"Asuma-kun."
Asuma looked up from his paperwork, cigarette dangling from his lips with a scowl. His paperwork had piled up due to his busy partner, but at the sight of who had called him, he forced himself to put on a strained smile for his visitor. "Breeding-san. You came quicker than I expected."
"When you have my precious students under your wonderful care, of course, I'll be here." The principal was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, a clear bag carrying hospital scrubs in her hand. While she was always polite to him, he couldn't help but think who had called her. He had intentionally avoided calling her this time, hoping to wait a few hours before he was forced to. They had barely brought them in not 10 minutes ago.
Taking the plunge, he leaned forward, folding his hands on his desk, and using his most placating tone he could manage. "Breeding-san, I know you're protective over your students, but two of them are already eighteen. I think it's time we started treating them like adults. This is far from their first offense."
The woman slammed down a document onto his desk which took biting his inner cheek to not let a rude comment slip, instead scanning the piece of paper. A frown pulled at his lips, deepening with each passing line. Sighing, he rubbed his tired eyes. "Another one? Their families won't be able to keep them out of trouble forever. They have to face consequences. The owner of that property wants to press charges."
"He won't," her eyes hardened. "Now, would you kindly release Satoshi-kun, Takumi-kun, and Yuji-kun, please."
Putting out his cigarette in his ashtray, he pressed the intercom button. "Usokawa-kun, release them."
"Right away, Asuma-taichou." The fact that he didn't even have to explain who "they" were was unsettling. It happened too frequently for his liking, but it wasn't like he could argue with the mayor's signature, not if he wanted to stay chief of police.
"Is that all you wanted, Breeding-san?" he said, dropping the pretense that he was anything but annoyed to see her.
"For now. I need to get back." Despite saying this, the woman hesitated to leave.
Unable to bear her dawdling, he added, "Kaito-kun isn't here. He wasn't with Daisuke-kun either."
"Of course." She bowed her head in a quick farewell, finally leaving his office.
Putting his hand through his greying hair, he noticed he needed a haircut as it was starting to get into his eyes and slicking it back was becoming less effective.
He stepped out of his office to watch the three boys relieved of their handcuffs and set free without charges yet again. Satoshi and Takumi were released to Breeding-san as usual. Both teens looked indifferent to their situation even when their principal/school chairman gave them a scathing look. Neither teen was ever expressive, but as long as he had known them, they weren't bad kids. They were smart, even knowing the law to the extent that they could put him in a bind, but none of their crimes were ever filled with malicious intent. In fact, they only ever seemed to be in trouble because of the Nijima kid.
Nijima, Yuji sat in front of the station in the waiting room, waiting to be picked up by someone. Being in his line of work, Asuma could understand why the kid constantly found trouble. The first couple times he had been arrested, he had been picked up immediately by his uncle. The kid had shrunk back at the man's presence, trying to become invisible. Soon after, his uncle didn't even bother to come, sending a servant to retrieve him. Gradually, not even that. There were times he would wait an entire day until the police department let him go out of pity. Being on an island where everyone knew everyone was handy in times like that. It allowed Asuma to bend the rules when situations such a Yuji's popped up.
Preparing a cup of green tea, Asuma handed it to the teen, who took it automatically, not even looking at him. The kid just looked empty, no trace of the smug attitude he had when he was questioned.
Yuji just drank from the steaming cup periodically, preparing himself for the long wait until the police took pity on him and let him go to school in the morning.
"Nijima."
Both Asuma's and Yuji's heads shot up at who called him, surprised at how quickly someone came to claim him. Akira, another one of the "untouchables" as Asuma liked to call the teen criminals who seemed immune to the law, waited just in front of the automated doors. He looked like he had rolled out of bed, his hair astray, his eyes red, and t-shirt and jeans wrinkled.
Yuji broke eye contact with him, staring into the cup in his hands like a scolded child, unusually silent.
"Yuji," Akira said again. It lacked the sharp edge this time. "I'm losing sleep."
The odd statement seemed to gain Yuji's attention, guilt flashing across his features. "You have a spare room?" he asked, looking up.
"I don't answer stupid questions," came the reply.
Yuji let slip a small smile. "Forgive my stupidity then."
Asuma let the kid go. It was better than letting him sit in the station all night or let him go wandering the streets until morning. He'd let Yuji's guardian know of his whereabouts, not that the man seemed to care much of where his nephew was.
He left a message with a servant in the Nijima household and finished filing the complaint Himura had put in. Mifune gave him another stack of paperwork that had to be completed by tomorrow afternoon when a stray thought entered his mind. If Akira was with Yuji and Daisuke was in the hospital, where was Kaito?
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Kaito woke with a start, his hand flying to his neck. Feeling no break in the skin or wetness, he exhaled in relief. It was all just a dream. He laughed nervously. Just a dream. It had felt so real, but he was home in his bed with no sign of injury. His breathing slowed until a loud bang on his door made him jump a mile high.
"Kaito! I know you're having a wonderful wet dream about my latest book, but get dressed. It's time for breakfast."
Grinning, Kaito threw the blankets off, making his way to the door and flinging it wide open. "You wish, pervert. I was just dreaming of the last time you put me into the hospital from your cooking."
He smiled at his guardian who smiled at him affectionately. His guardian Goro was a man in his late fifties. He was tall, well built, and always wearing a yukata even in public. His life as an author surprisingly involved a lot of travel, but he took him in when he had become an orphan. He wasn't the best guardian, but he did his best.
"I didn't make it this time," the old man assured him. "Krista-chan did. Now get dressed. You have to leave for school in 15 minutes."
Kaito didn't wait for Goro to walk off. He searched his room for semi-clean clothes, throwing them on, then rushed down the stairs after his guardian. He was in such a rush; he didn't notice the blood-stained shirt lying on the floor in the corner.