❝RED❞

THREE

THREE

KOGAWA AKIKO DOES not dream.

Well. That's inaptly put.

Kogawa Akiko did not dream.

Now her strict mind was finally able to enfold itself within fish wandering the skies and talking cats. But those were her dreams now. Her first was realistic, and these were abstract. If painted correctly, they may even be mentioned in the same breath as the Mona Lisa.

But Red was no artist. She's a businesswoman. So her first was something practical. A memory. A volleyball game.

The woman hummed. The cup of coffee nestled between her palms warmed them. Kogawa watched as her reflection in the brown beverage slipped and slid with the ripples of her drink. Everything in life seemed to draw her back to volleyball. Keeping up with the sports magazines. Watching national competitions live. Her choices. And now, even her dreams.

Finally, Red bent to the unyielding demands of fate and opened the floodgates.

Entering the professional world of volleyball was no easy task. But then again, nothing she ever did was simple. So it wasn't half bad. But meeting the players...

Kogawa sighed and leaned back against her black chair. Shutting her eyes, she momentarily allowed her thoughts to drift. Knowing that the people she was to work with had been old acquaintances had been a comfort. Sakusa Kiyoomi and Motoya Komori, her cousins. Suna Rintarou and Ojiro Aran, old friends.

Miya Atsumu, a lov–

Red frowned at herself, creasing her perfect brows. Why did she stop herself? Hesitant, Kogawa permitted the thought to flutter through her mind again:

Miya Atsumu, a lover.

There was only so much left of her coffee in the cup. Sticky, brown droplets of the beverage lingered on the white, stained edges. Looking into it, Kogawa could see hundreds of her own self staring back at her. The remnants of coffee on her tongue had a bitter taste to it.

Releasing the cup from her warm palms, Red turned to look out the glass panes of her office once more. It was comforting to see the city stretched out before her, the shadows she was familiar with after working here for so long. It had taken some time to get used to the busy city life of Tokyo when she first moved here. But now, the young lady could turn her head to face where the shadows would be before the sun inched higher into the sky.

It was quiet, up here. It always was. But even so, Kogawa knew that the buzz of Tokyo life would only come later in the day. She didn't need proof to know that it was true. She just knew.

A lot of things were like that to Red.

The familiar vibration of her ringing phone against her right thigh brought Kogawa out of her inner monologue. Slipping her fingers into her pant pockets, Red flipped out her phone and observed who was calling her. Miyuki Fuyuko, read the dialing contact.

Strange, hummed Red mentally as her fingers swiped the accept button. The Chanel CEO she knew wasn't exactly a morning person.

"What is it?" Kogawa drained the last of her coffee, arose from her chair and gently tossed it into the trashcan by the door. Settling down again, she drew the left side of her red lapel coat over the right and crossed her legs, waiting for a reply.

Fuyuko's response was breathless. "It's Akabane."

Red momentarily furrowed her brows and let out a hefty, impatient sigh. "What about him? What does he want?" She leaned her arm against the arm of her chair, then her head against her free hand. The skin of her temple was slightly dented as she pressed her fingers on her forehead, rolling them as to ease an incoming migraine she knew would occur.