Page 21 of Pandion

“No, not really. Are you all right?”

“I think I’m having an episode.” Kagesawa stepped in. He’d been to Takazaki’s apartment numerous times but never uninvited or unexpected.

“Come on in. Can I get you something? Do you need a distraction or someone to talk to?” Takazaki guided him into his kitchen.

“I don’t know, both?”

“A beer?”

“Yes.” Kagesawa knew it was selfish, but he didn’t have the capacity to worry about it.I’m sorry.He downed the beer in one go.

“Did something happen with Harumine-san?” Takazaki asked and gestured for Kagesawa to take a seat at the kitchen table while he rummaged through his fridge for something to eat.

“No. It’s the old issue resurfacing.”

“Ah, I see.” Takazaki offered him another beer and started to chop some vegetables. “The tall one with the glasses, or the original one?”

Takazaki didn’t know all the details, but he knew enough to gauge the severity. He’d been the one to discover Kagesawa the final evening before the arrest. Up until then, Kagesawa hadmanaged to hide what was happening for almost a year because Shimizu had avoided coming to his place.

The man had slipped up that day and forgotten where he was, and the noise had carried over to Takazaki’s apartment next door. It had escalated when Takazaki had been pulled into it, but at least there’d been plenty of proof of the misconduct.

“It’s probably both,” Kagesawa admitted. Takazaki knew of Seimei as well. They’d even met a few times.

“I’m not going to lecture you about the drinking, but the young one did seem very sensitive, so… maybe keep that in mind.” Takazaki set the vegetables aside and slapped a few sausages into a frying pan. He wasn’t the type to moralise, but he’d occasionally voice his concerns, and probably rightfully so, when Kagesawa was leaning too heavily towards self-medication.

“I know. That’s part of the problem. I need a break.” Kagesawa downed the second beer.

“How much does he know? Everything?”

“No, I can’t tell him.”

“Does he at least know you’re here?”

“Probably.”

“Through the link? You didn’t tell him where you were going?” Takazaki sighed. He set two bowls of dip onto a tray on the table. “Stay there and don’t move. I’ll take care of this, but you owe me one.”

Harumine could tell Kagesawa was next door and had a rough idea of what was happening from the effects of it, but he didn’t expect the doorbell to ring and was thus both startled and flustered when he answered it.

“Takazaki-san?”

“Hi, I picked up a stray a moment ago. I thought I’d pop by to make sure it’s OK if I keep him for a while.”

“Um, yeah, it’s fine…”

“Are you going to manage? He seems thirsty. I’m going to try to feed him something and keep him in check, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

“I suppose… In that case, can you keep him overnight?”

“Sure. That’s no problem.”

“How was he? Did he seem OK to you?”

“Ah, he’ll be fine in the morning. He sometimes needs a bit of a break. I’ve seen worse.”

“OK, well, I appreciate you letting me know. I could sense he was nearby, but I’m an empath, not a mind-reader.” Harumine made an effort to laugh as naturally as possible but wasn’t sure how well it was disguising his nerves. “Oh, one more thing,” he said before Takazaki could leave. “If he starts acting strange…”

“Strange?”

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