Evening and Winter (夕方と冬)

A Great Man of Power

Chifuyu stretched his arms above his head as he did a big yawn, but he dazed for a few seconds before he plopped back to his bed, throwing the covers over him again.

"I wonder what'll happen if I skip for today..." was the thought in his head as he dazed at the ceiling.

"He sure is late..." Taylor was tapping his fingers as he sat on his chair behind his desk.

"Tsuguha's skipping? What a surprise..." Jeffrey averted his eyes.

"Fine, I guess we'll just have to go without him." Taylor stood up from his desk, "Let's get going, no time to waste." He took his coat and tall hat to put on.

It was yet another murder scene, and Jeffrey was stuck at a dead end because he couldn't find any clues that would lead to the murderer. Taylor was surveying the surroundings and there was very little he could work on, at that time he realized how big of a difference Chifuyu's presence made.

"Argh! Where is that big-headed Tsuguha when he's needed!" Jeffrey ruffled his hair in frustration.

"This just made me realize how terrible we are at our job," Taylor chuckled.

"Because Tsuguha raised the standards stupidly high, and now it makes me feel like an amateur." Jeffrey grunted, "I wonder why he's absent today, is he sick or something?" his mumble was loud enough for Taylor to hear.

"Worried about him?" Taylor sniggered.

"Huh?! Why would I be worried about him?!!" Jeffrey couldn't hold in his shout, "That's ridiculous, Detective Anderson..." he pouted.

"Whatever you say, Jeffrey..." Taylor found his reaction amusing.

"Hey, old man~!" Chifuyu pushed open the door to Taylor's office in the afternoon, making Jeffrey and Taylor in the room pause.

"Tsuguha!!" Jeffrey grabbed his jacket and pulled him closer to his raging face, "Where have you been?! We were struggling with this complicated murder while you were doing who-knows-what!!" he shouted at Chifuyu's face.

"Calm down, Jerry... I was busy at home most of the day," Chifuyu rolled his eyes, "Let me go already, you're going to rip my jacket." He patted Jeffrey's arms to make him release his grip.

"Everything okay, Tsuguha-kun? You never skipped before," Taylor approached him.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, old man. It's just house work stuff," Chifuyu chuckled, "How was the investigation today?" he smiled.

"It didn't go as smoothly as when you're my assistant," Taylor sighed.

"I'm offended somehow..." Jeffrey mumbled.

"I see, that's a shame." Chifuyu shrugged with a smile.

"Oh, right. I did gather a few evidences from the scene, do you want to look at it?" Taylor asked Chifuyu.

"Non," Chifuyu's short response surprised Taylor, "I'm letting you handle this case alone, old man." He smirked.

"W-What?" Taylor didn't expect him to reject investigating.

"I said, I'm letting you handle this case, old man." Chifuyu repeated in a reluctant tone.

"D-Did you hit your head or something? Since when do you reject investigating?" Taylor was concerned all of a sudden.

"Like I said before many times, I want to see you succeed an investigation without me." Chifuyu repeated the same request he always had, "What if I say, I'm not helping until you managed to finish this murder case in a month? You have to finish it without my help, of course." He smirked wider.