Maple City, New Leaf University

Normal Realm

1:00PM

Colt and Yuri stood at the front gate of the university shoulder to shoulder. Right after the meeting yesterday, Colt and Yuri went straight home. They spent the rest of the day watching TV in the dorm.

On the dawn of a new day, they set out in hopes of completing their first mission together.

"Okay, the higher ups said that she was last sighted in this University." Yuri turned off her phone and slid it in her pocket, "Isn't she about your age?"

"Yeah. We're the same age."

"It makes sense then. If she's still alive, she would be in college right now."

"R-Right."

He never really calmed down after that meeting at the core foundation building. His anxiety came in waves, some stronger than the others, but the waves never came to a complete stop. Wrapping his mind around the idea of Mistuba being alive was too infallible at this point.

His hands shook as he looked around the well populated space.

Of course he loved Mitsuba, more than any other woman in his life, but there was a sense of uncertainty lingering in the air. It had been so long, three years is a long time. He wasn't sure about how he would handle the situation, or even react to seeing her.

On top of this, he was unsure of how she'd react.

"Colt..."

"Yeah?"

She nudged his arm, "Did you space out?"

"Kind of...I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "There's so much on my mind right now..."

"What did I tell you about saying sorry?" She rubbed his shoulder, "I was just saying that we'd cover more ground if we split up and ask around about her."

"I agree with that. You ready?"

"Hold up. Give me your phone."

"Uh...Okay?" He handed his phone over and watched her register her number in it.

"Here." She handed it back, "Calm me if you find out anything. Or if anything happens."

"Yes Ma'am!" He gave her a military salute.

"Before you go." She moved in closer to him, "Do you want to split up?"

"What?"

"I'm just asking. I know that this is a pretty sensitive topic for you, and you're probably putting on a tough front right now. It's okay if you're feeling shaky. If you're more comfortable searching together, just tell me."

Where did this come from?

He was certainly thankful for the fact that she cared for his well being, but it was all so sudden. She was able to see through him already. Maybe he was horrible at hiding his insecurities and worries, or she was incredibly perceptive.

Whatever the reason, it felt nice. It's been a while since someone was able to read him with such ease.

A part of him screamed out, begging to stay with her; However, he knew what he had to do. The key to that box was floating right in front of him. If he couldn't reach forward by himself and take that key, he didn't want it.

This would be the biggest step forward in his new life: Regaining one of the most important components of his past life. The loss of this component is what ultimately led to his downfall.

"I'm fine, Yuri. I mean it. If I can't-" He shook his head, "Never mind."

They both went silent, with Colt staring at the ground, avoiding Yuri's gaze.

"Okay. If you say so. Just remember...You can always call."

"Will do."

She held his right hand with both of her smaller hands before walking away.

Man...I guess I should look around.

-

He spent nearly two hours asking every person he saw if they saw Mitsuba. Of course, none of them knew a thing. His arduous search led into the basement of one of the buildings, and he was starting to lose hope.

"Shit...Did those higher ups pull this whole thing out of their asses?" He leaned against the wall and groaned.

"Excuse me sir, that wall has bleach on it."

"Huh?" Colt moved away from the wall, "Dammit! Now my jacket smells like ammonia!"

"Sorry."

Colt turned around to see an old man with a green jumpsuit walk towards him. "Why are you apologizing? I messed up. Your good pops."

"What brings you here?"

"I don't even know why I am asking you, but I'll go ahead. Have you seen a girl with long, dark green hair? She has pale skin, and a birthmark on her neck? About five foot seven."

"Hmm..." The old man started swinging his dry mop around in circles before jabbing it against the wall. "Actually...I have."

"No shot!"

The old man scratched his chin as if he were in deep thought, "If I remember correctly, it was at a party in the dining hall."

"Really? How do you remember that?"

"It's simple. I'm a janitor here, but I'm also a rapper. Whenever I'm not cleaning, I'm passing around my albums to students. I remember handing her one at the party last week."

"Y-You rap?"

"Hell yes."

"Bro..." Colt started laughing as the old man pulled out a bluetooth speaker, "Do you want to hear some bars?"

"Look. If literally anything else was happening, I would say yes, but I'm kind of in a hurry."

"I understand..."

Colt pulled out his cell phone and called Yuri.

"What's up? You find anything?" she asked.

"Yeah! This old man said that he saw her at a party last week!"

"Good! Ask him if he's seen her anywhere else!"

"Right." He moved the phone from his ear, "Um...Sir?"

"Yes?" The old man looked up from the ground.

"Do you remember seeing her anywhere else?"

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen her anywhere else."

"Damn..."

"Well...If it helps, you can go to the party later."

"Party?"

"Yes." He smiled, "Jake is throwing another frat party, and the whole school's invited."

"Who in the hell is that?"

"Oh, he's a senior here." The old man leaned against his mop and furrowed his eyebrows. "Now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing you around here. Who are you?"

Shit...I hope he's not trying to report me or anything! Although...it's kind of too late for that. If he didn't recognize me, why did he cough up the info on Mitsuba?

Yuri stepped onto the scene, carrying a golden badge in her hand, "We're part of the leading investigation team of the MCPD."

The old man's eyes widened, "Oh dear...What's the feds doing here?"

"Conducting an investigation. What else do you know about this woman my colleague described to you?" she asked.

"N-Nothing else. I only remember seeing her at a party or two. If you want to get to her yourself, it may be a good idea to head to Jake's party."

"Who the hell is-"

Colt rested his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it. I think we got all the info we needed."

"Ok..." She turned back to the old man, "Don't speak of this meeting to anyone. Understand?"

"Yes Ma'am."

-

With their investigation reaching a good break point, the duo retreated to one of the dining halls on campus.

"Okay..." Colt pulled the chair out for Yuri to sit down and sat down next to her. "Jake is irrelevant to the investigation, he's just some frat guy that's famous around here."

"If he's popular, he isn't useless. He probably knows a ton of people."

"True. True."

She sighed, "We're gonna have go to the party."

"I figured as much."

"Primarily, we're searching for Mistuba, but if we can't find her easily, we'll have to rely on finding Jake. Given the fact that he's the host, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Right."

"When is the-" She looked down to see Colt eating a large bowl of pot roast, "What are you doing?"

"Eating...We haven't eaten since this morning, I'm starving. And we're in a dining hall, it makes us seem less suspicious."

For a split second, it looked as if she were on the verge of scolding him, but all she could do was laugh.

Colt held a forkful of his food in her face, "Want some? Little girls have to eat too."

"No. And I'm not even that short. I'm 5'4."

"Pfft...Hah!"

"What?"

"I thought you were like four feet!"

"Well...That just means that you're stupid. Bastard..."

"Ok. Ok." He wiped his tears away and straightened his posture, "What were you going to say earlier?"

"Right. I was going to ask you for the time of the party."

"Oh. Old dude said...Shit! I forgot to ask!"

She rolled her eyes, "Come on!"

"It's not my fault!" He rubbed his face, "No one told you to pull up on that smooth detective shit! That was cool though."

"Oh. It isn't real."

"What?"

"Members of the CCU have these badges forged for them, it lets us conduct investigations in the Normal Realm without worrying about legalities."

"Makes sense...So if I join the CCU, I'll get one?"

"Yeah." She stood up, "Since you're stuffing your face, I'll find more details regarding this party."

"Wait-I'll do it!" He stood up as well, "You can rest-"

She kicked him back in his seat and walked away. "Nope. I'm doing it."

"Damn...Fine..."

Ten minutes had passed, and Colt had finished his pot roast.

"Look who's back?" He smiled as Yuri sat back down next to him.

"Shut up." She threw an index card on the table, "These are the details. It starts at 6 o'clock tonight. It's at Jake's house, and I already put the address down."

"Good. You're a pro at this!"

"Thanks, I guess." She leaned forward a bit, resting her arms on the table, "We're going to go an hour late."

"What the hell? Why?"

"Colt. Who comes to a party on time?"

"Good point..."

"Besides, it'll increase the chances of her already being there. And it takes suspicion off of us."

"This is fun! It's like we're actually part of a mission to capture someone!"

She slapped the back of his head, "We are!"

"Okay..."

"I already scouted out Jake's house. It's not that big. Two floors, tons of space in the backyard, and it seems like he lives in a pretty peaceful neighborhood."

"Hold on..." He paused, "You did all of this in ten minutes?"

"Yeah. I've been doing this for years."

"Damn..."

"So...At 7, we're going there."

"Osu!." He grabbed the card off of the table and stood up.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It's a traditional way of saying 'yes' in karate."

She rose from her seat, and shook her head, "Man, you need to come with a dictionary..."