Encounters - A Kagiheya / Maou crossover (Part 2)

[barbosa2007]

Chapter 1: Eidolon 

Fandom: Kagi no Kakatta Heya, Maou

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Kishi Yusuke, Fuji TV, and TBS; not me.

Spoilers: Slight spoilers for the bank vault scene in Ep 1

Synopsis: Aoto Junko meets the newly employed associate at Friedman & Serizawa. What her boss doesn't tell her is who she'll be working with. Set in the same universe as “Pros and Cons”. 

To start from the beginning, go HERE.

When Aoto Junko met Naruse Ryo for the first time, she experienced her first case of idol worship. 

Naruse entered Friedman & Serizawa as an up and rising criminal defense lawyer, with an impressive track record of wins despite his relatively young career. She couldn’t help but express a sense of awe as she studied his old case files. Naruse was methodical, thorough and ruthless in cutting down the arguments laid out by the prosecution. Junko read on in amazement as Naruse, through a brilliantly crafted argument, practically turned a hopeless case on its head and granted the defense counsel more than just a level playing ground. 

Therefore, when Serizawa arranged for Junko to accompany Naruse for a criminal investigation, she was half expecting to meet a miniature version of Serizawa. 

As Junko sat in the company lounge sipping on her cup of tea and prepping herself with the details of the case, a young man dressed in a nondescript black suit entered the room. 

“Aoto-san, I presume?” The young man began to extend a hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Naruse Ryo.”

Junko hurriedly rose and shook his outstretched hand. “Nice meeting you, I’m Aoto Junko. I’ve heard so much about you, I didn’t realize you’d be so young!” 

Naruse looked slightly amused. “Well, I could say the same thing about you. Serizawa-san has told me about you as well, Aoto-san.”

“Has he?” Junko’s eyes widened in surprise.

“He said that you were his first subordinate to ever imprison him in a bank vault and almost asphyxiate him.” 

Junko felt a blush rising to her cheeks despite her efforts to remain composed. She inwardly cursed Serizawa for the umpteenth time.

“He also mentioned that you are a dedicated and meticulous assistant who displayed a great deal of competence in your work,” added Naruse. “I look forward to working with you, Aoto-san.” Naruse gave her a warm smile.

Junko felt the blush grow, although this time it wasn’t due to embarrassment. Could it be that Naruse was actually a nice person? Law firms were typically cut throat environments where the strong survived and the weak, well, got retrenched. She found it hard to believe that Naruse had gotten this far while being nice, unless he was truly a genius.

“Have you eaten your lunch? I was going to get a bite, would you like to come along?” Naruse’s pleasant voice broke her reverie. Junko hadn’t taken her breakfast, so she decided to throw all caution to the wind and take up the offer on lunch. 

She found herself in for a second surprise that day when Naruse brought her to a small and rundown neighborhood ramen joint. 

Naruse noticed her slightly bewildered expression and started to explain. “Well, I wasn’t brought up in the wealthiest of families and I’ve been patronizing this ramen joint since I was a college student. My parents passed away from an accident when I was a child. I have an older sister, but she’s hospitalized due to a debilitating illness, so most of the money we got from my parents’ insurance went to her medical bills. To be honest, I don’t really feel comfortable in eating at high end restaurants.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Junko stuttered.

“Oh no, I shouldn’t have blurted out my family history. I hope you didn’t mind that, let’s order our food.” Naruse actually looked slightly embarrassed. 

Junko looked at Naruse sympathetically as he placed orders for their ramen. She felt slightly guilty for doubting his character. Perhaps it was possible to be nice and excel in this industry. That afternoon, Junko allowed herself to believe that the ideal lawyer did exist in the person of Naruse Ryo.

Go HERE for part 3.

Comments

[amitarashi.livejournal.com]

aaah~ awesome :)
keep on writing & i'll keep on reading x)

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed! I'll see how long the Kagiheya muse keeps up.

[jellybean6972.livejournal.com]

I really liked the interaction between Junko and Naruse. A nice mix of humor and truth.

The image of her trying to keep the vault opened popped into my head, hehe.

Thanks for sharing :)

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading!

Naruse's words are meant to be interpreted in the light of the atrocities he commits, but when I cross-posted it at another comm, people tended to see this as rather cute. ^_^" Don't know why. XD

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

i have to say, i really hope you keep writing this. it's super interesting.
i'm looking forward to when junko becomes clumsy while working with Naruse... poor girl hehe. plus she's already giving her sympathies freely to him. I like that you're doing it that way, just like in the drama. they tried to show how soft and sweet he can be, only to show that his true nature was far on the other side of the spectrum.

can't wait until the meeting of enomoto & naruse! i'm curious as to how their feelings will be during their first encounter...

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your comments!

Tee hee! It's coming! Junko's supposed to come across as being naive and trusting in this. She believes in others readily, so Naruse is like a breath of fresh air in Friedman & Serizawa.

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

ah i see. that does sound like how she is in kagiheya anyway. but i also like the part of her that doesn't like it when people drone on and on. especially in the first episode of kagiheya when she tells kei to basically stop talking at the vault. maybe his character just brings that out in people though...

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Haha. I think it's because she wants to get her boss out of the vault as soon as possible? Like, I'd totally be panicking if I locked my new boss in a safe where he might potentially suffocate to death.

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

ah that is true...
but i wish they would keep her like that sometimes. cos i love how unaffected kei acts. hehe

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Yeah I agree. Kei's reaction to being told to stop talking was priceless. He looked like a puppy that was kicked.

[camille-arashi.livejournal.com]

kyaaa! i was smiling the whole time while i was reading this...!! nice story!!! keep it up!!!! :D i like it!

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading!

[crescentharpe.livejournal.com]

Naruse x Junko: I SHIP IT ♥

I usually don't read unfinished series but alas, there goes an exception :D

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

I'm honored. Thanks for reading!

These fics were meant to be a series of one-shots in this crossover universe, although I may formulate it into a proper series with a proper direction.

[yun-miyake.livejournal.com]

the story develop ^^
and I love the interaction between junko and naruse XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed!