Eidolon

The air inside the limo crackled with the unspoken conversation that had just happened inside the Den. Rei’s every impulse sought to ask, to ask what had been decided about her life. But she held her tongue. Asking would be acknowledging Takumi’s power. Instead, she let out a soft, deliberate sigh, as if settling in for a long journey. Crossing her legs in a gentle movement, made the deep grey of the kimono fall open, revealing the pale line of her thigh and above it red lingerie. She leaned back into the plush leather, adjusting a pillow behind her back, making a show of getting comfortable.

Takumi watched her, his grey eyes shining. His index finger tapped a slow, rhythmic beat against his knee. A tell. He was enjoying the performance, but his patience was a thin veneer over the need to assert control. Rei’s gaze drifted away from him, as if disinterested.

She reached out and tapped an outwardly seamless panel on the limousine’s interior. It slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing a crystal decanter, glasses and espresso cups. She ignored them, her fingers tracing the edge of the compartment until she found a second, almost invisible seam. Another tap. A smaller panel retracted, revealing a sophisticated coffee machine, its interface glowing softly.

Takumi’s eyebrow arched a fraction. It was 7:28 a.m. Rei smiled, a genuine, amused sound escaping her painted lips at his skeptical expression. “What?” she said, her voice light, “You taught me how keep your schedule with military precision, Takumi-sama. It’s nearly 7:30. Time for your coffee.” Her fingers danced over the machine’s controls, the motions fluid, as if she’d done it a hundred times. She hadn’t, she’d simply had too much time alone in the car.

She prepared the drink exactly as she’d observed his secretary make it; a splash of milk, one sugar. The machine hummed, dispensing the coffee into one of the delicate porcelain cups. Rei held it out to him like the perfect Servus, aside from for her mischievous smile, a challenge and an offering in one. He didn’t take it immediately. The tapping on his knee stopped. “You’re a barista now?” he said, his voice low. “I’m everything,” she replied, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. She kept the cup extended, steady.

After waiting an inconsiderately long time, he took it, fingers brushing against hers, lingering. The contact was light yet charged. He took a sip, his eyes never leaving her face. He set the cup down in a holder beside him. The pleasantry was over. The air in the limo shifted, growing concentrated. “The lease is terminated,” he stated, his tone flat, “Komorebi has accepted a buyout. A permanent one.” Rei’s heart stopped. She kept her expression neutral, a slight, curious tilt to her head the only sign she’d heard him.

“You”, he continued, leaning forward slightly, his presence filling the space, “are no longer a borrowed tool. You report to me exclusively. Your time, your skills, your… presence… are mine to direct.” He let the words hang, letting the reality of her new ownership sink in. He was no longer a client, he was her master. Rei held his gaze, the perfectly prepared coffee sitting between them like a symbol of everything she could offer, and everything he now commanded.

The silence in the limo amplified. Rei’s hands, hidden in the folds of the kimono, shivered. She had suspected this, but hearing the words hit harder than she’d imagined. The finality of it stole her breath. She turned back to the coffee machine, her movements less fluid now, a tell-tale stiffness in her shoulders. The soft whir and gurgle of the machine filled the space as she prepared a second cup, this one for herself, black and double shot. She cradled the warm porcelain in her lap, the heat a small relief in the sudden chill that had enveloped her.

Takumi watched her while sipping his calibrated coffee. He said nothing, allowing her to process, to stew. He enjoyed the visible effort it took for her to regulate her emotions. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded carefully neutral, aimed at the cityscape blurring past the window.

“What does it change, really?” she took a sip of her coffee, “The work is the same. The boardrooms. The restaurants, events”, she turned her head, meeting his gaze, “But to perform at the level you demand… I need a place to recharge. We discussed this once before.”

Takumi’s expression remained impassive, but a flicker of annoyance crossed his eyes. He disliked being reminded of his own concessions. “I thanked you for my Sakura Avenues apartment for a reason, offered you a favor in return for that reason”, she continued, her logic a shield, “It’s my heaven and it’s in everyone’s, in Eidolon’s, best interest that it stays that way. A drained asset is a useless asset,” she uncrossed and recrossed her legs slowly, “When you negotiated the lease agreement, you said you admired my motivation for freedom. You said you were inclined to help me gain it,” she let the words hang, a challenge, “Has your inclination changed, now that you hold the contract? Now that I’m… your property?”

Takumi took a slow, deliberate sip of coffee, his grey eyes glinting with something akin to appreciation and evaluation. She was using his own words, his own carefully constructed persona of the enlightened benefactor, against him, “You recall my arguments”, he said almost fondly. She nodded, “Yes, you painted Karasu as a brute for controlling me, for not allowing me my own space. Are you refusing me that same space now? Would that not make you the very beast you accused him of being?”

A slim smile touched Takumi’s lips. He set his cup down with a measured click. He was, once again, entertained. It wasn’t just her beauty, which was considerable even with the concubine lipstick now slightly smudged from her coffee cup, it wasn’t just her sharp intellect; it was the ferocious combination of the two, unfolding before him like a dangerous flower.

She was fighting for scraps of autonomy with the skill of a budding negotiator. He would tame that spirit in due time, but for now, he would encourage the illusion. Even if her delivery could use some work, “As I implied, you remembered my arguments. Learn to stay in the implicit longer Rei, your overt explanations are inelegant”. Rei opened her mouth but closed it soon after. Instead, she dipped her head obediently all while her eyes threw daggers at him.

Takumi smiled at her pouting. “You’ll still have your apartment, Rei,” he said, his voice casual, as if granting a trivial request, “Though I should warn you, full-time employment for Kuroda often includes weekends, work trips and some late evening meetings may necessitate overnight stays at corporate facilities”, he gave a slight, dismissive wave of his hand, “But yes. You may keep your little slice of heaven.”

It was a victory, but an unconvincing one. He had granted her the physical space while making it clear that her time was no longer her own. He watched her absorb this, saw the slight relaxation in her shoulders, the fleeting look of relief in her eyes before she masked it.