The first rain of Spring

It was raining outside, he could hear that from his desk. The drops ricocheting against the window was a wonderful white noise.

Outside in, new meets old.

They shuffle past the desks and workers, into the crowded elevator. Onto the second floor they made their way closer to him.

“We’ve all heard great things, Kagari.” One spoke, a voice that felt familiar, it continued “I couldn’t get your police captain off the phone when I asked him about you.”

“It was an honour serving under the Captain! I hope his lessons will help me become a brilliant detective!” The unknown voice roared.

They were getting closer, he could feel it. Closer and closer.

It spoke again, “Well, the board has got big hopes for you. I’ve assigned you to one of our most experienced agents, he’s one of the few I can vouch for… agent Minagawa-”

That was it, the moment they rounded the corner and saw him.

Napping…

They just stood there, in utter disbelief. He started to wake up, yawning and stretching, smiling gleefully. “Ahhh, nothing better than beauty sleep…”. He turned and saw them, with a blank expression that sank into panic.

His eyes darted around the room, twisting to view his surroundings. Was he looking for a distraction? Maybe an escape route or worse, a weapon?!

“This isn’t the break room!” He announced his discovery and checked back to see if it worked…

It didn’t work.

*-*-*

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Okazaki barked. He didn’t give him the chance to find his senses before dragging the agent to his office, far from his comfortable seat, even further from the clouds he missed already.

Minagawa leant against the wall, looking through the curtains at the young man his boss had been speaking with.

“Who’s the kid?” He asked, ignoring the previous query. Kagari was said kid, eyeing the rows of cubicles with an awkward whimsy, as if an office space could be so magical…

“He’s a new starter, fresh from the academy. Not too bright but he’s eager to work, wish I could say the same about you.” Okazaki slumped into his seat, slapped on a headache patch and activated a smoke charm in one motion.

“Ouch, and here I thought I was your favourite'' Minagawa joked, still watching the youngster.

Okazaki didn’t react, finishing the first toke and responding with the same burn as the one on the back of his throat. “Don’t be a smart ass, not now. I’ve got six divisions requesting assistance, two meetings about agent effectiveness in the workplace and zero patience for any of it.”

Minagawa thought it best to not push his boss further.

Okazaki continued, “With all these riots, things have started to pick up again. The board has very kindly allotted us fresh blood to alleviate the oncoming pressure.”

“You mean to get experience before heading back to Gallus?” He retorted.

“What they do with them afterwards is none of your concern. For now, I’m assigning all three of them to the agents without partners… if I’m not mistaken yours quit recently didn’t he?” The chief rested his chin on the back of his hands and smiled gleefully.

Minagawa shuddered. He had known Okazaki for years, he knew what he was insinuating immediately.

*-*-*

Okazaki had gathered his agents in the main office, his vets facing him, and the fresh faced newbies standing behind him. The first, the young man from earlier, took a step forward ahead of Minagawa… and kowtowed, so low Minagawa thought he’d hit his head on the ground.

“Lookin’ forward to working with you, Senpai!” Hell, if the entire building didn’t hear that it’d be a surprise. It was as if every letter was brought to life, ripping through his eardrum and clinking around his noggin like a pinball.

“This can’t be happening,” Minagawa huffed.

The kid mustn't have heard, he continued his introduction as loudly as before. “My name is Kagari Shōto! My specialty is amplification magic, and my goal is to be a superhero!”

“Superhero?” He questioned, right as soon as the muffle spell activated. “Boss, you can’t seriously be putting me with this guy, right?” Minagawa asked, the look on his face was reminiscent of a puppy, trying to win the affection of their owner. But

Okazaki couldn’t hear him. He was enjoying the dream, picturing the torment Minagawa would go through, somehow it alleviated the pain in his head.

“Oi… Okazaki?” Minagawa called upon him again fruitlessly.

The chief snapped out of his haze, returning to his role as their boss. “Now then, I believe you all have some work to do. Each of you will be given a selection of calls, I want these completed with haste and tact. If I have any complaints on my desk I’m docking pay.” He let that one sit. “Am I making myself clear?!”

The agents groaned.

“Good!” He responded. “Get to work!”

As if the keys to their ignition, his agents were on their way as soon as Okazaki spoke. Their squad cars flooded out the gates, single filed like clockwork. Only one thought caught in Minagawa’s mind, this was going to be a very long day.

*-*-*

The street where the station was situated was dubbed the hornets nest, and for this exact reason. Out flew the cruisers, sirens blaring. Rookies had it rough on the first patrol, sat in the passenger side, imagining all of the horrors the underbelly of the city held and the darkness awaiting them. Unlike them, Kagari was thrown into the deep end, driving the squad car head first into the unknown!!

CASE #1!

“Mr whiskeeerrrs~~~~” the old lady called, dithering and helpless. The cat sat in the branches, content with staying put.

Kagari patted the elder’s back, “Don’t worry ma’am! I’ll save your pet!” He reassured her, so pumped for his first assignment. Minagawa lay in the backseat of their car, consumed by the sleeping blanket he brought with him. The only time he moved was to make sure Kagari was still struggling, he had never been happier.

“Jokes on you, Okazaki, this kid’ll do all the work and I can catch some sleep! Finally a win for the good guys”

It was just when he was starting to fall into a deep slumber, deeper and deeper, that he remembered Okazaki’s words.

“Each of you will have a selection of calls. The last one to complete these, will have to do all the paperwork from today!”

His eyes shot open, and the door unlocked..

Kagari was a few branches up, trying to scale the great oak, each inch up he would call out to the pet. The next branch was the wrong choice, as it snapped in his hand and sent him back to ground zero with a thud. The rookie evaluated his options whilst nursing his now sore derriere. Suddenly, Minagawa stood beside him, activating a mark on his arm. A gust of air blasted out and knocked the cat, along with a few branches, clear from the tree and up into the sky.

Cats always land on their feet right? Well, this one landed on its owner’s face… claws first.

“AHHH!” Kagari panicked, rushing to the old lady. “Ma’am are you okay?!”

“Ohhhh, Mr Whiskeerrrss~~~” She repeated.

“Rookie!” Minagawa called, he had already taken his place again, lying in the backseat.

The newbie was a little dumbfounded but quickly adjusted and found his way back to the car.

CASE #2!

“So walk me through it again.” Minagawa groaned.

“I walked down the road, minding my own business and this CREATURE was eyeballing me” Said the man in the pink jacket and moon boots (no seriously, moon boots. I have no idea either)

“Uh huh…” Minagawa spoke, barely keeping his eyes open

“Creature?! Hon, I’d advise you look in a mirror, if I knew it wouldn't crack the moment your dog ass looked at it “

Caught in the middle he let out a lengthy sigh as the two argued further

CASE #3!

“Do you prefer red or white?” Said the nice lady holding two dresses, Kagari reviewed both with great focus as Minagawa lay in the backseat sobbing

CASE #4!

“Sir, please stop licking the idol poster, it’s disturbing…” Minagawa asked dryly.

CASE #5!

“Which way is Regulus Street?”

“Right next to Romulus Way!” Kagari yapped

CASE #12!

“No, sir, the Black Magic Market is not real”

…

*-*-*

Case #38

“You started it!”

“No! You started it!”

The two agents rolled up to their next case, the day had stretched on so long already, Minagawa hadn’t the willpower to even lift his head. But Kagari was loving every second of it, soaking in the experience.

The case this time? Two arguing kids.

The first pushes the other and it becomes a show of strength and shouting. Kagari held his arms out between the two, having to crouch to do so.

“Wow wow. Calm down gentlemen, I’m sure there is a better way to sort this.”

The kids jolted back.

“You first sir!” Kagari gestured to the youngster to his right wearing a bright yellow shirt, shorts and blue hat. “Your name?”

The lad wasn’t completely sure what was going on, “K-Kota”

“Ok Kota.” Taking notes. Now he gestured to the other child without asking. “Kenny…” He responded.

“Good good. Ok gentlemen, one at a time how did this start?”. By this point, Kagari’s furious note making was getting him some rather strange looks on the street. Minagawa was pulling himself up enough to see what was going on, his face scrunched up as he peered out the window.

“It was him! I got the rare Shining Star card and he took it!” Kenny accused.

Kota didn't like that, “No I didn’t! You said I could have it!” he rebuked.

“The plot thickens!” Kagari added. “So who has this card now?”

They both pout. “No one… it fell in that drain” he pointed. “He tried to take it out of my hand, it fell and went down in the water…” Kenny explained, the memory almost made him tear up.

“I can see this is hard for you,” Kagari comforted him, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Is this what happened, Kota?”

The boy nodded. “But, I didn’t mean it… I just wanted to see it…”

Kagari gathered the evidence, scanning his notes as if there was something he may have missed. Finally he came to a conclusion. “Well gentlemen. I have solved this case”.

“Case?” Kenny asked quietly, Kota seemed as confused as him. Kagari mustn’t have heard, instead he stood facing them, arms crossed and head high. “Boys, do you value your friendship?” He asked. The two kids looked each other in the eye. Kenny responded unsurely “yes?”

“And this card, is it more important than your friend?”

Again their response was short “n-no”

Kagari slowly lowered himself to their level. “Then don’t let it ruin what you have.”

They didn’t know how to respond. Minagawa continued watching from the cruiser, listening in on the conversation.

Kagari rustled their hair “Friends are hard to come by, especially ones you can trust. They’ll cheer you up when you’re feeling bad, they’ll help you clear games you get stuck on, they’ll have your back when things go wrong. You two can’t let some stupid card get in the way of your friendship.”

The boys looked at each other again.

“I’m sorry I dropped your card,” Kota said to Kenny bashfully. Kenny looked upset he didn’t speak first “I’m sorry I pushed you…”

*-*-*

The kids had scampered off, and the two agents decided to take a short break on the bench near the park. Kagari looked as energetic as he did that morning. Minagawa however, it was as if he was slung onto the bench, unable to keep form and instead letting his limbs escape him as he gasped for air.

The youngster watched the kids chase after each other contently, it was a scene he sorely missed from home.

“Do you take everything that seriously?” His senior asked.

“Hmm?” Kagari responded, not sure of what Minagawa meant. The veteran regained his form, and managed to sit like a normal person. “Kids fight, what’s the point getting so involved?”

Kagari smiled. “You’re not much of a people person are you, senpai?” Minagawa shrugged. Kagari continued “In my hometown, you stick together through thick and thin, we huddle close in the winter and share food when times are tough, it's the only way we survive. We were close, like a family.”

He reminisced on a scene from the past. “When I first came here, to the capital, I was 7 years old. There were people begging on the streets, and crime around every corner… It was such a cold place, so different from the warmth I knew. I thought to myself that some people don’t know the difference, don't know the closeness of family, the warmth of laughter. I guess that’s when I started idolising heroes, started wanting to become one”

He smiled brightly again, “So that kids like them can laugh without knowing the cold.”

Minagawa scoffed, which caught Kagari off guard. “Senpai?”

“Cold, eh? You rookies come here thinking this place is infested with crime lords and drug smugglers. Look around you kid, you see murder and mayhem? This is the rich side, only crime you see here is wailing kids and entitled adults.” He looked the rookie dead in the eye. “Rookies tend to lose their appetite for justice as soon as they see the Broken Districts. You wanna talk about kids knowing cold? Try living in a broken down condo with no roof over your head. No food for you to eat and the only people around would much rather drive your head into the ground than help you.”

The rookie was at a loss for words. Minagawa got bored of the exchange and went back to the cruiser without a word.

The day had gotten late. They drove back to the headquarters, without a single word spoken.

Kota and Kenny continued playing, but as they rounded the corner, a black chain wrapped itself around Kota and pulled him in close. They had fallen into the crosshairs of one of the criminals Kagari had been waiting for. But they hadn’t seen this happen, they were in their cruiser driving away, and this villain was magnified to the agents, watching them like a hawk. His face contorted, revealing a toothy grin. He spoke.

“Minagawa Atsushi.”

*-*-*

Minagawa and Kagari were surprised that they were not the last pair back, in fact, the losers had only returned an hour after, safe to say they had enough paperwork to last a month.

Minagawa took shelter in the break room, gathering anything he could to make a fortress, allowing him to sleep comfortably. Kagari was making coffee, still bummed out from his previous conversation with his senior. In walked the chief, a fresh patch on his forehead and smoke spell activated.

“Oh, Kagari. How was your first ride out?” He asked politely. Kagari sighed, going over the conversation in his head again. “Chief”

Okazaki noticed the severe drop in octaves. “That bad?”

The rookie moped and spun his finger, spinning the spoon in his drink. “No sir, it’s just…”

“Just?” He responded.

“I don’t think Minagawa-senpai likes me very much…” Kagari explained, for once his chipper exterior was vacant, looking more dejected than anything.

His boss laughed. “That man has had 12 different partners since he started, know how many lasted over a day?”

Kagari shrugged. “2” the number took him aback.

“He doesn’t hate you Kagari, he’s just gotten jaded. There was a time that he was more motivated than you even”. Kagari couldn’t picture it.

“A time when he was my best agent…” The boss reminisced before his headache took his attention. “This job runs you down, Kagari. Makes you lose sight of who you are and who you want to become. The only way to stop that is working with someone, that’s why I made you his partner.”

*-*-*

Minagawa lay in the darkness, warm and cosy, but for some reason he couldn’t sleep. He kept picturing the argument with Kagari, and his words to those boys. He tossed and turned but, to no avail, his eyes would always open. He gave up on the battle with himself, maybe a boring video would set his mind at ease…

Instead his eyes glued to the monitor. “Well we’re here above the scene, as you can see a villain has taken a boy hostage and is threatening to drop him off the edge-” Minagawa’s heart fell into his stomach.

He rushed into the kitchen, to the other agents. “Okazaki!”

His chief looked over, he saw the panic on his face. Minagawa showed them the screen, showed them the scene unfolding. Okazaki went white.

“ALL AGENTS TO YOUR CARS!”

*-*-*

The sun was setting when they reached the bridge, their target held young Kota by the collar. The police force had gotten to the scene before the Order, as did the press. It was like a movie set, a blockade between the criminal and enforcement, a chopper in the air and snipers on the surroundings. The bridge was new, it had been built on either end, yet was still under construction, below them, a whirlpool. Much to the criminal’s excitement, the press had set their drone spells loose, birds made of light watched his every moment, awaiting a gruesome end.

His excitement went through the roof when he saw Minagawa exit his cruiser and rush past the barrier against his superior’s instruction. “Atsushi!” Okazaki called out, it was no use, he wasn’t listening.

“I knew you would come…” The lowlife muttered.

“Let the kid go, Hayakawa.” Minagawa commanded. Hayakawa simply cackled. “I’m surprised, Agent Minagawa, I expected you to just push us off.”

“Where’s the other one?” Minagawa asked. Kenny was with the police. He had managed to slip away, found his way to the station and pleaded with them to help. They had to hold him back so that he didn’t rush over to save Kota, he gave it everything he had to reach out.

“Oh, I get it.” Hayakawa said. “Acting like a hero in front of the cameras. Must be annoying, not being able to just get it over with, huh?”

Minagawa responded sharply, “What the hell are you talking about?! Look, either let the kid go or-”

His grip loosened and Kota slipped down, just enough for Hayakawa to regain his control but instil further fear. The boy was practically convulsing. “A poor choice of words, agent.”

“You son of a-”

“Careful!” Hayakawa interrupted. “That’s still a touchy topic now isn’t it? Or have you forgotten?”. Minagawa didn’t respond, but it was clear to Hayakawa, he could see it in his eyes.

He sneered. “Y’know, this is why we hate you people. Well, allow me to remind you, Agent Minagawa!” His attention turned to the beasts flying around him.

“You think these people protect you?! You think they stand for anything other than themselves, and their pride?!” He cried out, loosening his grip slightly, all the while grinning from ear to ear, watching the camera follow his every movement. “I know you, Minagawa Atsushi! I know what you are! And I’ve lived for this, sat in the Glacier for 10 years, yearning to see you fall to your knees as I reveal the truth to the world!”

“This is about you and me, Hayakawa-”

“NO!” He interrupted “THIS IS ABOUT YOU! ABOUT YOUR LIES!”

The squad cars continued pouring in behind Minagawa, so did the news vans, wanting to get the scoop.

Hayakawa was all too happy to provide it for them. “This is about the lie you and the rest of the Order’s dogs tell the people. You pretend to be there for us, well where were you for me?! For my mother?! Oh, I remember. Instead of treating her, instead of trying to stop the bleeding, you left her to die so you could catch the crook and get your award! You didn’t give a rat's ass if we died… you killed her!”

His smile twisted, spiralling into his madness as he reached the end of his announcement. “And now, I will show this world what you are, what I saw in you that night. All those years I spent, repeating the same line… over, and over, and over! and over! AND OVER AGAIN! You will follow this twisted world to the end, agent…”

Minagawa readied his magic, a scar on his arm glowed white hot, glimmering in his eyes, but he may have been too late.

The madman let go, plummeting the young boy into the ice water, he held his pose, like a psychotic martyr. “...Fall into despair!”

To the left, was the boy reaching out for his hand, cast into the abyss. To the right, was the dangerous miscreant that caused calamity everywhere he went.

“Which one?” He asked himself.

It was as if time itself stopped, as if the world was asking him a question. If he saved the boy, Hayakawa would evade him, he had already cast the chain spell, it would propel him away in a heartbeat. There was no guarantee he would be caught, in fact, there was no way Kagari would catch him. If he wanted to stop him, he needed to do it here and now! But it meant sacrificing another… another…

He couldn't see the scene anymore, his vision became a maelstrom of panic and indecision with only the boy and the beast illuminated, like a moth to the flame.

A voice called out to him in the darkness, “Use me…”

Its honeyed words tempted him, he reached out as the light faded from his eyes. Another voice rang in his ear and snapped him out of the trance, though this one made his blood freeze.

“A-Atsushi…” she called out, the rain washed the blood from her chest. She reached out to him, with all of her strength.

“Atsushi…” another called. He saw him next to her, luckily for him he couldn’t see what ailed this man, his tears blurred his vision.

He took her hand, pleading her to stay with him, but with every passing moment he could feel her ebb away.

Slowly but surely she lost consciousness, the man as well. He cried out as loud as his voice would allow.

He watched the sun rise ahead, still holding her cold hand, holding it close to his face. “Never again” he spoke softly. “Never again”

Another scene played, quick like a flash, like a photo. An umbrella held out in the rainfall.

With speed like a thunderclap, he missed Hayakawa and clutched the boy tightly, pulling him in close. “Never again will I lose you!”

Hayakawa couldn’t believe what he was seeing, he was willing to give himself in, it was how he would show the world how uncaring the agents are, but there he was, ignoring everything for another?!

He was so shaken he didn’t notice the young agent in his way until it was too late, and Kagari took his chance like a pro.

Down went Hayakawa, cuffed and crying while Minagawa pulled himself and the kid back to safety, Hayakawa cried out, “No No! It’s not supposed to be this way! This isn’t how it’s supposed to gooo!”

“Yeah yeah, tell it to the judge” said the agent holding him as he put him in the cruiser.

Kagari and Minagawa looked out on the scenery together. Minagawa sat in the back seat of their own car, his legs out to the side. Kagari leant against the driver’s door smiling.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” the vet asked.

“Well with this resolving, we’ve completed all our cases. My first day as a W.W.O agent is officially complete!” He cheered, but dear old Minagawa knew something the kid didn’t. “Yeah… about that…” He filled him in.

“Paperwork?! I thought…”

“Nope.” Minagawa denied. The rookie should have deflated, but instead fire burned in his eyes. “Then I guess we need to head back to the office!” He announced

“Yep, something like that” Minagawa agreed, taking his usual sleeping position as Kagari hopped in the front seat. “Take us home, Kagari.”