Chapter Text
Read. Study. Read. Study. Read. Study.
All Tohru Adachi knew was reading and studying. Doing his very best to pass tests, please his parents, be the perfect student. Although, all of his hard work never seemed to pay off. His parents were never satisfied with his hard work. Never satisfied with his grades. Never satisfied with their son.
"What? A 91? Why isn't it 100?" His father scoffed, throwing his test grade back at him in disgust.
When he graduated from college, at the top of his class, he still wasn't enough. When he applied to be a detective in the big city, his parents were angry with his choice in profession.. of course they are, he thought.
"Why not a doctor? Why not this? Why not that?"
He was never good enough.
When he moved out, and moved by himself into an apartment closer to the police department, he was finally able to breathe. Although the feeling of being unworthy and useless never stopped cramping in his chest, he felt like he was able to think a bit clearer. Finally able to let loose, and have a bit of fun.
At the police department, he did fairly well. He was a very smart young man, and he had a lot of potential. He had solved a fair amount of difficult cases, and was succeeding greatly in his profession. The head officers took this into consideration, and gave him a difficult case after a few years of working. It was a murder case, and it was complicated in many different ways. This didn't deter Adachi, though, and instead determined him. He was going to do his very best, and prove to everyone he was worthy, he was good enough.. All was lost, though, when he made one tiny mistake in the case. One wrong call, and all of a sudden the world came crashing down on him. He had failed. He was a failure. His consequence? Being sent to a small town of the name of Inaba. The head of the department didn't want to fire him, still seeing the potential in him, but he couldn't keep him around in his own department.
"It hurts me just as much as it hurts you to do this, Adachi, but.. it's for the best. We can't keep you here anymore. You'll have to be transferred. I know a place that could be a good place to restart, yeah?" His chief had brought him into his office to relay the unfortunate news to him. He had no choice.
The following week, he packed his bags and belongings, although there weren't many things he owned. He was low on money and didn't get to live very comfortably. His mind was whirling with anger, rage, hatred towards himself and the world. He didn't know which he hated more. The word "unfair" repeated in his mind, like a broken record. He hardly had the energy to care anymore. He was being sent away, why did anything matter? Why should he try?
As Adachi made his way to step onto the train to Inaba, his eyes were half-lidded and uninterested. He stared off into the sky, his mind empty. This is where his life of hard work and dedication ended him up, in the boonies. It's so unfair.
—XxX—
The train ride was finally over. As Adachi looked out the window, he felt his stomach churn in despair. He grabbed his belongings, and stepped out of the train, keeping his eyes trained on his feet as he walked. He refused to see his surroundings, refused to acknowledge the dull life ahead of him. He didn't look up until he heard a gruff, scratchy voice call out to him. "Hey! You Adachi? I was sent to pick 'em up."
Adachi raised his eyes, meeting the face of a tan, older man with sunken, dark eyes. He had a cigarette resting in the corner of his mouth, and his clothes were very underwhelming and very professional, almost as dull as Inaba itself. It was fitting, though, seeing as he was the head of his department. "Oh- yes, that.. that's me." He nods, picking up a more cheerful tone than he truly felt deep within, plastering a small, polite smile on his lips. "Ryotaro Dojima." The older man smiled, holding his large, callused hand for a shake. Adachi hesitated for a moment, before slowly reaching out his own and giving him a small shake. "You'll be my partner while you're here. I'll take you to your place, yeah?" Dojima looked down for confirmation from his junior, and Adachi gave a small nod.
Adachi climbed into Dojima's car, tightly pulling on his seatbelt. The car ride to Adachi's new apartment was silent and awkward, the tension of unfamiliarity drowning the two. Dojima lightly bit his lip, thinking of ways to learn something, anything, about his new partner. Something to say to make the tension dissipate. "So.. You enjoying working as a detective?" Dojima asks in a somewhat uncertain manner, receiving a small, snide grin from his partner. Adachi of course made sure not to let him see this. "Oh, yeah.." Adachi keeps his answer short, feeling no desire to explore the topic of his work. He dreaded discussing his mistake, what caused him to be sent to the boonies. Of course, though, Dojima was already fairly aware of what had happened, and he felt a sort of sympathy for his partner. "Oh? That's great! Tomorrow after you've finished moving into your place, you'll start at the station and I'll teach you about how we run things there." He smiles, trying to help Adachi feel more comfortable.
Adachi only felt worse. His chest bubbled with hatred and anger, humiliation and guilt. He wanted to do anything but think about what had landed him in Inaba. One simple mistake, that's all it took, and he was useless. Not good enough. Useless. Useless. Usel-
"We're here." The elder man announced, swiftly pulling next to the apartment buildings, pulling Adachi out of the swirl of beratement in his mind. "O- oh, uhm.. thank you, sir. I appreciate it." He mumbles a quick thank you, before getting out, grabbing his belongings, slamming the door to the car, and rushing to the stairs of the apartment complex. Dojima watched him climb the stairs from the car, a small frown on his lips. He could sense the embarrassment from his partner, and felt a small ping in his chest. He decided he needed to help Adachi feel at home, and thus began planning in his mind.
When Adachi finally found his room, he sulked in and threw his belongings to the side, the weight of stress building on his shoulders. He was exhausted from the day already, and wanted to give up and lay down for hours. He saw a couch in the middle of the room, and made his way over, falling against it.
"This is where I'm going to spend the rest of my miserable life, huh?" He scoffed.