Chapter 94: Arc 3, Chapter 4: Confession

"Kazuo Namora, greatest detective in Burnetrout. His claim to fame was tracking down the head of the Deuctus Cult and shutting down their operation.

I'm not sure what exactly their deal was or what their crimes were, I was too young to remember. All I know was that I was to stay inside the house and I had tutors to be home-schooled as long as I can remember…

We, we had an argument… a few months ago. So, I packed my things and left through my window in the early morning. I stowed away in some cargo carts and used what little allowance I had on food on the way.

I entered Kria by night, showed my Burntish ID—which doubles as our passports—to the customs and made it to the East Kria Krialin Station where I applied for the detective position.

…By using a letter of recommendation from my father; that I forged. I slept the night and when I woke up, everyone was talking about some blonde girl who came back from the dead.

I snuck my way into the filing rooms and read through the new documents and learned about the Velatos Case; it was perfect to show that I could be a detective and then I met the blonde girl," Fumeko glanced to Jotou.

Hotaru leered closer… The brunette's eyes would shift, her shoulders shutting off her body. Nothing new she hadn't seen during a trial, "You're not telling the whole story Meko."

"I," Fumeko grumbled but she could not pull off the trick to the lawyer who tricked her and Jotou the same way, "I don't want to talk about it, alright!?"

She sat up, arms crossed, "I'm a runaway who wanted to be a detective and now I want to adventure with all of you, it's as simple as that. And clearly my dad doesn't want to, 'interfere' either."

"If he's such a good detective, how hasn't he found you yet?"

"Silly Jotou, he's the greatest detective in Burnetrout. Meko's smart enough to come to Kria so he's not the greatest anymore!"

Jotou gazed to Asobi, "That's… not how that works."

"I swear," Fumeko shook her head, "But I don't know the answer. When I left, I said I'd be going north and to not come looking for me in a note.

Apparently, the genius workings in the Krialin sent a letter back to him saying that I was doing fine here and they were keeping an eye on me.

They weren't wrong, they definitely kept an eye on me… But that should've ended that goose chase and I guess this newspaper's told me why I never got a letter; not like I wanted one anyway."

"I suppose you don't want to tell what that argument was about then?" Hotaru closed the paper, eyes softening and ears falling, "You don't have to; okay?"

"The media going in and out of Kria was being controlled, right? So your dad wouldn't actually know what danger you were in… Maybe that's why he didn't want to check up on you, thinking you were safe," Jotou supposed.

"Sounds uncharacteristic of him but that's the only reasonable conclusion. He, probably doesn't want to talk to me…" her eyes watched the floor.

"Aw, Meko…"

"Asobi, if you hug me, I will bite your ears off."

"…Not even-"

"Not even a little one."

"Just hug her Asobi," Jotou allowed.

"Yay!" the elf wrapped her arms around Fumeko.

Fumeko's arms flailed out, "Hey! Why'd you listen to her over me!" Though she protested, no ears were bitten off. Another empty threat as she accepted the hug in the end…

A grumbling Fumeko sat, eating her food… She peered up to the wolf-girl, sheepishly hiding away her eyes, "Thank, you… For not making me explain it… I'll, I'll say it at some point."

Hotaru's lips rose only by a little, "And if you never do, it's fine too."

"I'll probably keep annoying about it but, know that you don't have to tell me either. You wanted a new start, freedom from your parents and guess what? You did. We'll always be here for you Fumeko."

"Yeah! So cheer up Meko!" Asobi floated over a butterfly to the top of her head.

The pouty face softened, eyeing them with her face turning slightly red. "Can I eat in peace now?" her head ducked, the illusory white butterfly walking over her headband.

"We've reached Hartamat; we'll be stopping here for the night," the coachman relayed through the little door.

"Okay!"

"Gah!" the driver shivered as an illusory Asobi sat next to him, her wand poking through the gap.

Fourteen hours later, in the darkness of night and lampposts they walked, barely registering the cracking soil under their feet. "Four rooms please," Hotaru stood at the counter.

Most of the carriages had parked at the inn at the edge of the town. All the lights from any abode or shop were off in the near vicinity.

Small houses were built row by row. Asobi squeaked a yawn whilst Jotou stretched from back to legs. The sky showed no stars, the slight silver shine of the moon peeking through the clouds.

Both arms pressed against the booth counter, she flipped the pages of the registry. Brown hair hanging loose, some to cover the bags under her eyes.

Her hand made about twenty movements to reach for the pen a few inches away, "Sorry ma'am, we only have three rooms left."

"Oh. Then, a room for four please."

She took a breath, "The cabins left only got two beds. So, if you want the floor."

"We can take two and split up," Fumeko voiced from behind Hotaru.

"We'll do that then."

"Works for me. Two silver per night, enjoy your stay. Soap and towels will come to every door at nine and the water starts pumping at nine thirty," she handed two keys.

Hotaru paid for the night before one key was swiped from her grasp. "I choose Jotou as my roommate!" the brunette blinked away.

"Hey, I wanted to- Fine, it's just one night. Wait till we get to Cravolta City," Hotaru walked back, "Come on Asobi."

"Yay! Our rooms are next to each other. I can send my illusions through the windows to wake you up!" Two small cabins of brick and stone.

"Please don't do that," Jotou requested, putting the key into the lock.

"I can blink through your window and break your wand."

"EEP! PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!"

"Shhh," Hotaru held Asobi's mouth shut, "It's late, people are trying to sleep."

"Mhm."

Jotou opened the door, dragging her luggage along inside. "Goodnight, sleep well," Jotou waved whilst Fumeko walked in.

"You two too, goodnight."

"Have wonderful dreams!"

In a tired daze, Jotou, "Hey, can you look the other way. Like old times?"

"Yeah, yeah," Fumeko faced the bed whilst Jotou changed into her nightgown. Two beds, a dresser and windows at each bedside, "This… kinda reminds me of when we first met, doesn't it?"

"What? When we frantically ran all over town and fought Ana's dead mother?"

"I mean the room idiot."

"Oh, well," her heavy eyes squinted to the room of wood flooring, lit by two magical lamps on the wall in a mild yellow and walls painted peach, "A little."

"It was nice; having a friend like you to explore Kria with…"

Jotou turned, adventuring gear put aside and her sword she placed against the nightstand. Yellow fabric, comfortable and floaty, "Where's this suddenly coming from?" the blonde bounced as she sat on the springs of the bed.

"What? I can't get nostalgic?" the brunette snarked turning back. The blonde locks loose and face still adorned with light makeup… Fumeko gulped, "You are, my first, ever friend…"

'Is this something to do with her parents? She was home-schooled. She must've been a bird locked in a cage pretty much if she had to jump out a window to run away.'

"And I couldn't be happier that I accepted your help that day. I'd normally tease you for being so kind all of a sudden; maybe it's because I'm tired but I really appreciate you Meko.

I can relate to having tough parents and choosing to be with a family made up of your friends. Being the daughter of the greatest detective in Burnetrout, you must have some serious pressure on your shoulders.

I'll mess with you all day long but I don't doubt your ability. Be who you want to be and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want to be an adventuring detective; then I support you all the way," Jotou's smile alit by the dim yellow.

"I, want to show you something," she looked to the lamp… The warm glow, curtains shut, she turned her back to Jotou, unbuttoning her pinafore and pulling down the zipper of her poofy-shouldered white shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Just, wait," Fumeko took a deep breath, taking her pinafore off. She couldn't do it… she wouldn't… To her fear, she took another deep breath, pulling the back of her shirt to one side she exposed her back and winced her eyes tight.

Going down past her black undershirt, across her back, starting from her waist and patching up towards her abdomen were marks, red against her otherwise pale skin.

Spotted and stretched; the burn scars had grown with age, some odd patches of scars trailing with rivers of her normal skin passing through.

"Is, that why you're scared of fire?" Jotou's eyes slanted.

"You wouldn't know of the Great Fire of Burnetrout, seventeen years ago… I was in that… when I wasn't even a year old. My father at the time was a firefighter called down from Luxinor.

After he saved me from one of the burning buildings, he eventually adopted me. I never, left the house, because he was too scared to let me go…

I knew I was in a fire when I was a baby, I knew I didn't have a mother anymore but I didn't know he wasn't my father… I even thought he was from Burnetrout. It was, an ugly argument… but I wanted to leave, I had planned to many times before.

I got to go out, a few times a year under my dad's watch and that's as far as my experience goes. The rest was through a window I can look down onto the streets."

Fumeko endured watching the wall, showing her scars. She placed a finger on her headband, "This is the only thing I know is my mother's. All of that, probably explains my pyrophobia.

It doesn't scare me too much but when it gets too close, I don't like it," Fumeko turned back to Jotou, still in a pout her eyes watered under the yellow glimmer.

Jotou tilted her head, hands steadying on the covers, "Why are you telling me all of this; why didn't you tell everyone I mean?"

"I'll tell them at some point… I feel more comfortable around you than them; maybe Hotaru. You won't believe me but I prefer to keep Asobi happy… but more importantly, I'm telling you this because…

Jotou?"

"Yeah?"

Her heart quickened, "You're, really clever; you'd make a good detective… So," she gulped, "You know that I like you, right? More than normal…" her eyes stared straight to the blonde, face flushed red.

'Huh!?' "I mean, it was kind of obvious. Though, I'm also very paranoid so, I rarely think of anything as absolute. So, yes and no," she shrugged.

'Nice save Jotou you clueless idiot… It makes sense now; the way she acted around me and the way she acts when no one else is around.'

"You don't have to say anything!" Fumeko threw her hands up. Jotou peered up from her pondering. "I know you like to focus on one thing at a time.

I don't want an answer or anything right now. We're all on an adventure together and it can stay that way, I didn't want to complicate the plan or anything.

I just, it was bottling me up and you look very pretty tonight," the slur of words came out as Fumeko dashed her eyes to the side, gritting her teeth.

'I… I have no clue what to say…' "Alright."

"Alright? Alright!? What kind of response is that!?"

Jotou recoiled slightly, "You, asked me not to think about it. So I won't. Nothing's gotten complicated and we're all still friends going on an adventure. I'm… very anxious about these sorts of things."

"Oh. Okay," Fumeko nodded, her smile subtle.

Jotou moved her bangs behind her ear, "Listen, we'll hop on a train tomorrow, go to Cravolta City and see what's there. Whatever happens, promise me we'll have fun and you never stop being a detective to discover everything there."

"That," she cleared her throat, sitting up, tiny sparkles of hope in her pupils, "That I can promise."

"Good," Jotou stretched a yawn, "Then let's get some sleep shall we? I'm running on four hours."

Fumeko shuffled under her blanket, popping her shoes off. She shrivelled up in the bed, looking towards Jotou, "Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams," Jotou shut off the lamps, curling into her bed that she could melt into. She did not think one second of it; the bed was too comfy for her sleepy head. Sleeping like a baby, a small shock went over her hair in comfort.