Edit 2/5/17: Looked at this for the first time in ages, and I realized my line breaks were removed at some point. I went ahead and edited the story (The Prologue & Chapters 1-6) to stick them back in, and cleaned up a typo here or there. Enjoy!

This is brought to you from a combination of inspirations including both finally finishing the Pet Shop of Horrors manga and reading an extra from the Shin Pet Shop of Horrors (Thank you Night Exile for Scanlations!) where Leon was looking for D in Germany. I've been itching to do something for this series since I fell in love with it over the summer last year. Thanks for reading! Long live Pet Shop of Horrors!

Dappled

Prologue

"He's in Japan."

Leon's eyes snapped open as a very familiar voice echoed in his ears. His descent to the ground was rather undignified and left Leon's face in the pavement. He had to hold his nose as he turned up to see a very familiar face to match the voice looking down at him. A familiar face that he'd been searching all over the world for. "It's you!"

"Shinjuku Kabuki-chou, to be exact." Count D smirked a little as the good detective sputtered from his place on the ground. Sneaking up on him while he was daydreaming on a bench had been a good idea.

Leon took a good look at the man standing before him and finally took notice of the dark cloak hanging off his shoulders. He should have known his luck wasn't that good. Leon stared at the D look-a-like for a minute before pulling himself off the ground. He reached inside his jacket for a cigarette that he knew he was going to need. "You're the grandfather am I right? Who was hanging out as Q-chan."

"That is correct, though my name is Count D. You could have the good graces to use it now that you know."

"Q-chan sounds just as good to me." Leon pat some dust off his jeans before asking the question that was on his mind. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Such language for an officer. And my dear grandson tried so hard to teach you some etiquette, too."

Leon growled at the smirking face in front of him. Whether he was a flying rodent or a Count the man was still annoying as hell. "That didn't answer my question."

"I'd think it was obvious why I was here, and I've already done what I came to do." The Count smirked and turned with his cloak flowing in the wind to walk away.

"What the hell!" Leon made a grab for the hanging garment and swung the other man back around. Keeping a hold on the guy, as useless a move as that is considering it's a D, Leon continued with his badgering. If the detective was anything, it was persistent and he could care less about the attention he was drawing to themselves. "And what exactly did you do other than show up to piss me off like you usually do?"

"I told you where my grandson is, didn't I?"

Leon had to stare at the sickeningly sweet smile that he had grown to get used to seeing on his own Count D and it hit him like a brick just why the grandfather had come to pay him a visit. "He's in Japan? That Kabuki-chou place?"

"You can listen!" Count D pat Leon on the head. "Such a good boy."

"I'm not a dog you bastard! Knock it off!" Leon smacked the hand away. Count D's grandfather or not, Leon could still only saw the little bat-thing he would fuss with on a daily basis. Much as he hated to admit it, he felt like he knew this Count as well as his own exasperating Count. "Why are you helping me now anyway?"

"That is a good question." Count D shook Leon's hand off of his cape and put a finger to his lips. "Maybe I was tired of you always missing him by a few days or weeks. Your luck truly is horrible."

"Okay, that still doesn't explain why you'd want me to find him in the first place, though." Leon frowned and crossed his arms. The sound of the fountain water flowing in the background kept a steady rhythm as he waited for an answer. By now the audience they had attracted had filtered off to their own business wherever they had to go for the day in a park.

"I wouldn't quite say 'want' if I were to fully describe it." Count D smiled softly a bit. "Call it more like 'returning a favor,' I guess you could say. You did save my grandson from a few scraps in the day, or at least tried, and you kept him company. That deserves a little reward, even if you are a human."

Leon started laughing suddenly and gave a huge grin. "That sounds so weird coming from a guy I fought with every time I went to visit. I don't know which one of you was worse, Q-chan or that goat thing."

"Ah, I think we were getting along fine there towards the end, though I think that might have been more Chris' influence than your own. Such a good boy, your brother."

"Got that right." Leon grinned and scratched his hair out. The detective had learned long ago to never expect anything like logic from the D family. "Thanks for the tip old man. Want me to give your grandson your regards when I pop in to punch his lights out?"

"If you would be so kind. Though, I have a feeling he'll be angry with me for telling you where he ran off to this time." The Count turned from Leon and began walking away with a slight smirk on his face. It was time things got riled up for his grandson anyway. "Good luck, Mr. Detective."

Leon smirked as he watched the ageless Count D disappear into the crowd of people with his creepy cape flapping behind him. So his own Count D was in Japan hiding was he? Well, there was nothing that was going to deter this detective this time! He'd been looking for the man far to long to let this one chance slip through his fingers.