The following morning, Matoi had been called up to Armstrong's office & brought Rin with her.

"Rain-On-A-Wedding." he nodded as the two sat across. "Is this, er - the Japanese student you were mentioning?"

"She is." Matoi yawned and leaned back. "Why did you call me here?"

"There's… I understand you, requested no contracts for - until April. But something's come up. The federal government -"

" - I don't care -"

" - they had requested your four, specifically -"

" - then give it to the other three. As I said - no contracts until April. They can either wait, or they can ask the other three."

Armstrong tried not to frown, hoping for his marriage's sake that Swarm had a better conscience than her.

Out of Matoi's eyes, Rin enjoyed her girlfriend's dominance.

"… I'll relay that over to them, then. There, er, was another matter, as well…" said Armstrong. "The police were requesting your help in a small investigation. Apparently regarding a host you dealt with the other day."

"I already told you -"

" - Matoi-k - Matoi." Rin smiled. "I would like to help with something small. Yes?"

"I - I doubt it'll take long." said Armstrong. "A few questions, possibly a few hosts - I'm, I'm sure it won't take long."

'Of course it won't.' thought Matoi. "Fine. What county?"

"Stoneland."

"Fine."

Matoi stood up and went out to the hall with Rin, icewoman laughing once they were out of hearing.

"(Is - is he normally like that?)"

"(He is.)" smirked Matoi. "(He almost turned white after the last round of it.)"

"(You really did blackmail them well, then.)" laughed Rin, and Matoi tensed when she kissed her cheek. Part of her started to worry students would spread rumors if they saw them together, and some frustration came up that she couldn't shove that out of her head.

◆◆◆

An hour later, the two met with Stoneland County's chief of police.

"Rain-On-A-Wedding." he nodded as they sat down. "And, ah…" He gestured to Rin.

"Frostbite."

"Frostbite." He nodded, thinking she was Chinese. "About the Revenant you two dealt with the other day. At the 7/11, correct?"

"Correct." said Matoi.

"He was… well, he was a little, a little - 'hard to identify', we'll say -" - he laughed - " - but - but we checked it out on our own once you were done. Checked the security footage, just as a - to check if he was - if there was anything else we should look in to."

"I assume you found something."

"We did." He pushed a folder over. Matoi opened it as Rin glanced over. "A week ago, we got a call from Aqua Apartments - from a woman, actually. Said that someone was at her door and was asking us to come over - send a student over for her. Haven't listened to it myself, but, well - said she ended up screaming like she was getting murdered."

"And I assume she was." said Matoi, relevantly, and he nodded. Rin also nodded, comprehending half of it. "Why was she asking for a student?"

"Exactly what we were trying to find out. Apparently -" he sighed - " - someone - not me, mind you - thought it was a prank."

Matoi's fingers tapped on one picture in the folder. "I assume he's the primary suspect, then?"

"Well, was." he said. "But yes. Now, I'm not - I know there's some people who - oh, you know - 'don't call in students, we can handle everything ourselves' - but that's not how we, how we operate here. We have our job, and I know you have your's. Want to make this as simple as possible for both of us."

Matoi nodded. "Our job, then?"

"She has a - had a - if you look at page four. She had a brother. He already knows she's passed, but - if he has a Revenant, I'm not risking trying to bring him in. We don't - we don't have any evidence towards him, of course, but - we'd just like you to question him a bit at his home. Didn't tell him you were coming, either." (Matoi flipped the page.) "But there is -"

" - what is that?" winced Rin, glancing over -

" - it's not a Revenant!" said the chief. "We did check his - he's a little well-known around here for that. Some sort of birth defect he never got fixed, apparently. But it's not a Revenant."

"Bizarre." muttered Matoi. "Was that all, then?"

"One last thing. There was - about Aqua Apartments. We were able to - you know, it's a crime scene, of course - but the landlord was a little… a little 'not-too-forthcoming.' Didn't let us check any of his cameras. Thankfully, somebody else had been taking video of the guy around the same time. Our main suspect. Former."

"Why?"

"It's near the beach. They were taking video of the sunset, across the street. Saw him just in the corner, but it was enough that we, we decided we wouldn't bother with the landlord. But - but you're students. He might be a bit more willing to listen to you."

"We'll pay it a visit."

"Thank you. But - well. You're Urasaria's president. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

Matoi smirked as she stood. "Thank you."

◆◆◆

An hour later, the two pulled up to the brother's mansion's gate. Matoi showed her badge to the guard in the booth, and noticed the owner had a statue of himself in the hedge garden near the front, without the defect.

"Is she also a student?" said the guard, gesturing to Rin.

"She is." said Matoi.

"Alright. Just to inform you - Mr. Sharp has a particular birth defect on his right hand. It's not a Revenant."

"I'm aware."

"Good. I'll let him know you've arrived -"

" - don't. Tell him he has a guest - whoever you need to say it is. I don't want him knowing who we are until we're speaking with him."

"I - is this regarding some sort of criminal investigation?"

"It doesn't have to." (Rin stifled her laugh.)

"I'll… alright. I'll - I'll let him know that - someone - someone has come to see him. Just wait at the front door, please."

"Fine."

The gate opened. Matoi parked her car behind one of the three sports cars, far nicer than the beater she usually rented when she needed to travel. There was a lesson about job choices there; she'd already reasoned it out. Rin & her went up to the front door, and it opened after a minute to a black-haired man, with his right hand in his pocket.

"I - ah! Ura- Urasaria students." he said, raising his left hand. "I - I need to warn you about -"

" - I'm aware it isn't a Revenant. Go ahead." said Matoi, and he nodded, slowly pulling his right hand out -

- which had eight fingers & no thumbs. "Ulnar - ulnar dimelia, or, ah - mirror hand syndrome. It's a birth defect. Well, obviously."

"I wanted to speak to you about your sister's death. Sabrina Sharp."

"…ah. Yes, I - I figured that would come up eventually. I'm, I'm already aware of it, but, yes. Would you prefer to come inside?"

"No. Out here is fine."

"…alright. Er. What did you want to ask?"

"Were you close with her?"

"No. Not in recent years, at least. Admittedly, er, when I - when I received the news, it took me a few seconds to remember who she was."

"In recent years?" said Rin.

"Yes. It wasn't one of those - I'm not saying some melodramatic sort of 'falling out' or any big event that happened. It just happened as we got older. You miss a few family gatherings due to work or something or other, eventually you start slipping, you forget to keep contact. It's - it's not something I'm particularly proud of, mind you, but - it's just a fact of my work."

"What do you do?" said Matoi.

"My company works in Africa - er, based in America, of course, but - charity work in Africa. Water purification systems. More practical work than what every other charity does down there." Sensing their question, he shook his head. "I - sorry. It's just - you know, you read about - oh, the Melinda Foundation has found a way to help Africans extract water from feces or other ridiculous methods. Here we are actually teaching them to build simple filtration systems on their own. It really isn't that complicated, but useless charity is the lifeblood of… oh. Something. Something."

"…you run a charity, then."

"Yes."

"Are there any other members of your family?"

"Immediate? No, just my father. Richard Sharp. If you're going to - well. He's a director, actually - have you ever seen a B80 film?"

"I haven't."

"Ah. I don't think they're very good, but they're his. Art is subjective, I suppose. He's very popular over in - over in Europe, apparently - and actually, this home is technically his. My sister refused to take it, or so he told me."

"She refused to take it?"

"She fancies herself a starving artist. Has to keep up appearances, or something, something like that. I don't understand it."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"And her relationship with your father?"

"…er. I believe he was trying to reconnect with her, but… but." He sighed. "…you're going to ask, aren't you? He has cancer - brain cancer. Unfortunately, he's too late in the process for…"

"Where is he now?"

"Rook Hospital. It's - you know, it's - a hospice type situation. It's a few hours away."

"…right." Matoi nodded, glancing to Rin. "I believe that's everything."

"Yes." he said. "Please let me know if I can be, er, any help. I assume you already asked her boyfriend."

"I- we haven't. She had a boyfriend?"

"From what I know. I - I don't know anything about him, mind you, but - yes. She mentioned him once or twice."

"…right." muttered Matoi. "Anything else?"

"I- I don't believe so."

"Rin?"

"No."

"We'll contact you if we have any other questions."

"Alright. Thank, er, thank you - women."

Matoi & Rin went back to their car. Once Matoi pulled out past the gate, they spoke, and Matoi translated what Rin hadn't understood.

"(He seems very suspicious.)" nodded Rin. "(And his weird right hand.)"

"(I didn't even know that existed.)" smirked Matoi, relevantly. "(Regardless - we'll keep him in mind.)"

"(What if he runs away?)"

"(With a hand like that?)"

The two laughed and Rin smiled. "(I, I suppose.)"

"(For now, we'll go to Sabrina's apartment - the police have already gone through it, but they might know more about her boyfriend.)"

"(Mm. And investigating with my girlfriend.)" chimed Rin as they pulled in to one avenue of businesses. She kissed Matoi's cheek as they passed over a manhole; they heard a rumbling start below, and in the next instant -

"( - out!)" shouted Matoi; the two threw themselves out of the car -

- just in time for one slimecoverex fist to launch their vehicle in to the air from below; Matoi & Rin skid & slid for a hundred feet down the road, grunting as they rolled and bleeding as they stood. Matoi saw her car land in another avenue as Rin caught up with her at the road's center, female foe climbing out of the manhole a hundred feet away, body covered in slime with a fire hydrant on the sidewalk left & one shop beyond -

" - Ms. Grey!" she shouted, ooze dripping down her hands and forming longer limbs; her slimehands shot towards the hydrant -

- and ripped it clear out of the ground; geysers of water burst out of the aperture and started to rain, droplets starting to fall over the avenue; Matoi & Rin stepped back -

" - Sekisetsu!" shouted Rin; a red icicle formed in her hand, and as she threw it towards the hydrant's hole -

- every droplet that touched it froze in to red cubes, and as it hit its destination -

- a pane of ice plugged up the hole and blocked the sidewalk's crying as the two started their rush forward, more red ice sprouting out of the road to freeze the slimeinfused rain. Ahead, they saw their foe rushing on to the sidewalk -

- but the next scene was instant.

"Kekkonshiki!" "Sekisetsu!"

Rin tapped Matoi's shoulder as a missile burst out of it; it flew to the sidewalk & ahead of their foe -

- and exploded in a burst of red icicles -

- that froze the sidewalk & their foe's step entirely. Grunting as she thrashed, more slime dripped from her fingers and in to the sidewalk -

- and melted it back in to red water, freeing her as she staggered forward. One costume shop was ahead, and in she rushed; Matoi & Rin caught up, speaking as they came up to the front doors -

"( - my other ice is still frozen.)" said Rin, glancing back to her prior icicles, Matoi nodding beside; "( - it's not property-based.)"

"(It's specific. She's running out of slime - she had to expend some to melt it. Can you stasis her when we're close?)"

Rin nodding, the two stepped, aisles of costumes & vampires flanking them; with no time to waste, they rushed left & along the wall -

- and saw their female foe at the corner ahead, only one arm of goo left as she fled along the back wall. One shelf was at the women's right as they rushed in pursuit -

"( - really?)" laughed Matoi; one missile flew over & to her right -

- and blasted back the tottering shelf at the other end of the store before it could fall like dominoes. Rin laughed at their foe's desperation as they came up to the corner, and as their eyes turned right -

- they saw their female foe on the other end of the store, no option left but fifty feet away, stepping back against the corner. Matoi & Rin started stepping forward, Rin keeping behind Matoi, glad she was shorter than her girlfriend & wondering if she could ever convince Matoi to dress like a biker.

"Kekkonshiki." muttered Matoi, and in the next instant -

- one missile burst out of her shoulder and flew towards the woman; her slimehand extended to catch it -

- but it exploded in a cloud of smoke before she could grab it, and the shockwave blasted her ooze against the wall; frantic with no rest, she swept her hand blindly on the wall, eyes ahead for when Matoi would appear again -

- and found one hand she wasn't expecting touching her own; she shrieked -

" - Sekisetsu!"

- and she fell to the ground as a frozen statue in the next, Rin laughing as she stepped out of the ice-door that she'd used to flank.

"(She's in stasis!)" she shouted, and Matoi walked out of the cloud of smoke ahead, laughing as she saw her.

"(Good.)"

"(Good thing I'm shorter than you. She didn't notice.)" chimed Rin, relevantly. The smoke cleared, and she glanced at her first door of ice she'd made behind Matoi as she fired. "(Is the property damage alright?)"

"(They'll call someone for it.)"

Rin nodded, and she scooped up the ice sculpture. The two went outside to search for Matoi's car, and found it in another avenue, having crushed a modern sportscar, but with few scratches on its own hide.

"(There's a message there.)" muttered Matoi, and a few missiles blasted it back to the road.

"(Isn't it, um, weird that someone would be tracking us so soon?)" said Rin and Matoi shrugged.

"(Slightly - though I'm Urasaria's president. Remember that America has much higher rates of crime than Japan - it's more likely to be a random host than anything organized.)"

"(Mm. Alright.)"

Rin stuffed the other icewoman in the backseat and Matoi drove back to the station. She called up another student to come within two hours to transport her to get her Revenant removed, as the police hadn't recognized her face.

The two went back out to the parking lot with the icewoman in custody. Parked cars flanked them as they walked, and in the next instant -

- they heard an explosion behind; with the speed of light they turned -

- and a pane of red ice formed just in time to block the metal shards flying at them from behind; a few projectiles broke through & sliced their skin as the two stepped back -

- and another car exploded at their left; another exploded at their right -

"( - Fallen Snow!)" shouted Rin; a ring of red ice formed around the two, and in to the frozen barriers went the shards; more explosions shaking the ground, Rin felt something hit their frozen wall -

- which melted it back in to red water; three more explosions and thirty more shards flew towards them -

"( - Fallen Snow -)" she winced, and another ring of red ice kept them safe. At her side, heat grew from Wedding's eyes -

"( - Wedding.)" muttered Matoi; a sweep of lasers disintegrated a hole below -

- and in to the sudden burrow jumped Matoi, Rin blushing as Matoi pulled her tight, landing underneath the asphalt and a pane of ice blocking their entrance above. Wedding's lasers burnt a sizable den for the two as they stood, ground still rocking with explosions above.

"(Is - is this a random host, too?)" chimed Rin, trying to stay focused; Matoi laughed, and as they heard the explosions stop above, the asphalt started to crumble down & towards them -

- but the next scene was instant. Matoi shouted Wedding as she spun; a hundred of missiles burst out of Wedding's shoulders -

- and the hundred explosions hit & blasted right through the underground walls, hundreds more missiles carving & chewing right through hundreds of feet of asphalt, lasers & ice keeping them safe from any further debris as Matoi spun & fired & spun -

- to at last stand in the enormous crater that had been half of the parking lot, Matoi stopping and staggering as the smoke cleared -

- and seeing their male foe on the sidewalk two hundred feet away, shockwaves still setting him off balance, ball of clay in his left hand & right hand against a nearby streetlamp. With no time to waste, the two started rushing towards him, speaking as they ran.

"(Something melted my ice - it must be that clay.)" sighed Rin, relevantly. "(Should I stasis him?)"

"( - go ahead.)" nodded Matoi.

A hundred feet separated them now; they saw him stand straight again -

- but the next scene was instant.

"Sekisetsu!" "Kekkonshiki!"

A pane of red ice formed ahead; a missile flew in to it -

- and blasted it with the strength of a thousand forward, more missiles following after the red shards and blasting them even further forward -

- and the red barrage crucified their foe right to the streetlamp in a burst of blood & torn skin; a horrific shriek erupted from him as the women came fifty feet within range, still in the crater, and as his ball of clay tried to swallow a shard of ice -

" - Sekisetsu!" shouted Rin; she threw a knife of ice forward -

- and the keen end cleaved the man's head clear off his shoulders; Matoi burst in to laughter as it fell -

"( - sorry! Sorry!)" winced Rin, girlfriend cackling beside as they halted -

"( - no - no, it's alright -)" - Matoi laughed - "( - you just -)"

"( - I-I have to work on my aim.)" laughed Rin. "(At, at least your car survived.)" She gestured left, and Matoi's car was still standing over the crater, only vehicle left in the lot.

"(It's gone through a lot today.)" laughed Matoi, relevantly. "(Are you still alright to fight?)"

Rin nodded. "(A - a little wounded, but yes. Where are we going next?)"

"(We still need to investigate her apartment.)"

Rin nodded.

The two went back to Matoi's car again. Aqua Apartments was a beachfront property an hour away with six floors. In later years, complexes like these would be gradually worn down in price from rising sea levels, until landlords thinking themselves smart would sell them to another hopeful to make good money from bad decisions. For now, buildings like these were simply the first yuppie line of defense against hurricanes.

Matoi pulled in to the parking lot, and the two went to the lobby. A woman was at the front counter & computer with a door behind her.

"O-oh shit." said the woman as they came up. "You're - you're Rain-On-A-Wedding."

"I am." said Rain-On-A-Wedding. "There was a woman murdered here recently, correct?"

"I… I, uh… Sorry, um, yes. I mean we - there were cops coming around earlier this week and - and yeah. Um. Yes." She stood straighter. "Um. What can I, what can I do for you?"

"It was Sabrina Sharp, correct?"

"It - I, yeah. I-I think it was. Sorry, I'm just -"

" - you're not a suspect." said Matoi and the woman nodded.

"Okay. Um, yes. Sabrina Sharp I think, yeah -"

- the door opened, and out came a fattened man - " - excuse me, who are you two -"

" - it's, um, Urasaria's president -"

" - oh, I know exactly who she is." He stepped up and Rin glanced at Matoi. "Are you asking around about that woman?"

"I am. What apartment was she in?"

The woman started. "I can look -"

" - oh, don't you start." he said, hand waving her back. "No no no no. I'm the landlord here. Those records are private property."

Matoi yawned. "Mmhm."

"And if you're investigating, well I'm sorry, but you'll have to go through the same channels as - as anyone else has to. As the regular police have to. Do you have a subpoena?"

Rin didn't know what subpoena meant, but Matoi's expression told her it wouldn't ever be important. She smiled as Matoi began arguing with the man, and feeling a bit perverse to be enjoying her girlfriend's abuse of the legal system, figured she should enjoy it too.

Matoi's head shook. "I can just as easily blast your -"

" - Sekisetsu." chimed Rin, tapping the man's neck -

- and the two burst in to laughter as the frozen statue fell to the floor in the next, female employee beside with eyes wide - " - I - he's not dead, is he -"

" - no, no -" laughed Rin - " - he is - stasis -"

" - he's in stasis -" cackled Matoi -

" - can he - can he hear me?" said the female employee, stepping back; Rin's head shook -

" - no, he - he cannot hear you -"

" - oh, thank fuck." laughed the woman. "He's - oh my god, he's - he's like that all the time. But um. You'll vouch for me if I just look up what you need, right?"

"Yes." laughed Matoi, and the woman nodded as she started typing.

"…yeah. Sorry, do you have - what was the name again?"

"Sabrina Sharp."

"Cool. Lemme… ugh, sorry. Computer is kinda slow." She tapped her desk.

"Matoi." whispered Rin, tapping her shoulder. "Boyfriend."

"Right." muttered Matoi, nodding. "Do you know if she had a boyfriend?"

"…um. Dunno, sorry." She smiled like a lemming. "I just - I mean, I'm supposed to check anyone that comes in, but - uh. Honestly, most days? You could probably kill somebody in front of me and I wouldn't notice." She glanced at her boss, then back to Matoi. "…um. Anyway. Okay, so… awkward question incoming, but - are you two dating?"

"I- what?" said Matoi and Rin nodded, though she thought it was odd anyone would ask, compared to Japan, where even straight people were closeted.

"Yes."

"Cool." she chimed. "Just noticed that - you two, kinda got that energy, you know. But um. Lessee… yeah. So, she was in… 253."

"Who pays for her rent?"

"We just take it out of her… looks like, um, maybe her dad's account? Richard Sharp? Do you need, um, any records printed?"

"Send them to the police and say they're from me."

"Allllriighty. Uh, and…" She gestured to her frozen boss. "Is he just… stuck like that forever, or…?"

"I will undo it." nodded Rin. "When we leave."

"Oh. No rush. Kinda like him better this way." she chimed and the three laughed. "You'll make sure I don't get in trouble for this stuff, right?"

"Contact Urasaria and ask for Matoi if something comes up." said Matoi.

"Cool beans."

Rin glanced at Matoi, who laughed as the two started walking up to apartment 238.

"(Slang.)" said Matoi.

"Cool beans." chimed Rin and Matoi laughed. "What does it mean?"

"It's just another way to say (cool)."

"(Then is -) - cool Matoi-kun okay?" laughed Rin, as did Matoi.

"Better than fucking Matoi, yes."

"(Good. I'm sorry if I, I embarrassed you.)"

"(It's alright.)"

The two came up to apartment 253 and found it unlocked. The police had already taken the obvious evidence out & cleaned the rooms, but they still searched until the sun went below the window. Once or twice their wounds still opened, and with no new evidence, they decided to head back to Urasaria's infirmary & check Rook Hospital tomorrow. On the way back, Rin asked how Urasaria's medic healed.

"(There used to be a woman who had a Revenant to - a fog that could fill things. She would use it to fill wounds.)" said Matoi, relevantly. "(She was fired last year - the only one left working in the infirmary is Hirogane.)"

"(No massages, then?)" said Rin and Matoi laughed. Many a young Ueno male hopeful had been tricked by the allure of a medic who healed via massages, only to be horrified at finding Hagakure quadruple the expected age.

"(No massages, no - though he doesn't try to make conversation, at least. He's the only staff member I didn't blackmail.)"

"(Very special status.)"

"(Very.)" laughed Matoi.

The two came back to Urasaria, and Hirogane didn't ask who Rin was before they left. Matoi wanted to go to sleep, but Rin tried to tease her over the edge in to dinner; so Matoi ordered Chinese & the two watched television in bed. With sleep's affliction, Matoi's embarrassment couldn't raise any argument, so she fell asleep cuddling Rin with a half-eaten container on the nightstand.