Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everyone knows that the Paradisaea and the Vultur Volans are mortal enemies. The Paradisaea, a notorious phantom thief whose acts of magic dazzle and awe any spectators lucky enough to witness their heists, and the child detective destined to catch them, a figure only known as Vultur Volens. A legendary prodigy whose detective skills outmatch even that of the police-

Fadhlan paused in the middle of his dramatic reading to look up at Kaveh. “ Legendary prodigy ?”

“It’s a nice embellishment, isn’t it?” Kaveh had the audacity to grin at him.

“I think it might be better for me and the rest of Sumeru if we never had to read your embellishments again. Just stick to the facts next time.”

“Brat,” Kaveh flicked his forehead. “I’ll be late coming home again. Listen to Tighnari, will you? And I expect you to stay in class today. Got that?”

“Hm,” Fadhlan had already flipped the paper over and was reading the article on the reverse side. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Kaveh sighed, “Well, that was worth a try. Look, I know you find the classes boring, but didn’t you say you’ve made a few friends at school? You can just all sit in the back and pass notes to each other if it helps you pass the time.”

“You're actively encouraging this behavior?"

"I'm saying you can't stay here ."

Contemplative silence. "I'm going to the House of Daena."

"But your education-" 

"-will not be impacted because I went to a different place of learning for the day. The teachers say they teach, but their quality of teaching cannot even surpass what I can get from self-study. I therefore see no point in going."

Kaveh stared at him. Having gone through Sumeru's school system himself and also being miles ahead of his peers, none of his points are invalid. However…

"You do realize that a major component of school is socialization, right? Wouldn't your friends miss you if you skipped school?"

"...I concede the point," Fadhlan sighed. "I'll convince my friends to skip school with me."

"Master Tighnari is going to kill us," said Collei.

"Tighnari doesn’t have to know,” said Fadhlan. 

“I won’t tell him if you won’t!” said Nahida cheerfully. 

Fadhlan pushed open the doors to the House of Daena. The three of them walked in: one excited, one nervous, and the other one completely unaffected. “Act natural. Remember: it is perfectly all right for us to be here without adult supervision and we did not just skip school for this very purpose.”

The three of them occupied a table in the House of Daena, a stack of books between the three of them. Collei picked up one of the books and squinted at the title. “Um…this is a bit too advanced for me. Do they have anything with pictures?”

“Here, I brought a few light novels with me,” Nahida took out a few paperbacks from her bag. “Now we’ll all have something to read.”

“I wish I’m as smart as you,” said Collei ruefully. “Both of you are reading such heavy books already, and I can’t even keep up with the class.”

Fadhlan and Nahida exchanged a look. 

“That’s not your fault, Collei,” Nahida said quickly. “Most kids our age already have some level of knowledge coming into class, and you started your education a lot later than most other people. You’re actually learning very quickly! I know Fadhlan and I are only at the level we are because we started a long time ago.”

That was the truth, although Collei would probably never realize the full extent of what Nahida meant.

“I know that, it’s just…” Collei muttered into her arms. “I just feel so stupid, all the time. Even with Master Tighnari’s help…”

Having spent much time with Kaveh, Fadhlan recognized a depressive spiral when he saw one. 

“Here,” he pulled out one of the notebooks in his bag. It was completely blank, since Fadhlan never bothered taking notes in his new classes in the few times he bothered to attend. “I find that it’s easier to sort through your thoughts and feelings if you try to write down exactly what’s bothering you.”

“Oh,” Collei seemed surprised. “Thank you, Fadhlan! I’ll give it a try.”

“Don’t mention it,” he picked up a book himself and began to read. 

“By the way,” Collei said slowly. She always seemed to be watching her words around other people. “You usually go off by yourself when you skip school. Why did you ask us to come with you this time?”

“Kaveh thinks I am depriving myself of interpersonal bonds by routinely skipping school. This is, of course, ridiculous, as I have no interest in forming interpersonal bonds with other students, nor they with me. Nonetheless, I acknowledge the importance of social development to a seven year old child like me, so I am mitigating this by convincing my friends to skip school with me.”

Collei looked lost, while Nahida just stared at him. “You asked us to come with you…for this ?”

Fadhlan flipped a page in his book. “What better way to strengthen relationships than by breaking rules together?”

Collei giggled, while Nahida stared at him for a little longer. Her eyes were knowing. 

Fadhlan ignored her, choosing to focus his attention on his book.

Here was something to know about Fadhlan: he was never one to keep track of anniversaries. What was past was past: wasn’t it better to apply the energy spent towards reminiscing towards achieving happiness in one’s current life? 

Thus, he probably wouldn’t have noticed what day it was if it weren’t for Kaveh, who did keep track of anniversaries and had been getting increasingly angsty those last couple of days as a result of it. 

Judging from how urgently Kaveh wanted him out of the house, he probably planned some sort of surprise celebration he’d spring on Fadhlan. And then they’d probably eat baklava and some other sweet foods Kaveh would never let him have otherwise and it would all provide a good distraction from the other event that occurred less than a week later. 

After all, nobody liked celebrating tragedies.

How ironic. If Kaveh knew the full truth of who he was, he wouldn’t be celebrating this day either.

Oh this day a year ago, 17-year old Alhaitham was force fed a drug that turned him into a child. On that day, the Haravatat scholar Alhaitham stopped existing in this world, and 6-year old Fadhlan came into being. Less than a week after that, Alhaitham would be officially declared missing by the authorities, and no trace of him would ever be found. 

What could this be called, but another tragedy?

It had been right after the conclusion of a case. 

The case itself was not hard, and its details irrelevant. Alhaitham was no detective, but he did have a penchant for running into crime scenes, and after the first few times he found that it would just be faster and easier for everyone if he had just solved the case himself and went about his day. 

But after Cyno arrested the guilty party, and Alhaitham himself was ready to go home, he saw something that piqued his interest: two figures running away. 

They had been present when the murder happened. Though they were not the culprit, they had been completely apathetic to the sight of the decapitated body, only demanding to be allowed to leave.

To be fair, Alhaitham could relate to such a sentiment, but there was something about the look in their eyes that bothered him.

Alhaitham had dealt with plenty of murderers as a consequence of his bizarre luck with murders, but even then they stood out.

Not even the most cold blooded of killers would show such an utter disregard for life.  

This was, by all accounts, not his problem. Not even Cyno could do anything within legal bounds of the law. “Acting suspicious,” was not a crime that could be charged by Sumerian law, even if that didn’t stop certain members of the Matra from stopping and frisking people. 

Alhaitham should have just kept walking. His goal was to live the peaceful life his late grandmother had wished for him, and going out of his way to investigate suspicious people was not conducive to that life. 

But his interest was piqued, and after that argument with Kaveh two weeks ago, Alhaitham was starting to realize just how much of his life was occupied by his former best friend. 

 Alhaitham could certainly use a distraction from his own thoughts.

He ran after them, and told himself that peace of mind is also conducive to a peaceful life. 

"I have the money you wanted."

"Show me.”

Alhaitham was starting to realize that perhaps he was in over his head. There was a jingle of coins, and a pouch filled with mora was passed over. 

“All six million,” the voice sounded resentful.

 “Well, I’ll admit you’re cooperative, at least,” there’s a photo being passed over. “Here, on account of your good behavior.”

“Are you sure this is the only copy?”

“What? Do you not trust us? Then again, if it were me, I also would not want things such as this to be leaked. I’m sure the public would find things such as this…less than agreeable.”

“Y-you! If the things I’ve done is even half as bad as the crimes your organization committed-”

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by rustling behind Alhaitham.

A voice hissed in his ear, “Enjoying the show?”

Alhaitham whirled around, startled. 

Come to think of it, weren’t there two people who came this way-

That was when the blue haired man clubbed him over the head with a pipe.

His world went black.

“...You’ll do well to sniff out the rats before you conduct business that might be…unsavory to the general public,” Alhaitham heard as he faded in and out of consciousness. His head swam painfully. 

“I…I didn’t notice him.”

“No matter. Our business is concluded. As for him…” He felt himself being dragged up by the hair. “Well, it’s his own fault for being too nosy for his own good.”

He should get up. He should fight. Run away. Do something.

He heard the bolt of a crossbow being loaded. 

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t move…

“Wait,” the blue haired man’s voice was sharp. “Crossbow bolts could be traceable. We can’t leave any evidence pointing to our involvement.”

“So you mean…”

“Don’t you remember the latest batch of drugs that were released?” There was a ruffling of clothes as the man took something out of his pocket. 

“...You mean…”

“It’s time this drug had a more…human test subject, don’t you think?”

A hand slipped a small pill into his mouth. Alhaitham tried to spit it out, but he couldn’t make his tongue work either. 

All that combat training, all that sparring with Kaveh, and he couldn’t lift an arm to save his own life. 

Kaveh…

Water was being tipped into his mouth. A hand clamped his mouth shut.

Kaveh would have noticed something was wrong. He would have come running to save him. 

Someone pinched his nose shut until he swallowed.

No…Kaveh would never have let him get into this situation in the first place.

“Goodbye, detective. A shame that someone of your intelligence had to end like this.”

His world exploded in pain.

Chapter Text

Kaveh dragged himself out of bed, as he did every morning, and was determined to make this day a good day. 

Sure, he might have been drowning in deadlines, and had his hands full with a seven year old. And maybe he had been procrastinating on planning his upcoming heist, but those were problems he faced all the time , and thus not reasons for today to be anything but good. 

So he made breakfast, got dressed, dragged Fadhlan out of bed, as per usual. Pushed Fadhlan's hands away as he tried to steal Kaveh's coffee when he thought he wasn't looking, as usual. Pretended not to see Fadhlan's disgruntled glare, as usual. 

Giving up, Fadhlan reached for the newspaper on the table. Fadhlan had insisted that Kaveh kept himself subscribed to a newspaper. The boy had a borderline unhealthy obsession with the "true crime" section of the paper, and when Kaveh asked him why he couldn't just get his information from the Akasha like everyone else, he had retorted, "Why would I want to end up on the Matra’s watchlist for questionable search queries, when I already have you surveillancing my every move?"

Damn. All this because Kaveh didn’t want a 7-year old kid to walk around a crime scene unsupervised?

What a little shit. Alhaitham would love this kid.

…Wherever that stubborn junior of his was right now.

Kaveh closed the door to the study with a note of finality. “The last person just dropped out. It’s just us now.”

Alhaitham didn’t look up from his book. “This is disappointing, but expected. The other members of the project were more hindrance than help. I can at least commend them for having the self-awareness to leave once they realize they were in over their heads.”

Kaveh clenched his fists as he approached the table. He didn’t sit down. 

“You know,” Kaveh said with barely concealed fury. “You would be a lot more liked if you helped out once in a while.” 

“And what good would that do? Why should I care about being liked by other people?”

“Oh, don’t lie to yourself. You crave company just as much as I do. You just can’t get any with your holier-than-thou attitude!”

Alhaitham paused in his reading. He put down his book, staring down Kaveh with his piercing eyes. “My attitude? Have you considered, Kaveh , that maybe friends whose company I have to buy with favors might not be friends at all?” 

“Don’t conflate mutual assistance with something so transactional! I help my friends because I want to, not because I want their company. Something you can learn from!”

“Mutual assistance, is it? It’s quite funny, dear senior. I hear from others all the time of the times you’ve lent them your assistance . But I’ve never once heard of you accepting goodwill from others.”

“That…that’s because…”

“I’ve seen your version of help , Kaveh. The way you run yourself down to the ground by taking on five people’s worth of work. Does this look like the actions someone motivated purely by altruism would take?”

Alhaitham waited, then delivered the killing blow. “Is this altruism? Or is this penance for your perceived act of killing your father?”

Deafening silence. Kaveh was completely still save for the trembling of his lower lip. 

Alhaitham was still as well, finally sensing that perhaps, just perhaps , he might have gone too far. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but Kaveh cut him off. 

“I. Hate. You.” Kaveh’s voice was thick with fury and unshed tears. “I wish we never met! I can’t believe I was ever friends with someone like you.”

Then he was gathering up his things, his mind filled with nothing but the desperate urge to run away from Alhaitham, to run away from the truth . 

The next time he saw Alhaitham, it would be as a face on a missing persons poster. 

Across the table, Fadhlan stiffened, effectively snapping Kaveh out of his reverie. 

Kaveh frowned, “Something wrong?”

Fadhlan narrowed his eyes at him. Then he started reading his paper out loud, each syllable sounding more caustic as the article waxed more poetry about the genius kid detective.

Kaveh couldn’t suppress a grin. He had given that interview after the conclusion of one of his heists. The Paradisaea had disguised as Kaveh the architect, who upon being found locked up in a broom closet, unconscious and hogtied but thankfully uninjured, had, under the “influence” of the tranquilizer dart, hugged Fadhlan (Fadhlan had been so horrified, his eyes had widened by more than two degrees), praised him for being such a brilliant kid, and proceeded to tell everyone who would listen about how proud he was of him, including a reporter who had been furiously scribbling everything down. 

Alright, that was a bit mean, but it wasn’t like the kid was defenseless. During the next heist, Fadhlan took the initiative by taking out an entire sword (it was the same size he was) and throwing it at him. 

It had missed, but only because the Paradisaea had been dodging trained assassins for years and thus had built up the necessary reflexes.
Kaveh had yet to find a way to interrogate Tighnari on why the fuck he decided to give a 7-year old a 7-year-old-sized sword as a “trinket” without exposing himself as a phantom thief, but it was high on his list of priorities.

They finished their breakfasts. Kaveh made another valiant attempt at getting Fadhlan to stay in school, to no avail. 

Yeah, that was never going to happen.

But at long last, Fadhlan left the house, which meant he could start putting things up for the surprise party!

Kaveh hummed to himself as he pulled out the box of decorations he had stashed inside his closet. Those were the same decorations he himself liked as a 5 year old, and neither he nor his mother had ever bothered throwing them away after his father’s death.

The last time his family was happy . 

Kaveh scowled and shook his head to clear it. Stupid intrusive thoughts. He wouldn’t allow them to ruin this day. 

…Fadhlan wouldn’t want something so old and dusty in his party, anyway. Kaveh put his decorations back in the box.

Kaveh sighed and took to the streets. He needed to pick up food for the party, anyway. 

The selfish cannot understand wisdom's final destination. Though all of us might claim to have a place in this great hall of learning, we must understand that it is people, and not knowledge, that make our world what it is. Without a vessel, knowledge shall have no home. Universal values must naturally have some merit to be named such, and denying their general meaning does not mean that minority viewpoints will arise accordingly. This is the case with aesthetics. Beauty is something objective that exists in human hearts. It will not lose its value simply because some people cannot understand it.

Kaveh’s own words stared at him tauntingly. There were lines and lines of responses from other researchers under the original message, most of them praising him for his insightful remarks, but not from the one he wanted to see the most. 

That was fine! It wasn’t like he expected anything from Alhaitham, anyway. The Haravatat scholar was still officially missing, after all. There was no reason for him to expect a response. 

There was no reason for Kaveh to expect anything from Alhaitham anyway, after the disastrous end of their friendship. Only Kaveh’s confidence that Alhaitham could not resist rising to Kaveh’s remarks kept him coming back to check everyday.

Kaveh was fine . He put on his usual smile and went to greet his next client. 

Maybe doing some work would turn his mind off things. 

It worked, a bit too well. 

Kaveh’s eye twitched as he stood in line for the baklava. 

“Hm,” his client squinted at the design. “Is it possible for you to remove this?”

“Huh?” Kaveh stared at what he was pointing to. “You want to remove this wall?”

“I think it’s going to ruin the view of the kitchen, that’s all.”

“Well, I suppose I could do that, but then we’ll have to put more support around it.”

“No no, I don’t want supports either.”

“What?”

“I just think it would ruin the atmosphere.”

“Sir, that was a load bearing wall you’re asking me to take out.”

Kaveh cursed under his breath. If Kaveh had to hear the words “open air” again, he was going to strangle his client with his bare hands, consequences be damned.

Stupid client. Stupid Alhaitham. Kaveh would do just fine without either of them.

He could always find another client. One who didn’t want the upper floors of his house to float in midair. 

And as for Alhaitham, he already had one kid breathing down his neck whenever he went on a heist. He didn’t need two people running around trying to give him heart attacks.

Heists… 

“Uh…sir?” the vendor interrupted his thoughts. “Are you going to order?”

“Oh!” Kaveh startled. “Yes, one box of baklava, please.” He spied something else on the display. “And can we have the charcoal-baked ajilenekh cakes as well?”

The vendor hummed his assent, but Kaveh was no longer paying attention, his head buzzing with an idea.

Maybe if Alhaitham wouldn’t appear for Kaveh, he would appear for the Paradisaea.

 “Throwing a dummy out the window, and then climbing upwards instead of down. Isn’t that a trick a bit old?” Fifteen year-old Kaveh drawled. “You’re just insulting the name of the Paradisaea.”

The new Paradisaea whirled around, stiffening as they fixed their eyes on him, dressed in the Paradisaea garb he had found in a secret room inside his house. “And who exactly are you?”

Kaveh just smirked at them.

“Well, since you seem to be so good at figuring out my tricks,” hissed the Paradisaea, offended, “why don’t you try to figure this one out?”

Their body proceeded to turn invisible in front of Kaveh’s eyes.

Kaveh allowed himself a brief moment of panic, as his father’s words rang through his ears. Always remember your poker face, Kaveh. If you cannot conceal your emotions completely, cover it with a smile. 

Think, Kaveh…if you are the magician, how would you go about this?

Kaveh caught a flash of something white on the Paradisaea’s “invisible” body. 

Of course. 

Kaveh dodged as the phantom thief charged at him, picking up a loose piece of roof shingle and throwing it at the Paradisaea’s body. 

The illusion shattered .  

“If it were me,” said Kaveh, slightly out of breath. “I would cover my body in mirrors to blend into my surroundings. Not difficult at all to figure out.”

The Paradisaea’s shoulders were stiff with shock. For a few moments they did not move at all.

Then they whispered, “Abtin?”

Kaveh froze. Abtin…was his father’s name.

“You’re alive!” The Paradisaea gave a near hysterical laugh. “It’s me! Don’t you remember? I was your student from ten years ago!”

What the hell were they talking about?

“ I thought you were dead all those years,” they continued, coming closer. “I disguised myself as your alter ego because I wanted to draw out the people who killed you. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“My father,” Kaveh managed to snap out of his daze, “What do you mean, people who killed him?” 

The Paradisaea visibly recoiled. “Your father? No…You’re…you’re… Kaveh ?”

Now that they were close, Kaveh managed to get a good look at their face. “Wait... Senior Faruzan?!”

Faruzan winced. “Not so loud! Forget it. I’ve said too much.”

“No,” Kaveh said, grabbing her shoulders. “I deserve to know. Senior Faruzan, you were just talking about how my Father was murdered. What did you mean?”

Faruzan hesitated, “I don’t know much about it myself, but the last performance your Father did, the one that went wrong…that wasn’t an accident. Someone deliberately tampered with his equipment.”

Kaveh took a moment to process that, then forced himself to loosen his grip on her. “Alright…I have one more question.” 

“Was my Father the Paradisaea?”

Chapter Text

“You are a horrible influence,” said Tighnari, crossing his arms.

While the three of them had made it back to school in time for Tighnari to pick them up, Tighnari had taken one look at them and demanded why they looked like they had run all the way from the other side of the Akedemiya. 

“Field trip,” Fadhlan had said immediately. 

“Lies,” Tighnari said without missing a beat. “Your other classmates are not at all out of breath.”

There really was no hiding it from him after that. Nahida and Collei were made to clean their rooms as punishment, while Tighnari dragged Fadhlan into the living room to have a talk. 

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Fadhlan said. “Neither Nahida nor I will gain any new knowledge from class, and while Collei is quiet about her struggles, it’s abundantly clear to anyone who cared to observe her that she’s suffering from self-esteem issues with respect to her perceived academic abilities. Frankly, I consider the fact that the teachers had not noticed or addressed this issue to be a sign that the environment is not suited for her.”

Tighnari gave a long-suffering sigh. “You know perfectly well this is a systemic problem within Sumeru Akademiya. She’s already had 3 classroom changes since she started staying with me, and I worry that she’ll start thinking that something is wrong with her if I move her again. We can’t just keep putting in classroom change requests until we happen upon the exception by pure chance.”

Tighnari’s tone was perfectly neutral, the same way Kaveh’s voice was when he was trying to keep him in the dark about another terrible life decision he made. 

Fadhlan scrutinized him for a long time, “You got into a fistfight with the administration, didn’t you?”

Tighnari nodded, “They called her ‘slow’ and ‘not suited for the Akademiya.’ What was I going to do, let that slide?”

“Let me guess: Cyno bailed you out?”

Tighnari looked smug. “Cyno had reservations about helping me out from a legal perspective because he had to maintain his ‘impartiality.’ And then he found out about what they said about Collei and he sentenced them to community service himself.”

“Community service. How horrible.”

“Cyno still has to operate within legal means, you know,” Tighnari ran his hand through his hair. “Unfortunately, that means that I can forget about any classroom change requests getting approved for at least the next year, so we’re going to have to stick to this current classroom for now.”

“Hm,” Fadhlan tilted his head. “Have you ever considered not facing the systemic issue by going around it?”

“What do you mean?”

“There is no reason you can’t just educate her at home.”

Tighnari stared at him. “And you think I can teach?”

“Why not?”

“Fadhlan…Alhaitham,” Tighnari amended, and that was how Fadhlan knew he was about to say something personal. “You know I’m not your grandmother.”“

No,” Fadhlan agreed, because his grandmother had the wisdom of a god and the patience of a saint and nobody could ever hope to be on her level. “But you don’t need to be.” 

This was found taped onto a bulletin board the next day by a passing mahamata: 

At 11:23pm sharp on the 23rd of April, 

I will steal the Midnight Moon from the Pardis Dhyai. 

?

The “?” at the end caused quite a stir among the circles who followed news of the phantom thief, and there were quite a lot of speculations about what it could mean. After all, that sort of mark had never appeared on any of the Paradisaea’s previous notes before. 

Meanwhile, a phantom thief and a phantom-thief-turned-accomplice were in their workshop, planning their latest heist.

"Do you think that will accomplish anything?" Faruzan asked, not looking up from her work: a necklace with a green gem. 

"Probably not," Kaveh admitted. "I'm not holding out much hope. By the way, Faruzan, what is that you're working on?"

"That's Senior Faruzan to you," she said automatically. "And it's a voice changer."

Kaveh blinked. "But…I can change my voice?"

"It's not for you," she swatted him. "At any rate, how can you be sure that boy is even still alive?"

"He's alive," Kaveh said firmly. "I just have a very strong feeling."

Faruzan just looked at him sympathetically.

Neither of them were willing to acknowledge the elephant in the room: that Alhaitham could not be dead, because if he was, Kaveh's precarious grasp on his mental health might slip completely.

After all, neither of them needed to be reminded of the state Kaveh was in for weeks after his final argument with Alhaitham. 

"Kaveh, open up!"

Kaveh just retreated further inside his house. He couldn't talk to Faruzan at the moment. He couldn't look at anything that reminded him of his identity as a phantom thief. 

Is this just penance for your perceived act of killing your father?

Alhaitham's words ran themselves over and over in his head. 

For two weeks, it was all he could think about. 

They showed themselves in the lines of his design blueprints, the ink messy and bleeding instead of his usual neat and impeccable hand. 

They appeared on the faces of every matra he passed. Kaveh had always daydreamed about what he would do if his identity were to be exposed. What he would say. 

In his daydreams, it would always be Cyno who took him away. He caused the man enough trouble that he deserved it. Kaveh, he'd say, blank expression hiding his true fury and betrayal , you are under arrest for suspicion of being the Paradisaea.

What's a murder charge but another bullet point in his growing list of crimes?

In his nightmares, it was as if a wound had reopened. Kaveh wasn't there when his father died, but his dying father was all he could see now. There has been an accident, they said as a sword was unsheathed, getting closer and closer to his father's neck. An accident, as Kaveh smiled at his father and told him sweetly not to run.

For two weeks, Alhaitham's words repeated themselves in his head, dripping into every facet of his existence. For two weeks, Faruzan stood outside Kaveh's door, demanding that he opened it. For two weeks, the Paradisaea withdrew from the world. 

It got a little better when he found a shivering, unconscious child lying in front of his house, completely entangled in oversized clothes that were drenched so thoroughly with water and caked with mud he had to cut them off his body.  

As always, taking care of someone always made him feel like less of a horrible human being. 

( Penance, Alhaitham's voice whispered tauntingly in his head).

But whether it was altruism or guilt, a person saved was a person saved. 

Little by little, Kaveh started to regain the pieces of himself. 

Only to have it ripped away a week later, when the General Mahamatra himself knocked on his door, asking if he knew his junior's whereabouts. 

Elsewhere, the junior in question looked at the newspaper article detailing the note the Paradisaea wrote, expression perfectly blank.

“Well?” Tighnari asked. “What do you think? You are the famed Vultur Volans. Surely our legendary prodigy would have something for us.”

Fadhlan’s face darkened at the reminder of that newly bestowed title, but he chose to not dignify that with a response. “It’s a challenge to me.”

Tighnari frowned, “A challenge? But the Paradisaea challenges you all the time, no?"

"Not me," Fadhlan said. "The person they’re looking to challenge is Alhaitham, specifically."

“You know them?”

“We’ve met a few times. I was in Liyue taking care of certain funeral arrangements for my grandmother the first time, but after that we occasionally ran into each other on various heists.”

“Oh, that’s right. You and your odd luck with running into crimes.”

“I would counter you on that, but at the rate things are going it really does seem like some sort of curse.”

“You can’t leave this area.”

Fifteen-year old Alhaitham looked up from his book to stare at the Millelith. “Excuse me?”

The Millelith glared at him. “This entire area is sealed off because of the heist today.”

“Heist?”

“Didn’t you read the news?”

“I don’t follow Liyuan news. I’m from Sumeru.”

The Millelith sighed, “I guess there’s no harm in telling you. Ever heard of the Paradisaea? That’s the name of the phantom thief we’re trying to catch tonight. Apparently, they only ever go for gems, and what was stolen was always returned in some fashion some time later.”

“If that’s the case, why are you exerting so much effort trying to catch them?”

“Stealing is still a crime, you know! Anyway, they’ve only started being active again two years ago. According to the case files, they were really active more than decade ago, but then there was a 10 year long period in which they were on hiatus. There was speculation that they died, but obviously that wasn’t true. No one knows why they’re doing this. Some speculated that it was for the thrill of it, while others speculated that there was a specific gem they were after. ”

“I asked you about the heist, not their entire backstory.”

“Don’t interrupt! As I was saying, the gems they are after this time are called ‘Sky Bracer’s Eyes’. They were a pair of identical cor lapis stones embedded into that building over there.” He pointed. “So, until the thief is caught, no one can leave the grounds.”

“That won’t do. I have urgent business I need to take care of.”

“I told you, you can’t leave until the heist is over.”

“And how long would that take?”

“Three, four hours? Until the heist is over.”

Alhaitham sighed, “That’s not going to do. I have a meeting with someone that cannot be postponed.” 

“Nothing I can do about that, I’m afraid.”

“But maybe there’s something I can do,” Alhaitham put away his book and crossed his arms. “This meeting really can’t wait. If I help you catch the thief, would you let me leave?”

“Of course that would be your motivation,” said Tighnari flatly.

Fadhlan shrugged. “Do you see any other reason I would get involved? Unlike Kaveh, I’m not someone who would go out of my way to seek out trouble.”

“You say this, and then go after the first suspicious people you see?”

“And look at where it landed me: almost dead and trapped in the body of a six-year old. That incident just further lends evidence to the soundness of my philosophy. As for the rest of the trouble , you know just as well I do that it's out of necessity.”

“Whatever you say,” Tighnari said. “But why does it look like you enjoy these heists?”

“I can acknowledge that they are relatively relaxing, in terms of the number of dead bodies, not in the number of screaming fangirls. And they are intellectually stimulating.”

“So are you going to respond?”

“I’m not obligated to answer to them,” he said automatically. 

“But you want to.”

“I want to do a lot of things,” Fadhlan stared at his hands, several sizes smaller than they should be, with resentment. "But it doesn't matter anyway."

 "Nahida hasn't been able to make much progress on the antidote, as you perfectly well know. As of right now, there is no way I can appear as Alhaitham, even if I have any intention of answering the Paradisaea's challenge, which I don't. There's no use speaking of hypotheticals." 

His voice had a firm note of finality to it, and he returned to reading the rest of the article soon after, face completely blank again.

Tighnari stared at him sympathetically. What an emotionally repressed idiot. 

Little did anyone know, a breakthrough would arrive in the form of a detective from Inazuma, carrying a bottle of osmanthus wine on his person.

Chapter Text

Fadhlan woke up with a sore throat and a headache, and knew immediately that today was going to be terrible. 

"Fadhlan!" A knock on the door. "I made breakfast. Get up and eat!"

Fadhlan just folded the pillow over his ears. He was going to ask Tighnari to ask his mystery friend to make him a pair of noise canceling headphones, at the rate things are going. 

"Fadhlan? I'm coming in."

The door opened, and Kaveh stood at the doorway, taking in his runny nose and bleary face. "Oh. You're sick."

"Hm." Fadhlan closed his eyes again, curling up. 

"Well, sh-I mean, that's not good. My client meetings…" Kaveh fretted, clearly worrying about neglecting his caretaker duties. 

"Just go," Fadhlan mumbled. "I can take care of myself. I don't care if you're here."

"You sure?"

"I don't care for that thing you make anyway. It's disgusting."

"That thing-you mean soup? "

"Mm."

"You're such a brat," Kaveh sighed. "I should call Tighnari… oh but I don't want Collei or Nahida to catch the cold…well this is difficult…Are you absolutely sure you're going to be ok alone?"

" Yes ," Fadhlan pulled the covers over his head. "Just let me sleep."

"Well…alright then." He heard Kaveh retreating from the room. "I'll be out later today. I'll be back as soon as possible, alright?"

It was clear Fadhlan wasn't going to the heist tonight. Fadhlan could at least look forward to staying at home and doing absolutely nothing. 

Both Kaveh and Fadhlan's plans were thoroughly trashed by a knock on the door. 

Kaveh had been ready to leave the house to find Faruzan, telling her to do the heist instead of him so he could take care of Fadhlan. Instead, he opened the door to find a teenager standing outside the door. 

It was clear from his attire that the guy was from Inazuma. The question was why he was standing outside Kaveh's door. 

"Uh," Kaveh said. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," said the teenager. "The name is Shikanoin Heizou, a detective from Inazuma. I'm looking for Alhaitham."

This guy needs to go, Kaveh and Fadhlan thought together, as Kaveh placed a cup of tea in front of Heizou. 

Heizou accepted it with a grateful nod and took a sip. "Hope I wasn't bothering you or anything."

You absolutely are. "Not at all," said Kaveh cheerfully. "So, what brings you to Sumeru, Heizou? How long will you be staying?" 

When will you get out of my hair?

Heizou smiled at him over the cup. "Well, I already mentioned that I'm looking for Alhaitham. I've heard that you're the person he's closest to, so I was hoping you have some clues about his whereabouts."

"He's missing. Go home," said Fadhlan, who had crawled out of bed upon hearing that someone was looking for Alhaitham. He was not even bothering to put up with this farce. 

"Fadhlan, that's rude," Kaveh admonished him. Though do, in fact, go home. "You've come at a bad time, I'm afraid. We had a fight a year ago, and he went missing soon after. I doubt he would have said anything to me, even if he is still around."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Heizou said, "My intuition tells me that he's actually much closer than you think." 

Fadhlan started clutching his cup very hard. 

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Despite himself, Kaveh found his interest piqued.

Heizou took out an old newspaper article. And then another. And then another. "You see these cases? All of those cases were dated within the past year: after Alhaitham was declared missing. And they have one commonality: they were all solved by members of the matra who had no records of successfully solving a case dating to before a year ago. In other words, it's infeasible for them to have solved these cases by themselves."

"So you think all these cases were actually solved by Alhaitham?" Kaveh asked disbelievingly. "That can't be right. Alhaitham is too much of an egoist to solve cases for anyone."

Fadhlan didn't know whether to be relieved or offended. 

Heizou shrugged, "Maybe it benefited him in some way."

"But what could he possibly get out of this?"

"Who knows? But up until recently, I couldn’t figure out how he was receiving and sending information to so many members of the matra. Now, I think I have the answer.”

“Oh?” 

Heizou pulled out yet another article. Everyone knows that the Paradisaea and the Vultur Volans are mortal enemies…

Heizou jerked his thumb at Fadhlan. “This kid’s been supplying him with information.”

Fadhlan choked on his medicinal tea. 

“Is that true?” Kaveh asked, brows furrowed after Fadhlan recovered from his coughing fit. "Did you know where Alhaitham was this whole time?“

Kaveh sounded hurt and betrayed.

“No,” Fadhlan said, like a liar. “If I had been in contact with Alhaitham, wouldn’t you have heard me talking to him? We live in the same house, and there were plenty of crime scenes we were both in. There were plenty of opportunities for you to overhear.”

“Well, that’s true, but…” Kaveh hesitated. “Okay, I believe you. You would tell me, wouldn’t you? If you’ve been talking to Alhaitham?”

“Of course.”

Kaveh stared at him a while longer, before smiling again. “Alright, good.”

Heizou grinned apologetically. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you choke. That cold looks bad, though. Here, have some of this.”

Heizou pulled out a bottle of something and poured him a cup. 

Skeptically, Fadhlan drank it, grimacing at the strong taste of alcohol. 

“What was that, anyway?” Kaveh asked. “What did you feed him?”

“Oh, it’s osmanthus wine,” said Heizou cheerfully. “I picked up a bottle when I passed through Liyue on the way to Sumeru. Here: it’s yours. I figured I’d be bothering you a lot until Alhaitham shows up, so I got you something as an apology.”

"Why are you looking for Alhaitham, anyway?"

Heizou grinned. "I wanted to challenge him to a deduction contest, of course! Ever since I’ve heard about how he almost caught the Paradisaea in Liyue, I’ve been wanting to challenge him to a battle of wits. I think the heist tonight is a good place to start. First one to figure out the Paradisaea's plan wins the match!"

Kaveh and Fadhlan took a moment to process that. He’s upending my entire life for this?!

"In that case," Fadhlan said. "I want to go too."

Absolutely not . "Don't you have a cold?"

"The thing he gave me made me feel better." 

"See?" Heizou gestured towards Alhaitham. "Told you the remedy works!"

It absolutely did not. In fact, it made it worse. 

He just couldn’t risk Heizou saying something in front of Kaveh.

"Well, Kaveh? Will you come as well? There's a chance your best friend will show up."

Something about the way Heizou said "best friend" made it sound like he was trying to hint at something else.

"I…" on the one hand, Kaveh wanted to get as far away from the guy as possible. On the other hand…

Fadhlan abruptly stood up. "Kaveh, didn't you have client meetings to go to?"

"Well that's true-"

"Good bye," Fadhlan started shoving him out the door with surprising force. 

"Wait, Fadhlan-"

The door slammed behind him. "My blueprints!"

The door opened briefly, before a hand tossed his briefcase and his drawings onto the ground, before slamming the door again.

Well, that answered that question, then.

Fadhlan managed to buy a few hours of time spent without Heizou and Kaveh in the same room, which was a few hours of time in which Heizou didn’t have a chance to expose him in front of Kaveh. 

Meanwhile, his cold had gotten worse. 

“So,” said Heizou cheerfully. “The Paradisaea’s heists are all very elaborately done, aren’t they? I haven’t had the pleasure of going to one yet, but it would be a real shame if I managed to figure it out before Alhaitham did. That would kind of be intruding on his natural turf, wouldn't it?”

Fadhlan was overheating and somehow getting chills at the same time, so it took a bit longer than usual to respond. “What makes you so sure Alhaitham is the one solving all these heists?”

Heizou shrugged. “Hm…style? I can tell a lot about a person just going off the details they choose to notice and the things they don’t. It may all seem like objective fact, but facts don’t exist in isolation. Ultimately it’s still a person who pieces togethers the facts to present a conclusion.”

“What…do you notice?”

“Well let’s see…he’s used to living in a country where the Akasha system is widely used, but he doesn’t like overly relying on the Akasha. He’s linguistically inclined but he doesn’t limit himself to one field of study. He’s good at solving cases, but he only started solving cases regularly about a year ago. All that, I can figure out just by looking through newspaper articles and certain case files I asked someone to dig up.”

Fadhlan said nothing. 

“And,” Heizou bent down so he was making eye contact. “A child’s been acting as eyes and ears for him. It doesn’t have to be you, of course, but you’re the one with the most opportunity. Well? How did I do?”

Fadhlan was mercifully saved from answering by the sound of the door opening.

“I’m back!” Kaveh said, removing his shoes by the front door. He put away his drawings and stood over Fadhlan. “That was incredibly rude, you know. Kicking me out of the house?”

“Not as rude as you being late to a client meeting, or so you say,” said Fadhlan, utterly unrepentant. “You should be thanking me for helping you uphold your pride as an architect.”

“I’ll think I’ll thank you by grounding you for the next month.”

“How intimidating. Another reason for me not to leave the house.”

“Ahem,” Heizou interrupted them. He was looking over at them innocently like he hadn’t been spending the past few hours trying to ruin Fadhlan’s life. “It’s almost time for the heist. Kaveh, are you coming?”

“Yeah,” said Kaveh, nodding resolutely. “If Alhaitham is going to be there, I want to be there to see him. Let’s go.”

Fuck .

“I already said I’m going,” Fadhlan said, standing up and doing his best to ignore the wave of nausea that crashed over him. “I’m coming with you.”

“I wasn't expecting you to come,” said Cyno. He had bags under his eyes, probably from single handedly upholding the entire matra on his shoulders. 

Oh well, it wasn't Fadhlan's problem. 

"Mhm," Fadhlan acknowledged. Fadhlan wasn't one to attend the Paradisaea's heists unless he literally walked into one. Which was (somehow) all the time. 

"Who's that with you? And where's Kaveh?"

"The name is Shikanoin Heizou," Heizou shook his hand. "Kaveh went to the bathroom earlier. He'll be joining us shortly."

Cyno's eyes held a glint of recognition. "So you're the one who requested all these case files?"

Heizou nodded. "Hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"There's no use arguing when the request came with the official seal of the Tenryou Commission," Cyno said with a shrug. "Although I would still like to know what you want with these files."

"I don't mind sharing," Heizou put his hand on his hip. "Maybe you'd have some insight into this."

"After the heist, then," Cyno nodded. "Let's wait for Kaveh, and then I'll explain the setup we have here."

Chapter Text

Cyno took them inside a glass conservatory. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered in the perimeter set up by the matra. 

"Fans of the Paradisaea?" Heizou asked. 

Kaveh nodded. "Apparently, despite the Paradisaea being a criminal, they are actually pretty popular. They have a decent amount of supporters who like seeing the heists they pull off, since it's basically kind of a show."

"They have nothing better to do," muttered Fadhlan, and abruptly sneezed.

Kaveh resisted the urge to glare at him. 

“So as you see here,” interrupted Cyno, "This gem is mounted on a system of pulleys. If there is any disturbance in the weight, the counterweights will fall, and the doors to this conservatory will spring shut, locking in whoever is inside."

"Wow," Kaveh sounded suitably impressed. "Uh, Cyno, you do realize this is a conservatory, right? What if they just smashed the glass?"

"Good question, Kaveh," Cyno nodded. "After the doors shut, the vijnana-phala mines will drop. Those are plant based bombs that have tranquilizing effects. Due to all the windows and doors being locked, the air inside will be poorly ventilated, so the bombs don't lose their potency."

"In other words," Fadhlan cut in, a note of incredulity in his voice, "You want to drug the Paradisaea?"

Cyno shrugged. "It was Tighnari's idea." 

Cyno sounded incredibly proud of him. 

"Of course it was," Kaveh and Fadhlan muttered together. 

"Who's Tighnari?" Heizou cut in. 

A grin pulled at Kaveh's lips. "An Amurta friend of ours. And maybe something less platonic for Cyno."

"Kaveh," Cyno warned, half-heartedly. 

"Sorry, sorry," Kaveh's smile did not waver. "Back to business, then: How did Tighnari figure out the correct dosage anyway?"

Cyno shrugged. "I'm sure he did his due diligence."

Fadhlan's eyebrow twitched, suddenly acutely aware of the tranquilizers Tighnari had given him. So I’m his due diligence…

Kaveh laughed uneasily. "Oh. Of course!" What the actual fuck?

Cyno nodded, "Now that I've filled you in on the setup, we should all leave the trap. The Paradisaea will show up at any moment now, and I don't want other people getting caught in it."

They all exited the glass building. 

They didn't even get a chance to turn their backs before the lights went out, and the door abruptly sprang shut.

"Positions!" Cyno ordered. 

"Do you think they're inside?" Kaveh questioned.

"If they are, it's probably a good idea to keep the doors closed," said Heizou thoughtfully. "The drug needs time to take effect, and we don't want to run the risk of drugging ourselves by opening the door too early."

Cyno nodded. "Tighnari said that this particular drug is fast acting when inhaled. It should only be a few minutes before we are able to go in. Hopefully, that trap was effective and we would have caught the phantom thief."

"You don't sound very optimistic," noted Heizou. 

"The Paradisaea is very good at escaping traps," it was difficult to see Cyno's expression in the dark. "It's been a few minutes. I think that's enough time."

Great, thought Fadhlan. Let’s get this over with so I can go home and sleep. 

His ears were starting to ring.

From the depths of his pockets, Cyno produced a few masks. "Here: you don't want to breathe in the drug."

They all fitted the masks over their heads, just as a bright light shone behind them.

The Paradisaea stood majestically on top of the green house, illuminated by a single spotlight, jewel in hand. "The Midnight Moon rises, right before the real midnight moon approaches. For now, I will take my leave."

They bowed, as the crowd beyond the perimeter erupted into cheers.

Thwack.

For a moment, everything was still. 

Then the cheering turned to screams as the Paradisaea fell, a crossbow bolt embedded in their torso.

“Secure the area,” Cyno ordered, “Find the person who shot the bolt,” 

The Matra scrambled to follow his orders. 

“So,” Heizou ventured. “That doesn’t usually happen, does it?”

“No,” Kaveh agreed. His face was ashen. “The Paradisaea has a rule: no one gets killed during heists.”

“But who would want to kill them?” Heizou wondered. “I thought they were pretty popular.”

“It’s a good question,” Fadhlan said, thinking hard and fast. His head pounded painfully from the effort, like someone was hammering something into his skull. He couldn't rule out the possibility that this was a setup by the Paradisaea to distract everyone from the target gem, but…

"Anyway, should we check if the gem is actually gone?" Said Heizou. "If what we saw was just a trick, then we should focus our attention on the thing in the conservatory, no?"

Cyno nodded, though it was obvious that the gem wasn't the focus of his attention anymore. "I'll undo the lock on the cage."

"It’s pretty dusty in here," Kaveh complained through his mask, once the door was open. The entire room was covered in a green haze from Tighnari's bombs. "I can't even see the other side of the conservatory through this haze. Should we open the windows?"

Cyno nodded. "Go for it. Turn on the lights as well in the meantime."

The four of them got to work. At one point Fadhlan burst into a coughing fit, prompting Kaveh to guide him to the open door, citing that some fresh air would make him feel better. 

Fadhlan felt so awful, he didn't even insult Kaveh.

Once the room was sufficiently ventilated, and the green fog was more or less dispersed, the four of them stood at the center of the room, staring at the podium where the gem used to be, and where a card was resting in its place. 

"Well," said Heizou. "It looks like the Paradisaea did indeed make off with the gem."

"Yeah," Fadhlan nodded. He plucked the card off the podium and squinted at it.

His eyesight was blurring.

"Mind if I see that?" Heizou asked him. 

Fadhlan handed it over, rubbing at his eyes. He really needed to go home and sleep.

"Hm, it just has a giant question mark on it," Heizou remarked. "Same as the newspaper."

"Yeah," Kaveh said, walking over. "There's a decent amount of speculation over what it could mean, but…"

Heizou said, "My intuition says that it's some sort of message to someone."

“A message?” Cyno asked.

“Firstly, we know that this is published in a newspaper, which means that everyone in Sumeru could see it,” said Heizou. “That rules out the possibility that the message is intended for any accomplices that the phantom thief works with. So that gives us two possibilities: one, that the message is a puzzle for the general public to figure out, or two, that the message is intended for one specific person, but the phantom thief has no way to reach them directly, so they are broadcasting the message to everyone in hopes of reaching the intended recipient.”

“So what makes you think it’s the latter?” asked Kaveh, sweating. Maybe it was a bad idea to send a heist note like this.

“The length of the message,” said Heizou, holding up the card. “It’s a singular question mark. The thing about this message is the first message of its kind, with no followup that we could see so far. This means that this message is most likely self-contained, so it doesn’t reference anything that a third party would have access to. Simply put, the message is too short for it to be a proper puzzle anyone could solve, so it’s most likely that the message is intended for one specific person.”

“So you don’t know for sure?” Fadhlan asked, eyes scanning the podium. It had scratch marks that weren’t there before. 

That card was metallic and slightly bent. I wonder…

That was when his heart started palpitating. 

Fadhlan stumbled, clutching at his chest. It felt worse than that time he drank four shots of coffee at once as a stressed Akademiya student and spent the next two hours vibrating in place. This one actually hurt , like his heart was trying to burst out of his rib cage.

“Fadhlan!” said Kaveh, grabbing his shoulders to steady him. “Are you okay?”

“I-” Fadhlan was breathing heavily. “I think I need a doctor.”

“Cyno,” Kaveh turned to him. “Can you call a healer from the Bimarstan? Fadhlan’s condition is looking really bad.”

Cyno nodded, looking over at Fadhlan with concern. 

Fadhlan was shivering slightly, a sheen of cold sweat on his forehead. “I’m going to sit down.”

He approached the edge of the room, away from the windows so it was warmer. 

At the same time, Heizou approached the ropes holding the trap together, giving an experimental tug on one of the ropes.

“I see,” they thought at the same time. “I figured it out.”

Then Fadhlan pitched forward, vision darkening as he collapsed.

Fadhlan felt himself being carried by someone, and he cracked open his eyes just as Heizou passed him.

In his hand he held a coil of fishing wire.

Fishing wire? Wait, no…that’s wrong…

“Stay here,” Kaveh ordered, as Fadhlan made to get out of his arms. “The doctor is coming. In the meantime, Cyno’s given us permission to use one of the benches in one of the other conservatories as a bed.”

He felt himself being settled down on a flat surface. Something soft was laid on top of him: Kaveh’s cape. “I’ll be right back, alright?” 

Fadhlan felt Kaveh leave his side. He clutched at the cape as pain pulsed through him. 

It was his entire upper body this time.

Fadhlan gasped for breath as he clawed at his shirt collar. 

It was so, so hot.

My body…what is happening? 

His heart felt like it was going to explode.

The last time I felt like this, I was…

He couldn't stop himself from crying out as another wave of pain pulsed through his entire body. 

I'm dying…is that it? I'm going to die.

Fadhlan squeezed his eyes shut. I wish I had more time… I've really…wanted…to die in my own body…

Those boys are going to be the death of me, thought Kaveh, or rather, the person disguised as Kaveh. 

The gem was safely stored in her pocket, but that was no longer the victory it should have been. Not when the real Kaveh was missing, wounded and vulnerable, and the little brat Kaveh took in was edging closer and closer to death.

And she could do nothing for either of them, just as she couldn’t do anything for Kaveh’s father.

Some senior you are. 

Faruzan clenched her fists. She was no medic like Tighnari, and sneaking off to find Kaveh would run the extremely high risk of leading Cyno and that new detective boy straight to him.

Shit .

For now, Faruzan’s best course of action would be staying put and not giving away the real Paradisaea’s location.

Even when every fiber of her being wanted to tear off her disguise right there and then.

Shit , thought Kaveh. Shit. Shit. Shit.

He gasped in pain as he tried to force his wounded body to move. He couldn't be found here, incapacitated and next to defenseless. 

The gutter.  

That was his only option. It would make his chances of infection pretty much guaranteed, but it was this or getting caught. 

Or killed. It would be so easy to get picked off like this.

With that thought, Kaveh went over to loosening the grate, only to freeze at the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. 

Shit. Shit. Kaveh's hands were trembling from a combination of nerves and blood loss. 

With the final screw loose, Kaveh wrenched open the lid and was about to pull himself in…

…only to freeze as a hand grabbed onto his arm. 

Chapter Text

“Fadhlan!” “Kaveh” burst into the greenhouse with the doctor.

The boy was nowhere to be found. 

“Huh?” He looked around. “He was right there! Where could a violently ill child possibly go?”

“Why don’t you let the doctor look?” Heizou had stepped into the room, usually cheerful expression suddenly foreboding. In his hands was a coil of fishing wire.

“I figured out how the trick is done, and I’d like you to be there when I give my conclusions.”

I guess that makes me the victor, Alhaitham…

“Who was it?” the figure who had grabbed him whispered in his ear.

Kaveh tried to turn around the best he could, surprised that they weren’t trying to murder him. “What?”

The figure was dressed in one of Amurta’s beekeeping outfits, hat and all. It was impossible to see their real face in the dark. 

That was fine. Kaveh was hiding his face as well, albeit in a generic disguise he managed to put on at the last moment. 

But something about this person…their body language…

“The person who shot the arrow. The person who is after you. Who is it?” 

This person keeps talking in whispers…could it be?

Kaveh took as deep of a breath as he was capable of at the moment. 

Calm down. You're not Kaveh right now: You're the Paradisaea. So act like the Paradisaea would.

"A curious heart is the key to being a good magician," Kaveh was proud of the way his voice was almost steady through the excruciating pain. "But you should know a magician never reveals their secrets."

The figure's hand tightened on his arm. “Then perhaps the magician should gain some self-awareness. Let me enlighten you of your situation: I'm perfectly capable of handing you over to the Matra. I am reasonably confident that not even you can escape custody in this state."

Kaveh was about to retort that a person who was clearly hiding their face and attempting to disguise their voice by whispering could not hand anyone to the Matra without exposing themselves first, but they were interrupted by more footsteps.

The figure cursed, “We need to leave. Brace yourself. And don’t make a sound.”

Kaveh didn’t figure out what they meant until they slung his arm over their shoulders and dragged him to his feet, clamping their free hand over Kaveh’s mouth to muffle his scream as the movement jolted the crossbow bolt still embedded inside his body.

“The trick to this heist,” said Heizou, “is the coil of fishing wire I found here.”

He showed it to everyone in the room, before continuing. 

“You see, this locked door mechanism works on a system of pulleys. As soon as the weight changes on the podium, the counterweights will drop, which will in turn cause the door to spring shut. However, this system could be hijacked.”

Heizou pulled out a children’s toy out of his pocket. “This has about the same weight and size of the gem, so I’ll use this as an example.” He tied a knot on the fishing wire, then hung it over one of the ropes on the pulley system. 

“The counterweights will fall if the weight on the podium changes, yes, but it will also fall if sufficient force is applied onto the rope. If we looped the fishing wire around it, then keep one end of the wire in your pocket, and then tie the other end of it to the gem using an adhesive or something like that,” Heizou took out some tape and put it over the toy. “Then this creates a new pulley system.”

Faruzan nodded slowly. "So all that's left to do is to slowly walk away from the room, and then the knot will catch on the rope. Since the rope is above everyone's heads, it will start applying a downward force on the rope itself."

"And eventually, the difference in weight will be enough to trigger the trap," Heizou agreed.

Cyno narrowed his eyes, "And the gem?"

"If you tug it with more force, the knot will eventually untangle, and the wire will not catch on anything anymore. Then it will work like any regular pulley. Pull on the end, and the end with the gem will fall over to the other side. And then all that's left to do is to reel it in."

"And what about the card?" Faruzan questioned. "How did the card show up on the podium?"

Heizou shrugged, "Placed there before they left the room when everyone else's backs were turned."

"...Seriously?"

"It's mundane, but it works."

"I suppose…"

"As for the Paradisaea that we saw earlier, it's probably some dummy or prop that they used to trick everyone into thinking that they already fled the scene of the crime, so no one would think to check for the real Paradisaea here."

"I see…" Thank the archons. Heizou doesn't think to look for a second person.

"Anyway, this trick could only be done by someone in the room at the time, so that means one of us. We can rule out Fadhlan since he's too small for the Paradisaea to disguise…"

"But between the three of us, the person who committed the theft had to be the last person out of the room, if they used the trick you described," Faruzan said thoughtfully. "And that person would be…me."

Faruzan's shoulders slumped. 

Damn it.

Elsewhere, the real Kaveh watched from an alleyway as three clearly suspicious people lifted the cover of the gutter that Kaveh would have crawled into had it not been for the figure next to him.

Kaveh pressed his forehead against the cool wall he was leaning against, trying to ground himself in an effort to not go into shock. He had definitely opened the wound further on the way here. 

At least there wasn't a trail of blood following him. That would have made their efforts for nothing. Kaveh had been very careful not to let his blood hit the ground.

Kaveh took a gasping breath, "I should say thank you."

"Don't bother," said the person in the beekeeper outfit, who sounded just as out of breath, "I never cared to keep track of personal favors. Besides, I only saved you because I wanted something from you."

Was it just him, or was their heavy breathing sound like it was more from pain than heavy exertion?

"Shouldn't you…worry about yourself first? You're… hardly in any condition… to interrogate any phantom thieves " Kaveh felt his knees give out, and he slid slowly to the ground, drops of blood finally hitting the ground.

"You can always turn yourself in," they suggested, with absolutely no sympathy. "Then I would be interrogating a former phantom thief instead."

Somehow, that gave him a little bit of strength. "If throwing me into the Matra's custody… is an option for you…would you have come all this way just to question me now?"

The figure sighed. " Touché. " 

They were going nowhere with this conversation, and they were both running out of time. The mysterious stranger braced an arm against the wall, the other arm clutching their chest.

They definitely sounded like they were in pain now. 

"Let's speed things up a bit…" Kaveh conceded finally, because it looked like they were both dying today and he would very much like to do so without the stranger badgering him. "The question you asked: why do you want to know?" 

"You do not have the right to ask this question."

That tone, that attitude…why is it so familiar?

"I can't just give my answer… to just anyone , you know," Kaveh said. For some reason, he felt the need to antagonize this mysterious person even though he was bleeding out on the ground and neither of them had the time nor energy for this. "Besides, a scenario…where I give all the answers …and you give nothing in return… is hardly fair. Come on…you want to…get this conversation over with… just as much as I do… Work with me here…"

Momentary silence. Then they sighed. "I'm investigating something."

"I… gathered as much. Why do you think… it's connected… to whoever… shot me?"

"Their modus operandi shares certain characteristics with what I'm investigating."

"Characteristics…shady…questionable fashion sense… hell bent on keeping their existence… a secret?'

The figure was silent, which meant Kaveh had hit the jackpot.

"Okay… that was …oddly specific," Kaveh admitted. "Your suspicions are…probably correct…Why are you…investigating them?"

The figure was perfectly still except for the minute clenching of their fists. "They took something from me. I want it back."

Kaveh felt the urge to laugh, which would not have been a good idea with an arrow in his body. "Well…at least…it's something…you can get back…Good luck with that."

The stranger nodded. The next moment, they doubled over in pain. 

Why was their condition worsening so quickly? They were healthy enough to half carry an injured person before, and now they could barely stand. 

"Are you alright?' Kaveh asked.

"I'm out of time," they muttered in response, seemingly to themselves. From the depths of their pocket, they produced something rectangular and flat and pressed it into Kaveh's hand. "This is for you. Try not to die. And also try not to bleed all over it."

"Tall order to both…what is it?"

"The answer to your query," The figure did not elaborate. "I'm sure you can figure it out once you see it."

"Wait…" 

But they were already gone. 

Kaveh cursed. Then he turned back to address the very pressing issue of death from blood loss. 

Glinting in the moonlight was a card with a "!" haphazardly drawn on it.

"Well?" Heizou asked, "Are you saying you're not the Paradisaea?"

Cyno gripped his polearm. "Kaveh. Of course. I should have known."

"Hold on," Faruzan sweated. "How can you be sure that it really is me? If you think about it, placing the note while everyone's backs were turned is actually a very unreliable way of going about it. Anyone could have turned around and seen me! And also, wouldn't people notice if there's fishing wire stretched across the room?""

Heizou raised an eyebrow as Cyno started approaching her with a menacing expression on his face. "You could have easily blocked our line of sight with your body. As for the fishing wire, you could have strung it up as we left the room. That way, nobody would have noticed anything while we were all inside. Well? Any further objections?"

Faruzan bit her lip. You have to play a convincing phantom thief in disguise…don't clue them into the fact that he was wrong so you don't draw attention to Kaveh… "That's a lot of hypotheticals you put out. Any evidence?"

"That's easy," said Heizou. "Why don't you turn out your pockets? The gem should still be there."

Alright, that should be enough of a struggle to not rouse suspicion. Time to get out of here.

Faruzan gave her best dramatic sigh.

"Well then," Faruzan gave them her best smirk. "Looks like you saw right through me, O Great Detective."

With a flourish of her arms, Faruzan was dressed in the clothes of the Paradisaea. "Well, this has certainly been a fun challenge. But as with all performances, it must come to an end. I will be taking my leave."

Cyno lunged at her, but Faruzan was faster. 

Hisssssss.

The room was soon covered in fog again as Faruzan dropped a gas canister in the form of a tetrahedron on the ground. 

Cyno cursed as he attempted to find her in the fog. 

Faruzan huffed. The compound in that canister was completely safe to breathe, but Faruzan had made sure its gaseous form was capable of dispersing light. If it could disorient enemies in a windy open field, it could disorient people in a greenhouse with its windows open. 

Faruzan ducked out of the window, just in time to dodge the still hissing canister Heizou kicked in her direction.

Alhaitham found himself in a bathroom stall, arms wrapped around himself as the waves of pain engulfed him. 

It's so cold…

His bones felt like they were melting. 

He must be turning back… Alhaitham should have known the change was temporary.

The flares of pain were getting more frequent and intense…it must almost be over.

He stuffed some fabric into his mouth. It was the first set of clothes he could find that fit him at the time, with questionable cleanliness, but it hurts and this was the most he could do to muffle his screaming. 

He couldn't risk being seen reverting back into a child. 

I wish…I had a chance to talk to him.

The Kaveh he saw at the heist was just the Paradisaea's accomplice, but the real Kaveh was here . 

The only window of time the Paradisaea had to replace Kaveh was when Kaveh went to the bathroom before the heist. The same bathroom he was in right now. 

That meant he was close . He was close by and Alhaitham could not afford to even search for him. 

Alhaitham bit down on the fabric hard as his entire body flared up in pain. 

There is something I need to tell him…with my own voice, in my own body…

To be honest, I should have said it a long time ago…

Alhaitham gasped as a final wave of agony hit him. And then he was falling out of his seat, chest heaving and tangled in clothes that were far too large for him. 

Kaveh…

The stall door burst open, and he found himself staring into the intense red eyes of the General Mahamatra. 

I'm sorry. I love you too.

Chapter Text

The same night the General Mahamatra showed up to Kaveh's door asking about Alhaitham's whereabouts, Fadhlan caught Kaveh trying to put the ripped up pieces of their thesis back together. 

The pieces were ragged and creased, but the pieces themselves were shaped differently from page to page. Kaveh must have tried to rip the entire thing apart, then when it proved too difficult, ripped it page by page. 

For some reason, this observation made Fadhlan's stomach twist.

From Fadhlan's place by the doorway, he could see Kaveh's hands trembling.

Kaveh used to tell him that he couldn't live a life surrounded only by books. Alhaitham had always deflected with a petty insult or two.

The truth was, Kaveh was only half right.

Alhaitham was the type of person who didn't need social interaction to survive. But in the right circumstances, with the right people…he wanted it.

His life before meeting Kaveh was like seeing the world with its colors desaturated. He could see where everything was and know what color everything was meant to be, so he had never realized he was missing anything until Kaveh entered his life and dyed his view of the world with color, until Alhaitham could see it in its fully saturated glory. 

Kaveh did not realize it, but he had completed Alhaitham's image of the world. 

And then he had taken it all away.

Fadhlan could still remember the last words Kaveh ever said to him as Alhaitham.

I. Hate. You. I wish we never met! I can’t believe I was ever friends with someone like you.

With these words, spat at him with all the vitriol Kaveh could muster from the most primal part of his being, Kaveh had left and taken the brilliant, vibrant colors out of his life with him.

Leaving Alhaitham with only the muted afterimage of how the world was supposed to look. 

In some ways, this was crueler than never being able to see it at all.

Fadhlan didn't know how long he stood there watching Kaveh work, but he must have made a noise, because Kaveh's head swirled around to look at him. 

"Oh…Fadhlan," it was amazing how fast Kaveh could plaster a convincing smile onto his face. "What's up? Can't sleep?"

"You're putting something back together," Fadhlan observed. 

"Yes, it's-" Kaveh's smile faltered. "It's the thesis I was working on in the Akademiya. It didn't work out, though. There's this junior of mine, Alhaitham…we couldn't get along in the end, and we called off the project."

"So why are you putting it back together?"

"Well…I guess there's a part of me that regrets it."

"Because he's missing?"

"How did you...oh, you must have heard everything Cyno said, huh? I guess everything today reminded me of it, but that's not the main reason."

"Do you like him?" 

Fadhlan had not meant to ask this question. Now that it was out, though, Fadhlan was suddenly very curious about the answer. 

Kaveh stared at him for a long time. Then he laughed and patted his head. "You sure are a sharp kid!"

"What?" It was not often that Fadhlan was caught off guard, but this was one of those times.

"You're right. I do like him. I’d actually started crushing on him a long time ago, not long after we first met. Sure, he might be antisocial, self-interested, and extremely rude-"

"That does not sound particularly flattering."

"But he's also interesting to talk to! And whenever I'm with him, I feel like I can talk to him about things I normally could never express. Show him the parts of myself I could never show anyone else. And he's good at listening…"

Kaveh continued on, completely oblivious to Fadhlan's brain imploding.

"Of course, you absolutely cannot tell him I said any of this if you ever meet him, okay?" Kaveh gave him a playful smile. "This will be our secret."

Fadhlan swallowed, a pleasantly warm feeling spreading in his chest for some reason. “Of course.”

“Now let’s get you to bed, alright?”

Fadhlan let himself be guided to his new room. “Kaveh?”

“Yeah?”

Fadhlan fixed his gaze on the floor. "Kaveh, I…I'm actually…"

"Hm?"

"...Never mind." Fadhlan could not remember the last time he had such a long conversation with Kaveh that didn’t devolve into an argument. The last time he felt so at peace…

Let this ruse run for a while longer. 

When he gets his body back, he will tell him the truth.

Fadhlan opened his eyes.

He was laying in a room that was not his own. He took note of his surroundings. The slight incline of the bed, the smell of antiseptic…

Ah. He was in the Bimarstan. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” said a voice he distinctly did not want to hear.

The self-proclaimed Detective of the East Shikanoin Heizou was smiling down upon him. 

Instantly, he was on his guard. “What are you doing here? And how did you get in?”

“First of all, rude . Can’t I visit you as a concerned party? You were passed out for three days, you know. Can't I pass on my well wishes in person before I leave the country? As for how I got in, I told them I'm your cousin."

Fadhlan squinted at him, "And they believed you?"

"We share quite the resemblance, don't you think?"

Fadhlan gave him a cursory onceover, taking note of his green eyes and deep maroon hair. "Do we?"

"Well what I lack in physical resemblance, I make up for in spirit! Anyway, I’m here to relay the message that after you’re cleared to go home, you’re going to stay with Kaveh’s friend Tighnari for a while.”

“Why?” Fadhlan did need to talk to Tighnari and Nahida about some very important discoveries with respect to finding the antidote to the drug, but it was still out of character for Kaveh to not hover over him after an episode of violent illness.

“Apparently, Kaveh is going to have to leave for a project in the desert soon. He was pushing it back because he wanted to be here in person to say goodbye when you woke up, but his clients were getting impatient. He’ll swing by later today, though. He said he was picking up some snacks for you to bring to Tighnari’s house.”

 And there was the coddling. “He needn’t have bothered. You can take them back to Inazuma if you want. Consider it as a memento of your time here. Do whatever you wish with them”

“Tempting, but no. I have bags to pack and more sights to see. I heard Apam woods are nice this time of year. It’s not everyday you get to go to Sumeru, you know.”

“Was your trip at least worth it?”

“Ah…” Heizou’s smile disappeared. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do what I came here for.”

“You won the deduction battle, didn’t you?”

“About that…I did not.”

“Hm?”

“On closer inspection, I realized that the methodology I described would not have worked. Like the Paradisaea said, there were too many unreliable factors. How could they have applied an adhesive to the gem without changing the weight registered and triggering the trap? If they were able to do that, why not just disable the trap outright? What’s more, the gem would have caught on the rope and broken free of the tether. And the supposed fake decoy was moving around and talking, so it was probably a real person and not a dummy.”

“So you’ve figured out that the Paradisaea had an accomplice?”

“Yeah. Although, since you were not in the room when I presented my conclusions, I take it that you already figured out how the trick was done?”

“It’s very simple, actually. Once you accept the premise that there were two people involved in the heist, everything else falls into place. The person disguised as Kaveh was the Paradisaea’s assistant. The real Paradisaea was waiting on the roof for everyone to leave the greenhouse. We were not able to see them because the light was coming from inside the greenhouse and it was dark outside. Then, when the last person leaves the greenhouse, they shoot the card at the podium through the skylight window. The impact of the card hitting the podium caused enough of a change in weight to trigger the trap. Afterwards, all they had to do was run towards the opposite building and announce dramatically that they had stolen the gem.”

“And afterwards, the assistant took advantage of the fog generated by the bombs to pocket the gem while everyone was busy opening windows,” Heizou finished. “Well, it looks like Alhaitham has beaten me, after all.”

“It appears that nothing I say is going to convince you that I’m in fact the one who solved it…”

“Absolutely none,” Heizou agreed. “Anyway, this whole thing is a bit disappointing. I came all this way, and Alhaitham didn’t even show up. Oh well, we could always have a rematch some other time.”

Archons, no . “Have you considered the possibility that Alhaitham might not be obligated to answer your challenge?”

“Then I’ll just have to keep trying until he does! My intuition says that if I keep trying, eventually he will reveal himself!”

That’s exactly what I am afraid of.

“By the way,” Heizou’s grin turned serious. “Any ideas on who might have shot the Paradisaea? Because that wasn’t staged.”

“Hm,” Fadhlan leaned back on the pillows. “Who knows? It seems the Paradisaea has no shortage of enemies.”

And somehow, the Paradisaea had managed to make enemies with the people who drugged me.

“You’re certainly cheerful for someone who was on death’s door three days ago,” said Faruzan, arms crossed. “Resting well?”

Kaveh was lying in the bed in Faruzan’s spare bedroom, watching as Faruzan took off her disguise as Kaveh.

Kaveh looked at the card in his hand again, as if he couldn’t believe it was there. The sloppily drawn “!” stared back at him. “Well, it is Alhaitham.”

“Yes, you’ve said,” Faruzan muttered. “At least thirty times. You do realize you’re going to have to destroy that card, right? You can’t be caught having this in your possession.”

“I know, I know,” Kaveh stared intently at the card, as if trying to memorize every detail of it. “It’s just…after a full year of absolutely nothing, he shows up and saves my life, you know? It’s kind of surreal.”

“Mhm.”

“He doesn’t hate me, after all!” Kaveh frowned. “Wait. Actually, he doesn’t know who I am. Alhaitham, you bastard. What does the Paradisaea have that I don’t?” 

“Are you seriously getting jealous of yourself?”

“I mean, I post opinionated think pieces all over Sumeru, and he doesn’t say a word, but I post a question mark as the Paradisaea and he shows up and saves my life? What is wrong with him?”

“Maybe he couldn’t appear in public for some reason. Anyway, how did you manage to get out of that alleyway alive?”

“I didn’t tell you?”

“You were a little busy talking about Alhaitham.”

“Oh,” Kaveh laughed, embarrassed. “Those bloom cores I made recently came in handy. They healed me enough to stop the bleeding.”

“Of course they did,” Faruzan put her hands on her hips. “By the way, what did you use as a source of water? Didn’t they need to be hydrated in order to work?”

“...My blood. There was a pretty sizable puddle of it on the ground at that point.”

“Of course you did,” Faruzan muttered. “I still can’t believe they shot you in front of so many people. They are usually more low-key than that.”

“Something’s changed,” Kaveh agreed. “It’s not any executive order from the boss to bring the organization into the light, or else we would have definitely seen something more dramatic, but if I had to guess…someone probably started moving in Sumeru. Someone with a lot of authority.”

Faruzan frowned, “Any ideas what they were after?”

“Absolutely none,” Kaveh slid his legs off the bed. “Come on, I have to meet up with Fadhlan before I go on the ‘trip’ into the desert. You got the snacks, right?”

Faruzan handed a bundle over. “Are you absolutely sure it has to be you? You’re still injured.”

“Fadhlan will see through you in seconds, and we can’t have him figure out that there’s any connection between me and the Paradisaea. It will just be a short trip. I’d be sitting down for most of the visit, anyway.”

“Well…be careful.” Faruzan put a hand on his arm to steady him. 

“Yeah, of course,” Kaveh put on a smile. “And…thanks, Faruzan. For everything.”

Faruzan was silent for a moment. 

"...That's Senior Faruzan to you, you brat. Now shoo! Shoo!"

Chapter Text

Later that night, Kaveh dragged himself back to Faruzan's apartment and collapsed on the bed. 

Instantly, Faruzan was upon him. "How did it go? You didn't reopen any wounds, did you?"

"I'm fine," Kaveh assured her. "Fadhlan bought the act. Insulted me about how careless I was, getting kidnapped a second time by the Paradisaea, which I think is a sign that he's recovering well. Although it's probably a bad idea for either of us to disguise as my civilian persona on heists in the near future."

"Frankly, I don't think that's going to be an issue for you," said Faruzan, crossing her arms. "You almost never use the same trick twice. We only went with the plan we did because it was an emergency."

"Still, it's a good thing that we went along with that plan. Attempted murder aside, everything else went off without a hitch."

Faruzan grumbled, but acknowledged his point. "Our identities are safe, for the time being."

Kaveh stood outside the house he had just been kicked out of, wondering what was going on with Fadhlan. 

But no matter. He had more pressing issues to deal with, and Fadhlan had just unknowingly given him an opening.

Kaveh walked into Faruzan’s office as she was squinting at a desert mechanism some Kshahrewar scholar had brought in. 

"Ah, Kaveh," said Faruzan, not looking up. "This is a surprise. Looking to consult me on an architecture project?"

By now, Kaveh had known Faruzan well enough to understand that this was her way of asking why he was seeking her out in public.

"It's more of a personal project, actually," Kaveh said. "I ran into an unexpected issue, and I think I need your unique expertise to solve it."

"My unique expertise? You sure know how to flatter your Senior. Sounds like it's indeed a big issue, then. Well, then, never let it be said that I neglect my senior duties. Let me treat you to a meal, and we can discuss while eating."

The pair found themselves back at their workshop, where there was regrettably no food to be found. 

"So, there is a second detective?" Faruzan muttered. "That could be a problem. We'd have to fool both detectives." 

"Yeah," Kaveh agreed. "While the best course of action would be to disguise as a member of the Matra while I attend as an innocent bystander, you've seen the setup. The person with the most window of opportunity to take the gem would be me."

"The detectives would also make this observation."

"Hm, yeah," Kaveh said thoughtfully. "There's almost no way in which stealing the gem as ‘Kaveh’ would not be seen through immediately. Even if Heizou cannot see through me, Fadhlan will be able to tell that I've been replaced by behavior alone, so you can't show up as me, at least right off the bat. I obviously cannot be the one to take the gem because that would expose my identity."

"Then what do we do?"

"Well," Kaveh said, an idea coming to him. "What if we use a plan that counts on the fact that we'll be found out?"

"So onto the next stage of the plan, then," Faruzan said, putting on her disguise as Kaveh again. 

In order to hide Kaveh’s injury, the pair had hatched a plan to create an alibi for Kaveh. 

Faruzan would walk around disguised as Kaveh for a few days, making sure that there were witnesses who could say that they saw Kaveh walking around uninjured, and then announce that Kaveh was leaving for a project in the desert. 

Then, Kaveh would go himself to bid farewell to Fadhlan, in order to prevent the boy from noticing anything wrong with his behavior. 

Then came the current stage of the plan: Faruzan leaving for the desert disguised as Kaveh, making sure that there were witnesses who saw Kaveh arrive at Caravan Ribat and Aaru Village, then doubling back in another disguise, making it seem to everyone that Kaveh had simply headed further into the desert. 

Meanwhile, Kaveh would lock himself in Faruzan’s apartment, where it would seem to everyone else that Faruzan had simply found something interesting, and had holed herself in her apartment in order to further study it. 

"See you in a few days." 

"Good luck," Kaveh said, then waited for the front door to fully close before entering the bathroom. 

Kaveh filled up the bathtub with water, before dumping the necessary dendro compounds into the water and watching the bloom cores form. 

Hopefully, Faruzan didn't mind him making such a mess of her bathroom. 

Dendro cores: a product formed in certain conditions when water reacts with certain compounds found naturally in plants. Extremely volatile and unstable. Highly combustible. Can be electrified to create projectiles. 

Those were all facts that any Spantamed scholar worth their salt could recite off the top of their head. The properties of dendro cores were well studied and well known enough to appear in an entry-level undergraduate elective that many students took just to satisfy their graduation requirements. 

That is, until Kaveh got to it. 

By analyzing the chemical formulas of the combustion reaction when dendro cores burst, Kaveh had realized that in certain environments, the dendro cores could heal organic matter rather than damage it. 

And then just for kicks, he had created a detonator that would trigger the blooms in a way that would heal him but damage everyone around him.

(He had been sixteen at the time, a full year before he met Alhaitham during the disaster that was the Liyue Incident, and he had been bored . His heists had been so easy before Alhaitham entered the picture).

This discovery had next to no practical applications in the field of medicine: healing properties or no, nobody wanted to be toting around such a dangerous, unstable material in a hospital, but it did allow him to graduate on time. After his actual thesis had been ripped to shreds by his own hands, Kaveh had found some scribbled experimental data and a half-written draft while digging around in his closet for clothes that would fit Fadhlan, polished up said data and draft, and submitted it for review. 

Kaveh had received praise by the review board for his “unique and intriguing approach,” but unfortunately no funding was given due to its lack of practical applications. The thesis was eventually buried under mountains of shinier, more practical papers. 

The only thing Kaveh really got out of it was the detonator he had made himself. 

Now, though, he thought that maybe it was a blessing in disguise that no one remembered what his thesis had been, especially compared to his grander architectural achievements. While the dendro cores’ healing properties were something he only utilized in an emergency, the lack of recognition he got for his achievement did lower the risk of someone witnessing him use it during his heists and connecting it to Kaveh.

Kaveh took off his shoes and rolled up his pants legs, climbing into the bathtub. With the press of a button, the dendro cores detonated in front of him.

Kaveh hissed in pain as the unreacted bits of dendro core hit him like shrapnel. Lifting up his shirt, he watched as the wound slowly knit itself together. 

Faruzan did not approve of this method of healing, for obvious reasons, but Kaveh’s stomach twisted in guilt at the thought of potentially spending months taking advantage of her hospitality and forcing her to cover for him. 

Faruzan had done so much for him already. It was the least he could do to get out of her hair as fast as possible.

"Fadhlan, you're back!" Collei threw her arms around him in an uncharacteristic display of physical affection. "I heard you got really sick and had to stay in the hospital. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Fadhlan. Then: "Are you crying ?"

"No!" Collei sniffled into his shoulder. She did not let go of him.

At a complete loss as to what to do, Fadhlan patted her back awkwardly. "Um, there, there. I'm here, see? Very much alive."

A few more platitudes later, Collei finally gathered herself enough to remove herself from the hug, wiping at her tears. 

Helplessly, he made eye contact with Nahida, who was trying not to laugh, and Tighnari, who was watching the entire exchange, an unreadable look on his face.

"I'm sorry!" Collei said, embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean to react like that. I…it's stupid, I'm just being dumb-"

"Don’t waste time doling out meaningless apologies," Fadhlan interrupted. Then, suddenly acutely aware of two homicidal pairs of eyes fixated on him, hastened to add, "Dismissing your emotions as stupid does not subtract from the fact that they're very much present and relevant, nor does having such emotions make you dumb. While I might not know the reasons behind your worry, I’m sure you had a rational explanation as to why you reacted the way you did. There’s no need to apologize for your emotions.”

“Alright,” Tighnari took his glare off him, which probably meant that Fadhlan lived to see another day. Or possibly that he planned to poison him at dinner and he was trying to lull him into a false sense of security. “Fadhlan, wash your hands. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping so you can put your stuff down.”

Fadhlan nodded. Under his breath, he said, “There’s something you and Nahida need to know.”

Tighnari’s ears twitched. He nodded, “Tonight, then.”

Fadhlan recounted the events of the past few days after Collei had gone to bed.

“Osmanthus wine, huh,” Nahida muttered to herself. They were seated in the living room of the house. She had a look of concentration on her face, as if trying to remember the exact composition of the drug that had ruined Fadhlan’s life. The drug that she had spearheaded in developing. “I need a sample of the osmanthus wine you drank. If I could isolate the ingredients, I can try to figure out exactly what it was that caused your body to revert to its teenage state.”

Fadhlan nodded, “That could be arranged. Assuming Kaveh had not drunk the entire bottle in the three days I was unconscious, it should still be at my house.”

Fadhlan found himself feeling more excited than he had been for a long, long time. This was the most progress they had made in getting his body back since he had first shrunk. 

If he had to compare it…he’d say it was most similar to the feeling he got when Kaveh agreed to work with him on the thesis.

Hopefully, this attempt would not end with everything crashing and burning. 

Fadhlan peeked cautiously through a gap in the door the next morning. The coast was clear. Now, he just had to get to the pile of books Kaveh had left for him-

“Looking for this?” Tighnari held up a thick tome. 

“Tighnari,” said Fadhlan, swirling around. “It’s certainly a surprise seeing you here.”

“It shouldn't be, considering that you’re in my house and I live here. Fadhlan, did you seriously think I wouldn’t be able to hear you sneaking back into the house?”

“No,” Fadhlan admitted. “But I didn’t expect you to try to force me to go to school.”

“I’m not. That’s Kaveh’s job, though I think that he’s doing such a bad job of it I might be forced to step in. No, I’m here because I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

“Collei’s education.”

That got his attention. “Oh?”

“I thought about what you said, and I think, if Collei’s agreeable to it, we can give it a try.”

“Well, that’s good then,” said Fadhlan, turning to leave for the House of Daena. While his plan to read quietly in an empty house had been foiled, surely he could-

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Reading.”

“I need to make lesson plans, Fadhlan.”

“That’s nice…”

“With you. ”

Silence. Fadhlan looked at Tighnari. Tighnari stared back at him. “Goodbye.”

“Get back here .”

Chapter Text

Collei came home to find Tighnari and Fadhlan huddled at the dining room table, which was covered in papers.

They stared at her intently when she approached. 

Collei shuffled her feet. She got the distinct feeling that whatever the two had been focused on, it had something to do with her. 

"Collei," Tighnari gave her a smile. "Why don't you wash your hands and grab yourself a snack? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Skeptically, she did so. 

Tighnari waited until she was seated at the table before talking.

"Collei," Tighnari began. "What do you feel about taking classes with me?"

Collei's eyes widened. "Take classes with you? Of course I'd want to! When do we start? Is it after school?"

"Ah, about that," Tighnari coughed. "We were actually thinking that you start taking classes with me instead of going to school."

"Instead?" Collei toyed with the idea. "But…why? You said going to school is important."

"Well," Tighnari said. "To be honest, I don't think the school is doing a good job of teaching. I think you might learn better if you took lessons at home."

Oh. For some reason, Collei got a lump in her throat. She was happy, she really was, but…

Why did her chest feel so tight?

Still, she kept a smile on her face, "Of course I'd like that! Thank you so much, Master Tighnari!"

Don't ruin the mood. Master Tighnari is doing you a favor. This is a good thing. 

So she forced down her feelings of doubt and clapped her hands like nothing was bothering her. 

When it was announced that Collei would be withdrawing from school, the class threw her a farewell party. 

Her classmates all pitched in and got her a cake and some decorations. They smiled and laughed and gave her their well wishes. Some of them even gave her presents.

It was the warmest reception she ever received at school.

Collei thanked them, even as the knot in her stomach tangled further. 

It almost felt like her classmates were celebrating the fact that she was leaving, rather than her. 

Collei knew that wasn't true though: her class didn't hate her. They didn't care about her enough for that. 

Collei had always known she was a nuisance. She could see it in the way the teacher's mouth turned slightly downwards before addressing her, the way her classmates' eyes filled with exasperation when she struggled to answer a basic question. The way the other kids started avoiding her when it became clear that she was a horrible student. 

Really, leaving school really was for the best. 

She bit her lip and looked away. Her ears were ringing.

She should be happy, so why did she feel like crying?

Tighnari, one of the people she loved and respected the most, was offering to give her his undivided attention in order to teach her, so why did she feel like he had betrayed her?

Collei hated the way the teachers and other students made her feel, like a sick person whose stupid might be contagious, so why did the thought of leaving them make her feel like such a failure?

The answer came to her as the teacher went to cut up the cake the class had pitched in to buy.

Because you're letting them win.

Collei's first friend at school wasn't Nahida or Fadhlan. It was a boy named Armin.

On her very first day of school, she had taken the seat next to him, and she had watched quietly as he fiddled with a wood carving hidden under his desk.

"What's that?" she had asked.

"Shhhh," he had responded. "It's an Aranara. They're some of my best friends."

"Your best friends are statues?" Collei didn't know what to make of that. Maybe that was normal for people who study in the Akedemiya. 

"No!" He said defensively. "This is just a carving that looks like an Aranara. Real Aranara can talk, walk, and move around, just like us."

"Oh," said Collei, intrigued. Armin visibly perked up at her interest. "I'd love to meet them."

That was when the teacher interrupted, "Since you sound so excited back there, why don't you read the next paragraph in the book, Collei?"

"Um," Collei stammered. She could do this. She should be able to. Master Tighnari had made sure she could at least read the letters before sending her off to school. 

She looked at the passage desperately, as if the words would make sense if she stared at it hard enough.

"Well?" The teacher asked impatiently. "We're waiting."

"I…can't," she admitted. "I can't read it."

The teacher sighed. "And this is why we pay attention in class. Armin, why don't you read it instead?"

Armin looked flustered as well. Collei watched as he picked a random paragraph and started to read. 

"Nice try. You skipped two paragraphs," the teacher said flatly. "Both of you, go stand in the back."

Awkwardly, both of them stood in the corner, making eye contact with each other. 

During the break before the next class, when they were allowed to return to their seats, Armin asked Collei, "Do you really want to meet the Aranara?" 

Collei nodded, excited. "Of course!"

Armin relaxed a bit. "Okay. The teachers say that the Aranara aren't real, and a lot of kids pretend that they don't believe in the Aranara because they want to look cool and grownup. But they're real!" He insisted stubbornly. "I've seen them!"

Collei nodded, surprised by his passion. "When can I meet them?"

"Oh, um," Armin looked sheepish. "My Aranara friends are all back at my family's farm. They don't like coming into the city. But my Mom is taking me back home on Friday, so we can go meet them then if you want!"

"I'm going to talk to Master Tighnari about it," said Collei, "But I should be able to go."

Armin nodded. There was something about his enthusiasm that was infectious, because Collei found herself smiling too. 

"Oh, here," Armin started rifling through his bag. "I have a few books on the Aranara if you want to read them."

"Oh," Collei hesitated. "Um, Armin…I actually can't read."

"Oh," Armin pondered this conundrum, before abruptly perking up. "Well, that's okay! I can just read it to you!"

The two of them spent the rest of the day in each other's company, reading whenever they had the chance. 

When Tighnari heard of Collei's new friend, he was visibly happy for her. 

"Yeah, sure, go for it," he said. "I'll pick you up at 8, alright?" 

Collei nodded enthusiastically. She had never played at a friend's house before. "I'm going to meet the Aranara!"

"Aranara, huh," Tighnari muttered. "Well, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Tell me all about it, will you?" 

Collei nodded, unaware that she would never get to meet Armin's Aranara friends. 

In fact, she would never get to go home with Armin at all. 

Armin's mother did not like Collei. 

She had been perfectly nice at first, but when Armin had blurted that Collei wanted to go to his house to see his Aranara friends, something had flashed across her face.

It would have been too fast for anyone else to catch, but for Collei, who had spent years of her life watching people's facial expressions for signs of aggression just so she could survive, it was clear as day. 

When Armin revealed to his Mother that he had been reading his Aranara books to Collei because she couldn't read it herself, the look was back. This time, Collei thought that it would have been obvious to everyone else as well.

"Armin," his Mother said sweetly. "Can we talk in private for a second? Collei, excuse us, dear."

Collei nodded. She sat down at her desk, before noticing something on the floor. 

The Aranara statue that Armin was playing with on the first day. It must have fallen out of his bag. 

Collei picked it up and ran in the direction Armin and his Mother had gone. 

…and in doing so, overheard the conversation.

"-should stop playing with that girl."

"What? Why?" Armin sounded bewildered. 

"She can't even read, Armin. I worry that she's going to impact your studies."

"But-"

"Ever since you've become friends with her, you've been doing nothing but reading about Aranara all day. Have you been reviewing your course notes? What about previewing? You're going to be left behind if this keeps up."

"I," Armin swallowed. "I-"

"Didn't you say that when you grow up, you're going to make more money and help everyone out? How do you expect to do that with bad grades?"

Collei did not hear Armin's response, because she had run away at that point.

She hadn't needed to, anyway, because when Armin came back to the classroom five minutes later, he wouldn't meet her eyes when he said, "Sorry, Collei, I don't think I can take you to see the Aranara anymore." 

Collei went home by herself that day. 

Tighnari had been surprised when she showed up at the door four hours early, but thankfully he didn't pry. 

Collei didn't want to recount what happened. She didn't think she could have kept it together if she did.

"Collei?"

Collei blinked. She was standing in the hallway with Nahida and Fadhlan looking at her concernedly. 

How did she get here?

Nahida frowned, "You started looking really out of it after the teacher brought the cake out. Fadhlan and I took you out of the room so you could get fresh air. 

"Oh," Collei turned her attention to Fadhlan. "I didn't think you'd show up to school today."

"Tighnari told me to be here, for ceremonial reasons," Fadhlan shrugged. "I would have refused, but he threatened to confiscate my books."

That got a giggle out of her. "Thank you for coming, anyway."

"Collei?" Said a voice behind her two friends. 

Armin stood there, holding a gift wrapped package. 

"I heard you're leaving the school," he muttered, gazing down on the floor. "So, I wanted you to have this."

"Oh," Collei had no idea what to say to him. Tighnari had transferred her to a different classroom not long after, and the two former friends had spent the rest of their time in school pretending not to know each other when they ran into each other in the hallway. "Thank you."

Armin nodded, still not meeting her eyes. He looked like he was about to say something else, but thought better of it. "Well, um, good luck!"

"Thanks," Collei said, throat tight.   Collei forced herself to smile when all she wanted to do was to start yelling. 

That's it? After everything that happened, that's all you have to say? How could you have stopped being my friend so easily? Why did you come back now? I don't want your stupid farewell gift I want an explanation-

"I think this is an apology, Collei" Nahida said quietly, as if sensing Collei's thoughts. 

"It's a useless sentiment, of course," Fadhlan said, blunt as ever. He did not make any attempt to lower his voice. "It's obvious that this is just a last ditch attempt to alleviate his own guilt."

Chapter Text

Fadhlan stared at the boy impassively. He wasn't sure why the boy's general demeanor bothered him so much. Maybe this whole situation reminded him of himself and Kaveh, of whatever remained of their friendship, of the apologies and confessions they never got to say to each other. Maybe the guilt on his face had reminded him of some of Kaveh's more infuriating qualities. Maybe it was the simple fact that the boy had somehow hurt Collei (it was obvious through the twitching of Collei's face even as she smiled). 

Whatever it was, the fact that this boy had all this opportunity to make his peace with Collei and still waited until she was leaving to say something drove him to say something even if it went against his usual policy of not interfering in the affairs of children. 

The boy clenched his fists, "It's not like that. I-I'm…how much do you know?"

Collei looked at him with wide eyes. Fadhlan shook his head. Collei had not told him anything, but he had a general inkling.  

It was obvious that the two used to be friends. Collei was non-confrontational by nature, and there was no real hostility between the two of them, so it probably hadn't been a fight that split them up. Pair this observation with the very real guilt present in the other boy's demeanor, and Fadhlan had a fairly good idea of what happened.

What he wasn't privy to was why . Children were more complicated than adults liked to think.

It seemed like Fadhlan was going to get an answer whether he wanted to or not, however. Fadhlan's placid observation seemed to have broken some sort of dam in the boy. 

"I didn't mean to, alright? I want to be your friend! I do! But I…I…" he swallowed thickly. "I can't! I'm not…I just can't!"

There was something the boy wasn't saying. Or perhaps, something he couldn't say. The boy struggled, trying to find the right words.

"It's okay, Armin. I know why," Collei whispered. 

Fadhlan turned towards her. To his alarm, there were tears in her eyes. "This is because I'm stupid, isn't it? You can't have a friend who can't read a book by herself. Someone like that will just drag down your grades."

Collei sounded like this was on her mind for a long, long time.

"Collei," Nahida said, voice uncharacteristically firm, "You're not-"

"No, I am!" Now that Collei started talking, she couldn't seem to stop. "You just don't get it because you're smart! The teachers like teaching you because you know all the answers! People don't laugh at you behind your back for placing last on tests! Even Master Tighnari thinks I'm too stupid to stay in school. I don't even know why you two are friends with me…"

She broke off, crying earnestly now.

Fadhlan paused, something uncomfortable settling in his chest. 

Kaveh had not been wrong when he called him an egoist in their arguments. He believed in acting in his own self-interest, and he believed that anyone else doing the same was following what was most rational. He had justified his own friendship with Collei by telling himself that it would benefit him to get into Tighnari's good graces. 

By his own philosophy, Armin dissolving his friendship with Collei would have been a rational course of action. Fadhlan really had no power to judge the other boy for doing it. 

After all, wasn't it himself who had told Kaveh that students who could not keep up in their project should drop out during their final argument he had as Alhaitham? 

So why did this whole situation fill him with disgust? Why did he feel the urge to do something, even if he didn’t know what was?

"So…Armin, huh?" Tighnari muttered the name, once the three of them were home. "From what you told me, it sounds like he isn't a bad person. A little easily influenced, perhaps, but that describes the vast majority of children his age. We couldn't blame him for that one."

Fadhlan nodded, acknowledging his point. "He is more courageous than the average person. Even so…"

"He hurt Collei," Tighnari finished for him. "I wish she had told me this earlier. I could have talked to his parents about this."

He was clenching his fists when he said those words, making it clear that he meant something more violent than just talking. 

"Tighnari, you can't just fight everyone who's ever slighted Collei."

"I can try," Tighnari said automatically "But yes, I can see how that would be inefficient. Sumeru's academic system has a lot more rot in it than people obsessed with social standing. In fact, one can make the argument that the system itself was what facilitated them to exist."

"But academic systems are not something you can punch."

"Exactly," Tighnari nodded. "This is why I still think pulling Collei out of school was the best option for her. Petitioning the Akedemiya to change their policies would take too long, and it might not even work. It didn't solve the problem for anyone else, but…"

"Your priority is Collei," Fadhlan finished. "I can understand that."

Tighnari was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. 

It was Cyno, who had changed out of his headgear and into a red paper party hat. In his hands were a bouquet of flowers. 

"I heard that Collei left school," he said. "I brought some Collei Lilies."

He was gesturing towards the bouquet, which was filled with what Fadhlan identified as Calla Lilies from Mondstadt.

"You're so lame it hurts," Tighnari told him, but he was smiling. His eyes were fond. "Come in."

Fadhlan tuned them out, after that. 

Sumeru was a nation where academic prestige had a direct effect on one's socioeconomic status. It was the reason why so many families were willing to devote all the mora and time within their means in the hopes that their children would be able to break into the Akademiya.

It would be easy to claim that this was fair, because such a system was meritocratic, and how it only encouraged those who were doing poorly to work harder. This of course blatantly ignored how disproportionately low the enrollment numbers were for students from non-academic families and those from the desert, and that for those who struggled in school at the beginning, the most common response was to dismiss them as lost causes, allowing the gap in academic performance to widen until no amount of hard work could ever make up the difference.

Those were all facts that everyone knew. Not even seven-year old Armin, who had been made to carry his entire family's hopes and dreams on his shoulders, could remain innocent for long. In such a reality, even friends were considered assets. 

Those were all facts everyone knew, but of these people, perhaps only Kaveh had both the means and the motivation to change things. 

His senior was not an idealist for nothing, after all. 

But wasn't that why Alhaitham fell in love with him in the first place?

When Alhaitham first met Kaveh, he did not find himself liking him, or even find his senior particularly noteworthy. 

He was a newcomer to the Akademiya, but he had already incited the wrath of several professors and several students, and rumors had already spread about his disagreeable personality, cold demeanor, and unapproachable face. 

Alhaitham personally thought that those spreading the rumors might do better academically if they had chosen to devote the same attention to studying instead, but he digressed. 

So when he happened to look up from his book of Old Fontanian declensions (the fifth declension was particularly difficult), and met the eyes of a blonde student a few years older than him, who looked at him like he had set his house on fire and given him a charred piece of timber from said burning house as a present, he had assumed that the other student was just someone who followed the rumors around him and was gullible enough to believe every single one. 

Who knows, perhaps there really was a rumor that said that he was an arsonist. Alhaitham turned the page and kept reading. 

The second time he met Kaveh, it was because he had tackled him out of the way out of a falling corpse.

It had been a cloudy, overcast day, and Alhaitham had his head buried in a book, so he had failed to notice the sudden shouts and the rapidly darkening sky until someone literally tackled him out of the way. 

In his disoriented state, the first thing Alhaitham felt was profound irritation. He had lost where he was in the book and the pages of the book were all crumpled and crinkled from the fall. 

Alhaitham hissed, "Which idiot -"

"You're welcome," huffed the blond student on top of him. His ruby red eyes glared at him, unimpressed. 

"You just ruined my book," he told him.

"A body almost hit you!"

"Yes, yours. "

"No!" the other student got off him and spun him around so he could see. "That dead body!"

Alhaitham took note of the tangle of broken limbs, the blood seeping into the cobblestone. "...Oh. You still ruined my book, though."

"Why did I bother?" The other teenager grumbled, as the Matra came running to secure the area. 

The corpse, who had been identified as Raju from the Vahumana Darshan, was found with a knife stabbed into his back, clutching a copy of a thesis in his hand. Strangely enough, the name on the thesis was not his own name, but the name of a Vahumana instructor named Jani. 

The case was abruptly declared a murder, and both the blonde teenager and Alhaitham were identified as witnesses.

Alhaitham sighed. His plans to finish his reading on Old Fontanian ablatives had been completely derailed. Although, there were still hours in the day that were salvageable. As long as the investigation wrapped up quickly. 

He scowled at the building where the student must have fallen from. This was the second time in less than two weeks where he walked into a crime scene. Hopefully this does not become a regular occurrence. 

The Matra, Taj Radkani, consulted his notes, and muttered, "Well, it looks like the victim had been running away from someone, and had been stabbed from behind, falling off the roof of that building due to his own momentum."

Narratively, it made sense, but…

The body was facing the wrong way. Also, the knife was stabbed into the lower back, at an angle that was extremely difficult for an attacker to stab into. Not to mention that-

"-wouldn't it be a bit difficult to stab a knife this deep into someone who's running away from you?" A voice cut into his thoughts. 

Alhaitham turned. It was the same blonde student who had pushed him out of the way.

He didn't seem to notice he had spoken out loud until everyone was staring at him. "Oh, uh-"

"You have a point," the Matra admitted, "Though you should not be interfering with the investigation, Mister Kaveh. Is that understood?"

"Right, sorry," the blonde sounded sheepish. 

Alhaitham spoke up, "In that case, are we free to go? You already took both of our statements."

"Regrettably, no," Radkani did not sound regretful. "Until the scene can be thoroughly investigated and all evidence documented, you two cannot leave."

Kaveh nodded, "I understand-"

"If you insist on wasting our time," Alhaitham cut him off, "then let us join in the investigation. It might resolve itself faster."

Kaveh turned towards him, "What are you-"

"Look," Radkani sighed, "This is a job for professionals. Even if I can trust that you two will not destroy or tamper with the evidence-"

Alhaitham cut him off by giving him a comprehensive list of everything he had deduced so far.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Kaveh asked him. They had been allowed up on the roof on the condition that a member of the Matra monitored their every move. 

The Matra in question was young, perhaps even younger than Alhaitham himself, but that didn't stop him from taking his job very seriously. His intense red eyes watched them, though he didn't try to approach them.

"I thought I had made my reasons clear," said Alhaitham, taking note of the weathered furniture on the roof. "It would benefit me greatly if this investigation wrapped up quickly."

"Yeah, but why are you dragging me into it?"

"Would you also not stand to benefit if this case is resolved sooner? It's only fair that you contribute to it, would it not?"

Kaveh grumbled, "I don't know why you think I'd be of any help when you already have so much of it figured out."

"No need to downplay your abilities, senior. You'll do fine."

After all, it's not everyday someone could manage to take note of something Alhaitham had not.

Chapter Text

“What do you make of this?” Alhaitham pointed to the chair on the roof, positioned about one foot away from the edge. 

“It's sturdy,” Kaveh offered. “Probably dragged out from somewhere else. The styling of the furniture makes me think it's not meant to be roof furniture.” 

Alhaitham nodded. He had come to this conclusion as well, though he had been paying more attention to the lack of weathering compared to the rest of the furniture on the roof. “This makes it probable that this chair had been involved in this crime. But as to how…”

“It’s definitely not thrown from a distance,” said Kaveh thoughtfully. “I would have chosen a throwing knife, and this knife doesn’t look aerodynamic enough to serve as one. The chair is blocking the way, anyway, so I doubt throwing something would have worked. Anyway, to have buried the knife this deep into someone, you’d need leverage. Either he was braced against a surface and stabbed, or someone with an incredible amount of strength stabbed him. Ah, that's just what I think, anyway! I'm no Matra-”

“No, I think your conclusion is reasonable,” Alhaitham interrupted. “The other strange thing is, the only place the blood could be found is at the edge of the building where he fell. The blood was fresh: he hadn’t been stabbed somewhere else and moved here. But there were no signs of struggle. No signs of having been restrained, either. Drugs, perhaps…”

“But why go to all the effort of stabbing him when they could have just pushed him over the edge? It’s possible that the drugs wore off, but like you said, no signs of struggle.”

It was interesting, thought Alhaitham. Kaveh started his logic from the front.

“There’s also the issue of the orientation of the body. If he was stabbed from the back, then the body would have fallen with his feet facing the building, but instead his feet are facing away from the building.”

“You’re right. But to have been able to fall in this orientation, the victim would have had to be stabbed with the knife either below him, or by someone hovering off the edge of the building.”

At that revelation, the two of them fell into a contemplative silence, just as the sound of arguing came from below.

“Are you seriously suspecting Instructor Jani of murder, just because Raju was holding a paper with his name on it!?” a Vahumana student was saying.

Radkani looked at him, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “We are not suspecting anyone of anything just yet. We'd just like to ask him a few questions. Do not interrupt an official investigation, is that understood?”

“No need to antagonize the Matra on my behalf, Jaap,” said the man who must have been Instructor Jani. “I'll answer any questions you have.”

“I appreciate the cooperation, Mr. Jani. What's your relationship to the deceased?”

“He was one of my students. He worked for me on one of my projects.”

“Do you know if he had any enemies, anyone he was on bad terms with?”

“Well, no,” the man admitted. “He was someone who kept to himself, so I don't think he would have many enemies. To think that someone hated him enough to kill him…I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but he had not been a particularly remarkable student. I don't think it could have been academic jealousy…”

The Matra jotted that down. “And where were you at the time of the murder?” 

“I was in my office grading papers, before the Matra found me and brought me here.”

“Was there anyone who can confirm this?”

“Well, no one I know of…Although Jaap here walked into my office shortly before the Matra came to fetch me. He wanted to ask me some questions about his progress on our project.”

“Alright. Would you have any idea how the deceased came to possess one of your papers?”

“He must have taken it off my desk. He's had plenty of opportunities since he was working on my project…”

“Can you think of any reason why he would do that?”

“Unfortunately, no. Just because he's one of my students does not mean I know what goes on in his head. Alas, if only he could have come to me when he felt threatened…perhaps things wouldn't have ended like this.”

Radkani nodded, “Thank you for your time. I would like to interview Jaap now about his whereabouts.”

Jaap nodded reluctantly, allowing himself to be herded away from his instructor. 

Alhaitham and Kaveh watched the entire exchange in silence. “So, you caught that?”

Kaveh nodded. “Redirection. He's been subtly trying to influence the narrative the whole time, trying to get us, the audience, to believe a specific version of events.”

Again, it struck Alhaitham how different Kaveh's thought processes were. Whereas Alhaitham observed the details and analyzed them to form his conclusions, Kaveh seemed to start with the abstract big picture, the overall goal, and slowly fill in the details.

“He’s definitely hiding something,” Alhaitham agreed. “There were a lot of hidden assumptions he introduced in his answers if you break it down. Did you notice? ‘He was not a particularly remarkable student. I don't think it could have been academic jealousy.’ He was quick to suggest that the reason Raju was murdered had nothing to do with his academic performance. There’s also the statement, ‘He must have taken it off my desk.’ That introduces the assumption that the paper had been in Jani’s office, and that Raju had been the one to take it from him.”

Kaveh looked impressed. “I was about to get the general idea of what's going on, but I wasn't able to catch all the details. You were able to remember all of that?”

“I am a Haravatat student. Parsing complex arguments and breaking them down into standard form is our specialty.”

“Weren’t you only here for like, two weeks, though?”

Alhaitham shrugged.

“Alright, whatever,” Kaveh shrugged. “Got any ideas what exactly he might be hiding?”

“Not right now, but we can start with the paper, since that was one of the things on which he attempted to redirect us.” 

“Alright…” Kaveh started approaching the instructor. “Instructor Jani, sorry to interrupt, but I overheard you talking to the Matra. Have you noticed any papers of yours going missing in your office?”

“Well, I did notice one paper going missing,” Jani admitted. “I didn't say anything because I thought I had just misplaced it, and that it would turn up in time. Come to think of it, it did go missing after one of Raju’s visits to the office.”

“In that case, can you show us your office? I'd like to see where you normally keep your papers,” Alhaitham cut in.

“Mr. Alhaitham, as a non-Matra, you cannot just ask to see other people's desks,” Radkani glared at him. “But yes, Mr. Jani, we'd like to take a look at your office.”

“Oh, I forgot to close the window when I left,” Jani took in the mess of papers on his desk. “The wind must have blown all the papers around.”

No, that couldn't be right. It was not windy enough to make that much of a mess on the desk. “Can you show us where you kept the paper that went missing?”

“I normally keep it in my desk drawer here,” Jani pointed, “but on that day I pulled some of my papers out to show Raju the proper formatting of a typical research paper, and later that day while I was putting them away I noticed that one went missing.”

“Well, in that case, instruction Jani,” Kaveh piped up. “Do you want us to help you organize your desk? It's a bit of a mess.”

“No!” Jani looked panicked for a second. “I have a very specific system for how I organize my desk. Please don't trouble yourselves.”

Kaveh and Alhaitham exchanged a look.  

“Oh… alright,” said Kaveh, the very picture of innocence. “In that case, can you go to the roof with us? There was a chair on the roof that looked out of place. Since you know Raju well, maybe there was something we missed.” 

“Well, I suppose I can help…”

“Do either of you have any respect for the procedure of the investigation?” Radkani complained, but he was already leading them out. “Let's go.”

Everyone exited the room, except Alhaitham.

Kaveh gave Alhaitham a meaningful look on the way out. 

Alhaitham acknowledged it with a nod. It was strange: They had known each other for less than an hour, but the way the two of them worked together, like two sides of the same coin…The way they had effortlessly filled in the gaps that the other was missing… 

Kaveh had given him an opportunity to search Jani's office without interference, trusting that he would be able to find the necessary information alone. 

Alhaitham rifled through the papers on Jani's desk. Jani shouldn't have been able to dispose of the evidence just yet, so what he was looking for should still be there. 

The wind had not been what scattered those papers, which meant that it was a person who had scattered it.

As to the purpose…it could only be because there was something there. 

Sure enough, tucked between two pages of paper was a note. 

So…that was how it was.

“What are you doing?”

Alhaitham looked up, tucking the note out of view. Jani's student Jaap was standing there, blocking the exit. 

“I’m just looking around,” Alhaitham said easily. “I'm just leaving.”

Jaap did not budge. “Planting evidence is against the law, you know.”

“I am well aware. Perhaps your words would be put to better use against someone who is trying.”

“You’re funny. Alhaitham, isn't it? Can you guarantee that whatever clues you find here will be accepted as evidence? Why should the Matra trust the word of a student who was only here for two weeks? Especially if there's a senior who can testify that he saw him plant evidence?”

Alhaitham studied him. “What's your stake in this?”

“It's simple. I want to finish my thesis and graduate from the Akedemiya. I want to get a good job and settle down and live a good, peaceful life. To do that, Instructor Jani cannot be found guilty of murder.”

“Your project will be called off if he gets arrested,” Alhaitham guessed. “That was your capstone.”

Jaap nodded, “I’m not the only one in this situation. There are dozens of graduating seniors working on this project. I'm not asking for much: just don't submit the evidence until we've all graduated. A lot of people will be owing you a favor.”

Alhaitham took a moment to process that. Was this senior of his really this shallow?

He said, “You say that you're my senior, but you do not display the behavior a real senior should. What is even the point of the prestige attached to the title?”

Jaap stared him down. “You know, I was hoping that you would have the base amount of sense. Is that really your answer?”

“Facilitating corruption in the Akedemiya would impact the stability on which it runs, which would affect me in the long run, despite the short term benefits. I have no intentions of letting this affect the peaceful life I have planned for myself. Besides, you needn't have troubled yourself.” Alhaitham took out the piece of paper for Jaap to see. “Instructor Jani is not the murderer.”

“What-”

Alhaitham took advantage of Jaap’s momentary surprise to shove his way out of the room. 

“We now have all the information we need to solve the case,” Kaveh announced to everyone on the roof. And so it began.

“We’ll begin with this note,” Alhaitham pulled out the note from his pocket. “‘To Instructor Jani: I would like to thank you for your years of instruction, and leave with you a final parting gift. Come to the roof of the Vahumana building as soon as you can. You are the one who taught me that secrets are best if they stay hidden. I hope the method I found to return the favor will leave a lasting impression on you. -Raju.’ I found this on Instructor Jani’s desk, mixed in with the pile of papers. The handwriting matches the paper that Raju was holding when he died, as well as Raju’s own papers that had been submitted for review on his desk, but not Instructor Jani’s own handwriting. That tells us two things: one, this note was in fact written by Raju himself and two: that the paper Raju was holding when he died was written by Raju, not Instructor Jani.”

Radkani turned to Instructor Jani. “And you did not mention this note because…?”

Jani had gone very ashen.

“It’s because Instructor Jani had to hide the fact that he was present at the scene of the crime, of course,” Kaveh answered for him. “It’s obvious that the note was meant to be a threat. Even if there really wasn’t a secret, a note like that would have triggered your paranoia enough that it would be highly likely that you would have gone to the roof just to make sure that nothing is wrong.”

 “There’s sufficient evidence that you’ve seen the crime scene before,” Alhaitham added. “You didn’t look confused at all when Senior Kaveh mentioned a chair that looked out of place.”

“I see,” Radkani narrowed his eyes. “So Jani, fearing that his student was going to blackmail him, went to meet him on the roof, and during a physical altercation, stabbed him and pushed him over the edge.”

“No,” Alhaitham said. “No matter how the physical altercation went, Instructor Jani could not have stabbed him in the back and then made Raju fall backwards off the roof. Raju was the one who killed himself.”

Raju of the Vahumana was a student who had been at the end of his rope for a long time. 

He had the bad luck to be slightly ahead of his peers, and in this manner did he draw the attention of Instructor Jani, who invited him onto his project during the graduating year of his studies.

Raju had agreed. Jani had been generous enough to pay him for his work: 20,000 mora in total, which was not much but higher than the Akedemiya’s standard of using undergraduates as unpaid labor in their research. 

Naively, Raju had been hopeful for his future: he would already be starting ahead of his peers as someone who was receiving compensation for his research. 

And that was his first mistake. 

As the project progressed, Raju would find himself saddled with more and more shares of the work. He would face pressure from his instructor, who had unrelentingly criticized his work while simultaneously benefiting from it, his peers in the project, who had watched all of it happen but never extend any help, and his parents, who were quick to remind him of how much they had sacrificed to send him into the Akedemiya, who told him that struggling was a part of life, as if Raju was a person who was foreign to the concept of struggling.

I just want to graduate without any problems.

That became his mantra. It was what his instructors wanted. It was what his peers and parents wanted. It was what Raju wanted as well. For a while, it was enough to remind himself of that: that graduation was a few months away, and then he would never have to see Instructor Jani and any of his peers again. He would never have to write another paper on this project ever again. 

But the months dragged on slowly, and the work was unrelenting. Slowly but surely, Raju’s hope turned to resentment. How long did he have to keep doing this? Why did he have to work so hard, just for his name on a degree, when he could no longer look at his thesis without feeling physically sick?

I just wanted to graduate without any problems.

That was what everyone wanted, but was that really what he wanted anymore?

The last straw came when Instructor Jani invited him to his office. “Have you thought about your plans after graduation?”

“No, sir,” Raju swallowed. “I think I would like to get a job outside the Akedemiya-”

“Right,” Jani cut him off. “Well, as you know, most places require a letter of recommendation from a professor or instructor for new graduates applying for employment. I’m willing to be the person who writes it.”

“Oh, thank you, sir-”

“However,” he cut him off again. “Given the quality of the work you’ve submitted so far, I don’t think your skills as a researcher have quite reached the quality that employers are looking for. Why don’t you work with me for a few years after graduation? I see great potential in you: I’m sure that in a few years, you will be able to gain the necessary knowledge and expertise needed to thrive in your chosen profession.”

Raju felt his entire body go cold. 

It was obvious what the instructor was trying to say. He was not going to let him go. He was going to purposefully sabotage his career just so he would have no choice but to work under him. Graduation was in a few months, but he would still be stuck here, working for him…

No. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t.

And so Raju began to plot his own demise.

“It’s difficult to see with the blood, but you can see where the paint’s been chipped,” Alhaitham pointed. “The knife had been affixed to the edge of the building.”

“Afterwards, Raju just had to jump off the chair and onto the knife. The force of the body falling onto the knife drove the blade into him, and also dislodged the knife where it had been adhered to the building. And then it came down to Raju’s center of mass causing him to overbalance and topple off the roof,” Kaveh mimed the motion with his fingers. “If we look at this like a lever, the knife was where the fulcrum was, and Raju’s center of mass was applying a torque of-”

“I think I’m getting the point,” Radkani interrupted. Under his breath, he grumbled, “ Akedemiya kids . Your theory so far does fit all the evidence we have so far. But why in Celestia would this student kill himself in such a manner?”

“Is it not obvious?” Alhaitham asked him. “Raju had wanted to frame Jani for murder.”

“And the best way to do that was to die in a way that would have seemed impossible for a person to do to themselves,” Kaveh added. “And then afterwards, display the corpse in a place where there would be a lot of witnesses, so that there was no way for the person who was framed to hide the body. It would have also been helpful if the person who was framed was also at the scene when they died…”

“All in all, this was meticulously planned,” Alhaitham said. “Truthfully, he was much cleverer than you seemed to give him credit for, Instructor Jani. His only mistake was that he planned too carefully. An actual murderer would have tried harder to get away with murder.”

Radkani rubbed at his eyes like he was getting a headache. “Alright, this theory is plausible, but even if it matches the existing evidence, without proof, it’s still circumstantial at best-”

He was interrupted by the young red eyed Matra from before, who handed him a note.

Radkani took it, his eyes looking wearier by the minute. “Raju’s friend Ilyas has just come forward with a note he discovered written by his late friend. The handwriting matched Raju’s. Mr. Jani, I need you to come to the station with me. You are charged with academic fraud and tampering with evidence.”

Under his breath, he muttered, “What a headache. I’d rather be busting smuggling rings.”

“Instructor Jani,” Raju greeted. “I wondered if you were going to show up. Well, I guess you couldn’t have your secret leaking out.”

“Raju,” Jani glowered at him. “Are you out of your mind?”

“I suppose you can say that,” Raju’s hand shook a little as he held up a rolled up stack of paper. “This is your latest report, by the way. All properly formatted the way you like it. I even did you the courtesy of putting your name on it for you.”

“So you are taking issue with that , are you? Let me remind you of something: you are my student, working on my project, getting paid with my money. Your work is worth far more when published under my name than yours will ever be. Do you have credentials? Peer reviews? Do you have any idea how many other students would kill to be in your position right now? You should be grateful I haven’t replaced you with someone who was capable of writing more than just worthless dross! Instead you’re here whining to me because I didn’t put your name on a few papers, when there’s not a single person who would recognize it anyway! You are nothing without me, Raju.”

Raju was trembling, but he seemed to steel himself at the last second. “Thank you, Instructor Jani, for the reminder. I would not have been able to do it without you.”

He climbed on top of the chair, back facing the open air below.

“What are you-”

“You were always taking credit for the things I did. As my final parting gift for you, I will allow you to take credit for my death.”

Jani rushed forward, trying to grab him, but it was too late.

The crowd below erupted in screams.

“Have dinner with me,” said Alhaitham, once the Matra had given them the all clear to leave.

Kaveh looked at him a little suspiciously, “Why?”

“You saved me a lot of time by contributing to this investigation. I believe it is common courtesy to treat those who have aided you to a meal.”

“Weren't you the one who told me to start pulling my weight in this investigation? Besides, I benefited from this as well, didn't I? As your senior, shouldn't I be treating you?”

“Be as that may be, your contribution allowed me to get back to my day in half the time it would have otherwise. But if you insist on treating me, I will not protest.”

“I do insist! Besides, wouldn't it make more sense for you to thank me for saving you from being crushed, rather than helping you save daylight?”

“Ah, but you damaged my book,” Alhaitham said. “I believe that makes us even.”

“That does not sound remotely even! If you die, you can't read the book, so the value of the book is worthless to you, whereas if the book gets destroyed, nothing will happen to you.”

“Perhaps, but a book that costs 2,000 mora will cost 2,000 mora whether I die or not. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find physical books like this in Sumeru? I would argue that knowledge like this is priceless.”

“Oh come on, it's not like I made the book unreadable. Besides, wouldn't the book get even more ruined if I allowed the body to fall on you?”

Alhaitham contemplated this, “You may have a point.”

Kaveh huffed, smug. “Maybe I should make you treat me after all.”

“If my senior insists.”  

It was in this manner that the two found their way to Lambad's Tavern. As the night wore on, they found themselves arguing about nothing of consequence, debating for the sake of debating. 

Alhaitham never did manage to finish his reading that day, but he found that he did not mind.

His senior’s perspective was far more interesting than what the book had to offer, anyway. And he had the added bonus of being able to talk back.

Chapter Text

A few days after Kaveh and Alhaitham solved the case of Raju's suicide, Kaveh tracked him down while he was studying in the library. “Notice anything odd lately? Like people acting more distant towards you than usual?”

Alhaitham didn't look up from his book. “Senior, there are better things I could be focused on.”

Kaveh huffed, “I'm just looking out for you. There were a lot of people that the project affected now that Jani’s been arrested for academic fraud. And some of them…well, some of them seemed to blame the ones exposing him.”

Alhaitham finally looked up. He had been shoulder checked by a passing student recently. And one of the books he had been reading had gone missing and later found torn to shreds. He counted himself lucky that it had been a book he recently purchased from a smuggler, and not one from his family's library. “So that was what Jaap meant.”

“What do you mean?”

Alhaitham told him about the encounter with the older Vahumana student on the day of the suicide, and subsequent encounters in the days after. Kaveh clenched his fists. “ Assholes . Such blatant disregard of seniorly conduct.”

“Can you really blame them for not following a code of conduct only you care about?”

“That's not true! I know at least one other person…wait that's not important right now! I'm not going to let this behavior stand!”

“It seems you're more outraged on my behalf than I am, senior.”

“Well, of course! Honestly, I don't get how you're not more upset by this. I know you said that you don't care about what others think about you, et cetera, et cetera, but this is going a little bit beyond thinking and into physical acts of violence.”

Alhaitham shrugged. It was just yet another problem in his life, and he dealt with it the same way he did with every obstacle that appeared in his life: with ruthless efficiency. “I can handle myself.”

He had tracked down the people who destroyed his book and made his displeasure clear. They could blame him all they liked, but it wasn't his fault that they were so careless with the evidence of the various academic integrity violations they had committed over the years, or that they had chosen to mess with someone who had the means to make the Matra suddenly aware of them. With enough luck, word about what happened would get around, and people would learn to leave him alone. 

“Well, if you’re sure you’re gonna be fine…” Kaveh still looked skeptical, but he let the matter drop.

“In my personal opinion, you should be much more worried for yourself. Unlike me, you seem to actually care how people think about you.”

“Well, actually,” Kaveh looked sheepish all of a sudden. “I already have a pretty good reputation for helping students when they're struggling, and people think I'm a genius for some reason, so I think people just decided those two things cancel out. Or maybe they decided this is exactly the type of thing a person like me would do, so they just didn’t hold a grudge over it. I haven’t actually run into any problems.”

Alhaitham didn't know what to say to that. “Then why did you bring this up?”

“Ah,” Kaveh sat himself down in the chair opposite him. “Remember Ilyas? Raju’s friend? He was the one who reported Jani for academic fraud and got him kicked out of the Akademiya. Well, I ran into him earlier…”

Crash.

Kaveh looked up from his drawing. The House of Daena was fairly empty at 4 in the morning, but it was a well known fact that architecture students don’t sleep, much less architecture students who led a double life as a phantom thief. For a moment, he entertained the notion that maybe the crash he had heard was just a hallucination his sleep deprived brain had come up with. 

Then the sound of cursing came from behind one of the shelves. Kaveh frowned, walking over to the source of the noise. 

An older student was nursing his head, surrounded by books that must have fallen when he bumped against the shelves. Hurrying over, Kaveh went down to help him pick up the books. 

“Thanks,” said the student. “What time is it?”

“It’s four in the morning. You should go home and sleep. This isn’t healthy,” said Kaveh, like the hypocrite he was. “What are you doing here, anyway?” 

The student shrugged. “People don’t usually come to this section of the library. I usually get left alone here.”

“Are you in some form of trouble?”

“You can say that. I-”  He paused, looking at his face for the first time. “You’re Kaveh, right?”

“You’ve heard of me?”

“Yeah. I’m Ilyas. You’re one of the people who solved the case of my best friend’s suicide.”

“Oh,” Kaveh didn’t know what to say to that, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault he did what he did. I’m glad the truth was able to come out. I wish someone could have come forward earlier. Then none of this would have happened.”

"Yeah," Kaveh sighed. He was someone who understood how it felt to dwell on what-ifs. “But what do you mean by trouble? Maybe I can help.”

“He’s been bullied, ostracized, and then they even sent threat letters to his family! He’s been hiding in the House of Daena so people wouldn’t harass him in public. On top of that, one of his classes required him to work with other students, and none of them would accept him into their group!” Kaveh’s voice was as animated as it could get without raising his voice. 

“Sounds like quite the predicament.”

“We have to help him!” 

Alhaitham raised an eyebrow. “‘We’?”

“Well, obviously, you’re helping, too. Right?” Kaveh put his hands on the table and leaned forward until he was staring directly into Alhaitham’s eyes.

Alhaitham met his passionate, bright ruby eyes evenly. “I’m fairly sure there is no rule stating that I’m under any obligation to help.”

“So you’re just going to stand here and watch all of this happen?!”

“Why not? I’m not particularly willing to take action for the sake of a person I barely know. It’s better to respect other people’s fates.”

“I’m fairly sure that’s not what Ilyas thinks. What about ‘doing the right thing’?”

“There are plenty of people suffering in Sumeru, and all of Teyvat. Do you really think you can help everyone?”

“Not having the ability to doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ! And at any rate, helping Ilyas is something we do have the means to do, so why are you so against it?”

Alhaitham narrowed his eyes. “Because it’s pointless. Ilyas is not the first person to face ostracization for whistleblowing, nor would he be the last. That’s because from the beginning, the root of the problem is not the individual students, or whether or not his professor would make an exception for him to not participate in a group project, but the systems of power in place that encourage people to keep silent about abuse and punish those who speak up.”

Kaveh went quiet. He knew that Alhaitham was right, though his face said that he resented Alhaitham for it.

“And while you have the means to help Ilyas as an individual, nothing short of magic is going to let you change the whole of Sumeru Akademiya in the time it takes for us to finish this semester.”

Satisfied that the discussion was over, Alhaitham turned his attention back to his books.

“Magic, huh?” Kaveh muttered. His ruby eyes suddenly had a spark in them. “We’ll see about that.”

Alhaitham didn't see much of Kaveh after that. What little glimpses he did see were of him huddled over a table with an older student who must have been Ilyas, whispering conspiratorially. 

Alhaitham didn't think much of it. Perhaps Kaveh had volunteered to help Ilyas with his project, so that he would be able to submit what little work he had so that the professor would be able to give him a little credit anyway for his class. For a few weeks, nothing much of note happened. 

Then it did.

It started with small things. Whispers of students hearing noises at night. Reports of students leaving their desk, only to come back with their things moved ever so slightly out of their original position. Most of these things could be chalked up to the wind, or the work of practical jokers.

Then one day, a student reported seeing a disembodied hand snatch a book from the shelves of the House of Daena, and begin to read it in front of her. 

It became more difficult to dismiss these incidents after that. 

Over the following weeks, more and more strange incidents would go reported by students, becoming more and more paranormal each time. Soon, rumors started circulating, first among the students, then among the professors and faculty, of an angry spirit roaming the halls of the Akademiya, seeking vengeance for the injustices faced in life. 

It didn't take long for someone to connect it to the recent death of Raju. 

One day, a few angry students had cornered Ilyas and Kaveh in the library, angrily accusing Ilyas of ruining their lives and demanding why Kaveh, the most popular student in Ksharewar, would stand on the side of the likes of someone like Ilyas.

“Well, it's because Ilyas’s side is the side that doesn't have ghosts,” said Kaveh, smiling genially as if he didn't feel an overwhelming urge to strangle them.

As if on queue, Janaki, who had been among the group of angry students, had felt something hit the back of her head. With trembling fingers, she unfolded the crumpled piece of paper and paled. 

It was a page of Raju's thesis, with the words ‘miss me?’ written on it in a suspicious red liquid. 

The students ran away screaming after that. 

It didn't take long for everyone to realize that Kaveh had been right: while a great many people had seen the paranormal activities, the ones who had participated in Jani's project seemed to experience the stranger and more sinister incidents, while there seemed to be an inherent bubble of safety around Ilyas, Kaveh, and Alhaitham, the three people who had been involved in uncovering the truth of what happened to Raju. 

And so a great number of students had begun to distance themselves from the worst offenders, the ones who had been most vocal in their denouncement of Ilyas, the ones most invested in keeping the abuse a secret. Many students, hoping that Ilyas's bubble of relative safety could protect them and also fearing retribution from the afterlife, would reach out to Ilyas and invite him over to join their group, or otherwise look for an excuse to spend as much time as possible around him. 

It was in this manner that more and more students began to express support for the previously ostracized Ilyas, while those who had previously harassed him found themselves increasingly isolated. Thus did the tables turn. 

As for Alhaitham, he was content to watch everything play out by itself, but if he had walked in on Kaveh in the middle of some clearly suspicious activities and had simply raised an eyebrow and walked in the opposite direction, or if some of his mother's research on old myths and ghost stories found itself in Kaveh's possession, well, perhaps even ghosts need inspiration. 

The administration soon changed its stance from sweeping the incidents under the rug and dismissing the problem as unfounded rumors, unbecoming of their positions as researchers, to regarding the issue as an active threat to the institution, which the Akademiya was doing its utmost to solve. Coincidentally, this shift in position came after Grand Sage Azar came into office one day and found most of his possessions suspended in the air. 

Shamans were invited in, while protective amulets and talismans became popular accessories in the Akademiya, to little to no effect. Raju's resentful energy was simply too powerful to contain. 

Finally, there was a breakthrough when the Akademiya invited a funeral director from Liyue. 

“Alas,” sighed Hu Tao after making successful contact with the dead. “Raju seemed to contain quite a lot of resentful energy. Traditional forms of exorcism are simply not powerful enough to banish resentful spirits of this caliber. I sense that this spirit had a great injustice done against him, and the only way to stop these paranormal incidents would be to correct this injustice.”

“The Akademiya does not cater to the whims of the dead,” Azar declared coldly. “Especially not a failed scholar who lacks the strength to continue on his own, but now seeks to burden everyone else with his problems.”

Hu Tao took a moment to process that, like wow, you really are an asshole. “I’d encourage you to think twice before provoking the dead further, but I can't make the decisions for you. Don't be surprised if things escalate, though.”

And escalate it did. 

To be fair, Alhaitham didn't think that the student who fell off the ramp leading up to the Akademiya and ended up in the Bimarstan actually had anything to do with Raju. The student had been intoxicated and the steps of Sumeru City had not been known for their safety, but the student had been involved in Jani's project, and there was just enough overlap between his fall and Raju’s death that soon enough, the Akademiya was in an uproar. 

“Are you going to do nothing while we await our deaths like sitting ducks?” One student demanded. 

“The Akademiya might as well close its doors tomorrow,” another student added. 

When confronted with the possibility of imminent death, some students dropped out hoping to escape the spirit’s wrath, while some turned to protesting the government.

Faced with mounting pressure from all sides, the Akademiya finally agreed to pass reforms protecting students from exploitation, and protecting students from retaliation for whistleblowing. Thus did this saga come to an end.

“So,” Kaveh said smugly. He had darker bags under his eyes than usual, but his eyes sparkled brighter than ever. 

“So,” Wordlessly, Alhaitham took back his mother's notes that he had lent Kaveh.

“You are impressed, aren't you? Admit it. You're impressed.”

“I have expressed no such sentiment.”

“You were thinking it.”

Alhaitham hid a smile. “Is that what you think, senior?”

“So cold! My talents are wasted on those who cannot appreciate the value of art.”

“Art? Is that what we're calling it?”

“Of course! You said it would take magic to transform Sumeru Akademiya, right? Magic is a form of art, you know!”

“I think you should stick to architecture.”

 “That was not what you said when you dragged me into a Matra investigation. Are you saying a detective is more my speed?”

Alhaitham considered this. “No, you're still better suited to committing crime, I think.”

Kaveh fully laughed at that. “I have to say I'd agree. A criminal is a creative artist who takes their prey in style, while a detective is just a critic, who can only follow in their footsteps. I’d say that between the two of them, a criminal has better appeal.”

What a load of nonsense. But sitting here across from Kaveh, taking in the way the light made his hair glow almost gold, his red eyes glinting like rubies, his face smiling at him as if against all odds, he'd rather be sitting here bickering with his disagreeable junior than anywhere else in the world, Alhaitham admitted to himself that he had been impressed. 

Just a little. 

To have come up with a plan that allowed Ilyas to be accepted among his peers, while ostracizing his former tormentors. One that would allow Raju to take credit for something he didn't do for once, and force the normally apathetic government that dismissed anything that was not strictly rational into action out of fear for something that wasn't even there…Kaveh’s approach was nothing short of elegant. 

Looking back on it now, Alhaitham thought that this must have been the moment he fell in love.

“Aiyaya, you two sure are difficult to find! I got lost looking for you,” said a voice behind them as the two exited the tavern.

“Ilyas, I assume?” The older student nodded. “And Ms. Hu Tao. We meet again.”

Kaveh blinked at him, “You know each other?”

“Of course. We met when I was in Liyue taking care of funeral arrangements.”

“Alhaitham!” Hu Tao beamed at him. “How’s it going? You know, I know you said you didn't have anyone to split it with, but that buy one get one half off offer is still ongoing until the end of the month! You can split it with your friend!”

“Offer,” Kaveh repeated blankly. “For…coffins?”

“It never hurts to be ready!” Hu Tao said earnestly. “Alhaitham? He really gets it! He came in, and ordered the coffin that was on sale. It was a great deal! I was so happy, I gave him a 50 percent first time customer discount.”

“You…bought your grandma's coffin for 50 percent off?” Kaveh looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

“Technically, it was 60 percent,” Alhaitham shrugged. “It was economical. It's what she would have wanted.”

“Anyway,” Hu Tao interrupted, “I didn't come here for small talk. I'm here to guide Mr. Raju to the afterlife, but he said he had some words for all of you before he crosses over.”

“To Alhaitham, he says, ‘Thank you for helping to uncover the truth.’ And he apologizes for almost killing you with his dead body. He promised that it wasn't intentional. He also wishes that you could live a life with no regrets.’”

Alhaitham nodded, “I appreciate the sentiment.”

Kaveh turned to him, wide eyed. “Wait a second. Hu Tao can talk to ghosts?! And you know about this?”

“Oi, I'm a funeral director ,” Hu Tao said indignantly. “What kind of guide to the afterlife would I be if I can't talk to dead people?”

“I thought that was ceremonial! Wait, if you could talk to ghosts, then you knew from the beginning-”

“Mr. Raju was very insistent that the hauntings be allowed to continue,” Hu Tao interrupted. “After hearing his case, I agreed with him. It is my job to put the spirits of the deceased to rest, you know.”

 “Alright, alright,” Kaveh shook his head. “I guess I'll have to thank you for keeping this a secret. What are his messages for the rest of us?”

“Ah, right. He said, ‘To Kaveh: you absolute legend. I was disappointed that I didn't take that professor down with me but by the archons, the follow-up was better than I ever expected. It's because of you that I was finally able to pass on. Thank you for helping Ilyas and thank you for caring. You have my eternal thanks and loyalty.’ He also demanded that you go to sleep, as you look like you are about to drop dead from exhaustion.”

“Oh,” Kaveh blinked. “That was a lot. Thank you?”

“Mr. Raju said you're welcome,” said Hu Tao. Turning to Ilyas, Hu Tao said, “To you, he apologizes for inflicting so much pain upon you by dying without any warning. He thanks you for remaining so supportive of him, at a time when nobody else gave a damn, and that he was proud of having a friend like you. He admits that while he was happy with the way things turned out in the end, he feels guilty for putting you through so much. He wishes that you'd live a fulfilling life, and that you'd forget about him and what a shoddy friend he was-”

“ You idiot,” Ilyas interrupted, with tears in his eyes. “Raju, you fucking idiot.”

“Come on,” Kaveh started pulling Alhaitham away from the awkward scene. “They need some time alone. Let’s grab some dinner.”

“But we just ate-”

“Let’s get drunk.”

Chapter Text

“Welcome back,” said Tighnari as he opened the door to Kaveh. “How was your desert trip?”

“Uneventful. I got into an argument with the client and we parted ways. I did get some drawings of some old ruins, so it's not a complete waste,” said Kaveh. 

That wasn't even a complete lie. In order to convince Fadhlan of his alibi, he ended up actually having to go into the desert, lest the boy notice his lack of tan or something and figure out he wasn't actually in the desert. Kaveh would be more proud of how smart the kid was if the kid didn’t seem intent on using said smarts to make his life more difficult.

Speaking of the boy…

“How is Fadhlan doing? He isn’t still sick, is he?” Kaveh asked him.

“I’m doing fine,” a voice interrupted the conversation. “Much better than the status of your client's new building.”

Fadhlan appeared in the doorway, arms crossed and looking as unimpressed as ever. 

“Fadhlan!” Kaveh gave him a quick onceover. The kid certainly looked like he was doing better. “How’s it going? You haven’t gotten into trouble while I was gone, have you?”

“I have no idea why you would think that,” he said, without an ounce of shame. “Unlike you, I make a point of avoiding trouble, not running into it.”

He said this like he didn’t run into crime on the regular. Kaveh lost count of the number of times he had to run out in the middle of the night because Fadhlan ended up in the Matra’s office because of some murder he had solved. Or the times Kaveh ended up in physical altercations with criminals who decided Fadhlan was an easy target (Kaveh pitied the poor fools) and tried to kidnap the boy in retaliation.

Trying to lead an inconspicuous civilian life was difficult when the person you lived with kept walking headfirst into crime scenes. That was another trait this boy and Alhaitham shared. 

Kaveh felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips as he was reminded of exactly how he and Alhaitham came to know each other.

“Alright, whatever,” he changed the subject. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

“Actually, quite a lot,” Tighnari said. “Why don't you stay for dinner with us? Cyno is coming over. We can catch up over food and TCG.”

Kaveh eyed the bottle of osmanthus wine suspiciously. It was not where he had put it when he left the house, and it was emptier than it had been.

Which meant…

“Fadhlan,” he called. “Did you drink the osmanthus wine while I was gone?”

“No,” Fadhlan said. He had already made himself comfortable on the couch and was looking through that day’s newspaper, not even bothering to look up.

“Wine is an adult drink, you know.” 

“Mhm.”

“You shouldn’t be drinking alcohol.”

“Hhm.”

“Fadhlan,” Kaveh said seriously. The severity of his tone caused Fadhlan to look up for once. “You’re a smart kid.”

Fadhlan nodded slowly, as if wondering where he was going with this.

“I know that you’re curious about a lot of things, but alcohol is an adult drink for a reason, alright? It can seriously mess up your brain and your body. I don’t want you to throw away your future.”

The boy’s expression didn’t change, but there was an air of incredulousness about him now. 

“Look, I know you don’t like listening to me,” Kaveh continued. “And normally, I’m willing to let that slide. But this is your life. Your future. I’m only trying to do what’s best for you because I care about you-”

“Kaveh,” Fadhlan interrupted. “I did not drink the osmanthus wine.”

“Huh?” Kaveh paused in the middle of his speech. 

“Tighnari wanted a sample so he could reverse engineer the alcohol making process. I gave it to him.”

“Oh,” Kaveh felt his face flush. “So…you haven’t been drinking wine?”

“No.”

“You’re not in danger of becoming an alcoholic?”

“ No. ”

“Oh,” Kaveh cleared his throat awkwardly. “In that case, can you forget what I said?”

Fadhlan stared at him for a long time. “No.”

Well, at least Kaveh was not going to be responsible for raising an alcoholic. Kaveh told himself that his loss of dignity was worth it. 

At least Alhaitham was not around to hear this.

Kaveh had been putting off his meeting with Faruzan. He knew he had to: he was overdue for a heist, but…

“Welcome back,” Faruzan said coldly, and Kaveh knew there was no escaping Faruzan’s wrath.

Kaveh swallowed, “Look-”

“How many times,” Faruzan hissed, “‘It’s only for emergencies, Senior Faruzan.’ ‘I know bloom healing is not a replacement for seeing a doctor, Senior Faruzan.’ I should have confiscated the detonator when I had the chance!”

“Ah, haha,” Kaveh laughed nervously. “So you found out about that, huh?”

“You don't expect me to believe you fully healed from a crossbolt wound in two weeks naturally, do you?”

“Look, if I was gone in the desert for too long, and nobody's even heard of the project I was working on, people might start to suspect something's wrong. Speeding up the healing process is the best way to avoid blowing my cover.” 

“So you decided the best way to do that was to detonate explosives in your own face?”

“Well, they’re not explosives . I-” Kaveh cut himself off at the murderous look on Faruzan’s face. “Ahem. I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you come to me? If you thought you were healing too slowly, we could have figured something out.”

Because Kaveh already felt horribly guilty for burdening Faruzan with his problems. Figure something out and give Faruzan more things to worry about? Kaveh would rather bleed out in an alleyway again. 

Although he was pretty sure that if he said that out loud, Faruzan would actually confiscate his detonator this time, so Kaveh kept his mouth shut. 

“You’re impossible,” grumbled Faruzan, but she seemed calmer now that she had gotten the anger out of her system. They fell into an uneasy silence, while Kaveh tried desperately to think of a way to distract her.

“So I heard Tighnari pulled Collei out of school,” he ventured.

Faruzan gave him a look that told him that she knew exactly what he was doing, but answered anyway. “Is that so?”

“Collei was having trouble at school, and Tighnari decided that it was for the best that he started instructing her for now, instead of allowing the problem to worsen.”

Faruzan’s face turned solemn. “I’m well aware of the problems surrounding the Akademiya. But now that Collei is being taught at home…you know what that means, do you?”

Kaveh’s mind drew a blank. “Um, I don't…”

“ I can teach her ,” she interrupted, anger completely forgotten. There was an excited spark in her eyes, like she had just been informed that she was going to be a grandmother. “Tighnari could teach her botany all he wants, but who has the expertise in machinery and mechanical puzzles? I have a chance. ”

“Uh…” Kaveh never understood why exactly Faruzan was so emotionally attached to Collei. It was easy to become protective over such a sweet child. Kaveh himself would not hesitate to throw hands if anyone tried to hurt her, but for Faruzan, it seemed to run deeper than that. “Congratulations?”

“I have to make lesson plans -” Faruzan scrambled to look for a pen and paper.

“Senior Faruzan,” Kaveh interrupted. “The heist?”

“Oh, right, right,” Reluctantly, Faruzan turned back to the task at hand. She pulled out a photo from a newspaper clipping. “This gem belongs to the Homayani family. A local gallery is hosting an exhibit, and they agreed to let the gem be displayed in public for a week under the condition that it be heavily guarded.” 

Kaveh nodded thoughtfully. “What do we know about security surrounding it?”

Faruzan shrugged. “Cyno should be in charge of the security, as usual. The rest is not public knowledge, so we are going to have to find out the usual way.”

That was how Kaveh ended up disguised as a Matra at 10 am on a Wednesday morning. 

Scouting out the security before the heist was a part of being a phantom thief that nobody really thinks about, but was arguably the most important part of the heist. While both scouting and heisting involved the heavy use of disguises, they were different in where the priorities lie. 

While it was easier to slip in undetected, choosing the correct person to disguise was more difficult. If the person he was disguising as was too important, they might get questions about their job that Kaveh would not be able to answer, thus risking blowing his cover. If the person was a complete rookie, they might not be told anything important about the security in the first place, thus making his entire trip all for nothing. 

Not to mention the intricacies of not getting caught. Unlike a heist, Kaveh couldn't just knock someone out and lock them in a supply closet: that would have been a dead giveaway that he was there, so he had to make sure he would not run into the person he was disguised as. If his disguise was seen through at a heist, all he needed to do was escape, where here if he was caught, the security might change drastically, introducing a lot more unknown variables at the actual heist. 

Kaveh had never actually gotten caught infiltrating the Matra's office, but he had a few close calls during his earlier years as a phantom thief. Kaveh liked to think he had wised up since then. 

This particular disguise was of a Matra that Kaveh had gotten drunk the previous night. The Matra had been frustratingly close-lipped about the security surrounding the whole thing, but that didn't mean that Kaveh couldn't take advantage of his hangover to do some investigating of his own. 

Donning the disguise, Kaveh walked into the Matra's office. 

“General Mahamatra Cyno?” Kaveh called. It was the day of the heist, and he was disguised as a messenger working in the Matra office. “Message for you.”

Cyno took the note and read it, expression turning grim. He quickly penned a note and handed it to him. “I have to go.”

“Sir?” Kaveh asked, acting surprised. 

“There's an urgent matter requiring my attention,” Cyno said, already packing a bag. “Give this to the Matra going to the exhibit tonight. I have faith in my team. Tell them to proceed without me.”

“Yes, sir.” Kaveh watched as the General Mahamatra exited his office. 

Kaveh hid a smile. He, of course, had no intention of delivering that note. After all, the person he had planned to disguise as was Cyno himself.

When he came back from infiltrating the Matra a few days ago, he had discovered two things: one, that the jewel currently on display was a fake. And two, that the real jewel was stored in a heavily guarded vault that only Cyno could enter.

There were only a few places in Sumeru with such restricted access, which had narrowed down Kaveh's search criteria significantly. Pair that with the fact that Cyno had to avoid conflict of interest with the Homayani family and the exhibit organizers when choosing a location to store the real gem, and there really was only one place he could be keeping it. 

Kaveh avoided disguising as Cyno when he could. He was notoriously difficult to sneak up on and Kaveh's normal methods of knocking people out rarely worked on him. Kaveh had no idea what they were feeding people in the Matra but Kaveh had learned to fear people who could shake off the effects of a tranquilizer dart. It was why Kaveh had to send Cyno off to a wild goose chase into the Apam woods instead of trying to knock him out. 

Sighing, Kaveh sent a mental apology to Cyno before changing into the garb of the General Mahamatra. 

He didn't have a lot of time before he had to perform the heist of the fake jewel at the exhibit, but there was still enough time to head into the vault and make away with the jewel. The security didn't even try to stop him. After all, Cyno was not one to talk about confidential information to even his closest friends, and no one else even knew where the vault was. 

Kaveh pocketed the jewel and rushed over to the exhibit to perform his heist. 

The Matra did not bat an eye when “Cyno'' showed up to the heist alone and a little later than everyone else. It was common for Cyno to go off by himself on solo missions. This was simply how he operated. 

Kaveh let himself relax. Everything was going smoothly so far, and there was no annoyingly perceptive kid around to mess things up for him. Maybe he would have an easy heist for once. 

“Cyno?”

Kaveh turned around. Standing there with his arms crossed was Tighnari.

Chapter Text

Kaveh forced himself to keep his expression blank. 

Shit. Shit. What was Tighnari doing here?

“Tighnari,” he greeted in Cyno's voice. He rapidly scanned Tighnari's face. He didn't look surprised to see him. Cyno must have arranged to meet him. “You're here.”

Tighnari leveled a stare at him. “Of course. You asked me to come, although I worry about the state of the Matra if you had to regularly ask me to help. Are you really that understaffed?”

“The Matra is…stretched a bit thin at the moment,” that was true, as far as Kaveh knew. “The crime rate in Sumeru has been skyrocketing the past few years. We're working on it.”

Tighnari nodded slowly, although he was looking at him strangely. 

What was he…oh, he was supposed to crack a joke right about now, wasn't he?

Kaveh tried to think of a pun and came up with nothing. That was alright: he could just say something generically funny.

“Not to worry,” Kaveh said. “We have learned to just throw Fadhlan at the problem. I recommended it to all my subordinates. Our crime resolution rate is at an all time high.”

Tighnari’s lips quivered with a smile. “Fadhlan will definitely take this as an insult, but I suppose he’s not the Vultur Volens for nothing. He’s not here tonight, is he?”

“No,” Kaveh had made sure of that , at least. “I doubt he would have agreed to come, anyway. At any rate, he’s a civilian and a child. He’s not under any obligation to help the Matra with the investigation.”

“Maybe not,” agreed Tighnari. “But you should ask him regardless. Ever since the last heist, he’s taken an actual interest in the Paradisaea.”

Kaveh considered the possibility of Fadhlan showing up to every one of his heists and suppressed a shudder. “I suppose the Paradisaea getting shot with a crossbow does raise some eyebrows.”

“Among other things,” Tighnari agreed. “Anyway, I assume the tracker I gave you is on the gem right now?”

Kaveh nodded. “With a bit of luck, this will lead us to their hideout.”

This was the reason Cyno had sought out Tighnari's help in the first place.  Tighnari was a student from the Amurta Darshan who had been spending more and more time with the forest rangers in the Avidya Forest. Naturally, tracking animal movements was a necessary discipline for him.

The device was an experimental prototype that came about as a collaboration between Amurta and Kshahrewar. From what little Tighnari had explained about it, it used a methodology called trilateralization to calculate its location. 

Three stationary towers broadcasted signals to the tracker, to which the tracker sent back acknowledgement messages. By keeping track of the time it took for the messages to return, it could approximate the relative distances between the tracker and the three towers and calculate the tracker’s absolute location. 

Mathematically, this system had no problems. However, there was a reason it was still in the experimental phase and not used openly. 

The design had not taken into account the density of the forest, which blocked the signals from being received, and also the fact that different mediums could influence the speed at which the signal traveled. This was a flaw that Kaveh was also trying to exploit. 

Tighnari checked the time. “They will be here any moment now. We should get ready.”

Kaveh nodded. “Positions!” He ordered. 

The Matra stood to attention, just as the lights went out.

Minutes later, when the gem in question had disappeared from the display into a metal lined box Kaveh had stashed in the air vent above them, Kaveh asked Tighnari to check on the tracker. 

Tighnari obliged, and Kaveh watched as his expression became more and more confused.

“...Nothing,” Tighnari muttered. “The signal disappeared.”

“What about history?” Kaveh asked him. “Can you see where it was before it disappeared?”

“Yes, but…” Tighnari squinted at the data in concentration. “It looked like it disappeared through a wall.”

Kaveh turned to the museum director. “Is there anything behind that wall? A hidden door, or something?”

“...No,” she said. “It's completely solid all the way to the outside.”

“Then the Paradisaea really phased through a wall?” Tighnari marveled. Despite the fact that it was his tracker failing, he looked suitably impressed.

“I suppose you can say that the phantom thief had spirited it away,” Kaveh said.

Tighnari snorted, then stared at him oddly.

Kaveh frowned, “Too much?”

“No. That one was pretty good, actually. What happens now?”

“I’ll have the team keep a lookout outside,” Kaveh made sure to put an appropriate amount of weariness into his voice. “If the Paradisaea really did manage to make it outside, we can try to stop them at the perimeter.”

“Alright,” Tighnari patted his back in sympathy. “I’ll get out of your way.”

“Anything?” Tighnari asked when Kaveh came back.

Kaveh shook his head. “Either they already escaped the scene, or they were never there to begin with. No one had seen anything out of the ordinary.”

“So there’s a decent chance they disguised themselves as a Matra and blended in,” Tighnari muttered. “But that doesn’t explain how they were able to phase through a solid wall…”

Kaveh pretended to think. “Technically, only the tracker had to be able to phase through the wall…”

“Or at least appear that way,” Tighnari agreed. His eyes widened suddenly.

“What is it?” Kaveh asked him. 

“The Paradisaea only had to make the tracker appear to pass through a wall. Cyno, I told you about how the tracker became unreliable when used in the forest, right?”

Kaveh nodded slowly.

“It’s possible to interfere with the signal by either placing a stronger signal close to it, or messing with the messages being sent by the tracker, or just surrounding it with a medium that would affect the travel time between the towers and the tracker,” Tighnari explained. 

“In other words,” Kaveh finished, “the data we are seeing is not reliable. But that broadens the search criteria rather than narrowing it down.”

“It’s unfortunate, but yes.” Tighnari said. 

The two of them fell silent at that.

“I’m sure it will turn up in time,” Tighnari tried to comfort him. “The Paradisaea always returns what they steal, right?”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Kaveh grumbled. “Once again, I failed to protect something entrusted to me.”

“We can still search the exhibit,” Tighnari suggested. “There’s a decent chance that the gem is still inside this building. We more or less know what to look for, too. If the tracker’s signal is being blocked, it’s probably being surrounded by something metal.”

“Alright,” Kaveh agreed. “I’ll call my Matra in to help.”

“I found it!” A Matra declared around an hour later. One arm was still inside the air vent.

“See?” Tighnari turned to him. “We were able to recover it, after all.”

“I’m glad,” Kaveh said. Truthfully, whether or not the Matra was able to find the box containing the gem was completely irrelevant when he had the real thing in his pocket. “You’ve all done well,” he told the squad of Matra. 

“Thank you for your help for all of this,” Kaveh said, turning to Tighnari. “I appreciate it.”

“What’s a few favors between friends?” 

“Friends,” said Kaveh. “Right.”

Kaveh cursed both of them in his head. Both of them had feelings for the other. Both of them knew it. Both of them knew that the other one knew it. So what was taking them so long to get together?

Kaveh had demanded this exact question of Tighnari at some point, and the response had been somewhere along the lines of “I want him to confess first.”

How ridiculous. It almost made him feel better about his own relationship with Alhaitham. 

Tighnari hooked an arm through his. “You know, I never figured out how the Paradisaea was able to get the gem into the box and through the vent in such a short amount of time.”

Kaveh froze. He was fairly certain that Tighnari was never that physically affectionate with Cyno. 

Was this Tighnari trying to take their relationship to the next stage? 

Dammit. Cyno was going to kill him. And then Tighnari was going to kill him. And then Kaveh might as well dig a hole and accept his incoming demise because there was no way out of this situation with his dignity intact.

Kaveh awkwardly tried to untangle himself. “The Paradisaea must have done it under the cover of darkness.”

“That can’t be right,” Tighnari’s grip suddenly turned vice like. “You were next to me the entire time.”

That was when the real Cyno broke down the door.

Was Kaveh supposed to be terrified or relieved?

Kaveh tried to shake Tighnari off as Cyno stalked towards him, spear in hand, a murderous aura exuding from him.

“Do you seriously think I wouldn’t notice if someone had replaced Cyno?” Tighnari demanded. 

“You got me,” Kaveh gritted his teeth, pulling at his arm. “What gave it away?”

From the depths of his pockets, he produced an aerosol container, which immediately started hissing and emitting fog. 

“Cyno could never make a joke that good!” 

Ouch. Kaveh could not see the expression Cyno made, but the murderous aura halted for a split second. 

Taking the opportunity, Kaveh finally managed to yank his arm free, leaving behind a prosthetic copy of his arm just as the Matra gave up searching for him in the fog and decided to try dogpiling him instead. 

What a mess.

“So,” Cyno said. “The Paradisaea is funnier than I am?”

He was still sulking about it hours later. The two of them had gone back to Tighnari’s house, since it was getting dark and it was the closer of their houses.

Tighnari patted his back consolingly. “Always have been.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Cyno!” Nahida said reassuringly. “ I find your jokes funny!”

“Yeah, Mr. Cyno!” Collei piped up as well. “We, um, like you for your per-persa… personality !”

“See? Jokes aren’t everything,” Tighnari told him. “Now, you two. Isn’t it time for bed?”

Reluctantly, the two children went to bed, leaving Tighnari and Cyno alone.

“So you knew the whole time?” Cyno asked him. 

“More or less,” Tighnari shrugged. “I knew from the moment the imposter made the first joke. It wasn’t a pun.”

“Well, at least it would be immediately obvious if someone tried to replace me,” muttered Cyno, trying to console himself. He was the fearsome General Mahamatra, upholder of justice and terror of committers of academic integrity violations, and he was moping .

Tighnari gave a small laugh. “You know, you’re kind of adorable when you’re like this.”

Cyno looked up with questioning eyes. 

That was when Tighnari pressed a small kiss on his lips.

Chapter Text

The first time Kaveh met Alhaitham, he was in Liyue doing a heist.

His heists were easier, then. Law enforcement were generally not a challenge for him, and he could admit that after two years of successful heists he had gotten a little complacent in his precautions.

 Thus, he was completely caught off guard when Alhaitham decided to interfere, and he spent the next three hours as the most stressful three hours of his career as a phantom thief so far. 

“Name: Jiayi, Age: 35, Identification number: JY242014512,” Kaveh read aloud to the unconscious Millelith next to him. “Sorry, but I will be borrowing your identity for today.”

Kaveh left the man in a storeroom, locking the door behind him. This room was located in a less frequented part of the building, so Kaveh figured that he had enough time to pull off the heist before someone found the missing Jiayi, but not so much time that Jiayi might be trapped in the room for more than a few hours. If he wasn’t found by then, Kaveh would simply free him himself. 

Being a phantom thief was not a profession where Kaveh could avoid hurting others, but Kaveh tried to mitigate the damage where he could. He had a no-deaths policy during his heists, and that included accidental death due to negligence. 

He joined the line of attending Milleliths, who had been waiting to have their identities checked. This was fairly standard procedure during heists: law enforcement in their (justified) paranoia were always on guard that the Paradisaea might slip into their ranks and make away with the gem that way. Not that it helped much because Kaveh could usually find a way to bypass the security anyway. 

Kaveh made it to the front of the line without issue. 

“Name?”

“Jiayi.”

“Birthday?” 

Kaveh answered him correctly. 

“Alright, you’re free to go.” 

Kaveh blinked in surprise. Usually security clearances were more stringent than that. Some of them went as far as tugging his face to check if he was wearing a mask. Kaveh had ended up gluing the mask to his face on some occasions just to pass these checks. The hours of scrubbing furiously at his face with warm soapy water afterwards were not fun. 

“Oh…alright.” 

As Kaveh turned to leave, the Millelith questioning him stopped him. “Oh, right. I forgot: what’s your identification number?”

Without thinking, Kaveh answered it. 

That was when the Millelith tried to arrest him.

“That’s the one! That’s the Paradisaea!”

“After them!”

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he reprimanded himself as he sprinted down the corridor, chased by Millelith who were trying to corner him. Why did I answer that? Nobody knows their identification number.

He rounded a corner, looking around for a way to lose them. His eyes fell on the open window. 

This was going to suck.

He launched himself through it, grabbing the sides of the window frame to stop his momentum so that instead of falling into the open air below, his feet were able to find purchase on a ledge and he was able to precariously balance on it. He managed to hide his body out of sight just before his pursuers rounded the corner. 

“Where did they go?” He heard from inside the room. “Check every corner of the room!”

Kaveh tried to catch his breath, trying to keep his breathing quiet. Slowly, carefully, he shimmied along the edge, trying to get to a corner of the building so he could hook something to the top of the slanted roof and heave himself up.

Right as he was about to heave himself up, the window closest to him opened. 

Three stories up in the air and dangling from a rope anchored to the roof, Kaveh froze.

For a moment, he and the Millelith just stared at each other. 

Then the Millelith called for reinforcements and tried to grab him.

“That kid was right! They're here!”

Kid? 

There was no time to wonder about that. Kaveh cursed in his head as he hurriedly pulled himself up. Absolutely nothing was going his way today. 

“They’re on the floor above! Grab them!”

It was an absolute disaster. Kaveh swallowed. While they couldn't grab him from where he was right now, he couldn't make it back into the building without being tackled by half a dozen members of law enforcement. 

Unless…they already thought they caught him. 

Technically, he hadn't shed his disguise yet. He started shimmying his way to the window of the storeroom he had locked the real Jiayi in. 

The real Jiayi was already conscious and struggling to free himself by the time Kaveh entered through the window. 

He froze when Kaveh entered, still wearing his face and uniform. Then he started struggling even harder.

If looks could kill…

“Don't be alarmed,” Kaveh said in Jiayi’s voice, despite feeling plenty alarmed himself. “This disguise has gotten troublesome, so I’m here to give it back.”

Outside the door, the sound of shouting could be heard. 

“They’re in here! Open the door!”

“Who has the keys?”

“Never mind, we’ll just break it down!”

“It looks like your comrades missed your presence,” Kaveh chuckled, managing to keep the panic out of his voice. Hurriedly, he untied him and helped him put his uniform back on. Meanwhile, he pulled out the spare uniform he had stashed on one of the shelves and changed into those.

The real Jiayi stared at him as he rubbed at his wrists. It was obvious that he found the idea of looking at someone with the same face, voice, and clothes disconcerting. 

Kaveh cleared his throat. “Well, I’m off.” 

He ducked back out the window just as the door flew open, and Jiayi found himself getting dogpiled by no less than six members of the Millelith.

“We got them!”

“Wait, I’m the real Jiayi! I was locked in here the whole time!”

“Like we’ll believe you!”

“What’s your identification number?”

“Idiot, that’s not how it works!”

Kaveh winced and sent a mental apology to Jiayi. He did not envy the other man right now, but he trusted the Millelith to clear up the misunderstanding eventually. 

He re-emerged into the building a few windows down the hall, peeking into the room before heading inside. Thankfully, it was empty because all the Millelith in the vicinity were preoccupied with apprehending the real Jiayi.

He ripped off the mask and hurriedly put on another one, this one of a nondescript member of the Millelith. He was fairly sure that nobody was checking identities at this point, so he was fairly confident he could get away with it. 

Finally, finally , he was able to get to the actual target of the heist.

Sky Bracer’s Eyes.

Thirty years ago, the Yuheng of the Qixing at the time had approved the plans for the construction of a new administrative building. The architect of the building had proposed adding a relief onto one of the other walls: a panel of stone with an image carved into it, and eventually one with the likeness of Sky Bracer was chosen. As one of the adepti who had perished during the mythological war known as the archon war, it was selected to symbolize sacrifice and duty to the people. 

The finishing touch was the pair of jeweled eyes that adorned the relief. Carved from the highest quality of cor lapis, it was supplied by a rich businessman, who negotiated a deal with the city where he funded half the building’s construction in exchange for rights to the stone panel carving.

Those cor lapis eyes were the target of Kaveh's heist that night. Or would be if he hadn't known that the son of the wealthy businessman, Gentry Maocai, had secretly sold off the original cor lapis eyes and replaced them with replicas. 

That panel was due to be sold to a private collector, who planned to display it in his personal estate, which was a move that generated much controversy in Liyue. When Kaveh had announced his plans to steal the cor lapis eyes as the Paradisaea, the reception was actually fairly positive. Over the past thirty years, the relief had become something of a cultural landmark and it was generally agreed that if it had to disappear from the public eye, it might as well be to a phantom thief whose heists at least had entertainment value rather than to yet another member of the bourgeoisie with more mora than they knew what to do with. 

Kaveh tried to keep his personal life and criminal activities separate, but he would be lying if he wasn’t at least a little bit emotionally invested in this situation as an aspiring architect. Liyue, unlike Sumeru, was still a nation that was appreciative of the arts, and the idea that someone would try to remove a piece of public art so that they were the only one who could enjoy its aesthetic value…well, Kaveh was a member of the public, wasn't he? It was natural that he would be offended by this.

Truthfully, the only things he was stealing that night were Gentry Maocai’s plans to sell off the stone panel. The private buyer was set to leave the country within a few weeks, and if the stone panel fell into the Millelith’s custody as evidence for long enough that the stone panel could not be removed from the building before the buyer’s departure date…well, Gentry Maocai would be hard pressed to find another person with the motivation and economic means to buy the stone panel for some time. 

Behind the canvas he was temporarily using to obscure the stone panel, Kaveh painted a coded message onto the relief. The paint was, of course, removable without damaging the material it was painted on, since Kaveh would never actually vandalize a piece of art like that, but the mystery of the coded message should take enough time for the Millelith to crack that it would hold off the buyer for some time. 

For a moment, Kaveh dared to think that his heist might be back on track. 

His hopes were dashed when someone started firing arrows at the ropes keeping the canvas in place. 

Where could they be firing from? Kaveh tried to recall the layout of the buildings in the vicinity. If he could remember correctly, there was a higher building with a bridge in the direction the stone panel was facing. That must have been where the arrows were coming from. 

Kaveh winced. On the one hand, this person probably wasn’t trying to kill him. On the other hand, this person was clearly good at aiming and could not be counted upon to not pin his glider to the wall if he tried to fly off. 

Well, it was time to conclude this heist, anyway.

With the final character of his message done, Kaveh undid all the ropes tethering the canvas down, using the falling canvas to cover for his own escape. 

As the canvas landed on the ground, Kaveh quietly slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

As he left the scene, he passed a member of the Millelith and a teenager talking to each other.

“It is impossible to track them down in this crowd now. You might as well wrap up for the night,” the teenager was saying.

The Millelith sighed. “That’s disappointing. But at least we prevented the gems from being stolen. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you did good, kid.”

Kid . 

Kaveh stole a look at the two of them. 

One of the Millelith had mentioned a kid.

The teenager was one or two years younger than he was, with short gray hair. He stood with his back to Kaveh, arms crossed over his chest. Instead of responding to the praise, he let out an impatient, “Am I free to leave?” 

“Well, yes-”

“Good bye.” The teenager started to walk off, before pausing. 

As if sensing his gaze, the teenager turned in his general direction, and Kaveh caught a glimpse of his face.

Piercing teal and red eyes and an impassive face. Kaveh focused his gaze somewhere else before he could notice Kaveh staring at him.

So this was the person who had caused so much trouble for him. Kaveh would have to avoid him in the future.

Kaveh took comfort in the fact that whoever this person was, at least he was from Liyue and not Sumeru. It would be a disaster if he had to watch out for him in the country he performed the majority of his heists in.

Chapter Text

Following the heist in Liyue, Kaveh managed to go one week without any incidents. Those seven days had lulled him into a false sense of security and managed to fool him into thinking he was safe.

Those also marked the last days his life was free from Alhaitham's influence.

Kaveh turned the corner to settle down at his usual spot at the House of Daena, and froze.

A student was hunched over a passage, reference books and declension charts open around him. He was in Haravatat, judging from the symbol on his hat, but he sat alone at the table, his peers in the same darshan sitting at adjacent tables but giving him a wide berth.

Kaveh took in his features. Short gray hair. Teal and red eyes that pierced through his work as if it could unlock the secrets to the universe. A deadpan, impassive expression on his face as he ignored everyone around him.

Oh, shit, it’s him, was Kaveh’s first thought. Followed by, That bastard took my seat.

As if hearing his thoughts, the younger teen paused in his work and looked up. Their eyes met across the room. 

Nope. Nope . They were not doing this today.

Even so, he stared into the other's eyes, as if transfixed. 

His junior’s eyes were piercing, like that of a falcon perched on top of a branch, overlooking everything down below. Yet his gaze only held a token amount of curiosity. Whatever he was doing here, he was not here because of Kaveh. 

Yet.

Their impromptu staring contest was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him. 

“I hope you have a good reason to be spying on the Haravatat Darshan,” said a dry voice behind him. 

Kaveh whirled around. “I'm not. I-”

The senior followed his gaze until it settled on the gray haired teen. “Ah, Alhaitham. Well, out with it. What do you want with him?”

Kaveh paused. So, his name was Alhaitham. One of the things about being one of the most popular students in his Darshan was that like it or not, the rumors came to him. And he had heard that name before. 

Recently enrolled in Haravatat. Quiet. Exceptionally brilliant, yet hard to get along with. 

Kaveh looked into the senior's eyes and lied. “Well, I noticed that he was sitting all alone and was wondering if he had run into some sort of trouble. I was going to approach him to ask if he was okay.”

Her eyes flicked up to where Alhaitham had turned back to his notes, then back at him. “Well, I wouldn't try too hard. Many people in his Darshan had already tried talking to him. It seems like he's one of those people who prefers being alone.”

“Is that so…”

“Now, I'm sure you have other things you are busy with. Run along.”

“Ah, alright…” 

Kaveh booked it out of the House of Daena. Only when he was outside did he stop. Kaveh took a few deep breaths, trying to force down his rising panic.

This was fine. He could still salvage this situation. As long as he kept his head down, and stayed beneath Alhaitham’s notice, there would be no reason for this guy to suspect that he had any sort of illegal activities going on in his private life. He could just exist in the background, and his heists could continue just fine without his knowledge. He could just discreetly keep an eye on Alhaitham at all times so he would know when he was coming and prepare accordingly. He would be fine.

To Kaveh's credit, his approach actually worked fairly well for all of seven days. 

He lived his life normally, only being a little more vigilant than normal wherever he went in case that head of gray hair showed itself again. On occasions where he did see Alhaitham, he acted as if his attention was directed elsewhere. His years as a phantom thief paid off. He was fairly certain Alhaitham didn't even know he was being watched.

It all backfired spectacularly a week later, of course. In Kaveh's defense, nobody could have predicted the dead body.

Kaveh had been passively keeping an eye on Alhaitham as he walked in the street, reading a book as he passed. Thus, he was the first one to notice when a large shadow started plummeting towards the younger student and the only one who had enough time to tackle him out of the way.

Kaveh cursed himself. It wasn't that he regretted saving this person. Even if this person was hell bent on destroying his life, he couldn't just sit by and watch him get seriously injured or killed by his inaction.

Even so…

Alhaitham’s hiss came out a little muffled against the pavement. “Which idiot-”

This guy was definitely noticing him now.

“You're welcome,” Kaveh huffed, out of breath. He could at least be a little bit grateful, right?

“You just ruined my book,” he accused.

Kaveh sputtered. "A body almost hit you!"

"Yes, yours,” the younger teenager sharpened his gaze into a glare.

“No!” Was this guy serious? Perhaps he didn't quite understand the gravitas of the situation just yet. Abruptly realizing he was still on top of him, he got off Alhaitham and spun him around. He gestured wildly at the corpse. “That dead body!”

Alhaitham paused to take in the sight. "...Oh.”

Then his eyes focused on him again. “You still ruined my book, though."

Alright, Kaveh took that back. He regretted saving this guy a little bit. "Why did I bother?" Kaveh grumbled. 

After Kaveh busted his own cover for him too? This ungrateful bastard could deal with his own falling corpses from now on. 

The Matra had arrived at the scene by then. Both of them were questioned by the Matra as witnesses, which made Kaveh nervous. Criminals were not too fond of law enforcement in general. He forced the feeling down, though.

Calm down, he told himself. You've done nothing to connect yourself to the Paradisaea. Just make sure you don't slip up in front of him .

Kaveh watched as the Haravatat student’s eyes flitted around the scene, taking in minute details and processing them in his head. There was no mistaking it: this was definitely the guy who almost got him arrested in Liyue.

The question was, what should Kaveh be doing right now? Ideally, Kaveh should be keeping his head down and saying nothing. However, would it be considered out of character if Kaveh, a person reputed to be exceptionally brilliant and helpful, noticed something and refused to speak up? More importantly, would Alhaitham pick up on that?

As Kaveh pondered this issue, the Matra Taj Radkani consulted his notes and muttered out loud, "Well, it looks like the victim had been running away from someone, and had been stabbed from behind, falling off the roof of that building due to his own momentum."

Except…that was wrong. Kaveh had enough experience running away from people with knives to know that.

"Wouldn't it be a bit difficult to stab a knife this deep into someone who's running away from you?" Kaveh blurted.

Everyone turned to him.

Well, shit, he didn’t expect that to draw so much attention. “Oh, uh-"

"You have a point," the Matra admitted, "Though you should not be interfering with the investigation, Mister Kaveh. Is that understood?"

"Right, sorry," Kaveh said. On the one hand, his actions were perfectly in line with the exceptionally brilliant but inexperienced student he was trying to embody. On the other hand, this seemed to attract the attention of Alhaitham, who had started giving him curious glances. 

The Haravatat scholar spoke up, "In that case, are we free to go? You already took both of our statements."

His junior sounded mildly annoyed, like the most unforgivable thing between the dead body nearly crushing him, a possible murderer on the loose, and being caught in a Matra investigation was the fact that it had managed to inconvenience his day.

Huh. Kaveh might have misjudged his character.

Perhaps he hadn’t drawn Alhaitham’s attention, after all?

"Regrettably, no," Radkani said, completely unrepentant. "Until the scene can be thoroughly investigated and all evidence documented, you two cannot leave."

Kaveh nodded. He didn’t expect to be allowed to leave so easily, but he had already given his token contribution as an uninvolved but well-meaning citizen. If he stayed out of the way for the rest of the investigation, there would be little reason for Alhaitham to take notice of him further. "I understand-"

"If you insist on wasting our time," Alhaitham rudely interrupted. "Then let us join in the investigation. It might resolve itself faster."

Wait a second. Kaveh felt his mind skid to a halt.

Us?

"Why are you doing all of this?" Kaveh asked him, once Alhaitham had convinced the Matra of his abilities and Kaveh was subsequently forced to spend time in close quarters with him.

"I thought I had made my reasons clear," said Alhaitham, focusing on the weathered furniture on the roof with those piercing eyes of his. "It would benefit me greatly if this investigation wrapped up quickly."

"Yeah, but why are you dragging me into it?" If Kaveh let a note of hysteria leak into his voice, well, he’s had a long day, alright?

"Would you also not stand to benefit if this case is resolved sooner? It's only fair that you contribute to it, would it not?"

Well, fuck. If Alhaitham put it that way…

Kaveh made a last ditch attempt to remove himself from this situation, "I don't know why you think I'd be of any help when you already have so much of it figured out."

Alhaitham was having none of it. "No need to downplay your abilities, senior. You'll do fine."

Kaveh resigned himself to his fate. He told himself that the faster they could get this case solved, the faster they could go their separate ways.

“What do you make of this?” 

Kaveh looked at where Alhaitham was pointing, and gave his opinions. 

Despite his best efforts, Kaveh found himself enjoying this. It wasn’t often that Kaveh found himself on the side of the law, and the irony of the situation was not lost on him.

What’s more…Kaveh glanced at the Haravatat junior, who seemed lost in his own contemplations. There was just something about the way the other thought , that seemed to line up so well with his own thought processes. They anticipated each other’s next moves, figured out what the other needed, and moved accordingly to fill out the gaps.

This sort of rapport…well, he and Faruzan worked well together, but their coordination came from years of trial and error, where with this guy…

Kaveh had to say it. It felt like they were born to work together.

He tried to imagine that: Kaveh corrupting his innocent junior Alhaitham into a life of crime. Dragging Alhaitham into he and Faruzan’s shared workshop. Kaveh coming up with the plans while Alhaitham poked holes at the vulnerabilities. Running away from the local law enforcement together. Running away from Faruzan as she tried to kill them both.

Kaveh suppressed a snort at the thought. He found that he didn’t actually dislike the idea of having Alhaitham joining his heists. A small part of him, the part he was brutally trying to stamp down, wanted this. A companion. An equal who understood all of him.

Ah, Kaveh thought. It’s not even a full day, and I’m already getting emotionally attached.

That wouldn’t do. Kaveh clenched his fists. When he started his career as a phantom thief, he had sworn, didn’t he? Nobody got hurt.

And dragging someone into his mess would definitely qualify as hurt.

Solving this case with him was already an indulgence, Kaveh decided. When this case was over, so was their collaboration.

“Have dinner with me,” said Alhaitham, once Instructor Jani was taken to the station and the two of them were given the clearance to leave.

Kaveh paused. It wasn’t that he was truly against the idea of spending more time with Alhaitham anymore, but…

“Why?” He asked him. He had done absolutely nothing that could have possibly connected him to the Paradisaea. Kaveh was positive about that. So why was Alhaitham so interested in him?

“You saved me a lot of time by contributing to this investigation. I believe it is common courtesy to treat those who have aided you to a meal.” 

That wasn’t an answer to his question, but Kaveh seemed to be able to pick out something from that response nonetheless.

Of course. 

Kaveh wasn’t the only one who was alone, was he?

Despite himself, Kaveh found himself smiling. “Weren't you the one who told me to start pulling my weight in this investigation? Besides, I benefited from this as well, didn't I? As your senior, shouldn't I be treating you?”

Kaveh made it back to his own house and collapsed onto the couch.

It was well into the night before Alhaitham and Kaveh parted ways. Despite all that had happened, it was the nicest evening Kaveh had in a long, long time. 

It was like a hole in his chest had been filled, however momentarily. Instead of the empty feeling that had accompanied Kaveh since childhood, he felt warm. 

In the privacy of his house, Kaveh allowed himself a dry laugh.

Of everyone in the world, Kaveh despaired, why did it have to be him?

Chapter Text

A year and a half ago…

Tighnari arrived at the tavern at the usual time. Cyno was already there, TCG cards and dice already set up on the board. He looked up and gave Tighnari a subtle nod as he spotted him. 

This was how it usually was with the two of them: every two weeks or so, the two would get together to play TCG, have dinner, and generally catch each other up on what they were up to.

Colloquially, this would be called “hanging out,” but Cyno had insisted on calling them “Tea na-li's.” When Tighnari had given him a blank look, Cyno had explained that “na-li” was a Liyuen word for “where” he had picked up when pursuing a scholar through the chasm, and that “tea” was colloquial slang for “gossip,” and that the two words put together sounded like Tighnari's name. 

He had sounded so incredibly proud of himself when he had explained it. As it was, Tighnari considered ending their friendship right there. 

Tighnari sat down at the table, bracing himself for the barrage of jokes that would inevitably tumble out of his mouth. 

None came. Instead, Cyno simply shuffled his deck, over and over again, not meeting his eyes. If Tighnari didn't know better, he would say that Cyno was nervous.

Tighnari raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. If Cyno had something to say, he would say it.

Sure enough, Cyno soon opened his mouth. 

“Tighnari,” he began. “Would you like a house?”

Tighnari stared at him. This was…not what he was expecting. “What?”

“A house,” Cyno traced his finger along the design on the card backs. “It's a stigmatized property, and the deceased had no next of kin, so the Matra is holding onto it for now. If you are not opposed to living in a house someone had died in, it’s yours. It's relatively large. Spacious. In a good area of the city-”

“Where is this going?”

Cyno hesitated, then launched into an explanation.

A few weeks ago, Cyno had received a letter from his senior Lisa, asking for his presence in Mondstadt. The Knights of Favonius had recently received an anonymous tip about a large, illegal laboratory hidden deep in Wolvendom. 

They dispatched knights to investigate, of course, and the sight that awaited them was horrific to behold. 

“They were doing human experimentation in there,” Cyno said, voice filled with quiet anger. “I've never seen Senior Lisa look so disturbed.”

Unfortunately, whoever was running the laboratory must have been alerted that the Knights were coming. By the time they arrived, everyone had already left. The few test subjects that could not be moved had been killed. 

All except…

“There's a girl from Sumeru who survived,” Cyno said, his voice grave. “Her name is Collei. She is only five, Tighnari.”

Cyno had brought her back to Sumeru, of course, but then came the issue of what to do from that point on. Cyno was loath to leave her with someone he didn't trust.

“So,” Tighnari said in disbelief. “Your first thought was to bribe me with a house?”

Cyno looked away, a little embarrassed. “...Most people would need some sort of incentive before they would agree to take on a child.”

“What about your fellow Matra?”

“If a child from Sumeru could end up in Mondstadt in such a manner, then I suspect that someone in the Matra has been covering for them. At any rate, this isn't a risk I can take.”

“Witness protection?”

“She needed to be working with the government to qualify.”

“So I really am your last resort,” Tighnari leaned back in his seat. Taking on a child was a huge responsibility, especially considering that he was still a student. But if Cyno really had no other options…

Well, maybe Tighnari should consider moving to better housing. His current dorm room was about the size of a walk in closet, and about as well ventilated too. Also, his roommate snored.

“Can I meet her first?” Tighnari asked finally. “I don't want to jump into any decisions just yet.”

Tighnari spent all of five minutes in Collei's presence before deciding that yes, he really was capable of homicide if it was for Collei's sake, free house be damned.

And thus began the process of moving in. 

“Hi!” Tighnari greeted his next door neighbor. On the plaque outside the house, the name “Alhaitham” was written with a deft hand. In his hands he held a small succulent he had prepared as a greeting gift. “I just moved into the house next door. I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Tighnari, from the Amurta darshan.”

His next door neighbor was a slightly older Akademiya student. He was still dressed in his uniform, his hat indicating that he was in Haravatat. His teal and red eyes bore into him, his face expressionless. He did not take the plant. 

Maybe he didn't like the gift? What a shame. Tighnari had chosen a succulent specifically because they were relatively easy to care for. Maybe the other teen just didn’t like plants.

Tighnari tried again. “I-”

“You moved into the stigmatized property,” he observed. “I never thought I’d see the day. I hope you’d be less bothersome than the previous inhabitant.”

His eyes flicked to behind Tighnari, where Collei was playing with chalk on the pavement.

The previous inhabitant had been a murderer who had gone and killed several people in some sort of misguided quest for vengeance before finally killing himself in his home. Tighnari thought it was a little unfair that they were being compared like this.

“But then again,” Alhaitham said thoughtfully, “The previous neighbor was at least quiet, so he had that going for him.”

Tighnari put the succulent behind his back. This guy did not deserve his plants. 

“Well, I’ll be going now,” Tighnari gave him a nod. “We’ll be next door if you need anything.”

His neighbor nodded carelessly. “See ya.”

Without preamble, he closed the door in Tighnari’s face.

The next time Tighnari walked by his neighbor’s place, there was a fence surrounding the house. The gate was just out of reach for a small child to open.

Wow , Tighnari thought. What a fucking asshole.

It wasn’t easy, but Tighnari managed to settle into a routine.

He had his classes and homework, so he would get up earlier to cook. He would cook the entire day’s worth of food at once, so Collei wouldn’t get hungry in case he didn’t make it back in time until late in the evening. He’d do most of his work between classes, so that when he got home, he could read to Collei and prepare her to enter school. Meanwhile, he would check out large numbers of child development and child rearing books, to the point where the Librarian started giving him odd looks, so he could figure out the best approach to raising her.

Thankfully, Collei didn’t seem to mind it when he was gone during the day, content to spend the day cooped up in their house. Tighnari nonetheless used a decent chunk of his Akademiya stipend to take her shopping for toys and picture books, so that she could have something to entertain herself with while he was away.

Collei never complained. But then again, Tighnari didn’t think she would have said anything even if there was something wrong. Collei was used to not having her needs addressed, so she had long since stopped voicing them. She had nightmares, too. It wasn’t uncommon for Tighnari to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of muffled sobbing, or a panic attack, so he learned to handle these, too.

Slowly but surely, Collei began to relax around him. She spoke up more often about her preferences. She smiled more often. Once or twice, she even spoke up about her experiences. Slowly, the two of them got more comfortable around each other.

While all of this was happening, Tighnari would occasionally catch glimpses of his standoffish neighbor entering and exiting his gated house. Sometimes, he would see a blonde student following him, expression animated and body language expressive. He was none other than Kaveh: the Light of Kshahrewar. It was obvious how fond of each other the two were. It was the only time Tighnari could see Alhaitham’s stoic expression soften. 

Until one day, Alhaitham came back alone. 

Tighnari was not normally in the habit of spying on neighbors, but something about Alhaitham’s body language was different. His gait was slower than usual. His posture was slumped, almost defeated. When he got to the front gate, he didn’t go in immediately. Instead, he just stood in front of the door, resting his forehead on the cool metal bars. He didn’t move for a long time.

Tighnari had watched, concerned, but he didn’t interfere. It was clear that he had stumbled on a private moment, and he doubted his neighbor would appreciate it if he approached him now. 

At the end of the day, what Alhaitham did with his life was none of Tighnari’s business.

Things changed one day, though, when he caught Alhaitham trying to break into his own house.

It was, by all accounts, a rather unremarkable evening. Tighnari was in the middle of taking out the trash when he heard the sound of cursing coming from the direction of Alhaitham’s house.

A small child was attempting to climb the gate, trying to fit the key into the keyhole. Unfortunately, the owner of the house had installed the gate with the express purpose of keeping out small children, so the boy wasn't having much luck.

Tighnari watched, somewhat fascinated, as the gray haired boy attempted to hook his feet through the bars and shimmy up. He cursed again as he slid down. 

“You know,” Tighnari interrupted him, “I know you’re a kid, but breaking and entering is still illegal.”

The boy froze up, before slowly turning to face Tighnari. “I am well aware. I was hoping that you’d assess the situation before accusing someone of a crime.”

“Then you’d better start explaining very quickly. As far as I’m concerned, this is Alhaitham’s house, not yours,” Tighnari crossed his arms, taking absolutely none of this kid’s bullshit.

The boy stared at him. Tighnari stared right back. 

Eventually, the boy gave up, sighing. “I am Alhaitham. I’ve been force fed an experimental drug that turned me into this form. I need you to let me into my house.”

Needless to say, Tighnari was never going to let Alhaitham live that down. 

None of that mattered much at the moment, however, when they had a catastrophe on their hands.

The door opened, and Kaveh and Fadhlan entered. “We came as fast as we could,” Kaveh said. “What’s the problem?”

“Thanks for coming,” Tighnari said. Cyno was already in the living room, knuckles tight. Tighnari took a deep breath.

“Nahida’s been kidnapped.”

Chapter Text

Fourteen hours ago…

Nahida rummaged through the drawers. Where was the bug repellent? Tighnari had been planning to take Collei to the Avidya forest on a field trip tomorrow, and Fadhlan and Collei had agreed to tag along. 

There was a crash behind her.

“Collei? Is that you?” Nahida called out. “Tighnari?”

No response. 

Nahida frowned but let it go. Satisfied that her bag had been packed, she returned to her bedroom.

There was someone waiting for her there.

Nahida froze in horror. 

“There you are, Buer ,” said Il Dottore, his blue hair glinting in the moonlight. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Before Nahida could cry out, Il Dottore clasped a hand over her mouth. 

“You’ve sent us on quite the goose chase, Kusanali,” Dottore’s smile was sickening. “A drug that can turn adults into children. How fascinating . Unfortunately, your journey ends here.”

“Nahida?”

It was Tighnari’s voice. Nahida started to struggle, trying to warn them.

“Ah, the Amurta student,” Dottore turned his head towards the closed door. “Of course, we would have to eliminate everyone who knows your secret. We already took care of the other house. I never thought I would have the chance to eliminate that detective twice .”

Nahida felt her stomach drop. Fadhlan and Kaveh are…

“Nahida?” It was Collei’s voice this time.

Don’t come in here. Please don’t open that door…

“Well, why don’t I do you one last favor, Buer?” Dottore seemed to relish in her terror. “You can say your goodbyes before I send you to the other side as well.”

“Are you okay?” The sound of footsteps right before the door. Nahida struggled desperately.

“It seems like you’re quite attached to them,” Dottore said, amused. “I want you to watch, Buer, as your loved ones depart from this world.”

No. No. Nononononono…

“I’m coming in, alright?” The doorknob twisted, and Nahida watched on, a sob building in her throat, as the door slowly opened. Nahida spied a hint of Collei’s bright green hair, and Tighnari’s white tunic before-

Nahida sprung up in bed, gasping for air. 

Just a dream…

She curled up in bed, pulling the blankets closer to her. Despite the relatively warm night, she was shivering. 

She took deep calming breaths. It wasn’t real. Everyone is still alive…

“Nahida?” Collei peeked into her room. “I heard noises. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Nahida forced a smile on her face. “Did I wake you up?”

Collei studied her face. “Did you have a nightmare?”

She said this with a knowing look on her face, like it was a familiar problem she struggled with. 

That’s right…Collei had a lot of nightmares, too, didn’t she?

Nahida nodded slowly, and Collei slowly approached her bed. “Do you want a hug?”

“A hug?”

“They help me, sometimes. On days where I’m more alright with being touched.”

“Oh. Sure.”

Collei climbed onto Nahida’s bed and put her arms around her. 

Nahida leaned in, surprised by how good it felt. 

Tighnari had never disclosed any details about Collei or how she came to live with Tighnari, and Nahida never asked, but it was obvious that something bad had happened in Collei’s past. 

“You don't have to be scared,” Collei whispered. “Mister Cyno and Master Tighnari are super strong. They will protect us.”

Nahida nodded, for Collei's sake. A child's naivete was a precious thing. It was a shame that Nahida didn't have that privilege. 

Ten Hours ago…

Nahida nibbled at her breakfast. Her nightmares were not infrequent, but they did tend to ruin her mood for the rest of the day. 

“Eat up,” Tighnari urged her, piling more food onto her plate. “We’re hiking into the Avidya forest today, so you need your energy.”

“Alright,” Nahida dutifully took a few more bites, just to appease him. “When are we setting out?”

“As soon as I get the pita pockets packed. Are you both ready?”

“Yes!” Collei clapped her hands together in excitement. “I’ve always wanted to see what kind of work you do with the Forest Rangers, Master Tighnari!”

“I won’t get too excited, Collei. A lot of it is logistics and planning.” Tighnari looked pleased nonetheless. “Alright, let’s go. I want you two to stick close to me and…hm?”

His Akasha terminal pinged with a message. His brow furrowed. “Oh, it’s Fadhlan. He’s asking for a tracker and sound transmitter. He said it’s urgent…”

“I can do it,” Nahida volunteered. She rummaged through one of the packed bags until she found one. “Where did he say to meet him?”

Though their current situations were far from desirable, Nahida supposed that she and Fadhlan were fortunate in the sense that at least they were surrounded either by people who had just the correct skill sets to allow them to achieve what they needed, or had connections to people with the correct skill sets.

For example, as an Amurta student, Tighnari had access to the Pardis Dhyai and Akademiya laboratories, so Nahida could do research on the antidote without arousing suspicion. Or Cyno, who had access to criminal records, and he could be convinced to give out information on the less classified cases.

Or in this case, Faruzan. Nahida did not know much about the older woman, other than that she was hell bent on becoming Collei’s teacher for some reason, but she had been supplying Tighnari and by extension Fadhlan with all sorts of gadgets, including a green gem that functioned as a voice changer, a collapsible sword, and more recently, a butterfly shaped mechanism that had a sound transmitter and a tracker.

Nahida was not sure what motivated Faruzan to invent those things specifically, and at this point, she was afraid to ask. Some questions were better off left unanswered.

“You’re here,” Fadhlan greeted her as she approached. He was crouched behind a cart, observing a carriage.

“I brought the thing you asked,” Nahida held out the butterfly. “What are you going to do with that?”

Fadhlan pointed across the street, where a blue haired man was talking with someone with black hair and spectacles. “Look.”

Nahida did, and she lunged for the hiding spot next to Fadhlan. “Fadhlan, that’s-”

“He’s the one who shrunk me,” Fadhlan said. “If I can plant this on the carriage, I can eavesdrop on his conversation.”

“But he’s Dottore ,” Nahida’s heart thudded in her ears. She really needed to get out of here. “If he finds you-”

“It’s been a year, and we’ve barely achieved anything,” Fadhlan insisted. “We may never get another opportunity like this again. We have to take the initiative.”

Before Nahida could protest, Fadhlan had already made a dash towards the carriage and climbed inside.

“What are you doing ?” Nahida hissed, even as she followed him. Fadhlan ignored her as he placed the butterfly in a small nook in the carriage. 

“Come on, we are done here.” Fadhlan climbed back out of the carriage. “Go back to Tighnari and Collei. I can take it from here.”

Nahida returned to their house after that, even as unease gnawed at her stomach.

It should be fine. There shouldn’t be anything that Dottore could have used to trace back to her or Fadhlan even if he eventually did discover the butterfly. She tried to enjoy herself in the Avidya forest, even as the sense of danger crept higher and higher.

Present time:

Nahida woke up slowly. There was a nasty taste in her mouth and her mind was fuzzy. Where was she? How did she get here?

Her eyes slowly focused, and she could make out bottles of alcohol on shelves. A wine cellar?

That’s right…the three of them had come back from the Avidya Forest and gone to dinner at Pupsa Cafe. The lights had briefly gone out. There was a sound of a crash from upstairs, and before the lights turned on again. In the chaos of people going upstairs to investigate the source of the noise, and the influx of people going downstairs to escape the chaos, she had gotten separated from Tighnari and Collei. Then someone grabbed her from behind.

“Nahida?”

Nahida jumped at the sound. She reached a hand towards the hair clip in her hair, where the sound was coming from. Another one of Faruzan’s gifts. That one allowed her to communicate with anyone with a matching device.

“Fadhlan?”

“Where are you? What happened?”

Nahida told him the best she could. There was a sharp intake of breath from Fadhlan.

“I heard from that butterfly bug that there was going to be an assassination by an organization member at a private event in Pupsa Cafe. You managed to walk right into it.”

“So the one who kidnapped me…”

“Is probably a member of the organization, yes.”

“But if that’s true…they must have recognized my child form.” Nahida’s stomach filled with dread. “Did you know what their codename was?”

“Did you recognize the name Barnabas?”

“...It sounds familiar. I don’t think I’ve met them personally, but he was supposed to be a seer or missionary of some sort. He works for il Dottore.”

“Alright, we will worry about that later. You said you’re in a wine cellar?”

“Yes?”

“Can you find a way out of there?”

Nahida tried the door. As expected, it was bolted shut. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room. “I can only see a fireplace, but it's too big for me to climb up.”

“A fireplace?” Fadhlan muttered to himself. “Do you see anything else? Like a wall of old photographs? An old blueprint?

“Yes…You recognize this place?”

“I do. There aren't that many places in Sumeru with fireplaces, after all. You’re still in Pupsa Café. It seems they've decided to hold you here temporarily until they can finish off the assassination.”

“But judging from the fact I'm not tied down, I don't have long until they come back,” Nahida swallowed. The organization was never, ever , sloppy with their prisoners. “Fadhlan…no, Alhaitham. I'm going to tell you all I can about the drug you took. The DIV-91KL is an Apotoxin. It’s programmed cell destruction. Our body's cells are capable of self-destructing from the start, and it works by releasing the enzyme to trigger the process.”

“Nahida, what are you…”

“It also contains Telomerase and increases the cell's ability to continue multiplying-”

“You can tell me all of this after you get out of danger,” Fadhlan said firmly. “Tighnari and I are right outside Pupsa Café. We can get a staff member to open the door-”

“Don't,” Nahida warned him. “If the organization knew they were helping me, I cannot guarantee their safety. And you're not understanding the problem. If they can recognize me even in my child form, then even if I get out of here they would be able to find me within a matter of days. If that happens, Tighnari, Collei, and anyone involved with me will be systematically eliminated. In other words, whether I die here or get out successfully, I’ve already been forced into a position in which I cannot communicate with you.”

There was a pause. “I wouldn't be so sure. You were already there for an hour.”

Nahida blinked in surprise. “What? Then…”

“There were some guests that were able to leave before the Matra secured the area, but considering that the culprit needed time to kidnap you and lock you in a cellar, it’s almost guaranteed that the organization member is not yet able to leave. The fact that nobody else from the organization has tried to fetch you most likely meant that they were not able to contact the outside, either. In other words, as long as we can intercept the culprit before they could leave the crime scene, your secret is safe. In the meantime, you said that the fireplace was too big for you to climb. Would you be able to climb up if you were in your adult body?”

“I can manage it. But...”

“You’re in a wine cellar, are you not?”

Nahida’s eyes widened in realization.

“If you can find osmanthus wine in that cellar, you might have a chance.”

Chapter Text

Kaveh frowned. 

Tighnari had asked him to take Collei outside while Tighnari and Cyno looked for Nahida, and Kaveh had agreed that it was best that Collei did not have to be involved in such danger, but it was still a little insulting that Fadhlan had been allowed to stay when Kaveh wasn't. 

He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being kept out of something important. 

“Are you hungry?” He asked Collei. “We can get some junk food, if you promise not to tell Tighnari.”

Under normal circumstances, a kid like her would have jumped at the offer. As it was, Collei bit her lip and shook her head. “Is Nahida gonna be okay?”

What a loaded question. Kaveh’s first instinct was to reassure her that Nahida would be fine , but he had no way of knowing that, did he? When his father went missing, his Mother, the Matra, and all the adults tried to reassure him that he would be fine. Kaveh had believed them, and why not? His father had been the smartest and strongest person his five-year old self knew. So what if he went missing in the desert? He was invincible! 

But then they discovered his body, and then suddenly nothing was fine.  

“I don't know,” Kaveh said truthfully to Collei. “Tighnari and Cyno are doing their best, and I trust their abilities, but nothing is guaranteed.”

Collei nodded. “I just wish Mister Cyno and Master Tighnari would let me help. They say that it's because I'm too young, but they let Fadhlan help and it's not fair. ”

Same, Collei, same , thought Kaveh, before abruptly stopping. 

Actually, wait a second, why couldn't he help? He was the fucking Paradisaea. If the combined efforts of Fadhlan, Tighnari, and Cyno couldn't stop him from making off with various precious jewelry, they couldn't stop him from interfering with their rescue operation. 

Kaveh glanced at Collei, before shooting a mental apology at her, Tighnari, and Faruzan for what he was about to do.

“How dare you,” said Faruzan. On the one hand, she did not appreciate being made to babysit while there was a crisis going on. On the other hand, this was Collei they were talking about, so the prospect of babysitting was actually enticing. 

Faruzan should refuse on principle. Babysitting was not related to performing heists, so she was not obligated to do it. Who did Kaveh think he was, bossing around his senior like that?

But also, Collei .

Damn that boy. She never should have revealed her weakness to him. 

“I'm sorry, you're the only one I can think of!” Kaveh gave her a pleading look. “Senior Faruzan, you're responsible, trustworthy, and are good with small children. There's no one better I know!”

Faruzan huffed. Did Kaveh think he could convince her to do him favors by flattering her? He was lucky that she had already agreed: she was just putting in the token amount of resistance lest he make this a habit. “You're going to have to do better than that.”

“My most dependable partner in crime,” said Kaveh. “My reliable senior who has saved my life multiple times.”

Faruzan mentally facepalmed. That was enough second hand embarrassment for the day. Perhaps she should bring this farce to a close before she suffered any more mental damage.

“You owe me,” Faruzan told him.

Kaveh brightened. “Of course, whatever you want! Thank you so much!”

And then he was off. 

Faruzan waited to make sure they were alone before smiling fondly at Collei. “Alright, dear. I've made some new toys since we last met. Want to play with them?”

“Fadhlan,” Nahida said. “Just in case this doesn’t work…will you take care of Tighnari and Collei for me?”

A bottle of osmanthus wine lay half drunk at her feet, but nothing had happened so far. Perhaps the trigger for the transformation was the impurities found only in Fadhlan's bottle of osmanthus wine, or perhaps the adverse side effects from the drug used to knock her unconscious didn’t activate the immune response enough for it to work. Or perhaps the transformation simply took time. 

Either way, Nahida’s stomach clenched with anxiety.

“Things have not deteriorated this far yet. I managed to narrow the list of suspects to seven people, and Barnabas should still be detained by the Matra. We still have about an hour at most. The transformation should happen within that time.”

“If you say so…it really is fortunate that out of all the places they could have locked me in, they picked the one cellar in Sumeru with a fireplace.”

“The original owners of this building were fans of Fontainian architecture, and they designed the building in that style. The upper floors have since been renovated, but the old fireplace has remained untouched.” 

“I’ve been meaning to ask…How do you know so much about this place?”

“Kaveh,” for a moment, Fadhlan’s voice sounded a little wistful. “We snuck down there to steal alcohol on his 18th birthday. He said it was a rite of passage.”

Nahida went silent, recognizing the unspoken words. Alhaitham would never be able to go through this rite of passage, because he had spent his 18th birthday in the body of a 7 year old child.

“I'm sorry.”

“No need,” Fadhlan's voice was back to his usual apathetic manner. “I've never cared for birthday rituals, and I doubted that I would have had anyone to celebrate them with, anyway. How do you feel?”

“I’m starting to feel a little out of breath. It appears that the osmanthus wine is working.”

“It won’t take much longer, then. After that, try to climb up the chimney. Kaveh had once explained the floor plans of this place. The fireplace should still be fully functional. The chimney should take you directly to the roof of the building.”

Pupsa Café, huh…

The first thing Kaveh noticed was the Matra surrounding the place. He quickly ducked behind a corner before anyone could spot him. 

This was far too many Matra for just a simple kidnapping case…It appeared that this situation was more complicated than Kaveh had thought. 

As he watched, a man walked up to a Matra, looking impatient and a little distressed.

Kaveh narrowed his eyes. Most people would not have picked up on this, but Kaveh had plenty of experience in acting, both in his phantom thief persona and in his real life. There was something off about his demeanor. 

It could be a lead, or a red herring. Nonetheless, Kaveh decided that it was worth investigating.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a mechanical device in the shape of a butterfly and released it in the man’s general direction. He needed to hear what was being said. 

Sir, are you absolutely sure that I can’t leave? I have meetings to go to… The man was fretting.

I’m afraid not, sir. The Matra insisted. We received a tip from a trusted source that the murder was committed by one of the seven people we detained. You have to remain here until we get to the truth of the matter.

A tip? The man paused, suddenly curious. Who gave you that tip?

I’m afraid I cannot tell you that, sir. The Matra’s eyes narrowed. This is confidential information.

Of course, of course, Kaveh watched as the man made a series of very interesting facial expressions in rapid succession. I apologize. 

Please return inside.

Kaveh removed the earpiece as the conversation ended. A murder? Tighnari had definitely left that part out when he briefed everyone on the situation. 

Still, though…it appeared that he managed to find someone who definitely knew something about the murder, if he wasn’t the perpetrator of the crime himself. On his first try, too. Why wasn’t he ever this lucky during his own heists?

All that was left was to sneak into the Cafe, either as a Matra or a member of the staff. It couldn’t hurt to follow this guy around. 

Huh?

Kaveh stared, eyes widened as a new figure approached the Café. He didn’t recognize this person, specifically, but the way they carried themselves, that style of dress…it was unmistakable. 

What was the organization doing here?

“Nahida,” Fadhlan spoke through the speaker, voice suddenly urgent. “There’s someone coming your way.”

Nahida heard his voice, but barely registered it as she gasped. The pain was intense, coming in waves. She could barely breathe…

She choked on a scream, tears forming in her eyes.

“Nahida!” It was rare to hear Fadhlan sound so concerned .

Slowly, her vision focused again. Her eyes stung from the sweat on her face. She flipped herself over so that she was sitting on her knees. 

Everything looked…smaller.

She was back in her adult body again. She spied a worker’s uniform in the corner and hurriedly put it on. She braced her hands and feet against the walls of the chimney and managed to get out of sight just as the door flew open.

Kusanali froze, not daring to move for fear of making noise. She waited, as the intruder walked around the cellar, inspecting the place. Her heart skipped a beat as footsteps paused at the fireplace. 

She watched as a hand一il Dottore’s hand一picked up a handful of ashes and let it slip through his fingers in curiosity.

“Hm.” Apparently he didn’t find what he was looking for. Kusanali watched as he straightened, dusted himself off, and turned to exit the room. There was the click of the door shutting, the footsteps fading away.

Kusanali didn’t dare move for several minutes.

“Nahida?”

“I’m fine,” Kusanali said, not daring to raise her voice higher than a whisper. “I managed to get into the chimney in time.”

“That’s good. Keep climbing up. This transformation is temporary and it’s best that you get out of the chimney before you start transforming back.”

“Yes, of course…” Kusanali could feel her arms and legs start to cramp, but she ignored it. If she stopped now, she was dead. With the last of her strength, she managed to dislodge the cover at the top of the chimney and haul herself over the edge.

She sank to the floor, utterly exhausted. 

“Just stay put. You should be safe for now.”

Kusanali gasped, trying to catch her breath. “I don’t think I can move even if I wanted to…”

“Alright, I have more or less wrapped things up on my end, as well. Tighnari and Cyno will fetch you shortly.”

“That’s good to hear.” Kusanali sighed. It seemed that against all odds, things managed to turn out well.

That was when a dart embedded itself in her shoulder.

Kusanali gasped, blinding trying to grab at it. But it was too late. She could feel whatever was in that dart entering her bloodstream. Painful. Pulsing.

“It’s been a while, Buer ,” said a voice from her nightmares. “Are you ready to accept your fate?”

Chapter Text

Eighteen months ago …

Kusanali looked at the man cowering against the wall. “So, this is the man who botched the evacuation?”

Il Dottore nodded, lip curling in disdain. “We still have to find who leaked the location of the lab in Mondstadt, of course, but not only did this one,” he launched a disinterested kick at the man, who flinched. “Fail to set the grounds on fire to get rid of the evidence, he left a survivor .”

The sneer was obvious in his voice. “What a useless subordinate. Now we have to find the survivor and silence her before she can reveal anything to the Knights of Favonius. I don't expect it to be difficult, but it is nonetheless work we did not have to do.”

Unease blossomed in her gut, but Kusanali kept her expression disinterested, as always. As someone who had been raised in the organization, making moral compromises was the first thing she learned to do. “So? Why bring him to me?”

Dottore shrugged. “You’re always short of human test subjects for your research, aren't you? The organization has no place for such incompetence, so his life is already forfeit. I suppose it doesn't really matter what happens to him after this point. I can give him to you, if you want. You'd be owing me a favor, though.”

Ha. Only in the organization would someone consider a living human being a favor.  

“A favor?” Kusanali forced a sneer into her voice. “You give me your worthless dross and call it a favor? Sounds like you just didn't want to bother with your own trash.”

“If you don't want him, I can always take him back. I'm sure I can think of some use for him.” Dottore glanced at the man, who paled rapidly at the suggestion.

“I can do you the favor of sparing you the effort of transporting him back,” Kusanali shrugged. “Considering you came all this way. I'll take him off your hands.”

“...Haha, how considerate of you. Very well, he's all yours. I look forward to seeing what you will do with him.”

“ I look forward to getting my peace and quiet back. The door is that way.”

Kusanali stared coldly at Dottore until he left, before turning her attention to the man still cowering against the wall. 

Krupp stared at her, a mix of terror and desperation in his eyes. “Please, I-I can do better! Just give me another chance, I can p-prove myself-”

“Be quiet,” Kusanali ignored how her gut twisted. This man used to work in the Mondstadt Lab. He probably conducted experiments on innocent people--actually innocent people--without a single ounce of remorse, and he probably enjoyed it too. This should be someone Kusanali could kill without guilt. “As someone who used to work in Dottore's labs, you of all people should know how he treats his test subjects. Would you rather be there?”

The man went silent. 

“This is already the most mercy I can grant you,” Kusanali said these words to him, and perhaps to reassure herself as well.  

They found his body two days later, a poison having been slipped into his food. After they wheeled the body out of her laboratory, Kusanali sat down at her desk and pulled out the records. 

She had long since understood what it meant to make moral compromises, and sometimes it meant extinguishing one life to save another.

Subject #042. 

Name: REDACTED

Sex: F

Age: 5

Status: Unconfirmed

It really was fortunate that Krupp was so eager to share information about his former employer: perhaps he was trying to get into her good graces. Kusanali got the information she needed out of him easily. Unfortunately for him, his loose lippedness was also why he had to die.

Kusanali made the necessary changes and submitted them. 

Subject #042. 

Name: REDACTED

Sex: F

Age: 5

Status: Dead

Even if the data was ever discovered to be faked, it would probably be pinned on that unknown leaker. There was little chance this could be traced back to her.

There. 

Whoever this survivor was, Kusanali wished them the best.

Collei’s fingers toyed with the puzzle, but it was clear that her mind was elsewhere. 

Faruzan placed a plate of cut fruit in front of her. “I'm sure Nahida will be fine. She is being tracked down by some of the most competent people I know. If she can be found, they will find her.”

Collei nodded. “Have you heard back from anyone yet?”

“Not yet,” Faruzan sighed. “We’re going to be patient.”

“Oh,” Collei fiddled with her hands. “Is it…um…”

“Yes?” Faruzan asked patiently. 

“Is it alright if we check on them?”

“Ah,” Faruzan replied, because she was harboring the same thoughts. “It’s still quite dangerous for us to be there, Collei. We don’t know if the kidnapper is still around, and it’s probably best that we don’t interfere with their investigations.”

“I know,” Collei said quickly. “It’s just a thought.”

She returned to her puzzle, looking dejected. Faruzan felt her heart twinge with sympathy. Her willpower was diminishing by the second.

It was probably a bad idea to bring a child to a crime scene, but Faruzan did want to go herself, and really, Faruzan did find it a little unfair that the little brat Kaveh had taken in was allowed to do whatever he wanted at crime scenes and Collei wasn’t. What type of double standard was this?

Fuck it, she would just pin the blame on Kaveh for making her babysit a child whose wishes she had no power to resist. If anyone asked, Faruzan could say this was a learning opportunity for her.

Faruzan made a big show of sighing. “Alright, finish your fruit. We’re going out after this.”

Collei swirled around to look at her. “You mean…”

“You wanted to check up on them, didn’t you?”

Collei’s eyes widened. Faruzan’s demise by Collei’s guardians might be imminent, but Collei gave her a look like she had hung the stars in the sky just for her, so it was worth it.

“If anyone asked, we were never there,” Faruzan warned her. “We absolutely cannot be discovered by anyone, so we are going to have to go in disguises, alright?”

Collei nodded eagerly, not even questioning the part involving the disguises. “Yes, Master Faruzan! Thank you so much!” She started scarfing down the fruit with record speed. 

Despite the situation, Faruzan felt a twinge of smugness. One of these days, she will win the title of Favorite Guardian from Tighnari.

“Don’t worry, what’s in the dart won’t kill you. I want to do the deed personally,” Il Dottore’s smile was as cold as ever. “I must say, the worker’s uniform that you’re using as a pathetic disguise doesn’t suit you, but it is a nice day, isn’t it? For a traitor to die.”

Kusanali’s vision blurred. She could barely hear Dottore over the pain spreading from her shoulder. “I’m surprised that you knew that I’d be coming out of the chimney.”

Dottore held up something in his hand. “It’s all thanks to this strand of hair I found near the fireplace. I knew it belonged to you the second I saw it. I don’t know if you were caught by Barnabas or if you snuck into the cellar while he wasn’t there, but I could hear it while I was inspecting the room: the sound of your quivering breathing coming from the chimney. I could have killed you right there, of course, but given our years of knowing each other, I thought I might give you a more dignified death.”

Kusanali closed her eyes. It was taking everything she had to remain on her feet. “Well, then. I suppose I must thank you for waiting for me here all this time.”

“Hmph,” Dottore smirked. “Before I send you off, I’d like to know one thing.”

Dottore loaded something into the gun he had used to fire the dart. “How did you escape from that room we locked you in when you fled the organization?”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Fadhlan ran as fast as he could. Nahida is going to die . 

He slipped past the perimeter the Matra set up, ignoring their attempts to stop him. “How do you get up to the roof?” he demanded of the first employee he saw.

“Up the stairs, to the right,” he answered. “But you can't go up- hey !”

Fadhlan ignored him.  

He had to hurry. His fingers furiously twisted at the mechanisms of the voice changer at his neck. 

Nahida, just stay alive for a little longer.

Kusanali bit back a scream as another dart embedded itself into her side. 

“You really don't want to talk, do you?” Dottore’s voice sounded almost impressed. “Why not? It won't save your life, you know.”

It burned…Dottore hadn't used anything lethal on her so far, but it was debilitating all the same. What's more…she could start to feel the same flashes of pain she had before her body transformed. It wouldn't be long before she transformed back, and if that happened, the secret would be out. Fadhlan would be in danger. 

She was out of time. 

Kusanali forced out a laugh. “You really want to know the answer, don't you? I suppose that's one question you can wonder about forever. It seems like I have no choice but to take this secret to the grave.”

Another flare of pain went through her body. She clenched her teeth, inhaling sharply through her nose.

“...Have it your way. You did always have to have the last say. If there is an afterlife, you would say hello for me, won't you? To that sister of yours that we sent first.”

There was the sound of something being loaded into the gun again, and Kusanali understood it to be a lot more fatal than what came before.

It was for the best…if Kusanali died in her adult body, then the organization wouldn't know about the drug’s rare side effects.

There was a sudden whistle as something flew through the air, and a sudden hiss from Dottore. 

Kusanali watched as he stumbled. 

What?

“Go back into the chimney!” A voice ordered. 

Kusanali didn't recognize the voice, but the tone and enunciation was familiar…it looked like Fadhlan had made it in time.

It took everything she had, but she dove for the opening of the chimney.

Chapter Text

There was a moment of weightlessness, then Kusanali had her breath knocked out of her as she landed on her ribs.

Pain flared through her entire body as it was jarred from the impact, right before another wave of pain hit her as the effects of the osmanthus wine wore off.

She groaned, in too much pain to even cry out.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…

Another flare of pain hit her, and she let out a strangled gasp, clothing and hair getting covered in the ash and dust as she writhed.

She could feel her body contorting, bones and muscles shifting as they shrank.

It’s almost over…just bear with it for a while longer.

With a final groan, her body returned to her child form, and she was just Nahida again.

She collapsed, limp on the ground, not having the strength to even pick her head up from the ground. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad…if she just stayed there for a while…

Clap. Clap. Clap.

“How fascinating ,” A pair of feet stopped just before her. “You were just an infant when I last saw you, so you probably don’t remember me, but I was very close with your parents. I was told quite a lot about the drug’s progress back when they were in charge of its development.”

The voice was warm, almost grandfatherly, if not for the undercurrent of malice behind it.

Nahida tried to force her vision to focus. Who …

“But I bet even they would have been surprised that you managed to take the drug’s development to this point. I’m sure they would have been proud.”

Nahida weakly tried to lift her head. Who…are you…?

“I’d love to bring you back to the organization alive, out of consideration for your parents. But the order is to kill you. You wouldn’t blame me, would you, little Kusanali, if I was following orders?”

What the hell did I just walk into? Kaveh thought, but it didn’t matter. Nahida was in danger.

His decision to follow the suspicious looking man did pay off. Fortunately or unfortunately, it led him directly into a situation in which he had to save someone’s life.

Damn it, I did not make enough preparations for this…I guess I’ll just have to wing it.

Kaveh cleared his throat loudly, stepping into the room. “Excuse me, sir. The drink you ordered is ready.”

The man froze, trying to hide Nahida’s limp form with his body. “I don’t remember ordering a drink. You got the wrong person.”

“Don’t worry. It’s complimentary!” In a swift motion, Kaveh pulled out his card gun and shot at the older man’s hand just as he pulled something out of his pocket. 

Something flew across the room. Kaveh recognized it as a revolver from Fontaine. 

“I’m afraid weapons are prohibited on the premises, sir.” Kaveh darted behind one of the shelves. From his pocket, he produced a canister of gas and released the seal. Smoke started hissing from it, and Kaveh threw it to the ground. 

The man cursed, heading deeper into the darkness where the revolver had fallen. Kaveh made a mad scramble for Nahida.

The girl was covered in ash and sweat, shivering. Kaveh’s heart skipped a beat as he took note of the darts that fell to the ground as he picked her up. The blood that coated the needles…it must have been excruciating. 

Well, shit . How was this girl still conscious?

The smoke had gotten thick enough that Kaveh could no longer see more than a few feet in front of him. Kaveh dove into the part where the fog was thickest. 

The smokescreen wouldn’t last long…Kaveh needed to get this over with as fast as possible. 

“If you are looking for something, you should ask a member of staff to fetch it for you,” Kaveh called, trying to pinpoint the man’s location.

Something flew past Kaveh, missing but a wide margin and hitting the shelf behind him. There was the sound of glass breaking, and the scent of alcohol wafted through the air.

Ah. It seemed that the man had gotten his gun back.

“Show yourself!” The voice sounded incensed. “Who are you?”

Gotcha . 

“Just a humble member of the staff, looking to provide our customers with the best experience.” 

Kaveh darted through the fog, his steps silent as he closed the gap between them. He shifted Nahida’s weight until she was balanced against one shoulder.

It was a good thing that he had thought to bring all the tools the Paradisaea routinely used. His hand closed on the last thing he needed to bring this confrontation to a close: a tranquilizer. 

He lined the tranquilizer gun up with the man’s neck and shot.

It hit true. The man twisted, trying to get to where the dart had hit him. He stumbled, the drug taking its effect. 

“I apologize if our service is not up to standard,” Kaveh said, barely winded. “If you would like to lodge a complaint, you can do so at the front desk.”

With a last burst of energy, the man tried to lung at him. 

Kaveh dodged effortlessly, watching the man collapse bonelessly to the floor. 

The man twitched, before lying still. 

“Well!” Kaveh turned to look at Nahida. “Are you alright, miss? That didn’t scare you, did it?”

“Who…are you?” Nahida mumbled into his shoulder. She could barely keep her eyes open. 

“I’m just a helpful member of the staff, as I said,” Kaveh said, relieved that the girl didn’t seem to recognize him. 

“...You’re the Paradisaea, aren’t you?”

“Oh, you’re a sharp one! I am indeed the Paradisaea. But if anyone asked, you definitely didn’t see me, alright?”

“...You should run. If the organization finds out you were helping me…they won’t let you live.”

“Not to worry, I don’t plan to stay for long. But I’m more curious about why the organization is after you, miss.”

There was no answer.

“Miss?”

Nahida had fallen asleep in his arms. 

Kaveh felt a pang of disappointment, but he sighed and pulled out a roll of tape from his pack. He still had to tie up some loose ends. Literally.  

He patted down the unconscious man’s pockets, removing anything that could be used as a weapon or a means of escape. With the roll of tape, he got to work tying him to one of the shelves. 

If he used far more tape in tying this guy up than he would normally…well, he was just being vigilant, alright? This was an organization member they were talking about.

He straightened, admiring his handiwork. He should probably hand Nahida off to Cyno now. His job here was done.

“What are you doing here?”

Kaveh froze.

The smoke in the room had not cleared just yet, so Kaveh couldn’t see his body, but that voice…

It was indisputably Alhaitham.

Fadhlan leaned against the doorframe, winded. 

After shooting Dottore with the tranquilizer, he had run back down the stairs to the cellar that Barnabas was approaching as fast as he could. He knew he wasn’t fast enough, though.

When he got there, he feared the worst, but instead, it seemed like someone else had taken care of everything.

He surveyed the smoke in the room, the sound of tape ripping and someone moving a body around.

Truly, there was only one person who was capable of causing this particular brand of chaos. 

Fadhlan adjusted the settings on his voice changer until it resembled his old voice.

“What are you doing here?”

There was a brief pause, before the Paradisaea answered.

“Why, I can ask you the same thing! Aren’t you supposed to be missing?”

“I asked first.”

“Well, just consider this as me repaying me a favor. You did help me out of that situation at the Pardis Dhyai, after all. What about you? What could possibly draw out our infamous missing scholar from the depths of obscurity?”

Fadhlan tensed, before sighing. He really should have known that the Paradisaea would have figured out who had rescued them back at that heist. “My…friend, Kaveh. He told me about the case and asked me for help. I acquiesced.”

It was, of course, a lie. But the Paradisaea was lying, too. There was absolutely no way that they could have known that Alhaitham would be present at the scene, and thus no way for the Paradisaea to pay Alhaitham back for any “favors.”

“...Ha. Hahahahaha!” The Paradisaea seemed to find this hilarious, for some reason. “Alright, I won’t pry into your secrets. My job here is mostly done, anyway. Who would have thought that this innocent looking guy would turn out to be an organization member? Well, we can let Cyno handle the interrogation. Kidnapping is most definitely a crime you can get arrested for.”

“Yes,” Fadhlan said. “‘Kidnapping is a crime’ is indeed something someone with your expertise would know. However, we cannot get him charged for kidnapping.”

“Bold words coming from the one who went missing for a year with no explanation,” the Paradisaea shot back immediately. They sounded offended . “And why not? He did commit the crime.”

“If it was ever leaked that Nahida was the one whom he tried to kidnap, the organization would undoubtedly look into why. If that happens, it would place her in greater danger. Murder, on the other hand…we could definitely get him charged for that.”

“ Murder , huh? This guy has been busy. Who did he kill? Actually, don’t answer that. I’d rather not know. As long as you have it handled, I suppose. Shall we find Cyno together?”

Fadhlan frowned. For a moment, the Paradisaea sounded almost…hopeful. Like they actually wanted to spend more time in his presence. 

Fadhlan could not imagine why. Such a thing was impossible right now, anyway. “Unfortunately, I am very much still considered missing from the Matra, and I would like to keep it that way. I’ve already given the details of the murder to that child, Fadhlan. He can take it from there.”

“... Fadhlan ? Wait a second-”

“Goodbye.” Fadhlan turned off the voice changer and left, ignoring the protests from the Paradisaea.

Barnabas was, to be succinct, not built for assassination.

He was a well respected member of his community. A diviner. A missionary. A spiritual guide. But it was precisely that quality that allowed him to be invited to the gathering that his target was also attending, and it was precisely why out of all the members in the organization, he was the one ordered to carry out the mission.

It was funny, and a little pitiful, really, how the facade of an earnest old man can cause so many people to lower their guards and place their trust in him. Pitiful…but terribly useful.

It made him quite efficient at his job. His real job in the organization.

“Please…please save this child, seer!” The woman, like so many others before her, carried a child with her. 

She was small. Barely out of toddlerhood, really. She remained fast asleep in her mother’s embrace, expression peaceful despite the signs of illness. 

Barnabas regarded her carefully, the very picture of concern. “Oh dear. What’s wrong?”

“She has a chronic illness,” the woman explained. “Eleazar. The doctors said that there’s no cure, but I’ve heard…I’ve heard that you have the means-”

“Ah, of course.” Barnabas interrupted her. “Your sources are correct. I do have the power to cure her. However, it will be a long and arduous process. I’m afraid that this means that you will no longer be able to see her.”

“No longer able to see her?” The woman’s eyes widened. She held the child to her chest, a little more protectively. “But…but…”

“The decision is up to you,” he told her, as he told everyone else before her. It didn’t matter, anyway: anyone who decided to seek him out has already exhausted every other possible option. The ones who came to him were the ones who were willing to pay any price in exchange for his help.

And if she did refuse…well, there would always be others. 

A terrible look of pain came across the woman’s face. She squeezed her eyes shut, before pressing a kiss on the child’s forehead.

“Can you promise that she will be cured?”

“Of course,” he said easily. “I would not ask you to do such a difficult thing if I was not absolutely confident. Please understand that your child was not the first one I have taken in. The ones before her are all leading happy, healthy lives.”

“Happy, healthy lives…” Tears sprang to the woman’s eyes. “That’s all I wanted, for my child…”

“I can see you care a great deal about your daughter,” he said, softly. “Have you made up your mind yet?”

When the child woke up, her mother was already gone.

Like so many before her, she burst into tears. She screamed as she was dragged through the corridors of the facility. Fought as they threw her into her room in her new “home.” Sobbed as they performed their health checks on her. 

Until finally, as so many before her did, she curled up and went quiet.

Really, the assassination was going quite well until he ran into some un expected interference . 

“My, my, you’ve caused quite the mess this time around,” said Il Dottore, climbing down through the chimney, sniffing distastefully as he dusted off his clothes.

“Sir!” Barnabas said from his position on the floor, where the Paradisaea had tied him to the shelf behind him. “I-I can explain. Buer-”

He abruptly stopped talking when Il Dottore pointed his dart gun at his head. 

“I was originally going to reserve this shot for Buer, but it seems that fate has other plans.” Dottore sighed. “You have failed me, Barnabas.”

“Sir?”

“When you carried out the assassination, you failed to make sure that there were no witnesses around. Or did you fail to silence the photographer with the Kamera out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Sir, I-I would never-”

“It’s just incompetence, then,” Dottore sighed. “By tomorrow, the death of this man will be made public news across the city. And that news will have your face attached to it as the perpetrator of the crime. You’ve become a liability, Barnabas.”

“You…you can’t kill me,” he tried to reason with him. “Without me, you will never be able to find Buer!”

“Buer? Indeed, she is troublesome. However, you can be assured that I know her far better than you would. You’ve served me well, over the years, Barnabas. It’s a shame that it had to end like this.”

The darted landed square between his eyes. 

“Please-” he tried, even as the drug released itself inside his system. 

But it was too late: Dottore was already walking away

Chapter Text

“Hey, wait!” Kaveh leapt into action, trying to catch up to Alhaitham before he disappeared again.

The fog was just starting to clear, and Kaveh dashed through it. Glass shards crunched underneath his shoes. It would be a pain to get it all out later, but for now, he didn't care.

His heart raced. Alhaitham was right there. Even if it was just for a second, even if it was just the blurred figure of him running away…he hadn’t realized how desperately he wanted to see him again. 

The staircase was empty as he sprinted up the steps, as were the hallways. Kaveh looked around. He couldn't have gone far. He had to be hiding around here somewhere. He had to-

“Good, you're here,” A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Fadhlan was looking at him from the other end of the hallway. He eyed the unconscious Nahida he was still holding in his arms. His shoulders relaxed, just a little.

Kaveh fought to force down the crushing disappointment in his stomach.

“Come with me,” he told Kaveh. “I need to bring Nahida to Cyno and Tighnari, and I can't carry her by myself.”

“...Oh,” Nahida said, as if just realizing something. 

“What is it?” Tighnari asked beside her. Cyno had taken one look at Nahida’s injuries and ordered a carriage to take her straight to the Bimarstan. Tighnari and Fadhlan had volunteered to accompany her.

“The hair clip I was using to communicate with you…it must have fallen off in the chaos.”

“It's fine,” Fadhlan said. “We can send someone to fetch it for you after Cyno secures the scene in the cellar. It should still be there.”

“But…”

“Don't worry, it's a very mundane object,” Fadhlan assured her. “Even if they get to it first, I doubt they would regard it as anything but a normal hair clip.”

Nahida wrapped the blanket she was given tighter around herself. “I’ve really messed things up this time…give me tonight to recover. I'll be gone by the morning.”

“Gone?” Tighnari frowned. “What do you mean, gone? Where would you go?”

“I've already been sighted in Sumeru City,” Nahida said. “They will be on alert for me here. As for where I'll go…it doesn't matter. I heard Mondstadt is nice during this time of year. Maybe I'll seek asylum there.”

Tighnari crossed his arms. “I still don't like the idea. With your injuries…”

Fadhlan tuned them out in favor of watching an insect crawl along the walls of the carriage. Carefully, he reached a hand towards it and crushed it underneath his fingers. Instead of hemolymph, there were only bits of metal in his hand. 

It looked like one of the Paradisaea’s gadgets…perhaps they planted it while he wasn't looking. 

Fadhlan smirked, wondering if the Paradisaea had managed to escape Cyno’s questioning. He did not envy their position. 

“At any rate, you should be perfectly safe if you stay,” Fadhlan spoke up, interrupting Nahida and Tighnari's argument. “Il Dottore seems to know you well. Since you think your best course of action is to leave Sumeru, he would expect you to have done so. He won't be looking for you in the city where you've already been sighted.”

“Reverse psychology, is it? Even so, Teyvat has a lot of ground he has to cover if he wants to look for me…but as the scientist responsible for developing the drug used to shrink you…if you think it's safe for me to stay, then I will stay. I do have an obligation to fix the mess I've created.”

“Then it's settled,” Tighnari sat back. “Go to sleep. You've had a long day.”

Faruzan and Collei both winced as the bug Faruzan planted was crushed, a loud screech emanating from their earpieces.

“Well, are you satisfied?” She turned to Collei. “Nahida is safe. Do you want to head back now?”

Collei nodded. “Alright…”

She was agreeing with Faruzan, but it was clear there was something else on her mind. “What is it?”

“Well, I was just thinking that maybe we should get Nahida's hair clip for her,” Collei said quickly. “It's important to her! And to me, since I can talk to her with it, and Fadhlan, because we can also talk to him-”

“Well, we can ask Cyno to keep an eye out for it,” Faruzan's eyebrows furrowed. But then again, she wasn't sure she could trust the Matra with her gadgetry. She had spent a lot of time coming up with that particular invention. Not to mention that if someone noticed the similarities between her handiwork and the Paradisaea's, then she could be at risk. 

Faruzan sighed. “I'm going to get in so much trouble for this. Stay close, alright? It will just be a quick in and out.”

“What a mess,” Faruzan remarked as she stepped into the cellar. She frowned at the broken glass scattered all over the floor. “Collei, stay away from the broken glass, alright? I don't want you to hurt yourself.”

“Alright, Faruzan!” Collei nodded, walking on her tiptoes as she entered the room. “I'll be careful!”

It was dark in the cellar, except for a single dim light hanging from the ceiling. Collei looked at the shelves with the fancy looking bottles. They all looked like the adult drinks that Tighnari would never allow her to have.

“Hair clip, hair clip…” Faruzan muttered, some distance away. “Where could it be?”

Faruzan made her way to the fireplace, where the ash and dust looked like it had been disturbed by someone rolling in it.

Collei walked along the shelves. She was not supposed to be wandering off, but she wasn’t that far away from Faruzan. And she was avoiding the broken glass she was told.

She looked at the bottles. Snake wine, dandelion wine, firewater…alongside some labels she couldn’t read. 

She jumped a little as a bottle fell. “Faruzan?”

“Just a second, Collei,” Faruzan’s voice was coming from a different direction. “Ah, found it! Now let’s get out of here before anyone finds out, alright?”

“Alright, Faruzan!” she called, even as she walked closer to the source of the noise.

This is a bad idea …Collei knew better than to approach creepy noises in cellars. 

But even so, something pushed her to keep going.

“Collei? It's not safe. We have to go.”

Collei heard the words, but they didn’t register. Her attention was drawn to whatever was behind that shelf. Now that she was closer, she could make out the sound of wheezing.

Dread filled her stomach. She should get out of there, but some horrible instinct told her to keep going forward.

She picked up a bottle off one of the shelves. She could use it to defend herself, just in case it was dangerous.

Slowly, she walked around to the front of the shelf, and her eyes widened

A man was tied to the shelf, phlegm and blood bubbling past his lips. He was in worse shape than Collei had ever seen him, but it was unmistakable.

Collei froze. 

“Collei? Where are you?”

Collei didn't respond, barely able to hear the words past the rushing of blood in her ears. 

It was him.

Barnabas. The one who still appeared in her nightmares. The one who tricked her parents into giving her away. The one who promised her family that she would be cured, who instead took her to a lab, to that horrible, horrible, doctor, and-

Collei trembled. What was he doing here? How could he be here? She was supposed to be safe . It was supposed to be over . He wasn’t…she wasn’t supposed to see him ever again.

”Collei…” 

The name was barely a puff of air through his trembling, blue lips. There was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes as he met her gaze. Something complicated flashed through his eyes. Then, with a final burst of strength, he lunged forward.

That was what got her to unfreeze.

He was still tied to a shelf, so there was no chance of him reaching Collei, but that fact had been forgotten. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was absolutely not going to let this man touch her again.

Her hands tightened around the bottle in her hand. 

Collei let out a guttural scream and smashed it over his head. "Don’t touch me!"

There was a sickening thud. Then nothing.

Collei just stared, breathing heavily as awareness slowly came back to her body. 

Oh. She watched as liquid dripped from the bottle. Her mind tried to process this. That's not right. She didn't break the bottle. Where did that liquid come from?

“Collei!” Faruzan rounded the corner. She froze at the sight. “Oh, archons…”

There was broken skin where Collei had hit him. Oh…

That stuff on the bottle was blood, wasn't it?

She…had she…

“Collei,” Distantly, she could feel Faruzan wrap her arms around her. Faruzan's voice was firm. “Let's get out of here first, okay? It's going to be okay.”

Collei turned to her desperately, lips wobbling. How? She…she just…how was anything ever going to be okay again?

“Faruzan,” she whimpered, vision blurring with tears. 

(Tears? When did she start crying?)

“I think I might have killed someone.”

“Faruzan, Collei, I’m back!” Kaveh burst into Faruzan’s house. “I just got away from Cyno. I have some news-”

He cut off at the sight before him: Faruzan holding Collei, who was sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder. “What happened?”

“Good, you’re back.” Faruzan gestured at him to come closer. “That man you tied up in the cellar of Pupsa Cafe: who was he?”

“What? I just knew he’s a member of the organization. I walked in on him trying to kill Nahida, so I knocked him out and tied him up. I don’t know much beyond that.”

“Is that so? Then…” Faruzan glanced at the still sobbing Collei in her arms. “Is it okay if I tell Kaveh, Collei? You can trust him.”

Slowly, Collei managed to nod.

“Collei seems to know him.”

“What? How is that possible? Unless…Collei, were you involved in the organization before?”

Wrong question. Faruzan swatted him as Collei’s grip tightened around Faruzan’s shoulders.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kaveh took a seat, head spinning with this new information. First Alhaitham, now Collei. Was everyone he knew tangled in this somehow? “Wait, a second, how did you know I tied someone up in Pupsa’s Cafe’s cellar? And how did you know Collei recognized him?”

Faruzan cleared her throat, not meeting his eyes all of a sudden. “We might have…snuck down there.”

Kaveh stared at her. “You took a seven year old to a crime scene?”

Faruzan huffed. “I let you become the Paradisaea at age fifteen. Besides, nobody saw a problem with Fadhlan doing the same thing.”

“Yeah, but that’s…” Different, but Faruzan had a point. “Fine. What do we do now? If Tighnari and Cyno find out about this, they’ll kill both of us.”

“We absolutely cannot tell them,” Faruzan agreed. “I’d prefer to leave Nahida and that brat you adopted out of it as well.”

There was a moment of contemplative silence. “So we can’t tell anyone ?”

“It appears not. Even so, they deserve to know,” Faruzan sighed in frustration. “Sometimes, I wish our lives weren't so complicated. For now, we’ll just have to protect Collei on our own.”

“Sir, you’re not going to stay here in Sumeru City?”

Il Dottore shrugged. “I don’t do useless things. Buer is probably long gone from here by now, alongside the one who came to save her. She’s not stupid enough to stay in a city where her face had been sighted.”

“Seems that you’re quite caught up with her,” remarked a third voice. A woman with black stripes in her white hair examined her long, sharp nails idly.

“Apologies. We made you come all this way to support that useless subordinate of mine, and got you into this mess.”

“As long as you know,” she shrugged. “Really, to think that I put so much effort into procuring him a weapon that hardly anybody would recognize in Sumeru. It was all for nothing, in the end. Well, I hope you’d keep your end of the bargain.”

“Of course,” Dottore replied smoothly. “The level of chaos that you’re hoping to unleash, well it most certainly will be fascinating , no matter what the outcome will be. I hope you know what you’re doing, for your sake.”

The woman gave a singular smirk, attention still on her fingernails. “Don’t worry your head over it. I doubt you’d weep for me, even if things did not play out in my favor. But are you curious about the identity of the man on the roof?”

“Of course I am,” he smirked back. “I’d love to see his face, and his expression, right before I kill him. Well, then. Will you return to Fontaine?”

“No, I’d like to stay in Sumeru for a while,” the woman finally looked up, meeting Dottore’s gaze with her dark eyes. Her pupils were red in the shape of an “x.” “Things have developed in Fontaine in a way that it will be difficult for me to continue my ventures there, and there are things I’d like to look into here, anyway.”

“My, you sure move fast,” Dottore remarked. “Well, it seems that I will definitely be seeing more of you, whether as the new Arlecchino, or in a casket six feet under the ground.”

Chapter Text

“Alright,” sighed Tighnari as he dragged a tired hand down his face. “The Bimarstan only allows one person to accompany the patient, so you can go home.”

“Alright,” Fadhlan watched the doors to the emergency room, as if he could see through it. “In that case, I will get going.”

It was already dark when he left the Bimarstan. Even so, he took his time going home. 

Nahida had come close to being killed today. If it weren't for the Paradisaea…

He was interrupted out of his thoughts when something came out of the dark to swipe at him.

Fadhlan dodged the strike, before springing up to launch an attack of his own. 

The assailant laughed, as if delighted. He parried the attack effortlessly. “So you can fight!”

That voice, that tone…unfortunately, Fadhlan recognized it.

“You,” said Fadhlan. “Why are you back?”

“That’s rude,” said his assailant. “You’re rude. Has anyone told you that?”

“Answer the question.”

“What, can’t I visit an old friend if I wanted to?”

Fadhlan made a show of looking around. “I don't see any old friends here.”

“Very funny,” said Shikanoin Heizou. “I’m looking for Alhaitham again, just like last time. My boyfriend very graciously offered me a spot on the ship he sails with, and I accepted. This time, my intuition tells me that I'll find him for sure!”

“Is that so,” said Fadhlan, very determined not to get involved in whatever case Heizou decided to get involved in. “I wish you the best of luck, then.”

“Thanks, I got the perfect case for him and everything!” A notification flashed in Fadhlan’s Akasha terminal as Heizou sent him a message from his own terminal. “I came across this not long ago after I arrived. I heard Alhaitham likes to read, so maybe he will show up this time around. I guess I got pretty lucky, huh?”

Fadhlan opened the news article and froze. 

Our Own Archive of Fiction down in a malicious attack against the Akasha.

Damn it.

Alhaitham might like physical books better, but he could acknowledge the useful aspects of the Akasha without being entirely reliant on it. 

He had discovered Our Own Archive of Fiction in his preteen years because he had gotten impatient for the next book in a series to get published and decided to look for leaks on the Akasha. 

He hadn't managed to find any, but he did manage to find someone’s attempt to write the next book in the series. 

The plot had continuity issues. The characterizations had been bastardized. The nuances of the original series had been butchered in favor of more spectacle and blood.

It was, in short, the type of story a teenage edgelord would write.

In hindsight, it should have been his first clue that this was a work written by a fan rather than the original author. He was new to the concept of fan works at the time, and he was unfamiliar with the user interface. 

As it was, he wrote a detailed paragraph succinctly summarizing the issues he found with the story, and submitted the comment in hopes that the author would write a less disappointing novel next time. 

Two hours later, Alhaitham received a reply from the author, detailing all the reasons why he was wrong, complete with thinly veiled insults and ending with a polite request to fuck off.

Thus began Alhaitham's year long feud with kabukimono666.

Over the course of the next year, Alhaitham would leave long, detailed comments on the story detailing every single thing he took issue with every time kabukimono666 published a new chapter, and kabukimono666 would respond in kind. 

Oblivious to Alhaitham at the time, it has become a spectacle to the other readers, who found their exchanges more entertaining than the story itself. This in turn attracted more readers, until kabukimono666 and his number one hater Guest211 achieved minor stardom on the platform.

It all came to a head on the day the actual novel was published. Alhaitham had reluctantly purchased a copy, expecting it to be the same mediocre drivel he had been reading for the past year, only to discover that the plot was completely different. 

That night, he left the following comment on the story:

Guest211: It appears you've taken some of my suggestions to heart, though you did not need to rewrite the entire story.

kabukimono666: what are you talking about??

That was the night Alhaitham discovered he had been talking to the wrong writer the entire time, and kabukimono666 discovered that he had spent the last year fighting a nine year old. 

Neither of them were keen to bring up the incident, but it nonetheless influenced Alhaitham to view fanfiction in a somewhat favorable light, despite the Akademiya’s dismissal of the genre as lowbrow, amateurish drivel. It served as an excellent counter to the physical books he enjoyed reading, for which the writers would need to clear certain prerequisites to even see it published. It was difficult to take such opinions seriously, anyway, when a sizable percentage of the stories he read featured knowledge that was only taught in advanced lectures in the Akademiya. 

If Our Own Archive of Fiction was down…it would cut down his supply of available reading materials by half.

It was indeed a problem. Fadhlan sighed and sent a message to Kaveh. It appeared that he would indeed be staying out for a while longer. 

“What’s your plan?” he asked Heizou.

Apparently, the plan was to find whoever took down the platform, beat them up, and make them put it back up.

“Why are you looking at me like that,” said Heizou.

“I’m just wondering how you managed to win the title of ‘Great Detective of the East’ if the plans you come up with look like that ,” said Fadhlan.

“I’ll have you know that some of the best plans are simple ones,” said Heizou, unrepentant. “Anyway, let me know if Alhaitham comes up with a better one, will you?”

“You seem confident of the fact that I know Alhaitham, I will talk to Alhaitham about this case, and that Alhaitham will answer me if I ask him,” said Fadhlan. “Those are bold assumptions.”

“Isn’t that how your routine usually goes, anyway? The only other explanation…” Heizou trailed off, suddenly thoughtful.

“The only other explanation?” Fadhlan prompted. 

Heizou shook his head. “Don’t worry your head about it! Let’s focus on the problem at hand, shall we? How do we narrow down our pool of suspects in a country full of Akasha users?”

Fadhlan hesitated. He remembered snippets of a conversation he had seen before while browsing on Our Own Archive.

“I know what to do,” he said.

Guest211: I need your help.

kabukimono666: What the fuck.

kabukimono666: Who is this?

Guest211: Cast your mind back. 8 years ago. The Our Own Archive of Fiction incident.

kabukimono666: …

kabukimono666: …

kabukimono666: You.

Guest211: Me.

kabukimono666: I see growing older has done nothing for your manners.

kabukimono666: What do you want?

kabukimono666: Worm.

Guest211: I see growing older has not made you any less of a chuunibyou. 

Guest211: You can track down Akasha Protocol addresses, correct? I’ve seen you do it in an argument with one of your other commenters.

kabukimono666: So what if I can? Why are you reading my other comments, anyway? 

Guest211: Word of advice, if you don’t want other people to read your comments, don’t post them in a place where everyone can see it.

kabukimono666: I don’t need advice from a brat like you. Why are you asking me about AP addresses, anyway? Up to something illegal? I can report you, you know.

Guest211: Aren’t you curious?

Guest211: The person who took down the Our Own Archive of Fiction platform. You were quite the avid poster back in the day.

kabukimono666: …

kabukimono666: So what?

kabukimono666: That was years ago. I don’t even use this account anymore. Who says I still care?

Guest211: The fact that you knew immediately what I was talking about was sufficient for me to determine that you are still on the platform. And most people would ignore messages from people they don’t know unless they expect to be receiving them, which means you still have a public presence on the Akasha. Most importantly…

Guest211 added Little Deer, BalladeerNo6nin to the chat.

Guest211: I know your writing style very well.

BalladeerNo6nin: …

BalladeerNo6nin: Fuck all of you.

Little Deer: The desert?

BalladeerNo6nin: That’s what the AP address is pointing to, but it’s easy to spoof an AP address. All the network traffic is coming from a single source, so whoever it was probably hijacked multiple Akasha terminals in order to use their resources to overwhelm the network. If I were you, I would start with the source of the hijacking.

Fadhlan and Heizou exchanged looks. 

Guest211: That was surprisingly helpful.

BalladeerNo6nin: Ha. Even a god would stop to help a couple of worms if he saw something in it for him.

Little Deer: Which one are you? The god or the worm?

BalladeerNo6nin: You’re an ant is what you are. Is that all you brats need?

Guest211: Yes. That is all. Goodbye.

Guest211 has gone offline.

BalladeerNo6nin: Hey!

Little Deer: Well look at the time. You know how it is. Places to go, people to see.

Little Deer has gone offline.

BalladeerNo6nin: You brats.

kabukimono666: Oi, when are you going to write something? Let me know. I want to rip it to shreds!

kabukimono666 has gone offline.

BalladeerNo6nin has gone offline.

“So,” said Heizou, on their way back home after the Matra took away the Mahamata responsible for the crime. “Who did you think won this round?”

Fadhlan shrugged. “Alhaitham is a no-show this time around again, isn’t he?”

“Oh? Are you sure?” Heizou was suddenly sporting a shit-eating grin. “I actually think he’s standing next to me this entire time.”

Fadhlan felt a chill go down his spine, but he forced himself to act normal. “I don’t think he’s quite capable of invisibility just yet.”

“Oh no, I’m not talking about invisibility,” Heizou knelt down until he was eye level with Fadhlan. “Shrinking, on the other hand…”

“You are making some bold claims, especially as someone who has never even met Alhaitham.”

“Ah, right,” said Heizou. “What was it that you said earlier? ‘You seem confident of the fact that I know Alhaitham, I will talk to Alhaitham about this case, and that Alhaitham will answer me if I ask him.’ You were right. These are some bold assumptions I’m making. Those three conditions would have to happen every time you solve a case, right? But it becomes very easy to satisfy those conditions if you are Alhaitham.”

“Using the conclusion as a premise for the argument is a logical fallacy.”

“But I'm not, see? When you were talking with that kabukimono guy, I saw it.”

Heizou leaned forward mischievously. “Your chat history. You referenced an event eight years ago. Last time I checked, you are seven.”

Fadhlan said nothing. 

Heizou suddenly straightened. “Well, will you look at that! We're already at your house. It's been a while since I talked to Kaveh, huh? I'm sure he'll be interested to know what interesting new thing I just found out-”

“Wait-”

Chapter Text

“Fadhlan,” Kaveh said at breakfast a few days later, after everything settled down a bit. “I have a commission at Port Ormos. I’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow. Will you be alright to stay with Tighnari again for a few days?”

Kaveh asked this question every time he left for extended periods of time. “If I ever answered negatively, where would you put me?”

“You can just say yes. Brat.” He nudged a plate of cut fruit in his direction. Kaveh hesitated for a brief moment, before speaking again, deliberately casual. “I ran into Alhaitham the other day.”

Fadhlan’s hand froze halfway to a piece of sunsettia. “Did you?”

Kaveh hummed affirmatively. “He mentioned being there to help out with that case where Nahida was kidnapped. He said that after he solved it, he left the details to you so you could explain things to the Matra.”

“Is that so?” Fadhlan picked up a piece of fruit and put it in his mouth so he didn't have to answer immediately. 

“So?” Kaveh leaned forward. “What else did you two talk about? Did you like him? Did he mention me at all?”

What a question. “You seem to think that both of us would be interested in talking to each other.”

“Oh, come on! With your standoffish personality, obsession with books, and tendency to run off wherever you want without a single regard for how others think or feel, you'd definitely hit it off! I swear, you act so alike, sometimes I feel like I'm looking at Alhaitham in a smaller body!”

“Is that so,” Fadhlan said again, drily. Perhaps he should put more effort into acting like a child…no, he was fairly sure this was how he behaved as a kid as well.

“Well?” Kaveh asked, impatiently.

Fadhlan stared at him for a moment longer before resigning himself to his fate.

“He barely noticed me,” he said, because it was the fastest way to shut down this line of questioning. “He came in, gave me the conclusions of the case, and left.”

“Did he tell you why he was there?”

Fadhlan shrugged. “I’m sure he had his reasons. I would have thought that he would have told you.”

This was the wrong thing to say, because this was evidently a sore spot for Kaveh.

“Well, you know how he is,” Kaveh said, incensed. “He shows up, does something out of nowhere, gives no explanation, and then leaves. What’s a year of being declared missing to him? Not even a single hint that he’s alive, and now he shows up and pulls this? That bastard . The next time I see him…”

Fadhlan raised an eyebrow and instinctively moved further away from him. At least Kaveh was still oblivious to the existence of the organization. That secret was still safe.

Fadhlan reached for another piece of fruit. “Alhaitham” only appeared for a brief time, in a room in which only two people were around and conscious enough to recognize him. One of them was Fadhlan himself.

He had no idea why that person would choose to interact with Kaveh while pretending to be Alhaitham, but…

One thing is for sure. He was going to kill the Paradisaea the next time he saw them.

“Nahida?” Collei tiptoed into her room the night she was released from the hospital. 

“Collei!” Nahida smiled at her. She was already dressed for bed, and with the exception of a few cuts and fading bruises, she was the same as ever. It was almost as if the kidnapping had never happened. 

Collei marveled at it. She herself had been a nervous wreck ever since she encountered Barnabas again and killed him with a bottle of wine. Faruzan and Kaveh had promised to keep it a secret for her, but…

She imagined Cyno's cold, judgemental gaze on her. The one he only reserved for the worst of criminals and violators of academic integrity. Cyno. The one who cracked bad jokes whenever he saw her feeling down. The one who whispered advice in her ear when she went up against Nahida and Tighnari for TCG. 

Because she was a criminal now, wasn't she? A murderer. Tears pricked at her eyes. 

“Collei?” Nahida sounded concerned now. Collei tore herself out of her thoughts and plastered a smile on her face.

“I have something for you,” Collei walked over and plopped herself on Nahida's bed. “ I heard you lost your hair clip when you got kidnapped a few days ago, so I helped find it for you!”

She held out the small, somewhat battered clip to Nahida. 

Collei didn't know what she expected Nahida's reaction to be. Surprised, perhaps. Delighted, maybe. But definitely something positive.

Instead, Nahida just stared at the object in Collei's hand, eyes wide. 

“Nahida?” Collei's arm faltered a little. “I…I'm sorry I kept it a secret from everyone. I just wanted it to be a surprise…”

She trailed off. Nahida still hadn't said anything. Uncertainty blossomed in her gut. Did she do something wrong? Did she do another bad thing?

“Collei,” Nahida said, slowly, carefully. “Where did you get this?”

“I…” Belatedly, Collei realized that she had no idea how to answer that without exposing the fact that she was in the cellar. “I picked it up! It was on the floor, so…”

“Collei.” Nahida said, like she was trying hard not to freak out. It was obvious that she didn’t believe her. “You went to the cellar of Pupsa Cafe, didn’t you?”

She said this like it was a statement rather than a question. Collei felt her blood freeze. 

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Nahida was quick to reassure her, effectively distracting her from her rapidly spiraling thoughts. “You’re not in trouble, alright? I know you were trying to do a good thing. I’m not mad at you.”

I know you were trying to do a good thing .

Just like that, the dam broke. Because Nahida had believed in her so much, believed in her goodness so much, that even when she had no idea what happened in the cellar, she had trusted Collei to act with the best of intentions when she had…she had…

Her expression crumpled. “Nahida…I have to tell you something.”

Nahida’s eyes widened. “What is it, Collei?”

“You have to promise not to tell anyone else.”

“Not even Tighnari?”

Collei nodded.

“Alright…I promise,” Nahida gave an encouraging smile. “Go on, Collei.”

Collei told her everything. Nahida listened silently as she recounted deciding to head down to the cellar, finding Barnabas tied to one of the shelves. The terror and fury at seeing him again. How he had told her mother that she was going to be taken away to be treated for her Eleazar, and instead locked her in a room to be experimented on by that Doctor. How she was finally found by the Knights of Favionius, all the way in Mondstadt. How she managed to escape by pretending to be dead. 

How she killed Barnabas in a fit of blind panic. 

Some parts were easy to get through. Some parts she could get through if she pretended that she was talking about another person. And some parts she couldn’t get through at all without collapsing into breathless, uncontrollable sobs. 

Nahida was silent throughout the whole thing, eyes wide with horror and sympathy and a sort of guilt that Collei couldn't quite understand. “Collei, is it alright if I hug you?”

Collei nodded. Talking about it with Nahida made the guilt easier to swallow, but she was exhausted. Nahida wrapped her arms around her and they shifted so that Collei was settled next to her underneath the covers.

“It's not your fault,” Nahida said finally. “Barnabas was a horrible man who's hurt many people. Either someone else would have gotten to him later, or he was going to die never facing justice for his crimes. You never even meant to kill him, right? It's natural to react badly when you see someone who's hurt you again.”

“You really think so?” Collei said, voice small. Nahida nodded. 

“That being said…it's very dangerous, what you did. Promise me that you won't try to do anything like this again.”

Collei nodded sleepily, both blissfully unaware of the fact that Tighnari was wide awake in the next room, writing quill having frozen halfway to the page, having heard the whole thing.

His sensitive ears twitched.

Well, shit, how was he supposed to finish this paper now ?

“Welcome back,” said Tighnari drily as he opened the door to let Fadhlan and Kaveh through. 

“Hey,” said Kaveh. “Thanks again for watching over Fadhlan for me.”

“It's no problem,” said Tighnari, at the same time Fadhlan said, “I don't recall ever mentioning I need to be watched. Don't pin your self-imposed responsibilities onto me.”

“I guess I'll leave you with the Matra the next time you run into a murder,” Kaveh shot back. To Tighnari he said, “Anyway, here's his stuff. How's Nahida?”

“She's recovering well,” Tighnari’s voice lowered. “I need to talk to you about that, actually.”

Without preamble, Tighnari dragged him to his room and shut the door with a definitive click , effectively cornering Kaveh.

“I know that Collei snuck into the crime scene,” he said, crossing his arms in a manner that suggested that he was about to initiate an execution rather than a conversation. “I know that she killed someone. And I know that she did all that while you were supposed to be watching her.”

Fuck.

“Where did you even go?” Tighnari demanded, after he had thoroughly ripped apart Kaveh's life choices, career, ancestors, appearance, intelligence, and personality.

“Well…” Kaveh wondered what Tighnari would say if he found out that he also moonlighted as the Paradisaea when he was not busy being an architect. Kaveh resolved to never let Tighnari have that ammunition. “I…uh…I had a stomach ache.”

It was not the best excuse Kaveh had ever made, and definitely not the one that left him with the most dignity. Nonetheless, it was hopefully enough for Tighnari to back off. Most people did not like discussing things like stomach problems.

Unfortunately, Tighnari was in the Amurta Darshan, so it was his job to discuss things like stomach problems. His anger was replaced by concern. “It was that bad?”

“Well, it was food poisoning, so I got better after I got everything out of my system. It wasn't that serious.” Kaveh laughed nervously. 

“Even so, you shouldn't neglect your health. Did you drink plenty of water? Stick to bland foods? Did you figure out what caused it?”

“Well…” Kaveh took it back. He didn't owe Faruzan anything after taking on the brunt of Tighnari's wrath for her.

“Fadhlan,” Cyno greeted at dinner that night, after Kaveh finally escaped Tighnari's clutches and left for Port Ormos. “It's nice to see you here.”

“Cyno,” Fadhlan returned. He had a thick tome open on the table, which he was flipping through while shoveling food into his mouth with his other hand. 

“Don't read on the table,” Tighnari commanded. “Or else I'm making you finish your soup.”

Fadhlan eyed the bowl Tighnari was holding menacingly out to him. 

“I’d like to see you try.” But he did put away his book. It was a reread, anyway, but he had promised to read BalladeerNo6nin’s more recent works as a sort of thank you for his help and he wasn't about to nitpick his latest work without cited sources. 

 “Thank you,” Tighnari put the bowl down. “Anyway, Cyno, any progress on the case?”

Even without further clarification, everyone understood what Tighnari was asking. There was, after all, only one case that was on everyone's mind.

“The primary suspect for both the murder and the kidnapping is dead, as you know. The autopsy results came back earlier today, and we found poison in his system, but there was a wound to the head as well that suggested that blunt force trauma could be what killed him instead.”

Cyno trailed off. In the corner of his eye, Fadhlan noticed that Collei had gone very, very still. 

“Are you alright, Collei?” Cyno asked, not unkindly.

“I…” Collei wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. “I'm fine.”

Nahida took Collei's hand and squeezed it. 

Fadhlan narrowed his eyes. There was something going on here…

“But did you find out any information about the kidnapper's identity?” Tighnari prompted. 

Nahida startled a little bit, like she wasn't expecting Tighnari to butt in. 

But Tighnari already knew about who the kidnapper was, more so than Cyno would. Just a distraction, then.

Fadhlan watched as Cyno started talking about how despite it being an open and shut case, they could not figure out a motive for the crime. How there was some evidence of organized crime as well, and that further investigation would be necessary. 

The whole time, Cyno kept his eye on Collei, who was gripping her spoon hard as she looked down at her bowl of soup, not eating anything. 

Nahida quickly interrupted, clearly sensing the souring mood. “Why don't you tell us some of your new jokes, Cyno?”

“Do not-” Tighnari started hissing, but it was too late. 

Cyno immediately brightened. “I'm glad you asked. I will always Nahida request from you.”

Nahida gave a giggle, while everyone else stared in silence.

Cyno continued, satisfied that at least one member of his audience has taste. 

“Do you get it? Because the last two syllables of Nahida's name sound like the word heed , and Nahida's the person who requested the jokes…”

After dinner, Cyno and Fadhlan both decided to go for a walk. At the same time. On the same road. Right next to each other.

“So,” said Cyno, once they were out of earshot.

“So,” said Fadhlan. 

“You caught it too, didn't you? The way Collei reacted when I mentioned the case.”

“And I assume you also noticed that Nahida and Tighnari was in on whatever secret Collei was trying to keep.”

Cyno nodded. “I trust Tighnari, and as his boyfriend, I want to respect his privacy. Nonetheless, if he has information on this case, I need to know.”

“I suppose that's why you're asking for my help. Also, boyfriend? ”

Cyno waved away the question. “Yes, yes, Tighnari and I are dating now. Anyway, after going over the evidence, I have a few guesses of my own, but as a witness, I was hoping you'd have more insights.”

So the two of them finally bit the bullet. “Start with what you know, then. I dislike giving redundant information.”

Chapter Text

“You are the Paradisaea, right?”

Faruzan, who was in the middle of sipping her chai, promptly choked on it.

“What?” She wheezed. “What gave you that idea?”

Collei looked up from her worksheet. She could do addition of numbers that summed up to above ten now. Faruzan thought with satisfaction that it wouldn't be long before she became the new mathematical genius of Haravatat. “I thought about it and I figured it out! Senior Faruzan is super cool, knows how to disguise, and can get in and out of places without getting caught, just like the Paradisaea!”

Collei thought she was cool? Wait, that was not important right now. “Collei, you're making great observations, but there's a flaw in your logic. Can you try and find what it is?”

Collei scrunched up her nose. “Um…”

“Try and break it down into simple statements,” she urged. “‘I am cool, the Paradisaea is cool…’”

“Oh, I get it!” Collei's eyes lit up. “You are a person who is cool, and the Paradisaea is cool, but that doesn't mean that you're the Paradisaea, because there could be a lot of people who are cool!”

Faruzan huffed up with pride. Her student was so smart! “That's right!”

“But, does that mean that the Paradisaea is either you or Kaveh?” Collei questioned. “Because he's also cool, knows how to disguise, and can get in and out of places, and you two are the only ones I know who can do that.”

Faruzan gave up. She was no match for this child. “Just don't tell anybody, alright?”

Kaveh woke up tied to a chair, and admitted to himself that he had been supremely stupid.

But hey, if an innocent looking kid approached you asking for help, and pointed in the direction of a dark, shady alleyway, what was he going to say, no ? He might be a criminal, but he wasn't heartless . 

Still, it was a little bit embarrassing to have been knocked unconscious by a kid holding a claymore, and a little bit more embarrassing when it had been obvious that the kid didn’t even know how to use it. 

Kaveh tested his bonds. They were sturdy, but whoever tied him up had not bothered tying his legs. Clearly, whoever did this was an amateur. He could at least take comfort in the fact that it was probably just normal kidnappers, and not the work of the organization he was fighting against. 

Speaking of which…

“Hi, mister!” the kid who had led him into the dark alleyway said. “You’re awake! How do you feel?”

“Uh,” Kaveh said intelligently. His head was pounding a little bit, but otherwise, he seemed fine.

The kid’s eyes widened, “Oh, no. You’re bleeding from the head a little bit. Hey, do we still have some of the bandages left? The nice man’s head is bleeding!”

Turning back to him, the kid gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, we swear we didn’t mean to hit you in the head that hard! Don’t worry: I’m very good at patching people up! You’ll be fine in no time!”

“Uh,” said Kaveh again. “Thanks?”

The kid nodded, “You’re welcome!” 

The girl passed him a roll of bandages, and the boy went to work wrapping it around Kaveh’s head. Kaveh had to admit it: the kid’s not bad at first aid. But all of that led to more questions.

“Why am I here?” Kaveh decided to ask the most pressing one.

“Oh, we're holding you here as bait,” said the boy, as if he were discussing the weather. “Would you like some water?” 

The boy's name was Lyney, and the girl’s name was Lynette, and the quiet kid who knocked him out was named Freminet. They were kids from Fontaine who ran away from their orphanage and stowed away on a boat to Sumeru. 

“It’s not safe to stay at our orphanage any longer,” said Lyney, his eyes flicking nervously to the side. “And we didn't want to live on the streets again, not knowing where our next meal is going to come from. We heard that there's free education and healthcare in Sumeru, so here we are!”

“Oh,” Kaveh felt his annoyance fading. He had been to Fontaine a few times: his mother had settled in quite comfortably there, after all. He hadn't bothered to learn much about the government, and how badly it could fail its citizens, taken by the architectural beauty as he was. Did they really not have any sort of social service for orphaned children at risk of being homeless?

But even so… “But what does that have to do with me?”

At that, the kids turned apologetic. Lyney pulled out a wrinkled poster out of his pocket. “We came across this when we first arrived in Port Ormos. We did some research, and…well, we kidnapped you so we can use you as bait so we can get the reward money.”

Lyney held the poster in front of Kaveh so he could read it. 

Missing Person: Alhaitham. Reward: 1,000,000 mora. 

Kaveh held back a groan. What the fuck were they feeding kids in Fontaine?

“I know that this is supposed to be a secret,” said Collei. “But maybe things won't go badly if you tell other people. I thought Cyno was going to lock me in jail after he found out that I smashed a bottle over someone's head, but he was super nice about it!”

Faruzan stared at her.

“Oh,” Collei slid lower in her seat. “I forgot to tell you. Everyone found out about that.”

Faruzan counted to ten in her head. “Who exactly is everyone?” 

“Well…”

“Collei, can we talk?” Cyno asked her after he and Fadhlan came back from their “walk.”

“Huh?” Collei jumped a little. “Oh, alright.”

She followed Cyno and Fadhlan to an empty room. 

Cyno waited until she was properly seated to drop the bomb. “I know you snuck down into the cellar of Pupsa Café and smashed a bottle on someone's head on the day Nahida was kidnapped.”

Collei froze. 

“You're not in trouble,” Cyno said quickly. “Well, you are, but…”

“Cyno,” Fadhlan interrupted. He was the voice of comfort in this situation and it was clear that he was finding it as disconcerting as everyone else. “What he means is that you're not in any legal trouble. Even if you are guilty of murder, Sumeru has a juvenile court system in place which will be more lenient towards minors. What's more, you're under the age of 8, which means that-”

“We just want to hear what happened from you,” Cyno interrupted. He gave Fadhlan a look at his suspiciously in-depth knowledge about Sumeru’s justice system, specifically the part about juveniles. “And I sincerely hope you are not using this knowledge to commit crimes behind my back.”

“I’m sure I don't know what you're talking about,” Fadhlan nodded towards Collei. “Anyway, please continue.”

So Collei told them. When she was finished, both Cyno and Fadhlan held complicated looks.

“So the perpetrator was connected to the laboratory in Mondstadt,” Cyno muttered under his breath. His eyes glinted, and for a moment he looked like the General Mahamatra that was the nightmare of every scholar that wasn’t Tighnari. “I will have to investigate more into this. As for you, you don't have to worry. I highly doubt that it was the blunt force trauma that killed him. A seven year old’s strength is not enough to kill a person.”

Collei stared at him, then Fadhlan. Was that…actually true? 

Next to Cyno, Fadhlan shrugged. “Don’t stand so close to an easily toppleable shelf of glass bottles next time.”

As always, his face betrayed nothing.

The door opened. “Oh, good, that's no longer a secret,” said Tighnari. He was wearing an apron and his hands were wet from washing the dishes. “I was wondering what to do with that information.”

Collei's eyes widened. “You knew?!”

“I hear everything,” he told her, ears flicking in response. “You should have hit him harder.”

Cyno sighed. “Tighnari…”

“Oh, come on, you would have hit him, too!”

“You can't just say that.”

“You’re not even denying it!” Tighnari pointed out, amused. “Look, he was gonna die anyway. A little bit of brain damage sustained a few seconds before death was not going to change anything.”

“What is this about brain damage?” Nahida poked her head into the room. “Are we talking about killing Barnabas?”

Cyno pinched the bridge of his nose, much like he tended to do when Fadhlan stumbled on another murder. “For legal reasons, I will pretend this conversation never happened.”

“Ah,” said Faruzan, though she privately agreed that Collei should, in fact, have hit Barnabas harder. “Um, murder is wrong. Don’t do it.”

It came out far more half-hearted than Faruzan intended.

Collei nodded vigorously. “I won’t! I promise!”

Faruzan melted. Wasn’t she lucky that Collei was such a sweetheart? “Collei, after you finish your worksheet, why don’t you get ready to go out? I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?”

Faruzan nodded. She had been working on it in her spare time hoping that it would cheer Collei up after everything that happened recently. “I made an entire ruin for you to escape from!”

In truth, the “ruin” was just a room filled with props and spare parts she purchased from the Eremites. They weren’t valuable for academic research, but it was more than enough to entertain a child, and give her practical experience in the field.

“A ruin?” Collei’s eyes widened.

“It’s time to apply what you’ve learned,” Faruzan decided. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you the entire time. All the puzzles in there are within your abilities to solve. Isn’t this more fun than being cooped up inside a stuffy classroom?”

“So, uh,” Kaveh said, sitting in the chair out of curiosity rather than anything else. “How are you contacting Alhaitham about my ransom?”

The three kids exchanged looks. 

Kaveh hesitated. “You did contact Alhaitham about my ransom, right?”

Silence. 

“Wait, then how is he going to know that I’ve been kidnapped?”

“Well, we kind of thought that he would just…figure it out. Because he’s a detective?” Lyney trailed off lamely.

Kaveh stared. Then he started freeing his arms from his restraints. “I'm taking you kids to the Matra. Don’t worry, I won’t tell them about the kidnapping attempt.”

“Wait!” Lyney said, a trace of panic coloring his words. “You can’t. We don’t have proper entry documents. They’ll send us back to Fontaine.”

“I can tell them that you lost the documents in a shipwreck. Don’t worry, there are tons of people in Sumeru without proper identification.” Mostly from the desert side, where the literacy rate was much lower and people can be born or killed in the sands without a single other person knowing about it, but that was an entirely different can of worms. “I’m also friends with someone in the Matra, so I can work with him to get the documents for you to stay legally.”

“How long will that take?” The timid kid who had knocked him out finally spoke up. He fiddled with a toy penguin in his arms nervously.

“It’s hard to say,” Kaveh admitted. “If you’re lucky, a few months. I’ve heard of it taking years, though.”

“Y-years?” Freminet clutched his penguin to his chest. “But…”

“We can’t go back,” the girl, Lynette said, her voice surprisingly firm. “When we snuck onto that boat, we made a decision. It didn’t matter what we had to do, or what we have to go through. No matter what, we are not returning to Fontaine.”

Kaveh hesitated. “Is Fontaine really that bad of a place?”

“Maybe not to most people,” Lyney said. “But the orphanage we escaped from have eyes everywhere, and if they ever catch us…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. 

Kaveh felt a twinge of sympathy. “Then, the whole kidnapping thing…”

“Well, we do need the money,” said Lyney. “If it works out, then the person on the poster will be found and we will be richer. If it doesn’t, we will be caught and sent to jail, which is far away from Fontaine. Either way, it’s a win-win situation for us.”

“Wait,” said Kaveh. “How is going to jail a win?”

“A jail has food, a roof over our heads, and a bed to sleep in,” said Lyney. “How is this not a win?”

Kaveh vaguely recalled a time he was in Fontaine in which a street urchin pickpocketed the pedestrian in front of him. Kaveh, being the good samaritan that he was, pickpocketed it back. The thief had looked completely indifferent when she had been taken away by the Gardes. 

When Lyney put it like that…was that why Fontanian orphans were all absolutely blasé about committing crime?

 Kaveh sighed. “You know that as expatriates, you’d probably be sent back to Fontaine to be tried, right?”

The three children paled. Evidently, they did not know that.

“I’ll help you out just this once,” Kaveh decided, because his life could be defined by a series of bad decisions if he really thought about it, so what was one more to that pile. “If we are going to commit fraud, we are going to do it properly .”

“Then,” Lynette said quietly. “What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see.” Kaveh could make a quick trip back to the shared hideout. He was fairly sure he had seen a gray wig somewhere in there. “After I’m finished up with work in Port Ormos, I’ll take you to Sumeru City. That’s where the Akademiya is.”

And if this plan pissed Alhaitham off enough to actually get him to show up, then Kaveh will accept that outcome, too.

Chapter Text

Kaveh led them to the hotel he was staying at and fished out his wallet for a second room. “Just stay put for a few days while I wrap up my work, will you? There's free breakfast in the morning, and I can give you money for lunch. I'll generally be back before dinner, so feel free to wander around Port Ormos before then. Just don't get into any legal trouble.”

Come to think of it, he did have to leave early the next day…he handed some mora to Freminet, whom he judged to be the most trustworthy out of the bunch. “Here. Money for tomorrow’s lunch. Don't spend all of it on junk food.”

Freminet’s eyes widened at the money that was deposited into his hands. “That…that's a lot. We can't accept-”

“Thank you, mister!” Lyney interrupted, elbowing Freminet for him to shut up. He was clearly the street smart one out of the three of them. “We will pay you back after we get the money!”

What a concept, the thought of getting paid with Alhaitham's missing persons money. He resolved not to think too hard about this.

“No need,” he said, pinching his nose. “I'm not doing this for free, anyway. After we pull this off, I expect you to become respectable, law-abiding members of society, you hear?”

“Yes, mister!” The three of them chorused in tandem, which would have been much more wholesome if Kaveh’s first introduction to them hadn’t been through being kidnapped. 

They made it back to Sumeru City after a few days. Kaveh took them all to the Grand Bazaar. He would have chosen Pupsa Café normally, but his opinion of the place had been somewhat tainted by the multiple crimes that took place in rapid succession only a few weeks ago, so he steered clear of the place.

He spotted Nilou showing some onlookers one of her choreographed routines. As always, her graceful, flowy movements were mesmerizing, like a lotus flower floating in a pond. Her eyes widened as she spotted Kaveh approaching her, and she concluded her dance with a flourishing cadence.

“Hi, Kaveh!” Nilou waited until the crowd had parted. “I didn’t think I’d see you today! And you brought children!”

Nilou was great with kids. The first time she met Fadhlan, there had been a murder at the Grand Bazaar, and her boss, the manager of Zubayr, had been a suspect. She had aided the “sassy, lost child” (Nilou’s words, not Kaveh's) with his investigations, and even protected him when the culprit took him hostage in an escape attempt by distracting her long enough for her friend Dehya to knock her out with the flat of her claymore. 

Kaveh had not known Fadhlan for long at that point, and the boy had somehow managed to convince him that he could be trusted to be left alone in the house if it was only for a day (he had some last minute heist planning to do). Needless to say, Kaveh never left him without adult supervision again. 

Kaveh treated the two of them to a meal as thanks, afterwards. They had ended up hitting it off fairly well. Kaveh was, after all, a great appreciator of the arts, and he had also done some architectural work in the desert. Those were automatic points in his favor. Also, the two of them found his attempts to ground Fadhlan extremely funny, for some reason. 

“Hi, Nilou,” Kaveh greeted. “No Dehya today?”

“Nope,” Nilou sighed. “She's been…busy, lately. With certain other things.”

“Nothing too dangerous, I hope?”

Nilou giggled. “She works as a mercenary for a living, Kaveh. But no, it doesn't seem to be overly dangerous this time. I heard her complaining about how boring it is, too. You know how she is.”

“Ah…good point,” Kaveh coughed into his fist. Dehya had a very interesting idea of what a good time was that would have traumatized a lesser person. Case in point, him. It was one thing to pursue a phantom thief all the way up a domed roof and another thing to grab onto the wind glider as they were taking off. While cackling as they spiraled through the air. She didn't even try to arrest him afterwards, just took the gem from him and thanked him for the joy ride, because “arresting you now means no future jobs for me. Where else was I going to find such a reliable, interesting source of income?”

Kaveh really needed to stop being friends with people who were specifically out to get him.

“Can you watch these kids for me?” He asked Nilou. “There are some things I need to do. I won't be long.”

“Oh, sure!” Nilou turned to the Fontainian trio and smiled. “Let's get you a grand tour of the Bazaar, alright? Let me know if you want anything. I know all the uncles and aunties here, so they'll definitely spoil you if they know you're with me!”

Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet were clearly having the time of their lives by the time Kaveh came back with all the materials to complete the disguise. At least, Lyney and Freminet were. Lynette kept trying to eat the heavily spiced snacks the uncles and aunties were shoving at them and tearing up in pain, much to the entire Bazaar’s collective amusement. 

“Here, have something to drink, you poor child,” said one of them sympathetically, handing her a cup of something. Lynette grabbed the cup and started chugging. 

“You look like you're having fun,” Kaveh remarked. “Ready to go?”

“Mhm!” Lyney gave a thumbs up through a mouthful of fish. “Let's go!’

The four of them took a long detour to one of the abandoned houses on the outskirts of Sumeru City. The children watched, wide-eyed, as Kaveh put on the spirit glue, mask, and wig. 

“How do I look?” He asked them. 

“Wow,” Lyney breathed. “That's so cool! You're just like…you're just like the Paradisaea!”

“Oh, is that right?” Kaveh grinned. It looked off-putting on this particular person's face. He was half expecting the three of them to make the connection, but it didn't matter much in this case. There was nobody they could tell it to without revealing the identity theft they were about to commit. “I didn't expect word about the Paradisaea to reach Fontaine.”

“Lyney is a fan,” Lynette tattled immediately. 

“I am not !” Lyney hissed, a little too quickly.

Freminet frowned. “You're not? But the posters under the bed-”

“Shhhhh!” Lyney clapped a hand over his mouth, looking betrayed. “I just like the aesthetics ! Yeah, that's it!”

“Whatever you say, brother,” Lynette intoned.

Kaveh cleared his throat. “Anyway, in case this all goes wrong, it's best that only one of you goes with me so it would be easier to make an escape. The other two can hang around and we can all decide on some sort of signal to communicate.”

“Oh, we have experience with that!” Lyney nodded seriously. “We used it when we needed to pickpocket people!”

“Which we are not going to do anymore,” Lynette cut in. “Because we are going to become law-abiding, respectable members of society after everything is done here.”

“Hm?” Freminet looked up from where he was fiddling with his toy penguin. “Oh. Yes, of course.”

Kaveh silently despaired. “Lyney, come with me. I need to dress you up to look more like a local so people don't ask questions about your documentation.”

“I have…a feeling about today,” said Fadhlan as he flipped through the latest tome that caught his interest. 

Nahida looked up from her own book to stare at him. It was unusual enough for Fadhlan to acknowledge his feelings, much less admit to them out loud. He much preferred to psychoanalyze himself and rationalize them away until it no longer bothered him. He called it the mark of a good scholar. Nahida called it emotional repression. “A bad feeling?”

“No,” he said, frowning. “Just…a feeling.”

That was when Alhaitham walked through the door.

Chapter Text

Kaveh and Alhaitham once had a debate back when they were both in the Akademiya: was a person defined by how they think of themselves internally, or how others perceive them externally?

Alhaitham had supported the former idea, while Kaveh had taken the latter side. Alhaitham had said that a sense of self is constant and should exist independently of how others perceive them. A person who never made contact with another person was nonetheless a person. Kaveh had teased that he just wanted a justification to continue his hermit-like, bookworming ways, before proceeding to rebut that it was still possible to figure out information about a person by the way they influence the world, even if they never encountered a second sentient being in their lives. If they defined the “other” not as “another human being” but the collective sum of information about said person in the universe, then to any given observer within the universe, a person who left no influence on the world was the same as a person who never existed, since the observer could not be sure that reality before them was real and not a simulation anyway, cogito ergo sum , and all that.

The debate would have continued on, but at that point they had both gotten kicked out of the House of Daena. 

The conundrum before them should have been added as a corollary to their debate from years ago, whatever the conclusions might have been: If a person looks exactly like Alhaitham, acts exactly like Alhaitham, and speaks exactly like Alhaitham: if not a single person could tell the difference between the real Alhaitham and the imposter Alhaitham, and there was not a single clue to indicate that there had ever been a switch, did that make the imposter Alhaitham the real Alhaitham?

“What,” said Fadhlan.

The fake Alhaitham walked through the halls of the Akademiya, being dragged along by someone who looked like a ten year old child, either completely oblivious or completely apathetic to the whispers around him. 

Nahida stared at him, then at Fadhlan, as if to make sure he hadn’t gone and turned back into an adult while she wasn’t looking.

“Stop that,” he said, feeling oddly betrayed.

“Sorry,” she determinedly turned her attention back to her book, though a smile still pulled at her lips.

The fake Alhaitham stopped in front of the Matra’s office. “I’m here to see the General Mahamatra Cyno.”

The Matra guarding the doors replied, stiffly. “You would need an appointment for that. What is your business with him?”

“Oh, it’s for me,” said the child next to him. “I found the mister wandering the woods by himself, so I’d like to collect the reward.”

“So, what exactly have you been doing for the past year?” Cyno's voice could be heard through the open window Fadhlan and Nahida were currently hiding under. 

The fake Alhaitham shrugged. “I was investigating something that piqued my interest.”

“And why have you not informed the Matra of your whereabouts in the past year upon being declared missing?” 

“I have my reasons.”

“Which are?”

“Personal.”

Cyno took a deep breath, as if it was all his professionalism not to reach over the desk and strangle him. 

Fadhlan thought it was unnecessary for Cyno to exercise so much self-restraint. 

“Mr. Alhaitham, it is within your best interests to cooperate with the Matra.”

“If you say so,” Not-Haitham shrugged. 

“What were you investigating?”

“There are things that are too dangerous for others to know, even for the General Mahamatra.”

“Illegal, then?”

“Very,” Fake-Haitham agreed. “But I assure you, my methodology does not violate traditional ethical standards.”

“I will be the judge of that,” Cyno sounded like he was two seconds away from bashing someone's head against his desk, whether it be his or the fake Alhaitham's. 

Next to Fadhlan, Nahida giggled quietly under her breath. “He sounds exactly like you.”

“He does not. ” Fadhlan said immediately, elbowing her to be quiet. 

“Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you, if you can swear that what I say will not leave this room, and that there won't be any eavesdroppers on this conversation.”

There was a moment of hesitation, before Cyno acquiesced with a sigh. “You…child, please leave the room for a few minutes.”

“What about my reward?” The child asked.

“One of the Matra will sort it out for you. Afterwards, you are free to go home, although we might contact you for additional questions.”

“Oh. Okay!” The boy nodded and left the room.

Cyno turned his attention to the fake Alhaitham. “Well?”

Not-Haitham sighed. “And the other eavesdroppers?”

Cyno walked over to the windowsill and pulled Nahida and Fadhlan through the open window by the collar of their shirts.

Fadhlan was glaring at him, for some reason. Perhaps his last meeting with Alhaitham had not been as pleasant as he thought. 

Kaveh should bully Alhaitham over this. He really should. Not even Alhaitham could withstand his own personality. Hah!

Kaveh squinted at him. “...You're the brat that Kaveh adopted.”

“You know each other?” Asked Cyno.

Kaveh shrugged. “I see my senior is still picking up strays when he should be focusing on keeping himself alive. It's a miracle he survived this long.”

If possible, Fadhlan's glare intensified. If looks could kill, Kaveh would be little more than a smudge against the wall, by now.

Kaveh paused. Was Fadlan…being offended on his behalf? Of course, he absolutely should be, but he couldn't help but feel touched. That brat did care about him!

“Cyno,” said Fadhlan. “Have you at any point actually verified that this is Alhaitham?”

Cyno paused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that given the fact that there is a reward out for Alhaitham, there is quite the financial incentive for someone to, say, claim to be him and take the reward money. Have you verified his identity?”

“Well, he certainly behaves like the Alhaitham I knew,” said Cyno. “But I see your point. Alhaitham, I am going to ask you some questions about your identity. Do you mind?”

Kaveh sighed. “If you must, although I would like to remind you that there are not many people with both the ability and motive to successfully imitate me to the point of fooling even those who knew me.”

Cyno went on with his questioning. Birthday, relatives, surviving relatives, cases he had solved, how he had met Kaveh. 

Those were all easy enough questions, though Kaveh was surprised that the question about how he met Alhaitham made it into the list. Then again, he supposed it wasn't every day a body fell out of the sky.

Meanwhile, Fadhlan's gaze grew darker and darker. His hand twitched towards the rod on his belt, where Kaveh knew he was keeping the sword he liked to kick at him. 

“You don't seem convinced of my authenticity,” Kaveh told him. “Tell me, then: what would it take for me to illustrate beyond reasonable doubt that I am who I say I am?”

Fadhlan was spared from answering when the door opened again, revealing Tighnari.

“I brought you lunch,” Tighnari held up a wrapped package. “Collei made these, so you better enjoy it.”

He frowned when he caught sight of Fadhlan and Nahida, then froze when he caught sight of the fake Alhaitham. 

He stared at Not-Alhaitham, then at Fadhlan, then back at Not-Alhaitham. 

“What,” he said.

“Tighnari,” Cyno looked at him like he alone held the answers to his life's problems, or possibly that he wanted to drag Tighnari down with him so that he wouldn't be the only one suffering. “You've come at a good time. You are Alhaitham’s neighbor. Can you confirm his identity?”

“I,” said Tighnari. “What?”

“You seem to think I would make an effort to maintain familiarity with my neighbors,” said the fake Alhaitham.

“I should hope you would have interacted with him enough to know what he was like,” said Fadhlan, pointedly.

Tighnari stared at the fake Alhaitham again, then at Fadhlan, then finally at Nahida, who was trying not to laugh. 

“Well he certainly sounds enough like an asshole to be my neighbor,” said Tighnari.

Once he could safely reveal all his secrets to Kaveh, he would like to use this example as a rebuttal to Kaveh's attempts to get him to socialize more: what was the point of having friends, if they would all betray him at times like this?

“Get Kaveh in here,” he demanded.

Cyno frowned. “He should still be in Port Ormos, no?”

“Send a message, then. We can wait.”

“You seem awfully sure that I'm not Alhaitham,” said Not-Haitham. “For a person who has met me once.”

Met me once?

Fadhlan narrowed his eyes as it dawned on him who it was. He had only ever told two people that Alhaitham and Fadhlan had met, and one of them was still on Port Ormos. 

It seemed that he would have to move up his plans to murder the Paradisaea. 

Now how to expose him?

“You're right,” he said abruptly, changing tactics. “I have no way to determine if you are truly the real Alhaitham, and can only operate off a hunch at best. You have my apologies for accusing you.”

The fake Alhaitham nodded. “In that case-”

“In that case, it would be best for you to come back home with me. Kaveh should be back any day now.”

For the first time, hesitation flickered in the imposter’s eyes, barely noticeable to anyone else, but this was his own face he was looking at. “I don't think-”

“-That he would want to see you? Please, there is no need to be so humble: Kaveh cannot go three sentences without mentioning your name. I'm sure he has a lot to say to you.”

“It's true,” Tighnari piped up helpfully. “He really wouldn't shut up about you.”

“...If that’s true, then I don't have a problem with it,” said the fake Alhaitham, though his shoulders had gone slightly stiff.

“Guys, I think he’s the Paradisaea,” said Lyney, after he had made it safely out with the money.

“The Paradisaea?” Freminet tightened his arms around his toy penguin. “B-but the Paradisaea is supposed to be the Enemy, right?”

“Ah, but now that we’ve escaped the House of the Hearth, we’re traitors to the organization, right? That means that we’re also the Enemy, which means the Paradisaea is our Friend!” Lyney sounded entirely too enthusiastic about this prospect.

“Lyney, your fanboy is showing,” said Lynette.

“Oh. Right,” Lyney schooled his features to be a mask of indifference. “But since there’s no one here to discipline me for harboring sympathies for the enemy, I can continue, right?”

“...I suppose,” Lynette relented, as if she, too, had forgotten that they were no longer living under the cruel fist of Arlecchino. “So what do we do now?”

“I think we should stay close to him,” said Lyney. 

“You just want to spend more time around your idol,” said Lynette immediately.

“Well, that’s true, but think about it!” said Lyney. “The Paradisaea was supposed to be super dangerous and super difficult to catch, right? That means they have ways to avoid being found out! If we follow him, then maybe he would teach us hiding techniques, too, and we also wouldn’t be found out.”

“But what if he gets put in danger because of us?” Asked Freminet.

“Then we’ll simply have to make sure it doesn’t happen! Besides, I heard that the Paradisaea has all sorts of cool gadgets they use during their heists. Don’t you want to learn about how they work?”

“Well, I suppose…”

“Let’s take a vote, then! All in favor?” Lyney raised his hand enthusiastically. “Then we’re all in agreement! From now on, we will be the Paradisaea’s minions!”

Kaveh had to admit, that was well played.

If someone had told him that he would be spending the next three days getting held hostage in his own house by a seven year old while being forced to stay in character as Alhaitham, he would ask if this was the beginning of a joke. As it happened, Fadhlan watched his every move like a hawk, just waiting for him to slip up. Every time he tried to leave, Fadhlan would be there to stop him, citing that Kaveh would be there soon, so it was best that he stayed put.

Kaveh wondered if he should just drop the disguise and run, at this point. Lyney and the others should have gone far enough that he could do it without consequence, but he did promise that he would meet them after this was all over. If the kids had gone back to look for him, then they could show up on the Matra’s radar again.

On the third day, rescue came in the form of himself, or rather, a person disguised as himself. 

“Fadhlan? Tighnari told me that you went back home. Did something happen?” 

Fadhlan stiffened. “You’re not Kaveh.”

“What are you talking about? Who else can I-” The pretend-Kaveh cut himself off when he caught sight of him. “Alhaitham?!”

“Kaveh,” he greeted. He could weep, if he wasn’t so dedicated to his ruse as Alhaitham. Had Faruzan come through, after all?

“You…you’re back. I can’t believe…” The fake Kaveh was getting teary eyed. Kaveh had to admit, it was impressive she could cry on command, though it was a little out of character for him.

“You always cared too much about everything,” said Kaveh, because Alhaitham could be counted on to remain blunt no matter the situation. 

Next to them, Fadhlan stared at them, an indecipherable look on his face.

The fake Kaveh sniffed and put on a smile. “Well, should we take this outside?”

“If you insist,” Kaveh recognized the opening for what it was: an escape.

The two of them walked side by side, until they reached a safe distance from the house. The fake Kaveh glanced at him. Kaveh nodded.

The fake Kaveh made a show of pushing him away. “I know you’re not the real Alhaitham. Who are you?!”

“Kaveh-”

“Bullshit! The real Alhaitham would never say something like that!”

As heads started to turn, Kaveh fled down the road, disappearing into the crowd as the Matra came running. 

Within a few hours, the status on Alhaitham should be set back to “missing” rather than “found,” should he ever need that missing status, for whatever reason.

“So,” said Fadhlan, walking up to the fake Kaveh.

“So,” the fake Kaveh smiled at him. “It sounds like it’s been a fun couple of days for you.”

Fadhlan shrugged. “I normally do not relish in the suffering of others, but in this case, I think this is well deserved, don’t you?”

“As long as you’re enjoying yourself.”

Fadhlan rested his hand on the tranquilizer he had prepared, just in case. “Who are you?”

“Shh…” Kaveh put a finger up to his lips. “Not in here. Walk with me, won’t you? Don’t worry,” he added. “If I had any intention of hurting you, I would have done it long ago.”

Faruzan was already in the hideout, working on another gadget when Kaveh walked in and all but collapsed into a chair.

“You seem like you’ve gone through quite the ordeal,” Faruzan noted as he peeled off the mask and wig and threw it onto the table. 

Kaveh groaned. “Three days, Faruzan. I was stuck in disguise for three days because Fadhlan refused to buy my act. That’s three days of him watching my every move, waiting for me to slip up so he could report me to the Matra. I can’t even sleep for fear of giving something away. Why did I take in that child? All he does is cause me problems.”

“That sounds like a you problem,” Faruzan said, utterly unsympathetic. “Anyway, what happened this time?”

Kaveh gave her the quick rundown. “By the way, thanks for saving me back there. I really thought I would have to spend the rest of my life as Alhaitham, and that I’d have to fake my own death so people won’t question why it was taking so long for me to come back from Port Ormos.”

“You’re being dramatic,” said Faruzan. “Anyway, what do you mean by saving you?”

Kaveh blinked. “Didn’t you disguise yourself as me to get me out of the house?”

“No? I was here the whole time. I didn’t even realize you were in this situation.”

“Then,” Kaveh blinked. “Who was it that was disguised as me?”

“You must understand,” said the fake Kaveh as he led Fadlhan to the backroom of the stage in the Grand Bazaar. “Sumeru has a lot of problems, and a lot of dissatisfaction amongst its citizens. From students from rural areas, to artists, to desert-dwellers in general. There’s lack of resources, crackdowns, epistemic injustices…”

“I get the idea,” said Fadhlan, drily.

“The point is, there isn’t much to be done as individuals. But a great deal of us want the same things. Better resources. More equal distribution of knowledge. Freedom to achieve self-actualization. So some of us decided to band together.”

“You’re part of a political movement.”

Not-Kaveh nodded enthusiastically, taking off his jewelry now that he had a mirror to work with. “The Paradisaea was what inspired us, actually. The idea of a masked figure disrupting normal systems of power, causing general chaos…with an artistic flourish, I might add.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re their fanclub.”

“Far from it. I’m only saying that we use a lot of the same techniques.”

Fake-Kaveh carefully took off the wig, revealing bright red hair underneath. 

Fadhlan stiffened. 

“Anyway, I’m telling you this because we have a Rtawahist scholar in our ranks, whom I’m also close friends with,” said Nilou, taking off the last of her disguise. “I won’t disclose who it is, but she is a powerful astrologist. She didn’t say how, but it seemed that we will be needing each other’s services soon. What I’m saying is: you scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours. What about it?

“Mister, you’re back!” Lyney waved at him enthusiastically.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I was held up,” Kaveh eyed them suspiciously. “You three didn’t get up to anything while I was gone, did you?”

“Don’t worry, we’re upstanding citizens now,” Lyney assured them. “We even paid money for food!”

Kaveh decided not to ask what they would have done otherwise. “Well, have you decided on what you want to do from this point?”

“Yes, actually! We discussed amongst ourselves, and we’ve decided that we want to become your apprentices!”

“...Apprentices?”

“Or loyal minions. Whatever you want! You’re so cool, mister. We want to stay with you!”

“Well…” Kaveh had to admit that he was probably their best bet for staying off the streets, but at the same time, could he really handle another three chaotic children? One was trying enough.

“Oh? Nilou mentioned that you picked up three more kids while nobody’s looking. I didn’t think she was serious.”

Dehya walked over to Kaveh and slung an arm over his shoulder, peering at the three kids, who were doing their best impression of kicked puppies. Well, Lyney was. Lynette was looking as deadpan as ever, while Freminet wasn’t meeting anybody’s eyes. “It looks like the three of them have imprinted on you.”

“Like lost baby ducklings,” Lyney added. “You can’t get rid of us now.”

Dehya cackled. “I like this one! Although, the logistics of how you plan to house them might prove to be a challenge. I heard the Zubayr theater sometimes takes in kids, though. I can talk to Nilou about it. Unless you have an extra house lying around…”

“Yeah, that might be a better idea, actually. Although…” Kaveh paused. 

The thing was…he actually did have an extra house lying around.

Even though their collaboration was long over, the results of his and Alhaitham's research project had been promising enough that the Akademiya had allotted them an entire research facility in hopes that it would incentivize them to continue their research. Neither of them had actually canceled the project, so Kaveh had woken up one day to two members of the Akademiya staff at his front door, deed and a pair of keys in hand.

Kaveh had no need for a house at the time, but he ended up holding onto the property rights regardless, partially because Alhaitham had already gone missing at that time, so the place was going to be given away to someone else if neither of them stepped up to claim it, and partially because Fadhlan glared at him judgmentally every time he tried to sign over the rights. 

Dehya stared at him. “Don’t tell me. You actually have a second house?”

“Yeah…”

“And you forgot about it?” 

“...maybe.”

“Is this what it feels like to be an Akademiya bigshot?” Dehya said. “My eyes have been opened. Anyway, it seems like you sorted out the housing situation on your own. Think you can handle three more kids by yourself?”

“Absolutely not,” said Kaveh, horrified. “Help me.”

Dehya laughed. “Sure, if you let me crash at your second house whenever I want.”

“Consider it done.”

They shook on it. “Well, I’d better get going,” said Dehya, stretching. “I have things to discuss with Nilou, and I’d also need to get to my day job of bodyguarding Dunyazad. I’ll see you around.”

Chapter Text

“So you're the midget Dottore sent me to help?” Scaramouche drawled.

Peruere was taller than Scaramouche even in his teenage body, but out of the necessity of staying in his good graces, he chose not to dignify it with a response. “My name is Peruere.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Scaramouche snorted derisively. “Seriously, why did that bastard send me to help some random teenager, of all people? You don't even have a codename.”

“I will have a codename,” he said. “Arlecchino.”

Scaramouche blinked, then burst into scornful laughter. “ Arlecchino ? What are you gonna do, kill her and usurp her position?”

Peruere said nothing. 

Scaramouche turned serious. “Listen up, midget. I don't know what kind of bullshit you have going on with her, and I don't really care, but since you're still a kid, I will say this once. You're better off not fucking with that woman. Not everyone survives Crucabena once she reveals her true colors, but the ones who did…are sitting in Dottore's lab right now.”

“I know,” said Peruere. “That is why I have to do it.”

Scaramouche scrutinized him, before smirking. “Heh. Don't say I didn't warn you. You're from that orphanage, aren't you? The Housefire Orphanage or whatever. Why not just enjoy your newfound freedom? Getting out couldn't have been easy, so why throw yourself back in?”

“It’s the House of the Hearth,” he corrected automatically. “And as for my reasons…I do not think it is necessary to disclose them to you. At any rate, it would be better off for you to know less, lest you be implicated along with me.”

“Whatever,” Scaramouche sneered. “Dottore must have seen potential in you, if he's willing to lend me to assist you. Or maybe you're just a particularly interesting medical specimen, in which case he sent me here to collect your body for his lab. Don't worry, though: when you fail, I will be sure to put a bullet through your head before delivering you into Dottore's clutches. That way, you won't have to suffer.”

“Thank you for the note of confidence. You're not as heartless as I thought you would be.”

“It's a senior’s duty to look out for his juniors. So, what's your plan? Frame her for something? Kill her and make it look like an accident?”

“Not terrible suggestions, but I was thinking of something more personal than that. Crucabena is someone who likes to be in control. Why not undermine that first?”

“I’ll admit I have a weakness for poetic justice as a trope,” Scaramouche conceded. “Still, you talk a big game for a person with no money, no allies, and no way to get to her. How do you expect to go about doing that?”

Peruere shrugged. “I have already sowed the seeds of discord within the House with my departure. As for having no allies…that's not entirely true.”

Peruere gave him a pointed look. 

Scaramouche glared. “I’m only your ally tentatively . Don't get used to it, midget.”

“Even so, it's enough.” He withdrew a file from the depths of his bag. “I’ve done some scouting around the area, and there are quite a few persons of interest in Sumeru City. What can you tell me about them?”

Scaramouche took the file. His eyes scanned the pictures he had taken earlier in the week. Lyney. Lynette. Freminet. Kaveh. The “Alhaitham” that he was disguised as. A girl with white hair and bright green eyes. A boy with gray hair and teal and red eyes. An Eremite mercenary. A red haired dancer. 

Scaramouche paused at the picture of the fake Alhaitham, and the pictures of the gray haired boy and the white haired girl. 

“Interesting,” a malicious grin spread across his face. “So, what do you want to know?”

Peruere nodded towards the pictures. “I see you’ve noticed the physical resemblance between the boy and the ‘Alhaitham’ that appeared a few days ago. While the Alhaitham that appeared was no more than a disguise by the Paradisaea, his physical appearance is very much authentic, to the point where even close friends cannot distinguish the difference. I’d like to find the connection between them…and the uncanny resemblance between the girl and our very own wayward traitor within the organization.”

“Welcome back,” said Fadhlan drily, as Kaveh opened the door. 

“Wha-” Kaveh pretended to be startled as he dropped off his things. “Weren’t you supposed to stay with Tighnari?”

Fadhlan shrugged. “Things happened.”

“What kind of things? Is he okay?”

“He's fine. He's on a research trip to Ghandarva Ville right now. So I came back here.”

“Oh,” Kaveh squinted at him. “Why do I get the feeling you're keeping something from me?”

Fadhlan shrugged again. “Perhaps if you arrived a few days earlier, you would have been kept in the loop.”

“Hey, wait a second-”

“What is it this time? A destitute traveler, lost in the woods, desperate for mora? A fungus, perhaps, trapped under a rock, that you just had to help, not taking into account that fungi prefer damp and shady environments?”

“That was one time-” Kaveh stopped. “Wait a second. Are you upset that I was gone for so long?”

“Why would I be upset?” Fadhlan asked, the very picture of indifference, which was how Kaveh knew he was very upset.

“Sorry, my mistake.” Kaveh grinned. The little brat did care about him! Perhaps all the identity thefts that happened over the past couple of days gave him a newfound appreciation for the real him. “Seriously, though. What happened?”

Fadhlan gave him the abridged version of events. Kaveh nodded along as though he was not responsible for most of the things that transpired. 

“I can’t believe all of that happened in such a short time,” said Kaveh. “To think that the Paradisaea could impersonate Alhaitham so well that almost nobody could tell the difference…maybe they’re in cahoots with each other.”

“I doubt it,” said Fadhlan drily. “There would be no reason why the Paradisaea would need to disguise at all otherwise.”

“Maybe they just felt like it, like a sort of prank,” Kaveh shrugged. “It is kind of funny, isn’t it?” 

“If it is, they must have a very interesting sense of humor,” Fadhlan said, in a tone that suggested that he did not find this at all funny. “At any rate, it’s more likely that the Paradisaea simply capitalized on the fact that Alhaitham is a relatively elusive figure whose personality was difficult to pin down. The two of them do not need to be connected.”

“I suppose not,” Kaveh watched Fadhlan carefully, but luckily, he didn’t seem to suspect anything. “Did you ever figure out who showed up at the end disguised as me?”

Fadhlan shrugged. “Whoever they are, it doesn't look like they mean any harm. I left it alone for now.”

“I see…” Fadhlan definitely knew something, but Kaveh decided not to push. “Anyway, not that you’d know this since you refuse to actually show up to classes like you’re supposed to, but there is no school tomorrow on account of it being a holiday. Why don’t we do something together?”

“I’m not opposed to it,” Fadhlan shrugged. “What do you have in mind?”

“Are you serious?” said Fadhlan, as they approached Lambad’s Tavern. 

“Look, we have a title to defend,” said Kaveh. He was oddly intense, like he was heading into a battle rather than a restaurant, which was technically true. “You’re good at trivia, so you can help me!”

Fadhlan sighed and let himself get dragged along by the arm. Kaveh always liked dragging him along to trivia nights, back when he was still Alhaitham and the two of them were on good terms, claiming that someone like him needed to socialize, and that this was a good opportunity to actually put all the knowledge he had accumulated to good use. 

This was, of course, ridiculous, since having Kaveh was more than enough to fulfill his need for socialization, but Fadhlan could admit that it was overall not an unpleasant experience, especially since they had managed to break every record in the tavern between the two of them, with the new high scores being so high that nobody could even get close, even when they brought an entire team to challenge it. 

Fadhlan smirked. Eventually the tavern had to make up a new rule banning Alhaitham and Kaveh from being on the same team, citing reasons such as ‘trivia isn’t fun when the same two people were answering all the questions’ and ‘it’s too uneven of a match when you’re playing against the both of them’ and ‘it feels like I’m less of a teammate and more of a third wheel, honestly.’ 

Kaveh had turned red and protested the rule, but the motion had passed unanimously except for two people, one of whom voted against and the other abstained. Staring into Kaveh’s eyes as the two of them competed against each other was not a bad tradeoff, and trivia was overall more interesting when the opposing team actually put up a fight. 

Fadhlan stole a glance at Kaveh, who was still forging ahead, eyes trained determinedly at their destination. While the two of them were both powerful players in their own right, and the two of them both had categories that they were better at, Alhaitham always had slightly better scores in trivia on average. Alhaitham had been a bibliophile since childhood, and Kaveh’s genius was better suited for creating things, anyway. 

To see Kaveh being so militant about trivia, however…

Kaveh had used the word ‘defend,’ meaning that someone had shown up who actually posed a threat to said title, or perhaps had actually managed to break a few of the records. However, Kaveh had always regarded trivia as nothing more than a fun game between friends, and he had never really batted an eye on the rare occasions that someone did manage to surpass his record, saying that it seemed only fair that someone else got a spot on the leaderboard after how much he and Alhaitham had been hogging it, and that he could always win it back some other time if he cared so much about it.

So why would Kaveh care so much about a trivia title this time?

“What’s tonight’s topic?” Fadhlan asked him.

“Obscure words in other languages,” Kaveh replied, confirming Fadhlan’s suspicions.

It was obvious from the name alone that this would be a subject a Haravatat scholar would dominate at, and indeed Alhaitham’s name sat squarely at second place on the leaderboard, only being beaten by the team composed of both Alhaitham and Kaveh before the tavern banned the team, on account of Kaveh being able to speak a surprising amount of Fontainian. 

Kaveh was not defending his own title tonight. He was defending Alhaitham ’s. And it looked like the challenger was good enough to get close to his own score.

Well, it certainly would be an interesting night, especially since there was no rule banning “Fadhlan” from being on the same team as Kaveh.

It had been a while since Kaveh and Alhaitham joined forces on anything.

The challenger in question was a Liyuen woman named Youke. She was absentmindedly toying with a pair of dice while snacking on something that looked like dried Jueyun chili peppers. A white mantle hung around her shoulders, fluttering in the wind even though they were indoors. 

Fadhlan frowned. He could swear the woman looked familiar…

“I’m your homeroom teacher, Fadhlan,” said Youke. 

Oh. Fadhlan had heard from Nahida that their class had gotten a new teacher recently, although he had never actually met her because he refused to show up to class. He must have seen her in passing somewhere. 

“It’s nice to finally put a face to the name,” said Youke, extremely dry. “Care to explain why you were absent the entirety of my teaching career?”

Fadhlan shrugged. “I had better ways to use my time.”

“I should give you detention,” said Youke, while Kaveh facepalmed behind him. “Really, I should. But since you seem to be occupied in other ways, I suppose I can let you off the hook if you can defeat me in tonight’s trivia.”

“Oi, is that really something a school teacher should say?” Kaveh asked, though he was already taking his seat on the opposing team. 

Fadhlan shrugged, “I suppose you’d be worth learning from if you did manage to beat me in trivia. I accept the challenge.”

He walked over and climbed onto the stool next to Kaveh, who was eyeing the plaque displaying the scores. Sure enough, Youke’s name was included among the team in third place, a mere ten points away from the team in second place.

“This is your first trivia game, isn’t it?” Kaveh asked Fadhlan, and it was almost like they were back to Alhaitham’s first year in the Akademiya. “I can explain the rules before we begin.”

“No need, I have played before.” Fadhlan picked up the menu and began to read through it, though he always ended up ordering the same thing anyway. 

“Ah, that’s good. Any good?” 

Fadhlan eyed the liquid in Kaveh’s cup. Fruit juice, not alcohol. Kaveh must have really wanted to win if he was choosing to stay sober tonight. Fadhlan grabbed the drink and took a sip. “You can say that.” 

“Then let’s just do our best, alright? The most important part of the game is to have fun-”

“Kaveh! It’s been a while. And…you've brought a kid.”

The two of them turned. 

A member of the opposing team had walked over. The man was wearing an Akademiya uniform, with the emblem on his hat signifying that he was from Vahumana. Despite his friendly greeting, his smile did not reach his eyes. He looked at Fadhlan like he was the dirt on his shoe.

“Tirzad!” Kaveh smiled, expression polite but equally cold. “This is Fadhlan. I don't believe you've met. How are you doing these days? That nose still bothering you?”

This was in reference to an episode in the desert. Alhaitham and Kaveh had stumbled across Tirzad at one point after he and the two Eremite mercenaries he had hired fell into a sinkhole. After getting the three of them to a nearby oasis, they had parted ways, but not before they witnessed Tirzad have the adult equivalent of a temper tantrum, blaming the Eremites for his misfortunes and threatening to deduct their pay. 

When he started accusing the younger mercenary of stealing from him, the older mercenary broke his nose. Kaveh and Alhaitham were summoned to the Matra’s office after Tirzad finally made it back to Sumeru City to serve as witnesses for the physical assault, at which point both of them pretended not to see, but heavily insinuated that Tirzad was an accident prone individual who was quick to shift the blame onto others who had nothing to do with the incident. The case had gotten dismissed.

Tirzad’s eye twitched. “My nose is fine, as you can see. I'm looking forward to our game tonight. Is he going to be on your team? I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you, just because you're a kid.”

“There's no need,” said Fadhlan. “Trivia is a game of speed. The point will naturally go to who is faster, so how you choose to answer should have no bearing on the outcome.”

The implication being, of course, that Fadhlan did not expect Tirzad to be able to score any points during the game regardless. 

“Fadhlan, that's rude,” Kaveh nudged him half-heartedly. The corners of his mouth twitched, like he was trying not to grin.

Tirzad laughed, like he had told an excellent joke. “You always keep the most interesting company, Kaveh. I guess little Fadhlan here can score all the points for you, now that your friend Alhaitham isn't here.”

Kaveh stiffened. 

“Ah, but I suppose you can always blame his young age if you lose,” said Tirzad thoughtfully. “Although, you wouldn't be able to defend Alhaitham’s position on the leaderboard if you lost too badly. We have a top scorer with us today!”

A murderous aura had begun emanating from Kaveh. “Why don't you return to your seat, Tirzad? I think the game is about to start,” he bit out. 

Tirzad smiled. “Of course, of course…” 

He made his way back over to the other side. 

“Fadhlan,” said Kaveh.

“Hm?”

“Let's destroy them tonight.”

“A character with fifty-six strokes, this Liyuen word refers to a type of handmade noodle.”

“Biang,” said Youke, effectively bringing the score to about one hundred points behind Kaveh and Fadhlan’s team. 

Kaveh admitted that Youke did live up to her reputation. Though the two of them were still ahead by a lot, this was the closest someone had gotten to actually beating them. Kaveh’s team had an advantage in Fontainian and desert languages and dialects, while Youke was better at Liyuen on account of her actually being a native speaker. 

Fadhlan was surprisingly knowledgeable, too, being the one to score most of the points. Kaveh wouldn't mind having Alhaitham's place on the leaderboard be usurped if it was by Fadhlan. That bastard could win back the title after he came back. 

“Final question: literally meaning ‘reading the air’, this Inazuman phrase refers to the ability to understand a situation without need for explanation.”

That was it. The question that would seal their victory. Kaveh saw Fadhlan reach towards the buzzer…

Tirzad made a wheezing noise across the table, lips turning blue as he grabbed his throat. 

Youke grabbed him as he fell, lowering him gently onto the floor, before ordering Lambad to call for the Bimarstan, but it was too late.

Tirzad was already dead.

Chapter Text

Lambad’s Tavern had gone silent when Tirzad collapsed, everyone staring at the dead body in horror. 

Next to Fadhlan, Kaveh facedesked into the table and groaned. “One day. I just wanted one day in which we can go out and nothing happens. One. That doesn't seem like that big of an ask.”

“Indeed,” Fadhlan eyed the body on the floor, then the door, wondering if they could stay uninvolved in the crime scene if they made a run for it now. “I haven't even finished my food yet.”

“I guess this crosses Lambad's Tavern off the list of Crime Free places left in Sumeru. What a shame. It had a good run.”

“Statistically, it was bound to happen,” he said as Aaruv came in with his fellow Matra.

Kaveh frowned. “No Cyno today?”

“We held an intervention,” Aaruv said drily. “He’s still young and new to the position, and his previous position had a lot more field work, so he's used to it, but while we appreciate his dedication to the law, he needs to learn how to delegate labor.”

“Wow, never thought I'd see the day,” Kaveh commented. “What did you do? Shove paperwork in his face and refuse to let him out of his office until he's done with it?”

Aaruv cleared his throat and looked away. 

“Anyway, the victim this time is Tirzad, age 23,” he said, abruptly changing the topic. “A student of the Vahumana Darshan, majoring in indoorsology. The cause of death appears to be poison…” 

He trailed off, looking hopefully at Fadhlan.

“Wow, you’re not even trying to hide the fact that you’re reliant on Fadhlan to solve the case for you,” Kaveh remarked. “Isn’t that bad for the Matra’s reputation?”

“I think we are far past that point,” said Fadhlan, deadpan. “Although I agree that the Matra should consider not relying on me to solve cases if it wants to maintain its legitimacy and place in Sumeran society. Think of the taxpayers’ mora.”

Aaruv coughed. “I will put in a word with the higher ups about better training. Anyway, is there anything else you can find out?”

Fadhlan sighed and approached the body. There was a faint scent of bitter almonds coming from Tirzad’s mouth. Most likely cyanide, a naturally occurring compound found in the pits of many fruits. He walked over to the counter, where the food was still sitting.

The wine Tirzad had been drinking had been one of the ordinary bottled ones. The servers had poured it directly from the bottle before serving it to him. The food he had been eating were all appetizers that were shared across the table.  

He turned to Aaruv. “Test the food and drinks for poison. Test the plates and cups as well.”

Aaruv nodded. “I will have someone collect samples. It should not take long.”

“So…is this what he meant by ‘better ways to use his time’?” Youke asked behind him.

“Hah, as if he would ever go out of his way to look for cases to solve,” Kaveh said drily. “He meant he found reading books to be more fruitful than whatever you have to teach him. The fact that he runs into dead bodies all the time is just a coincidence.” 

“Sounds like he’s quite the handful.”

“You have no idea,” said Kaveh, sounding like he had this on his chest for a long time. “He never listens to me. When I try to talk him into going to school he just looks at me like I said something absurd. Every time I try to do something nice for him, he just insults me instead. And his appalling lack of manners. It’s not like he doesn’t know how to be polite, he just chooses not to be! I don’t know if I personally offended him somehow in a past life, but I swear he has it out for me!”

Kaveh's voice was getting more animated. Fadhlan hid a smirk. Well, Kaveh was not completely wrong, although Fadhlan considered his ability to freely insult Kaveh to be more of a sign of their familiarity than any sort of actual distaste. He supposed Kaveh might not interpret it that way, considering that he didn't actually know that Fadhlan was Alhaitham, and thus was oblivious to their past history. And…alright, he might be more resentful than he would like to admit about Kaveh breaking off their friendship, and was thus prone to lashing out. Deep down. Deep, deep, deep down.

Damn it, Nahida was right. He was emotionally repressed.

“-And don’t get me started on the dead bodies! Archons, the dead bodies. I go to a client meeting, the Matra summons me because there was a murder in the Grand Bazaar. I try to take a break, I hear about a murder in the House of Deana. I take Fadhlan to buy new clothes, a body drops dead in front of me. Do you know that I’ve been keeping a list of murder-free places left in Sumeru City? There aren’t many left.”

“I can hear you,” said Fadhlan, finally deciding to interrupt, “And so can everyone in the tavern. If you consider me to be such a hassle, I can always move out of your house. You were never under any obligation to take care of me.”

“Is that a threat,” said Kaveh. 

Aaruv cleared his throat politely. “I'm sure you can address your grievances in your own time. Can we focus on the dead body, please?”

Kaveh and Fadhlan stared each other down for a few moments longer before sighing and turning their attention back to the situation at hand.

“We’ll have to wait for the results of the tests to come back, but in all likelihood, it’s someone on Tirzad’s trivia team, or one of the servers,” Fadhlan said. “If the poison is in the food, then they would be the only ones with the opportunity to slip it in.”

“Hold on,” protested one of the members of the team. “Why are we being suspected of murder? Why would any of us want to kill him? I don’t even know the guy.”

“Yeah,” added one of the others, the one who had come in with Tirzad. “He is…was my best friend. It’s bad enough already that he’s dead. Of course, I’d like to find out the truth of who killed him as well, but isn’t it inappropriate to start suspecting people because a kid said so?”

“I’d get why it could be the chef, or one of their servers, but his trivia team? Wouldn’t it be against their interests to kill their teammate in the middle of a match? If you asked me, I’d think twice about everything this kid is saying-”

“Or maybe just do your job and stop getting kids involved in this business at all-”

Aaruv was getting flustered. “Ah, that’s-”

“Excuse me, that’s the Vultur Volens you’re talking about,” Kaveh interrupted indignantly. “Famous prodigy? Mortal enemy to the Paradisaea? Any of that ring a bell? If he says it’s probably one of you, then I trust him. I’ll vouch for him as the Light of Kshahrewar. How’s that?”

Fadhlan gave Kaveh a look that promised vengeance. “‘Vultur Volens’?”

Kaveh looked sheepish. “Sorry, that slipped out.”

”And here I thought you learned to control that mouth of yours long ago.”

But it had the intended effect. The suspects looked at each other, muttering amongst themselves.

“Light of Kshahrewar?”

“Vultur Volens?”

“W-well, if it’s both of them together, then I suppose we can trust their judgment,” Tirzad’s friend muttered.

“Tentatively. With extreme caution,” the other member added on.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see my student in action,” said Youke thoughtfully. “Even though he’s never shown up to class even once.”

Aaruv nodded, looking grateful. “Then in that case…please continue.”

A Matra ran up to them with a stack of papers in hand. Aaruv took them, flipped through them, and wordlessly handed them to Fadhlan. 

Kaveh knelt down so he could read over Fadhlan's shoulder. “No poison in the food, but there's traces of poison on the cup and the cutlery?”

Fadhlan nodded, angling the pictures so that Kaveh could see it better. “It most likely got onto his hands somehow, and when he tried to eat something with his hands, he ingested the poison.”

“But that's dangerous, isn't it? What if someone touched the same things Tirzad did, and the poison got on them as well?”

“That is indeed a risk,” Fadhlan agreed. “However, they are eating at a long table, and the only dish that requires eating with your fingers is situated at the end where Tirzad is. People are less likely to go for a dish that's further away from them. The risk is somewhat mitigated by that. Alternatively, the culprit simply didn't care who else died in the crossfire.”

“That's so irresponsible,” Kaveh muttered, almost to himself. “Then, can we narrow down the pool of suspects to just the members of the trivia team? The most straightforward and clean way for a server to kill him would be to put the poison in his wine, but they didn't do that. Instead they had to risk cross-contamination to get Tirzad to ingest the poison. And nobody else has any opportunity to poison him.”

Fadhlan nodded. “That, and the fact that servers would have no control over what is ordered or who touches what food. Strategically placing dishes on the table is not a guaranteed way to ensure only one person eats a certain food.”

“In that case, I think I have a good idea who it is,” Kaveh said quietly. “You figured it out too, right?”

“Of course. Now all that’s left is to find the murder weapon. Tirzad must have touched something to get the cyanide onto his hands in the first place. We just need to find it.”

“This was found in the victim’s pocket when he died,” the Matra held up a bag. A pair of keys, a wallet, and a bottle of pills rested inside. “We tested it for poison. They’re all clean.”

Kaveh took the bag from the Matra, examined it, before passing it over to Fadhlan. “Medication? It’s prescribed too. The instructions on it say to take it before every meal. In that case, Tirzad must have touched the bottle right before starting to eat, so why doesn’t it have poison on it? Unless…”

Kaveh’s eyes widened, then he started grinning. “I see…well, what do you say to getting out of here early?”

“It’s why I’m agreeing to help in the first place.”

Kaveh snorted, “Of course it is. Come on. Let’s show Aaruv what we figured out.”

Before Tirzad would start his meal, he would take his prescribed medication. Knowing this, the culprit prepared an identical bottle, coated it with poison, and swapped out the original while Tirzad was talking to Kaveh and Fadhlan. Tirzad would then take a pill from the bottle coated in poison, which was how it got onto his hands. During the trivia game, the culprit would find an opportunity to switch the bottles back, lest the bottle be identified as the murder weapon.

Of course, this could only be accomplished by someone who knows Tirzad very well, down to his medical history. In an optimal scenario, they would also ensure that the dish that would require hands to eat would be placed right in front of Tirzad, and potentially be seated as close to him as possible in order to swap out the bottles. That person can only be Tirzad’s self proclaimed best friend.

After Fadhlan pointed out the evidence: the poisoned bottle still in the culprit’s pocket, along with a piece of cloth coated in a bleaching agent that was used to neutralize the cyanide still on the bottle, the culprit folded surprisingly quickly. 

It was revealed that Tirzad had once entered an academic relationship with the culprit’s sister. While they worked well together, an accident in a ruin had permenantly crippled her and forced her to withdraw from the Akademiya. Tirzad, for his part, refused to give her any of the credit for the work she had done, stating that the project had been in its early stages and thus she did not contribute anything substantial to it.

”All he gave her was an acknowledgement in the footnotes. A footnote. For the work she risked her life and limb for,” he said, with a bitter smile. Eventually his sister had fallen into depression and tried to end her life several times.

“So I decided to take revenge. I got close to him. Learned his habits. Maybe then he will learn to stop treating people like tools.”

Youke pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know he was not a good person, and I am by no means condoning his behavior, but in general, people can’t learn lessons if they’re dead.”

He bristled. “I-“

”There are ways of handling this that do not also involve the loss of your livelihood,” Youke sighed. “I know you’re expecting to get away with it, but…never mind. I suppose I’ve seen worse.”

”Worse?” Kaveh asked.

”Years ago in my home country, there was an idiot who tried to steal a relief off a building, for one,” she said. “To this day I couldn’t figure out the motive.”

…Wait a second. Surely she didn’t mean-

Her Akasha terminal lit up with a notification. “I have to go,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you, Kaveh. Fadhlan, I will see you in school tomorrow. You didn’t manage to win against me in trivia tonight.”

She left the tavern before Fadhlan had a chance to protest. 

Kaveh turned to Fadhlan. “Let’s head home. I think we had enough excitement for today.”

”And whose fault is that?”

Chapter Text

“So you look like you got put through the wringer,” Tighnari commented as he walked into the General Mahamatra’s office. 

Cyno looked up. He had to tilt his head up to look over the stack of papers currently on top of his desk, and his eyes had dark circles under them. He brightened a little at seeing Tighnari, though.

“As it turns out, the Matra has quite a backlog of paperwork that needs to be filled out,” Cyno said, gesturing to the stack of papers that was not so much a pile as it was a small mountain. “With the crime rate in Sumeru soaring in recent years…”

“Ah,” Tighnari nodded sympathetically. “Fadhlan making your life more difficult as usual?”

“Not all of it,” Cyno sighed. He plucked a piece of paper off the top of one of the stacks and handed it to Tighnari. 

Tighnari deadpanned. “Are you even allowed to hand sensitive information to outsiders?”

“This one has been declassified. Besides, you’ve been listed as a consultant in our records. Technically, all cases not labeled ‘Highly Confidential’ are open to you.”

“Since when did that happen?” Tighnari took the offered piece of paper. “A cold case? It’s from twenty years ago, too.”

“Exactly. Sumeru has always had cold cases, but over the past fifty years or so, cases like these have popped up much more frequently. I don’t know how to explain it, but it seemed like there was some sort of pattern to them. People turning up dead for seemingly no reason, with nothing that could be traced back to the perpetrator. Mysterious fires that very conveniently got rid of any incriminating evidence the Matra might have found…”

 “You think it’s some sort of organized crime?” Tighnari wondered how Cyno might take it if he found out exactly how much Tighnari was keeping from him, or the fact that out of the three kids Cyno regularly interacted with, two of them were victims and the third one was a former member of said organization. 

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Tighnari was under strict instructions from Nahida to keep his knowledge a secret if he wanted his boyfriend to live. Cyno would understand if Tighnari laid out his reasons.

Cyno shook his head. “It’s just a hunch. I’m probably reading too much into it. Well, are you ready for our Tea-nali?”

“Just call it a date, you moron,” Tighnari rolled his eyes but the topic was dropped. “What about your paperwork?”

“It will live to see another day,” Cyno decided. “I’ve already sorted the cases by order of confidentiality. I will have Aaruv hand over the less confidential ones to my subordinates tomorrow. Have you seen him anywhere? At any rate, shall we go? Lambad’s as usual?”

“Yeah, about that,” Tighnari gave him a look of pity. “I heard there was a murder there earlier today. Aaruv was apparently handling the case.”

They ended up eating a light dinner at a nondescript Mondstadtian place while Cyno sulked.

“Mutiny,” he told him very seriously. “My Matra are mutinying against me.”

“They're probably just concerned about you,” Tighnari said. “Running all over the place, trying to solve every case yourself…You're the General Mahamatra now. You aren't an inspector anymore. Havn't been for a while, actually.”

Cyno sighed. “You're probably right…” Though he didn't look happy about it. 

“When am I not?” Tighnari nudged a basket of fried radish balls in his direction. “Those are pretty good. I think I’ll order one more for Collei. She likes these.”

“Those are pretty rad . Ish,” said Cyno, taking one. It was clear that the chef had added more spices to it to fit the average Sumeran palette. Localized cuisine and all that. But it didn’t taste bad even if the authenticity was questionable, so he took another bite.

“Stop that,” Tighnari gave him his patented have-you-tried-being-less-of-a cringe-fail-loser look. It made Cyno’s heart swell with affection, as usual. 

“Speaking of Collei,” Cyno said. “How is she doing? How are her studies?”

“As well as could be expected, I suppose. Collei is a bright kid, so she's catching up quickly. And I suppose I'm doing something right with those lesson plans. I dragged Fadhlan into helping me with them, and he's gotten weirdly invested. I should probably send him something as a thank you present. You wouldn't happen to have any esoteric reading material on you, do you?”

“I do have confiscated books from students,” Cyno shrugged. “Though most of these are banned, so it would be considered an abuse of my authority to give them to him.”

“A shame, but I wasn't talking about those,” Tighnari twirled his drink with the straw. “You have declassified cold cases, don't you?”

Cyno's hand paused in the middle of taking another radish ball. “I do.”

“And you've wanted them solved for months now, haven't you?”

Cyno lifted his fork to his mouth in thought. “I have.”

“So?” Tighnari spread his hands in a ‘go-on’ gesture. 

“Tighnari, you are a genius and my savior,” said Cyno, very seriously. “Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“I know. I'm a catch,” Tighnari patted his hand. “Whatever will you do without me? So? Wanna stay over at my place tonight?”

It was a tempting offer. Cyno would like nothing more than to cuddle with Tighnari on the couch and tell his best jokes to a captive audience (the captive audience being Nahida—he had been surprised and a little skeptical when Tighnari had announced that he was planning on taking her in but she actually laughed at his jokes, which clearly meant Tighnari’s judgment was impeccable as always). 

Unfortunately…

“I can't,” Cyno said. “I have overtime.”

Tighnari withdrew his hand. “So you're saying,” he said. “That you'd turn down quality time with your boyfriend, whom you love very much and just informed was a catch— correctly , I might add—in favor of overtime ?”

“Well…” Cyno hesitated, which was answer enough. 

“I cannot believe I'm in competition with a piece of paper,” said Tighnari. “And I'm losing .”

Cyno frowned, “Technically, it was a lot of papers—”

Tighnari finally cracked. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding!” Tighnari waved him off. “I get it. Being General Mahamatra is hard. Just make it up to me sometime, alright? You owe me a date. A proper one. Not one of these Tea-nalis or whatever the plural form of that ridiculous word is called.”

“Consider it done.” An excuse to go on more dates with Tighnari? Cyno would be a fool to turn that down. 

“What’s the work that was so urgent you had to do it today, anyway? I thought you weren't planning to touch that pile you have in your office until tomorrow.”

“I…have other appointments,” Cyno relented. 

“Other appointments?”

“Ah, Cyno, there you are!” Said a cheerful voice behind him. “Ready to go?”

A teenager with striking green eyes jogged towards the table where Cyno and Tighnari were seated. 

“I've been looking all over for you,” he chided. “Lambad's Tavern was closed because of the murder, so suddenly finding you was much harder. Couldn’t you have left a note or something?”

To Tighnari, he said “Sorry to interrupt your conversation. Are you another informant of his?”

“I’m his boyfriend,” Tighnari told him, eyeing him curiously. 

The other boy’s eyes widened. “Oh, you two are gay! Good for you. Good for you!” 

“Yes,” said Cyno, gripping his fork. “Tighnari, this is Se-”

“Sohtes!” the newcomer interrupted. “I’m just a simple errand boy, really. But I’m apparently very chatty and thus privy to the comings and goings in the streets of Sumeru, so it turns out that I can be quite useful to the venerable General Mahamatra. I occasionally tell him things.”

Sohtes gave him a pointed look.

Cyno coughed. “Yes, he is my informant. And Sohtes, this is Tighnari, my boyfriend.”

“Nice to finally meet you,” Sohtes said, shaking Tighnari’s hand. “I heard all about you.”

“Did you, now?” said Tighnari drily, raising an eyebrow at Cyno. 

Sohtes laughed like he had told an excellent joke. “I can definitely see why you two like each other! Unfortunately, we really do have to go. You would not believe what little Yusuf from the Grand Bazaar told me the other day…”

Cyno looked wistfully at Tighnari. “Excuse me.”

Tighnari nodded. “Have fun, I guess.”

Cyno paid the bill and left. He leveled a look at Sohtes. “Really?”

Sohtes chuckled. “Ah, sorry, sorry. You looked like you could use a good laugh. How are you doing these days?”

“You know perfectly well how I'm doing, considering you're the one who put me in this position.”

“And did I not apologize for it? Technically, I didn't force you to do anything. Just…helped things along a bit.”

Cyno sighed, dropping the matter. “Your intel better be good, considering the evening I'm missing. Your place or mine?”

Eighteen months ago…

Subject #042. 

Name: REDACTED

Sex: F

Age: 5

Status: Dead

Kusanali leaned back in her seat, resting a hand on her forehead. There. That should be enough to throw them off the girl’s trail.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Buer,” said a voice behind her. 

Walking into the room, his usual scowl in place, was her favorite lab assistant. 

Scaramouche stared at the terminal in front of her, specifically on the list of commands she had typed into the console, and gave her an unimpressed look. 

“Really? You didn’t even use someone else’s login credentials? So much for being a prodigy,” he sneered. “What are you even trying to do, anyway?”

He pushed past her and effortlessly pulled up her edit history. Nahida smiled a little, despite the harsh scolding that was no doubt about to come her way. The organization might have judged him to be lesser than her in terms of intelligence, hence the reason why he was delegated to working in her lab rather than given a lab of his own, but his skills with Akasha systems and their equivalents were unrivaled. This was a fact he took great care to hide, lest the organization decide to actually put him to use and drag him away from the perfectly nice lab he could slack off in.

He paused when he opened the file Kusanali had just edited. “Seriously? You’re way too soft-hearted, Buer.”

Buer frowned. “That’s not true. I killed someone yesterday.”

“I know,” Scaramouche said sourly. “I was the one who had to drag out the body. You’re supposed to be the expert on drugs and stuff. Couldn’t you have picked a less messy poison to kill him with? Do you know how many types of body fluids I had to clean up? How bad the smell was? The organization should announce a role reversal day or something, just for fun. Then maybe you can be my assistant and appreciate how much work I do for you.”

“I appreciate your hard work everyday,” she told him, and she meant it. “Sorry for the trouble.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled. Then he turned serious. “You know this wouldn’t throw Dottore off this escapee’s trail, right? That bastard won’t stop until he’s sure she is actually dead. And if he checks the records and finds out that someone modified the files recently, who do you think he’s gonna suspect first?”

Despite his condescending tone, there was a glimmer of worry in his eyes. Kusanali might not know much about his past, but she knew that prior to the organization taking him in, he had been stuck in a run-down, ill-funded orphanage that later caught on fire and burned down (funny how that happened to almost everything the organization got involved in). He then spent several months on the streets, before the organization found him eventually, having fled Inazuma to Sumeru. 

There was no chance of him reentering normal society after that, with the life he had. He and Kusanali had started working in the labs at the same time, when he was sixteen and she was eleven, and the two of them, along with Guizhong, the older sister figure that had practically raised her after her own mother died, had formed…not exactly a family, but as close to one as Scaramouche was willing to accept. 

Kusanali knew she was taking a risk when she went against the organization, but…

Moral compromises were things everyone had to make if they wanted to survive in the organization, but thanks to Guizhong’s influence, she had been raised with some semblance of a conscience, twisted though it might have been. Small things, inconsequential things, like letting a test subject get away, or fudging the data here and there so that the organization would never put some of the more dangerous findings to use…those actions were how she could live with herself. 

Scaramouche sighed, as he so often did when she got into such a melancholy mood. “I'll take care of it.”

Kusanali blinked. “You will?”

“If it will stop your moping, then sure.” Scaramouche rolled his eyes, and Kusanali was suddenly overwhelmed with a rush of affection. The brash teen who had grown into a brasher adult whom Kusanali had long since started to see as an older brother. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I think you're just as soft-hearted as you are accusing me of,” she told him, and he pulled a face of disgust.

“Shut up. I am nothing of the sort.”

“Alright,” she said sweetly.

“...Why are you saying it like that? I'm really not. No, don't pull that look. Kusanali, I swear to the Abyss—”

Chapter Text

“Somehow, when you asked for a favor, this is not what I thought you meant,” Fadhlan said drily. 

The two of them had been spending a great deal of time together lately. Kaveh had gone off on another commission, and with Kaveh refusing to offload Fadhlan onto Tighnari again in the interest of giving Nahida space to recover, Nilou had stepped up and volunteered. 

That was the story, at least. Fadhlan should have known that Nilou had ulterior motives in mind when she jumped at the chance to ‘babysit such a cute kid’. 

Nilou giggled. “Why? I would have thought that being allowed to spend all day in a toy store would have been every child's dream. Are you not enjoying yourself?”

Nilou picked up a music box from one of the shelves and started playing with the lever. “This one's clever, isn't it? How do you think it works?”

“You sound like you're enjoying yourself more than I am. There is a piece of paper with punched holes in it. The paper acts as a dampener while the punched hole on the paper allows the sound making mechanism to work.”

Nilou made a sound of understanding, eyeing it appreciatively. “I'll take it! What about you? Anything you want? I'm the one asking for help, so it's on me!”

You should know that I'm no longer at an age where toys like these would entertain me…” Fadhlan trailed off, eyeing a disfigured looking carving of an Aranara sitting on display. “I'll take that one.”

Nilou frowned. “But that one's ugly.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is that not the saying? You said I can have anything I want.”

Nilou stared at him, then sighed. “I feel terrible for poor Kaveh. I can just imagine it: trying to relax in the comfort of his home and having a demented-looking wooden creature watching his every move. You really should stop bullying him, you know. He's doing his best.”

“I'll stop when he stops giving me things to bully him about. I think this will go well on the coffee table, don't you?”

“There are healthier ways to handle your feelings for him, Fadhlan.”

Fadhlan frowned. Those words sounded awfully similar to the type of advice Nahida gave on the regular. Perhaps they’ve been reading out of the same self-help book.

“I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about,” Fadhlan shrugged. “I'm but an innocent and naive 7-year old who knows nothing about adult matters.”

“Of course not,” Nilou said. “How can I forget? By the way, if I have to fake someone's death in the desert, how would I do it in a way that convinces you?”

“That depends. Assuming you're on the maximum level of scrutiny, a dead body is always good to have on hand. With your skills in disguise, dressing a corpse to look like your target should not to be too much of an issue. However, transporting a body in a climate as extreme as the desert would prove to be difficult, especially if you consider that a human corpse would decay. To sufficiently convince me you would require a fresh corpse, or create a window of time between the supposed time of death and the successful retrieval of the body in which unknown factors would accelerate or slow down the rate of decomposition, making it difficult to determine the exact time of death,” Fadhlan said without missing a beat. “Why? Who's planning to fake their death?”

“Honestly, not sure,” Nilou admitted. “All my astrologist friend can say so far is that a person of familiarity would soon face a Blood Moon in the Great Red Sands. That sounds rather ominous, doesn’t it? It’s good to be prepared.”

“I’m starting to think that your friend’s astrology skills are not as useful as you made them out to be,” Fadhlan told her. “But if you require funeral services at any point in time, I have a few references.”

“You’re ever so thoughtful, Fadhlan! But I’m afraid there’s another reason why we’ve been wandering the city so much lately. Evidently, salvation will come in the wake of tragic death!” Nilou gave him an encouraging smile, looking at him expectantly.

“...And? What does that have to do with me?” Fadhlan stared at her blankly.

Nilou’s smile faltered a bit. “Fadhlan, you’re practically a death magnet! People drop dead just by virtue of being in your vicinity!”

“That’s a bit rude,” Fadhlan frowned, vaguely offended. Trying to deny it would be pointless given the empirical evidence, but that didn’t mean he was alright with people treating it like it was fact. “And this is a rather unreliable way of going about it. Surely there are better ways of invoking that clause.”

Across the store, there was a scream as someone toppled to the floor, clutching her throat. She choked as foam bubbled up her mouth, before eventually going limp.

Indisputably, she was dead.

“Why bother, when this method works so well?” Nilou mused, as Fadhlan facepalmed.

“I have to say, when I said I expected to see you in class, I did not mean that I expected to see you outside of class as well,” said Youke as she made her way towards Fadhlan and Nilou. “I'm Youke, by the way,” she gave a polite nod to Nilou. 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance! I'm Nilou,” Nilou gave a polite smile in return. 

Fadhlan sighed. He had spotted Youke on the other side of the room, but had pointedly refused to acknowledge her presence. “I'm just as surprised as you are, teacher. What are you doing in a toy shop?”

“I thought I might get something for the classroom,” Youke shrugged. “It's not the norm by any means, in Sumeru or in Liyue, but I've read a few papers about the psychology of learning through play. I thought it might not be a bad idea to try it out.”

“How generous. I assume it will come out of your own pocket?”

“I'll find a way to get it reimbursed,” Youke frowned. “Or I would have, had a murder not happened. I suppose I can come back another day.”

“It's just dreadful, isn't it?” Nilou affected a sigh. “To think it happened in a toy shop as well. Won't someone think of the children?”

She said this shamelessly, like she wasn't the one who decided to tempt fate by bringing a supposed death magnet inside said toy shop in the first place. 

“It seems that I underestimated the crime rates of Sumeru,” Youke agreed. “It’s funny. I have never seen you in the classroom for the entire time I've been teaching, then suddenly I can’t seem to stop running into you.”

“Perhaps you should let me go back to cutting class,” Fadhlan suggested. “That might slow down our incidence rates by a lot.”

“And risk my young, impressionable pupil succumbing to negative influences and falling into delinquency? I think not.”

Fadhlan narrowed his eyes. He hadn't exactly been keen on upholding his end of the bargain with respect to actually attending school, but it wasn't like he was given a choice on the matter. It seemed that no matter where he decided to hole up for the day, Youke would “coincidentally” run across him on her own commute and drag him to class by the ear. This happened whether he was in the House of Daena, or the Bazaar. In Pupsa’s Cafe or en route to Tighnari's place. He had even tried the local shrine once. Every single time, Youke had somehow managed to find him. 

The next question in this logical line of reasoning would be of course why she was following him, and how she was keeping tabs on him when she was not physically present. If she turned out to be a threat… 

“Anyway, it seems that we're stuck here until the Matra clears us to leave,” Youke sighed. “We might as well get to know each other.”

Nineteen months ago…

“A vacation?” Taj Radkani looked at the PTO request on his desk wryly. “This is most unlike you, Inspector Cyno. What happened? Stress of the job finally got to you?”

“Something like that,” Cyno shifted his weight between his feet.

“Well, you’ve certainly earned it! Rising to the rank of Inspector like that, and in just a few short years! We’ll be calling you General Mahamatra Cyno soon enough!”  

“Please don’t joke about that, sir.” It wasn’t just his individual efforts that contributed to his rapid rise through the ranks, anyway. He wasn’t humble enough to deny that a huge part of it was his own hard work and grit, but Taj’s mentorship and the sudden influx of criminal cases in Sumeru had helped advance his career by quite a lot. As horrible as it sounded, the cases also gave him opportunities to prove himself, and by extension promotion opportunities. 

Cyno would take staying a Sergeant for a few more years, though, over the rising crime rates. He was sure that Haravatat student, Alhaitham would have felt the same, given the sheer number of dead bodies he had walked in on. 

Taj Radkani had even joked about potentially recruiting the older teen for the Matra, citing that at least that way he would have been financially compensated for his troubles. Alhaitham had turned it down, though, the one time Cyno had attempted to relay these sentiments, on account of “not wanting to invite more trouble into his life.”

He was a strange one, indeed. Cyno still could not be fully convinced that he wasn’t the one committing all these crimes somehow. But while Alhaitham was intelligent and sharp while solving troubles that affected his life, most of the time he was content to laze around and read books all day. In other words, he lacked the motivation for heinous crime. 

“So any plans for your time off?” Taj’s voice cut into his thoughts. “Just some nice, relaxing time to yourself? Or, perhaps, some quality time with a certain Amurta friend of yours?”

Cyno coughed. He knew it was a mistake to tell him about Tighnari. Taj had been entirely too enthusiastic for his favorite protege to have made a new friend, considering how rarely that happened. “I’m going to Mondstadt to visit my senior, Lisa.”

“Lisa, huh?” Taj tilted his head back in remembrance. “That’s the Spantamad student who studied under Cyrus a few years ago, right? You two were pretty close, if I recall. How is she doing these days?”

“She's found a job as the librarian of the Knights of Favonius. According to her, it was a comfortable and slow-paced position, especially compared to the Akademiya life she's had.”

“Sounds relaxing,” Taj grinned. “Maybe I should relocate there when I'm closer to retirement. Mind writing me a recommendation letter, assuming we're both still alive by then? Surely the words of our future General Mahamatra will count for something.”

“If that's what you want,” Cyno shrugged. He didn't really have aspirations to be General Mahamatra, but Taj liked to call him that. At this point Cyno wasn’t sure he was even joking. 

“Still, though…I heard through the grapevine that a rather big case had popped up in Mondstadt. Just the drunken ramblings of a few tavern-goers, of course, but perhaps you should postpone your trip by a few weeks, lest your senior be busy during your entire visit.”

“Is that so?” Lisa had asked Cyno for his silence on the exact purpose of his trip to Mondstadt, so Cyno did not disclose to Taj that said case was in fact, the main reason why he was taking time off. “Unfortunately, the transportation has already been arranged and cannot be postponed. Lisa isn’t the type to do overtime anyway, no matter the circumstances. I’m sure we’ll get plenty of time to ourselves.”

“...She sounds like she knows how to maintain a work-life balance, I’ll give her that,” Taj shook his head. “Well, enjoy your time off, Cyno. Bring back some photographs, will you?”

“Cyno!” Before Cyno could say anything, he was enveloped in arms clothed in purple fabric. The faint scent of Sumeru rose perfume filled his nose. “Long time no see, little cutie.”

“Lisa.” Almost against his will, Cyno felt his muscles relaxing. The sight of his almost-big sister was a welcome one after days of nonstop traveling. Cyno hadn’t realized how tense he had been. “You look like you’re doing well for yourself.”

“Oh, I am !” Lisa lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I’ve planned quite the tour for us both. Mondstadt City might not be as big as Sumeru City, but there’s still plenty to see here. What do you say to some after work-”

Someone cleared their throat behind her, and Lisa finally let him go. 

“On behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I’d like to extend our gratitude for coming to our aid.” The Acting Grandmaster Jean Gunnhildr was a formal looking woman with a serious attitude. “You have my apologies for calling you here on such short notice, and by means of such informal channels, but we hoped that this particular case would remain…off the record, if you understand what I mean.”

That got Cyno to tense up again. Off the record…there were loads of implications that could come from that.

The biggest one was obviously “corruption.” If there were no records of the case, then officers could get away with more misconduct and abuse, as well as forging evidence. Cyno himself had caught many of the Matra doing it, and it had made him deeply unpopular within the force when he brought the officers responsible to justice. If it weren’t for his superior Taj Radkani vouching for him, Cyno was fairly sure he would have been exiled in some back office to push pencils for the rest of his career, if not outright been ousted from the Matra through sabotage. If things could go this badly when it was on record, how much worse would it get if there were no records at all?

When he received Lisa’s letter, part of him considered outright rejecting her request. He was within his rights to: proper procedure existed for a reason and the fact that she was asking for his silence on the matter set off all sorts of red flags in his head. However, this was someone whom he knew well, and who knew him well in turn. Lisa was aware of how steadfastly he upheld his principles, and Cyno knew that Lisa would not put him in the uncomfortable position of having to violate them. Following that line of logic, it was likely that Lisa and Jean had an extremely good reason for requesting this case be kept off record.

“I’ll hear you out,” Cyno decided. “Give me the high level details of the case. The kind of information you are comfortable parting with, preferably. If you want me to agree to keep this case off-record, you’ll have to convince me.”

They sat him down in a conference room in the lower floors of the library after that, before making him promise that whatever he heard must not leave the room. Cyno frowned, skin prickling strangely as he agreed. 

About two weeks ago, the Knights of Favonius received a tip from an anonymous source about a ruin deep within the woods of Wolvendom. A small squad had been dispatched to investigate, and they had discovered the recently abandoned remains of a large-scale illegal operation. The squad then split in half, with one group staying behind to lock down the scene, take preliminary pictures, and ensure that nobody attempted to come back to disrupt the evidence, and the other group leaving to get reinforcements, because this was quickly shaping up to be far, far bigger than what an ordinary Outrider Squad can handle. This part Cyno knew from Lisa’s letter. 

By the time Captain Eula had arrived with the Reconnaissance Company, the half of the Outrider Squad that had stayed behind had already gotten to the disturbing stuff. To be fair to them, they did not have to look far for it.

Discarded needles and medical equipment, holding cells with words carved into the walls, the rancid smell of rotting flesh and various bodily fluids from improperly treated medical waste…all of it pointed to illegal experimentation. Illegal human experimentation.

This part Cyno did not know. Jean looked sickened as she slid over the photos one by one, even though it must not have been her first time looking through them. Next to her, the Cavalry Captain and the Investigations Team Captain both held grave expressions. 

Indeed, it was undeniable that what the Knights of Favonius discovered was horrible, not to mention a violation of human rights. However…

“Why are you asking a Matra from Sumeru for help? As much as I'd like to, I believe that’s far out of my jurisdiction.” Cyno’s leg bounced up and down. The prickling sensation on the back of his neck had not subsided. The hair on his arms started standing on end. 

Lisa set down her teacup. Despite her relaxed demeanor, the fact that she had not drunk a single sip of her tea betrayed how she really felt at that moment. “Well…the truth is…we found a survivor in that ruin. A child from Sumeru. We’d like to get her home, and as the only Matra I can trust with one hundred percent confidence, we’d like you to help.”

Lisa opened her mouth to say more, but Cyno held up a hand. “Wait.”

That feeling of unease…Cyno had not been imagining it. “We’re being watched.”

Chapter Text

Nineteen months ago…

Everyone went instantly on guard at Cyno's announcement.

Cyno reached out with his senses, turning to where his instincts were directing him. Without wasting a moment of time, he charged.

The sound of cursing met his ears as his polearm met a claymore at the last second. Cyno jumped back to avoid the claymore’s returning slash, before diving forward, trying to get under his opponent's guard.

“Master Diluc?!” The Acting Grandmaster's voice came behind him.

Cyno paused, not taking his eyes off the clearly dangerous man. “You know him?”

Jean made a noise of affirmation, “He's the current owner of Dawn Winery, Diluc Ragnvindr. As for what he is doing here…”

“I invited him,” the Calvary Captain's smirk could be heard even in his voice. “Master Diluc’s area of expertise can be surprisingly broad, for a humble winery owner.”

Diluc shrugged. “It's not my fault the Knights of Favonius are incompetent.” Which was a bold statement considering that they currently outnumber him four to one and he was the one currently trespassing in their headquarters.

Jean frowned. “This is highly unorthodox…and somewhat unprofessional.”

Lisa took a delicate sip of her tea. “Let him stay, dear. If Captain Kaeya vouches for him, then I trust that he will be a valuable addition to the team. He's usually accurate in his judgment.”

“I can always count on you to back me up,” Kaeya smiled.

“Of course, I will be there to make sure that nobody leaks anything. If it turns out that Master Diluc did say something he was not supposed to, I know exactly who to blame.” Lisa's languid smile suddenly turned terrifying.

A collective shudder passed through the room. Cyno was abruptly reminded of the look on his school bullies’ faces whenever Lisa got wind of said bullying, back when Cyno was still a scrawny kid and by extension a viable target. Ah, he missed those times. 

The Investigations Captain Albedo stood up. “Since this matter is settled, allow me to take Matra Cyno to her. I believe it's in everybody’s best interests that the two of you bond and establish some sort of mutual trust before you leave the country together.”

Neither of them were the type to make small talk for the sake of small talk, so Cyno and the Investigations Captain exited the conference room in silence. 

Albedo led Cyno up the flight of stairs out of the Library, past the Grandmaster's office, and out of Knights of Favonius Headquarters.

“I would have thought you would have set up a room at headquarters, or the barracks,” Cyno remarked. 

“There are a number of factors that went into our decision to house her somewhere else. Kaeya seems convinced that those who are responsible for trafficking her are still at large and looking for her. For security reasons, we've decided to limit the number of people who are in the know to just you, the Captains and the people who found her for now,” Albedo explained. “It's also for her own comfort. Considering what she survived, it might be distressing for her to be in public spaces, or places where strangers could come and go freely. We decided a more private environment might suit her better.”

Cyno nodded slowly. “Is she…doing well?”

Albedo hesitated, which was an answer in itself. “As well as can be expected, I suppose. Physically, she was in surprisingly good health, but mentally…I don't think she fully comprehends that she has been rescued.”

Unfortunate, but not surprising. Symptoms of PTSD had to persist for more than a month to be diagnosed, but from what Cyno knew about Collei, all the signs were pointing to it. He made a mental note to set her up with a trustworthy child psychiatrist once they got back to Sumeru.

“Thankfully, she seems to have bonded with the leader of the Outrider Squad, Amber, and we are slowly getting her to trust us. The other problem is…well. Her captors obviously didn't consider her development a priority. In terms of physical, cognitive, and behavioral abilities, she was about two years behind her physical age.” 

Cyno frowned. “She will catch up in time.”

“I'm sure she will,” Albedo agreed. “But that's not my point. There are obviously factors that will throw off the estimate, but if we assume that her rate of development was that of an average child's before she entered captivity, and her development halted immediately after, we can extrapolate that the amount of time she spent in there to be at least—”

“Two years,” Cyno finished. His gut twisted. That was practically half her life. 

Albedo nodded, jaw clenched. It was the only thing that betrayed his otherwise composed image. “Since you are a member of law enforcement, I feel obligated to give you this information. However, as someone who will be working closely with the victim, I’d like you to avoid forming any sort of preconceived notions about her before meeting her. Essentially, try to treat her as a person.”

Cyno raised an eyebrow but didn't protest. Albedo sounded like he was speaking from experience, and to be fair, Cyno had seen his share of assholes in the Matra as well. “Noted.”

The two of them stopped at a plain, nondescript house. Albedo had taken Cyno on a long, roundabout route, most likely to shake off anyone who tried to follow them. Albedo rang the doorbell and a moment later, a brown haired girl answered. 

“Ah, you're here!” Her eyes focused on Cyno. “You must be the guy from Sumeru Lisa was talking about! I'm Amber, Captain of the Outriders. It's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” 

“I told Collei that you'd be coming, but she's a little skittish around strangers. Just be nice, alright?”

Collei was playing with wooden blocks in the living room when they entered. She paused when she took note of Cyno, face turning apprehensive. 

“It's alright, they're safe,” Amber smiles reassuringly. “This is Cyno.”

Collei gripped the wooden block in her hand hard, avoiding Cyno's gaze.

“Hello,” said Cyno, trying to appear friendly. It didn't seem to have the desired effect. He scrambled a bit, trying to remember what Cyrus did whenever he felt distressed as a child. “It’s a nice structure you've got there. Don't let me block you from continuing.”

Collei stared at him. Behind her, Amber threw Cyno a look. Albedo smiled a little. 

Well, at least one person appreciated his joke. The others clearly just didn't understand his advanced humor. 

“Get it? Because you're playing with wooden blocks, and the word ‘block’ can also mean to stop something?” 

The confusion in Collei’s eyes only grew. Cyno faltered a bit. “No? Not funny?”

Collei gave a tentative, awkward smile. It was a small, forced thing, like she didn't really understand the joke and was only smiling because Cyno laid out the expectation to. “Funny.”

Cyno frowned, discouraged. This was not the effect he was going for. But then again, he was better at terrorizing students than comforting small children. He suddenly wished he was more like Tighnari. The fox was great with kids, and he wasn't even trying most of the time. 

Amber cleared her throat. “I'm going to prepare some tea. I still have a bunch of loose leafs from my grandfather's collection before he…anyway. You can help me out, Cyno! Collei, are you alright with Albedo watching you?”

She waited until Collei nodded before leading Cyno to the kitchen. 

“You did well,” Amber said as she filled the kettle with water and put it over the fire. “She likes you. I can tell.”

“Does she?” It didn't seem that way.

“It just takes some time for her to warm up to people. You understand, right? You're doing great! Although, your jokes are…quite something.”

Cyno frowned. “Albedo liked them.”

“Yes, and I say this in the most affectionate way possible, but he's a freak.”

“I heard that,” called Albedo’s mild voice from the living room. 

Amber giggled. “Don’t worry, she was way more distrustful with me at the beginning. I think she's had bad experiences with adults in general. It's a shame we couldn't get a kid her age to play with her. Confidentiality and all that...”

There was suddenly pitter patter of footsteps stopping in front of the door, followed by a flurry of overenthusiastic knocks.

Amber froze. “I don't think anyone else told me they're coming…I'll go get it.”

She looked through the peephole, paled, and hurriedly opened the door.

“Spark Knight Klee of the Knights of Favonius, reporting for duty!” An adorable little girl of about five greeted with a salute. Her clothes were tattered and splashed with mud, but she seemed otherwise unharmed. “Klee heard from big sister Sucrose that big brother Albedo is here, so Klee came! Klee would like to report a crime! There's—” 

The little girl cut herself off as she caught sight of Collei. She gasped, suddenly running into the house with great enthusiasm. “Why didn't you tell Klee there was a new girl? Hello, my name is Klee! Let's be friends!”

“Klee!?” Albedo's composure crumpled within seconds. “What are you doing here? And what happened to your clothes?”

“Oh, right!” Klee paused, as if just remembering something. “Klee was playing with big brother Bennett in the woods but then we were suddenly attacked by bad guys! We tried to fight back but there were too many of them, but then an adventurer showed up and beat them all! He was so cool! Anyway, he told me to get big brother Albedo to come and get people to arrest the bad guys while he and big brother Bennett made sure they didn't escape, so Klee came here!”

Albedo paled further at the mention of attacks by bad guys. “And you're not hurt, Klee?”

“Nope! Big brother Bennett protected Klee! But uh, we should probably hurry…”

Albedo nodded and turned to the rest of the room. “Please excuse me. I need to take care of this.”

“Bye-bye!” Klee waved to everyone as the two went out the door. “It's nice to meet you! Let's play together after I come back!”

A little bewildered, Collei waved back.

The moment the two of them left, Cyno turned to Amber. “You let a five year old become a Knight?”

Amber laughed sheepishly. “She's something of a special case. She's been entrusted to the Knights while her mother is away, so we made her a Knight so we can care for her in an official capacity. She's actually very powerful, though. One of the strongest Knights we have, though she could get a little…overzealous.”

Cyno wondered what exactly this child barely out of toddlerhood did to deserve that sort of assessment and decided that he didn't want to know. Mondstadt’s problems could stay Mondstadt's problems.

The tea kettle started whistling in the kitchen and Amber hurried back to turn off the stove. She rummaged through the cupboards for cups and the tea leaves, as well as some snacks. “Klee finding out about Collei will complicate things, but maybe it's good that she makes a friend her age.”

“I suppose, as long as she didn't accidentally leak Collei's location to anyone.” Children were notorious for not being able to keep secrets, after all. 

“Yeah,” Amber sighed, dragging a hand down her face, having obviously come to the same conclusion. 

“Thanks for your help with subduing these criminals,” said Albedo, having arrived at the scene with Klee and several Knights of Favonius in tow. They made quick work of arresting the people groaning and tied up on the ground. “I will have to lead them to the Mondstadt jail, but please remind me to treat you to a meal when you're in the city.”

“Yeah, thank you, big brother!” Klee chirped. “Klee will go with big brother Albedo now because she wants to play with the new girl, but Klee will make a drawing of you beating up the bad guys! I will see you soon, big brother and big brother Bennett!”

“Bye, Klee!” Bennett waved from where he was sitting on a log, injured leg wrapped in bandages. 

The newcomer smiled. “I’d be glad to receive any drawings you make, Klee. I'll see you soon.”

Soon, the siblings disappeared from view, leaving just Bennett and the newcomer.

“Thanks for saving us back there,” Bennett smiled bashfully. “We’d probably be dead if it weren't for you.”

The newcomer frowned. “I'm sure you would have been fine. You and Klee look to be amazing fighters from what I've seen. I just lent a helping hand, really. Nothing too special.”

“Still…we gotta thank you somehow! What about we show you around the city? You're not from Mondstadt, are you?”

“Well, no…” he admitted. “I'm originally from Inazuma, but I've decided to leave the country of my birth and become a wanderer.”

“Wow,” Bennett’s eyes were wide. “You must have seen a lot of things in your travels, then! You gotta tell me about them!”

“Well, if my stories don't bore you, I won't mind sharing them with you…”

“Then it's a deal! How about we meet tomorrow first thing in the morning at the city gates?” 

“Are you sure? You look like you can barely stand.” 

“It's okay, I heal fast!” Bennett was quick to reassure him. “I guess the universe has to compensate for my bad luck somehow, hahaha…”

“Oh? Surely it couldn't be that bad…”

“Oh, trust me, it really is,” said Bennett. “Actually, maybe it's a good idea to get someone else to show you around. Something is bound to go wrong if it’s me leading the tour—”

“Bennett,” the newcomer interrupted. “It would be an honor to have you as my tour guide. Really.”

“Oh,” Bennett swallowed, suddenly misty-eyed. “Great. Thanks.”

“By the way,” Bennett added as the two made their way back to the city, the newcomer supporting Bennett. “What's your name?”

“Ah, did I not tell you? My apologies.” For a moment, Bennett thought he saw something sinister flash in his eyes. But how could that be, when the stranger had saved his life and shown nothing but kindness to him?

“It's Kuronushi.”

Chapter Text

Nineteen Months ago...

It was, as always, rambunctious at Angel's Share. Tavern goers came and went, doing what tavern goers do best, which was drinking wine and getting drunk. Kaeya navigated the noisy straits easily. Tempting though it might be to sit down for a drink, it was not the alcohol nor the intel from the loosened tongues of inebriated people that brought him here tonight.

Kaeya scanned the room, until at last his eye landed on the person he was looking for, sitting behind the counter and wiping glasses with a rag. 

At the sight of Diluc, Kaeya's expression brightened.

At the sight of Kaeya, Diluc's expression soured.

“Master Diluc!” Kaeya made a beeline for him. “One Death After Noon, please.”

Diluc didn't move. “You'll be dead before the age of thirty.”

“Is that concern in your voice I hear, brother?”

Diluc twitched a little at the word “brother.” Kaeya kept his smile firmly fixed on his face. “It's my opinion as a professional bartender.”

It was kind of cute, if Kaeya was being honest, that Diluc thought he was anywhere near professional at bartending. Crepus had always said that a bartender’s chosen drink was a reflection of their character, but even he drew the line at fucking juice. This was why Crepus had also always said that Kaeya was the one who inherited all the Ragnvindr alcohol genes. 

In the interest of not taking a claymore to the face, however, Kaeya said nothing. 

Kaeya leaned forward, like he was about to share a secret of great importance. “One Death Before Noon, then, since I'm expected to die before my prime.”

Diluc's fingers twitched, like he was considering getting out that claymore from under the table after all. “Get out of my tavern.”

Touchy, touchy… “You're no fun,” Kaeya sighed. “Does this mean you won't give me my alcohol?”

Diluc poured something into a cup and slid it over to him. He stared Kaeya dead in the eye as Kaeya took a sip and started sputtering. “Is that grape juice?”

“It’s better for your health.”

“This is not what I ordered,” Kaeya protested. “Diluc, you own a winery. We’re in a tavern. Why are you like this? What kind of Ragnvindr are you?”

Diluc scowled. “Are you here just to cause trouble, or are you actually attempting to conduct some semblance of a productive conversation?”

“Are trouble and productivity mutually exclusive? If I don't know better, I'd think I'm not welcome here.”

Diluc stared at him until the silence turned awkward. 

Kaeya sighed. “Fine, seeing as I didn't get the chance to get drunk tonight, I might as well get some work done. I suppose I'll make my way back to headquarters now, exhausted and disappointingly sober. Mondstadt’s unusually busy these days.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Just thought you should know,” Kaeya smirked and gave a two-fingered salute, turning away.

“Wait,” Diluc called suddenly. 

Kaeya turned back expectantly. 

“The grape juice. You need to pay for it.”

Kaeya rolled his eyes and deposited exactly 213 Mora on the counter. “Keep the change.”

“Cyno, isn't it?”

Cyno looked up from where he was nursing a drink at one of the tables at Good Hunter. He didn't recognize the figure who approached him. 

“I'm Inspector Eroch, with the Knights of Favonius,” the man explained. “I work under Captain Albedo. I heard there was a Matra who arrived here all the way from Sumeru recently, so I got curious and decided to introduce myself. It's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Cyno shook Eroch’s hand. 

“So what brings you to Mondstadt?”

Cyno relayed the cover story he created about visiting Lisa. Eroch made a noise of appreciation.

“Who would have thought that our librarian would have such interesting connections? How are you liking Mondstadt, by the way? Is the food to your liking?”

“It is acceptable.” By which he meant it was bland and he ranked it slightly above the desert rations he normally carried with him in terms of flavor. But it was still good in its own way.

“Just acceptable? I suppose that was fair. Mondstadt isn't known for our food, I suppose. Our drinks, on the other hand…”

Eroch leaned forward. “Might I interest you in some authentic Mondstadtian wine?”

Cyno hesitated. Were Mondstadters usually this forward? He had picked this spot at Good Hunter specifically because it had provided him a good view of Amber's house so he could keep tabs on it without making it obvious to an outside observer that he was in fact staking out the house. He was loath to abandon his post now. “I'm afraid I'm below the drinking age.”

“Not to worry,” Eroch smiled. “The drinking age is lower in Mondstadt. You can get an alcoholic beverage as long as you get a meal to go with it.”

“I already ate.”

“Even better! Alcohol is better consumed on a full stomach. Unless there’s another reason why you can't go…”

Cyno tensed, instincts warning him of danger. His fingers went instinctively towards the rod at his belt.

“I believe you should accept the rejection when it is given, Inspector Eroch.”

Diluc glared down at the two of the coldly.

“Master Diluc!” Eroch's smile had gone very, very fake. “It’s been a while. How's the winery? I was just about to introduce Cyno here to the wonders of Mondstadtian wine, so I might send some customers your way.”

If the looks Diluc gave the Knights were withering, the one Diluc gave Eroch would have started an inferno.

“Angel’s Share already has enough drunkards without you adding one more,” Diluc said, tone icy.

“Is that so? But I heard that Dawn Winery has been struggling as of late. So much so that the owner himself has to pitch in as a bartender.”

“I don't recall what the owner does having anything to do with you.”

Eroch smile turned downright menacing, like a viper that had spotted a particularly tasty prey. “Of course not. After all, you've resigned from your post as captain already.”

Ah, Cyno realized belatedly. Those two have history. He started discreetly edging away. It was best not to get involved in their personal affairs.

“Alright, it's nice to meet you, Cyno,” Eroch shrugged like nothing had happened. “Maybe another time, then.”

And then he was gone.

Diluc stared at Cyno, looking like he wanted to say more, before deciding better of it, turning on his heel and leaving.

“Ah, there you are! And here I thought we'd have to fetch you from the Favonius Headquarters after all. Did you sleep at all?” Kaeya called from his seat as Eula opened the door for him. 

“I got enough to function,” Diluc shrugged. “This better be good.”

The 213 Mora that Kaeya left had been the message. The 2 stood for 2 in the morning, and the 13 denoted a location in the list they had decided beforehand. 

“All in due time,” Kaeya agreed. “We’re waiting on one more person.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. 

“Sorry I'm late,” Albedo said apologetically. “Klee wanted bedtime stories.”

Eula nodded in understanding. This was a perfectly valid reason for being late, as far as she was concerned. “Not to worry, you didn't miss much. Well, Kaeya? I hope you have a good reason to summon us here, considering that you saw fit to host a meeting in my house in such disgusting hours of the morning. I will have vengeance for this, just so you know.”

“Apologies. Drinks are on me next time,” Kaeya promised. “You've heard of the group of criminals Albedo apprehended earlier today, correct? The group that attacked Klee and Bennett.”

Eula nodded slowly. “I've heard something about it, but not in detail. What happened?”

Albedo launched into a short explanation. “After that, I handed everything off to Kaeya. Did you get something from them during interrogation?”

Kaeya smiled. “Yes, about that…they're all dead.”

Silence. The three of them stared at Kaeya suspiciously.

“Well, not all of them,” Kaeya clarified. “We managed to get medical help to a few of them in time and now they're either in a vegetative state or a medically induced coma. All in all, a bit difficult to get information out of.”

The three of them continued to stare at him.

Kaeya sighed dramatically. “And perhaps I should add that I was not the one who killed them. You three have no trust in me.”

“I'll trust you when you give me something to trust,” said Eula.

“I've met thieves that are more trustworthy than you,” said Diluc 

“It's not like you haven’t done things of a similar nature before,” Albedo added.

“You wound me,” Kaeya put a hand up to his chest. “Anyway, Albedo here is in charge of the autopsy, which will take a few days, but in the meantime, I think the more pressing questions are how and why they were poisoned, don't you think?”

Albedo stilled. “You think this is related to…them.”

Nobody in the room needed elaboration on who they were. Everyone's expressions turned grave.

Kaeya nodded. “It's quite the coincidence, isn't it? The Knights of Favonius find a large-scale laboratory base conducting human experimentation, and the day the contact from Sumeru arrives in Mondstadt to take the survivor out of the country, something like this happens.”

The next morning, the Cavalry Captain pulled Cyno aside. “Might I trouble you to stay in Mondstadt for a few more days? We'll cover the expenses of your stay, of course.”

Cyno frowned. “Why? If you believe that there are people targeting Collei in Mondstadt, it's best to move her out as soon as possible, no?”

“Still, there's no guarantee that you won't be attacked on the road. I'm sure you are formidable at fighting, but it's best that we take care of the threat so you can proceed unhindered.”

Cyno studied him. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking under his slight smirk. “Is it likely that we'd be attacked?”

“Who knows?” Kaeya smirked. “Lots of strange things have been happening recently.”

Cyno stared, a prickle of annoyance rising within him as he was abruptly reminded of certain other insufferable geniuses who refused to give straight answers when questioned. Unfortunately, that meant Kaeya was probably right. 

“Alright,” he agreed reluctantly. “But whatever you're planning, I expect to be kept in the loop.”

“Of course,” Kaeya said smoothly, which was exactly how Cyno knew that he wasn't going to be told anything ever in this entire operation. “If anything comes up, you'll be the first to know.”

And then he was off, waving jauntily over his shoulder. “I have some Cavalry business to attend to. The horses won't tend to themselves! Let's catch up later.”

The man lied as easily as he breathed. Cyno knew, because Lisa had told him that Grandmaster Varka took every last horse with him when he left on his expedition, thus officially rendering his position redundant. “Good luck with that.”

“Big brother with the big hat!” Klee ran up to the figure in the big hat. “Klee was looking for you!”

From her backpack, she withdrew a slightly crumpled drawing. “Klee promised that she was going to draw a picture of you, me, and big brother Bennett fighting off the bad guys as thanks for your help, so here you go!”

Kuronushi turned around. For a second, Klee thought she saw a flicker of irritation in his eyes, but then she blinked and he was smiling at her picture like it was the most precious thing he had laid eyes on, so she must have imagined it. 

“You're quite the artist,” Kuronushi praised. “I will gladly accept this gift. Thank you, Klee.”

Klee beamed at the compliment. “You’re welcome! My big brother Albedo taught me how to draw! He's an amazing artist and Klee is gonna learn to be just as good as him one day!”

She said this with the type of confidence only a child could muster. Kuronushi tilted his head in curiosity. “Oh? Do you like to draw a lot?”

“Uh-huh! Klee loves drawing, almost as much as she loves making treasures!” She started rummaging through her backpack again. “Big brother Albedo carries a sketchbook with him all the time, so Klee started doing it as well! Do you want to see?”

“Of course, how can I miss the chance to see such beautiful works of art?” 

Klee practically glowed with pride. She wasted no time in showing Kuronushi her drawings. Most of them were drawings of the Knights and her family, and she pointed them out one by one, telling him about how they were all good people who took good care of her. 

Eventually they reached a page near the end, depicting a little girl with green hair who had never been in any of the previous drawings. 

“Who's that?” Kuronushi leaned in. 

“Oh, that's the new girl who showed up!” Klee froze. “Oh, but Klee's not supposed to tell you that…can you forget what I said?”

Something intense flashed in Kuronushi’s eyes, but it was gone the next moment. “Of course, Klee. It will be a secret between the two of us.”

Klee nodded. Big brother Kuronushi was so nice! “Anyway, this is big sister Amber, big brother Albedo, and this new weird big brother Cyno, who is all the way from Sumeru! That's soooo far away…”

Eventually, it was time for Klee to leave. 

Kuronushi waited until Klee turned the corner to drop his pleasant demeanor and let his usual scowl overtake his features.

“Damn that Eroch, leaving all the dirty work to me,” he muttered furiously. “I found out more in two days as an outsider than that moron did in a week, and he fucking works for the Knights. Why do we even keep this idiot around? What’s the point of him?”

Shaking his head, he turned around and started up the stairs leading up the adventurer’s guild headquarters. He had appearances to keep up. 

“Kuronushi! You’re here!” Bennett waved excitedly from the front door of the building.

Kuronushi plastered a smile onto his face and waved back. 

What a productive day…he found out far more than he expected. 

Well, it was not his fault that nobody taught any of these kids stranger danger.

Chapter Text

Crash.

Cyno woke up with a start, immediately on high alert. 

Quietly, he grabbed the knife and polearm he always kept close to him. Slipped out of bed. Strained his ears for more sound. 

“You fucking stupid? Do you want them to hear you?” His sensitive hearing picked up the voice.

There was a frown in the second voice. “We can take them. Besides, it's not like they're going to be alive for much longer, so what's the harm?”

The first voice grumbled, but didn't dispute it. “You sure this is the right house?”

“Boss said, and I quote, ‘We’ve got it narrowed down to three people, and it isn't Albedo, so it's probably the foreigner.’”

“So even he didn't know for sure?” A third voice joined in. He sounded rather put out.

“ Nope, ” the second voice sounded just as enthused. “But it's not our place to ask questions.”

“It's okay. If we die, we'll just haunt him forever,” the third voice returned. 

“I'll drink to that,” said the first voice.

Cyno put a hand on the doorknob and slowly twisted it, mindful not to make any sounds. He eyed the door at the other end of the hall, where Lisa was sleeping, glanced downstairs once, then darted towards the closed door. 

Lisa was already up, throwing on a bolero over her nightgown. Her house might be in the process of getting invaded but she'd be damned if she didn't look good while it was happening. Her tired eyes met Cyno's as he entered, and she shook her head, exasperated, like are you seeing this shit right now?

Cyno was in fact seeing this shit, and he winced at the myriad of injuries that Lisa was about to inflict.

“How many?” 

“Three, as far as I can tell,” Cyno offered her his knife, but she shook her head, quietly rummaging through her closet until she emerged with…something. It was bent in a right angle and she held one end of it in her hands, the other end was barbed and pointing outwards.

“What is that,” said Cyno. 

“Don't worry, it won't kill them,” said Lisa, which dispelled absolutely none of his worries. “Just focus on knocking them unconscious.”

Cyno nodded reluctantly. Together, the two of them made their exit out of Lisa’s bedroom. 

“So what's the plan?” Someone was speaking. “Stab them in their sleep? Poison their food? Another house fire?”

“House fires are boring,” another voice grumbled. “Every time they want us to get rid of someone, it was always a fire. Like, it was fun the first few times, but now? Can't we change it up a bit? Get up close and personal?”

“What, like a stabbing? You sure you want to contend with a trained member of Sumeru’s law enforcement? With your noodle arms?”

“I'll have you know that my arms have an above average amount of muscle,” the voice sounded annoyed. “Besides, we can get to the librarian first. If we use her as a hostage, we would be able to get some sort of leverage over the Matra. She should be weak and easy to subdue.”

Cyno could not see Lisa’s expression with her facing away from him, but he cringed nonetheless. Forget injuries. Lisa was going to kill them.

“Anyway, I'm going upstairs,” the voice continued. “Albert, you come with me. And Hopkins, you can stay here just in case something goes-ARGHHHHHHH.”

Lisa had struck. It turned out that the barbed end of her weapon was a projectile and it had embedded itself in the intruder’s chest. Two wires connected the barbs to the end of Lisa's weapon. He stiffened, muscles spasming uncontrollably as a clicking noise came from the weapon. Cyno wasted no time clubbing the intruder over the head with his polearm and shoving him back down the stairs, right into the second intruder. 

“Hey!” the third intruder—Hopkins—rushed forward, all attempts at stealth forgotten. “You-”

Cyno parried a crossbow bolt with his polearm, before throwing it like a javelin at the third intruder, who instinctively raised the crossbow to block it. The tip of the polearm embedded itself in the firing mechanism, effectively disabling it. 

Hopkins cursed and threw the now useless crossbow aside. His hand went to his belt, where he kept his knife—too late. Cyno had already leapt off the banister from the second floor, using his momentum to tackle the intruder off his feet and sending them both crashing to the floor. Cyno straddled him, pulling out the knife at the intruder's belt and stabbing him in the leg with it, all the way up to the hilt.

The intruder yelled, but Cyno had already moved on. He grabbed his polearm and dodged a blow from the second intruder, who had managed to get out from under the intruder Lisa had shot at. The polearm was still firmly stabbed inside the crossbow, and there was no time to try to get it out. Cyno swung his polearm like a bat and the crossbow connected with the second intruder’s face. Something cracked under the blunt force trauma. Probably his jaw. 

The first intruder groaned from his spot on the floor. He attempted to get up, but whatever Lisa had shot him with was clearly still affecting him, and he whimpered. “I knew this would happen…”

Cyno knocked him out with his shaft.

Lisa turned towards the other two intruders, smiling pleasantly. She shook the weapon she had in her hand a little. “Who's next?”

The two of them raised their arms in surrender.

“You have some nerve breaking into my house in the middle of the night,” Lisa said sweetly, after the two of them had tied all three intruders to chairs. A faint murderous aura was emitting off her entire being. “This had better be about your overdue library fees, Albert.”

Albert’s face was a swollen mess from where Cyno had struck him. Despite this, Lisa was the one he was eyeing with utter terror. “No, ma’am.”

“Who sent you?” Cyno demanded. 

Albert swallowed thickly.

“I’d answer his question, dear,” Lisa had replaced the cartridge with a new one, and she flicked the barbed end of her taser experimentally. “Honestly, it's almost as if you enjoy getting electrocuted...”

“T-that inspector sent us,” Albert stammered. “H-he caught me trying to sneak into the Church, and he threatened to have me convicted of stalking. I didn't want to serve prison time! He told me he'd let me off the hook if I did what he wanted—”

Cyno had to grab the barrow of the gun to stop Lisa from firing her taser again.

“Don’t lie,” ordered Cyno. “It's clear from your conversations with your partners that this is not your first assassination. Would any of you like to come forth with the truth, or would you like to try your luck with my senior?”

“We're just lackeys!” Hopkins blurted out, struggling with his bonds. “The org-the boss sends us orders, and we follow them. They don't tell us anything!”

“Except for Jack,” Albert added. “He's been trying to cosy up to the higher ups lately, so he might know something.”

Jack was still twitching periodically from the taser, but he glared up at the accusation. “Albert, you two-faced bastard…”

“He's always saying things like ‘it’s not our place to question orders’ and ‘I’ll make them take me seriously! Then they'll see how manly I am’,” Albert plowed on without an ounce of shame. “You should interrogate him, not me!”

Jack leaned forward in his bonds, injuries forgotten, fueled by the unstoppable force known as pure spite. “See, this is why Barbara filed a restraining order against you.”

Albert was obviously still terrified, but that didn't stop him from protesting. “My love for Barbara is pure!”

“Oh, is that why you broke into her house?” Jack countered. He must have figured that he has nothing to lose now that Albert has thrown him under the sumpter beast, because he seemed intent on dragging as many people down with him as possible.

“It was to leave her our well wishes from Barbara’s fan club!” Albert glanced quickly at Cyno and Lisa, as if trying to convince them of his innocence.

“I'm sure she feels very well wished. Nothing like a bomb threat in the early morning to convey your heartfelt felicitations, eh?”

“They were fireworks ,” Albert hissed.

“Indoors?!”

Albert opened his mouth. Closed it. “Well—”

“Where are your housebreaking skills now, Albert?” Jack seemed to have forgotten about the two interrogators in front of him. “Maybe if you focused on the mission with the same amount of single minded obsession you showed towards Barbara, we would not be in this situation right now!”

“Can you please stop incriminating yourselves in front of law enforcers?” Hopkins interrupted.

“Shut up, you snake oil salesman!” the other two said together. 

“M-my business is perfectly legitimate, I'll have you know. You can check the paperwork,” added Hopkins towards Cyno and Lisa. “I’ll tell you everything I know. Just not here. Get me away from these two.”

“Oh, ‘these two’, is it?” Jack fired back immediately. “You know what, let's talk about your perfectly legitimate business! Where's your Holy Water, Hopkins the Marvelous? Maybe you can share some with us and we'd be cured of all ails. Oh wait, you can't because it doesn't do shit. ”

“It reinvigorates the soul!” Hopkins protested. “If it lifts up your spirits after drinking it, then it's still a health benefit!”

“Only because you lied and made everyone think it would,” Albert pointed out. “I saw you taking water from the pond. There's nothing special about this water!”

Hopkins gritted his teeth. “Well, maybe I was wrong to market it as Holy Water when it's just normal pond water. I could have made millions off you alone if I had called it Barbara's—”

“ Enough. ” Cyno slammed down his polearm threateningly. This conversation was not going anywhere, and he had entertained their nonsense for long enough. “The Knights of Favonius are on their way. I’d imagine your organization will not be happy about your failure, so if you expect any sort of protection from them, I'd suggest you start talking.”

A wild gamble, but it was much easier for suspects to start talking if they thought he knew more than he actually did. 

The three intruders looked at each other in alarm. “Organization? What are you talking about? That sounds like something to come out of an Inazuman light novel, haha…”

Those three were terrible liars. Cyno lamented the fact that things were about to become far more complicated. He leveled them with his most intimidating stare and waited for their floundering to cease.