A couple of weeks later, you finally regained most of your strength back. You took some medicine to ease up the pain in your body as you were doing your daily exercise. It's no longer difficult to move on your own but there are times when your body suddenly freezes or fall over so you have to hold on firmly to anything sturdy around you. It seems that the poison in your body is still a bit active and the medications you've been taking aren't that much helpful aside from functioning as your regular pain relievers.
After your daily exercise, you walked back to your room as you wiped off the sweat from your forehead using the face towel that was draped around your neck. You soon noticed a note lying on your bed so you went to pick it up and read it.
["I went out to the police station since something came up. I'll be sure to come back soon since Shinobu won't be able to come by and take my place. Don't move around too much and don't spend a lot of time reading." -Heizou]
You lightly chuckled at the note, you thought that Heizou sounded like an overprotective parent in this note. You set the note aside and went to change your clothes since you've been sweating a lot from the exercise routine. After changing, you went to grab a few papers and a pen then you started writing on the table.
[Heizou's POV]
Something urgent came up so I hurried back to the Police station. Upon my arrival, I noticed that Madam Kujou was waiting by the entrance so I approached her.
"Madam Kujou"
"Glad you could make it, Shikanoin. We have received reports of Fatui soldiers that were caught at Byakko Plain, and just like the last group you caught, they also stashed the same chemicals and potions with them. Although, they really have a tight lip, they refused to give information regarding those chemicals so I was hoping if you could interrogate them and gather as much information as you can"
I nodded at her before I entered the station to interrogate the newly-apprehended soldiers. The interrogation went on for hours as I tried to question them one-by-one. They refused to give in the information regarding the chemicals but they managed to answer other questions, so I tried a different method in order to get the answer I needed.
"I'm sure you're aware of who this person is" I placed a photo down and slide it across the table, towards the Fatui soldier. The soldier took the moment to glance down at it, he seemed to pondering on what to answer as I just waited patiently. After a moment of silence, the soldier then nodded his head.
"Are there any other people that you and your fellow soldiers have been targeting?" The soldier then shook his head as a response.
"So out of all people that you Fatui soldiers had to target, it had to be a certain individual, who is a foreigner, and can only be found here in Inazuma? It seems that there's more to this than just a regular kidnapping. Mind filling me in on the details, hm?"
The soldier went silent and decided not to answer. I rested my head on my palm as my other hand was laid on the table, my fingers lightly tapping against the wood as I could feel my patience being tested. I can't afford to stay for another few hours since y/n is currently by herself at the hospital. I sighed then stood up.
"Alright, since we are getting nowhere with this interrogation.." I fiddled the tip of my bangs while trying to lay out all the pieces of information I've gathered so far. "y/n being a sole target for the Fatui.. a new kind of chemical found among the Fatui's belongings.. Since y/n is capable of fighting in order to defend herself, you and your fellow soldiers resorted to use the chemicals to poison and immobilize her.." I gave the soldier a cold stare. "It seems that your employer knows y/n very well and must be very well-versed in chemistry. Are they perhaps one of your superiors? The Fatui Harbingers, was it?"
I observed the soldier's reaction and noticed that he was slightly avoiding my stare, I could see the nervous sweat on his head and that's when I knew I hit the jackpot. "I see. Judging from your reaction, it seems that my intuition was right"
The soldier jolted up from his seat. "Y-You're wrong!"
"Hm? Then pray tell, which part am I wrong?" I tilted my head to side, trying to provoke him to extract more information.
"E-Everything! I-It wasn't Lord Harbinger who started this—"
"Oh? But during my investigation a few weeks ago, a couple more of your fellow colleagues were mumbling out this Lord Harbinger as they were discussing about your target. Not only that, but if word gets out that the Fatui harmed an innocent citizen from another nation... won't that become a diplomatic issue?" I placed my hand on my chin. The soldier dropped back to his seat, realizing how much he messed up. I then went beside him and leaned close to whisper. "If you're willing to cooperate with us on this then I'll be sure to put in a good word with the general to give your freedom"
***
I finally left the police station went straight back to the hospital. It was already night time and I'm slightly worried for y/n, considering that she's currently by herself.
I headed for y/n's room and noticed that the light behind the screen door is very dark. Did she already go to bed? I slid the door open and noticed that there was no one there.
"y/n?" I could feel my anxiety spiking up and looked all over the room. All I see are folded papers on the table, but not a single note on where she went. I noticed that the window was open so I head over to check it out. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I spotted a certain h/c-haired figure sitting by the roof, then I slowly crawled through the window as well and carefully went beside her. "And why are you out here so late?"
She seemed to be in a trance and was surprised to see me. "H-Heizou?! When did you-"
"I thought you went missing for a moment because your room was dark"
"E-Eh? I-It's already this late???" I can't help but chuckle at her reaction. My hand suddenly reached out to gently collect a few strands of her h/c hair and slide it out of my palm. For some reason, this became a habit of mine, and I'm starting to worry if this weirds her out.
"Ahaha... well, you see.. I'm stuck and I can't move on my own right now" She nervously chuckled. I chuckled along and stood up.
"Man alive, what am I going to do with you?" I went to help her up to prevent her from falling off the roof and take her back to her room through the window.
"So how did your work go?" She was finally able to move and went to sit down on her bed.
I sat down on the chair where I usually sit. "It went pretty well"
"A new case?" Her eyes seemed to fill up with excitement.
"Haha.." I then just patted her head. "Unfortunately not, but it's nothing to worry about. Just rest up— wait, have you eaten dinner yet?"
"..Ehe-" She avoided my gaze, to which I squinted my eyes at her and crossed my arms. "y/n"
"I-I was stuck at the roof for hours! I couldn't move!"
"Then why were you on the roof??" I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'll just... go get you dinner so please, please, don't do anything stupid" I then left her room to get dinner for the both of us.
***
[y/n's POV]
A few more days went by, your condition was getting better and better. Your doctor soon told you that you going to be discharged later in the evening so you immediately started preparing your stuff. The redhead detective is out to work again but he said he'll be back before dark so you decided to wait on him before you leave the hospital.
You passed the time by reading these novels that he got you and finished them all pretty quickly. By the time you finished reading, the certain redhead came back and helped you with your stuff, taking them back to your home. As you finally arrived back home, you plopped back on your futon as you missed the essence of your room. Heizou then went to tell you that he's planning to take his leave. You nodded and see him out the door, saying your farewells before you slowly closed the door behind you and took a moment to sigh.
Morning soon came, you got up and prepared yourself since you have a lot of things planned to do today. After preparing, you walked off to a familiar place. The place where you used to work in, Bantan Sango's Detective Agency.
You knocked on the door and slowly opened it. Two certain people were in it and they had a dumbfounded look on their faces upon seeing you.
"y-y/n..?"
You approached Sango with a light smile on your face. "Sango.. I've been thinking about it for the past few weeks... I finally came to a conclusion that I think I'm better off somewhere than staying here in this agency. Ah— don't get me wrong- I-I enjoyed my time here for the past year...it's just that.. I feel like I can find better opportunities somewhere.. where I can't be a bur—"
You were cut off as Sango suddenly embraced you. "I'm glad to have a junior like you. You've grown so much for the past year. Maybe it is indeed for the best if you find better opportunities somewhere else" She let go of you and pat your head. "Go and live your life however you want, y/n. Also, put in a good word with that Shikanoin brat that I won't forgive him if you end up unhappy" you sweatdropped at the last part as you sheepishly chuckled.
"It's a shame though, it's been exactly a year since you were employed here. To think that you'd actually resign a year later.. it's gonna be a bit lonely but hope you'll be happy with your decision, y/n" Ryuuji came up to the both of you then you turned to nod at him.
After that heartwarming closure with Sango, you immediately went for a walk around the city since you haven't been outside in weeks. You enjoyed your stroll and headed for Yae Publishing house. You missed the place so much that you crave for new literature pieces to read.
"Kuroda!!" You called out and waved. The staff of the establishment was surprised to see you and waved back.
"y/n, it's been a long time! I heard everything that happened to you. Are you feeling better now?"
You nodded optimistically. "Mhm! Anyways, do you have any new books in store?"
"Actually yeah, we do. You can check the shelf over there as usual" You gave him another nod and headed for the shelf where all the books were displayed. You checked the books from the bottom to the top, then something had caught your eye. You tried to reach for it but out of all times, your body suddenly freeze up and you were about to fall off. "-!?"
Someone managed to catch you from behind and firmly held both of your shoulders. "You know.. you could always ask for help, especially in your current condition" You heard a familiar whisper right by your ear which made you blush and your heart started pounding.
The redhead detective then went to reach for the book and handed it to you. "You might've forgotten that your body is still not in tip-top shape. You should be more careful"
You gave him a sigh as you accepted the book. "I know, I know- hm? Why are you here? Aren't you busy working— unless you're slacking off again??"
He suddenly leaned close to your face, to which you try to lean backwards with the book held over half on your face. "H-Heizou..?"
He pushed down the book as he got closer. You could only close your eyes tightly as your face is slowly turning into a tomato. He let out a light smirk on his face and reached out for a book that was right behind you before leaning away.
"...Eh?" You opened your eyes as you were puzzled.
"I'm not slacking off~ Just currently having a lot of free time on my hands" He winked as he stuck his tongue out playfully before he went over to the counter to purchase his book. You huffed out a pout before following behind him.
'This man, honestly...' You thought to yourself before breaking into a smile as you look at him from behind.