Blooming Fondness (Act V)

'Heizou... Surely he has his reasons...'

You were busy packing your things in your room. For a case such as finding a missing person's whereabouts with only the smallest of leads, you definitely need to bring a lot of necessary things with you. As you were about to finish packing, a photograph fell off from one of the pages of your book. You picked it up and looked at it before your expression slightly turned grim. You then put the photograph inside a drawer and closed it up before you grabbed your sling bag and left your room.

You got out of the doorstep of your house and decided to head for the police station to find Owada and ask for any more details before Heizou's disappearance. By the time you arrived at the police station, you saw Owada being stationed outside then you immediately approached him.

"Mr. Owada, mind if I ask a few questions..? Well, this is regarding Heizou..."

"Hm? Oh! You're the lady who accepted the commission! Please, ask ahead"

"Before Heizou disappeared, did he take any commissions or say anything about taking cases?"

"He didn't say anything in particular since he usually just goes off immediately on his own whenever he plans to take on a case"

You slightly felt disappointed for a moment as you just glanced blankly at your notebook.

"But I do recall that he left a letter on his desk. It was the last thing he looked into before leaving. I can go and get it for you"

You looked up at the officer with a bit of hope in your eyes as you simply nodded. The officer nodded back and went inside while you waited where you stood. A few minutes passed, the officer returned and handed you a folded letter then you accepted it gratefully before opening it up. The contents in this letter is actually a request from the former Tenryou Commissioner, Kujou Takayuki. To your surprise, Kujou Takayuki had already been arrested for treason since the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished. You began to wonder how he is still able to send a letter to the Tenryou Commission. Aside from that, the letter was about investigating the military of Watatsumi Island.

"Strange.." You muttered to yourself.

Owada then hummed as he tilted his head. "What is?"

"A-Ah.. It's nothing! Anyways, thank you so much Mr. Owada, I'll get back as soon as I find him! Oh, and uh... Is it okay if I take the letter with me?"

The officer then nodded at you. "No problem. Please take care"

You responded with a nod as you placed the letter into your bag before heading out of the police station.

"Watatsumi Island... I sure do hope he's there.."

***

After a long trip from Ritou port, you finally arrived at Watatsumi Island and looked up at the island. You never thought you'd come back again to solve another case, then you sighed. You recalled the details of the letter and thought for a moment as you placed your hand on your chin.

"If the request is about the military... Perhaps he had at least interacted with some of the soldiers.. Or maybe General Gorou might help.."

You finally made a decision and headed for the Sangonomiya Shrine. Upon traveling, you remembered how beautiful this place was. You took a moment to look at the wonderful view of the island from the cliffside and looked at the beautiful structure of the shrine at the center.

You soon finally crossed the bridge towards the shrine then all of a sudden, you could feel your heart slowly dropping as you caught your sights on a certain blonde figure with a silver-haired floating companion, and they both had just finished talking to a soldier that was stationed by the entrance. You definitely recognized them in an instant.

"Paimon and.. Traveler..?"

The blonde person turned around and noticed you along with their companion.

"y/n! It's been a long time!" Paimon greeted you immediately as she floated towards you, the traveler nodded at you as a greeting.

"I didn't think we'd see each other again.." You slightly forced a smile upon seeing them both. Not that you didn't like them around or anything but rather, you and the Traveler had a bit of a history that you never wanted to look back on.

"Neither did we! What brings you here in Watatsumi Island anyway?"

"W-Well.. I'm currently taking on a case about a missing person... What about you two..?"

"Paimon and the Traveler took a commission to look for someone too! Someone by the name of.. uhh... who was it again?" Paimon turned to look at the Traveler with a troubled look as the latter just facepalmed at how typically forgetful their companion is. You guess some things never change between them.

"It's Shikanoin Heizou" The Traveler looked at Paimon with a deadpanned look. Your eyes widened upon hearing the name. "Y-You two are looking for Heizou too???" Your agitation was starting to show.

"Yeah! Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I do.. He's a dear friend of mine.." You glanced away to the side.

"Aw.. We'll help you find him! We just talked to Shibata over there and he said that he was last seen somewhere in the eastern side of the island. We can go together!" You could feel Paimon's enthusiasm but you somehow feel otherwise, though you nodded either way as you're grateful for their assistance.

"Thanks.."

***

The three of you soon arrived at a beach that was located at the eastern side of the island. You were familiar of the place since you and the redhead detective have been investigating here last time.

"Hey, look over there!" Paimon pointed at something from the distance. It's a group of Nobushi and treasure hoarders, and there seems to be a cage as well. You swore you caught a hint of a familiar hair color inside that cage and out of impulse, you sprinted towards the mobs as you got your catalyst ready.

"y/n, wait!" You heard Paimon and the Traveler trying to stop you, but you had already gone ahead.

"Cmon guys, mind letting me go? I'm just a simple tourist~"

"Shut it—!?" A treasure hoarder realized that his legs got caught by vines that were growing from below then his whole body was dragged and buried to the ground, leaving head on the surface.

"!!!" It caught the attention of the rest and they started charging in on you.

"y/n!" You heard the call of the Traveler then they started to defend your back. You saved the idling for later as the both of you went to attack all out on the remaining mobs.

As soon as all of the mobs were taken care off, you turned to look at the redhead detective who managed to get himself out of the cage.

"Oh my, didn't think I'd see you here again, y/n~ Oh? And you must be the well-renowned Traveler! I guess fate has brought the three of us together, no? Allow me to introduce myself, the name's Shikanoin Heizou, sharpest and most successful detective of the Tenryou Commission" Heizou turned to look at you and the Traveler, acting like as if he was never been in danger.

"Heizou.. Why are you here.. Everyone was worried about you.." You muttered out of concern as you finally managed to catch your breath after all that fighting.

"Why am I here? Let me think.. Ah yes, it all began when the former Tenryou Commissioner, Kujou Takayuki had sent me a request just a couple of weeks ago, right before the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished. At first, I wasn't entirely interested and had kept away the letter he sent me. I was already getting tired of him too so I pretended to have started investigating by coming in and out of Watatsumi from time to time while in truth, I was just investigating other affairs of this island. But then just a few days ago, I had a dream"

"A dream??" Paimon interrupted but the detective paid no mind.

"Yes, a dream, to which a voice suddenly said to me" The detective then leaned close to the three of us and whispered.

"Something vital is missing on this island"

You blinked for a moment, puzzled at what he said as he leaned away.

"And due to that, I figured that it was my intuition telling me so how could I refuse a commission from my own intuition?"

"Is that why you suddenly disappeared for the last few days?"

He responded at your question with a light chuckle and raised a finger. "You betcha. Now, enough about me. I presume the three of you were sent by the Tenryou Commission?"

"Whoa! How did you know?" Paimon was in awe at the detective's statement then the redhead chuckled again. "Why don't we have the Traveler try to guess the answer?" He turned to look at them with his hand on his hip.

"Perhaps from y/n's demeanor?"

"Hmm.. I wonder~ Is it from your demeanor, y/n?" He tilts his head to look at you with a smile. You scanned your eyes around for clues then you spotted a letter from Paimon's hands.

"The request letter from the Tenryou Commission.." You muttered while glancing at it then back at Heizou.

The detective had a pleased smile on his face and let out a sigh. "Oh y/n, you are so dreamy~" He snapped his fingers. "You are indeed correct"

You slightly blushed at his compliment and turned away. "A-Anyways... Now that you're aware why we're here, I don't think we really need to tell you what to do"

"Heh, I'm guessing that they're just running short on staff and it just so happens they finally remembered their model employee. Well, I really have no intention of coming with you three to the police station just yet but if it can make you all happy, how about we all work on this mystery that my intuition commissioned then in return, I can finally go with the three of you to the police station- or wherever you guys wanna go. How does that sound?"

"No way, mister! We took the commission to take you back!" Paimon protested.

"Sheesh, for a voice, you sure are loud"

"Wh- Paimon's not a voice! Paimon is emergency food!"

. . .

"N-No wait!! Argh! This is all your fault! Now Paimon can't think straight!" She threw a tantrum as she faced the Traveler.

As the Traveler and Paimon ended up bickering, Heizou then gently grabbed your wrist and walked a few distances from from the two. You have no idea what he's planning but you assumed that he wants to talk to you in private.

"Is something bothering you? Perhaps my disappearance made you worry that much?"

"Wh- n-no... I'm fine.." You avoided eye contact from him. "Are you... Really not planning to going back yet..?"

"Well.." He exhaled through his nose while crossing his arms. "I'd like you to make the final decision"

"Eh? Why me?"

"I'm sure you took pains to look for me, along with the Traveler over there" He glanced at the Traveler then looked back at you as he used his hand to gently make you face him directly. "Well?"

You started blush again from the way he held your face as you gazed into his eyes. You really missed staring into them, along with his presence. "I-I would honestly love to help but... Heizou, we still have to bring you back.." You gave a concerned look.

You expected that the detective would have a frown on his face but instead, he gave a light smile as he held a couple of strands of your hair and let slide off his palm. "Is that so? Alright then~ Cmon, let us head back" He held your wrist again and leads you back to where the Traveler and Paimon are. You could feel your heartbeat getting faster as you could only gaze upon him while following behind.

'If only I could spend more time with him here..' You thought to yourself as the whole group then decided to head back to Narukami Island.