Fools
[Adamant]
The two glared, Souji's baseball bat firmly held in his hands while Adachi's finger shifting lightly on his revolver's trigger. If Adachi tried shooting him, Souji would block the bullet with the bat. If Souji tried bashing the detective, Adachi would jump out of the way and shoot another bullet, which Souji would block.
Neither of them was going to back down.
[Blur]
Souji quietly wandered on his way to his new school. His mind wasn't on his new school, though, it was on that…odd dream he had the night before. He closed his eyes, trying to remember.
He couldn't; most of it was a blur.
[Chill]
When Adachi walked passed him, Souji immediately felt a cold breeze sink into his bones.
[Death]
Souji felt his throat dry. The world around him disappeared; even the cries of his uncle didn't reach his ears. All he could see, all he could hear, all he noticed was his young, little, pale cousin laying motionless in her hospital bed and the flat, single monotone sound from the machine hooked up to her.
Nanako was…dead.
Souji only wished it was him lying motionless on that bed, other than her. She was so young, she deserved to be alive. Death shouldn't have visited her… not yet.
[Embers]
Souji stared at the dying fire, then to the older man sitting beside him. The flickering flames reflecting in Adachi's eyes looked colder than ice.
[Fly]
For a moment, Souji noticed that falling through the TV felt like flying.
…Until he landed face-first on the ground.
[Glance]
Adachi took a quick look at the silver-haired teen before he walked back into the crime scene of Yamano's murder. Even if the glance was less than a second, the detective knew that boy was going to be a pain in the ass sooner or later.
[High]
Adachi blinked, staring at his hands then back at the TV. Had he just…pushed that woman through it? Adachi felt a smirk grace his face, before he found himself trying to hide his laughter.
He knew what it was like to feel high as a teen, but now the feeling came rushing back, only this time, he had the power and control, not the drugs.
[Immature]
"I don't understand it."
"Don't understand what, Dojima-san?" Adachi inquired, peering at his superior.
The older man stared at the younger one, before taking another puff of his cigarette, "I don't understand how my teenaged nephew and daughter are so mature, and then you act like a total kid."
[Jealousy]
Souji seemed to get everything. Friends, girlfriends, money, good grades, just everything. It made Adachi sick to his stomach. He never had friends in school; he tried to make some, but they always backed away just at the sight of him. He never had a girlfriend as a teen, they'd scream and run. His jobs as a teen gave him low pay. His teachers hated him, no matter how correct his answers were, they'd always fail him.
Souji seemed to get everything.
It made Adachi see green.
[Kaleidoscope]
Souji noticed that staring at Adachi was like looking through a kaleidoscope: You never knew what you would actually see.
[Loathe]
Souji huffed, crossing his arms and sitting furiously on the couch. Adachi blinked. When Dojima said Souji'd been acting a little testy lately, the younger detective wouldn't have thought the teen would be so angry he looked ready to burst into flames.
"S-Souji-kun, what's—"
The glare Souji sent him was enough to shut him up immediately. Whatever it was that pissed the teen off, Adachi sure as hell hoped it wasn't, or never would be, him.
[Mug shot]
Mug shots were something Adachi found himself hating. He didn't know why or how it started, he just always hated mug shots.
But when he saw Souji getting one taken, he couldn't help but like at least one.
[Never]
"Adachi-san, have you ever told a lie?"
"Never."
[Ordinary]
Neither of them was ordinary.
But to each other, perhaps they were.
[Quiet]
Adachi had noted Souji was a very quiet teen. He rarely spoke unless he needed to, and even his footsteps were quiet. Adachi never noticed him when the teen suddenly walked up behind him.
So when Nanako and Dojima were both admitted to the hospital, Adachi found himself staring at the teen more. It was as if Souji was absolutely muted silence. Not a sound appeared out of him.
[Recipe]
Nobody could believe it.
"Nanako, get the fire extinguisher!"
Dojima couldn't even make toast.
Souji and Adachi sighed.
"We made a recipe for disaster, huh?" the young detective muttered.
"Ignoring the awful pun," Souji murmured, "…Yes. Yes we did."
Perhaps forcing Dojima to cook something wasn't the greatest idea ever.
[Strength]
"Wow, Big Bro, you're so strong!"
"Adachi, how the hell did you even get this job?"
Adachi grumbled into the carpet he was laying face-first on. He didn't know how it happened, but him and Souji had started showing off who was stronger. Needless to say, he lost horribly.
"Well, I have been doing martial arts since I was four, Uncle…"
But who needed strength when he had the hidden talent to fool them all?
[Tape]
He couldn't see, he found it hard to breathe, his hands were locked in a terrible, awkward position, and his feet were locked too. He tried to move, he tried to scream, but he only fell over and his cries were muffled.
He squirmed on the floor, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could get himself free from his bounds. Of course, this was useless. It wasn't rope. He could get himself out of rope, he got used to it in his other schools. So many of the students would tie up his hands and legs, gag and blind him, then stuff him in a closet. He wasn't sure how many times it happened, he wasn't sure how many tries it took before he finally got himself out with no help. But he got used to it. He could get himself out of any ropes.
But this…this wasn't rope. It was duct tape. He was never gagged, bound, and blinded by duct tape. Layers of duct tape. He…didn't know how to get out of this one. He was scared.
There was finally something he couldn't get out of.
[Umbrella]
Adachi wandered through Junes, flicking on the hood of his rain jacket as he walked outside, closing his bag of groceries (or…instant noodles and cabbages) as much as he could. He didn't have an umbrella, and most of the times he didn't need one, but today he wished he did. The rain was extremely harsh that night. At least his coat still blocked out most of the rain.
…But it still felt like he was being pelted by baseballs.
Adachi sighed. The walk from Junes to his apartment was a long one, and he wished it was sunny. He hated driving on days like this, and no matter how much he wanted to take out his car, he kept it parked in the lot.
Under a lone street light, the only one that was on, Adachi noticed someone standing under it, without an umbrella or even a raincoat. The detective frowned, getting closer. A couple more steps and he could tell it was Souji.
"Good evening, Adachi-san." The teen said as Adachi approached. His tone was absolutely emotionless.
"What are you doing out here without an umbrella or anything, Souji-kun? Your uncle's probably worried, you should be getting home."
"…Maybe."
Adachi frowned.
"C'mon, let's get you out of—"
"But I'm waiting."
"…Waiting for what?"
"For my umbrella."
"…Your…umbrella?"
"It flew away."
Adachi's frown grew and he looked the teen square in the eyes. They were as emotionless as his monotone voice.
"Your umbrella…flew away?"
"Yes."
But it wasn't even windy.
"Souji-kun, what's really—"
"My umbrella… It flew away."
[Warmth]
Souji shivered. He'd underestimated the weather today and wore too little layers of clothing. He sat at the bus stop, waiting for it so it could take him to the Day Care. He wished he wasn't so tired, because the seat was absolutely cold. He could just skip the day and go home, but then he'd feel bad since he promised Yuuta he'd be there.
Souji shivered again.
Until he found something put on his shoulders.
The teen looked over, Adachi smiling, only wearing his shirt and tie. The detective had given him his jacket.
"A-Adachi-san, I can't—"
"Take it, Souji-kun. You need it more than I do. I have a car, and knowing Dojima-san, he'll be making me run around like a lap-dog when I get back anyway. Have fun at your job." And before Souji could reply, the man was off and walking down the sidewalk.
Souji shivered, before wrapping himself up in the jacket.
[X-Ray]
It always seemed like Souji was analyzing everything, looking through everyone, and plucking out the good and bad from their personalities.
Adachi could only wonder if the teen could see through him.
[Year]
A year went by too fast.
When he stepped on the train and the doors closed in front of him, Souji only wished they would open up again and start a whole new year for him in Inaba.
