Chapter Text
Tetchou thought that he could manage it. He really hoped but with every second he was being proved wrong.
It was getting really hard to breathe comfortably.
He probably shouldn't have packed any turtlenecks with him at all.
"Actually, Jouno, can you come back here?"
Jouno quietly closed the door, and turned around, cocking his head to the side.
"What is it?"
"Can we switch clothes?" Tetchou asked, looking away but still catching a puzzled expression on Jouno's face. "My turtleneck is choking me."
He could have changed into his other clothes, but the pullover Jouno was wearing looked too appealing. Soft and comfortable... Loose, it wouldn't constrict any movement...
He heard Jouno laugh a little. "Is it now? You don't need to come up with excuses like that to wear my clothes."
"It's not an—" Tetchou gets interrupted because Jouno threw his shirt at him, and it landed right on Tetchou's face.
Damn.
Why is his aim so good?
"Hurry up, it's cold here, you know" Jouno huffs, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.
Right.
Tetchou quickly undresses and gives Jouno his absolutely evil turtleneck.
It felt so good, being released from his personal hell.
Tetchou quickly puts on Jouno's shirt, and notices that it smells very much like Jouno. Well, specifically, Jouno's overly expensive fragrance that he always wears on their days off. It was subtle and barely noticeable but for Tetchou, who has been dating Jouno for a few years already, it became familiar and recognizable.
"Thanks," Tetchou smiled, looking at Jouno. It wasn't the first time they swapped clothes - after all, being almost the same size is rather convenient. Maybe Jouno's clothes were sometime snug on the shoulders but Tetchou would always let it slide.
"It's nothing," Jouno, who also finished changing, shook his head. As he reached for a brush to fix his hair, Tetchou couldn't help but downright stare at his beloved.
Tetchou himself would always say that he is just admiring, though.
It was rare to see Jouno in black, after all. His clothes tended to be in neutral tones for the sake of convenience and, as Jouno would say, not looking like a clown. Tetchou vaguely remembered Jouno explaining that he'd been told that there are a lot of shades of black and having non-matching shades of black makes you look cheap, or something like that. Maybe that was the reason but Tetchou wasn't sure.
But damn Jouno looked good. Dark fabric made Jouno's skin appear even lighter, as if he was being illuminated from within.
But alas, Tetchou was caught.
"Is something off?" it seemed that Jouno finished brushing his hair, and once again was facing Tetchou.
The mixture of black, white and bright red made him appear almost dangerous. Like a wild plant that mustn't be touched.
You look so beautiful right now.
That is what Tetchou wants to say but he had to hold back his tongue. Every time Tetchou said a similar compliment, Jouno didn't seem particularly happy. He usually looked a little disappointed and lost in thought but never asked to stop.
Instead of answering, Tetchou closes distance between them and pretends fix Jouno's collar.
"Oh. Thanks," Jouno blurted out, looking a little flustered. "I will be off now."
"Right. See you later, Jouno."
"Bye," and with that, he was gone.
Tetchou sighed - he still had some time before his meeting with the lieutenant. More specifically, two hours.
It was that moment when it downed on him - it was only seven in the morning, and he forced Jouno to wake up at two to investigate the body, they returned at around five and because of Tetchou's nightmare, both got only around thirty minutes of sleep. And now, Jouno was off to do investigation of his own instead of going to catch some sleep while he can. Because he chose to stay awake and comfort Tetchou...
He started to feel a little bad about it - after all, his insomnia shouldn't be something to keep Jouno up. On the other hand, though, it's not like he woke up Jouno just to entertain him, no, it was related to their work.
Still, Tetchou felt bad.
* * *
It felt weird. Entering the cafe completely on his own - not accompanied by his friends or comrades. He rarely payed attention to the fact that he was surrounded by people almost all the time, so now being alone once again, after his little breakdown in the hotel, felt weird.
But the cafe seemed nice, for a town as remote and abandoned as this. The interior was simple, cheap to maintain, the music was just loud enough to not feel awkward and also not too overwhelming. Despite the fact that it was early in the morning, Tetchou wasn't the first one who arrived there – few men and women were already occupying some tables. It was an hour until Tetchou was supposed to meet with lieutenant Amagi, the policeman that Jouno himself referred Tetchou to.
He could go back to his hotel room but for some reason it seemed unbearable at the moment.
So, he approached the lady at the register. She seemed rather old - roughly old enough to be the same age as his grandparents.
"Good morning," her voice sounded sweet, like honey, and the roughness of her voice for some reason reminded Tetchou of the way old floorboard creak when you stop on them. "What would you like to order?"
Tetchou looked around but failed to find a menu.
The costumers probably just know what they serve here.
"Black coffee, please," he forced a polite smile, as he felt his stomach growling. He wasn't well versed in the art of coffee, but he guessed that what Jouno makes in the mornings for them is black coffee. What was it properly called again? Americano? Well, it didn't matter since nobody asked him what he meant by saying black coffee. It seemed that his lack of sleep and tiredness from the locating the second body and walking around the town were catching up. "And, ah, do you serve breakfasts here?"
"Of course, we do," her smile widened. "You are not from around here, are you? I don't think I've seen you before, but I am at that age when my memories start to fail me," she let out a small bitter laugh at the end. "I can make you anything you want if I have the ingredients."
For some reason, Tetchou totally blanked out. He tried to remember what he usually eats in the mornings but couldn't, so he just said the first thing that popped into his head. "Omurice...?" he nodded, not to the woman, but to himself. Omurice. I guess that's what I want now. "I am here to investigate the murder, so your memories are not failing you, miss."
It seemed like it perked her interest - her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't seem to be scared at all. "Has your investigation already started?"
Tetchou let out a sigh.
"No, not yet. I need to meet up with lieutenant Amagi first. Is he not here already, by any chance?" Tetchou looked around once more. Truth be told, all of the people there seemed too old to still be on duty. "I haven't had the chance to meet him."
"Ah, I see, no, he isn't here... Well, I hope you like it here," she said as she pressed the buttons on the cash register. Tetchou quickly paid for everything and sat at the empty table. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax for a second. The quiet chatter of the locals was quiet and morphed into a homogeneous stream of sounds that was surprisingly calming.
He sat at the empty table with his small cup of coffee and closed his eyes, trying to think of something to pass the time… Although, he didn’t have to wait for his mind to conjure up an interesting topic – a certain familiar voice perked Tetchou’s attention. He opened them, and, sure enough, Jouno was sitting not too far away from him. Well, that could be said for about any table in the small café.
"Thank you so much for meeting me before my shift! Seriously, I never get free time after work."
"It's no big deal. I'm used to waking up early either way, so it was just perfect timing, wouldn't you say?"
Tetchou wondered if Jouno knew how good his body language was. How effortlessly he appeared to be both confident and friendly. That he took up space in a manner that it admirable and respectable, in a way that looked so natural and yet didn't bother other people. Next to him, everyone looked so full in comparison.
"Okay, enough about my work. I still have a full day of it ahead of me," she laughed as she shook her head. "What about you? I honestly thought you were dead at some point."
"Don't you say," Jouno's laugh was dry and polite. He brought the coffee cup to his lips and quietly sipped the coffee before replying. "Unfortunately for everyone, I am still very much alive. Which means that no criminal will be roaming free on my watch."
That was... Certainly a way to put it.
"Still can't believe you became a prosecutor, Jouno-san. I mean... I knew you left to become a lawyer, but I never expected you to follow through."
"Neither did I," his voice was suddenly solemn. Like Jouno himself couldn't believe that he followed through – even though he didn't. But his life turned out to be tightly intertwined with it in a way he couldn't have imagined before. "Had a sudden change of heart some time ago. Isn't that great?"
"I guess," she shrugged and accidentally locked eyes with Tetchou, spotting that somebody was staring in their direction. She leaned to the side, shooting Tetchou a questioning look.
"Hm? What's there?" Jouno cocked his head. Certainly, he must have felt that somebody has been looking at them and realized it was Tetchou... Surely, that realization was made as soon as he spotted the familiar heartbeat quite close to him. Or so Tetchou assumed, at least. Nonetheless, Jouno played the part of obliviousness.
"Ah, nothing. Somebody's just staring at us," he sighed. Overhearing that, Tetchou averted his eyes. The thought that someone else might be observing and perceiving them always escaped his mind.
"If you're worried that he might follow you, I can walk with you when it's time for you to leave."
"No, no. It's fine. I don't even think he was looking at me," she laughed awkwardly, trying to make her voice sound quieter. "Anyway, I was saying, you're barely recognizable without glasses, it's insane..."
The more people entered the café, the less snippets of conversation Tetchou could hear, Jouno's voice getting lost in a stream with everybody else. He closed his eyes as he took a few gulps of coffee. This should freshen him up before Amagi arrives – Tetchou couldn't afford to zone out during the meeting.
Propping his head on his hand, Tetchou continued to steal glances at Jouno. Not his fault they were sitting not that far away from each other – the café was small. And Tetchou got there first. After some time, Tetchou wasn't sure how much – coffee seemed to magically speed up the time, because when he looked at his watch it was already half past eight. The coffee also made him feel all vibrating and tingly, and boosted his brain mechanisms back to work. The woman Jouno was with also left, leaving Jouno alone at the table. Before Tetchou could look at Jouno again, he felt the vibration in his jean pocket. He quickly checked – a message from Jouno.
<3:
"Do I really look so good that it's worth risking your cover? Haha."
Tetchou turned his head in Jouno's direction, only to see him suppress a chuckle before being back to typing something.
<3:
"Cute."
He's in an awfully good mood. Too good, in fact, it might just be a foreshadowing for a disaster. Just what had gotten him so excited?
However, there was no time for Tetchou to ponder on it any longer, as his "date" has finally shown up. A man, probably in his mid-sixties, took a seat right across the table where Tetchou sat. He was in a police uniform, with a light coat draped over his shoulders – it wasn't a long walk from the precinct to the cafe to be all bundled up, Tetchou guessed. The man had a name tag sown onto the shirt, which displayed "Amagi", the name of the person Jouno contacted for police cooperation. Even though, he himself said that their help will be minimal...
"Suehiro, I assume?" the man's voice was rough and low – like he either had a permanent cold or smoked to many cigarettes throughout his life. "I've been contacted by your supervisor. Amagi," he extended his hand, which Tetchou grabbed in a handshake without much enthusiasm. "Pleasure to meet you."
He certainly expected Tetchou to say something in return, but Tetchou didn't really know what to say. With a delay, he reluctantly confirmed Amagi's words. "You're right." After another pause, he added: "You can call me Tetchou."
Amagi shrugged and put his coat on the back of the chair. "So, Suehiro, why are you here?"
...?
Why was he there? Was that some kind of interview? It's like Amagi was waiting for the right answer, immediately trying to show who is the boss, even though, Tetchou probably – most definitely – ranked higher. "My superiors believe that this case could be connected to a larger case they are investigating."
"And so, they sent me a rookie because they don't believe I can handle it," Amagi scoffed. As far as Tetchou knew, the official explanation to the public was an animal attack, and he wasn't even sure if local police would investigate it further.
"You are mistaken. Nobody cares about you personally," Tetchou said. "The person behind the murder is likely extremely dangerous, so it is empirical that there is a fighter of equal strength who can apprehend the criminal."
But it seemed that Tetchou's words made Amagi more irritable, even though he, in a way, tried to comfort him by saying that his presence is not at all an attack on Amagi's character.
"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that, punk?" Amagi rubbed his forehead. "Do you think that pointing out someone's incompetence is funny?"
"I was only explaining the situation," Tetchou looked away. Maybe he shouldn't have trusted Jouno's judgement that they'd get along. "I wasn't trying to insult you. The information we received said that you concluded it an animal attack and weren't planning on investigating it further."
"It's– it was them, not me!" Amagi raised his voice a bit. Luckily, it wasn't loud enough to draw attention to the table, as it was drowned in the general chatter. "I was planning to reach the truth."
"Then we can do it together...?" Tetchou cocked his head. He wasn't sure what Amagi's problem was, but if he was the only person, who cared enough to look deeper into that case, maybe Jouno picked a good temporary partner for him after all. "Current working theory is that the murderer is an ability user. They are probably connected to a larger ability user ring," Tetchou took the printed file copy out of his backpack and slid it to Amagi.
"Ability user?" Amagi's face suddenly dropped in annoyance. He didn't even look at the file, sliding it back to Tetchou. "Is that your idea of a joke?"
Stubborn people are very hard to deal with. It was silly of him to think that he would get a break in that regard, but compared to Amagi, at least Teruko and Jouno acknowledge what Tetchou had to say first and only then proceed to make fun of him.
"No. It's the most likely explanation. I'll need a list of ability users in this town, we couldn't find any information in the registry, so it would be best if you provided it to me... Right now, preferably." He didn't want to be there for longer than he had to. All of their efforts combined, the case would be solved as fast as possible and Tetchou could put the ring back on, and maybe even take Jouno on a nice date, substituting for the time apart–
"Not happening."
Tetchou let out a heavy sigh. Even though Jouno said that he and Amagi would get along splendidly, he couldn't say so himself. Not when the man was refusing any kind of cooperation.
"Amagi-san, you see, this information will not go anywhere. It's not a part of my duty to report ability users to the Special Division for Unusual Powers", Tetchou looked him right in the eyes. "I need to know in order to catch the criminal. Withholding such important information is only going to prolong the investigation and, possibly, give them time to kill more people."
The man only disapprovingly shook his head.
"There aren't any official documents regarding that in order to protect people in our community. We already had enough of unpleasant encounters with government where we were treated with zero nuance."
Tetchou wondered if what Amagi was pulling on him was even legal. He supposed that without proper written request approved by his superiors, Amagi's words did hold some weight.
But he had to find out! It looked like this man clearly had the unofficial list of ability users. There had to be only a few of them, considering how small the town was.
Still, Tetchou was puzzled. He thought that police from a small town would gladly take his helping hand and be cooperative, instead of whatever Amagi was doing.
After a few seconds of intense staring contest with the lieutenant, Tetchou heard some noise right beside him - someone has taken a seat at their table. And that someone was none other than Jouno.
"Good morning, gentlemen," he pulled a chair from the nearest empty table and invited himself to sit with Tetchou and Amagi. "Did I hear that right, Amagi-san? There are ability users in our little town?"
Ah. Tetchou didn't really like the smile on Jouno's face. Sweet like poison, it was the same face expression when he began torturing people, innocent or not. Maybe that's why he seemed so happy.
"It's too early in the morning to deal with you," the lieutenant grumbled, not even bothering to greet him. "What do you want?"
"Is your hearing getting bad or something? I asked if there are any ability users here," Jouno's smile only seemed to widen.
"This is confidential. And I am not telling you about it," it looked like Amagi was thoroughly acquainted with Jouno. No, it looked like he had a lot of distaste for Jouno even after Jouno allegedly didn't visit the town for almost ten years. But then again, Jouno had a whole yesterday to cause trouble.
"That is very cold and very mean, Amagi-san. Could you at least introduce me to the person you are with?"
"Fine," the man sighed. "I guess it would hurt. This is Suehiro Tetchou-san, an officer sent by the government to investigate recent murder. Suehiro-san, this is Jouno san, a... Who you were again?"
"Prosecutor," Jouno hummed. Amagi shot him an unamused look that could only be translated to "as if you are telling the truth, don't fool me".
"Yes, prosecutor, right. As if, but if you say so. Suehiro-san, this is Jouno-san. He is blind, so please don't deny him help if he happens to ask you for it. Our town's infrastructure is not very inclusive towards disabled people," he shook his head in disapproval. Jouno let out a quiet annoyed grunt.
"Maybe you should actually start doing something to improve this place, instead of whining and telling strangers to treat me like a child. Which is, I think, completely out of line for you. No doubt you're stealing all that money–"
“If you came here only to irritate me, please excuse yourself, Jouno-san. You are interrupting an important meeting,” Amagi sighed.
Oh, Tetchou realized, there is bad blood between them. And, to add onto it, Tetchou had to retake his mediator exam thrice.
He hasn’t seen Jouno being so thoroughly pissed in a while. Nonetheless, Jouno switched his attention to Tetchou, turning his back to Amagi. “Before we begin, tell me, Suehiro-san, what happens if a policeman loses his badge?”
“Hm? I suppose it would result in a fine,” Tetchou guessed, a bit surprised in the sudden turn of conversation. He thought that Jouno and Amagi would go on a long, boring string of back-and-forth bickering. Tetchou himself had never lost any of his documentation, so he could only guess...
“Really? That’s good to know. I bet my employer would be very mad if I lost my badge too,” Jouno nodded and pulled something out of his pocket before he slided it to Tetchou. “I found this yesterday. I suppose it could only belond to Amagi-san and wanted to give it to him, but...” he trailed off and and smirked. “I decided against it. It would be bad, if he got it back illegally? Can you pretend that you found it and file an according documentation, please?”
Don’t tell me you stole it, idiot. It looked like Jouno succeeded in what he wanted to do – Amagi seemed even more irritated than before. In a sense, Jouno gave him an advantage, something to dangle over Amagi’s head. Although, Tetchou didn’t really know if the fine would be a good enough reason for Amagi to listen to Tetchou... He stared at the badge for a few moments, and then at Amagi. Huh, he did lack a badge.
“Unfortunately, I can’t, however I can help you file the report...”
“Oh, I have no interest in this thing anymore,” he yawned and stretched. “Well, actually, as much as I'd like to pester you some more, I came here for a reason. Right, Suehiro-san?" Jouno cocked his head.
It felt really, really weird when Jouno was addressing him with his last name.
"Right," Tetchou nodded. "There is something important we need to report you, but we should move to the police precinct first."
Amagi was less then pleased to abandon his cup of coffee but didn't object. The journey to the precinct was rather short, only a five-minute walk from the café. They had to stop from time to time, though, because Jouno's cane kept getting stuck in thick snow. He cussed under his breath, and Tetchou wondered if it always used to be like that for Jouno before becoming a Hunting Dog and enhancing his senses to the point where he didn't need the cane anymore.
The lieutenant only muttered quiet "sorry" in shame but Jouno didn't react to that. He, undoubtedly, heard his words, though.
When they arrived at the station, Amagi curtly lead them to his office, where he shrugged off his coat and sat at the table, preparing the papers to register whatever they were about to tell him.
Despite not liking him very much, Tetchou had to admit that the lieutenant didn't lack efficiency and knew how to not waste time. He wondered, if that was the reason why Jouno decided that Amagi would be of great help to Tetchou with the investigation.
"So, what is that you two needed to report to me? I was under the impression that you two weren’t acquainted, given that you asked me for an introduction, Jouno-san."
As Tetchou opened his mouth, Jouno put his hand in the air, signaling, that Tetchou should remain quiet. "I'll start." He completely disregarded the latter half of Amagi’s complaint.
Amagi sighed, rubbed his temples and finally said: "Go on, then."
Why was he treating Jouno like that? Everything about lieutenant's words screamed that he didn't like Jouno and that he is wasting his time, that much even Tetchou could pick up.
"Well, last night, I think around four in the morning, I found a dead body."
Soon the annoyed expression on Amagi's faced was gone and it morphed into something filled with dread.
"I couldn't, err, fall asleep last night. It is very hard for me to deal with the death of my childhood friend and all. I went to visit my house in hopes that it would soothe me with nostalgia. In one of the rooms, I found a dead body... In that frenzied state I couldn't think clearly, I didn't know what to do. I recalled meeting officer Suehiro earlier in the evening, we had tea together and he told me that he is a policeman. So, I ran back to the hotel and asked for his help," Jouno said, feigning a distressed expression.
Tetchou usually had very strong feelings of dislike and disappointment towards lying. Lying makes everything unnecessarily complicated and slows things down, but he supposed that there was no other way out of this situation.
He just had to nod and don't say too much.
"Especially, don't say something that could contradict my words. Just tell him that you agree and give technical details."
It didn't even take much effort for Jouno to lie to the lieutenant's face and act like he was sincere and honest.
Tetchou, of course, could tell that Jouno was lying. He knew Jouno for too long not to notice that when Jouno is being genuine he is far more reluctant in his expression of sadness. But to outsider, he guessed, his act must be convincing. Convincing enough that Amagi just nodded along and took notes.
"What he said is true," Tetchou nodded after a few moments of silence when it was clear, that Jouno was done speaking. "Jouno-san lead me to his house and showed me the body. From the initial impression, it seems that the cause of death is the same as Kimura's. The examination results came and confirmed that the cause of death of these two is the same, although, they still need the time to figure out the identity of the second victim."
Amagi's eyes continued to dart between Jouno and Tetchou, which made Tetchou felt uncharacteristically uneasy. He hated lying, he was a bad liar, and he hoped that Amagi wouldn't question them. His heart was beating so fast that on the back of his mind, Tetchou thought that Jouno will downright murder him for it...
"That's... Horrible," Amagi finally answered and shook his head. "It's better not to announce anything yet. We don't need panic right now. And we must restrict the area. On the slight chance that it wasn't an animal attack, we can't give the murdered any chance to escape."
That actually worked in their favor. Maybe Amagi wasn't so bad after all!
"Oh, that's horrible," Jouno chuckled. "Lockdown? My boss is going to be furious with me."
"It can't be helped," the lieutenant's expression was serious. "You should call your family and relay the news, Jouno-san, it will be faster than our announcement either way. Just don't tell anyone about the second victim."
"My lips are sealed," Jouno nodded and suddenly stood up from the chair. Tetchou hadn't anticipated this, so the sudden movement managed to startle him, and he involuntarily jerked back, hand instinctively reaching for the sword. Except, right now his sword wasn't resting in the scabbard on Tetchou's hip but instead was reduced in size and hidden in the pocket oh his pants. "Suehiro-san, you will escort me to the hotel, as you promised, right?"
"Of course..." Tetchou trailed off. He thought that Jouno would want to hear as much of his conversation with Amagi, but here Jouno was willingly attempting to leave the conversation and the room.
"Wait, Suehiro," Amagi cut in. "We still need to discuss a few things. If Jouno wants to go with you, he'll have to wait in the corridor."
Jouno only smiled. "That's more than fine with me, Amagi-san." Was that his plan from the beginning? So, it wouldn't be weird that he stayed behind for no reason? So, it would look like it wasn't even his idea to begin with?
Tetchou watched Jouno leave, and then turned back to the lieutenant. His expression was grim – was it because the second victim had shaken up his belief that the death of Kimura was simply an animal attack? But if Amagi didn’t believe it either, what even was his assumption…? Perhaps, a killer that tried to disguise his murders as animal attacks?
"Ability user, you say..." He began, rubbing his temples. "Alright. I have a list of people that I keep track of. They may or may not be worth checking out... A few of them could be ability users but there is no official data. But you really think it's that?"
Tetchou nodded and sat down on the chair where Jouno just stood up from. "My superiors determined that it is the most likely explanation. The attack scars do not match with any existing animal on Earth, let alone the ones that inhibit your forest."
Tetchou couldn't quite understand the puzzled expression on Amagi's face. To him it sounded as straightforward as it could be – it is unlikely that anything of natural origin could leave those marks, therefore it was probably an ability of supernatural origin. Manifested as supernatural abilities of unknown origin in their world. Honestly, it was more out there to think that it was something other than somebody's ability.
"Abilities..." Amagi grumbled. "It always sounded like a convenient cover-up for government experiments or aliens or... Something beyond human comprehension."
Wordlessly, Tetchou took his beloved sword that he previously transformed to be as short as portable knife from the pocket of his cargo pants and extended the blade right before Amagi's very eyes. Very shocked eyes. It was probably the first time he saw an ability in action, which reminded Tetchou that everything in his live was not, indeed, a reality for a common, ordinary person.
"Is that...?!"
"That's my ability," Tetchou shrugged, returning the sword to its small disguise. He didn't know why and how exactly it worked other than controlling the shape, length and size of the blade with his mind – something that he spent a lot of time practicing. "I don't know the exact mechanics."
"Unbelievable."
Amagi sat there for a few minutes, maybe contemplating and remembering some odd experiences that could have a plausible explanation now. Tetchou looked out of the window.
"Is that something that you're born with?" Amagi asked, as he started to write down some names and addresses on a piece of paper.
"I don't know. I assume so," he heard the rumors about the artificial ability user that the head scientists were trying to develop. He wasn't meant to know that, but Jouno told him that as a new, top-secret gossip of the week. Initially, Tetchou dismissed it, but then he remembered that he was quite literally a medically altered and enhanced human himself. Still, with no announcement, he assumed that the plan was in its early stages, and that the project will likely begin when the entire Hunting Dogs squad is dead. "Some people discover they have an ability when they are older, though. Like... Erm, my– colleague," he almost exposed Jouno, "found out when he was around twenty. I was aware of mine since before kindergarten."
"I see..." Amagi paused, before clasping his hands. "I'll go over the past cases, then. Maybe looking at a different angle will reveal something. You can go, Suehiro. Contact me when your people find out anything about the victim."
He was already ordering Tetchou around, but... Despite the foul personality, Amagi looked like he knew what he was doing – or, at least, made a very good performance of someone who understood what had to be done. Tetchou didn't.
"Goodbye," he stood up and then bowed before leaving the office.
In the waiting area, he indeed found Jouno – the only person present in the room, nobody seemed to be on duty... It seemed like Jouno was just finishing talking to someone on the phone and his expression couldn't be described as anything but irritated. But it also was a thing with Jouno – he was irritated all the time. And he usually never showed that irritability to outsiders, so maybe it was a good sign.
"Jouno-san," Tetchou didn't know how good of a hearing Amagi had, so he decided to play it safe and act more polite, as if he didn't know Jouno. "Are you ready to head back?"
Jouno shot him an unimpressed look. "Sure. Let's go, Suehiro-san."
After a few minutes, they could finally resume their normal interactions. The streets were clear – it was far too cold for a walk and people either hid at home or were already working in the warm safety of their buildings.
"Did Teruko call? You looked mad," Tetchou couldn't peel his eyes from Jouno's cane that continued to get stuck in the snow every few seconds. It was a ticking time bomb before Jouno would get angry and break the damn thing...
"Ugh," Jouno scoffed. "Worse. It was my mother. I just called to let her know that the area's on lockdown and she took that as an opportunity to talk to me."
"Isn't it good that she wants to talk to you?" Five. Four. Three...
"Not at all. We don't talk for years, and the first thing she tries to do is lecture me." Two.
One...
Jouno kicked the snow in front of his with an irritated huff. Tetchou is amazed that Jouno managed to keep his composure from breaking the cane. "Did you get that list you wanted?"
Oh, right. Tetchou shoved it inside his pocket without even looking. Well, it's not like he could check it right now – it wasn't snowing today, but the wind was so strong it could rip the fragile note apart. "Yes. I think there were two or three people. Better than zero, right?"
"I," Jouno paused, contemplating something, before he finally sighed and continued. "I know someone who could help us..."
* * *
Turned out that Jouno kindly asking officer Suehiro for a walk back to the hotel wasn't a ploy with a sole purpose of them walking together not suspicious... Jouno actually needed something from the hotel before they would visit that mysterious person. And now, he was carrying a small, pretty gift bag in his hands, which was surprising to say the least. He also kept dodging the questions about who that person was, responding only with vague errs and uhhhs.
"Is that person your ex?" Tetchou frowned. He wouldn't be sad or mad if it was Jouno's ex but he didn't like his partner's odd behavior.
"Yikes," Jouno suddenly shuddered, his face scrunching in momentary disgust. "No."
"You never bring gifts to anyone for no reason," Tetchou looked away. If Jouno's words were to be believed, the house they needed to visit would be right across his old house. "You're doing a bad job of pretending to be unbothered right now."
"Oh, I am not pretending to be unbothered. I just have no idea how to tackle the topic," Jouno shook his head and turned it away from Tetchou. That was... New, somewhat. Usually, if Jouno didn't want to talk about it, he would be really good at avoiding the topic and giving just the right reaction for someone to back off. Now, he was... Turning his head and letting out startled noises, beginning to form a sentence only to stop after the first "Uh". Tetchou guessed, that maybe Jouno really didn't know how to approach a topic.
"You know I won't judge," Tetchou deployed the tactic of attempting to reassure Jouno, which rarely worked since he seemed to be allergic to that sort of tenderness, but Tetchou had to try anyway.
They both had completely stopped, Jouno was still facing the other way, clutching the fabric of his fur coat in the empty hand. "... someone's watching."
"Huh?" Tetchou, surprised, turned around and saw that they were indeed being watched... By a little boy. Probably five or six year sold. Eyes crossing with Tetchou's, the boy hid behind the snowman a head taller than himself. "Jouno, there's a kid."
"I know," Jouno sighed, his demeanor went back to the usual in an instant. "Hey, kid? What are you doing here without you parents? Hm? You know there's a killer on the loose, right?" he asked, turning wholly to the kid, as he slightly leaned forward and put his arms behind the back.
The boy shuddered but didn't attempt to run away. "I... Um, I..." He gulped, looking a bit scared.
Tetchou grabbed Jouno by the shoulders and physically straightened his pose. Maybe Jouno's attitude was scaring the boy... "Don't mind him."
"O... okay!" The kid nodded, seemingly relieved. Jouno huffed, but didn't say anything in return, practically telling Tetchou to handle it on his own then. "I... um, can I ask something?"
Tetchou shrugged. "Of course." Before they go to that person Jouno mentioned, they should return kid to his home, so building some trust wouldn't hurt.
"Is he," the kid pointed at Jouno with his finger. "A spirit? Mommy said that people can't have white hair... And pale snow-white skin... Did he curse you, mister...?"
Before Tetchou could refute, Jouno activated his ability, suddenly appearing behind the boy, which resulted in a quiet scared shriek. "Why, of course I am a spirit. I am a kind spirit that protects the weak."
"T-that's right," Tetchou nodded, trying to follow Jouno's s sudden improvisation. "We're friends. He only looks scary on the outside, but he's very kind."
The kid let out a relieved sight but also looked almost... Disappointed?
"So, you're not that wolf?"
"What wolf?" Jouno cocked his head. "I don't know any wolves."
"I..." The boy put his hands in small fists, determination shining on his face. "My mommy doesn't believe it, but I saw it! I saw the wolf. Last night, I was peaking behind the fence and it was there... Near that abandoned house."
Both men fell silent. It sounded a lot like the story Jouno told him yesterday, and if the boy meant Jouno Shouko's residence by "abandoned house"...
"Really?" Jouno spoke first, smiling softly. "Can you describe that wolf? I’ve heard about it, but I assumed those were mere legends."
"Oh!" The boy's eyes suddenly sparked with interest. "It was super big! Like, it was bigger than that house, and– and it had big eyes! They were red like... Um... Like cherries... I got kind of scared, so I ran home but now I'm sure I'll look closer! I am super brave. I'm not afraid!"
Jouno ruffled the boy's hair. "Huh, wait! If you're a spirit, then why can you touch me?" The initial distrust the boy had was completely gone. Like he wasn't freaking out just a few minutes ago.
"I need to disguise myself, so others think I'm a human. Obviously," Jouno sighed. "Try to touch me."
But as the boy reached to do so, his arm went completely through Jouno's body. "See? But it's a secret, alright?"
"We appreciate that you told us about the wolf," Tetchou said, turning the attention of everyone towards him. "But don't look for it, please. It is dangerous, and you should grow nice and strong, so you can protect yourself and your family from any spirit. Not all of them are nice like my friend."
"That's right," Jouno nodded. "He's a spirit hunter. You can learn from him, when you're... Twelve?"
"What! Twelve?! But it's so many years away..." The boy looked a bit disappointed, but then he thoughtfully nodded. "Okay, I won't... Well... At least, I saw another spirit," he smiled and started waving enthusiastically before turning around. "Um, bye, mister hunter! Bye, mister spirit!"
Tetchou watched as the boy ran and disappeared behind the gates. Tetchou turned to look at Jouno – he seemed to be normal now. Smiling, even.
"I'd totally curse you if I was a spirit."
"Why?"
"Why? Well, if I were to become a spirit, it would mean that I died a cruel and unusual death, right?" Jouno took Tetchou's hand in his and intertwined their fingers. Tetchou would prefer if Jouno's hand was ungloved, but, in a twist of irony, Jouno was wearing not one but two pairs of gloves – his usual ones that he only took off at home and leather ones with fur lining. Tetchou... Really wanted to feel Jouno's skin against his now. "Which means that you would let me die like that. That's not something I can forgive."
Tetchou squeezed Jouno's hand. Indeed. Tetchou would never forgive himself if he couldn't protect Jouno and he passed away. Thinking about it made Tetchou feel uneasy, anxiety rising in his chest. It became hot in an instant, sweat beading on his forehead. It was... Really awful.
The last night's nightmare flashed before his eyes. He did a good job of not thinking about it, but now no matter how much he tried to shift his attention to something else, he couldn't picture anything but that horrid scene.
Judging by Jouno's face, he noticed. Tetchou didn't tell him about the contents of the dream, it was too embarrassing for some reason. Because if Jouno died from the attack of that wolf beast... It could only mean that Tetchou let him die like that. It would be fully his fault.
All the sounds around him died down – the only ones left was the rapid beating of his own heart and his shallow breathing.
Tetchou just had to shoo those thought away, make them disappear. But every attempt was like grasping at straws, no matter how he tried to redirect his mind, it would circle back to that nightmare.
"Are you okay?" Jouno frowned and gently stroked Tetchou's hand with his thumb. "It was just a joke."
Promise that you won't die before me. Tetchou wanted to say it, but he couldn't – and wouldn't. There was no way Jouno could ensure something of that kind. It pained him that such a simple favor would be wishful thinking in their field.
Jouno could die today, or tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow – and Tetchou just had to be ready to lose him at any given moment. The uncomfortable sensation inside his chest grew alongside a familiar feeling of injustice. But then, Tetchou wanted this kind of life. He wanted to save people and was ready to sacrifice himself, what he didn't expect was to fall in love with someone in the same position as him.
...
Tetchou chose to focus on the feeling on his skin, on the way Jouno stroked small circles with his thumb. He was here... And now. Alive. There was no need for Tetchou to be scared.
"Sorry," he mustered after they just wordlessly stood there for some time. The anxiety and heat died down, and he felt normal again. "I promise that as long as you're with me, I'll protect you no matter what."
"Take care of yourself first," Jouno huffed, despite sounding clearly relieved. "Seriously, you're scaring me for the second time now. Are you sure everything's fine? That's a heartbeat of someone with a gun pressed to their temple."
The only difference being that the threat in that scenario is very much real. But Tetchou's wasn't – it was just his mind playing tricks on him. All that talk of improbability to crack the case, Tetchou would have never guess that it would manifest itself like this.
"I have nothing to worry about. I think," Tetchou took a good look at Jouno. Definitely here. Definitely alive. Definitely...Jouno. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, if anything, Tetchou would say that Jouno was intently looking at him, despite knowing that it's impossible. Still, he got an impression that Jouno was studying him, before hesitantly turning back.
"If you say so."
They continued walking a leisurely pace, and after a few moments of silence Jouno sighed heavily before continuing their previous conversation: "About that person. It's sort of... A family friend, I could say. I guess. She's pretty old and has severe memory issues, but, well, unfortunately, she knows a lot about abilities," Jouno said that almost as an excuse as if they would be wasting time otherwise. Which... Could be true, but even then, they could ask her about anything suspicious that she might have noticed last night. "I didn't really want to come," Jouno's frown deepened before he sighed dramatically.
"You didn't want to come yet you brought a gift with you?" Tetchou took a peek inside the bag, it was nothing much – fruits, a fancy box of candy... Still, more than the average person would ever get from him. Tetchou had to know him for an entire year before he started getting normal presents and not a supply of 1L mouthwash on every occasion there was.
"I said I didn't want to come, not that I wasn't going to. I just wasn't ready to do that today. Especially with you," despite his words, Jouno looked a bit relieved after he said all of that. And it turned out to be not even the worst-case scenario that they could have ended up with – Tetchou would much rather sit in a company of an old lady than someone who hates Jouno's guts. And, by extension, Tetchou's.
And, just like yesterday, the entire explanation didn't seem like something out of the ordinary. Jouno told him about mass explosion with less nervousness.
"I don't understand why you acted so weird about it," Tetchou continued to look intently at Jouno's face, looking for some sort of reaction. Maybe he can figure everything out without Jouno spelling it out... Well, probably not.
Jouno paused, and then shook his head. It certainly looked like he was about to go on a tirade but decided against it, opting to only say: "Well, you wouldn't get it, unless you were in the same situation as me. So, just be nice to her."
Easy. Tetchou was always nice to everyone save for those, who stood between him and justice.
"Old people love me," Tetchou smiled.
"Yeah, I know," Jouno smiled weakly. "A few things you should know..."