Chapter Text
How long has it been? About three years now? EXACTLY three years since he was fished out of the tv by those bra...er kids. He told himself he wouldn’t hold it against them. After all, he made a promise to atone for what he did and abide by this world’s rules since he lost the “game”, and being a sore loser would only put a damper on said rule. Despite thinking he was finally at peace for what happened... he wondered why he felt so empty. As if there was SOMETHING missing. “No NOT another person. It's not a person, or a material possession”, he thought to himself. He was getting tired of staring up at the ceiling but there was literally nothing else for him to do.
Dojima came to visit him more and more frequently. At first it was maybe once every few months. Then the frequency increased to a few times a month, which turned into at least once a week. Just last month it almost felt like Dojima was coming around a couple times a week. The same basic stuff you’d expect his ex-partner to talk about. Same shit nearly each time maybe with a different color every so often. Nowhere in his mind did he think it was necessarily a bad thing considering it was the only visitor he had ever gotten. There was talk about Yu coming to visit at some point. “Oh, how nice. You can come see me locked in this cage like a zoo animal! Bring some peanuts and popcorn and throw em between the bars. Dust covered snacks might taste better than the food they got here anyway! Have a few laughs! Bring all your bratty friends while you're at it, take a group photo”, he thought to himself, nearly forgetting his self-made promise of toning down the bitterness. It held true once he thought back to the “dirty snack” crack he made earlier. In all honestly, he’d kill for a nice bag of popcorn right now.... heh. The irony! He didn’t too much want to think about killing ANYONE anymore.... except maybe that damn guard who keeps treating him like shit. Despite his attempts at killing the investigation team, he had never actually killed anyone outside of pushing them into the tv and letting the shadows do the work.
His thoughts were interrupted by a baton pounding on the cell. “Hey, get up! Guy’s here to see you again. Must be screwed up if he can stand to talk to a wretch like you almost every week”, the guard called out. Him and his round belly and sagging jowls. The bastard looked like an overfed bulldog and had the nerve to insult someone else. Pushing aside the barrage of insults he was forming in his head, he rolled off the bed he was lying on and shuffled his way over to the bars of the cell. He was pretty used to the humiliation of having to readjust everything from neck to crotch in the almost one size too small jumpsuit. The guard led him down the hallway and through the door. He could almost see Dojima’s rugged face through the glass as he walked. He had to admit, even if Dojima got on his nerves he was good looking. It pretty much made up for all the fuss he had to put up with when he worked with him.... maybe. And there it was! That familiar stubble... those firm yet sometimes gentle eyes... and that familiar smile. Come to think of it.... It's also ironic how Dojima has never smiled at him as much as he has when Adachi became imprisoned. He picked up the phone that connected to the other side of the glass. “Well, hello there Dojima-san.”
“Hello Adachi. You look like you’ve been better!”
“You say that literally EVERY time you come to see me”, Adachi replied. He pretty much may as well wear a shirt that had it printed across it. Instead, he wore a shirt with a platypus on it. Oh boy does that remind him of the shirt Nanako showed off to him nearly every time she had the chance. When he visited them of course, those years ago. It was a cute platypus though. He probably got one for himself to match hers. There’s also something else obvious Dojima probably planned on asking. The same other thing he always does whenever he comes to visit Adachi. “Anyways, what's new?”
“Nanako’s going to be graduating to the fifth grade this year! She’s growing up before my very eyes.”
“You almost sound worried. Can't you tell she’s probably smarter than you and I combined? By the time she hits college she’ll probably have a Nobel prize.” Despite what people may think about him, he genuinely did wish the best for Nanako. She was too innocent to look at him in too much of a bad light. Both before and after the.... “evets”. Hell, she was one of the few people he actually didn’t dislike of course. In some ways, he was glad she wasn’t allowed to see him like this for that particular reason. “And....hows the other one”, Adachi asked.
At first Dojima was confused but it only took him a mere few seconds to realize he was referring to Yu. “Ah, yes. Believe it or not, his college of choice was actually right here in Inaba. Boy I tell ya, the guy really does love it here. Can't blame him really. I’ve never seen him so close to a group of people before.”
“Yeah, well I doubt he’d want to be too far away from you two either.” Adachi pretty much whispered that part... and even added a small amount of venom to it.
Dojima let out a huge sigh. Over the course of the few years, he’s been coming to visit, he’s already aware that Adachi has come to terms with the fact that the events leading up to this is pretty much his own fault.... but he couldn't help but still feel guilty about this whole thing. He felt there had to have been something that could have prevented Adachi from doing this. There HAD to be reasons! Reasons he would refuse to bring up in front of his young friend. “Adachi.... are you finally ready to tell me....”
And THERE it was!
The moment he KNEW was coming. As if pressing the buzzer to answer a question on a recurring gameshow, Adachi placed his hand down quickly. “You ask me this EVERY time you visit you know. My answer won't ever change.
“Adachi.... please. I want to know WHY you did it”, Dojimo asked.
Adachi brought this on himself. Every time he gave the SLIGHTEST impression that he felt some sort of regret, or even anything remotely similar to it, Dojima goes into a whole dramatic interrogation about why he might have done it. “Dojima-san I tell you the same thing every single time. I was bored.”
“That answer is almost as silly as the thought of me believing it!”
“What?”
Silence......
“You expect me to believe that you killed two women because you were bored? Adachi, there’s got to be some sort of psychological...”
He wasn’t even going to let him finish this time.
“Dojima-san stop it.... you know as well as everyone else that I'm simply just fucked up in the head.” Though he meant to make it sound sad, he still had a weird grin running across his face. As if he didn’t really have any remorse to own up to. Or maybe just using “being fucked up” as an excuse. It remained to be seen. “What part of that do you not get yet?”
Dojima sighed again. This time it sounded a bit different. Like someone who was nearing defeat but refused to say so. “You know I'm just going to ask you again when I come back in a few days.”
“And you’ll get the same answer”, he replied as he began to actually get a bit irritated. It wasn’t uncommon for him to get irritated when he was talking to Dojima.
“And then I’ll just ask again. And again.... and again... and again. You’ll crack eventually. Even if you don’t know why you did it, I’m sure the answer’s in there somewhere. Its only a matter of time.”
“If it pleases the court, I’d like to move off of the subject now”, Adachi said as he grimaced and shook his head.
The wasn’t satisfying enough for Dojima. It seemed like over the countless times he’s asked Adachi, he didn’t make any progress. He knew well enough to back off when he noticed Adachi was getting irritated however. Lest he wants Adachi to cut the visit short and return to his cell out of frustration. That would just make Dojima feel empty. Be that as it may, it was still a battle nonetheless. He’d have to bite the bullet if he was ever going to make peace with Adachi. “Adachi, please! We’ve known each other long enough to not have to keep things from one another. Is someone making you be quiet? You don’t have to be afraid to tell me!”
“Those ears must be for decoration. What the hell do I have to be afraid of? I’ve been hit by life threatening attacks, and got possessed by the mother of all shadows. I guess he wouldn’t know that though now would he”, Adachi thought. “Dojima for someone so good at being a cop you sure don’t pick up hints well do you.”
“Yeah, and neither do you. OR is it because you just don’t want to trust the hints?”
Another bout of silence.... but there was some tension in it this time.
“Meaning?”
“I’m not as old and stupid as you might think. You’re afraid of getting close to people.... believe it or not Yu told me a few things about you.”
“Yeah, THAT doesn’t surprise me. And I bet you just listen to EVERYTHING he spouts too. He could tell you he’s the king of mars and you’d believe him because he’s your precious nephew.”
“Adachi you make it sound like we don’t care about you. Look... sometimes it might feel that way or even felt that way but its not true. How long are you going to believe we don't?”
The tension lingered....but this time something was on the verge of snapping.
“You think you know everything...don't you?” That scowl....it was the first time Dojima saw that on him. Not even after he saw the real Adachi had he seen him make that face.
“I know enough to figure you out, Adachi.”
“Yet you couldn’t decipher that I was the one who was behind the killings. That was your ‘precious nephew’.” That was all Adachi could stand. He didn’t have to take this from someone he could live without. “If you insist on bringing this up every single time, we talk..... then don’t come back”, he said as he stood up.”
“Damn it Adachi! Can't you see?!”
“See what?!” It practically came out of his mouth like a flame.
“Cant you see I....”, Dojimo froze. “We want you to feel loved”, he said. Adachi was too heated to realize that Dojima nearly said something else.
Adachi shook his head and sighed again. “Listen Dojima-san.... I’m tired of trying to explain this to you. Its noone’s fault but my own. I know deep down inside you keep trying to find a reason I might be innocent, or a reason to avert your eyes from the truth....”, the irony.....the FRICKIN IRONY. “But I keep telling you, I'm just...not....normal. If you want to come back then fine, but I’m not going to keep talking about this. See you later... or not”, Adachi said. He couldn’t even hang up the phone without slamming it into the receiver. He almost cringed at the sound of the phone hitting, but he kept his composure. At this point he was actually ready to get back to his cell.
“Adachi! Adachi come back here! Dammit!”
Slam! Dojima almost broke his knuckle trying to hang the phone up into the vertical receiver! It wasn’t much of a concern though. He had never gotten this kind of result before with Adachi. Normally everything was so calm...but today he must have pushed the ball over the hill. Now all he could do was watch it roll away.... he wouldn’t even be able to run after it. All he could do was watch it leave from within his already blocked grasp. This was one of the worst possible outcomes he could think of... but an expected one nonetheless considering what he chose to say. All he could do now was go home and figure out some way to worm the question into the next conversation.
Of course, Adachi was sure that’s what Dojima probably intended to do when he came to visit again. He was sick of talking about this every single time they met. It happened three years ago and all he wanted to do was move on, and Dojima wouldn’t let him. He had the best intention as anyone could tell but God was it exhausting! As soon as he stepped back into his cell, he heard the gate close. He didn’t even bother to look back before crashing onto the mildly uncomfortable bed. His forehead was now pounding like he had just headbutted the wall..... which is something he probably would have done if it meant getting to sleep quicker.
Then.... a sudden thought occurred to him. Dojima was currently the only contact he had with the outside world. As intolerable as he was, he was at least decent conversation. In his anger induced outburst, he didn’t take into account that Dojima was the only one who came to see him. Probably the only one who really DID care about him at that. Or maybe his “insecurities” were talking again. “Huh? I wonder if he had a point. Nah! I know myself more than he would know me. And even if he did.... well I got nothing BUT time to get to know me”, Adaci said as he chuckled and drifted off to sleep.