pricelesstears | @ferrociously.

[ Jouno has not been in a good mood for days. Tetcho is avoiding him to the point of refusing to sleep in the same bed with him, and work has been anything but kind to him. While the Hunting Dogs could certainly operate with a limited number of operatives, being down one and with a potential traitor in another meant they had to at least start looking. Jouno has recruited before -- Tachihara himself is proof of that -- so he's been in charge of the effort, and thankfully, it'd been enough to bury himself in to not deal with whatever had been going on with his boyfriend.

If Tetcho could even be considered that anymore. Could you date someone who would barely even speak to you?

It's all besides the point for now, though. They, as a group, had more pressing concerns -- namely the mysterious doctor and figuring out what to do with her -- but that's what this meeting with Tachihara is for. It's easily disguised as regular drinking after work, and really, it's not a total lie. Jouno does have every intention of getting incredibly drunk. ]

Whiskey, please.

[ He'll wait until Tachihara has ordered and the waitress has left before speaking again. ]

I reached out to a contact of mine about Doctor Takemi. I have yet to hear back, but he should provide us with valuable insight.

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He is.

[ Jouno had tried to have that changed -- to have Tetcho's appointment switched with Tachihara's -- but he hadn't had any luck. Tetcho wouldn't have approved of the switch had he known anyway.

He takes another drink of whiskey before replying: ]

This isn't the mafia anymore, Tachihara-kun. You don't need to cover up for your superiors. We're the ones in charge for a reason.

So there's a time limit.

[He watches Jouno keep drinking, and wonders if he should say something. He shouldn't, right? It's Jouno's business, and Jouno never likes when Tachihara questions him on it, but at the same time, that's a bit worrying.

They can figure this out first, though.]

You're right. I'm still getting used to being back. But we have to protect the Hunting Dogs' reputation, though, right?

There is. We only have a few days at most.

[ The time crunch is severe. Jouno isn't sure they'll be able to achieve anything, even if they, as planned, start tonight. ]

Yes. If they're going to kill us, I'd rather they let us die with dignity than as lab rats on an operating table.

[ Their position had always come with risks, and it's not as if their surgery had ever been safe, but... ]

Sorry. I should keep those thoughts to myself.

[ Drinking a little too quickly had loosened his tongue, it seems. ]

Then I'll work fast. I don't want Tetcho-san getting hurt.

[Hearing Jouno say that is definitely worrying. It's not surprising - there's a reason why Tachihara didn't trust the doctor either - but he hadn't expected him to say something like that out loud.]

You can say it, Jouno-san. I agree. We have our pride as Hunting Dogs, after all.

I don't either.

[ Even if Tetcho won't speak to him.

Jouno sighs, twirling a strand of hair with his gloved finger. ]

I'm not sure we have much pride left. Were it not for the Armed Detective Agency, we would have failed completely, and now... [ If there had been any hope that a new doctor was a positive change, it had left Jouno with Fyodor's report. ]

Well, the first step is to find out what we're dealing with.

[He considers that for a few moments. He picks his beer back up, but mostly just for something to hold in his hand, twirling the bottle between his fingers.]

Our pride is our own, I think. I still have pride in the Hunting Dogs.

[He means that. Even if it's complicated. Even if Jouno probably doesn't want to hear that from a traitor, though at least Jouno can tell he's being honest. Though there's one more thing that's worrying him.]

Is keeping me around making it harder for the Hunting Dogs to rebuild that trust?

[ Hearing that makes Jouno feel a little better. As long as they can still have pride in what they are, they can rebuild the faith the world used to have in them. ]

I do, too.

[ The fact that Tachihara is a traitor doesn't factor in; he'd chosen to at least try and stay with them, after all. His question has Jouno pause though. ]

Neither the Captain nor I have reported our concerns with you to anyone higher up. [ He shouldn't be telling Tachihara that. In fact, it shouldn't be the case at all. ]

You are for us to deal with. No one else.

[He blinks, openly surprised. And a little happy, too, to hear Jouno say it like that. He shouldn't smile, but --]

I won't let you down again.

[He's made up his mind. He's staying with them. It does feel good to be back, to finally feel like he's part of the Hunting Dogs again, and it's making the pain of missing the mafia a little easier.]

Thank you, Jouno-san. I know you're risking a lot for me.

I hope not. A second time, and we really will have to kill you.

[ Is that admitting they'd decided not to? Maybe. ]

You're one of us, Tachihara-kun.

I was prepared for the possibility.

[He wants to believe that means they won't. He knows he still has a way to go before he's fully clear, because Jouno and Teruko don't forgive easily, but he also knows Jouno wouldn't say that if he didn't mean it.]

It's really good to be back.

You're a good soldier, Tachihara-kun.

[ At least this topic is a little lighter, feels a little less like something Jouno has failed at. ]

We're glad to have you back, too.

That means a lot, Jouno-san.

[It really does. All he wants is to make them proud.]

But since we don't have much time, we should do it now, right?

[before Jouno gets too drunk.]

Yes, but we should probably not do so here.

[ A shame. He'd wanted to drink a little more.

He will at least finish off the glass that he had. ]

[Tachihara has barely touched his beer, so he'll just leave it. He'll wait for Jouno - a little worried that he's too drunk, that he'll hurt him more than he means to - and then head out of the bar.]

If we're gonna say we were training, you should probably give me a few extra bruises, too.

@ferrociously.

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