[KRW;flashfic] welcome party
Terui Ryuu, Jinno Mikio
Takes place shortly after Ryuu joins the police force.
It took three tiny shots of cheap warm sake to bring Makura down, and two more before the alchohol finally eased the burn of irritation in Terui Ryuu. It's not that he minded being with his colleagues, after all, he'd be working with them from the day onwards, but he did somewhat resent being dragged down after work hours to this dubious-looking wayside ramen store, in celebration of his newly appointed position.
"Bet you gave them hell, huh," Jin-san chortled over his bowl of Fuuto ramen, cheeks rosy in ineberiation. He clinked his glass with Ryuu's again and motioned to pour more from the bottle. Ryuu nearly cracked a smile at Jin-san's glee; he might actually be drunk. "I suppose."
"It's always good to have another pair of hands," Jin-san said, "got a wicked backlog of cases, but we're slowly cleaning them up." He gave Ryuu a side-ways glance. "I see you took what I said then to heart."
Alchohol was dulling, although it also loosened his tongue enough to reply, "If I wanted to avenge my family."
There was an almost uncomfortable pause, before Jin-san said, "It shouldn't be the only thing driving you." Ryuu tried to summon the will to be indignant at that, but the only thing he could come up with was a petty, "Well, why are you in this division? Surely you should be able to get out it as soon as possible. You're good enough."
Jin-san seemed to regard him oddly, before pouring more sake into his own cup. In front of them, the ramen owner gently removed Makura's wet hand from his bowl and proceeded to wash up, while Makura drooled and mumbled something about proving himself to get a payraise.
"It was a game," he said at last, "of sorts. Lost one of our best players, but his replacement's doing well enough to keep it going, I guess." Jin-san stared into his drink. "Hard for a dead person to collect his winnings though."
"A game?"
"Aa," Jin-san said, and laughed as he always did, but the sound was oddly hollow. "Maybe a sense of duty too; he was always surprisingly convincing when it came down to it. And this game...well, odds are kind of stacked, but with you joining us, we can only hope to win, right, superintendent?" He downed his cup, checked the empty contents of the bottle almost mournfully, and then wrapped Makura's arm around his shoulder.
"Sorry for the crappy welcome party," he told Ryuu. "Maybe you could treat us next time, haha! Good night!"
Ryuu stared after the two of them, the only people in this cold unfeeling city who did not blind their eyes to the monsters in them and wondered what others could there be.
Takes place shortly after Ryuu joins the police force.
It took three tiny shots of cheap warm sake to bring Makura down, and two more before the alchohol finally eased the burn of irritation in Terui Ryuu. It's not that he minded being with his colleagues, after all, he'd be working with them from the day onwards, but he did somewhat resent being dragged down after work hours to this dubious-looking wayside ramen store, in celebration of his newly appointed position.
"Bet you gave them hell, huh," Jin-san chortled over his bowl of Fuuto ramen, cheeks rosy in ineberiation. He clinked his glass with Ryuu's again and motioned to pour more from the bottle. Ryuu nearly cracked a smile at Jin-san's glee; he might actually be drunk. "I suppose."
"It's always good to have another pair of hands," Jin-san said, "got a wicked backlog of cases, but we're slowly cleaning them up." He gave Ryuu a side-ways glance. "I see you took what I said then to heart."
Alchohol was dulling, although it also loosened his tongue enough to reply, "If I wanted to avenge my family."
There was an almost uncomfortable pause, before Jin-san said, "It shouldn't be the only thing driving you." Ryuu tried to summon the will to be indignant at that, but the only thing he could come up with was a petty, "Well, why are you in this division? Surely you should be able to get out it as soon as possible. You're good enough."
Jin-san seemed to regard him oddly, before pouring more sake into his own cup. In front of them, the ramen owner gently removed Makura's wet hand from his bowl and proceeded to wash up, while Makura drooled and mumbled something about proving himself to get a payraise.
"It was a game," he said at last, "of sorts. Lost one of our best players, but his replacement's doing well enough to keep it going, I guess." Jin-san stared into his drink. "Hard for a dead person to collect his winnings though."
"A game?"
"Aa," Jin-san said, and laughed as he always did, but the sound was oddly hollow. "Maybe a sense of duty too; he was always surprisingly convincing when it came down to it. And this game...well, odds are kind of stacked, but with you joining us, we can only hope to win, right, superintendent?" He downed his cup, checked the empty contents of the bottle almost mournfully, and then wrapped Makura's arm around his shoulder.
"Sorry for the crappy welcome party," he told Ryuu. "Maybe you could treat us next time, haha! Good night!"
Ryuu stared after the two of them, the only people in this cold unfeeling city who did not blind their eyes to the monsters in them and wondered what others could there be.