#potentiala

Byakuya Togami was pissed off.

By order of his father, the affluent heir was forced to travel to the lower rungs of their lands to pay a visit to the peasants and serfs who were failing to produce up to Togami standards. Tch!

Imbeciles.

“Careful there Byakuya, your face might freeze like that.” Came a sharp quip from his right, with just the barest hint of a smile. From none other than the irksome acquaintance of his, Kirigiri Kyoko. A rather successful detective and another equally analytic mind. Though if the choice had been up to Byakuya, she wouldn’t even be sitting in his family’s carriage. But, unfortunately, Byakuya didn’t have the choice.

Thus contributing to his foul mood.

“Hmph, and to think that I never took you as the superstitious type Kyoko. How disappointing.” Byakuya responded, never once looking at the lavender-haired woman next to him. Choosing instead to stare out of his carriage windows and into the worker-trodden fields before him. His father must truly be going senile for him to force his only heir to do such a menial task.

The old fool.

But it wasn’t as if Byakuya could just openly defy him. Not when he held up his son’s position over his head like a damn leash around his neck. Though, Byakuya supposed, that just further proved the young heir’s point. His father was scared of him. Sacred that he would bring the Togami family to such grand heights that all the old man’s achievements would be rendered to mere footnotes within their family history. Such a fear was rather deplorable. Especially coming from Byakuya’s father.

But not entirely unfounded.

“Byakuya-chi! Kyoko-chi! We’ve arrived!” That announcement, the heir swore, was the one good thing to happen today. Despite the irksome idiot who declared it. Kyoko wasted no time, opening the nearest door to her. Never waiting for Byakuya to offer her so much as a hand to help her off the vehicle.

Not that he would’ve.

Opening his own door, Byakuya had half a mind to close it and command the palm-tree idiot driving the carriage to take him back to his family’s manor at once. However, the heir’s rational side, the side that kept him and made him the prodigy he was today, fought such weak notions aside. And so the Togami heir exited the out-of-place luxury carriage with all the grace of someone worth a hundred times more than those around him.

And he was.

It was by the might of the Togami family that they had so many villages working and producing for their land. Easily making them elites among the other nobles. Those around him were merely livestock to whip into proper, functioning shape. And, in the case of this particular village within his family’s land, a strong, capable hand was needed.

And an even stronger whip.

“Yo! Togami-chi! Do you want me to wait for you or-?”

“Naturally. How else are you supposed to erase your debt to my family?” At the mention of the sheer amount of money one Hagakure Yasuhiro owned to him, the former promptly shut his trap and proceeded to stay put at the entrance of their destination.

Mirai Village.

A rather hopeful name, almost obnoxiously so. But they were the Togami family’s leading prouder in wool, and, for whatever excuse they dared give him, their production numbers had been dropping. Resulting in both his and Kyoko’s visit. Him, to remind those beneath him who their true master was. Kyoko, to sniff out any possibility of theft. Granted the two of them didn’t like working with one another, but no one could deny that when they did, the pair could be quite intimidating.

As the villagers quickly realised.

The path through the village was a straight dirt road with all manner of houses and shops crammed into it. As the pair walked, dressed in clothes clearly proclaiming their nobility, the local residents all stopped and stared at the pair.

Not that Byakuya could blame them.

His suit was deep navy with a black waistcoat lined with gold. The chain of his gold pocket watch sparking in the light, ticking warmly against his chest.

And Kyoko always did look the part of a rather fierce noblewoman, the heir supposed. A long, primply ironed skirt, full-sleeved blouse, and dark leather gloves gave absolutely none of her away. Save for the long stream of lavender hair that practically sliced at the air as she moved through the town.

Receiving nothing but stares.

Everyone was looking at them now. A hush fell upon the villagers. Who, Byakuya had to admit, did look a little worse for wear. They all looked…scared. Like little mice caught and cornered and waiting to be killed. Surely that wasn’t because their arrival.

Surely.

===

Makoto liked his routine.

Wake up, eat breakfast, take a bath, start his chores, sell bread, and so on. Granted, the life him and his family lived wasn’t very glamorous. But it was cozy. It was safe and average and hardly ever changed.

Until one day.

It started out normal, of course. He was just bringing a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls out to an unusually quiet street. That should’ve been his first clue that something was amiss. But then he saw what caused all the commotion. Or lack thereof.

Then he saw her.

And promptly walked into a wooden beam.

Just his luck, she had noticed! She and her companion were looking in his direction, subjugating the poor boy to the full force of their razor sharp gazes. Crap. The woman was even prettier the closer she came to him, her companion staring quizzically at her retreating back. Makoto frantically scrambled to collect the rolls that had fallen into the dirt road.  

Oh crap.

But just as the young man was about to pick up the last sticky sweet roll, someone else beat him to it. A dark purple glove enclosing around the dropped pastry softly. Makoto looked up.

Losing his breath.

It was the woman from before, mere inches from his face. Kneels folded underneath her as she lowered herself to his level. Her skin was so pale, clear and soft-looking like a doll’s. But her eyes were anything but. Makoto never thought that such a soft lilac color could make up such a disabling gaze. But here was the proof, staring directly at him and stealing every ounce of breath from his lungs.

Makoto leapt back.

“S-Sorry about that Miss! I wasn’t looking where I was going and I-” Tripping over his own words, Makoto hastily stood up. Nearly dropping all his rescued rolls in the process. The young woman, however, rose with a certain grace that she seemed to effortlessly exclude.

Her companion coming to her side.

He looked awfully familiar, but Makoto could quite put a name to the blonde hair and cold blue eyes. All he could come up with was that this was clearly a noble and he was the kind of person to make that well-known.

“It’s quite alright. In fact, I think we can help each other Mr. Naegi.” The slight, aloof smile on the young woman’s face brought a rush of heat to Makoto’s face.

He dropped the cinnamon rolls.

===

This was ridiculous.

Still, Byakuya had little else to work off of other than Kyoko’s strange hunch. The heir could only follow her as that moony-eyed baker lead them into their family shop. A rather run-down and homely looking establishment that Byakuya would’ve otherwise never be caught dead in.

But the smell was…passable.  

The sugary, sweet smell of pastries and the hearty, warm scent of fresh bread right out of the oven was unfamiliar to the Togami heir. Though not…entirely unwelcome. The shop was composed almost entirely out of wood, with metal pans of warm goods set out to cool on wooden shelves. All while flour seemed to be permanently transfixed in the air. The fumbling baker boy, Makoto Naegi, Byakuya believed the young man’s name was, barely managed to set the soiled pastries down before turning to them.

Smiling like a fool.

“So what can I help you two with today?” Clapping his hands together, Makoto sent another plume of smokey flour flying in the sunlit air. There were even smears of it on his face.

Ugh.

“We’re here to look into the recent killings and mutilations of this village’s livestock, or should I say, my livestock.” Byakuya announced, gliding in front of Kyoko to stand eye-to-eye with the young baker. He was on the shorter side. Standing just under the noblewoman with only the strange spike of hair atop his head protesting the fact. Glass green eyes that blinked up at him.

Once, twice.

Then the realization struck him. It was almost comical really, how his expressions shifted from open and asking to shocked and stuttering. It nearly made Byakuya laugh.

Nearly.

“S-So you’re Mister Togami? Wow, you’re a lot younger than I thought you were!” Makoto offered his hand for a handshake. But Byakuya just stared at the floury hand offered to him with a mild sort of disgust. Kyoko taking it upon herself to take up the formality.

Leather gloves gripping at the flour.

“I’m not here for chit-chat, I’m here for answers.” Byakuya interjected, promptly startling Makoto and Kyoko out of whatever strange, prolonged staring contest they had initiated.

“Oh! Right! Sorry about that…um, you said you stopped by because of what was happening to all the cattle?” Spasming, Makoto slipped his hand out of the noblewoman’s. Moving it to rub at his neck somewhat awkwardly. Strange, Byakuya thought.

His cold eyes narrowed.

“Please, call me Makoto and…well, its just really weird. All our stables and fences are in order. And no one really hears anything at night.” He wasn’t looking at them. Makoto was looking at everything but the two nobles. The heir could already see the cogs turn in his companion’s head.

But Byakuya was hardly surprised.

The reports had said as much. Every security measure was left intact, but the slaughtering persisted. And it wasn’t as if the cattle was butchered cleanly. No, nearly every slash was crude and almost frantic. With most of the animal remaining intact. Spoiled beyond use, but intact.

Save for the heart.

In every case of mutilation, the heart of each farm animal was nowhere to be found. Be it sheep, cow, or even an uncommon horse. All of them were impaled onto the ground with strange, scissor-like blades. Gutted and maimed for just one organ.

However, those who had reported the issue to the Togami Family cited supernatural causes for the killing. Werewolves, they said. Some going as far as begging for money to better protect themselves with silver.

Ridiculous.

There was no such thing as monsters. They existed to scare rowdy children and provide some mildly interesting literature that Byakuya was often forced to read when bored at his family manor. Their origins were even more pathetic. Vampires were repurposed Turkish counts. Ghouls and Ghosts were regretful wish-fulfillment by people haunted by Death. And Werewolves?

They were just mutts.

Wild dogs that looked bigger in the dark and scared fools traveling in the forest half to death. Big dogs that, in the shadows, appeared much larger and more dangerous than they actually were. In the end, all those monsters were the same, mere products of overactive imaginations and paranoia. They were of no significance to Byakuya.

And therefore not worth his time.

“But there will always be at least two or three animals dead by morning. We’re all kind of at our wits end trying to figure it out…” At this, Makoto smiled apologetically. But there was something to his eyes then.

Something Byakuya couldn’t quite place.

“That’s what we’re here for Makoto, so any information you have would be helpful.” Kyoko supplied, once again affixing the baker in her intense stare. Picking up on that anomaly almost as fast as Byakuya. Makoto looked at the two of them.

Struggling with something.

Byakuya crossed his arms. He didn’t have time for this. He was supposed to be taking charge of the Togami Family, not running around some village in the middle of nowhere. Makoto swallowed, leaning over the large flour-painted table and racks of goods cooling next to him. Cupping his hand over the side of his face as he beckoned the two closer.

Like a child telling a secret.

“…I don’t know if you heard, but most people here think the killings are the work of-“

“Werewolves, I know. Really Naegi? Do you honestly think I’d be stupid enough to even consider that a possibility?” The Togami heir snapped. He was growing tired of this. It was obvious the two were wasting their time here. Byakuya was just about to signal their leave when-

“I don’t think it’s a question of stupidity Mister Togami.”

“Excuse me?”

“Ah well, you haven’t been here before, so it’s understandable that you might not have heard…” The baker floundered in response to the Togami heir’s ice cold glare. Quickly clearing his throat. Oh boy.

Him and his big mouth.

“Makoto, please, if there is anything you know, or if you’ve met anyone suspicious, you need to tell us.” The detective interrupted. Byakuya’s eye twitching in annoyance, but it seemed whatever Makoto saw in his companion’s eyes compelled him to answer. The strange look in his eyes only growing stronger.

Heavier.

“There was an incident that happened, around the time where I was a little kid, and it’s kinda like what’s going on now.” Kyoko’s eyes sparked at Makoto’s words.

Latching onto the lead.

“How similar?” But Makoto only grew more flustered at Kyoko’s increased attention on him. Oh, if only Byakuya could vomit at the display.

If only.

“A family who lived in the forest, the Fukawas, were killed by some…thing in a similar way. And most villagers think that’s why all the livestock is dying.” Now this peaked Byakuya’s interest. A beast that attacked humans before but now feasts on animals?

No animal ever does that.

One they taste human blood there’s no going back. The taste of former prey lost all value. And their only option was to hunt nature’s most dangerous animal for another taste of blood.

So why was this creature even trying?

“You said ‘other villagers’, is there someone else who can tell us more?” Kyoko’s voice brought Byakuya out his thoughts of blood and beasts and missing hearts.

“W-Well I don’t know how much she’ll tell you, but there is someone you might want to talk to.” At this, Makoto took off to somewhere behind the shopfront and into the bakery. The click and clang of pots and pans echoing after him as he searched for something.

Talking all the while.

“Really, she’s a good person. Just a little strange that’s all, she’s really nice one you get to-“

“Just tell us Naegi.” Byakuya cut in, putting a stop to the baker’s pointless chatter. The noise from the kitchen ceased, and Makoto emerged once more.

Smiling hopefully.

“She lives really deep in the forest, so if anyone knows more, she might.” In his powdery white grip, Makoto handed over a roll of parchment to Byakuya with a slight, cryptic smile on his face. The note detailing how to get to this mystery informant.

“Her name’s Touko Fukawa.”

===

Today felt different.

And she hated it.

Different was no good. Different meant change and that was the last thing Touko Fukawa needed right now. Granted, her morning routine was much the same that day. Wake up, scrounge up some breakfast, and write.

All day long.

When she wrote everything just…faded away. The hunger, the smell, the memories. It was as if all of it had been easy and was long behind her. A lie of course.

But a comforting one.

Touko had notebooks and notebooks filled with her work. Known to the few she had deemed worthy enough to be her readers, her stories covered a long list of topics. But they all had one thing in common.

Romance.

Yes, at the core of her being, Touko Fukawa was enamored by the concept of love. Of giving it, of having it accepted. Of it finally feeling right and fitting into her chaotic life. Such a thing had to be possible.

It had to.

But this…feeling in the air. Like new winds and shifting directions. She didn’t like it. Touko drew what threadbare curtains her cottage had closed. Locked the door and shut out the outside completely.

Just not the light.

Oh God no, not the light. Not when the dark reminded Touko of all she had gone through. So she always kept candles lit, scattered around her meager home. And, though the light they gave off was warm, the young woman constantly kept her cloak tucked closely around her. It was the finest thing she owned and Touko loved it dearly.

A cloak the pure white of snow.

Huddling deeper into the familiar warmth, she hunched even lower above her newest work. The metal nip of her pen digging dangerously into her notebook. The nib was new. The old one having snapped in two halfway through chapter five.

But Touko despised going into town.

She hated the swell of it. All the people. All the noise. All the hustle and bustle. It all too loud, too noisy, and too dirty. Touko only ever made the journey when it was absolutely nessesary.

Like her parents had taught her.

Like she had learned. The hard way. The bloody way when one night she had risked going out to-

DOCTDOCTDOCT

Touko screamed and scrambled out her chair with enough force to knock both of them to the floor. Landing squarely on her rear, the young woman pressed her hands to her lips.

Digging her bitten, dirty nails into the skin around her mouth as if to punish herself for the outburst. Gray eyes encased with thick, circular wire frames gazed, half in shock and half in fear, at the wooden door that separated Touko from the young outside world.

At the door that kept her away.

The knocking came again, all while Touko could only stare. At the rotting, pitting groves of the door. Almost as if once she stared long enough, she could see beyond it. Someone? Out here? No one ever came out here.

No one sane anyway.

Her hands fell away from her pale face with all the speed of someone sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Touko’s breath fast and light. Who? Who could it be? All around her, all the candles’ flames flickered, as if to convey a message best left unspoken. Did she…?

Did she dare?

Anyone could be outside that slab of wood. And what then? Invite them in for afternoon tea?! Pffft. Not likely. But what if they didn’t go away? What if-?

Touko’s nose twitched.

Huh? Wh-What was that smell? That scent in the air? It smelled like aged wood and spices. A comforting musk that existed just beyond her reach. Then, almost subconsciously, the young woman rose to feet. Moving just halfway to the door.

When she stopped.

Wait, what was she doing? Opening the door to a complete stranger? That was like rule number one of living alone! And that’s what she was good at!

Being alone!

But the knocking came again. Making Touko jump and return her eyes to the door. She shouldn’t. She couldn’t. Not with all she had at stake. Not when the meager, filthy life she had was hers. Pain and all. Her nose caught the receding scent.

And her hand opened the door.

===

This was stupid.

Complete, utter nonsense and Byakuya was going to have his Kyoko’s head for it. Sending him, the heir to the Togami family, into the damn forest?! When this search proved fruitless, and he had a feeling it would, he was going to wring her neck for even suggesting it.

The two having decided to split up.

Kyoko had opted for the opportunity to stay in Mirai and have Byakuya look into Naegi’s lead. The heir having half the mind to kill the baker along side the detective. Surely this lead was a ruse.

But then he saw the house.

Having followed Naegi’s simplistic instructions, Byakuya was lead to a small, rather filthy-looking hut in the woods. There was an underlying stench to the air that, initially, make Byakuya keep his distance.

Initially.

The Togami wanted all this over with. He wanted to question this crazy woman and get back to manor as quickly as possible. Perhaps the answer to this pointless endeavor was to just spend some gold and hire a guard.

His father be damned.

But Byakuya, despite being annoyed to his wits end, was nothing if not through. Ignoring the increasing stench of rot, the Togami heir ventured closer the the small wood house. Knocking firmly onto the moist, rotting wood of the front door. All the blinds drawn tightly into the house as if the owner feared the li-

“EEK!”

Even Byakuya couldn’t help but jump at the sudden shrill scream. The heir took a step back, staring at the door. Who in their right mind screams at the sound of a knock? He grit his teeth.

This was stupid.

What was he even doing out here? Questioning some forest-dwelling recluse as if she could possibly have the answers Byakuya wanted? Ugh.

He knocked once again.

But no startled scream came this time. Only a cutting silence that bled into the air. And part of the Togami heir wanted to demand an answer, especially after all he had gone through to even arrive in the middle of this godforsaken forest. But another part of him was already finding this entire ordeal tiresome.

And started to walk away.

He made it a couple feet away from the threshold of that rancid hut. Not far enough to get away from the stink, but just far enough for the sun to bring back the warmth to Byakuya’s skin. Dots and ribbons of light slicing through the canopy of evergreen pines. Settling on Byakuya’s path back to village like a wall. With no escape in sight. That’s when he heard it.

That’s when the door opened.

Looking behind him, Byakuya hid his surprise well. In the threshold of that filthy house was a young woman. Probably around Kyoko’s age. With long, alabaster hair tied up in two trailing braids on either side of her head. Oily and unwashed, they swung behind the girl’s thin frame like damp ropes. Her skin was pale. Clearly she wasn’t one to venture out of the little hole she lived in. She wasn’t what Byakuya expected.

But maybe she’d be useful.

The Togami heir drew closer. Eyes never leaving the small, smelly creature before him. The details of her person becoming clearer and clearer the closer he dared to move. Her entire body was thin, almost unhealthily so. With long, slender hands and fingers topped with obsessively bitten fingernails. A long skirt and blouse hiding a great deal of her skin away from the forest’s blinding light.

A white cloak around her shoulders.

It’s seemed so out of place on someone as dirty as this girl. Complied from a good percentage of silk, the cloak was a bright, clear white that made the girl in it seem all the more small and sickly looking. Her gray-Wait.

No.

Purple? Lilac? Pewter? Admittedly, Byakuya stared into the girl’s eyes for longer than might’ve been appropriate. Trying and failing to put a name to their color until his common sense came rushing up to smack some sense into him.

“Are you Touko Fukawa?” To his credit, the heir was able to successfully keep his voice direct. Despite the momentarily flailing of his mind. The young woman looked up at him through thick circular glasses. Blinking once.

Twice.

Her mouth, with a mole above the left of her chin, gaped open. Not unlike a fish. Her lips were thin and chapped. Byakuya tore his eyes away.

Blaming it on the stench of her breath.

Then the woman’s brows furrowed. Her gaze turning hostile under those wire frames. Scuttling away from him as she clutched her hands to her chest. Looking at Byakuya in trembling distrust. My.

What large eyes she had.

“Y-Yeah! T-T-That’s right, who w-wants to know?!” The girl, Touko, all but screeched as she pointed an accusatory finger at him. Byakuya scowled at her tone. Peering at her through his blonde lashes.

“The lord of your land, Byakuya Togami.” The heir announced, but, to his confusion, Touko remained suspicious.

“This l-land? No b-body c-can just own thi-”

“Yes well, I do Miss Fukawa, now are you going to invite me in or not?” Byakuya barked, startling Touko’s fingers back to their gripping place above her heart. And, after a heartbeat, she stepped aside to allow him inside.

A faint blush on her cheeks.

===

She was breaking so many rules right now.

Rules beaten into her by her parents. Rules she had steeled herself to. But now here she was. Inviting a complete stranger into her house. But she couldn’t help it.

Touko could never say no to pretty face.

She stepped aside, and allowed the older man, Byakuya, to enter her home. A prick of shame stinging at her chest when she saw him look around her dark lodgings. His noble features pinching at smells that had all but grown invisible to her.

But Touko pushed it down the second she saw that her notebook was still open. Shoving past Byakuya to close the leather-bound book in a flustered rush.

The heir only blinking ot her.

But there was something…comforting about the disgust he showed her. It was reflected, clear as day, on his face, not stewing somewhere in the back of his mind. There was an upfrontness about this man, a no-muss-no-fuss sort of manner that made all his distaste for her and the way she lived clear.

And Touko appreciated it.

Most people would’ve just walked into her house, pale at the smell, but still have the nerve to lie about it. Smile too wide a smile and comment on how ‘cozy' her home was. It was partially why Touko never bothered with people in town. The lot of them too stupid and too afraid to hurt. But not this man.

Not Byakuya.

Not with his pinched face and flinty stare. No. Touko knew with just one glance that this man was leagues above putting on any polite guises. And she appreciated it.

Almost as much as she did his face.

“Now I don’t want to stay too long in this damn town. So if you could procure something resembling a chair from this pigsty and answer my questions as quickly as possible, I would be ecstatic.” Now that got her moving with all the sudden sharpness of a cracked whip. Pulling her white cloak closer, Touko threw the single chair she had previously knocked over back into place.

Byakuya taking a tentative seat while the young woman stood, fidgeting, at his side. There were no other chairs for her to take seat, but the young woman quickly found that she didn’t care.

Not when she could look at Byakuya.

The heir sighed, annoyed. Granted, he was out of the forest, but was this place, and this woman, any better than the wilderness he had just been subjected to? Hmph.

Best get this over with.

“Just h-how did you find m-me? No one c-cares ab-”

“Naegi, the baker, told me after I asked around for information pertaining to my investigation.” Now that halted Touko’s thoughts. Makoto! Of course! That meddling little brat! Her expression soured and her hands curled as the young woman seethed. Had that irksome boy no idea of privacy?! One of a woman’s most treasured possessions!

Why she outta-

“So since I’ve come all this way, I’ll need all my questions answered Miss Fukawa.” Oh how that ice-blue gaze could cut her! Touko didn’t even try to suppress the blush rising to her face as she nodded enthusiastically. Being ordered around by a handsome man who sought her out for her mind? Not bad.

Not bad at all.

“Now, my investigation pertains to the recent slaughtering of livestock in Mirai Vi-”

“Get out.” Her body felt cold, but God was her heart pounding. Damn near shattering the bones trying to cage it in. Oh God. Touko knew she shouldn’t have opened the door.

She knew it!

Byakuya looked at her. Halfway between shocked and outraged. But Touko didn’t care. Not when she struggled to breathe. Wrestling the chair out from under Byakuya, the frantic woman was too terrified to keep her strength in check.

“Wha-How dare y-”

“Out!” She was screaming now. White cloak flapping all around her as she roughly grabbed the heir by his shoulders. All but pushing him out the door.

Eyes wide in terror.

The room was spinning and her hands were ice. She could smell it. His shock. The slight whiff of fear that clung to his skin as Touko pushed him. Oh God. She could feel it.

Byakuya’s heart.

Bright and thumping and red underneath his pale skin. It was strong. Young and beautiful and just within reach. She just had to-

Touko slammed the door in his face.