Lisa had promised herself she wouldn’t cry that day at the shrine. She had been sure it was what Tatsuya would have done in her place - but Tatsuya wasn’t here anymore, not the Tatsuya she wanted to comfort anyway. Everything had been so mixed up in her head that she had needed to seclude herself in her room for a day just to process it all.

Maybe the moment she realized it had all really changed was when her parents knocked on her door and instead of snapping at them Lisa had pleaded, “Papa, Mama, not now.”

But if her parents had noticed a change in their daughter, they hadn’t said anything. Lisa vowed to be more careful after that but it was difficult talking with Sheba and Miho like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t discovered what a selfless friendship felt like only to have it taken away at the last second.

So she focused on what she was used to - dealing in superficial information via the high school grapevine.

As it turned out, Gas Chamber was holding auditions on Christmas Eve. Not that many people paid much attention to the fliers announcing the event in large, gaudy letters. After all who would want to waste their Christmas with Eikichi Mishina of all people?

Lisa apparently.

She hadn’t even bothered to try and disguise herself, considering none of her classmates would be there to see her. Still a white girl in a Seven Sisters uniform was bound to be noticed, eventually - she was just surprised that the one doing the noticing was Jun Kashihara.

He was holding more of those ridiculous flyers and seemed about ready to hand her one when a flash of recognition entered his eyes.

“Oh! Hello miss,” he smiled. “It’s good to see you again. Did you come for the audition?”

“No,” Lisa said too quickly and with more than a little force. Jun looked at her, confused, and Lisa flushed. She took one of the flyers and pretended to examine it.

“I can’t play, I mean. Or sing.” That last part was a lie but Jun wouldn’t know that. “I just came here to watch. What about you?”

“Oh,” Jun said, slipping back into his usual formal manner. “That’s too bad. Truthfully, I was hoping we could find someone else for keyboards, I’m not very good you see, and Michel-san has always wanted a guitarist.”

It was still odd hearing Jun refer to Eikichi like that. That reminded her, she really should introduce herself so he wouldn’t keep insisting on calling her “Miss.” That could all come later, though, for now she would play the curious Sevens student.

And try not to strangle Eikichi.

(That night she learned a new appreciation for Miyabi Hanakouji).

-

“Hey,” Lisa said, walking back from the library with Jun a few months later. “Today’s your birthday, isn’t it?”         

Jun closed the book he had been flipping through and looked up at Lisa with a bemused, almost vulnerable expression.

“How did you know that?”

Shoot, and here Lisa thought she had gotten better at “becoming friends with Jun without letting on they were already friends before” thing.

“Uh - haha! I miiight have heard it from Hanakouji? O-or maybe Chikarin, I, um, can’t remember.”

Jun pulled his scarf up so she couldn’t see the worried frown on his face. “It’s just I try not to make a big deal considering it’s…”

“Valentines Day?””

Jun nodded. “Speaking of, Lisa-san, don’t you have other things to be focusing on today besides helping me carry these books?”

Lisa grinned. “I do! Let me take you to him.”

-

Zodiac had lost some of its edgier atmosphere ever since Tatsuya and Anna had started going to school again. Now, only the weekends could capture that old frenetic energy.

It was hard to believe Lisa had been here every night last semester, dancing like she had no care in the world when really all she wanted was Tatsuya to notice her.

Well, she wasn’t the only one who had changed since then.

Tatsuya Suou was playing a slow song on his guitar in a private room right now. Anna had her arm wrapped around her underclassman girlfriend and was obviously having a good time teasing her friend about his playing. Tatsuya just smiled in response and seeing the expression was liking waking up in a patch of warm sunlight.

Judging by Jun’s face, he agreed.

“Isn’t he perfect?”

“He is,” Jun said, still not looking away from the other boy.

A beat.

“For the band, I mean,” Lisa clarified with a giggle, putting her hand on Jun’s shoulder. He jumped at the contact but righted himself quickly with a laugh of his own.

“Are you sure that’s what you were referring to just now, Lisa-san?”

“Maybe, for now. The band’s a good start though right? Come on, let’s get some drinks. The soda here’s not half bad.”

And it was. It was the best start.

Raidou should probably be used to death; it came with the territory of the job as a Summoner, and was something unavoidable at times, yet there were moments when it shook Raidou to his core.

“Raidou…” he can hear Gouto calling to him, but he does not listen.

He doesn’t want to hear about how he’s only just started out, that it’s okay to feel the way he does, because it won’t help.

No, it’ll only make him feel worse…

The Dark Realm will be something he will have to get used to, more-so than he already is. The demons in and around Tsukudo-cho were a mix of almost harmless, down to those Raidou would not wish to face without a demon companion himself.

‘I suppose I will get used to this too.’

He would become stronger, no doubt, and this area would feel like child’s play.

Child’s play…

That’s just it; seeing a child and her mother lying there, cold and lifeless, was something he had not yet come across. Only the woman had a slit throat, not the little girl, but that made it no better. Demons were one thing, but seeing this…

“It seems Ishikawa found his way here thanks to a playful Obariyon, but ended up getting caught by something bigger. I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anytime soon. It’s a sorry state to the end of a case…”

“There was poison in the bottle held by the girl…”

“Raidou,” Gouto interjects, not wanting them to spend anymore time at the scene than necessary, “Let’s head back to the agency.”

“Right.”

“Shirou Ishikawa, had a jealous streak in him that he could not ignore, and this was the tip of the iceberg… Unsure if I should feel sorry for the guy or not; must be tough finding out your wife had an affair and your kid isn’t yours, but that doesn’t mean you go and kill the dame and the girl.”

Narumi sits at his desk in the agency office as usual, looking over the notes of the case that has now come to a close.

“There was bruising on her wrists and neck which indicates it may have been due to domestic abuse.”

“Yeah,” Narumi closes the file and takes a long drag of his cigarette, “No sympathies for this Ishikawa from yours truly. Between you and me, Raidou, it seems he may have got his just desserts.”

Perhaps it was a harsh thing to say, but there was something in Narumi’s eyes… a dark and somewhat pained look, as if such a topic was something he was used to hearing about.

“Too many people in this world get away with murder, literally and figuratively.”

“That would seem to be the case.”

“Right, that’s enough wallowing on the sad stuff,” Narumi clears his throat, pushing his chair back and getting to his feet, “Coffee?”

Raidou shakes his head; the last thing he needs is trouble sleeping at night caused by the caffeine, especially when he gets less than the average amount of hours of sleep anyway. It’s either sleep or risk falling behind on a job, and he always gives up the former. He’s thankful that Narumi isn’t the type of boss to stop him from taking a nap in the office, in fact, he encourages it.

“Keep your head up, Raidou, you’re doing a great job.”

Narumi points to the couch in the middle of the room and heads into the kitchen, and Raidou all but indulges the offer; it’s time for another quick nap before he goes out for extra supplies. Fifteen minutes, he thinks, should be enough…

“Why did you let me die, Mister?” The little girl’s voice is soft but somehow intimidating all the same, making Raidou’s head whip back up fast.

It’s… dark. All the lights are off in the agency, and the little girl stands where the other couch should be. Since when did they have a change around in the room?

“Mister, you let me die… you let my mother die…”

She’s holding a glass bottle out towards him in her hands, broken in half with the shards sticking into her palms. There’s blood pooling, but Raidou’s line of sight is distracted by a more intense vision of red near her neck.

The crimson substance all but gushes out for a moment, before it turns into a slow ooze… drip, drip, drip… onto the ground it drops. The stench is foul, but not from the blood; from the girl herself.

It’s the smell of death.

“Mister…” she reaches out further with her hands, suddenly throwing what’s left of the glass bottle towards Raidou and cutting his face, “You were supposed to save me…”

He scrunches his eyes shut, bracing himself for whatever else the girl may do in retaliation.

“I’m sorry…! I’m so sorry…”

“Raidou…?”

He has no excuse and deserves all that’s coming to him.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m–’

“Raidou…!”

Suddenly his eyes are open again, staring wide-eyed at the person in front of him– … Huh? It is not the girl looking at him, but an obviously concerned Narumi. It takes Raidou a moment to collect himself and realise that it was just a dream.

Well… a nightmare.

“You okay there, kid?” Narumi’s voice is quiet, soft, and it makes Raidou feel like an idiot.

He was supposed to be the defender of the Capital, yet here he was being jolted awake by something that shouldn’t have been affecting him at all, and in front of his boss no less.

If Narumi didn’t consider Raidou a “child” before, he would certainly do so now.

“I’m fine…” he lies through slightly gritted teeth, “I’ll… get case and food supplies tomorrow…”

Narumi removes himself from Raidou’s personal bubble, not entirely convinced by his response, and taps him lightly on top of his hat, a somewhat pained smile on his face.

“Get some proper shut eye, Raidou, we need to close up shop here.”

Raidou nods and slowly rises off the couch to his feet, going over to Narumi’s desk to pick up the case papers and file them away in the filing cabinet beside the door to the kitchen.

Rather reluctantly, he then follows Narumi out into the hall and watches him lock the door, then follows him again up the stairs to the residential rooms of the building. If he were in front he knows that Narumi’s eyes would bore into the back of his head, and a frown would more than likely adorn his features; probably is making that face right now, and Raidou’s guess is proved correct when he sees his reflection in one of the room windows.

“Tomorrow’s another day.” Narumi stops outside of his own room, turning and patting Raidou on the back, “Wonder if a dame will show up anytime soon, and not by the name of Tae. Keep your eyes open, Raidou, you may just find your soulmate yet.”

It’s an attempt at a joke, Raidou thinks, especially when he has no interests in such things for the time being. He’s already had a discussion on the same topic with Gouto, much to his mentor’s relief… at least he wouldn’t get distracted so easily.

“Mm.” Raidou hums to show he’s listening, opening the door to his own room.

His room is plain, nothing else inside other than the essentials; a few changes of his uniform in the closet, medical supplies filling up the drawers either side of the bed, weapons and bullets hidden under a blanket in the bottom of the same closet his clothes hang, along with various books filling the two long shelves above his bed.

Raidou kicks off his shoes, takes off his cape and removes his uniform jacket so that he is only wearing the plain white shirt underneath and his black trousers with matching black socks. His hat is not discarded yet.

He should probably sleep straight away tonight, but feeling slightly anxious he puts it off for now in favour of calming down with a good book.

“The Case of the Murder on D. Hill,” Raidou speaks the book’s title aloud. A story by Edogawa Ranpo, a new author he had recently taken a liking to.

Being part of the detective life himself, he was pleasantly surprised to find he enjoyed the reading material in his hands. What was wrong with reading through it for the second time this week? His mind needed the distraction.

Half an hour into reading he hears a distressed shout from the next room, where Narumi is, and bolts off the bed grabbing his sword.

Perhaps it was careless to think nothing was going to happen with how quiet it had been recently. Enemies and general misfits were more likely to cause havoc when they were least expecting it, however no issues had ever been brought onto the premises of the agency before. The fact that someone was in the building was alarming not only for them, but also for the other residents and offices sharing the space.

Raidou does not knock or call out to Narumi, unaware of what he may come to face and not wanting to risk the other man’s safety – competent fighter or not – he opens the door and swiftly moves into the room.

The first thing he notices is the room’s state. It is clean, even with some books and articles of clothing lying on the floor, and there is no sign of a struggle. The only odd thing is that the room’s occupant is missing from the bed– and seems to be collapsed on the ground.

Raidou drops his sword and rushes to Narumi’s side, freezing in his tracks as a pistol is produced right in front of his face.

“Don’t… touch me,” Narumi sighs, breathing heavy as he shakes, holding himself with his left hand and pointing the weapon with his right, “Don’t act like this is okay when we both know it isn’t, not when–”

“Narumi-san.”

Raidou’s voice is strong, firm, grounding, and Narumi’s eyes widen before he blinks rapidly. The pistol drops against the floor boards with a ‘clink’ and he brings his hand back against his own face.

“Raidou… Listen, kid, I’m sorry for that,” Narumi laughs bitterly as he leans his back against the bed behind, watching as Raidou moves to sit to his left and do the same, “Guess the secret’s out, huh? Caper’s been caught and all, and that’s the night terrors.”

Raidou lets out a heavy sigh, looking up at the ceiling, “If it’s any consolation, it seems we suffer the same thing. I believe this is what you would call a 'bonding moment’ between us.”

Narumi laughs, and hard. He knows Raidou can come across as the most awkward kid in town, but when it’s forcefully put on like it is now, it could easily leave Narumi in hysterics.

“Then I believe that makes us friends. Sorry for all the ruckus… along with almost shooting you.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s done that.”

Narumi smiles, placing a hand on Raidou’s shoulder. They sit there for a moment, collecting themselves, as hard as it is to calm down when they’re both suffering shakiness brought on by sleep deprivation.

It takes Narumi a moment to realise that Raidou has moved his own hand and has it lightly placed atop his head to ruffle Narumi’s hair. It makes him feel like a child being consoled by a parent, but surely it should be the other way around–

“Oi, kid,” Narumi starts, but stops the reprimanding tone in his voice when he sees the amused smile on Raidou’s face, “Who’s the adult here?”

“Even adults need support, Narumi-san, there is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Right back at you, kid. You ain’t gotta deal with this alone.”

Raidou moves to his left and shuffles to his feet, dusting off his trousers. He makes sure to pick up the sword he abandoned on the floor, just in case Narumi falls off the other side of the bed when finally asleep.

It would be tragic if the older man impaled himself in his slumber.

“… Raidou.”

The young summoner stops with his hand now on the door handle, turning his head back with questioning eyes.

“Yes, boss?”

“Thanks.”