Day 7/Prompt: AU/Alternative Universe

Summary :"Miyano, you're like a stray cat, invading everyone's homes and gaining their trust. I know you may have some useful information."

AU: Crime Noir/1950s

Sounds of merry laughter and the strong smell of alcohol greeted him when he pushed open the doors of the bar and stepped inside. No one paid him any attention as he walked past and took a seat from an unoccupied table. No one except a waitress though, who upon seeing him, scurried over with a notepad. She stood by his side, a busty tanned woman sporting a common waitress outfit, disheveled black hair shining under the dimly lit lights, and pen in hand, ready to take his order.

"Bourbon, if you have any.", he calmly said, handing her the money.

She let out a squeaky giggle, snatching the money from his hand. "We have a lot, sweetie," she began to walk away, "Oh–and enjoy our star tonight!"

The whole bar darkened, the stage being the only place brightly lit up. He leaned back in his chair and watched with great interest as the rippling red curtains broke in half and a young woman stepped out. The crowd of people began to clap and whistle, he took note immediately that she must be really popular amongst these people at this bar.

The woman with dark auburn hair and clad in the most beautiful black he's ever seen, walked up to the microphone waiting for her. With eyes painted in the most deepest turquoise, she looked over the crowd, a sly smile on her face. She took a deep breath and in a matter of seconds her low sweet voice took over. When she began singing, all the spectators were now hopelessly mooning around, spellbind.

A bloody siren, that's what she reminded him of as he, the only one not affected, watched. From what he knew, sirens were known for their lovely melodies that had the ability to hypnotize any human being at hearing range. They were fascinating creatures and so was she, the woman on the stage. During those last few minutes of her singing, he took the time to study everything about her: her delicate symmetrical face, her soft hair and the way it shined, her curves and body frame, which under that tight black dress looked almost like an hourglass, and finally those bright eyes of hers, which were now staring straight at him when she cut off her song.

Here's your drink, sweetheart, the waitress said as settled his order in front of him.

The young woman walked off the stage and he followed her every move like a hawk would to his prey. She thanked many of her adoring fans as she walked past them and towards a table where a woman her age with long raven-colored hair was seated. The two of them embraced and he watched calmly as the auburn one grabbed hold of her companion's face, directing it to face hers, and lowered down, locking their lips together.

Taking a sip from his Bourbon, he watched in silence at this act of intimate love; the way their lips moved against each other and her hands running through her black hair. He continued to watch until they slowly separated, the woman blowing her a kiss goodbye before walking straight towards him, her turquoise-colored eyes clashing with his.

She sat in the seat across from him, furrowed her brows and flashed him a teasing smirk. "What brings you here to these parts, Kudo-kun? Hopefully, it's your shitty detective work and not about our courtship ?"

He irked at her comment and frowned maliciously at her. "Listen here, Miyano," he began, anger in his tone, "If I was given a choice in this arranged marriage , I would've called the whole thing off the second I found you and her that day I went to visit you."

She scoffed and pulled out a cigar. "You're still hung up on that? Come on Kudo, that happened ages ago. I still don't see what the big deal was, you men are allowed to have mistresses but us not? Sounds completely unfair to me." Carefully, she lit up the cigar and settled it in between her red lips.

"I would never get a mistress, Miyano. You know that I love you."

"I know, I know! You've told me that thousands of times and to be honest, it's completely tiresome.", she said, turning her face away. "Now, did you come here to rant to me about that or is there something else?"

He didn't want to swim away from what they were currently talking about, but he knew he had no choice. He was here for business and that's all. "You know Long Tim, right?" He asked, all while reaching into his pocket to pull out a set of photos taken from the crime scene this morning.

Carefully, she grabbed them from the table and inspected each one of them. "This looks gruesome," she whispered, "And yes, I knew him. We were mutuals through his sister. Hmm, can't believe he's dead. Thinking about it, the bastard deserved it, he was just a waste of mother's love." She threw the photos back to him.

He picked them up and put them back in his coat. "Miyano, you're like a stray cat, invading everyone's homes and gaining their trust. I know you may have some useful information concerning Tim and if you do, tell me or else I'll be force to apprehend you and take you back to the station. Choose whichever route you like."

Except for the chattering of the customers, there was a long silence between them as she looked him hard in the eye. She was thinking, he could see, whether or not to cooperate softly and he hoped to God she does. He did not want to have any troubles with her at this moment, especially in a very public place. His wish was answered as she leaned closer to him. "What do you want to know?" She asked.

For the next 20 minutes, he gathered as much information as he could. During that time period, she requested drinks for both of them. At the end of their talk, his was half-empty, while hers did not have a single drop left.

"That's all I know about Tim," she stated, yawning, "Hope that'll help in your investigation. Now, please leave."

Ignoring her last comment, he thanked her and stood up, straightening his brown coat. Before he could walk off, he turned to her and began to speak, "It was nice seeing you again, Shiho . How long has it been? Three months? I've been trying to find you, just so we can talk about what happened. I really didn't want to talk to you about this case tonight, but as you know my work's much more important."

When he said that, he noticed a frown appeared on her face and she seemed about ready to ramble and get on to him, but she kept calm, only looking him down with her eyes. Grumbling something he couldn't hear, she turned to look away from him and with venom in her voice, she growled, "That's all you care about, Kudo. Your precious work. It was one of the reasons I couldn't love you. Believe me, when we first met, I tried to love you, tried to do it for my parents, but I realized that I couldn't." Sighing, she turned to face to him and did the most extraordinary thing, she apologized to him. In a soft voice, she apologized for never being able to return his feelings and for going behind his back like that.

He felt the urge to ask her why she never confided in him and told him her struggles, saving him the heartbreak of finding her with the Mouris' daughter, but he kept quiet, knowing better than to pressure her in something she either didn't want to or wasn't ready to talk about.

"You know, Shiho," he began, "I still and will most likely always love you. When we get marry this April, I won't try to force you to love me. I'll let you be, make sure you won't dread our marriage, be a good faithful husband, and whenever you need me, you'll know where to find me. Now, I have to leave." He picked up his hat and put it on.

"I-I'll see you at home then.", she said, giving him a curt nod. He nodded back and walked off, out of the bar. For the remainder of the night, she remained sitting there, watching with solemn eyes at the empty seat across from her. If it wasn't for her female companion, she would most possibly have remained sitting there.

Froody's Afternote: This ties the end of CoAi Week! Yesss!!! *cheers* I really enjoyed this and writing for the entries and hoped you enjoyed reading my entries as well : )