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"Not to your liking stranger?" A stunning woman asked with a slightly wary expression
"It's wonderful." Nanami answered in his usual stoic manner.
She smiled and Nanami's eyes trailed after her as she checked in on the other guests. Nanami was assigned to a mission that Yuki, once again, turned down. Between Satoru being and annoying and Yuki not pulling her weight, being a sorcerer felt just as tiring as being an office worker. The memories of working in that office, watching the sun rise and having to travel home for a quick shower just to turn back for a project that at the end of the day was just busywork.
Being a sorcerer was marginally better. It paid better at least.
Nanami did some investigation on the rumors circulating around. Apparently after the disappearance of a man named Dr. Facilier strange things started to occur around the city. People weren't too keen on talking about it as if just the act would invite the evil beings to make them their next target. Luckily, with all the fear circulating around the cursed spirits weren't subtle about where they went so he didn't have to do too much.
He waited until the woman came back around to ask for his check and when she gave it to him, he decided one last round of questions couldn't hurt.
"Excuse me miss..."
"Tiana."
"Tiana." Nanami repeated. "I heard there were some areas to avoid in the city and I was wondering what those were so I could be careful."
She thought for a moment, her lips pursing as she considered the question.
"Aside from the usual, Back alleys, graveyards and such, I'd avoid anywhere near the backside of 4th street." She said.
That's where Dr. Facilier's old office used to be. Seems like Nanami was right in needing to start there.
"I could also give you some good places to wander if you'd like some direction. Food is my expertise though just as a warning." She offered.
"Will the food be as good as it is here."
"My momma says no but I can tell you some people who ain't half bad." She said with a smile, dimples on display.
"I'd like to hear them but I might end up back here."
"We'd be happy to have you."
She gave Nanami a list of restaurants to try as well as some popular tourist attractions in the area. With the recommendations, he might as well take a page out of Mei Mei's book and charge them for the fun part of this job. He paid for his meal and bid her farewell as he went off to explore more. While everything was nice, his mind kept drifting back to Tiana and her restaurant. He didn't try any of the dessert there. That was good enough reason to stop by again.
There was no established jujutsu division in Louisiana so his work had to be done in the dark to avoid eyes or questions that would land him in more trouble than needed. So by Tiana's suggestion he wandered to the tourist places she recommended. Eventually, Nanami sat on a bench to listen to the street musicians play in the square as people milled about and joked loudly in the streets. It highlighted how different America was from Japan. The noise level being one of them but for some reason he didn't mind. The wonderful jazz music probably helped a lot.
Once sunset came, Nanami gave a generous tip to the musician who tilted his hat and walked toward 4th to deal with the cursed spirit. By the time he made it over, twilight had fully settled in and there wasn't another soul around.
"Charlotte!" Nanami heard a familiar voice say as flickering lights passed by.
Nanami ran towards the noise and nearly barreled over a woman. He apologized and realized it was Tiana who narrowed her eyes at him.
"I thought I told you this was a bad area. You ain't one of them voodoo enthusiasts are you?" She said, dusting off her dress and backing up a bit.
"No. More importantly..." Nanami said looking to where the flickering lights were fading.
"Charlotte." She gasped before taking off to where her friend went.
Nanami ran after her and then grabbed her to prevent her from going any further. She was about to say something when her put a finger to his lips.
"I heard about you! What'll it take for you to stop messing with my Daddy!" Another voice said.
An echoing chorus of voices answered back.
"Strike a deal."
Tiana took a deep and ran out. Nanami cursed under his breath and ran after her. She ran up to a blonde woman and grabbed her hand.
"Are you thick?" Tiana hissed. "Your dad is just having some bad luck. It ain't got nothin to do with-"
"I saw these things Tiana! And it's not stopping until they decide to. Who knows what else will happen."
"That don't mean deal with the devil just get some salt and pray or something! C'mon."
A barrier was formed around us, Nanami pulled out his weapon and got ready.
"Who's that?" Charlotte pointed at me.
"A stranger. Let's go."
When Tiana reached where they entered she was stopped by an invisible barrier. She tried again, kicking and punching it. Nanami waited for the real antagonist to arrive. The ones talking to Charlotte were a different thing entirely. Not necessarily human made. But the thing making the barriers. The thing probably messing with her father was where the cursed energy was coming from.
"Tiana." The spirits spoke.
She gritted her teeth trying to find a way out of the alley.
"If you strike a deal, we will let you free."
"I ain't hearing this" She chanted under her breath as she kept looking for new ways out.
"What do we do?" Charlotte said, her voice trembling as she looked between Nanami and Tiana.
"When the problem reveals itself I'll take care of it." Nanami said.
The spirits laughed.
"Maybe we can convince you to strike a deal." They said as something descended from above.
As if on cue a shadow in the shape of a man in a suit and top-hat appeared.
"The shadow man!" Tiana seethed. "I knew you were behind this! Stop this and let us go."
"That's not him." Nanami said as he lunged toward the curse.
The curse shrieked as his energy struck it, shrinking back. A grotesque growl reverberated through the space as more shadows popped up. Charlotte shrieked as Tiana held onto her protectively. She locked eyes with Nanami and he, in an uncharacteristic move, gave her a small comforting smile. He moved closer to the girls with his back toward them.
There was a moment of stillness before all ten shadows descended on them. He ran off destroying three of them in quick succession then another two. A shriek blasted from behind as Charlotte was dragged by her shadow toward the spirits who laid in waiting. Nanami quickly dispatched the shadow dragging her and picked her up. As he thought, as long as her shadow overlapped with his they couldn't touch her.
He glanced at Tiana who was fearfully staring down the shadows who were circling her. None of them seemed able to get very close. Given how her restaurant also seemed eerily free of cursed energy he imagined there was something she did regularly that protected her. He looked around, finally locating the main shadow.
He put Charlotte down then with all of his strength attacked the cursed spirit. A disgusting gurgle came from deep inside the shadow as the others dissipated. Once the darkness faded a deformed monster, split in two and fading into dust was revealed. Suddenly a shiver ran down his spine.
Something's very wrong.
"Mister!" Tiana yelled as she grabbed him and yanked him away from the spot
Charlotte grabbed his sleeve and the duo dragged him away from the area faster than he thought was possible with heels. Once they were in the street lights, the sense of danger was gone. They all caught their breath as they stared at the total darkness of the alleyway. Charlotte ran off.
"Taxi!" she screamed jumping in front of car. "C'mon!" She gestured to both of us.
As they drove the houses got bigger and bigger til they stopped at something that looked like a mansion. Charlotte hopped out and ran inside. The two slowly trailed after her. When they arrived to a room on the top floor, they saw her father sitting there sleepily.
"Daddy! I brought someone to help you!"
He looked at Nanami and sighed.
"I've got enough talismans."
Nanami looked at the man and saw a sort of blinking leach attached to his back. By the looks of it, it's been there for at least a few weeks.
"Hold on." He said as he exorcised the curse.
Charlotte's father blinked as Nanami stood back.
"You should be okay now."
"Do you feel any different??" Charlotte asked with tears in her eyes.
Her father rolled his shoulders.
"I feel more energetic." He said slowly. "Less heavy."
She smiled and gave him a big hug. Then she turned around toward Nanami.
"Thank you so so much! You let us know what we can do for you okay?"
"Let's see if I have any bad luck for a week first." Her dad interjected.
"He's the real deal daddy you should've seen it-"
"I'll take my leave now." Nanami said, giving a quick bow before exiting the room.
Charlotte continued her story excitedly in the distance as Tiana followed him out. They stood in silence for a moment before Tiana cleared her throat.
"How about a bite to eat?"
They arrived back at her restaurant and when the hostess saw them walk in together, her eyes took on a mischievous glow.
"Hey Boss Lady! Are you finally doing something fun?" The waitress teased.
"Yea yea just get us a booth." She huffed.
"Right this way~!" She said, grabbing some menus.
When they sat down Tiana immediately zeroed in on Nanami.
"So what are you? A hoodoo guy?"
"I'm...a sorcerer." Nanami said hesitantly.
She looked at him skeptically.
"Like...magic?" Tiana finally spoke up.
"Like shaman."
"Like those people at temples?" She asked.
"...Yea."
Close enough.
She looked to the side taking in this information.
"So earlier you asked me all those questions because..."
"I was hired to take care of what was happening."
"Got it. And that thing in the alley?"
"Not sure what the colorful faces were but the shadows were curses."
"My mom called them devils when Dr. Facilier was hanging around."
"The shadow?"
"Well he was a guy who practiced voodoo on that street. Made deals with people and did rituals."
That must've been why the curse was masquerading as him. The curse got to wreak havok and the demons got their souls. Then once Nanami destroyed their way of catching souls they wanted to retaliate.
"Your mom's guess is as good as mine." He said.
The conversation between them died and they sat in silence for a few minutes listening to the distant conversations and jazz. Nanami didn't have much else to say but he did know what he wanted since he was back here.
"I really wanted to try those beignets earlier." He said.
Tiana looked up, giving him another one of those dimpled smiles.
"I'll be right back."
She came back with some waiters who had several small plates full of various foods. On top of a heaping pile of beignets.
"I..."
"You're not gonna want just one thing trust me."
Nanami smiled. They ate together giving a little bit about their lives. Nanami told her about switching careers and when she heard about his office life she smacked her hand on the table.
"See I knew it! I had friends trying to convince me people in them offices got the good life. Now I can tell them 'I told ya so'" She laughed.
Tiana told him a little more about how she came to own the restaurant. Basically she hounded the sellers until every single day as often as she could until they gave it to her. It helped that all of her friends wanted her to achieve her dreams so much that they reported whenever the sellers were in the area.
"It's an incredible restaurant." Nanami said.
"I think so too."
"Not your mom this time?"
"I mean she agrees with me."
Nanami smiled and Tiana leaned back.
"So...when are you gonna tell me your name?"
"Nanami. Nanami Kento."
"Nanami huh? Will I see you again?"
The realistic answer was no. The curse was dealt with and there was only so much he could expense before they send someone else to check on the situation. But if he went with what he felt. How much he didn't want to leave. How much he loved the food here. How much he wanted to know more about her. The way he was drawn to her eyes, her smile, her laugh. Then the answer was obvious in a different way. He smiled.
"Yea."