USEFUL ➴ Illumi x Reader

LXXV. A target

We walked into the fanciest looking bar, at the top of a shiny skyscraper. It was a two-hour trip there, a silent one. He didn't even explain what information I should get nor from whom. My eyes peered at him; my h/c eyebrow arched in pure annoyance.

"Illumi, shouldn't I know what I'm supposed to do here?" He simply nodded. His black hair cascaded over his shoulders. "Why aren't you in disguise?"

"No need. You need to find out from that gentleman there, when is his company releasing his new product." His eyes were fixed on a skinny tall man, sitting alone gazing at the stars through the large windows.

"Alright." I took a deep breath, walking up to the counter and ordering my favourite alcoholic beverage, a request that was soon fulfilled, leading me to walk next to the man, sitting on a very comfortable armchair besides him. There was enough distance as to not invade his private space. I drunk a bit of my drink as I looked outside as well, the city was glimmering the street lights and car lights making it look magical, like something precious covered in the dust that was the darkness.

A long sigh was all it took for him to look at me, for a while. His hair was whitish blonde, nearing the grey as the age increased, his eyes were of a tired dull green. I stared back at him. Raising an eyebrow.

"Do I know you from somewhere, sir?" I started. Leaning forward on my chair as I gulped a bit more of my drink in the most delicate way I could. This was actually great practice and writing material for my new book. I smiled, delighted at the thought of using it.

"Ah I'm a very wealthy businessman, in the precious metal industry. You don't look strange either, have we met?"

"I'm a writer, so perhaps in a party, I'm invited to those often." His eyes widened with recognition, and he pulled his chair closer, earning a smirk from me.

"Y/N L/N?"

"The one and only." I joined my eyebrows and frowned for a while, "I'm sorry I don't remember your name..."

"Richard Lear Carter." My lips curled.

"Richard, so you're in the precious metal business? Do you make electronics?"

"Yes, computers." I hummed for a while, delighted.

"That's impressive, computers are immensely helpful." He nodded in agreeance, his short hair curling over his forehead. "So, what are you doing here all alone, Richard? Besides of course staring at the beautiful night scenery..."

He smiled, scratching the side of his face, "Relieving stress before I go home. A big launch is coming up."

"Really? New computers?"

"Yes, immensely potent and with the best technology anyone has ever seen!"

"No way... Now I'm interested in buying one of them.~"

"A Lear computer is indeed a good purchase." He spouted proudly.

"I've been needing a new one to write my new book. Will it take long to come out? I'd hate to buy a model now only to have a better coming out soon." I giggled.

"By the end of the month, everyone will be able to buy one. But I can get you one right now." He smirked.

"Ah really? That'd be amazing, but I'm not sure if I should accept the offer." One gaze around, and I saw Illumi nod as he sat near the counter.

"I insist." Catching my attention again, I stared at his green eyes now sparkling.

"Well, if it is coming out soon getting it a little earlier won't hurt right?" I beamed a smile at Richard. He smiled back getting up and patting down his dark blue suit. He adjusted the ocean tie and gestured me to walk ahead. I passed Illumi, with Richard's hand on my back, nowhere indecent of course, it was even barely touching me, to guide me to the elevator.

"What were you doing here alone as well, Y/N?"

"Gathering inspiration, seeking for creativity."

"Yes, it has been an awful long time since your last book, has something happened?"

"Not really, I thought I was falling into the same mould as I wrote, so I decided to go look for new things. New challenges. Something that sincerely inspired me to write again." I looked into the distance, to make it seem deep and controlled. Truth be told I hadn't had control over my life since my last book and it scared me. It was horrifying to think that my life was spiralling out of control.

"I see, it's always good to seek new things."

"Absolutely." I agreed, a seriousness in my voice as I repeated the phrase Zeno had said in my mind. "Where are we going, Richard?"

"To my apartment, it's close."

"Ah." As that slipped from my lips, I felt that something was rather off. Wasn't this man married? As bits of memories from the long past parties, arrived I remembered him. "Do you live alone?"

"Yes." So, it was off, I kept smiling and chitchatting though. And when we turned around the corner, Illumi showed up in front of us. Holding a knife. The man grabbed me, attempting to use me as a shield. And that's when the façade fell apart. "This was not very gentlemanly." My monotone voice stated as I looked at Illumi, I grabbed the arm that surrounded my neck and tugged it, getting free and dashed away from the man. The rest was seen in slow motion, Richard's look of horror, Illumi's calm pace as he dodged the poor man's attempt at self defence and stabbed him in the abdomen, Richard kneeled his hands trembling as they grasped the deep cut and before he could scream out, Illumi covered his mouth and stabbed him in the back. Those seemed like very precise places, was it a requirement from the job?

When Richard's lifeless body hit the floor, Illumi twirled his knife around skilfully, "Now we need to go downtown and kill his wife."

"So, he did have a wife! Man, I was almost sure!" It ended quickly, but I admired Illumi's swift and steady movements, no hesitation ever coming from him. Soon we were returning to the Zoldyck's manor, apparently Lears industry was exploiting a bunch of people and stealing ideas from other companies... 

Art By: Koro (@ kuso___life - Twitter)

Author's note:

My lovely readers, I have to ask...

Do you enjoy the nearly daily updates or would you rather wait for a while and get a big quantity of chapters at once?