Chapter Text
“SHINOBU WE GOT A PROBLEM” Heizou yelled, slamming the door of Uyuu restaurant.
Shinobu barely spared him a glance, not even bothering to put her food down. “What did boss do this time?”
“IT’S MADAME KUJOU”, oh well that’s a first.
Right on cue, Sara entered the room looking around the place frantically as if she hadn't been here at least a hundred times before. “HEY! LITTLE GUY? Why’d you run away all of a sudden? Ah, there you are. Oh and who’s your friend?
Shinobu couldn’t quite put her finger on it, Sara was always a bit aloof when she was off duty, and normally she’d be glad to see her friend be a bit more laid back but something was fishy about all of this. Mainly that Shikanoin was panicking and that Sara was completely calm.
“Alright what seems to be the problem and why’d you come to me first?”
“Okay, okay, so I was just casually taking a stroll outside of the city- “
“You know, you can just say slacking off” Shinobu chuckled.
“Irrelevant, and then I noticed a familiar figure and wondered ‘what in the name of archons could Kujou Sara be doing here?’”.
“Agreed, Madame Kujou would never be slacking off on duty like you do, detective Shikanoin”
“SHINOBU I SWEAR TO GOD IT WAS ONE TIME- “
“WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE STOP AND EXPLAIN TO ME WHO IS THIS ‘KUJOU’ YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT” Sara interrupted their little banter.
Shinobu stared at her and then returned her gaze back to Heizou slowly putting the pieces together. Heizou watched her expressions keep changing from confusion to shock all while nodding along. Shinobu scanned Sara with her eyes once more and noticed that a certain purple accessory was missing.
“I- I see…” she stared at the floor still trying to fully process all the information she just received.
“Finally. So after I found her I asked her a bunch of questions and at the end I deduced that she lost a good chunk of her memory due to the loss of her vision. And then I remembered how despite everyone suffering during the vision, you and Arataki were doing just fine. I thought about asking someone with firsthand experience how they regained their memory so madam Kujou and I can think of some way to retrieve it and, oh well, I wasn’t about to ask your boss for advice.”
“I am flattered that you came to me first, however you misunderstand. My boss and I didn’t regain our memories; we simply never lost them”.
“Oh, well that complicates things…”
“Yeah, sorry I couldn’t help more” Shinobu frowned
“Nononono, don’t worry about it” Heizou flailed his arms defensively: “We’ll just find another solution, albeit it will be harder without Kujou Saras help”.
“Will you just tell me who this- “ Sara uttered somewhat quietly, but was cut off by Heizou.
“How about you keep an eye on her while I investigate this. After all, no criminal has ever been able to escape the magnificent and extraordinary detective Shikanoin Heizou” he made a goofy pose at the end, not unlike ones Shinobu saw in light novels from the Yae publishing house. She tried so hard not to show how much this made her die inside.
"Not a chance. I gotta meet up with the boss and the others" she answered, taking another bite of the food.
"Aw come on, Shinobu! They aren't gonna eat her"
"Of course they won't, but you and I both know how difficult they can be-" the moment Shinobu finished she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"What's up sour puss?" Genta said, wearing a slight smirk on his face. Shinobu looked around and noticed all four peculiar residents of Hanamizaka were present.
"Didn't we agree to meet up at the bulletin board?"
"Well you were taking your sweet sweet time, so we started to look for yo- HOLD ON WHAT IS THAT SHITTY TENGU DOING HERE?" Akira yelled, shifting everyone's attention towards Sara.
"What? Here to pick a fight?" Sara leaned towards Akira and sprouted her tengu wings, scaring the ever living crap out of him.
Akira leaned back immediately, raised his arms defensively and awkwardly smiled "No, no, no, sorry for bothering you". Sara backed down a bit.
"OI, TENGU, YOU DARE PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE WHEN YOU GOT UNFINISHED BUSINESS WITH ME" a rather large man pointed at himself. He was as loud as he was big and sounded a bit rough and one would assume that he was legitimately angry from his tone. But he was grinning playfully and lowered his body towards her. It almost made him look like an excited puppy. All that was missing was the wagging tail.
"Huh?" Sara was caught off by this. Why are these people acting so strange? Was this some sort of big game that everyone was in on except her? What made it so much worse was that this person, whoever he is, was making a scene and everyone was starting to stare.
"Aw, come on, you know you missed me. BOTH ME AND OUR REMATCH YOU STINKY TENGU. Well not to worry, for I, Arataki The Most Extravagant Itto, came prepared. So what you wanna do? Skipping rope? Ramen eating contest? Genius Invocation TCG? A sing off? Hey whatever you wanna do I'm free now- or for you anytime". People in the restaurant were starting to giggle. Seems wherever these two particular youkai met there was bound to be entertainment.
"Who are you?" Sara looked at him, her mask of blankness barely failing to conceal her utter confusion and desperation. Or at least it would if Itto was a somewhat perceptive guy.
The whole restaurant gasped. Itto froze on the spot. His mouth was so wide open you could fit a whole lavender melon into it. Itto searched for any indication that she was just messing with him on her face, but nothing came up. "Who am I? WHO AM I? YOU DARE ACT AS IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO ARATAKI THE ONE AND ONI ,PRIDE OF THE HANAMIZAKA, ONI KING ITTO? Is the general Kujou Sara so high and mighty that she proceeds to act as if she has nothing to do with us common folk?"
"FOR THE LAST TIME WHO IS KUJOU SARA!?" Sara proceeded to slam the table so hard that it echoed through the entire restaurant. At this point, things were starting to get awkward and most customers were prompted to just eat their own food and mind their own business, or at least attempted to.
"What the hell are you talking about, you're Kujou- No wait, wait, wait. You my dear are no general, you are um- you're… You're just some crispy fried chicken, pffft" he tried so hard to force a laugh but it just was not that funny. Not the best comeback he came up with, but he was amused anyway because she got what was coming for her. That is until he noticed that she was crying.
Sara's hands were clutched to her face. The sobs were quick and muffked, almost like she was trying her hardest to stop herself. "Hey, hey, hey, why are you crying? Come on, I just chimed in on that little game of your's. Don't start what you can't- OW OW OW HEY!" Itto started to panic as he didn't know what to do. Luckily his longass spech was put to rest by none other than Shinobu, who was pulling his ear. "Zip it, you've done enough '' one of her best silencing tactics yet.
"Well she started it" Itto puted as Shinobu pushed him away so she could sit directly in front of Sara. She touched her hands signaling the tengu to directly look at her. Once Sara revealed her puffy face, Shinobu grabbed her by the palms and pulled Saras arms towards herself. The rest of the gang observed carefully, as to not upset the situation any further. Shinobu establishes eye contact with Sara for a good few seconds just so she can make sure the ladder has completely calmed down and is ready to process new information.
"Okay I am going to need you to listen to me and listen to me carefully. You are Kujou Sara. You've been adopted by the Kujou clan at a young age. You are the general of the Tenryou commision. You had your vision stolen and lost your memory due to that. A vision is essentially a shiny rock that gives you elemental powers and is a physical manifestation of your ambition. Don't worry though, we are going to help you get it back, I promise" Shinobu let her arms go and Sara began to puzzle together all that she had just said.
"Yeah now that you mention it, it does feel like I have some gaps in my memory," she began to twirl her hair to help herself process all of this" ratchet large gaps in fact. It's like I barely even have a past. All I know is that I am a Tengu and that's about it".
"And we are going to help you with that. We just need Mr Sinkanoin to tell us what exactly happened" Shinobu said, gesturing to the seat next to her but there was no one there. A Heizouless hole right where he once stood.
"THAT LITTLE BASTARD" Shinobu shrieked at no one in particular. Seems like the little shit took his chance at escaping during all the ruckus.
"So um, what now?" Genta chimed in to join the whole debacle.
"I don't know. We can't do anything without Shikanoin, he's the man with a plan" Shinobu's arm was on her forehead in an attempt to figure out what's next "I guess we'll leave the restaurant for starters. I've had my fill and we already caused a scene"
The gang got up and left the establishment, dragging Sara along with them. They headed for the Tenryou commision headquarters since Shinobu assumed that Heizou was most likely there.
"Hey, Sara, I'm sorry for earlier. I genuinely thought that you were just playing tricks on me" Itto extended his arm towards her while smiling.
Sara shook his hand "Apology accepted".
"Btw since you lost your memory, I believe we never formally met. I am Arataki Itto, but I go by many names Arataki the Beetle Gladiator Itto, Arataki the Sumo King Itto, Arataki Might Lose But Will Never Admit Defeaitto… but you don't need to know any of those. All you need to know is that we are destined rivals. People still to this day talk about our battles. I am a little better than you tho. I mean I've never lost" Itto flexed his muscles as he proclaimed their great encounters. Sara somehow doubted that last part but still didn't say anything and just smiled politely.
Once they reached the Tenryou commision several doushin assumed that Sara was there to arrest them and therefore tried to make smalltalk, putting her on the spot which was starting to overwhelm her.
"Ha! This oni and his gang making trouble again?", "Oh no, did they grafiti entire Mount Yougou again?", "Haha, did they once again break into Tenshukaku?"
Shinobu took it upon herself to explain the situation every time. Luckily she was such a regular there that there was no need to explain further than "As hard as it is to imagine, no. Not this time".
After a while a certain brunette finally showed up. He barely left the headquarters and already felt someone tackle him "GAH, SHINOBU".
"Why hello to you too, doushin Shikanoin, mind explaining to me why I suddenly found the seat next to me to be empty the second I stopped paying attention to you" she gripped him a little harder just for good measure.
"Alright, alright I'm sorry for dipping. I just needed to sort some things out with the Tenryou commision" Shinobu spared him a dirty glance.
Finally she released him from her death grip "Fine. But it better be good".
"Oh, it's good, better than good" Heizou was frantic with excitement. Not just because of the good news, but also because he just barely escaped Shinobu's anger. "I asked Madame Kujou some questions before I came to you and deduced that the kairagi were responsible for taking her vision. Madame Kujou is a very routine driven person, it would not be hard to figure out her location at any given moment and therefore organize an ambush. I do not know how they managed to defeat her and take her vision, but I have scooped out a map of locations where kairagi have recently been spotted. I told the headquarters everything that's going on. They'll manage without Sara for a while and I've got a special mission. Me and Shinobu are going to bring this case to a close. That is if you agree to do so?" Heizou gestured his hands towards Shinobu. She nodded in approval "Everything for Sara's sake".
"Hold on, I'm coming along too" Itto popped in between these two.
"Boss this is serious" Shinobu chewed him out.
"Aw, come on Shinobu. We could always use an extra set of hands'' Heizou whined "I don't know if the rest of the commission will approve but I certainly won't tell"
"And besides, I AM SERIOUS. WHAT PART ABOUT THE TWO OF US BEING DESTINED RIVALS DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? HOW CAN OUR GREAT EXTRAVAGANT REMATCH LIVE UP TO IT'S NAME IF WE CAN NOT BOTH GIVE OUR BEST. Kujou Tengu is a great warrior, one of the best I've ever seen and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let someone take that away from her'' Itto turned towards Shinobu and they had a bit of a staring contest. It looked like they were trying to intimidate one another into submission.
"Fine you win" Itto straight up started jumping up and down. Exclaiming his victory like a child who just found out it was his birthday.
Heizou nodded, smiling amused by Itto's little stunt. "Alright well that settles it. We'll leave first thing-"
"Wait, I'm going too," Sara exclaimed procking two very different reactions between those three. Initially they were all caught off guard, but as always Itto was quick to respond.
He hugged her out of sheer joy. Oddly enough Sara didn't mind she was just surprised. "HELL YEAH, THAT'S THE SPIRIT! THAT'S THE KUJOU TENGU I KNOW. NEVER BACKS DOWN FROM A FIGHT, or taking a vision from someone" the vision comment was no more than a whisper, but that doesn't mean it fell flat on Shinobu's ears. She gave him a really nasty glare to which he responded by sticking out his tongue.
"But boss just a few days ago you called her a little bitch for refusing your rap battle proposition" Genta proclaimed but was quickly shushed. "Apapapa, that's all in the past. I mean who said that, couldn't have been me. Must have been, um… Arataki Shmeetoe or someone. Yes, yes why that little…". Itto was a liar, a really bad one why we're at it. But this surprisingly did not ruin Kujou Sara's mood. Probably because the sentiment was there.
"Ma'am are you sure you're in the best condition to do this? I mean you already lost to these guys when you had your vision? Do you still remember how to fight?" Heizou was genuinely concerned at this point. The Kujou Sara he had seen today was akin to a sakura flower. Even the slightest gust of wind could tear her apart and take its petals wherever it pleases.
But the image Kujou Sara was about to project is the complete opposite of that. She once again raised her wings but this time with more force behind it, launching Itto who was still in close proximity a few meters back. Her aura and overall vibe had completely changed from before, it was almost like she was radiating heat " I am Kujou Sara, general of the Tenryu commission. I might not know what that means, but one thing I do know that I am not a helpless coward. I won't just stand by as others fight for my own destiny. I'll cease it myself, no matter what it takes. No matter what mountain I need to climb, an ocean to fly over or do I have to fight with a sword or my bare bloody hands. That you can make sure of. I want to know where I belong in the world. I want to know who I am"
Her gaze lowered for a split second but she was quick to bring it back to its former state. It was stern and harsh, about to pierce anyone who dared lock their eyes with her. For the first time since this whole debacle began, Sara didn't feel like she was just clumsily stumbling into the world without any sense of path or direction. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt determined.
Bothe Heizou and Itto were in complete awe of her. They had never seen her be so striving. Shinobu was still doubting if bringing her along would be a good idea but wasn't about to say no.
"I'm still not sure…" It's not that Shinobu didn't believe in her friend, it's just that her mom friend instincts kick in when she hears speeches like this because of just how many of them lead to a disaster mere seconds later.
"I don't think it's worth trying to argue. Once Madame Kujou has her heart set on something she isn't going to back down". Shinobu's not so subtle proposition to rethink this decision was ignored, for Heizou just like his boss had a one track mind.
Now the only person left to voice his opinion was none other than Itto. Shinobu and Heizou turned towards him. He was still just staring at Sara in complete awe. The poor thing better close his mouth before someone throws beans in it and causes a medical emergency.
"Well that settles it. You've officially done the impossible. You made boss shut the fuck up. No reason not to go" Shinobu told her with a hint of softness in her voice to which Sara responded with a nod.
"Any other volunteers?" Heizou asked and all eyes were immediately shifted towards Genta, Akira and Mamoru.
The feeling of overwhelming panic immediately flashed through their heads, almost like lightning. A mission? Fighting skills? The kairagi? Forget it, they were the removed Arataki gang but soldiers they were not. Not to mention that they didn't even like Kujou Tengu that much.
"So um we would but we actually got this thing with um-" Genta struggled but Mamoru was there to save the day.
"-Kanno Nana, yeah we promised that we'd help her clean up the mess we made yesterday" Shinobu gave them an obvious eyeroll for good measure.
"So although we'd oh so love to go, we can't, sorry" Akira pulled off his most convincing apologetic face but the demonic deputy couldn't be fooled but alas decided not to pester them, the sooner they get over this the better.
"Alright then it's decided. We'll get going first thing tomorrow. Same time same place. It's been a long long day and I better hit the deck" Heizou was already on his way home.
"Wait, it's only noon?! And what about-" Shinobu rushed towards him but he was once again out of sight the second he decided he no longer needed to be there. Damn, is this guy secretly a mujina or something?
Nevermind that for now, she still had things to settle. "You are sleeping at my place tonight. I highly doubt that your sad excuse of a father would have some understanding or accommodate you in your current state"
Kujou Sara cracked a forced smile. She knew it was a joke but didn't know what exactly was funny about it "Not that I would know".