As Aotori thought about it, he discovered that he didn't really want to do any tracking at all. Besides, he was a bit huffy at Felicidad's words.
I mean, his paintings came in handy a lot more than his superiors would realize. Eventually, the Pursuit of Happiness would be discovered; it was only inevitable. With this thought in mind, he used his penchant for self-expression as a bait and switch—switching PoH for one specific Suspect.
Huffing to himself as he clenched and released his fingers repeatedly, he whistled to himself. How exactly was he going to avoid work today…
He could always ask Lucky Chuckies to do it—no, that was a bad idea. The two had a bit of a feud…one that Aotori admittedly started on his own. Besides, that guy would find a way to blow something up—which would be an obvious problem.
Hell, he might even do it just to piss off Aotori in general. Lucky Chuckies was the kind of man who loved being generally impish outside of his main hobbies, and Aotori only invited the firework menace's spiteful ire.
…There weren't many of the nine that would openly assist him in avoiding work. Mirasol was busy doing something else, and that flower lady was always busy cooking something up in her room.
He entered the PoH main room while bemusedly muttering to himself, his eyes sharpening as he got a look at Bloody Penny. She was currently bored, rolling across the floor and basking in the few quaint moments of not having a dangerous Suspect scare her to death.
Aotori hopped down the small set of steps, evoking a loud noise that caused Bloody Penny to turn on her side and lock eyes with him. Her lips trembled as she shuddered while the painter man's lips folded into a thin, upended line.
"Hey, Penny…" He inwardly cackled boisterously, the thought that he had found his replacement prominent in his mind. The rhombus sequins in his hair glittered as he became even surer of this as Bloody Penny instantly answered.
"Y-yes! I mean…yes?" She said before he could even finish. Then, suppressing a gasp and fixing her posture into a more casual manner, she leaned down on her hand as she lay on her side.
"Can you do me a favor? You've been around for a long time, right…?"
"Uh, yes. Yes, I have. What's up…?"
"So…since you're so old, you are quite sensitive to energy Signatures, right?"
"Okay…rude. We're all Suspects—we don't age you d-" She immediately stopped as soon as Aotori revealed a look of displeasure. Then, smoothing out her collar to calm her nerves and alleviate her burgeoning frustration, she nodded quickly after.
"Good. So the boss wants me to track someone down—they've been near my paintings. I was wondering if you could be so inclined to do it in my stead. I've got things to do…sights to smear."
"Ummm…I don't think that's appropriate-"
"Right! Thanks so much, BP. I'll repay you with a nice-looking tapestry. You'll love it!" Aotori snapped and promptly turned, opening a door and disappearing from Bloody Penny's view.
'Huuuu…crazy guy. I don't care how much I wanna do something—I'm not giving someone a reason to kill me for dumb shit. But, haaa…well, someone has to do what Felicidad wants. So maybe I can use this chance to escape…?' Her eyes darted about as her heart feverishly chugged copper ichor through her veins.
Leaning on the ground as she dragged herself up to her feet, her eyes flickered.
——
Vere opened his eyes, reappearing in the B-Side. Before he laid an unfamiliar setting, the whole area was stained in changing light. A soft, lavender hue slowly replaced the yellow-red gradient as the moon revolved to the left, allowing another to slide into its place.
Overlooking wide, rolling plains, Vere noticed that there were all sorts of clutter. Mechanical limbs and bloody entrails dotted around, and various Suspects shambled about the rubble. There seemed to be a lot of car parts—a junkyard, perhaps.
He sat atop a flattened hill, high above the plains. Obvious, floating steps rotated around the hill as they descended and ascended in turn. A lone figure rode one.
It looked like a human, but its eyes were completely empty. Electric sparks fluctuated out of the wounds in the skin—revealing a mechanical interior mocked up to resemble human organs. At least in some aspects.
The stilted, jarring movements revealed its age. The face of a middle age man was level with his adam's apple due to the hunch in his back. Inexplicably, the [Magpie] within his thought nexus showed signs of unrest after witnessing the figure.
Vere allowed it to do as it wished, taking the time to scan over his gains from the last Case.
> The last Suspect has been neutralized.
Gained Details: (Victim of Incident and regret of fashion), (Obsession with fashion), (Incited Suspects), (Fire), (Association with JJ&R), (State of the Elevator)——(Weird Groove)——(Fire).
Gained Evidence: Burnt Pigment, Trumpeter Pigment, JJ&R Shreds (x14), Brass Toothstones (5), Vibrato, Flaresinger Essence (3), Steel Lains (7).
Plus, your Ramis divide and absorb the lessons gleaned from this case…they have all reached Tier II. [Streetlight], [Seven Eyes], and [Self Control] have been unlocked.
Branches spread out from the three Rami, each with a new bulb that added to the light it emitted. At their bases, the faintly visible Roman numerals read 2 on all five structures at the center of the thought nexus.
The [Mamba] looked over, tilting its head as it flicked its tongue. The new abilities had no personalities of their own, though, and didn't seem to move or disturb the snake in any way.
The [Streetlight] bulb flashed faintly—green, red, and yellow streaming out from different portions of it and occasionally turning off altogether.
The [Seven Eyes] bulb gave a foreboding aura, seven petals transforming into circles and back again within its depths. However, this site was only faintly noticeable due to the fluctuating lilac rays blaring against the confines of the bulb.
The [Self Control] bulb was surrounded by smoggy dark tendrils that undulated around it—a hint of deep blue visible in its depths. A soothing aura differentiated it from the chaotic vibe of [Streetlight] and the aggression of [Seven Eyes].
These changes caused a shift in the strange runic patterns in the depths of Vere's eyes. They seemed to become more organic in some ways—a bit more mechanical in others. An odd mixture occurred between the two elements that were entirely at odds with each other, deepening the profundity of his gaze.
Meanwhile, the magpie dropped a few feathers as it heaved the android-looking figure in its comparatively small talons.
"You sure you want that? You're struggling with it." Vere chuckled and walked over to help. The magpie simply squawked and clacked its pearlescent beak in response, only preening itself on Vere's shoulder once it shoved it into the thought nexus.
"Well, there. Is there something else you want, ey? There's nothing special around here, I don't think. We just need to find our way back home." Vere stretched his aching limbs as his wounds regenerate at a visible speed. The subtle breeze was quite drafty, considering he had no top to speak of.
'While I'm at it, I need to find some way to get more clothes. My trench coat won't be enough, and I'm basically wearing rags…hehe.' He inwardly chuckled to himself as he walked forward.