"You're unbelievable. Who goes 'that's a nice river' and jumps into it in the middle of a job? Thanks to you, Look! Look how off schedule we are now!" Harry kept half an ear on the two as he continued chowing down on his umpteenth bowl of tea on rice. He hadn't known that Dazai would really order him thirty bowls but he certainly wasn't complaining. If he kept up at this pace he might not feel hungry for a few days at least.

"You sure like your schedules, Kunikida-kun." The three were in a traditional Japanese styled restraint. Kunikida and Dazai shared the booth side of the table while Harry took the chair closest to the door. Most of the furniture in the place was old wood and faded fabrics. Harry found it pleasing to both his personal preference of a homey atmosphere and to his forest dwelling tiger side.

"This isn't a schedule!" Kunikida slammed a green note pad down on the table. On it, some of this world's unreadable (at least to certain world travelers) wording was scrawled on the center. Harry glanced at it from the corner of his eyes while he continued to shovel food into his mouth. "It's an Ideal!" Kunikida stood angrily. "My guide in life! And nowhere in this book, is it written that my partner is a suicidal maniac!" Harry turned his attention to his food and hummed at the taste and feel of it as it traveled down to his stomach. If Harry hadn't been in the presence of the two odd men, he would have surely purred!

"Shut up!" Kunikida turned his anger on Harry. Harry flinched back as the man retook his seat. "And nowhere on my projected expenses page will you find that I am willing to buy half a million bowls for a snot nosed brat!" Harry frowned, beginning to feel the stirrings of guilt in his stomach. He swallowed the food in his mouth. Certainly, this place wasn't top dollar, but with the amount he was eating Harry knew the bill wouldn't be pocket change.

"What are you in a rush for?" He asked.

"Like I said, it's a job." Kunikida replied dismissively as he waved his hand.

"No, what are you doing today?" Harry asked. Perhaps he could help them? No, he probably needed to leave soon, considering the cloying darkness that was eating up the daylight. Luckily moonrise was pretty late today so he didn't have to worry yet. Still, he would have to wrap things up and go find a hiding place for the transformation.

"Today? It involves the military." The man replied. Harry nodded and ate the last few bites of rice from his bowl. With a content sigh he stacked the bowl with the others before turning to Kunikida with a smile.

"Thank you for the meal, Kunikida-san. You have no idea what this means to me." Harry thanked him. Truly, Harry was very grateful to the man, even if he was only helping thanks to his colleague. He at least deserved some sort of explanation, even if it wasn't the full one. "I've been traveling the countryside looking for my godfather. There was always plenty of farm work to be done so I would work for my meals before moving on. When I came to the city however, I found that most people don't want to hire someone so odd looking," Harry said as he touched his moonlit hair. "And there isn't really a demand for unskilled laborers here, or even people without any recommendations. I can work as a repairman so long as it's not electrical, but no one wants to hire someone like me without any identification or credentials." Believe it or not, repairo was actually good for something. Among muggles it was like an instant cash maker. Unfortunately, thanks to his age and his strange looks Harry hadn't been able to make much use of it.

"I thought the starvation would get to me. Thank you very much for this food." Harry didn't tell them how the starvation would get to him (by driving his inner beast mad with hunger) but he did make sure to be polite and show gratitude by thanking them.

"You're looking for your godfather?" Dazai asked.

"Yes. We were separated a few months ago. I haven't seen him since." Harry said.

"How unfortunate. Do you have any leads?" Dazai asked.

"Hey Dazai, we aren't philanthropists going around helping brats who are down on their luck. Let's get back to the job at hand." Kunikida said as he raised his 'Ideal' book up again. Harry felt his curiosity peak.

"That reminds me. You said earlier that your job involves the military. What do you do exactly?" Harry couldn't possibly imagine what kind of job would draw these two together. They were completely opposite each other.

"What? Oh, we're just private investigators." Dazai said contentedly. It was clear that whatever else he did or didn't like; Dazai did enjoy his job. The smile on his face was an actual smile of happiness. Not the smile of one making a mess of things for a few more minutes of enjoyment. This, was an actual smile.

"Private Investigators?" Harry echoed as he tilted his head. Though he could tell Dazai liked his job, he still couldn't picture the mismatched duo actually doing the job.

"That is not to say we only handle lost pets or extramarital affairs." Kunikida's deeper voice cut in. "Perhaps you've heard of the Armed Detective Agency, an organization with individuals with supernatural powers?" Harry's eyes widened in surprise and he drew back a bit. He had never heard of this group, or even any group or individual possessing supernatural abilities. Upon arrival in this world, he had assumed that no magic existed after several spells failed to call forth any magical law enforcement. To hear that there were indeed individuals that carried magic was both heartwarming and very nerve wracking. With his animagus troubles, Harry doubted he'd be received very well. At home, the werewolves were reviled as beasts and monsters for changing once a month. How much worse would Harry be received? He, who had the ability to not only change once a month but also any other day of the month?

Harry froze in shock for moment before he turned his attention once more to the two in front of him. Harry frowned at the sight of them. They didn't look like people with supernatural powers, but that didn't really saying much considering some of the characters he had met back home. Kunikida was writing furiously in his 'Ideal' book while Dazai was...

"Ahh! Check out that nice beam up there!" He cried out happily.

"Don't analyze whether you can hang yourself in a random tea house we just stumbled into!" Kunikida reprimanded, obviously used to his partner's vices.

"Don't be ridiculous! We're talking about the hanging health method."

"And what would that be?"

"What?! You don't know? It's so good for shoulder cramps!"

"What? Such a thing exists?"

"Hey! Write all of this down!"

"Hanging... Health... Method..." Kunikida muttered as he scribbled furiously into his book. Dazai was studiously looking the other way. Harry watched the two in increasing befuddlement.

"I'm messing with you." The four words were enough to set Kunikida off. He snapped his ink pen (pen?! Harry had heard of people snapping pencils and quills but the pen he was using was high quality and made of metal!), slammed his book down, and began trying to strangle his partner. All the while he continued to yell abuse about how off his schedule was and how their job was ruined and about...

"Um, about your job today..."

"Yeah!" Kunikida screamed as he glanced over. Harry jerked away at the loud sound. Instincts told him to scream back but he forced them back.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's probably classified. I was just asking if I could help in any way. You guys gave me food. I'm very grateful." Harry said as he dipped his head in respect and to hide the pupils that he knew had probably lengthened to a more cat like look.

"Today's job doesn't really require secrecy." Kunikida said as he settled down again. Dazai also plopped back in his chair, none the worse for the sudden asphyxiation. "We're looking for a certain tiger on behest of the military." Harry stilled as those words sank in. Oh no...

"A tiger?" Harry asked innocently.

"A man-eater who's recently appeared in these parts. Well, not that we know for sure it's devoured anyone, but it's ransacked warehouses and eaten farm produce and the like, doing whatever it likes. It's been spotted around here lately."

Crash!

Harry jerked away from the table as if stung, causing dishes to fall to the floor.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry, I'll pick these up right away! I'm so clumsy at times my own mother would call me a hopeless cause!" Harry kept his tone light and airy as he turned and began picking them up. By the time he had turned around again, his face was smooth and somewhat blank and his hands were no longer shaking.

"Thank you very much for the meal but the moon will be rising soon. I need to find a safe place to stay for the night, so I'll just be leaving now." Harry gave a smiled as he placed the dishes on the table and righted his chair. He needed to get out of here now. Harry had known his tiger form had been spotted by people, especially on the nights he was hungry, but he hadn't thought anyone would actually try to track him down. He certainly hadn't expected the government to get involved!

Turning, Harry moved to walk out of the tea house when a hand grabbed his worn collar.

"Wait, brat!" Kunikida demanded as he lifted him off his feet. Harry yelped but made no move to escape. If he acted like there was nothing to hide he could probably get these two incredibly lucky policemen off his tail (that or he was just incredibly unlucky! How could he have known the drowning man was one hired to hunt his alternate form!).

"You know something, don't you?"

"About what?" Harry asked and then grimaced internally. That came out a little too fast.

"About the tiger, you dumb brat!"

"Uh, the tiger? I don't know anything besides what you've just told me. I just want to find a safe place for the night if it's really on the prowl." Harry said and kicked his feet to be let down. In response Kunikida lifted him higher.

"Yeah right, how dumb do you think we are? Look, brat. People's lives are on the line. If we don't find this beast someone could get hurt!" Kunikida raged as he shook Harry. Harry grimaced and kicked his feet again.

"You think I don't know that!" Harry shouted as he tried to twist out of Kunikida's hold. Of course, he knew that! He was doing everything in his power to avoid hurting someone! But... Kunikida didn't know that. Nor was Kunikida the one causing this mess. Harry was.

He sighed and looked to the ground. "Look, I get it that you're trying to help and all, but seriously? Cut it out. You dangling me off the ground isn't helping anyone and is actually costing you time. Do you really think I'm the kind of person to put some else's life at stake if I can help it?!" By the end of it, Harry's voice had risen to shouting again and he glared at Kunikida head on. Kunikida grimaced. Abruptly, he tossed Harry into the air. For a moment Harry was completely weightless. And then a large hand gripped his wrist and used his arm to pin Harry to the floor.

"Agh!" Harry gasped as he was slammed painfully into the wooden floor. The pressure Kunikida was placing on his arm was very painful. If Kunikida wanted, he could easily break Harry's arm right there.

"Enough brat! You'll either pay for the food with your arm, or you'll tell us what you know." The blond man demanded. A cultured voice interrupted them.

"Now, now, Kunikida-kun. Whenever you try to ask questions, it gets turned into an interrogation. The CEO's been talking to you about this." Dazai said nonchalantly. Kunikida huffed before rising from the ground. Harry gasped as the pressure on his shoulder was released. While he was down he took a moment to get his instincts under control. Yelling at Kunikida like that had not been a smart choice. Harry needed to stay calm and collected. No one knew he was the tiger yet, or even that the tiger was a shapeshifter. He just needed to make up a story about it and head on his way. He could search the city for Sirius later; when he had his animagus side better controlled and the government wasn't so intent on finding him. Harry slowly sat up and rubbed his shoulder as Dazai walked over.

"And so, what do you know about this tiger?" Dazai asked as he crouched beside Harry.

"I saw it in Tsurumi." Harry said with a painful shrug as he looked Dazai in the eye. "It looked half starved. The only reason it was taking from that warehouse was because it was starving. I was working next door when I saw it. It was covered in blood and scared me half to death when it looked me in the eye. I thought I was in serious trouble, but it ignored me completely and headed into some alleys instead. All it came for was some food. As long as no one bothers it, it won't hurt anyone. I don't think it means any harm. It's just hungry." Not once did he look away from Dazai's gaze. For all that it was a lie, it was also the truth. The tiger was hungry and it didn't want to hurt anyone. That was the important part that they needed to understand.

"Hmm... when was the last time you saw the tiger?" Dazai asked.

"I last saw it in Tsurumi, a few weeks ago." Harry said. Kunikida nodded.

"That matches the last known whereabouts of the tiger. So far, it would appear the beast has been traveling in a straight line. Its next target, would be this area if it continues on like it has." Harry nodded, having expected that information considering how hungry he had been and the carton of milk he could remember being stuck to his paw. That night he had been particularly hungry. The result was an instinct driven foraging mission that Harry could barely remember.

"So if that's all, I'll just be leaving. I want to be up early tomorrow to travel some more. I've been in this city a while and I don't think my godfather is here." Harry said as he stood to leave. He was stopped by Dazai.

"Hmmm... while this does tell us a bit more about the beast, it does not quite tell us why you didn't want to tell us the truth." Harry kept his face perfectly blank for a second before it morphed into a sheepish one.

"Ah... sorry. I didn't think my opinion on the tiger would be well received. I understand that you're worried he'll hurt people but I really don't think he will so long as he's left alone." Harry admitted while rubbing the back of his head in supposed embarrassment. Truthfully, he was looking at the clock out of the corner of his eyes. Damn... He needed to leave soon. The moon wouldn't be absent much longer and as soon as moonlight touched his skin...

"He... you called it a "he". We never mentioned it was male." Dazai's soft words brought him crashing back to reality. Harry's startled gaze flicked back to the suicidal detective. "You wouldn't have been able to see whether it was male or female from across the street. If anything, you would have thought it was a girl because female tigers are smaller than males and from your own description, we can draw that the beast is extremely starved or malnourished." Dazai's eyes were intent and Harry felt himself stiffen. "This of course means, that you either got a lot closer than what you described, or, more likely, what you described never happened at all and you have something you haven't told us and are trying to cover it up."

Double damn...

Harry turned only to find Kunikida blocking the doorway. Without hesitation, Harry swung around a support beam and vaulted feet first through the window. His arms came up to shield his face from any shards of glass and blood sprayed from his legs and forearms. Harry didn't let that deter him however. Instead, He hit the ground running, gasping as his weight pushed the glass shards on the bottom of his feet further in. Civilians on the road scattered in shock as he began pelting down the side road.

"Hey! Get back here brat!" Kunikida shouted at he ran out the restaurant's entrance. Harry ignored him and sped up. The glass in his feet burned hot white as he turned the corner into an empty alley way. It was a dead end and successfully concealed his hunters' views. Turning on his feet, Harry happily allowed the quick Snap! of apparition to carry him away.

Hi! I'm actually really surprised I'm posting this. I was going to wait and make it longer but I want to just relax with this fanfic (I'm doing my best to muscle my way into bigger and bigger chapters in Claws and Magic. Its particularly draining.) and have some fun. This seemed like a good stopping point so I stopped.

Anyway, I just completed my first big college exam and it sucked. I love history, but professor's who can't remember what they actually lecture your class on because they've taught it so many times, are not fun when it comes to exams. I love my professor's lectures but you literally have to study EVERYTHING.

That's the first time I've ever pulled an all nighter and I was studying two weeks in advance! Anyway, All I was able to do was clean this up (it was written a few weeks ago) and redirect it in a direction that I picked (thank you harry, but I don't want you brawling it out in the streets just yet). Even now, I only feel halfway human in terms of health/sleep so I will be hitting the hay. Night Ya'll!

PS: ...REVIEW