By the time the first dregs of daylight penetrated Oboro's curtains, the entirety of his apartment had already been cleaned following dinner. The blue-haired man had left early in the morning to deal with some shopping business, knowing that the transition period would come back to bite him if he didn't bother to leave soon.
The silent apartment, now glowing golden under the sunlight, was abruptly penetrated by the sound of the front door opening. Olivia, clad in a sunhat and winter coat, immediately entered the room and scanned her surroundings. Dust slowly drifted through the air, shining in the stripes of sunlight that filtered through the curtains. The remnants of last night's dinner were still hoisted on the stove, the now-cold entrees left for later.
She suddenly heard a sharp groan permeate the homey atmosphere, coming directly from the bathroom.
"Now I'm glad I missed dinner last night; toilet troubles would make my stomach flip." The woman lampooned in her head, approaching the bathroom and knocking on the door.
After a few seconds of silence, a partially raspy voice sounded behind the thick wooden door. "M-mind helping me up?"
"Aizawa?" Olivia's eyes widened as she opened the door, immediately helping the man to his feet. Immediately after, he fell forward, landing in her arms.
"Damnit," Olivia grunted, half-dragging the much taller man onto the nearest couch. She set him down and slid a pillow under his head, bee-lining directly to the stove.
"How on Earth did you end up there? I thought you went back to our apartment!" Olivia's hands moved habitually, turning on the stove and grabbing the nearest ingredients to boil some tea.
Aizawa didn't reply. Instead, he let out another low groan. His left hand came to rest on his forehead, feeling its scalding temperature and the tiny droplets of sweat that had begun to accumulate.
"I think I have a fever or something. Damn, is Oboro's cooking really that bad?" Aizawa couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly.
The blonde woman shot him a worried glance as she finished making the tea, walking back to the couch and placing it on the coffee table.
"I'll have to ask Oboro why the hell he didn't notice you on the bathroom floor."
Aizawa rolled his eyes, his trembling hands grasping the mug with a tremor that cast ripples on the surface of the ink-black liquid. After taking a slow slurp, he set it back down and rested his head back onto the pillow.
"I don't remember anything that happened last night—not even dinner."
Hearing his words, Olivia let out a low sigh. "Well, I hope you remember all the stuff that's been happening lately. I took that woman to a medic and had her burns treated."
"What woman?" Aizawa's brows furrowed as he asked the question.
"We went to that resturant last night, where that Sanson guy committed suicide and we investigated that drug."
The man's expression shifted, contorting into palpable confusion. "Sounds like quite the adventure."
…
Entering Mr. Humphrey's office, Shinso and Ayumi were both taken aback the moment a carnivorous plant snapped at them, nearly missing their faces. The indigo-haired boy stumbled back, and Ayumi flinched. The red-pettled plant was abruptly snatched by Humphrey, before being contained in a matter of seconds below the glass covering.
He looked back at the duo and removed his gloves, smiling. "I'm sorry, every once in a while they tend to escape during feeding."
Shinso adjusted his collar and looked up at Humphrey. "We came here hoping for something to …do. We didn't join this organization for nothing."
"We?" The dark-skinned man let out a low chuckle, gesturing towards Ayumi. "I don't think she's in our ranks yet."
Ayumi adjusted her glasses and scoffed. "I assure you I'll be a great asset."
Her determined step forward rattled the stone floor, seemingly shaking the shelves. "I can take whatever you throw at me!"
At this moment, Humphrey's lips twitched up to form a smile. "Ahh, I like your determination; it's something most of us could use in this age."
He approached his desk and opened one of the drawers, sifting through the files before coming to rest on a rather thin one. He shot Ayumi with a knowing smile as he extracted the file from the drawer, placing it on the table and sliding it over to the girl.
"I believe this is something you can handle on your own," Humphrey reclined in his chair.
Ayumi's brows furrowed with ambition as she opened the file, reading the current case. The primary image showcased a rather overweight cat with light colored fur. Its eyes were constantly drooping, giving it the appearance of constant tiredness as the file described it.
"A …missing cat?" Ayumi looked back up at Humphrey, arching an eyebrow.
She pushed the file back, a scowl forming on her noticeably round face. "Is this some kind of sexism? I can do whatever the men can do."
Humphrey took the files back and stuffed them into the drawer, rubbing his glabella. "It's not sexism, it's whatever we can give our newer members without having them get killed."
He looked towards Shinso, blinking slowly. "I would have given Shinso the same mission."
Suddenly, the door behind them opened. One of the Pollinators, Ms. Jasmine entered the room with wide eyes.
"Murder case!" were the only two words to leave her mouth before Humphrey stood up and followed her out the room. Shinso and Ayumi looked towards each other, the girl smirking as an idea came to mind.
Ms. Jasmine and Humphrey darted down the hallway, coming to stop by another door lining the stone walls. The duo didn't waste any time entering the room and locking the door behind them. Shinso approached the door, shaking the doorknob. Upon realizing it was completely locked, he huffed and rested his head against the wall.
Behind the door, the duo would hear muffled voices.
"Ambassador Stanton Ralph was found dead in his apartment."
Hearing these words, Ayumi immediately perked up. Her body moved on its own, kneeling down and looking through the peephole in the doorknob. Though the room was dimly lit, the files being presented weren't hard to see.
She caught sight of the image of a man clad in regal attire, and wearing a monocle on his right eye. His left eye had bandages over it for an unknown reason. As Ms. Jasmine continued to explain the scene and the investigation criteria, Ayumi's attention sharpened as he attempted to snag more details.
"The murder is on 372 Rogue Street," she announced with a whisper, turning to Shinso.
"Why do we need to know that exactly?" Shinso folded his arms over his chest.
Ayumi's fist clenched as she lifted it into the air. "Maybe this bout of action can help me digest my potion! Don't you see?"
She quickly took hold of Shinso's hand, pulling him down the hallway and up the staircase. After leaving the cathedral, she called for the nearest carriage to assist them to the establishment. During the ride there, Shinso sank in his seat. A pit formed in his stomach as he silently gazed at the floor of the carriage.
"We're disobeying Humphrey, if he finds out we're doing this we're gonna get expelled." Shinso growled, rolling his eyes and pouting like an ignorant child.
"Think of it, though. If we can solve this murder, perhaps we can both get stronger, we can become greater, and we can get home!" Ayumi looked towards Shinso with a hopeful expression, her eyes glinting with promise.
"And if we don't solve it?" Shinso arched an eyebrow, silently scolding the girl.
Hearing his question, Ayumi fell silent. As the possibility filtered through her mind, her smile twitched around the edges. "We won't …I promise."
As the carriage came to a halt, the duo was greeted by an apartment building nestled between a few other buildings. It stood like a behemoth of industrial grandeur among the much shorter buildings, a building that clashed with even the Parterre de Fleurs in majesty.
Ayumi was the first to step out, her body bubbling with excitement as she seemed unable to contain herself, she grabbed Shinso and yanked him out of the carriage with surprising force. Shinso landed on the sidewalk, imprinting the snow with his splayed silhouette. He let out a low groan as he stood back up, arching his back.
"Now …let's find the room."
The duo entered the apartment building, the size of the lobby reminiscent of a ballroom. The windows were adorned with golden curtains, and every table had a red-velvet cloth draped over it. It seemed more like a king's palace rather than an apartment to stay at. Ayumi's eyes widened as she gazed upon the place, her lips curling into a smile.
"Damn…"
"Didn't we have this place evacuated or something?" A high, gruff-sounding voice echoed from one of the corners. The duo turned their heads, catching sight of a man clad in just his pajamas. His slippers tapped against the floor as he glared at another person with palpable impatience.
"Hey, you!" He pointed at the duo, his brows furrowing as he gestured for them to come over.
Ayumi and Shinso approached the man, swallowing their spit.
"Yes?" Ayumi perked up.
"I thought we had everyone move out because of the freak-show upstairs, the hell y'kids doing here anyways?"
Ayumi's lips twitched into a defiant smile as she scoffed. "And who might you be?"
"The owner of the fuckin' place." The man responded, leaning in to meet Ayumi's smirk with his own expression of defiance.
"Well, we're Pollinators, and we require jurisdiction to investigate what is happening upstairs." Ayumi folded her arms behind her back, standing up straight.
The pajama-clad man wasn't impressed. He dealt a sharp flick to Ayumi's forehead, cackling like a witch. "You're a Pollinator? Shouldn't you be going to school instead of playing dress-up?"
Shinso watched the ordeal with a passive expression, he suddenly cleared his throat. "Hey."
"Yea—" The man's pupils instantly glazed over.
"Take us upstairs, please," Shinso ordered, stepping back.
"Woah…" Ayumi watched in astonishment as the man followed Shinso's command, walking like a soldier without saying anything else.
Shinso watched the man leave for a moment before turning back to Ayumi, rolling his eyes. "You owe me something."
The duo followed the man into an elevator that provided dim lighting. The work of machinery rattled and clanked as it ascended the floors before coming to a rest. As its mechanical doors screamed open, the pungent smell of flesh immediately caught the attention of Shinso and Ayumi.
"Thank you, head back downstairs." Shinso turned back to the man, nodding his head.
Without saying anything further, the man obeyed, stepping back into the elevator and heading back down. Once the rattling of the elevator came to a halt, Shinso and Ayumi knew they could move once again.
"So you can just …do that to people?" Ayumi smirked, elbowing Shinso.
"Yes, but it's not something I'm entirely…whatever," Shinso trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck as he approached the room where the smell emanated from.
"Don't corpses start smelling after they've been dead for a while?" Ayumi asked, her hand wrapping around the doorknob. It was warm; someone had been here before.
Seeing Ayumi's sudden jolt of nervousness, Shinso scoffed. "It's most likely the apartment workers who opened the door."
When they tried to open the door, it was locked.