Hikaru hated having the night shift. It might get a little exciting if he got to the center of the city but for this month, he unfortunately has the suburbs to explore. The only cases he found usually are either drunk salarymen struggling on the streets or a bunch of motorcycle gangs. The latter doesn’t really bother him since he found them just chilling, hence making it even more boring. To Hikaru who loved suspense and challenges, that was kind of the main reason he hated the night shift.
The second reason was that it was so fucking cold in December. Sure, he got to wear a coat and the police car was equipped with a heater but the cold still bit him on the skin due to his physique. It’s flattering when people praise him for only having five percent fat in his body but it was torture in winters. Hikaru felt like he had a smaller chance to survive than any other people. So to have night shifts in the suburbs where the snow is usually piled up was like telling him to go on a suicide mission. But nevertheless, it was one of his dreams to be a good and civilized policeman, so he still loved every bit of the job, even the painful ones.
Hikaru sniffs as he drives the car slowly, trying to enjoy the nighttime view between high apartment buildings. It was a little after midnight and Hikaru still found some hidden bars with their lights on, chatting lively in the quiet night. Truthfully, Hikaru was tempted to just park his car outside and go in to enjoy the warmth and even have a few drinks. He noted the name and the location of the bar before driving with a little more speed. If he wanted to drink and enjoy his time, he’d have to at least finish his rounds.
He arrives at the part of the suburbs where there were more houses. Hikaru lowers his speed as he scans through them, amazed by the big and fancy designs. He didn’t really expect that Shinjuku would have this part in it. It’s filled with rich people, sure, but the design of their homes were still admirable.
Then he hears a subtle boom. Hikaru turned his head instantly, a faint glow of red and orange on his south. A fire, he thought to himself as he quickly swerved his car to the source.
True to his thoughts, one of the houses was doused in flames. Some of the people were clad in their pajamas, standing nervously around it, staring at the fire that only gets bigger by time. Hikaru quickly unbuckles himself and runs to them.
“Fire on Street 153-1152, Nishi-Shinjuku, we’re gonna need backup,” He says to his walkie-talkie before approaching one of the people there. “Good evening, officer Iwamoto here, are you the owner of the house?”
The woman shakes her head and points to one of the men standing in front of the house, looking like he was calling someone. Hikaru thanks the woman and taps his shoulders. The man’s eyes widen and Hikaru quickly notices the tears and the slight tremble on his body.
“Officer! Thank goodness you’re here, I- I’ve been trying to call you and-” He hiccups, holding the cries with a hand covering his mouth. “It’s just such a shock- There were- There were sounds from the walls- I think the pipes- And- And suddenly-” He gripped on Hikaru’s arms tight and Hikaru patted him on the back.
“Don’t worry sir, our team and the firefighters will arrive shortly, please stand by behind the car, there will be some questions regarding the fire.” Hikaru says, trying to calm the sobbing man.
Then suddenly he looked up. Brown, round eyes that were hypnotizing, covered by the messy blond bangs. His lithe and thin fingers walked teasingly on his arms before going down to his palms. It was enticing and Hikaru gulped. The man was still looking deeply in his eyes as he muttered a small “Thank you.”
He could only watch as the man walked to his car. The small back covered by the soft pink sweater, his hands holding himself by the arms. Hikaru shook his head and returned his attention to the people around him. He told them the exact same thing to wait near his car and before he knew it, another police car came with the firefighter truck coming in behind.
“So, what happened?” Fukazawa, his partner on night shifts, approaches him. “Did you find the owner of the house?”
“Yes, it’s the.. blond man in the sweater.” Hikaru answers, finger pointing at the man who was sniffling near the car.
“Damn, he’s pretty,” Fukazawa clicks his tongue as he takes pictures of the situation. “Too bad this happened to him.. Poor guy.”
Hikaru nods solemnly as he steals a glance at the man. Their eyes met, Hikaru was back to staring at those delicate brown eyes. He nods, trying to send the signal that everything’s under control and he’s going to be fine. The man nodded back and Hikaru’s chest hammered.
After some time, the fire was finally extinguished and the people were told that it was safe enough for them to go back to their homes. While Fukazawa was having a word with the firefighters, Hikaru approached the man slowly and saw that he was still crying.
“Sir? The fire’s out now and we will have some questions for you in our station, and afterwards, we will inform you of a temporary place to stay for the night. Would that be okay with you?”
The man nods. “Thank you.. I- I’m so sorry for this..”
Hikaru smiles. “It’s perfectly fine, it’s our job, after all.” He says as he opens the car door for him.
When Hikaru raises his head to see the situation between Fukazawa and the firefighters, his partner was already walking towards him.
“They told us to go back for now, I need to print the pictures and you need to question him,” Fukazawa shrugs at his car. “I already called more guys to supervise here so don’t worry.”
“Okay, I’ll get on going then.” Hikaru nods.
The drive to the station back was quiet. Hikaru can’t stop glancing to the backseat, to see how the man’s doing but he was still sobbing silently, currently still covering from the shock. Hikaru parked the car carefully as he turned his head awkwardly at the man behind him.
“Sir, we’ve arrived-”
“I’m sorry,” He raises his head. “I don’t think I can face the station right now, is it okay if we do the questioning here?” His voice was quivering. “I- I just- It was a lot..”
Hikaru gulps. He tried to remember if there were any rules regarding the questioning of the victim that must be done in the station but he was too busy scanning the man’s face. His skin was glistening pale, eyes soft and cheeks pink due to his cries. Hikaru just noticed that he was not wearing a sweater but a cardigan, it hugged his waist so perfectly and he had to refocus his gaze at the man’s face.
“Sure, yeah, we’ll do the questioning here.” Hikaru nods and he quickly gets out of the driver seat. His chest feels like it could burst the moment he sat next to the man. It was so undeniably wrong that he was attracted to a victim but Hikaru’s mind was a bit fuzzy due to the cold and the hecticness of the fire that he couldn’t find a fiber in him to care about the morals of the situation.
“I need your permission to record the questioning, is that okay with you, sir?” Hikaru asks as he raises his recorder and the man nods.
“Okay, then, let’s start with the basics,” Hikaru nods back. “What’s your name, sir?”
“Kyomoto Taiga,” The man mutters.
“Kyomoto-san, huh. Okay, next, does the house belong to you? Or is there a certain case that made you live there?”
“The house belonged to me, yes,” Taiga nods. “I just never thought to see it-” He sobs and puts his hand over his mouth. Hikaru scooches closer and pats him on the back. What Hikaru didn’t predict was the way Taiga moved even closer and put his head on his chest.
Hikaru closes his eyes tight as he grabs Taiga by the arms, softly lifting him away from him. “Sorry, Kyomoto-san.. I don’t mean to belittle your experience but we must go through with the questions..”
Taiga looks up at him with his lips slightly parted, glistening and pink due to the tears that stained it, whispering for a slight kiss because of the small distance between them.
“I’m so sorry.. I just..” Taiga hugs his own arms. “I feel so vulnerable, I only had time to wear my cardigan before going out of the house.. and it’s just so cold..”
Hikaru quickly grabs his coat from the front seat and puts it over the man in front of him. “Do you feel better?” Hikaru quickly regrets finding his eyes for an answer because they were impossibly close that he could smell Taiga’s faint perfume.
“Thank you so much, officer.. You’re so immensely kind..” Taiga didn’t budge upon saying that and Hikaru could feel the warmth of his breath on his nose. Then he felt a cold touch on his fingers, noticing that Taiga’s fingers slipped their way onto his. “Your partner must be so incredibly lucky..”
“I- I don’t..” Hikaru stutters, trying to focus while his gaze is fixated on Taiga’s lips. “I don’t have a partner..”
“Oh.. What a shame..” Taiga whispers, only getting closer as the coat slips from his shoulders. “I think you’d make such a great partner..”
Hikaru was just a man. He was just a man as he finally gave himself into the temptation. He grabs Taiga by the waist as the man puts his arms around his neck. Their lips crashed into a messy kiss but it was so perfect, Hikaru could feel Taiga’s satisfied sigh on his tongue. They kissed until they ran out of breath, but Hikaru was quick to pepper kisses all over Taiga’s throat, fingers slipping inside of his cardigan, warm fingers touching cold bare skin. Hikaru pauses and looks up at Taiga, finally realizing why he was so cold. Taiga looks at him with pleading eyes.
“Please..” He begs. “Please, officer.. More..”
Hikaru kisses him back as he pushes Taiga down softly. His fingers quickly fumbled over the buttons of Taiga’s cardigan. Hikaru was also searching for a sign if Taiga wanted to stop but he was not, his lips opened slightly as he let out desperate sighs with each of Hikaru’s touches. So Hikaru slips him out of his cardigan and throws it to the front seat. He returned his lips back to Taiga’s skin, fire burning with each of his kisses, desire flowing in his veins as he could finally feel Taiga with his own hands.
Then in a sudden flurry of motions, Hikaru was pushed with Taiga’s palms to his chest. Hikaru could only stare as Taiga straddles him on his hips, his eyes covered by his messy bangs as he moves so beautifully. Hikaru groans as he grips on Taiga’s waist, trying to contain himself. Then Taiga leans onto his ear, a sweet voice whispering right in front of his earlobe.
“How do you feel..?”
Hikaru sighs, does he really need to ask with the way he’s reacting? “Amazing..” Hikaru could only mutter. “So amazing..”
Taiga hums. Hikaru could feel his hand moving from his chest to his hips, fingers playing over his belt. But the movements were weird, it seemed like Taiga wanted to get something from it instead of unbuckling it. Hikaru tried to focus on it but Taiga’s hips were still moving and the pleasure was overpowering his curiosity and need to focus.
Taiga leans back with a smile, eyes fluttering so prettily at him. Hikaru could only watch desperately, huffing for him to move again.
“I’m so sorry, officer..” Taiga whispers with that sweet, dripping voice. He leans again next to his ear, his palm covering his head from the seat. “I promise the fire’s not because of me..”
Hikaru could only widen his eyes in shock before the rest of the world goes blurry around him. He could only hear a loud bang next to his ear and the harsh, cold touch of metal on his head. His eyes were barely open as he looked at Taiga’s faint smile before closing them.
Taiga sighs, the baton stick from Hikaru’s belt in his hand, splatters of blood covering one side of it. He didn’t think one hit would work but it seemed like it did. Taiga checked the pulse on his neck to see if he was alive but it seemed like the harsh hit from the metal took him out completely. That was one easy job, he thought to himself. He made sure to cover the seat with his palms so that the blood won’t splatter all over it and thank God it only splatters a little as the rest drip.
The police officer was cute, Taiga admits, it was such a shame that he was the one who would be the sacrifice for his crimes tonight. Then like suddenly hit with the realization, Taiga quickly grabs his cardigan on the front seat and wears it. He got out of the car and made sure that it was parked near some frozen puddles. He needed to thank Hikaru for parking there and making it so much easier for him. With his utmost strength, he drags the poor officer and lays him on the frozen puddle next to their car so that it may seem like he slips and bangs his head so hard on the cold concrete that it bleeds.
Taiga also didn’t forget the recorder. He grabs it from the man’s pocket and steps on it harshly on the ground before putting it back in his side pocket, making it seem like it broke when he slipped with his weight. Taiga also needed to thank whoever built the station for building it next to the lake. All he needed to do was throw the bloody baton stick to the water, letting it drown and for it to never be found.
Now, it was time for the most important part. Taiga screamed as loud as he could.
“Help! Help, please! Help!”
The policemen inside the building started to go out and gather around one of their men who was laying on the ground, head bleeding and unconscious. Taiga tells them with his professional shaky voice that he slipped and hurt his head when was about to open the door for him. Then he started doing his specialty, crying. It does wonders as the policemen start to comfort him, touching him unnecessarily on his shoulders and patting him.
-
“We found something bizarre.”
Fukazawa turns his head towards the door only to find one of the firefighters who put down the flames. He neglects the printed pictures on his hand to his desk as he gestures for the man to sit in front of him.
“What’s bizarre?”
“Bodies, two of them,” Meguro states as he shows the evidence with his phone. “One was a man and the other was a woman, we found some of their belongings that weren't burnt as a whole.”
Fukazawa pauses, still looking at the pictures. “Bodies..? How? So he wasn’t living alone? Are those his roommates?”
“I don’t think so.. Here’s the data of both of the bodies.” He says as he hands a file of documents, Fukazawa quickly opens to read it. “The man is Tanaka Juri, a senior manager in an accounting company. Apparently, he went into the same campus as Kyomoto. The woman is Yuna Taira, currently an employee at the same company as Tanaka. They were found at the.. Bedroom.”
“Bedroom? Together?” Fukazawa gasps in shock. “So they’re a couple?”
“We don’t know the details yet, but they were found in the bedroom because the entrance was blocked so they couldn’t escape,” Meguro tenses. “The bizarre part doesn’t end there.. You did mention that the fire was caused by leaking pipes, so basically gas, right?”
Fukazawa nods.
“Well, the pipes were leaking, but it seemed like there was an attempt to leak it,” Meguro shows another photo on his phone. It was a pipe that was dislocated in the middle, it looked like it had been hit very hard with something big. “It seemed like it had been hammered so hard that it could leak, and the stove was found on with no evidence that it was cooking something.”
Fukazawa could only sit with horror. “So basically..”
“There’s a possibility that the fire was intentional.”
Fukazawa quickly rises up from his seat as he goes out of his office, frantically running to the interview room to find it empty. “Where’s Iwamoto?!” He shouted to the people around him.
“He’s injured, head bleeding and all, seems like he slipped when he got out of the car.” One of their personnel answers. Fukazawa’s breathing fastened.
“Then.. Then where’s the man from the fire?!”
“He went home, he seemed like he’s still in deep shock and he said that he’ll be staying at a friend’s apartment.”
Fukazawa stands in shock. They just lost a possible suspect of arson.. and murder.
-
“Hello, Kochi?”
There was rustling on the other end. “ What the fuck, Taiga, it’s two in the fucking morning.. ” He sighs heavily. “ What do you want? ”
“I finally ended things with Juri.”
A pause. “ Oh, ” Kochi’s voice was laced with sympathy. “ How did it go? Did you finally tell him you knew? ”
Taiga snorts. “He was with the girl,” He sighs. “I’m so fucking stupid, seeing him with her.”
“ It’s okay.. At least you finally ended it with him. ” Kochi’s voice sounded more awake. “ How did he take it? ”
Taiga smiles to himself. Remembering the horror on Juri’s face when he saw Taiga from the blocked entrance, leaving him inside the fire with his little girlfriend that he kept as a secret. “He took it hard.”
“ Well, good, then. ”
“Hey, Kochi?”
“ Hm? ”
“Can I ask you for one favor?”
Kochi sighs. “ As long as it’s not talking to Juri and being your owl, I’m fine. What is it? ”
“If some people come to you and ask you about my whereabouts or if you know me, deny and tell them that you haven’t seen me in months, okay? I’ll be deleting this number soon, I’ll contact you as soon as possible.”
The phone clicked shut.