Inferno the Hedgehog 2.7

Chapter 7

December 24th, 2037

Time passed as my ribs healed and Sean returned with a girl. It was really hard to communicate with her, seeing as she only spoke Japanese and very little English. But eventually, Naoki was welcomed into the group with open arms, even though officially speaking, she wasn't dating my brother. After some time talking with her and Sean, we learned that she was looking for her little sister, a pink hedgehog with a similar hair style and bright green eyes, just like Naoki. When I returned to the department the next day, I received an enormous round of applause from everyone. They were all saying how amazing I was, having survived a round against the psycho. People even had bets going on that I wouldn't make it.

I made sure to burn the money they got from those bets.

When I got called into see the chief, I kept Naoki's sister in mind.
"Chase, my boy! I'm glad to see you're still fit for duty!" Chief Armstrong greeted me with a giant bear hug, nearly cutting off my air intake and crushing my ribs….again.
"Chief….ribs….air….need!" I gasped in his grasp.
Chief let me go as I rubbed my sore ribs and grinned at him. "I take it people were worried about me?"
"Well, you've become our mascot, as it were, my boy." Chief replied with a grin as he held an unlit cigar between his teeth. "You mind?"
I snapped my fingers, sending a spark at the tip and lit his cigar. "Much obliged my boy."
"No prob. So, what's up?"
"Well, son, I called you in here to see if you're still mentally fit for duty. How do you feel?"
"Still a bit sore, but I'm ok. Mentally speaking, nervous but ready for some payback as soon as my ribs are back up 100%." I replied.
"Good to hear. We've been receiving some reports of unusual laughter coming from the sewers. We think it's him."
So, Ja`ken was in the sewers huh? Great. The one place in the city where my powers are useless and is the greatest risk to my internal furnace.

"Lovely. So, who's gonna go get him?"
"Well, I was hoping you would, once you heal. How much longer until you think you should be fit enough to go down there?" The chief replied.
"Well, Chief, honestly, the sewers is really a bad place for me to be. With all the water and how damp it is down there, I'd be risking my internal furnace going out. And if that goes out….no more hedgehog."
"Hmmm…I see…."
"Sorry, Chief, but it's not a good idea if I wanna stay alive and especially if you still want me to be on the squad. Besides, tomorrow's Christmas. I want to spend it with Christy." I replied, shrugging.
"Not to worry, son." The Chief replied with a grin, his bushy mustache spreading. "I understand, Christmas is the day I'm going to be spending at home as well. My wife has been rather depressed, so I'm making her dinner."
"Good call. Oh hey, I just remembered something that I needed to talk to you about."

As I explained my situation with Naoki and her missing sister, the Chief's smile slowly vanished.
"And so, according to Naoki, her sister was last seen here. Uhm, I was wondering if I could help them look around in my spare time?"
The Chief exhaled smoke out of his nostrils, "Help a Japanese hedgehog girl look for her missing sister?"
"Or, we could give my brother temporary clearance to check around town?" I asked nervously.
The chief dropped the ashes in his ash tray and held the cigar in his hand. "He can look around, but I want that girl with him at all times if she's to be around the city."
I saluted, "Got it. Thanks Chief."

After I returned from work, I went back to my apartment to find Naoki pinning down my older brother. My ears flattened and my right eye twitched. "What the hell is going on?"
"Be with ya in a sec bro!"
"-Give up yet?-"
"Never!" he replied with fierce determination in his eyes.
"Baka." Naoki grinned sadistically, or what was sadistic for her. She twisted his wrist the wrong way a bit and bit one of his ears.
"DYAAAAH! Ok! Ok!"
"-Say it!-"
"Gomenasai! Gomenasai!"
Naoki jumped up and cheered, "Yatta!"
Christy sat on the couch sipping her tea as Sean sat up, rubbing his wrist.

As the girls drank their tea, Sean and I sat on the front porch and looked out over the parking lot. I stared at my brother in disbelief.
"Wait….you have a crush…on Naoki….because…."
"She drop kicked me into a dumpster." He replied with a grin, reclining on the folding chair.
"Bro, should I be worried about you?"
"Oh go screw yourself. You should be glad I found a girl." He replied, looking at me suspiciously.
"I am, but….a dumpster? You love her because of a dumpster?"
He fell out of his chair, "Love?!"
"Well, a crush is technically love. Undeveloped, but still love."
Sean promptly hit me in the face his a fireball.
"Riiiiiight…." I grinned at him as I inhaled the flames. "Well, thanks for the fuel."