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As much as Yagami could thank Yokohama 99 for another case thrown their way to save them from the total drought (could, but wouldn’t, not when Sugiura decided to be so sassy about it), Kamakura was… confusing. Or was it even Kamakura at this point? Where did one town stop and the other begin?
They walked in what felt like circles, trying to find just one house. Of their — well, not their exactly — client, and of course she needed to live in a total mess of a district. They were yet to find it, with a whole damn GPS map and route planned. Yagami was pretty damn sure they took at least three wrong turns. Streets going into more streets, webbing (Yagami anxiously thought about Ijincho) around into, you guessed it, even more little streets, and he kept catching weird glances from passersby and neighbors— wait, is that a school? School wasn’t on their route at all. It was supposed to be, like, a whole block away.
Shit. They had two days, and they effectively wasted half of one trying to navigate this helltown.
“Yo, Ta-bou, what are we searching for again?” he heard Kaito’s whiny voice far behind him. “The meaning of life?”
Yagami groaned and plopped on the asphalt, defeated. All the battles he fought, from batshit insane hitmen to ex-teachers with questionable morals, and he was crushed by, what, a town?!
“Fuck it, break,” he turned around, making sure no cars were nearby, and stretched out his legs. The rough concrete slightly scratched at his shins, exposed by shorts. “I’d die for some udon right now.”
He got an armful of Kaito’s backpack instead — not better, but at least he made him stop by Poppo and buy a pre-packed bento. Somehow it wasn’t even that cold, warmed by the spring sun and Kaito’s furnace of a body.
“My phone’s dying,” Kaito informed him. He tapped on his smartphone. “What the fuck, how far away we walked?! Wait, uh… where did we start?”
“Tsujido station?”
“Huh-uh. I see,” he scratched his head. “Aw, fuck me sideways.”
—
The second day was more fruitful, mostly because this time Yagami made sure someone did not put the destination in the departure point field, thus making them follow the completely reversed route. A rookie mistake, funny how neither of them — he wanted to say Kaito, but apparently it was him, whoops, wasn’t that awkward — noticed that before wandering deeper into the town. Took them about a half of an hour to get back to the station.
(It should’ve been less. Much, much less)
The case was about a missing man — Takahashi Tamotsu, forty-five, actual address in Shinagawa, no criminal record, no family, et cetera and et cetera, and their only contact besides the guy who called Yokohama 99 was a woman living by the coast. She couldn’t tell them much, got emotional and made them promise they’ll call her as soon as something new comes up, but all in all, what she said was enough to underline some theories Sugiura had — ‘got caught in a shady business, most likely against his will’ — and cross out other — ‘definitely not mafia, not influential enough’.
It barely was past four when they finished.
“So, Kamakura, Kamakura, what can you offer us in those trying times,” Kaito sat back on the couch, phone in his hand. Small café was bursting with tourists; right, it was a good half of the spring, right on the season. They were lucky they found places to eat. “Listen, Ta-bou, have you ever been to Kotoku-in?”
“School field trip, yes,” Yagami shrugged. “Have you not?”
“Eh, nope, y’know why… Sasuke Inari Shrine?”
“Stairs.”
“Old man,” Kaito scoffed, as if he wasn’t four years older. “Okay-y-y, temples to the eastern side, station-wise?”
“There’s a shit ton of them.”
“Enoshima?”
“The island? Oh, wait, isn’t it the one with cats?” Yagami leaned over the table. “Wait, lemme see…”
“Oh, now you’re interested,” Kaito glanced up from his phone. Of course, that got his attention, what else. Mister Screw the bloody corpse there’s a stray cat outside and yet it’s important for this investigation. “There are stairs, too!”
“Mhm, but what can’t you do for them little dudes. Besides, we aren’t that old, we’re in our prime,” Yagami pointed between them. “Wanna watch the sunset up there? The weather’s fine.”
“You literally started bitchin’ and moanin’ when we had to walk one single floor. An hour ago.”
Yagami rolled his eyes; a smirk still crooked on his mouth.
“No, I mean it. You, me, cats, the sunset?”
“Can we exclude cats from our romantic evening?”
“Never.”
—
“She is… rotund.”
Apparently, cats weren’t enough of a motivator to endure the infrastructural decisions that were made at the top of Enoshima. That was… an unholy number of stairs. Yagami might’ve miscalculated. Going up, then down, then up again, and by the time they reached the observation deck, Yagami’s knees were creaking louder than Kaito was bitching behind him. Not as loud as those goddamn squirrels were screaming from the trees, but, uh, he wondered if people turned around to look at him because of his knees.
They collapsed on the park bench, out of breath and sweaty. So much for romance — the sky might’ve grown hazy yellow by the horizon, blurring distant mountain ranges, the winds were carrying salty air from the bay, and Yagami felt clammy and as uncomfortable as ever. Maybe, save for a couple times when he was covered in dried blood. Now that was one hell of a physical sensation.
Hot takoyaki didn’t help. Why did he even buy takoyaki? There was a nice ice cream booth just next to it... Damn whims.
Meanwhile, the eighth cat they met today — Yagami was diligently recording each and every of them — was nonchalantly stretching her fluffy back on the park table in front of them. Unbothered by their presence, she returned to her sunbathing.
What a life, so blithe, so devoid of concerns. Yagami was jealous. Kamurocho cats were always onto something, like a commune of bandits with their own world domination agenda; it took the diplomatic skill of an ambassador to approach them and a can of tuna food as a tribute. Those, in turn, seemed content.
And rotund indeed.
“This place is chock-full with wharfs,” Yagami took a mouthful of tofu. “Of course, she’ll be well-fed. I wish I had her diet.”
He sighed wistfully.
“Are you so sure that’s a girl?”
“Dunno. Look at her, that’s a dame on her evening promenade.”
“She looks at you like you’re her peasant.”
“With what, she turned her back to us.”
“See! Absolute disdain. We, two reputable detectives from Tokyo, are being humbled by a big ball of fluff.”
Yagami snorted, and in a moment they both broke into giggles. He probably should show her their business card, maybe she’ll take some interest in them and their services. Even cats, unable to read and understand the complexities of the human social world, can learn that men with business cards aren’t to be taken lightly.
Wasn’t that silly. Yagami reached out carefully, trying not to spook the respectable lady, and scratched behind her ears. She seemed to not mind this bold move.
“We have to go all the way back,” Kaito chimed in. “Apparently those escalators only go up?”
“Aw, don’t ruin my peace. I’m making a friend.”
“Ta-bou, you’re bothering a dame on her evening promenade.”
“Na-a-ah, look at her, listen, she’s purring,” Yagami patted her little head. She was rumbling like a small generator. Generator of happiness. “Well, I… might’ve overestimated myself.”
He was fast out of breath there. They managed to climb all the way to the Ryugu shrine, though, before turning back to rest next to the deck — and oh damn, the idea of walking stairs not only around the top of the island, but down, to the bus stops… might as well move up there for good. He wasn’t against that idea at all.
“Not so youthful anymore?” Kaito let out a breathy laugh. “Damn, my thighs are screaming at me.”
Yagami stared mindlessly at their outstretched legs. His sneakers, Kaito’s moccasins, both dirty from the coastal sand and spring-time dust.
“Bet I can kick your ass just fine.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kaito waved him off. “Remind me, when was the last time you managed to do that?”
“Uh…”
“That’s the answer,” his eyes grew wide, and he pointed somewhere into the bushes. “Oh, look, another cat!”
“Where?!” A brown tail flicked in the shadows. “C’mere, kitty-kitty-kitty…”
Technically, they had more call-offs and ties — if Yagami didn’t count his fifteen years old poor punk ass getting whacked by Kaito. He wasn’t going to; it was more akin to throwing himself at the wall headfirst; he stopped being a scrawny teen eventually, tables turned quite dramatically, and… things just got different.
“There’s a third one!” Kaito exclaimed. The Rotund Cat in front of them stirred with a disgruntled mrrrp. “Ta-bou, you’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” Yagami grumbled — no bite, his brain was turning into mush at this point, from exhaustion and salt-flavored warmth. Good feeling, though. They should do that more often… not climb all the way up here, of course, but, like, sit down somewhere. Feel the sun.
“You’re collecting a herd around yourself.”
“Yeah, totally not because we took the bench right under the sun.”
“We sound like a married couple bickering, don’t we?” Kaito leaned back on the bench, throwing his arms around, and turned his face to the sun. “Okay, fair enough, I get the appeal.”
“It comes with being partners for that long, I guess,” Yagami shrugged. “We even grew old together, how damn romantic.”
“So what’s the difference?” Kaito glanced at him. The rays colored his eyes a deep amber; a color of a glass of whiskey or deep black tea; it could be the former with him. “Between detective partners, and…”
The sea underneath them was liquid gold. Already, huh; Yagami could bet if they were already down there, all they’d see would be the black massive silhouette of the island, harbors and the palms. The evenings come fast, threatening to turn off the day like a night switch.
Which meant they’d be taking the train in the darkness. Great.
He finished his takoyaki and packed the box to throw it out somewhere on their way out. One of the island’s cats, a walking watermelon of black and brown stripes, seemingly picked up on the scent and skittered closer; probably calculated if he could fit on Yagami’s lap. Little rascal.
“Yeah,” Yagami said. “Yeah, there’s none.”
xx.05.2022