Chapter Text
The sky was dark and covered with thick clouds like blots of ink, blocking what few stars twinkled tonight above the emptying streets as crowds of people hurried home from work or school, keeping their heads down and scarves pulled tightly. The New Year had come and gone yet the snow remained, falling lighter and more infrequent but still blanketing the city in a cold chill that seemed to take pleasure in creeping into your bones and lingering there for hours. However the deary outside was juxtaposed with the cozy atmosphere inside the little tucked-away bar; the air hummed with subdued yet spirited chatter as patrons sipped and socialized, the dim lights reflecting off their glasses and causing the liquids inside to smolder with alluring hues. The darkness of the outside behind the fogging windows only heightened the warm feeling filling out the venue, which was probably one of the reasons people found themselves wandering in from the cold, the sliver bell perched above the door welcoming them with a sharp ring. Speaking of alluring, Mashita focused on the man sitting in front of him - with his dark, kind eyes and almost ghostly pale skin that contrasted perfectly with the silky ebony strands which framed his gentle face he also had an air that seemed to attract and draw people in, somehow appearing approachable yet distant at the same time. Like the apparitions his fate was tied to, he too felt fleeting and elusive, like he could disappear at any moment.
Lamp light glinted off Yashiki's glasses as he turned to look at Mashita.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Damn, he had been caught staring.
Mashita scanned his eyes over the bar. They were seated near the serving counter yet again, but at least this time they were tucked away near a corner so there was a hint of privacy.
"Hey, why did we have to come to this bar? There's plenty of decent ones throughout the city" Mashita huffed.
"Well, it's nearby and I actually quite like it here, it's relaxing." Yashiki smiled softly, then furrowed his brow a bit. "Do you not like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it... you know, nevermind. So what did you want to talk about?"
He actually did like this bar, and knowing that Yashiki was a fan too was a bonus, but the thing that bothered him was-
"Hello there, may I take your order?"
Ah, there it was. Or more accurately, there he was.
A sleek looking bartender suddenly materialized as if from nowhere beside them, his dyed blonde hair swept back and his light brown eyes fixed on Yashiki.
"Oh, welcome back, Mr Yashiki!" the bartender exclaimed cheerfully then slid his eyes over to Mashita. "And to your associate as well."
Mashita only offered him a glare in return.
"Hello, um, just two whiskies please." Yashiki responded politely to the question. Now either he didn't remember the bartender from the last time they were here (since he had gotten so drunk) or he had no interest in conversing with this man - either way Mashita had to hold back a snort as the bartender's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Remaining professional however he gracefully bowed his head and left to make their order.
"Whiskey, huh? Planning to get so drunk I have to carry you home again, Mr lightweight?" Mashita teased with a smirk, resting his head in his hand.
"... Do you have to keep bringing that up?"
Even in the low lighting Yashiki's cheeks were brushed with a visible blush at the mention of his low alcohol tolerance and the first night they had come here.
"Well, it's been a while since then, maybe you've toughened up."
"It has, huh. I've been quite busy these last few weeks so time has just flown by. I'm guessing you've been busy with work, too?"
Mashita nodded. "Mm, been getting a lot of missing persons cases lately. Folks are just up and vanishing from different areas around the city, yet so far there doesn't seem to be a single thing linking them, no common factor. There's currently nothing to go on.
"It sounds like you've got a difficult investigation ahead of you - ah! That reminds me! There was something I wanted to give you." Yashiki quickly changed the subject and began rummaging in his coat pocket before pulling out what looked to be a tightly wrapped rectangular shape, pushing it across the table to him.
"I know Christmas has passed but let's just say it's... a thank you, for the ramen shop incident." He said, sounding a little awkward. "Also I thinking it was about time you got a new one."
Picking up the rectangular object revealed that it was quite light yet thick, with one curved edge which mostly likely meant it was a book of some kind. Without waiting for permission Mashita began to tear the paper away to be greeted with a expensive looking leather notebook, bound with dark brown leather and a thin green ribbon acting as page marker.
"A notebook?"
"Yeah, for your investigations!"
Ah, now Mashita knew what he was referring to. The well-worn, over stuffed notebook that was currently weighing down his own coat pocket, filled with his thoughts and observations collected through countless cases.
"Huh, I wasn't expecting this. I'm grateful, I guess." He said while raising his eyebrows, flicking through the fresh, crisp pages. It was really good quality, how much did he pay for this? Well, this was strangely convenient.
Placing the notebook into his pocket Mashita's fingers brushed against a soft object stashed away in there - Yashiki wasn't the only one with an ulterior motive for meeting up.
"Well, I guess I can giv-"
"Your drinks, sirs."
The bartender reappeared at their table, interrupting Mashita. He placed two glasses of shimmering amber liquid on the table.
"Ah, thank you." Yashiki nodded at him. However the bartender didn't leave, instead remaining in place with a somewhat nervous expression.
"... Is everything okay?" Yashiki asked after a few seconds.
The bartender replied immediately as if he had been waiting for them to inquire why he was still here.
"Forgive me for prying, Mr Yashiki, and I know this may somewhat strange and intrusive, but by any chance do you know anything about... ghosts?"
Well, that certainly came out of nowhere.
The question was so unprompted that both Yashiki and Mashita were unsure how to answer him. The bartender must have picked up on this as he rushed to explain himself.
"You see, the last time you were here I couldn't help but overhear your conversation and you mentioned something about spirits, so I figured you must have some knowledge of the supernatural."
He wasn't wrong - they had been chatting pretty openly about their past ordeals that night in earshot of this guy without a care about what he thought of their ramblings - but that didn't mean they had to be honest. Mashita watched Yashiki out the corner of his eye, waiting to see what he do.
"... Yeah, you could say that I know quite a bit about them."
Predictable.
The bartender's eyes lit up. "Seriously? Amazing! I knew there was something special about you, Mr Yashiki!"
"Ahaha, so um, what did you want to ask?"
"Hmm, actually..." The bartender glanced around in an uneasy manner as if he suspected someone may be listening in. "I don't think we should talk about it here, it's kind of private. I know! How about I pay a visit to your house? I finish around midnight tonight! You live nearby, right?"
"Y-yeah, at the mansion just up the hill - but tonight's not really good for me."
With force Mashita downed his drink and slammed the glass onto the table with a resounding THUNK.
"Yeah, he's got other plans for tonight." He locked eyes with the bartender, unblinking and stern. "But if it's that important drop by tomorrow, we'll be there."
The bartender stared back for an uncomfortably long moment but gave in with a sharp click of his tongue.
"I see... No worries then, I'll drop by tomorrow afternoon, then."
He produced what looked to be a business card from the breast pocket of his uniform and handed it to the bemused Yashiki. "My information - including my phone number. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr Yashiki! I'm looking forward to it! Ah, you should probably give me your number too, just to be safe."
Yashiki hastily scrawled his phone number into a napkin which the bartender eagerly accepted, then with a cheerful wave for Yashiki and no acknowledgement of Mashita the bartender walked off to serve the bar's other patrons. Still gripping the card Yashiki turned back to Mashita, looking bewildered.
"Well, huh, that was certainly unexpected."
Mashita just scowled and took a swig of his drink, any trace of a good mood now gone.
----
"Make sure you lock that door."
"I've been getting better at remembering to do that."
"Right."
Walking into the foyer of the Kujou mansion Mashita's shoes clipped lightly on the cold floor, interrupted by the creak of the front doors closing. The foyer looked the same as the first time he saw it, not that he expected it to change in any way, but it felt a little jarring to walk into; like he was stepping back into the past. Out the corner of his eye he could see the perfectly maintained sofa where 'she' had once sat, prim and proper yet secretly insidious and deceitful. The orchestrator of death and despair who relished getting drunk on the fear and helplessness of her human victims.
"I'm gonna hit the sack. Night."
"You're going to sleep already?"
"Yeah."
"Oh...you're welcome to shower before you go to sleep." Yashiki informed him, sliding off his coat and hanging it on the wooden coat stand by the entrance then extended his hand for Mashita's, but he just shook his head.
"I'm good, but I'll take you up on that shower offer."
"Okay, you know which room, right?"
"Mmh."
"... What's bothering you?"
Mashita stopped mid stride as he was walking towards the large staircase and looked back over his shoulder.
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since we were at the bar you've been, I don't know, more curt than usual."
"Huh, is that so?"
"Mashita..."
The expression on Yashiki's face was pitiful, both confused and sad with his eyebrows peaking upwards in a slant and his eyes squinted slightly, resembling a dog who had just been scolded.
God, he hated it when he made that face.
But what he hated even more was when he was so unbelievably oblivious.
"... Have you always been so dense? Or are you perhaps just selfish?"
Yashiki blinked and tilted his head.
"What...?"
Damn, is that what he meant to say?
"... Nevermind. See you in the morning."
Without another word Mashita briskly climbed the stairs and headed for the shower room; keeping his ears alert for the sound of footfalls to hurry after him or perhaps for his name being called and being asked to wait, but nothing of the sort came. Only the faint ticking of the grandfather clock followed him down the still corridor.
"So I'm not worth chasing after, huh?"
Oh, shut up Satoru.
Spending a long time under the rushing hot water did nothing to help ease the irritation lingering in Mashita's chest, if anything having the time to go over his thoughts had only made him feel worse. Turning the shower off he shook his head, glistening water droplets sprinkling through the heavy steam filling the room and dripping down his damp skin. Honestly a lonely and non-relaxing shower hadn't been how he had planned on this night ending. It had been a good few weeks since he and Yashiki had seen each other; the last time being when he dropped by to see how Yashiki was recovering the day after they had dealt with the ramen shop incident but from then on he had been bogged down with case after case, hardly having the time to do anything else. Yashiki's invitation to go out had been totally out of the blue but he had jumped at the chance to see him, pulling an all-nighter to finish a stack of paperwork. It was supposed to be a nice, relaxing night spent talking with him long into the small hours of the morning but that plan had gone awry the minute they stepped foot into that bar.
Walking down the dark hallway Mashita came to a halt outside the room next to the guest room he was using. From the gap at the base of the door a faint light was peeking out - so, he was still awake, even at this time? No wonder he kept sleeping well into the afternoon. He lingered for a moment. Should he check in on Yashiki? Try and explain why he was acting so irritated? Or at least tell him to go to sleep?
Lifting his fist up to the door Mashita felt himself hesitate. All he had to do was knock and surely the conversation would flow freely, as he had never been one to be at a loss for words. However, he could not bring himself to knock on that door, instead letting his hand fall limply back to his side. No, while it was shameful to admit, he couldn't do it. Instead he continued on into the guest room, chucking his coat onto the end of the bed which caused the notebook he had been gifted earlier to slip out and fall on the floor. He picked it up and once again looked it over front and back before slipping it back into his coat pocket, then sat himself down and pulled out his old notebook, flicking through the pages. It really had seen plenty of use, the stiffened pages practically aching as they turned. Words and thoughts careened across the paper in both shorthand and longhand, with certain phrases circled deftly and arrows conjoining several lines of thought. The occasional inkblot was dabbled among the neat lines and the odd tear from hasty thumbing could be seen.
Looking through the pages he came to somewhat of a realization: yes, he was never at a loss for words but how often did he speak his thoughts and feelings aloud? Hardly ever. It was easier for him to go over everything in his head and only say what was relevant, yet Yashiki wasn't like that; while not extroverted he could be quite vocal at times, and would take care when choosing his words in case they caused any harm or upset. Yet even still he was pretty bad at communicating his honest feelings - in fact, they both were.
If it were with anyone else Mashita would easily shrug off this case of miscommunication and carry on, but when it came to Yashiki his mouth would move before his brain had time to catch up and rationalize his words, making him sound like an emotional fool.
With a groan Mashita stashed the book away and flopped down on the soft bed, retreating under the covers for the night. He wasn't particularly looking forward to tomorrow, but there was nothing he could do to stop it coming. That bartender was undoubtedly untrustworthy - what the hell could he want from Yashiki?