I love throwing people for a loop. Remember that. :)
14th SCENT: KANJI'S SLEEPLESS NIGHT
The night before after leaving the Hanamura residence...
The soprano voice of Naoto's mother chirped from her cell phone as the detective prince walked through Inaba late in the evening. She'd chosen a short cut through a small residential apartment area to get back to the Shirogane estate. "I know, mom. I'm sorry I didn't check in. I wasn't in an area with reception—" Irritated banter slapped back through the phone. Naoto sighed, a little annoyed that her mother still treated her like she'd just rolled out of the box. "Yes, mom, I promise I'll check in more regularly. I'm on my way home now. Could I ask you and dad for a favor? It's pertaining to the Yamano and Konishi cases. I think I may have a lead." The light turned green and she jogged across the street. "Can you please pull the security footage from the Junes electronics department from three days ago?" She listened as her mom questioned why. "Someone said they saw a teenager looking suspicious near closing time. I have a hunch."
A stranger slouched quickly across the street ahead of her in a jog...no...he wasn't slouching. He was clutching something close to his chest. "Thanks. I'll be home, soon." She pocketed the phone and watched the shadowed figure move down the street. Something about him seemed off –more so than the uncomfortable sense that peppered her from a local transient that favored the park. Naoto pressed her back against a fence out of sight when the figure stood straight to and looked her direction. Her ears twitched beneath her cap at the faint sound of someone sniffing the air. Only when it stopped did she peek around the corner. The figure hurried down the street, dashing through puddles and dim circles of light cast by the street lamps.
He was heading in the opposite direction of her home, but she couldn't ignore the feeling in her gut demanding she follow. She cursed under her breath. Her mother was already upset that she'd been gone for so long. Staying out even later mean suffering through a lecture on how a true detective of the Shirogane family should behave. They would blame it on her youth and lack of experience. She'd never felt the strong compulsion to obey her mother's orders, though she'd only ever wanted to please her, and thus she chose to obey, to read as much as possible, and to learn every nuance of the gum shoe life.
She glanced up the hill, then back as the stranger skulked through a fence barricading a small apartment complex from the rest of Inaba. Stealing her decision, she ran down the street after the stranger. Her mother might not approve of her actions, but Naoto could never ignore the one phrase that continually lived in the center of her heart and mind driving her every action. Follow your instincts and find the truth. She had no choice but to obey that urge. It had helped her catch ten criminals in varying degrees of crimes since that fateful day at the Inaba police station two months ago. Whether her mother liked it or not, this was what she was: a truth seeker. Her purpose even lived within her name.
A light flicked on in a second floor apartment, followed by the silhouette of the stranger setting the bag down out of sight. It crumpled like plastic. If this was the same kid Yosuke had encountered, then he likely just came from Junes. His shadow was slim and slightly hunched as though an invisible weight pressed his shoulders forward. She had to know what was going inside.
An old oak draped its branches invitingly over the fence. It was too high to jump to as she was, but relatively simple to get to with claws. She looked left, then right, ensured she was alone in the street, and put her focus into the power of her Change skill. Within seconds, she was climbing up the fence to the tree, where she hooked her claws into the bark and swung herself up onto the branch. Yet, she'd taken the time to neatly place her shoes and cap near the gate. Climbing with lifts on would be foolish, and made no sense, plus she didn't want to lose her favorite hat. She'd get to them when her reconnaissance was over. If anyone saw her from a distance, they'd simply see a common neighborhood cat.
Naoto's tail flicked back and forth to keep her balance as she scrambled through the tree, hauling herself over branches, and running along the course bark to get as close as she could to the window. Her eyes glued to the figure within.
She could see him more clearly now. The stranger was a teenage boy around her age. His limp hair draped over his eyes as he bent to dig something out of the bag and held it up in the light.
Naoto edged forward to get a better view. It looked like a woman's sweater that still had the price tag dangling from the cuff of its sleeve. The boy bunched the clothing up in his hands and inhaled deeply with a smile. Naoto's eye twitched. That right there could have been why he seemed so weird. If buying and sniffing womens clothing gave him thrills, then she had no place to judge. It did, however, creep her out. With that disturbing mystery solved, she scooted backward along the branch to climb down and leave him be forever. She froze when a truck pulled up to park in front of the building.
A man in a green jumpsuit and matching hat climbed out of the drivers seat and walked through the gate without bothering to close it. He carried a bag of take-out from Aiya's Chinese restaurant. She watched him curiously as he climbed the stairs to the second floor and unlocked the door to the apartment harboring the strange boy.
The boy turned to face the new comer.
Naoto's ears turned forward to hear as much as possible.
"Did you do the homework I brought for you?" A deep voice asked.
"Yes. It's on the desk." The boy's tone held little respect for the older male. She could hear the sounds of a video game starting up.
The man walked over to the couch and picked up the sweater. "Is this it?"
"Yes. That's the one. She's perfect. She's exactly what she's looking for."
She? Naoto thought. The little cat demon leaned forward, straining to hear the details.
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you." She could hear the man lifting the boy from his chair, and knocking it over. "You will treat me with respect!"
In a quick flurry of movement, the boy was shoved into the couch under the window.
The boy growled and stood to snatch the sweater out of the man's hands. "I'm only working with you because she wants me to."
"You don't even know what she plans to do."
"I know enough," the boy said haughty. "And I don't see the point in what she's doing, but it's not my place to ask. I trust her." The boy grinned. "She's closer to her goal now that it worked. Soon you won't be needed at all."
Naoto heard the snap-sound of flesh striking flesh. "You mindless mutt! Don't forget I found you. I took you in."
She let out a sharp sound of surprise when two ears formed on his head. One was a dark brown like a collie, the other was completely black.
It was him. The third demon.
The boy laughed, though it held such dead chill that the fur on Naoto's tail stood on end.
"But she named me."
This was not the same dog demon who'd tried to defend her and Yosuke from that titanic shadow monster with fire. She remembered he had been affected by its plague. Perhaps this was the result of the silver-haired man's failed attempt to remove it completely. She'd been uneasy around him in the box when they all woke up, and neither she nor the fox demon wanted to be near him
The boy tossed the sweater back at him. "This one is perfect," his voice nearly purred the statement. "She won't escape like Rise did."
"And if someone interferes again?"
"She's told me she's making sure that won't happen."
The man grumbled and dropped the take-out roughly on the table. Rice and meat from a bowl of nikudon spilled onto the floor. "Enjoy your dinner. I'll meet you tomorrow. Same place. Just do your job, Mitsuo."
Mitsuo eyed the clumps of food dripping to the floor. "I always find who I'm looking for, Namatame. I'm excited about this one. I really like her." He smiled in a dreamy fashion. "She smells like strawberries."
Taro Namatame slammed the front door.
The sudden noise jarred Naoto from her spot and she slid back. She caught the branch below her with her claws and held her breath as Namatame walked underneath her dangling feet, settled back into his delivery truck, and drove away.
Naoto pulled herself up one paw at a time. She grabbed onto a skinny branch for leverage, but it snapped, cutting her hand and stabbing a splinter through her paw. Her grip suffered for the pain and she fell to the grass below in a loud yelp. Thankfully, she twisted enough to land on her feet and rolled from the impact.
What happened in the next few minutes that followed lived in a haze. Someone picked her up, uttering words of beratement. Her eyes rested on the print of a white skull and crossbones on a black shirt, and above it, a sharp jaw line scowling below slicked back, bleached blond hair. She closed her eyes and exhaled, able to relax for some reason despite her fall.
"The hell you tryin' to do, break your leg?" Kanji's tone switched to concern. "Hey, Naoto, stay awake. Naoto..."
She tried everything in her power to stay awake as he carried her, though finally gave up and settled for keeping herself conscious by listening to the world around her. She heard the sound of a lock click open, and an announcement that he was home. The voice of an older woman responded in kind, then told him to come get dinner. Something soft cushioned her when he set her down.
After a moment, she blinked, finally sitting up, and noticed she was surrounded by a pile of neatly balled up socks in an open sock drawer. The clothing exuded a specific type of detergent she recognized, and after a few sniffs, she could place where she knew it from.
These socks belonged to Kanji Tatsumi. How in the name of Science did she wind up in his sock drawer?
Upon further investigation of her surroundings, she realized she was in his room. It failed to resemble her expectation of its appearance. It was clean, organized, and neat, with trinkets and miscellaneous items of the cute, soft, and fluffy types filling baskets along book shelves. An entire shelf was stuffed tightly with shouja manga, his bed was made, the nightstands on either side were organized, a dark curtain hiding the window over his headboard was tied off to one side by a strip of cloth bearing designs she could have sworn was hand embroidered with lightning designs, the floor was clear of crumpled up clothing or random items, and the only area that could be classified as 'cluttered' was his desk. The color scheme of the entire room revolved around dark shades of the cool spectrum. The only variance of color she saw came from a wicker basket harboring many skeins of multicolored yarn. It was only after she noticed that, that more points of color showed themselves around the room of greens, yellows, blues, reds, purples, and to her surprise, a small key chain with a pink teddy bear rested on the dresser above her. It appeared to be knitted by hand.
She would have never guessed this was the personal living area of the school's most feared first year student. She must have hit her head harder than she thought.
Naoto stood in the drawer and reached for the bear key chain to further analyze it, when a stab of pain throbbed through her hand. She mewed, clutching her wrist. The splinter from the tree was still there. She tried pulling it out with her teeth, but only succeeded in irritating the skin of her palm.
Her attention snapped to the door when it closed.
"Good, you're awake. I snuck a plate from dinner." He set it on top of the dresser. "You might not be hungry, but my mom's a good cook, so you should at least try it."
Naoto just stared at him for a long while, studying him to discern his intentions. She could see through that shell he constantly kept up around everyone else. "Why did you bring me here?" She finally asked.
He had to tear his eyes away from the pure adorableness of her ears when they twitched. "That's a stupid question. You fell out of a tree and hit your head. That kind of a fall could hurt anyone, and you had to be stupid enough to do it when you're a foot tall. You kept zoning in and out on the way here, so you have a concussion. Only an idiot would try to be alone after that."
She frowned as he dug through a desk drawer looking for something. "I'm fine." She sat back down in the socks from a wave of dizziness. Unfortunately, she realized he was right.
"Bull shit." If she was trying to lie to him, she was doing a piss poor job of it.
"Kanji?" His mother knocked at the door.
The older youth panicked and shoved the little cat demon down into the socks.
A mew of surprise squeaked out of her at the sudden action and darkness as he slammed the drawer shut. Socks piled around her. She was lucky her tail hadn't been caught.
Mrs. Tatsumi opened the door. "Who are you talking to, dear?"
"I'm on the phone, mom, jeeze! Leave a man to his privacy!"
"You left your phone in your jacket by the door."
A muscle in his cheek twitched.
Her eyes flicked to his hand pressed against his dresser drawer, then to his tense expression. His awkward behavior didn't get passed her at all. Most likely, he was working on another sewing project. She loved how he exercised his creative abilities, but wished he'd embrace the beauty of his artistic self a little more. "I'm sorry for barging in. Please take out the trash before tomorrow morning," she smiled
He calmed, and nodded. "Yeah, ok, mom."
And with a wink, she closed the door.
He exhaled in relief, waited a second to make sure she'd left, and opened the drawer.
Naoto sat up, shaking out her hair and ears, and blinked in the sudden light. "You really need to work on bluffing."
He picked her up, ignoring her irritated mew, and set her on the dresser top. "Lemme fix that hand before it gets infected." He set down a kit and opened it, removing a pair of tweezers. Having an arsenal of small tools for crafts sometimes came in handy. "Hold still."
She cringed when he took her tiny wrist between two fingers and turned her palm skyward. The touch of the tool sent her into a pain-filled high pitched meow. She automatically sunk her teeth into Kanji's hand.
He grit his teeth, freezing and willing himself not to tear his hand away. Two tiny drops of blood escaped the wound.
Realizing what she did, Naoto looked up at his face contorted in agony. Yet, he didn't move, he didn't harm her or slap her aside. He just let her bite him and took it. Anyone else would have had a more violent reaction. His will power was impressive. She let him go, suddenly ashamed of her actions, licked the wound once lightly, and turned away. Her ears drooped.
"What was that for? I know it hurt, but damn. Hell of a bite." He exhaled as the pain subsided. He blinked down at the top of her head. He could never hurt her. Even when she inflicted any damage, he could never reciprocate.
"Just get it over with already," she mumbled.
The way she came across now, even as a cat demon, was one of humility and regret. "As long as you keep your teeth to yourself." He pressed the tweezers gently to her palm again.
She mewed and bit her lip, quivering, but holding steady. After a moment, it was over. The pressure in her palm relieved when he removed the splinter, wrapped a bandaid around her hand with the medicated pad covering her palm, and let her go. She rubbed her wrist, still refusing to make eye contact with him. "Thank you."
He disinfected his own wound with a bandage and tucked the kit back in its place at the desk.
"I'm sorry I bit you." She sat on a skein of yellow yarn on the dresser and played with the loose end absently between the fingers of her left hand.
"Forget about it. You're an animal demon, so part of you has to be all animal-like, right?" He watched her toy with the end of the yarn, hoping she wouldn't ask about why he had it, or the four baskets of other types of yarn and needles on the shelf. They were silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. "Look, if you want to go home, I can-"
Her head had dipped down again with the yarn hanging limply in her hand.
"Naoto! Stay awake."
She jerked awake.
"On second thought, you're staying here."
"My mother's expecting me." Her phone had been in her pocket when she'd changed, and she wasn't sure if it would function properly at this size. The basics of the Change skill would simply alter her body. However, in the past month, she'd figured out how to affect the size of anything on her person –clothes, keys, change, her phone- whatever was in her pockets shrank or grew with her command. Hope that the technology would still transmit and receive signals clenched in her chest as she typed a text to her mother's phone and waited. Moments later, a short response popped up. She sighed happily.
[Where are you? Are you ok?]
[I'm with Kanji Tatsumi. He thinks I have a concussion.]
She waited patiently for a reply, looking up to the tall youth, who pinned his gaze immediately elsewhere. If he was trying to fool her into thinking he wasn't watching her, he'd failed.
Her mother's response beeped in. [Do you feel safe?]
What kind of question was that? Of course she felt safe—albeit a little nervous at being in a stranger's home—but her senses hadn't picked up any 'red alert' signs from the tall first year. Though she found her ease around the school's known delinquent odd, she relayed a simple "yes" to her mother.
[Then stay there. Come home tomorrow.]
Naoto's eyes widened. Normally, an animal demon and their bonded couldn't be apart for very long without feeling some effects of the others absence. However, she'd been away for two days, and felt very little. And now she was being ordered to stay away for a third. It disturbed her that she felt a light wash of relief at being ordered to stay with Kanji.
She cleared her throat, scratched at itch at her right ear, and looked around. "Where are my shoes and hat? I left them by the fence."
Kanji gestured to the floor below the dresser, out of her sight. "They're here. I saw them and that's why I stopped. You're lucky. I don't normally go that way."
"Why'd you switch your routine now?"
He shrugged. "Guess I just kinda felt like it. A guy can change his mind whenever he wants, ya know." It wasn't a complete lie. He'd felt a strong compulsion to switch his path home, and had been thinking about Naoto at the time.
She focused on her Change skill. Ribbons of energy coiled around her, though died down almost immediately. Her shoulders slumped from the exertion. The concussion must be enough to scatter her control over the skill.
"Hey, take it easy. You don't want to hurt yourself." He hadn't meant to put that much concern into the words, and hoped she didn't notice.
The pink knitted teddy bear key chain sitting next to her soon became her new area of focus. "Did you make this?"
"Uh yeah," he muttered. "It's just a little thing for this kid I saw the other day. It's no big deal."
"It's good. It's very detailed, and the lines are perfect."
He blinked at her as she put the bear back where she'd found it. "...Yeah, it's not like I actually wanted to make that or anything. I just felt bad for this kid who lost his." He felt a sense of accomplishment and acceptance at her compliment, and was genuinely surprised and happy that she approved of his work. "What were you doing in a tree in someone elses yard anyway?"
Naoto shrugged. "Following a lead. I didn't want it to be a night of wasted effort. We are on a time crunch to at get Chie to look Human before school starts." She picked up a pan fried bit of broccoli and munched. The wooziness hadn't quite worn off yet, but she knew if she didn't get something into her system, the effects would be much worse.
"Any luck?"
"Yes, actually. I overheard something very interesting." She said in a yawn.
"Tell me about it."
She regarded him coolly. "I know what you're doing."
Her calmness washed around him. "What do you mean?"
"You're keeping me talking. I read that someone suffering from a concussion must remain conscious for at least two hours after the incident to ensure there's no serious damage." She bundled up some of the loose yarn to create a make-shift pillow and layed down on it. Her tail draped over the side of the dresser. For some reason, she couldn't fall asleep even if she let herself succumb to the desire. The phrase, 'Naoto. Stay awake' took precedence over the urge to sleep itself.
"Well,..." Kanji grabbed at his train of thought. "Yeah. What, I got a stake in this, too, ya know. I was there when those freaks of nature attacked."
"Why are you so concerned about me?"
"I... I just am."
The room thickened from the pressure of the silence. Kanji sat cross-legged on his bed. "So, you gonna tell me what you heard, or just sit there staring off into space?" He bit his tongue before the words 'cute' or 'soft' came out of his mouth.
He listened as she explained everything she could remember from eavesdropping on the dog demon and the delivery man. When he inquired about who 'she' was, she simply shrugged. At least now they had a location, and a name. They'd confront this bastard tomorrow with everyone else and drag the dog demon back to that world. He'd make the sorry runt return Chie to normal the old fashioned way –the same way he convinced that biker gang to get the hell away from his house so his mom could sleep in peace.
"We need him to not be a broken mess so he can tell us who his bonded is, and the Inaba police can bring that person to justice." Naoto mumbled from her yarn-bed.
How had she known of his intentions? He'd remained silent throughout her entire retelling and didn't give any clue to his thoughts beyond clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. They didn't know each other well enough to gauge the others possible reaction based on minute physical signs alone. If a bond existed between them in the same manner as Yu and that annoying fox demon, then surely she'd know about it, too.
He watched her eyes droop to her fight against sleep as she stared at the ceiling. Maybe she really didn't know. "Have you always wanted to be a detective? I mean, it wasn't chosen for you?"
"Yes. There is a possibility my connection to my mother could be a contributing factor, or even finding myself at the police station. Even before, in the Red World, I couldn't let myself sleep like the others until I knew who had taken us, where we were, and where we were going." She yawned. "I just have to follow my instincts and find the truth. It's who I am."
Again, silence lingered between them. The odd car passed by on the street outside with their headlights tracking smoothly across the room. Soon, the pattering of water against his window replaced the still night as a small drizzle opened up over the town.
He checked his watch. Two hours had passed since he'd found her in the yard of that apartment building. "It's probably ok to sleep now if you're tired."
Naoto relaxed completely before he'd even finished the sentence, and was sound asleep within a few short breathes.
Next Scent: The Search for Mitsuo