Deranged Love - Hanma Shuji

Chapter 3

A/N: Warnings for blood, murder and torture

I had Hanma's briefcase on my desk, and its content was all I could expect from a man like him. What was more surprising was the effort put into concealing it; there was some sort of foam that had the shape of the gun in the bigger compartment in which the weapon was neatly placed. That I had seen from my first glance, but as I opened it only enough to see the inside, I noticed some white papers in the pocket of the case. Opening it a bit wider, I grabbed them and took a good look at it. Of course, it was not going to be anything minor, what did I expect? Train tickets? Accounts statements? There was no need for him to have those here, plus I was convinced he did not feel the need to leave a city that he had control over. He was probably comfortable enough as it was, getting all that he wanted with one snap of his fingers.

Making sure no one was looking, I opened the folder and closed it just as fast, my eyes pinned to my screen in shock. So that's what he had in mind, blackmailing. There were two files on my desk, one with my boss' name on it, his picture clipped to the front, while the second one had Eisuke's name on it, displayed exactly like the other file. What I had seen was more than enough to shame Kazuki Hideki, my boss, and I felt somewhat ashamed of myself upon having seen the pictures of him with a man other than his husband. I should not have seen it, it had happened in the night's discretion with only the moon as their witness... but while the moon did not talk, photos did. They had been caught and I was almost sure they did not know it, that was Hanma's leverage.

It made one wonder what he had on Eisuke...

My fingers drummed over the file, curiosity piqued and morale hesitant. What weighed more on the scale? Integrity or my hunger for knowledge? I did not wonder long, I already despised the man as it was. If there was something incriminating in those pages, enough to prove he was a bastard, I wanted to see it. Pursing my lips deep in thought, I considered my options and as I was about to open his file, a hand clasped on my shoulder and startled me. As I turned around, my mind hoped for it to be Hanma and a certain disappointment filled my being when I saw my Junior Rai Nayoko. She had joined earlier this year and needed some guidance when unsure of what to do, I was more than willing to help her anytime seeing how determined she was. At first she had been shy in her demeanor, always glancing at me many times before standing up suddenly and rushing to my side, apologizing for disturbing me.

With time she was more excited, even more so seeing I was never really bothered if it meant helping her get the hang of the tasks. But right now... my mind was somewhere else; I was anything but focused on doing some consulting or coaching and yet I smiled. "Junior, what can I do to help?" I asked as I crossed my legs and made sure to slide the files under the briefcase before turning around and facing her. Her eyes still glanced behind me as she clasped her hands behind her back and grinned, "Would you like some help on your new dossiers? I can see you brought it in that fancy briefcase, it must be quite important. I would love an opportunity to work on something other than-" shaking my hands in front of me, I joined in by shaking my head and chuckling nervously. "It's not, I-" What excuse could I give? If I told her I got the wrong suitcase, I was sure she'd still be curious to see what's inside. If I say it's not important, she'll think it's odd that I am being so suspicious. But I couldn't just straight up lie to her, seeing how elated she was.

I played a risky card.

"Well, it's actually not my stuff. I must have messed my stuff with someone and took a random person's briefcase-" I leaned in as if to tell her a secret and continued with my playful tone, "There is actually a gun in this," I pointed at the briefcase over my shoulder, "and a lot of blackmail material." I then leaned back on my chair and shrugged, "Nothing really interesting." I finished with a wink. Her face was shocked and for a moment I thought I had fucked up, if she were to call security I surely would be done for, but when she leaned back and burst out laughing, I chuckled a bit too loudly along with her. "Very well! If you need help I will be available Ma'am!" She said with a smile then turned around.