case closed

" I guess... with these sort of feelings i'm a bad kid after all."

[abenoburakkushipu]

“Ah–” Before he could get a word in, his heart was almost stopped by the sullen statement that Masumi gave, fingers prompted to loosen from her hair and quickly to rest his palm to he cheek. “I could never bring myself to hate you, Masumi-chan! You are one of the most precious people to me..” 

Now, he couldn’t explain it. But, having seen that depressing expression reminded Hirari of someone– who that was, he didn’t know. “..Masumi-chan please! My heart cannot take such jokes, it could bring me to tears to see such a beautiful woman with such a sad expression.” He humorously chastised her, thankful there was now a smile on her cheeks.

What a disappointing feeling it was, when Masumi slipped away to settle beside him. Embracing someone else, it is what always made him feel so comfortable. “I’m glad you still plan to visit me, and I will be sure to do the same with you. I’ll even bring along the Sake for us to enjoy a few drinks together!— Ahah kidding of course.. I know you and Naoto-chan don’t drink.” 

Now, when she mentioned Naoto probably being excited over him, Hirari could have been compared to a puppy wagging its tail when it’s owner came home, because he definitely was over-the-top excited over the thought of Naoto actually having missed him. “I… I have not seen her yet, but I am so glad she cares so much as to have missed me like that!”

[joseitantei]

She could never quite understand why, or how, but Hirari was always an appealing presence to her. He managed to make her feel special and important, even if everything he said sounded like it was straight from an anime, or a cliche k-drama, but the reason those things were cliche was probably because people always wanted to hear them. Snickering under her breath, and shuffled closer to lean her head on his shoulder; breathing relaxing as her eyes closed.

Yup! She supposed she missed this about him the most!  Hirari was sincere, and kind, and never failed to make people feel like they were worth something, despite the irony in that.

“Maybe we can convince Naoto-chan to drink some.” Masumi teased, knocking her toes together. “She’ll probably say no... but I know that she drinks during game nights, so she isn’t going to fool me.” Another musing hum. “It’ll be a celebration for arrival, just between us three!””

[abenoburakkushipu]

How he must have been blessed by all of the God’s above for this sacred day. Sure, he would not have expected to be pounced by Masumi-chan, the girl might have always been excited to see him, but never to this extent. The blond was far from opposed though, single hand having planted his fall and a cheery smile settling widely on his cheeks.

“My oh my~ Masumi-chan it’s been so long! I can see you’re just as happy to see me as I am to see you~” Sitting upward enough to not need to use his hand as a support, instead letting his fingers get lost in her dark tresses, a charming greeting to her from his return. “It would seem last night, and indeed it has! Although sadly we won’t be sharing a room any longer… ah well.. It is what it is. At least I can see that wonderful smile on a day to day basis again.”

[joseitantei]

“Yeah! You had just disappeared, so I got worried... I thought-- maybe Hirari-kun hates me and left?” Her voice dipped into a melancholic tone, looking regretful as she stared lowly at the ground, but said attitude waned within seconds. “Just kidding, but I’m really glad to see you again.”

The small gesture was enough to make her don a pleased smile, and Masumi let out a chuckle before she climbed off him; flopping by his side onto her butt. “That’s okay. I don’t mind not living with you, it just means I’m going to have to visit you extra. Have you met Naoto-chan yet? I bet she got excited when she saw your name on the board too.”

[joseitantei]

“Hirari-kuuuun!”

Even if Hirari was pretty good on his feet, he was no match for the pounce that Masumi surprised him with, suddenly tackling him to the floor and sitting on him like a cat having caught her bird-prey-whatever. Needless to say, he might need a hand or two to get her off. “When’d you come back? It’s been so long!”

[princetempesta]

It was pretty easy to tell what was going on. At least, as someone who had dealt with a handful of illusionists before, Bel was able to quickly discover that what he had been witnessing all day was far from reality. It was horrible, seeing and hearing these things that chipped away at his happiness until there was none left, but aside from the loss of his typical grin, he wouldn’t let it show.

Right now, someone was probably having just as hard of a time. He’d been with Auntie, since they lived together, but now it was just as much his job to check on Masumi, wasn’t it? That’s what he thought anyway, as he knocked on her door.

“Masumi, open up. It’s me.”

[joseitantei]

Bel’s voice was an indicator she really needed right now, too. She’d heard a ton of banging today, maybe guns, slams of knives, ways of dying she’d witnessed plenty of, and each sound embedded into her brain being used against her. The knock of the door felt like just another one, and she might have ignored it had she not recognized him.

But if he was at that door, that meant she had to pull herself together. Straightening down her clothes (being buried in pillows had crinkled them) and plopping a candy in her mouth, she bit down on it and hobbled to the door, opening it with a bright grin.

“Bel! What are you doing here?”

[joseitantei]

It’s... really hard to eat the candy she collected when that thing keeps reminding her- tormenting her- with images of her dead brother.

Images that are far from her imagination, images she had no control over, and she hadn’t even seen him like that--

... She just has to keep focusing on the toffee. It’s sweet, sticky, and a little sickening now, but it’s hurting her jaw enough to tear her eyes away from this.

[tantei-oji-blog]

Naoto really didn’t want them to be tense, she still wanted to hang around Masumi cause hell, female detectives were really hard to find and there was always this ‘we should band together’ feeling she got when she saw someone who fit into said category, and she really did enjoy Masumi’s company… Which is why she didn’t want to fuck this up, although she really believed it was to late. Way to late…

Although this was the first time she ended up crushing on them, ugh, why did it even start.

[Text:] BUILT 1 [Text:] BHIND THE CASTLE

[Text:] I HAVE AN EXRA GUN U CAN USE [Text:] MEET ME @ FRONT DOOR. Y/N?

[joseitantei]

[ TEXT ] ehehe

[ TEXT ] y

[ TEXT ] as in yes

[ TEXT ] it looks like i’m saying why when i do that! your texting is so blunt naoto-chan

At the very least, she knew where the castle was, so getting there was easy as pie. Finding the shooting range was actually a bit of a surprise, in all honesty, given she hadn’t even heard the construction going on, but then again, tat was probably normal.

“Naoto-chan?” Masumi called out, stopping her bike by the wall of the building and looking around for her.

[princetempesta]

“Something like that, but you were already getting away with a lot without dying before.”

Heaven knows, if Bel didn’t care about her as much as he did, half of the things she’d done up until this point would have ended on a very different note than this one.

“Mmmmn don’t wanna.” The prince muttered, settling both arms around her as he nuzzled into her hair. As special as she was, he wasn’t going into that storm. She wasn’t that damn special. “I can do something else though.”

[joseitantei]

“When you say it like that, it sounds like you had thoughts of killing me.”

It probably should have been weird to talk about dying and stuff when cuddling your boyfriend, but whatever. She was a detective and he was an assassin, so really, that might have been normal -- okay, maybe this was different, but again, whatever.

As far as she was concerned, Masumi already liked how she and Bel harmonized. Or clashed. Or whatever they did. Adding snuggling into the equation was just something she could get used to. 

“Okay, if you say so... but it better be on the same level as finding the generator.”

[princetempesta]

That… was a relief. The moment her response sunk in, his posture relaxed and that grin of his returned to its place on his expression. It was disgusting, feeling so strongly based upon whether or not another person was willing to be with him, but at least for the time being, he didn’t really care. It was hard to care about that when he couldn’t stop smiling.

“Oh? Acting like a brat now because you know I won’t kill you?” Bel stuck his tongue out, putting an arm around her. Obviously, he was just joking. She always acted this way- but he wouldn’t really want that to change. “Now that I’m in your care, I wonder, what are you going to do with me?”

[joseitantei]

“Oh, so I get special no dying privileges just for being your girlfriend?” 

Girlfriend, girlfriend. It felt so strange to say that, or well, it felt so weird to be someone’s girlfriend. To tell the truth, she just never really seen the day -- had a bad habit of falling for taken people, for example, although in this instance, it kind of didn’t matter.

For a small moment, Masumi settled against him and almost snuggled, taking in his warmth and ignoring his taunting with thoughtful abandon. Sink into it. Get a feel for it. “Make you go out and find a generator.” She murmured with a toothy grin.

[princetempesta]

“I don’t think we have one, and in this weather, I’m not going out to find one. But, as far as the other thing….”

‘The other thing,’ as he called it, was fairly obvious- at least in what it was referring to. He had spoken with Auntie on this topic. She’d already indicated she was fine with it if he chose to pursue a relationship with Masumi, and so that really only left one other opinion that mattered.

“It’s up to you. Auntie said she’s fine with what ever we decide, and Fran doesn’t get a say. So…” Bel paused, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his head. It was frustrating how even he’d gotten a little flustered. “What ever you want to do is fine, but I’d be happy if you’d be my girlfriend.”

[joseitantei]

Never let it be said that Masumi wasn’t a space invading, overly eccentric individual. She kept her cool for the most part, but a few people knew that when she had someone she really liked, she wasn’t afraid to toss all personal bubbles out the window. Same could be said for this situation: up until this moment, she’d kept her cool out of precaution, but as soon as he said that...

Well, she bubbled up and dropped against his side, wrapping her arms around his waist and nodding energetically. 

God bless Auntie.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d love to be! And I would say I’m in your care now, but I think it’s the other way around.”

[princetempesta]

Masumi really was lucky that the lights had gone out and the room was so dimly lit. If it were any easier for Bel to see that she was blushing, there’s no doubt he’d tease her for it.

“You could, but you didn’t. Now I guess we know why.” Saying this, Bel laughed. It didn’t look like he was going to stop grinning any time soon, truthfully. Hopefully, he could pass it off as just his normal attitude, but he couldn’t help looking a bit too happy despite the sudden blackout.

“You’re worried about that? We can just finish it when the power comes back. It wasn’t live TV.”

[joseitantei]

“Because I didn’t want to miss the ending, but I guess that there’s no reason for me to stay anymore...”

Masumi knew she was just stalling -- misdirecting? Definitely misdirecting. The more they focused on the television, the less she could think about how they had just had some weird heart to heart that made her heart skip a beat or two. Or three, if you counted just there again, thanks to reflecting on it.

And yet, fittingly enough, she ended up returning to the conversation anyway.

“So... what now?” Pause. “Should we go find a generator?” Okay, she was obviously not talking about the electricity with the first question.

[princetempesta]

“…..”

“That’s a relief.”

After that moment of hesitation, he let out a sigh. It would be embarrassing for a prince to confess unrequited feelings, even if he felt it needed to be done- but there was no reason for her to lie, so then perhaps she wasn’t joking after all. The only question now was a matter of where to go from here.

And, well, judging by how all the lights in the house suddenly went off, they’d probably have plenty of time to figure it out.

“Fantastic.” Grabbing his phone from his pocket, Bel used the light to illuminate the room as much as possible. Just in that sort period of time, a storm had even started outside. Damn those spontaneous goats. “That’s the end of movie night. I guess you’re stuck with me now~”

[joseitantei]

“Oh!” The sudden bust of darkness distracted her from the -- return of affection she got? Well, really, she had ended up recuperating Bel’s feelings, since he had confessed first, but whatever -- black out distracted her, and she was kind of sort of maybe relieved. The less the prince saw her blushing, the better.

Which really was appropriate right now, given the statement he’d made. Still, despite her blushing, she managed a grin. “Wait, you mean I wasn’t stuck with you beforehand? I could leave that whole time?”

Nonetheless--

“... Ah! Now we won’t find out how the bombing went!”

[princetempesta]

With no indication that his face would be any less red any time soon, the prince focused his attention on the television. He had no plan to look at Masumi. He had done this with a belief of what her response would be, and he had no reason to believe it would be any different- at least until he heard the last of her words.

“What?” Few words could have torn his gaze from the TV so quickly. There’s no way he was actually wrong, was there? “Now you’re the one joking. Stop messing around.”

[joseitantei]

“Ah, no--” She lifted her head once he accused her, letting out a small laugh. “I wasn’t joking, I--”

Good question, what had she meant? The moment Bel had said that, she’d been met with shock, but now she just felt relieved for some reason. No she knew the reason, she just figured there was also something bad about being relieved.

“I mean... I guess I’m glad my feelings aren’t totally unrequited?”

[princetempesta]

What an idiotic chain of events, building this up so quickly to more than it needed to be. He had his own frustration to thank for that, and such a feeling had not passed from expression even now.

“I just need to clarify that I’m not messing around anymore when I’m flirting with you, and I guess I love you.” Quickly, he turned back to Netflix, as if those words did not just leave his mouth. “So lets finish the episode. You were really interested in it.”

[joseitantei]

“Wh--” Masumi stammered and stopped, “What?” 

“You’re joking, ri--” No, wait, he had just said he wasn’t messing around anymore, so what was the point in trying to assume he was playing her again? While Bel had refocused his attention on the television  impersonally, the detective stared with an almost stupefied expression, trying to formulate a response.

Instead of actually replying to him, however, Masumi turned away and sunk her face into her hands, elbows on knees. “Gaaah... I’m so bad... I shouldn’t be relieved at hearing that...”

[princetempesta]

“What? No!” Dammit. Perhaps he’d picked the wrong time to go about this. It wasn’t like there were many other opportunities where they were alone, but this was irritating. Feeling his cheeks heat up from frustration, Bel moved to pause the stream. She’d probably get pissy about that, but it didn’t matter so long as she listened.

“Just stop for a moment, okay? This is actually important.“ And he swears, if her response is to say that this episode is important too–

[joseitantei]

Suddenly, the television froze up and she found herself staring at a very odd frame, but that was kind of the least of her worries. She turned her head to shoot him a frown, but upon Bel stating his apparent urgency, Masumi’s nearing huffiness cleared up before it even settled.

“Well... okay, I mean, you stopped it yourself, but...” And she finished off the final piece of popcorn curled in her hand. “What’s up?”

[princetempesta]

“Movie night,” if it could be called that when they mostly streamed TV shows, usually had only a small crowd. He’d invite a few people, and usually only about four would show up to watch. This time, the group was even smaller. With everyone else either busy or just plain unwilling to show, it was left as just Bel and Masumi this time.

Throughout the majority of the show - unsurprisingly, they’d decided to watch Criminal Minds again - Bel had stayed relatively quiet, tapping his fingers along the side of the couch. Though she’d clearly noticed, she hadn’t said anything. Eventually, shifting in his seat, the assassin finally spoke up.

“There’s something I should probably tell you.”

[joseitantei]

Usually she preferred movie night when it was a bunch of people. She kind of liked how the shows would cause some sort of controversial topic, especially crime shows, because of large number of people here who had skewed moral compasses. Masumi’s wasn’t all that great either, but considering she didn’t mind chilling alone with an assassin at all, she had stopped questioning how whacked up that was.

“Wait a second.” Waving him off with a hand full of popcorn, she watched in suspense as the television showcased a large scale bombing being brought to a conclusion. “Good part.” Masumi mumbled while poking said pocorn into her mouth.

[tantei-oji-blog]

Naoto stared at her phone, it was quiet and Saguru was just coming back from his patrols soon, so she could take some time to practice her shooting and she in mind someone to invite…

[Text:] R U FREE? Y/N PLZ REPLY

[Text:] INTERESTED IN GUN RANGE?

She has no idea if Masumi actually like firing guns, but hey… It was an excuse to spend some time with her.

[joseitantei]

It had been a while since she’d heard from Naoto. Things had been a little tense between them for a whle now, given the last confrontation had resulted in some weird confessions, but she was glad they were trying to smooth it over. Shooting range, though?

[ TEXT ] we have a shooting range here?

[ TEXT ] that sounds kinda cool though. i wouldn’t mind!

Nothing wrong with adding more skills to her belt.

[princetempesta]

Oh, Masumi. Don’t you know that, after all this time you’ve spent around him, you’ve become way too predictable?

Leaning back, Bel narrowly dodged the foot that flew by his face by mere inches. With a wide grin that stretched from ear-to-ear, the prince grabbed a hold of her leg and – oops! – landed the detective right on her ass. That brought her down for a moment, but he needed to get away fast before she made another move. Turning on his heel, Bel took off, leaving the poor, flustered girl with only a wave and a sickeningly smug smile.

“It’s been fun, detective. Bye-bye~”

There he goes.

[joseitantei]

And off he went, leaving her with a sore butt and a shot to her nerves. Masumi groaned and opened her mouth to yell back at him, but decided in the long run that it wasn’t worth it, shifting to rub at her behind instead.

"...” However being left alone in his wake only gave her more time to think about what just happened, and all of a sudden she wasn’t grateful for her iconic detective-esque memory. Lifting her hand to her ear instead, the brunette gingerly ran a finger across the lobe before she felt her cheeks reddening again, finally letting out an exasperated mewl and dunking her head between her knees.

Why did he have to make everything worse?