Seeking Hope

Late afternoon came far sooner than Yori wished. The drive certainly chewed up a lot of time. But they arrived at the building. Had this been a crime scene with the police, it might have been blocked off, and there'd have been gawkers. Yet, it was empty except for one other car. Nothing dared approach the city block, as if everybody knew something was amiss. It was something simpler. Talismans, placed all around the building.

Yori was just grateful that there wouldn’t be any innocents mistakenly entering. He could hear four agents inside. Perhaps more if they were on the far side. But that was enough. Miho joined him as he opened the main door.

It was a little strange going in the front door as it were. After last night, it almost felt like something of a mockery just walking in. They left walls torched, charred and disintegrated from the fight. But from initial scans, there wasn’t even a sign of an intrusion. If anything, it looked too clean, which was a message in itself.

They marched in silence as if they both agreed on their destination. Through passageways repaired and polished, they reached the warehouse where they were captured and interrogated. Nothing that was left of Miho’s fiery battle with the Cu Sith remained. They removed any sort of evidence. Only crates and boxes remained.

Two agents knelt over one of the shelves. One picked up their not-so-subtle approach and pivoted a little on their feet. “They did quite the thorough job. You must have had quite the shoot-out here.”

“I feel mana everywhere,” Miho replied.

“Yes, ma’am. Usual procedure where the syndicates are involved. They may not care about showing off in a fight, but they still keep the secret like everyone else.”

“A lot of reconstruction spells. I can’t sense anythin’, but the leftover mana.”

Yori nodded, already expecting as much. “It’s like a sanitized hospital room.”

“How ye plannin’ to find anythin’ then?”

“Through good ole fashion detective work.”

“I’m not a detective.”

“Learning new skills is what being young is all about.”

She crossed her arms, looking over at him, not amused. “We aren’t that young. But fine. I can look around.” With a bit of a terse turn, she marched off to another corner of the warehouse.

He caught the two agents staring. Though it was more a little bit of fear and awe than anything else. And then he remembered that she didn’t have her jacket, so she must’ve appeared like a yakuza to them, with the density and bold tattoos over her body. He cleared his throat signaling them to return to work.

As much as he wanted to tease Miho about lacking investigative skills, he couldn't do too much. It’d come off as hypocritical. Though it appeared he had more experience inspecting than her. He certainly was no cop. Tracking sorcerers always proved difficult and involved more luck at times than skill.

Following their fight, he traced the halls. Without any signs of the conflict, it was difficult to recall the exact events. But he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary so far. The floors and walls remained just as spotless as anywhere else. He hated how effortless it was for magic to ruin a crime scene.

Up the stairs, he recalled the two guards he knocked out. In the office, they were naturally gone. He didn’t hold hope for them. But he still looked around the floor for anything that might have fallen while he dragged them out.

Yori didn’t see anything immediately. It felt like the room was laughing at him. Or more accurately, that fancy sorcerer who saw himself above everyone. Definitely mocking him, knowing that any sort of justice was out of reach. Like with all of them, they just painted over everything sparkling clean and disappeared.

Crouching down, he glanced over the room. Ryota entered his mind, along with the others. There were more dragged into this world; people he failed. The time he had left, before it was too late, was increasingly shrinking. He couldn’t be anyone’s Guardian. They always made his efforts worthless. His hand tightened up.

He leaned over, noticing something under one of the shelving units. There was barely enough room for his hand to fit under. And if it wasn’t for the light hitting just right, he might not have ever seen it. It might have just been leftover trash from whomever worked in the building, but he walked over regardless.

With a little bit of effort, he gripped the bottom and lifted up. The shelf groaned loudly, ready to snap apart, but he didn’t waste time. Immediately, Yori snatched up the paper he found and put the shelf down now with a very unhealthy-looking bow.

Under the light, he turned the paper over and back to see if there was anything unique about it. Rubbing his finger over it just felt like stock business card print. It could have just been left by one of the employees. And yet, looking at the business, it was for a clothing store in Toshima. That put it nearly an hour’s drive away, assuming light traffic. “Not much of a clue, if at all.”

Yori couldn’t be certain about any of it. It would have to be a front if it were connected, which meant that they may not learn anything. But it was also the only piece he had. Assuming it was connected at all. A final search of every shadowed hole in the room confirmed there was nothing else. Clean as a whistle, just like everywhere else. The business card turned in his hand as he considered it.

Eventually, he opted to just return to the storehouse. There were still other places he might look on the off chance that something was discovered, but they may have found something. He saw only Miho in the room. The two agents he picked up were further away in another part of the building. “Find anything?”

A disgruntled puff of air came out of her as she rejoined him. The darkish circles around her eyes told him enough without an answer. “What about ye?”

“Maybe.” He presented the card he found between two of his fingers. “Could be nothing, could be a place to check.”

Miho came over to look at the card as he handed it over. “A clothing store. Not a name I know.”

“Me either, but we can have the analysts back at HQ run it. Not going to find your people there, but could learn something.”

“I do need a new jacket.”

“Glad we’re thinking the same thing. Worst that happens, you won’t get frightened stares.” Yori picked the card back and followed his ears to the agents. A win would be welcome after last night. He just had to hope.