Kazuha x Heizou One Shot Collection

New Scars

Dealing with the Fatui is always tedious. Heizou doesn’t if he can avoid it. Unfortunately their obsessive craving for mora and everything shiny often requires police involvement, Heizou’s assistance as a detective specifically. 

Dubious loans, mysterious disappearances of heirlooms and trophies and the agents working at the Inazuma branch of the Northland Bank are always uncooperative, informing him with polite fake smiles that official complaints will have to be redirected to their superior, a Harbinger going by the name Tartaglia. 

At this point Heizou has filed at least a dozen complaints with this gentleman and never received an answer. He must be a busy person.

This time the whole affair concerns none other than the Shirasagi Himegimi herself, Kamisato Ayaka, and had been prioritized by Kujou Sara immediately after receiving the information. Which meant a new case on the ever growing pile on Heizou’s desk.

Miss Kamisato had been detailed in her description of the missing piece of jewelry. Some kind of tiara, a silver circlet, elegantly designed and adorned with amethysts and – as she had stressed several times – not only of material but also emotional value since it had belonged to her deceased mother. 

Heizou is confident that it won’t take him long to retrieve the piece. Even though there were no witnesses, talking to the guards at the Kamisato Estate for a few minutes was enough to determine a suspect. He doesn’t particularly like his deduction. 

Finding out there was an Electro Cicin Mage roaming Chinju Forest close to the estate told him everything he needed to know. Cunning, bold and ruthless as the mages were, he doesn't doubt that she found a way to sneak into the house and bring anything pretty and sparkly that she could reach with her greedy hands into her possession.

Heizou thinks the Commissioner should invest in better guards if she managed without being spotted. It’s not that he can’t afford it. 

Walking down the path leading up to the estate he debates how he wants to go about this. He  doesn’t want to fight her but the Fatui were… complicated. He’s met some that are decent but most of them aren’t. He hasn’t dealt with enough Cicin Mages to be sure what to expect. He decides to try and talk it out. Be civil about it and maybe he will receive the same behavior  in return. Maybe. Hopefully.

The wooden archways that mark the path through the forest come into view and Heizou remembers the last time he’s been at Chinju Forest.

He’d taken a few days off and traveled with Kazuha for a bit. It was a nice getaway, Heizou doesn’t often get the chance to go on vacation. They’d spent the night under the stars, surrounded by the soft light of the glowing flowers. Kazuha had pointed out constellations to him while Heizou lay there with his head in his lap enjoying his company and the tranquility. He never knew Acer Palmatum and Cervus Minor were so close together in the firmament. 

Ah, he’s getting side-tracked. He has a Cicin Mage to confront.

She’s not hard to find. Either she feels safe and that no one is going to figure her out as the culprit or she just doesn’t care. Heizou assumes it’s the latter. 

She notices him as soon as he steps into the shadows of the trees, entering the dark atmosphere of the forest.

She stops her twirling and catches the lantern she’d been juggling with. 

“Oh, are you here to play with me? How fun!” She giggles at that.

“I’m afraid not ma’am. I’m Detective Shikanoin and I came on business.” Heizou tries to keep his tone polite but firm.

She sighs with an eye-roll and tosses her lantern back into the air.

“So boring.”

“Ma’am, I believe you have something that doesn’t belong to you.”