Chase The Truth

Chapter 16: How to Slack Off

Begin!

~Normal POV

5/20 - Friday

Knowing that Kanji was safe at home again made the team relax considerably. Now all they had to do was wait for him to recover. Considering how long it took for Yukiko, they settled into another long wait. If Yukiko's situation was reliable, he might only come back after the next foggy day. With any hope at least.

Yu walked into Junes after school- intending to go to the food court for a snack before figuring out how to spend the rest of his free time, but he was distracted by something he saw in the lobby. Detective Adachi was standing around nonchalantly, despite it still being work hours. Yu looked around; there was no sign of Dojima. He recalled that his uncle requested him to talk to Adachi if he ever found him like this. He decided to at least bring it up with him.

"Hello, Adachi-san," Yu greeted.

"Huh? Oh, it's you." Adachi smiled. "Can I help you?"

"Sorry, but my uncle sent me to scold you," Yu answered.

Adachi's smile faded. "Really?! D-Dojima-san?! W-Well, obviously, I'm working here..." Yu gave him a skeptical look with a smirk. "It's easy to investigate here with all these people around." He continued, feebly. "It's cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's a pretty good place to..." The detective faltered under his skeptical gaze and finally said, "Ugh, I think I've said enough..."

Yu laughed. Honestly, he kinda felt bad for the guy. He did see him get ordered around by his uncle like an errand boy. It wasn't really fair to treat your coworker like that. They're supposed to be partners on the case- shouldn't that mean they're equals? Well, Yu had a feeling that Adachi would appreciate a kinder voice in this scenario. Or maybe even a friend. It certainly didn't seem like Dojima saw him as one...

"Alright, man, listen- I'm in a good mood, so... how about I just agree to not tell my uncle? Hell, I'll even slack off with you; if you don't mind the company."

Adachi looked surprised and relieved at the suggestion. "Oh? That's a little strange..." He was quick to accept though. "You're just killing time here too, huh?"

"Something like that, yeah." Yu said, vaguely. "I mean we're both just waiting around for the next big break in the same case, but I can't tell you that..." He added, internally.

"Tough to do out here in the sticks, isn't it?" Adachi said, frowning. "There's nothing here. It's not like the city at all."

Yu shrugged. "It's different, but I wouldn't say it's so bad."

"Oh, right, you're from the city too." Adachi said, "You'll find out soon enough, but this town is really dead. Get this- my first assignment here was tracking down a cat. My suit got so dirty... and they wouldn't let me expense the dry cleaning bill! Next, I played peacemaker in a spat some married couple was having. I can't believe they've got the police doing that stuff."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like real detective work."

Adachi nodded with a sigh. "But it's been more dangerous lately, so I can't kick back. There's that one case, you know? It's still not solved yet. The higher-ups don't know what to do. They keep changing the procedure on the fly..." He blinked in realization and quickly added. "Oops! I hope I'm not making you nervous! You guys have nothing to worry about, you know. Us police are on the job!"

"I believe you." Yu replied, "Just don't let my uncle catch you slacking, or I won't be able to cover for you again."

Adachi smiled gratefully. "Thanks kid! I should get back to-" He paused seeing something nearby and quickly ducked behind Yu, trying to stay out of sight.