Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Ken Ichijouji and the Case of the Divine Miss I ❯ Greasy Spoons and Angels ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The now-beta-ed version. I think things work a little better now, in general.

And thank you to Thornn, both for betaing, and for telling me that it IS a bad idea to get a tattoo of the Seal of Rassillon.

********

The diner is actually called the "Greasy Spoon," not a ringing endorsement by any stretch of the imagination. Surprisingly, they seem to be one of the cleanest estalishments in the city. I even have it on good authority that they groom the rats once a week.

Inside...well, it's like some form of hamburger-smelling hell...the lights are always a touch too bright, the sounds too loud and the smells...grease. I can deal with a lot of things, but, like water torture, it could drive someone crazy.

Someone like Daisuke Motomiya. Don't get me wrong here...I love him to death (no matter how crazy he is, or tedious at times, or how much he can cost me, or...) but...he's mad as a wet hen. He almost constantly finds ways to remind me of this.

And every time I bring it up, he tends to ask me if I consider myself a shining example of sanity. Bastard. He's a gorgeous bastard, though. And a wonderful one.

He's working at the grill as I walk in, standing with his back to me, hair half-slicked down with sweat (the other half is as crazy as ever...which is as crazy as every other bit of him...) and apron tied tightly to his waist. His digimon, Chibimon (and that name is incredibly accurate as well...) is sitting on the counter contentedly gnawing on a cookie, guarding a smallish pile next to him, looking shockingly like a dog with a biscuit. Three pats of meat are sizzling on the grill...I can't fucking STAND that smell. It makes my stomach turn like nothing else. Daisuke comes home some nights smelling like that...and...

I put Wormmon on the counter next to Chibimon (who immediately lights up at the sight and hands another cookie over to Wormmon. Never let it be said that digimon don't act like their people) light a cigarette to cover the smell and take a long drag. Daisuke turns from the grill, looking like he's going to yell, but when he sees me his face lights up like a streetlight at dusk. "Ken! Sit...what can I...no coffee, right? No, no, tea. Black. Only person I know who'd drink tea in a diner..."

"This isn't a social call, love." I say, but I sit as I'm saying it. Daisuke sets a saucer at my elbow for an ashtray...that could get him in trouble. His boss (who's also his sister...) doesn't like patrons smoking. Come to think of it, she doesn't like me much in the first place.

At this point in my life, she's in damn good company.

Daisuke happens to catch me peering around as he returns with hot water. "Jun's out today. Don't worry." He says. "Wait." Daisuke runs back and throws those patties onto buns, then puts them on plates off to the side. "Order up!" He calls, and the waitress runs up to grab the plates. She gives me a glare as she passes...damn. I'm getting too used to that.

Everyone here has their own reasons to hate me, though. Long term ones. All Daisuke's fault, of course. ALL Daisuke's fault.

"So..." The man in question is leaning over the counter looking right at me with the tiniest grin running around his lips. "What are you here for?"

I grin at him. "Don't you even TRY to tempt me, Dai." I say, then take a long drag off my cigarette. "I have a case."

He raises an eyebrow, then gets this LOOK in his eyes. The little warning lights go off in my head, and I remember both why I usually don't discuss these things with him...which also happens to be one of the major reasons his friends hate me. "No, Daisuke. You can't come. Leave the bat at home."

"But Ken..." He reaches out a hand like he's going to stroke my hair, but I avoid it...if nothing else, the thought of that smell on me for the rest of the day isn't one I want to deal with.

"NO!" Then I put down my cigarette on the saucer and reach for the cup. It tastes weird...I look down. Just hot water. I look up, eyebrow raised, and watch as embarrassment turns his cheeks slightly pink.

"Right. Teabags. Hold on." He turns back to the cabinet over the grill to rummage.

At just that point, the waitress comes back and slams an order slip on the pin with the kind of force that could easily shatter mountains. "Order!"

"Hold on, 'Kari." He turns back and drops the teabag in my cup. "Ken, make it..."

"DAISUKE!"

"Hold on, what do you..."

Kari comes up and looks at him, hands on her hips. She doesn't get angry easily, in my experience. This could... "We have customers, Daisuke. Talk to him on your own time."

"Sweetheart, this is business." I tell her, and watch as she starts to get the kind of look that I associate with Miyako, right before she starts breaking things. Especially before she starts breaking things I never thought could break...like oak doors, lamp posts, granite curbs and parking meters.

Daisuke tells me, often, that 'Kari's actually a very sweet woman. I can only really assume that all this means she must hate me with the intensity of a thousand burning suns.

She looks over at Daisuke, who's looking at me and doesn't seem like he's about to go right back to work and sighs, powerless against the flow of reality. Quickly she grabs the burning cigarette from the saucer and grinds it out. "You have a minute." She says "And I'm not leaving this spot until Daisuke gets back to work."

I nod, then pull the photo out of my jacket and hold it out to Daisuke, who wipes his hands on his apron before taking it from me. Hikari, curious in spite of herself, leans in to look, too. I swear even Wormmon and Chibimon are peering in, but I don't want to break out of this to check...if nothing else, it would probably take time, and I trust Hikari with that "one minute" thing.

Hikari gasps, then grabs the photo from Daisuke's hand. Then she looks up at me, angry and sad at once.

"Ken Ichijouji..." She says, slowly, "Why do you have a photo of my brother?"

I give her a glance, then pull my cigarettes out of my pocket and light one...damn regulations. Even if it wasn't for the smell, I need something to calm my nerves. She wrinkles her nose like a rabbit, but she doesn't say anything...surprising, that.

"Your brother?" I ask, slowly.

"Taichi. My brother. Why do you have a photo of him?"

"He's my case."

"...you?"

That was not a kindly "you." That was a "you" somewhere between disgust and pity...like what someone would say to a small, very dirty child who'd just declared themself her boss. She really does hate me, I think.

Well, I didn't get into this business to be liked.

"Yes, me, darling. Why not me?"

She takes a deep breath, then picks up the order from the counter, shoves it into Daisuke's hand and points him towards the grill. Daisuke actually gives me a guilty look as he's turning, but he goes back to work nonetheless. Hikari walks closer to me, and leans in as if she was about to share the formula to turn lead into gold, but the look on her face is actually softening. "Ken..." She says, slowly. "I don't really...I don't want...I don't...I mean, you got kicked out of the police. Why should..."

"You know the reasons behind that, Hikari. And I'm on this case..."

"But you aren't."

"...yes, I am, Hikari. I've been hired for this."

"Who hired you?"

"Friend of your brother's. She didn't give me a name...she just called herself 'Miss I.'"

"Miss I?"

"Yeah."

"Never heard of her."

"Well, maybe..." I stop before I fall into something I don't want to deal with...I don't really want to push this newfound kindness of hers any further than it should go, and quickly say, "She's the one that hired me. I can't say anything more."

"You can't?"

"No. But if you..."

"I have someone looking out for this already, Ken."

"Who?"

She smiles and looks up. "The Angels."

Great. I never knew she was a religious nutjob. "Well, that's great, 'Kari." I say, slowly. I've learned you don't mess with things folks like that. I have a few scars that can tell you that religious sorts can be the most dangerous. "But maybe...well, this is my case, too."

She sets the photo down and, with exaggerated care, turns it towards me. I pick it up and put it back in my pocket "Well, just don't get in their way. And finish your tea and leave. If nothing else..." She actually seems to glitter at me...something like stars, or light on water. "You need to get on your case, don't you."

I raise an eyebrow, but swallow my tea, quickly. "Come on, Wormmon." I say, picking him up. Chibimon grabs one of his feet as I lift him, but he falls back to the counter. Fortunately, like cats, digimon always land on their feet. Or, more accurately in this case, his behind, but he isn't hurt.

Daisuke turns and smiles at me. "See you later, Ken."

I put money on the counter. "Bye, Dai. I'll see you later."

And then I walk outside, back into the apparently everpresent mood-setting rain.