#amoderndetective

"Hoo boy am I bushed. These little side distractions are gonna be the death of me I swear. Gettin' way too old for this..."

Not to mention it was costing him some nice shirts too with some of these side cases he was taking on by himself. Everything couldn't be left up to the kid to take care of. Some of the cases weren't always minor. Narumi actually took on the oddball cases now and again without consenting with the younger detective for his own reasons. He forgot how out of practice he was with all of this. Not being a private eye mind you, but any fighting to be done. At least with a sword, though his skill of  the hand didn't fade it was mostly with this bum leg of his slowing him down at times among other things at this age.

"Probably from all those days of inhalin' smoke. Not that it makes a lick of difference now." Just caught up with him is all though he can hear the other--well, actually the stoic expression on his face can very well read 'I told you so'. Be it from Raidou or his alternate. Boy, he just can't catch a break can he?

Narumi had been contemplating a lot of things this evening.

Smoke rose slowly from the unfinished cigarette that was planted among the ashes still burning at the tip. There were flecks of ashes along the outside of the shot glass sitting next to it with little reminisce of the strong alcohol that was in it earlier. That particular bottle of booze was usually housed in a drawer in his desk for those times he needed a strong drink. The detective had to bite his tongue feeling how hot the fluid was going down his throat.

He was sure he looked like a mess this evening as clean cut as he tried to keep himself, but his tie was loose around his neck and his dress shirt wrinkled with some of the buttons out of place. God, how he prayed for sleep this evening, yet it felt like the weight of the world was down upon his shoulders once more about to give way. From the present, to his past, to his choices, to his failures…

Why?

Why did he have to shoulder so much responsibility? He always thought he was doing the right things, but it always seemed like others betrayed him in the end. Now the shoe was on the other foot and he could barely look Raidou in the face these days. How could he smile through all the bull he had to feed him and others half the time?  Being entrusted a child that he thought the Herald was doing to spite him in some manner and punish him in a reminder to his past choices.

Taking up responsibility or was it some way of redeeming himself?

All the secrets he had to keep; all the lies he had to tell which was supposedly good in their favor? Why did everyone have to rely on him? Shouhei Narumi, the man everyone trusted.

“What a joke…”

There was a pained wince at the memories that were no more than a stain on his subconscious. His arms folded on top of the desk and his head burying itself into his arms. The ticking of the clock seemed to echo quietly in the office along with a strained muffled sob. 

kichoukichou replied to your post: Tae walks into the office and pours herself a cup...

Tae is so pissed she wants to punch a hole through the paper to scare Narumi.

Hey, you're gonna owe him a new newspaper missy. You know NORMAL people knock. NORMAL people greet the proprietor of the joint.

Oh, but he keeps forgetting this is the Narumi detective agency. He doesn't want to look over the newspaper and see that peeved look she has.

Every time she comes she wants something. Maybe if there's no sudden movements. That's what women pick up of you know.

Hey hasn’t seen you in forever! What kind of man would he be if he didn’t give you all his love and attenshuns?

gdi Narumi.