Chapter Text
They say curiosity killed the cat, but in your case, it seems like curiosity has sent your partner into a coma.
It seems so surreal now that the aftermath of your foolish decisions has reared its ugly head in the form of a sterile hospital room and the timely beeps of the heart monitor. Is any of this real or not? The bleariness of your vision makes it hard for you to keep your grasp on reality, and there's a tightening in your chest that makes it hard for you to breathe properly.
"Suga..." your voice is a weary croak, and no matter how many times you clear your throat, your voice betrays you over and over again.
Eyes shut with the promise of deep slumber, your partner looks also serene in the hospital bed. The white sheets and walls match his pale complexion and silvery hair, and all that's missing is his blinding and reassuring smile that has encouraged you time and time again during any of your hard missions. Biting your lower lip, you rest your hand on his, half-hoping he'd grasp it like he always did. When he doesn't, a stab of guilt and melancholy corrodes any hope that had been bestowed on you upon entering the room. If only you hadn't been so careless, he would have never been placed in this misfortune.
"(Name)." A calloused hand rests on your shoulder, jolting you back to reality. "Don't blame yourself for this," another colleague, Sawamura Daichi, mumbles as he takes a seat next to you. Feeling more grounded, you can smell his faint cologne and hear the roar of the bustling Tokyo streets outside. It reminds you of your own life, and you suddenly feel guilty for your friend's current state.
"But it's my fault," you protest weakly, wiping away a stray tear with the back of your other hand. "It's okay if you resent me- really. It was my idea to get a closer look at the vault."
"You didn't know."
You nearly scoff at that. "Yeah, an international agent like me didn't know there'd be so much security around an expensive vault, right?" you spit sarcastically, though you instantly regret it upon seeing the heavy scowl on Daichi's face. "Sorry. I just... thought we took enough precautions, but we weren't careful enough. I wasn't careful enough."
Daichi is a patient man; he has been- even when the three of you were kids. Once, you had borrowed some money from him when you were in a pinch, but he never rushed you to pay him back. All he had done was keep a close eye on you until you were ready to pay off your debt, like a real friend would. Even now, there's a forgiving glint waiting in his eyes- something you've always been grateful for. It brings you a sense of solace, but it's almost not enough to appease your heart just yet.
"But you rescued him. We know he'd be more than grateful once he wakes up," he points out, gesturing towards the bedridden male. "What matters is that the two of you came back alive. I trust that you've gathered enough intel if you were confident enough to persist on this mission."
He always did know how to make you feel a bit better. "We did," you agree with a small smile creeping onto your lips. "Thank God we did, otherwise it'll all have been in vain." You'd feel more abysmal knowing you couldn't get proper information, so last night you had thanked every last one of your lucky stars for your team's mild success.
His lips mirroring your own, he stands up and offers you a hand. "We'd better see Shimizu and report to her then," he suggests as the two of you simultaneously. "Do you think you're ready?"
Your gaze falls onto Suga's chest, which rises and fall with every second. For a brief moment, you're frightened that it'll stop undulating, but you force yourself to rip your eyes from his peaceful form. "Yeah. It's time I report to her," you finally say before pulling your hand from his to hold Daichi's.
As he leads you out of your company's private hospital, you take in a shaky breath. Suga has always been stubborn- stupidly stubborn. So much so that he always agrees with whatever plan you have in mind, regardless of how risky it would be. After all, his pleads and convincing are part of the reason why you're in the espionage business now. Knowing him, he'd wake up soon, but that left the question of your future missions in store now. You aren't confident in your ability to handle Shimizu's tasks by yourself, but everyone has already been paired up with another spy by now.
"Hey, Dai," you begin, squeezing his hand. "Do you think she'll fire me? I-I don't have a viable partner right now, and my mission with the governor is too much for me to do by myself."
He snorts and tugs you along faster. "You think she'd do that? Absolutely not. She'll probably pair you up with someone like Kuroo-san or Akaashi-san."
You know he's right; Shimizu has a knack for being a sensible and a sympathetic boss. Even more so since she's always had a soft spot for you, but the recent incident still has you shaking and anxious. Hauling a beat-up and unconscious Suga back to the building is not exactly the best way to end your evening, especially when your ribs are this bruised. It's a miracle the two of you left the politician's mansion out alive, given that dozens of security officers had been scouring the area. Even if you two had immobilized the majority of them, the ones that had caught you gave the both of you hell.
Finally, the two of you make it to her office, where the guards, Tanaka and Taketora stand in front of the door. They both recognize you immediately and nod in acknowledgement as they swiftly move away from the door. Plastered onto the dark wood is a replication of a crow, but its beady eyes singe a hole to your soul. You know you have nothing to be worried about, but it makes you feel uneasy anyways.
"So you're okay after all, (Name)," Tanaka says, relieved. There are dark circles painted under his eyes, and you have no doubt he's struggling to stay awake even now.
"Barely," you mutter, giving him a small smile. "My ribs are bruised as hell. Suga ended up protecting me from most of the damages..."
"But he's okay too, right?" Taketora checks. "As long as the two of you are alive."
Daichi gives you a pointed look. "And that's what I said. I'm sure Shimizu will feel the same. Come on."
Gingerly, you knock on the door for her approval. "Shimizu-san, it's (Name) and Daichi," you say softly, in case if she's working on something at the moment. With the recent news of Suga's coma, you don't want to be any more of a bother than you already are. She's probably working on documents concerning his recent injuries, and it brings another pang of guilt to the pit of your stomach.
"Come in."
The large, black door opens as her nervous intern, Yachi, ushers the two of you into the clean room. It's dark- illuminated the peek of sunlight from behind her navy curtains and the frequent candles along the room. The scent of lavender wafts around you; it suits her well, you suppose. The furniture is dark, from ebony desks to the deep walnut of her flooring. Everything about her office screams sophistication and authority, much like the woman in front of you.
"You're safe, (Name)," she comments, looking up from the stack of paperwork laid in front of her. "Besides what happened with Suga, how did the job go?"
You straighten your posture before you clear your throat. "Well enough. It was a little difficult, but I think we have the information we needed. After checking in at the vault, we could detect that most of the governor's vault is genuine. Of course, he's a fairly young man with a new career, so it's a little suspicious for him to acquire that much value in such a short amount of time. Suga believes he's from a middle-class family, so it's unlikely that it's been inherited. It could be possible that it's been stolen."
"And did they see your face?"
You shake your head, watching the way her blue eyes pierce through you. "They have not. Both of us were disguised and wearing masks and got away before they could do anything else."
"I see," says Shimizu, pressing her sleek pen to her lips. "Do you know why I had you focus on him?"
"To prove his thievery."
"No. He actually hired our corporation for us to look into some issues of his." Her smile is gentle, like fragile glass, but you know that, much like glass itself, her sharp smile can cut.
You furrow your eyebrows, and you can hear a confused noise from Daichi. "You had us spy on our client?"
"Yes. You're right- he is a suspicious character, which is why I had you look over him to see what he's like. You're one of the best agents we have, so I had you on this job. That being said, he did have concerns of someone out to assassinate him. If you're right about his thievery, we can assume stolen goods are part of the reason why he's being targeted." The pen leaves her lips to scribble something down on a note pad.
"Part of the reason?" you repeat, confused. Just who is this governor to have this much money and guards? It's iffy, to say the least, and knowing that he'd be under the company's care is unsettling.
The scent of lavender grows stronger as she smiles once more. "It's where you come in. You're one of our best, so you'll be handling this case. Find out why he's being targeted and who has motives to." She says this so simply, so matter-of-factly that you need a moment to process this.
You can hardly believe your ears. A part of you feels thrilled to bits to know that your superior has you on such a high pedestal with such impressive standards, but a bigger portion of you feels nervous. What happens if you're to let her down due to any mistakes or incompetence? Not to mention, with Suga in a coma, who would you be working with? Your blood freezes at the frigid thought; does she have such high expectations that she wants you to do this job by yourself?
You won't dare defy her, though, not with the way her eyes evaluate you as you mull over your response. From the corners of your eyes, you can see Daichi glance over at you nervously. He nudges you, as if beckoning you to hurry up and give her a proper response.
"Of course you won't be handling this by yourself," she adds when you don't respond. "We haven't had a case this serious in a few months, so I'll be assigning you someone who can carry his weight. He's only joined us recently, but he's been quite popular as of late. Yachi, will you get him for me?"
The small, blonde girl nods immediately and bows to you and Daichi before scurrying out of the dark office. Relief floods you like a relentless tsunami, and you're a drought in need of water. So you are getting a new partner for the time-being after all. Knowing you won't be alone appeases any anxiety inducing thoughts, and quite frankly, you can't care less as to who it could be as long as there's someone who will have your back.
"Right. Of course." The rapid thumping in your chest quells down with each passing moment as you find solace in her generosity. "May I ask who it could be?"
"Have you met Sakusa-san yet?" Shimizu asks, jotting down more notes and signatures for her papers. She flips through them quickly, and you're left mesmerized by how deft and quick her fingers are. Briefly, you wonder why she hasn't been physically participating in jobs when she's this efficient, but maybe it's a question to ask her when the two of you are closer.
You've heard of him- the promising rookie of Hyuukai's secret police and intelligence agency. Apparently, he's so adept and clever that he's been cutting down the expected mission times to almost half. It's actually exciting to anticipate the way the two of you will work together, but you can't help but wonder if you dull in comparison to his accomplishments.
"No, not yet," you admit, glancing over at Daichi, who just shrugs.
"Don't fret. He's a very capable agent, and I have faith in the two of you," she encourages, finally looking up from her papers. There's a knock on the door. "That must be him. Come in."
Swiftly, the door opens to reveal a very jumpy Yachi and a tall man standing behind her. Compared to the intern, he towers over her- and probably you as well. His coloring has such stark contrast that it's almost ethereal. With jet black hair, wintery skin, and eyes that compare to cold obsidian, he looks devastatingly good. In fact, you'd say that he even compares to a supermodel on the cover of magazines instead of a qualified secret agent. The only off-putting part of him is the surgical mask wrapped around the lower part of his face, but you can sense how attractive he would be without it.
"Shimizu-san," he says in acknowledgement, though his words are slightly muffled by the mask.
"Hello," Shimizu greets him before turning to you. "(Name), Sakusa-san will be your new partner until Suga's recovery. He's usually unpaired since he's so new and tends to work better alone. I have no doubt that the two of you will make one of Hyuukai's finest teams yet."
You glance up at the tall man, who peers at you like you're some kind of bug. "It's nice to meet you, Sakusa-san," you hold out your hand. "I look forward to working with you."
"The sentiment is mutual." His gaze is aloof, and you can't sense any empathy in his Stygian eyes.
Instead, his staring at your hand makes you feel more than self-conscious, especially with the way he glares at it, willing it to disappear. It's enough to make you feel small and disliked already. For someone worthy of such high praise, he seems too stoic for your liking. It's like he refuses to deign to your level, and the thought brings a sour taste to your mouth. For a few seconds, your hand floats in the air, only to be pulled down when he averts his gaze back on your boss. His apathy and refusal to even shake your damn hand summons a stab of annoyance and offense to you. Rolling your eyes, you just exchange a look with Daichi before turning to Shimizu.
"That is all," Shimizu acknowledges, going back to her work. "The two of you may relax for today, but I expect progress starting tomorrow."
Nodding, Sakusa bids you farewell and promptly exits the office, leaving you to mourn your newfound partnership with the dismal man.