Archive of Our Own

Yoimiya was working late into the evening. The sun had gone down and lanterns lit her workshop. It didn't matter that it was dim, she could still see fine, and she had good company.

She was talking to her father, who was sitting nearby. He was currently sick, and it was taking a while to clear up. He was down in the workshop attached to their house keeping her company and "listening" to her talk. Yoimiya knew he couldn't hear her very well, but that didn't matter to her. He looked happy, and that made her happy, so she continued talking.

"Oh, and you'll never believe who I saw today. It was Mr. Arataki!"

"Who?"

"Arataki? Arataki Itto, the oni."

"The pony?"

"No! Hahaha, I'm sure he would love giving pony rides to the kids, but he's an oni, not a pony."

"Oh, I see. Go on."

"I guess someone bailed him out from what happened last week because he was walking around town with the rest of the Arataki gang. They weren't doing much, and I was a little too busy to go say hi, but it would have been nice to talk with him again. Meet up with that bunch of kids running around Hanamizaka. Oh, maybe we could play tag one of these days! Or hide and seek!" Yoimiya talked as she worked.

"You know, maybe we could take them camping in that cave beneath our house. The one you were worried about causing a sink hole? Itto has a geo vision, so we wouldn't need to worry about a cave in. It would be tons of fun! I could tell stories, we could have a pillow fight and see who's voice echoes the loudest." She continued as she poured some gunpowder into the casing of the firework and sealed it up. She held it up, double checking the quality of the packaging before nodding with a smile. She set it off to the side with a bunch of other fireworks, then looked back at her craft station. She was running low on the dyes to make the fireworks, but that was okay, she had more dye up in the attic.

"Oops, looks like I'm running a little low on dye. I'm going to go get some really quick, wait for me here, okay?" She said as she stood up and stretched, then looked over at her dad. He looked at her, a blank expression on his face, before cupping his ear and leaning forward, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm going to get more dye from the attic. I'll be back soon." She said, raising her voice so he could hear more clearly.

"Oh, alright. Have fun!" He responded. She nodded and ran off, up the stairs and through her house. She walked down the hallways, not noticing the doors were open.

She reached the far wall and climbed up a small ladder tucked away in a corner. Once inside she found things as she left it. There were stacks of boxes scattered about, though there were quite a few less than she usually had. That always happened during the summer, with so many festivals it was only natural for her stores to run low. She should be getting a new shipment soon.

The window was open on the far side of the attic, exactly how she left it to air out the house. A chilly breeze blew through, the air outside still warming up from the winter. She walked over and admired the new leaves forming on the nearby trees outside. It was a bit early in the spring, but a few sakura blossoms had started blossoming, sure to be followed by others.

She sat and breathed in the cool fresh air for a moment, glad the summer was coming. She always liked the summer more, it was much more lively. Kids would roam around, their screams of joy echoing through the air. The delicious smell of good food in the air, the fun fish shaped banners around Konda Village, it was all so nice.

She smiled as she thought of these things, exciting herself more and more. That's when she remembered what she originally came up here to do, since her dad was still waiting downstairs.

She turned and started digging through the box on her right. She could never remember where she put the dye. Evidently it wasn't in this box, there was only gunpowder in here.

A thump from her right caused her to freeze. No one else was supposed to be here other than Yoimiya.

Maybe it's another cat. I hope it's another cat. She thought to herself as she slowly turned to look.

It wasn't a cat. There was a hooded man standing in front of the door. He looked to be in his late 20's, or maybe early thirties. Yoimiya was never the best at estimating ages.

She stood up, never taking her eyes off the man.

"...Hey there. I'm not sure if you noticed, but this is my house, so could I ask you to use the front door?" She asked, subconsciously backing away.

Another noise came from behind her, and she turned to look. Another person was standing in front of the window, blocking her escape. From the looks of it, this one was a woman, though she also wore a hood, and Yoimiya couldn't see her face.

Yoimiya glanced between the two, her heart pounding. She tried to look braver than she felt, though she's sure that her emotions were showing on her face. She raised her hand and waved at the woman. The woman made an aborted motion to wave back before casting a glance at the man, who looked at her disapprovingly. Yoimiya glanced between the two, trying to think of what to do. She needed to get out of this situation, she was sure it would end badly.

"Hey dad! We have some guests!" Yoimiya called out as loud as she could, more fear in her voice than she would have liked. "You wanna come say hello?!" She all but screamed. No noises came from downstairs, but that was alright. Surely the doushin patrolling the street heard her. Unless there was a shift change, that is.

"Naganohara Yoimiya. We heard about what you did during the vision hunt decree, about all the people you saved with your fake visions."

"Well, actually it wasn't me that made them, I was just-"

"Don't try to fool us, child. We know it was you. We want you to make another fake vision for a friend of ours. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Uh... well I'd prefer the easy way, but I really don't make the visions. I can get in contact with the person-"

"Enough! We don't want your cover story, we want the vision. If you're going to disagree, then I guess we'll just add kidnapping to our crimes."

"Crimes?" The woman behind Yoimiya muttered in confusion.

"Woah woah woah, aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? There's no need for any kidnapping, let's just talk this out. I can speak to my contact, and I'll get you that fake vision. No muss, no fuss." Yoimiya said, trying to keep her cool.

"How about you tell us what you need to make the fake vision, and we'll get them for you, since you won't be leaving." The man said.

Yoimiya stared at him for a moment, desperately trying to come up with a response in the midst of her panic. My father's still waiting for me downstairs.

"I'm not going with you, so why don't you get out of here. You blew your one chance at getting a fake vision." Yoimiya said. She tried to summon her bow, but forgot she had taken it out of her pocket earlier.

She looked back up with fear in her eyes as the man approached her. She couldn't use her vision in here, not with all the firework materials. If they ignited, it would be enough of an explosion to destroy her house, and probably her neighbors house as well. But if she didn't have her bow, and she couldn't use her vision, what was she going to do?

The boxes! Some of them were heavy enough to do some damage if they were thrown at someone. She turned to grab the box of gunpowder closest to her, but while she had her back turned the man sped across the attic and hit her on the head hard with a wooden club.

Yoimiya stumbled back from the blow, clutching her head before falling to the ground with a resounding thud, unconscious.

Downstairs in the basement that was their workshop, Ryuunosuke felt the vibrations of a large crash from upstairs. At first he wasn't worried, Yoimiya dropped things all the time, but as he thought about it he couldn't help but feel worried. That crash felt too big, like something fell that wasn't a box.

He quickly got up and went to check on Yoimiya, climbing the stairs and walking through the house, but he couldn't help the growing sense of unease. It wasn't like Yoimiya to leave all these doors open.

"Yoimiya? Are you alright?" He called out as he reached the bottom of the ladder, resting one hand on it. He heard nothing, so he climbed up the ladder into the attic.

As soon as he popped his head through the narrow opening his heart dropped.

There were two people standing over Yoimiya, who was lying unconscious on the floor. They appeared to be arguing about something.

It wasn't long before one of them spotted him and grabbed Yoimiya and threw her over their shoulder before jumping out of the window, the other following close behind.

Ryuunosuke scrambled up the ladder, running across the attic and looking out the window. He watched as the two fled, running across their neighbors roof and jumping down, turning around and running down the street.

"Hey, you! Mr. Doushin! They're kidnapping my daughter!" Ryuunosuke called to a doushin patrolling the street below. He turned and looked up the street and saw the two running towards him, and he leveled his spear at them. They skidded to a stop before the woman pulled the man down an alleyway and the doushin chased after them.

"Tenryou Commission, stop! Put Miss Naganohara down!" The doushin shouted as he chased them into the alley as it led out of town. As they turned the corner Ryuunosuke popped around the other corner on the far side, slightly out of breath, trying to box the two in.

The perpetrators kept running from the doushin, towards Ryuunosuke. He tried to stand his ground and knock them over, but they were too strong, knocking him over instead.

The doushin ran over to Ryuunosuke and helped him up.

"Mr. Nagonahara, are you alright?" The doushin asked.

"Nevermind me, they're getting away with my daughter!" Ryuunosuke said as he turned to the two running in the distance, with Yoimiya still on their shoulders. He chased after them, running along the dirt roads and out of town, but stopped as his illness caught up to him. The doushin pulled ahead, running as fast as his feet would take him, but it was no use as the two drew farther and farther away, towards Konda Village, and eventually the darkness of night swallowed them.

The doushin returned to the city disheartened, and saw a few other doushin at the entrance to the city, running down the street towards him. When they saw him walking back, breathless, they slowed to a stop.

"Yoshi, report. What happened?" The doushin in the front of the group asked.

"Did you get her?" Ryuunosuke butted in.

"I'm afraid not." He said as he straightened up, looking his c.o. in the eye. "A few moments ago, two perpetrators leapt from a window of the Naganohara residence, being chased by Naganohara Ryuunosuke. To my shame, I did not notice them until Mr. Naganohara called my attention to them. I left my post to pursue them, but they were faster than I and they got away, in the direction of Konda Village, with Naganohara Yoimiya."

"I see." The doushin said, sinking deep into thought.

"You have to send someone after her!" Ryuunosuke cried.

"We will sir, but for now, we need to go back to the police station and make a report. We will do our utmost to find her, you can trust that. Please come with us, we will need to get your statement." The doushin said, resting a hand on Ryuunosuke's shoulder and guiding him away.

______

The night had passed fitfully for Ryuunosuke. He had given his report, and was sent home to wait for news, but he couldn't sleep, despite his body desperately calling for it. He was worried about Yoimiya, and the images of her being kidnapped ran freely through his mind, keeping him awake. He lay there for hours until finally he slipped into unconsciousness deep in the night.

When he awoke next, the morning sunlight shone brightly through the window as he climbed out of bed. They told him to wait for news at home, but the longer he waited the more awful thoughts went through his head. What did they want with Yoimiya? Would they hurt her? Would he ever see her again?

No, no. Of course he would, despite what had happened, he had faith in the Tenryou Commission. But what if they were too late?

He couldn't stand sitting around and doing nothing, so he stepped outside, hoping some fresh air would clear his mind.

However, as soon as he stepped outside he saw the counter that Yoimiya would sell fireworks at, and his mind was instantly drawn back to all the thoughts he tried pushing from his mind.

He tried shaking his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts from his mind, but it didn't work. He took a deep breath to calm himself before looking around the street.

The smithy right across from them was doing business like normal, the sound of hammers hitting metal sounded in his ears, with the scent of fire and sweat. Looking farther up the street everything looked normal. People wandering around, merchants selling their wares, and kids playing. Nothing was amiss and nobody seemed aware that his world had just been shattered.

He sighed. Worrying about it would do nothing but worsen his health.

He looked down the street, towards Konda Village, where the two hooded figures had disappeared with Yoimiya. The events of last night played through his mind, and he once again shook his head in a desperate attempt to keep the memories from his mind.

He opened his eyes and jumped back, startled by a young man who was standing right in front of him. He was tall and had green eyes and blonde hair, with an interesting looking jacket and a tight black shirt.

He was saying something, but Ryuunosuke couldn't hear him. He cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Sorry young man, could you speak up? I'm a little hard of hearing." Ryuunosuke said. Immediately the young man smiled and spoke again, raising his voice so Ryuunosuke could hear him.

"Are you alright? You seemed out of sorts just then." He said.

"Oh yes, well, uh... my daughter was kidnapped last night, and I'm having a little trouble keeping my thoughts positive." Ryuunosuke said. The young man mumbled something, and Ryuunosuke cupped his ear and leaned forward.

"Ah, sorry. Let me introduce myself. I'm Thoma, housekeeper of the Kamisato Clan. They actually just sent me over to keep tabs on Miss Yoimiya's case. I'm on my way to the police station, would you like to join me?" Thoma asked.

"Oh, The Yashiro Commission. Yes, Yoimiya's fireworks are a core part of their festivals. That's a kind suggestion Mr. Thoma, but they told me to wait at home for news, and also for a proper investigation." Ryuunosuke said.

"Alright. I'll keep an eye on their investigation progress and personally come to give you updates." Thoma said.

"Thank you Mr. Thoma." Ryuunosuke said gratefully.

Thoma smiled and set off, back down the street, leaving Ryuunosuke standing by his house. He made his way up the streets of Inazuma and walked into the police station.

He was surprised to find General Kujou Sara standing in the midst of the station courtyard. She seemed annoyed, her back to Thoma as she talked to Owada.

"Of course, when we need him, he's nowhere to be found." She said.

"There's a chance he's already at the scene. He's done it before." Owada said.

Thoma stood behind them, watching as they worked out a plan to deal with this new case. They didn't notice him, so he cleared his throat and walked up to them.

As soon as he took a step in their direction Sara snapped her gaze towards Thoma, fierce yellow eyes meeting his green ones.

He froze a moment, startled. Sara immediately recognized him, and turned to face him.

"Mr. Thoma, good to see you. I take it you're here on behalf of the Yashiro Commission?" Kujou asked.

"Y-yes ma'am." He stuttered before coughing to clear his throat. "Yes, I am. Miss Naganohara almost solely makes the fireworks for the Yashiro Commission, and her safe return is essential, so she may resume her work. As such, Lady and Lord Kamisato have requested that Doushin Shikanoin be assigned to her case. Lord Kamisato believes he will be able to solve it quickly enough for there to be no issue with the supply of fireworks for the upcoming Otari Festival." Thoma said.

"It seems Doushin Shikanoin has decided not to show up to work today, or else we would have already put him on this case. We are well aware of the importance of Miss Naganohara's work and will immediately begin working on an alternative." Kujou said, a tired sigh in her voice.

"Alright, sounds good. Oh, uh, could I know the name of the other detective you'll be putting on this case instead?" Thoma said.

"...uh, maybe Detective Shikanoin?" A doushin guarding the gate interrupted.

"Unless he's shown up at the crime scene again... he's at the crime scene, isn't he." Kujou said.

"Yes ma'am." The doushin responded.

"Seriously?!" Sara said as she pinched her brow. "Would it kill him to report in first?" She said as she turned back to Thoma. "Mr. Thoma, it appears Doushin Shikanoin is already on the scene. Feel free to verify with your own eyes if you need."

"Will do. Oh, and my lady specifically requested that I monitor the situation. Miss Naganohara is a good friend of hers, so I hope you don't mind if I stick around until it's resolved." Thoma said.

"Of course not. I will have some tea prepared for you, and you will be among the first to be notified when there is an update." Kujou said.

"Alright, thank you." Thoma said with a smile. "I'll be going to see what progress Detective Shikanoin has made." Thoma said with a wave as he left the police station, retracing his steps back to the Naganohara household.

As he approached, he saw Mr. Naganohara talking to a shorter man with red hair and a brown haori tied around his waist. A couple other doushin were scattered throughout the area, searching for clues as to where they took her.

As he walked closer the red haired man turned to look at him, and surprise flickered on his face briefly before he pushed it down.

"Mr. Thoma, what a pleasant surprise. Is there something I can help you with? I assume you're here for a reason." Heizou said.

"Yeah, I'm here as a representative for the Yashiro Commission, just to keep an eye on things... How are things?" Thoma asked.

"There hasn't been much progress, I've barely started after all. No sign of someone forcing their way in, although it's obvious someone was in the house. I was just interviewing Mr. Naganohara, and there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. All that to say, there hasn't been hardly any progress yet. You don't need to worry though, there aren't many who can hide from me for very long. We'll find her." Heizou said.

"Good to know. I just wanted to come tell you that I'll be checking in with you a few more times. This is an important and time-sensitive case after-all." Thoma informed him.

"Of course, it only makes sense for the Yashiro Commission to keep tabs on things. And, I do believe, Miss Naganohara is a friend of yours? Or perhaps Lady Kamisato." Heizou asked.

"Yeah, she is. Um... you don't suspect us of kidnapping her?" Thoma asked, slightly nervous.

"Hmm... no, I don't. It doesn't seem to be something either you or Lady Kamisato would do. I was actually thinking, given how much Miss Naganohara likes to talk, maybe you or Lady Kamisato would know if someone had something against her." Heizou asked.

"The only one I can think of is Arataki Itto. She and Itto are always having little competitions to see who the kids like more, but they're more of friends than anything. Oh! There are also a couple of others, although they're just a couple ronin that tried causing trouble for her." Thoma said.

"Mr. Arataki... doesn't hold grudges. Not majorly at least. Or else many of us over at the police station would be trouble. And your average ronin doesn't go through this much trouble if someone beats them in a fight. Besides, both would have left a trace..." Heizou trailed off as he delved into his thoughts.

"Well, that was beneficial." Thoma said, a little disgruntled. Heizou nodded in agreement. It's always good to rule out options.

"Well, I just came to check on your progress, so I guess I'll report back that there hasn't been any progress."

"Yet. No progress yet."

"Right."

Thoma took his leave, going back to the police station.

______

Yoimiya woke up in a dim, cold cave with a pounding headache. She was laying on the floor, water soaking into her clothes and making everything more uncomfortable.

Looking around she saw many torches lining the walls, just barely keeping the darkness at bay. She shivered at the chill in the air, and she tried to sit up, but strong cords kept her tied down.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out into the darkness, but she only heard her own voice as it echoed back to her. She fiddled with the ropes tying her hands, but she was unable to undo them. She tried reaching for the ropes wrapped around her legs, but she couldn't undo those either. Whoever these people were, they were good at tying knots.

"Hey, Itto if this is you, this isn't funny." She called out again, hoping that whoever did this would come correct her. But nobody came, and she was forced to listen to the silence.

_____

"Heizou-Senpai, what is this?" Uesugi asked as he crouched next to something brown on the ground.

"Looks to me like it's tree bark." Heizou said as he crouched down next to Uesugi. "The question is what kind of tree is it from?"

"Looks to me like it's from the trees around Konda Village. I was just passing through there yesterday, I was visiting my in-laws." Tsukoso butted in.

"Should we search Konda Village then?" Uesugi asked.

"No. I think our perpetrators purposefully left this here to throw us off their trail." Heizou said.

"So where do you think they are?" Uesugi asked.

"Well... not Konda Village, that's for sure. I have to admit, they're good at covering their tracks." Heizou said.

"So, what now? We've already taken witness reports from everyone on the street, we've interviewed Mr. Naganohara, we've combed through their house and the nearby area, but there isn't any evidence." Uesugi said.

Heizou stayed silent for a moment. Where would the perpetrators have taken Naganohara? Chinju forest? It would be difficult to see, and no one would suspect it, since it's in close proximity to the Kamisato Residence.

...close proximity...

Something about that phrase drew Heizou's attention to it, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He sighed.

"I'm going to take a walk." He said as he walked away. He could feel some of the others watching him as he walked away.

_____

Yoimiya lay there in the dimly lit cave, humming a melody she heard from a couple kids the other day. She was bored out of her mind. She just hoped that whatever they were planning, they did it sooner rather than later.

Her eyes wandered the walls of the cave. With nothing else to do, she let her mind wander, coming up with a story to tell the kids when she got out. If she got out.

That's when she noticed something she hadn't before. There was a woman standing by one of the corners of a tunnel branching out from the main cave. It was the same hooded woman who had kidnapped Yoimiya, though she didn't have her hood up now.

"Hi there." Yoimiya called, excited to see another person. The woman looked panicked, backing away quickly, out of sight. Yoimiya blinked for a few seconds. "You know I saw you, right? I know you're there, so there's no use hiding." She said with a smile.

Yoimiya heard a deep sigh before the woman stepped back into sight, looking Yoimiya in the eyes.

"It's okay, I don't bite. You were the woman who kidnapped me right? What's your name? And also, why did you kidnap me? Is it because of the fake vision you were going on about earlier?" Yoimiya asked.

"Woah, woah. Calm down with the questions. I can't answer all of them. I am the one who kidnapped you though, this whole thing is my idea." The woman said.

"Oh. You had me fooled, this seemed like a joint effort between you and that other guy. Actually, you didn't seem like you knew what you were doing. And honestly he seemed way too into the kidnapping idea. Is he your brother?"

"What?! Ew, no, that's my husband. He's always had a penchant for crime novels, I guess he wanted to try it out for himself."

"I've read a few crime novels myself, and I have to admit, some of those crimes do look fun. So long as nobody gets hurt. Hey, here's an idea, you let me go, and I won't tell anyone anything. That way no one gets hurt!"

"That's a kind offer, but I'm afraid we won't be taking you up on it. We didn't kidnap you for the fun of-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The man from earlier suddenly appeared beside her, angry and shouting. "Why aren't you following the plan?!" He grabbed the woman's wrists, pulling her close and getting in her face. She didn't resist, she only screwed her eyes shut. "Gah, I have to do everything around here." He continued, gesturing wildly.

"Hey! She was just being nice! You should be nice to her!" Yoimiya yelled.

The man snapped his eyes over to her. He looked incredibly angry, and even though he said nothing, the fire in his eyes spoke for themselves. Yoimiya shrunk back, and she couldn't help but feel scared for her safety as she lay there tied up on the floor.

"Who are you to tell me how to treat MY wife. She's mine. You get no say in our marriage." He snarled as he pulled her into a hug, squeezing her just a bit too tight by mistake. Yoimya could see the woman wince, but she didn't say anything. Yoimiya couldn't help but feel angry. She obviously meant a lot to him, so why was he treating her like garbage?

"It doesn't seem to be a good marriage." Yoimiya found herself saying impulsively. She probably shouldn't have said that, but she couldn't stop herself, it just made her so angry. "Why did you even choose this jerk?" She said, looking at the woman. She had opened her eyes, though she stared at nothing in particular. Once Yoimiya spoke to her she glanced up.

"He wasn't like this when we first met. He was so kind and lovely- agh!" She cried out as he slapped across her face.

"What was that?!" He yelled. She squeezed her eyes shut again and shook her head. "No, what did you have to say? Say it!" He yelled, stepping closer to her.

Yoimiya glanced between the two in a panic. She didn't want him to hurt her.

"H-hey! If this is about the fact I saw her, I can pretend I didn't. There, problem solved. There's no need to get violent." She tried to sound confident, like how she did with the kids.

The man looked at her coldly before shoving the woman to the ground and walking towards Yoimiya.

____

Heizou was out walking in Byakko plains between the city and Konda Village. There was nobody around, and the grass was swaying around his legs. He couldn't help but remember the case he solved with Hiroko, the confrontation with Konshou, and how he nearly bled out. He shuddered at the memory and absentmindedly rubbed the scar on his shoulder.

He steered his thoughts back towards the case at hand. This could land the Tenryou Commission and the Yashiro Commission in hot water if he didn't solve it sooner rather than later. He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to think about the pressure of this case. No wonder his intuition pointed him in the direction of the crime scene, dragging him out of bed in the process.

He had been planning on staying at home today and getting some more sleep. He had a nightmare again last night, and it kept him up for hours.

Owada and his family all lay dead and dying in this very field. Even though Heizou had never seen Hiroko's parents, they were there, although didn't actually see them in his dream either. He knew that the father was the last to fall, standing in front of his dead family, trying to protect them, though he was doing nothing more than protecting dead bodies.

They were all covered in blood. It coated the ground, refusing to sink into the soil.

Heizou had waded in ankle deep blood to get to them. Even though it was just a dream he could feel the blood surrounding his feet and the pull of it as he moved forward.

He trudged up to Hiroko. The sight of his lifeless eyes staring up into the sky, the way he was lying so still, was horrifying. This was a child. This shouldn't have happened to him. Heizou could feel despair welling up inside him, and tears came to his eyes as he sank to his knees. He could feel the blood soak into his clothes as he picked up Hiroko, who hung limply from his arms. Blood was still pouring from his injuries, his throat had been slit and his palms oozed blood.

Heizou shuddered at the memory, trying to push it from his mind. He wished the wind was blowing today, he always found the sensation of the wind on his skin calming.

He exhaled and focused back on the case at hand. They must've come in through the window. Naganohara had said that they left the window in the attic open to air out the smell of gunpowder. There weren't any signs of a struggle, but that doesn't match with what he knows about Miss Naganohara. So they either got the drop on her... or this was someone she knew and trusted.

Broken trust...

Heizou didn't like it, but it was a very real possibility. There was even the possibility that this was consensual, that it was some kind of plot. But against who? What could they stand to gain from this? It didn't make much sense, but it was a possibility, and one he had to take into consideration.

Without evidence, he couldn't definitively point to one of these scenarios. They still had to find who did this as well. Maybe a more thorough search of the house would prove fruitful. Maybe they would get lucky, and a fragment of a weapon would be found to have broken off, or some other object that they could use to track down the perpetrators.

He shelved his thoughts and headed back to the city, meeting up with the other doushin at the Naganohara's house. Ryuunosuke stood nearby, looking around fretfully. Heizou looked at him with concern. He had seen that look many times on many victims' faces.

"Mr. Naganohara, how are you feeling?" Heizou asked, walking up to him. His head swiveled around to face Heizou, though it was obvious he hadn't heard a word Heizou said, so he repeated himself louder.

"Ah... well, as a father it's hard not to be concerned for your child. She's so active, it's always a joy to see what she's doing. She was just talking about taking the kids down to the cave, and I know they would love that. She's the spark of Hanamizaka, and it's not the same without her around, so I'm sure I'm not the only one that wants her back. Have there been any clues?" He asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. Not to worry though, these lulls in a case are usually followed by a breakthrough. We'll find her." Heizou said.

"I see. Is there anything I can do to help? That's why you came to talk to me, right?" Ryuunosuke asked.

"I just came to see how you were holding up. This must be stressful." Heizou said.

"Ah... thank you Detective Heizou, but the only thing that would make me feel better is having my daughter back." Ryuunosuke said.

"Naturally. Although, that cave you mentioned, where exactly is it?" Heizou asked. He needed to search for any evidence, wherever that takes him. Maybe this would yield results.

"It's below our house, the entrance is most easily accessible on the beach over there. Although there are a couple other entrances, they're harder to get to. One is right across the island, facing Liyue. The other is in that cove with the hilichurls."

"I see. Thank you." Heizou said as he hurried off, not giving Ryuunosuke time to respond.

Heizou walked down the street to the outskirts of the city and turned right to the beach, walking slowly and looking for anything out of the ordinary. Heizou couldn't say he was overly familiar with the area, since he rarely came this way.

As he walked along the sand he noticed footprints. He followed them down the beach, to where the stone walls rose up and blocked the streets of Inazuma from view. Looking closer at the footprints, he realized that they were old, not something that would have been made in the past couple of hours. It looked like something that would have been made earlier this morning, or even last night. Guess it was a good thing it wasn't windy.

As Heizou followed the footprints farther along the beach, it looked like someone had tried sweeping away their tracks with a branch. It was shoddy work, and it left a trail in lieu of footprints, the branches of the tree making soft grooves in the sand.

They led to a cave, the tunnel carved into the stone wall and leading into the darkness. As Heizou peered into the cave he heard voices, though they were too far away to make out what they were saying.

Above him he could hear Tsukoso lean over the edge of the stone wall and look at him.

"What did you find?" He asked.

"A cave, and someone is in there." Heizou responded, not looking up.

"I'll come down to you then." Tsukoso said.

"No need. You're currently on guard duty. And it might not be anything." Heizou said, waving him off.

Cautiously he crept into the cave, being as quiet as he could. Once inside his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he could faintly make out a light at the end of the tunnel as it turned, presumably leading into another part of the cave. Heizou also saw a thin rope attached to the wall, and he followed the rope with his eyes and saw that it went up into the ceiling, connecting to a small rock directly above the entrance. There were several large boulders behind the small rock, and if that rock moved it would collapse the roof, effectively blocking him in.

As he was examining it, a woman turned the corner of the tunnel. She was staring at the ground in a daze, but as she walked down the tunnel, she looked up. As soon as she saw Heizou she took a step back, her eyes widening in surprise. He watched the woman frantically clawed at the wall, trying to grab hold of the rope running along it. Her hands were shaking and she was uncoordinated, but she eventually managed to grab ahold of it and gave it a sharp tug.

He heard the rocks above him shift and crumble. As he looked up they started falling from where they were precariously balanced. He feigned surprise and jumped back a little, and he activated his vision, using the wind to push the rocks to the side.

The rocks fell all around him, some frighteningly close, and the shockwaves knocked Heizou to the ground. However, soon all the rocks stopped moving and Heizou opened his eyes. They were piled up high around him, so much so that he could not see the woman, but that meant that she couldn't see him either. However, the exit behind him was now blocked.

He heard the woman scramble away from the other end of the hallway, getting farther away. Just as she left he heard footsteps on the other side of the rocks.

"Doushin Shikanoin! Are you okay?!" He heard Tsukoso shout on the other side of the now blocked entrance. Heizou picked himself off the ground and pressed against the rocks, but they didn't budge.

"I'm fine. Whoever is in here isn't very friendly though." Heizou shouted through the rocks.

"Just stay put, I'll go get help and be back here in a moment. Don't move, I don't want you to get hurt." Heizou heard Tsukoso say before he heard him running away, back up the beach.

Heizou shook his head and sighed. Tsukoso only joined the Tenryou Commission a couple months ago, and was quite capable in combat, but he was a bit dense at times. Heizou thought Tsukoso would have figured out by now that he didn't 'stay put' very often. It was sweet that he cared though.

Heizou turned around and looked at the rocks piled around him, looking for a way to climb up. After a bit he found his path and started climbing, reaching the top and looking around. The tunnel was empty, the only source of light was the fire at the end of the tunnel.

He jumped off the rock piles and quietly crept down the hall, turning the corner to see a large, spacious cave, about the size of the Naganohara house. Torches were scattered throughout the room, most of them attached to the walls. In the center of the room were three people, the woman from the tunnel, a man dressed in a similar manner, and Yoimiya, hogtied and laying on the ground.

"Honey, I just saw the Cyclone." The woman said as she walked up to the other perpetrator.

"What?! Where is he?!" He said in a panic, quickly turning to her.

"I pulled down the rocks, he's outside the cave, but the other two entrances- we should take Naganohara to a different location."

"No! Do you know how hard it will be to move her?! It will take some time for him to find the other entrances, so let's just finish this now."

"Don't you remember the stories about him? We shouldn't underestimate him."

"I'm not. This is a good spot. Even if he comes in one exit, we can use the other to escape."

He needed to find and block the other exits. Hopefully they had a similar mechanism to the first.

With this in mind he carefully crouched along the walls of the cavern, careful to stay hidden.

____

Yoimiya almost jumped with joy. The woman had just come back saying Heizou was here.

"Ooh, you guys are gonna get it now. Did you kno-"

"Shut it! You're going to give us those visions, and you're going to tell the Cyclone that we're just having a friendly little get together in here, it's nothing he needs to concern himself with." The male perpetrator said, putting an emphasis on 'friendly'.

"I already told you, I'm not making you a vision, and I'm not lying to a doushin either. So why don't you just forget it!" Yoimiya yelled.

"Now that's no way to talk to your friend, now is it? Aren't we just having a grand old time?" He said, voice laced with amusement, but the smile he wore didn't reach his eyes.

"Oh, sure. I love being tied up." Yoimiya said sarcastically. "You should give it a try. Hey, maybe you'll get the chance soon."

"Very funny. Look, I'll make a deal with you. You agree to make the vision and we let you free." He said as he walked over to Yoimiya and knelt down beside her.

"That's what I was saying at first, and only now you're agreeing?" Yoimiya said.

"You weren't saying that!" The man growled.

"Was too. But whatever. Although after what you did, even an apology won't settle everything."

"Alright. What were you wanting from us?"

"Well first off I want to meet this friend of yours-"

They visibly stiffened, a look of fear crossing the man's face before he stood up and picked Yoimiya up by her arm.

"No can do little Missy. As soon as you see her you're going to go running off to the Tenryou Commission."

"I understand your hesitation, but-"

"I said we're not doing it." He said, squeezing her arm painfully.

"Woah, there's no need for that! I just want to be sure that she's an actual person and not-" Yoimiya said frantically.

"When did we tell you anything about her? Or are you assuming? You know it's not very nice to assume." He said.

"No no, I'm not assuming. You told me." Yoimiya said, frantically backtracking.

"No, we didn't." He growled.

"Yes you did, you referred to your friend as a 'she'." Yoimiya cried, squirming in his grip. The man looked shocked for a moment before anger clouded his eyes and he threw Yoimiya to the ground harshly.

She cried out as she landed on her side with a thud. Pain exploded through her leg, and rolled onto her back, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to control her breathing.

Eventually she opened them again to see both of them standing over her with a bottle of water. They poured it directly on her face, and she gasped and sputtered as it rolled down her face, forming a small puddle of the ground.

"Listen little one, we just want a false vision for our friend. I don't know how clear we can make this. Just agree and we'll let you go, and all we'll do is keep an eye on you until you finish. And after that, we'll never see each other again. Sounds like a pretty good deal, don't you think?" He said, false gentleness once again lacing his voice.

"Like I said, I'm not going to. This is obviously a trick for the Tenryou Commission. I've got friends in the commission, so there's no way I'm going to-, to fall for this." Yoimiya said, her wording eluding her. Her brain became foggier as her headache grew. She must have hit her head again on the stone.

"You actually want to protect members of the Tenryou Commission? Don't remember what they did? Let them rot for all I care. Now, the vision." The man said as the woman scoffed beside him.

"No!" Yoimiya yelled. They would be watching her, so they would see the actual craftsman. After all the good he did for so many people, Yoimiya couldn't throw him to the wolves. And she was going to be very stubborn about it.

"... hah. I've been nice so far Naganohara, but if you're going to be stubborn like this, then I guess I just wasted a bunch of effort for nothing. Thanks." He said as he approached Yoimiya again. He picked her up again and dragged her over to a small basin of water behind her. Yoimiya was a little confused until he dunked her face first in the water, holding her under for a moment. Yoimiya struggled and thrashed, trying to pull her head back up for air, but a firm hand clasped around her neck stopped her, keeping her down.

Eventually he roughly pulled her back up. She gulped down air before he pushed her head forward, back into the water. She bashed her nose against the bottom, blood filling the tub, and the man pulled her back up quickly. She breathed heavily, gulping down more air and ignoring the blood that dripped into her mouth.

"Now, let's try this again. Will you make us a vision?"

"No." Yoimiya's voice came out ragged.

A scowl crossed the man's face, and he dunked her head back underwater twice more. The sudden movements hurt her head, making her headache worse than it already was, and spots started to form in her vision. Yoimiya struggled and thrashed, but it was in vain. He pulled her out again and she gasped, blinking rapidly to clear the water from her eyes.

"How about now? How would you feel about giving us that vision now?" He asked, his voice sickeningly sweet.

"No." Yoimiya croaked. Her throat felt parched, despite all the water running down her face.

The man grew angry and threw her across the room. She landed with another thud, and her head smacked against the stone floor. Pain shot through her head, and stars danced in her eyes as she lay there catching her breath.

She glanced around and saw Heizou standing in one of the tunnels, looking horrified as he looked at her bloody face. That horror turned to anger as he watched the man stalk up to Yoimiya with a torch in his hands, obviously meaning to press it to her skin and burn her.

"Put it down! Dear, please!" The female perpetrator said as she ran up to the male perpetrator and grabbed his arm, clinging to it as she tried to talk him down.

"Woah woah woah, what are you doing with that?! Hang on, we can still work this out, there's no need to- to- stay away from me!" Yoimiya screamed, trying unsuccessfully to get away. Her legs were tied up, so it was no easy task.

Heizou reacted instantly, calling on his vision and creating a strong wind that swept around the cavern. It blew the flames of the torches up and around the cavern, in a circular motion. He heard the three people in the cavern scream, though in fear or pain, he couldn't tell. He wasn't even sure this would work, as the flames were unpredictable and this would either go very well or very poorly.

The flames danced around the room, blinding everyone, before they died out on the wind and they were left in complete darkness.

Heizou felt lightheaded, and he stumbled to the side, barely catching himself on the wall beside him. A wave of fatigue washed over him, and he felt cold, despite the room swirling with fire just moments before. It worked its way into his bones, into his lungs and breath. He wouldn't be surprised if there was frost when he breathed out.

He suppressed a shiver and took a deep breath before pushing himself upright and standing up straight, doing his best to look menacing for when the two perpetrators inevitably re-lit the torch.

The male perpetrator shoved the stick of wood into his wife's hands, though she was shaking so badly she almost dropped it. He pulled a few small pieces of flint and steel from his pocket and struck them against each other, and a few sparks illuminated his face and his wife not too far away.

However he decided that she was too far away, and he grabbed her wrist and yanked her closer. She let out a small yelp and almost dropped the torch again before she righted herself. The man struck the stones together again, creating more sparks, and one landed on the torch, setting it ablaze. The flame spread quickly, so quickly that the woman didn't have time to move her hand out of the way. It kissed her skin and burned her hand, and she almost dropped the torch again.

The man snatched it out of her hand and she flinched back at the sudden movement. He glared at her and she averted her eyes before they both looked up and around the room. Yoimiya was still where they had left her, looking shocked as she blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the light.

They spun around as they heard something shift behind them and saw the Cyclone standing there. He glared at them with coldness and anger in his eyes.

The two perpetrators screamed in unison and jumped back, dropping the torch.

"He found us!"

"Already?!"

"I told you!"

"Shut up! I know what you said. Just run!"

They did exactly that, tearing down the tunnel to their right and out of sight. Heizou breathed out a sigh. He hoped they didn't have anything to open the exits up.

He walked towards Yoimiya lying on the ground. She looked up at him.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Heizou." Yoimiya sighed, resting her head on the ground. Heizou chuckled and knelt beside her, the anger in his eyes evaporating.

"It's no problem. It's my job after all. You're pretty important to the Yashiro Commission, Miss Naganohara, so it's only natural I'd be here." He said idly as he untied Yoimiya. "Mr. Thoma's been on my case all day about this, so-."

"Oh, Thoma? He's so nice, I'm glad I have a guy like him in my corner. How's he doing? Wait, he hasn't been causing you trouble, right? That doesn't sound like something he would do..." Yoimiya said.

"He's just been keeping an eye on things. He's mostly stayed out of the way, occasionally asking for reports on my progress. He's been no trouble at all. It's honestly nice to see how much he cares about his friends." Heizou remarked.

"Hehe, I'm very happy to be friends with him. While he is useful, he's also a great guy to hangout with. He makes the best food, and he laughs at my jokes! Oh! How has my dad been? He must be worried sick! On top of already being sick..." Yoimiya said.

"Don't worry, he's being taken care of. Actually he and Mr. Thoma have been talking for most of today. He's worried about you, although I must say, he's holding it together very well." Heizou said.

"That's my dad for ya!" Yoimiya said as she stood up before the leg she landed on earlier buckled, and she collapsed to the floor. Heizou reacted swiftly, grabbing onto her and softening the fall, though he moved his hand when he saw the red spot forming on Yoimiya's arm.

"Easy there. There's no need to rush." Heizou said.

"Ah, sorry." Yoimiya said with a sheepish grin.

Heizou smiled at her before helping her up and wrapping her arm around his shoulders to support her, then turning towards the first entrance, opposite of the way the perpetrators went. Yoimiya glanced at him, then over at the tunnel.

"Hey, they went that way. Why are you going that way? I can wait for a bit to make sure they don't get away." Yoimiya said.

"They won't. Besides, it would be best to get you out of here now." Heizou responded.

"Oh. Thanks." Yoimiya smiled as she walked with Heizou. "You sure act differently than the other doushin. Then again, I guess I already knew that."

"Oh? This seems like another case of my reputation preceding me." Heizou laughed.

"Well, yeah there are stories, but I've also met you before and you were pretty much the same then." Yoimiya said.

"We've met before? I think I would have remembered meeting someone like you." Heizou said, searching his memory. "So it must have been..."

"Yeah, it was during the vision hunt decree. You really don't remember? Wait, does that mean you came looking for me because others asked you? It's so nice of you to listen to others' concerns, although I did think it was because we're friends. Although if you don't remember, I don't know if I should call us friends." Yoimiya rambled, her concussion obviously affecting her. "I also thought it might've been because of what you found out."

"What did I find out?" Heizou asked, while helping Yoimiya sit on the ground on the far side of the tunnel.

"Well, I was- wait, no no no. You told me not to bring it up ever. Besides, it's in the past and neither of us got arrested so it doesn't really matter." Yoimiya said, looking away.

"Arrested?!" Heizou asked, a little shocked. Just as he said that, the blocked exit blew open, the rocks flying through the air and skidding to a stop at Yoimiya's feet. She squeezed her eyes shut as sunlight poured into the cave, blinding her.

"Miss Naganohara! Are you alright?"

Yoimiya opened her eyes a bit and saw several doushin running towards her, one of them with a sledgehammer.

"Uh... well it's nothing too major, thanks to Detective Shikanoin's timely arrival." She said, struggling to adjust to the sudden change of companions. "If he hadn't shown up when he did I'm afraid I would have ended up a lot worse." She said.

"Do you know where he went?" One of the doushin asked.

Yoimiya looked over to where Heizou was, only to see an empty space with nobody around.

"He's probably going to go find them. Uh, my kidnappers. Other than that I don't know. He seemed like he had a plan." Yoimiya said, looking back at the doushin.

"Alright. Uesugi, please take Naganohara back to the police station, get a doctor to check on her." The doushin in front said. "I'll stay here, make sure that they don't escape this way. Daisuke, go and find Shikanoin." The two doushin nodded, and one of them, Uesugi, stepped towards Yoimiya, gently picking her up and leaving the cave.

_____

Heizou turned back into the cave. The others could handle this, but he wanted to see this to the end personally, despite the fact he felt weak and cold, and ready to collapse.

As Heizou crossed the main cavern he could hear the other doushin and Yoimiya talking.

He couldn't help but think back to what she said. What did she mean, 'arrested?' Obviously it was something they shouldn't talk about, but what exactly was it? Or was it just delirium from her concussion?

He shoved the matter to the side and focused on the task at hand. He stood still and listened deeply.

There! To his right he could hear a distant thudding.

He wasted no time, following the sound. As he began moving again his legs protested, tired and stiffening from standing still for a moment too long. Which wasn't very long. He had definetly overused his vision earlier.

He moved regardless, bolting down the tunnel to his right. As he neared the end of the tunnel he slowed, keeping his eyes peeled for anything. The sound was even louder now, and Heizou peered into the small cave. Smooth stone walls made up the entire cave, except for a small portion on the opposite side. Boulders piled high and leaned against each other, covering that section of the wall, seeming to hide something behind it. Sunlight could be seen within the cracks between the boulders.

The two perpetrators were running at the boulders and slamming their full body weight against the rocks, trying to get them to budge, but they didn't even shift.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" The male perpetrator said.

"I know, I know! I'm trying." The female perpetrator said.

"Well try harder! The Cyclones’ in here with us, we need to get out before he finds us." He said.

"Ahem. Maybe you should consider the fact that he already has." Heizou spoke up, leaning against the wall. They whipped around to face him, the panic on their faces was surreal.

"Cyclone! Uh, I mean... Mister Cyclone! Maybe we can just talk this out. There's no need to be hasty." The male perpetrator said in a falsely positive voice, trying to hide the tremor in his voice.

"Agreed. I would much prefer to do this the easy way." Heizou responded.

"So, what can we do for you? Maybe something that will cancel our need to go to jail?" He said timidly.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" Heizou asked.

"No! No no, goodness no. Just, uh, you know, uh..." he stuttered, stumbling as his mouth tried to form words.

"Being reasonable. Negotiating." The female perpetrator jumped in.

"Y-yes, negotiating." The man looked like he was about to wet himself.

"It sounds like a bribe to me." Heizou said.

"No no! Just trying to be civil. Especially to one as illustrious and magnanimous as you." He said. Heizou didn't buy it. They were just trying to stroke his ego to convince him to let them go. Too bad he saw through them.

"Hmm, nice try, but we won't be doing any of that. Now, first of all, I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you."

"O-oh, right. Yeah yeah, here you go." The man said, pulling the pyro vision out. He stepped forwards and placed it in Heizou's outstretched hand. "So, uh, Mister Cyclone... when exactly did you block the exits?" He grumbled before catching himself. "Uh, which is incredibly clever! Of course you would think of that."

Heizou sighed and stood up straight.

"Didn't I say enough of that? How about you make this easier on yourself and confess to your crimes, and we get out of this dark, cold cave?" Heizou said, more of a command than a question.

"Whaaat? What crimes?" The man said, playing dumb. Heizou stayed silent as he stared at the man. "It's um... you know, it turned out fine, so..."

"It turned out fine. Is that right? What about all the harm you caused Miss Naganohara? Or the amount of stress you caused her father, who is already sick."

"He's sick? I only knew he was hard of hearing... uh!" The man squeaked as Heizou sent him a sharp glare. "I mean, I-I uh..." he stuttered. Heizou's expression darkened, and he glared at the perpetrator.

"So you took advantage of that, did you?" Heizou said darkly.

"Woah hey, there's no need to be mad. Objectively speaking, the concussion we gave Miss Naganohara was worse. Ah! Uh oh, that didn't come out like I meant. I mean... uhh..." the man said, backing away. His back hit the boulders and he looked at them, before looking back at the angry Cyclone in front of him. His lips quivered, and there was a slight shake to his hands. He crouched to the ground, covering his head.

"Why don't you tell me the full story, and I'll decide what's worse." Heizou said as he slowly walked up to them.

"You don't understand. It's for our daughter, Ritandan. She just got a vision, and we're not about to let you Tenryou dogs take it from her." The man snarled, dropping the nice guy act.

"The vision hunt decree is over." Heizou said.

"That's a lie! I know it! You're going to wait until you've gained back our trust and strike then, I know it! That's why we wanted Yoimiya. She can make fake visions! I know she can!" The man said.

"Oh, I see what's going on here. You've been steeped in delusion. You really think Miss Naganohara could hide from the Cyclone if she did something like that?" Heizou asked rhetorically.

"Yes-"

"That's enough. I'm taking you in. Both of you." Heizou said, glancing at the woman, standing off to the side.

He looked back at the man cowering in front of him and pulled out a roll of rope from his pocket, using it to tie the man's wrists together. He turned to the woman and was surprised to find a doushin standing in front of her, tying her hands together. He didn't even hear him come in.

The two looked at each other, and without another word the other doushin pulled the woman away, back through the tunnel. Heizou pulled the man to his feet and followed the doushin. They walked through the main cave, and as they walked Heizou saw light pouring in from the tunnel they were walking towards. Not torch light, but something brighter, cleaner. They entered the tunnel and turned the corner. Heizou screwed his eyes shut at the sunlight shining down the tunnel, before slowly opening them. He jumped a little when he found yet another doushin standing right in front of him.

He blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted and realized it was Ammandou standing right in front of him. He silently looked Heizou up and down. Heizou realized he was probably on the pale side, but Ammandou said nothing, only taking the male perpetrator from Heizou and turning and walking back out of the cave, into the sunlight.

Heizou looked over at the other doushin as he began moving towards the exit. He wasn't entirely sure, but he was fairly certain that it was Daisuke, a fairly new guy. One of the newest in the police station, besides Tsukoso. He had always been a sneaky one, so it was no wonder Heizou didn't know he was there.

Daisuke walked out into the sunlight after Ammandou. Heizou did his best to act normal even though his limbs felt very heavy, and he wanted to do nothing but lay down in the warm sun and sleep his problems away... but he could still walk straight, so he was fine for now.

He followed Ammandou and Daisuke. The two perpetrators kept nervously glancing back at him, but he kept quiet, meeting their gaze a few times before they looked away hastily.

As the group walked up the streets of the city, Heizou's feet felt heavy, but he kept going. Soon they were back in the station, and Ammandou and Daisuke pulled the perpetrators inside, presumably to a holding cell to keep them for the time being.

"Doushin Shikanoin, after you have finished with the interrogations, report directly to me and Mr. Thoma." Kujou Sara's voice cut through the air, and Heizou turned towards look at her, Thoma standing beside her. Heizou only nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He said simply as he walked off before they could notice he looked unwell. As he entered the building he eyed one of the chairs in the main foyer. He was tempted to sit down and rest his tired eyes for a moment, but he knew if he sat down he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon.

He kept moving, down the hallways. At one point his legs tried to buckle and he caught himself on the wall, leaning against it awkwardly. He took in a deep breath, steadying himself, before he pushed himself off the wall and continued on to the prison cells.

"Detective Heizou, good to see you." Daisuke said. He was standing on one side of the hallway, obviously keeping guard. There was another doushin on the other side of the hallway. He glanced at Heizou, but stayed silent.

Heizou nodded and walked past them, opening the door to one of the rooms. Inside he found the male perpetrator, sitting in one of the chairs.

A moment later he left the room. He already confessed earlier, so it didn't take long. He and his wife would have the same stories, and Heizou considered skipping her interrogation, but he knew Kujou would be on his case about it, and he really didn't have it in him today. So he sucked in a breath and walked into her room.

Just as he thought, she told the same story. He stepped out of the room and looked around. Now Heizou needed to tell someone to go get their friend, who was actually their daughter. Pian Ritandan. A beautiful name, although it's too bad that her parents would only hear her name and not see Ritandan herself.

As he walked out of the detention center, Ammandou approached him. He walked up to Heizou, stopping a short distance away. It almost looked like he wanted to reach out a hand to Heizou, but he didn't.

"Shikanoin, are you okay?" Ammandou asked.

"Hmm? Of course I am, what makes you think otherwise?" Heizou said, lying through his teeth. The teeth that would be chattering if he let them.

"You look pale." Ammandou said.

"Oh. Interesting. It must be from the cave. Some of the tunnels were quite small, and I've never been a big fan of caves." Heizou said. While it was true, that wasn't the reason he was pale.

"Oh, I see. Still, you don't look so good." Ammandou said. He sighed and looked at Heizou again. "...let me know if you need anything... and maybe you should ask Madam Kujou to send you home for the day."

"Thank you for your concern, but it's ultimatley not needed. Although, our two perpetrators have a daughter, Pian Ritandan. Do you think you could find someone to bring her to the station? She's not in trouble, but a child shouldn't be left alone. She's only 7, afterall." Heizou said.

"Sure, I can take care of that." Ammandou said.

"Thank you." Heizou said.

Heizou watched Ammandou walk away before he walked over to a separate room, one that was in the vicinity but not technically a part of the detention center. It had been a storage room at one point, but it had been remodeled and changed into a 'victim room/ medical room'. Heizou didn't actually know what it was called, but it was where victims of the crimes stayed, the ones who were involved beyond giving a report.

He opened the door to find three people in the room. Of course there was Yoimiya, who was wrapped in a blanket with a warm cup of tea clasped in her hands. She was quiet, and if Heizou had to guess it was most likely because of her concussion. Uesugi stood not far away, looking at Yoimiya with a sorrowful look on his face. The third person was a doctor from the infirmary that the police station had on call. He had just finished his check-up. He looked up at Doushin Shikanoin then looked back to Yoimiya.

"Detective Heizou, you have her vision, yes?"

Heizou nodded and wordlessly walked over to them as he pulled out the pyro vision from his pocket and placed it in Yoimiya's outstretched hand.

As she held it, a small spark seemed to emanate from her vision, and her eyes briefly glowed red before fading back to yellow. She grinned up at Heizou and the doctor immediately got to work, using his own electro vision to heal her. Little sparks of lightning raced across her skin and she shivered slightly.

"Hehe, that tickles. Thank you, I feel much better. And thanks, Detective Heizou for getting my vision back. And rescuing me." Yoimiya said.

"Well I wasn't about to leave you without your vision." Heizou responded.

The doctor stood up and checked on Yoimiya one final time before bidding farewell and stepping out of the room. Heizou looked over at Yoimiya, then over at Uesugi.

"Uesugi, would it be possible for you to step out for a moment?" Heizou asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Uesugi said with a small wave as he slipped out, sliding the door shut behind him.

"Seems like they were taking good care of you." Heizou remarked as he walked over to the wall and leaned against it. He didn't dare sit down.

"Yeah, I'm feeling right as rain and ready to get back to work. How long have I been missing?" Yoimiya asked.

"Less than a day. Which is rather good, one of my personal bests. If I took any longer your father might worry himself sicker." Heizou joked, though he knew it was a half-joke at best.

"Hahaha, is he doing okay?" Yoimiya asked.

"How about we get you out of here so you can go check on him yourself." Heizou said, and Yoimiya nodded eagerly. "But before that I wanted to ask you about what you said in the cave, about the illegal things the two of us did. Would you mind expanding on that at all?"

"Uh... well, like I said before, it's all in the past and it doesn't matter anymore. Is this why you asked Uesugi to leave? This isn't standard, is it, for only the detective to be in the room for interrogations?" Yoimiya asked nervously.

"It is actually, although if there's another doushin in the room it's not uncommon for them to stay for the interrogation. But this isn't an interrogation, and I won't do anything bad. Just think of it as an interview." Heizou said.

"But... don't you need to know what happened in the cave?" Yoimiya asked.

"I already know." Heizou said.

"..."

"..."

"...are you going to tattle about what I did during the vision hunt decree?" Yoimiya said after a moment.

"I see no reason to. Besides, reporting you would also mean reporting myself it seems." Heizou said.

"..." Yoimiya stayed silent.

"I found out you were making fake visions during the vision hunt decree and didn't report it, right?" Heizou asked. After a moment Yoimiya nodded.

"That's not the full story, but yeah, pretty much." Yoimiya said.

"What is the full story?" Heizou prompted.

"Will this stay between us?" Yoimiya asked nervously.

"Yeah." Heizou said.

"...Alright, fine. You did figure out what I was doing. I wasn't making the visions, I was just distributing them to those in need. And I was also providing a safe house for vision holders, hiding them from the Tenryou Commission." She admits. "I would have hidden you too, but I was too late."

Heizou paused, staring at her. He was touched by what she had just said.

"Hey wait, was that whole, "this stays between us" thing just a trick to get me to talk?"

"No, this stays between us." Heizou said, but he was blanking on a response to what Yoimiya said before. They stayed silent for a moment before Heizou spoke again.

"...thank you. I'm glad you were able to help those the Tenryou Commission couldn't." Heizou said as he looked away. A moment passed in silence as he wrestled with his emotions. He cleared his throat and looked back at Yoimiya. "Thank you for your honesty. You're free to leave whenever, immediately if you want, or stay here for a bit longer if you need to rest up. If something doesn't feel right, then feel free to tell a doushin and we'll send for a doctor."

"Alright, thanks. What are you going to do?" Yoimiya asked.

"I'm going to give my report of what happened to Madam Kujou. And Thoma." Heizou said, pushing himself off the wall. His legs had started to stiffen up, and he tried to subtly stretch them without Yoimiya noticing.

"You aren't going to tell them the reason they kidnapped me, right?" Yoimiya asked.

"Hm? That they were wanting you to make them fireworks for their daughter's birthday? I fail to see why that's something I should strike from my report." Heizou said.

"Oh. Alright then. Well, I guess it's time for me to get home and check on my dad. And thank you again Heizou. For the rescue." Heizou nodded and walked out of the room with Yoimiya following.

"Of course. Just don't make it a habit of getting kidnapped." Heizou joked.

"Haha, yeah, I think everyone would like that." Yoimiya agreed.

They continued their smalltalk as they walked through and out of the building, although Yoimiya did most of the talking as Heziou did his best not to nod off.

Heizou suppressed a shiver as they stepped into the warmth of the sun. Yoimiya glanced over at him and he smiled back at her. She was about to ask about the shiver when Thoma jogged up to them.

"Yoimiya! Are you feeling better now?" He called out.

"Thoma! Yeah I am." Yoimiya snapped her head in his direction excitedly.

"I'm glad to hear it. So what happened?" Thoma said.

"Oh, well basically-" she stuttered, unsure of how to respond. "Detective Heizou, why not give your report?"

"I think you're doing just fine." Heizou joked.

"Ha ha. Funny." Yoimiya said, shooting him a glare. He only smiled before he sighed, turning back to Thoma.

"Do you and Madam Kujou want to be in the same place or would you like separate reports?" Heizou asked.

"We can be in the same place." Thoma said as Kujou walked up beside him.

"Pian Takanori and Pian Kauro are our perpetrators, and they kidnapped Naganohara Yoimiya from her attic. The Naganohara's left their window open to air out the house..." Yoimiya stood beside them, listening intently, before something across the courtyard caught her attention.

There was a little girl standing in front of a doushin. She was holding a little stuffed deer and she looked so scared she was about to cry. Yoimiya could see her shoulders go up and down with every deep breath she took, obviously trying to calm herself.

The doushin in front of her seemed like a kind man. He knelt down to her eye level and spoke softly, obviously trying to comfort the little girl. He didn't seem phased by her fear at all.

Yoimiya walked over to them and knelt beside the girl.

"Hey Ritandan." Yoimiya said.

"Yoimiya!" The little girl yelled and flung herself at Yoimiya, who quickly caught her.

"Why are you scared?" Yoimiya asked.

"I don't know who these people are or where my parents are. I haven't seen them in 2 days!" Ritandan cried.

"Two days?!" The doushin repeated, alarmed.

"It's alright Rita. I know you're scared but it's alright." Yoimiya paused. She couldn't tell her that her parents weren't good people. Well, she could, but she doubted that would go well. "Your parents are going away for a bit, on a trip to Mondstadt."

"Like where Mr. Thoma is from?" Ritandan asked.

"Yep. They're going to have a nice time. And these people are good people, they've helped me and they want to help you too." Yoimiya said.

"Really?" Ritandan asked, looking up at Yoimiya.

"Really. There's no need to be scared, little Rita. Why don't you ask him his name?" Yoimiya said, gesturing to the doushin. Ritandan hesitated before shyly turning to the doushin.

"What's your name Mr. Doushin?"

"My name is Owada." He said patiently.

"Oh! You're a yoriki! Sorry, I totally thought you were a doushin." Yoimiya said.

"That's alright, it can be hard to tell. I take no offense." Owada said.

"What's a yoriki?" Ritandan asked.

"A yoriki means I'm in charge of a group of doushin. I keep everyone in line, give them things to do, and am responsible for their safety." Owada said.

"Oh. Like Yoimiya when we go on trips?" Ritandan asked.

"Yeah, it's a lot like that." He said.

"Do you teach them how to fight?" Ritandan asked as she glanced around nervously.

"No, I mainly just test their skills. Recently I've been focusing on checking many doushins situational awareness, would you be interested in helping?"

"I won't have to fight them, will I?" She asked as she shrunk back.

"No, this is about how they see their environment, so there won't be any fighting. I was thinking of checking Shikanoin's awareness of his surroundings. Do you think you would be able to grab his jitte without him noticing and bring it back to me?"

"Oh... uh... maybe? Which one is Shikanoin?"

"He's that one, over there." Owada said, pointing to Heizou. "Do you know what a jitte is?" Owada asked. Ritandan shook her head.

"It's the wooden stick he carries around. Do you see it? Hanging from his obijime."

"The thing by his leg?"

"Mhm."

Ritandan paused, then looked around the area around him before sneaking away. Owada and Yoimiya watched as she snuck away, keeping the stuffed deer close to her. Yoimiya snickered and turned to Owada.

"She's taking this pretty seriously." Yoimiya said.

"Kids love being helpful, and I figured giving her something to do would distract her from being scared." Owada said. They watched her crawl behind Heizou, who still hadn't noticed her.

"So, does she have somewhere to stay? Now that her parents aren't around." Yoimiya asked.

"That's for us at the police station to deal with, you don't need to worry about it. In all honesty we're probably going to send her to live with her grandparents." Owada said, keeping his eyes on Ritandan and Heizou.

"A young child shouldn't be dumped on an elderly couple on short notice, that's just mean. How about she stays the night with me, and we can send her to her grandparents tommorrow?" Yoimiya suggested.

"While you are right about suddenly putting the responsibility of a young child on the grandparents isn't right, I won't-" Owada said but was cut off by a surprised cry.

"What the- hey! Get back here!" They looked back at Ritandan and saw her running towards them with a wide grin on her face, Heizou's jitte in one hand and her stuffed deer in the other. Heizou was halfway across the courtyard, chasing after her. Ritandan turned back and threw her deer plush at him and he made a show of stumbling back as it hit him.

Ritandan raced back to Owada and Yoimiya and hid behind Owada, panting. Heizou caught up to them and tried reaching around Owada to grab her, but she backed up.

"Mr. Yor...wada? What did he score?" Ritandan said, looking up at him.

"Score?" Heizou said in confusion.

"A solid 3 out of 10. Looks like it's more training for him." Owada said, responding to his butchered name.

"Man alive..." Heizou muttered, loudly enough for Ritandan to hear. She giggled and walked up to him.

"Um, Mister Shikanoin? Can I have my deer back?" She asked, looking at the stuffed animal in his hand.

"Hmm, how about a trade. Your deer for my jitte."

"Okay." She said and held out the wooden jitte. Heizou grabbed it and returned the stuffed animal to her and he spun the jitte before putting it back in place.

The sun was setting as Kujou and Thoma walked up to the group. Several doushin left the station, no longer in uniform, as more arrived, obviously a shift change. Many doushin stay where they are, standing guard or doing some other task.

"Where will Ritandan be staying tonight?" Kujou Sara asked.

"She'll-"

"She'll be staying with me." Yoimiya interrupted. Owada looked at her.

"Actually-"

"You're right, she's technically staying with me and my dad." Yoimiya said, interrupting Owada again.

"I'm staying with Yoimiya tonight!?"

"Yeah! It'll be like a slumber party, it'll be so much fun." Yoimiya smiled. Ritandan squealed and ran over to Yoimiya. Kujou Sara looked between Owada and Yoimiya, looking uncomfortable, while Thoma stifled his laughter. Heizou only held up his hands in surrender. He wasn't about to interrupt.

After a moment Owada sighed.

"I'm not one to shirk my duty, but if you truly want to, then I won't stop you." Owada said with a tone of resignation. The two girls smiled at each other. "This is only for tonight, you'll be going to live with your grandparents tommorrow." Owada said, directly addressing Ritandan.

"Granny Hayami?" Ritandan said, lighting up with excitement.

"Yeah! I'll help you pack! Anyway, we shouldn't take up too much of their time. Are you ready to go? First up, sleepover!" Yoimiya said.

"Yeah, come on, come on!" Ritandan said, grabbing Yoimiya's hand and pulling her out of the station and down the street. The four watched the two girls leave, then turned back to each other.

"Guess that's my cue to leave as well." Thoma said. "It was most pleasant being here today. Other than the slight curfuffle obviously. Thank you for your hospitality today. I'll see you around." Thoma said as he left with a wave.

"Alright. Guess that's all sorted then. In that case, I'm going home." Heizou said, walking towards the gate. Kujou Sara watched him as he walked away. She was about to stop him, but she couldn't help but remember how he kept stumbling over his words during his report, and how pale he looked.

"Be sure to rest, Shikanoin. And make sure to eat something warm." Kujou said. Heizou froze before smiling and continued on his way, happy that she cared.