The Razor's Edge [[Feitan x Reader]]

10: The Missing Woman

  Machi's POV

   The troupe was pretty slow-moving the next morning. A few of the members were nursing hangovers, Shiku included. It was a struggle to get her out from under the covers, but we had told the boss that we'd go into the city to get a bed for y/n. She'd made due with a bedroll last night, but we wanted her to have something more permanent. She was one of us now, after all.

   I watched her as she sat chatting with Nobunaga. He had asked to see her daggers and offered to sharpen them for her. It seemed that her company was the payment for such a favor. He'd never admit it, but Nobunaga was having a really hard time with Uvo's death. It was nice for him to have another enhancer around.

   "He seems to have really taken a liking to her," Shiku observed.

   "It's just that she reminds him of Uvo."

   "Is that healthy?" Shalnark asked, coming up behind us.

   I crossed my arms. "What does it matter? He's happy. Plus it's nice that y/n is finally fitting in. I know that some people didn't give her a very warm welcome." I glanced at Phinks and Feitan, who were both too preoccupied to be listening to our conversation—or had heard it and chosen to ignore us anyway. Feitan was perched on one of the rocks, reading, while Phinks was kicking a small stone back and forth on the floor. I hoped that maybe they'd start treating her better after last night's mission.

   *****

   It was busy in the city. Our attack last night didn't seem to disrupt any of the auction events. Most people must have really believed that the mafia had managed to kill some of our members along with the boss. The idea was laughable. Regardless, we'd still need to keep a low profile so that we wouldn't be recognized.

   I had to keep an eye on Shizuku as we made our way through the streets. She was pretty easily distracted. I knew that if she stopped without me noticing then I'd keep walking and end up losing her in the crowds. I considered attaching one of my nen strings to her, but decided she'd probably rather I just held her hand instead.

   For the most part, she was fine until we reached the shopping center. I could feel her slowing down as she watched a short, scrawny man putting fliers up on a bulletin board. In a typical Shizuku fashion, she tripped over her own two feet and crashed into him, sending him toppling to the sidewalk as his stack of papers flitted in the air around him.

   She apologized and tried to bend down to help him with the papers, but I dragged her away and into the building, disappearing into the crowd of shoppers.

   "I know you want to help, Shiku, but we can't be drawing attention to ourselves. You and I are supposed to be dead, remember? At least until the bounty on the troupe is rescinded."

   She nodded and adjusted her glasses. "Right, sorry. I forgot."

   We found the home department without too much difficulty. I stood smacking my bubble gum while Shiku stood in front of the wall of comforter sets and picked one out for y/n. She was closer with her, so I figured she'd have a better idea of what she might like. I regretted letting her take the lead, however, as the time slowly ticked by.

   "How about this one?" I asked a little impatiently as I pulled out a yellow set dotted with tiny pink flowers.

   Shiku stared at me blankly. "Are you being serious?"

   I grumbled. "Well, which ones are you between?"

   "All of them," she shrugged.

   "Can we narrow it down at all?" I asked, crossing my arms.

   She rubbed her chin. "Well, I suppose that yellow set you suggested is out."

   I sighed. "What was wrong with it? I mean, what's the criteria that you're trying to meet?"

   She hummed and raised her gaze to the ceiling as the thought tumbled in her mind. "I want it to be something nice, you know? We shouldn't grab her whatever is cheapest or whatever is closest or any of that." She paused and turned to me before continuing. "I don't think she's had many nice things. I want her to see that that's something she can have with us. So, quality comes before anything else—well, except for the fact that I want her to feel cozy in whatever we pick."

   "So. . . we're looking for something comfy and well-made? That's the main objective here?"

   She nodded. "Yeah, to put it simply."

   "How about a quilt set, then?" I grabbed one off of the shelf that had different shades of blues and greens patterned throughout. "That would give off a comfy, home-y vibe, right?"

   She gasped. "Yes, that's perfect!"

   Once we'd found the right set we moved onto picking out a mattress and a bed frame. I thought that would be the end of it, but Shiku insisted on grabbing some more throw pillows to go with the quilt. I really didn't think y/n would care about that, but I wasn't going to ruin her fun.

   It felt odd actually paying for everything, but, like I said, we needed to not draw too much attention to ourselves—and stealing a complete bedroom set would certainly have turned a few heads. I promised Shiku we could at least steal a car to pick everything up.

   We were heading out of the shopping center when I felt a tug against my palm, signaling to me that she had stopped moving.

   "Shiku, come on, we need to find a car and get out of here."

   She didn't hear me. She was too focused on whatever it was that had caught her eye. I followed her gaze up to the bulletin board that we'd passed before. The fliers that the man had been putting up. . . they were 'missing person' posters.

   "Sorry, It's just that, well, this picture kinda looks like y/n, doesn't it?"

   I had thought the same thing. There was no doubt about it. "Yeah," I agreed, ripping the poster off of the board.

   "What should we do? Should we ask her about it?"

   I shook my head. "She'll tell us when she's ready. For now, let's just tear down any of these that we find."

   Shizuku nodded and turned her head, looking for more of the posters. I carefully folded up the one that I'd taken and shoved it into my pocket.

   I wouldn't confront y/n—it wasn't my place—but the boss had a right to know what was going on.
  
   Y/n, who are you?

~~~~~
Author's Note:
Hi, guys! Sorry this update is so short and took me so much longer than the others. I'm back home for a bit visiting family and have been suuuper busy. Anyway, let me know how you're liking the fic so far! <3