Private Finished Dinner, Debts and Other Dastardly Designs

"Oof, that's cold," Aisuke said when Zora purposefully ignored his attempt to get her to refer to him more familiarly. "I thought we were getting close, talking away over drinks!" he added with a somewhat genuine look of disappointment.

'Well, it's not like that's my real name, anyway.'

When Zoraida had finished listing out the horrible things her brother had apparently done to people, Kakeru let out a laugh. "Oh, no no, it's nothing morbid like that. I'm not someone who would go on a personal vendetta for revenge, especially not given the fact he's already dead, as you said."

His smile faded momentarily, and he leaned forward to place his chin over laced hands. "No... the debt your brother owes me is a lot bigger, and a lot simpler." He gave her a hard look, to make it perfectly clear how serious he was. "Money. Your brother owes my company billions."

"Now, I don't care what he did with the money, all I care is that I get the money back. And seeing as he's currently... unable to pay, I'd say it's only fair that after inheriting his property, you'd inherit his debts as well."

Leaning back in his chair, he returned the smile to his face. "Listen, I'm truly sorry it has to be this way. Really, it's a shame I have to get to know your interesting self over these kinds of matters, but a debt is a debt, and there are very powerful people waiting to receive that money back. So... are you still going to tell me to go ask his ghost, or are you willing to cover his debt and save us both the pain?"

A snicker crept its way to Aisuke's face when he saw how shaken Zora was by the amount he had just thrown at her. Reacting in shock was something he was used to from the countless times he's had to collect debts from bigwigs, but none of them ever went as pale as her. And frankly, he couldn't blame her - the amount of money she was going to have to cover for her brother was absurd, even by the mafia's standards.

"Oh, careful with that!" Kakeru exclaimed, reaching across the table to pull the glass out of the frozen woman's hand. "If you break that, I'm not sure the owners would be happy."

The smile didn't leave his face even after she snapped out of her state of shock and began tossing frantic questions at him. "Well, I'm no accountant, but adding together the borrowed money, the interest, and so on, I'd say it's around..." he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, using his fingers to count. "Hmmm... one- no, two billion dollars. I'm sure someone with your brains can convert that to any of those other currencies you mentioned." He said with a cocky wink.

"Yeah, it sounds like a ridiculous amount. And trust me, I'm surprised too! But..." he leaned forward on his elbows. "Your brother didn't really seem to care, or maybe he just didn't notice how much the debts piled on, and on top of that, it's not exactly "clean" money, if you catch my drift?" He quirked an eyebrow, giving her time to process what he was saying.

"Now!" Aisuke said after a few moments of silence, leaning back into his seat. "You know the amount, and I think you understand the circumstances too. My question is... will you pay it back?"

Feeling a sudden chill run up his fingers, Aisuke glanced down at his hand that came in contact with Zora's cup. Ice was now crawling up the palm and back of his hand, locking it to the cup. He looked back towards Zora, grinning despite the slight predicament he was put in, and let out a whistle. "Aren't you feisty? I don't hate that."

It seemed he didn't care that he was at risk of becoming a popsicle, instead he just continued the conversation as though nothing was happening. Even when his dense lackeys noticed that he was getting into a pinch, he glared at them to signal them to stand down.

"I'm glad you're willing to cooperate. That makes things easier for both of us. But frankly, you're going to have to pay all of it." Kakeru let out a chuckle. "My problem, you say? I think you've misunderstood..." with a quick motion, he placed a hand over Zora's other hand, and ice crystals began to form over the skin he touched. It wasn't freezing over as quickly as the ice she was creating, however it did seem to gradually get worse.

"I'm not the one who has a problem on their hands."

For a moment, Aisuke stared at Zora silently when she returned the favor of his threats by saying she'd go to officials. It seemed like he was actually backing out at the threat - well, at least until he started laughing.

"You're killing it with the jokes!" he exclaimed as he was catching his breath. Almost immediately after saying that, his expression became a lot more serious. "Do you understand who you're dealing with here? I'm not just some gangster trying to make quick cash..."

"Legally yours or not, a dead man isn't going to be paying his debts." He gave her a stern look, making it perfectly clear he won't be backing down regardless of what excuses she makes. As she pulled her hand away, Kakeru was quick to grab it, gripping on tightly. It didn't seem he cared he could freeze to death here.

"This is the last time I'm going to say this: pay back the full debt and I'll never bother you again, or force me to use... more aggressive measures to get the money out of you. And if your beauty and brains match, you should realize that my methods are going to be more than just "unpleasant"."

Aisuke let out an exasperated sigh. Despite how much Zora insisted, she clearly didn't understand. "Please, if you managed to figure out who exactly I am, you wouldn't compare me to those chumps," he said, narrowing his eyes threateningly. "And you would realize that going to the police will do you no good in this situation. Ah, and it's pronounced Yamaguchi-gumi, by the way."

Seeing that she was becoming more agitated, Kakeru couldn't help but smile smugly. That anger only proved that his actions were getting to her. His grip only tightened. "Don't tell me how to conduct my business, or what to do in general," he told her, his tone lax despite his words.

He was silent as Zoraida made her final statement, and he remained quiet for a while after she finished speaking. Then, with another, lighter sigh, he finally let go of her hand. "Very well, Miss Del Bosque. I'll leave you be..." He leaned back in his chair, moving his eyes towards his hand that had been glazed over with ice crystals. For a moment, it seemed as though he had given up - that he would take the original amount and be gone.

"... For tonight," he added after letting her hopes go up, flexing his hand to shatter the ice that had formed upon it and shifting his head back to look at her with a deadly gaze. "It's a shame, really. I did try to give you the peaceful option. But, it looks like you'd rather go the hard way."

He casually slid out of his seat, placing his hat back on his head and draping his coat over his shoulders. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. It's always the prettier ones that like it a little rough," he gave her a flirty, and perhaps mocking, wink, then pulled a card out of his pocket and threw it onto the table in front of her. It appeared to be something like a business card, with a name, company and number. Unsurprisingly, the name on the card didn't match with the one he had given to her verbally.

"I'll give you three days to regret this decision. Think of it as a gesture of good will." He looked towards his gang members who had been watching from their table, signaling with his head that it's time to go. "I do hope you'll make the most of it, because it's the last time I'll be kind to you."

Along with a slight bow of his head, he proceeded to take her hand once more, this time gently bringing it up to his lips and placing a soft kiss on it. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Del Bosque. I look forward to your call."

And with that, he turned towards the exit, leaving with just as much, if not more, confidence as he had entered.