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It was early afternoon on a hot summer day in the countryside. The white sun reflected off the water sharply and blinded what would have been a beautiful blue sky, covering it in a bright, grayish yellow tint that hid all the clouds. The waves of heat rippling through the air and blurring the landscape were oppressing, but somehow, the dew on the grass had not dried up yet. Daisuke took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of wet grass as a shout broke through the calm of the atmosphere.
“Kambe-san! Damn it, let go! H-help me already!”
Daisuke leaned back against one of the porch columns as a servant handed him a drink. He nodded before turning his attention back to the bottom of the hill, to the edge of the lake where Haru was currently flailing about.
When it came to cases, Daisuke had learned to allow his mentor to take the lead. Although they were more equals and partners now, if he didn’t allow Haru to investigate without Daisuke interrupting it with money and bribes, the entire ride back would be spent with Haru cursing him out. So, whenever they arrived on the scene, Daisuke lingered quietly in the background, observing but rarely stepping in unless he found Haru going in circles. Occasionally though, Haru would gain insights as a result of his more hands-on style of investigation, and Daisuke would admit that he would have overlooked those facts if he had been in charge. However, he still believed that a signature and the send-off of an electronic check expedited the process.
But, they weren’t on a case right now. So, there was no reason as to why Daisuke should be hanging back, not intervening in the conflict even as Haru continuously shouted at him to help.
Well, there was one reason. He was amused.
It seemed that Haru and water did not mix, or maybe the problem was that they did mix. Just far too often. From their first meeting at the bridge to the many cases up to now, if there was water nearby, Haru always seemed to topple in. Daisuke had heard from Hoshino that Haru was known for being stunt-crazy in the First Division. There were many stories of him leaping off of buildings, jumping into moving cars, and diving into whole rivers to catch a criminal or save someone. While Daisuke had definitely witnessed some of those instincts in their time together, most of the Modern Crimes Division work wasn’t as high stakes. Haru definitely had become more subdued in that time, or perhaps based on how often Haru seemed to snap and barge into First Division cases, those instincts and impulses were just bottled up and highly pressurized.
Haru was always ready to jump into the line of fire. Some might say he was trying to relive his glory days he couldn’t seem to seize with his own hands- or by firing a single bullet- but if you asked Daisuke, it was just that he had an insane hero complex.
Or perhaps it was just that the universe had been trying to kill Katou Haru for years, and the man was just too stubborn not to die.
“Hey! You jerk! I know you hear me! Get your pompous ass over here and- Ow!”
Hence, that was why Haru was currently battling a swarm of geese on the shore of the lake.
In order to recover from injuries sustained during a previous case, Daisuke had whisked Haru away to his private vacation home in the backwoods of the Japanese countryside. They had both been given a long period of leave from field work, but Haru insisted on only taking a short leave from office work. He insisted that he could still dig through case files and old evidence without splitting open a lung, and so at the behest of the Chief- who had practically begged Daisuke with his eyes to make sure Haru got some rest- he kidnapped Haru. He knew if he didn’t take him to almost true wilderness, he would crawl back to the city somehow.
A goose jumped into the air and landed on Haru’s shoulder, flapping violently. Daisuke took a sip of his drink.
They had been here for two days now, and Haru had been complaining the whole time about being shut inside. Katou-san, you’re still recovering, Daisuke had tried to reason, but after much whining- Haru knew how to get under Daisuke’s skin- he had allowed him to walk down to the lake for some fresh air.
In Daisuke’s eyes, this was Haru’s just desserts for being so childish about staying inside and resting.
“Ow! Ow! Just let me- Go away! I’ll- Kambe-san!”
Daisuke pressed his hand against the side of his shades, “HUESC, record what I am seeing.”
“Affirmative, sir.”
“Call them off or something!” Haru shouted, as he became locked in a dance, battling the geese as they honked and summoned more to flock and lead the assault against the one who had disturbed their nest, “I know you’re just being a jackass!”
“I don’t know why you assume money will work on animals,” Daisuke called out.
Haru frantically kicked at the birds biting his ankles. His arms swung wildly at the goose still on his shoulder. Sand kicked up as he walked backwards, twisting around trying to escape the cluster he was surrounded by.
“I know you’ve trained them or something! Get them off of me already or… Wa- Woah!”
Haru’s ankle suddenly twisted, and suddenly he was falling backwards, straight into the-
Ah, there it is, Daisuke thought as a splash of water erupted into the air. The wall of droplets that shot up sparkled in the sunlight before they came crashing down, soaking the detective completely.
Then, the geese jumped on him. Perhaps it was time to step in.
A servant bowed and took the glass from Daisuke’s hands, and the young scion began to leisurely trek down the hill towards the lake. His head tilted down, he could just see over the top of his shades Haru flapping about in the water, almost mimicking the geese he was fighting against. The water was a silvery gray in the strong sunlight, and Haru, even without his signature coat, was a spot of earth tones that stood out against the waves. Daisuke was black smudge on the dirt path that led to the water. From Haru’s perspective, between the chaos of the white feathers, the beads of water flying through the air, and the space in between his fingers that he could see as his hands flew up to protect himself, it was as if someone had dragged an oil pastel down the center of a painting. Against the canvas covered in lush nature, Daisuke was a stiff, unblended imperfection.
Seriously, Haru thought as he blinked against the sunlight and water caught in his lashes, did he own anything besides suits?
Daisuke stopped just before the nest, stepping around it easily and onto the sandy bank. The geese waddled past him, sparing his ankles from any harm as they continued to assault the man floundering in the shallow mud. A wave washed up but pulled back just before it could taint his dress shoes. Even the water here bended to his will.
Daisuke observed for another moment as a goose landed on Haru’s stomach. Through the soaked cotton of his t-shirt, the bandages wrapped around his abdomen were visible. They were sticking to his skin with the weight of the water, but it was obvious they had been pulled loose. In between Haru’s indignant squawks and shouts, his breathing was labored.
Perhaps it was time to put a stop to this nonsense.
Daisuke reached inside the breast of his suit jacket and then threw his arm out towards the water, sending oats to the wind before they scattered into the middle of the lake. The geese immediately flew after them, landing far away from the two of them. Any that were not deterred by the food were scooped up by servants who rushed in and rushed out of the scene. They made quick work to relocate them to other sides of the lake, despite their incessant flapping and honking. When they were gone, Daisuke looked back down.
“Ugh… You jerk. I knew you were just taking sick pleasure in watching me struggle,” Haru groaned, sitting up now that there was nothing jumping on him. His knees drawn up and his hands behind him, he sighed dramatically and dropped his head, finally able to relax. A gust of wind blew past, and rustled his damp hair. Daisuke removed his shades and tucked them inside his pocket. Without the tint of the glass, the glare of the water hit his blue eyes more sharply, but there was something captivating about the way the ripples around Haru glittered more that made him want to see it without the dimmed colors.
“Perhaps,” Daisuke smirked, and offered the other man a hand to stand up. Haru smacked it away lightly.
“You’re the worst. Still...” he said, raising his head as he smiled slightly, “It’s good to see you haven’t changed at all. That’s what I was worried the most about.”
Daisuke’s hand faltered, and he blinked confused as Haru heaved himself up out of the water.
“Alright, I’ve had enough of the lake. I want to get changed,” Haru said, rubbing the back of his head to rustle some of the water out of his locks, “Can you get me a towel or something? I’m sure you don’t want me to get water all over your expensive floors or- ouch…”
He winced and wrapped an arm around his waist. Daisuke saw through the translucent, waterlogged back of his shirt that the bandages were slipping off, revealing the mottled green and blue bruises. They were just leftovers though, Haru’s broken bones had been healing rather quickly thanks to Daisuke’s private physicians, and Haru himself had said that he barely had any pain from them nowadays. Realization dawned on Daisuke suddenly, and his eyes widened.
“Katou-san? Don’t tell me you…”
“Damn geese. One of them fractured my ribs. Again.”
Daisuke quickly moved to help support the other man as he doubled over, the other arm coming to hug his abdomen as he trembled from the pain that was rippling through it. Daisuke raised an arm to summon one of the servants back, and sternly directed for them to alert the physician and prepare a change of clothes. Then, Daisuke and Haru began the slow process of making their way up the hill to the house, so Haru could get re-examined.
Daisuke felt a little bit of guilt weighing down in his chest that night, until he saw the video HUESC had recorded of the event.
He smiled and saved the last frame of the video to his phone.
It was only a little bit of guilt, after all.