A cruise ship sounded its horn as it cut across the sea.
On the deck.
Beautiful women, fine wine, good food—faces from both East and West.
Gus Fring lay back on a deck chair, a look of pure contentment on his face.
"Don't be so stiff. Make yourself at home, Musashi."
Gus truly didn't see himself as an outsider at all, wearing a beach T-shirt that looked strange by wizarding standards, a freshly mixed cocktail from the ship's bartender in his hand.
Musashi ignored him and turned to John, who was standing nearby enjoying the sea breeze. "Leaving in such a high-profile way… is that really alright?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. This was meant to be a trip in the first place," John said with a light smile. "Gus is right—you can relax a little, Musashi. After all, we're heading to your homeland."
At the mention of home, Musashi's expression turned complicated.
There was the unease of returning after a long absence, mixed with fear and a desire to avoid it.
"You don't look that old," John said, leaning against the railing as a seagull landed beside him. "By Hogwarts standards, you'd have graduated less than two and a half years ago."
How could someone who had only just finished school end up running with an outlaw like Gus Fring?
Musashi clearly had a story of his own.
Hearing this, Gus eagerly raised his hand. "Ten Galleons, and I'll tell you the story of an Eastern wandering wizard."
"Deal," John said indifferently. "I don't mind spending money to understand someone."
John had never lacked generosity when it came to throwing money around.
Gus's eyes lit up at once.
"I knew sticking with the boss would be a good move."
Even as he said that, his body language was brutally honest—he stood there waiting for John to pay.
John took ten Galleons from his small bag and tossed them to Gus.
After catching them, Gus pulled out five and threw them to Musashi.
"Half and half, like we agreed," Gus said with a grin. "This story starts back when I was being hunted."
Gus was no saint. He was the kind of man who worked for money—so long as you paid, he'd do just about anything.
But he did have one admirable quality.
He honored his contracts.
Pay him for a job, and he'd do that job.
Of course, if the client tried to welch, he wouldn't mind dealing with them too.
He met Musashi after one such mission.
That employer had been far too greedy. Gus took care of his enemy for him, only for the man to turn around and tip off the Aurors about Gus's whereabouts.
Gus was chased by Aurors all the way and eventually fled abroad.
Norway.
It was there that he met Musashi, who was also far from home.
Back then, Musashi was wearing a white robe, like a stray puppy with nowhere to go.
In a way, Musashi had saved Gus's life. When the Aurors came searching, Musashi pretended not to see Gus hiding behind a rubbish bin and even pointed them in the wrong direction.
As payment, Musashi practically ate Gus out of house and home, emptying his pockets of Galleons.
"You have no idea how much he can eat," Gus said, still shaken. "But I realized we shared one trait—that was the key to our partnership."
Musashi loved money. The reason he saved Gus in the first place was so he could get paid.
But with Gus being broke at the time, the two of them made a deal—work together, make money, and split everything fifty-fifty.
Later, Gus was hired by John, and Musashi came along as well.
"Who would've thought your fates were tied together in such a strange way," John said casually. "If I remember right, there's a magic school in your homeland called the Magic Institute?"
"Because of how closed off the country is, Western wizards don't know much about the Magic Institute."
Musashi's expression dimmed as memories surfaced.
John glanced at him, then looked ahead and said lightly, "You were educated at the Magic Institute, weren't you?"
"Yes, but they won't acknowledge me," Musashi said, closing his eyes as if reliving something painful. "My uniform was white."
"The Magic Institute's uniforms are enchanted. They start out pale red, and as a student grows and their performance changes, the color changes with them."
Musashi said bitterly, "And white means the student has violated the wizarding code."
Clearly, that was nothing to be proud of.
The memory was one Musashi couldn't bear to revisit. He had fled in disgrace back then, and now he was being forced to return.
It was a blow to his pride.
"Hey, don't tell me you're going to quit," Gus sensed something was wrong and immediately cried out in alarm. "You can't just give up money over your pride!"
He ran over, threw an arm around Musashi's neck, and said in a low voice, "Do you have any idea how long it takes to earn those Galleons?"
Hearing Gus go on like that, Musashi's face darkened completely.
I'm talking feelings with you, and you're counting money with me?
John didn't particularly care. Watching the harbor slowly draw closer, he calmly let the sea breeze wash over him.
"The Magic Institute, huh."
…
Hogwarts after John's departure seemed unchanged, yet somehow different.
Slytherin was still as competitive as ever, and Malfoy was just as irritating as always.
Pansy tied her hair into twin ponytails, just a princess dress short of the full look, and said coquettishly, "Theodore, where should we go for our date?"
Theodore Nott paused in the middle of taking notes and looked at her.
Pansy grabbed his hand and swung it back and forth, a gesture that made Malfoy deeply uncomfortable.
He said with open disgust, "I'm going to throw up."
Hearing him, Pansy's eyes turned cold as she shot Malfoy a glare.
Malfoy immediately acted as if nothing had happened, whistling as he prepared to go look for trouble with Harry.
Theodore seemed lost in thought. Using the excuse that he needed to borrow a book from the library, he told Pansy to wait here.
"No, I want to go too," Pansy pouted, fully committed to her sweet-girl act.
"Wait here," Theodore said, his voice taking on a tone that allowed no refusal.
Pansy froze, watching Theodore leave the Great Hall.
After stepping out, Theodore headed for the stairs.
Just before reaching the library, he stopped.
The library was on the 4th floor. From the 3rd floor, he glanced toward the corridor on the right.
After making sure no one was around, he turned and walked that way.
Passing the gatekeeper's office, he stopped in front of a door marked with an eye symbol.
The eye at the doorway turned toward Theodore. He took a badge from his pocket and pinned it to his chest.
After seeing the badge, the eye immediately shifted away.
Theodore's heart raced. He placed his hand on the door and gave it a gentle push.
The door opened.
Golden letters and a star-filled sky came into view.
There was no one inside. He stepped in.
Carefully, he searched the place, but couldn't find what he was looking for.
In the end, his gaze settled on nine doors. He walked up to one of them and pushed it open.
On the other side was a world of ice and snow, a blast of cold rushing toward him.
Theodore hurriedly shut the door.
He opened the second door. Beyond it was a forest, overgrown with vines and grass.
Suddenly, one of the vines moved, coiling around Theodore's ankle and nearly dragging him inside.
He broke free at once and turned cautiously toward the third door.
When he opened it, there was nothing but darkness inside.
Then, within that darkness, a light appeared.
Theodore looked closely. It was a glowing golden cup.
He tried to step inside, but a force repelled him and the door slammed shut.
"No!"
Theodore rushed forward and opened it again, only to find the darkness gone, replaced by a vast ocean.
Seawater surged out, soaking him from head to toe.
Daring not to open the fourth door, Theodore fled the Constellation Society in haste.
He removed the badge from his chest and ran toward the Room of Requirement on the 7th floor.
Inside, there was a strange envelope.
Words written inside it would appear on another letter elsewhere.
Theodore wrote a single sentence inside.
"The item is behind one of the doors."
After writing it, he hurried away.
Staying away for too long would only arouse suspicion.
He went to the fifth-floor library and casually picked up a book on alchemy.
When Theodore returned to the Great Hall, Pansy saw him and thought he had run back at full speed. She said with concern, "Why are you all sweaty?"
Theodore wiped at the water on himself. "It's nothing."
On the other side of the hall, Malfoy was still going on about how Harry had been knocked out by his own teammate in Quidditch.
…
The ship docked at the harbor. Like the other tourists, John had a camera hanging around his neck.
Gus wore a fisherman's hat, beach shorts, and carried a suitcase in his hand.
He looked extremely suspicious.
After opening his passport for inspection, John entered Japan without trouble.
Gus, on the other hand, was checked over and over again, as if they suspected he was carrying some kind of weapon of mass destruction.
When the inspection finally ended, Gus ran over to John to complain.
"It's over. My dignity has been trampled," he said with a wounded expression.
Seeing him like that, John replied calmly, "Then tell me—how much is your dignity worth?"
"Give me ten Galleons and I can soothe my wounds a little. Give me fifty, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened." Gus finally showed his true colors.
"I'll give you a hundred—then you can throw your dignity aside altogether," John said grandly. Gus immediately lost whatever dignity he had left.
Walking through the streets of the city, John glanced at the man in a trench coat standing by a taxi and said, "Looks like we're being watched."
Gus looked over and saw nothing but walking Galleons. He leaned in toward John with a flattering grin. "Give me the money and I'll take care of him for you."
"That's probably an Auror, dealing with illegal entries," John said dryly. "I don't have a habit of killing people for no reason."
Musashi saw the man and his expression changed.
The Auror noticed Musashi and started walking toward them.
John calmly turned and headed in another direction.
The Auror followed. The three of them moved the other way.
Unfortunately, unfamiliar with the area, they walked straight into a dead end.
The Auror blocked their path from behind. Lifting his head, he revealed the face beneath his hat.
"Akino Musashi, where do you think you're going?"
________
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