Alicia bead, "Just keep watch and see if anything’s off."
Fuko kept an eye and observed for a minute or two while Alicia did the sa. "He’s wearing an expensive gold ring on his middle finger. His green hat’s sitting on the counter.
He keeps asking the bartender for the sa drink with ice—I’d say it’s whiskey. He’s also a bit hunched over the bar, aning he could be hiding sothing under his coat right now. He’s probably drinking a way his sorrows cause sothing bad’s happened."
Alicia bobbed her head around as Fuko made her observation. "Not bad, not bad~ How ’bout that little tap of his fingers?"
"Huh?" Fuko furrowed her brows.
"His fingers, they keep tapping on the bar every now and again. Signs of unease or edginess. Maybe sothing bad hasn’t happened, but gonna happen. It’s keeping him tense thinking about it. More plausible innit?"
"I, yeah, that seems more likely," Fuko then noticed that tell.
"Now look back, keep staring and y’might get caught," Alicia urged to which Fuko turned her head. "Act natural, drinks help," Alicia took a sip of her own drink and licked her lips.
"Mine’s finished," Fuko stared.
"Well the point isn’t t’get drunk, a glass in your hand makes you less conspicuous. An empty glass might not though. Anywho, notice the foot too?"
Fuko side-eyed to see the man’s foot tapping against the leg of the barstool.
"Pretty much confirms anxiety. aning, there’s sothing happening—sothing big, maybe," Alicia affird.
"If he’s a gangster, I’m sure he’s worried he might get killed at any second. It makes sense he’s nervous," Fuko replied.
"Ha, seems y’know very little gangsters then. It’s the type’a business that if you’re not confident in, you’re not gettin’ anywhere. This is Green-Fillet Johnes, he didn’t get’here being a coward."
"If he’s so famous, why wouldn’t he be arrested? I an, he’s in this strip club openly," the brunette doubted.
"A city without cri’s a city that doesn’t exist little detective. Y’need an underbelly to a city, it’s part’a the system. If you’re that famous, you’re gonna have so backup from so lawyers and money enough to fill’up a lotta pockets.
How many things’ve you gotten away with going against the law? Was it paying soone off or having the ear of soone higher up?" Alicia smiled.
"Point taken..."
"Also this little speakeasy isn’t’a strip club, co on now. Oh, looks like he’s tired of sothing," Alicia noticed the man once more.
Fuko took a glance to him and noticed him massaging his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Looks like a headache. Is that all usual for a gangster?"
"Hm, what’s unusual is that sothing normal to a gangster isn’t gonna have him like this. I’d say it’s either things aren’t workin’ out with the Mrs, or this is so riskier job," Alicia guessed.
"Could it be the cult?" Fuko now noticed that the ring was on the right ring finger.
"And there, that’s the story, that’s the article. You keep an eye out and you’ve got your scoop. And you thought this crumb might not be anything~" Alicia chirped.
Fuko’s eyes glazed over, "So I need a reporter’s eye?"
"Hey, y’know how much intel I’ve sold? Y’know how many tis I’ve helped your dad by doing all this?" she cheerily put.
"Hm... I guess that makes you a sorta detective in a way."
Alicia perked up and muttered, "If the parent won’t admit it, having the offspring say it has to count for sothing," she laughed squeakily to herself.
"The hell are you on about...?"
"Ohhh nothinggg~ Might overhear sothing from that muttering," Alicia suggested. Fuko saw the man’s lips move just a little, under his breath.
"Asobi could go invisible. I can’t really sneak around with so many eyes and ears."
"No, sneaking ’round isn’t really an option," Alicia kept a keen eye on his lips through her round glasses. "I can’t believe I’m doing this- Just gotta do it, just gotta do it."
"Are you," Fuko watched Alicia’s eyes. "Reading his lips?"
"Bingo~ That’s the only important thing he seems to be muttering though," Alicia squinted. "Give it a minute, sothing might pop up."
And so a couple of minutes passed, but he either said the sa thing or just didn’t say anything at all. "At this point, Jotou’d probably just walk up to- Alicia, what’re you doing?"
"Shh," she signalled to Fuko to stay put as Alicia strode forward with her drink. She seed to wobble and let her head fall a few tis as she stumbled up to the barstool next to the man.
From Fuko’s view, Alicia seed to take a seat and smile to the man with her head a strand away from falling onto the bar counter. The man looked to her and seed to say sothing rude, like asking her to piss off.
The brunette furrowed her brows, trying to figure out what words were coming out of his lips. Alicia’s back was turned, so there was no reading her.
However, the gangster seed to grit his teeth and groan. His grip on his glass of whiskey tightened and his eyes had narrowed, all the while Alicia seed to bob her head and talked cheerily.
Fuko got up and rushed over to the scene, "Hey, I’m so sorry, my friend’s had one too many," she grabbed Alicia’s arm.
"Eh, get her the fuck away from . I’m not in the mood to be dealing with so drunk bitch," he groaned and downed his glass, nearly breaking it as he slamd it onto the counter.
"Oh co onnnn, y’can only call a bitch in bed~" Alicia drunkenly slurred; she had sohow made her face much redder than before.
"She’s hopelessly single, sorry," Fuko dragged Alicia away.
"Don’t say thaaat!" so of Alicia’s reaction was genuine... "W-wait, my drink..." Alicia seed to follow along and allow the brunette to drag her however.
As Fuko dragged Alicia away, she overheard, "I can’t with this shit... Already got my hands full with that high school bitch." Alicia’s eyes darted up and watched the man palm his face.
They made their way up to the ground floor to not cause a scene down in the speakeasy. "There y’go. He already had a few drinks, ’bout ti he blurted sothing out," Alicia walked normally towards the exit.
"Did you get him to say anything while you talked to him?" Fuko followed.
"Nothing at all, just a flurry of slurs. I was kinda hoping you’d co to the rescue or I’d get kicked out. The forr’s better~"
"You could’ve told that beforehand..."
"Oh then you need to work on your improv detective. So, I got you your crumb, I need a thank you and a lots of your praise~! Maybe y’can convince the detective up top to-"
"Shut it."
"That’s just plain rude detective," Alicia shook her head. "Can you tell?"
"Tell what?" Fuko’s brows wrinkled in.
"What the people ’round you are doing and thinking—obviously. Look around, catch your scoop and follow the lead to a story," she told in reply.
As Fuko looked about while they exited, it seed like, all the patrons had a lot more details than when she ca in. Red string began to connect in her head.
More than just what they wore or how they looked or what they were doing. But the little details that perhaps gave away more than they should. It was mostly Jotou and Hotaru that she could read this clearly before...
_
Exiting the Drunken Violet, the two walked down the street into Mandrake, searching for a carriage to pick them up—chatting as they did.
"There hasn’t been a carriage for a bit," the brunette searched.
Alicia looked ahead, "It’s been a few hours, carriages don’t usually roam ’round this late. Worst case, we gotta call for one from’a booth-"
"CLINK, CLANG-CLANK."
The two twisted their heads to the sound—one that ca from an alley nearby. They had put so distance between them and the pub, and these streets were... less than savoury to walk alone at night.
Alicia flipped her cara out of the bag and turned on the switch to the side.
"It’s probably just so cat hitting the bins," Fuko steadied herself.
"Sounded louder than so cat, detective. We can go take a closer look, nothing ventured, nothing gained," she readied her cara and walked ahead into the alley.
"I doubt it’s a scoop," Fuko twirled a dagger out of her pocket.
"Always check, y’never know- Were you carryin’ that into the pub...?" Alicia’s eyes darted to the gleaming purple dagger.
"Let’s go check it out before I get t-too cold- dammit," stepping into shadows Fuko blinked forward.
The reporter snuck forward quickly, "Takin’a picture of a shadow, now that’d be newsworthy."
"HEY!" Fuko yelled out as she appeared in the alley. Alicia’s eyes bubbled and she dashed forward instead.
In the alley shrouded in darkness, she saw the figure of so man in a brown coat who was unconscious to the side of the bins. The lid had fallen over from the impact of the body presumably.
Over the unconscious body however, was a woman with rat-like ears and tail, and dark hair. She swivelled her head to the brunette with her eyes now widened.
The rat-woman was in a state of undress, seemingly in the middle of taking off her garnts as well as undoing the ones of the unconscious man. She hastily covered herself up and got off the body as Fuko pointed her dagger.
Alicia walked into the scene and scanned it over, "Seems to be a day filled with lovers’ quarrels today. Ex of yours?"
"N-no, you don’t understand-!"
"Stripping down to your underwear and stripping off clothes off of so unconscious person. What exactly would be the good explanation for this?" Fuko got closer with her dagger out. "Talk."
"FLASH!"
"Ahh!" the rat-woman shunned her eyes. "H-hey, no, please don’t keep that," quick breaths, shaky hands and nervous sweat in this weather—she seed horrified.
"Well, if you’re feelin’ so guilty, you must’ve at least hesitated before knocking this man out. Drugs I presu? Or the ol’ fashion way?" Alicia queried. "You better start talking now, before my friend here decides you don’t get’to anymore."
"I-I-I..."
"I’m not gonna kill her, just bring her to the police. Get the hell up," Fuko glared.
Her rat-like tail went stiff and she shook her head, "No, no, no, no! Please, please no! I’ll be gone, right now, I won’t do anything, I swear! Just please let go!"
"Pretty bold playing the victim after wantin’ to get revenge on your ex. Probably thought y’could do the dance of the devil t’get yourself knocked up, but when he refused, you thought you’d do it anyway and make it a whole scandal to ruin his life—got that right?"
Fuko squinted, hearing that leap of a conclusion—sothing her past self would’ve made up... "Whatever, let’s drag her to the nearest station."
"No, no, wait, wait! Please!" so tears ran down her eyes and she got off the unconscious body and raised her hands.
"Tell you what, I keep this little photograph for safekeeping, you put that man back where he was and none’a this ever happened.
You go back to your normal life, better yourself and never try to pull this li’l act of yours ever again. Sound fair?" Alicia didn’t glare nor smile—she simply kept her face at rest.
"I, okay... okay, I will... Thank you..."
"You sure about that?" Fuko side-eyed the reporter—her dagger still pointed at the new criminal.
"Oh don’t worry, we’re gonna watch our little friend here put him back in one piece. I’ll be keepin’ an eye on these two for so pregnancy scandal and if it happens, this little picture’ll slip into the police records."
"T-that won’t happen, I promise, I promise," she pleaded and quickly went about dressing herself proper and getting the man up on his feet. The two watched vigilantly as she seems to return him to his apartnt.
_
"Well, there ya go, all safe n’ sound back at ho. Didn’t get’you drunk and made you tell things, now did I?" Alicia chirped as she said.
Out the door of 22 Fleur Boulevard, Fuko looked up at her house, so lights still on. "Where do you live?" the brunette queried.
"Don’t make it sound like’a threat detective, you’re gonna make shake, shiver and move out."
Fuko side-eyed the woman behind her.
The reporter gave a chuckle, "Neighbourhood in Fleur, the detective up top should know the details." Alicia looked to the carriage waiting for her to say her goodbyes.
"Hey Alicia, about what happened outside... You’ll keep an eye on them, right? I don’t like the fact that we just let her go."
The reporter pouted, "Co on detective, I don’t know the first or last nas of any of the two back there, I can’t keep an eye on them. That woman looked nervous and guilty, stuttering too much instead’a making a break for it.
She even atoned quickly—too quickly don’tcha think? She didn’t seem to be lying. She probably hesitated to do what she did t’night; that fear in the back of her mind’ll be enough to keep her far from doing it again."
"So, you were lying?" Fuko narrowed her gaze.
"Ob-vi-ously~!" after she sang she got a little serious-er. "If I see sothing pop out about it, I’ll be more than motivated to turn’in that photo to all parties involved.
I’d bet my cara that I’ve seen’a lotta things and crazier stories that you haven’t even imagined. That woman? She looked like soone about t’make a mistake rather than soone bad. I’d rather give the benefit of the doubt."
"And if she proves you wrong?" Fuko leered.
"Then that’s the truth I’ll have to accept," Alicia said with a proud smile. "I believe in justice—justice’ll pull through."
Fuko smirked... "I really kinda expected you to write a whole exposé about it and make a big deal about it in the papers by adding in so extra fake details. Would add it to your next paycheque."
Her cheeks puffed up like a bunny’s as she pouted, "Not all reporters and journalists are as spineless as you think y’know. Sure, I spin my stories in every which way, but broken down, I don’t go far from the truth.
Cause, without truth there can’t really be hope in the world, no?" her deanour changed to a smile of contemplation, "If everyone’s running around without being able t’tell the ti a’day, well, the world’s dood innit?
Point is, lying and stretching the truth’s useful, but the world deserves to know what’s going on. Sa way I feel about all this cult nonsense I’m helping scout out."
"Well, there’re so things you have to keep under wraps," the brunette replied.
"Maybe—so things have to be hidden for a ti for the sake of panic, privacy, other reasons—I get that. But sooner or later, the truth should be known."
Fuko faced the pavent, then to her ho door, "So things can’t... Revealing them might cause too many problems."
Alicia shook her head, "Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree, little detective—I just don’t see it that way. The truth must always be revealed eventually. Be it today, or the next century, the truth will be the only way forward."
"Hmh..."
"Hey lady! I don’t got all night here!" the carriage driver shouted from the street.
"Oh calm your horses, I’ll tip you extra," Alicia shouted back. "Alright, alright, our night’s co to an end. Hopefully another ti. In the anti, I’ll be lookin’ out for more crumbs; maybe tail that gangster for a bit."
"Stay safe... and," Fuko twisted her lips to the side, "I had fun... thanks..." she blinked up to her front door.
Alicia smiled wide, "If you think that was fun, ooo boy, there’s a lot to do out in the nights of Burnetrout detective! I’ll see you soooon~!" she departed with a wave.
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