[I do plan to get around to the fiction I pledged a few posts ago, but first here’s something I’d already promised to someone else a week and a half prior… I really need to get my commitments in order.]
“Next on the agenda is the provisioning of our new VCDS instance…”
Sayuri stared idly at the projector screen, her mind having long since strayed from the meeting at hand, her team’s project, or even work in general. The only thing keeping her from completely shutting down was the insistent coffee-induced buzz at the back of her head, which was at least helping her maintain the appearance of being awake.
“Unfortunately, we’ve encountered some incompatibilities between our current dev version and the upgraded base libraries on the new system. We’re going to have to resolve these issues before the department-wide rollout at the beginning of Q2…”
As the presenter droned on about things that she already knew, Sayuri noticed a familiar glow coming from inside her handbag. She rifled around inside and pulled out her cell phone. “New text messages,” the screen read. Discreetly pushing a few buttons, she pulled up her inbox.
I’ve got a new assignment for you. Meet me at 7:25. Usual place.
No matter how many times she went up to the top of the Akigase Tower, Sayuri always felt a tinge of vertigo when she opened the roof door. Something about the commanding view of the city just overwhelmed her senses. She suspected that was why he liked this place to begin with.
He, of course, was the cutesy-looking mishmash of every huggable animal in existence that was, at that moment, sitting on the safety railing, taking in the sunset. His long, feathery tail curled around one of the vertical posts, as if he were using it to anchor himself.
“Good evening, Pyunpyun.”
“Hi, Sayuri,” Pyunpyun said, his eyes remaining fixed on the crimson sky in front of him. “How have you been?”
Sayuri leaned against the railing and joined Pyunpyun in gazing at the horizon. “Oh, just running up against another deployment deadline at work. Constant meetings, overtime that I wouldn’t have to take if I weren’t spending all my time in meetings, no sleep, constant fatigue. That on top of the stress of getting Reina ready for her new school. You know, tip-top condition.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be tough.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sayuri said dismissively.
“No, it’s true. I’m not an amoral monster unconcerned with your well-being, Sayuri. We’ve been working together for twenty years now. You know me better than that.”
“Really? I thought you could never be sure with magic…”
“You’ve been watching too much television. Besides, you fulfilled the terms of our agreement a long, long time ago. You wouldn’t keep working with us if you really didn’t want to, and we need you. Sometimes –”
“– there really is no one else who can handle the job, I know. But between my real job” – Sayuri stumbled as Pyunpyun rolled his eyes – “ugh, you know what I mean – okay, my other job, and my daughter, and… I’m sure you see how the timing could have been better.”
“I understand. And you don’t have to take this one if you don’t feel up to it. Just hear me out first.”
“Okay, fine. I’m all ears.”
Sayuri glanced at Pyunpyun out of the corner of her vision. The creature’s green eyes moved back and forth, as if he were reading a dossier off of the clouds in the distance.
“One of the girls disappeared a few nights ago. Chisato Miyajima – fourteen years old, lives in Setagaya – was last seen walking home from school on the 28th. She’s an absolute prodigy. Can reduce common field-casting beings to cinders and ash in seconds. Anything with enough magic to subdue her would have drawn a lot of attention. But she’s not the strongest physically. No enemy field, no powers. A non-magical kidnapper could take her with little issue, so that might be the most likely explanation, but…”
“You don’t think it’s that simple.”
“Right. I also think she was marked.”
“By one of the sects?”
Pyunpyun nodded. “Like I said, she’s a prodigy. So much so that she managed, about two weeks ago, to take out a high-level dark caster twice her age. Impressive, but there’s one problem: this one happened to be a recent inductee into the Seventh Seal.”
Sayuri’s posture slumped. “I had a feeling they’d be involved.”
“Yes, they have been getting a lot more powerful lately. Truth be told, though, I’m hoping that if someone did take Chisato, it was them. If it was just some psycho on the streets of Shimokitazawa, there’s nothing we can do but hope the police catch him. But we know how to track the Seal down, and fight them. You know how.”
A soft breeze tousled Sayuri’s hair. She looked down at the ground forty-six stories below, the street lamps and headlights of passing cars shining against the darkening sky.
“All right, count me in.”