Mei was not cooking breakfast. She was in the kitchen, staring blankly at the air.
The screams of grief that she heard... Just what the hell happened? Where was the cute couple she knew them as?
She had heard of arguments in a relationship, but this sure seemed like the death of one.
In the end, it seemed like it was inevitable. A Fixer together with an esteemed member of one of the most prominent Syndicates in the City was unthinkable.
No matter how cute they were together, she mused absentmindedly.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
She stayed silent, grabbing a board behind her. Asher would be gone for the day, so who was the person in front of her door?
"Mei? Can I come in again?"
Mei blinked, opening the door for Asher almost subconsciously, setting the board to the side.
"Was Yan outside? Did you make up with her?" Asher shied away from Mei's gaze as she tried to pry out the emotions in his expression.
"We're... working on it. I'm just here for breakfast."
Asher plodded to the bedroom. He was tired and out of energy even though he just woke up. The concern in Mei's expression was ignored.
Reluctantly, she began to prepare breakfast as Asher sulked. She wanted to console him, but had a feeling that it would only make things worse.
...
Asher had to get his mind off of Yan somehow.
'Everything is fine. Things will work out.' Even though he kept repeating those words in his mind, he couldn't help worrying about Yan. He wanted to clear up her misunderstanding, but had no way to meet up with her now that she blocked him.
He dully flicked through the Hana's forums on his phone.
(Blood Red Night Confirmed in Section 12)
'Our Section on the front page? And that Star...'
Asher's hand trembled as he tapped on the post.
(Charles Office, updating the situation with the Blood Red Night. We have narrowed the location of the Star to the Backstreets of Section 12, following traces of activity. Any Grade 2's and above who think they might have clues, contact me, and we will give monetary rewards accordingly. Clues include vein and/or artery murals, fountains filled with flesh pulp, and drained bodies.)
Other than a slight warning for the Fixers in that Section, there was little else of note.
The Section was about a hundred miles long. There was no way it would go under lockdown just for a single... godlike... Star of the City... Honestly, Asher felt like a shutdown was in order, but he didn't have any say in matters like these.
He searched for more posts about Section 12, eventually narrowing his search through a filter bar on the side. There were simply too many posts about things so far away from him; he didn't really care about those.
But there weren't any other interesting topics in his own Section. His mind shifted back to Yan. He groaned as he lifted himself to his feet, clearing his mind with a shake of his head. He could hear Mei calling him for breakfast.
Asher's mind entered a haze as he ate his food, thanking Mei listlessly before opening the door once again.
Just before he stepped out, he looked back.
"Sorry for... being like this. I need a bit of time. Text me if you see Yan at HamHamPangPang, okay?"
Mei smiled, nodding her head reassuringly.
One more thing crossed his mind. Or three. Bellecote's death. The Prescripts. Proxy Esther.
"Do you remember last night?"
Mei tilted her head silently, and Asher understood. Esther had erased everything.
*Click*
Closing the door, Asher took a deep breath of the morning air. As usual, it was filled with the stench of smoke, trash, and blood. The incident with Yan messed with his mind, but he could feel his focus returning. Now wasn't the time to worry about such things.
In the Backstreets, stagnation meant certain death. He had to be productive, sharpen his abilities to face the world of Nightmares and Stars he was in.
First up, register 'Asher' as a Fixer. Second, check the nearby Shi Association branch to facilitate 'Sophie' into a more believable Fixer identity. Then... he could think of something later. Rather than aimlessly wandering for something to show up, he liked a concrete plan much more.
Who knew, perhaps he would meet Yan somewhere along the way. They lived in the same part of Section 12, after all.
His worry for Yan slowly ebbed. The Messenger was an elite member of the Index, leagues above him in prestige, power, position, and all that. If anything, he should be worried for himself rather than her.
At least, that's what he told himself. He couldn't die. She could.
But now was not the time to succumb to his doubts. He vaulted over the railing, landing himself in a soft patch of weeds poking out of the street.
Crystalline fairy wings sprouted from his back as a neon green and blue suit materialized on his body.
The wings on both his weapon and back fluttered tiredly, like they sensed his emotions. He reached behind his back, clipping his glorified club into a groove pre-sewn into it.
'Hey System, do these wings do anything other than look pretty? I mean, can they make me fly?'
[No, they don't generate lift. Treat them like holograms.]
'...Figured.'
The System was punctual, as always.
He appreciated how he could always talk to the System, no matter what was going on in his life. Though, the System was a bit too stingy with words than he would like.
A notification rang on his phone.
He knew it wasn't Yan, but he pulled the small device out nonetheless.
Lo-and-behold, it wasn't Yan.
It was Pete and his gang. And the message they sent made his eyes widen.
"Hey Sophie! This is Aiko here... Thanks to your advice, we became Fixers! Want to meet up somewhere?"
He didn't remember giving them any advice like that, but he felt like meeting with them would be a good idea. What grades would they be?
And since they passed the mental exam, it meant they didn't enjoy killing too much, according to the Hana Association.
"Sure. I'm free right now."
Within seconds, a reply was sent back to him. It described the address to an apartment a few minutes away from him, accompanied by a list of cryptic instructions to their 'hideout'.
He synchronized with Sophie, walking to the address they gave.
Asher found himself in front of a shabby building, barely supported by rotting columns of wood. If Mei's apartment was old, this one was just... sad.
'Follow the chalk marks for thirty steps... Then enter from the window on the fourth floor?'
Indeed, there were chalk marks lined straight down the street, much further than thirty steps in order to throw off any searchers.
Every window of the building was smashed open, and they each looked exactly the same. If there were no instructions, then he would never be able to find the place even after hours of searching.
Nimbly scaling onto the fourth floor, he noticed the edges of the broken window lined with a fine fabric, protecting his fingers from the glass shards.
He admired how much preparation Pete, Aiko, and Mangchi gave just for this one hideout.
As he swung his feet into the room, he-
"You actually came! See Pete, I told you Sophie wasn't like that!" Aiko squealed, bouncing up to Asher to shake his hand.
"Hm? What did Pete say about me?" He saw Pete scratch his head sheepishly in the center of the room.
Mangchi lounged on a shredded mattress, rubbing his forehead in mock disappointment.
"I just thought- Hey! I only meant that there could be a chance she wouldn't come, okay?"
*Cough*
Mangchi cleared his throat, interrupting them. He seemed to be the most mature of the three.
"I'm sure our savior wouldn't want to listen to us bicker."
Their interactions were actually pretty entertaining, but in line with his synchronized personality, he nodded his head lightly.
"Yes. Aiko told me that you all became Fixers? What are your grades?"
"Oh yeah! Pete and Mangchi are both Grade 9, while I'm... only Grade 10..." Aiko's enthusiasm quickly dropped as she muttered her own grade, kicking at a piece of mattress fluff below her to distract herself.
Asher's mouth twitched. Just like Finn, Aiko was also childishly energetic. Now that he looked at them closer, Pete and his friends were all teenagers, maybe sixteen to eighteen years old, artificially aged from years of hardship. Asher felt like, with a good shower and scrub down, they wouldn't look half bad.
"Who were your examiners? Did any of you have a man named Harold as yours?"
Pete glanced at Aiko nervously. The girl looked like she would burst into song at any moment.
"Er, Aiko did, but-"
"Oh my god, yes! He's so..." She made a strange squeak from her mouth and an odd gesture with her hand before continuing.
Pete groaned, blocking his ears with his hands as Aiko lectured them about Harold's appearance.
Only when she saw Sophie staring at her did she slowly stop.
"...Uhm. S-Sorry."
Asher chuckled inside, but he couldn't quite show it on his face. He had never seen Harold in that way before, but he admitted the man was aesthetically pleasing. He simply nodded again.
"Apology accepted. What about your guys' examiners?"
"Mangchi got a brunette chick named Mirinae for his tests. As for me, I got stuck with this crazy guy who called himself the 'Overseer'. That guy was... absolutely nuts."
Pete pronounced the name as 'O-ver-sear', not 'O-ver-see-er'.
The teen shivered, wrapping his tattered coat around himself.
Of course, Asher didn't recognize any of those people, he had merely asked for curiosity's sake. Like Harold, were those examiners also Grade 2?
"Oh, and-" Pete fished inside his pocket. "We all got these damn good phones!"
He pumped his fist into the air, revealing a Hana issued phone in his grip.
Mangchi tapped his pocket, silently showing the outline of his phone to Asher as Aiko took out hers.
"That's good. Can you all add me to your contacts again, then?"
Asher passed his phone around to each of them.
After a few minutes, Mangchi handed it back to him. This time, his contact list had expanded up to six. He deleted Pete's old phone from his list, and now it was five, with Yan, Mei, and them three.
"So, is Pete the leader in your group?"
Everyone except for Pete nodded. The boy sputtered in shock as his friends ratted him out, just like that.
"Then I'll contact Pete mostly, alright? Though Aiko and Mangchi, text me too if you need any help."
An idea was slowly forming in his head. These young, impressionable Fixers whose lives he saved in Pierre's Bistro...
Perhaps it was a glimpse of maturity from his future peeking through, but he didn't feel like he was younger than them at all. He felt like a leader, and he couldn't ignore the feeling in his chest.
"What are your opinions on forming an Office together?" This wasn't his original plan at all, but he had to ask.
Aiko bounced up and down enthusiastically. Pete grinned, wishing for guidance from who he believed was an experienced Fixer. Mangchi contemplated about it in silence, before slowly nodding his head.
Complete approval. Sophie and Asher smiled as one, causing his lips to flick upward slightly.
"Great. I'll contact you when I get all the paperwork prepared." Asher didn't know if there was paperwork involved with forming an Office, but he just rolled with it. It made him seem more knowledgeable.
"Alright, see you later!" Aiko waved him goodbye.
"Goodbye." Asher turned invisible, leaping out the window onto the street below.
In the dirty, torn apart room, Pete sighed and plopped down beside Mangchi on the foam mattress.
"Finally... It seems our damned luck is turning around, eh?" Pete flicked a piece of mattress fluff off of where Aiko was about to sit at.
Mangchi nodded silently.
Aiko rested her head on Pete's lap as Mangchi put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Sure seems like it, brother."
Mangchi glanced at the two people who he had known for as long as he could remember, the only people in the world that he would unconditionally give his life for. Their bonds were forged by years of hardship suffered together.
Aiko had already fallen asleep, tired after a long night of keeping watch by the window.
This was nice, he thought. The feeling of acceptance from someone outside their circle.
Looking down at the phone gripped in his calloused hand, Mangchi smiled for the first time in a long while.