Continued from here.
Hanae watched from the office window as the pair rode off and - being alone - allowed herself a wistful and slightly jealous sigh. If only Kumitada would hold her like that. She was, of course, ignoring the part where he was in a state of abject terror as Minnie tore off down the street like a bat with a jetpack fleeing Hell itself.
Still! She had her own job to perform while they were gone. Hanae strode back towards her computer with the singular intention of drawing up details regarding the cafe, the street it was on, the owner, everything to do with it that might have the smallest bearing on the case. Any and all public information could be useful and would be contrasted with whatever the other two discovered on their little expedition. Anything that required emergency attention on either end would be handled easily enough by a phone call.
That was the intention. Her rear end didn’t even grace the seat at the desk before there was a knock at the door.
She was at the door in seconds, the very image of the consummate professional secretary. The kettle was already in the process of boiling and a new plate full of biscuits adorned the table all in the blink of an eye. Two clients in the same hour? A rare event if ever there was one! She would simply have to invite them inside, explain that they were currently on a case but take their details in any event - after all, there was nothing that said a detective could not work on two cases at once, now was there? Especially when there were bills to pay!
Yukiko might complain a little, but a little scolding would soon sort her out.
Except, it wasn’t a new client at all. Her usual greeting died on her lips when she saw that it was the same woman as before, standing in the doorway and seeming much more… relaxed than she had just a short while ago.
“Miss Toshimaru,” she said. “Is there new information you wish to deliver?”
Hanae was not a detective. Not by any means, no, not at all. Her specialty was in organisation, presentation, courtesy. The other two were - in their own unique ways - the eyes and ears and feet of the organisation. Even so, anyone would notice the differences in this young woman instantly.
She was much calmer for one thing. A content, knowing smile and her eyes - something was a little off about her eyes. The more obvious change was her uniform. She distinctly remembered the girl wearing a blue uniform, but now for whatever reason it was leopard print.
The small girl slowly shook her head. “I am terrrribly sorrry,” she started. Then she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. “I mean, I have to apologise. It would appe- It would seem that I was a bit rrrash in my decision to come today. My boss had also noticed the kitty, and contacted animal contrrrol. It will not be sitting therrre tomorrrow.”
“That is a tremendous shame,” Hanae responded. Interesting speech impediment to have suddenly acquired. Downright fascinating - or should that be downrrrright fascinating? - in fact. “Unfortunately, you must have missed Mister Kumitada and Miss Yukako on your way back here. They were going straight towards your place of employment to begin investigation.”
The girl nodded slightly, and tilted her head to the side.
“I shall contact them immediately to let them know of changing circumstances. Thank you for making use of us. If you need us for anything again, please do not hesitate to call. Thank you again, goodbye!”
She gently pushed the girl out into the corridor and hurriedly slammed the door behind her. A chill had taken hold of her spine just now. A sense that she was in the most tremendous danger. Hanae flipped her phone out of her pocket, but in the very next second it was knocked out of her hand and slid across the floor.
“I don’t think so,” purred Miss Toshimaru. Except not quite the same woman who had been standing in the corridor a few moments prior. The waitress uniform was completely gone, and in its place was a leotard. Leopard print. Of greater significance was the cat ears atop her head, attached to a headband. “You arrre interrrrferrring pests! You must be eliminated!”
Hanae adjusted her glasses and regarded both the intruder and the open window behind her that she must have used to enter. “How very interesting,” she said. “Once I’m done with you, I will simply have to report this to Yukiko. Quite the lead to drop into our laps, if I do say so myself.”
<hr>
So a cat ran into a darkened alley while being pursued by a ditzy detective and her assistant. It sort of sounds like the setup to a joke, but alas it was not. Unless of course one began to count Kumitada’s life as one great big joke, which was a point he wasn’t quite willing to concede. At least not yet.
“Here, kitty kitty!” he called, unable to believe that at this stage in his life he’d be in a dark alley with a beautiful woman, with both of them hunting for -
“Pussy pussy!” Yukiko called, crawling ahead on the ground in front of him. That was another mystery to be solved. How the hell did she keep managing to crawl right where he was aiming his torch? It didn’t seem likely somehow, but there she was every time! “Here, pussy pussy! I just want to play!”
“It’s no good, Miss Yukiko,” he reluctantly said. “That cat's probably long gone. If it really was running away from us, it could be anywhere by now. After all, surely it can see better in the dark than we can!”
The statement earned him a rolled up newspaper to the back of the head. But she had just been on the ground! How did she - “Hmph! Never give up so easily! That’s my next lesson!” Yukiko declared. “If there’s the slightest chance a clue is to be found, grab hold of it with both hands!”
“… I was thinking we should maybe go to the florist the cat was staring at!” Kumitada responded, perhaps a little bit angrier than he intended.
“We can do that later, silly!” Yukiko said, dropping to all fours to examine the ground once again. “Besides, aren’t you curious why it’s so dark in here?”
“Why it’s so dark in here...?”
Wait. Wait just a moment. That was a really good point. It was still early afternoon, so why would it be so damned dark in here? The buildings would cast a shadow if they were tall enough, but to completely block out light - they weren’t nearly that tall!
The young assistant looked up and cast his torch in the same direction. It slipped from his hands shortly thereafter once he knew what he was seeing.
“Miss Yukiko?” he said, tapping her rather urgently on the shoulder.
“Aw, now?” she sighed. “You should’ve gone before we -”
“Not that!” he hissed. “I think I’ve worked out why it’s so dark in here. Take a look up.”
The two of them did just that, and pairs of eyes looked back at them. Several hundred pairs of eyes, in point of fact. Slit yellow eyes, staring out of the darkness. Some in curiosity, some with malice, some just a little bit… hungry.
“Here is another lesson,” Yukiko said, scooping up the torch and backing away very slowly. “A good detective gets the hell out of here and talks to some florists.”
It was a rare occasion that he agreed wholeheartedly with Yukiko, but at that very moment in time he was reminded of an old joke just before he started to run.
Two hunters were lost in a jungle and out of ammunition. They came upon a hungry wild beast that began to pursue them both.
“Why are we even bothering?” one asked. “We’ll never outrun it!”
“I’m not trying to outrun it,” the other replied. “I’m trying to outrun you!”
Unfortunately in this particular instance, the beasts outnumbered the hunters. Survival really is a tricky business.
- The two detectives flee for the florist
- Yukiko produces a ball of yarn spun around catnip, and the mass of cats leaps for it.
- They return to the office to find Hanae missing.
- Something else
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