Free Web NovelChapter 478: Arc 6, Chapter 94: Fallen Order
"I live here!" Fumeko told the police that stopped her advance, before she simply blinked into the entrance of her home. ’What the fuck happened...’
Door busted to the side, a wall shattered inwards, a telephone thrown aside with the cord cut, slashes in the floor, cushions thrown—a mess of evidence and signs of a struggle.
No police had entered the house yet, at least none that she could see. "Ma’am, you’ll have to come with us," she heard a man’s voice upstairs.
"Woosh!"
"Alright, alright, turn the oven down, look officer I’m not going nowhere no place till I case the case ’round here."
’Not the ma’am I was looking for.’
Alicia’s pink eyes darted to the arriving shadows behind a police officer who was unholstering his handcuffs. She chirped brightly, "See? Right over there, I was invited over, wasn’t I~?"
The policeman turned, "You’re... Namora’s kid right?"
Fumeko narrowed her gaze, "Yeah, what’re you doing inside my house?"
"We heard calls from the neighbours about loud noises and unknown individuals in masks, that apparently disappeared into thin air by the time they looked again. We arrived here around an hour ago and started to secure the area."
"Well~ Home tenant’s right here, y’got no warrant, as long as everything can be answered later officer, you don’t need t’be here, do you?" the reporter tapped her coloured camera lenses back out of the device.
"Miss, Namora, there’s clear signs of a break-in and this woman was present at the scene when we arrived-"
"She was invited," Fumeko crossed her arms.
"That’s fine, but there’s still clear evidence of a-"
"Magical accident; why don’t you dawdle off to your department to piss about in; heard it needs renovations," the brunette spoke in a dead tone.
The policeman opened his mouth, then paused. He exhaled and holstered his handcuffs back. He tipped his hat, "Ma’am," and left down the stairs.
’Broken glass, from every room? There’s bullet holes in the walls.’ Her eyes went about the vicinity until the officer left. "What’re you doing here Alicia?" she said a little quieter.
"Well I was invited, that’s f’sure. It was just under a li’l duress," she explained and walked up to her. "Come on, with the pigs out, I can actually make sense ’round here." Alicia descended the steps.
"Where is she!?" Hotaru came to a rushing halt and gripped both sides of the doorframe. Her gaze went up the stairs, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh you know, perusing~" Alicia sassed as she entered the living room.
"She’s not here," Fumeko answered from behind. "What’s happening outside?"
"I managed to talk my way in... What," she panted and checked the interior with her eyes wide open.
’The police aren’t gonna be leaving soon. There’s no doubt ’ "Alicia, I need an explanation."
"FLASH!" Alicia took an image of the scene. "I was just sitting in my house all by’my lonesome and then I got a call. Thought t’myself, oh woe is me, who’s calling at two-thirty t’cheer me up?"
"Two-thirty," Hotaru frantically checked her watch. "We would’ve been at the school waiting for Asobi."
"Oh no!" an invisible voice spoke. "Is this all my fault?"
"No Sobi, it wasn’t," Fumeko replied. "It was an ambush, if they didn’t strike today, they’d just look for another time."
"That’s good, but it doesn’t make me feel better," Asobi came out of invisibility with Tiffany right beside her, inside the house.
"M-ms Langstirk, p-please continue," the blonde uttered.
"Assuming the they’s the They-uctus Cult here, which is why she called," Alicia stated.
"Why in the world would she call you?" Hotaru’s brows furrowed.
"Probably cause it’s the only number Jotou remembers," Fumeko replied. ’Or even knows. Given the situation, even I’d call Alicia over the police. Her friend was supposed to be leaving today, so calling the hotel wasn’t going to work. Better check on him.’ "Regardless, what’d she say?"
Alicia rubbed the frame of her glasses, "Under attack, house, cultists, shapeshifter— and something along the lines of, they won’t kill her, for me t’tell everyone, that you lot were at the school, which you confirmed, and that the littlest Namora was with her."
Time seemed to pause. Although the clock on the wall continued to tick. Hotaru felt each shorter and shorter breath begin to settle in the back of her throat; her vision grew blurry and the feeling in her fingers grew faint. The voices around became a hazy garble.
"I struggle to believe that s-someone like her, who stood her ground against that slime-god can be so easily kidnapped," Tiffany supposed.
Fumeko grumbled, "It doesn’t matter if it was easy or hard, or possible or not; it happened. Regardless, they’re not gonna kill her and we know that for a fact."
"Hmm, should we look for signs? Maybe they left a clue?" the panicked Asobi spoke. "What if Jotou escapes? She’d go with the biggest ’Thundering Strike!’ and we’d hear it, right?" she mimicked the blonde’s voice upon uttering the spell.
"Why’d she not do it here then? Property damage? If you got that kinda magic I’d say this’d be a’well good time t’do it, no?" Alicia glanced at the telephone cord.
"Thud."
Everyone turned their heads to the wolf-girl who collapsed at the doorway.
"Hotaru!" Asobi dashed and picked her up while the others rushed to her aid. The redhead groggily had her arm around Asobi’s shoulders and was being propped up by Tiffany on the other side.
"What the hell’s happening to you?" Fumeko furrowed her brows. ’That wasn’t a hard fall, she didn’t faint. Is she sick?’ freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Hotaru measured each breath. She placed a hand on the side of her forehead and an eye, "Sorry, sorry... I need to sit down," she murmured softly. With the help of Asobi and Tiffany, the redhead was escorted to the living room sofa.
The magician glanced over the headrest, "Where would’ve they taken her? People must’ve seen a big dragon, or even a wyvern. Or did they poof her away?"
Fumeko’s gaze fell on the caved-in section of the wall, "It’s a shapeshifter, it doesn’t necessarily mean a dragon. There’s a lot of things that transmutationist can turn into; it could’ve turned into any of us for all we know." ’But that wouldn’t catch her off-guard; maybe for a split second?’
"But Jotou’s sparky-sense-thingy would’ve warned her," Asobi added.
While she rubbed her face against her palms, the wolf-like ears pricked to hear. "No... It wasn’t working well cause she was... sick," her eyes widened between her fingers.
"Are you saying the fever dulled her senses?" Fumeko narrowed her eyes and walked to the front of the sofa.
"Her m-magic’s been dwindling since her fever came around..." the redhead stammered.
The brunette raised a brow, "Is that something that usually happens?"
"It numbs magic, sure! I’ve been sick before!" the wolf-woman lost control of her volume for a moment before she exhaled slowly. "B-b-but I don’t know how much it would’ve affected her.
It’s definitely going to be different per person and it’s not like she’s been sick before, at least not in her body. She might’ve been hit hard," Hotaru’s voice croaked and squeaked.
Fumeko held a hand to her chin, "That adds up. The fight here clearly wasn’t an all-out assault. Jotou barely used her magic, cause otherwise the house would be more destroyed." ’The shattered window remnants had fallen inwards, suggesting break-ins. Jotou’s thunder would’ve gone outwards.’
"Then that’s it," Hotaru’s arms went limp. "It’s my fault..."
"Huh? You didn’t get her sick," Asobi held both of her shoulders to push the redhead up.
The wolf-girl blankly stared at the coffee table... "She asked me to," she whispered. "She, asked me to," she uttered louder. "And I didn’t. I didn’t do it, cause," she began panting.
"It’s okay! It’s okay! I don’t think anything you did, or didn’t do, would’ve really changed too much, right?" Asobi massaged her shoulders whilst glancing up at Fumeko.
"I-I-I should’ve went out and figured out the spell! I mean there must be one! A spell to cure headaches and grievous injuries exist!" she dug her nails into her palms. "But instead I said that she didn’t need that! I could’ve learned a spell to cure her fever and I chose not to!
And clearly she needed it! She really, really needed it!! What kind of person am I!? She was clearly in such fatigue and I told her to just rest and this is the result! She’s gone! She’s gone!! She was probably trying to protect Kineko too and that wouldn’t have helped her condition!
And sh-sh-s-she got kidnapped by terrorists! Terrorists with kinds of magic that’re so BEYOND COMPREHENSION THAT THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY-!"
"Slap!"
It stung, immediately. So quick it was a blur to her gaze. The impact was not large, but the pain began to settle into the side of her cheek.
Hotaru’s shallow breaths were the only sound left as the redhead’s eyes glared up at Fumeko who just slapped her across the face.
"Fumeko!" Asobi scolded.
"It’s not your fault; it’s not anybody’s fault but the cult’s. Right now Jotou and my dad are missing, let’s not go crumbling apart yet."
There was no remorse in her tone—not even worry. Hotaru cupped the stinging sensation; her exhaling turned into a growl as she bared her fangs.
Fumeko stared daggers back, her eyes unfazed.
...
Hotaru felt the wind sink into her lungs. She closed her eyes and further controlled her breathing, counting with each tick of the clock. She conceded, and nodded her head once as her ears fell back.
"I don’t know if that was necessary..." Tiffany stated.
Alicia turned her head from the crime scene, "Turn the clock back for a li’l second, what was that now? The detective up top got snatched up!?"
"T-the Deuctus Cult attacked the detectives’ headquarters; one of them died and the other two are injured. W-we just came from there," Tiffany answered.
"Bloody hell, there’s a full-blown statewide conspiracy going on," Alicia had a hand to the side of her head.
"Tiffy could you put on a pot of tea for her? Jasmine—should be on the shelf," Fumeko finally looked away from the redhead. ’She’s gonna make me panic if this keeps up.’
"S-sure."
"I’m gonna investigate from the top. Don’t let the police in,"
"I’m gonna go make a quick call, be back in’a jiffy!" Alicia strode out the door.
’Who the hell’s she calling?’ "Don’t tell anyone anything important!" Fumeko shouted out, but Alicia had already gone into a sprint.
’...’ Fumeko looked over at Asobi nursing Hotaru’s cheek which she was not healing. Meanwhile Tiffany headed towards the kitchen, stepping over the gash in the floor.
The house she had grown up in was now one of two most important crime scenes of her life... Stomaching down the what-ifs, she steeled her resolve and could only manage a sigh to speak. Fortunately, she was not hungry...
