Chapter Text
Yokohama is a port city, with the sea breeze coming in from the harbour and the humidity ever so present in the air, so it is rather strange when a heavy, almost stifling floral stench filled the streets. It was as if someone decided to scatter flowers everywhere in the city, transforming it into one giant bouquet.
For the average, normal pedestrians, it felt like having perfume being sprayed right under their nose. Even when indoor, the scent persist.
For the umpteenth time day, Aiko sighed as she gazed out the open windows of the cafe, wishing for the heavy fragrance in the air to dissipate soon. It was nice at first, in the morning when it was just a faint, pleasant whiff caught here and there but as the sun made its course across the sky, it started to thicken and become more and more concentrated before it became so dense that it was hard to breathe. Currently, she had to practically manually force herself to inspire and expire.
Aiko wondered if it was the heat that create this predicament.
Through the large glass panels of the cafe, in the haze of her growing headache, she managed to notice a young girl approaching the cafe. She was holding a parasol which hid her face from Aiko. She paid her no mind, assuming she was simply passing by, but she suddenly grew aware of the girl's presence when the jingles of the door bells rang in her ears, snapping her out of her reverie.
Immediately straightening up from her previous slouching position on the counter, Aiko plastered a bright smile on and greeted her new customer, "Welcome!"
She tried to ease her expression into a pleasant one as she guided the new arrival - she wondered if she was a model, with the grace she carried with her and her face - to one of the table among the many empty ones, but it was hard when she kept getting distracted by the floral scent in the air and the growing pain in the back of her head. Aiko gave out the menu and stood on the side, waiting for the girl to decide on what to order.
While her client looked over the different desserts offered, Aiko couldn't help but discreetly, from the corner of her eyes, admire her.
She wasn't very tall; when she first entered the cafe, Aiko thought they may be of the same height but now that she took the time to observe her, she could see the platform heels the girl is wearing. That means she must be shorter than her by a lot, considering just how thick those soles were.
Her dress was made of frills and laces with one large bow on the front of her corset, which was sprinkled with delicate patterns of cherry blossoms. A flowy cape covered her shoulders coupled with harsh military styled epaulettes, giving her torso a sharp and defined look. But what really attracted her attention wasn't the customer's clothes, but her face.
It was something Aiko expected to see on the cover of a magazine, with the girl's delicate features and large, doll-like eyes of lilac. Her pale, blond hair faded into shades of soft pink and was pined mostly to the side of her head, the curls grazing the base of her neck while a hat kept the entire thing in place, jewelries dangling from its rim and moving with each of her movements.
As if feeling Aiko's not-so-discreet gaze at her, she turned to look at her, startling the woman out of her daze.
Aiko flustered.
"A-are you ready to order?" She stuttered in her hurry, blushing even more in embarrassment.
The girl's eyes blinked slowly at her.
She felt her cheeks warm up even more as those two hues of floral softness continued their stare at her. In the back of Aiko's mind, a thought rose up: if the other person has been someone else, one not as pretty, she would definitely have felt uncomfortable and creeped out by their behavior; that just shows how someone's appearance can change one's perspective on a situation, and alarm bells started ringing at this realization, yet there were ignored in favor of drowning further into the enchantement.
"I would like this crepe with cream and strawberries filling," a soft voice addressed her. Belatedly, Aiko noticed that it was the customer speaking. "It would also be appreciated if there's jasmine tea."
The last part was said like a musing yet somehow, she felt like it was an order - though indirect.
"O-of course! Would that b-be all..?"
A gentle smile, and Aiko lost her train of thoughts again.
"Yes."
"Got i-it!!" she squeaked in her flustered state and hurried to leave before making a fool of herself once again. As she scurried to the counter, she almost thought she heard the sound of giggles but she didn't dare to turn back to look, too self-conscious of her current look; she probably looks as red as humanly possible, and all because of a somewhat - she's definitely downplaying it - attractive person coming in and interacting with her.
Turning her back to the door, she buried herself into the very important task of boiling water, forcing herself to keep her head lowered and not steal glances back at the girl because no, she would not allow her to embarrass herself even more when there's such a beautiful lady right there-
Aiko paused, her nose scrunching up at the sudden scent in the air.
Flowers.
What?
She frowned, staying still as she tried to catch on to what's exactly she's smelling, but the scent was fleeting - almost like this morning, Aiko thought idly - and kept escaping her when she tried to pinpoint it.
After a few seconds, she eventually gave up and exhaled the breath she's been holding in hope of identifying the fragrance. However, it was at that moment that a sudden surge of floral perfume invaded her nose and causing her to reflexively choke at the intense sensation, her body freezing up in reflex. She tried to breath, but each intake of air felt like torture, or breathing in smoke - but pleasant.
Suddenly, flower petals filled her vision, swarming over her surroundings so quickly that in just a blink of an eye, she lost sight of the cafe.
"Huh?"
Aiko widened her eyes at the almost supernatural event that's happening, her eyes quickly scanning over every inch of her perimeter yet all she saw were just... petals.
They were cherry blossoms. But it wasn't spring, and she was indoor, so how...?
Where did those come from?
Aiko took a step back in shock, but she didn't feel the counter behind nor the floor. All she saw were petals swirling around, everywhere. All she smelled was that sickening flowery scent present ever since this morning. All she felt were the softness of petals when some grazed her bare skin and...
Nothingness.
Just as quick as it came, the storm of petals started to settled down, slowly unrevealing the familiar sight of the cafe, yet...
The woman has long since left the realm of living.
Her body stood at the same place as earlier, in front of the stove, as if frozen in time. It was probably because of how abrupt her death has been. Her eyes were wide open, but her expression was serene, as if she was experiencing something good before dying so unexpectedly.
There was no floral scent in the air.
The pretty lady still sat at the same table as before the woman's death; even her posture was the same, but a small device could be seen being held in her right hand, partially hidden by her gloves. She didn't seemed to have noticed the murder - because it definitely was a murder, how suddenly the waitress died - and was looking out of the window, turned at the exact angle where the counter would be out of her vision and, by extension, the body.
Nothing was amiss.
Nothing seemed to be amiss, ignoring the standing corpse.
Oh, and the absence of fragrance of flowers in the air if it wasn't something the woman conjured up herself in her hallucinations.
Only silence reigned in the cafe now.
But it didn't last long, as the girl got up from her seat and, grabbing her parasol, exited the cafe; the heels of her platform boots clicking faintly against the wooden flooring, before the bell at the door chimed once more and she was gone.
She didn't spare a single glance back to the counter and, by default, the corpse of the waitress; she didn't seem to have seen it nor is she even wondering about what happened to her order.
Sunlight greeted her once she stepped outside, her hat shadowed half of her face as she looked at the black device held between her finger. There was one single button on it, to which she pressed without hurry. Nothing happened, but she had a satisfied look on while she walked away in the same languid manner, the jeweleries dangling from her hat's rim swinging with each of her steps.
Behind her, just as she reached one bloc away, the building where the the cafe resided at exploded. The reaction was immediate: people started screaming and shouting, some rushing to dialed the police's number while others stare at the accident in shock, standing still at place.
It was total panic.
No one noticed the lolita-dressed lady slip among the frightened bystanders, disappearing in the crowd in the blink of an eye. None were the wiser of the culprit hiding in plain sight. There was only the glimpse of blond curls fading into pink and a sweet smile directed at the event she orchestrated, before she vanished.
At the same time, in one of the five black skyscrapers in the middle of the city, a man picked up his phone that hasn't stopped ringing since minutes ago.
"Mori-sensei! I completed the task~" A cheerful voice reached his ears, and the doctor could picture the exact expression his ward must be making right now.
He chuckled at that, "Good job, Shigure-chan."
"Hehe~" Shigure giggled, but it didn't escape his ears that there were shouting in the background, accompagnied by police siren.
"Are you still lingering on the site?" He frowned, having put together where she should be.
"Oops! Sorry, Mori-sensei!" She immediately apologized, but there was no sincerity in it. "I'll return to the headquarters now. Wait for me!"
And just like that, she hanged up, leaving the man too stunned to react. After processing that yes, his ward has hanged up on him - again, might he add - he only smiled helplessly, before getting up from his seat.
He addressed to somewhere on his left, "Elise, let's go greet my student, shall we?"
Beside his desk, a small girl was doodling on the floor. She shot him a glare when he beckoned for her to follow as he made his way to the door. For a moment, she seemed to debate on whether to listen or not before she sighed loudly and got up, giving in to his request. Her side ponytail bounced with each of her steps as she skipped behind him and, curiously, her blond locks were dyed to fade into pink. Her blue eyes stared at the back of the doctor with distaste, but when she passed under one of the lights of the hallway, they appeared more lilac than blue.
"I should probably prepare a reward for Shigure-chan... What do you think, Elise?" The man wondered out aloud as they boarded the elevator.
The little girl simply huffed and lifted her chin. "I really don't understand what Shigure-chan sees in you, old man. If I was her, I'll run away as soon as I could."
"Ah- Elise, you're hurting my feelings...!"
"Hmph!"
She crossed her arms and turned her head away from him, refusing to look at his ugly face.
But, after a moment, she still answered.
"... She'd like a shopping trip. With you."
The man hummed.
"That's what I thought too." The doors of the elevator opened. They stepped outside. "There's this dress I bought last time..."
He started to ramble on, ignoring the disgusted look she sent his way; she was clearly judging him. Yet as he continued to fawn over dressing his lovely student up, she couldn't bear to look at him anymore, too embarrassed on his behalf at his current behavior. Beneath her breath, she muttered something inaudible to herself, probably to resist the growing urge of leaving the doctor behind.
"How does she even deal with him? Stupid Rintarou..."
"You are saying the Flower has returned?" One man asked the only other person in the room, a light russian accent accentuating his voice. "Pardon for doubting, but do you find the source of information trustworthy?"
"Yes. I personally oversaw the leader of Port Mafia getting ready to meet the Flower."
"Hm..." He brought a hand up to his face, biting his nails. "That'll be... inconvenient, but nothing that'll hinder our progress."
"...I won't disappoint you. But, remember our deal." A pause. "The plan will go forward."
"If you can manage to find the Devotee." He gently reminded, and tilted his head just enough to the side to avoid the scalpel that came flying at him. The knife embedded itself into the wall behind him, deep enough to form a small crack.
"Weren't you anemic?" Sacarsm laced those words, referring to how easily he dodged the attack.
"I am." He admitted in all honesty, which made him receive an exasperated sigh in return.
"I really hate interacting with geniuses... Especially one such as you," the person mumbled. "It's like standing at the edge of a crevice, where the slightest mishap would send me tumbling towards my misfortune."
Deep violet eyes gleamed in the darkness.
He didn't answer, simply offering a soft smile.
"They weren't kidding when they said you could pluck my mind out just by talking." It was meant to disturb him, to elicit a reaction. He showed none. "About the Devotee... how are you sure we'll find the Book by extension?"
"I simply listened to God's words and placed trust in my judgement as I was taught."
He received no reply.
"If you do accomplish that, I don't see why I wouldn't hold my end of the bargain. Because, this is an equitable partnership, am I right?" he continued, lacing his fingers together. "You get the love you desire, while I cleanse this world of those... sins."
There was a slight shift.
"You proclaimed yourself as God's servant but, even as someone blessed by the divine, would you be able to warm my heart enough to bring forth that emotion?"
It didn't escape him of the slight edge at the word 'divine', and it makes him wonder if that person was hiding something from him, something that he hasn't managed to grasp upon their first meeting.
"In a race, all the runners run, but only one receives the prize," he recited. "So run that you may obtain it. I promised I would try, but whether or not I'll manage to get through your heart is another thing."
"Haha..!" A laugh of disbelief, wild and free in all it's true essence. "Then, I suppose, I should try harder to fall for you, Demon Fyodor." A hint of amusement, no presence of anger nor annoyance expressed earlier.
"Your effort would be appreciated, Enchi-kun." He lightly dipped his head, the white ushanka he's wearing tipping forward with his movement. "That would be favorable for the both of us."