Chapter Text
Smoke burned in his chest as if hot coals were falling down his throat, then pure bliss hit as the nicotine entered his bloodstream. He sighed in relief, ashing the cigarette into his pocket ashtray.
It was a relief that Maki wasn't coming in today—she somehow always managed to smell the smoke no matter how much he tried to cover it…
He'd started smoking a couple of years ago, but none of his friends had ever warmed up to his little vice, even Kaede, who typically respected his choices regardless of her own opinions, would always give him this half pitying half concerned look whenever he smoked around her…
Shaking himself out of the daze of his own thoughts, he turned back to his laptop, still open to a man's Facebook page. He'd been sifting through this guy's social media for hours and found absolutely nothing. Hell, he'd only ever posted family photos on any of his accounts.
Being a private investigator may sound like some glamorous job—straight out of the movies, but it wasn't. His experience was a lot of this, searching through any online information you could find of a person or following them around 24/7 just to discover minute details of their life.
Joy. Sighing, he pushed back from his desk and closed his laptop. That was enough work for today; besides, it had been pretty clear from the beginning that the guy was innocent. He checked his phone, 16:53. Good, more than enough time to get home and take a shower before dinner.
—
His apartment was only a short walk from the office. It was a small building, but roomy enough for him, and the landlady was always lenient with payments.
Taking off his shoes, he shed his coat and draped it over the couch, tugging off his tie as well. Looking professional was sometimes intensely uncomfortable… Grabbing some leftovers from the fridge, he threw himself onto the couch and flicked on the news, idly watching while he ate.
It was a little sad, being a 31 year old man eating leftovers on his couch alone, but was it really that big of a deal? He had the best friends anyone could ask for, a stable enough job, and was in good health! Well, besides the smoking… Still, life was a bit dull at times—nothing wrong with dull, though, right? Right.
His attention was tugged away from his thoughts as the news turned to a recent heist. It's been all over the news for the past week. “Mysterious thief steals diamond worth over $100 million!” He could see why people were so interested, the diamond disappeared overnight, with only a single playing card left in its place.
From what he'd heard, the police were completely stumped. He could only wonder how the thief got inside. Security hadn't seen anything… maybe the thief snuck in with the cleaning staff or– no. That's the police's job to worry about.
Shuichi Saihara is just a private investigator now, nothing more, nothing less. But… the topic brought a certain event back to mind. He felt his gut twist at the memory…
It had been a normal Tuesday. He had arrived early for his weekly dinner with Maki and Kaito, a tradition of theirs that allowed them to catch up and talk outside of work.
At first, the meal had been normal enough, just Kaito catching him up on his week and listening to his woes about a recent client, but there was a strange tension throughout. It was like the two were waiting to spring a trap on him. Eventually, it became too much.
“Alright, what is it?”
Kaito seemed startled. The food had just arrived, and a short silence had overtaken the table before Shuichi had spoken
“Er, what do you mean, Shuichi?”
“Look, I don’t want to be rude about this, but I can tell you two have something you want to say, so please just say it already.”
They both shifted uncomfortably, exchanging a glance before Maki spoke up, “We have a suggestion. It's been 6 years since you left the police and its obvious you take no enjoyment from work nowadays and-”
Kaito spoke where she left off, “A friend of mine knows a guy who works at the station, and apparently they have a bunch of vacancies, and they'd be more than willing to give a good bonus for an experienced detective-”
“I’m not interested”
“Shuichi, come on, at least think about it. I know your issues with the force, but you're not doing any more good here than you would on the force! Make the changes you want to see, man!”
“Look.. I appreciated you guys looking out for me, but I'm fine! Really! Business is stable; changing careers now is an unnecessary risk.”
Kaito's next words came as a roar of conviction: “You gotta take risks sometimes, Shuichi, or else you'll never get anywhere!!”
He bit his lip, shrinking back a bit.
Maki placed a hand on Kaito's shoulder, giving him a stern look “Shuichi. We just want what's best for you, and clearly you aren't happy right now, so-”
“DONT TELL ME HOW I FEEL” his outburst surprised even him, he could feel the eyes of other customers on him as he spoke his next words in a whisper “I- I’m fine. Really. Thanks for dinner. I think I gotta go.” With that, he dropped some money on the table and made a quick pace towards the exit. Keeping his head down the entire way.
—
Maki was already there when he arrived the next day, greeting him with a simple nod
“Good morning, Shuichi”
“Morning Maki” He replied, putting down his bag and taking out his computer before turning back to her, “Any new calls or messages today?”
“No, nothing yet. But here's my report for that client from the other day.” she idly responded
“Oh, thank you, anything abnormal?” he asked, taking the small notepad from her and beginning to flip through. During their time together, it had been decided that Maki would search for info in person, typically stalking their target, while Shuichi would research online and interview clients for info.
Maki had picked up the role quite quickly, which was good because he, personally, had no idea how someone would even begin to learn such a skill
“Nope, just another case of paranoia” she sighed.
He gave a deflated chuckle. In the end, that's what most of their cases were, just paranoid partners with way too much money.
“Thank you for all your work regardless, ill get this wrapped up and present what we found to the client—I'll let you know when we get our next job”
Her brows furrowed “I'm not calling out early. Shuichi, I could still smell the smoke when I got here. Besides, Kaito’s already at work, so going home is pointless”
He started to stumble out an excuse “Ah, well, I mean it's been a busy week and..” her judgmental gaze still burned into him. Shuichi sighed “alright, yeah, I'm sorry, I know how you feel about it, I've just been on edge recently”
Her gaze faintly softened “I know Shuichi, but still it’s– nevermind. Do what you want, just don't do in front of me or that idiot”
Shuichi chucked a bit, “How is Kaito? The school year just started, right?”
She nodded, a fond look in her eyes “Yeah. It's been busy, but he seems to be having fun; all the kids love him, as usual”
Shuichi chuckled a bit at that. Kids seemed to be drawn to Kaito, and he loved the attention. He had been working on and off as an elementary school science teacher for the past couple years. His end goal was to become an astronaut, but he still needed the money to get by. And, as Kaito put it, he “wanted to pass on his skills to the next generation” So he began teaching on the side.
The two continued to talk idly as they worked for the next couple hours, eventually, as the day wound down and they finished up, Maki spoke up “Shuichi, about the other night-”
Shuichi felt his entire body tense, of course she was going to bring it up. His stupid outburst, Kaito had just been making a suggestion, and he had freaked out on them. His throat was dry and gravelly as he swallowed. “It's fine. Really.”
She tensed for a moment before letting out an annoyed sigh “Look, I get where you're coming from but Kaito was just worried, it feels like you've been acting more and more like you did back then as of late... and besides, we both know you're not satisfied with…this.”
He abruptly stood, grabbing his stuff. He wasn't ready for this. He never was. His head felt dull as he spoke “It's really fine, I enjoy this, it brings in more than enough.”
Maki glared at him sternly but waved her hand as if to dismiss him “Fine. I'm not going to push you on this, but Kaito and Kaede aren't as lenient as I am. So just… Just give it some thought”
Shuichi felt himself nodding subconsciously, waving his goodbyes to her as he rushed outside. It was pathetic, really. Any mention of going back, of the past, and he acted like this… But, he could still feel it, the twisting, lurching slurry of guilt pushing its way through his guts like a parasite. He couldn't hide forever.
—
“King! King! Get up!” The words jolted Kokichi out of his sleep as he felt himself spinning and falling, the sudden slam of pain produced an involuntary yelp, rocketing him to consciousness.
“OW! ACE!”
Ace chuckled from the other side of the bed “Aw come on King you told me to wake you up if something interesting happened!” Their short brown hair dangled beneath them as they leaned over to gaze down at Kokichi on the floor. This was especially infuriating considering Ace was usually one of the few members of dice who couldn't look down on Kokichi
His expression snapped to a grin so fast you'd expect the skin to rip as he hopped to his feet dusting himself off. “Sooooo..? Tell me tell me!”
Ace smirked striking a triumphant pose and with a flourish announced “Our heist has been covered by every major news station in the country”
“Thats it?”
“Oh come on, King! That's a big deal! And the cops aren't even close to finding us! Celebrate a little”
Kokichi fell back onto the bed with a hollow thump, waggling his finger at Ace, “That was but a guarantee, Ace! We just pulled off the greatest heist in history, that is the bare minimum!”
The groan that sounded from above him wasn't unexpected, Ace had always been easily excitable, even since they were young. But still he should indulge his subordinate a bit…
“Dont worry, Ace, I'm sure the celebration cake Queen is baking is nearly done.”
Ace instantly perked up “You told Queen to make a cake for me?!”
“Nope, Nishishi!” He giggled “Buuuttttt, she knows you well enough I bet she did anyway!”
“Alright!” Was the last thing out of Ace's mouth before they dashed out of Kokichi's room. Kokichi stood up again, stretching and wandering over to his dresser. As he began to dress himself, he found his eyes drawn out the small window of his room.
The street outside was empty as always; cracked concrete, blooming weeds, trees crowded the old road as if eating away at it. The old motel they called home must have been abandoned years ago when Jack stumbled upon it but with a little (a lot) of work, it had become a good home and entirely off the map! A detail important for thieves like them.
By the time he made it downstairs Ace had already started devouring the chocolate cake while the others watched in mixed amusement and disgust.
“Morning, King. How'd you sleep?” Came the melodious voice of his older sister. Queen had abandoned caring for her hair in recent years and nowadays tied up the brown-blond mop in a ponytail.
“Terribly! I had nightmares all night, Queen!” he whined, tears brewing in his eyes
She laughed quietly, placing a plate of eggs and toast on the counter in front of him "I'm sure, but then I wonder where that peaceful snoring came from?”
“Hey, I do not snore!”
“Oh, you so do.” Spade piped up, “I can hear you three rooms away, I swear!” their most recent addition to dice was sure a snarky one… and that obnoxious yellow hair of his… egh.
“Stop bullying your leader!” he huffed “Jeez, what a bunch of awful subordinates you all are!”
“We're just the worst.” Came the grinding rumbling voice of Jack from behind him as he ruffled Kokichi's hair. The tallest member of Dice had remained pretty consistent in his appearance over the years, only opting to rid of his massive afro a year or two ago. Instead, he now usually just keeps his hair buzzed
Smacking Jack's hand away, he groaned “This is so unfair, you guys are teaming up on me! Well, whatever, I wanna hear what happened while I was sleeping! Come on, tell me, tell me!”
Diamond shifted uncomfortably in her seat, fiddling with her long braided hair “um well.. Nothing really…”
“Huh. Nothing.”
“W-well, I mean the story is everywhere but… The police have made almost no progress… uh, they're being very protective of the investigation… they just now figured out our entry method”
“Boring. That's so boring”
Diamond shrank into herself a bit “I- I’m sorry”
“No, it's not your fault…” A wide grin split Kokichi's face, stretching his proportions unnaturally. “Hey… how about we speed up the game a little!”
“King…” came Queen's worried voice “we don't want to push it. We can't get caught yet.”
“Oh come on! They're never going to find anything as it is! So! Let's introduce a second player”
“The Kuzuryus?”
“Yep! I was gonna wait but… I heard they're hosting a party soon, and that's just the perfect opportunity! I wonder how they'll react if their ancestral blade were to vanish nishishi!!”
“Ko- King. Are you sure that's a good idea? We don't want to push it.”
“Welllll I may have already sent them a card announcing were gonna do it”
Jack pressed his face into his hands with a sigh before a rough chuckle lurched from him. “Oh, well, what can we do now? I guess we just have to get to work.”
“Yep! But don't worry, your supreme leader already has a plan!”
—
Shuichi found himself stumbling down the street at a ragged jog the next morning. In his distracted state, he had forgotten to set his alarm the night before and had overslept by two hours! Of course, he made his own hours, but still, he needed to be at the office in case any clients came in!!
As he rounded the corner onto the street, his pace slowed, turning to a slow walk. The parking lot outside his office was filled with at least 4 sleek black cars, eerily familiar cars…
But no, it's been years, it couldn't be… even with his own assurances, a twisting lump of nausea wormed its way into his gut. Glancing down, his fears were all but confirmed, the door was unlocked.
Inside the agency, a man sat at Shuichi's desk who was an all too familiar face. Although unintimidating in stature, the man radiated power; his clean-cut suit and buzzed blond hair showed his serious nature. But the most noticeable feature was his eyepatch, black with a curled white dragon on it. Five other men crowded the room, all tall, muscular, clean-cut, and staring Shuichi down like he was a bug beneath them.
Finding his voice, Shuichi finally managed to speak up in a hoarse voice “Kuzuryu. It's been a while.”
A slight smile cracked Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu’s face "Didn't I tell you to call me brother Saihara?”
“I didn’t perform the oath, Kuzuryu, you know that”
The smile disappeared, and the typical frown crossed Fuyuhiko's face again “Whatever, that's not why I’m here”
“Then why are you here?!”
Fuyuhiko abruptly slammed his hand onto the earning sharp wince from Shuichi as the sound echoed throughout the room
“Watch your tone, asshole!”
Shuichi felt himself lurching backward even more, but he knew he couldn't leave, not until Fuyuhiko got what he wanted.
“I’m here to cash in my favor”
Well. That was not what he had expected. “What do you want..?”
Fuyuhiko tsked slightly before beginning to explain “1 week ago we received a letter from the so-called ‘Phantom thief' who's been all over the news. To put it simply, it said that they would steal our ancestral blade. A weapon that has been passed down between the clan leaders for generations.”
“So you want me to help prevent the theft..?”
“No! We are the Kuzuryu clan, there's no way we would be defeated by some common thief!”
He sighed, slumping back a bit, an unusual look settling upon him. It was something Shuichi had never seen before, the ever prideful Kuzuryu looked… defeated…
“But, we lost… Just as they said, those damn cups vanished with no trace. Only a single playing card was left in its place…”
Shuichi felt his pulse increasing.
“I wanted to save this favor for something else, but this is a humiliation I can't let stand… So, Detective Saihara, you're going to take the case and catch the phantom thief.”
He cocked an eyebrow at Shuichi, waiting for an answer. Shuichi's heart pounded like a drum slamming into his chest, his breath was catching in his throat! Yet, he felt almost… excited.
He had left that life behind; he was just a private investigator, he couldn't be going after some criminal for the mafia, he had left that recklessness in the past. He couldn't. But… he couldn't help but think back to Kaito's words “You gotta take risks sometimes, Shuichi, or else you'll never get anywhere!!”
“...”
“You just gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna say something?”
“I won't work with you.”
“What?” The rage in his voice was palpable
“But… I think the Saihara agency will be taking on the phantom thief case after all. I don't like you, Kuzuryu, but in this case, our interests just happen to align”
Fuyuhiko stared at Shuichi, an overbearing silence crowding the room. And then. He laughed. It wasn't loud, just a soft and heavy chuckle that shook his shoulders slightly. Finally, after a few moments, he spoke again “Hah, whatever you say, brother. Now then lets get going”
“What? Get going where?”
“Doesn’t a detective need to see the scene of the crime?”
The weight began to slip from his chest, just a bit, and for the first time in a long while, he took that next step with confidence and excitement.
“Thats investigator to you, Kuzuryu”