tampered | [log; ongoing]

[log; ongoing]

when; 05 December, evening.
rating; PG-13.
characters; Watari Yutaka [

scienceinacan], Tatsumi Seiichirou [

kageseii]
summary; A forced de-bugging of an office might be more trouble than it's worth.
log;

Once the confession had been given, Tatsumi knew why there was such a knowing smile constantly on Watari's face. He had been surveyed in his own office, his personal sanctuary, and who knew how long he had been watching. It wouldn't do one bit; there were certain areas that were just sacred to a man, and he had thought the scientist would understand that much.

Clearly, though, he had been wrong; the elusive reply he had received to his demands reeked of hypocrisy.

But he would do it, and Tatsumi was not going to take no for an answer on this. He was only thankful that he could make Watari do it with his own skills. Ethics be damned, if he had to drag the quack scientist out by his hair in order to get it done, he'd reach for that ponytail in a heartbeat. Simply teleporting through shadows would do for now, and he soon was inside that lab, right behind Watari as he sat at that laptop. First he'd ask for compliance. If that didn't happen, then force would be necessary.

"Watari-san, come with me," he started sternly.

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The scientist didn't even have to turn around to see if Tatsumi had arrived or not; the shadow master's presence was enough indication. Come with me, the shadow master said, but Watari only laughed as he spun on his swivel chair (it was a good chair! A thinking chair, even!).

He crossed his arms defiantly, and on his shoulder, 003 seemed to mimic his action with her wings. "Nope, we refuse, Tatsumi!"

That wasn't going to do, and Tatsumi knew that that response was going to come from the scientist well before he even uttered it. That petulance was only met with a flat glare as he crossed his arms. No was not an answer he'd take. Not now that he had learned that, yes, someone had been watching him.

"I won't take refusal," he replied strictly. If that was how he was going to be, then it was time to drag him out like a caveman. He didn't hesitate at all in grabbing Watari by the arm forcefully. "You are coming with me."

"Hey, my arm!" Yutaka whined, pouting at the shadow master as he tried to keep his arms crossed despite sudden grabbing and pulling of his arm. "003 and I are busy, Tatsumi! I think we're missing an important powder and it got lost somewhere important! I've no time to waste! 003 and I have to find out where it ended up!"

"That can wait." As much as he hated to admit that, it was true - his own situation was more dire, and likely the potion-of-the-day wouldn't be found for a good while. He still looked to Watari sternly, tugging at his arm to make him stand up. After a short while and a particularly sharp tug, he managed to have the other stand on his feet.

Just one strong glance was enough to tell the other that he wasn't in any mood for nonsense. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

And even at the face of Tatsumi who had that 'I'm so serious I could skewer you with my shadows right here right now', which was also synonymous to 'Pay up now, please~', Yutaka remained unfazed. "But it could cause more trouble for you~ in the future! Tatsumi, you wouldn't want that, would you?"

He blinked innocent for added effect. "It's a white powder... I think! It could be anywhere! ... can I check your detergent powder, Tatsumi? Maybe it got mixed into that... somehow!"

"That's not my problem right now, is it?" Tatsumi quipped, tightening his hold on the scientist threateningly. He was serious, and Watari was being too flippant about it all. After all, this was his office he was talking about. Tatsumi's nerves concerning this scientist were wearing very thin.

"You're coming with me." He stressed this time, as though to let him know that there was no other option. And within seconds, the shadows were making that clear - they began to encircle them both, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

And those shadows were terribly frightening when Tatsumi wanted them to be! 003 huddled closer to her master while Yutaka himself made a tiny little squeak. "Tatsumi! Don't be too hasty! This can be a very big problem! And-- hey! If you can't see them, they're not there!"

If he couldn't see them, they weren't there. Somehow, the thought made him uneasy, especially since that had been the core of his behaviour in his own office until now - he had seen nothing, so there had been no surveillance. But now he knew, or at least Watari had told him, and there was no way to ignore it. The shadows seemed to flicker in accordance with his sudden flare of cold anger. Whatever made-up issues Watari had could, indeed, wait.

"If I can't see them, you put them there," he growled, tightening his hold on Watari's arm again. There was no way he was going to let this slide. "You're coming with me," he reiterated. And then the shadows had them both completely enveloped.

If Tatsumi couldn't see them, then he put it there? Yutaka could easily twist those words around to suit him and instead of taking it in as an angry statement from a very angry secretary from hell, he instead took them in as a flattering compliment.

"I'm flattered by that say--" He was unable to continue as the shadows enveloped them. Oops, he thought, he hadn't seen that one...

Apparently, Tatsumi was truly pissed.

It only took a few minutes, and then the blackness that had surrounded them faded into a wooden-panelled office interior. Stacks of paper almost hid the desk, and even more stacks of neatly-piled books on the floor would have nearly impeded walking had it not been for the obvious path through them to the door. It was only too obvious that he had been either rearranging or searching for something, albeit in a much more sanitised way.

The papers were distracting enough, but Tatsumi wasn't going to let Watari back into a corner just yet. "Well, where are they?" he challenged Watari again. "And how did you even get them in here?!"

Yutaka wasn't really able to keep himself from making a little burst of laughter there. The look on Tatsumi's face was just ridiculously desperate. It was just too amusing!

...of course, in doing so, he was sure he pretty much deleted all hope of wiggling out of this with Tatsumi partially believing that he had not planted bugs in the shadow master's sanctuary. Office. Both words worked.

"See, Tatsumi, think like this--" he decided he had to try, anyway. "..If you're asking that question, then you must think your defenses are hard to penetrate! ... and that means, you can believe that I didn't plant anything! So let's both live in a happy world where that is the highest probability! "

He'd let the other believe, for a little while, that his persuasive skills worked. It was ridiculous enough, though, and Tatsumi was willing to call him out on this. He remained silent for a minute, staring at Watari with no change in expression. Then he let go of his captive, even though still keeping the short distance between them both.

Then he let a sadistic smile came to meet Watari. "Nice try, Watari-san. But do you think I believe that?"

Thankfully, he noted, the walls were soundproofed now; Watari could scream and no one would hear. "I know they're in here, and you have no need to lie."

With that menacing smile on Tatsumi's face, Yutaka could almost swear the shadow master was getting bigger, and taller, and practically looming over him with that demonic expression of his.

He blinked innocently at his co-worker, and then grinned charmingly. "I hid them so well I forgot, Tatsumi," he said finally, eyes squinting as he grinned even wider.

"Liar!" Tatsumi took a step back, looking at Watari as though he had burned a stack of yen. He wasn't going to fall for that trick, either, and he knew that all he was hearing was a string of lies. And yet he still had the nerve to do so. The desk now separated him from the liar, and he slammed his hands onto the wooden surface.

"I know you have them in here, and I know you know where they are!" The glare he shot the other over his glasses had to work. "So find them."

Oh, those glares were certainly working! They made the blond scientist blink all the more coyly at the shadow master as he thought about the best response possible. He came up with it a few moments later. It was a brilliant one... or so Yutaka thought proudly.

"But... Tatsumi, do you really want me to look for them now? You know I'll have to look reaaaaaallly thoroughly! ...What if you're hiding something special~ What if I find that too!"

Hiding something-- Tatsumi blinked strongly at that accusation. Well, of course he had hidden it all well within the confines of this office, but was it good enough...? No, of course it was, he reassured himself - if Watari dared to get in any deeper than permissible, Tatsumi could just as easily escort him out of his office. Or let him learn through adversity.

The shadows at his feet stirred momentarily at the thought of slashing into the scientist at even the slightest discretion. Quickly, they were urged into still submission. "You won't find anything in here, Watari-san," he firmly stated, adjusting his glasses. "Except those cameras of yours."

A mischievous glint flashed through the scientist's eyes for a brief moment, but that was quickly replaced by a blindingly cheerful smile. "Ah ~ Of course, if I find them!"

He made a show of stretching his arms out before pushing his glasses upwards. "Alright! Let's go! Operation Find those Cameras If They're Really Here for Tatsumi!" he exclaimed proudly. Mentally, he added, "And find whatever Tatsumi is hiding... heh ~ "

And then he was off, looking into every nook and cranny of Tatsumi's pristine sanctuary.

Tatsumi stood there patiently; well, if he was going to bluff, it had to be believable. And Watari seemed determined to make this worse than it needed to be. Wouldn't that just make it look worse for Watari if he proved a calm façade now? That was the determinant in this battle, and fortunately, he had a natural stubborn streak in him.

"You know full well that they are in here," he replied dryly, simply crossing his arms at this point. No, there was no way in hell Watari would unearth anything suspicious - he had hidden it all too well. After a while did he notice that his eye had been following Watari intensely.

Tatsumi was definitely being too confident for his own good. Yutaka wasn't looking at the shadow master's face now, but he didn't need to look to see the expression on that face; it had to have the equivalent of having the writing "Watari isn't going to find anything I've hidden well~" on it at that moment. Really, Yutaka thought, what was Tatsumi doing continuously underestimating his wonderful genius? So, he supposed, there were moments were he failed... but those were minor in the face of all his wonderful achievements!

... and besides, his surveillance cameras already told him where Tatsumi was hiding one of those books. He resisted the urge to chuckle mischievously; he was going to leave that for the last. Oh, and pick out the bugs and cameras he'd placed in very obvious locations first. Naturally, he wasn't going to go and willingly free Tatsumi's office of his electronic eyes and ears. The information his little babies provided could be crucial to something in future!

Five cameras, and two miniature microphones hidden under the desk later (7 out of the total 39 he'd placed all over Tatsumi's office one day), he decided to drop the bomb by gingerly pawing at a secret compartment first, before prying it open and revealing...

...a book.

He made a show of blinking at it innocently at first, before reading the elegantly printed words on its cover.

"The Moors of Westchester....?" He picked it up innocently, opened it and began reading a random page out of it out loud.

"--Emilia shivered in Ernesto's arms. However, it was not the cold causing the delightful shivers but rather the excitement of being once again reunited with her beloved.

"Oh, how long I have waited for this moment, my love!"--"

He finally turned to Tatsumi.

"...is this yours?"

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