Poi

“So…do you know anything about Akame being adopted?”

Fumi tilted her head, thinking.

“I don’t really know, to be honest. You will have to check in our database.”

“Why don’t you know? Yoshioka-san or whatever-he’s-called knows about it.”

“Yoshioka? Who?”

“Yocchan. The cat guy. The one who called you Fumicchi.”

Fumi furrowed her brows. Gosh, did she not have any friends or is it just that she didn’t know anybody…?

“Kazakiri-san, did your stay in the hospital affect you so much that you have started creating imaginary friends?”

I sighed and pushed my glasses.

“I’m not making this up. Come with me now.”

I grabbed her wrist and dragged her back inside.

“Where are we going? I don’t have my badge with me.” Fumi protested.

“Then, tell me how I can access this database of yours.”

Her mouth fell open in disbelief, but finally, she gave in and sighed.

“You may have to check with a senior investigator like Kaname-san, or the HR. They have access to some of the data.”

“Thanks, Fumi-chan.” I patted her head, and her hair waved around in protest.

“I’m not responsible if they kick your butt back to your room!” She stomped back to her spot under the tree.

Wait, where would I find those investigators or the HR?

“Wait, Fumi-chan!!!”

Special ad hoc investigator and HR department staff member, Natsumachi Hotaru, was something akin to a squirrel-Pikachu hybrid. They carried a lantern, which hung on a long staff thrice their height. There was no bulb or candle inside the lantern, so I assumed it was for fireflies or some other thingamajig light source.

Hotaru sat in a corner of the HR office, hidden deep inside the secret corridors of the hospital.

“One’s name is Natsumachi Hotaru, poi. What is it that one can assist you with, poi?”

“Umm, I want to know about my adoptive mother.”

I glanced at Fumi. Hotaru shifted their attention to her.

“For what purpose, poi, Investigator Kawaguchi?”

“Uh…”

“One thought you were off work. Leave this to somebody else. Overworking is no good, poi.” Hotaru blinked their puppy eyes.

“Well…he wants to know about…his new mother’s job…for her birthday.” Fumi made it up on the spot, and a terrible story, at that. Why the heck would I want to know about her job to celebrate her birthday?!

Hotaru smacked their paws on the touch screen desk.

“This is fucking unacceptable!” Their cutesy voice turned into that of a yakuza. “Trying to probe into other staff’s personal details is a big no! You should’ve known better, Kawaguchi!!!”

Fumi shrank.

“I…I want to know about my sister Akame’s birthday! Sorry, I didn’t explain it to her properly.” I bowed multiple times.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself, poi?” Hotaru returned to their previous mood and tilted their head in a cutesy way. I gulped and whispered in their large ears.

“It’s a top secret. I want to welcome her into the house and celebrate her birthday at the same time. Yakou Kaname-san is a senior investigator, right? She’d see through my intentions the moment I mention anything about a birthday, and even if I asked Akame, she’d tell her mom everything and that’d ruin the surprise element for both of them. Please, Natsumachi-san. I can’t blow this up. I don’t know who I can trust!”

Hotaru pondered for a while.

“Fine, poi. One will allow you to view the files, but they are not useful.”

Their small paws drew up a bunch of data.

“That is all we have.”

I dragged the document around on the touch screen, zoomed it, refreshed it, but nothing changed.

There was barely anything in Akame’s profile. There was her birth year, her name change record, her current address, but her family relations were empty, and they didn’t even have her photo.

“Did they not update this?”

“That’s hardly possible.” Fumi replied. “PUPA updates their database all the time. See, her surname is listed here as her most recent one, Kazakiri.”

“So?”

“Somebody refused to enter that information into the database, poi. It is normal for a youkai to not have a birthdate, but we would enter data like family members, especially those with clear ties to each other like mother and daughter.” Hotaru resumed working, not batting us a glance. “Anyway, Yakou Kaname is not a threat, so we have no need for that information, poi. Who would want to bother a senior investigator’s daughter anyway, poi?”

“Seriously?” I mumbled. Something was off. “Natsumachi-san, is it normal for youkai living with humans to not enter certain info into the database?”

Hotaru put on their glasses.

“Youkai living among humans are required to constantly update their information, including current address, current job, close acquaintances, and biography of their human persona. Their legal dealings and government matters will have to go through us as well. It is indeed strange for Kazakiri Akame to have nothing of that sort recorded, poi.”

“So…”

“One has no authority to call her in, poi. If the higher-ups decided that they did not need her personal information, one cannot act on one’s own accord.”

This is getting weirder and weirder. I stared at the list of name changes, the most detailed aspect of Akame’s data. Yakou Akame, Seto Akame, Seki Akame, Suzuhara Akame…

Fumi tapped my shoulder, gesturing that we should leave soon.

“Fumi-chan, what if Kaname-san did this on purpose?”