Mei laid her hands on her chest, giggling to herself. An unexpected visitor had dropped by for lunch.
"Hehehe~ He's such a sweetheart."
Asher had cleared his own schedule to have lunch with her.
She rolled around in her bed, kicking her legs against the soft pink sheets, her boring day suddenly becoming a little more bearable.
...
Right after Asher ate lunch with Mei, he left. He wasn't lying when he told Sayako that he would be busy, but he spared a moment to visit Mei.
Sophie's dress brushed against his skin as he followed his phone's directions through the main road and into the sprawling alleys.
Ever since he formed his Office, there was never any productive time to do things other than take care of his Fixers. Case in point, he hadn't seen Philip for a few days now.
Destination: Dawn Office.
The days had gone by so hectically that he nearly forgot the Dawn Office existed, so Asher decided to check it out once more. Though, he could never forget that meeting he had with Salvador.
'I might even finish that spar with Philip which I didn't finish.'
Asher was in a good mood right now. Sophie's lips unconsciously opened, whistling sweetly in the open air.
'Huh. I didn't know you could whistle, Sophie.' Perhaps it was an illusion, but inside Asher's mind he heard Sophie laugh quietly.
Anyway, he was in a good mood right now.
But was he the same person from before all that mess with Mei and Elena, in the single worst day of his life?
No. Hell no.
The pedestrians walking past him all kept a wide berth, despite his delicate appearance. The confidence in his gait, the way his hollow eyes curved into that pretty smile...
Simply put, the people he killed suddenly could not be counted by only two hands anymore. Although he was never the type to shy away from killing if the situation permitted it, now something, some tiny but significant thing, had changed inside him.
Even Asher did not know what it was. He had risen above a mere denizen of the Backstreets.
Still, there were bound to be people that approached him maliciously. Sophie had no reputation as a Fixer yet, so cat-calls rang out behind him like incessant cicadas.
However, they all came from the people walking in the same direction he was, not those who had passed him. Not those who had seen his eyes.
Cat-calling was not a sufficient reason for murder, so Asher simply picked up the pace. Sophie's soul inside him seethed, but she ultimately gave control to Asher.
And finally, the presences behind him disappeared as he entered the doors of the Dawn Office. The stylized sunset bore down on him as he stepped inside.
However, the receptionist that greeted him was Lily, not Philip. The short-haired woman smiled at him as he very obviously glanced around the room.
"Good morning, dear. Philip's out for a mission right now. As he completes it, the Captain wishes to see you." She giggled. "You must have made quite the impression on him; Captain told us to send you up to him as soon as you came."
Asher shivered as she mentioned Salvador. What could that old man possibly want from him?
Even though he didn't really want to go, Lily's expectant face compelled him forward. It seemed like all the Fixers here all held great respect for their Captain.
He cautiously knocked on the door.
"Come in! Oh, it's Sophie!" Salvador's gray mustache wiggled as his booming laugh echoed in Asher's ears.
Despite his initial worries, he began to relax as the infectious laughter seeped into his bones.
Asher took a seat opposite to the man.
"So, why did you want to see me?"
"Hoho, I merely wanted to check up on you, that's all. You see, we lost two of ours, Laurene and Victor, in the Midnight warning a few days ago. You came one day off from our funeral event."
Asher flinched.
What was most disconcerting was the fact that Salvador was still smiling, like he didn't even hear the words that came from his mouth. Like he simply didn't care at all.
"...I'm sorry for your loss. My apartment also suffered heavily; all the residents died except for me and one other person."
"Oh? Then I suppose you have a great opportunity upon you?"
Asher nodded his head, surprised that the man predicted that he would try to take over the building. Salvador made a negative gesture with his hand, sighing as Asher confirmed his prediction.
"It's harder than you thought, eh? Apartments are luxury, and some people would trade their lives to sleep in one for a night. Want some advice from these old bones?"
Yeah, he could use some right now. Salvador chuckled as Asher stood at rapt attention.
"Which of the Five Fingers do you think are in this Section?"
Asher blinked as the man suddenly went on a side tangent.
"Um... I have only seen the Thumb and the Index so far. So those two?"
As Salvador listened to his thoughts, he reached behind him to pour out two cups of tea from a metallic thermos.
"Indeed. Refreshments-" He handed one cup to Asher. "The Thumb and Index are currently the only Fingers in Section Twelve. Then what are your thoughts on them, based on your experience?"
Asher thought back to everything he had experienced so far, from Yan, Eleven, Twelve, the Carnival, and Esther, to the Soldato, Sayako, Stella, and Kalo.
Index to Thumb.
"I don't like either of them. The Index erases free will and identity. The Thumb is just... Bad personal experiences. Actually, bad experiences for both."
Salvador sipped his tea.
"I see. You know about Prescripts and Tributes, right? Forget about Prescripts for now. Do you know when the Thumb collects its weekly tributes?"
Asher froze. He knew it as clear as day. The day when he saved Mei was Sunday, so the day the Soldato came was-
"Monday. Tomorrow. How will they collect them with all the original residents dead?"
Will they take control of the building from him? Damn, will all of his preparations go to waste?
Salvador shook his head.
"They don't seize control of the rent, or the building. Since there's too many people to talk to individually, they'll most likely slip an invitation under the door tomorrow before anyone wakes up."
"An invitation to what?"
The man's face drew into a grin at his question.
"A party. Officially, in the case of a culling event there's supposed to be a one week grace period, but the Thumb regularly breaks it since the Index is too absorbed in the Prescripts to care."
Salvador explained further as Asher shot him a 'what the hell' look.
"A party of such glorious, magnificent proportion - and most likely free of charge - that few residents will be able to resist the temptation. The Index will have all their prospects swept out beneath their feet."
Asher blinked. He didn't quite understand. And was Salvador going off topic, or was this part of his advice?
"So what do you suggest me do? Ignore it?"
"Hoho, of course not. The Fingers are a valuable connection to us Fixers. You might dislike this, but you certainly will work with a Finger at least once in your life. It is simply the nature of Fixer work, even for the most 'righteous'. And, I suspect you already have."
Asher narrowed his eyes, taking a sip of tea in thought. Okay, maybe he had worked with Yan once or twice.
"So I should go to this supposed party tomorrow?"
"Certainly, dear. Most Fixers won't have this opportunity that you have; a whole block vanishing is definitely a rare occurrence. Make your presence known to them tomorrow, and you'll find your life become much more interesting. Much more opportunities will arise."
Asher was inclined to believe him. The old man didn't seem like the type to lie, and his demeanor exuded the experience and wisdom of age.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"That's it for now. Oh, did you come here to see little Philip?"
"Pretty much. I came to spar with him, but Lily said he's on a mission right now."
Salvador, having judged the perfect temperature, tipped the contents of his cup down his throat, sighing in satisfaction.
"Indeed, he took on the 'Red Chomper' case with Zachary and Malik. Urban Legend, perfect to test his limits."
Asher was slightly surprised by the number of people Philip took with him on the mission. Three Fixers, who he assumed were all Grade 7, for a single Urban Legend? Perhaps he underestimated the difficulty of the threats above Urban Myth.
Anyway, what should he do, now that he was here? Just wait for Philip?
But before he could decide anything, Salvador stood up.
"Well, how about a little training as you wait for little Philip? Even though your technique is sharp, nothing beats some practice."
Asher had no complaints. Although Sophie's [Puppet Movements] came fairly instinctive to him, it was just that. Instinctive. If he instead trained his movements to a higher level than instinct, he knew that a whole new world of moments would reveal to him.
They walked out, heading toward the training room. Along the way, Salvador called over Yuna to follow him as well. She sighed in exasperation, dropping the folder in her hands as she joined them.
'So I'm going to be sparring with Yuna? She's a Grade 5 Fixer, even stronger than Sayako, cause Sayako got overpowered by Yan. Let's see how overpowered she is.'
Before he knew it, Asher found himself back in the spacious training room/gym. Without another word, he picked out the dual knives he used from last time, flipping them deftly in his hands.
However, Yuna did not pick up a weapon. She merely brushed a few strands of cyan hair from her eyes, standing by the side in silence.
"-!" Asher's mouth dropped as Salvador clasped his grip around the hilt of a wooden longsword.
With a flourishing swish, the blade was brought to eye level.
"Pay close attention, Yuna. Now, dear Sophie, practice your techniques on these old bones."
Asher gulped.
Salvador's eyes, usually curved into a smile, were completely open now.
Pitch black pupils stared into his own royal blue.