Parting Memory

[Not Cut Out for Babysitting Blunders: Successfully escape the area]

Ah, there's the main problem. Mizuki scurries towards the bush, gesturing at the others to follow her through the shrubs and trees where the guards won't take notice of their passing silhouettes. The cat nuzzles against Jake's chest as he runs, often distracting him in his attempt to escape. If Garden and Olive weren't tagging along, there's no way she'd be able to control this kid on her own.

They stop only once they're in front of Jake's house back in the neighbourhood, a part of the street where there aren't any guards.

Not particularly because they're suspicious, rather Mizuki can't take the adrenaline of hanging around any more guards. Her previous endeavours still weigh deep on her conscience, each detail of the night stuck with her from the climbing till the… argument.

"Are you happy?" Mizuki shoots a look at Jake, lips parting in surprise at his expression of happiness. He has a childish grin, such genuinity in her happiness she hasn't felt in herself for a long time either. He strokes the cat in his arms, combing its fur.

Buttercup fidgets with the toy distractedly, squirming around so much till Mizuki wonders how Jake keeps him in his grip without dropping him. A soft blush of sheer joy creeps onto Jake's cheeks. Huh. I forgot kids had that innocent charm about them.

She smiles in satisfaction. "Thank you, lady. I missed him so much," Jake's grin grows wider into a toothy one, exposing the little gaps between his teeth. It looks kind of cute on him, considering he's twelve and hasn't even hit puberty yet. Her heart warms at this sight.

"You can't be running around looking for cats anymore. Especially not," Mizuki gestures towards the palace with her head, gritting her teeth. Jake nods obediently, lifting a pinky. Buttercup hops off his hands, circling Jake's feet when he lands. Jake lets out a giggle, feeling ticklish by Buttercup's fur. Mizuki takes his pinky with her own, locking them. Garden lunges towards her, enveloping her in an unexpected hug. Olive does the same, though he's much more passive and instead, nuzzles up to her quietly.

"Thank you for helping us," Garden squeals.

[Commission Completed: Not Cut Out for Babysitting Blunders]

[8500 coins, 200 EXP]

"Be good to them, okay?" Mizuki says as she parts their hands. Jake nods. Mizuki ruffles his hair affectionately. Garden shifts towards Jake, engaging him in a conversation. It's not long before he reverts to his usual demeanour, snapping at Garden for making a comment about her cat. Mizuki stifles a chuckle at this.

Perhaps he's a lot more bearable now that she knows how he can be when he's nice. Not everybody's completely bad or rotten to the core. Same goes for Hinata. She pauses at the realisation. 'Right, I should check on Miko. Yeah.'

She turns on her heel, dismissing the thought completely. Even then, no matter how hard she tries, it lingers—be it at the back of her head or while she's in her conscious mind. If it is, she lets it drift as she silently drifts amongst the streets, gaze raised to the sky. It's close to evening now and the streets are bathed in pink. She realises how time flies quickly in this world, much faster than it seems realistically.

Mizuki pauses a couple of moments in front of Miko's door, knocking lightly before welcoming herself inside. Miko turns her head to the door as she pours herself a cup of tea from her kettle, cracking a weak smile.

"Thanks for bringing me here earlier. My head aches like a bitch but I'm kind of managing."

Mizuki's slightly taken aback by the swearing, which the older woman can tell by intuition, muttering an apology. She gestures towards a stool where she can sit and wait. Mizuki does, sitting and waiting until there's an appropriate opening for herself to talk.

Miko slumps against the bed, sipping her coffee as she maintains her tired stare level on Mizuki. Neither of them speak for a good couple of seconds, enough to get discomfort creeping up on Mizuki's skin but not enough for Miko to realise it's that bad.

"You were mentioning something earlier… About your husband?" Mizuki decides it's best to cut straight to the point. Miko's noticeably disturbed by this prompt, tightening her grip around the handle of her mug.

She doesn't move, neither does her expression change. She's very vaguely uncomfortable, though and that's all Mizuki can guess. "I recently found that an item precious to me was lost. Stolen? Definitely."

Mizuki furrows her brows in an attempt to draw the connection. "What do you want me to do for you then?"

"It was a ruby pendant gifted to me by my husband before I came to Ocantis. The main reason I'm here, really, is because of a confidential mission against a higher power. A well-known organisation, as you might better understand," Miko sips her drink, her eyes fixated on her reflection against the tea.

"Of course, there are many details I can't tell you but that— that locket is all I have of him."

Miko raises her gaze. "He was missing when I returned to my family in Sigma. No one heard of him, no one knew where he went. I need that locket, today's the day we last saw each other all those years ago," her lips quiver, but she maintains her strength. She doesn't crumple, neither does she let the sadness evidently crease wrinkles on her face. Not a single tear slips off her eyelid yet in her strained voice, Mizuki can feel her pain.

"How do you want me to find this for you?" Mizuki asks objectively.

"Uh," Miko ponders. "I think… if you wander shortly beyond the forest up North, you'll find open land with cliffs and stuff. The pendant..? Probably stolen?" she speaks dazedly, making close to no sense to Mizuki who desperately wonders how she's expected to find such a small object in this entire land. It could be anywhere, with anyone. If it's broken, it'll only be harder to find. What's worse is she doesn't get how it's so important.

"So you want to find this because you want to use it to give your husband a proper farewell and it's probably out there somewhere with someone and you want me to find it," Mizuki tries to make sense of the situation. "Are you sure I'll be able to?"

[Side Quest: Memories Often Windswept - Find Locket]

"It's magical, I need it. Not only because it's from my husband but because there are multiple other factors that are affected by whether or not I have it," Miko fails to deliver a clearer explanation. Mizuki only nods in acknowledgement to this. It's not like she has an option but to figure it out herself. She watches as Miko kind of sways, either because she's thoughtless and maybe because she's drunk.

"I'll find it, right? I'll know," Mizuki repeats for reassurance.