"What do you wish to discuss?" "Things I'd rather not tell you in front of these…people."
"What? You don't happen to be shy, do you?" The woman asked with a smirk on her face. Reiji looked at her. Her behaviour didn't cause any emotion to stir within him. This would sometimes happen with certain people and he didn't know why, but he found them irrelevant. Whether these two would live or die was in no way important to Reiji.
"Wouldn't want to disturb your meal, sweetheart." The woman commented after Reiji stared at her for a moment. Even if he wanted to respond, he couldn't because Kurogane spoke first.
"You being here is already irritating enough, Kurozuma." Once again, Reiji didn't feel the need to respond, and therefore didn't. The disdain in his voice when he said Reiji's name was quite intense. After staring for a few more seconds he turned to Lord Fujioka.
"Anyway, want to discuss it after dinner, oldy?"
"If only you didn't use those nicknames, then maybe people would like you more."
"Is that a yes?" Reiji asked, not really caring about what Fujioka said. "Yes, Kurozuma." Fujioka responded in a tired tone.
Reiji got back to eating. He thought over what to say to the two new special criminals. He knew one thing, he wanted to get under their skin and make them go insane.
"So, are you guys dating?" Kurogane's face showed surprise while the woman's face showed disgust. Reiji could feel his chest tighten. He was successful and now he wanted to see how much of an effect this would have.
"Me and this brute? He's as dumb as a bag of potatoes." Kurogane's face went from surprise to anger in a second. He turned to her and yelled: "Me?! Stupid?!"
"Yeah, who else?" His face turned red from anger, but before he could say anything else she stopped him. "Relax, this is just his way of getting under our skin. He's not clever enough to get under my skin."
Reiji grew a bit nervous. They figured him out. He decided to push the dumbass act further. "Oh, no. I genuinely thought you two were together. I mean, partners in crime and all."
"Drop the act. We aren't…I'm not stupid." The woman said. Kurogane's anger boiled over. "Are you saying I'm stupid?! You'd be nothing but a weakling that only knows how to steal from babies without me!"
"Oh, don't act so important! You're just a brute meant to be used by me." As they continued to argue Reiji felt happy seeing the scene unfolding in front of him.
Yeah, maybe you're not stupid enough to fall for it but he is. And your ego can't handle the thought that someone you see as your toy starts insulting you, so one way or another I'll cause an argument between you two. "Miss Reina and Mister Kurogane, inside voices please." Reiji turned his gaze to Lord Fujioka, his eyes betraying his irritation.
Of course Oldy has to stop my enemies from destroying themselves. But I guess it makes no difference. Those two seem like the types that argue frequently but remain best friends.
The two of them calm down and turn towards their food. "Ugh, I told you to call me Kurotsuki and not Miss Reina." Kurogane had a confused expression as he heard this.
"But you always tell me that I need to call you Miss Reina."
"That's because you're a brute who lives to serve me." Before Kurogane could yell at her again Lord Fujioka started laughing again.
"My, my, you and Kurozuma are like siblings. He requested to be called either Kurozuma or Reiji too." Kurotsuki and Reiji looked at each other. Her face showed obvious disgust while his face showed quiet anger. Neither of them were happy with being called siblings.
"Me and him? Really? You've gone insane from old age, old man."
"I would never allow my sister to end up such a failure like her. If I had one, that is."
"Alright, alright. I understand that you don't like the comparison. I'll refrain from using it ever again. Can we all just calm down and have a peaceful and quiet dinner?" Lord Fujioka asked, trying to tame the chaos in the feast hall.
Reiji and Kurotsuki looked at each other, and after a moment of intense staring they both agreed to cut the old man some slack.
After they all finished eating, a servant escorted the two special criminals to their room. Reiji remained seated and after the two left he turned to Fujioka. "You don't happen to have fabric with the same color as these stains on my kimono, do you?"
"Let me see." Lord Fujioka took a closer look at the crimson stains that came from the demon Reiji fought eleven days ago.
They got interrupted by the doors opening. They both looked at the doors and saw Haruto Hishino walk through. His butler was holding the right door open for him.
"Where have you been, Haruto?" "Everywhere!" "And where's that?"
"He means to say we looked around the mansion…again." The butler spoke.
Haruto ran towards Reiji and hugged his side. Reiji was still sitting in the chair. He wrapped his right arm around Haruto and turned his attention back to Fujioka.
"Also, I'd like clothes that are for winter. That includes shoes and gloves."
"Ah, yes. We supply those based on the feedback we get. You'll get everything you need for tomorrow's training. It will all be placed at the doors leading to the training field. Also, I believe we have the same colored fabric as those stains."
"Good, could you make me the same kimono I'm wearing now and new hakama but with that crimson fabric? And also a padded kimono, winter hakama and a haori. Make it out of crimson and black fabrics."
Lord Fujioka sighed. "Certainly quite demanding, aren't you, Kurozuma?"
"Well, you did kidnap me against my will and forced me to train against my will as well, all without the king knowing about it, so I guess you're in the wrong."
"Fine, fine. I'll give it to you, but don't expect it to arrive soon." It was obvious that Fujioka was embarrassed by what Reiji had pointed out.
After a moment, Lord Fujioka perked up. "Wait a moment, Kurozuma. Did you forget you're a criminal?"
Reiji stood up and started walking away with Haruto following him. "Thanks for the hospitality, Oldy."
Lord Fujioka sighed as he looked at Reiji. "Yes, yes, you brat." Reiji closed the door behind him.
Haruto's butler stood in front of Fujioka. "You're dismissed until Haruto has a request." The butler bowed and left.
Right after the butler left another person busted through the doors. Lord Fujioka looked up with frustration to see Akihiro Sato standing there with a thin stack of paper in his right hand and a devilish grin.
"I've done it! I finally managed to put Reiji Kurozuma's life on a piece of paper!"
Reiji and Haruto walked through the halls toward their room. They saw Kurotsuki walk out of her shared room, room two. It was right next to their room and this gave Reiji a bad feeling.
As they walked past each other, Kurotsuki's smirk didn't go unnoticed. Reiji glanced at her over his shoulder and saw that she was reaching for a knife. He turned his gaze forward and kicked his right leg back, leaning his upper body forward.
His heel hit her wrist, missing the knife and blocking her attack with ease. He returned to his normal posture. It was a silent warning to her that he didn't let his guard down, ever.
"What happened?" Haruto asked as he stared up at Reiji. "Just tripped." He responded simply.
They kept walking until they were just about to pass room two when the door swung open violently. Both of them moved out of the way in time. It was Kurogane who opened the door, and that's when Reiji realized that they tried to kill the two of them, mainly him.