[Fic] Azure (13/?)
Characters: Naoto, Kenchi, Naoki, Keiji, Nesmith, Elly, Shokichi
Rating: G
A/N: Finally getting this series back on track! It has been a while, hasn't it? If four months is even considered "a while".
=========================
“Any luck?”
“Luck. Who do you think I am?” A lean man in a long black trenchcoat crossed his long legs, long fingers adjusting the fedora on his head.
“Apologies for snubbing your ego. Let’s have it. It’s chilly out here.” Naoto dropped into the seat beside the man, wrapping his thin jacket tighter around himself.
“Business first then the weather, as always.” Kenchi’s hoarse laughter rang out into the night, “He didn’t suspect anything?”
“No, he has a dinner appointment.”
“Leaving the house to you two? Such a trusting individual. You’ve struck gold. Well, you and that cat both.” Another amused caw escaped from Kenchi’s throat as he rummaged through the plastic bag Naoto had brought along with him.
“Mm. Fried chicken.”
“Thought you might appreciate it.”
“They don’t have a fixed meeting location. From what we’ve seen, they’re a small group. Around ten or so.” Crumbs flew from the crow’s mouth as he spoke.
“That doesn’t sound like much.”
“We definitely outnumber them. But their forms are definitely more useful in a brawl.” Kenchi cocked a thin eyebrow as he glanced over at his companion, who bristled in mild annoyance.
“I didn’t choose my form.”
“None of us did,” Kenchi took another bite of chicken, “But coming back to the topic at hand, I’ve managed to convince the canids to check the seafood deliveries, but my source said that nothing smelt off. Though I have yet to figure out why that bunch are being so generous.”
Naoto mulled over the new information in silence, his companion chewing noisily beside him and making the occasional sound of approval.
“I suppose all I can do at this point is to continue monitoring the deliveries. By the way, is there anyone keeping an eye on them now? After all, it’s impossible for even you to be in two places at once.”
“Mendy is there,” Kenchi popped the last bits of chicken into his mouth and dusted his hands off, “I guess I should go relieve him of his shift.”
“Thanks. I’ll get some more of that next time if you want.” Naoto gestured to the crushed wrapping paper in the corvid’s fist.
“It would be much appreciated. Garbage scraps taste odd.” Pearly white teeth flashed in a grin before the taller man disappeared into the night.
=========================
On the other end of town, the small group of hooded figures had gathered in one of the warehouses by the docks. Without warning, they all sneezed in unison.
“Must be the wind,” the shortest fellow muttered under his breath, glancing irritably at the open doors of the building. One of those gathered hurriedly scrambled to close said doors, plunging the interior into semi-darkness.
“So, you two found another.”
The duo in the centre of the circle formed by the rest of the group fidgeted uneasily in the dim light. At the pointed looks that they were receiving, they began mumbling in unison.
“I suppose you can say that…”
“’Found’ seems rather subjective…”
“How is that even?”
“Look it up in the dictionary!”
“Alright, alright! We saw him sniffing at the box that we were going to bring to that house!”
The slighter of the two rounded onto the speaker, “You didn’t have to step on him.”
The warehouse interior erupted into a cacophony of hisses and exclamations.
“He what?!”
“You two were practising ‘shifting at that time weren’t you?”
“Did you forget that you’re a bloody hippo?”
“I’m sorry! I panicked!”
Amidst the chiding, a slender man massaged his temples. The beginnings of a headache were lurking at the back of his skull, due to a combination of the unexpected announcement and the echoing in the building.
“We need to do something about this,” the short one exclaimed, hands thrown up in the air in frustration, “Where is he now?”
“We er…” the duo in the circle centre shifted uncomfortably, “left him there.”
“You WHAT?!”
=========================
“The sushi was delicious.”
“Hey, trust my taste a little. Besides, it’s not every day that we wrap up such an important project.” Keiji laughed amiably, clapping Naoki on his back as they headed out.
“When I get a promotion, it’ll be my treat!” Already out of the restaurant, Elly flashed his seniors a large grin.
“You’ve still got a long way to go to that promotion yet,” Nesmith laughed, adjusting his coat cuffs, “Where’s Shokichi?”
“Sorry for the wait!” the named man emerged from the doors, stuffing a box into his own bag.
“Hope your cat likes the food.”
“Thank you for letting me bring it back for him.” Shokichi returned Naoki’s warm smile with a sheepish one of his own.
“Waste not, want not,” Nesmith drawled lazily, propping his work bag over his shoulder.
“Well, see you all after the weekend!” With that, the group disbanded, all of them heading in different directions.
As they made their way to the crossroads, the conversation topic slowly drifted to the latest crime drama that seemed all the rage with their female colleagues. Keiji confessed that he had indeed watched an episode together with his girlfriend, before grudgingly admitting that it was “tolerable”. Naoki remarked that his housemates seemed to like that series, even though they would complain about the farfetched effects of the weapons used. After all, it was impossible that a revolver could have been used for sniping purposes, no matter how dire the situation may be. Even though they had taken the “more scenic route” at Keiji’s suggestion, they reached the road junction all too soon. Bidding the other good night, Naoki turned onto the road that would lead him home.
An odd feeling had been following him ever since they had left the restaurant earlier, but he had dismissed it as a mere figment of his imagination. However, this feeling had been getting stronger the closer he got to home. Pausing at the side of a convenience store to collect his thoughts, Naoki shook his head sharply as if to clear it.
A small whimper came from the dark alleyway next to him.
Stepping around some trash and potholes at the mouth of the alleyway, Naoki froze when he found the source of the sound.
It was a golden retriever lying on its side, watery eyes fixed on him. Its ribs had an odd shape to their structure, glossy fur matted with blood.
It let out a soft keen before its head fell to the ground, mouth agape as its breathing suddenly became laboured.
“Well. Shit.”
Rating: G
A/N: Finally getting this series back on track! It has been a while, hasn't it? If four months is even considered "a while".
=========================
“Any luck?”
“Luck. Who do you think I am?” A lean man in a long black trenchcoat crossed his long legs, long fingers adjusting the fedora on his head.
“Apologies for snubbing your ego. Let’s have it. It’s chilly out here.” Naoto dropped into the seat beside the man, wrapping his thin jacket tighter around himself.
“Business first then the weather, as always.” Kenchi’s hoarse laughter rang out into the night, “He didn’t suspect anything?”
“No, he has a dinner appointment.”
“Leaving the house to you two? Such a trusting individual. You’ve struck gold. Well, you and that cat both.” Another amused caw escaped from Kenchi’s throat as he rummaged through the plastic bag Naoto had brought along with him.
“Mm. Fried chicken.”
“Thought you might appreciate it.”
“They don’t have a fixed meeting location. From what we’ve seen, they’re a small group. Around ten or so.” Crumbs flew from the crow’s mouth as he spoke.
“That doesn’t sound like much.”
“We definitely outnumber them. But their forms are definitely more useful in a brawl.” Kenchi cocked a thin eyebrow as he glanced over at his companion, who bristled in mild annoyance.
“I didn’t choose my form.”
“None of us did,” Kenchi took another bite of chicken, “But coming back to the topic at hand, I’ve managed to convince the canids to check the seafood deliveries, but my source said that nothing smelt off. Though I have yet to figure out why that bunch are being so generous.”
Naoto mulled over the new information in silence, his companion chewing noisily beside him and making the occasional sound of approval.
“I suppose all I can do at this point is to continue monitoring the deliveries. By the way, is there anyone keeping an eye on them now? After all, it’s impossible for even you to be in two places at once.”
“Mendy is there,” Kenchi popped the last bits of chicken into his mouth and dusted his hands off, “I guess I should go relieve him of his shift.”
“Thanks. I’ll get some more of that next time if you want.” Naoto gestured to the crushed wrapping paper in the corvid’s fist.
“It would be much appreciated. Garbage scraps taste odd.” Pearly white teeth flashed in a grin before the taller man disappeared into the night.
=========================
On the other end of town, the small group of hooded figures had gathered in one of the warehouses by the docks. Without warning, they all sneezed in unison.
“Must be the wind,” the shortest fellow muttered under his breath, glancing irritably at the open doors of the building. One of those gathered hurriedly scrambled to close said doors, plunging the interior into semi-darkness.
“So, you two found another.”
The duo in the centre of the circle formed by the rest of the group fidgeted uneasily in the dim light. At the pointed looks that they were receiving, they began mumbling in unison.
“I suppose you can say that…”
“’Found’ seems rather subjective…”
“How is that even?”
“Look it up in the dictionary!”
“Alright, alright! We saw him sniffing at the box that we were going to bring to that house!”
The slighter of the two rounded onto the speaker, “You didn’t have to step on him.”
The warehouse interior erupted into a cacophony of hisses and exclamations.
“He what?!”
“You two were practising ‘shifting at that time weren’t you?”
“Did you forget that you’re a bloody hippo?”
“I’m sorry! I panicked!”
Amidst the chiding, a slender man massaged his temples. The beginnings of a headache were lurking at the back of his skull, due to a combination of the unexpected announcement and the echoing in the building.
“We need to do something about this,” the short one exclaimed, hands thrown up in the air in frustration, “Where is he now?”
“We er…” the duo in the circle centre shifted uncomfortably, “left him there.”
“You WHAT?!”
=========================
“The sushi was delicious.”
“Hey, trust my taste a little. Besides, it’s not every day that we wrap up such an important project.” Keiji laughed amiably, clapping Naoki on his back as they headed out.
“When I get a promotion, it’ll be my treat!” Already out of the restaurant, Elly flashed his seniors a large grin.
“You’ve still got a long way to go to that promotion yet,” Nesmith laughed, adjusting his coat cuffs, “Where’s Shokichi?”
“Sorry for the wait!” the named man emerged from the doors, stuffing a box into his own bag.
“Hope your cat likes the food.”
“Thank you for letting me bring it back for him.” Shokichi returned Naoki’s warm smile with a sheepish one of his own.
“Waste not, want not,” Nesmith drawled lazily, propping his work bag over his shoulder.
“Well, see you all after the weekend!” With that, the group disbanded, all of them heading in different directions.
As they made their way to the crossroads, the conversation topic slowly drifted to the latest crime drama that seemed all the rage with their female colleagues. Keiji confessed that he had indeed watched an episode together with his girlfriend, before grudgingly admitting that it was “tolerable”. Naoki remarked that his housemates seemed to like that series, even though they would complain about the farfetched effects of the weapons used. After all, it was impossible that a revolver could have been used for sniping purposes, no matter how dire the situation may be. Even though they had taken the “more scenic route” at Keiji’s suggestion, they reached the road junction all too soon. Bidding the other good night, Naoki turned onto the road that would lead him home.
An odd feeling had been following him ever since they had left the restaurant earlier, but he had dismissed it as a mere figment of his imagination. However, this feeling had been getting stronger the closer he got to home. Pausing at the side of a convenience store to collect his thoughts, Naoki shook his head sharply as if to clear it.
A small whimper came from the dark alleyway next to him.
Stepping around some trash and potholes at the mouth of the alleyway, Naoki froze when he found the source of the sound.
It was a golden retriever lying on its side, watery eyes fixed on him. Its ribs had an odd shape to their structure, glossy fur matted with blood.
It let out a soft keen before its head fell to the ground, mouth agape as its breathing suddenly became laboured.
“Well. Shit.”