Dictator

12. Encounter With the Devil

Holding Kyouka's hand, Atsushi and his little navy-haired friend walked into the street after Kyouka silently pestered him for a crepe that she saw on the side of the road after they came back from the amusement part. Now she was happy and satisfied, quietly eating away at the tasty, chocolate and cream covered crepe in her hand. Atsushi released a sigh of relief at the sight, but he wasn't so relieved when he reached inside of his pocket to pull out his wallet, only to find out that his wallet was completely empty. Not even a cent was left. The poor boy spent all of his saving on Kyouka just this noon. It's not like he regretted it though, he admitted that he had fun as well. But at a cost.

Alas, he figured he couldn't take a taxi back to the agency, so instead he called Kunikida and explained his situation and asked if he could pick them up. Kunikida sighed exasperatedly on the other side of the line, but he agreed nonetheless. The moment he announced that he'll be leaving however...

"I'm coming with you, I haven't moved a muscle since this morning." Mishima said as he stretched his arms then readjusted his glasses. "I could use some fresh air."

Kenji was sitting on the couch across Tanizaki and his sister, Naomi. His eyes perked up when he overheard the conversation between his colleagues and he immediately rose his hand in the air and spoke in a polite manner. "Oh, oh! Mr. Kunikida, can I come too?"

Kunikida squinted his eyes at the two and sighed. "Alright, alright. Fine."

Tanizaki suddenly called out to him, nervously, "A-Actually... Mr. Kunikida? I needed to go and buy some stuff as well, may I tag along?—"

Before Kunikida could retort, Naomi wrapped her arms around Tanizaki's neck tightly, nearly depriving him of the sweet, sweet oxygen he needed to live. He didn't even struggle in her grasp, he knew that escaping his sisters grip was impossible at this point. "If my sweet brother is going, I'm coming too! I couldn't leave him all by himself!"

Kunikida made a face. The entire damn agency might as well tag along to simply pick Atsushi and Kyouka up and drive them back to the office. "But that's about all that we can fit inside one car?!" He held the bridge of his nose and grunted under his breath. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

A smile briefly tugged the corners of Mishima's lips as he patted Kunikida's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "We can just take a bigger car, you know. 'S been so long since we've gone out together, anyway. Might as well use the opportunity while we can."

Kunikida released a long sigh for the umpteenth time today and slouched his shoulders in defeat. Alright. So be it. They were going to take a bigger car, just for the sake of a twenty-minute ride. Kunikida fixed his posture and fixed his glasses. "Alright then. Let's go."

. . .

Atsushi patiently swung his legs back and forth on the bench alongside Kyouka, who was still busy munching away at her crepe that she made Atsushi get her earlier. They were waiting for Kunikida to arrive and pick them up, go back to the office and finally take a little rest for the day. He deeply hoped from within his heart that he won't have any missions for the day, he was already beyond exhausted and it was just past noon. Atsushi leaned back and rested his head on the bench, letting out a sigh that contained all of his stress of this past week. His eyes closely watched every car that drove by, in hopes that one of them is his colleague. Atsushi also occasionally glanced at Kyouka from the side, observing her expression and making sure the little girl was happy and content. It made him smile in relief when he found a small smile on her lips.