The Man Who Ran Off With The Moon - [ Tsukkiyama Art Thief AU! ]

Two Shadows

Tsukishima was crouched on the floor, eye level with the terrarium.
"C'mon. Come on out, come eat", he whispered softly.
A chameleon slowly untangled herself from her hiding spot in the branches. Tsukishima allowed the smallest smile, "That's it."
The chameleon blinked sleepily at him.

Okabe, the manager of the reptile encounter, watched over Tsukishima's shoulder, "You have a way with her. She won't eat for anyone else."
His chest puffed out with pride.
"Chameleon's are just resistant to company. It takes some time."
Okabe nodded and turned away, "Keep up the good work."
Tsukishima stood, a bit hesitantly. He had been meaning to ask the older man about the possibility of a raise, since he had taken on more cleaning and feeding duties after another worker had quit. It seemed Okabe knew exactly what Tsukishima was after, because he shook his head wearily.
"Park budget cuts. Nobody's getting a raise right now."
Tsukishima nodded, his mood instantly souring.

Kenma and Kuroo's garage apartment was nice. It was bigger than his old place with a small kitchen and room enough for a couch and a table. The bathroom had hot water, his tatami mat had been comfortable, he wasn't awoken by the sound of metal scraping metal.
He was grateful for the space, though it wasn't without it's issues.
Kuroo had busted in around 6 am to try and force feed Tsukishima some natto he had made. Kenma had left on a red eye flight for the US and Kuroo already had no idea what to do without someone to take care of.
"Tsukishimaaaaa, come on! Eat a good breakfast. It'll make you grow up big and strong!"
"I AM TWENTY SIX."

By the time Tsukishima left work, the sun was low in the sky. The September air had a slight edge. The zoo keeper uniform would soon make it's seasonal transition from khaki shorts to khaki pants. Tsukishima was greatly looking forward to this.
He realized he didn't quite know where he was walking, which station he needed to go to in order to return to Denchofu. Tsukishima took out his phone, opening maps. The street corner was mostly deserted, save a woman in a neat business suit waiting at the light and a couple of birds. Ueno was quiet, empty.
As Tsukishima put his phone back in his pocket, he felt a small twinge in his nerves. He subtly turned his head to the side, glimpsing a long shadow that briefly stretched over a building wall. It flickered, quickly moving out of sight.
Tsukishima thought back to his last morning in his old neighborhood.

That needling sensation of being watched.

He began to walk at a brisk pace, taking an unexpected turn down a line of streets. Tsukishima took another. And another. His movements were random, designed to hopefully be confusing. Tsukishima stopped suddenly at a corner, tilting his head to see behind himself.

There it was again. The shadow.

The body attached to it ducked out of sight. Tsukishima began to walk at a fast pace, trying to navigate the way out of the neighborhood he wound himself into. There was no sound on the pavement, no definite pursuer, but Tsukishima was certain that he was being followed. The crawl of his skin told him all he needed to know. Tsukishima turned left sharply.
He whirled around on the narrow street. His heart stuck in his throat.
"Who's there? Why are you following me?"

It was almost silent. He could hear the faintest curl of breath, the slightest scrape of a shoe on concrete.

"I don't have any money. Like, actually",
Tsukishima huffed a bit angrily.

Silence. Tsukishima stood, frozen, acting more confident than he felt. He stayed at the corner until his own shadow stretched so far he began to convince himself this entire interaction was a product of paranoid thought.

When he finally boarded the train, he thought he saw the outline of a man tracing the corners of his periphery, but it was always the wind, a garbage can, a random assortment of objects dedicated to playing with his heightened sense of fear. The shadows cast by lamp posts became figures, the trees that lined Kenma and Kuroo's neighborhood, even his own reflection in the glass door to the house seemed to be a body that was observing him.
Tsukishima crossed his arms.

Stupid, dramatic.

He pushed up his glasses and went inside, pausing to firmly lock the door behind himself. Just in case.