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Christmas. It was a holiday enjoyed by many, but also one of the most dangerous days of the year.
The black-haired courtesan popped a piece of mochi into his mouth as he stared out of the window at the teeming streets of people.
With this crowd of people, you would think that someone would notice if there was someone struggling to break free from their captor, especially a child trying to escape from human traffickers. Unfortunately, this was not the case, seeing as there were always criminal activities happening every minute of the day. As of today afternoon, he had already received ten reports from the girls about several organisations making their moves in the darkness of the city.
If he was a typical information broker, he would have just dismissed this information.
But he wasn’t.
He wasn’t one of those brokers who did anything for a price, much less one of those who turned a blind eye to the happenings of the underworld.
Sure, it wasn’t as if he could help everyone out there. Kazuki was well-aware of the limitations of his own abilities. There were boundaries that he had to respect as well, working in a world where the law was basically worthless.
While it wasn’t as if he would be threatened if the other organisations decided to target him-- he could defend himself perfectly well-- he was also aware that the occupants of the Residence would be dragged in, nevermind that they were good enough to defend themselves against most of the things that were thrown at them. They had to be good at warding off unwelcome visits, after all, being one of the places where information was shared for a price.
Kazuki wiped his hands clean of the thin coat of flour from the mochi, throwing the wet tissue into the bin in the corner of the room.
There was a quiet knock at the door to his rooms.
“Maka-san.”
He turned from his perch on the windowsill, one hand automatically reaching into the folds of his kimono to grasp the handle of the short blade that he kept concealed on himself at all times. He quickly assessed the courtesan standing in the doorway of his rooms, then removed his hand from the hilt. He nodded at her, signalling her to proceed.
“We found the ring leader.” She handed him sheaf of documents. “Ryou-san told me to pass this to you.”
Kazuki received the documents, glancing through them briefly before he waved a hand, dismissing the messenger.
But it seemed that she hadn’t finished passing on all the messages.
“Young Master Soushi is here to see you.” She paused. “Should I show him in?”
Kazuki blinked, taken aback that Soushi would be here at the residence. It was Christmas, after all. He had expected the other man to be spending this day with his sisters and parents back in their home town. Then again, he wasn’t that surprised, knowing that the brunet was a workaholic.
“I’ll see him.”
The girl bowed in acquiescence and retreated from the room.
Kazuki returned his gaze to the snowy white world beyond the window. He had a vague idea about what Soushi was here for. It most likely had something to do with the series of child kidnappings lately - the one that Ryou had reported about just now.
“Maka.”
The door swung open again, admitting a man dressed sharply in a suit. Kazuki smiled at him, drifting over to the couch where he usually sat.
“Lord Soushi, what a surprise.” He murmured, giving his customer a thorough once-over, not bothering to hide his interest in the other’s outfit. It wasn’t every day that Soushi came dressed formally, after all.
“How can I help you today?”
The brunet paused, his eyebrow raising up imperceptibly before he stepped into the room and took his usual place on the couch. He made no move to initiate the conversation, choosing to stare at Kazuki for a few minutes. Kazuki watched him curiously, waiting for his reply as he reached out for another mochi and consuming it unabashedly.
The corner of Soushi’s mouth twitched as his eyes followed Kazuki’s hand to the box of mochi. Kazuki noticed the expression on his face, a smirk appearing on his face as a thought came to his mind.
“Say ah~”
Soushi appeared visibly surprised by the offer. He looked at Kazuki, then returned his gaze to the piece of confectionary pinched between the slender fingers. He stared at it, as if he was contemplating to reject the offer, but Kazuki was patient. If he didn’t take it, he had other ways. And Soushi was aware of that.
He sighed, parting his lips obediently for Kazuki to slip in the treat. His fingers lingered, pushing into the brunet’s lower lip, dragging lightly before he lifted his hand away. He chewed slowly, as if savouring the rich green tea filled mochi. Though, both of them knew that Soushi wasn’t a fan of sweets. Kazuki met his gaze, noticing the slight crease in the other’s brow with delight. It wasn’t every day that he managed to tease such an expression out from the stoic man.
With a laugh, he leaned in, pushing his lips against Soushi’s lips. He slipped his tongue into the warm mouth, chasing after the sweetness of the mochi and more. He certainly didn’t miss the way how Soushi’s breathing picked up when he was done.
Kazuki took pride in the faint blush dusting across Soushi’s face as he leaned back. He swallowed the mochi that he had stolen back with a satisfied look on his face.
Soushi looked away from him, picking up the cup of tea on the table and taking a drink to clear his mouth of the sweet taste. Then, he turned to his coat and rummaged around in the pockets.
Kazuki leaned back into the couch, watching the officer in bemusement. He didn’t press the other man for the purpose of his visit. He knew that Soushi would speak whenever he was ready.
“Here.”
Finally, Soushi turned around, an intricately wrapped box in his hand. Kazuki raised his eyebrows. A gift?
Catching the confused expression on Kazuki’s face, Soushi’s lips quirked. “Merry Christmas.” He said as he pushed the present into Kazuki’s hands. “My sisters and I picked out a present for you.”
“Thank...you…” Kazuki quickly regained his composure. Of all things, he hadn’t been expecting a Christmas present from the Minashiro siblings. He wasn’t one to celebrate Christmas. Not ever since the fire.
Kazuki pushed the memories of that incident out of his mind. It would be a shame to tarnish the moment with the images from that time.
He pulled the wrapping paper off, not bothering to keep it nicely - there was no point in keeping it anyway- and opened it to see a scarf nestled within the box.
He hesitated, then reached out to stroke the soft white fabric. It was beautiful. The intricate pattern woven into it with blue snowflakes scattered across was admirable. He would have certainly thought it to be a product from a brand name shop, had he not noticed the gaps under the snowflakes where stitches had been dropped.
Definitely not from a brand name shop.
He didn’t know what to say. What should he say? Under normal circumstances, he should thank him, right?
Kazuki opened his mouth, intending to do that, but instead--
“So you dropped by to… wish me Merry Christmas and hand me this?”
Soushi stared at him, confused. “Were you expecting something else?” he asked in return.
“Well… I guess.”
It was one of the precious few times that he was caught off guard in his life. Or more like, he hadn’t been caught by surprise ever since he left that place.
Still, this wasn’t a bad surprise, Kazuki mused.
“Here.” He tossed the sheaf of documents he had recently received into the brunet’s lap. “I thought you’d be interested in this.”
Soushi looked down at the papers curiously, reading through them carefully. Then he looked back at Kazuki, seeming to want to say something.
Kazuki felt a half-smile appear on his face. He knew that Soushi had to be wondering about what he wanted in return - Kazuki very rarely gave things away for free. Everything had a price. Luckily for Soushi, he had the better deal, compared to some of Kazuki’s clients.
“I’ll waive the fee in light of today’s gift.” He pulled out the scarf from its container, throwing it around his neck. “I was thinking of getting a scarf lately, so this fits nicely.”
He rose from the couch, walking over to a glass-panel shelf in the corner of the room. Granted, he hadn’t been expecting to get anything for Christmas, so he didn’t have anything prepared for them… But, he had received many trinkets - some from suitors, other from not-so-legal sources - all of good quality. Kazuki studied the shelf with a critical eye, then selected two exquisitely crafted crystal carvings from the collection. He walked back to Soushi, who was watching him curiously.
“Help me pass this to your sisters,” Kazuki told the man, placing the carvings in the same box that had contained his gift and returning it back to him.
Soushi took the box back, nodding. “I’ll pass it on to them.” He got to his feet, picking up his winter coat. “I should return soon.”
Kazuki hummed, rising with him and seeing him to the door. He had almost wanted to pick out something for Soushi earlier, but had changed his mind after considering Soushi’s nature. Maybe giving him the documents were as good a present as any for a workaholic for him…
Still, it didn’t feel as if that were enough.
Kazuki bit his lip, making up his mind as Soushi reached the gates.
“Soushi!” He didn’t wait for the man to turn back. “Thank you! And… Merry Christmas!”
Soushi stopped in the gateway, then turned and gave him one of his rare smiles.
“Merry Christmas, Kazuki.”