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Thursday afternoon finds Citron sitting on the couch in the dorm’s lounge. After all the hustle and bustle of Rosso e Blu, he’s glad to finally have a moment to breathe and relax. He’s used to being busy, of course, but slow days like this are treasured things as well.
He has his phone out, battling through the mobile RPG that Itaru recommended. There’s no one else in the lounge, so he’s free to play it as loud as humanly possible and yell at the pixels on his screen without fear of getting bonked over the head and being told to pipe down. Over the sound of the orchestral background music, he hears the front door click open.
“I’m home!” Taichi calls.
Oh? How odd. How very, very odd indeed.
It’s only three in the afternoon, and Taichi’s early. His classes are done by now, but he usually stops by somewhere else instead of coming straight home. Citron has more than once run into Taichi after his classes ended at the boba shop, or the ramen shop, or an izakaya, or any other other number of food-related establishments, so it’s odd that he’s back so soon.
Citron puts his phone on the couch cushions and peers over the backrest at Taichi. He’s alone today, which is doubly odd. He’s usually with Tenma or Juza, but he’s on his own with his backpack held close to his chest. That’s also another odd thing – Taichi normally carries his bag slung over one shoulder. A triple oddity, then!
And a triple oddity, well. That sounds like a job for Detective Citron!
“Welcome home!” Citron calls back, hopping over the backrest so he can run over.
It startles Taichi, who squeaks and clutches his backpack tighter. “Citron-san!” he says, smiling brightly. He loosens his hold on the backpack once more, and Citron thinks he hears a quiet sound coming from inside it. “I’m back! Um, anyway, I have to do my homework, so–”
Taichi attempts to step around Citron and enter the dormitory proper, but freezes in his tracks when Citron tuts and wags his finger. “No, no, no!” Citron says, puffing his cheeks. “Taichi is hiding something!”
“Huh!?” Taichi flounders for a moment, then rearranges his expression into a sweet, innocent one. He’s a brilliant actor, of course, but he’s no match from Citron’s all-seeing, all-knowing detective senses!
Citron points dramatically at Taichi – particularly, his backpack. It wiggles a little in his hold. “Firstly! Taichi is home early!” Citron begins, pacing a slow circle around Taichi as he begins to present his evidence in the court of Mankai. “Normally, Taichi will come home at five or six on Thursday, because he goes to get food after class with Tenma and Juza!”
“Th-that doesn’t mean I’m hiding something!” Taichi protests. “Tenchan and Juza-san were both busy, so I came back by myself, and I have homework so I decided to come back quickly–!” He gives Citron his best puppy-dog eyes. They’re very cute, but Citron will not be deterred or bribed by something like that!
“HOLD IT!”
Taichi jumps at the sudden volume increase. “Taichi is a good boy,” Citron admits, “but he is not someone who will come home and do homework in-medium-ly! And! Tsumugi is not yet home to help! So you will wait for him! So! Why, then, has Taichi returned home so early, hm? Perhaps… Did he see something that cannot be waiting?”
Taichi pouts. “He’s not home yet?” he asks, drooping slightly, before he remembers that he’s on trial and straightens up. “Wait, no, that doesn’t matter–”
“Secondly!” Citron presses forward. “Taichi is carrying his bag in front of him! Perhaps there is something important inside that is very, very important, and must be protected at all costs?”
“I was just–” A protest begins to fall from Taichi’s lips before it’s cut short by a squeak as Citron jabs a finger at Taichi’s bag. Taichi flounders, pulling the bag closer to himself and away from Citron, then seems to realize what he’s doing and plays it cool. He is very, very good at playing it cool, but not enough to get past Citron’s detective eyes!
“And last but not the feast!”
Oh, but it certainly is a feast of some sort for Citron! He reaches over and plucks something off the front of Taichi’s sweater. It’s a small, white fiber, and when he holds it out in front of Taichi’s face, the boy’s eyes widen in recognition. “I have found the important evidence that I need to rest my face!”
He points dramatically at the backpack in Taichi’s arms and proclaims with every bit of confidence he can muster, “Taichi has brought home a cat!”
The bag meows.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Taichi carefully places the bag on the shoe rack, and then falls over onto the ground fake-wailing. “How did you know!?” he cries out, putting his head in his hands. “I was so careful and everything! I even made sure not to sound weird when I came home, just in case Sakyo-nii was here!”
Citron laughs, very much pleased with himself. “It is all in a gay’s work for the Great Detective Citron, so do not feel bad!” he says, patting Taichi’s head. “Now, as postponement for your crimes… Can I see the kitty?”
Taichi immediately hops to his feet, nodding quickly as he carefully takes his backpack and opens the zipper. As if on cue, a small white kitten pokes its head from the top. It would make a wonderful actor in that case, Citron thinks, which Izumi would probably agree with. The kitten meows.
“So cute!” Citron coos, reaching a hand carefully out to the kitten. “Oh, I am sorry for poking you earlier, little one! I promise I am nice!” The kitten stares at him for a moment before nudging its little face into the palm of his hand. Citron thinks he could die right now, and he’d die a happy man.
“Her name’s Micchan!” Taichi says brightly, all traces of earlier hesitation gone. “I found her earlier just outside school. She was in a cardboard box all alone, Citron-san! I couldn’t not take her, right? And she’s so tiny, and she was meowing at me and looking at me with those big, wet eyes, and I seriously, seriously think this is what being a dad feels like!”
Well, Citron doesn’t know about that – even great detectives have their blind spots, after all! – but everything else seems to check out for him, so it’s probably just fine! “She is so very lovely,” Citron says, giving Micchan the gentlest pets he can muster.
“Isn’t she?” Taichi asks, reaching over to give Micchan a little pet of his own. She seems a little lost from all the affection, staring wide-eyed at the both of them. “Anyway! Um, well, since you know now, I can leave her to you for a second, right? I need to get her some water, and I’ll check if we have anything that she can eat, so if you wouldn’t mind–!”
Citron nods, taking Taichi’s bag into his arms with Micchan still in it. “I will hold her!” he promises. “She will be our little princess, and we will spoil her with many, many good things!”
“I knew I could count on you, Citron-san!” Taichi says, wide eyes practically sparkling with happiness. “She can stay in my room, and you can come visit anytime! We just need to make sure that Sakyo-nii doesn’t find out.”
Ah, yes. If Sakyo finds out, he would definitely not allow this. That only makes this a matter of utmost importance! Citron holds a finger to his lips and winks. “I will be the best secret keeper,” he says solemnly. “I will take it to my brave!”
Micchan meows in agreement.