A Job Request

 " Hanazawa-san..." Kath snapped when she felt the tap on her shoulder and looked to the side to see Atsushi holding a tray with a cup of coffee in front of her.

" For me, thank you Atsushi-kun!" She took off her earphones, reached for the cup, and gave a gentle smile. " You shouldn't have bothered yourself."

" It's alright. I'm still new to the agency work so I'm trying to help around as much as possible," he said rubbing the back of his head.

" You already did so much. You moped the floor replaced the windows and made coffee for everyone." She took a sip from her drink and closed her eyes. " To be honest I'm rather surprised you reached the agency before me, I was usually the first to reach here each morning."

" Well, back in the orphanage we had this time strict schedule where we sleep at 9 and wake up at 5. So it kind of stuck with me."

" Atsushi-kun, you're from an orphanage?"

" Yeah?"

" I see, as I thought, we may be similar in a way," she said smiling sweetly at him.

" Could it be that Hanazaw-san, you too?"

" No, not an orphanage, something a little different though." She turned back to her laptop, ready to continue with her work. " Either way, thank you so much for the coffee."

Atsushi had a small smile and went back to the staff room. Just as he came back into the office, Kunikida approached Kath with a paper in hand. " You have a job request, Hanazawa."

Kath blinked as she took the paper from him and skimmed through it. " I see, quite the troublesome task. Then, I'll be off." She stood up, grasping her black rucksack, and ready to leave when Kunikida put his hand on her shoulder.

" You could take the brat with you," he pointed at Atsushi who jolted upon being addressed. " He's still a rookie and he needs to learn a bit about this line of work."

" Okay! You can leave it to me!" She held a thumb up at him. " Atsushi-kun, come on, we're going!"

" Uh, right." The boy hurried to catch up with her as she walked through the door.

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Kath looked down at the address on the paper and then back at the building before them before stuffing it back inside her rucksack. " Welp, we're not mistaken, this is the place, Atsushi-kun."

" This is it? It's..." Atsushi had to crane his neck for him to see the top of the white construction. "... A mansion!"

" Let's get a move on then." She crossed the street and rang the interphone only for a calm deep voice to answer.

" Who is this?"

" Excuse us, we're from the Armed Detective Agency, sorry for not making an appointment but, could we come inside to discuss a little about the request you sent us?" She spoke into the microphone.

" Wait for a moment." The line was cut and Atsushi looked at her quizzically. They had the papers, they had information, so they had no reason to come this far. " You can come inside."

The doors opened on their own and the two of them climbed up the small hill to the large mansion perched on its top. There, a man decked in a black suit welcomed them and led them inside and into a large fancy room which Kath deduced to be a parlor.

" Please wait here for a moment, the master and his wife will be here shortly." And the butler closed the door.

Kath and Atsushi settled down into one of the two sofas facing each other, between them stood a small table with a tier stand of sweets. The moment his eyes fell on them, Atsushi's mouth watered instantly. That was a predictable reaction.

The door clicked open and both of them stood up just as the couple entered, with a gesture of his hand, the man beckoned them to sit down while he and his wife settled before them.

" I was told you came here to discuss about our request."

" Yes sir, if you don't mind."

" I had the impression that we left nothing. We specified your task, young one."

" Indeed, however, in times like this, I think it's most important to face the client and hear it from them directly," Kath answered.

The man looked at her for a moment then exhaled. " It's as you were informed, our daughter ran away."

At that, Atsushi's eyes shot wide open, Kath however, brought out a notepad and pen and started scribbling. " When was the last time you saw her?"

" A month ago."

" Can you tell us about the last time you were together?"

" I don't believe this is necessar-"

" It's," Kath looked into his eyes. " I'm looking for a young girl who escaped her house and left no trail behind, all I can depend on is my prediction of her actions. Unless I know all about her, including how she was acting that day, I can't do my work efficiently."

At that, the woman's hand reached for her husband's and then she looked at Kath. " There was a concert in the mall that day, one held by her school club. She insisted on going, we refused..." The woman glanced a look at her husband. " My husband and I, we thought she was angry and cooped herself inside her room but, she escaped from the veranda."

" I see. What about her actions before that? Did you notice anything different about her?" Atsushi kept his eyes on the young woman as she took quick notes of what the married couple were telling.

" Not at all," the mother stated, worriedly placing one hand on her cheek. " She was acting as usual, attending school, hanging around with friends then attending her extra classes at night. There were her music club activities on the weekend too."

The man flinched at that, not that Kath skipped on it. " Then, what about her school life? She is a 3rd year in high school, right? Anything about bullying maybe? Or stress from university entrance exams?"

" Bullying! Oh my god, no! Not at all! Hannah is a very likable person and never once did her teachers or friends complain about her. She is friendly with her classmates and they get along well, as for the entrance exams..." the woman trailed, looking away from her husband. " I believe there might have been some issues."

" Just a little bit of nervousness. Anyone would have such episodes before their big exams," the man cut in.

" I see." Kath closed her notepad and stood up. " Thanks for your cooperation. I will contact you soon." She bowed to both of them. Atsushi quickly stood up by her side and bowed as well.

" Please," the woman spoke again as the two agency members were attempting to leave. " I would do anything just, please bring her back to me."

" We're the Armed Detective Agency members, ma'am. We'll surely bring her back." With that said, Kath and Atsushi excused themselves.

✦ -─────────- ✦

" It's your most cliché runaway story." Kath heaved a breath before looking up at Atsushi. The boy had his eyes sparkling at the slice of chocolate cake before him.

" Is it really okay, to treat me to such a feast!"

" It's only a chocolate cake, Atsushi-kun." Kath sweat dropped. " Either way, I noticed you were craving those sweets earlier but you didn't take any of them."

" I wasn't told to."

Well, of course he would say that. " Then I'm giving you my share as well!" She said giving him her plate.

" Are you a goddess or what!" As he dug in, Atsushi noticed the girl staring at her notepad. " Figured anything yet?"

" Oh, about the girl? I already know where she is."

" Eh!" Atsushi looked back at the notepad. " But then, about the notes..."

" More than the information, I needed to check the reason why she had left in the first place, thus, I was studying her parents' reaction for the whole time," she said dropping her notepad on the table and leaning on her hand. " It all makes sense now."

" It doesn't make sense to me." Kath looked up at Atsushi, only to realize he stopped eating and was resting his fists on the table. " That girl had such a house, she had such parents who would do anything for her, yet, she just ran away. I can't understand it."

Kath inhaled deeply as she looked back at the customers behind her, a small family of three. " Maybe it would seem unfathomable for us, Atsushi-kun but... happiness is a rather fragile concept."

" Eh?"

" Never mind that," she said taking a few sips from her juice.

" By the way, you said you knew where the girl was? How?"

" It was easy, despite what it may seem, that girl is a rich little princess. There is no way she could have gone so far from her hometown."

" But then, shouldn't the police be able to find her?"

"Policemen don't walk around, checking everyone's identity. So as long as she looked slightly different from the image they were given, she would be fine."

" Huh?" Atsushi's eyes widened before he quickly brought out the folder about the case and checked the girl's picture.

" For example, she cuts her hair, wears a chirurgical mask and thick glasses, it would be hard to identify her." Kath retrieved the picture from Atsushi and hid it among the pages of her notepad.

" Here's your seconds." Another piece of cake dropped between them.

" Thank you."

" But then..."

" It was easy to find out once you have all the information about her. From her club to where she usually hangs around with friends. Knowing she wouldn't go far away, all you need to do is look at her circle, and predicting where she is hiding is easy. It seems she had been plotting for this long, long ago. It wasn't just that she was angry and decided to punish her parents. It's that she wanted to be free from them."

" I'm sorry!" The waitress cried as she dropped the cups of juice by a customer's side.

" Watch out, clutz!"

" You were able to deduce this much just upon skimming the documents?" Astsuhi wondered in bemusement.

" This is nothing at all," Kath closed her eyes and leaned down on her hands. " The real work starts from here."

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Night had fallen and all the shops around were already closed. Only that one café still had its light on.

The moment they were turned off, a young girl stepped out of it and closed the door, locking it with the key in hand. She pulled down her mask and took off her glasses upon reaching the side entrance. " I've missed up big time today again."

" Hannah-chan."

The girl stopped on the first step and looked back with wide eyes upon hearing that name. Behind her were the two who visited the café earlier, Atsushi and Kath. " Why do you..."

" Know your real name? We're members of the Armed Detective Agency." Kath showed her the id card of the agency. " We were hired to bring you back home."

Clutching her bag tightly, the girl narrowed her eyes and darted forward, attempting to run past Atsushi and Kath. She slipped between them with the blonde not moving a single muscle.

" Oi!"

" Wait, Atsushi-kun," Kath said calmly.

Upon reaching the threshold of the entrance, Hannah stopped, unable to proceed further. " Wh-what!?"

Atsushi squinted his eyes and saw silvery thin threads wrung around the girl's arms and legs, all of them stretching back towards Kath's right hand. Her fingernails were glowing white as the threads wrung around her fingers too. "Ability: Master Puppeteer. Those threads from my ability are not easily cut and are very strong. I advise you not to resist much because it will hurt both of us."

At that moment, Atsushi saw a droplet of blood manifest on her palm. I see, when those threads are stretched too much they would cut into her skin too.

" Listen Hannah-chan, I'm here to talk."

" You just said you were hired to return me home!"

" That's my job. But nevertheless, I want to talk with you. I know why you left."

" Then you would know who is wrong in here!"

" No, I don't." Her answer was simple and plain. " I don't know who is right or wrong, and I have no right to decide."

" But you're returning me home! You've already decided!"

Kath lowered her hand, the threads holding Hannah receding and fading with that single gesture. " That's why, I don't want to force you to go back."

" Huh?" Hannah looked at her in bewilderment.

" Hannah-chan, are you really satisfied with the way things are for you?"

" I'm! I really am!"

" Then, have you stopped and thought about your parents? You might be happy but what about them?"

" Why should I care? They didn't care about me when they taunted my dreams! They didn't care about me when they forced me to enlist for the medical school entrance exam!"

" It's true, I understand."

" Then-"

" But your parents have your best at heart, you know that right."

Hannah clicked her tongue but said nothing.

" You know they have no one else they care for besides you. You know they have no reason to worry about you that much other than their deep love for you. Why do you think they went so far to find you? I wonder, was it always that way for you, or were there some moments you felt you were loved?"

Hannah held to her arm and bit her lip.

" Listen, happiness is a fragile concept. You might be happy, but your happiness might be torture for someone else. Are you willing to let your parents, especially your mother, live that torture?" Before she could speak, Kath continued. " I'm not telling you to sacrifice your own happiness. But rather than running away the way you did, wasn't there some other option? Isn't there another way? You have a choice, right? You have a choice to stand and fight."

By that time, tears overwhelmed Hannah's eyes as she staggered back. " I... I don't want... but... but if I..."

" I understand it." Kath placed both hands on the girl's shoulders and looked into her eyes. " I understand it, those heavy chains trapping you. And believe me, no matter where you go, you will always find chains shackling you. We can't escape them, we'll never be able to. So we have to learn to live with them in a way that they don't strangle and weigh us down."

" Hannah!"

The girl snapped upon hearing that voice and she spun her head to the side only to be snatched and engulfed into a tight hug. " Oh, Hannah! My dear Hannah!" Her mother sobbed as she kissed and held her tighter.

Kath stepped back, allowing both of them some space.

" What foolish actions, running away from home like that, never contacting us. We're your parents, Hannah," Her father said sternly. " We would worry to death when word of our daughter is cut."

" I'm sorry... I'm sorry! It just... it was too much for me... I couldn't take it..." Hannah continued crying in her mother's arms.

" I'm sorry too, Hannah, I swear I will listen to whatever you have to say from here on. So please, don't do something like this again."

Watching the family all together, Atsushi felt a tug on his sleeve and Kath beckoned him to follow her. " Our work is done here," she said walking down the street.

" Hanazawa-san..."

" Of course I would tell her parents," she said, not waiting to hear his question. " But at the same time, I had no intention of letting her go just like that. I had to speak to her too."

Kath stopped and looked up at the stars twinkling far away in the sky, something about watching those small dots coming together to shine upon their way made mind at ease. " I won't allow my choices to rob others of their happiness, Atsushi-kun. That's an oath I've taken upon myself."

Atsushi watched after her back as she continued walking into the night, her head slightly hanging down.