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Inspector Heero Yuy stood in the middle of Chinatown, New York and eyed the building in front of him dubiously. It didn't look all that impressive, hardly the place you'd expect to sell illegal animals. He looked down at the slip of paper in his hands, reading it silently. It outlined the sale of one white tiger to Dorothy Catalonia, the conditions of that sale, and the address of the store. Heero rechecked the address on the store in front of him. Looks like this is it after all. Settling his best glare on his face, the young inspector stalked across the street and the steps to the store's entrance. On his way in, he passed a young woman with short, dark hair carrying a box. He stopped her by holding out a hand, which she promptly ran into.
"Oi!" The girl protested, turning to glare at him. He ignored her and peered into the box. A kitten peered back.
"Hn." He turned and finished descending the stairs.
"Creep!"
Ignoring the irritated girl behind him, he pushed the door open and stepped into the dimly lit shop. He stood stiffly by the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he instantly sent them looking for the store's owner. What he found was a couch, a coffee table, and lots of cages with things staring out at him. The sound of someone humming drew his attention to the back of the room where a hallway apparently led to the rest of the store. Intent on finding the source of the sound, Heero took a step forward just in time for a small, thin figure with a meter long braid trailing down it's back to come bouncing merrily into the room. Heero glared at the figure, who seemed oblivious to his existence. The figure was young, about Heero's age, dressed in black and red mandarin style clothing that was tight enough to reveal that the chest beneath it was completely flat. Although the figure's feet were clad in soft, black velvet slippers, Heero got the distinct feeling that they were just a formality and the long-haired man, no, boy in front of him would be bear foot if he had a choice in the matter. Still humming, the boy grabbed a coke from a previously unnoticed refrigerator and sat down, never looking up from the sheet of paper he was examining. Heero scowled.
"Kyu!"
The odd little noise directly behind his head made Heero spin, drawing a gun out of it's hidden holster in his black spandex shorts. The barrel of the gun came down straight in the face of the oddest creature Heero had ever seen. It was similar to a rabbit, only much smaller. It hovered in the air on little bat wings and had a pair of tiny horns sticking out between its ears. The odd assembly of appendages was completed by a pair of webbed feet, similar to a ducks, and a whip like tail. Looking decidedly agitated, it squeaked again.
"Kyu!"
"Mm?" The boy on the couch looked up. "What is it Q...oh! Hi!" The boy smiled at Heero, literally springing from the couch and holding out his hand. "Sorry I didn't notice you, I get a little absorbed in my work sometimes."
"Kyu." The odd little creature, which Heero randomly dubbed a 'bat bunny', landed on the other boy's shoulder and appeared to scold him. "Heh, yeah Q-chan, I wouldn't be able to survive with out you. Really." The other boy sighed, then winked at Heero. Now that they weren't buried behind the paper, Heero could see that the boy's eyes were large and quite, vividly blue-violet. "So, what can I help you with? I'm Count D, but you can call me Duo."
"Duo Maxwell." Heero recited from memory, pulling a slip of paper from the hidden pocket inside the front of his forest green tank top. He didn't really need the paper, having all of the information the department had on Duo memorized, but it looked better if he looked at it. "Age fifteen. Ethnicity, American. Place of employment..."
"Woah, woah!" Duo cut him off, placing a hand to his rapidly shaking head. "Okay, what is this, some sort of blackmail scheme? You tell me you have all this nasty stuff on me then demand I give you money? What?"
"It's a police investigation." Heero informed him coolly.
"Police investigation?" Duo's excessively blue eyes just about bugged right out of his skull. "What for?"
"Involvement in the death of Dorothy Catalonia and illegal sale of endangered species. Miss Catalonia was found dead this morning, apparently ripped apart by a large animal. This piece of paper says that you sold her a white tiger." The contract of sale was once again in Heero's hands, and he held it out for Duo to look at. Duo scoffed.
"Look pal, we don't sell illegal stuff here. Yeah, I sold Dorothy a tiger, and when she died I got the tiger back. Wanna see it?"
"Aa." Heero nodded, hiding his surprise at Duo's willingness to effectively condemn himself.
"Okay then." Smirking, Duo walked over to where a red, velvet curtain hung on the wall. As he walked, his braid swung behind him provocatively. One long fingered hand reached out and pulled a long, golden cord hanging from the edge of the curtain rod. Red fabric parted to reveal...
... an exquisitely painted Chinese scroll featuring a white tiger in a forest of bamboo.
"There you go!" Duo's face split into the widest grin Heero had ever seen. "The store's one and only white tiger. Don't believe me, you can go ahead and look." One eye closed in a wink.
Heero believed him. There was just something in his tone that demanded belief. The inspector's face clouded in a scowl. "Hn." Turning on his heel, he headed out of the store.
"Is there something else I can show you?" Duo called cheerfully after him. There was no response. "Well the, come back soon!"
Oh I will. Heero inwardly seethed. I will.
~Owari~
