A L In the Darkness/Unexpected Company

[thisclinchesit]

Who: Shoutarou, Souji Seta, and Yousuke Hanamura - all AU-flavored.
Where: The SuperiorNew Narumi Detective Agency
Summary: Souji follows up on his offer to check up on Shoutarou's wayward kitten.
Warnings: Cats, teenage boys, PAAAAHTONAHS
Finally, after what feels like an eternity in the dark, the lights of the agency come to life.

Unfortunately, they come to life at a really inopportune time, as Shoutarou was trying to make his way out of the building. The sudden brightness catches him off-guard, and he stumbles into a chair, falls over it, and tumbles into a bookcase, knocking a large number of alien texts on top of him.

"...damn it."

Comments

[trashcanninja]

Yosuke watched the cat happily squirm under Souji's hoodie, seemingly tuning out of the conversation - he was actually listening pretty closely though. TV show plot, hah, that was one way to describe it. He understood Souji's feelings though, and for once, he agreed with them, instead of grumbling.

He... didn't really want to see the rest of the IT either. They came from a successful timeline, whereas they came from the fuck ups and, to be honest, Yosuke felt five inches tall when comparing himself to them. 'Only we can catch the culprit', man, they'd been such kids.

But one thing's bugging him...

"Hey, partner..." Yosuke semi-whispered, leaning in towards Souji to try and maintain some privacy - even if Shoutarou could clearly hear them, only being a few feet away from them. "Why're we telling him this stuff...?"

Really, to Yosuke, this just seemed like Souji suddenly blarghing his issues onto someone totally random. Was this related to his Kamen Rider rant he tuned out earlier?

[thisclinchesit]

Shoutarou plants his hands on his hips and gives a shake of his head at further explanation, only verbal response being a quietly-muttered "Damn, that's rough..."

One thing does pique his curiosity, though.

"If I might ask - just why would going out on your own be safer?" The tone, while inquisitive, isn't accusatory. Even if he'd been burned by criminals coming to him for help a number of times in the past, he still gave everyone that came through his door a chance.

[1500lives]

Yosuke's semi-whisper drew Souji's attention first, of course, though it seemed to be in line with Mr. Hidari's question, too. Sighing, he pulled the poor kitten out of his sleeve and tucked him in to the crook of his arm. Besel only squirmed for a bit before giving in to pets.

"This may be another world, but that doesn't matter- you can always trust a Kamen Rider." He nodded as if this were the most clear thing ever, and not naive at all. "We were...accused wrongfully of something in our world. It'd be impossible to explain that to them. They'd want to help, get involved, and they can't."

[trashcanninja]

"..."

Yosuke just gave Souji a look when his question was answered very unsatisfactorily. So this guy was a Kamen Rider, and that, automatically made it okay for Souji to tell him their situation and basically shove themselves into his trust? Okay.

Admittedly, Yosuke was a bit miffed that Souji was making this kind of decision again without really consulting him about it, and made an irritated grunting noise, turning to sulk in the direction of the bookcase.

[thisclinchesit]

Shoutarou starts to nod along with Souji.

Then it hits him just what he said, and he splutters as his composure fumbles all over itself. He's not used to getting such direct praise unless there was a suit of rubberarmor between him and the person saying it.

"Well," he starts with a pleased, and somewhat sheepish laugh. "You are right - though while I'm willing to help out someone in need, either as a Kamen Rider or a detective, I'm admittedly not sure how I can help a situation like that from another world," he adds, and considers for a moment. "Unless you're looking for help on keeping these people you know from finding out."

[1500lives]

"I don't really know what I'm looking for." He seemed oblivious to Yosuke's look for the time being, focusing his attention on the cat, partially cos he anticipated a frown or two. He didn't want to prove himself right. "I don't really want to run in to them, but it's not their fault. But staying out of sight means avoiding the apartments we were given."

See, 'ske? He's not telling everything. Just that they're duplicates from an upsetting AU. In the grand scheme, was that too much?

...probably, really. If he hadn't seen Shou henshin in front of his own eyes he probably wouldn't be so trusting. But he couldn't...there was no way he could let his situation back home ruin something as simple as his childhood heroes. Right?

"I don't know what help you can give...but even if it's just this little guy for company, I'll take it."

[trashcanninja]

Even if Souji was withholding some information, he was still saying a pretty large amount to some guy that they essentially just met. Yosuke trusted Souji, even if that trust was a bit shaky nowadays, but that still didn't mean it was okay that his friend kept dragging him into stuff without consulting him first. Yeah, let's ask this guy for help! Who the hell was he? Does't matter, he's a Kamen Rider! That automatically makes him safe!

It wasn't true for the police, so excuse Yosuke if he was more than a little wary about this entire thing. The fact that he was a detective, like Adachi, just made him even more twitchy.

"Why do we even need his help?" Yosuke finally asked, turning to his friend with a bit of a snappish tone. "You didn't say we were coming here for that."

[thisclinchesit]

Shou nods at Souji, but he can't help looking just a bit taken aback at Yosuke's words. They make sense, but they do sting nonetheless. He sighs, then turns around to do a bit of deduction.

"Because clearly, he feels it's needed - in my experience, a man's got to be at a pretty low point to up and outright ask for help," Shoutarou explains. "It makes sense that he'd go to someone who he either trusts already, which I'm assuming your options are limited, if even existent in the situation this city presents us - or someone he feels he can trust based on a little bit of information." He turns around and smiles.

"In this case, someone who kept him from getting jumped by a monster while he was asleep."

[1500lives]

Souji nodded at Shou's assessment, but turned to Yosuke with a critical look in his eye. "We have an opportunity to not sleep in a park here. I don't trust this government as far as I could throw it, but- why shouldn't we try to recooperate? You're just as mixed up as I am, and we need to do this."

His tone was harsh, and almost patronizing, but he didn't...mean it like that. He was just trying desperately to Leader and ensure that they had someone they could actually ask for help from.

[trashcanninja]

Yosuke looked to be a bit mollified by Shoutarou's words, his frown easing up - before it returned full force at Souji's patronising tone. He openly bristled, shooting his partner an equally harsh look.

"Sorry," Yosuke began, his tone dripping with insincerity, "I forgot my opinion doesn't mean shit. I'll make sure to just shut up and go along with you without a word next time."

Oh, but what happened last time he did that? They got an order of arrest on their head, and had to rough it out in a world crawling with vicious shadows!

[thisclinchesit]

"Hey, hey--" Shoutarou frowns at Yosuke's tone, raising a hand to make a calming motion. "I don't know the whole situation, but that's not called for, alright?"

He draws a breath, then huffs it out. "You get your back against the wall like this, the last thing you need to be doing is lashing out against each other, alright? That will just make things worse - take it from someone who's been there more than enough times."

There's a glance between the two of them for a moment. "If you need a place to crash, there's plenty of room here."