"In one word: insane."

Some laughed at Natsu's statement. It's true, the party was insane. A murder wasn't something to be expected, of course.

"Oikawa's assistant doesn't seem so fazed, from what I've seen. Hanamaki, that's his name," Kiyoko stated. Semi pulled out his phone and scrolled through his gallery, finally showing the screen to everyone else inside the room.

"This guy, right?"

"Yeah, that's him." Ryuunosuke sighed, "He's a bit shady, I can tell you that. Suspicious."

"I agree. I know he had to keep his calm to compensate with Oikawa's behavior, but everyone must've shown some kind of emotion when they say someone killed in front of them."

"Exactly," Ryuu confirmed Semi's statement. Over the years, despite being rivals, they had learned how to tolerate each other, which of course helped them in their work. "Even Oikawa, as an ex-soldier, seemed surprised."

"How about CCTVs?" Taketora asked, turning to the only megane inside the room.

"I got them. The system has been hacked even before us, so it's not hard to break through the security. Those hackers hardly leave any trace, though." Kei typed on his keyboard, before his laptop screen was displayed by the projector onto the wall. "That. 24 hours before and after the party."

"Neat, Megane-kun," Saeko commented with a grin, "Now, to wait for our leader-... Ah, talk about the devil~"

Lev entered the room, "I take it everyone knows what's today's meeting is about?"

They gave their confirmation, and he continued, "Let get to the point: we all know it was no accident. And the culprit is either a professional or a real idiot. There were soldiers, private bodyguards of the guests. It was too crowded, too many witnesses."

The Silver Lions' leader turned his gaze to look at his newest member, "So, Natsu, your thoughts?"

Natsu hummed, trying to think of what to say. "...He didn't have to shoot twice," she finally said after a while, earning herself a strange look.

"The bullets hit a fatal spot. He can shoot once and still, his target would surely be killed. Shooting twice will only increase the risk of getting caught."

"Now that I think about it, the black out couldn't have been an accident, either," Kiyoko added, "It happened three times in a row, right before the assassination."

"The same culprit?"

"I don't think so. It's not a diversion, it's the opposite," Kei said, "I would bet that the two culprits are enemies who had stumbled upon each other in the midst of their job."

"So... twice and thrice. Two and three. A code, perhaps?" Shouyou suggested. "But what would that-..." he was interrupted by a cough from across the room, coming from Yuu.

"The Golden Cat's member codes," he stated, earning confused look from his fellow comrades.

"I recall our number Two and Three are the only ones who disappeared. And they weren't exactly on good terms before it happened. Also, it's a party held by one of the Crows', they have reasons to be there. Revenge or whatever."

"You mean..."

Yuu nodded solemnly, "Keiji and Hajime."

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Kozume pulled off his headphones, looking back at the ravenette.

"What now?"

"I need to leave. Oikawa must have been looking for me. And knowing him, he might just throw a search party."

"He won't," Kozume replied, as he grabbed Iwaizumi's phone from his drawer, and threw it to the owner, "He sent you an email regarding your whereabouts, so I said that you had some urgent business matter outside Tokyo, and you'll return as soon as it's done."

"How the-... Did you guess on my password?"

"IwaizumiTooru," Kozume answered, ignoring Iwaizumi's defeated look, "Oh, I also changed the password, don't bother. And it's not OikawaHajime, I'm not that lame."

Iwaizumi groaned, "Have you not heard about respecting others' privacy?" He ran his fingers through his spiky hair in frustration, "Really, Kenma? Have you lost your moral codes?" he asked sarcastically.

"Actually, you can't lost something you never have." Kozume chuckled, "Just kidding. It hasn't even been a day, Hajime. You can leave once the job is done."

"Well, you did said that I can ask whatever I want if I agree to help you. I hope you remember that."

Kozume nodded, the playful glint in his eyes disappeared.

"Why don't you come back? The Golden Cats have been looking for you. We never disbanded the gang, to make sure that there will still be a place for you if you ever return."

"The Golden Cats is a mere history now," Kozume replied simply, "We lost our members, the leader is dead, there's no need to keep it going. You said it yourself, Hajime. I create the gang, and worked so hard to protect everyone in it, just for my own sake. For my own good. You were all I have."

"I know I said that, but it doesn't matter now. It may be a history, but it was a good one, and I wouldn't mind going through it again."

"You will lost your friends again."

"Yuu is alive, you know?"

"But Koushi?" Kozume let out a sigh, "I won't return. That's final."

"Fine." Iwaizumi decided to change the topic, "So who are those guys? Inuoka, Trojan, and Snow White?"

"They're my co-workers."

"You mean underlings?" the ravenette gave him a flat look, "They're using codenames, Kenma. There's something abnormal with that. Did you start another gang?"

"I'd rather call it... anonymous organization of hackers."

The assassin chuckled. "The hell? What's the name? And what for?"

"The Strays. And, I'm currently still gathering more members-..."

"Tendou and Yahaba?"

Kozume nodded, confirming Iwaizumi's statement. "As to our goal, it's classified for now. But you just have to be careful of an informant called Usagi. She's dangerous."

Iwaizumi somehow managed to hide his surprise. "I got it. So what about legal job?"

"Game-making. Remember our unfinished project?"

"You can't be serious..."

"Forsaken Felines, by AurumKitten Production. The first is The Siege, which we released last year. We're currently making the second one, Revolution Begins."

"Once they found that game, they'll be suspicious for sure."

"Just The Golden Cats, right? Let it be. If they really want to find me, they will."

"... I guess it's acceptable..."

"Is that all?"

"Just one more thing: I came here because my latest job requires me to bring Inuoka to my client. Now what am I supposed to do with that?"

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"Remind me again, why am I here?"

Konoha sighed and turned to look at the ravenette, Kuroo. He had almost gotten into the house, so now the blond had to keep him occupied, because they can't risk anyone seeing Iwaizumi there. Inuoka is helpng Mai with her jobs, so Konoha was stuck with the ex-soldier.

"Kozume's editing our projects. If I were you, I wouldn't risk getting close and talk to him, at least until he's done. He gets agressive and we can get hurt," Konoha replied. He stopped his car and parked it neatly, before he walked out, followed by Kuroo.

"And what are we doing here?"

"We're collectors." The blond entered the game store, and walked towards the 'New' section. Konoha's hand swiftly picked some of the video games in there, handing them to Kuroo, before he moved to the 'Popular' section.

He pulled out a notebook and a pen, and began to count the video games on the rack, taking notes of each of them.

"It's called research," Konoha stated, upon noticing Kuroo's confused glance, "And it's quite necessary, actually. Kozume needs the data."

"How long have you known him?"

"Who, Kozume?" Konoha huffed, turning another page of his notebook, before continued scribbling, "A while. A year and half, maybe two?"

"How did you two meet?"

"We don't exactly meet. I worked for a fisherman, named Nekomata-san, who took Kozume in. So, we're just co-workers, taking care of Nekomata-san's shop and stuff." Konoha closed his notebook, placing it back in his pocket.

"Then one day he said he wants to go to Tokyo and live there. Probably about his obsession with computers, but well, it's nothing illegal. Nekomata-san told me to go with him, so here I am."

Kuroo asked nothing else, and the two paid for their purchase, before going back to the car.

"Why do you ask, anyways?"

"It's just... He reminds me of a certain someone."

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The man inhaled deeply, glancing at the handcuffs around his wrists. He sighed, before shaking his head at the blond in front of him.

"My answer is still the same: no."

The blond clicked his tongue. "We saved your life. Two years passed, and you still refuse to cooperate? At this rate, she's going to kill you."

"Her, killing me? So be it," the prisoner dared, "No one ever asked you all to save me. Besides, how am I supposed to feel grateful, if you still torture me like this?" he asked, referring to the scars he had gained over the past year.

"Well, if you had followed our orders, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Touché."

"No, really. You haven't even meet her. She's a cruel leader, and she has little to no mercy towards everyone."

"If she's that bad, why don't you leave?" the hand-cuffed man asked with an amused smile, "You're not locked up like I do."

"I would, if I can."

"When I escape, should I take you?"

The blond frowned. "You mean if. If you ever escape, which is impossible. You'll die before that. "

"I'll get out of this place, alive. It's just the matter of time."

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Red:
Yo!

White_Rabbit:
You're two days behind the schedule. Anything to say?

Red:
Don't be like that, Usagi! Guess who I found~

White_Rabbit:
Just tell me.

Red:
Koneko-chan~

White_Rabbit:
Are you sure it's him?

Red:
Affirmative. 100% sure, trust me!

White_Rabbit:
Details.

Red:
I saw him in the Flightless Crow fighting club a few days ago. He's talking with Ukai, who calls him Neko. And we know that the two were close acquaintances.

White_Rabbit:
Interesting. Was he alone?

Red:
No, he came with a blonde woman. Who's not dangerous, if I may say, as she doesn't seem to know much about this line of business. From what she said about everything, at least.

White_Rabbit:
We'll worry about her later. Do you know where he is?

Red:
Not exactly, he disappears before I can do anything.

Red:
But he'll come back there. Definitely.

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So short, written rushed just before exam weeks (Sorry!)

-Rae