Well... it's been a while, hasn't it? Haha... hahaha... haaa... I am so sorry. I still know all the story beats for this thing, it's just getting to them that's the problem.

Fun fact, I realized that the last time I worked on this, I still had my old computer with Word on it... ouch.

—

Cardboard could replicate. Shotaro was sure of it. That was the only explanation he had for the mind-boggling number of boxes stuffed into the office storage room. When had it gotten so bad?

He sat on the only three square feet of floor that was clear of junk, the door open to give him some light. Two boxes full of old, dusty case files had been pushed out into the main office already, and he was digging through a third box, half papers and half knickknacks. He'd stared at so many case files that they'd stopped making sense, so the knickknacks were getting most of his attention. There were paperweights probably older than he was, something that might have been for holding memos before all the hooks got broken, and then at the bottom of the box... children's toys?

He fished one out. Slightly larger than his palm, it was a plastic bat with a lens set inside its open mouth. When he pushed the right wing down, it clicked like a camera shutter. Between the bat's ears was the viewfinder, though the view was blurry with caked-on grime. He checked out the others: a toy spider with a wristband and hat might have been a clock display, and a flip phone with the legs of a stag beetle that might have made beeping noises when the buttons were pressed but now could barely manage a squeak.

"Old friend of mine designed those." The intruding voice almost startled him out of his skin, and then he dropped his head in relief and embarassment when he realized it was Soukichi, standing in the doorway with a little smile on his face. "They never were a hit with Akiko, but apparently her youngest just loved them."

"And she gave them to you?" Shotaro looked from his boss back to the toys before returning them to the box.

Soukichi nodded. "Fumine wanted more children to play with them, even if she wasn't going to keep making them after she married into the Sonozaki family."

That made Shotaro pause midway into standing up, his eyes snapping to his boss. "Sonozaki...? Wait, you're friends with Raito's mother?"

"Yes." A puzzled face gave way to realization. "Oh, that's right. Akiko mentioned Raito came by a few days ago." He held out a hand and Shotaro accepted being pulled to his feet. "Careful, Shotaro. The world the Sonozaki family walks in is even more dangerous than the one we walk as detectives."

Shotaro blinked, certain he couldn't be hearing anyone think that the scrawny, too-intellectual Raito could possibly be dangerous. Then he realized Soukichi was waiting for an answer, and he shrugged. "Sure. He's not a bad guy though, Boss."

"Didn't say he was." Soukichi looked out towards the office for a moment, then back at his apprentice. "You shouldn't be holed up here all day. Go out, take a walk. I'll call you if a case comes up."

He hesitated, eyeing the piles and piles of boxes still to be sorted, but it wasn't like he'd planned on doing it all in one go anyway. "Okay. Thanks, boss."

...

He loved walking through Fuuto; there was always a mix of familiar and new, things he'd been seeing since he was a kid combined with things popping in just for a while or slowly evolving to something different. The wind carried many things through the city, but some were too entrenched for even it to move.

Today his feet carried him to a massive, artsy-looking building that he'd only visited as a child before: the Fuuto Museum. A few seconds of consideration later, he shrugged and continued inside. There were probably lots of new exhibits, so a few were sure to be interesting.

And he was certainly right about the collection expanding, because he didn't remember walking through near this many wings the last time. Fossils, art, history... He stopped next to a massive tyrannosaurus skeleton and eyed the plaque explaining that it had been found almost fully in tact. From the plaque, his eyes traced along from the tip of the tail up to the massive, tooth-filled skull. Amazing to imagine what it must have looked like alive.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

Holy cr-he twisted to the side, and then felt a bit stupid when the speaker, an older man in well-tailored clothes, raised a brow at him. Second time today he'd been surprised like that, and Shotaro looked away with heat rising in his face. "Sorry... I didn't hear you..."

The man waved the apology off. "My fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you." He extended his hand. "Sonozaki Ryube, owner of this fine museum."

Shotaro shook the offered hand, though now he eyed the man with different curiosity. So this was Raito's father. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Hidari Shotaro."

Ryube smiled. "Ah, so you're the detective my son met not long ago. He told me about your work."

Why did that make him nervous? It wasn't just the comment, either. Everything about Ryube made him nervous. "Did he?" Well, the man was one of the most influential resident of Fuuto. It made sense to be a bit nervous.

"Yes. He seemed quite fascinated... His mother and I, less so." And the amiable expression shifted, just a bit, towards disapproval. "Your line is work can be dangerous, Mr. Hidari. Surely you understand a parent's worry when their child might get involved with such a person."

"I'm sorry." The apology was reflex, though a second later Shotaro frowned and wondered why he felt the need to apologize at all. "I always try to keep unrelated civilians out of my work. Raito's a sharp kid... I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to worry you." And he hoped Ryube didn't know about Raito coming with him to confront Nori Hiyama.

Ryube smiled, his eyes on the dinosaur skeleton again. "Of course not. And you wouldn't do anything to worry your parents either, right?" He clapped Shotaro's arm, and it took more effort than it should have not to move away. "Enjoy the museum." And just like that, the conversation was over, and Ryube left Shotaro alone with the t-rex.

Watching the man's retreating back for a few seconds, Shotaro shivered, rubbing his arms against the sudden chill. "I don't get it..." he muttered to no one.

Regardless, the museum had lost its appeal. He tried not to feel the tyrannosaurus' empty eyes on his back as he left.