#[I wanted to stick to the usual drabble format-expanding on a particular scene (?) but this was too good not to ramble on about]

[wishluc]

hello! i love your writings so <3 the way you beautifully set up each prose is something worth applauding for!! since requests are open, i’ll bite ^^:

how about yan!heizou and blackmail?everyone knows he’s one of the best detectives inazuma has to offer, a bringer of justice. but what no one knows aside from you and heizou is that you’ve witnessed him murder a man you’ve taken a liking to. you try to expose him, but he threatens. one thing for sure is, how far he’s willing to go for you. if you were to ever expose him, he promises to pin the blame on you and frame you as the murderer. he’s willing to do anything to keep you hush hush and to keep you by his side.

waaahhh thank you :((

✧ CW: yandere character, manipulation, murder, blackmail

It was painfully easy to trust Shikanoin Heizou.

But if only you had heard more about him beforehand, you'd have known that he always acted in his own interest before anything else. There was no obstacle, no riveting case, or fear of consequence that would stop him from pursuing his own goals.

This was exactly why you shouldn't have believed a word that he said when he assured you that your correspondence with him was only for professional reasons. Information, he told you then, that will help in solving cases. In retrospect, the way his lips wavered while trying to keep his expression stern, at the very least, should have it gave it all way. That, and the fact that the detective had never pretended to look serious. (Even if you had pointed it out then, you supposed the only reaction you'd have gotten would be him crowing in delight, "So you noticed all these things about me? I'm flattered, partner—really!'")

You had ignored the glaringly obvious truth in favor of blindly trusting the fascinating figure, much too captivated by his self-assured air and his ardent desire to observe everything about you and your humble abode. You were charmed by him, by the idea that such an important individual would have made the long journey down here to see your modest town when no other government official bothered to even glance this way. And when he spins an elaborate, irresistible web of lies to you and everyone else in a courteous manner, his voice far too composed for the way his eyes brightened with newfound interest, that the Commission was trying to help smaller towns and villages now, that he was here to stay and solve all the cases that had gone unnoticed before his arrival, the smug smirk that appeared at the end was a subtle warning that you all had fallen head first into his trap.

It didn't strike you as odd when he approached you either, asking if you could help him out while he was staying.

"If you'd do me the honor of working as my temporary assistant during my stay," he had said, voice earnest and tinged with anticipation, "I'd really appreciate it."

There were more lies that followed, of course, that silvery voice promising you that you only needed to provide him with information and that you'd hardly be needed for more than a few hours, at most, but you paid them no attention. It was unnecessary since your reply had practically jumped out of your mouth, much to his amusement. Shikanoin Heizou had already won you over with that ever-affable smile and outgoing nature.

Once he actually started working, only high praises were sung about the young detective from the city. Files and files containing cold cases about missing children and stolen goods diminish at an extraordinary rate as Heizou scours through them all with a charming smile. You had no complaints either. Heizou treated you well; he was never curt with you, even if his words lingered on the edge of being condescending at times when he explained how obvious a criminal was being, he didn't throw all his workload onto your inexperienced hands, though he did insist you stay with him all throughout the night when he was working—not to do work, but to keep him company. You were a little confused about why he was staying when he had already solved his cases for the day, simply scribbling down into a book in between indecipherable looks thrown at you.

There were times you felt uneasy, like when the ghost of his touches felt more solid, and the usual brush against your back turned into a firm arm around your shoulder or a hand pressing into the small of your back, and his usual polite words turned more playful, more familiar than you'd have liked. Or when he insisted there was enough time for you to take a break and ushered you to a bustling restaurant, taking bites from your meal and offering you some of his, all while ignoring your questions about the cases he was supposed to be working on that day. Over time, you chalked it up to his personality, much like the times when he'd see you dressed up in a new outfit and point it out with a teasing grin ("Oh my, getting all dolled up for me?") or when he'd randomly make inferences about your relationships with others, by observing how long your conversation continued and listening to the tone of your voice, later confirming all his suspicions with you. It was a little off-putting, but perhaps all geniuses were eccentric in that way.

But there was no excusing the sight in front of you now.

Realization dawns upon you as any words you had turned to sludge at the back of your throat. You tried to find a reason, but as your eyes scanned the brutal scene it was clear to you that your fears had been confirmed. There was no other explanation for why Heizou was crouched over a still, unmoving body, or for the bruises littering his victim's skin. The ebbing glow of the vision at his side, the beads of sweat on his skin, and the final breeze that fluttered past...you didn't want to believe that he was capable of such sheer malice, but how could you deny the obvious?

"What brings you here?" a cold wave of fear envelopes you at his casual tone, accompanied by the impish smile that follows when he says your name, "Oh, was I missing for too long? Were you worried about me?"

"Detective, this is..."

"Now, how long have we known each other already? You can just call me Heizou," his eyes flit over to where yours are glued to, "Hm, this? Oh, it's such a pity, I know! But he was starting to get on my nerves a little, with all the cozying up he was trying to do with you."

It clicks after his words, why there was something familiar about the lifeless figure collapsed on the ground. Someone who had, just a few days ago, been trying to start a conversation with you while you were following Heizou around; but you remembered Heizou tugging you away while you were trying to think of a reply, with a callous reply in your stead, and you remember the startling fierceness gleaming in his eyes. You'd have never imagined that his anger went this far.

"So you killed him?"

Heizou blinks at you slowly, before chuckling as he stands up from his crouched position, "Well, what else was I to do? Hmm, something's telling me that you're about to go running...I wouldn't recommend that, partner."

Before you can even take a step, a strong gust of wind knocks you over onto your back. Heizou looms over you, a dark storm stirring in his previously bright eyes.

"You'll tell everyone that I killed someone, and drag them over to see the body. But nobody will believe that, will they? The Tenryou Commission's most prized detective coming to this little place to murder a random passerby? Come on, partner, I was hoping you learned a thing or two about a convincing case from me by now."

You gasp out, the shock from the impact yet to wear out, and Heizou laughs sharply at your helpless state.

"It's alright. There'll be plenty of time for you to learn after. I'll even tell you how I'll go about refuting your claims," Heizou leaned even closer to you, "Let's see, it would be terribly suspicious if there were someone messing with my files, you know? Only someone that works closely with me would be able to do that, and they'd know how much progress I was making here. It must have upset them, I'd say, they must have wanted to scare me off. Oh, and if I happened to find evidence of a murder weapon lying around...well, it would be a closed case, don't you think?"

You exhale sharply, feeling as though the world was closing in—or maybe, it was just Heizou's presence that was starting to feel heavy, "you wouldn't—"

Heizou smiles, but it's devoid of any previous warmth, "I could—isn't that all that matters? I've never asked for an assistant, I've never needed one—the Commission can tell you this—but you came and begged and pleaded with me, so I agreed to take you under my wing. You paid back my kindness by betraying me—really, how cruel. And when you've been named a murderer, there'll be no place to run either. You'll just have to sit nice and still in my house, hmm?"

It was just like him to have it all figured out. He had been stringing you along all this while, with his honey-coated lies and well-mannered facade, and you had followed him without a single doubt.

"I'm looking forward to many more days of being together, partner."

When it's your word against the prodigy detective of the Tenryou Commission, whoever will believe you?

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