[AN: This is a one-shot that takes place right before the September field trip.
A Yu Narukami version is available at Dreamwidth at the following address:
angevon dot dreamwidth dot org/3945 dot html
Every 'dot' should be a '.'
Please enjoy!]
Souji sighed as the whistle ended the soccer match. Daisuke had played without any feeling, his heart quite obviously not in the game. He could have scored them the shot that won them the game. Could have.
But he didn't.
Well, at least it was only a practice match, anyway. Yasogami hadn't hosted a real match in forever, so maybe he was justified in not putting much effort into it. Still, it ruffled Souji's feathers, so to speak, and when Souji tried to talk to the guy about it, he'd abruptly left the field, which left the silver-haired boy alone to deal with the cleanup. Still considering him an outsider, the others on the team didn't volunteer to help.
At least Kou didn't leave him to out to dry. Kou clapped him on the shoulder when he brought the soccer ball to the storage shed. "We'll corner Daisuke sometime this week," the dark-haired boy promised. "And wring it out of him, if we have to!"
Souji nodded. Whatever was Daisuke's problem was his problem, too.
"I think it's about girls," Souji said while they walked into the gym together, taking the fastest path to the changing rooms by going through the indoor basketball court. "You've seen his fans—and how he treats them."
"It's tough, being popular," Kou commented. "You'd know, right?" Kou punched him lightly on the arm.
Souji didn't dignify that with an answer.
They halted right at the edge of the basketball court, greeted by an unexpected sight.
A diminutive but familiar figure was standing before one of the hoops, holding a basketball in his hands. His dark blue hair was just a shade apart from Kou's. The boy turned away suddenly, shoulders hunching, when he realized he had been caught.
"Uh, no offense," Kou said slowly, "but I don't think this is your sport, Detective Prince. You're... kinda short."
It was strange to see the young detective Naoto Shirogane without his signature blue cap, but he was still recognizable, if only because of his slight frame and, well, height.
Naoto turned his head just enough to subject Kou to a glare that could wither healthy spring flowers. His face was as red as the Tiny Soul Tomatoes growing in Souji's garden... Souji wondered what the boy was doing here. He wasn't enrolled in any sports class, and besides, it was after school. He couldn't imagine that he was practicing his game.
Kou blanched upon receiving that death gaze. "Uh, we'll just be going then... Have fun?" He laughed nervously, but Souji shook his head to indicate that he should go on alone. Kou gave him a curious look, then headed onto the locker room without him.
Souji stayed behind because Naoto's problem was his problem, too. That's just the sort of person he was.
He waited for Naoto to speak first, but after an entire minute passed in absolute silence—Naoto didn't so much as shift his feet—it seemed like maybe the next Ice Age might come sooner.
Then, finally, Naoto choked out a "Go away."
Souji didn't go away. He had the patience of a rock waiting for moss to grow. Another moment passed before he asked what was wrong. His soft voice echoed and seemed like thunder in the quiet expanse of the court.
The young detective didn't move, just raised an arm and pointed his finger to the basketball hoop ten feet above them.
The Detective Prince's signature blue cap was perched precariously against the hoop and the backboard. And Naoto, being stubborn and a bit of a loner, probably decided not to ask for help in getting it down. Had he been throwing the basketball at it in the hopes of knocking it free?
Souji was just shy of six feet tall, but even if he jumped he wouldn't be able to reach it. He pondered the situation. Naoto hadn't moved, his posture stiff with quiescent frustration. In fact, a moment later the basketball suddenly rocketed out of Naoto's hands because he'd been gripping it so tightly. It might be lucky that he hadn't popped it.
They both watched the ball bounce several times. It stopped at the foot of the bleachers. Naoto stared at it almost forlornly, but made no move to retrieve it.
"Shirogane-kun," Souji said to get the boy's attention. When the young detective turned his head to look at him, Souji bent down on the floor of the court and cupped his hands together. He nodded his head up at the net, indicating he'd give the boy a boost to reach his cap.
Naoto turned his full body to face him... and simply stared.
"Come on," Souji encouraged. "Unless you want to give me a boost."
Naoto scowled and stepped forward. He lifted a foot into Souji's cupped hands, and Souji noted how thick the boot's heel was. The poor boy was quite short and trying to make up for it... It was vaguely amusing.
Souji lifted up and Naoto flailed. For a moment, he worried he'd drop the boy, but then Naoto managed to grab hold of the hoop's rim and then swiftly snatched his cap from where it had been stashed. Souji set him safely back on the ground, and then Naoto turned his back to him, hugging the cap and burying his face into it.
Souji kindly led the unresisting Naoto to the bleachers and sat him down. Naoto was holding the cap like it was his only hold on life. Souji waited for him to regain his composure.
When Naoto finally relaxed his grip on the cap, Souji took out a handkerchief and handed it out to him. The boy glared at it for several moments like it was a foreign object. Souji didn't put it away, just continued to hold it out until he finally took it.
"...Thank you," Naoto finally muttered after dabbing his eyes with a corner of the handkerchief. "My cap is... important to me." The cap was now resting in the boy's lap. His hands were still clutching it tightly as if it might grow wings and fly away.
Souji nodded. "You don't look the same without it."
Naoto sighed. "One of my more disreputable classmates took it from me... I did not see who it was... It happened rather fast... But I have my suspicions."
Souji smiled inwardly. Always with the suspicions, this boy was. Well, he was a detective, after all.
"It's important to me," Naoto repeated. "An heirloom, one could say..."
"I understand," Souji said. "Something to remember your family by? I have something like that, too."
The young detective's gray eyes turned curiously on him.
"You've already seen it," Souji added.
Naoto's expression became one of concentration. Moments later, he held up the somewhat damp handkerchief. "This. Your family name is embroidered on it. Seta."
Souji smiled at him. "It's my dad's. My parents are away."
"Overseas," Naoto murmured.
Souji paused. Naoto had probably looked into his history, suspecting him in regards to the murder case... It could have been a frightening realization, but aside from the TV World and all that it represented, he had nothing much to hide. "Yeah. Won't see 'em until spring. And the time difference makes it difficult to call them, and they don't really respond to emails, so..." He took the handkerchief from Naoto's unresisting hand. "This is kind of all I have from them."
Naoto sighed, but didn't contribute an anecdote of his own.
They sat in silence for a bit. Naoto was looking better now. His face had relaxed from the scowl he had been wearing, and the flush on it had faded.
"Well," Souji said. My job here is done. He stood up. "I should get changed, so..." He was still in his soccer uniform. "You take care of yourself, okay?"
Naoto took a moment to answer. "...Seta-senpai. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Souji gave him an easy smile.
"But I will discover your involvement in the case," Naoto promised.
The smile didn't waver on Souji's face. "I hope you do," he murmured before turning and walking away, very aware of the detective's eyes on him as he left.