Vices: A Race **Chapter 008**

“Even before he had died, we were in deep waters with the M Corporation. They had helped us in our time of need, and we were in debt.” Ms. Akira brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “Taro had trouble with it. Being friends with his wife, I was able to console her about it.”

“The M Corporation?”

She nodded. “The big building down the road, ten minutes away. Taro and the company owner, Mr. Matsumoto, were friends. They go quite a while back, he helped out Taro when he started this company.”

Peters rubbed his chin. “Matsumoto…he sounds familiar.”

“He’s quite the businessman.”

“I’ve heard. Akira, do you know anything else about it? Have you noticed how Taro was acting before his death?”

“He was more upset than ever. I think it’s because of how much he was losing at the casino down the road,” she admitted. “His wife told me about it. I swore never to tell. But now that this happened, I figure that I’d share as much as I can without tarnishing Taro’s name.”

“I can promise that you aren’t,” Peters assured her. They continued talking for the next fifteen minutes, Peters finally leaving when he felt that he had enough information. “Thank you for your time, Akira.”

“It’s not a problem.” She bowed, “Please come back if you need me.” Upon leaving, Peters took his phone out and dialed A immediately, the Englishwoman picking up on the first ring. “I’ve got a bit more,” he told her.

“Any connections?”

“He owed a lot to the M Corporation. Apparently, Sansa was about to fall apart when the owner of M came to his aid.” Peters got into his car, securing the phone onto a stand, “I asked the next in line. She’s friends with his wife.”

“The M Corporation?”

“Yeah, the office down the road, about ten minutes away. It’s this huge building with a lot of advertising and techy stuff around it,” he explained. “Sound familiar to you?”

“Yes, it does – hold on a moment.”

He waited until she spoke again.

“Peters, it’s no longer called ‘M’ – it changed its name to ‘KM’ recently, when the first CEO passed away. The one who succeeded him did the changing.”

“Oh.” He backed out of the parking area, “Wait. How do you know this?”

“The KM Corporation is owned by a friend of mine,” she told him as he drove. “Before the name change, it was simply known as Matsumoto Co. When his father died, his son took over and changed the name to the Kenichi Matsumoto Co. KM Co., for short.”

Peters blinked. “So the owner of the business…”

“He’s a close friend of Matt’s who I was able to meet.”

“Christ.” He exhaled, spotting the shape of the building from afar, “Can you do me a favor and conduct the interview? You know him more, of course, and it would be less awkward.”

“I can do that.”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll be back at HQ for more studying. Touta might be back, so I’ll help him out with the information he got.”

“Alright. I’ll follow up when I finish.”

Heaving a sigh, A ended the call and drove on further, sending a quick text to Matt, asking for him to meet her on the ground floor of the building. At that, she began to think and tapped her finger on the wheel when she waited for the stoplight to turn green.

KM and Sansa…

She couldn’t recall if Matt had told her anything about Matsumoto. He had been working late nights yet again, but that was already normal to them.

A remembered Matsumoto the last time she had seen him. He had invited the two of them to his home, just for lunch and time to talk, time to explain.

And Matsumoto – no, Kenichi – was young.

Younger than Touta, definitely, he was on his way to the top of the stock markets. KM Corporation zoomed skyward, never seeming to go down. She recalled the slightly haughty smirk on his face when she asked if he would ever crash.

“Unlike those Yotsuba bastards, love, I’m quite careful with who I trust.”

Matt had snorted at that.

Yotsuba, A had learned, was a company that rivaled KM a few years before. It eventually crashed and failed after accusations that they had worked with the mass murderer everyone had known as Kira. When Yotsuba fell, KM rose to the opportunity and grabbed the lead position with a firm hold.

With some gains came losses, Kenichi then said.

Noburu Matsumoto, father and CEO, had died mysteriously months later.

Kenichi stopped the story at that, smiling with an edge in his eye. All he could tell them was that if not for Yotsuba’s fall, they wouldn’t be where they were in the present.

She decided not to press for more information after that.

A rolled the car window down at spotting the security guard by the entrance to KM, “Do you have an appointment, ma’am?”

“I do, actually. With Mr. Matsumoto,” she rustled in her bag for her ID and presented it to the guard, “I work with the police and would like to interview him regarding Taro Watanabe, who died a few weeks ago.” After seconds of confirming that she indeed had an appointment, he let her in and eventually, A stepped out of her car.

A smiling ginger met her outside, Matt meeting her by the entrance. “Have a good morning so far?” he asked, leading her inside.

“It could have been better,” she admitted, “But I’m here for something else. Do I have to wait for Matsumoto?”

“I don’t think you have to – hold on for a moment, darling. Souta!” she watched as a plump man stopped in front of Matt, both of them conversing quietly before he dismissed the employee, turning back to A, “He’s got a bloody call. We’ll get to him in ten minutes,” he looked at her apologetically, “I’m sorry for the delay. You think he’d be ready for you, but there he goes, taking a call. Do you want a snack or anything?”

“Is there anything sweet around?”

“Sixth floor.” He replied quickly, and sent her a smile. “Let’s have something to snack while we wait for the old coot.” She laughed, both of them walking to the elevator and entering once it opened. Matt hit the button labeled ‘6^th’ and waited as the elevator ascended, he kissing her forehead.

“You’re too damn formal,” she murmured.

“I have to be, darling. I might get whacked in the head if someone sees,” he joked, and she held on to him for the moment, taking in the scent of his cologne. “You’re making it hard for me to not kiss you.”

A grinned at him, standing on her toes to kiss him before the doors opened. At that, Matt straightened his tie, clearing his throat and walking out with her soon after. “There’s cake, cupcakes, bread and coffee. Much more food choices beyond, but we have to stay close in case he’s ready. The idiot’s insane,” he muttered.

“Insulting your boss?”

“I save his damn life,” he sat down across her by the window, glass revealing the city beneath them, “I can do whatever I please. Now, what do you want? And no,” he added upon seeing her glance at the coffee wistfully, “You’re having water.”

“Unfair,” she complained.

“A coffee addition is just as bad as an alcohol one.” He poked her nose lightly with a chuckle of his own. After the small break, the two headed to the top floor, where Kenichi’s office was located. He was just about to knock on the door when it opened, a taller man with ebony hair and dark eyes greeting them with a warm smile.

His suit was crisp, white tie going well with the black scheme of his attire. It was the bags under his eyes that made A realized that he hadn’t been sleeping very well.

She wondered if Matt noticed.

“Matt – I was wondering when both of you would get here,” Kenichi greeted them. He looked at A and shook her hand, “I’m so sorry for the delay. I had a call and needed to arrange a business meeting for next week…but enough of that. Would you like to come inside?” she nodded, Matt quickly kissing her cheek before leaving.

She felt a slight unease.

Kenichi glanced at her as he closed the door.

“It saddens me to see that Matt’s been busy,” he told her, sitting down and gesturing for her to sit as well. “But I don’t think that’s what you’re here for, Arianne.”

“A,” she corrected quickly, “Call me A.”

“A.” he said the letter, the nickname slowly, and then nodded. “Understandable. So, A,” a smile curved up his lips, “Let me guess what you’re here for. Is it about Taro?”

“It is. Peters, my partner on this case, was supposed to interview you. But I offered to do it myself.” It was a small lie, since Peters had asked her to do it… “Since I knew you more than he did. To avoid the potential awkwardness,” she explained, and Kenichi laughed.

“Of course, of course. Also for the purpose of seeing Matt again,” he winked, and she felt herself redden. “Alright. Let’s move on to more serious topics. What did you want to know about Taro?”

She took the small pen and notepad from her bag, clearing her throat, “I just wanted to know about your relationship with him, and how his company had fared in the last few months. It could have been a contributor to his death, and we’re trying to clue in on what really happened, and why he was the victim.”

Kenichi closed his eyes, humming under his breath.

“Taro Watanabe…yes. My father was friends with my father,” he told her slowly. “When Watanabe Sr. had passed, the position was automatically passed on to Taro. He did an amazing job on bringing back the business to its topmost capacity. However, recently, something had happened. Taro wouldn’t tell me a thing about it. His sales crashed, he had trouble with managing his staff,” his brown eyes opened and watched as A jotted it down, “It was like things were going badly for him almost all the time.”

“He had fights with his wife over his gambling. It started as a hobby, really, just to try out his luck. But the streak stopped. When it stopped, the fall of the business followed. Taro was smart. But he was quick to panic. He was impulsive,” Kenichi shook his head, “The shock got to him. He squandered more and lost.”

“Eventually, he came to me for help. He and I were friends as well. Our fathers had introduced us to each other. Taro asked if he could borrow money, if I could pull some strings…I gave him all the help I could.”

A furrowed her brows. Kenichi noticed. “You seem confused, A. What is it?”

“Sorry, it’s just…if Mr. Watanabe – Taro – had your help, he would have slowly brought back his company, right?” Kenichi nodded. “Then why did his gambling increase? Why did he seem troubled during the days leading to his death?”

At that, Kenichi had to look away.

“I might have had a fault. I was taught, see, to help. But in helping, I had to get it back. Business works that way. You can help fellow entrepreneurs in their business building, but you have to expect back a repayment. I expected Taro to pay me back when Sansa Co. was slowly going back to the top once more.”

“But he didn’t.”

“Too right. He didn’t. It took time, he told me. It would take time. And I would give him time. But when that time was up, I reminded him over and over and over again.”

“So he was pressured to give it back.”

“Indeed. Remember – he was smart. But it was that same panic and impulsive drive that got to him a second time. Eventually, all he did was gamble. It was bad publicity. Sales began to drop again. And when I next heard of him, well…”

Kenichi smiled grimly.

A stopped at the unfamiliarity of it.

“I was offering flowers at his grave. He never paid me back. But thinking of that now,” he sighed, “It doesn’t matter so much anymore. I can write it off. Remove it from my head. All of it doesn’t matter when one of my closest friends in the business industry just faded away.”