Hayden stood in front of a closed door, not sure if she should knock on it or simply twist the knob and open it. She glanced at her phone one last time, just to be sure she was at the right place. She finally decided to make her presence to the owner of the house known.
"It's open," she heard a woman's voice say a few seconds after her knocking, she sounded calm and soft, yet loud enough to be heard from a certain distance.
Hayden gently pushed the door open and slowly made her way inside. As soon as she was through the threshold, she spotted a figure sitting at a table, head down, seemingly focused on something. She instantly recognized who the woman was, even though she had only seen her once or twice her entire life, she could never forget her face," You're the person I am supposed to see?" Hayden asked, somewhat surprised.
"Well, there is nobody else here but me,"
"Are you the Guardian Angel?" she asked the woman again.
"No, and I am guessing you're not either," she replied before inviting Hayden to join her at the table, " Take a seat,"
"Oh, I am just supposed to pick something up and leave,"
"I know that, please sit," The woman insisted.
"You came back into town because of the message?"
"Not really, I was already here when I got it," there was a small pause before the silence was broken again "Your name is Hayden Romero if I remember it correctly?"
"Yes, is... The reason of your comeback relevant to this entire situation by any chance? Unless it's personal," tact wasn't on Hayden's priorities list at that moment, she needed to carry that conversation to a quick end in order to pick the item she was sent for, and that was it.
"I am not sure of that yet, one could say it is personal, but if my fears about it turn out to be real... I am not going to be able to handle it on my own," so much for drawing the discussion to an end, the cryptic language the woman was using didn't really make it easy for Romero.
"What about the thing that I need to pick up?"
"I am not sure if I should give it to you," for once, her answer was straight to the point, unfortunate it wasn't what Hayden wanted to hear.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"If I am not mistaken, you are planning to take it to Mexico, to a place called 'La Iglesia'?" the woman began to explain herself.
"No, you're right, that is what the message said,"
"I didn't get that part of the message, but I have a small idea about what the Guardian Angel wants you to do,"
Hayden was standing between two questions to ask about, on one hand she wanted a glimpse of whatever this Guardian Angel expected her to do, but on the other hand however, the reluctance of her conversational partner to give her the item, whatever it was, pricked at her mind," And you... Don't agree with it?"
"If it is what I think it is, then I have every reason to be concerned, by now I am sure you're fully aware that no deed goes unpunished, there are consequences for everything, especially when it comes to the supernatural,"
"It's really that bad, isn't it?"
"You don't need me to tell you that," that confirmation sent a chill down Hayden's spine.
She hit a wall in terms of questions after that, but then, she brought her attention on the table infront of her, she paid more mind to what the woman was doing, "Mrs. YUKIMURA, this game, that you're playing..."
"The game of go, and... You may call me Noshiko, at this point," Noshiko seemed as focused on that game as the chat she was having with Hayden, moving the little black and white pieces on that wooden board with much thought and care, almost as if her life depended on it.
"Right, Liam told me some stories about the pack's adventures before I met them, and there was a part where he talked about the battle against the nogitsune...I remember him mentioning this game, and not in a casual way," Hayden took a few seconds to choose her words for that next question, "Does that reason you came back for, and that you're still not very sure about, have anything to do with... The nogitsune?"
"As I said, I am not sure of it, but I do have a strong feeling about it...Yes,"
"How come? Are you somehow connected?"
"In a way, as I am sure Liam has also mentioned, I am responsible of the fact that this one is roaming the earth, but he is my kin after all, just a different type of kitsune, it's like you, being able to smell other werewolves for example," explained Noshiko.
"Well, unless they have the ability to inhibit their smell then, yeah, I suppose,"
"Yes, you get the point,"
Romero's anxiety was already ten stories higher, but she dreaded the answer to her upcoming inquiry even more, "What do you suspect the Guardian Angel wants us to do in Mexico that, you're so much against?"
"The object that you were sent to collect from me is Kira's sword, it's in pieces in that little jar behind you,"
Hayen whipped her head around, to catch sight of a little, white jar sitting on a smaller table. That got her confused, considering Noshiko's stance on the matter, "I'm not following, are you saying I can take it or...?"
"I said I was against the idea, not that I had a better plan," she stated simply.
"What do you think we'll need to do with it?" Hayden attempted again, since she didn't get a relevant answer before.
"If I am correct, you're going to drastically upset the balance of nature. Last time I did that, it only brought pain, strife and chaos... That being said, and if I am correct again, you still need to take it and go where you were told, there isn't much time. I myself, have somewhere else to be,"