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Leave it to the Great Detective Heizou to be so good at his job that the world comes crashing down. And, by that, he meant figuratively crashing, right? Not literally. That would be problematic.
Good thing a detective solves problems! Because the world came crashing down literally, too. He was just that good.
Tremendous feats aside, the detective had found himself in quite the predicament. Now, you may be asking; “How could the Great Detective Heizou ever find himself in a terrible predicament?”
Well, dear reader, Heizou would be reluctant to admit it, but these kinds of situations happen quite often. Getting (intentionally or unintentionally) kidnapped by Kairagi, facing a band of angry hillichurls, being stranded on abandoned islands… All in a day’s work for a master detective. So, naturally a little storm did not deter Heizou in the slightest! The clues were soon to be washed away by the rain, and he didn’t have a moment to spare.
This case was a bit of a tricky one, something about some disappearances that seemed suspiciously similar to a faraway Fontainian legend. Heizou had done a little digging into the missing women phenomenon that had been happening in Fontaine for decades, and found that the culprit here was likely inspired by that still unsolved mystery. The detective smiled to himself as he ran through the storm. A criminal after his own heart.
Despite Heizou’s fascinations with the relations of this case and the one in Fontaine, he had to keep moving. Eyewitness accounts reported a group of suspicious looking persons in long black cloaks, dragging a body off toward Mt. Yougou. Thanks to the Traveler, Mt. Yougou now had a ginormous gaping crater that led to the roots of the Scared Sakura. Heizou could only imagine what those people intended to do.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to imagine.
Yep! You guessed it! Heizou was grabbed from behind and promptly shoved into a body bag. My, my, you should think about becoming a detective, dear reader!
Now, here’s a challenge; did the Great Detective Heizou maintain consciousness during his terribly bumpy trip to the base of Mt. Yougou?
Well, based on the way that was worded…
Ah, you already know the answer, don’t you?
Well then, yes, he did manage to keep himself awake the whole time. Heizou’s attackers attempted to knock him out, but, being a lumpy form in a black bag to the outside eye, they missed spectacularly and brought a fist down on Heizou’s shoulder instead. The detective forced himself to go limp anyway, which fooled his kidnappers into believing he was unconscious.
His intuition told him many things on the journey. Only one of those thoughts was reoccurring.
“I’m getting thrown in the hole, aren’t I?”
Yes. Yes he was.
The fall into the hole wasn’t too terrible, all things considered. Though he was still wrapped up in black fabric, the distance wasn’t too far, and he still had his Vision. The wind Heizou called cushioned his fall, and he landed on the soft grass without so much as a thud. He allowed the fabric to fall around his body as sinister snickers echoed from the top of the hole. Slowly, it faded, and Heizou unwrapped himself from the bag.
Several pairs of eyes met Heizou’s when they focused. A crowd of people had gathered where he landed, some in worse conditions than others. Despite the beautiful scenery, and it really was gorgeous, the overall mood of the area stank of death and decay. Heizou’s eyes darted around the pit. Alongside the crowd he had attracted, there were various alcoves of people scattered about. Many of them were centered around a person lying in the middle, faint sobs echoing around the stone. A knot twisted in his stomach as his eyes passed over the pile to one side of the circular pit, which was covered in familiar black bags. Heizou could only imagine what was under them.
One person stepped forward from the semicircle. “Are you… Detective Shikanoin Heizou? From the Tenryou Commission?”
The detective nodded. “I am.”
Quiet gasps of disbelief rippled among the people still standing, which admittedly, wasn’t many. Several people that had walked over when he had first landed now resorted to sitting on the floor or on a low tree branch.
“How long have you all been here?” he asked.
“Weeks or days, depending on the person,” answered the same person from before. They were dirty and terribly malnourished, but they looked to be the healthiest among the group. Heizou swallowed the lump in his throat.
Starvation. It had to be. Those people in the black cloaks weren’t feeding their captives, and he didn’t need his intuition to tell him what these people were dying of.
Heizou wondered if the pit could be climbed. He looked up, and although there were a fair amount of roots, the stone at the very top was extraordinarily smooth. Those last six feet would be impossible to scale. He was stuck. They all were.
“There’s a water source down here, so if you’re thirsty…” the person gestured toward a faintly trickling stream and sidestepped to give Heizou a better view of it. Crouched by that stream however… It didn’t seem possible. Heizou knew that. But those clothes, that gleaming Anemo Vision…
The person looked over to Heizou at that exact moment, recognition sparking in their gaze. “Heizou?”
“Kazuha,” the detective shuffled over to his friend, half dragging the bag as he did so. He held out his hand and the ronin accepted the help, pushing himself to his feet.
They embraced briefly. “What are you doing down here?” Heizou asked.
“I should ask you the same, but the answer is obvious. You’re working on this case, aren’t you?”
“Perceptive as always. Can never seem to keep myself out of trouble, can I?”
Kazuha laughed lightly. “I found this place not too long ago. I’m the only one who can get in and out, thanks to my Vision.”
“You found these people down here? And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“I was more concerned with keeping them from starving. I’ve been bringing food down here as often as I can, but the people in black visit frequently.”
Heizou considered this. Kazuha could get in and out, which was a huge asset. He’d been helping these people, which numbered around twenty-five, for a certain amount of time. How long could he have kept this up?
“We don’t have much time,” decided Heizou, “There has to be something we can do to get these people out.”
Kazuha gently shook his head. “I’ve tried everything I can think of.”
“Maybe we could try to capture one of the robed-people, use them as a hostage? Or try to get information out of them?”
“I’ve tried that. Remember, I’m the criminal between the two of us.”
Heizou snorted. “True. They didn’t tell you anything?”
“I couldn’t even catch one. They’re very slippery.”
The thought hadn’t even occurred to Heizou that Kazuha had failed to capture someone. That was…unsettling.
“Okay, so, no torturing. What else is there?”
Kazuha started to respond, but the ground began to rumble beneath their feet. Several people fell to their knees, others gracefully face-planted. The two Allogenes unconsciously used the wind to support themselves, glaring daggers at the pit’s opening above them. Three cloaked figures stood at the edge.
“My detestable slimes!” the figure in the middle raised his arms and spoke in a nasally tone, though it easily echoed in the acoustics of the hole. “Now that we finally have the last piece in our puzzle, it’s time to do what the Fontainains could not!”
Okay, great, confirmation that this case was inspired by the missing women in Fontaine. Heizou’s thoughts were running a mile a minute, trying to deduce this guy’s intentions. He just needed more time…
“I won’t keep you waiting! The difference between Fontaine and Inazuma…”
The world waited with bated breath.
“It’s simple, really. Missing Fontainans have hope of being found. Missing Inazumans…are buried.”
And just like that, the earth fell from the sky.
Debris rained from every sliver of open sky, large boulders, uprooted plants, cascades of soil. As Heizou scrambled to find shelter, he couldn’t stop his mind from buzzing toward the solution. What’s this person’s motive? What are they trying to accomplish? Who was the final piece of the puzzle?
Heizou’s brain supplied his own name, which was not helpful in the slightest. But it was right. Gut feelings are weird like that.
Ahead of him, a lanky teen tripped over a smaller root, and Heizou rushed to help her to her feet as he passed. Together they hobbled over to the edge of the pit, crashing boulders drowning out the screams. He watched in horror as an entire tree fell on top of a terrified huddle of people. He didn’t stop. He didn’t look back. He wondered briefly where Kazuha had gone, but he kept moving.
That is, until the earth pinned him down, too.
Heizou shoved the teenager ahead of him as he fell, ankle completely incapacitated by the slurry of rocks. He struggled and strained against his predicament, but to no avail. More rocks and dirt rained around him. There was nothing he could do.
Time stretched forever. Heizou didn’t see anyone else, but he kept sending signal flares of Anemo energy to anyone who might see them. Flare after flare, he felt his strength slipping, and soon he couldn’t even keep the dirt from covering his body.
How could the sky still be falling? Heizou didn’t know. He didn’t know how he would survive this, even if the debris stopped coming down right that instant. Unconsciousness tugged at his mind and begged to drag him under, Heizou was far too close to giving in. Maybe, he could just sleep this off…
Heizou’s eyes fluttered closed, barely registering the final boulder falling, the blur of orange that flashed to his right. His name, he thought, was called, but he wasn’t sure.
The impact shook the earth, and the detective slipped away.