An Immortal Heart

Chapter 2: On Edge

Ogami dragged the human into the street by their shirt. They hadn't put up a struggle at all, which had left him feeling on edge. What was this human's plan?

Once in the lamplight, their eyes and hair shone dully as they peered up at him. Their appearance took him off guard. He was expecting someone with a sinister look in their eye or at least with some weapon behind their back, but all he found was an exhausted human with very little fight in them. He took a deep breath and his long nose smelled their small adventure over the last 24 hours. Sympathy threatened to emerge from inside him after seeing their struggle in both human society and in Anima City. He glared down at the human before releasing their shirt and grabbing their hand.

He said nothing as he led them down streets, taking detours to avoid populated areas and the stares of other beastmen. A breeze broke through the cool night air that made the human shudder. Ogami looked back at them. Their cheeks held a light pink tint and they sniffled. He hadn't realized how cold it had gotten since he'd not switched from his beast form yet. He reached to remove his coat but stopped himself. What was he doing?! He didn't care if they froze to death, a human had infiltrated Anima City and he had to find out how and why. He pulled out his smart phone and called the police chief to let him know he was coming.

Finally, they approached a six-story building that read "Anima Police" and climbed the stairs. Inside, Ogami led the human towards the chief's office. Despite it being so late, there were quite a few stragglers wandering the halls and chatting. They all stopped to glare at Shirou and the new arrival, who kept their eyes glued to the floor, shivering. 

With one last tug, he pulled them inside and shut the door, locking it. The human looked up and jumped, probably surprised to find a very human-looking man behind the desk. 

"Ogami," the chief shook his head, "why are you still in your beast form?"

"I don't want the human to try and escape," he said. 

"You think they could escape from this place? You even locked the door," he sighed, "they're human- no transformation or powers whatsoever. You know this. Why are you so on edge?"

Ogami didn't reply. Instead, he leaned against the wall near the door and folded his arms. His eyes rested on the suspect.

The chief turned his attention to them. "I'm going to have to ask you a few questions. Is that okay? You do have the right to remain silent. Oh, and I'm sorry about your- er- arrest. Ogami can take things a bit far sometimes."

The human didn't speak but nodded their head. Ogami would make sure they answered all the questions they were asked, no matter what it took. He wasn't about to let them waltz out of there without an extremely thorough investigation. A single slip-up could put the entire city at risk.