Chapter Nine
Short hair. Blonde. Brown eyes and a ramrod straight back. Black clothing.
Those were the first things Harry noticed when he looked at the client. She was somewhat pretty, but rather plain in comparison to the people he had met in the wizarding world. After meeting such colorful employees at the agency, Harry had assumed their clientele would match. Harry found himself slightly disappointed now.
Still, he did his best to look interested as the meeting began.
"So, you've mentioned that you would like to request an investigation, but what manner of investigation are we speaking of here?" Junichirou asked. The red head somehow managed to look as though he was both nervous about the meeting and dreading the field work at the same time. Behind him, Naomi looked on in interest. Unlike her husband, she showed no signs of anxiety. This meeting was simply entertainment for her.
"Beautiful... you're a lady as ephemeral and elegant as a lotus blossom." Harry blinked. He had turned his head for one second. How had Dazai managed to start making moves so quickly? One second ago, the detective had been sitting calmly between Junichirou and Harry. Now, Dazai was kneeling before the client as if to propose. "Would you be willing to join me in a double suicide?" Dazai continued. Harry's eyes widened in horror. That was no way to make a good impression on the client!
Thankfully, Kunikida chose that moment to intervene. With a grunt and a knuckle-sandwich Dazai was thrown out of the small meeting area.
"W-What?" the client gasped in shock. She peered worriedly out of the enclosed space. Kunikida straightened.
"Ah, apologies for the disturbance." He murmured before stepping over to Dazai. "Don't worry." Kunikida picked Dazai up by the collar and opened the door to the computer server room. He looked back to the group. "Disregard what just happened. Please continue." Kunikida closed the door. Muffled sounds of pain and multiple slaps slunk under and around the door to the remaining detectives' hearing. Harry found himself gulping in fear. He never, ever, wanted to tick Kunikida off.
"Regarding my request..." Harry turned his attention back to the blond client. He blinked at her seemingly unaffected visage. The woman didn't appear to be the least bit concerned over the strangled sounds of violence coming from the other room.
"Y-yes?" Junichirou asked belatedly. He still appeared to be in mild horror over the noises coming from the computer server room. Harry glanced at his new co-worker and then at the client. She was taking the violence very calmly.
"Well, it seems there's been a group of distasteful people loitering in my company building's back alley." The woman looked down at her folded hands with a frown.
"And by distasteful, you mean?" Junichirou prompted.
"They appear to be dressed in rags. Some of them have been heard speaking a foreign tongue." She looked up to meet their eyes with her soft brown.
"They must be smugglers of some sort." Harry blinked at the loud announcement. Turning, he caught sight of Kunikida. The man closed the door of the computer server room on Dazai and walked to them. He appeared entirely unaffected by the moans of pain that followed him. "The military police may police all they want, but they keep multiplying like rats on a ship." Kunikida looked to the client. "They are unavoidable in a port town."
"Right," The blond shifted regretfully. "If we had some evidence that they're running afoul of the law, we could reach out to the military police. So..." The woman looked up with a pointed look to Kunikida.
"You want us to stake out the place and get that evidence." Kunikida stated grimly. "Boy." He snapped. Harry jerked to face Kunikida.
"Yes?" Harry asked.
"You go." The blond detective commanded. Harry stared dumbly at Kunikida for a few moments. Then the man's words registered, and he found himself spluttering.
"What? I can't do that! I wouldn't even know what to look for!" Harry cried out. How was he supposed to know what smugglers even looked like? Harry knew how to fight and track down Death Eaters. Muggle smugglers was entirely out of and below his normal hunting grounds.
Kunikida's glare intensified.
"It's a simple stake out job. If you can't do something so simple, how do you intend to work here? Though, if you truly prove incompetent, I could always escort you to the military police. The bounty offered will benefit the agency just as much or more than your added firepower." The cold words Kunikida all but growled quieted Harry immediately. He hunkered down and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. If he had had tiger ears right then, Harry was sure they would have been pressed flat against his head. For once, Harry's cat impulse was to run instead of fight for dominance.
Seeing his submissive form, Kunikida chose to continue. "Smugglers are mostly harmless anyway. They are usually only good for making a break for it. It's the perfect job for someone like you who needs to learn impulse control. Tanizaki will be going with you for the actually evidence gathering. At this stage, you can't be trusted to gather evidence properly or attempt a mission alone." Junichirou straightened at his inclusion.
"If brother is going then so am I," Naomi declared as she reached from behind Junichirou to hug him. She squeezed him tightly around his neck and Harry found himself inching away slightly.
Naomi may not have a supernatural gift, but she was still dangerous.
Harry scooted away another inch.
Lethally so. In an octopus kind of way.
Harry carefully packed away the muggle camera as he had been instructed to. Truth be told, Harry was nervous about accidentally shorting the device out with his magic. The only thing that stopped him from begging off the prep work was Kunikida's icy visage.
Harry had known there would be repercussions for his actions, but Kunikida's frosty demeanor still burned.
"Hey, brat." Harry took in a sharp breath of air and jerked slightly. He hunched his shoulders defensively. Kunikida's glasses glinted brightly in the manmade lighting of the office interior.
"It's not that I trust you or that I think you'll actually be loyal to the agency. Rather, I know," Kunikida pushed his glasses up dangerously. "I can hunt you down and end you anytime I want. So, while you're out with Tanizaki, I want you to keep it in mind. The only reason you aren't in the hands of the military police's hands right now, is because you have somehow attracted the good graces of my partner and superior. Should you do anything to contradict their positive outlooks on your personality and potential, you will be re-captured and promptly executed or handed over to be executed and disposed of. So, please keep in mind, that today, one, single, insignificant step out of line... and you'll be as much a part of history as the Triumvirate." Kunikida promised darkly. Harry found himself paling. He swallowed.
"Well?" Kunikida pressured.
"Yes sir. I'll keep that in mind." Harry squeaked.
"Please, do." Kunikida nodded. Then, he turned to leave, fully satisfied with his instilment of terror. However, a few steps away the man paused. Harry stiffened when Kunikida turned partly back to look him once more in the eyes.
"Also, avoid this man." The blonde detective held out a picture. Harry hesitated before leaning forward at Kunikida's impatient huff. Closer up, Harry could see that the picture contained a thin, black haired individual. The man had pale, flat eyes and bleached white hair at the tips. He wore a black trench coat and a neatly folded, white scarf.
"Who is he?" Harry asked after a moment.
"Someone you will avoid." Kunikida growled as he yanked the picture back. Harry flinched at the naked emotion coating his tone. The man was certainly good at carrying grudges.
Harry found himself curling into himself even further as Kunikida left. Why couldn't he have gotten another job to pay off the debt of his thievery? He actually knew how to cook, bake, or clean and was really good at fixing things with an easy Reparo.
Besides, working with someone you almost accidentally killed was so nerve wracking!
For someone guarding a 'flight' risk, Junichirou seemed awfully carefree. Or at least, the red head seemed to be a bit more interested in holding off the abundant affections of his wife while in public than worrying over Harry. Harry grimaced as he watched Naomi go after Junichirou.
Couldn't they leave that behind closed doors? Harry didn't want to see that!
Maybe he could make a run for it? Junichirou didn't seem like he was paying attention...
"The only reason you aren't in the hands of the military police's hands right now, is because you have somehow attracted the good graces of my partner and superior. Should you do anything to contradict their positive outlooks on your personality and potential, you will be re-captured and promptly executed or handed over to be executed and disposed of."
...
Or maybe not. Harry knew he would eventually need to get away from the Agency to find his godfather. But surely, having a good foolproof plan wouldn't hurt?
If Harry was caught, even once, trying to escape, he would be executed. If Harry ever wanted to find his godfather, he needed to buckle down, put his thinking-cap on, and get it right the first time. Right now, the agency was most likely ready and waiting for an escape attempt. Harry would most likely end up caught before he even left this city if he ran for it now.
Better to wait and plan. While he waited for the agency's guard to drop, Harry would be observing them for weaknesses. Once he knew their weaknesses he could-
"We're here."
Harry blinked and looked up. The trio agency agents had been led to the mouth of a rather ominous looking alley. Within it, their blonde client stuck an oddly imposing figure. Somehow, her previously blank countenance had cracked away to reveal something slightly glacial and unforgiving. The Tanizaki couple beside him stilled in surprise. They too, it seemed, could feel their client's marginal change in attitude.
"This way." The blonde woman called from the back of the alley. Harry blinked as he realized that the alley took a left turn. It seemed they would need to go a good way into the oddly ominous alley. Harry sniffed.
Gross, street muck and worse street muck. Whichever gangs used the alley must truly have no sense of smell! Harry mentally grumbled to himself about the smell as he followed Junichirou forward. As the trio were rounding the corner, Harry caught the scent of something strange. The alley smelled like what a normal alley would smell like; putrid, unwashed and decaying things of various species or life status. However, as he passed by the client, Harry caught a completely different scent, and it wasn't perfume.
Oil. Charcoal. Something sharp and sour; sulfur maybe? Harry frowned and glanced at the woman from the corner of his eyes.
Wasn't she supposed to be an office worker? Why did she smell like a mix of muggle mechanic and an alchemist?
"That's strange." Harry blinked and turned back to Junichirou. The red head had halted partway down to the dead-end of the alley. "Is this really the right place?" Junichirou asked in confusion.
"Um..." Junichirou turned back to their client and seemed unsure of how to approach her. Harry blinked as he realized they had never gotten the woman's name. How odd... and concerning. Wasn't there paperwork or some form of identification the woman had to fill out before hiring supernatural detectives?
"You may call me Higuchi." The client offered. Harry frowned further as he noticed her choice of wording. Higuchi hadn't stated that it was her name; only that they could call her that. Something... wasn't right here. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood on end.
"Higuchi-san, smugglers are a cowardly bunch. They'll always have an escape route. But this is a dead-end. If anyone came after them from that direction they would have nowhere to run." Junichirou said. Though he seemed calm Harry could scent a slight bit of unease from the fellow detective. He could tell too.
Something wasn't right here.
"That's right." Higuchi dropped her leather back. Harry tensed. "I apologize. I led you into a trap." The woman pulled back her blonde hair into a bun. "My real target was you." She slipped out a black flip phone as she pushed on a pair of dark sunglasses. Now, her figure seemed much more imposing than the office worker she had fooled them with at first. The black jacket and white button-up no longer looked professional. They looked dangerous.
"Akutagawa-senpai." Higuchi spoke into the phone. Junichirou gasped. Harry wondered briefly if he recognized the name; but was too focused on the enemy. "I have them, as planned." Higuchi reported into the phone.
Harry grimaced. Most likely, her superior on the other end was going to be in route or here within a matter of minutes. They needed to get out of here before that crazy woman's superior got here. Harry was fairly certain he could handle Higuchi. She appeared to be strictly muggle; he had not seen any sign or a supernatural gift. This Akutagawa character was an entirely different bag of cats. The man was most likely her superior for a reason and also likely going to be a pain in the butt to deal with. Most criminal superiors tended to be. Adding in the chance of a supernatural ability meant that he might be even more so of a pain; technical muggle or not.
Harry needed to finish this and get the two brats next to him out quickly.
Higuchi closed the phone and pulled two muggle guns from behind her back. They had been hidden in the back of her waistband by her black jacket. Harry didn't know much about muggle guns and could thus only surmise that they didn't appear to be anything like the Dursley family shotgun.
However, the wizard only had half a moment to ponder what kind of gun Higuchi was using. In the next half-second he was flinging himself forward. He stretched his hands out as though to catch the bullets within them. And for a moment, it felt as though he could.
Then magic pooled from within his racing heart. It fled from his fluttery lungs and his quick veins to the tips of his fingers. For less than a nanosecond, it sparked there; unsure of purpose or duty.
Harry voiced his command.
"Protego Maxima!" He roared. Harry was not fast enough to catch and hold bullets. But he could definitely repel them.
Blue silver streaked from his fingers in an erratic jumble of light. Azure color flashed across Harry's vision in a wave of fluttering, ethereal power.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP!
The bullets ricocheted loudly off of Harry's hastily erected shield. Harry stood firmly as a broad silence descended upon the alley. Ahead of him, Higuchi's eyes were wide as she gazed at the luminescent barrier. Behind Harry, he could hear the ragged and startled breathing of the Tanizaki couple.
Harry glanced back in time to see Junichirou grab his wife and shove her behind him. The girl had placed her body between her husband and the incoming rain of deadly metal. If Harry hadn't raised his shield quick enough, he would have undoubtedly received another crash course on magical healing via trial and error.
"B-but... how?" Higuchi's startled words brought Harry's attention back to the would-be murderess. Through the blue webbing of his barrier, Harry could see that the woman appeared absolutely flabbergasted. Her pale skin had faded to a paper-white and her blonde eyebrows had risen above the rectangular frames of her darkened glasses.
"They said you were a Were-tiger." The woman muttered unsurely. "It's not possible to have two abilities..." Higuchi frowned before raising her gun once more. "Where's the Were-tiger?" She demanded.
"None of your business." Harry growled. Irritation spiked within him. His inner beast growled, and Harry had to fight the urge to set it free. Damn it.
Harry had hoped to attract less attention here, in this new world. It shouldn't have been that hard, really. In this world, he was not a Chosen One, or a Boy-Who-Lived, or even the famed Harry Potter. Here, he was just Hari, the wanderer.
Yet, even as Hari, it appeared he was still chased by the attentions of those around him. Granted, he had neither the attention of a cultist terrorist group, nor the attention of a slanderous news agency. But still... muggle criminals were not an improvement.
Yes, he had garnered the attention of the Armed Detective Agency thanks to his thievery. But muggle underworld? WHY? Harry hadn't even had enough time in this city to do anything to them yet!
With another growl rumbling under his breath, Harry stalked forward. His Protego moved with him as he advanced on Higuchi.
"A-ano! Hari-san..." Junichirou's timid voice called from behind Harry.
"What?" Harry flicked his head back to look at the red head with a yellow eye. Junichirou flinched.
"T-the Agency has a no kill policy..." Junichirou offered tentatively. Harry blinked. Ah. He supposed he might come off as a bit scary...
"Don't worry. I have a no kill policy, too." Harry called back as he faced forward again. At this point, Higuchi seemed to realize her position. Frantically, she looked at his face before looking down at her guns. Making a swift decision, the woman fired off another furious round.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP!
Again, the bullets ricocheted. However, they did not do so quite as harmlessly as the earlier round.
"Agh!" Higuchi cried as one of the ricocheted bullets sped through her shin. The criminal dropped to her knees in agony. Her thin hands cradled the bullet hole as blood stained her finger tips. White bone fragment gleamed in the sunlight and Harry felt his stomach churn uncomfortably. Higuchi had been hit just below her knees. The bullet had apparently shattered her tibia. Though certainly nowhere vital; the wound would be enough to put her out for the count. She would need quick medical attention if she wanted to walk anytime soon.
Harry dropped his shield. There was no reason to put forth the effort when Higuchi was in no position to continue her assault.
Harry turned to Junichirou and Naomi. Though pale, both were still unharmed.
"Come on. She's down and it's not like we need to actually do any evidence-finding since the job's a bu-" Harry choked on his words when something black and heavy ate a hole through his abdomen. Dark whispers of midnight scattered about his midriff. Harry dropped to his knees as looked down to his missing stomach in shock. Blood dribbled in short spurts from his mouth as he let out a strangled gasp. Harry shook as the pain hit like a second physical blow. It wasn't as bad as a Crucio, but it was certainly painful. And, likely a good deal more immediately life threatening.
"Hari!" Junichirou gasped. He stared at Harry in shock. For a moment, Harry's own startled yellow met with his terrified brown. Then, Harry turned his dying eyesight to the alley entrance.
Dressed in literal darkness and painted with snow, his attacker stood. Black hair tapered off choppily and was dipped in icy white near the tips. Beneath the dark locks, a pale face coughed wetly into a bony hand.
Harry's eyes widened.
"Also, avoid this man."
Kunikida's voice echoed in Harry's mind. This man, coated in shadows, was the man that Kunikida -who currently hated Harry- had warned Harry away from.
Well... Potter luck always did strike at the most inopportune of times...
I don't know what I'm doing updating this. I really don't. I need to be working on my paper but here I am doing this instead. Though, to be honest, I actually have been working on that history paper. Compared to the last time I wrote one, I'm practically going to get it done early!
Which... is really sad considering its due this upcoming Friday. Oh well...
For those of you put off by my last authors note, I'm sorry, I was a bit emotional and looking at how many views and follows this story had verses the ten reviews I get per chapter made me a little annoyed. I get, on average, about eight hundred views the day I put out the chapter. For the next few days I continue to get a couple hundred views. So, yeah, I know how many read and I know how many don't review. Say what you want about writing for the sake of writing; authors put in thousands of words in each chapter. You'd think readers could put in one or two. That said, I know that some of you guys are really good reviewers and I really appreciate it. Like, I jump up and down and your reviews really make my day. If I ended up with no reviews ever I would probably only update with really awful chapters once or twice a year. So yeah, I really love your loyal reviews. They encourage me to do my best and put out more good quality chapters for you guys to read.
No, I will never abandon this story. I'm going to finish it; even if it take a few years of hard work (I'm only on ep three but I'm already nine chapters in. Its going to take FOREVER).
Anyway, how's my writing going? Up to par? How can I improve?
Please Review,
~Blitza