Chapter Text
"So, Jahoda. Where shall we begin?"
"Well, I've got four commissions to take care of. Boss Nef usually gives me a bigger one paired with a bunch of smaller ones. All I've got on my plate for today are basic things mainly. Tracking down runaway pets, a couple deliveries, and oddly enough someone asked us to plant some trees. Oh, and a debt collection. And... well, there's a fifth as well, but that's one I need to handle on my own."
"Hmm, alright. Although I thought the Fatui handled debt collection?"
"This one is small enough that the lazy-bums discarded it and sent it to us."
"I find it hard to describe them as lazy, with all the work they put into making a mess of Inazuma some years back. They also did something else. It was bad... but I can't remember it. I just know it happened around the same time. Although, I guess it doesn't really matter now."
"They're definitely the nasty sort, willing and able to resort to anything. Although, I've met a couple of their Harbingers, some ladies named Columbina and Sandrone. They were actually kinda nice, if not weird. Oh and the really big ruin guard Pulonia who was actually pretty well dressed."
"Was he better dressed than you?"
"Nope. I look the best. I made these clothes myself. Anyways, we're getting off topic, we should deal with these commissions. It'll be almost impossible to split up since you don't know your way around here. If I send you after the animals you're bound to get lost, same with the deliveries. I could just have you stick with me, but then we won't get it done as fast. I could put you on the trees, give you a map so you know where to plant them... but I left my map back at the Curatorium, and we need to get a move on, so no time to go back." She muttered to herself, completely ignoring Heizou as he stood there watching her, looking mildly entertained.
"Okay. You'll just be sticking with me. Since you're a detective tracking down some missing pets is no problem, right?"
"Tracking down lost pets, huh?" He said, thinking back on his time at the detective agency. A waste of a detective's skills, but it would be easy enough, if not a little boring. "Alright, sure. What kind of animal are we looking for?"
"It's a cat. Small, grey, likes to be up high. responds to her name... sometimes. 'Hideai' is what the owner calls her. She was last seen yesterday morning, but the owner has no idea where she went." She said. Heizou was silent for a while, lost in thought, before he spoke up.
"Are you familiar with a... 'Kuuvahki Cannon'?"
"There's the Boom and Blast Kuuvahki Cannon. We should actually go there to get a 'birds eye view'. What made you bring it up?"
"My intuition tells me that something important is there."
"Right." She said, not believing him, walking into the city.
"You don't believe my intuition is real, do you?" Heizou said as he followed.
"If I'm being honest, no. But if that's what you want to believe, then there's no reason for me to stop you." Jahoda said. Heizou rolled his eyes.
"Guess I'll just have to prove it then." He sighed.
They continued walking in silence, through the city and over to the elevator. As it took them up, Heizou glanced at Jahoda. She looked slightly troubled, deep in thought.
"So, what's your plan for catching Hideai?" Heizou asked, and the sound of him speaking snapped Jahoda out of her thoughts.
"The Boom and Blast Kuuvahki Cannon is tall, so I figure we go up to the top and try to spot her."
"Wouldn't it be better to wander around with something of the owners? You know, to draw her out of hiding?"
"Normally yes, but I forgot to ask for something in the first place and I don't want to go back now, because that would be awkward..."
"You can handle taking three Inazumans into Fatui territory, but not social situations?"
"I can handle social situations! But this is different! Guiding people places is not hard. Uh... not that talking to people is hard, it's just that I'm worried I'll say something wrong... or make a fool of myself... or.... uh..." she trailed off, stumbling over her words in an attempt to explain herself. "It's just a nuisance and I don't want to deal with it." She said, crossing her arms. Heizou smirked.
"So-"
"A nuisance like you!" Jahoda cut him off before he could say anything else, which made Heizou burst out laughing.
"A lot of people have called me that." He said after a moment, still trying to contain his laughter.
"...and you're okay with that?"
"Yeah, it's basically a badge of honor."
"That's... certainly an achievement."
"I quite like it."
"I don't"
Heizou burst out laughing again as the lift continued up.
It reached the middle of the building and stopped. Jahoda was about to direct it up again when Heizou stopped her.
"Wait a moment. My intuition tells me we're on the right level." Heizou said, walking forward. "Just humor me for a second." He said.
"Hey, get back here! This is the control level, only Aino and Ineffa are allowed here, along with whoever they authorize, which is neither of us." Jahoda whisper-yelled, staying on the elevator.
"We'll never get anywhere following rules like that." Heizou said normally as he walked forwards. He stopped suddenly, standing in the middle of the hallway. For a moment, he thought he heard...
"Hideai?" He called out into the empty hallway, his voice echoing back slightly.
A small meow sounded from his right, but it was muffled, like the cat was stuck in something.
He followed the sound to a group of crates stacked by the wall. He called out her name again resulting in another meow. He looked around the crates and found nothing, but when he climbed up and looked down the crevice he saw a small grey cat, stuck between the crates. It saw him and meowed frantically. He smiled and turned to face Jahoda.
"I found Hideai."
"What?" She said, rushing over. She peered in between the crates and saw the cat too. "...Well, that went much faster than it usually does." She said. She hopped off the crates and shifted them aside, just enough for the cat to escape. Jahoda caught her as she ran out, and she thrashed about, trying to escape. When that didn't work, Hideai curled around Jahoda's arm, raking her back claws against her.
Heizou gasped and rushed over to help, but once he saw Jahoda only faintly annoyed he laughed at himself and backed up. Hideai was clawing Jahoda's metal arm.
"Hey, would you stop that? I'm gonna have to repaint this thing if you keep this up." Jahoda said, holding the cat close. She ignored the snarling cat in her arms and walked over to the lift, Heizou following. He activated it this time, although he accidentally sent it up. He sighed and pressed a hand to his face while Jahoda snickered.
"Good thing you saved us all that time finding Hideai, cause you just wasted it here." Jahoda joked as the lift slowly ascended. Heizou stood up and turned to her.
"I know, I'm so good at things like elevator functions." He said. Jahoda snorted.
Soon they reached the top and Heizou fiddled with the lever a bit more, finding out how to send the lift down.
"So, why aren't we just letting the cat run off? Most cats know the way home."
"Hideai's owners were very clear that she was an indoor cat, and doesn't know her way around Nasha Town."
"... they do know that a cat's nose is better than theirs, right? They'll follow it home."
"Hey, it's whatever makes the client happy." Jahoda said. Heizou sighed, shaking his head.
"Any more critters to track down?" He asked after a moment. The elevator suddenly stopped and they were back where they found Hideai. He crouched down and flipped the lever again, making sure they went down this time. He stood back up as it descended.
"A couple. We got a missing dog, and two other missing cats."
"Of course it's the cats..." He muttered. Jahoda snickered as the elevator reached the bottom, settling down with a clunk. She stepped off and started walking away.
"My intuition tells me the dog is over by the pond we passed earlier. I remember where it is, I can go and get it." Heizou said as he walked off. Jahoda looked at him and opened her mouth to say something before closing it, watching him walk off, back the way they came.
Jahoda turned and walked down the streets of Nod-Krai, stopping at a house and knocking on the door. It opened to reveal a woman in her 30's. She had obviously been crying, but she lit up as soon as she saw Hideai. The cat began trying to get away from Jahoda again, squirming and wiggling in her arms. She let go of the cat and it dropped onto the ground and she landed gracefully, albeit a bit disheveled, and sped inside.
The woman ran forwards and hugged Jahoda, thanking her profusely. She backed up and grabbed a pouch sitting just inside the door. It jangled, obviously full of mora, and handed it to Jahoda. Jahoda opened the bag and saw a bunch of golden mora. She smiled and waved goodbye to the woman and walked away, putting the pouch in her pocket. She walked back to the main plaza to meet back up with Heizou, since the puddle wasn't too far. He should be back by now but there was no sign of him. Jahoda was starting to get worried when she felt a breeze behind her.
"Jeez, for someone who lives in Nod-Krai, you aren't very aware of your surroundings."
Jahoda whipped around and saw Heizou with a large brown dog staring up at him. Heizou smiled at Jahoda.
"I knew you were there the entire time.” She said. Heizou looked skeptical, but didn't say anything. “Anyway, the dog was actually there?" Jahoda asked.
"Mhm. You should have more faith in me Jahoda. I'm not the best detective in Inazuma for no reason, after all.
"I wasn't doubting you, I was just, uh..." Jahoda trailed off, trying to think of the right word. "...Skeptical. If I heard something like your intuition existed without seeing it for myself I would think it was a lousy scam."
"Hmm, I suppose that has merit. Something tells me this isn't the weirdest thing you've encountered, though."
"Hanging around the Traveler can lead to some weird situations."
"Hahaha, I have dealt with some strange cases with them around."
"Like what?"
"Mostly cases with the Yokai. Strange lot they are."
"Yokai? Aren't they the people of Inazuma that aren't people?"
"What?"
"Y'know, like. Um. Uh… Mythological creatures.”
"Yes, that's them."
"What are they like?"
"How about we get a move on the next commission and I'll tell you as we go?"
"Oh, right. Yeah okay. First we should take this dog to the commissioner. They're over this way. While we're over there we can handle one of the deliveries." Jahoda said, walking off. Heizou followed, the dog close on his heels. He didn't beckon it forward, it just stayed with him, following him with a wagging tail. He looked down at it with a smile.
They went about the afternoon like this, well into evening, Heizou pointing out a house for a delivery Jahoda couldn't find, or finding a random cat they were looking for. At one point they took a 'break', stepping out of Nasha town into the wild and planting seven of the ten trees. Eventually they went back into town and finished up with some of the commissions there.
The sun was setting as Jahoda delivered the last package. Heizou found busy work like this incredibly boring, but Jahoda was nice to talk to.
As she walked away and around the corner of a house she heaved a sigh and sat on a box. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the wall behind her. She seemed tired.
"I'm just gonna take a quick break. Yeah, a quick break sounds good." She sighed. Heizou smiled.
"How about we go get some food while we take a break?"
"Sure, let's go. Some food does sound nice right about now. It's your treat though."
"Haha, sure. Consider it another payment for intel." Heizou said.
"What intel?"
"A tour of Nasha town. We've gone all over the place."
"I suppose we have."
Jahoda hopped off the boxes and walked through the streets. Heizou stayed close to Jahoda, not wanting to get separated.
She led them up some stairs and through more walkways suspended in the air, running over the rooftops of other buildings.
Soon they came to a large open area with the smell of food in the air. Several tables were neatly spread around the small area with several people scattered around.
Jahoda walked up to a woman behind a counter.
"Hey Katya." Jahoda said, leaning on the counter.
"Hey Jahoda. Long day?" The woman, Katya, turned to face Jahoda.
"Yeah. Nothing like last week, but it was tiring." Jahoda said.
"Yeah, last week was crazy. Although I really shouldn't be surprised you were involved in the fray. You're always doing something or another. Will that be the usual today?"
"Make that two. I've got a guest with me today, and he'll be paying."
"I see. What's your name?" Katya said, looking at Heizou.
"Shikanoin Heizou. A pleasure to meet you." Heizou said.
"Katya. The pleasure is mine." Katya said.
Heizou smiled and counted out the Mora, putting it on the counter. Katya took it, placing it on a nearby counter.
"We'll have those out for you in a bit. In the meantime take a seat and rest your feet." She said with a smile before turning away.
Heizou looked at Jahoda who walked over to one of the tables and sat down. Heizou followed her, sitting down across from her.
"So when does your boat arrive?"
"In about an hour." Heizou said, looking at the distance between the sun and the horizon. Which was none.
"Oh good. So you'll be able to help me with that debt collecting. They're always nasty business. I hate getting commissions like these." Jahoda said, slumping over the table.
"Hey, take your mind off work for a bit. I thought you were taking a break?" Heizou said, leaning back. "So how good are these hotdogs?"
"Very good. I love them." She said, sitting back up. A thought occurred to her. "Have you ever had a hotdog?"
"Can't say I have."
"Well then you're in for a treat. Just make sure the toppings don't drip off." Jahoda said.
"What toppings are usually on a hotdog?"
"It can be anything you want. Relish, ketchup, onions. Although, how about we leave it a mystery for you to figure out, and we talk about something else?"
"My intuition tells me... you prefer your hotdogs with ketchup and mustard."
"Wha- okay. Fine. Alright, I believe you, your intuition is real. Now can you stop weirding me out?" Jahoda said, throwing her hands up in defeat. Heizou laughed.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. That's just a little game I like playing, guessing what the other person eats." Heizou said. They fell into silence, although both were trying to come up with things to talk about.
"...say, Nefer is your boss, right? She reminds me of another guy I met from Sumeru."
"Yeah. She's from the Desert in Sumeru, so that's not very surprising. She also gave me a job, food in my belly and a roof over my head. I owe her a lot."
"Sounds like she's got a side to her I don't know about."
"There's a lot about her that no one knows."
"I could tell when I was talking to her. She reminds me of other people I know."
"Like who?"
"Hmm... Lady Yae Miko comes to mind. She's the Head Shrine Maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine. My cousin works at the shrine, when I go to visit her I sometimes see Lady Yae off in the distance. I talked to her once, and she nearly ran me around in circles. I'm guessing Lady Nefer could too."
"Pfft, hahaha. Guess I should hope to avoid her if I'm ever in Inazuma. Although maybe it would be better to hope Lady Yae Miko and Boss Nef never meet."
"Now that would be scary, especially being trapped in between them." Heizou laughed.
At that moment a small child walked up to them, two plates in hand.
"Thanks, Maisie" Jahoda said, taking a plate from her. Heizou took the other plate. A cylinder of meat was placed in a small loaf of bread, and it was covered in a number of various chopped vegetables. It looked and smelled good.
He glanced at Jahoda, chowing down on her hotdog with joy on her face. Heizou bit into his own hot dog. It was delicious, the flavors bursting on his tongue.
He and Jahoda ate in silence, savoring each bite of the hotdog. Once she finished Jahoda sighed contentedly.
"Now today's the good stuff. How was it?"
"It was delicious, I loved it."
"Mhm." Jahoda hummed, nodding approvingly. They sat in silence for a moment before Jahoda jumped to her feet. "Alright! I'm feeling all rested up, how about you?"
"Yeah, let's finish up with those last two commissions, while we have the time."
"Yeah. Let's go settle a debt and then we can finish with those trees and call it a day." Jahoda said. Heizou nodded and followed her as she bounded off. She once again wove through the streets, over the walkways suspended in air and through the crowds of people.
"We're actually just keeping the peace while two parties argue. That's the type of 'debt collection' jobs we get." Jahoda said.
"I see. How can I help?"
"To be honest... you'll probably just be watching from the background. Consider yourself lucky."
"Haha, I guess I will. But I do hope you know that I'm ready to help however I can."
"Assuming you don't get lost."
"Now how could I with your great tour?"
"It wasn't a tour."
"I know my way around Nod-Krai better. And I'm sure it was better than that 2 million mora one I saw an ad for."
"2 million?!" Jahoda asked incredulously before bursting out laughing. Heizou couldn't help but join her. After a moment her laughter subsided. "Just pick any random guy on the side of the road and they'll probably give you a tour for 1,000."
"Hahaha, but you've given me one for free."
"Not 'for free', you're helping me with commissions, remember?"
"These commissions of yours are nothing for a detective like me. I'm getting a great tour."
"Well, sure they're easy, but they're important! And honestly this is a pretty boring day."
"Oh? What do you usually do?"
"Just last week I was sneaking the Traveler and Miss Lauma into the Experimental Design Bureau, the Fatui Stronghold the Seahook Gang was by."
"You went in there?"
"Not only went in, but got out too. While dragging two others with me who have no experience in being stealthy."
"Guess my intuition was right about you. Not that that's a surprise."
"Haha. I'm just experienced in these types of things, you know? Sneaking around, getting into and out of pickles, stealing things undetect- ah! Wait, no no, I didn't mean- I mean, I don't steal. Not anymore." she said in a panic. Heizou looked over at her.
"You know, it doesn't matter if you confess, I'm not going to do anything." He said, looking at her. She stared at the ground and he sighed, pulling her to the side of the street. "Let me re-iterate, I'm only here for our Inazuman fugitive, no one else. Besides, you've turned over a new leaf, made yourself a new modus operandi. That's one of the hardest things a person can do, especially for one raised in that kind of life-style. You're a good person, Jahoda."
"I'm not actually that good of a person... wait, How do you know I was raised as a treasure hoarder??"
"I notice a lot of things.”
They stopped and stood in silence for a moment.
"...So, you're not mad at me? I've hurt a lot of people."
"There's no denying that, but you made a deliberate change. You wanted to help people, and now you do. It wouldn't do any good to hold onto the past. So, no. I'm not mad. I'm actually happier with your choices over someone who's never done anything bad, because you've put so much more effort into being good."
"...oh" Jahoda said softly. She stared at the ground, willing the tears to go away. She's on the job right now, she can't cry. She'll do that later.
She sniffed and cleared her throat, then looked back up.
"Thank you. That's nice of you. Now, we should get going, or we'll be late." She said, walking across the walkways, and Heizou followed.
Soon they could hear yelling in the distance. Jahoda sped up to a jog, weaving in between people with ease. Some even moved out of her way when they saw her coming.
There were two groups of people standing on opposite sides of a metal platform, one person from each side stood in the center. They had their weapons raised, pointing at each other. They were both red in the face, consumed by their argument.
The people around them noticed Jahoda as she burst through the gathering crowd. She looked around for a second, taking in the scene.
The gangs behind each person were watching the situation, obviously on edge and ready to jump into action.
Heizou appeared next to Jahoda a moment later and looked at the two arguing. She looked at him, sighed and shrugged, before marching up to them.
"You stinking dog! I outta saw off your legs and throw you to Kratti!" One of the men yelled at the other.
"I'd like to see you try, you cross-dressing wannabe sailor!" The other yelled.
"Both of you shut up! You're a dog and you're a cross-dresser, big deal. Now, somebody owes somebody money, so why don't you work this out without the threats so we can all go home."
Heizou watched the three argue, before walking up to Jahoda, staying behind her. The two arguing ignored him, continuing to point fingers at the other. Heizou couldn't tell what was going on, it sounded like they were just arguing to argue.
"Will you two calm down?! Gah! Heizou, you're more diplomatic than I am, can you do something?" Jahoda said, obviously frustrated.
"Seems to me they want to fight, so why not let them?" Heizou said, not really wanting to be there.
"Because we're in the middle of town!" Jahoda said, pinching her brow in annoyance.
"Then we'll take it out of town. Find a clearing and set up a proper duel." Heizou said.
"Now that's a good idea if I've ever heard one!" One of the two said. "Armin, I challenge you to a fight." He said, pointing a finger at the other.
"Oh, so now you want to fight, coward? Well bring it on, Cego!" The other, Armin, said as he dropped down into a fighting stance.
"Hey, didn't you hear him? Somewhere out of town stupid." Cego said. Armin stood back up.
"Then where would you suggest, Inazuman?" Armin asked. The first person to call him that and phrase it nicely.
"I'm new here, so that will have to be answered by the talented Miss Jahoda." Heizou said, looking over at her. She blushed in embarrasment before standing up straight and looking at Armin and Cego.
"There's a big open space to the west. You can either pick the flat plains or the cave with low visibility to make it difficult."
"The cave! I'll beat this fool's face in." Armin said.
"Bring it on stick-man." Cego said.
Heizou and Jahoda stood in a cave, watching Armin and Cego fight. It was over quickly. They both put up a good fight but Cego won by a landslide. He turned to his gang, his back to Armin, to gloat about his victory. Armin was angry at this, and charged forward to attack Cego while his back was turned.
Jahoda gasped and ran forwards, raising her metal arm to block the attack, but his cleaver sliced through it, the severed limb falling to the ground. Heizou gasped and ran forwards, standing in front of Jahoda, prepared to deflect the blade as Armin swung again, full of rage.
However just as he brought the blade down Jahoda picked up her severed arm and threw it as hard as she could at Armin. He stumbled back and fell over, his cleaver clattering away, out of reach. Heizou froze, processing this.
"...Nice punch." He said, a little unsure of how to respond. Jahoda grinned.
Heizou turned back to Armin and walked up to him, disappointment and anger in his voice, talking loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'm not sure if it's different here, but in Inazuma we call people who do things like that a 'sore-loser'. You lost. Give him the mora you owe and leave." Heizou said, anger creeping into his voice.
Armin growled and stood up, glaring at him, but Heizou didn't back down. He maintained eye contact, and as the seconds ticked by, Armin grew more uncomfortable.
Armin stared for a moment longer before looking away, clenching his fists. He looked back at Heizou and swung his fist, aiming for his head.
Heizou ducked under his fist before kicking him away and Armin stumbled back, clutching his stomach before looking back at Heizou. Jahoda tried to run at Armin, danger in her eyes, but Heizou grabbed her and pushed her back behind him.
"Tsk... fine." He said, standing up a little straighter. He motioned one of his people forwards, and they were holding a small pouch of mora. He grabbed it and held it out towards Cego, who swiped it away quickly, opening the bag and pulling out a coin. He examined it for a bit before nodding and putting it back.
"I suppose now our deal is complete, Armin. Pleasure doing business with you." Cego said, walking past him and out of the cave, back to town. His people followed him, and Armin and his people followed them. Heizou watched them all go, somewhat confused since they had just tried to murder each other. He turned to Jahoda as she held her severed arm.
"Does it hurt?" He asked, walking up to her.
"No, no it's fine. I mean, I can't really use my arm, but I'm not hurt." Jahoda said.
"Can you repair it?" Heizou asked.
"Not me, but Aino can. She made it in the first place after all. She lives a short distance away, so it'll be quick." Jahoda said.
"Let me walk you there." Heizou said.
"Alright, thanks." Jahoda said as she walked and turned and walked out of the cave. Heizou stayed by her side as they crossed a grassy field. "You've been a major help today. I don't think I would have gotten nearly as much done. Searching for Hideai alone would have taken me hours. Maybe I'll ask Boss Nef to hire you, it'd be great to have some co-workers."
"Haha, that's awfully flattering, but I'll have to pass. To be honest this isn't my kind of work. I'm more suited to other things."
"To each their own. Although," she looked around, "the place we need to plant one of the trees is close by. Why don't we take care of that real quick, and then we'll go to Aino."
"Alright." He said. They continued walking across the field before ending up by a cliffside.
Jahoda knelt down and started digging into the ground with her hand, dirt getting under her fingernails. Heizou crouched down and helped, and soon there was a sizable hole. Jahoda brought a small seed out of her pocket, dropping it in the hole and covering it back up with dirt.
"That's eight out of ten." She said, standing back up. "The Clink-Clank Krumkake Craftshop, where Aino lives, is over there." She said, walking over to the cliff. Heizou spotted an elevator to the right, but Jahoda simply stepped off the cliff and slid down the mountain side. Heizou shrugged and started sliding down the mountain as well.
Heizou looked around as they reached the bottom, awe written all over his face at all the machinery, as they walked down the path. A small metal structure was located in the center, with several other buildings scattered around the area. Dozens of the square little machines he had seen earlier dotted the place, different emotions projected onto their faces.
They continued up the path until they reached a house with a round door. It had a heart on it, half pink and half yellow, which Heizou found rather cute. Jahoda knocked on it, and a tall woman opened the door. She wore a black leotard with grey stockings with a blue piece of cloth tied around her shoulders. Heizou hadn't imagined Aino to look like this, but-
"Hey Ineffa." Jahoda said.
"Hello Jahoda." She responded.
"Some jerk cut my arm off. The prosthetic one, don't worry" she added quickly. "Do you think Aino could fix it?" She asked, pulling the severed arm from her pocket.
At that moment a small girl with a white coat and pink hair appeared behind Ineffa. She stepped out from behind Ineffa and grabbed Jahoda's severed arm, looking at the gash that cut the two parts apart, before grabbing Jahoda's stumped arm and looking at the mechanical parts still attached to it.
"Yeah I can do that. Is this a friend of yours?" Aino said, looking at Heizou. Heizou looked between Jahoda and Aino. He hadn't expected her to be so young.
"Something like that. I was helping him with a commission and he decided to help me out with mine."
"Oh I see. That's nice of him. Nice to meet you, Mr..."
"Heizou."
"I'm Aino. You wanna come in too Mr. Heizou?"
"I'm afraid not, I've got a schedule to keep. I just wanted to make sure Jahoda got here safe." Heizou said.
"That's nice of you. Don't worry, we'll take good care of her." Aino said.
"Thank you Miss Aino, Miss Ineffa. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye, Jahoda, it was a pleasure working with you, you were a tremendous help."
"See you around, Heizou. It was nice meeting you. Hopefully I'll see you again. But- uh... not for work related reasons." She said with a smile. He smiled back and walked away, waving to the three.