Chapter Text
Another day, another earful from Amamiya.
The local officer Totomaru Isshiki got scolded again, this time for accidentally deleting an important file off the computer, he probably would've been fired on the spot if someone hadn't made a backup. “GO HOME, ISSHIKI! NOW!” Amamiya roared at him, and with a squeak, he picked up his things, leaving the room.
He dejectedly walked into Kiku’s office, the senior always finds some way to bring his spirits back up. He might as well spend his time there, since there's no point in going home so early.
The officer sat and stared down at his cup of tea that was offered to him. “What can I do, Kiku-san? I'm going to get fired at this rate! I know it!” He put his head in his hands, his curly brown hair covering his line of sight to Kiku.
“Isshiki, you're nice, honest, and spontaneous.” He started off, putting down the newspaper he was reading to look at him. “I like that about you, but these aren't very good qualities for a detective,” he didn't bother lying to Totomaru, he's not a newcomer anymore, he's been here for 2 months by now, and still struggles to keep himself from getting fired.
He sunk even deeper into the chair he was sitting in, forehead laid directly on the tabletop while he whined. “That doesn't make me feel any better about it…”
The man looked at him, thinking for a moment. “Still struggling with that serial murder case?” He asked.
Totomaru nodded his head, still not bothering to lift himself from the table to make eye contact, he was far too ashamed to.
“Maybe he could help.” Kiku said, emphasizing on the fact that he didn't reveal who it was to get Isshiki up and asking him questions.
The senior picked up his teacup, laying back into his seat when Totomaru raised his head up to him for the first time in a while. “Who's “he”?” He stared at him, that puzzled expression plastered on his face.
Ah, just as he'd planned. “Someone I know from the UK, he's an expert at unsolved mysteries.” Intentionally leaving out his subjects name, leaving the young officer asking more questions about him, subconsciously raising his spirits without him even noticing.
“Ah? I can't go all the way out to England like this… Amamiya would rather fire me than give me a day off…”
He took a sip from his cup, “I never said he was in England right now.” He raised his eyebrow at him, making sure Isshiki was serious about wanting to save his own skin from getting fired.
And sure enough, he was.
Totomaru stood in front of a tall complex, old photos of it showed its brick walls unpainted. Half of it was covered in overgrowth, like it was a building rotting away from inside out. But the one before him was a sleek, beautiful, modern apartment complex, labelled “Kamonohashi”. The label seems to be the only thing unchanged about it.
It was nothing like the old photos Kiku-san had shown him, and it felt weird, like the personality was stripped from it. He walked in, the bottom floor had a communal area with some people sitting and talking to each other on some couches. It was surprisingly nice, but still felt odd, the lack of colour, decorations, anything, just made it feel a little sad.
He went up the elevator, going to the fifth floor where Kiku-san said the manager would be. He was looking for this manager, but had a thought about it. If this detective is so good, then why is he managing an apartment complex?
He knocked on the door, looking down at the photo Kiku had given him. The man had a well brushed haircut, parted from the side with beautiful dark hair. His skin was lustrous, and his blue eyes looked like they shined, even in the photo.
Even with the time he took to look at the photo of him, there was no answer.
“Hello? Kamonohashi-san?” He knocked a few more times.
No response.
Okay, this is the last time he'll knock. “Kamonohashi-san!! Are you-”
And then he heard a voice. “Knocking once is sufficient enough.” He said, a clear British accent shining through his speech.
Totomaru jumped, he wasn't expecting anything from this visit, especially after having to knock 3 times.
He then heard footsteps coming his way, the person on the other side unlocking the door for him.
The person who opened the door for him was almost exactly like the picture Kiku had handed him, save for the fact that he looked a little older, and had a huge tattoo on his neck and collarbone. He wore a jacket atop a simple shirt, of which it didn't much to cover the huge tattoo.
Before Totomaru even had the chance to speak, the man before him interrupted his train of thought. “I'm on break. I'm not helping you with your case.”
What? “H-How’d you know I-”
Rather than just a crack wide enough to fit his face, he opened the door wide enough to see inside the room. Totomaru looked in, seeing the nicely furnished living room and corner office he had, a large TV hung on the far wall while huge, lavish paintings of… desserts(…?) plastered the empty space. “Your outfit screams ‘Japanese police officer’, plus your shoe tips are all scratched up from running, and unless I'm mistaken, I haven't broken any laws, so you're here to see me for a consult.”
“W-Well…” He wasn't wrong, but the officer just didn't expect him to see through him so fast. Kiku was right after all, he's some world class detective.
He turned back into his room, moving to sit on his lavish couch with a huge platypus plush sitting next to him. He lifted an adorably fluffy kitty onto his lap, petting it while he stared back at Totomaru. “Like I said, I'm on break.” He repeated himself. “I know how exciting it must be for you, meeting an S-Rank detective for the first time, but I don't want to use my precious vacation time in Japan just to help the Japanese police.”
“S-Rank? Ah, he must be pulling a prank on me. Like there's a whole ranking system for detectives, give me a break!"
Kamonohashi glared back at him. “Of course there is!” When Totomaru noticed that he'd somehow responded to his inner thoughts, was when he realized that he'd accidentally spoken them out loud. The dark haired man seemed almost offended that a lowly police officer thought that he made up the world detective ranking classes. “I thought they'd have started teaching the police about the world detective alliance by now.” He huffed, looking away from Isshiki.
The one time I don't believe in something, it's true?! He made sure that this thought of his didn't leave his mouth this time. The officer stepped inside, it seems Kamonohashi was fine with him in his room, but that was mainly because he didn't see Totomaru as a threat. Talk about egotistical… He finally had some time to register what he had actually said to him, he'd only just met him, and he's already flaunting his high status.
He remembered what Kiku had said to him about this Ron Kamonohashi. “He used to be really antisocial… Maybe self-centered is a better descriptor. He never bothered to make any friends, only focusing on himself. But that was 5 years ago, I'm sure he'd change by now, don't worry.” Unfortunately for this police officer, he didn't seem to have changed a lot.
Well, it doesn't matter, he just needs help with this case, it's the least he can do after giving Amamiya another headache today. “Please help me, Kamonohashi-san.” He bowed before him, hoping it'll please him enough.
The dark haired man laid his fingers upon his beautifully fluffy cat, stroking through it's fur while looking down at the officer begging for his aid… Well, that's what he wants the officer to think he's doing.
Kamonohashi was here on a forced vacation, so to speak. He's been working nonstop for the past 5 years, his employment made him use all his paid vacation days before the end of this one, totaling to 150 days. He's been itching for something to do for a while, and it's only been the first 2 weeks of him being here.
He acted reluctant, to keep up appearances. “Why should I help you?” He finally asked.
Totomaru blanked. Kamonohashi has exactly 0 reason to help him at this moment, and his excuse for requesting his consultation is even worse! Half the reason he's here is so he doesn't lose his job this week. “K-Kiku-san told me about you… A-And I-”
Kamonohashi began to talk over him, interrupting him again. “Well… Guess I do owe Kiku a lot…” He combed through his hair with his fingers, looking at Totomaru with his beautiful blue eyes. They were much more alluring than what the photo had shown, the officer noticed.
Even though Kamonohashi said so, he just didn't want to say out loud that he wanted to solve a mystery, that he was waiting for one. He knows that he should rest, that it's good for his body and brings him back up to optimal condition for more problem solving at his actual job, but he can't stand it.
He gently set his cat on the floor, the feline rubbing its sides against his long legs. “Well, aren't you going to fill me in on the details of the case?” He urged.
Totomaru let out a sigh of relief, maybe with his help, he won't get fired tomorrow.
The officer rummaged through his blazer, pulling out his phone and notepad. “The victims are all-”
And again, Kamonohashi talked over him like he wasn't even worth listening to. “I'm not listening to your spiel,” he hissed at him. “Bring me to the crime scene.” He got up, combing his hair a bit more and fixing up his outfit, preparing to go outside.
Totomaru was speechless at how bossy this detective was. “I-I can't just bring you to a crime scene! You're not-”
He stopped midway through his sentence, distracted by the elegant charm the detective held in his hand. It was a circular disk with intricate patterns on the edge, made of metal that was colored a wonderful gold colour. A large S in the middle of a glass pendant was fitted inside, along with a tassel at the bottom. “This…” he swayed it in front of Totomaru's eyes, “…is my detective licence. It means that I'm allowed to solve any case from anywhere in the world. Don't worry about your superiors, I far outrank them.”
That's a relief, probably. Totomaru felt a little annoyed by how confident he is that he didn't need to care about the nations rules and laws, sure he has a high ranked license that works anywhere in the world, but does he want to affiliate himself with someone like Kamonohashi?
He hopes he doesn't regret this decision.
It was already late, not many officers were left at the scene of the most recent murder, of which he wasn't informed about until he asked, because Amamiya has had enough of him wasting their time and getting in the way.
Totomaru met with one of the officers at the scene collecting clues and evidence. As they conversed to get Officer Isshiki up to speed, Kamonohashi went ahead of him, laying next to the victim on the grass.
“Get off the floor!!” Totomaru yelled at him. The nearby officers all stared down at Ron, and then back at Totomaru.
“Totomaru, who is this guy?”
“Yeah, some civilian?”
Just as Totomaru was going to explain, Kamonohashi thought to clarify his own identity himself. “I'm an S-Rank detective, the case’ll be solved today, trust me.”
Unfortunately for him, none of these officers have ever heard of the world detective alliance either. He looked frustrated, even more so when they looked down at him concerned, like they thought he was crazy.
He eventually decided to ignore them. “Isshiki, is there a pattern to where these victims were found?”
Totomaru quickly showed him a map of the other victims and their locations, it was erratic, but confined to a small area.
The small area with nowhere near enough water to drown someone, and yet all the victim's causes of death were drowning.
“Drowning, hm? And all their valuables stolen?” He stared at the pictures of all the victims the police had taken.
“Y-Yes.”
He laid still on the grass, studying the freshly killed victim. He looked up and down at him, before finally, somehow reaching a conclusion.
“Got it.”
Totomaru was shocked to say the least. “You solved it?!”
“Yep.”
The rest of the officers along with Isshiki watched in disbelief as he casually got up, brushing the dirt off his clothes. He looked through his phone for a few minutes before saying something again. “I know where the culprit is.”
“N-No, you have to be joking, right?” Totomaru thought to himself, but this time was aware he was saying it out loud too.
He didn't even bother to respond, just walking towards a specific direction, leaving Totomaru the option to follow him or let him walk off.
And of course, as someone who's desperate for a way out of not getting fired, he follows him.
Kamonohashi lead him into a designer clothes shop, staring at the various options they had. “What do you think about this, Officer Isshiki? Maybe a smaller size…”
W-What? “Kamonohashi-san, what are you doing?”
“Getting you better clothes, your suit isn't fit for undercover work.”
Guh, he's always a little too straightforward.
He'd made Totomaru try some random selection of clothes on, it didn't seem he cared much about what he looked like, as long as they had a price tag of more than 100 dollars.
At checkout, Kamonohashi set his gaze on him. “What?” The officer asked, a little intimidated by him.
“Pay for it.”
“Me?!”
“Yeah. You're the officer in charge, aren't you?”
Totomaru growled under his breath, it feels like this Kamonohashi is just getting under his skin for his own enjoyment. He begrudgingly paid for the ugliest set of clothing he's ever seen, before putting them on and going to where the actual location of the culprit is.
Officer Isshiki was met with a nice barber, he felt ridiculous wearing the newly bought clothes, but he had no choice. He listened to the instructions Kamonohashi had given him, and conversed with the barber about stocks, business, the likes.
When the barber had laid his head into the sink, he felt a mist of cold air hit his face, but he stayed silent, and didn't dare breathe, just as he was told.
Eventually, Kamonohashi finally slammed the door open, signaling to Totomaru that he could raise his head back up again. “Mr Barber! Or maybe a more fitting name would be Mr Serial Killer!” His entrance grandiose and excessive.
Totomaru finally lifted his head up, taking a sharp breath of air after holding it for a while. “What the…?”
“Make note of this, Officer Isshiki.” He pulled up the voice recording app on Totomaru's phone, throwing it to him before confronting the culprit. “The reason why you couldn't find any drugs in the victims, and they seemed to not have resisted anything done to them, was because the sink was filled with carbon dioxide.” He stepped closer, the culprit shook as he was cornered. “Dry ice sublimation easily creates a wealth of it, and the lack of oxygen can cause anyone to faint in a matter of seconds.”
“S-Seconds?!” Totomaru couldn't keep his mouth closed from the impressive deduction the detective was doing, even if given a thousand years’ time he'd never come to such a conclusion. “T-Then how'd you figure out it was here-” Before he could finish his thoughts, the culprit took the opportunity to run out while they were both distracted.
He ran up to the roof, sprinting towards the gate to the stairs on the outside of the building, he shook the metal gate loudly, it was locked. “It's no use, I've welded it shut.”
W-Wait, since when did he weld it? “Don't try to resist!” Totomaru focused back onto his job, reaching for the handcuffs in his pockets. “Why did you do it?”
The culprit had no chance at this point, there was no use in lying, he knows it. “For the money, why else?”
The classic excuse people make for committing crimes.
“I fell into a huge debt because some bastards lied to me, but it was so easy to just kill a few rich idiots and take their things.” He continued his monologue. Totomaru stepped closer, handcuffs pulled out to prepare to arrest him.
Before he was able to, he heard Kamonohashi say something.
“Fuck… I didn't bring it…” He muttered to himself.
“Huh?”
“Isshiki, knock me out before I-” Too late, Kamonohashi couldn't control anything that was happening to him. He felt himself losing consciousness, control, but he knew his body looked perfectly fine from the outside.
“Jump.” Kamonohashi didn't know what he was doing, but he knew he definitely shouldn't be doing it. His body raised his hand, pointing to the edge of the building.
And unfortunately for Totomaru, he had no idea what this S-Rank detective was doing. “H-Hey, we don't need him to die! We can just-”
“J-Jump…?” The culprit looked to be in a trance, he walked towards the railing, looking over it.
“Those who make light of other's lives, don't deserve to live.”
“H-Hey, don't be so agre-” Before he could finish his sentence, the man rushed to lift himself over the railing. Totomaru sprinted towards the culprit, catching his leg before he managed to fall too far. “Kamonohashi-san!! Get your ass over here and help me!”
The detective held his head in his hands, it hurts. His senses slowly came back to him, his sense of touch, smell, taste, and then his vision. It was blurry, but he could tell that Totomaru and the culprit weren't where they were before this. His hearing was blocked by a loud ringing that faded slowly.
“Kamonohashi! I can't… Hold… On…”
And there was no response from him.
Totomaru can't rely on someone like him. He quickly looked around, anywhere for anything to grab onto that wasn't a slippery metal railing. “In there!” He gestured towards the window underneath them. It was to the barbershop. “Open it and climb in.” He ordered, using the last of his adrenaline to ensure that this serial killer didn't die from whatever the hell Kamonohashi pulled.
Finally, the man found strength to save himself, he was so desperate, clambering and crying in fear of death. In a moment of relief, Totomaru lost his balance, tipping over the railing.
Time felt like it slowed down, just for him. He flew through the air as he looked down, the chances that he'd survive the fall aren't high enough for him to hope, for him to pray.
Just as he thought he'd hit the ground, something caught his leg. A long string grabbed his leg tightly while he looked up to see the arrogant Ron Kamonohashi as the one who saved him last second.
Even at a distance of 3 floors, Totomaru thought he saw a hint of fear hidden underneath his unimpressed expression. “Where's the culprit, Isshiki?”
Right after thinking he was going to die, he tried to get it together as soon as he could, but it wasn't easy. “Back in the barbershop, he hasn't left the building I think.”
And with that, Kamonohashi decided to pull him up. Isshiki quickly called the police for backup before the culprit could get away.
“What the hell was that, Kamonohashi?!” Totomaru started yelling at him, he wasn't even that mad, just really confused and scared that he managed to convince someone who seemed to value their life a lot to end it then and there.
The dark haired man brushed him off, not taking his worries or concerns as seriously as he should've. “It’s just something that happens when I get irrefutable proof that someone is a murderer,” he said in such a casual tone, you'd think he was joking. “I usually stop it by tranquilizing myself or making sure I'm not at the scene whenever the murderer confesses, but I seem to have forgotten to bring some sleeping pills with me…”
Totomaru continued staring at him with that stupid look of his. Kamonohashi tells himself how much he hates idiocy, that he hates someone like Totomaru, but he can't bring himself to hate him for some reason. “T-That’s horrible! How are you even still a detective?!”
He took it as a compliment, he managed to overcome his flaw and still be a world class detective despite it. “What can I say? I'm just that good at solving mysteries.”
Kamonohashi was too self absorbed to notice how much Totomaru despised that part about him. If he was given a choice, he'd rather stop talking to him than continue, but for the sake of his job, he can't.
Amamiya looked through the file and the murderer’s testimony. “I guess you managed to do something right after all, Isshiki.” She said, even though it was with a begrudging tone. The officer was glad that she seemed to forgive him for what he'd done yesterday, considering that he's solved a difficult case that went on for weeks too long.
“I should report back to him, maybe try to get closer to him too.” He muttered to himself, walking towards the huge complex with his family's name plastered on it.
He walked up to the door, thinking about how his experience with Kamonohashi so far has been nothing but tiring, to be with such a selfish, self centered genius isn't something Totomaru likes to do. He knocked, just once, as it was opened before he could do it a few more times. “Isshiki.” The man looked down upon him.
Totomaru was instantly intimidated by how watchful those eyes were, staring at every square inch of his body, almost like he was a predator sizing him up to see how big of a meal he'd be. “W-We… Um… We caught…” His words got stuck in his throat, nervous. He wasn't even sure why he was, Kamonohashi isn't scary at all, he's just annoying. His face flushed red at the thought of stuttering so much in front of him.
“Get to the point, Isshiki.” He urged. “Got another case for me?” He said in his most unimpressed tone he could muster, but behind it hid the excited feeling of being able to solve another case without anyone from Blue hindering him. It's much more fun to solve cases when he's able to go to the crime scene, compared to in the UK where he's forced to sit and be presented with clues and facts learned about a certain case in a boring little office.
What's even better is that he won't have to worry about killing his culprits, hurting his arrest rate, considering that Totomaru is, despite how stupid he is, sufficient at preventing the self harm of them in spite of his persuasion.
He couldn't help but crack a smile at the officer, he looked so nervous, making him look even less threatening than before. “We caught the culprit, and the case is solved.” He finally spit out, breathing at a faster pace than normal.
Kamonohashi let him into his room. “Your job saved too.” He quickly added.
Totomaru jumped, “how'd you know?.” Oh no, did I say something out loud when I wasn't supposed to again?
“Yes, that and…” Totomaru could slap himself for how stupid he is. “… The fact that you had another excuse other than Kiku sending you here, I didn't let you finish, but I'm sure it was because you were worried for yourself. You weren't told the details of the new murder before you asked, and was desperate enough to spend all that money on those clothes.”
He smirked when he saw that Totomaru was gobsmacked from how accurate his deductions were. He couldn't help but feel amazing when solving the last case, the way he got to show off to someone who clearly isn't good at deductions at all is just icing on the cake.
On the flip side, despite how impressed Totomaru was, he really hoped that he'll learn enough deductive skills from Ron quick enough that he can solve cases unaided and continue working as an officer, so that if he ever felt that Ron was too much, he can leave whenever he wished, without risking anything.
Kamonohashi was fixated on him, it made Totomaru feel like he was forgetting to mention something. “No more cases?” He finally asked again.
Huh? “No.”
Like a switch was flipped in his brain, Kamonohashi's expression went from a smug yet relaxed one to a bored and unimpressed one. He jumped onto his couch once more, his cat climbing onto him and begging for pets.
Totomaru was left making questioning and confused noises at the manager of the building he stood in.
He sighed. “Are you too stupid to be given more responsibility and cases?” He didn't even bother to sweeten his words. “Just tell them that I'll help, tell them to give you more.”
Totomaru waited for him to finish his sentence before finally taking a deep breath. Stupid? He knows he isn't as smart as other detectives, and knows that he makes mistakes a lot, but Kamonohashi has no right to call him that. “If they give me another I'll give it to you.” He said, losing that usual energetic tone he had all the time, before leaving without another word.
Finally. Finally, Kamonohashi had realized that Totomaru might be a little bit upset. “You think I made him angry, Mimi?” He asked his adorable little cat. It rolled up at him, poking it's claws into his skin. “Ow! ‘Course I haven't, I mean I wasn't lying, I didn't say anything that was wrong per se…”
As the world continues on, Kamonohashi gets a step further from the truth, by fault of his own hubris.