Alright, this thing is supposed to be a secret santa gift for one of my friends. But me being the worst procrastinator, the introduction (this) just got finished.
Daichi sighed as he flashed his inspector id card at the security robots blocking off a large supermarket. The newbie that was supposed to report to the CID offices that day, Kageyama Tobio, had been called and informed to begin his first day at the scene. The situation wasn't that serious in his opinion; he and Sugawara, one of the enforcers under his jurisdiction, could have handled it alone without involving any of the other employees. The Criminal Investigation Department had been dreadfully understaffed for quite some time, so he and Suga had been taking on a lot of cases that would normally be handled by an entire team. Hopefully this simple clouded hue case would be a good way to break Kageyama into being an inspector.
Glancing to the side he saw Asahi nervously slipping in between some of the drones and making his way over to their meeting place, a corner of the parking lot underneath a dim lamppost. It was still early evening, so the faint light it emitted from the bulbs barely illuminated the surrounding space. A few seconds after Asahi stopped off to his right Kenma appeared with his signature PSP in hand, sliding it into his jacket pocket as he approached.
"Either of you guys see the new kid?" Daichi muttered as he scanned the crowd being obstructed by the security drones. He received negative responses from both of his coworkers, but was almost immediately gratified with the sight of a tall young man with black hair holding his id up to the scanner on one of the robots. Once they rolled to the side and let him by he speed walked over to their small congregation, looking a little embarrassed to have been the last one to arrive. As soon as he was within a reasonable distance, the man bowed slightly and introduced himself.
"Hello, my name is Kageyama Tobio and I have been assigned to work with this unit in the CID from this day onward. It's a pleasure to work with you." His tone was soft, and held almost no emotion.
"H-Hello, I'm Azumane Asahi. I hope we can work together a lot in the future." The tall inspector's demeanor was the opposite of his physical appearance, timid and apprehensive.
"Nice to meet you," Kenma murmured from behind his blonde hair before briefly pulling out his PSP to check the time. Daichi noticed that Kageyama seemed to dislike the device, and wondered if he had possibly had a bad experience with games in the past. But that could wait because his was the last introduction.
"My name is Sawamura Daichi, and at the moment I am the most senior inspector in our unit. Welcome to the squad." As he finished speaking the trucks with the Dominator carts and enforcers rolled into the parking lot and opened their heavy metal doors.
ξ
His fellow inspectors seemed welcoming enough; it wasn't like they had to be best friends to effectively do their jobs. He was a top graduate from the academy that had been scouted as a young child. He had more than enough qualifications to get started with the job, but he had to admit to himself that outside of office work and simulations he had never worked a true case with real suspects and real enforcers.
As the door swung open and his subordinates emerged Kageyama narrowed his eyes critically. The first enforcer out of the truck definitely wasn't the stereotypical latent criminal. He was a spastic little thing that couldn't be much over five feet, and his bright orange hair was obnoxious at best. The boy was bouncing along happily, his head turned back toward the truck doors to talk to the second emerging enforcer, an even shorter boy who appeared to be just as energetic as the first. The third was a taller man with silver hair. The atmosphere around him seemed lighter somehow, even from where Kageyama was standing a few yards away. It was unsettling to him how a criminal could exude such an aura and have a sweet smile so effortlessly.
He had turned to pick his Dominator out of the cart, so he hadn't had a chance to see the truck's final occupant emerge. As his eyes turned an iridescent blue and the Dominator confirmed him as an authorized user, he turned to face the last enforcer in their unit. It was Black Cat. Everyone knew Black Cat, whether they were connected to the CID or not. He was legendary for being merciless toward victims, going wild on people with high crime coefficients during cases, and almost never listening to the inspectors he was put on teams with. Instinctively he turned his body so that his firearm, still angled toward the ground, was pointed at Black Cat's lower half.
"Crime coefficient is 271. An enforcer registered at the Criminal Investigation Department. He is an enforce at will target. The safety will be released," his gun informed him.
Behind the hum of the Dominator telepathically speaking to him, Kageyama could hear Daichi dispatching Asahi and the other inspector (he never had given his name) to go handle another incident somewhere else. They took two of the enforcers with them; the really short one, and thankfully, Black Cat.
"This is a fairly routine roundup," Daichi informed him. "A street scanner saw a woman with a cloudy hue, and when she was asked to procure membership for a therapy clinic she refused and barricaded herself in this," he gestured toward the building across the parking lot, "grocery store with around twenty hostages."
"This time Sugawara and I are going to take point, and you'll stay with Hinata to cover the exits and send the hostages over to the transport when they come out." His brown eyes bore into Kageyama's own dark blue, as if daring him to challenge his authority. He had, in fact been about to insist that even though he was fresh out of the academy that he could handle something like this. But Daichi's expression and tone left no room for argument.
Grumbling to himself he pointed his Dominator towards the enforcer overflowing with charisma. Sugawara, a small section of his mind admonished.
"Crime coefficient is 148. An enforcer registered at the Criminal Investigation Department. He is an enforce at will target. The safety will be released." It consoled him somewhat the Sugawara's number was within his textbook's average levels for an enforcer registered with the department. Black Cat's was so high, and it had put him off slightly to think that he would be working with such an unstable latent criminal.
Daichi and his subordinate silently disappeared into the market's back supply door, leaving him alone with the sunny Hinata. Already he didn't like him. Much too cheerful for anyone with a crime coefficient high enough to be an enforcer, and seemingly uncaring about the difference in status between himself and Kageyama. Blatantly lifting his weapon he pointed it directly at Hinata's chest so it would read out his number. It was possible that Hinata was so crazy that he just didn't understand anything.
"Crime coefficient is 107. An enforcer registered at the Criminal Investigation Department. He is an enforce at will target. The safety will be released." That couldn't be right… It was higher than it should be, but someone who had gone through trauma and was receiving therapy would have a similar number. It wasn't nearly big enough for someone to be far gone enough to become a latent criminal. Frowning he shook the gun a few times before lifting it again so that the barrel was aimed at an unhappy face framed with spiky orange strands.
"Crime coefficient is 107. An en-" Kageyama didn't even pay attention to the rest. He didn't have time for this right now; already he could gear the telltale sounds of things being knocked over and screaming from the open doorway.
"Come cover the doorway," he hissed at Hinata. The short boy refused to move, and made a pouty face at him before turning up his nose. "Get over here," he practically growled a few seconds later. When still he didn't move Kageyama was getting ready to shoot him when a piercing pair of hazel eyes met his own. They bore straight into him, daring him to let his finger twitch and pull the trigger.
"You haven't even introduced yourself. That's no way to treat a coworker. My name is Hinata Shoyo." His tone was flat, clearly displaying his displeasure with Kageyama's comportment. Pleased to meet you, tyrant." He muttered under his breath.
ξ
"Why did Daichi do this?" Kenma sighed as he, Asahi, and the two enforcers headed toward a rehabilitation clinic. There were disturbances there all the time due to latent criminals being housed there for rehab. The CID had long since stopped responding to the alerts that the machines there sent in, knowing that the staff was equipped to take care of just about any problem their "inmates" could come up with.
"He p-probably wants to evaluate Kageyama's abilities. Inspectors straight out of the academy are pretty unusual after all." Asahi's voice was calm until the shortest enforcer accompanying them, Nishinoya, grabbed at his sleeve.
"Do we have to do this," the tiny man whined. "The center's employees will take care of whatever it is long before we get there."
"Noya," Asahi admonished gently. "It's our job to check out things like that, even when it isn't necessary."
Groaning the enforcer leaned against his partner before glancing over at the other two, who were watching them with mild amusement in their eyes.
"We aren't all needed for such a routine check," Kenma stated. "And we all know that Kuroo doesn't do well with the quieter jobs." The blonde inspector's golden eyes slid sideways to assess the famed Black Cat, who was fidgeting and playing with his unruly hair in an attempt to entertain himself.
"I get what you're saying," Asahi acknowledged. "We'll do this one, but next time it's your turn." He could put his foot down sometimes. Even though he wasn't a big fan of violence, visiting the same clinic multiple times and having nothing to do could definitely run down a person's patience. The tall inspector's admission to take care of the investigation didn't go unnoticed by Kuroo, who released a feral smile before poking Kenma in the side.
"Take me to the forest," the latent criminal purred down at the blonde. At first there was no response to Kuroo's request, but a few seconds later the hair that draped over his face shifted slightly as he turned to glance up at his much taller partner. It took almost a minute for Kenma to break eye contact and mutter,
"Fine, just come back when I call for you this time." Then he thanked Asahi and Noya for taking care of the health center and walked away leaning on and lightly holding the sleeve of Black Cat, a latent criminal who was legendary for being unpredictable and vicious.
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Eventually Hinata caved and moved over to the door. He had been hoping that this would be his "match" within their department, but was just about ready to give up on this inspector already. Of course there weren't official pairs, but within each unit there were definite claims staked on the enforcers. It was an unspoken rule that taking another inspector's partner was wrong, and those that broke the rule didn't last long. Hinata had been circulating about as an awkward third wheel through the partnerships in their department, and it was safe to say that everyone involved was tired of it.
"Get closer dumbass," Kageyama growled from his position directly to the side of the supply door. When Hinata didn't immediately scramble to follow his order, he gestured rudely with his Dominator, the muzzle directed at the ginger haired enforcer. Sniffing Hinata slightly lifted his own firearm before gracefully slinking over to the door and placing his tiny, calloused hand on the knob. Are you ready? His dark brown eyes seemed to ask as he glanced up at his new boss.
