Cherry Blossoms

1

"Papa? Where does my magic even come from?"

...

"Some people say it's from the Wreath Queen, my little magician."

~•~

She thought about her father words, smiling softly at the memory. She never really knew where her magic came from, thus the reason for the questions, but those words would have to do for now.

There was more people here than in her Village, and it was evident by the people walking around on the sidewalks and streets. She absolutely had no clue where she was. So she took a breath and walked up to the people closest to her, which ended up being two school girls.

"Um, excuse me... where is the Detective Agency?"

The first girl raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're not from around here are you?" She asked, giving her friend a quick sideways glance - to which her friend returned it with a shrug.

"See that bridge behind you? Just cross that and keep going straight, there should be a complex jutting out from a corner. That's the Detective Agency." The other girl explained, smiling softly.

Huh, it was much different in her Village. "I see... thank you." She thanked, turning on her heel and walking off. She kept quiet. Only smiling when others greeted her, and waving in return once she thought it was necessary. As she crossed the bridge and kept going straight a complex jutting out of the corner filled her vision, making her smile a little bit.

Her boots connected with the first step, a teen dressed in a school uniform bumped into her - ultimately making her fall back. She quickly gained her footing as a black cat padded up behind her.

"Don't step on the cat..." She muttered to herself, sighing once she knew the small little cat was safe from her mighty footsteps. The cat let out a sort of angry snort, picking it's head up and looking at the teen that bumped into her.

Blue eyes followed, meeting steel gray eyes in return. They were sharp but also warm surprisingly. She couldn't see his hair since it was hidden by a cap, however right now it didn't matter. A sword was peeking out from underneath his cloak.

She found herself frowning. "Apologies for bumping into you." The teen said, slightly bowing politely and causing her to blush from embarrassment.

Shaking her head she sent the teen a nervous smile. "Don't worry about it, okay? Anyway I need to get past you to the Agency..."

Thankfully the teen moved over slightly without any questions, allowing her to get past him and open the door. She turned her head to look over her shoulder. "Good luck with whatever you're going to do."

The teen didn't answer as he started to walk away but the cat did. "Thanks for the good luck."

Yokani nodded her head. "You're welcome." And with that she closed the door.

~•~

"I think I heard of her before. If I remember correctly her name is Yokani Shiorimyōji."

As Raidou Kuzunoha walked through the streets of the Capital, he found his steel eyes narrowing slightly at the girl he just met. Gouto said her name was... Yokani Shiorimyōji? That last name wasn't familiar here, so the ravenette suspected that she was an outsider - along with her slightly thick accent.

"That dame is also very interesting."

The teen turned into the small shop near the Detective Agency, sparing his mentor a glance. The shop owner muttered his signature greeting, but at this point Raidou wasn't really listening. Instead he fixed the placement of his hat. "I need to go into your basement."

The owner raised an eyebrow. "My basement again? Well... go ahead. Hopefully Victor isn't causing you too much trouble." He hummed, scratching his cheek.

Raidou said nothing in return. His face was as stoic as ever. The door opened and closed behind him, the steps creaking in turn with his footsteps.

Victor greeted him, his hands clasped together in anticipation. "What can I do for you Kuzunoha?"

The Fourteenth let his eyes show curiosity, while his mentor remained calm and collected on his shoulder. Victor was an excellent asset when it came to outsiders and the like, and the scientist helped with multiple cases in the past. Raidou and his mentor agreed that after bumping into Yokani Shiorimyōji Victor was the one to confront.

"Yokani Shiorimyōji. Does this name sound familiar to you?" Raidou questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The man's face contorted into surprise, then slowly shifted into what seemed to be a grin. "Cloudburst Village's Sorceress hmm? Anything specific that you want to know about Miss Yokani Shiorimyōji?"

"Sorceress? Is this why you thought she was interesting Gouto?"

His mentor, Gouto, snorted sarcastically at the Kuzunoha's words. "There was more than that Jouhei," he snarkily commented, licking his paw like a normal cat. "The Sorceress of Cloudburst barely leaves the Village. She has to stay and make sure a healthy stream of magic is settling around her home. To protect it of course."

Raidou rolled his eyes, however he was curious. He never heard of a Sorceress before - but the subject of magic was familiar to him. He resisted the urge to narrow his eyes again.

Eyes flicked between his grey ones and Gouto's green ones. "Did Yokani Shiorimyōji leave Cloudburst Village?" He piped up, earning two nods from Raidou and Gouto. "I see, I see. Something is most definitely wrong then."

Raidou Kuzunoha the Fourteenth crossed his arms, leaning on his right leg through the silence. "How do you know so much about this Yokani anyway Victor-san?"

Victor's grin returned to him. "I know her father, if you want to keep this story short of course."

~•~

The warm glow above Cloudburst Village faded... faded... and faded even more until all that was left was the roaring of a beast in the distance.

Then the cries of terror and anger soon followed.