Chapter 124

Hearing the clock chime, Kazimir quickly clocks out and looks down at his watch.

"Okay, two hours left to pick up my car from the shop."

Getting into his older car, the young detective floors it out of the parking lot, cutting through traffic to the mechanic's shop.

"There he is! Black Beauty, this is your new garage mate. He's a devoted protector for you."

Giving the car a rev as a reply, Kazimir parks and steps out.

Opening the door, he gives the front worker a smile.

"Good evening, sir. What can I help you with?"

"My name is Kazimir Cizetto. I'm here to pick up a 2021 Nissan GTR R35."

"You said Cizetto?"

"Yeah, C-i-z-e-t-t-o." Kazimir replies, spelling his last name.

He watches as the man looks at the screen, before giving him a nod.

"Are you planning to drive it straight out or do you have another vehicle to tow it?"

"I'm planning to tow."

"Okay, we'll park it up front and one of our mechanics will assist you in hooking it up to your other car."

Shaking his head, Kazimir laughs a little.

"Nah, it's cool, bro. Just tell him to park it up front and I can handle the rest. Thanks."

"Will do."

Walking back outside, the young detective opens his trunk to grab the towing straps and a retractable tow dolly.

"Hmmm. I think I'll tow you home instead. You need a break."

Hearing a low rumble, Kazimir turns around and watches as a mechanic backs his car up.

"Alright, you're all set!"

Taking the keys from the mechanic, Kazimir shakes his hand.

"Thank you, man. Have a good evening."

"You as well, bud."

Grabbing the towing tools, Kazimir quickly hooks up the two cars, placing his first and most cherished car onto the tow dolly.

Starting his GTR up, he slowly pulls out of the parking lot and carefully onto the main road.

"You know what? I've never given you a name. How about, Machiavellien? Yeah, Machiavellien spelled with an "e". It's different, I like it."

Giving the car a rev, Kazimir chuckles.

"You must like it, too."

Pulling into the neighborhood after a semi-long drive, Kazimir stops the car in front of his house and steps out to unhook the two cars.

"Mr. Kazimir's home with his other car!"

Looking up, Kazimir smiles as Khristina runs out the house to greet him.

"Hey, Khrissy. How was school?"

"Good! Ms. Nia picked us up on time, too! And I helped make Satsujin homemade sweet potatoes!"

"I bet they taste delicious. Wish I could have some."

"There's gonna be some for dinner! Ms. Nia's making lasagna!"

"Sounds good. What's Satsujin up to?"

"He's playing with his Pikachu plush." Khristina replies, spinning around. "I think he likes that one a lot."

"Probably because it's the biggest plush. Stand to the left while I back Black Beauty in, Khrissy."

"Ooooh! Can I rev her?!"

Kazimir smiles and nods as he places the car in park.

"I've taught you well. You absolutely can. And keep revving her while I back the other car in. Remember, keep your foot on that left pedal until you wanna stop."

"YAY!"

Laughing at the noise, Khristina continuously pushes down on the clutch and then the accelerator with her foot.

She giggles at the noise and watches as Kazimir walks back over to her.

"When I grow up, I want a car that sounds like this too! Drèy never lets me revs his car, but I'm glad you do, Mr. Kazimir!"

"Oh, I think you would match perfectly with a Lexus."

Khristina raises her brows.

"Will it look like one of those sports cars? Like the ones like Black Beauty?"

"Yeah, it'll be a coupe."

"And I'm gonna be the fastest driver in the world! Just like you, Mr. Kazimir!"

The detective laughs as he picks up Khristina.

"And you're to race only on a track, understand?"

"Yes."

Walking inside the house, Kazimir smiles as the smell of delicious scents coming from the kitchen. He makes his way inside of the kitchen and leans down to look inside a pot.

"Dinner looks like it'll be promising."

Looking up from the stovetop, the young woman gives him a bright grin.

"Hi, Kazimir. Did you finish my work?"

"I took care of it all."

"Can I get Satsu from his crib?" Khristina asks, pinching Kazimir's cheeks.

"Yeah, go ahead."

He sets the little girl down and she quickly runs off.

"Speaking of him, I'm sure you saw his parents' case in the stack."

"I went searching around the city and I couldn't even find the mother. Even in the spots I was certain she'd be in."

The young woman frowns as she continues to stir the ingredients in a pot.

"I hope she hasn't run off too far. Maybe we should go back to her neighborhood and try asking everyone-

"I did that too." Kazimir interrupts. "Everyone had the same response; "I haven't seen her in a few days". On top of that, there was one guy who knows the father because the father killed his son over some money."

"Oh my! I'm sorry to hear that!"

"Yeah, I think it'll be awhile until I go back to that neighborhood. They don't seem to like having their peace disturbed."

Nia nods as she checks inside of the oven.

"I understand, but it's for a good cause. A little baby's parents are both missing. However, if we can't find them, then Satsujin honestly has no choice but to stay here."

"BABY SATSU LOOKS LIKE A BABY BEAR CUB!"

Walking into the kitchen, Khristina gently holds Satsujin to her and shows him to Kazimir.

"Isn't his onesie cute?!"

"It is cute, but I think he could use some more— what do you call it? Style."

"That's enough style for a baby. The onesie is appropriate for him." Nia says, taking the baby from Kazimir's arms.

"Yeah, but I found him in a onesie. He might be tired of onesies. Don't you agree, Khristina?"

"Can we put him in one of my dresses?!"

"I think your dresses might be too big for Satsu. And besides, he might want something a little more manly. The next time we go out, I'll dress him."

Satsujin giggles as Kazimir rocks him back and forth.

"See? He's agreeing with me."

Khristina and Nia both give the young man a slightly angry look and he tilts his head in confusion.

"Anyway, dinner is ready. Satsu's sweet potatoes are already in a bowl, so you and Khristina can take turns feeding him while I make your plates."

Picking up the bowl from the counter, Khristina places it on the baby's high chair and watches as Kazimir places him inside of the seat.

"I wanna feed him first!"

"Be my guest, Khrissy."

Taking the spoon from the bowl, the small girl places a bit of sweet potatoes on top before moving it around like an airplane.

"Here comes the airplane, Satsu! Open wide!"

"WAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Abruptly stopping, Khristina backs away a bit and looks up at Kazimir. 

"Did I do something wrong? Is he broken?"

The young man laughs as he takes the spoon from Khristina.

"Neither of the sort, Khristina. Maybe he just doesn't like the airplane method."

Mimicking a train, Kazimir slowly slides the spoon in front of Satsujin's face, causing the baby to look at him with a disgusted look.

"Ooh. I don't think he likes-

CLINK!

Kazimir and Khristina watch as Satsujin knocks the spoon from Kazimir's hand and looks down at it, annoyed.

"Wonder where he gets his attitude from." Nia says, placing a plate on the table.

Turning to each other, Khristina and Kazimir both shrug and turn back to Nia.

"Not me!" 

"Have you two thought maybe he doesn't like all of the playfulness when it comes to feeding?" 

Grabbing another spoon, Nia scoops up some of the sweet potatoes and brings it up to the small child's mouth, in which he refuses to accept as well.

"Okay, I guess not."

Sighing, Kazimir takes the bowl away and places it in the refrigerator.

"Maybe he just isn't hungry right now. I'll try to get him to eat later."

Taking their seats at the dining table, Nia, Khristina, and Kazimir begin to eat their own food, laughing and talking amongst each other.

"WAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Oh, Satsu." the young woman says, chuckling. "Are you hungry now?"

Taking the small bowl from the refrigerator, she places it on the high chair as Kazimir and Khristina gather around.

"A spoonful of deliciousness for a spoonful of joy!" 

Looking down at the spoon, Satsujin gives them all a weird look before crying again.

"What the hell is wrong, Satsu?" Kazimir rhetorically asks as he uses his finger to taste some of the sweet potatoes.

Laughing, Satsujin opens his mouth and Nia quickly places the spoon on his tongue.

"There we go! I think I know what it was! Satsu just needed for one of us to eat the sweet potatoes first! I guess since it's new for him, he was unsure of what it was and just wanted to see how Kazimir would react to it."

"I wanna feed him, too!" Khristina yells, jumping forward.

"I mean, I can see how that makes sense." the young man says, taking another bite of the sweet potatoes.

For the rest of the night, Satsujin basked in the spotlight of receiving special care and attention from his new guardians; especially Kazimir.

"Time for bed, Satsu!" the young detective says as he picks him up from playing on the floor with Khristina. "You're gonna have another long day tomorrow, just like the rest of us. Did you know I finished all of my work earlier than usual and then went on to do your future mommy's work? She tried to stop me but I, Kazimir the Goat, can never be stopped!" 

Satsujin turns to Khristina, giving her an "are you serious" look.

"I think Satsu wanted to play some more." Khristina says, pressing the "on" button on the baby's crib mobile. 

"He can play some more tomorrow. For now, he needs his sleep. And you do as well, little one." 

Turning the light off and gently closing the door, Kazimir follows Khristina to her room and walks over to a bookcase. 

"What story do you want tonight, Khrissy? Spend the Day with Mr. and Mrs. Unicorn? Princess Allison Goes to School? All My Princes?" 

"We've already read all of those!" Khristina replies, sighing. "I know! You should read me your favorite book when you were little!" 

"Hmmm...I don't think I had- oh, wait! I remember a book my mama used to read to me! It was called "Catch That Lamb. It was basically a story about a lamb who used to run away from his farm at night to help other animals in trouble and the older sheep around him started to pick up on him sneaking out and decided to stop him."

"Did they ever stop him?" Khristina asks, looking up at Kazimir. 

"Nope. Turns out the lamb had to end up saving the sheep who were determined to stop him. After that, they never got in his way of going on missions ever again. Speaking of lamb, I have something I want to show you."

Motioning for Khristina to follow him, Kazimir walks downstairs to the basement.

"Stay right there."

Spinning around in a small circle, the little girl waits for Kazimir and stops as he recognizes his tall figure making his way back up the stairs.

"Ta-da!"

"HE'S SO CUTE, AHHHHHHH!"

Taking the plush lamb from Kazimir's hands, Khristina gives it a big hug.

"That was one of my most prized possessions from when I was younger. He even came with me during my stay in the hospital."

"What's his name?!" Khristina asks, bouncing the plushie up and down.

"Radost. I used to take him everywhere, even if it was to just go check the mailbox. But now, Radost needs a new person and I want him to be with you."

"REALLY?! MR. KAZIMIR'S GIVING ME HIS PLUSHIE! THIS IS LIKE THE BESTEST DAY EVER!"

Kazimir chuckles as Khristina runs back upstairs with the stuffed lamb.

"You're welcome, Khristina."