“... at 11:23 PM, Station Square Police Department responded to calls about heavy gunfire that was heard within one of the abandoned warehouses set for demolition; naturally, the city’s finest were able to subdue the threat and arrest those responsible, while also confiscating high amounts of illegal contraband…”
Sitting on his couch, leaning forward towards the tv he had, Katorasu Naitosutoka was pretty damn pleased with himself. After all, while the police were taking all the credit for his work, he was just happy enough with the news coverage of last night’s events.
“... the apprehended individuals were identified to be members of the Giustizia Family, a criminal organization thought only to be operating within Emerald City; it is more likely that they are here in Station Square to expand, though with the number of narcotics and firearms that were uncovered that plan may just have been foiled…”
That last part really perked up the hedgehog, he was trying to resist the urge to get up and dance. Success like this just made him ecstatic.
“... however, even with what seems like a satisfying conclusion, we ourselves are wondering what were they shooting at in the first place; what was it that led to their exposure? Police have not made any guesses or comments, as to what they think was in there with the mafia; though a handful of civilians have made some rather controversial suggestions, thinking that perhaps it was a rogue Meta responsible and that the police do not want the public finding out, as it would cause a massive uproar with GUN…”
After a little bit, the nephalem began to tune out from the news mentally, before turning off the tv entirely. He hadn’t thought about that last part of the news report being a possibility, though he wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. How would GUN react to the chance of there being a vigilante that prowled the streets and the roofs at night?
It’s not like they could track him down easily unless they interrogated the police about him and they pulled in all the suspects. In the end, all Katorasu could do was just hope that GUN wouldn’t look too deep into the civilian statements; no point in letting all that ruin his mood though, he wiped clean an entire warehouse and felt damn proud of it too.
Having walked down the stairs, Katorasu quietly poked his head into the tailor shop he lived above; staring at Jamie with such a mischievous look on his face, the black hedgehog subtly took in a deep breath to try and spook the border collie.
“So, I take it that— considering what they said on the news— you had fun last night? I figure that all that would be what you wanted out of being a vigilante.” Jamie had spoken aloud as if he had been sensing Katorasu’s presence, as he counted a stack of bills.
Laughing a little sheepishly, the black hedgehog was now in the shop proper, “Yeah, actually; I feel great, I don’t think they’re done with Station Square though, so I’m gonna still head out there and open more cans of whoop-ass if I find any more of them. I doubt they just had the one base here.”
A small chuckle came from the border collie, who was just happy for the black hedgehog, “What about your sword, did you use it?” He asked, closing the register to his shop as he did so.
Nodding his head quickly, the swordsman proudly responded, “Yep! Turns out that just flipping it over lets me take a few whacks at guys without cutting them in half, doesn’t mean I can’t use the sharp side to slice their guns apart though.”
“Fairly obvious, but I’m glad that you made it easier for yourself by using it,” Jamie had taken another glance at the nephalem, he secretly wondered if his fantasized relationship with Katorasu could ever work out feasibly.
“Definitely easy, I might take that bad boy out every night from now on, might scare a few people but they’ll get over it, probably.” He mused, thinking about how he’d have to adapt his old swordplay into a more non-lethal version to make the most out of it.
After that exchange, Katorasu chilled back and watched as the British canine dealt with a customer, who was looking to have a few clothes tailored; in all honesty, it was a bit funny— but also cute— how most Möbians seemed to slightly dwarf the border collie and his rather feminine frame. Yet somehow that never seemed to discourage Jamie, which the vigilante loved the most about his personality, even though he often thought about how he would respond to his antics.
In a sudden lapse of realization, Katorasu had just remembered how his gear was put through the wringer last night, getting shredded a bit from shrapnel and a lucky bullet. Understandably, he was very hesitant to even mention this to Jamie, thinking that the border collie would smack him on the top of the head for being careless last night.
“Hey- uh- Jamie?” He called for his attention, as the customer had left the shop, “I was thinking, since I doubt anything major’ll be happening anytime soon, ya wanna go out to eat somewhere?”
The offer was very tempting, pandering to the border collie’s crush on the eccentric hedgehog, but Jamie knew by the sound of Kato’s voice that there was a reason for the question, “What’s the occasion?”
“No occasion! I just- well, just a friend thing, right? That’s what friends do, I think? That and I kind-of-sort-of-might-have-gotten-shot-and-blown-up-a-bit-last-night.” He quickly ran through the last part of that sentence, shrinking down a bit as he expected to get hit with a boot by Jamie.
A sigh came from the border collie, though it wasn’t because Kato’s outfit would most likely be torn up quite a bit, “It’s fine, it’ll just take me a bit to fix it up, again; as long as you’re okay and there was no way of avoiding it, I suppose tattered clothing is acceptable,” Hearing that, the black hedgehog was filled with relief, “A French restaurant would be nice, that is if your wallet could afford it.” Jamie had turned a bit towards Katorasu, a smile on his face that hid a hint of bittersweetness to it.
Before the nephalem could respond with gratitude, the bell above the door of the shop jingled, as a familiar woman had just stepped into the building. As she approached, her turquoise eyes locked with Katorasu’s golden orbs, reforming that connection between the two of them that had occurred the first time the pair met. From the side though, Jamie cast a glare on the female whom he deemed as a bit of a threat to him and Katorasu’s potential.
Before the swordsman could give a friendly hello, Althaea quickly glanced around the room as she moved, right before asking, “There’s no one else here, correct? Just you two?”
“No, just us.” Jamie was rather quick to respond, as Katorasu was just about to open his mouth, “You better not have brought any trouble with you.”
“Don’t worry about that, I’m not being followed; I’m fairly sure of that, at least.” The cobalt-streaked hedgehog looked over her shoulder briefly, before turning towards the nephalem, “I heard about what you did last night— from the way the news covered it, it sounded like you went up quite a lot in that warehouse; from one fighter to another, I’m impressed.”
“Wait, why are you only ‘fairly sure’ that you’re not being followed? Is that the reason why you don’t stay in one spot?” Katorasu was quick to ask, butting in on Althaea’s business.
With a sigh, she responded, “Yes, for the past couple of months, I’ve been dealing with people who have taken an interest in me; I don’t know why but they’ve made my life hard, most likely it’s because of… my bloodline.”
“So, they’re trying to capture you because you’re special or something?” The nephalem had asked rather quizzically, scratching the back of his head as he did so.
“Yes, and I fear that with the rumors of a nighttime vigilante possibly being confirmed as true, they will be after you as well soon; if I might add, I’m worried about your safety because I know you’re special, just as I am.” She further explained, a look of worry plagued her naturally young, beautiful face.
“I appreciate the compliment, but I’m not special; I’m nobody.” Kato had objected, which he knew was a bald-faced lie but only he knew that.
“I’ll be very honest with you, Katorasu; I know that’s a lie and you know that I’m aware of that,” She placed her hands on her hips, her face showing how she needed him to be honest and to just accept that, “You know the same goes for me as well, you must have felt that similar feeling of loneliness when we first locked eyes with each other.”
For a moment, Jamie had held brief eye contact with the mysterious female, sparking a small seed of curiosity within him. As much as he hated to be read like an open book, he wondered if she too was able to feel that sense of loneliness inside of the border collie. In all honesty, with that thought in mind, it made sense as to why he felt inclined to let the nephalem take up residence in the apartment up above when the two first met.
“I won’t ask you for your past, but Katorasu, at least promise me that if you come across anyone who seems like a threat— even if they look completely normal— that you’ll be on your guard,” Her tone conveyed how strongly she felt about this, emotionally serious as she continued, “As much as I would like to try and convince you to be on the move with me, I can tell that being a hero for this city is what you want; I just hope it doesn’t destroy you in the end.”
“Thanks, Alt, I know this is our second time meeting, but I appreciate that and as much as being on the run with you sounds like fun, my place is here,” the nephalem had smiled warmly, “That and Jamie would kill me if I left without paying this month’s rent.”
A small flush appeared on the opposite hedgehog’s muzzle, due to the sweet nickname and the returning thought that he would’ve enjoyed being with her, as she returned the smile. When her eyes moved over to Jamie though, it faded rather fast as he noticed the death-stare that the small Möbian was giving her.
Noticing the change of face on Althaea— and where her eyes were looking— he turned towards his friend and landlord, who quickly put on a forced cheerful smile, “Well then! You heard him, he likes being here, that means you should most likely get going along before you bring any trouble here with you.”
A bit confused at first, Katorasu abruptly got an idea, “Wait! Why not stay here with us? Why should you be on the run? I mean, if they’ll be after me soon, why not face that challenge head-on together? Maybe it’s time to stand your ground and fight.” He seemed excited from just the idea itself.
Caught off guard by the eccentric swordsman’s suggestion, Althaea quickly shook her head all flustered-like, “N-no! That won’t be necessary, I welcome the offer but I can’t just say yes; that’d be rude of me and I don’t want to take up space here.”
Biting his lip for a quick moment, Katorasu accepted her response, “Well, if you change your mind, you could always move your stuff here if you want, or if you decide to stay somewhere else, you know who to come to for help.” His smile glimmered, his perfect teeth shining.
A small nod from Althaea had put the emerald hedgehog at ease, he wasn’t sure of her plans but inside he gave her all the best wishes he could. With another farewell, Jamie and Katorasu watched as the young woman made her way out the door; her gaze landing back on the nephalem from the outside, as a solemn smile was the last he would see of her, possibly.
As soon as she was out of eyesight, Jamie immediately walked over to the door of his shop, flipping the “open” sign to instead read “closed.” Making his way back to the counter, he chastised Katorasu, “I cannot believe you would offer her a place to live here, we hardly know her or what she’s running from; that cryptic warning didn’t elaborate on what will be coming your way, if anything it’s just more stress on the both of us.”
“I can’t just not try and help her out, it’s practically in my nature.” He fired back, watching as the smaller Möbian went through the process of storing the register’s money into the safe.
“I understand, but I’m already worried enough as is, I sometimes think about how what if *you* lead someone back here; I would like my shop to remain intact, the same goes for you,” Jamie admitted, sighing as he stood back up now.
Musing over what Jamie had said, Katorasu reluctantly agreed after a bit, “Yeah, you’re right, I should’ve thought more about how you felt, before opening up my mouth like that.” The nephalem watched as the border collie finished preparing the shop for closing time.
“It’s alright, honestly, I was only a bit upset and should’ve just calmed down a bit before saying anything.” Jamie had sighed, leaning over the countertop to rest and think about his feelings.
“Don’t worry about it,” Katorasu reassured the canine, as he then remembered the offer from earlier, “Hey! Did you maybe wanna go to that French restaurant? I’m sure I can spoil you and still pay for this month.”
For a moment, the British male was quiet before softly responding, “Not tonight, I think I have a headache from all this; don’t worry, it’s not your fault, I just need to sit down and sort out my thoughts,” He let out another sigh, continuing after it, “Ask me again in a few days, I think I’ll be fine to go; thank you for the offer, still.”
While a bit sad to hear that, Katorasu nodded his head, “Alright, well, I’ll be up in my apartment for tonight, probably just watching tv and ordering takeout; figure I deserve a night of rest for taking out a whole warehouse of mobsters.” He chuckled, with Jamie following suit as well, though it was rather small.
“Enjoy your night of rest then, speaking of which I should go home and do exactly that.” His landlord and friend replied as he went to the back of his shop to retrieve his umbrella.
Thinking about how he’s never seen that umbrella get used, the hedgehog curiously asked the canine, “Why do you keep bringing that thing here? It hasn’t rained in a couple of weeks, I doubt there’s gonna be any that suddenly pops up either way.”
“‘Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it,’ I believe the same could be said for your sword as well, Kato,” Jamie responded, quoting some like that the nephalem had heard before.
“Getting a bit too philosophical over an umbrella there, Jamie,” the nephalem chuckled as he briefly walked with the border collie to the entrance of the shop. Upon reaching the door, he grinned and said, “Get lots of rest, I don’t want you grumpy while I’m telling my jokes… but seriously, let me know if I’m a bother tomorrow or if you want me to stay upstairs, I don’t mind.”
“Will do; goodnight, Kato.” He turned to look up at him, but stopped midway— twisting the doorknob, the border collie opened the way into the outside world.
With a wave, Katorasu watched as his dear, confused, friend stepped out of view of the shop’s windows. Despite the smile on his face, the nephalem knew that something was— and had been— up with his landlord. It saddened him a bit, as he knew by now that Jamie was a recluse with his feelings unless the other person was honest with him as well. Being special is sometimes the worst thing in the world.
Figuring that there was no use in dwelling on it, the nephalem flicked the light switch off, before making his way through the darkness, towards the light that bled through the doorway of the stairs. In his head, he wondered what he should have for dinner tonight and what to watch to take his mind off things.
