Characters: Kazuki Kagome (SHSLCoder), Rhea Aru (CrimsonSkyTamer)

Pairing: Kazaru

Anime/Forum: Danganronpa, Roulette of Despair

I hated it.

I hated the way he liked to control the flow of the game, the way he'd casually take out a cigarette and light it even in the middle of investigation – surrounded by members of the police to boot.

I hated his low voice, his small smile that contained nothing and revealed nothing, his single-minded intensity on solving cases.

I hated it, simply because it reminded me of me.

"Aru, for this case, the victim's family has called in a Private Eye. Apparently, the guy's reputation is quite good, but just in case – you'll be his partner."

My grip on the pencil tightened so much that it snapped, causing lead powder to smear on my fingers. I kept a perfectly straight face, however, and ignored the two halves of the pencil that fell to the floor with a soft "clack".

I stared at my notes on the investigation, looking but not really seeing. I had read these notes over a hundred times, and knew them by heart. By now, it was really just an excuse for me to gather my thoughts.

"Done thinking yet, Inquisitor?"

My eyes widen for just the fraction of a second before the surprise faded, though the expression on his face told me that he had seen it.

…how could I have not noticed him enter the room?

"…Detective." I greeted him coldly. "So, how was your…research?"

It was a point of contention between us. For a renown – and I use this term loosely – Private Eye, Kazuki Kagome's connections were a tad too shady for my liking. But I suppose it fit the current case.

Inoue Arata.

That was the name of the person we were tracking. It's been approximately two months, and even now, I still can't get used to his presence – or rather, the lack of it. I still don't know why or what he's doing every time he leaves for "research", even though I've made discreet attempts to find out, only to be foiled every single time.

In the end, I just gave up and let him do what he wanted, as long as he didn't interfere with my work.

My cellphone rings, and I flick it open with practiced ease. "…" I stay silent, even as I wait for the person on the other end to speak. When he does so, however, it's as if the temperature of the room dropped by several degrees.

There's…no way…

"…Three months?" I hear myself asking, and I barely recognise my voice. It's cool and detached, but if one were to listen closely, they could hear the slight hint of anger in my tone.

"…They are aware that two months have passed, right?" I am dimly aware that at the other end of the room, Kazuki is speaking quietly into his phone, but he was radiating disapproval. His eyes were cold and restless – his chilly gaze was staring so intently at a wall that I would not be surprised if it spontaneously combusted.

I catch his eye. "If that wall breaks, you are going to pay," I mouth at him with a small smirk as I see him tense slightly - so slight that it was almost unnoticeable.

But I'm not an Inquisitor for nothing.

My call ends at the same time his does, and we stare at each other for a moment. I take in his black hair, brown eyes for the (probably) one millonth time, trying to figure out what made him so special, to figure out what made him the best in his field.

Kazuki Kagome was an engima. He was like me, yet at the same time, he wasn't. Over these few months, I realised that we were like two sides of a coin - I dealt with "white", and he dealt with "black". Two people so similar, yet so different...

"I presume you're aware of the deadline change." He speaks, and I fix my gaze on his. We stare at each other for a while, before I nod slowly, giving nothing away. And neither does he.

We might be two sides of the same coin, but until we truly trust each other, nothing will change.

He'll just walk his path in the darkness, and I'll walk mine in the light.

That's all there is to it.