Notes: It's kinda stupid that my inspiration for this fic is a fanart that I mistakenly took for Makoto/Haru when it was in fact Makoto/Rei.
Rei wears frickin glasses how did I even miss that get your shit together Laurie.
With that being said.
Thanks for all your lovely favs, follows and comments on the last chapter. I hope you'll like this one too!
Disclaimer: I do not own Free!. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.
Enjoy!
It took the better half of the morning for them to dig up the old case files, but after a lot of dust and a lot of physical movement the entirety of the documents regarding the infamous serial killer known only as 'the Pirate' were now piled high in Haru's cramped office. He was already flipping through some of the papers when Nagisa staggered in with the last box in his arm and nearly crashed into the desk.
"Haru-channn," Nagisa whined, dropping the box carelessly. "I'm too cute for manual labour!"
"You're a cop, for goodness' sake," Haru sighed exasperatedly. "When was the last time you did a fitness exam?"
"Cute boys don't have to," Nagisa winked, grinning cheekily. Haru rolled his eyes.
"You say you're cute but you still haven't scored a date with Rei. In fact, I'd say your cuteness is actually intimidating him."
"It is not!" Nagisa cried, horrified. "You're the one who sets up impossible work hours that keep me from finding time to date Rei-chan, you slave driver!"
"Yeah, well, given the fact that we've got this case on our hands now, I can guarantee you won't make it to a date anytime soon," Haru shot back. "Now get back to work; your cuteness may have convinced the examiner to forge your results but it doesn't work on me, got it?"
Nagisa pouted again, but he dutifully cracked open one of the sagging boxes. This was the police department's entire collection on the most dangerous serial killer that ever walked the streets, and while they did have a wealth of information regarding the Pirate, it was mostly due to the fact that he'd killed and killed and the authorities had never managed to catch him.
"You know, it's been ages since you took on a big case," Nagisa sighed happily. "We can finally get to see some action!"
"I've seen more than enough," Haru muttered darkly. "What on earth is he doing coming back into the spotlight anyway?"
"Maybe he got bored of waiting around?" Nagisa suggested. "But normal people probably wouldn't go around murdering people for fun, I guess."
"You don't say."
A knock on the door interrupted Nagisa's high-pitched whine, and Amakata popped her head in a second later.
"Haru-kun, Nagisa-kun, Sasabe wants to talk to you two!"
"I'm busy," Haru shot back without looking up and Amakata made a noise of despair.
"You're so mean, Haru! Don't you dare ignore me or else the boss is going to have my head! Again!"
"C'mon, Haru-chan, you can look at all the gory pictures later!" Nagisa said matter-of-factly as he launched himself out of his chair. "Let's go see what Sasabe wants!"
"He's just going to send us to pick up pizza once he's done talking," Haru complained, digging his heels into the ground as Nagisa latched onto his wrist like a tapeworm and started dragging him down the hall. "Besides, you're just hoping you catch sight of Rei at the main building."
"Well, a man can dream, can't he?" Nagisa demanded furiously, his cheeks rather pink. Haru smirked, but let up on his teasing. Nagisa could be a scary motherfucker when he wanted to be.
The Iwatobi City Police Department consisted of three buildings: a main building, a detaining/fitness building, and the registry office, where the DI and his assistant were located. It faced a busy major intersection and had a decent parking lot that was currently brimming with journalists and reporters. Haru scowled as they made their way towards the main building using the footpaths.
"Where's traffic control? I can spot at least eight parking violations already."
"They're just waiting for more people to show up," Nagisa said cheerfully. "We make more money when we round 'em up as a large group."
"…right."
Goro Sasabe was the young Commander of the law enforcement department with a star-shaped buzzcut, piercings, a ridiculous goatee and a love for wearing Hawaiian ties to go with his neat, pressed suits. He was the youngest person to ever be promoted to Commander in the Iwatobi district, had busted a crime ring in his years of service and was, most importantly, the one of the few people in the world who could drive Haru insane.
"About time you boys showed up!" Sasabe boomed, clapping Haru hard on the back. "Been a while since we got to hang out! If I didn't know any better I'd say you were avoiding me!"
"I was," Haru said bluntly as Sasabe nearly knocked Nagisa into the bookshelf with an over-enthusiastic hug.
"Aw, c'mon now, Haru, now you're just hurtin' my feelings," Sasabe said, clutching at his chest. "When was the last time we all just sat down and had a good chat?"
"You know, for the Commander of the city's only police force you're rather laid back despite the fact that we've now got a serial killer on the loose."
Sasabe sighed, slouching over his desk. "And you're still mean, mean, mean, aren't you, Haru?"
"Is there a point to this meeting?" Haru demanded. "Because if there isn't I'm going to go back to work and—"
"Alright, alright, there is a very good reason why I called you here," Sasabe said, looking suspiciously cheery. "Contrary to what you say I am quite aware that we have a very serious situation in the city. It's been two years since we lost the trail and two years since you, well..."
"Got shot," Haru interrupted. "We're all aware of that."
"Right. So, you can probably understand that I wouldn't want my best and brightest detective to venture out into the field unprotected, yeah?"
"Hey, I can protect Haru-chan!" Nagisa protested, puffing up his chest.
"I'm sure you can, Nagisa, but you're still a rookie to the force, which is why we placed you Haru in the first place. He's been doing deskwork since he bullied his therapist into letting him go back to his job."
"Are you saying I'm not strong enough to defend Haru-chan?" Nagisa asked sweetly, starting to smile dangerously. Sasabe coughed.
"Well, put it this way, Nagisa, when was the last time you actually passed a fitness exam without charming the examiner?"
"Well, let me put it this way, any examiner who's failed me before doesn't work at the task force anymore, y'get what I mean?"
"Guys," Haru said waspishly. "Focus."
"Sorry, sorry," Sasabe said hastily. "So here I am, thinking, what can I do to make sure my precious Haruka doesn't get hurt in the field? And then, bingo! I remembered one of my buddies in the Tokyo task force often consulted with this Private Investigator for help!"
"Sasabe," Haru growled. "Tell me you didn't."
"So I rang this guy and hey! Guess what! He's doesn't have any pressing cases and is more than happy to pop down to Iwatobi to help us bring justice down upon the notorious serial killer who haunts our streets!"
"You brought an outsider in without consulting me?" Haru demanded. "You know I hate it when people butt into my cases!"
"But he's not just any PI," Sasabe shot back. "He was a graduate of the Police Academy, you know. He's got a lot of credentials and a lot of experience! Think about it, Haru! We need all the help we can get on this case!"
"Who is he? Is he cute?" Nagisa asked, bouncing up and down.
"Don't encourage him!" Haru hissed. "We can handle this Sasabe, we don't need help."
"Or maybe you think you don't need help," the Commander challenged. "Haru, you know you're not prepared to go out in the field like this."
"What's his name?!" Nagisa shouted impatiently.
"Nagisa—"
"Makoto Tachibana," Sasabe revealed with flourish, and Haru felt the floor drop out from under him.
"What did you say?"
"That's the PI. Tachibana. Did you know his contributions helped solved both the Natsume case and the Bohemian Ruby mystery? The man's a genius!"
"Whao! That's amazing! Haru-chan, did you hear that?"
"Makoto Tachibana?" Haru repeated softly, disbelief bubbling up in his gut alongside a slowly increasing panic. "You hired Makoto Tachibana?"
"That's what I said," Sasabe huffed. "What, d'you know him or something?"
"Understatement of the year," Haru muttered. "He is not touching my case."
"Too late!" Sasabe shrugged. "He's arriving the day after tomorrow; thought you ought to know."
"The day after tomorrow?!"
"What's with the ungrateful tone? I did give you two days' warning!"
"You can't just invite PI's into the case!"
"I'm the Commander," Sasabe said, planting his hands on his hips. "I can do what I like!"
"You're ridiculous," Haru groaned, covering his face with his hands. "I'm done. I'm going home, I want a hot shower and a mackerel salad for dinner."
"Can I come over?" Nagisa asked hopefully.
"No."
"Aw, Haru-chan!"
"Does this mean you've accepted your fate?" Sasabe asked hopefully. To his credit, he only shrunk back minutely when Haru leveled him with a glare that could freeze boiling water.
"We're not finished. Consider yourself warned."
"Riiiight. See you around two then."
Huffing irritably, Haru stomped out of the room with Nagisa waddling happily along. If the world was going to be unfair and drop Makoto Tachibana back into his life, Haru wanted to be wide awake enough to witness the fiasco that would soon follow it.
Notes:
Oh ho ho, the plot thickens.
I know this chapter is a little short too, but now that we've got some basic introductory stuff out of the way I can promise I'll write longer segments in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read!
Cheers,
Laurie