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Yuma cannot recall a time when he was outside and it wasn’t cold. It was a nice experience being in the rain while it lasted for an amnesiac, but it’s safe to say he does not like such weather. All the chilly air has a tight grip on him as soon as he is out, and every time he gets out of the rain he seems to get sick in some way.
Too bad he has to endure it for the entirety of his stay in Kanai Ward while searching for Kanai Ward’s Ultimate Secret. Thankfully, his patrol is over for today and he is close to reaching the Agency for him to finally relax in the warmth of the sub.
Especially when someone won’t give him peace of mind.
“Ugh, why do you always have to be complaining?”
‘I didn’t even say it out loud!’
“I already told you I can read your mind, Master!”
‘Then tune me out. That’s what I learned to do with you.’
“How rude! Not wanting to listen to yours truly! You would get bored with just your empty, little mind.”
‘I think I would be fine, thank you-‘
“RWOARR!”
Yuma stumbles back when his foot pressed on something moving. He was only able to make out a blur of orange before it zipped past him and round the next corner.
‘What was that?!’
“Beats me. Might have just been one of those dirty street animals. Just ignore it and let’s get back to the Agency.”
Shinigami floats away back to where they were going, but Yuma’s mind is too focused on the animal he had just hurt. His heart ached at the thought. Without thinking, he takes off where the creature went.
Shinigami is dragged behind through the chain. “What the heck are you doing?!”
‘I need to check on them. It’s not right to hurt them and just move on like nothing.’
“It’ll survive, Master! Part of city life is to step on an animal on the street!”
‘I don’t think it is!’
Yuma gets out of the sewer and back into Kamasaki District. His eyes scour the streets until he locks eyes on the orange blur weaving through the crowd. He gives chase after it, mumbling apologizes to whoever he bumps into, trying to keep his eyes on the blur. Until the said blur turns a corner and Yuma gets out of the crowd. Before him is one of the narrower alleyways that doesn’t let in as much as neon lights.
“Master, you better not go in there! What if there is a deranged criminal waiting for you?!”
‘You said it yourself: a detective has to take risks, even if it costs them their life!’
“With solving mysteries, not looking for stupid animals!”
Yuma ignores the spirit and starts walking into the alleyway, leaning his hand against the wall to guide him. Thankfully, some of the neon lights are able to still reach in and illuminate the path enough to let him see. As he continued onward, the pink light in the sky slowly started to shift to a light blue.
We seem to be hitting the border between Kamasaki and Ginma District.
Getting deeper into the alleyway, life starts to pick up in the shadow once more. Shop signs are now appearing out of the darkness to give some light that he can’t rely on Kamasaki District for right now. But some of Ginma’s amber lamp shades also dot across the walls, giving a softer ease to his eyes. And allowing him to search the area more clearly.
Including spotting an orange tail wagging out of the side of a box.
Yuma halts and watches it disappear out of his sight, but thankfully not running away from him. His brain tries to think up what the next step he can do. But he’s only drawing up a blank. This is a whole new situation outside of the realm of being a detective.
‘Shinigami, do you know how to approach an animal?’
“I don’t know anymore than you, Master. This is why you're better off leaving it alone and sticking to mystery solving.”
Yuma groans and slides his hands over his face. Great, now how is he going to solve this?
“What do you think you are doing?”
Yuma shrieks and turns to meet the looming figure of Halara Nightmare standing over them. Their narrowed eyes pierced down at them, or more specifically at Yuma.
“H-Halara, what are you doing here?”
”I heard a commotion in the sewers by our Agency. Naturally, I went to investigate. Now answer my question.”
“I…accidentally stepped on an animal when I was coming back to the Agency. And I want to check if they are okay, but I…don’t know how to approach them.”
Halara stares at Yuma for a while before walking past him and getting closer to the box. They kneel down and dig one of their hands into the pocket of their jacket. Out comes a pole with a fluffy thing at the end of the string. They shake it around, the thing ringing with the little bell as it does. Almost as soon as Halara started playing it did the animal come out of hiding. In full view now, the creature was a ginger kitten as they started pawing and standing on their hind legs to get the fluffy piece. It was such an adorable sight.
”He seems fine to me. Living in this kind of city, you would have to build a great will of resilience to survive.”
Yuma joins Halara on the ground, kneeling both his knees so he doesn’t touch the wet ground. The cat paws and jumps at the fluffy piece while Halara dances around the toy. From the corner of Yuma’s eyes, a faint smile grows on Halara’s face that he rarely sees.
“Not gonna lie, this is fun to watch. It reminds me of you right now.”
‘Huh, how?’
“You’ll have to figure that out as a detective! Kyahaha~!”
Yuma rolls his eyes (hoping Halara doesn’t notice) and goes back to watching the cat. But seeing the cat now, his brain has been buzzing with something like whenever he would try to reach out for some semblance of his lost memories.
‘Hey Shinigami, does this cat look familiar to you?’
Shinigami floats closer and looks over at the cat. “Now that you mention it, it does. But I can’t recall any better than you can, Master.”
”Hey Halara, do you know this cat?”
Halara eyed Yuma with a hard look. ”What makes you think that?”
”W-Well, you referred to the cat as a male, meaning you know what the cat’s gender is. You have what I can assume is a cat toy in your pocket, which is strange for you to carry around. And you found us kind of quickly. I mean, I felt like I went through a maze when I was following the cat, and then you came in right after I found him.”
”Excellent deduction skill.”
”Even I knew that one. Kyahaha~!”
Yuma’s brain finally connects the dot and gasp. “Wait, now I remember! That cat was from the photo I saw in your pocket. From our Nail Man investigation, right?”
A faint flush grows on Halara’s face and they turn away. The cat perks and now starts pawing and meowing at Halara’s knee.
“I see no reason to keep hiding this from you.” Halara puts down the toy and lets the cat bite into it. “I met this cat the first day I arrived at Kanai Ward. He was malnourished and there was only scraps and sewer water to satisfy him. So I gave him milk from the Agency, and he would stop by once in a while.”
“That…sounds adorable.”
“You know that also means you kicked Hellara’s cat back there, right?”
Yuma feels his face burn he can imagine it’s lit up against the darkness like the shop signs. “Halara, I am so sorry I hurt your cat. I never meant to hurt him.” He bows to them in response as well in hope they could see he is being genuine.
“Do not fret yourself. I have observed enough to know you are not one to intentionally hurt the innocent like animals. Although I suggest you be more aware of your surroundings next time, both for everyone and your own sake.”
”I will! I promise!”
”Yeesh, you’re acting just like a little doggy, wagging his tail for his own Master.”
Yuma’s face heats and curls a bit into himself.
“And now your tail is between your legs, awww~”
‘Will you please be quiet?’ Yuma gives a side-eye glare at the ghost.
”This is your first time meeting a cat, correct?”
Yuma quickly composed himself before Halara could notice something was off. If they haven’t already.
“Yeah, I see them around the city sometimes, but I never interacted with one. At least, I don’t remember having done so.”
Halara stops bouncing the toy around and looks at it, before handing it over to Yuma. “Here, try doing what I did.”
The cat follows the toy and looks up at Yuma like he’s registering his presence for the first time. Thankfully, he’s not running away from his accidental kicker, so there’s maybe hope? Halara gives a phantom nudge to the arm (not meeting physical contact) and glances at the cat.
Oh, right. The toy!
Yuma lifts it up and down like Halara has done, and the cat immediately jumps on it. Pawing and kneeling in whatever direction the fluff piece goes. He meows whenever he manages to grab it, and Yuma has to pull it free to keep going. It brings a smile
As time passes, the cat begins to slow down and not play with the toy for much longer. Yuma stops and pulls the fluff piece out of his reach. The cat looks up at him, like he’s begging for the toy back. His big eyes are so tempting, but Yuma had enough practice thanks to a certain ghost to become immune.
“Sorry, I think you need to rest now.” Yuma hands back the toy to Halara to emphasize.
The cat meows, and before anyone could blink, jumps up onto Yuma’s lap, collapsing his knees to the ground. He couldn’t suppress the shiver as his leggings soak up the wet surface. But the cat ignores his discomfort and curls up on his lap, releasing a soft purr that vibrates against him.
“You know this is probably the closest you’ll ever get feeling that in your-“
‘Shinigami, please!’ His face was already burning enough; he does not want to combust if she finishes that sentence.
Yuma glances over Halara's reaction in all of this. Their face is pinched and their eyes are looking anywhere but him and the cat. It’s so weird to see Halara like this, but he knows exactly what is going on.
“I-I’m sorry, I can move the cat-“
“Don’t.” Halara’s voice stops him. “Don’t feel pity for me. You should enjoy it while it lasts.”
He flinches, but does not make a move to get the cat off. Even though the cat is almost as cold as the stone underneath him, there is a bit of strange texture that almost reminds of his borrowed blanket. Yuma brings a hand up and, recalling the few times he’s seen people with their pets on the streets, strokes the cat’s head. It’s definitely a weird texture since the fur is matted with rainwater, but it was somehow still soft. The cat purrs again at his action, rubbing against his hand with a smile. Yuma’s face lights up and he continues to stroke him.
“You know, now that I think about it, this cat kind of reminds me more of you. You’re definitely more like a soppy, wet cat than a doggy, kyahaha~!”
Yuma gives a glare at Shinigami before a thought pops into his mind. He turns to his senior coworker with a smile. ”Hey Halara, do you know what a dog is like?”
Halara raises a brow, but hums and ponders for a moment. “I’d say a dog is the opposite of a cat. They are sociable and playful creatures that have more energy than a human can contain. Admittedly, they can be tiring for me compared to cats.”
Yuma had to suppress a snort from escaping his lips. Sounds a lot like someone I know.
“Hey!”
“However, where a cat is an independent free-spirit, a dog is a loyal companion to whoever takes him in, and will stand by your side no matter what.”
“Now that sounds like me.” Shinigami puffs her chest out with a grin. “I mean, it’s not like you have a choice.”
Yuma hums before letting out a small smile. ‘You know what, you might be right.’
The cat purrs again under his hand, bringing him back to his attention. He goes back to stroking, and the cat settles down. It feels nice. The body moving along the cat’s breathing against his body. Purring every once in a while.
”Hey, Halara,” Yuma looks back up at his senior. “I think I can truly see why you love cats so much.”
Halara’s eyes widened, lighting up at the words, and a smile grew on their face. ”I’m glad you made that discovery.”
Yuma smiles back.
All of the rain remains cold around him, and he is no doubt going to get sick again when he gets back to the sub. No light is going to chase away the shadows that surround them, threatening them. But it can at least keep him safe, keep everyone safe, even if it’s for a brief moment of time. And Yuma is happy to stay under this light for a while longer.