Purgatory of the Blue Flame: And I Wonder

Morning sunlight reflected off the canals of Vallcera, scattering pale gold across the undersides of bridges and the stone walls lining the water. 

The city had been awake long before Tatsuchi Kuroainaru left the hotel. Delivery boats moved between the districts, their engines humming beneath the constant noise of traffic, while shopkeepers raised their shutters and dragged crates onto the pavements. Colorful awnings stretched over narrow storefronts, offering patches of shade to pedestrians already navigating the growing crowds.

Tatsuchi walked along the canal with a folded map in one hand and the other resting near the opening of her jacket. She'd bought her phone from a street vendor earlier that morning, mostly because she'd grown tired of relying on Zhenyu's sense of direction. The paper was creased in several places, and some of the smaller streets had been reduced to thin lines with names barely large enough to read. Still, it was better than nothing.

She'd already memorized the route back to their hotel and the larger roads connecting the districts they'd passed through. It was a small thing, but after everything that had happened in Harpyra, she wanted to know where she was going before she found herself in trouble. Wandering through an unfamiliar city without a clear destination had never been her idea of a productive day. She'd learned that lesson the hard way.

Ahead of her, Zhenyu Mori stepped sideways to avoid a delivery worker carrying a stack of wooden crates. The worker barely acknowledged him, continuing down the street while shouting something toward a man waiting beside a parked truck. Zhenyu glanced after him, then resumed walking with his hands tucked into his pockets.

"How many streets have we walked down so far?" he asked.

Tatsuchi checked her phone. "Seven."

"Seven?"

"Eight, if you count the one you made us walk down twice."

Zhenyu turned around while walking backward, his expression offended. "That street looked different the second time."

"It had the same restaurant on the corner."

"Lots of restaurants look alike."

"The sign had a giant fish on it."

"Maybe the fish moved."

Asumi Yamikumei walked beside Tatsuchi, her visible eye following Zhenyu as he turned forward just in time to avoid colliding with a woman carrying a basket of laundry. She'd been quiet since they left the hotel, though Tatsuchi had caught her glancing over every so often. Asumi usually noticed things without drawing attention to herself. It was one of the few habits Tatsuchi appreciated without feeling the need to comment on it.

The street narrowed as they continued along the canal. Buildings crowded together overhead, their upper floors connected by narrow bridges and balconies lined with potted plants. Pipes ran down the sides of old brick walls, disappearing beneath metal grates at street level. Every few minutes, a boat passed beneath one of the stone archways, its wake nudging against the canal walls while pedestrians stepped around puddles and discarded packaging.

Vallcera was busy without being particularly orderly. Vendors argued over prices, drivers leaned on their horns when carts blocked the road, and people shouted greetings across the street without bothering to lower their voices. A raised argument outside a bakery drew a few curious glances before everyone returned to whatever they'd been doing.


The noise should've made it difficult to concentrate, but Tatsuchi barely noticed it anymore. Her attention had settled on something else.

People kept looking at them.

It started outside a clothing store, where a woman arranging shirts beneath a striped awning glanced up and froze when Tatsuchi passed. The woman leaned toward her companion and whispered something while continuing to stare. Her companion looked at Tatsuchi, then at the other two, before quickly returning to the shirts.

Tatsuchi kept walking.

A few streets later, two young men standing beside a food stall stopped talking when Zhenyu passed them. One nudged the other and pointed subtly toward Tatsuchi. She caught the word bounty before the surrounding noise swallowed the rest of their conversation.

Neither man approached them. Neither made any attempt to hide what they were doing, either.

Tatsuchi slowed near an intersection, allowing a group of pedestrians to pass before looking back toward the stall. The men had already resumed their conversation. One of them was showing the other something on his phone, and both were laughing about it.

She didn't like that.

Their faces were too relaxed. The conversation had been too casual. It wasn't the first time she'd heard strangers discussing the Revolutionary Army since arriving in Vallcera, but the ease with which people spoke about it still bothered her. In Phoenixis, information about the organization had been difficult to obtain. The official reports she'd seen were either incomplete, outdated, or so carefully worded that they offered little beyond whatever the government wanted people to believe.

Here, people discussed commanders, attacks, and possible movements while standing in line for lunch.

"You're doing that thing again," Zhenyu said.

Tatsuchi turned toward him. He'd stopped beside a street sign, apparently deciding he'd waited long enough for her to catch up.

"What thing?"

"The thing where you stare at somebody until they either leave or start wondering if you've got a problem with them." He tilted his head toward the food stall. Tatsuchi folded her phone and slipped it into her pocket. "I'm trying to figure out why everyone here seems so comfortable discussing the Revolutionary Army in public." Zhenyu shrugged. "Maybe they've got better things to worry about than whether the government approves of their conversations."

"That's not an answer."

"It's an answer. Just not one you like."

He turned and started walking again, leaving Tatsuchi to decide whether she wanted to keep arguing with him or risk losing him in the crowd. Asumi fell into step beside her, glancing briefly toward the men at the food stall before looking ahead.

Tatsuchi followed.

She understood that people in Vallcera had their own problems. The city was crowded, the roads were constantly congested, and the canals carried everything from fresh produce to industrial supplies. People had jobs to do and bills to pay. They couldn't spend every waking hour worrying about the World Government or the Revolutionary Army.

But that didn't mean the situation made sense.

She remembered the residents of Harpyra hiding behind an indestructible barrier, afraid to leave their homes even when their city needed help. She remembered the authorities telling her group to leave rather than properly address the situation. Whatever information the government had been withholding, it hadn't made those people feel safe.

If anything, it had left them helpless.

"Tatsuchi," Asumi said quietly.

She looked over. "What?"

"Do you think someone's following us?"

Tatsuchi glanced back.

The street was crowded enough that anyone could've been keeping pace with them. A man in a gray coat walked past a newspaper stand. Two women carried shopping bags beneath the awnings. A delivery driver argued with a shopkeeper beside a parked van. None of them looked particularly suspicious, though that didn't mean much.

"I don't know," Tatsuchi admitted.

Asumi studied her face. "You've noticed something."

"I've noticed people recognizing us. That's not the same thing."

Their bounties were public. Anyone who followed the news could recognize them, especially if they'd seen a recent photograph. It didn't necessarily mean someone intended to approach them, and Tatsuchi wasn't going to start treating every curious stranger as a potential enemy.

Still, she checked the people behind them once more before turning onto a broader street lined with restaurants and small bars.

The smell of fried meat and spices drifted through the open doorways, mixing with the damp scent rising from the canal. A restaurant owner stood outside one entrance, calling out a lunch special to passing pedestrians. Nearby, a worker carried trays of fresh bread from a delivery van while a pair of children chased each other between the tables set beneath a green awning.

Zhenyu stopped in front of a stall selling skewered meat.

Tatsuchi stared at him. "Seriously?"

"I'm hungry."

"We ate breakfast, like, an hour ago."

"That was breakfast. This is lunch."
"The second sun isn't even past the horizon. It's not even second afternoon."

"Then it's early lunch. I don't care, I'm hungry."

He leaned toward the stall, studying the selection with the concentration of someone making a decision that would affect the rest of his life. The vendor, a broad-shouldered woman with a stained apron, waited patiently while Zhenyu considered the difference between two sauces.

Tatsuchi folded her arms and stood beside him. Asumi leaned against a nearby railing, watching a boatman unload crates onto the pavement.

"You know we came here to find someone, right?" Tatsuchi asked.

"And I know people get more talkative when they're eating."

"Do they?"

"Absolutely."

The vendor handed him an onion teriyaki beef skewer.

Zhenyu took it, paid, and immediately asked for another four more. Tatsuchi closed her eyes for a moment. Behind them, two customers were having a disagreement over the Revolutionary Army. The first man, who wore a dark business jacket and carried a leather briefcase, insisted the government had been lying about the number of commanders operating throughout the world. His companion, a thinner man with a red scarf, dismissed the accusation with an irritated shake of his head.

"The authorities have their reasons for keeping certain things classified," the second man said. "You can't just tell everyone everything and expect the world to carry on as usual."

The first man let out a humorless laugh. "That's convenient. They get to decide what we know, and we're supposed to thank them for it."

Tatsuchi turned slightly, pretending to study the menu while listening.

The man in the red scarf lowered his voice, though not enough to stop the conversation from carrying across the stall. He explained that cities like Phoenixis were heavily controlled for a reason. If the World Government publicly revealed the true scale of the Revolutionary Army, the resulting panic could destabilize entire populations. People who already distrusted the authorities might stop cooperating with them. Regions with a history of resisting outside control could see the revelations as an opportunity to revolt.

He specifically mentioned Rocspirit and Stratusa.

"Do you have any idea what would happen if those places decided the government couldn't protect them anymore?" the man asked. "They'd start fighting each other before the Revolutionaries even arrived."

"Maybe they'd have a reason to fight," his companion replied. "Maybe they've been waiting for someone to admit how bad things really are."

"Knowing the truth and being prepared to deal with it aren't the same thing."

The first man opened his mouth to respond, but his companion had already turned away. He paid for his food and walked toward the canal, leaving the man in the red scarf standing beside the stall with an annoyed expression.

Tatsuchi's fingers tightened around her folded arms.


She understood the argument. If people believed the World Government couldn't protect them, some would panic, some would rebel, and others might turn to the Revolutionary Army because they'd see it as their only alternative. A government couldn't ignore the consequences of revealing sensitive information simply because people demanded it.

But that didn't explain who got to decide how much truth everyone else could handle.

The problem wasn't that the government kept certain details private. Every organization had information it couldn't share with everyone. The problem was that Tatsuchi had already seen what happened when control became more important than the people it was supposed to protect.

Phoenixis had been full of missing information. Harpyra had been full of people too frightened to help themselves. The authorities had treated both situations as problems to contain rather than problems to solve.

Maybe Vallcera's openness wasn't a sign that the city was less threatened by the Revolutionary Army. Maybe the people here had simply learned to live with a level of instability that other places tried to hide.

Zhenyu returned from the stall carrying two skewers.

He held one out to her. "Here."

Tatsuchi looked at the food, then at him.

"What?"

"You've been standing here glaring at the menu for five minutes. I figured you'd want something."

"I wasn't glaring at the menu."

"Then you were glaring at the people standing behind us."

She took the skewer from him. "You talk too much."

"That's funny. People usually say I don't talk enough."

"Who?"

"People."

"Name one."

Zhenyu bit into his food instead of answering.

Asumi pushed herself away from the railing and accepted the other skewer he offered her. Her eye moved between them, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly before she turned toward the intersection ahead.

Several narrow streets converged around a small public square. An enormous tree grew beside the canal, its branches spreading over a collection of benches and outdoor tables. Vendors had arranged their goods along the edges of the square, selling everything from handmade jewelry to cheap electronic accessories. People gathered beneath the tree to eat lunch, exchange news, or escape the sun.

Tatsuchi noticed the noticeboard as they crossed the square.

It stood beside a public information terminal, its wooden frame weathered by years of rain. Layers of paper covered almost every available inch. Public announcements and missing-person notices competed for space with advertisements, handwritten messages, and bounty posters. Some of the older papers had been torn down or covered with newer postings, leaving scraps of names and photographs visible beneath the edges.

Tatsuchi slowed.

Her own face stared back at her from a poster near the center.

The photograph wasn't particularly flattering. Her hair had been pulled back, but several loose strands framed her face, and her expression made her look considerably more irritated than she remembered being. The bounty amount had been printed beneath her name in bold lettering, accompanied by a brief description of her known abilities and affiliations.

Zhenyu leaned over her shoulder to inspect it.

"That's terrible."

Tatsuchi glanced at him. "What is?"

"They got your face wrong."

"That's what you're worried about?"

"Look at mine."

He moved along the board until he found his own poster. Someone had captured his expression at an awkward angle, making him look as if he'd just smelled something unpleasant. Zhenyu stared at it for several seconds before pointing at the photograph.

"See? They didn't even get my good side."

"You have a good side?"

He looked at her. "You know, I was going to offer you some of my food."

"You already gave me one."

"And now I'm reconsidering it."
Tatsuchi reached toward the poster as if she were going to pull it down, but Zhenyu caught her wrist before she could touch the paper. She gave him a warning look, and he released her with a grin.

"Relax. You'll wrinkle it."

"That's the point."

Asumi stepped closer, her gaze moving across the noticeboard. She didn't seem particularly interested in either bounty poster. Instead, she was reading a missing-person notice pinned near the bottom, where someone had written a phone number in thick black ink.

After a moment, she looked toward a narrow street leading away from the square.

"Should we keep moving?" she asked.

Tatsuchi nodded.

She studied her own photograph for another second before turning away. She'd known her bounty would follow her wherever she went, but seeing it displayed among missing people and wanted criminals made the whole thing feel different. The city had been given a price and a description, and now anyone who recognized her could decide what kind of person she was before she'd even opened her mouth.

She pulled her jacket into place and followed the others out of the square.

For the next hour, they moved through Vallcera's commercial district, stopping whenever they found a shopkeeper or passerby who seemed likely to know something about Kairos. The answers varied, though none were particularly useful. Some people had never heard the name. Others claimed he'd left the city years ago. A few became noticeably less talkative when Tatsuchi mentioned his former affiliation with the Revolutionary Army.

At a small electronics shop, the owner looked up from the device he was repairing and asked Tatsuchi to repeat the name.

"Kairos," she said. "He used to be affiliated with the Revolutionary Army. We're trying to find out whether he's still in Vallcera."

The shopkeeper's expression changed almost immediately. He glanced toward the entrance, where a customer was browsing a display of phone chargers, then lowered his eyes to the device in his hands.

"Can't help you."

"You haven't even thought about it."

"I don't need to."

Tatsuchi rested one hand against the counter. "We're not asking you to get involved in anything. We just want to know whether you've heard of him."

"And I'm telling you I can't help."

He turned back to his work, making it clear the conversation was over.

Outside, Zhenyu looked through the window at the shopkeeper before turning toward Tatsuchi.

"That went well."

"Shut up."

"I thought you were being very polite."

"Zhenyu."

He raised both hands and walked ahead.

At the next intersection, they stopped a man who'd been unloading boxes from the back of a delivery truck. He listened to their question while balancing a crate against his hip, then pointed them toward a restaurant several blocks away. He couldn't promise the owner would know anything, but he said the man had connections with people who operated in the western districts.

It was the first useful suggestion they'd received all morning.

They thanked him and continued along the street.

The restaurant turned out to be a narrow building squeezed between a pharmacy and a small apartment block. Its windows were open to the street, and the smell of cooked vegetables drifted through the entrance. A woman behind the counter listened to their question while wiping her hands on a towel.

When Tatsuchi mentioned Kairos, the woman's movements slowed.

"Who told you to ask me about him?"

"A man unloading a delivery truck."

"Which man?"

Tatsuchi described him.

The woman shook her head. "You should stop asking questions in the middle of the street if you want to avoid attracting attention."

She turned away before Tatsuchi could respond, calling to someone in the kitchen to bring out another tray of food.

Outside, Tatsuchi stood beside the entrance for a moment, watching people pass.

"That's the second person who's reacted like that," Asumi said.

"Third," Zhenyu corrected. "The electronics guy practically wanted to throw us out."

"He didn't know anything," Tatsuchi replied.

"Maybe. Or maybe he knew exactly who you were asking about."

Tatsuchi looked back toward the restaurant. Through the open window, the woman behind the counter was speaking to a customer while occasionally glancing toward the street.

She couldn't tell whether the woman was worried about Kairos, the Revolutionary Army, or the fact that three wanted people had walked into her business asking questions. Any of those explanations seemed possible.

Still, the warning stuck with her.

She'd expected Vallcera's residents to be more willing to discuss the Revolutionaries, given how openly the subject came up in everyday conversation. Instead, she was beginning to realize there was a difference between talking about the organization and talking about people who'd once belonged to it.

The former was common enough. The latter could make a conversation die almost instantly.

They continued through the district, stopping at a small grocery store, a repair shop, and a roadside café. Each time, Tatsuchi kept her questions brief. She asked whether anyone had heard of Kairos, whether he'd been seen recently, and whether there was somewhere else she should try. Most people had nothing to offer. Those who seemed to recognize the name avoided giving her anything concrete.

By early afternoon, Zhenyu had begun complaining about the amount of walking they'd done without finding anything useful.

He stopped beside a low stone railing overlooking one of the smaller canals and rested his hands on his hips. A boat passed beneath the nearby bridge, its engine humming as the boatman leaned forward to adjust a rope tied around a stack of crates. "How much longer are we doing this?" Zhenyu asked. Tatsuchi unfolded her phone again. "Until we find something."

"We've found multiple things."

"None of them have helped."

"We found a restaurant that smelled incredible."

"You didn't even eat there."

"I was gathering information."

"You bought a pastry."

"Information costs money." Asumi leaned against the railing, tracing one finger over the uneven stone surface. Her attention followed the boat until it disappeared beneath another archway."Maybe we should try a different approach," she said..Tatsuchi glanced up from her phone. "Such as?"

"Someone who knows the city better. A local guide, maybe. Or somebody who deals with people coming and going through the districts.".Zhenyu nodded. "We could also ask someone who isn't trying to hide the fact that they don't want to talk to us."

"That narrows it down to almost nobody," Tatsuchi said.

"Then we're making progress.".She ignored him and looked back at her phone..The streets they'd covered were marked with small folds and creases, the paper already showing signs of being carried around all morning. They still needed information about Kairos, and she didn't intend to spend the entire day wandering from one unhelpful stranger to another. If they couldn't find someone who knew where he was, they'd need another approach.

She considered asking the local authorities, but the idea didn't sit well with her. The same government that had been withholding information about the Revolutionary Army might not be particularly helpful when asked about one of its former members. She could try to find someone in the underworld, though that would mean dealing with people whose motives she couldn't easily predict.

For now, she wanted to find someone familiar with the city's criminal circles without making it obvious that they were investigating them. "Let's try the western side of this district," she decided, tapping her phone. "There are a few bars and small businesses near the canal. We can ask around there, then return to the hotel if we still haven't found anything." Zhenyu looked at the map on Tatsuchi's phone. "You know, we could've started with the bars."

"We didn't know where they were."

"We could've looked."

"That's what we've been doing all day.""Exactly. So I'm saying we should've done the thing we're doing now earlier." Tatsuchi put her phone in her pocket before she could say something she'd regret. She was also starting to notice that the people who react most strongly to Kairos's name aren't necessarily the people who know the most about the Revolutionary Army. They're the people who seem worried about who might hear them talking. Asumi pushed herself away from the railing and followed as Tatsuchi turned toward a narrow lane running between two rows of buildings.


The lane was quieter than the surrounding streets. Water dripped from a pipe above a repair shop, striking the pavement in a steady rhythm. A bicycle leaned against a metal shutter, and a stack of empty crates had been pushed beneath a small window. The canal ran parallel to the lane, separated from the pavement by a low stone wall.They passed a closed storefront and a narrow building with a faded sign hanging above the entrance. At the end of the lane, tucked between a repair shop and another business whose shutters remained closed, stood a small bar.

Its sign hung crookedly above the door. The windows were dark enough that Tatsuchi couldn't see much of the interior until she stepped closer, though she could make out the faint movement of someone behind the counter.Zhenyu peered through the glass. "Looks welcoming."
"It looks like a bar," Asumi replied.

"Some bars have personality."

"And this one?"

"Hard to say. We haven't met it yet." Tatsuchi opened the door before he could come up with another comment.A small bell rang above them as they entered. The bar smelled of old wood, spilled drinks, and damp air drifting in from the canal. A few customers sat at separate tables, speaking quietly over their drinks, while an old ceiling fan turned above the counter. The furniture had been polished by years of use, and the floorboards creaked beneath their steps.

The bartender was wiping down a glass when they came in. He glanced at Tatsuchi, then at Zhenyu and Asumi, before returning to his work. Nobody greeted them. Zhenyu immediately headed toward a table near the window and dropped into a chair, stretching his legs beneath it. Asumi followed him, taking the seat opposite and resting her forearms on the table. Tatsuchi remained near the entrance for a moment, looking around the room before approaching the counter.

The customers weren't paying much attention to them, though she couldn't tell whether that was genuine disinterest or a deliberate effort to avoid looking. A man near the far wall was reading something on his phone. Two others sat close to the window, speaking in low voices while a half-finished meal cooled between them.

Tatsuchi stopped at the counter. "Can I ask you something?" The bartender set the glass down. He was an older man with graying hair and a narrow face, dressed in a plain shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked at her for a moment before reaching for a clean cloth.

"Depends on what it is." "I'm looking for someone named Kairos Feuerhai. He used to be affiliated with the Revolutionary Army. Have you heard anything about where he might be?"The bartender continued wiping the glass. His expression didn't change, but his eyes briefly moved toward the other customers. "Can't say I have." Tatsuchi waited. He placed the glass on a shelf and picked up another. "You might have better luck asking around the western districts," he added. "There are people there who know more about who's coming and going." "Do you know anyone specific?"

"Not anyone who'd appreciate me sending strangers to their door." "Then could you tell me where to start?” The bartender gave her a few vague directions, mentioning a stretch of businesses near the western canal and a street where people sometimes gathered after dark. He didn't offer any names, and his reluctance was becoming increasingly obvious. Tatsuchi thanked him and started to turn away, assuming the conversation was over.Then the bartender spoke again, quieter this time. "A man like you came through here once."

She stopped with one hand resting against the edge of the counter.For a moment, she thought he might be referring to someone with a similar bounty or someone who'd also been asking about the Revolutionary Army. She turned back toward him. "What do you mean?" The bartender studied her face. His gaze lingered on her eyes, and something in his expression shifted as though he'd only just recognized a detail he'd been trying to remember. "He had eyes like yours," he said. "Same color. Same way of carrying himself, too. Walked around like the world owed him an apology." Tatsuchi straightened slightly. The noise from the ceiling fan seemed louder for a moment, its blades turning above the counter with a dry, uneven rattle. She could hear Zhenyu shifting in his chair behind her, but she didn't look away from the bartender."When did he come through here?"The man glanced toward the ceiling, thinking.
"Hard to say. It wasn't yesterday, if that's what you're asking. Could've been a few weeks ago. Maybe longer." "Was he alone?" "Far as I remember." "What did he look like?" The bartender frowned. "I just told you. Purple eyes. Carried himself like he owned the place, even though he barely said a word to anyone."
"Hair color?"
He considered the question.
"Light. White, maybe. I remember thinking it was unusual, but plenty of people have unusual hair around here."Tatsuchi's fingers curled against the edge of the counter. 

White hair. Purple eyes.

It wasn't enough to identify someone with certainty, but the combination narrowed the possibilities considerably.

"Did he give you his name?"

"No."

"Did he mention anyone he was looking for?"

The bartender shook his head. "He came in, ordered a drink, and kept to himself. Didn't ask me for directions or start telling me his life story. I don't know what he wanted."

"How long did he stay?"

"Not long enough for me to remember what he drank."

Tatsuchi looked down briefly, gathering her thoughts before asking the question that had begun to form in the back of her mind.

"Are you sure he was related to me?"The bartender leaned back slightly. "I didn't say I was sure."

"You said he was like me."

"I said he reminded me of you." He wiped his hands on the cloth and looked at her again. "There's a difference. The resemblance wasn't exact. But the way he stood, the way he looked at people, the expression on his face when someone spoke to him... I saw you walk through that door, and I remembered him."

Tatsuchi had no immediate response.She'd come to Vallcera searching for Kairos, expecting to spend days following rumors about a man who might not even be in the city anymore. She hadn't expected to hear anything about Ichirou. She hadn't expected anyone to describe a stranger with the same eyes as hers, much less someone who'd appeared to have the same irritating sense of superiority.

The description of purple eyes could fit her twin. It could also fit anyone else from the Kuroainaru clan. She didn't have enough information to make a conclusion, and she knew better than to let a vague resemblance turn into certainty. Still, the possibility settled in her mind with an uncomfortable weight."Did he leave through the front door?" she asked. The bartender gave her a puzzled look. "I assume so. Why?""Did you see which direction he went?"

"No. I was busy."

Tatsuchi nodded slowly. She wanted to ask more questions, but the bartender had already returned to wiping down the counter. He'd told her everything he remembered, and pushing him for details he didn't have wouldn't change that."Thank you," she said. The words came out more quietly than she'd intended.She turned away from the counter and moved carefully between the tables. Zhenyu had stopped eating and was watching her approach, his usual amused expression replaced by a more attentive look. Asumi sat a little straighter when Tatsuchi pulled out the chair beside them.

"Did you find anything?" Zhenyu asked.Tatsuchi sat down and rested one hand on the table. Her other hand remained tucked beneath it, fingers curled against her palm.

"The bartender remembers someone who came through here a while ago.""Someone who knows Kairos?"

"Not necessarily."

She paused, glancing toward the counter. The bartender was speaking to one of the customers now, his attention apparently returned to the ordinary business of running the bar. "He had purple eyes," she continued. "White hair, apparently. The bartender said he carried himself like me." Asumi's visible eye narrowed slightly. "Could it have been Ichirou?" Tatsuchi didn't answer immediately. She looked down at the grain of the wooden table, following one of its uneven lines with her fingertip. She could remember Ichirou as a child, the way he'd walked into rooms as if everyone inside had been waiting for him to arrive. He'd always been confident, sometimes to the point of being unbearable. Their father had encouraged that confidence in both of them, though Tatsuchi had never been particularly good at hiding her irritation when it turned into arrogance.

But she hadn't seen Ichirou in years.She didn't know what he'd become, who he'd met, or what he'd done during the time they'd been apart. The person she remembered might have little in common with the man he'd become. "The description could fit him," she said at last. "But it could fit someone else, too."Zhenyu leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Do you want to look for him?"

"I want to know whether he was here.""That sounds like looking for him.""It sounds like making sure we aren't chasing the wrong person." Zhenyu nodded, accepting the distinction even if he didn't seem particularly convinced by it. Asumi glanced toward the window, where sunlight reflected off the canal and shifted across the glass as a boat passed beneath the bridge. "If he was here a few weeks ago, somebody might remember seeing him leave," she said. "We could ask the businesses nearby."Tatsuchi considered it. She didn't want to chase a possibility without a direction, but she also didn't want to ignore the only lead they'd found all afternoon. If Ichirou had been moving through Vallcera, there was a chance he knew something about Kairos or the Revolutionary Army. Even if he didn't, finding him might answer questions Tatsuchi had been carrying for years."Let's ask around before we go back," she decided. "We can start with the businesses the bartender mentioned. If we don't find anything, we'll return to the hotel."

Zhenyu pushed himself away from the table and stood. "Great. More walking."

"You could stay here."

"And miss the chance to watch you interrogate shopkeepers? Never."Tatsuchi rose and gave him a flat look. He grinned and moved toward the door before she could respond. Asumi followed, pausing long enough to thank the bartender on their way out. The older man acknowledged her with a brief nod but didn't offer anything else. Outside, the afternoon sun had begun to slip behind the taller buildings, leaving the canal in alternating bands of light and shadow. The streets were still crowded, though the lunchtime rush had eased. Workers carried boxes into storefronts, and several restaurants had begun setting up tables for the evening.They spent another hour visiting nearby businesses. A shopkeeper selling secondhand electronics remembered seeing a white-haired man near the canal but couldn't say when. A woman who operated a small café thought the stranger might've been staying in one of the hotels farther west, though she admitted she'd seen several people with white hair over the past month.At a repair shop, the owner listened to their description and shook his head before they'd finished speaking."Don't know him."

"You're sure?" Tatsuchi asked.

"I'm sure I don't know him." The man turned back to his workbench, where a disassembled motor lay beside a row of tools. The conversation was over.By the time they reached the next street, Zhenyu had stopped pretending to enjoy the search.

"We've asked half the district," he said. 

"Nobody knows anything useful."

"Somebody remembered seeing him.""Somebody remembered seeing a white-haired man. That's not the same thing."
"I know."
"Then why are we still doing this?" Tatsuchi adjusted the collar of her jacket. "Because we don't have anything better to go on."
Zhenyu glanced at her, apparently considering whether to argue. In the end, he let out a breath and looked ahead."Fine. But if the next person tells us they saw a white-haired man some months ago, I'm going back to the hotel."

"You can do that."

"You say that now.”

Asumi walked between them, her attention moving across the storefronts. "We should head back soon anyway. It'll be dark before long." Tatsuchi checked the sky through the narrow gap between the buildings. The light had turned warmer, and the shadows stretching across the pavement had grown longer. The lamps along the canal were beginning to flicker on, one after another, casting pale reflections across the water.She folded her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

"We'll try again tomorrow," she said. "We'll start with the western districts, like the bartender suggested. If that doesn't lead anywhere, we'll look for someone who has direct knowledge of the Revolutionary Army's movements.""And the white-haired man?" Asumi asked.

Tatsuchi hesitated.

She didn't want to give Zhenyu and Asumi another reason to worry over a possibility that might turn out to be nothing. At the same time, she couldn't ignore the chance that Ichirou had been moving through the same city they'd come to investigate. "We'll keep it in mind," she said. "But I don't want us chasing him based on one description."

Asumi nodded, though her expression suggested she understood there was more to Tatsuchi's answer than she'd said aloud. They made their way back toward the main road, joining the evening crowds as the restaurants began filling with customers. Traffic moved slowly between the buildings, and the canal boats had started lighting the small lamps fixed to their decks. The city looked different as daylight faded, the reflections on the water turning gold and orange beneath the bridges. Zhenyu complained about his feet twice before they reached the hotel. Asumi reminded him that he wouldn't be so tired if he hadn't stopped at every food stall they'd passed. He argued that eating was an essential part of gathering information, which earned him a flat look from Tatsuchi.

"You bought three meals," she said as they climbed the stairs.

"Four."

"That doesn't make it better."

"It makes it more accurate."

Tatsuchi unlocked their door and stepped inside, letting the familiar quiet settle around her. The room was modest, with two beds, a small table beneath the window, and a narrow balcony overlooking the canal. A lamp sat beside the table, its warm light falling across the folded curtains and the scattered belongings they'd left that morning.Zhenyu dropped onto one of the beds without bothering to remove his shoes. He stretched his legs and stared at the ceiling as though he'd just finished a long journey across the world.

Asumi placed her belongings on the table, then walked over to check the window latch. She tested it twice before looking out at the street below. Tatsuchi set her phone down and remained standing beside the table. Tomorrow, they'd continue searching for Kairos. They'd start with the western districts and see whether anyone there could offer something more concrete. If that failed, she'd consider approaching someone with direct knowledge of the Revolutionary Army's movements.The white-haired man was another matter.

She still didn't know whether the bartender had been describing Ichirou, and she wasn't going to treat the resemblance as proof. But if Ichirou had been moving through Vallcera, then he might be closer than she'd thought. If he was connected to the Revolutionary Army, as she'd increasingly come to suspect, his presence in the city could mean their investigation was finally bringing her toward him. She kept those thoughts to herself. Zhenyu had already closed his eyes, though she suspected he was only pretending to sleep. Asumi finished checking the window and turned away, giving Tatsuchi a brief look before settling into the other bed. For a while, Tatsuchi reviewed her phone, tracing the routes they'd taken and marking the streets they still needed to explore. She wrote down the name of the bar and the rough description of the man the bartender remembered, then folded the paper and placed it beside her belongings.

She'd deal with it tomorrow. By the time the room grew quiet, the sounds of Vallcera had softened into the steady hum of traffic and the occasional call from someone passing beneath the window. Tatsuchi lay on her back, staring at the ceiling while pale reflections shifted across it whenever a boat moved through the canal below. Sleep didn't come easily. She kept thinking about the bartender's description, particularly the way he'd spoken about the stranger's pride. Ichirou had always carried himself with a certain confidence, even when they were children. He'd been quick to challenge anyone who questioned him and just as quick to assume he was right. Their father had called it strength. Tatsuchi had sometimes wondered whether it was simply an inability to accept that he could be wrong. But she hadn't seen him in years, and she didn't know how much of the person she remembered still existed. She turned onto her side, then sat up when the restless thoughts refused to settle. The others had gone quiet. Zhenyu's breathing had become slow and even, while Asumi lay facing the wall with one arm tucked beneath her pillow.Tatsuchi slipped out of bed and walked toward the window, moving quietly across the floor. She drew the curtain aside with two fingers and looked down at the street.

A few pedestrians were still moving between the buildings. A couple stood beneath a storefront awning, talking while one of them checked a phone. Farther down the canal, a boat drifted beneath the nearest bridge, its lantern swaying gently with the water.Nothing seemed unusual. Tatsuchi watched for another minute, then let the curtain fall back into place. She rested her palm against the window frame, her gaze lingering on the darkened glass.The bartender might've been mistaken. The man could've been a stranger with a passing resemblance to someone from her family. Even if it had been Ichirou, his presence in Vallcera didn't necessarily mean he was connected to their search. She knew all of that.It didn't stop her from wondering what he'd been doing there. Tatsuchi finally turned away from the window and returned to her bed. She lay down, pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes. Outside, a boat's engine hummed beneath the bridge before fading into the distance.Across the street, a white-haired young man stood in the narrow gap between two buildings.

He'd chosen a spot far enough from the nearest streetlamp that its light barely reached him. The surrounding shadows concealed most of his face, though the pale strands of his hair caught the occasional reflection from a passing vehicle. He stood with one shoulder against the wall, his hands resting loosely at his sides, and watched the hotel window without moving. He'd been there for some time. When the curtain shifted, his attention sharpened. Tatsuchi's silhouette appeared briefly behind the glass, her head turning toward the street as she looked down at the canal. He remained still, careful not to step into the light or draw her attention toward the gap between the buildings.She watched for another moment before letting the curtain fall.

The young man lowered his gaze.A car passed through the intersection, its headlights sweeping over the pavement and briefly illuminating the entrance to the hotel. He waited until it had disappeared around the corner before shifting his weight against the wall. His expression remained unreadable, but his eyes stayed fixed on the window above.Ichirou Kuroainaru had found his sister.He didn't approach the hotel, call out to her, or make any attempt to reveal himself. He'd watched her enter the building earlier that evening and had remained across the street ever since, waiting to see whether she'd return to the window or leave again. He could've gone inside. The thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it before it could become a decision. Tatsuchi wasn't alone. The other two were with her, and he didn't know what she'd been told or how she'd react if he suddenly appeared in front of her. Years had passed since they'd last seen each other. He couldn't assume she'd welcome him simply because they shared the same blood.A boat moved through the canal, its lantern throwing a thin band of light across the stone walls. Ichirou watched the reflection break apart against the water, then looked back toward the hotel.He'd expected to find her eventually. He hadn't expected the search to end here.

The street grew quieter as the night wore on. One of the restaurants across the canal closed its doors, and a worker carried the last of the outdoor chairs inside. The couple beneath the awning finally separated, heading in opposite directions without another word. Ichirou remained where he was. Above him, the hotel windows had gone dark one by one. He could no longer see Tatsuchi's silhouette, and the curtain hadn't moved again. For a moment, he considered leaving and returning in the morning. He'd have more time to observe her then, perhaps even follow her when she went out.

Instead, he waited.

A faint breeze passed through the narrow gap between the buildings, stirring the edge of his coat. Ichirou pulled it closer and leaned back against the wall, his eyes still fixed on the hotel entrance.


He needs to move.


He should go inside.


He can't. Like his bones can't.


His purple eyes glowed in the moonlight.

Ichirou turns around, and begins walking west. As he looks up into the sky, the three moons nearing their peak, a star shower begins. Stars begin to fall out of the sky, the people in the festival looking up in the sky in awe. It was said to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Ichirou began walking through the festival, his white coat slightly catching the breeze in the air. His face was unreadable as he disappeared through the crowd.


“Damn, my pride hurts.”