Chapter Text
“Stay put, ok?” Shirase says. Michizou nods hesitantly, clutching their meager bag of belongings to his chest. “I mean it. Stay here and stay safe until I get back.”
“What if something happens?” Michizou says quietly.
Shirase frowns at him then holds out a knife. “Then you know what to do. And we’ll meet down by the old graveyard at sunset.”
“Where we betrayed Chuuya?” he replies, taking the knife.
“Not like anyone’s going to look for us there,” he says with a shrug. “If you’re not here when I come back, I’ll wait for you there.”
“Ok,” Michizou says quietly. “Will you be ok?”
“Yeah,” he says with a grin. “But I figure I should at least let Yuan know I’m alive. I can’t believe you guys thought Chuuya would kill me.”
“I didn’t,” he mutters.
“That's because Chuuya can’t do anything wrong in your eyes,” he replies. “You’re totally blinded by that crush of yours.”
Michizou’s face heats up. “I don’t have a crush on him!”
“I’m going,” Shirase laughs, heading out the abandoned shack. “Be careful, ok?”
Michizou sighs and slumps against the wall. Glad as he is that Chuuya is a live and not with the Mafia and didn’t kill Shirase, this is getting really boring. Laying low, avoiding the Sheep and GSS and the Mafia and trying to survive, it’s so boring and lonely. It’s pretty much impossible for them to get a respectable job and he’s definitely not going home to his family again.
There’s a reason he came all the way out to Yokohama rather than trying to hide anywhere near the area he grew up in. He’s sure if he gets arrested his parents will be called again and he’ll have to spend another few months being guarded, because it’s embarrassing for his parents to deal with everyone knowing their useless brat of a kid is a runaway. Michizou frowns, hand closing around the tag heavy around his neck. They’re probably more pissed off about the embarrassment and the neighbours talking and that he took his brother’s tag then the fact that he’s gone.
The shadow of a man falls across the light spilling in from the door and Michizou jerks up to his feet grabbing his knife. Only to be met by a cat sitting there, blinking up at him with a tilt of its head.
“Sensei,” Michizou sighs, stepping towards the cat. “You scared me. Your shadow-” He glances down at the shadow but it doesn’t look the same. “Whatever. What are you doing here?”
Sensei meows up at him, gets up and rubs against his thighs. It was Sensei that led him to the Sheep in the first place. He’d heard Yuan mention it led Shirase to Chuuya when they first found him. Nothing bad ever came from following the old calico cat.
So when Sensei starts to walk away then pauses and returns and tries again, Michizou is quick to grab his bag and follow. Sensei saunters along in that way only a cat can, weaving through the crowds with Michizou following, slowing and coming back for him if he gets out of sight.
They end up in a nicer part of town, far from the slum Shirase and Michizou are hiding out in. And Sensei stops in front of a building. It’s a cafe at the bottom and offices above. Michizou can’t imagine for the life of him why they’re here. He feels totally out of place too. He’s sure everyone is staring at him. They all know he’s totally out of place too. But Sensei starts pawing at the door to get into the offices.
“I’m really not sure it’s ok to go in there, Sensei,” Michizou says with a frown. Sensei stares at him and Michizou sighs. “Ok, ok, fine. You’ve always known what you’re doing so far.”
He opens up the door and Sensei trots in with Michizou hurrying after until they reach another door. An office door. Sensei paws at it and Michizou sighs.
“What do you want with a detective agency?” Michizou says, bending down and picking Sensei up. Sensei, of course, climbs up around his neck and onto his shoulder, pawing at the door again. “Seriously?”
The door opens and Michizou jerks back as a young woman blinks at him before smiling. “You were right, as usual, Ranpo-san.”
“Of course I was,” replies a voice inside. “Get him inside, I want to see this.”
“Um…” She smiles awkwardly and steps aside. “Please come in. Welcome to the Armed Detective Agency. I’m Haruno Kirako. How can we help?”
“Umm, I’m not sure,” Michizou replies, looking around the office nervously. He points at Sensei on his shoulder. “Sensei just led me here.”
“Mii-chan? Sensei?” Haruno says. She frowns and lifts Sensei from his shoulder and the cat is more than happy to roll over in her arms as she coos. “What have you been up to, Mii-chan?”
“Mii-chan?”
“That’s his name,” she says. “He’s my cat. I’m not sure what he’s doing leading children around though.”
Michizou frowns. “All the kids in the slums call him Sensei. He leads us to food and stuff, so we follow him when he leads us places.”
“Aww, what a good boy, Mii-chan,” Haruno coos. “But… why would you lead… Oh, I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
“Ah, Tachihara,” he says quickly. “Tachihara Michizou.”
“I don’t need a tutor.” Michizou stiffens at the familiar voice behind him. A door shut and footsteps move and Sensei- Mii-chan meows. “I’m doing fine, Arthur. Tell him, Yosano-sensei!”
“I’m not getting involved,” replies a woman.
“I wouldn’t be that bad,” a man says. “It’d be someone your age, and I’d be easier for you to do work for the Agency if you’re a bit more advanced in your education.”
“I’m learning quickly,” Chuuya snaps.
“It’s already been arranged anyway,” the man says. “Just give it a try. If you really hate it, we don’t have to carry on.”
“We have a guest,” Haruno calls. “Mii-chan bought him.”
Michizou turns and there’s Chuuya, staring back at him. “Michizou.”
“Chuuya.”
Chuuya breaks away from the long haired Mafia guy and the woman by his side. Michizou staggers as Chuuya’s arms wrap around him and he's dragged into his chest. And then all he can do is wrap his arms around Chuuya too. He’s somewhere safe. He’s got a proper job. He looks so good and happy, in proper warm clothes that fit and are easy for Michizou to cry into. He’s so happy for Chuuya. He’s finally got a home.
“What are you doing here?” Chuuya whispers.
“Sensei bought me,” Michizou replies.
“Sensei?” He steps back and Michizou has barely given him room before Mii-chan has jumped into his arms, rubbing under Chuuya’s chin. “Thank you, Sensei.”
“Mii-chan,” Yosano says, walking over and fussing him. “A friend of yours, Chuuya-kun?”
“Michi-kun was one of the Sheep,” he replies, patting Michizou’s head. “He was like our cute little mascot, right?”
“The mascot of the people who attempted to murder you?” Arthur says.
“Like your ward who attempted to murder you?” Yosano says with a razor sharp smile.
Arthur sighs and shrugs returning to a desk. There’s something very familiar about this Yosano lady. Yuan and Shirase both talked about her. He can see why Yuan thought she was Mafia. She looks really Mafia in black and white with killer heels and sharp eyes that make him want to shrink away. But his gaze is drawn to the butterfly in her hair. Like the butterflies Kanade used to make, that littered their little garden as sculptures and caught the evening light.
Yosano…?
There’s a glass clink and a man at a desk in the back is turning the marble in his empty ramune bottle.
“Say, doc,” he says. “Can you get the marble out for me?”
“Sure, sure,” she says with a sigh. She walks over and takes the bottle “But, we’re in the middle of a conversation, you know.”
“I know,” he replies.
“That’s Ranpo-san,” Chuuya whispers. “He’s really hard to make sense of but he knows lots.”
“I know everything important, chibi,” Ranpo says.
“Chibi?! Who are you calling chibi?! I’m fifteen, I’m still growing!”
“Stress isn’t good for growth, Chuuya-kun,” Yosano scolds lightly.
Chuuya clenches his jaw. “Right. Of course, you’re right, Yosano-sensei.”
“Who’s she?” Michizou whispers. “Shirase and Yuan saw you with her.”
“Yosano-sensei saved me when Arthur brought me here,” he replies. “I just mostly carry her shopping. I didn’t know people could shop that much. She tends to be right about these things.”
“Yosano Akiko,” she says.
“There it is,” Ranpo says.
Michizou’s blood runs cold. Yosano Akiko. His shaking fingers clench around Kanade’s tag under his shirt. Yosano Akiko. She’s here. She’s here with Chuuya. She’s looking after the people he loves again. She’s going to kill them again. He can’t lose Chuuya too.
“You should listen to your doctor more,” Arthur says. “She agreed you should have a tutor too, by the way, she’s just not saying it.”
“Don’t sell me out,” Yosano replies. “I just think it’d be good for Chuuya-kun to meet someone his own age.”
“The Angel of Death is too correct,” Michizou whispers.
She goes rigid and Chuuua hisses something at his side. Michizou is clinging to his brother’s tag when she turns. He grabs his knife and throws it straight at her.
“Arthur!” Chuuya yells.
A glowing yellow box surrounds them and Chuuya wraps him in his arms, dragging him in and lowering him to the ground. Mii-chan is sitting on the knife on the ground and that bitch is staring at him. Everyone’s staring at him like he’s the one in the wrong. She’s the one who killed Kanade! She ruined everything!
“Let go,” he sobs, trying to push Chuuya off. “Let me go!”
He reaches for her butterfly with his Ability but he can’t reach it. I won’t work. He can’t feel any of the metal outside the box. Why won’t his Ability work?!
“What’s going on?” Arthur says.
“You killed Kanade,” Michizou hisses, glaring up at her. “You killed him! Let me go!”
“Even if you tried, she’d heal,” Chuuya says quietly.
“Good!” he cries, shaking his head. “Let her die over and over just like he did!”
“What is going on?” Arthur says again.
“I’d quite like to know that,” comes a stern voice. Michizou lifts his head through the tears to make out a grey haired man with Haruno. “Who is this?”
“Tachihara Michizou,” Haruno says quietly. “He seems to be a friend of Chuuya-kun’s. Mii-chan brought him.”
“His brother was a victim of Mori Ougai’s experiments in the military,” Ranpo says. “The one who made our doctor’s butterfly.”
“You killed him!” Michizou yells.
“Arthur,” Yosano says, stepping forward. “Let him go. You too, Chuuya-kun.”
“He’ll try to kill you,” Athur says.
“Yosano,” the older man says sternly.
“That’s fine,” she replies. The cube fades and Chuuya stands slowly as she stands in front of him. She takes her butterfly from her hair and crouches in front of him. “It’s fine. Michizou, then? If you want to kill me then kill me. Over and over until you think your justice has been satisfied. I won’t stop you.”
“Like I believe that!” Michizou yells, shaking his head.
“But, to do that, you need to be somewhere safe, don’t you?” she says. “Where are you staying?”
“You-”
“Where are you staying, Michi-kun?” Chuuya says sternly.
Michizou’s shoulders stiffen. “With Shirase. On the edge of Suribachi.”
“You and Shiase can come here, right?” he says. “You have room I didn’t have because I’m staying with Arthur, right? So, you and Shirase can have that room. Right, Fukuzawa-san? I know he’s kinda rough and Shirase too-”
“Didn’t Shirase stab you?” Arthur says.
“I’ll take responsibility,” Yosano says. She puts the butterfly in Michizou’s hands and he stares down at it. “Please!”
“We’re not going to just start taking in every orphan we find,” Fukuzawa replies.
“Please!” Chuuya says.
Michizou sighs, clutching the butterfly close to his chest. It’s not fair. Why’s that witch looking after his most beloved people again? He wants to take Chuuya away. Away from her. Somewhere safe. With him and Shirase. At least if they were here, they could watch over him.
“Michi-kun.” He lifts his head at Chuuya’s voice. He’s crouched in front of him. “Come on, let’s put your stuff in your room. Then we can go meet Shirase, right?”
Michizou nods. That Arthur guy has his bag and they’re alone in the office. Chuuya grins and offers him his hand that Michizou takes quickly. He tucks into Chuuya’s side and Arthur leads the way back down the stairs. He doesn’t know what happened. He feels like he’s lost a lot of time, but the butterfly is still grasped in his hand.
Does Yosano mean it? Can he really kill her again and again until he’s worn out his anger? He doesn’t think he’ll ever stop hating her. She took Kanade from him. She destroyed him. Her cursed power.
“He’s in shock,” Arthur says.
“How did you forgive me?” Chuuya says.
“How did you forgive Shirase and the Sheep?” he replies. “He’s still young. I’m sure there’s a lot for him to work through. Things will be ok.”
“Chuuya,” Michizou whispers. “Please don't let her heal you.”
“I’m tougher than that,” Chuuya laughs. A door opens and Arthur puts down Michizou’s bag. “I heal quick on my own and she does it the old fashioned way most of the time. Don’t worry about that. I’ve only let her get me once, and that was my entrance exam. So, where are you meeting Shirase?”
“The old graveyard.”
“Right. You wait here. Look after him, Arthur.”
“Me?” Arthur replies.
“Well, you understand grief, right?” he says. “Talk to him.”
Arthur sighs. “Don’t get stabbed again.”