Morning Visit

The morning light filtered through the office blinds in pale gold strips, casting geometric shadows across Riku's desk. He sat back in his chair, fingers steepled, reviewing the Ministry project notes one final time before the day began. The office felt different without Fuyumi's usual chatter echoing from the outer reception area.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," he called, not looking up from his papers.

The door opened with a whisper, and when he glanced up, his composure flickered for just a moment. Yua Kanzaki stood in the doorway, impeccably dressed as always, but there was something unexpectedly personal about seeing her here in his space.

"Ms. Kanzaki." He rose smoothly, a hint of genuine surprise coloring his usually measured tone. "This is... unexpected. Your first time gracing my humble office with your presence."

There was a subtle tease in his words, carefully calibrated...respectful enough to maintain professionalism, but with just enough warmth to acknowledge the shift in their usual dynamic.

Yua stepped inside, closing the door behind her with a soft click. "Fuyumi didn't come in today. The message I have is... sensitive. I prefer not to route it through anyone else."

Riku nodded, the morning's earlier phone call sliding back into focus. Fuyumi had sounded tired, worried...something about Kenji needing medical attention. He'd told her not to worry about work, that he could handle things for the day.

"Of course," he said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. "Please, sit. Can I get you anything? Coffee?"

Yua remained standing for a moment, her gaze taking in the clean lines of his office, the carefully chosen minimal décor, the way the morning light caught the edge of his desk. Then she moved forward with that same unhurried grace she always carried.

"No, thank you. This won't take long."

But something in the way she said it suggested it might take longer than either of them expected.

She settled into the chair with practiced elegance, crossing her legs and fixing him with that penetrating gaze he was beginning to recognize.

"The Ministry meeting has been moved up," she said without preamble. "We leave in an hour."

Riku felt his pulse quicken, though his expression remained neutral. "An hour? I thought we had until Monday."

"Kiritani called this morning. Apparently, there's been a development...budget committee pressures, timeline concerns." Yua's lips curved slightly, but there was no humor in it. "Or they're testing us. Seeing how we handle last-minute pressure."

He leaned forward, mind already shifting into tactical mode. "What's our play?"

"Exactly what we discussed yesterday. You lead, I observe. But now there's no room for rehearsal, no time to second-guess." Her dark eyes held his steadily. "Think you can handle being thrown into the deep end without warning?"

Riku stood, reaching for his jacket draped over the chair back. "Ms. Kanzaki, I don't just handle deep water...I dive."

For the first time since entering his office, Yua's smile seemed genuine.

"Good. Because today, we find out if you sink or swim."

____

Riku stood in the parking garage, adjusting his cufflinks as the sound of an approaching engine echoes.

Yua's black sedan appeared from the shadows, moving with the same fluid grace she carried in everything else. She pulled up beside him with practiced precision, the engine purring to silence.

Through the tinted window, he caught her silhouette, composed, untouchable, yet here she was, picking him up herself instead of sending a driver.

The passenger door unlocked with a soft click.

He slid into the leather seat, immediately aware of her presence in the confined space. Her perfume was subtle but intoxicating...something expensive and deliberately chosen. The car's interior was pristine, clinical even. No personal touches, no vulnerabilities on display.

"Punctual," she observed, pulling out of the garage with fluid movements.

"I aim to please," he replied, settling back as Tokyo's financial district unfolded before them through rain-streaked windows.

She navigated the traffic with the same controlled grace she brought to everything else, fingers wrapped around the steering wheel with deceptive casualness. But Riku noticed the tension in her shoulders, the way her gaze flicked to him in the peripheral vision.

"How are you finding your first official week?" she asked, her tone carrying layers he was meant to decode.

There was something beneath the question...

a probe. She knew about him and Fuyumi, knew exactly what her secretary up to. She unconciously remember the scene of him and fuyumi together. Her cheeks tinted red.

The unspoken hung between them like charged air before a storm.

"I've been... warmly received," he said, allowing mischief to color his voice just enough to let her know he understood the game they were playing.

Her grip on the wheel tightened almost imperceptibly. A tell. She knew exactly what he meant, and something about that knowledge affected her more than she wanted to admit.

"The Ministry presentation," she pivoted smoothly, but he caught the edge in her voice. "Are you prepared?"

"I've been considering the opening approach," Riku said, letting his fingers brush the tablet resting between them. "Mind if I take point on the introduction?"

A pause stretched between them, filled with the quiet hum of the engine and the whisper of tires on wet pavement.

"You think you can read the room better than I can?" she asked, and there was something almost playful in the challenge.

"I think I can read different things," he replied, his voice dropping just low enough to make the words intimate.

At the next intersection, she turned to look at him fully for the first time since he'd gotten in the car. The gray sky reflected in her dark eyes, and for a moment, the mask slipped. He saw something raw there..curiosity, attraction, and perhaps the faintest trace of jealousy.

"You know," he said, holding her gaze as the city moved around them, "I'm starting to appreciate Mondays."

The signal changed, but she didn't look away immediately. When she finally did, there was the ghost of a smile playing at her lips.

"Ask me again after today," she murmured, pressing the accelerator as they glided toward whatever waited for them at the Ministry.

The tension between them settled into something electric, unspoken promises hanging in the air like winter fog.

___