Chapter Text
Daichi’s work week was going about as well as he had expected. It was summer, so most of the cases Karasuno Precinct was dealing with involved rambunctious teenagers, spray paint, and some form of public property. Because of this, the entire office was full of said teenagers and everyone’s stress levels were pretty high. When Chief Ukai dropped a murder case file onto his desk that Thursday afternoon, he practically wept with joy. Not that he was happy a murder had happened, but purely because it was more interesting than the hundreds of vandalism cases he had been dealing with.
“Sawamura,” someone called as he started shuffling through the files. He looked up to see Kiyoko motioning to him. Kiyoko was the precinct’s secretary/receptionist/glue/etc. Essentially, she kept the station running so that they could focus on catching bad guys. She was dressed in her normal attire today, a pencil skirt and blazer, black hair pulled out of her face, thin-framed glasses framing her calm eyes. But she also looked a little more frazzled today than usual. It was only then that Daichi noticed the very long line waiting at the front desk.
“Yeah?” he called back, slipping the murder file into his desk drawer before joining her at the front desk.
“Would you mind helping out with a few of these small issues?”
“But…”
“Please.” Kiyoko’s voice was strained. She was at her limit. With a sigh, Daichi nodded his consent and turned to address the first issue.
--
It was two hours later when Daichi was finally able to break away from the front desk on the excuse that he needed to use the restroom. Splashing cool water onto his face, he let out a slow breath. Only three hours to go , he thought. The bags below his eyes were clearly visible, even in the poorly lit bathroom.
He’d always been told he looked like a cop. Broad shoulders, defined jaw, short-cropped black hair, thighs that could kill a man. All the makings of a good cop. So it came to no one’s surprise when he pursued that career path. And after years of being a street cop, he’d somehow worked his way up to being a detective. But every once in awhile--on slow days like today--he’d wonder if it was too late for a career change. Maybe he’d get more sleep as an accountant or something.
Shaking the thought out of his head, he returned to his desk ready to take another look at that murder file. But he was quickly side-tracked by the man sitting next to his desk. Taking his own seat, he asked, “Can I help you?”
“Oh,” the man had jumped upon Daichi sitting down. “The woman at the front desk told me to sit here and wait. I’m just here to pay a parking ticket, I don’t know why I’m talking to a detective and…” he was rambling now and while Daichi was tempted to cut him off, he took the opportunity to have a good look at the man. Was man even the right word for him? Angel seemed a bit more appropriate. His hair just the perfect mix between white and silver, the light reflecting off it giving the man an almost halo. His eyes a brown that Daichi didn’t think existed until he saw this man’s eyes. A beauty mark below his left eye that was just distracting enough to be perfect. And a body that somehow was the ideal balance between skinny and toned.
Daichi shook his head. Whoa there, buddy. Getting a little too gay, there. The angel had finally stopped rambling and was now looking at Daichi expectantly. He quickly explained, “We’re a little short staffed right now, so I’m just helping out. Don’t worry, this should be a generally painless process.”
Relief spread across the angel’s face and Daichi couldn’t help but smile. “Thank goodness.”
“Now, I’ll just need your name so I can look up your ticket in our systems.”
“Ah, right. My name’s Sugawara Koushi.”
“Sugawara Koushi…” Daichi said aloud as he typed it in, trying to cement the letters into his brain. “Ah, here it is. Now, did you want to refute the ticket or just pay?”
Sugawara sighed before saying, “I’d love to refute it, but I’m pretty sure I’d lose. The fire hydrant was put there long before I decided to put my car there. So, I’ll just be paying today.” He finally smiled and Daichi knew he could die happy.
“And how will you be paying for that?” He was glad he had gone through this process enough times that he could speak without stuttering. His insides may be freaking out, but at least on the outside he looked like the cool cop people described him as.
“Check, preferably,” Sugawara replied, digging through his bag for his checkbook. “Who should I make it out to?”
“You can just make it out to the Karasuno Police Department.”
He quickly wrote it before standing and handing it over to Daichi. “Thank you very much, Detective…”
“Sawamura.”
“Ah, well, thanks Detective Sawamura. If that’s everything, I’ll be going.”
“Right, of course. Have a good day.” And then he was gone. Daichi stared down at the check and all he could think was, He even has cute handwriting .
He was sitting on cloud nine until he heard an extremely smug voice say,“What’s got you looking so happy?” With a groan Daichi turned to face his partner. Kuroo Tetsurou could be described in three words: tall, sly, and bedhead. The man was about a head taller than Daichi with a permanent smirk and black hair that had somehow learned to defy the laws of physics. And while he was a dang good detective, he was also extremely annoying to be partners with.
“Nothing,” Daichi mumbled back, clipping the check to a parking ticket completion slip before placing it on his ‘completed’ pile. “Though I have something that’ll brighten your day.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” Kuroo had taken a seat at his own desk which faced Daichi’s directly.
“A new murder case,” he replied, pulling the folder out from his drawer. “Chief dropped it off this morning.” Kuroo lit up at this news, wheeling his chair around so he could look over Daichi’s shoulder. There wasn’t a ton of information inside, just a few phone transcripts and the official report. “Well, glad we have so much to go on.” Daichi tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but they normally at least had some photos or something.
“Let’s ask Chief. Maybe that’s only part of it?” Kuroo suggested, already standing. Daichi followed suit, and they made their way to Chief Ukai’s office. After knocking, they entered. “Excuse us, sir. Sorry to interrupt, but we have a few questions about this case.” He didn’t sound very sorry.
“Oh, right,” Chief Ukai replied. The precinct’s chief did not look the part of a police chief. He had bleached hair pulled back with a headband and a sour expression on his face almost constantly. But he had a track record of catching more criminals than most cops could ever dream of, so everyone respected him. “Detectives Bokuto and Akaashi were originally assigned to it, but then they decided to up and get married, so I’ve assigned it to you guys now. The crime scene is still closed off, you can take a team down there and do an actual sweep. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal, so keep it quick and clean. I don’t want any trouble this time, got it?” He specifically eyed Kuroo and Daichi couldn’t blame him. His partner was like a magnet for trouble and elaborate cases.
“Of course, sir! Nice and clean!” Kuroo called as he pulled Daichi out of the office, shutting the door behind him. “Alright, let’s get down to that crime scene! It’s been way too long since we’ve caught ourselves a killer.”
Daichi sighed, trying to hide the excitement he was feeling. It was cases like these that reminded him why he became a cop. To catch criminals and make the world a better place. And while he grabbed his coat and keys, he quickly forgot about all the mundane cases he’d been dealing with up until now. Well, most of them. The angel with the parking ticket would stick with him for a while.
--
The crime had taken place in a small apartment complex towards the edge of town. Not normally known for it’s criminal activity, but Daichi knew by now that locations could vary a lot in murder cases. He’d certainly seen weirder. “Remember that murder in the fish canning factory?” Kuroo said, as if he could read Daichi’s mind.
“Ugh, don’t remind me. I still can’t eat canned tuna,” he sighed. Hopefully this case wouldn’t leave quite as scarring memories. They made their way to the fifth floor where room 507 had been taped off with two officers standing guard. Officers Nishinoya--a short, spunky man with bleached fringe--and Tanaka--a taller, short-tempered man with a shaved head. Daichi mentally prepared himself for the tirade that was about to hit him. It’s not that he disliked the two, it’s just that they were...energetic. And prone to long winded stories.
“Detective Sawamura! Detective Kuroo!” Nishinoya called upon their approach.
“Please, keep it down, Nishinoya. You don’t want to disturb the residents,” Daichi reminded him.
“Right, sorry.” His volume had only slightly lowered, but Daichi considered it a victory. “I’m just super nervous about this case! Did you know that my boyfriend lives in this apartment building! Just one floor below, too. Room 407! Isn’t that crazy?”
“Actually, yeah. Is he alright? Have you talked to him?” Daichi asked, ducking under the police tape and into the living room of the apartment. Nishinoya was dating a firefighter named Asahi who Daichi actually quite liked. He’d had the chance to work with him on several arson cases and admired the dedication Asahi showed to his work. Did he understand how such a sweet person as Asahi could date a fireball like Nishinoya? Not really, but he tried not to question it too much.
“Yeah, I’ve been stopping down there every couple hours just to check in. He’s a little shaken up, but doing alright otherwise.”
“Well, that’s good. Return to your posts, I need to ask our forensics team what they’ve found.”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
Kuroo and Daichi had a system in approaching crime scenes. Kuroo would take notes on all the room details. Condition of doors, windows, furniture, etc. Daichi would deal with the actual body. They had come up with this system when Daichi had discovered what Kuroo likes to refer to as “an aversion to anything gross.” In other words, Kuroo had a weak stomach and Daichi was kind enough not to tease him about it. Anymore.
“Takeda, what have you found?” Daichi asked as he approached the head forensic scientist. Takeda Ittetsu was a little older than the chief, but one of the shortest people Daichi knew. With a mop of black hair and square glasses it was sometimes hard to remember just how old he was. But his experience showed in the way he could examine a body. A body that was currently bloody and hunched over a kitchen table.
“Our victim’s name is Akeno Shizuma, age 30. He appears to have been shot three times in the back. However, based on blood clotting, I don’t believe that to be the actual cause of death,” Takeda explained, pointing to the three bullet wounds as he talked. Daichi was fairly used to examining dead bodies by now, but it certainly wasn’t a fun experience.
“What was, then?”
“Poison is at the top of my list right now. I won’t know until I do a full autopsy, though.”
“Alright. Well, I’ll keep that in mind as we continue the investigation. Let me know if you find anything else.”
“Of course.”
As he started looking for Kuroo, he took in the surroundings. It appeared to be a pretty standard apartment. Basic furniture and living essentials with a few personal belongings sprinkled about, but nothing that immediately caught Daichi’s eye. He hoped Kuroo had found something of more value. Of course when he did find his partner, evidence did not appear to be the first thing on his mind. “You realize right now probably isn’t the best time to be texting someone?”
“I know, but I just wanted to let Kenma know that I probably wouldn’t be home for dinner since this case will probably keep me here for a while,” Kuroo explained, never looking up from his cell phone. Kuroo’s recent boyfriend, Kenma Kozume, was a short man with terrible roots and an even worse sense of social cues. He was a consultant for the police department, so Daichi had worked with him several times. As far as he knew, Kenma really only liked two things: video games and Kuroo. But hey, if he made Kuroo happy then Daichi didn’t have any reason to complain.
“Ugh, I’ve been so surrounded by romance lately. First Bokuto and Akaashi decide to up and get married, then Asahi and Nishinoya started dating, and you and Kenma. And of course everyone knows Takeda and the captain are totally doing it behind everyone’s backs. Why do I feel like the only single guy in the precinct?”
“There, there,” Kuroo cooed, patting Daichi on the head condescendingly. “You’ll find your prince charming someday. But until then, let’s talk about a murder case.”
“Nothing like a good ol’ murder to make me forget about romance.”
“Exactly!”
“Well, Takeda thinks the victim was most likely poisoned before being shot three times in the back. What have you got?”
“No signs of forced entry, so I’d say the victim probably knew whoever did it. The blood is all contained to the kitchen, so it was a clean job as well. Other than that, I haven’t been able to find much as far as evidence goes. If poison is likely though, we should probably swab the dishes and take some samples from the fridge, see if we can identify where the poison was coming from.”
“Good idea. You lead that, I’m going to take Nishinoya and talk to the neighbors, see if anyone has seen or heard anything.”
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Nishinoya,” Daichi called, walking back towards the front door.
“Yes, sir!” Nishinoya replied, standing at the ready.
“You’re coming with me to talk to the neighbors.”
“Awesome!”
“But please, be...calm.” Daichi couldn’t think of another word to use, but Nishinoya appeared to have gotten the message. He started taking deep breaths as they walked to the first apartment. “Good. Just leave all the talking to me.”
--
They’d visited every apartment on the fifth floor and so far no one had seen or heard anything. Either this apartment complex really didn’t get involved in each other’s lives or the murdered was just that good. No matter the case, it left Daichi with nothing to go on. “Well, let’s try the floor down, shall we?”
“Oh, yeah! We can stop by Asahi’s apartment. He has a roommate, too. You can ask him all your serious detective questions.”
“Sure, we can start there.”
They approached apartment number 407 and Nishinoya immediately knocked loudly. But when the door opened, Asahi was not standing on the other side. Instead, there was an angel.