The Binding Vow of Lazarus

Chapter 102

February was nearly over. Days were sunny again, although still dry and chilly, and a welcome sign that spring would be there soon. Things at each of the headquarters were settlings into a decent but tense rhythm, the influx of children and sorcerers with no where to go finally equaling out to the needs they needed to fill. Some old grudges still held, and the curse users and sorcerers didn't always agree, but overall things were better than they had been for decades.

Yaga was walking with Tsukumo as she racked his brain yet again for clues about Amanai's location, but unfortunately for her even if Satoru trusts someone it doesn't guarantee that you'll learn anything from him. Yaga's current theory was that Satoru was actually very forgetful and good at saying he wasn't — although evidence would support otherwise.

"You can ask me any different way you'd like," Yaga grumbled, "the answer doesn't change."

Tsukumo groaned. "I don't believe you."

"I know you don't."

Tsukumo groaned, shoving her hands into her pockets. "What am I supposed to do then, huh?" She grumbled.

"You should let it go and come up with another plan," Yaga said, eyeing her over his sunglasses before pushing them back up by the corner of the frames.

"I'm not waiting around," Tsukumo said with a careless shrug, springing forward and breaking into a jog. "See ya later!" She called over her shoulder with a wink, and then off she went.

Yaga grunted watching her back as she scurried off to harass someone else about Satoru's secrets. It wasn't a lie that he didn't know where Amanai was, well not completely. Satoru had trusted him with some information in case they needed to step in and help her, but it certainly wasn't enough for him to "find her", quickly.

"If she wants to be found, she'll come to us," Yaga muttered, huffing a single laugh. How very "Satoru". That's what the white haired man said and that's what he'd left it at and never brought it up again.

But what was Tsukumo's real goal? Yaga couldn't quite understand the scope. Tsukumo was on her warpath still after spilling the beans and since she'd been slight more helpful than before, but it really wasn't enough yet. And what was Amanai so necessary for?

Yaga glanced down at his watch, then picked up his pace. He had a meeting before classes began and he needed to finish this and that after, and more of this and more of that. So many things needed to get done, but now it was bothering him.

There were a few angles he could approach this from and he mulled them over for most of the day. He could just directly demand she tell him everything, but that didn't mean he'd get the truth. Waiting for her was how you got the truth. Which of course led to angle two: just wait. She will eventually need him for something, he was connected to nearly everything these days. Angle three was too approach the others like Utahime and Haibara — the ones who were in on the bigger picture.

Regardless, at some point they would all be in on it. That's how these things always seemed to work out. When he was needed, he was there. It wasn't hard to see the pattern. He'd long since decided not to dwell on it and focus on his role.

When his day was finally coming to a close, he waited at the gate of the Elementary school building. The kids were pouring out, very few of them ran for a parent which was always hard on his heart. So few had anyone left or had been abandoned, but it seemed like they were sticking close together and that would hopefully make some sort of difference.

It was a curious thing, the future would be shaped differently than anything they'd seen before, and ideally built on to the idea of teams and camaraderie out in the field. Panda was already doing well, having gotten very close to a few different children. They didn't seem to mind his size.