Raidou slammed the old door shut, pausing for a moment to hear the wood crack under the stress and to savor the sight of his young tutee jumping in surprise.

"Good morning," the silver haired freshman greeted as he settled back into his seat. "How are you feeling?"

"Irritable," Raidou responded, sitting down across the small table. "Do you actually need any help today or do I just get to play safety blanket again?"

"We learned about derivatives today."

"Right... Freshman."

"My teacher at Yasogami was... not very practical."

"Fine, what do you need to know?"

"Well, I get how to do them, but what are they?"

"Okay, what's the definition of slope?"

"Change in y over change in x," the freshman intoned.

"So, if we want a tangent line instead of a secant line then we have to make the change in x very, very small or take the limit until it goes to zero and that's what you're doing when you get a derivative."

"Wow."

"Wow what?"

"You actually bothered to explain it."

"I am being paid to do this, Seta."

"And most people don't stick with you a week."

Raidou glared at the younger man. "Then why are you still here?"

"Because you actually know what you're doing?"

"So do the other tutors."

"Not as well as you."

"I don't believe you."

"I've talked to them. They don't know as much as you."

For the first time since entering the room Raidou looked vaguely happy, a small smirk spreading across his face. "Nice try."

"Does it count as a try if it worked?"

"Very funny."

"You're no longer glowering," the underclassman smugly pointed out.

Raidou let out a deep sigh, feeling the leather beneath his shirt pressing against his chest. He just had to survive an hour of this, but time around Souji Seta always set him on edge. It felt like the younger man was always trying to delve into his darkest secrets while staying carefully away himself.

Souji leaned down over his math textbook. His knack for knowing when to drop a conversation irritated Raidou almost as much as his persistence in pursuing one. Still, it provided time to haul out the phone and do some basic research and read the news.

His browsing revealed there had been two massive outbreaks of apathy syndrome the previous night. One had occurred on the rainbow bridge, but the other had occurred in Shibuya, notably near the Harajuku train station.

For his part Souji kept his nose in the book and did his work, clearly making a point of not disturbing his frustrated tutor. When the alarm rang the hour he looked up again to see Raidou quickly rising.

"Homework or work?"

"None of your business."

He felt certain that Souji tried to say something, but Raidou had started down the stairs before he could even hear it.

Two cases in one night. Two massive cases in one night. Suddenly the bags under his eyes felt very, very heavy.

"Hey, Raidou," an older voice called.

Glancing across the sidewalks Raidou spied his mentor, an older detective who always looked harried.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, Daisuke," Raidou announced. They quickly fell into stride with one another and headed toward the street.

"You're behaving like a cat that's just had a cold shower."

"Where's Gouto?"

"He's in the car. Now, what happened last night?"

"I'll tell you when I know."

Carmina Burana's Fortuna began to play from Raidou's pocket.

"Phone call?"

Raidou shot Daisuke a steely gaze before answering his phone. "Yes?"

Raidou paused, listening to his employer speak before abruptly cutting in. "-the massive cases of apathy syndrome."

After a moment he continued in a clipped tone. "Well, clearly you are. I'm almost to the car, so is there anything important you want to say?"

Raidou stopped when they reached the police car. "I was investigating something e- ...Yes, just happened to be there. Do you think I go looking for trouble?"

His right arm twitched, causing the phone to jerk. "I do not cause problems. I fix them."

He bit his lip for a moment as he listened to the caller. "Don't worry about it. I have some leads; I intend to use them."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Raidou responded, "Yes, ma'am," and pocketed the phone. "Well, that was a pointless conversation."

"Was that the Herald?"

Raidou coyly withheld his answer.

"And what's with that ring tone?"

"You know how I always say there are things you are just not meant to know?"

"Yeah."

Raidou opened the door. "Well, that's one of them."

They both got in the car and Daisuke pulled out his phone. A moment later there was the proper bring bring of an older telephone.

"Don't make me change this."

"You get bored way too easily," Daisuke responded as he hung up his phone and got ready to drive.

"I told you not to make me change this."

"Alright then. Where are your mysterious leads?"

"We need to visit Vincent."

"So, Shinjuku Medical Center."

"Definitely."

Mandatory Author's Note: So, I am actually posting a second chapter, and there's undoubtedly more to come because I forget how much I love this character. Because I'm failing at directly stating it (because no one actually ever calls out a person's full name) I'm going to state here that this is Raidou Kuzunoha the FIFTEENTH instead of fourteenth. I've been trying to make it clear, but haven't managed to find a good spot to haul out the hammer and give you guys a concussion. That said, something like that may come out in revision (keep dreaming).

However, I do really like this Raidou and I'm getting the hang of writing him. Just need to keep the snappy anger going and things should be fine. I should also probably sleep.