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Masumi was getting tired of these pointless afternoons shadowing the boyfriends of classmates’ older sisters and the like. Rarely did they ever amount to anything and she would end up getting disappointed responses from those that asked her to do the job in the first place. Payment hadn’t always been necessary but having someone say outright that her performance wasn’t worth payment always put her a little on edge. It wasn’t her fault that smoke didn’t always necessarily mean fire. She did her job and she did it well.
Once again, the smoke had ended up just being fog and she cursed the idea of reporting in later. Plopping down on the windowsill of a busy shopping district she sighed and pulled out her phone, tapping away a quick text to her young roommate.
Another unproductive day…
“Pardon me,” a voice said from quite nearby. “Are you Sera Masumi?"
Hakuba leaned against the wall just past the window, coffee cup in hand, and offered a warm smile. He hadn’t expected to see the other detective here, of all places, but he’d heard of her at the station and had always meant to introduce himself.
"Detective, right?"