★ I THINK HE KNOWS ★
PRETTY FOX LADY

                 heizou had never met someone so easy to read in all his days of observing people. The mere presence of him seemed to make her nervous and her dendro vision would react in accordance. It would be a lie if he said he didn't like it. Because he did like it! It was adorable to see her uncontrollably creating flowers and her fluffy ears timidly bending downwards.

So it was a nice bonus that he wasn't the only one who seemed to be working on the case. Sure, he didn't want to work with Sango. He would never, under any circumstances, work with her. But this way he had a chance to see Yunai. He didn't see her often. He knew that she was avoiding him and at first he thought she didn't like him, but pretty quickly he found out that she did like him after all.

And he liked her too! He liked the effect he had on her and in fact he would love nothing more than making her blush anyway. But Heizou still had to work. He had to try to concentrate for at least a few hours a day.

But sometimes, when he saw any flower, he thought of Yunai. Actually, he didn't know her very well. She was extremely shy but had a lovely voice. She wasn't around people much, but he knew that she always smiles at everyone. And she loved drinking tea with honey. Not that he was watching her! But as a detective you notice things like that.

Besides, when he first saw her, she had been drinking tea with honey. They had only exchanged a few sentences before Sango arrived, but in those few sentences the flowers had appeared in her hair and Heizou had never seen anything so pretty.

Speaking of pretty! It was early in the morning when Heizou made his way to the small library. It wasn't even a real library, but if you were looking for books, it was the right place. And it seemed like Yunai had the same opinion. She came out the door, holding a large stack of books in her delicate hands so that she couldn't see him at all.

But he knew immediately that it was her. Even though he couldn't see her face because of the books, he could see her fluffy brown ears and fox tail. He couldn't help but think about stroking her ears every time he saw her like that. It was strange. But he often imagined how soft they were and how she would just snuggle up to him.

He was lucky that he wasn't as shy as Yunai. If he were, He was sure he'd be blushing just as much as she was. He certainly wouldn't behave any better.

Anyway, it was a welcome surprise to see Yunai so early in the morning. Maybe Sango had given her the task of researching the case. And if that's true, she might be willing to share her findings with him. Sure, Yunai worked for Sango and was loyal to her, but if he asked nicely. Or simply put, he wanted to take the chance and talk to her. She could hardly run away with the books. Unless she throws them to the ground and then runs away.

Heizou shrugged his shoulders and eagerly walked towards her. And I'm not saying his intention was to scare her, but that's exactly what I'm saying.

»My dear sweetflower!« Heizou exclaimed, starting her with an obnoxious poke on the shoulder. Sweetflower was an endearing nickname he'd come up with when he first met her. »What brings you here at this fine hour?« Mischief and arrogance seemed to just see from his voice. But still, he knew that she liked him, and he was a good person so it was okay. He was, maybe, just a bit of a bastard.

Yunai gave a loud yelp and a flinch. He had to steady her with his arms amidst good-natured laughter to keep her from falling. The books, however, flew to the ground.

After she calmed down and he stopped laughing, Heizou noticed something familiar: flowers had begun to bloom in her hair. By the time Heizou had released her from his grasp, the mess atop her head had become more than abundant with clusters of posies.

Yunai's cheeks turned red and she seemed to be frantically trying to organize her thoughts, but Heizou brought the issue to her attention with a silvery hum and a grin, reaching behind her ear to pluck a single leaf from its vine. She jumped briefly when he touched her soft ears and he wondered if that made her uncomfortable or if she was just nervous because of his touch.

Because he would like to touch her again. Was that weird? Because he found her fox ears absolutely adorable. They were sweet and Heizou couldn't imagine Yunai without them.

»Did i scare you that much, dear?« The detective's voice was teasing. But kind, and his smile more than reached the marks under his eyes. He was clearly amused at this predicament of hers.

»Yes.. i mean no!«, she stammered to herself. »Nonono you didn't scare me i was just.«

»In your pretty thoughts?«, he finished her sentence. Not because he was annoyed by how reserved she spoke. No, he found that adorable too. It was more like he wanted to help her find the words. »I wonder what you've been thinking about in depth.«

»I-i can't tell you.«

»What a pity, i really enjoy listening to you lovely voice.« He noticed how her foxtail slanted downwards and the fluffy tip wrap around her right leg. Oh, she couldn't hide her feelings one bit. »But of course I accept that.«

Heizou winked and knelt on the ground and picked up all the books for her. A few flowers appeared around him. How could you not feel honored? A girl liked you so much that she could no longer control her vision and let flowers sprout uncontrollably.

When he had all the books he handed them to her. But when she reached for the books Heizou playfully pulled them back. »How about this, you tell me what you've already found out and I'll share with you what I've found out.«

»But I'm not working on the case,« she said softly. »I was just gathering information for Sango.«

Sad. Why did Sango only use her for boring tasks? Heizou was sure that Yunai could be useful. And not just for notes and reception. »My dear sweetflower, We're working on the same case and I would definitely prefer to work with you instead of Sango.«

Right between them. On the ground, between they two feet, was a new flower. She was really beautiful. And it probably sprout because he used her nickname again. Sweet.

»I have permission to go into the military base, you have the information. It would only be wise to work together.«

»Sango isn't interested in the military base... she just wants to know what gas is responsible for the men having hallucinations.« As soon as Yunai realized that she had shared her information with him, she put her hand over her mouth in fright and shook her head. Not only was she shy, she was also a little clumsy.

Heizou couldn't help but laugh in amusement. »You too cute, I promise you I won't tell her that you helped me.«

»Thank you.« She said so quietly he could barely hear it.

»No need to thank me, dear. I would do anything for you.« He probably shouldn't have said that. But he couldn't help it!

Around them both, the entire ground was now full of flowers just like her hair. It looked beautiful. The whole environment. It didn't bother Heizou, really. But gradually passers-by started looking at her and Yunai obviously didn't feel comfortable with it.

»I-i have to go.«

Yes, he could understand that. She didn't want that attention and was embarrassed, which she didn't have to be! But he knew she still felt that way anyway. Still, Heizou didn't want to let her go right away.

»Wait.« He grabbed her arm and the only reason the books didn't fall was because Yunai held them tightly like her life depended on it. »If you would like to know more about this case, if you would like to solve it properly, you are welcome to come along.«

Heizou wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he saw a small smile and a nod. And then he let go of her arm. Yunai left without saying anything and behind her, every place she touched with her shoes, new pretty flowers appeared.

Oh, he liked her. Very much. But honestly, he was scared to tell her. He had to be careful that she didn't have a heart attack.