𐌌𐌉𐌔𐌕𐌋𐌄𐌕Ꝋ𐌄, 𐌌𐌉𐌔𐌕𐌋𐌄𐌕Ꝋ𐌄, 𐌌𐌉𐌔𐌕𐌋𐌄𐌕Ꝋ𐌄

I Don't Really Know Where To Go 𝟚/𝟚

Tachihara Michizou was going to get yelled at.

By Chuuya, probably. And also maybe Higuchi. Or both at the same time. It was really just a matter of who he ran into first.

In retrospect, he really, really shouldn't have made that bet with Gin. He was the one who had come up with it in the first place, basking in his own bravado with a wide grin on his face.

But now, he realized that although he had the edge over her in some things, when it came to who could find the Boss a gift the fastest, she certainly had the upper hand.

He had thought he stood a chance before. But now? He was drawing blanks for every store he passed by. He had absolutely nothing to contribute. She was going to make fun of him for weeks.

And it didn't help that it was fucking cold.

Yeah but...that one's okay.

He thought to himself as he passed by another uninteresting storefront, navigating grumpily through the crowd.

...that guy definitely needed it more than me.

At the thought of the genuinely-red-red-head, Tachihara found himself flushing again.

Yeah -- there was something really wrong with him. Those detectives truly are as eccentric as everyone says they are.

His face softened slightly.

I wonder if he got back okay.

Tachihara shook his head.

No -- that feeling. It was absolutely wrong. The truth was, there was something else that had been bugging him ever since he walked away from the guy. Something a little less pleasant and a little less fond.

And strangely enough, it didn't have anything to do with him being a detective. It was something else. The feeling that something had happened between them -- something that he didn't even realize. Something that his brain was still trying to piece together.

"Stupid Ta-" Tachihara began to grumble. Paused. Scrunched up his eyebrows in concentration. "Tachin- Tanji-"

He gritted his teeth together, then in exasperation, threw his head back and shouted up into the night sky,

"UGH FUCK! STUPID JUNICHIRO -- HE DEFINITELY KISSED ME THAT MOROOON."

He didn't know how to describe it. He just knew. That idiot kissed him. Tachihara was certain. Sure, he had never been kissed before (He had tried to get Gin to set him up with a couple of women before, but they always ended up falling for her instead) but what else could that have been?

And why? Why kiss him? And what was with all that stuff he said before? Handsome? Infatuated? What did 'infatuated' mean? He'd have to ask Gin. Or Hirotsu. Or the next stranger he ran into.

As if on cue, Tachihara's attention suddenly caught on a young woman walking his way.

She had a small frame, long black hair, and a small beauty mark under her eye. She wasn't looking at him, and she also wasn't the only person walking in that direction.

But for some reason...he couldn't help but get the distinct sense that she was walking towards him.

And as it turned out, it wasn't his imagination.

The girl's shoulders brushed against his. He turned his head just in time to see her place a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh-hey," Tachihara said, "Can I help you?"

She glared up at him. Time seemed to slow down as her cold eyes met his, hair flying past her as she took a single step.

"You're dead," She whispered.

Time resumed, and the girl went on walking as if nothing had just happened. Tachihara stopped, turning around. She never looked back.

An involuntary shudder ran through him, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

That girl's threat...

...it sounded awfully a lot like a promise.