Chapter Text
The Armed Detective Agency, 13:23, Tuesday the 1st August
“Kyōka!” Atsushi called out as he returned from his assignment investigating the disappearance of an old lady’s bicycle. “I found something you might like!”
Kyōka raised her head from where she was gazing at the page of a poetry book Yosano had given her last week. She had been reading it for about half an hour now, despite the alarming amount of work that had been piling up on the Detective Agency recently. She cocked her head at Atsushi and waited for him to continue.
“You said once that you wanted to learn to enjoy reading more, so I though you might be interested in this flyer I found.” He placed the flyer on her desk. It looked ordinary, with different font sizes of text and a few cute raccoon cartoons scattered throughout. It read in bold letters: “Book Club at Yokohama City Central Library at 16:00 on Satuday the 5th of August.” The small text read: “The Book we will be discussing is ‘Kafka on the Shore’ by Murakami. No prior knowledge of the book needed, come just to listen!”
Kyōka looked up at Atsushi from the flyer, cocking her head to the other side. She blinked at him, trying to convey her question without opening her mouth. It felt like it would be difficult today.
Thankfully, Atsushi caught on quickly. “I though you’d like a book club of this type, since you could just to listen. Are you interested, Kyōka-chan?” He asked.
She thought about it for a few seconds. On one hand, she did want to talk about books or listen to others talk about books more. From the books she’d read since joining the Detective Agency, she already knew it was something she enjoyed. On the other hand, she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about going to a book club where she knew no one and didn’t even know who would be hosting it. But in the end, her curiosity won over her anxiety and shyness. She nodded her head at Atsushi. He smiled, and then said: “I can come with you if you want, Kyōka-chan.” She shook her head this time. It was nice of him to offer, but she wanted to try doing something a bit scary on her own. It wasn’t possible for her to grow without facing challenges, and this one wasn’t too scary to do alone.
Atsushi nodded, satisfied with her answer. “Do you want to read the book before going to the book club? We can go get it together from the library with my card, since you don’t yet have one.” Kyōka nodded her head, closed her book and got up from her chair, pushing it under the table before following Atsushi out the door of the Detective Agency. She was feeling excited despite her initial fear. She was even looking forward to Saturday.
The Port Mafia Main Building, 22:53, Wednesday the 2nd of August
Mori Ōgai was sitting behind his desk on his plush armchair with an air of indifference hanging about him. Reports from subordinates had piled high on his desk, offering no reprieve. He did have to read them all at some point to stay on top of things. Today he just wasn’t feeling it.
After some time deliberating, he decided to take a quick walk to clear his head. The unwanted thoughts were especially loud today. It was uncomfortable. He quickly asked Elise if she wanted to come along, to which she replied negatively and continued colouring her picture. He was a little disappointed but respected her wishes and went out by himself. Of course, he changed his clothes to his ordinary doctor’s wear before stepping into the sweltering August sun, he didn’t forget his position that easily, but even then, he felt like melting into a puddle on the sidewalk and remaining there until the heat death of the universe. Unfortunately, that was impossible, so he tried to stay in the shadows and avoid direct sunlight as best as he could.
As he walked toward the café he frequented, he saw a large flyer on the billboard next to the entrance of the underpass. He walked closer and hummed in surprise when he read what it said. “A book club…” he muttered under his breath, eyes darting to see what book would be discussed. His eyebrows shut up. ‘Kafka on the Shore?’ He thought that was quite the task for a first meeting.
Mori Ōgai hummed as he redirected his walk on course to the café, mind still stuck on the flyer. ‘Maybe…’ he thought. Maybe if he was able to leave work on time he might go see what the book club was like. It isn’t like his current work was more important than his own amusement. And it could be a good way to see what the population of Yokohama was up to this time. He did have to stay on top of things.
The Moby Dick, 16:21, Thursday the 3rd of August
Howard Phillips Lovecraft sat on a bench inside the Moby Dick. Lovecraft couldn’t remember how long he’d been sitting on it. Maybe the whole day? Lovecraft’s back hurt and he wondered briefly if this was how humans always felt. If so, it must be very uncomfortable to always be human. When Lovecraft was at the bottom of the sea as Kuthulu an entity, living, breathing and sitting felt much easier.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft continued sitting on the bench he had made his temporary home, his eyes following the members of the Guild who walked past in their hurry. One thing Lovecraft disliked above all other human creations was hurry. Hurrying didn’t feel right to Lovecraft’s mind, especially since humans were so, so fragile. (Lovecraft had found this out when his grip on Steinbeck’s hand had broken bones in John’s pointer finger. Truly, who built these fragile, emotional beings with no regard for their own safety?)
Howard Phillips Lovecraft raised his head when he heard a crash and a bang coming from the end of the hallway. After multiple hours of sitting in the same spot, Lovecraft finally got up to go check what had happened. Lovecraft had learned that it was good human etiquette to help others, and this “crash bang” person sounded like they might be in trouble. When Lovecraft got to the end of the hallway with his lethargic steps, he saw that it was his coworker Edgar Allan Poe who had fallen over.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft had little opinions, but he did wonder why Edgar Allan Poe felt the need to have two surnames. Wouldn’t one be plenty? Either way, Howard Phillips Lovecraft walked closer and asked: “Do you need help?” Lovecraft felt that the question was redundant considering the state of Edgar Allan Poe hunched on the floor, collecting papers like the scraps of sanity he didn’t have.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft watched Edgar Allan Poe flinch in surprise, lifting his head (eyes covered with hair) to look at him. Edgar Allan Poe stuttered a few times before managing to whisper: “I’d appreciate it, thank you, Lovecraft.”
Howard Phillips Lovecraft didn’t enjoy using his arms (they were too human and didn’t feel like his own) so he used his more familiar tentacles to collect some of the scattered papers on the floor. After helping Edgar Allan Poe, Howard Phillips Lovecraft was ready to go back to his uncomfortable spot on the bench. However, Lovecraft was interrupted by Edgar Allan Poe talking.
“Lovecraft, I’ve heard you mention wanting to understand humans better?” Edgar Allan Poe framed it as a question, and Howard Phillips Lovecraft blinked at him. Edgar Allan Poe continued: “So I wondered if you would be interested in coming to a book club meeting I’ll be hosting? J-just if you w-wanted to become m-more familiar with h-human concepts...” Edgar Allan Poe sounded unsure of himself, and Howard Phillips Lovecraft wasn’t sure why.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft looked at Edgar Allan Poe for a few seconds before nodding slowly. “You are correct. I will come.”
Howard Phillips Lovecraft walked back to his spot on the bench. Lovecraft didn’t need to ask when and where the book club would be held. He already knew. Edgar Allan Poe sighed deeply behind him. Howard Phillips Lovecraft wasn’t sure why his colleague felt anxious about such trivial things.