Toru Amuro had just wrapped up a business trip, and with it, an overwhelming pile of work. He arrived at the office, handed Jiang Xia a few part-time tasks, and left in a hurry.
The substitute teaching job would start tomorrow.
Jiang Xia lounged on the office sofa, while next to him, Akemi Miyano seemed restless.
Jiang Xia absentmindedly scratched her head, enjoying the sensation, and decided it was time to head out and check things out.
When Jiang Xia had 'kidnapped' Akemi Miyano and signed their agreement, Akemi had requested him to look after her younger sister, Shiho Miyano, codename "Sherry."
Jiang Xia thought to himself, Since I've already guessed that Gin's phone call is connected to Sherry's possible defection, it's time to see what's up.
If I can save her, I'll try. If not... well, at least I can wait for the chance to scoop up her soul and raise it. If the older sister has the talent to become a ghost, then the younger one should be similar.
With this thought, Jiang Xia settled into the sofa, hanging up the phone, while his shikigami soared out through the wall and gathered in the alley next to the office.
At this point, Jiang Xia had three ghosts available for supporting his puppets.
The tengu's wings were massive, and without any nearby comic conventions, flying it around would attract too much attention from onlookers.
Meanwhile, Akemi Miyano's puppet had been captured on a Shinkansen and was registered with the police. Since the organization was currently hunting for Sherry, releasing her puppet now would only lead to more problems.
So, Jiang Xia decided to use Xiaobai's puppet—the little boy.
Although the puppet had been in contact with Gin, Jiang Xia had covered its face at the time—he had purposely pressed its head down when stuffing it into his bag, which explained the puppet's odd posture. Gin had noticed the broken neck but hadn't bothered to look at its face.
Besides, Gin had said he didn't remember who he'd killed, so Jiang Xia hoped Gin was diligent in respecting the "settings" he'd created for himself.
The puppet's clothing was fixed to match its preferences, though Jiang Xia could make adjustments as he gathered more shikigami. He gave Xiaobai's puppet a new outfit that differed from the one it had worn when the hotel had been bombed.
Jiang Xia wrapped a scarf around himself and headed to the alley's end. He pulled out a brick from the wall, retrieved some hidden cash, and stuffed it into his pocket for travel expenses.
When Sherry learned that her sister had been killed by the organization, she stopped her research. The organization locked her up, and she was left awaiting her release. Feeling hopeless, Sherry took the APTX4869 hidden on her person, intending to end her life with poison.
However, instead of dying, she shrank into a child.
Jiang Xia had already seen in the spoilers that Sherry, now small, managed to escape down a garbage chute. From there, she seemed to be confused about where to go. That's when she remembered Kudo Shinichi—who, like her, had been shrunk by the drug—and fled toward his house, unknowingly heading for a troubled comrade-in-arms, as it were.
But the situation now was different from the spoilers. Near Kudo Shinichi's house, there was Jiang Xia, someone who (she thought) hated her deeply and knew her too well.
Jiang Xia thought for a moment. Instead of heading home, he boarded a bus and went to a nearby building used by the organization.
This building was one of their strongholds and the place where Sherry had worked before escaping.
After a covert inspection of the area, Jiang Xia soon discovered small, bare footprints.
They had to be Sherry's—her shoes and clothes no longer fit, and it was hard to imagine any child running barefoot in this area besides her.
Jiang Xia stared at the footprints for a moment, then released Akemi Miyano's soul.
Though ghosts weren't particularly good at tracking the living, sisters should share some sort of connection, right?
In Jiang Xia's vision, Akemi Miyano should be drawing near to the footprints now, stretching out her tiny hand to touch them, taking a deep breath, then quickly leading him to Sherry.
But, as things often went with Jiang Xia, this was not quite what happened.
Instead of following the script, Akemi Miyano, after being placed by Jiang Xia near the footprints, glanced down at the muddy ground. She then climbed back onto Jiang Xia's clean lap, expertly hugging his leg.
Jiang Xia: "…."
It seemed there was something off about the sisters' telepathy. Maybe the signal between ghost and human was weak. From Akemi's reaction, it was clear she wasn't even sure who had left the footprints.
Well, given that Akemi Miyano probably only knew that Sherry had escaped the organization but didn't know her sister had been shrunk... it made sense that she wouldn't have recognized the significance of the footprints.
Sighing quietly, Jiang Xia erased the traces on the ground, took note of the surrounding scenery, and walked back toward home.
The footprints were heading that way.
Also, since Sherry had taken the poison with the intention of dying but instead had turned into a child, she was probably still in a daze.
In this state, it would be difficult for her to form a careful escape plan. More likely, she was acting on instinct.
Whether she was trying to find Kudo Shinichi—or avoiding Jiang Xia—there were only two possible directions she could have gone.
It was more likely that Sherry was looking for a place to hide rather than running aimlessly into trouble. After all, when a person's body is altered by APTX4869, they feel drained, and Sherry couldn't have gotten far.
After walking nearly a mile, Jiang Xia's eyes landed on a pile of building materials stacked in a corner.
A small sliver of white peeked from between the materials. The space was tight, not enough for an adult to hide, but just perfect for a child.
Jiang Xia scanned the area and found no signs of the organization's cannon fodder. It seemed they'd searched this spot and moved on.
Approaching the pile, Jiang Xia lifted the tarp at one corner and peered inside, meeting a pair of frightened eyes.
It was Sherry.
Jiang Xia smiled to himself, satisfied with both his efficiency and luck in finding her.
He looked at the frightened girl huddled under the tarp. "Come out."
Sherry trembled at first.
But when she saw the little boy in front of her, she relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief and slowly calming down.
I must be overthinking it. I felt the aura of the organization from a child…
Sherry eyed Jiang Xia, who was neatly dressed, youthful, and handsome. After a brief hesitation, she fumbled through her lab coat's pocket and pulled out a coffee candy. She handed it to Jiang Xia and said dismissively, "Be good, go play elsewhere."
Then she raised her hand and gently tugged the corner of the tarp that Jiang Xia was holding, wrapping herself up again.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:0/10*
Glossary:
Sherry: Codename for Shiho Miyano in the story.