Roll The Dice - Celegiri and Saiouma

But that can't be true.

Chapter 2
💜But that can't be true🖤

Kyoko entered Byakuya's office, barely blinking when she saw Makoto sitting on the captain's desk, talking to him. She cleared her throat and they both looked over at her.

"Ah, Detective Kirigiri!" Makoto exclaimed, jumping off Byakuya's desk, "I was just dropping off the food the captain requested!"

Rolling her eyes, Kyoko gestured for him to leave. He scrambled out of the room, obviously flustered, while Kyoko started explaining the situation to Byakuya.

"I have reason to believe that Celestia Ludenberg was apart of D.I.C.E.." She stated boldly.

Byakuya nodded for her to continue.

"Akamine claims that a girl only known as "Checkers" plays games with them frequently. This girl is a member of D.I.C.E. and often talks about a girl who used to be an assassin in their organization." Byakuya puts his hand to his face, thinking, "Checkers described her as a teenage girl with black hair and red eyes. According to her, she's been out of the organization for years. So by know she'll be around twenty years old."

Byakuya nodded, tapping his fingers against his desk. "I see... and this information helps, why?"

"Well-" Kyoko paused, the lighter was heavy in her pocket. Was is really okay to tell him? What if he just wrote her off as paranoid?

"Well?" Byakuya scoffed, "I don't have all day."

Clearing her head of her doubts, Kyoko pulled the lighter out of her coat pocket, "I found this on her deck of cards." She placed it on his desk and he raised an eyebrow at it. "On the night of... of my house burning down, I saw this lighter."

Byakuya nodded slightly again, "I see, so you think she's connected to the crime somehow."

Kyoko found herself thankful for his choice of words, "We're around the same age, so if she was an assassin when I was sixteen, she could have been assigned to..."

She let the sentence finish itself. She hadn't been open to talk about the incident since it happened all those years ago.

Byakuya nodded slowly, "You want to reopen the case."

"Yes!" She exclaimed, surprising her captain with how enthusiastic she was.

Byakuya leaned back, eyeing the detective up and down before shrugging, "I don't see why not."

Kyoko was about to thank him and leave, determined to start immediately, when he held up a hand. "One more thing." He cleared his throat, "Makoto, could you have Detective Saihara come to my office?"

There was a shuffling, a confirmation, and a crashing noise outside. Kyoko stood, confused as to why they needed him.

They only had to wait a minute or two before the young detective walked in. He was looking at the ground, probably thinking he was in trouble, and his hat was pulled over his eyes. As soon as he entered, his gaze darted to Kyoko before looking away. It was so fast, she almost missed it.

"Detective Kirigiri, Detective Saihara," Byakuya gestured to them both respectively, "I want you working on this case together. Saihara had been investigating Kokichi Oma for a while, and I believe he will be a useful partner."

Kyoko tensed a bit, "With all due respect, captain, I work better alone." She eyed the boy in front of her, not caring when he seemed to curl into himself more.

"I hear your objections, Detective," he stated, "but with your connection to the case, it is imperative you have a partner to help you along."

"Togami, I do not need someone babysitting me in this case!" She snapped, "I am a qualified detective and emotional connections do not hinder my ability to investigate-"

Byakuya cuts her off, "Kyoko Kirigiri, I am your captain and I have given you direct orders. I don't want to hear anymore of the matter, hear me?"

After that, Kyoko shut her mouth. She felt resentment crawl up her spine and invade her senses. She hated when people pitied her or underestimated her. It's the look she got from her aunt when she moved in. The same look she got from Byakuya when he found out her parents died. She didn't want pity.

Glancing over at Shuichi, the detective looked about ready to cry. His face flushed and his eyelashes wet. She almost scoffed at how weak and vulnerable he was. He didn't look like a detective.

As they exited the office, she noticed everyone sitting nearby staring at her. One glare made them all look away, however.

●●●●●

That night, Kyoko couldn't sleep.

She felt weak. Pitiful.

She didn't need a partner. She didn't need anyone. So why was everyone always so persistent to become part of her life?

After the incident, she was put in a home for displaced girls. (It was basically just an orphanage like the one from Annie.) It only lasted about two months before they found her a relative in form of her great-aunt.

She was a sweet, old woman with expensive perfume and a blinding, white smile. It was awkward, moving in with her. Especially when Kyoko found out the reason her father never told her she existed.

Kyoko never let herself grow close to her, and she was glad she didn't. The old woman died only a year later, and suddenly Kyoko was back in the girls home.

Returning to the home only made her angry. At the world. At her aunt.

At herself, mostly.

She couldn't stop blaming herself for what happened to her parents. Did she leave the oven on? Did she forget to lock the door? Was dismissing the noises she heard downstairs as simply  the house cat running around a bad idea? What could she have done? It's her fault. It's her fault. It's her-

Kyoko shook her head. She had to sleep.

This whole song and dance wasn't new. It happened almost every night, especially when someone had brought the incident up that day.

People just can't keep their mouths shut. They find out something awful about her and just have to ask her. They can't leave it be, because heaven forbid someone have a secret.

With thoughts crowding her head, she fell into a restless sleep.

●●●●●

The next morning, Shuichi visited her desk.

"I found a recent report of a jail break in Tokyo of a D.I.C.E. assassin." He spoke quietly and hesitantly, like he was afraid Kyoko would lash out at any moment, "Kokichi Oma does this type of thing regularly whenever his assassins get imprisoned or jailed. I suggest we check there first."

Kyoko nods as he hands her a file. She flips through it as he explains everything he knows about the leader. It's all basic things. Locations of all discovered bases, names of captured associates and assassins, life before he started the organization, etcetera. When he finishes, he looks one at Kyoko hopefully, as if searching for approval.

"Thank you," she sighs, barely glancing at him, "I'll talk to Togami about investigating in Tokyo."

She ignored how he deflated at the short answer. As he walked away, she gnawed on her lip, guiltily. She let her pride get the better of her again.

Shaking her head, she made her way to Byakuya's office.

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