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He liked to do this when the day had been particularly long and the night felt too short.
Appreciate the stars.
A meandering walk down a familiar path that led from his apartment through a nearby park gave Tsukauchi Naomasa just the right amount of time to find new shapes in the night sky he hadn't come across before.
His phone buzzed by his side, interrupting the calm of his few minutes away in his second home.
“Sis! Hey. It's late.”
An energetic pop of color shouted through the receiving end, “Big bro!” The wind whipped by, scratching his sister Makoto’s voice through their conversation, “You're taking one of your contemplative, ‘The world could end right now and I need to appreciate it’ walks, aren't you?”
He sighed, “Uh huh.”
“Well, give me a little more something, because I've got great news!”
“You're getting married?” A wry smile stretched across the sea that separated them.
The girl gasped. Tsukauchi chuckled, low and soft so as not to disturb the stars, “God no! Let's not talk about when our mother is going to kill us… Unless…?”
He was quick to cut off her hope, “No, no. Too many villains, not enough time.”
“Well maybe there are some new vigilantes I can interview when I visit in a week? I’m sure they’d be willing to lighten your load. I’m very convincing.”
Tsukauchi stopped, stepping to the side of the path, still looking up as he continued, “This is sudden.” His eyebrows narrowed, his peace shaken, “What’s the catch?”
“Can’t a sister visit without a catch?”
“Yes… but not you.”
An exaggerated sigh blew through Tsukauchi’s ear, shuddering the connection before Makoto’s cheery voice popped up again, “You got me! It’s a new vigilante piece. ‘Stain’ is on everyone’s lips around the world, Big Bro, and I want to find those that knew him.”
Tsukauchi’s lips pursed. The stars dimmed.
“You’ve had to have run across one of them. I hear Derelict has been protecting homeless encampments, and Headline takes selfies in the mall nabbing low level criminals all the time.” Makoto nudged, but Tsukauchi didn’t give an inch. He merely hummed. She gave another hearty harumph, then spoke with renewed vigor, “Oh! What about that one who lives on the rooftops and puts entire villain groups to sleep? Ever met Cheshire?”
The wind blew.
The night became short.
The stars hid themselves behind clouds and sky high buildings and the noise of a terse conversation in a coffee shop.
“Not yet.”
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