and turns himself over, taking the comforter with him.
But instead of trying to push him off the bed like he always does, Rindou just rolls his eyes and walks to his computer.
Rindou- "Whatever, don't bother me."
Ran- "Kay."
He checks his emails first, replying to them and double checking on some things before he pulls out the picture he took of your ID to enter the digits on the screen.
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Alright...
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Lets see who you really are..
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He thinks as he lets the page load.
And not even 5 seconds later, he gets the full report about you.
He runs through it and he quickly finds out that you are not a detective after all..
And that you really did become a lead right after graduating...
But if all of this is true...
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Then...
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Then how do you know my fucking name??...
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So Rindou decides to dig deeper.
He goes and looks at where you lived.
Doesn't seem familiar to me..
Where she worked.
Never been there before..
Where she went to school.
I've never been to any of these-..
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Wait..
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Why does that sound familiar??
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Where can I look this up?
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Rindou goes to the internet and searches up your High School.
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Oh yeah, I went to their library once...
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But that was to meet up with what's his face..
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And I didn't meet any girls there..
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Did I?..
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I don't think so..
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Wait...
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Rindou goes back to your page and looks for your High School records.
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And there he finds you..
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As well as your school photo..
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No way...
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Rindou- "Were you looking for something?"
He asks when he sees you are about to leave.
You- "No, its fine..."
Rindou- "You sure?"
You sigh then turn to look at him a bit.
So he takes that as a sign to continue.
Rindou- "Which one do you need?"
He sees that you want to speak but nothing comes out.
He doesn't blame her..
She looks pretty timid and he knows gangsters aren't the easiest people to be around.
Or maybe she's just like this in general.
Ran- "Aww, do we scare you doll?"
Rindou gives Ran a weirded look.
But before he can say anything, Shion starts shouting from behind them.
Shion- "Doll?! She's a fucking tw- OW!!"
Mucho smack him before he can finish his sentence.
Mochi- "You're one to talk.."
Shion- "And you?! Gorilla Glue looking a-OW!"
He hots him again.
Mochi- "The fuck did you just call me?!"
And soon, the two started hitting each other against the rows.
Mucho- "Will you two stop it?"
Kakucho- "Can never take you two anywhere..."
Mochi- "He started it."
Shion- "I didn't start shi- Ow!"
Mochi- "And you're still yelling.."
Shion- "You were too!"
Mucho- "You idiots are gonna blow our cover.."
Kokonoi- "I think its been blown since this dumbass lit the smoke..."
They say as they try to separate the two that were fighting in the beginning.
Izana- "And here we thought things were going according to plan.."
Rindou sighs and just walks passed them to get to you.
With Ran following close behind him.
Rindou- "Just ignore them.."
He says as he stops about 3 feet in front of you.
Ran- "So which book do you need my dear?"
Rindou rolls his eyes after hearing his brother.
You- "Oh...Um...Its okay, I can just come back later when-."
Rindou- "-Its gonna take us a while to break them up so just tell us now before they end up knocking the rows down."
You- "Oh...Um....I...I just wanted to get a book about the Salem Witch Trials."
Rindou looks up a bit and nods as he turns around to go back to where he was leaning against.
He remembers seeing something like that when he had his attention turned to the book while the others talked earlier.
So he should probably find it easily.
And once he pulls the book out, he walks back to you and sees that Ran is talking to you.
Hoping that his brother isn't creeping you out..
Even though he knows that's most likely the case..
Rindou- "This it?"
He says as he shows you the cover.
You- "Yeah..."
You nod as you take the book from him.
You- "Thanks for helping me, I need to get going before it starts to get dark."
Rindou nods and walks back to his spot.
Only to turn to Ran after he opens his mouth again..
Ran- "Get home safely darling."
He sees you give him a weirded look before she turns to leave.
Rindou- "What's wrong with you?"
Ran- "What? I'm just saying bye."
Rindou- "While being creepy.."
Ran smirks at Rindou.
Rindou- "What?"
Ran- "And why does it bother you? You like her?"
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Rindou- "What....."
He says as he raises an eyebrow.
Shion- "Ew Rin, didn't know you like ugly bitches."
Mochi- "You're still talking shit?"
Rindou rolls his eyes then leans against the row again.
Kakucho- "He was just being nice to her...What's wrong with that?"
Shion- "It makes us look like wimps!"
Mochi- "And you are?"
Shion- "I'll show you who's-!"
"-We need to leave.."
They all turn their heads and see Kisaki and Hanma stop by the row.
Kisaki- "I overheard the people here talking about looking for the executives on my way here....So lets go...I know a better spot to have this meeting.."
And soon Kisaki starts walking with the others following after him.
And they are about to reach the exit when Ran starts talking.
Ran- "Guess you didn't get to say bye to your girlfriend Rinnie."
Rindou- "Will you stop that?! It was just ONE favor.."
Shion- "Don't lie, we all saw the way you were looking at her."
Rindou- "I swear..."
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Its her...
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Its the same girl from the library...
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But..
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But if she knew who I saw since then?
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Then..
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Then why didn't she just say that in the first place??
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"Soooooo.."
Rindou turns his head and sees Ran sitting up.
Smirking and all.
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Rindou- "Ran?"
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"Yeah?"
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Rindou- "Did you know who she was?"
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"Yeah.."
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Rindou- "Since when?"
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"From the start." 🤍
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Rindou gets up and walks over to his bed.
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Slowly taking one of the pillows off the headboard.
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"Are you happy to see your girlfriend again?"
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"Ow Ow OW!!!"
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Rindou starts hitting Ran with his pillow over and over again.
Ran- "Rindou!!! What did I do?!"
Rindou- "You knew who she was and you didn't tell me?!"
Ran- "I was waiting for you to catch on!!"
Rindou- "Catch on?! I was ready to kill this girl!!"
Ran- "Noooooo, no you wouldn't Rinnie."
He says with a teasing smirk.
Rindou- "And what makes you think I won't??"
Ran- "Because you asked her out.."
Rindou- "IT WASN'T A DATE!!!"
Ran- "Date or not, she still said YES." 🤍
Rindou lets out an annoyed sigh then tossed the pillow back at Ran.
Rindou- "I need a smoke.."
Ran- "Rin! Wait!"
Ran shouts before Rindou can leave the room.
Rindou- "What??"
Ran- "So what are you going to do now that you know who she is?"
Rindou raises his eyebrow.
Rindou- "What is there to do??"
Ran- "You're not gonna try to get to know her better?"
Rindou- "What the fuck are you talking about??"
Ran- "Rin, even you said it yourself...She's different than all the other girls you've met."
Rindou- "Yeah but that doesn't mean that I'll fucking date her.."
Ran- "And why not?"
Rindou- "Because she's not my type."
Ran- "And what IS your type?"
Rindou- "The ones that.....uh..."
Rindou keeps quiet as he thinks.
But the longer the pause is, the bigger Ran's smirk gets.
Which makes Rindou's eye twitch.
Rindou- "Fuck off Ran."
He says as he goes to head downstairs.
But Ran stops him before he can reach the stair case.
Rindou- "Move it.."
Ran- "Please?"
Rindou- "Please what?"
Ran- "One date with her?"
Rindou- "Why?"
Ran- "Because why not?"
Rindou- "Why are you butting into my life? And even so, she's probably already in a relationship."
Ran- "Oh no, she's VERY single."
Rindou- "And how do you know that?"
Ran- "I looked her up."
Rindou- "You did?! When??"
Ran- "Before we left."
Rindou- "You looked her up before we-?"
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He suddenly thinks..
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Like his mind is trying to connect the dots without even realizing it..
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If Ran looked her up..
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And he did it here..
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And we were gone for a week..
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Then that means...
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Kokonoi- "You sure you don't want me to do it?"
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Rindou- "No, because if you do it then he'll find out and I don't want him to get involved...."
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"Unless I really have to..."
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Rindou- "You must've been bored this whole time huh?..."
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Sanzu- "Not really....I found another traitor a few days ago.."
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Don't fucking tell me...