A/N: Alright, here the other oneshot concerning Takuya and Rei. About how he came to the conclusion that Amuro Tooru is indeed his old friend Furuya Rei. This is also more about... well, just read a find out. ;)
He was our Zero-kun
Takuya couldn't remember when the first time was and who came up with it. But he did remember Rei's wide-eyed reaction.
"What?" The tanned blonde man uttered.
"Zero. It suits you doesn't it?" Wataru grinned.
"Haven't anyone called you that before?" Takuya questioned. "After all Rei and Zero are synonyms. Along with Maru but that one just sounds plain stupid."
"P-Please don't call me with that name." Rei requested, his face flushed in embarrassment. Takuya and Wataru exchanged a look and grinned.
"Okay, we won't call you that… Too often."
"At all, please!"
At the time Takuya wondered why Rei protested it so strongly.
"Say, Wataru… Don't you have a feeling that Rei's aim is… somewhere else than being a regular police officer?" The brunet young man asked one day. It was months into their training and he and Wataru were heading to a class. Rei wasn't with them at the time.
"What makes you think that, kid?" The older of the two arched his eyebrows.
"There's that man again." Takuya pointed to another corridor where Rei was talking with another man. The man had been around their classes recently a lot and Takuya had spotted Rei talking to him occasionally. "I've heard that there might be some supervisor to look our progress and see the most promising talents but…"
"I see what you are getting at, kid. I'm sure that Rei will be just fine." Wataru shifted his hold on his bag. "Oi, Zero-kun! The class is starting!"
Rei jumped and looked towards the duo. Wataru was grinning widely and Takuya gave a wave. Rei waved back. The man with him asked him something with a low voice to which the third of the Three Musketeers replied hastily before walking up to his friends.
"Did I tell you not to call me that?" Rei asked half angrily.
"And we told you we wouldn't call you that too often." Wataru replied. "In any case, the kid here was worried about you." He slapped Takuya on the back.
"You were? Why?" Rei tilted his head and looked at the young brunet whose turn was to blush now.
"You won't go disappearing on us, okay?" Takuya muttered.
"Of course not. What made you think of that?"
"Just…" The youngest of them glanced to the direction of where that one man had been. He was gone though. "Sometimes it feels like you are on a whole different level than the rest of us… It makes me think that one day we won't see you again."
"Don't worry, Takuya, I won't be going anywhere!" Rei reassured the brunet with a smile and the matter was buried.
The Blue Parrot was crowded for some reason. The Trio didn't care about that though as they made their way to their seats. Jii was standing behind the counter and smiling pleasantly to them.
"Hello boys, the regular ones?"
"Yes, please." Takuya smiled as he took the seat on the left, Wataru sitting in the middle and Rei occupying the right chair.
"Today we shall celebrate!" Wataru told the old man. "Because Natalie-chan and I are officially together."
"Congratulations, Date-kun." Jii placed the three glasses with ice on the counter and poured the golden liquor into them.
"I hope you'll stay together then." Rei took his glass and the three clinked them together.
"For a lasting relationship." Takuya agreed.
"And for a lasting friendship." Wataru reminded. "Shall nothing separate us."
"True." Rei chuckled while Takuya merely smiled.
"Liar…" Takuya thought bitterly as he walked along the corridors of Haido Police Department. While he was grateful that he had a job, he wished that he could've stayed with Wataru. What's more… Rei had broken his promise. He had disappeared right after they graduated.
Well, new surroundings, new people, new chances… He should take the best of it.
Takuya walked past a window and happened to glance outside. Right across the street, leaning casually against a white car, was someone with blonde hair and tanned skin. The face wasn't seen properly from the fifth store but Takuya was certain he knew who it was. The person down there looked up, no doubt spotting the brunet, and just calmly remained looking up there. Takuya was frozen still. He didn't know what to think. But he just knew the person outside the building was Furuya Rei.
It bugged him. Why had Takagi said that Date was the top of the class in the academy? The records should state that Rei graduated with the best scores. The thought couldn't let him be, so Takuya headed to the archives. There should be records of the graduates of each year…
"Nani…?" There were no records of Rei. Everything, every single possible mention of the man was wiped away.
"So you came here too?" A familiar voice asked behind Takuya, startling him. The brunet spun around.
"Wataru…"
"No need to look so guilty. I have the same matter to check than you." Date walked forward and took the file from the younger man. "Because Rei was damn good. It's a wonder that Takagi hasn't heard about him…"
"Yeah… You don't think that the one behind of wiping his records is…" Takuya swallowed with a difficulty and licked his lips nervously.
"Is what?"
"Zero…"
"You are still going on about that?" Date chortled and put the file back to its respective place. "C'mon, kid, we need a few drinks now."
"Scotch… That's my favorite too…" Wataru and Takuya looked up to see the same man who had always been at the academy, talking with Rei. The man took a seat next to Takuya, making the young man shrink into himself involuntary. The brunet could sense something dangerous in that man. He would've preferred to have Wataru between them.
Like noticing Takuya's anxiousness, Wataru placed a hand on his shoulder.
"And who might you be?" He asked the man.
"Just an acquaintance of your friend Furuya Rei."
"We gathered as much."
"And that's all you are getting."
"D-Do you know where Rei is?" Takuya asked carefully.
"He is fine and alive. He is telling you to lay off anything you might investigate concerning to him. It's for your own safety."
"If he is saying that, he could come and tell it himself." Wataru stated angrily but quietly.
"Unfortunately he is not capable of doing that at the moment."
"…Fine. We will leave this matter alone." Takuya stated.
"Takuya…" Wataru stared at the brunet.
"If Rei is really saying that, we should obey his wishes. I don't know what is going on… but I trust Rei's judgement. He's our Zero-kun after all." The young man offered a smile his friend while clearly telling him via eyes to discuss about the matter later, when that strange man was gone.
"Zero, huh?" That man snorted. "You still call him that."
"Are you spying on us then?" Wataru was angered again.
"No, not me." The man glanced at his watch before standing up and dusting his long black coat a bit. "Have a good day, Miyoshi Takuya-keiji, Date Wataru-keiji."
And he was gone.
A week later when Takuya walked past the Blue Parrot, he thought he saw someone familiar sitting by the counter and Jii talking with him. Someone clearly upset.
"It couldn't be…" The brunet thought, continuing his way home.
"You are still thinking about it, aren't you?" Wataru asked one February morning when they were on the way work. The older man had picked Takuya from his apartment and the younger man was now half-dozing on the passenger seat of his car.
"Hmh?" Takuya's head nodded up. "Not really… I'm more worried about him."
"And losing your sleep."
"…Yeah."
"If it bugs you so much, send him a message." Wataru tossed his cellphone on the brunet's lap. "I've also wanted to tell him a few chosen words."
"Okay… I'll write one to him. By the way… Don't you have a stakeout soon? I was seeing your name on the list."
"Yes, and the day after that I'm going to Natalie's for a night!" Wataru grinned.
"Lucky…" Takuya sighed.
"Why aren't you getting a girlfriend then? I've been telling you for years already." Hit on the arm.
"Ouch! I don't…"
"'Joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days.' Remember that, kid."
"Yeah, that's the fortune you got last New Year when we went with Takagi-kun to the shrine…" Takuya muttered while typing the message. "Is this good?"
Wataru glanced at it briefly. "Yeah, very good. Just sign it with your own name too."
"Will do…"
"Say… you didn't tell me what you got from the fortune you pulled for Rei."
"'There is a true and sincere friendship between you and your friends.' I just hope he knows that too…" Takuya tossed the phone back and turned to look out of the window. Oh, how he hated the morning traffic.
"It's about Rei…" But it was Takagi who answered to the phone. Sometimes Takuya still re-lived the phone conversation and the discussion he had with the 'other Wataru' on the next day.
"He asked me to tell you that… Your hunch might be right after all. That he always agreed with you from the start."
Takuya had frozen after hearing those words. His hands had shaken and his breath had hitched. It didn't make the matters any better when he heard Takagi and Satou talking about the suicide they had been called to. The suicide of Kuruma Natalie.
'If you want the rainbow, you must put up with the rain…' Had read on Takuya's own fortune. Was this the rain? In order to meet Rei again, he had to lose Wataru.
"Why do I even worry about that liar?"
One could say that Takuya fell into a depression after the death of Date Wataru. But he managed to pull himself through it with the help of Takagi, Satou and a few other colleagues. Also Mai-chan's investigations helped him to keep his mind occupied.
On the next year Takuya went to the shrine alone. It was the same shrine he and both Wataru's had visited on the previous year. But this time Takuya drew three fortunes. First his, then Wataru's and finally Rei's.
"Your heart is a place to draw true happiness."
"Don't forget, you are always on our minds."
"The time is right to make new friends."
All three of those hit a bit too close to the home but at the time Takuya didn't know that. He didn't know that he'd meet a man looking just like Rei, he didn't know someone would kidnap Takagi because of the shared first name with Date. But when it all happened, it was like rubbing salt on the wounds that had to yet close.
Exploding cars… Why did he always get those… First the one in Raiha Pass and now that one by the Restaurante Sundayrino… Takuya scratched his head with the tip of his pen as he thought over the facts they had. Mai-chan's friend Okiya Tsukiko was standing right next to him, her arms crossed and a faint smile on her face. He had heard she did that a lot. Observed the people while looking like she knew something the others didn't. But that wasn't important right now.
"Miyoshi, take the statements from the quests here." Inspector Megure ordered.
"Right away, sir!"
Well he tried at least but everyone's attention went to the ex-husband-to-be and the waiter of the restaurant.
"This guy's been meeting with Hatsune in secret… He's her lover!" Raita Banba accused the other man with dyed blonde hair and tanned skin.
"I-Is that true!?" Megure asked.
"Well, I have indeed met with her…" The waiter began removing his glasses. Takuya froze at the sound of his voice. It couldn't be…
"After all… she employed me as a private eye…" The style of speech and the small gestures in behavior.
"I'm a detective, you see…" When the glasses were completely off of the man's face, Takuya could barely breath. That man was just like Rei. Too much like Rei.
A pen clattered on the floor, waking the young police detective from his thoughts to pick it up. When straightening up, an eye contact was made. That man… Amuro Tooru, looked right at him. No emotions were betrayed on the faces of either of them though. Takuya had learned it a long time ago already… Not to show what he was thinking. It had been useful when he'd been dragged to fancy parties along with his parents and Mai-chan's family. Mingling with upper class people had been tedious but as long as you just agreed and smiled, everything went just fine. He and Mai-chan both learnt it. Wataru and Rei were the only ones to break it.
So also now, Takuya kept a blank face when facing Amuro. One might be a copy of Rei but there was no way one could be Rei. Right?
But as the case progressed and Takuya heard more of the deductions that Amuro made, the harder it was for him to be in the same room. He was surprised he hadn't already snapped hi pen in half while trying to remain calm.
"Liar… Why did you leave us? You promised…"
"Hey, you alright?" A voice next to him asked. Tsukiko was looking at him in concern, her long hair still damp from the rain. "You look kinda pale."
"Ah, I'm fine. I guess I just need some fresh air." Takuya gave out a short embarrassed laugh, looking away from the girl only to have that Rei-copy to catch his attention again. The girl followed his line of sight and opened her mouth a bit.
"Oh… I see." What did she see, he'd probably never know. "Just go and get some oxygen. I'll keep an eye on the things here." Tsukiko smiled reassuringly.
That was the opportunity he gladly took. Once outside, Takuya dug out the photo he had gotten from Jii-san when Wataru had died. When he thought about it… that photo was probably the only one he had of Wataru and Rei.
"Liar…"
The case got solved and more arose. Takagi got kidnapped and later rescued. On that day Takuya had had a day off during which he had visited Date's grave.
"Hello, Wataru. It's been a year now…" The brunet stuffed his hands to his pockets. "I hope you are with Natalie-chan right now. She followed you after all. I hope you are happy…
"I still haven't heard anything from Rei. Well, I say that when in reality… there's a man that I met recently… Amuro Tooru he says his name is but… What do you think? Could he be our Zero-kun?"
Ring of his phone interrupted the nice solitude and peace of mind he hadn't had for weeks. With a sigh Takuya answered to it. It was Satou. And the news she delivered changed the brunet's mood from slightly irritated into shocked in a matter of fraction of seconds.
"T-Takagi-kun is…?"
"Yes. And I know it's you day off but you are close with him, right? Has he said anything to you of his plans for today?"
"Yeah… There was something but… I don't know…" Takuya bit his lip. "Do you already have some sort of lead?" Thoughts were already whirling in his mind. It was Wataru's death day. Natalie's was tomorrow. Takagi had Wataru's notebook inside which was the engagement ring… Natalie's message to her parents… The shared first name!
"This far we know that Takagi was looking at some old case files in the archives. About three suicides that occurred a year ago."
"What files? Who died?" If his hunch was right…
"Tokugi Yuuko-san, Kuruma Natalie-san and Hikoue Kyoka-san…"
Takuya remembered Takagi asking him a couple of days ago if he was in any contact with Wataru's relatives or acquintances. He had answered a negative. After all Natalie was dead and Takuya had no reason to talk with Wataru's parents anymore. The couple wasn't exactly fond of Miyoshi Corporation for some reason…
"Natalie-chan… Natalie-chan's death day is tomorrow… Takagi-kun is probably somewhere in the Hokkaido…"
"Kuruma Natalie-san?"
"Yes. She was Wataru's girlfriend who made a suicide a year ago tomorrow. If I understood right… Takagi-kun wants to meet her parents to tell that Wataru died in an accident and didn't dump her."
"How can you be so sure?"
"After I heard that Natalie-chan was dead and you and Takagi-kun had given the investigation to the jurisdiction I went to see her apartment… I found out about the mail to her parents that Wataru wasn't coming anymore…" The thought alone pained him. "Say… I'm coming back. Maybe I can be more help at the station."
"Ah, alright… See you soon." Takuya was about to hung up when Satou continued: "Thank you Takuya-kun."
"… You are welcome."
Takuya looked at the grave of his good friend.
"Don't worry, Wataru. I'll bring Takagi-kun back. He hasn't even visited you yet. And if I happen to see Rei… I'll make sure he won't make the same disappearing act again. Even if he is our Zero-kun."
But probably the last confirmation that Takuya needed was a month later when he came to the grave again with Takagi and Satou. When there was a toothpick left and someone walking away from there. The other two detective's didn't notice that person and Takuya didn't say anything either. Now wasn't the time. But now when he saw the man again, even if only from behind, he could easily connect the face of Amuro Tooru to the behavior of Furuya Rei.
"You didn't know… But that doesn't make me any less angry at you, Zero-kun…"
A/N: Phew! I got this done. Not as good as the previous one but I still got this one done. About Tsukiko's involvement in Private Eye... It'll be explained in Dream or Not, Chapter 55.
But what did you think? Did I do good? There might be another fic from Rei's point of view but I'm not sure yet. And are these reasonable hints that Takuya gathered? The mysterious man in two scenes was Scotch by the way. I know we have quite few pieces of informaiton about him... Well, nothing really... but I wanted to include him somehow. And yes, Jii kept quiet about Rei's visit to Blue Parrot when his fellow agent died. The old man was(at the time) the assistant of Kaitou Kid. Of course he can keep quiet about things!
...While writing this fic I got a random idea and I'd like to hear your opinion about. What if Takuya had a crush on Rei since academy? I noticed I had paid quite a lot of attention of those two already in my previous fic and like subconsciously added little hints to this one. So I want to know what do you think about it. Do you support Rei/Takuya? And if you do, do you think I should make them a pair eventually or will it remain onesided?
Replies to the reviews of Last Man Standing:
-Yoru-KID's rival:
That's great to hear. You are probably exited to know then that Takuya will soon make his proper debut in my main fic too. :)
Thank you very much. I'll do my best.
-TanteiAPTX4869:
I didn't get confused this time, don't worry.
Thank you for the review.
-marutaro:
Yes, that's me. :)
Scotch is here! Because of the lack of information I left him out of the previous fic. I can't wait for hearing more about him either! The plot is progressing too slowly...
-Durbe the Barian:
Aww! *hugs back*
I'm guessing you like this then. :)