[Sooo... what will be your first step now that you are free from being chased for a while?] Mask asked as Tobey carefreely walked across the streets of his neighborhood. He was feeling quite bored because Tobey had only been doing pointless things that didn't sum up to anything at all, at least from his perspective.
Although he could hear Tobey's thoughts, he didn't pay attention to them ALL the time, so most things went by like murmurs that he couldn't discern.
Mask was exhausted after the bit of time that he spent controlling their body. Since he wasn't exactly the predominant part between them, it was way more tiring mentally for him to do the smallest actions, much more fighting against several people.
'You really don't know the time to shut up, huh?' Tobey thought, sighing.
[Yeah, yeah. Keep treating me so coldly like this when I am your only company, the only one that won't try to kill you. Soon, you will have many paladins and demons stabbing you in your back.]
'I doubt it. Since the shock of the first days is gone, my usual self is back, so you won't see me with that lost face and troubled expression anymore. Things are different now.'
[Are you saying that you usually are this goddamn cool detective!? Man... shock really is a thing. It could even turn you into a wimp...]
'I am a normal human being. After witnessing all the things I did, which seemed to come from terror movies or something of the sort, anyone would be shocked. Unless this person is a reclused otaku who can find it funny enough. I mean, who the hell would stay sane after their girlfriend's grandmother try to kill them? Also, I needed to kill three people already. I am a detective, not an assassin.'
[Haha! Coward! You know that you will need to become one if you want to survive, right?]
Tobey didn't say anything else. He didn't want to argue with that idiot. He was getting worked up with Mask's comments.
[Anyway, why are we taking a stroll after all that talk about fighting back? Are you kidding me?]
'I am going to visit my best friend. Then, I will see other acquaintances that come to my mind first. I want to see everyone and talk to them.'
[... Man, I give up on you. ]
'Just watch and you will understand why I am doing this.'
[Won't it be better just to run away, you fool?]
'It would be reasonable, but do you really think that they didn't anticipate that I would try something like this? I find it unlikely. Also, I don't know where to run. I have no idea where I could find somewhere with more demons to help me, and there is a slight chance that they might be from those harmful clans you mentioned.
'For now, the best choice is to gather as much information as I can, also as trying to find the people that are hunting me down. Besides, one more important thing is to search for that demon who helped me. I am still unsure about his intentions, but he is the ONLY demon I ever found in this part of the city.'
As Tobey talked with Mask, his eyes attentively darted around, looking at everyone's face and minding every little detail in the surroundings. He felt like he was being chased for a while now.
'Although these bastards stopped attacking me, they are still following my steps and trying to find a pattern in my routine. Too bad for them that I am no fool at all. I noticed their intentions.'
[I have been sensing these three guys for a while as well. They are very annoying. I think they were the same ones that were rounding your apartment some days ago...]
Tobey didn't even bother to ask Mask why didn't he tell him so. He was used to his passive behavior on certain occasions. It was still difficult to grasp the intentions of his alter ego. It didn't even feel like they were roughly the same person.
[Anyway, won't you do anything about it? Will you let them follow you?]
'Yes. I can use it against them in the future. But that's just for the long run. Now, the priority isn't to care about these small fries.'
[Hmm, I think I got you. It will be interesting to see what will happen.]
'Just you wait. I will show you that I am someone way beyond that pitiful person from some days ago.'
****
Tobey finally arrived at the house of his friend. Together with Han, he was Tobey's childhood friend and grew up with him. Unfortunately, he was also the number one suspect of Tobey.
[Don't you think you should be interrogating his grandma? I don't trust her... like, at all.] Mask said with a grim voice.
'She is dead, man.'
[Is she? For real? Well, I wouldn't be so sure...] he retorted in a dark tone.
Tobey just ignored him and went up the steps that led to the door of his small house. The detective always considered him a lucky bastard for being able to buy a house in the center of the city. He didn't need to worry about certain issues that just apartment residents would ever understand...
He knocked on the door and waited patiently for it to open.
While he was waiting there, he was looking to the sides, apparently unpretentiously. However, his eyes were as cunning as those of a fox.
'I don't like to say it like this but... I must be realistic here... This part of the center has easy access to all the locations where I got attacked before. Also, when I was patrolling with you, Mask, this region was among those with the most paladins. I remember you felt five, and that's a bunch considering how well they were spread across the city.'
[I remember that. You got flabbergasted because you really thought that there would be an army of paladins, but that's not the case. The predominant race always will be humans. paladins and demons only live AMONG them, though they are clearly more powerful.]
Tobey narrowed his eyes at something quite interesting at the end of that street...
'His car is crumpled. Take note of it.'
After what seemed to be an eternity, though it was a wait of two minutes at most, Tobey's best friend finally opened the door.
He was wearing shorts and a towel was hanging on his shoulder. He was shirtless, and there were some drops of water across his toned chest. Just by looking at his physique, one could tell that he went to the gym frequently.
"T-Tobey!?" the man exclaimed, a smile of snare teeth with braces rose on his face as he saw Tobey. For a moment, the man barely could believe his eyes.
"Man, it's been an eternity! I was longing to see you, you know? I nearly went with Han to the department to get you off there and hang out across the city like we always did before!"
"Hi, Gustav! It's good to see you, too! ... though I would prefer that you were wearing a shirt. Nobody is obliged to see your six-pack, man..."
Gustav laughed out loud, feeling a bit shy. Just now he noticed that it wasn't the most proper look when you were seeing someone for the first time after months.
'Ah, c'mon! We bathed together when we were kids, don't come at me with this shiness!" Gustav said while trying to forget his own embarrassment.
He hugged Tobey, despite the latter clearly not willing to even lay a finger on him. Tobey was a womanizer by nature, and he despised skinship with men, particularly in such an intimate way. However, nothing was helping it. Gustav saw him as a brother, and so did he.
"So... were you taking a bath at this hour of the morning? I remember that it was a habit of yours to take baths at night, right?" Tobey asked while inviting himself to enter the house.
Gustav chuckled, while closing the door, then finished drying his short black hair, which was a bit spiky as well.
"I needed to do something last night and got too late for dinner and... well, for a bath. So, I needed to take a morning bath to make up for this!"
'Take note of it as well...'
"Last night? Really? Were you in some party, or...?"
"Yes! It was awesome," Gustav smiled, sitting on his couch. He seemed a bit confused with Tobey's questions but didn't ask anything about that. After all, Tobey always was the curious type. Maybe that was what made him become a detective.
"Hmm, so... how are the investigations going? Are you nearly catching the person or people behind the kidnaps in the city center? I hope that you aren't here because I am a suspect, hehehe...", he asked with a tense expression.
"No, you are not a suspect, but this tension is making my suspicions rise...", he said while rolling his eyes and squinting them afterward.
Both of them laughed out loud for some seconds. Tobey finally sat on the couch, right beside him.
"Anyway, I also wanted to ask... What's that crumple in your car?"
After that questioning, Gustav's face went pale.