(v) be present in a latent or barely discernible state, although still presenting a threat

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The day was clear skies and sunny once again. Y/n was standing by the window with a small watering can in his hands as he looks down at the little flower bed that resides on the windowsill. He hums an unknown tune as he waters the little poppies.

Y/n couldn't help but smile at the calming nature of his workplace. Although, yes, he can hear the chattering of his coworkers talking outside of the room, Y/n still finds peace in the president's room. Fukuzawa had insisted that Y/n water the plants in his office, he really just wanted Y/n to take a small break.

Y/n's smile never faltered, even when there was a presence behind him. Fukuzawa come up behind and leaned over Y/n's shoulder. He carefully placed his chin on Y/n's shoulder as he simply watched Y/n water his plants.

"Shouldn't you be working, president?" Y/n said softly, not taking his eyes off of the plants. His smile ever present.

Fukuzawa was silent for a moment before giving Y/n a silent huff. "I have finished the work I need to do this morning," he claimed. "There's no need to pester me on starting my next load too early."

Y/n laughed slightly at Fukuzawa's attitude towards him. He leaned against Fukuzawa's chest with a small sigh as he emptied the last of his water from his watering can. He tilted his head and bumped it against Fukuzawa's cheek softly.

Fukuzawa wrapped his arms around Y/n's waist to pull him closer to his body. They both stayed in each other's warmth as Fukuzawa continues to cuddle against Y/n. The first time Fukuzawa had done this, the poor man was overwhelmed with work and tired. He asked specifically for Y/n to come to his office and had cuddled him in order to release his stress.

Now, whenever Fukuzawa has the chance or when he wants to, Fukuzawa will force Y/n to take a break and just hang out with him. They didn't need to talk or make full conversation with one another, but that wasn't needed when you just have each other.

"What's on your mind, Mr. Yuki," Y/n whispered, using a nickname of Fukuzawa's first name. "You're so quiet."

Fukuzawa said nothing for a moment, almost like he was in a daze. He then turned his head slightly and kissed Y/n on the cheek. "Nothing, nothing at all, handsome. I just wanted to hold you."

Y/n chuckled at Fukuzawa left butterfly kisses all over his face. "Oh please, Yuki..." Y/n had to stop Fukuzawa from kissing his lips as he carefully cupped Fukuzawa's face. "You know you can't lie to me. What's wrong?"

Fukuzawa paused for a moment before holding one of Y/n's hands and looked at Y/n in his eyes. "It was... about the other day. With the Port Mafia."

Y/n's smile faltered slightly. Although Fukuzawa couldn't see Y/n's eyes, he knew that they turned solemn after he had said that. Y/n sighed as he put his hands on Fukuzawa's chest and fondled with his Kimono collar, fixing it, messing it up, then fixing it again.

"I do not like the way that I lost you so easily," Fukuzawa continued. "I do not like the way that the Port Mafia had gotten their hands on my employee so fast. And I do not like how you were so ready to self-sacrifice for anything. I want you to be safe, Y/n."

Y/n let out a small sigh as he looked back at the poppies. "You know safety isn't a priority to me, Yuki."

"And why can it not be?"

"You know why, Yukichi," Y/n claims. He held his arms as he looked away from Fukuzawa's body. "I'm nothing but a monster..."

Fukuzawa and Y/n stayed like that in silence once more. When Fukuzawa looked at the poppies, he noticed that a white butterfly had landed on them. Carefully, Fukuzawa held Y/n closer to him, tightening his hold for a moment. The sudden squeezed caused Y/n to look at Fukuzawa.

"If you were a monster, you would not be able to make life," Fukuzawa stated as he carefully watched the white butterfly, letting Y/n's gaze follow his. "If you were a monster, you would not have brought happiness and comfort to others. If you were a monster, I would not be here, with you, holding you, right now."

Fukuzawa placed a small kiss on Y/n's head. "If you were a monster, I would not care, because you are someone important to me, to the agency and everyone in it. You are not a monster, you are Y/n L/n, my detective."

Y/n couldn't help but blush at Fukuzawa's words. He kept his eyes on the poppies and the butterfly as he let Fukuzawa rest his head on his shoulder. Y/n let out a sigh, finding comfort on leaning closer to Fukuzawa.

"You're just saying that..." Y/n whispered, as if trying to get the upper hand.

"I don't think so," Fukuzawa whispers back as he and Y/n both watched the butterfly flutter away. "My heart doesn't think so."

Y/n smiled. "Yuki..."

The two stayed like that for, what seemed like, a long time. Time seemed to have slowed down for the two as they held each other and basked in each other's warmth. However, the moment was cut short as the harsh sounds of a helicopter flying was heard.

Fukuzawa didn't care about the helicopter and buried his face into Y/n's hair while Y/n was the one to watch the helicopter carefully. Y/n's lips pressed into a line as he watched the helicopter land in the middle of the road, in front of the agency, and people started to walk out of the machine.

"Yuki... Yukichi," Y/n said sternly, catching the attention of the older. "Something is wrong."

Fukuzawa looked up from Y/n and noticed the people gathering at the entrance of the agency. He stepped closer to the window, letting go of Y/n but still keeping a hand on his hip. He narrowed his eyes as a blond man looked up at him through the inside and smirked.

"Y/n, we have some guests over," Fukuzawa stated, his voice devoid of the warmth from earlier. "And warn the others."

"Yes, president."

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The light in the meeting room was dim. The blond man was in a couch across from Fukuzawa as his subordinates were standing behind. Fukuzawa kept a cool and calm face as the other man was smiling in joy.

"I'm very, very pleased to meet you..." The blond exclaimed. "...President Fuku... na... Fukuna..."

"Fukuzawa," the president corrected.

The blond winked. "Yes, that. Come to think of it, I probably shouldn't have left my helicopter by the road, should I? But I'm not really to blame, since this is the first time I've visited a company with no helipad."

Fukuzawa remained unfazed at the blond's obvious jab at the quality of the agency. "You have traveled from afar, 'honored' guests from overseas. You must be exhausted. How may we be of service?"

Y/n held a tray in his hands that held some teacups. He carefully placed a teacup in front of Fukuzawa then the blond man. However, he wasn't quick enough to return to his post behind Fukuzawa as the blond man was able to grab hold of the teacup along with Y/n's hand.

"My, my, thank you dear," the blond said with a smile and nod towards Y/n, he then let go of Y/n as he lifted up the teacup in slight amusement. "Oooh, what a rare design. And here I thought I was pretty knowledgeable regarding chinaware. What brand is this? Royal Franco? Or is it El Zelga?"

Y/n could only give the other man a polite smile, his hair splitting to show that he was giving a closed eyed smile. "The Shimomura ceramic store next door. If you're here for a while, I recommend checking it out, sir."

The blond chuckled to himself. "How churlish of me." He took a sip of the warm tea as he then placed down a business card. "The name is Fitzgerald. I'm from an American Organization known as 'The Guild'.

"Apart from that, I have three conglomerates and five hotels under my name. As well as an airline and a railway compa-"

"Mr. Fitzgerald," Fukuzawa cut off as he not-so-slightly glared at the other. "Rumor has it that you coerced the Mafia into attacking us by offering a bounty. Was that true?"

"Ah! That was just a miscalculation on my part, old sport!" Fitzgerald claimed with a wide smile. "I never expected the criminal organization of this country to be so incompetent."

Fukuzawa and Y/n glanced at each other. They couldn't help but be slightly surprised that Fitzgerald was talking about that when one of the people he tried to buy was standing right in front of him. However, it slightly amused Y/n.

Fitzgerald snapped his fingers and his male subordinate walked up with a suitcase. "As an apology, I have come with a wonderful business proposal. This agency is pretty nice. The low ceiling is a bit of a bother, but the view is excellent, and not to mention the workers are all very hard to come by."

The suitcase was placed on the table with a loud bang. When it was opened, even Fukuzawa and Y/n's eyes couldn't help but widened at the amount of pure money cash was in the suitcase.

"I would like to acquire this agency," Fitzgerald claimed as he gestured to all the money in the suitcase. "Please don't misunderstand. I could buy every piece of land and all the companies within sight if I wanted. I have no interest in the building or the 'extra' staff of this company. There's only a certain 'few' things I want."

"You mean..." Fukuzawa trailed off.

Fitzgerald smiled. "That's right. Hand over your 'Ability Business Permit'. If an ability user corporation wants to start a legal business in this country, it must acquire a permit issued by the Special Ability Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"But the stubborn mules at the Special Department refused any sort of bribe. After all, they're a nonexistent organization to the general public. So, if I want to 'browse around' this city without getting on their wrong side I'll need that permit..."

"I refuse," Fukuzawa said sternly.

"Are you sure?" Fitzgerald questioned as he slipped off his watch and spun it with his finger. "At least take this watch. It's a limited edition especially embellished with diamonds-"

Fukuzawa narrowed his eyes. "I. Refuse." His tone was sterner and more serious, with no room for interrogation.

Fitzgerald paused for a moment before he sighed, his smile ever present. He carefully placed his watch on the money pile as he leaned back in his seat. His smile seemed to turn splitting as his eyes gazed over to Y/n, who was standing behind Fukuzawa.

"Alright then," Fitzgerald said carefully. "Then how about a different proposition; instead of the permit, I want to buy an employee, more specifically, that one." He pointed at Y/n making Y/n lower his head slightly.

"I'll buy his contract and even help him with essentials 24/7. You need not to worry about him. The same amount of money still stands and-"

"Just as life cannot be bought with money, the permit nor any of my employees cannot be exchanged for anything else," Fukuzawa claimed. "They are the very soul of this agency. The permit is filled with the Special Department's expectations, as well as the aspirations of Master Natsume, who worked tirelessly to acquire this permit.

"My men, my employees, will never be on sale nor have they ever been. This means you cannot choose anyone out of the litter to your pleasing. They are my employees and will always be my employees by their own will.

"This is not something that can be touched by rich snobs whose head is stuffed with money."

Fitzgerald smile turned sour as a frown placed on his lips. "'Cannot be bought with money'... huh? That's poor people's favorite line. Boast all you want, but if every single staff member disappears, this agency no longer exists. Even if you change your mind, it'll be too late by then."

"I shall bear your advice in mind," Fukuzawa said calmly. "Have a safe trip."

Fitzgerald glared at Fukuzawa. He was about to open his mouth so that he could at least try to nudge Fukuzawa to possible think about the proposition, but someone beat him to it as he was cut off.

"Sir, you have been excused," Y/n said calmly as he smiled softly towards the blond. "I have someone who will see you out."

Fitzgerald anger ceased as he looked up at Y/n. He let out a sigh before smiling. He stood up, dusted his pants as he turned to Y/n. Once he did as grabbed Y/n's hand and gave it a playful and soft kiss.

"Thank you for your service, dear," Fitzgerald claimed as he was about to walk out the door. "You really are a diamond in such a filthy place as this one."

Y/n smiled. "Flattered. This is Kenji, he will be seeing you out." He brushed off Fitzgerald's compliment as he gestured to the farmer loving boy.

"Good afternoon, sir," Kenji said politely.

Fitzgerald's eyes seemed to sharpen at the sight of Kenji. He turned back and looked at Fukuzawa and Y/n, who now remained at the president's side. "I'll leave you a message in tomorrow's morning papers. You better read it carefully, old sport."

Fitzgerald's smile split. "If it's what I want, it is what I'll get."

One of Fitzgerald's goons closed the door behind them as it now left Y/n and Fukuzawa alone in the meeting room. The light illuminated only certain parts of their faces, but a frown was placed on both of the men's lips.

"They're dangerous," Y/n claimed, his voice hushed as if he were to talk too loud Fitzgerald could hear them. "We must not take them lightly."

"Agreed," Fukuzawa said, his eyes never leaving the closed door. "Get the bunker and paperwork ready. We have to warn the agency."

"Of course, president."

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