They tried to wait out the rain, lingering under an awning and watching the precipitation through the streetlight but it was to no avail; the downpour increased in intensity after a spectacular thunderclap made Atsushi jump.
(more)
Slightly rattled, he glanced to Akutagawa, who had his phone to his ear and head slightly tilted away. Atsushi looked away, folding his arms over his chest and bringing his shoulders in slightly with the motion, as if he were trying to keep himself warm.
(He was NOT spooked by thunder, he told himself confidently, and he absolutely was not staring at that streetlight down the avenue that was flickering because there wasn't a human-shaped shadow beneath it staring at him, no he was not.)
"The driver is unfortunately delayed," Akutagawa announced, unprompted, as he tucked his phone away. Atsushi tilted his head, puzzled by this pronouncement.
"The driver...?" There hadn't been discussion of a driver that he could recall, but occasionally Akutagawa picked up the thread of a conversation days old on him. "Higuchi-san?"
There was a slight tick to Akutagawa's mouth, it looked like he was going to smile but he quashed it. "Were Higuchi to join us I am certain she would put a bullet between your eyes, and then I would I have to eliminate her. As I have no desire to replace a subordinate, I had to contact a different driver."
There was a solid moment of silence while Atsushi processed this information. He leaned his head forward, staring at the rain as it hit the pavement in front of them. "You would kill your own friend for killing me?"
"I doubt a bullet between the eyes would kill you, were-tiger, or else I would have tried it myself."
"That's the nicest thing you've said to me all day." (less)
