My Brain's In Top Gear!

★ He nearly jumped out of his skin with the sudden contact, feeling more like a bucket of ice cold water doused on him than a gentle touch.

‘Seen a ghost,’ huh? Very funny, Shin-niisan, veeery funny. Not that Gou could find it in himself to laugh, especially not with the question that followed. 

‘What happened?’ Doesn’t he remember?

With his stomach in all sorts of knots, Gou clenched his fists, as though trying to find the words to answer the older man’s query…

But instead stood back up, practically slammed himself on the floor as he got on all fours, and touched his forehead flat on the ground as he bowed.

      “I’m sorry!”

▷⊜◁ Shinnosuke blinked in surprise as the young man tossed himself onto the floor and did the dogeza before him. The detective had no idea what was going on, and he couldn’t remember anything Gou could have done that could have required Gou to be preforming that kind of action. Thinking was hardly doing anything and the worst thing Gou could have done at the moment was eat his pudding. He could have just bought me a new one...

It’s not like Isla couldn’t make her own tea, but what’s so fun to drink a cup of tea made by yourself? She would actually make one if there’s any visitor or for a sign of friendship. So, today she decided to take a step outside and made a visit to one cafe she chose amongst the countless cafe in Koi.

She felt glad to the number of cafes, which made the number of customers were balanced. Though, this cafe she picked up seemed to be slightly more crowded than the others she saw before. Despite that, she felt glad that there’s one empty seat, near the window. She would eventually sit there and opened her menu book.

Until a male came over and asked for recommendations. Isla rarely come out for a cup of tea, but as a tea-maker, she has good tastes despite she didn’t know much about the variety. She always made the same tea back in her previous city, which suited to her co-workers’ preference.

“Herbal tea is good for your health. Chamomile tastes good either, but I often choose Jasmine tea.”

Well, she didn’t recommend specifically.

▷⊜◁ “Good for my health, huh? Well, I do need something to get me back on my feet. Jasmine tea you said? I suppose I’ll get that!” Shinnosuke replied in a cheerful voice, grateful that the girl offered him her assistance. “Thanks for the advice,” he smiled moving back to his own menu.

            Now that he had a drink decided, the only next thing would be to decide on something sweet to go with it. Shinnosuke scanned the menu, everything and anything sweet at the moment sounded like a great idea. And if he could, the detective would have ordered the whole menu. The thing is, Shinnosuke had never had Jasmine tea before. What went well with it, he had no clue.

            “Belt-san,” Shinnosuke started, before getting cut off.

             ◎  “Shinnosuke.”

★ “Krim! W-what’s going on?! What’s–”

Gou was ready to fire a barrage of questions at the scientist–what do you mean “did something happen”?!– but all the things he wanted to ask disappeared, as the older man he had been shaking began to stir. 

      “…Shin-niisan…?”

The grip he had on his lapels grew slack, ad his eyes were wide.

Shin-niisan…

He was waking up.

      “You’re…”

Alive?

Alive, breathing, albeit apparently disoriented– his eyes were bleary, but full of life. Gou couldn’t even make sense of what the older man was saying.  He could only stare.

He’s…he’s alive. He’s back. He’s okay.

Then that means…the formula worked, right? It means all this was not in vain, right? They were able to revive him! He’s alive! He… he’s back.

He’s back!

He’s okay, and now his sister can smile again, and, and–

Then…. everything was okay…!

Everything….everything’s okay again…

      “Shin-niisan….”

His hands were trembling and all other things he could say was wiped out of his mind as relief washed over every other emotion he had felt, and all he could do was stare wordlessly at the older man who was regaining his bearings.

▷⊜◁ The officer’s brows furrowed further, looking worriedly at the teen before him now. Gou’s grip had lightened and he was shaking, something was obviously wrong for the teen to be so shaken up. Shaken up enough that Gou was turning to Shinnosuke. Whether it was for help or not, he couldn’t tell. But, if there was one thing he could do, it would at least do him some good to try and comfort the teen. They were.... family in a way, after all.

★ His head hurt, his body was kind of heavy, and whenever he tried to open his eyes, obnoxious sunlight filtered through, making everything else hurt more.

Maybe he shouldn’t bother. Not that he had the motivation to, anyway. Maybe if he just–

Sulking around wasn’t something he could afford to do, especially not now. Gou forced himself to sit up, rubbing his face a few times, blinking and finally getting a good look at his surroundings.

Huh. That’s funny. He sure didn’t remember sleeping over at someone else’s place.

Standing up slowly, his guard considerably raised, he began to walk around. It was a nice, homely place, with nothing really out of the ordinary, which just perplexed him all the more. Instinctively reaching into his jacket for his driver, he instead finds… a cellphone, and a slip of paper.

    “Huh?”

It’s… his housing information, apparently. Now he was really confused.

   “This must be some sort of….”

Dream, he was supposed to say. But the word got caught in his throat, as he reached what appeared to be the bedroom.

Oh, it was a normal bedroom, with a single bed, just as quaint as the rest of the house. But on the bed lay someone all-too-familiar to Gou.

He dropped whatever he had on hand.

   “Shin…. Shin-niisan?”

His eyes were wide and his steps were hesitant, his mind running in several directions at once– What was happening? Did the formula work? Was he back? Or was he–

   “Shin-niisan….? Shin-niisan!”

The urgency in his voice gradually grew at the lack of a response. He stepped even closer, practically shaking the older man by his lapels, his voice shaking slightly as the sinking feeling in his stomach grew.

Please, please–

   “Shin-niisan!”

imintopgear

▷⊜◁With the Tornado Roidmude’s case ending safely, and more and more information was coming to light, somehow Shinnosuke could feel the end nearing. Yet, even so, the officer found himself going home that day with a light heart. He couldn’t help it, while everything wasn’t quite over yet, a case closed was still a case closed. With that, he entered the confines of his home in a tired yet lighthearted state before drifting off into sleep.

     ◎  As Gou approached the sleeping figure of Shinnosuke, the lights on his belt flickered on with the noise Gou was making, a distressed face appeared on the surface of his screen. “What is all this racket?! Gou?” Krim inquired of the teen, not understanding the other’s fears. ”Did something happen?”

              It would be moments later, that the officer would waken, being violently shaken by the said teen. Soft drowsy noises escaped his lips, brows furrowed with his rude awakening. He raised his hand to rub at his eyes at an attempt to wake himself up a bit.