The mud clung to Riki’s soles each time he took a step, making his already tired body work even harder. He had just been stabbed for the first time in his existence. Though, when he lifted up his shirt, the wound was completely sealed, as if it hadn’t been inflicted in the first place. It wasn’t as if he could forget that experience of being stabbed, however. The feeling of cold metal inside your body was real. And he was leading the ones who caused this to his only two friends.

Riki looked over his shoulder, the one named Oluka was once again floating in a position like someone is lying in bed on their belly. What is her ability? He thought back to the time in the house. She was floating there as well, but it seemed that her clothes always were a bit pressed at the bottom parallel to the ground. And then the incident where the man in the strange foreign clothing almost cut off Riki’s neck. His blade was way too fast to be stopped that easily. Was there something that was stopping it right before it made contact with his neck?

“Hey, kid. You said this Asimov guy had some sort of automata?” Oluka asked, still hovering along in the air.

“I did. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen.” Riki responded.

“Hmmm. Katou you don’t think…?”

“It could quite possibly. Either way, I can just cut it down.” Katou said.

Riki wanted to question it, but he prioritized his safety. The main question is, what was he going to say to Tamaki and Kaori, bringing two new ability users that he just met down the street? So far in his entire plane of existence the only thing he has ever done so far was just asking questions. It was tiring being left in the dark. And after all of that walking, Riki was greeted with the sight of a destroyed roof.

“...The fuck is happening?” Katou said, “someone just threw a boulder at this thing?”

Something must have happened to those two.

Riki put a hand over his nose and mouth as to not inhale the dust spread around the air. He was certain something forced Kaori to use her ability which would have left a hole in the roof. To escape the inn? Were there traps after all? That doesn’t seem right considering there weren’t any in the basement lab.

“My, boy, you are shaking in your boots.” Oluka said, but one second later, Riki busted through the front door. He couldn’t possibly have any time to brace himself for whatever sight that he was about to see.

“This is your proof?” the man with the blade said.

No… this can’t be true...

There was a destroyed carriage, million pieces of wood and metal spread on in the lobby which covered all of the tables and ground. Where the hold of the roof illuminated was on two girls on the ground, with their blood shimmering and reflecting.

“...Guys!”

The two did not move. Tamaki was lying face up, her head tilted to her right, facing Riki. Kaori was right beside her facing down. He placed his hands next to their mouths and sure enough, they were still breathing. Riki wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. In fact, his own mind blocked him from making any move at all. If only… if only he wasn’t so powerless…

“Move aside.”

Katou brought out his blade from his sheethe and aimed it towards the two.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Shut up and watch.”

“NO!”

He’s actually going to do it. In the end, I should’ve just stayed quiet and let him kill me back then.

Riki tried to intervene but it took one more step to realize something was blocking him from getting closer. It was a physical sensation in between them, an ability of theirs!

Why did I tell them? Why?!

The sword came down. Unlike what he had imagined, the speed at which it came down was slow. With a tap from the back of his blade, Tamaki’s and Kaori’s wounds slowly disappeared.

Rewind.

Katou looked back at Riki and immediately was taken back. What was on his face was a death stare that sent a little chill even in him. Why did his stare creep Katou out? The guy was powerless compared to him, and in spite of that, there was something about him…

“Relax… your friends have been healed.”

・・・・・

After a long wait, Tamaki finally regained consciousness. Her eyes barely cracked open and her vision was still cloudy. In the process, she saw a vague outline of a figure in front of her.

“Ka… Kaori...?” Tamaki managed to output, “Wha…”

Oluka squatted in the air staring straight into her eyes. It was a habit she had with no intention of breaking.

“Eeek! Wh… Who are you?!?!” Tamaki demanded

“In the end, she does seem delicious.” Oluka said, licking her lips.

“Delicious?! Don’t… Please don’t!”

Tamaki already had enough with the wolves. For someone to say that she was delicious elicited a fear response Tamaki didn’t even know she had. And so she ducked and ran underneath the girl in order to flee. At least, she attempted to. She instantly felt the sensation of some kind of soft, yet, elastic feeling. Which then caused Oluka to lose balance and fall face flat on the floor.

“Owww. I guess you gotta work for your prey after all… huh?”

Kaori pulled Tamaki behind her by the collar and was ready for another fight.

“Alright everyone just stop for one second!” Katou yelled.

There was a pause for a couple of seconds as the three stared each other down. The atmosphere then lightens up as the three relax.

“Don’t get your panties’ in a bunch. Woman, stop trying to eat every person you see. If you do then I’ll stop cutting every person I see, alright?”

“Ugh, no promises.”

Immediately thereafter, Katou flipped over his blade back to the sharp side despite what he had said a few seconds again.

“Now, let’s not fuck around here. Who the hell are you guys? Depending on your answer, things may get a little dicey.”

Riki had already told him everything, yes, but, Katou wasn’t too convinced that a plot to take back a piece of jewelry was the motivation behind this. The two girls thought of the exact same thing at that moment. Just what did Riki encounter when he went to that address? Judging by their healed wounds and the fact that there was a girl who appears to be floating, these people had to be part of that organization. In addition to that, those two know Tamaki and Kaori had abilities. This was going to be another gamble they would have to make.

“...Azure… right?” Tamaki said.

The one mention of that name caused him to erupt in a fit of laughter. He laughed, and laughed. There was no end to his laughter. If anything, he was the mad scientist here.

“That’s right. You are so right. Man what an interesting bunch we have here! This kid wasn’t lying after all! Absolutely, we come from Azure, an organization with the sole purpose of maintaining the balance of humanity, or whatever the Director had in mind in his elevator pitch. Ask all you want: ‘how did it form?’, ‘whaddya mean by balance’, ‘where is it located?’. I don’t care about answering any of that crap. All I want is to complete this job and go straight home.”

“So that means we both have the same interest in mind? Can we coopera...”

Azure…

The rest of the spiel was lost already. He tried to listen, but Riki only focused his thoughts on that name. Yet again, the name sparked something inside of him. A faint memory. Another flash of light. Another ball of radiant energy.

・

・

・

・

「My hand… Do…. not… let go of it...」

・

・

・

・

“Riki, are you okay?” he heard Tamaki said as he jumped back into reality.

Riki could tell that his eyes were widened. They were widened, but they did not feel dry. In fact, it was the opposite.

“Why are you crying?”

“Huh?”

He touched his face and felt the moisture of tears that were running down his cheek.

“Wow, never knew he was quite the crybaby. And you appear to be the same age as us.” Oluka said.

“I… uh. I’m fine.” Riki managed to say as he looked away from everyone.

“You seriously don’t look fine.”

“Seriously, I’m alright.” Riki said as he wiped his tears off.

I just had to get another vision now and embarrass myself.

“Ah, maybe I shoulda killed him after all.” Katou muttered with his arms crossed, “As I was saying, I really don’t give a damn about your earrings. I just want something to carve out with my blade.”

“So you two can help us! That automaton is seriously a force.” Tamaki said, eyes lighting up.

“I was already planning on doing that anyways. We’ve already done some scouting of our own. This Asimov guy doesn’t do a good job covering up his track. Surely you guys know about the abnormal crime rate.”

Tamaki and Kaori nodded.

“I’m sure you guys realized that it was him and his little toy that’s responsible for that number. You can leave me to handle that thing. If it ever shows up then I’ll cut the ever living shit out of it.” Katou said as he had one palm on the tip of the hilt, “If not, then I’ll just cut down Asimov instead.”

“But man. I’d rather not go to a noisy convention where there gonna be sooo many peeeople.” Oluka said now lying on her side in midair.

“Alright, at this point, it’s settled. We got what we needed. I’m satisfied. Woman, let’s go.”

“Aye-aye.”

Hold on… that was it? They’re leaving already! That couldn’t have been all. How much of that conversation did I just miss?

Riki watches as they leave the front door. Tamaki and Kaori give an audible sigh.

“Who knew that Azure would actually be here, oh my gosh…” Tamaki said.

Indeed, Riki had just missed out on all of that conversation. He propped himself a chair and leaned his head on his hand.

My head hurts…

“Riki, I must say. It was beneficial to us that I told you to investigate the address. Don’t be so down on yourself.” Kaori said.

No it’s not that. It’s just that these visions I’m getting are appearing more and more often. It’s making my head hurt too much. I feel like I should just lie down.

“I don’t suppose we are actually going to sleep inside of this inn?” Riki asked.

“Of course not, silly.”

Riki sighed a breath of relief.

“...Is what you’re probably thinking I would say. But you spaced out that whole time!”

Space out… So that’s what I do whenever I have these visions?

“We are going to sleep here. In the event that the automaton comes again, we have Katou and Oluka to destroy it! They’re camping out outside!”

“But… what about the inn that you were supposed to stay at? What about that?”

“Well…” Tamaki held her index fingers together and muttered something that Riki couldn’t catch, “I kinda already informed them that I won’t be staying there anymore, so I was never given the directions to the real inn…”

“I’m sorry but what?”

“Just, at any rate, go to sleep. It’s already so late.”

・・・・・

After all of that has been said and done, the Sun indeed had set quite a while ago. Riki spent the night hunched over the edge of the table looking at the papers he had found inside the basement lab. Sure enough, tomorrow he will learn about the true nature of this incident. The papers in his hand felt heavier than usual. The breeze through the window allowed him to collect his thoughts.

The wind is pretty nice. Though, I don’t remember opening it.

It was during this pondering when Riki heard the sound of an unfamiliar voice right at his window.

“Let’s make a deal, sir.” the voice said.

He swiveled himself towards the window, his breathing became uneasy and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. It was dark, Riki could only see an outline of a black silhouette one foot on the window and one foot in his room. The only thing he could make out of the intruder was that she was female thanks to her voice.

Riki was just about to open his mouth to alert everyone when he felt the lips of his mouth more pressed than usual. He brought his fingers to his lips and felt what seems to be the texture of a leaf. This intruder was attacking him.

Holy shit, Holy shit, Holy shit, I knew sleeping here was a bad idea! Where the hell are those guys from Azure?!

In an attempt to escape, Riki tried to spring out of the chair, but then realized his legs had been tied in vines that were grown from the chair, the kudzu vines that had covered the outer wall. At this point he made the connection between the strange plant anomalies around the inn and this girl’s ability.

So this is her ability! Is she part of this too?!

“I am aware that you and your new friends are trying to retrieve those earrings that Tamaki girl lost. I could give you back those earrings.”

If Riki was not full of anxiety already, he is now thanks to this person knowing a piece of information that only the five of them knew.

“You might be wondering how I was aware of that, how I came across something like that. Don’t worry, sir. I have my networks. But before I can share, I want to discuss what I want you to do.”

Riki got a more clear view of who the figure was as the moon passed through a cloud. A maid, the maid. The maid who offered to show him the location of an inn to rest all that time ago.

You?! Did you set me up?!

He thought he said until he remembered his lips were still sealed.

“Do you realize who I am now, sir? I should apologize for striking up a deal before I properly introduce myself.”

That’s the wrong reason to apologize for!

The maid stepped into the room and performed that same curtsy from when they first met.

“My name is Charlotte, a servant who serves my master, Asimov.”

・・・・・

The adhesive leaf to his lips were finally released.

“I’ve waited so long for this moment.”

The maid stood next to Riki and looked down at him with gleaming eyes.

“So far, everything is following so well. You meeting Tamaki and Kaori, you three being outside when the inn was attacked, exploring the inn and finding Asimov’s identity, you personally encountering those two from Azure…”

Charlotte noticed the bewilderment in Riki’s eyes. She had planned everything from the start in order to build up to this exact moment to talk to him. As a servant, she knew everything about her master’s plans and acts. She knew that he would attempt to take Tamaki’s earrings using his automaton. It was unavoidable, but the maid needed them alive. Charlotte sent Riki to the inn in order for them to get out of the inn, to search for the earrings. The next step was a bit of a long shot as Charlotte figured they would investigate said inn. They would come across the lab with the papers and address book. She figured they would also go to 342 Shaker Street written in that book.

Ahead of time, Azure will also come to that address and she needed either of the three to come into contact with them. And everything followed so well, almost. In the end, Tamaki, Kaori, and Riki did encounter the automaton, thus being delayed by three days. So, she set up a ruse to have the people of Azure take care of wolves around the area first. Though she didn’t realize that Tamaki and Kaori would end up encountering the same wolves. Luckily, they managed to escape. This whole ploy was a gamble, and it paid off.

“Listen closely, this inn, you might have guessed, is not an actual inn. It is designed to collect items from its guests.” Charlotte explained.

“...collect items?”

“The old man that runs this fake inn, is a disguise. That was Asimov on that day. Your friend, Tamaki, is a victim of this scheme. Sir, the reason why I invited you there, was for this moment to make a deal.”

Riki was silent. It was time for Charlotte to dig deep into his subconsciousness.

“I saw it too. The white-haired girl that was attacked by those two.”

With the advent of this sentence, Riki almost jumped out of his chair, remembering he was still at the mercy of her ability.

“Do you know the reason why everyone did not remember the scene right after it had occurred?” she continued.

“I don’t. But is it because of that man’s ability?”

“Interesting. Is that what you call them, huh? Anyways, yes. The reason he used it on the crowd was because the knowledge of these ‘abilities’ are kept from the outside world. In this case, people like you.”

“From the outside world… but… why did it affect me so differently?”

“That, I do not know. But because it did, that was when I knew that it had to be you to be an important role in this plan.”

“Just tell me already.”

Charlotte faced straight toward him with a solemn expression on her.

“Along with Tamaki, Kaori, and those people in Azure, please apprehend Asimov.”

Apprehend him? Isn’t she her servant?

“I loved him. I still do. Yet, slowly, he kept on being consumed by his work that I don’t even know. Part of that work was to have this building act as an inn to steal items for his project.”

Charlotte picked up the papers that dropped on the floor when Riki was startled. She shuffled them into order.

“What was the one prominent thing that these papers displayed?” she asked him.

“Uhh, particle accelerators?”

“Correct. Tamaki’s earrings, well, they hold a special type of mineral that acts as a sort of catalyst for those accelerators.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“He will reactivate those dormant accelerators that are spread out all over the world for his own research, thus destroying those earrings in the process. That should be bad news for you and your friend.”

“But wait, why should you care? That doesn’t affect you at all.”

“Can’t you tell? He’s been committing crimes in order to fulfill his desires. I don’t want the man I like to go down the spiral of misconduct anymore.

“You could have stopped him yourself.”

“I know that… but I just couldn’t sum up the courage to.”

What kind of reason is that? It was ridiculous enough that Riki expected her to follow up that she was kidding. But her expression proved otherwise. All of that torment he went through was because of that one moment this maid asked him to go to this one inn to stay. All of this was because of her.

“And you placed the burden on me?”

“Asking the two from Azure would’ve gotten me killed, and Tamaki and her valet would’ve been killed by Asimov’s doll if it weren’t for you to have them leave. That’s why I needed another person. The Conference tomorrow, you’re going right? You will see Asimov’s true character then.”

Well, we were already set on doing that anyways.

“You said you promised me the earrings back? Do you have a plan to counter his automaton?”

“I have a plan for everything. Tomorrow, after the conference concludes, I want all of you to follow me. The rest can be explained then.”

“What if I say no?”

“Then die.”

The kudzu vines constricted even tighter, before loosening again as Charlotte sighed. A faint breeze wafted through the windows, allowing the curtains to sway. The maid’s short, pale violet hair caught the breeze, needing to push back her bangs. This action placed emphasis on her eyes whose colors were as deep as lavender flowers. Charlotte knew she could turn the tide of this negotiation with one sentence.

“Then a different proposition you might find appropriate. You, as someone who has witnessed countless supernatural occurrences, can acquire such an ability of your own.”

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.

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Goddammit. I’m dreading tomorrow.