Chapter 514: Arc 6, - 130: Under One Roof

Chapter 514: Arc 6, Chapter 130: Under One Roof

"Morning, morning little detective~ Back on two legs already!?" Alicia entered with a tray of assorted breakfast items—none of them grand... It was a hospital after all.

Fumeko leaned on Hotaru and Morgana’s arms to hold herself up. She glanced up with a squint, "Where have you been?"

"Who, me? I’ve been all over the boroughs, though you’re not looking for a location are you?" she beamed and approached.

"You sure you don’t need the crutches kid?" Morgana queried looking down.

"I’m fine. I can feel the blood moving again; besides, I don’t know how to use those."

"That’s hardly a problem," Hotaru remarked. Her ears bristled upon glancing at the reporter, "Where’s Ben?"

"Held him up in the lobby—had t’know more details of whatever sent the detective into a short-lived coma."

Hotaru glared and continued helping Fumeko forward.

"Where’re y’lot heading off to in such a hurry?" Alicia asked.

"The doctor’s said she’s recovered; I filed for a discharge," the redhead replied.

"Apparently my sister doesn’t wanna go anywhere," Fumeko added.

_

Little farm animals circled around and talked among one another on a sheet made of fluffy green grass. As they traipsed within the meadow, a chick hopped into a car and drove off through the fields while its companions cheered.

Kineko watched with a half-hearted smile; she wore a crown made of flowers, and sat in the middle of a spotlight for the show being played on her bed by a wand circling from above.

The curtains were drawn back bit by bit, and the colourful host of animals all lined up and took a bow in front of Kineko before fading into nothing.

Lights gradually brightened as an elf appeared out of invisibility ready to greet the guests, only for her to beam wide enough to rival the brightening room.

"Meko!" Asobi leapt and hugged, which threw the brunette off balance and they both toppled to the floor.

"Get off of me you twit..."

Hotaru and Morgana looked down, with the redhead giving a sigh.

"And your mood’s better too!" the unbothered Asobi replied and smothered the detective in a hug.

"Alright, alright, y’two are cute, but she’s barely standing as it is," Alicia placed a hand to her waist.

Asobi hopped up and off of her, and offered a hand to lift the brunette up.

Fumeko had to take it to stand, and accept Hotaru’s hand on her back that helped her upright herself as well. ’...I hate this.’ She glared at nothing in particular.

"Big sis...?"

Upon hearing the child’s voice, everyone turned to look. And the first place Fumeko’s eyes darted to was Kineko’s severed left arm.

It was bandaged up around her shoulder, gone by the joint; the sentiment ringing in her mind echoed louder. Fumeko approached on shaky legs and placed her arms on the bed. She frowned, "I’m sorry."

Kineko’s blank expression morphed into one of slight shock. "Why are you sorwy big sis? You saved me," the girl expressed.

’...Huh. Not the response I expected...’ Fumeko blinked a few times, "Your..." her eyes finished the sentence.

"Oh..." Kineko looked at it as if she needed to be reminded. "It’s okay. Aunty Wred-Wolf fixed me. But... aunty said she cannot fix my hand."

"Can’t yet, Kineko," Hotaru walked over to sit by the bedside. Her ears folded down, and she smiled at the child, "I’m very powerful. And I’ll work as hard as I can to find the spell to get you a new arm."

’Yeah... that sounds great to say to a kid...’

"It’s okay," Kineko looked around at her audience of guests. "Everwyone looks so tiwred. I’m happy to be saved fwrom the prison," she said.

...

...

...

They exchanged looks at one another, pausing to gauge what to say or do; Alicia however seemed to be smiling and fine.

"Where’s Aunty Spauky-Eyes?" Kineko searched.

"She wasn’t with you the whole time?" Morgana inquired.

Kineko hummed in disapproval and shook her head.

"Let’s not talk about her right now..." the hair on Hotaru’s tail rose.

’...Jotou...’ Fumeko held a hand to her chin as memories flashed by of the day they met eyes again. ’What game is she playing...’

"Big sis saved me fwrom the tr- twr-trwansfowming monster. It turned into Aunty Spauky-Eyes."

"The kid’s already told what she remembers; what about your account?" Morgana folded her arms.

"Is now really the time? Can we wait till we’re home?" Hotaru glanced at the reporter in particular.

"You see my camera or a notepad on me Ms Kinoshita?" Alicia sassed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Then why’d I hear a pen click?" the redhead narrowed her eyes.

"You’re so tired who knows what y’hear," Alicia shrugged with her hand behind her back.

"Get out of here Alicia; I think you’ve earned enough of a pay-check for the past week," Morgana side-eyed.

"It’s more of a bonus, but that’s not why I’m doing it y’know," she replied.

"I think Burnetrout will wanna hear this," Fumeko stared at the bed. "I killed the shapeshifter... Just don’t mention my name Alicia."

Alicia’s eyes widened, "Oooooo!! Detective you’ve given me the scoop of’a lifetime here!!!" she jumped and her heels clacked onto the tiles.

"Wait, what?" Hotaru’s ears flickered.

"Meko, y-you killed a new god?" Asobi held her wand in both hands.

"I got to its heart, and I didn’t stop slashing... It’s dead—without a shadow of a doubt; turned into some fox-woman in its last breath," she kept looking at the bed.

A hand placed itself on her shoulder, and held it tight. "Good work kid," Mrs Aetherton gave a firm response.

"It’s how I saved Kineko... but I blinked when I wasn’t supposed to and... It was gonna kill her to torture me, and..." she sighed and shut her eyes. "It cut into her slightly, but I blinked to Kineko and got her out...

The spell must’ve continued to sever her arm since its claw was still hooked into her... And I couldn’t get her arm because I had to get out, because I heard Forallei and..." she clutched the fabric of the sheets.

"It’s fine. You don’t need to explain more kid," Morgana’s hand got even firmer on her shoulder.

While Fumeko’s gaze was fixed on the sheets, she felt a hand rub circles over her bangs. She looked up, and the small hand patted her.

"It’s ok big sis... I’m still here."

The brunette watched her sister’s soft solemn expression through narrowed eyes. ’...This kid’s been through too much trauma for this to be normal...’

As soon as her eyes met the patchwork of bandages around Kineko’s left side, she had to turn away. ’Dad’s gone, my sister’s missing a limb, my- whatever Jotou is, is on the other side and my body’s fucked...’ "I wanna go home..." she muttered.

They all looked at one another, and then back to Alicia who was writing things down on her notepad with a pink pen.

Alicia felt the stares turn into leers and smiled back up, "I’ll be no trouble—just reporting the important truth, no gossip, no little detective involved."

"Keep it subtle," Morgana’s piercing green gaze shot towards the reporter who flinched and squeaked back.

_

"That’s when I blinked back with Kineko through the walls and ended up in front of Aru. But everything after that dining hall is a blurry mess," Fumeko held her forehead while she exposited.

22 Fleur Boulevard had the scent of tea permeating throughout the home. At this late hour, every light on every floor was on and smoke billowed out of the chimney.

The wood burned in the fireplace, giving a crisp crackle for the ears and warmth the radiators failed to provide on this rainy spring night.

Asobi set down a hot teapot in the middle of a ring of teacups on a silver tray. On the side, Clyde poured milk into a half-filled teacup to himself before reaching for the sugar cubes.

However, two sugar cubes were grabbed first by a small pair of rodent hands, that then scurried across the coffee table to put it into a teacup that was promptly picked up by Detective Diana, who sat with one leg over the other on the single sofa.

Detective Rose sat on the arm of said sofa, and lowered her teacup for Pinfree to blow fire onto. Her face lacked any elaborate makeup and her garments were quite simple compared to her usual flair.

Morgana stood with folded arms, gazing over the objects on the mantlepiece; Ben, sat by Clyde’s side, glanced over for a moment at the detective in blue, then to the paperwork on the table before him.

The papers were laid all around the silver tray, and were being picked up one after the other by Detective Heath. He adjusted his glasses while his cat-like ears listened to the brunette’s explanation beside him.

Hotaru sat on the other side of Fumeko, jotting something down on paper. "And I still don’t know what happened in that dining hall. They all seemed rich."

"I can help fill that blank darling," Rose spoke up.

"I was hoping so; explain how you knew to direct us to the vault," Fumeko leered.

She blew over the boiling tea in her cup, "The answer to both are the Folias. They got more than what they bargained for."

’...!’ Red string connected a thread through a haze of her memories. ’The wax on the table.’ She held a hand to her chin, "The Minora Folia didn’t sign away their souls, did they?"

"I was not there for the meeting, so I wouldn’t know. But when nobody comes home to an estate after something so important," Rose drank her tea.

"So like, that family’s dead?" Ben queried.

"Well no," Rose narrowed her eyes. "The entire family didn’t go to the meeting. Just most of the ones running anything important," she shrugged.

"What about the vault part?" Asobi looked around, and then sat on the chair’s arm next to Hotaru.

"Damon Folia, the scion. Last I checked, the night before they left, he showed me the tattoo below his chest. He called it a key, so I figured it would grant them access to where they would be going, and I overhead the vault being mentioned by his father.

He said Burnetrout’s going to change, and the Folias would have a hand in the pot. Take over bit by bit of Burnetrout for Malecise, and then what he’d do to his father, to be the new head of the family—he fancied politics and even wanted me to be his bride.

I obviously didn’t follow and seem too eager to get into the place. Besides, the Deuctus Cult knows me, too much," she sighed over her tea. "When nobody came home and I got word from Kira about Fumeko in the hospital, I knew my role was over."

Fumeko pondered for a moment longer, "They will have a hand in the pot—as Ceridwen’s army of ghouls. The shapeshifter was there to slaughter them after they signed, since they didn’t need to stage the murders for flair."

"They did it willingly and unknowingly, I suspect," Rose added.

"What of the location?" Diana moved on.

"I don’t know," Fumeko replied. "It’s something in between; I think it’s place people with a mobility affinity utilize to move. I don’t know how it works, or to what extent, or even if it’s something separate."

"Your magic came back; your eyes were glowing and everything! It has to be what it is silly," Asobi supported.

"Yeah, but it’s just a feeling, not a fact."

"Aren’t feelings a fact?" Asobi added more sugar to her tea.

Fumeko side-eyed the magician, "My point is, their entire base of operations is always gonna be moving. That’s how they’ve evaded everything, and can get anywhere. Those tunnels are the only way to get to a place."

"Considering that the orphanage now has GAS guarding the area, it’s safe to assume that the Deuctus Cult would’ve taken action by now. We were only able to enter because they wanted us to be there," Hotaru affirmed.

"Why?" Morgana turned with a piercing gaze. "Why set a piss poor trap that caught no one, and got one of them killed in the process? The cult ain’t prone to mistakes."

"They even assumed I would have my affinity," Fumeko thought aloud. ’But I know the reason. I think I’ve figured out what happened.’

"I think they wanted to show us Jotou. For her to kick our ass as a warning," Ben huffed.

’That’s half of the story.’

"Which then begs the question," Diana’s ears bent back. "Is Howllett now a threat working for the enemy. Because that complicates everything, and some of you here will hesitate; complicated emotions are going to be a liability," she scanned across those close to the Thundering Blade.

"You don’t have to look at me like that," Clyde said and set his empty teacup down. "A monster found its home; there’s not much more to think about. If we see her, we shoot her."

"I don’t know if it’s that simple dude," Ben replied.

"Whose side are you bloody on?"

"Boys," Rose pinged a fingernail against her cup. "Save your argument for later."

"Kid," Morgana addressed.

It was apparent to Fumeko that the piercing gaze was directed towards her more than anyone. "What?"

Morgana raised a brow.

The brunette shrunk back into her seat and averted her eyes.

"What are you hiding Namora?" Diana now pressed.

"I’m not hiding anything! I’m just debating something in my head, and I’m not sure about it yet," she defended and looked to Hotaru.

"Say it then," Morgana told.

"We can help," Rose flashed a smile.

"Enough. She’s been through enough as it is—mentally and physically. Let her sleep on whatever she’s thinking about, and all the information will be presented in due time. Can everyone accept that?" Hotaru glared and her ears spiked.

Everyone stopped pressing her, only leaving Diana and Morgana to give a glare. The wolf-woman looked back, and saw Fumeko’s hand slowly retract away from the tail she clutched so tightly.

"What’ve you been writing down?" Ben asked to the redhead.

"Jotou’s in deep trouble of some kind, I think it’s about time to ask Daiyu for help," Hotaru folded up the note.

"The princess of Cravolta?" Diana’s ears twitched. "The cult’s a national problem. If the princess or any Cravoltan forces march into here, it could provoke a civil war between allied nations."

"Not if the idea’s brought to the grand alderman, who can formally request aid and someone reaches out as a proxy. Cravolta asked for Burntish aid last year even," Heath brought up while shuffling through documents.

"Except Lady Pinberry ain’t going to ask for aid," Morgana added.

"Why? Is it because she’s too proud?" Asobi inquired.

"One, yes. But more importantly, the Burntish forces are held in high regard across the world. If news became so public, to a point where we ask aid from other nations, that’s a sign for the allied nations that Burnetrout may be at risk," Morgana answered.

"And it’s an invitation for the regimes to take higher action, and maybe send a scout troop or two," Heath explained.

Ben raised his shoulders, "It’s a war, there’s already Regimian spies by the dozen here. Even the Folias or whatever were probably feeding them intel."

"It leaves no room for doubt if anything official were to be signed," Heath’s ears flickered.

"I don’t care," Hotaru shut the room up. "I’m the Azure Firefly of Cravolta, and I’m informing the princess, my friend, of what’s happening here and what’s happening to her closest friend and ally. I’m sure the Council of Cravolta will dissuade her from doing anything rash."

"...Yeah, but it’s Daiyu." Ben squinted. "No one changes her mind if she’s set on something. Also, she’d probably literally kill you if you don’t send this information to her."

"It’s going to take a while to get there anyway," Hotaru sighed. "So, if we can’t figure out what to do in time, I’m willing to take the risk of a tarnished reputation, over the fall of Burnetrout."

Fumeko looked to the paper she held, and looked to her own hand. She took a deep breath in and out.

"Do what you will," Diana got up and Pinfree ran up her tail. "Nowhere is safe, including this house. I’ll be taking my leave."

"One more thing," Fumeko made her pause. "I think everyone here should know, I believe Kineko is the child of Ambrose. I don’t have the best evidence, but I think it’s more than likely.

It’s why she wasn’t killed; it’s why they probably wanted me dead and just torture her; Ambrose could’ve healed her anyway."

"What’s this evidence?" Rose set the teacup down and got up herself.

"Her blood."