"Kitsuna, he is the head butler," Kayda informed me, her voice low but tinged with confusion, as though she couldn't quite grasp why I was treating the man so dismissively.
"Yeah, and? I don't give a shit." I shrugged, letting my words hang in the air like they weighed nothing. "I'll only tell the tomato girly, and she can tell the rest if she feels like it." My eyes slid over to the butler's face, and as expected, he didn't react. Neutral, unreadable, the perfect mask of a servant.
Kayda sighed heavily, the kind of sigh that spoke of defeat. "Fine," she said, throwing in the towel with a tone that said she knew better than to keep arguing with me.
"Anyways," I continued without missing a beat, "let's go find that captain from yesterday. I think he might be of help."
Kayda raised a brow at me, skeptical. "Are you sure about that?"
"Not really," I admitted bluntly, scratching the back of my head. "But what else are we going to do here? Sit around and twiddle our thumbs? Oh, and Mister Butler—" I turned my gaze back to him, my tone shifting just enough to make it sound polite, even though the sharpness never left my eyes. "Do tell us where this place you tried to raid is located."
Before he could respond, Kayda cut me off with a sharpness that made me blink. "No. We are not going there, Kitsuna," she said sternly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
"What? Why not?" My surprise was genuine, my ears perking slightly at the refusal.
"It's far too dangerous to go there." She shook her head, her long hair shifting with the motion, eyes narrowing at me in that way she had when she was trying to act like the responsible one.
"Hmm, you might be right," I conceded with a slow nod. My lips curled in thought. "But we do need to see the place eventually."
"We are not going in." Her voice was iron, her glare daring me to push further.
I lifted my hands innocently. "Yes, of course."
She kept her glare, not convinced.
"Fine, please tell me the location," Kayda finally said, turning her gaze back to the butler, who had been standing silently through our back-and-forth like a statue in the summer heat.
"I will get a written version for you right away," he replied smoothly before turning and jogging down the hallway. His sandals slapped against the polished floor as he disappeared around a corner.
I raised an eyebrow. "You think he'll really give it?"
Kayda only shrugged. "Don't know."
"Well," I said, turning back to glance at the sleeping tomato girl sprawled comfortably under her covers, "anyway, let's leave her to sleep in peace."
"I guess we can do that," Kayda said softly, her eyes softening as she followed my gaze.
"Oh right—what's the tomato girl's name? She never told me."
The silence that followed was suspicious.
"…"
"…"
"Aaah, I forgot," Kayda admitted suddenly, glancing away as if the floor had become the most fascinating thing in the world.
"You… forgot her name?" I said, utterly stumped, my tail twitching in disbelief.
"Uh, it was on the tip of my tongue, but I forgot it." She gave a weak smile that was more excuse than explanation.
"I see. "We will ask her later," I said, dismissing the issue, even though the absurdity lingered.
"Okay. Oh—here he comes back." Kayda straightened as the butler returned, a neat stack of papers in his hand.
"Great, took him long enough," I muttered, stepping forward to meet him halfway.
"Here you go," the butler said, his voice still maddeningly polite. "As requested, here is the location of the suspect along with additional information about the place." He held the papers out toward Kayda.
"Thanks," Kayda said, taking them without even a glance and immediately handing them to me.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Thanks, I'll read through them later," I said, sliding the papers into my storage space with a flick of my hand.
"You?" the butler questioned, his eyes flicking between us.
"Her analytic ability with some things is better than mine," Kayda explained with a sly smirk, "but her common sense isn't perfect yet."
"Are you praising me or dissing me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"No comment." She crossed her arms and looked away with that smug little grin that always made me want to pinch her cheeks—or set something on fire.
"Right. I will take my leave then," the butler said quickly, nodding once before striding away with a pace that suggested he couldn't get out fast enough.
"You wronged me," I called after him, annoyed.
"No comment," Kayda parroted again, turning on her heel and heading toward the exit of the mansion.
"Hey, you need to pay for that," I said, darting after her.
"I do?" She looked at me over her shoulder, baffled.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes, you do."
"I do."
"Right, I thought so. But I'll keep that in my pocket for later." I smirked, watching as her defeated expression twisted into confusion.
"...What?" Kayda asked, brow furrowed.
"I'll dish out your punishment at a later date," I said with a grin that could only be described as sadistic.
"Dealing with the devil is so troublesome," she muttered, sighing as though resigning herself to her fate.
"Ho, ho, ho," I chuckled darkly. "But don't forget, I also still need to get back at you for peeking on me for a month." My grin widened, sharp and gleeful.
"Troublesome," she repeated louder this time. "I tell you, troublesome."
[3 hours later]
"You want to know where the black market is, do you?" The captain from yesterday leaned back against a post near the docks, his eyes narrowing as he studied me.
"Yeah. I need some info, money, and connections. You know, the normal things," I said with a careless shrug, my voice light even as my eyes locked on his.
"Why don't you use that body of yours?" a passing drunk muttered crudely, his grin splitting across his face.
His head hit the ground before his words even finished echoing.
"Man, what a mood killer," I said lightly, snapping a small fireball into my palm and flicking it onto the body. Flesh and bone went to ash in seconds, the sea breeze carrying the acrid smell away.
"The usual things, you say?" the captain muttered, his eyes narrowing even further. He didn't flinch at the body that was burning to dust, didn't even move. Instead, he chose to ignore the burning body, which was unsettling in its own way.
"You don't need to worry," I said, giving him a toothy grin. "It's nothing that'll put a bounty on your name or damage your reputation. Promise."
"I'm not worried about that." He snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "Why would a fourteen-year-old kid be asking me for this kind of stuff, even when their guardian's standing right behind them?" He gestured toward Kayda, who stood just behind me.
"Guardian? No, she's my partner." I waved him off without hesitation.
He blinked at me, then at her, then back at me. "I'm not judging, but if she isn't the same as you, isn't the age gap…" He trailed off, eyebrows twitching.
"Oh, I never thought about that," I said, tilting my head, my tone far too thoughtful for his comfort.
"Hmm, me neither. Luckily, you look older," Kayda added casually, shrugging like this was nothing.
"I see. So it's mutual," the captain said, nodding in relief as though he'd just solved some strange puzzle.
"Hmm, in a way, it is," I muttered, my eyes flicking to the faint shimmer of Kayda's wings.
"In… never mind," he said quickly, shaking his head as though to banish the thought. "You wanted to know where the black market is located, right?"
"Uh."
"Okay. It's here, at the docks. Underwater." He pointed straight down, toward the waves lapping against the pier.
"You don't say." I looked down, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah. Best place to have it—you can run away easier."
"Hmm, I guess you can run easier then," Kayda said thoughtfully.
"Haha, it's like the mafia," I said suddenly, laughing. "They are always involved in drug-related activities at the docks."
"Mafia?" The captain's brow furrowed, confusion plain.
"Don't worry about her. She's just talking to herself," Kayda said smoothly, nudging me away before I could explain.
"I… I see," the captain muttered, clearly unnerved but unwilling to push the subject.
"Now, how do we get access to the black market?" Kayda asked, her smile polite.
"Come to my boat later tonight, and I'll take you there." He gestured toward his vessel moored nearby.
"Uh, that will be great, thank you," Kayda said, nodding.
"Hey, Kayda, do you think we'll need to swim to get to the black market?" I whispered, deliberately loud enough for the captain to hear.
"Hmm, I hope not," Kayda replied, her eyes flicking nervously to the captain.
"Don't worry, that isn't needed," the captain said with a hearty laugh.
"Aah, that sucks," I muttered, pouting exaggeratedly.
"Anyways, let's go. We have more things to do. Meet you later, Mister Captain." Kayda gave a polite wave as she tugged me away.
"See you later," the captain said, turning back toward his ship.
"Hey Kitsuna," Kayda asked the moment we left the docks, "how did you make him tell us?"
"Hmm, I looked around yesterday in my spare time," I explained casually. "First I checked the slums for any dealings, but all I found there was the fortress. Knowing that was a dead end, I went to the docks and asked around. Apparently, that captain is quite the softy. So, I went to his ship, climbed into his crow's nest, and sat there staring out at the sea like I was longing for freedom."
Kayda blinked. "You… played with him."
"Yes. He also asked me to join him," I admitted with a shrug, "but I said I was too young. For that reason, he decided he'd help me if needed. Well, that and the fact that I showed him I was cursed." I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
"I don't understand you," Kayda said, exasperation in her voice. "One night you regret how you've been acting, and the next day you do it again."
"…Yeah, it's my way of living," I said, my voice softer, tinged with a sadness I didn't often let out.
"Well, in some cases it's not bad to be like that." Her tone gentled, and she laid her hand on my shoulder, warm and grounding. "You just need to know the line."
"I will try," I said, smiling faintly at her.
"Haah. I will try, try, try—what exactly does that mean? You don't try. You do, okay?" Kayda scolded, her voice snapping with sharpness.
"…Wait, you sound like Mom," I said, smiling without realizing.
"Stacy? Hm. Yeah, I guess that's something she would say," Kayda said, her eyes softening as she thought about it.
"But you're right. There isn't something like 'try.' There's only doing. Hahaha! Thanks, Kayda, for reminding me." I laughed, wrapping her in a sudden hug.
"Uh, it's fine," she muttered, cheeks flushing.
"Now, to the slums!" I declared, releasing her before springing up onto the nearest roof.
"Oi, don't just jump on people's roofs like that," Kayda said, following me with a flap of her wings.
"What, why not?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Because it's not actually allowed."
"So? Who's going to catch us? City guards?"
"Y-yes," Kayda admitted, already anticipating my reaction.
"Pfft. What are they going to do, try to catch us? We both know city guards are far too slow. All they can do is yell at us to stop, and that won't do anything."
"...I can't really deny that. City guards are fragile," she mumbled, clearly giving up.
"Oh, I know. Why don't we make it a race? "The first person to the location wins."
"Why?"
"Because it'll be fun! And I always loved doing parkour in my past life."
"Parkour?" she repeated, brow furrowed.
"Hm, how to explain… It's like running through a training course, but you use the city as your playground. Illegal, but fun."
"I see. Are there rules? And what does the winner get?"
"Winner gets one wish, like always. There are no restrictions. Use everything you've got to get to the location."
"Is that so… You already know where it is, don't you?"
"Uh, I've been calling it a fortress, after all," I said with a smirk.
"Okay. How do we start?" Kayda asked, eyes narrowing competitively.
"Oh, when this—"
"You there! Stop right there and come down right now!"
A voice boomed from below. We looked down to see a lone city guard glaring up at us, hand on the hilt of his sword.
Kayda and I exchanged a glance. Then we both burst out laughing.
"Stand still and come down to the ground!" Kayda mimicked between wheezes.
"What a hypocrite," I chuckled.
"I am from the city—"
"Yeah, no one cares," I cut him off, waving dismissively.
"Okay, let's go when this hits the ground," Kayda said suddenly, pulling a knife from her belt. With a flick of her wrist, the blade spun up into the air, glittering in the sunlight.