Chapter 114 - The Worst Situation

After making a smooth exit out of the Organized Crime department, Finn continued up the stairs to his original destination. To be honest with himself, he was curious about what Zwei was looking into, and wondered why he was specifically looking for Chief Bear. Zwei did say that it had something to do with their hallucinations, but it wasn’t the place to discuss it.

He’d have to meet up with Zwei later.

“Morning, Anne.” Finn said as he entered the familiar office of the DVMP.

“Good morning.” The plump secretary said cheerfully, “Did everything go well at the clinic?”

“Yes. They’re on their way to the shrine now.”

“It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it?” Anne’s eyes sparkled, “Do you really think it’s the shrine of the White Maiden? You know, everyone’s talking about it lately. My in-laws swear that she’s an angel of Lord Noga, sent to save us. I wish I could tell them about the shrine.”

“Not until we confirm that it’s safe.” Finn said, looking at her pointedly.

“I know, I know. It’s confidential for now.” Anne put a finger to her lips indicating that she’d keep it a secret, “But do you think she can help with the Devileyes?”

“We’ll see.” Finn said.

“We’ll see.” Anne repeated.

“Did anyone come looking for me?” Finn asked. In particular he was wondering if Minnie had returned from her investigation the previous night.

“No, but don’t worry I’m keeping an eye out for you.” Anne nodded, winking at him.

“Thanks.” Finn said, mildly concerned.

He was about to turn and leave when Anne’s eyes brightened and she perked up.

“Oh! Did you hear about…”

Anne jumped full force into her favourite topic - the latest news and gossip. Finn smiled and chatted with her, though he wasn’t the least bit interested in the casual conversation. He sighed inwardly as he listened to the gossip, wondering if he’d really picked the right person to be his ‘secretary’. Anne was perpetually bubbly and able to talk continuously for as long as one would let her. Though she never gossiped about work matters, and certainly he’d never heard her say anything confidential or sensitive, he always wondered if one day she’d just accidentally blurt something out and something sensitive would suddenly become public knowledge.

As Anne talked about the massive overtime that everyone in the department had been working, and which officers had relatives that were ill or injured, Finn found himself wondering about the whereabouts of Minnie. If she hadn’t returned yet, did that mean something happened to her and her team? Since Minnie had taken the time to send him a telegram last night, he doubted that she’d forget to get in touch with him when she had the opportunity.

He didn’t even really know where to look for her. She’d been transferred from the department to a special investigation team, but Finn had no clue who were the other members of her team or who her supervisor was.

He decided to stick around the station for the morning and afternoon, just in case she returned.

~

The late morning light streamed in through Yuzu’s bedroom window, forming a warm puddle of sunshine in the center of the room. Yuzu sat in bed as she soaked in the peaceful sounds and scents of spring that floated in through the open window. She had an open book in her lap, her back supported by a number of pillows, her blanket drawn up around her.

It would have been a peaceful scene, a time to reflect on all the fantastical events that had occurred. At the very least, it would have been a good time to rest after a long, busy night.

Would have.

STOMP STOMP STOMP.

Yuzu groaned as she heard the heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs. The frame of the house seemed to shake as Xiang slammed open the door without so much as a knock.

“Yuzu, how are you doing?” Xiang’s voice boomed.

“Just fine.” Yuzu scowled. “Exactly the same as the last hundred times this morning.”

“Okay! Good.” Xiang turned to leave as quickly as he had come in.

“Don’t slam the door!” Yuzu yelled.

Xiang paused, turning around to add, “I’ll make lunch soon. Just relax until then.”

He slammed the door as he left the room. The house shook as he bounded down the stairs and rushed back into the shop. Even from the floor below Yuzu could hear him loudly apologize to the customers for making them wait and resume business with them.

Yuzu pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she fought the urge to scream in frustration.

“What did I do to deserve this?” She moaned.

She felt like she had walked into a nightmare. Overnight Xiang had changed from a grouchy brother that yelled at her to be more independent, into the world’s most awkward and annoying caretaker.

After leaving the corrupted traveler at the edge of the city, Yuzu had snuck home and curled up in bed. She’d felt exhausted and had fallen asleep immediately.

Her otherwise deep sleep was interrupted by Xiang gently shaking her awake. The sun hadn’t even risen as he held a candle up to her face.

“What’s the matter?” She asked groggily, half blinded by the flame.

“You were just really still.” Xiang had said, “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Just wanted to make sure you’re okay.

It had only been a few hours since the sun rose but Yuzu had heard the phrase too many times to count. One hundred was probably an exaggeration, but Yuzu was already sick of the attention. Despite the shop being incredibly busy since they opened at dawn, Xiang had taken every opportunity to rush up the stairs and check on Yuzu’s condition.

At first she’d tried to get some sleep, but after being woken up multiple times to confirm she was okay, she’d given up. Xiang had brought her breakfast, but accidentally spilled the hot porridge over her sheets. She’d yelled at him, expecting her to fire back and blame her for contributing to the mistake as he always did. To her surprise he laughed and apologized to her, letting her berate him while he cleaned up the mess.

No matter how she tried to get under his skin with her usual verbal tactics, his good mood towards her didn’t falter. Each time he’d barge in she’d yell at him to leave her alone. Each time he’d smile and say he’d come check on her again.

She couldn’t even have the satisfaction of a good argument.

It was the worst!

Yuzu had considered yanking Xiang’s fate string away to keep him out of her room and allow her to get some peace and quiet, but she eventually decided against it. It wasn’t that she thought there would be problems caused by it, but having had time to think about the action it felt… petty… to manipulate her brother in this way.

After all, he was her brother. He was only acting this way out of concern for her health.

As irritated as she was by Xiang she couldn’t hold it against him.

Still, she was completely at her limits with dealing with Xiang. With a loud sigh she tossed her book to the side and stood up out of bed. Stretching gently, she walked over to her dresser and changed into a comfortable skirt and blouse. As she tied her hair into a ponytail with a blue ribbon she caught a glance of herself in the small mirror on top of the dresser.

For once, the bags under her eyes weren’t dark, bloated circles. Her skin seemed smoother, too. She’d never been one to look at herself often in the mirror, but today she felt she looked good for once.

The small white porcelain jar that Argus had given to her was sitting on top of the dresser next to a number of small items. It was unique among the items in the room in that she could see a soft black halo around it in her spiritual vision. Though she had associated the demonic aura with danger previously, today she found herself looking at it more favourably. She had only taken a single sip from the jar last night when she was with Argus, yet she still felt energetic. She could tell that the healing properties of the jar were exceptionally potent.

The corner of her lip curled up in a small appreciative expression as she turned towards the door, leaving the jar on the dresser. From reading the strings in the room she knew that it would be safe and undisturbed there.

Yuzu headed down the stairs, glancing towards the doorway to the shop. The top half of the doorway was obscured by two pieces of fabric hanging from the top, so she could only see the back of the counter, but she could clearly hear Xiang dealing with the customers and the din of the lineup of customers that were waiting to be served.

Noticing that the door to the storage room was unlocked and open, Yuzu peeked inside. The shelves of pawned items which had been less than half full a few days ago, were now appreciably full. A wide variety of items sat neatly on the shelf. As Yuzu looked around the room at the items, casually glancing at the contracts tucked under or around them, she noticed that there was a change in her perception of the fate threads.

Previously she could only see the threads of living creatures and spiritually charged items. Regular items didn’t have threads, nor could they be manipulated by her. Though this quality hadn’t changed, Yuzu found that when she touched an item she could access the lingering influence of the people that had held it.

Intuitively she felt that this improvement was due to her advancement to Apprentice.

She closed her eyes, examining her spirit closely for other changes.

The range that she could influence fate threads had expanded from her direct vicinity to a range of half a kilometer. Her ability to examine and manipulate groups of threads had improved, in part due to an increase in her ‘power’, but there was another factor that had seen an improvement.

She felt a quantitative boost in her perception of the world, specifically her ability to notice patterns and trends. As she swept her eyes across the room she made an observation about the newly added items.

The composition of these new items was decidedly ‘Xiang’ - jewelry, precious metals, artisan sculptures and carvings. These items had high intrinsic value and higher contract values, though they took longer to sell and had a low profit margin. The other items on the shelves were from when Yuzu was primarily taking care of the shop over the past year. Looking at those, she felt that compared to Xiang she preferred practical items - clothing, furniture and tools. They could be bought cheaper and were easier to sell at a higher markup if the owners decided not to pay off the loan.

Yuzu had never made the connection before, yet simply by passing her eyes over the shelves she came to this epiphany.

It wasn’t that she was unobservant in the past. In fact, she felt that she was quite above average in perception. The observation powers of a Fate Exalted were simply that much higher.

A small collection of items in the corner caught her attention. They were gathered in a box, which indicated that they all fell under a single contract, a fairly common procedure when one person came in with many items to pawn.

“The owner of these items is dead.” Yuzu muttered softly without thinking. She paused in surprise at the conclusion her intuition had suddenly come to, simply by glancing casually at a random collection of items.

She stepped forward to take a closer look.