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Director Yomi’s dress shoes are loud on the linoleum floor as he circles the man Martina has brought to his office.
“Good. Oh very good, Martina.”
Martina ducks her head shyly at the praise. “Thank you, Director Yomi. I found him in Ginma District. He claims he’s wanted to work for you for years but the Peacekeepers turned him away.”
“Hm. Can’t imagine why.”
It's a rhetorical question, but Martina answers it anyway. “He used to work as a hitman. It isn’t good press to hire convicted felons as law enforcement.”
Yomi seems interested in that. “A hitman? Ah, now see why you brought him to me. Good work.”
Martina blushes but the moment is gone all too soon. She watches Yomi run a finger along the side of the man's jaw; he's a bit taller than him but then again so is Martina. So are most people so he doesn’t seem to care.
“You're a handsome one, aren’t you?”
The man doesn’t answer but Martina doesn’t miss the rosy color that rises on his face. One of her eyelids twitch slightly, a nearly invisible reflection of the jealous pang in her chest.
Hmph.
He’s alright looking, nothing to write home about in Martina’s opinion. But Yomi must see something behind his ratty haircut and disconcerting amount of eye contact that Martina doesn’t so she stays silent.
“Anyways, I’m flattered you want to work for me, but lots of people do. Let’s see if you have what it takes, shall we?”
“Zilch Alexander.” He reads aloud off the front. “He’s a wildlife conservationist, a Master Detective and a missing persons case as of two weeks ago.”
He walks back around the desk and presses the folder into the man’s chest. He doesn’t wait for him to take it before he withdraws his hand. “Read his file, memorize it, get it tattooed on your damn forehead for all I care. I want you to know these papers like the back of your hand.”
The man carefully opens the folder and thumbs through it for a moment. “Is this my target, Director?” He says, breaking his silence at last. “Am I supposed to kill him?”
“I’d hope not, this is your new identity. From now on this is the name you will answer to.”
“I see. But what of the original Zilch Alexander? You said he was a Master Detective, what if he discovers me?”
Yomi smiles at him. But it’s one of his sickeningly sweet smiles that Martina knows holds malice just below the surface. “I wouldn't worry your pretty head about that.”
But then he turns to her. “Alright Martina, You’re dismissed. We have much to discuss.”
Without you. Martina’s traitorous mind fills in the quiet part.
She clears her throat. “With all due respect, Director Yomi, I think we should conduct a formal interview to-”
“I said leave, Martina.”
Martina winces at his harsh shift in tone but obeys anyway, lifting her chin and feigning indifference as she turns sharply to leave.
But after the door shuts behind her, Martina’s composure crumbles and she caves. Pressing her ear to the door, she holds her breath, hoping to catch even the smallest sound from the other room.
But the heavy steel door is too thick and the edges meet the wall too tightly, and all she can hear is silence.
***
Zilch.
Zilch Alexander.
It’s a long name, a weird name. But if Director Yomi gave it to him then he’ll take it with gratitude. Wear the name like a title, a badge of honor that proves he at least had the potential to be useful to such a brilliant man.
My name is Zilch Alexander and I'm a Master Detective.
My Forte is Animal Investigation.
He inwardly cringes at that one, he hates animals. It's just his luck to have to impersonate someone who works with them so closely.
Typical.
He wants to make a face at the unfortunate detail but when he looks up from the file, Yomi is watching him closely.
It gives Zilch a funny feeling.
It makes him feel uneasy, exposed. But also it's a little bit thrilling.
Basically, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention. And from Director Yomi too…
There was something about him and whatever it was, it was obviously enticing enough to reduce an obviously well educated woman like Martina into something akin to a needy codependent schoolgirl.
Director Yomi controls every room he walks into. He's intimidating, crass, and incredibly quick to violence. And he speaks in a way that commands respect from everyone within a twenty mile radius.
Maybe not respect, that's not the right word. The word Zilch is looking for is stronger than that. It’s far more primal and subconscious.
Fear.
Zilch didn’t miss the way the Peacekeepers’ hands shake when they address him or how Kanai Ward's residents hesitate before even speaking his name, lowering their voices to hushed whispers when they discuss him in the streets.
The death grip Yomi has on this walled city is tight, and nothing in it so much as breathes without his approval.
But to someone like Zilch who has long since blurred the lines between cruelty and affection in his mind, Yomi’s domineering nature both terrifies and attracts him.
But he’d go to his grave sooner than he’d ever admit that.
“Once you’re done committing that to memory, be sure to burn it.” Yomi says suddenly. “You look nothing like the ugly fucker in that photo, It’s a dead giveaway.”
Zilch nods wordlessly. He goes back to reading the papers in his hands.
“Remember, this isn’t just your cover. From now on this is you. Got that clear?”
A moment passes and he feels a rough hand on his cheeks, Yomi tilts his face to meet his.
“Cat got your tongue? I asked you a question.”
“Sorry, what was it?”
“I need to train you to listen when I’m speaking.” Yomi squeezed tighter. “I said, is that clear .”
Oh. “Y-yes.”
Yomi laughs. “Are you stupid, or do you just have a death wish?” he tightens his grip on his face again and this time the sensation borders on painful. “Yes, what ?”
“Yes, Director Yomi.”
That seems like enough for him. “Alright, thanks for that delay by the way.”
When Yomi finally releases his grip on Zilch's face and turns back to his desk Zilch’s jaw aches slightly.
His pants feel tight.
If this interview is any indication Zilch most definitely has his work cut out for him.
Is this what I want? Really? He asks himself not for the first time.
Zilch has killed for many reasons, but none were ever his own.
As far as he's concerned his moral compass points towards whoever pays the highest price. He really doesn't have many strong opinions himself.
A hitman, a killer with no personality of his own. Traits that go surprisingly well together in this line of work.
What does he want? It’s a good question. Is it to be part of a bigger picture? Establish his own moral code?
Or does he just want Yomi to be his backbone for him? To keep giving him orders and a job to do until he doesn’t have to think for himself.
Either way Amaterasu Corporation and, by extension, its Director have exactly what Zilch needs even if he doesn't quite know what it is yet.
He’s been quiet for too long, and the answer won't hold water so Zilch decides to start smaller. “I've admired your work. Someone has to keep everyone in line and nobody has preserved order in Kanai Ward as efficiently as you sir. That’s why I’d like to work for you.”
Yomi sneers, and the expression makes Zilch’s hair stand on end.
“I agree. Glad we’re on the same page. But in order to work here you'll need a little more than common sense.”
He comes around to the front of his desk, leaning on it as he stares at Zilch who’s still standing stiffly across from him.
“I need people of action working for me,” he continues. “People of service, people willing to get on their knees just for a chance to be useful to me.”
He folds his arms, studying Zilch for a moment. “You think you're what I'm looking for? You willing to get on your knees?”
“Of course sir, anything you need.”
“Show me.”
Zilch takes a step forward slowly, stopping before the wooden desk. He kneels cautiously, unsure of what kind of test this is. What purpose did it serve?
The answer is clear immediately.
His eyes widen when Yomi starts undoing the buttons of his pants.
“Oh don’t look so surprised, I said I need people of service, didn’t I?”
Oh .
Zilch doesn’t know if there are still Peacekeepers in the room, standing silently at attention in the back corners of the office but suddenly he’s afraid to look. Afraid that if he breaks eye contact the consequences will be dire.
“Let’s see if you’re as dedicated as you say you are.”
Unsteady hands find the waistband to the Director’s boxers, he pulls on it freeing his length from the oppressive fabric.
He wastes no time as he runs his hands over it. He’s certain that Yomi can feel the sweat on his palms, but before he can apologize-
Yomi scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Seriously? What are you, Catholic?”
“Sir?”
“Use your mouth.”
Zilch nods quickly. He’s embarrassed, but even that makes him excited. Yomi has to be doing this on purpose.
Zilch hesitates but before he can overthink it he takes the director into his mouth in one smooth motion.
Yomi lets out a long groan that sends shivers down Zilch’s spine.
It's a weird feeling but not unwelcome, Zilch has to admit he’s fantasized about this moment before.
Okay, maybe a few times.
And if his confidence was bolstered at all by Director Yomi pulling at his hair and making those noises. Well, he would never tell a soul.
This is good. He’s probably doing good. He thinks but he feels lightheaded.
“You’re good at this, you know?” Yomi huffs as if he'd read his mind. “Better than Martina, she goes too fast.”
Zilch looks up, he pulls away before speaking. “Thank you, Director Yomi. I always-”
“You don’t have to talk, god!” Yomi interrupts hotly. “Forget I said anything just-”
He grabs a fistful of his hair, pulling him back toward his crotch.
Zilch eagerly obliges, he can take a hint.
It only takes a few minutes before Director Yomi finishes and Zilch hopes that's a good thing.
He doesn't flinch in the slightest and he swallows it all without hesitating.
When he wipes his mouth with his sleeve cautiously peeking up at the Director. Yomi is breathless but still watching him steadily. Crimson eyes stark under his half opened eyelids.
“Eager to please,” He says. “I need more people like you.” He leans down and now he’s so close that Zilch can make out his own reflection in his eyes. He had combed his hands through his hair at some point and Zilch suddenly realizes how odd it is that he’s never seen both of Director Yomi’s eyes at the same time before.
Zilch pointedly ignores the instinct to move back.
And he's rewarded for it tenfold.
“You're hired.”
Xxx
Everyone says Director Yomi treats Martina badly but she doesn't agree.
Most people can only recognize love if it's over dramatic sappy nonsense. They're all naive fools, who wouldn’t know a mature relationship between adults if it slapped them across the face.
And yes, that includes her mother.
It's all part of a system, a very simple one really, they just can't seem to understand it.
If Martina conducts herself exactly as Director Yomi wants her to then he will reward her.
However, if she happens to forget herself and do or say something out of line she’s punished accordingly .Which is never very pleasant but depending on the situation sometimes it's really more than understandable.
And sometimes, if Martina behaves herself brilliantly and doesn't get on his nerves, Director Yomi lets her sit in his lap.
This is one of those times and Martina feels she must be the most beautiful and loved woman alive.
But it's spoiled all too soon when a knock at the door sounds just as she starts reading the Peacekeeper reports to him.
“Director Yomi,” she hears but she doesn’t look up. “I have the files you asked for.”
Martina rolls her eyes. Ugh, Zilch.
What an ugly name.
And how rude too. Wasn't the point of knocking supposed to be that you were waiting to be invited in? Only idiots knocked on a door at the same time as they opened it.
Martina glances at him disinterestedly but takes pleasure in noticing how uncomfortable he looks. As if he doesn't know if he should even make eye contact during a scene so obviously intimate.
Martina relishes in it.
“That’s right, he’s all mine.” she thinks. “Now, be a good boy and stay in your place.”
“Oh yeah, that's right. Just leave it there.” Director Yomi says dismissively.
Zilch nods stiffly and leaves without saying another word .
“Wh y do we let him hang around again?” Martina questions because she just can't help herself. Serves him right for interrupting them. “A hit man with no targets? He's basically an errand boy. He has nothing to do so he just mopes around like one of those sad dogs with a cone around his neck.”
“He has eyes on the ground, and that's a valuable perspective to have this high up. He makes for a pretty reliable advisor when he's not out in the field and I've told him as such.”
Hmph . He's never told her as such.
“Besides,” Yomi continues. “I'll have bigger roles for him soon. Building his trust is important. But that does remind me. When he gets back from those bigger roles I want to promote him. Second in command, has a nice ring to it doesn't it?”
“B-but Sir, Director.” Martina says quickly. “I'm second in command, remember?” She reminds him and she hates how whiny and pathetic it sounds, even to her. “I’m your lovely right hand?”
“Well then,”Yomi replies, and he looks amused. “It’s a good thing I have two hands, isn’t it?”
It’s supposed to be a tease but Martina doesn't find it funny.
At all.
“Yes, Director Yomi.”
Xxx
Most days Yomi calls Zilch into his office for lots of reasons. But today, when he’s summoned it feels different and he isn't sure why.
“You sure took your damn time.” Yomi says impatiently when Zilch walks in. “Shut the door behind you.”
Zilch does, and the Director continues.
“So,” He says. “You've been here what, a month?”
“Yes sir.”
“Gotta say, you’ve impressed me so far. And I’ve reviewed some of your past work and it looks like you’ve got quite the portfolio.”
Zilch knows that means ‘as a hitman’ but he wonders how Yomi would know about his other clients anyway. They were all buried under thick layers of secrecy, not to mention NDAs.”
But Yomi has eyes all over the city it seems, he probably pulled some strings, it wouldn’t surprise him.
Zilch finds himself a bit…flattered that he went through the trouble.
“I usually don't pick up strays but you're consistent, I’ll give you that. You'd be surprised how many people won't kill, even for money.”
Zilch stays silent. Where is this going?
“But even then, you're different, more…enthusiastic. Is that the right word?”
Zilch doesn't answer but it doesn't seem like Yomi is waiting for him to.
“I don't suppose it has anything to do with me does it?”
Zilch looks away.
“Ha, I knew it, a workplace crush, how adorable! Martina was the same. I’ll admit I didn't really pin you to be the romantic type.”
“Director Yomi-” Zilch begins. But Yomi just waves his hand dismissively.
“I’m not offended, Zilch. Actually I’m flattered…In fact, I’ve noticed You're quite the voyeur.”
Zilch knows exactly what he’s talking about before he even explains and the memory forces itself to the forefront of his mind.
~~~
Zilch hurried through the hallway, another target efficiently disposed of.
He shook his raincoat from his shoulders, removing it and dropping on the floor in the hall somewhere behind him. One of the Peacekeepers would pick it up later, and it would find its way back to him, washed and dried. A perk, Zilch thinks, of being higher up on the food chain than the flunkies that have to wear those hideous uniforms.
Despite his target being an older woman who would've had no chance of overtaking Zilch under normal circumstances he had found this case to be uniquely bothersome. She had damn near constant security. And while this was typical for politicians and other public figures, he had to admit, it definitely didn't make his life any easier.
Almost as if she knew Director Yomi would make a play for her head eventually.
Apparently, from what he had gathered, this woman had been a very vocal activist for abolishing the Peacekeepers and by extension Amatarasu Corps monopoly over Kanai Ward. She regularly spoke out against Director Yomi and his cruel practices and was a ‘crotchety old bitch trying to start trouble’ as Yomi had so eloquently put it when he’d handed Zilch her picture.
“She's been a thorn in my side for months.” he’d said. “Go ahead and pay her a visit for me, will ya?”
Zilch knew what that meant.
But the task had been easier said than done. A group of burly men had followed her around every corner, up every street, and down every sidewalk making it nearly impossible for Zilch to get a clear shot from his spot the next building over.
But if Zilch was anything, it was good at his job. Yomi had asked that he have it done by midnight and when Zilch crossed the threshold back into Amaterasu headquarters he still had two minutes to spare.
The Director would be pleased to be rid of her, and pleased with him too. He hadn’t been able to use any long range weapons after all so he’d had to be resourceful and try another approach.
He’d left his coat on the roof of the building he'd been hiding on, mussed up his hair, and covered his bare arms with dirt.
Martina liked to say Zilch was ‘scruffy looking’ a lot, it was her favorite thing to hold over his head, pinched in between her ridiculously shiny fingernails. But now he'd use it to his advantage.
He’d sat on the edge of the walkway to the art museum after that, and he made sure to look extra pitiful.
When she finally rounded the corner Zilch could tell she wasn’t going to stop at first but between his thin rain soaked shirt and melodramatically trembling shoulders he must have painted a picture too pathetic to ignore.
And when he pretended to stifle a sickly cough at just the right moment he knew he had her. Hook, line and sinker.
Good Samaritans are some of the easiest people to exploit, Zilch thinks.
And when the woman came over and leaned in close to him to, who knows? Offer him a coat? Money? Maybe a hot meal that's recipe called for three heaping tablespoons of familial love, Zilch had wasted no time making good use of the hunting knife he always keeps stashed in his boot.
He feels a giddy anticipation build in his stomach when he thinks about how grateful Yomi will be when he breaks the news. He would definitely be rewarded.
However, when Zilch stopped short a few feet from the door, he couldn't help but feel something was off. The Peacekeepers that were typically posted outside The Directors office door were gone, leaving nothing but an eerily silent hallway in their place.
Silent, that is, until Zilch crept closer towards the door that was surprisingly ajar.
A woman’s voice floated from the open door, breathless moans filling Zilch’s ears and he recoiled, ducking out of sight behind the doorway.
“Director Yomi!”
“I’m here, Martina.”
Zilch couldn’t help the scowl that twisted up his face. Martina? That whore, she was supposed to be gone on her own assignment, he’d seen her leave before he had! How the hell did she make it back before him? He wasn’t late, was he?
He checked his watch. No, this was the time Yomi told him to be back, to the minute in fact.
Then…?
“I appreciate you being here on such short notice.” He hears Yomi say, and Zilch’s train of thought skips, stuttering incoherently like an old disk. “Why, I couldn’t stand my loneliness a minute longer.”
“I’ll always come when you call for me, Director Yomi. I’m your beloved right hand!”
He… called her? Why would he call her if Zilch was only minutes away?
He clenched his fists.
Regardless of Yomi’s intentions, the reality was clear. The reality that if Zilch had only been a bit faster, a bit more decisive perhaps it would be him in Martina’s place, basking in the reward that was Director Yomi’s undivided attention.
His reward. He’d been the one waiting outside in the freezing rain for hours and now Martina was here, taking all of the warmth for herself.
He’s so furious he wants to bite something. Though the animal ears he has to wear now are fake, it feels like the more he masquerades as the Master Detective, Zilch Alexander, the more he feels like he becomes him.
A particularly loud whine pulls Zilch out of his thoughts.He slowly peers around the edge of the doorframe even though he doesn’t want to.
Martina’s completely unclothed back is almost unrealistically smooth and in the light that spills in from the window her skin is pearly white.
But all Zilch can see is red. He's absolutely fuming, he can't remember a time he's ever been this angry before. Hell, he can't remember anything, he can barely think.
He turns away from the scene, it's the only thing he can think of that's better than gouging his eyes out with the same knife from earlier that he hasn't even cleaned yet.
Even though Zilch feels like his blood is sizzling under his skin, he turns on his heel and leaves without a word.
***
Yomi is straining his ears but he can’t hear anything over Martina’s noisy panting.
God, has anyone ever told her gasping for air like that is very unappealing? It reminds him of a fish or maybe an old wheezy dog.
“You’re loud. Shut up.” Yomi says and he clasps a hand over her mouth just in time to hear the faint sound of retreating footsteps.
He smirks. “Looks like we lost our audience.”
Martina pauses, a confused look playing across her flushed face. “H-huh?”
“Nothing, my love.” Yomi replies easily. “Did I tell you to stop?”
***
Zilch had trudged back home after that. Drank his liquor cabinet dry and tried to forget about what he’d seen.
Tried to forget about the way her long nails had gripped onto his shirt, damn near clawing through it as she moaned like she was being paid for it.
Long story short, Zilch had been laughably unsuccessful and the night had ended with his head cloudy, one arm over thrown over his eyes, the other down his pants, hoping he could, at the very least , help himself to everything he felt so maliciously deprived of.
When he’d left for work the next morning the metal trash bin outside his door was still knocked over from the night before, with a sizable uneven dent in its side, and Zilch’s left foot was wrapped in gauze.
~~~
He’d decided to say nothing, avoiding the confrontation.
But here's the confrontation now, staring him in the face and Zilch is completely caught unawares.
“I assure you I know my place.” he feels like he needs to explain himself. Quickly. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Oh? You sure? You were outside for a pretty long time,” With the way Yomi is speaking Zilch can't tell if he’s upset or not. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you felt left out!”
“No, it wasn’t like that I-”
“Don’t worry, I don’t think she was embarrassed.” Yomi lowers his voice slightly. “Between you and me I think it’s sort of a kink she has.”
Zilch grits his teeth together. He didn’t want to know that. All it does is make the fury that he’s been beating back with a stick ever since that night grow even hotter.
He’d kill her next time he saw her. Rip off those stupid oval glasses she always wears and claw her eyes out.
“I got rid of the target last night just like you asked,” he said, defaulting to formality as an attempt to mask the almost feral anger that’s simmering in his stomach. “I was going to report back to you but I wasn’t expecting her to be here.”
“Ah, I think I see what this is about.” Yomi sighed. He pulled his face into a condescending mock pout. “ Were you hoping to celebrate with me? You felt cheated, is that it?”
Zilch’s face flushes but he gives a curt nod. No point in lying now.
“Ha! You’re blushing. Well you should’ve just said so. You know, we really have to get to working on this shyness of yours. It’s getting really fucking annoying.” he says “But anyways, I'm willing to make amends for her poor behavior.”
Then Yomi kisses him. And It’s not soft or sweet, contrary to what Zilch thinks a kiss maybe should be but he isn’t about to complain. It’s Director Yomi after all, is Zilch really surprised he kisses like it's a competition to be won?
Yomi backs him into the edge of the desk and he’s holding Zilch’s jaw to keep him in place, but Zilch knows he wouldn't dare leave even if his life depended on it.
“There.” Yomi says finally when he pulls away. “Happy now?”
Zilch doesn’t say anything but he does remember what he’d seen through the doorway.
Martina's nails had gripped wrinkles into Yomi’s shirt, her breathing loud as she’d rolled her hips against his.
And Yomi had helped her, with his hands locked around her pale waist and his eyes roving over her body.
Zilch hadn’t seen everything but he’d seen enough to know that this didn’t compare. Not in the slightest.
Slowly, tentatively. He shakes his head.
“No? My god, what am I going to do with you two? I’m only one man.”
“For the record…” Yomi sighs, and his hands begin working open the buttons of Zilch’s uniform. Zilch just stands there uselessly, heart pounding and pupils blown. “I was thinking of you the whole time. You know you're my favorite, right?”
Zilch feels pride swell in his chest.
Favorite.
He was the Director’s favorite.
There it was, what he was after he realizes. It makes him feel special but also kind of smug. That classless harlot could put out for Yomi all she wanted but she’d never be able to get over the fact that she’d lost to him.
This was even better than maiming her. Zilch feels his heart skip at the thought of her walking in right now. When her precious Director had his hands up Zilch’s shirt and his mouth on his neck.
He imagines her crying about it later, a mess of tangled hair and runny makeup. Yomi definitely wouldn’t want her then.
“I hate to say it,” Yomi complains as he mouths along his collarbone and Zilch realizes he really ought to be paying more attention. “But she's gotten boring, I've known her for years. You know what they say, can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Stop worrying about it, this was never about her.
“You though?” Yomi continues, he slides his hand down the front of Zilch’s pants and his head briefly fills with static at the contact. “Seems like you’re made of new tricks . I heard about how you handled your case the other night by the way and I’m very impressed. Passion. I like that.”
Zilch would’ve probably appreciated the praise a bit more if he was more coherent. But, despite his best efforts, he’s only human.
He shivers when he’s suddenly exposed to the cold air of the office and Director Yomi smirks.
“You’re so cute.”
Despite the innocent sounding comment it’s immediately followed by Yomi roughly turning him around and leaning him over the edge of the desk.
“Turn around.” Zilch hears him saying distantly. “No no no, Roll over. Ha! See what I did there?”
Zilch is barely listening, the sound of Yomi’s belt buckle is already starting to get to him.
He’s also embarrassingly hard. And when Yomi sneakily reaches around his waist and gives him a few light strokes Zilch is sure he’s just doing it to be mean.
He prays on everything holy he’ll last long enough to make all this worthwhile, but by the way his knees already trembling from Yomi’s touch on his back alone he really doubts it.
He has no business praying anyway, Zilch knows he’s never seeing the pearly gates.
Not even five minutes later all of the burning tension in his body releases all at once and he’s completely drained. Blood is rushing in his ears and he's breathing hard.
He had doubted he was going to last that long but this was absolutely ridiculous.
He’s frustrated and embarrassed. Zilch has been pent up for weeks and now all he has to show for it is an unsatisfying orgasm and an unfortunate mess on Director Yomi’s desk.
But more than anything Zilch is worried. Worried he's been a disappointment.
Against his best judgment he wonders how long she lasted, and Zilch chances a glance at Yomi hoping his expression will give him a clue as to where he stands.
But Yomi still looks bored. “Aw, finished already? Just from me putting it in? I'm flattered. No really, I am.”
Zilch cringes. He doesn’t sound flattered.
“So tell me..” He leans forward and his chest is flush against Zilch’s back, without any warning he grasps a fistfull of Zilch’s short, dark hair and yanks his head back with it. “If you want me to fuck you so badly, why don't you say please?”
“Please…” Zilch says weakly, he's surprised Yomi even still wants anything to do with him.
“I can't hear you, love. My ears,” Yomi bites on one of Zilch’s ears then, the real ones, and it hurts. “They just aren't what they used to be.”
“Please!” Zilch rasps, defeated. Because what's the point of trying to maintain any semblance of dignity at all at this point? If he was hoping to convince Yomi that the demeaning, thinly veiled insults weren’t working on him…well then he'd clearly already lost.
“Ha! You’re good at begging, maybe I should put a collar on you after all!” Yomi seems pleased with himself. “God, I should’ve done this ages ago.”
He sighs as he pulls back slightly and there's an obscene sound where their bodies meet but he pushes back in easily. “We’ll start slowly though, don’t want you to think I’ve lost my manners.”
Zilch isn’t thinking much of anything to be honest. In fact, it takes an embarrassingly long time for him to register when Yomi is even talking again.
“Before I forget,” he says but between Yomi’s slow drag in and out of him and his careful hand on his waist Zilch barely hears him. “I want you to do something for me.”
Zilches head is spinning, short circuiting with every single movement.
But after a moment it’s obvious Yomi is waiting for a response. He doesn’t stop, but his eyes are wide and expectant.
“Uh.” Zilch says but It's more of a sound than a word, and it sounds every bit as unintelligent as he was worried it might.
Yomi accepts it anyway, he speeds up slightly, panting quietly but he still maintains his even tone of voice. “There’s four Master Detectives coming to Kanai Ward on the Amaterasu Express next week. They’re here to do the usual, investigative nonsense, stick their noses where they don't belong.”
There's a rhythmic thudding on the wooden desk and Zilch's ragged breathing is perfectly in time.
“I want you to go out ahead of time, and board the train back to Kanai Ward with them.” Yomi’s breath hitches slightly. “You have to make them think you’re the real Zilch Alexander. You think you can do that for me?”
He runs his hand up Zilch’s back and thrusts in sharply.
The absolutely mortifying high pitched whine Zilch let’s out is actually shameful.
And he’s devastated because it feels good, too good and while this was supposed to be his reward for a job well done he can't help but feel inadequate. Here he is, getting worked up all over again and Yomi doesn’t even seem like he’s anywhere near finished in the slightest.
“Hm,” Yomi replies flatly as if to prove his point. “I figured you might say that. But I have to tell you the best part.” He leans down against him again.
“Because when the train starts and all the doors are locked…” His hand snakes around Zilch’s shoulder and his fingers close around Zilch’s throat.
He turns close his ear and Zilch thinks he’s going to bite him again but when Yomi speaks the whisper is hot against his skin. “I want you to kill them all.”
Zilch can tell the moment Yomi finishes. He’s shuddering against his back, his arms tightening around him.
Then it’s over, all at once it feels like. And Zilch somehow simultaneously feels like it was too fast and not fast enough.
Yomi sighs, pulling out. “I'm counting on you, Zilch. I don't want you to leave a single nosy detective alive on that train, got it?”
He’s already onto the next thing. Zilch thinks hazily.
And he's still panting, leaning heavily on the desk with his hair disheveled and his glasses askew. “You-You want me to kill all of the detectives? He repeats, slowly regathering his composure. “How?”
Yomi shrugs. “I’ll leave all the messy details to you. That’s your job isn’t it?” An uninterested frown plays across his lips. “Just kill all of the Master Detectives, don’t leave a trace and don't blow your cover. Seems easy enough to me.”
He’s casually doing up the zipper on his pants and Zilch becomes painfully aware of how clothed he is and how exposed Zilch is in comparison.
He didn't even get undressed. He inwardly realizes and it sort of makes him feel used.
Used by Director Yomi…
God, he’s so lucky…
“I-I understand.” Zilch manages to say. He's completely spent and his head feels fuzzy, like a thick fog has settled over him and is weighing everything down, even his thoughts.
Yomi ruffles his hair.
“Good boy.”
Xxx
Kill all of the Master Detectives.
Don’t leave a trace.
Don't blow your cover.
Aboard the Amaterasu Express everything's in place, everything except for that one small detail.
It’s tiny really. A minuscule hitch in an otherwise perfect plan.
“How am I going to get off the train undetected?” Zilch mumbles to himself, pacing the small room as the scenery zooms by outside the window. It was his job to figure that out but he hasn’t yet and he's starting to get desperate.
Well, he always did say he worked great under pressure.
Failure isn’t an option. He has to finish what he's started at any cost. He doesn’t doubt he can kill them, it’s doing so and making a clean getaway that's the problem. This is a very confined space, and the walls are thin.
And…if he does get cornered? If Zilch is caught red handed and asked to divulge his motive.
Then… the only other option is…
Zilch looks into the mirror, at the navy blue uniform he's wearing. “Kill all of them.” Director Yomis voice prods in his memory. “I don't want you to leave a single nosy detective alive on that train, got it?”
I guess that includes me, huh?
Zilch scrubs his hands down his face. Is this it? Has he finally lost his mind?
Who cares? He decides, he surely doesn’t, not anymore.
All he cares about is how pleased Director Yomi will be with him.
If…it came to that at least then he would die with honor, with purpose. And maybe the Director would even mourn him after he was gone.
Yes, that's it . He is The Director’s favorite after all.
So, even if Zilch meets his untimely demise aboard the Amaterasu Express, Director Yomi will most definitely miss him terribly.
Hah. Zilch thinks to himself, only the slightest bit aroused by the idea. He’ll probably be completely inconsolable too, so much so that Zilch would wager that he won't be able to eat or sleep for days.
How romantic…
And everytime that useless wench gets on her knees and takes him into her mouth, he’ll think about how Zilch had always done it better.
Kill all of the Master Detectives.
Don’t leave a trace.
Don't blow your cover.
It's been a long time since he began working for Amaterasu Corporation. A very long time.
So long he’s surprised Yomi even bothered making that last one an instruction, as if Zilch has ever had any trouble maintaining his stolen identity thus far.
Zilch most definitely wouldn’t be breaking his cover anytime soon. He couldn't really, even if he wanted to.
Because, he's realizing slowly, as the train speeds back to Kanai Ward, if he ever does decide to come clean, to finally take off the dog-eared cap and large round glasses …
After all this time, he doesn't know what will be left underneath.
Afterword
Martina fidgets with the umbrella she’s holding, spinning it in her hands as she walks to Director Yomi’s office, dragging her feet the whole way.
Of course it would be that sorry excuse for a hitman that would mess up such an important assignment and leave not only a loose end, but a witness.
Of course said loose end is a Master Detective and he ends up blowing Zilch’s ridiculously convoluted massacre plan right out of the water.
And of course that stupid oaf would die after failing so spectacularly, and leave Martina to take the rap for him.
She could almost laugh except she’s too worried that the Director will be so rightfully upset at such a colossal misstep that he won’t care who actually did it.
Had her shoes always been this loud? She should wear different ones. Or walk lighter so it isn't as disruptive. Or maybe lose weight like Yomi always says she should when he lets her sit in his lap.
“Director Yomi?” She calls when she pushes the door open. She doesn’t mean to look so timid as she creeps into the room but her anxiety ridden tiptoeing is completely out of her control.
But Yomi’s chair is facing the window and he doesnt turn it around to face her. He just lifts his chin slightly to show that he heard her come in.
That's fine by her. Martina doesn’t want to see the look on her precious Director's face when he finds out the glorified henchman that he had trusted with something so vital had turned out to be completely incompetent.
She had always had a feeling he was all bark and no bite.
“The Master Detectives from the train.” She says. “They're all dead.”
“Good.” Yomi replies. That’s it. It’s one word, and Yomi doesn’t even say it happily but it’s enough for her.
“Well,” Martina continues, even though she wishes she didn’t have to. “Except for one.”
Even though Martina had said it much quieter than the first part, it might as well have been the only part of her report that Yomi actually hears because it’s the only part he reacts to.
He sits up in the chair he’d been slouching in. “One?”
“A stowaway.” Martina explains hastily. “He has the uniform but no memory of anything so- so I doubt he'll be any trouble.”
Funny. It's always the things Martina “doubts will be any trouble” that end up being the biggest problems and she’s sure Yomi’s thinking that too.
But if he is, he doesn't say it.
“Come here.” He says instead and Martina’s stomach sinks.
Damn it! Martina thinks wildly, her heart skipping several beats as her feet move towards the Director at a snail’s pace. Fuck!
She's really in for it now. Martina isn’t religious but she prays whatever smoldering pit of hell Zilch Alex -whatever the fuck ends up in reeks of boiling piss and she hopes he has to get on all fours and lap it up like a dog forever and ever for all eternity.
She comes around the chair and kneels down. “Yes?” She says as sweetly and more importantly, as innocently as she can manage. She is innocent after all.
“Our four eyed friend? What about him?”
“Dead.” Martina says quickly and she can't help but feel a bit giddy. Perfect, it's him the Director should be angry at and Yomi seems to know that as well as she does. “He was dead when the Peacekeepers arrived.”
But Yomi just sighs deeply, a bored expression playing across his face. “Damn, I liked him.”
“He was caught, you know.” Martina starts explaining, perhaps a bit too eagerly because Yomi raises an eyebrow at her.
But her mood has been slightly soured by his lack of anger towards what was essentially a brainless lackey who is completely replaceable by the way and she doesn't want to stop dragging him through the mud just yet.
“Once they realized he was the fake, it was only too easy to figure out he killed the rest of them. Maybe it’s best that the loose ends tie themselves up.”
Yomi doesn't say anything so Martina continues. “And at the autopsy, they said he died of a heart attack. But do you know what I think?”
Yomi seems distracted, he’s running his fingers over the collar of Martina’s coat. “Hm?”
“I think it was shame. I think he was so humiliated by the idea of coming back to the Great Director Yomi Hellsmile in handcuffs that his heart just stopped.”
Yomi is still only half listening. “You'd never fail me though, would you Martina?”
“N-Never!” she assures him quickly. “I'm loyal to you and only you, Director Yomi. I'd do anything for you."
Yomi begins toying with the gold button on the front of her cape. “Anything, huh?”
“Of course.” Martina answers. And even though it feels like she’s said it a hundred times already it seems it was the answer Yomi is looking for because something in his eye seems to flash dangerously in the low light.
“Take this off will you?”