SELFISH [Shirou x Reader]

14. Crimewave

Author's Notes:

Before the scene of the crime.

Optional music to listen to as you read: (click on the comment to the right)

[ph] = preferred honorific

[pn] = preferred noun

[ppr] = preferred pronoun

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"Where were you on the twenty third?"

"C'mon man, I did nothing wrong— I was assisting Matsuki for a fundraiser to, you know, help the Joolim Orphanage. I had to meet some of the vendors who were late to the walk through: that's why I wasn't anywhere near the site. We are extremely on a tight budget and can't afford to lose time. Ya know how it is with people being late n' all."

"According to the transcripts, you weren't."

"I swear was out! Whaddya want from me? And where did you get those papers from, huh?"

"Answer me truthfully; where were you?"

"I told you, I was meeting up with the vendors who weren't showing up! They weren't responding to our calls!"

"And you had all of six months to plan this stunt?"

"N-no, what the hell, kid. No, we weren't expecting this!"

As the other pulled on their collar and continued to ramble, Shirou closed his eyes. The world dimmed into a pitch black and the vestiges of objects laid themselves out on front of him. He began to follow the traces of evidence that the other left behind. Even if the suspect refused to come clean, Shirou would make sure to expose the missing clues.

They were in a small car, preparing some documents on the side. The only other person in the vehicle was the chauffeur. Such a luxury: were they the director of compliance for a philanthropic initiative or a greedy conglomerate?

There were seven vendors in total who this person could have contacted. Each one was distinctly located within the midtown and upper-east side of Anima City. The car went past the streets and into the slums. By this point, the car was far away from the roads that lead to the vendors' businesses. The car then made a right into the port, where there were several cargo ships docked in the distance. The director could have been taking a detour, but that seemed too convenient of an excuse.

After the chauffeur parked the car on the side, he opened the passenger door for the director. After getting out of their car, the director took a few papers out of the folder in their hand. They aligned all of their edges together before looking at their watch. More meaningless details flashed across Shirou's mind. He was looking for someone or something, that would implicate this person.

Shirou further concentrated on his thoughts.

Eventually, another car pulled up to the one by the director. An unfamiliar person stepped out with a cigarette in his mouth. He wasn't dressed too out of the ordinary: baseball cap, sweatshirt, and some joggers. That must have been a rogue contact. They were conversing before the other pulled out another pair of documents that were identical to the ones that the director had. If only he could understand the conversation, Shirou would be able to pinpoint the culprit and convict them.

Later on, the two swapped their documents with each other. The real files weren't even on the director; that was where the police had it wrong.

The director finally got back into their car. The chauffeur closed the door for the director and bowed to the other before driving the two out of the docks. Shirou continued to track the car until another passed by in the opposite direction. In a split second he saw the faint outline of coiffed hair.