Shikanoin Heizou

"You wound me, Traveller~~ I'll have you know that was a very genuine compliment! Which are rare coming from me, hehe."

"...!!"

ーー How did he pop up literally on cue? Had he been listening in on her this whole time? As to be expected of a detective.

"Can you blame me? You're always wrapping everyone around your little finger by sweet-talking them. It's difficult to tell when you're actually being genuine."

@sneakydetective

"Ah, but you're a very special case, you see."

"Somehow, I just can't bring myself to lie to you, Traveller~..." Heizou shook his head and gave a dramatic sigh, hands on his hips. "Not to eyes like those. So I assure you, everything I say to you is one-hundred percent, without-a-doubt genuine!"

hyrdove-deactivated20240413

((I hold up a picture of two crows with matching leg bands with the initial B on one and Z on the other))

They're my pet crows. Brutus and Zeus. I've had them since I was young, so you can probably imagine my concern about their sudden disappearance. They don't fly around a lot, so I'm sure they'll be easy to find, right?

"I see... The leg bands will certainly make it easier. I'll get to it, then! I'll update you as soon as I can!"

— Surely it couldn't be that hard.

hyrdove-deactivated20240413

((I shake his hand))

Hello, Mr. Heizou! I am Astris. Do you take detective requests for missing animals, perchance? I have a pet that needs finding and was hoping you could help.

"Oh? A missing animal? Yes, of course I do. Though animals are not my area of expertise... It seems simple enough."

Heizou retracted his hand again, placing it on his hip. "So — what animal are we talking? A picture of your pet would help, for a reference."

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((You see a lavender haired man walking around clueless. He turns to you and slowly approachs))

Umm... Hello. Do you know a detective by the name of...

((He looks at a notepad and back at you))

Heizou? I need his assistance.

"Oho~?"

Heizou tilted his head, grinning. "Lucky for you, I do! And you happen to be looking at him, in fact," he offered his hand out toward the stranger as a greeting. "Hello there! What do you need me for?"

???: Mr. Heizou!

I am glad I Finally managed to get to you!

I need to make this short! I don´t know if you are aware of the recent case but did you see this man?

"Hm, I see... So this is the missing person?"

Heizou nodded. "I'll keep his appearance in mind. I'm already on the case. By chance, are you close to him at all? I have a few questions I'd like to ask."

"I'm interviewing you purely as someone who could be useful — not a suspect. It'll just help me narrow down where he could've gone, a motive, or a possible person of interest; if there even is one. Are you up for it?"

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A 20 year old man called Fang didn´t return home since yesterday morning.

There have already been new information that he is probably in a ship. The Tenryou commission, Ayato and Itto are already informed. You were kinda the last one.

"I see."

"Well, searching the boats is the obvious first step, but that may be a little difficult to do. The possibilities aren't limited to the boats in Inazuma currently — rather, every single one that has left port since yesterday morning."

Heizou thought for a moment and then nodded to himself. "I'll look through the records in Ritou, including the passenger records. But some basic questioning should also be in order... Who is this young man close to? Immediate family, even people who he had something against, or who had something against him. Anything helps."

— In a way, it felt good to be in pure investigative mode again.

Are you aware of the missing person case?

"Hm? A missing persons case? Is this recent?"

— In truth, Heizou had heard nothing about it. He's usually informed of serious cases such as this right away, so it's a surprise that he hasn't even heard of it.

"Hm... Can you fill me in on the details? I'll look into it."

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Would you give Aether a lil kiss

"Hmm? Does he want a little kiss?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind it, hehe. I'm sure there are very few who would pass up an opportunity to kiss someone like him! Attractive, strong, intelligent... I mean, really, what more could you want?"

What are the numbers of the abc true or false

"Those mind-games won't work on me!"

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To be honest, Lumine had absolutely no clue what was happening. Ever since this odd doppelgänger of herself showed up, nothing has been making sense any more.

This woman could not be trusted, the Traveller had figured as much. She even debated drawing her weapon to settle it that way, but there was something oddly unsettling about potentially striking down a person who looks like a carbon copy of yourself.

Besides, part of her wanted to know who exactly this other 'Lumine' was and what her plans were. Perhaps these events were even related to her missing sibling, in which case she definitely did not want to let that chance slide.

"That's easier said than done..." She mumbled, perking up her head as soon as the Inazuman detective walked through the front door.

"Heizou...! You actually came..."

Deep down, she still harbored a spark of hope that he would use his brain and stay away. Who knows what her 'dark' counterpart had planned after all.

Looking between the two identical women in front of him, Heizou remained by the entrance, a safe distance away. "You two...?"

Did the Traveller know why he was wanted here? She must be the 'us' the letter had mentioned. No harm seems to have been done to her, but he still found himself sceptical of the Princess as he stared at her, eyes narrowing.

"You sent me a letter," he stated. "Why did you call me here?"

"And, Traveller... Hm, did she ask you to be here as well?"

Heizou cocked his head to the side, bringing his hand up to his chin. "Nothing's... happened to you in that time, right?"

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askabyssprincesslumine

More heilumi with abyss and traveller lumine >:))) if you recognize the reference, have a cookie. 🍪))

@sneakydetective @luminexhotaru hehehheehh ))

#;;ooc #nsfw #not mine

A large raven swooped past, dropping a rolled up piece of paper at Heizou’s feet before hiking a u-turn and flying off whence it came.

“Detective Shikanoin Heizou,

Meet us at the Komore Teahouse.

Don’t keep us waiting.

Yours, {@askabyssprincesslumine}”

Heizou stared at the letter, sighing and putting his face in his hands for a moment. He took a breath, steeled himself and began to weigh his options.

The Komore Teahouse was likely the chosen location to prevent herself from being arrested if she gets recognised. That in itself was already suspicious to the detective. It could very well be a trap — to get him off her trail.

Then again... 'Us'? There was someone else there. Could it be another servant to the Abyss? Or... somebody else?

Though, if she wanted him dead, she could have very well done it while she was in his home and he was handcuffed. It would've been easy and, frankly; she likely would've gotten away with it completely.

Either way, this is his only shot to gather more information about this woman. Dangerous and illogical as it was to follow the guidance of the letter the Enemy of Humanity herself had left him, he was willing to take that risk.

"Hmph..."

With that, Heizou left, heading to Komore Teahouse.

"First, a true friend would help out, even if they knew the person was guilty. Friendship is stronger than the law!"

"Second, I am not even that cute!? I can think of at least 5 people who are way cuter than me!"

@sneakydetective

"Not true. It's my purpose to put criminals behind bars, and to hold friends accountable for things they've done is a good thing, dearest Lumine."

"Aside from that... Come on now, no need to be humble~. You are the cutest little thing in Teyvat."

With one smooth motion, she swung her sword at the handcuffs, neatly slicing through the material to free him from his confinements.

"Huh...?"

Lumine was visibly confused by his musings, tilting her head to the side. "What do you mean...?" At first, he seemed to be accusing her of putting him in this situation in the first place. Which only made the Traveller feel even more guilty for joking around about putting him in jail for being a smooth operator.

"I...I'm sorry, Heizou. It was never my intention toーー..."

Hold on.

Who is this 'her'?

"I'm not...who, exactly? You're not making much sense right now, you know? Did the person who put those handcuffs on you also hit you? Is that why you're a little shaken up right now?"

Heizou's wrists finally freed, he immediately stretched his arms above his head and stretched. He examined Lumine for a moment longer, before shaking his head.

"No, I mean..." He paused. "You look... exactly like her. As in, it's like you're perfect clones, she just wears different clothing. You two even have the same name."

He brought his hand under his chin, thinking to himself. He was more confused than ever now.

"And no, she didn't hit me. I know what I saw!"

— He also wasn't planning on explaining what she actually did to him.

"Heizou...!? Are those...handcuffs!?"

Sure, she may have joked about putting him into 'rizz jail' not too long ago, but the Traveller was never serious about locking the detective behind iron bars.

Did someone take her words for granted, perhaps? In which case she would be responsible for his current predicament.

"Hold on, I'll free you. Don't move, okay? I'm going to slice through the metal with my sword."

Heizou stared at Lumine for a moment, and his expression turned uncharacteristically angry, his cheeks a little red.

"Hey! How come you came back right away? What's even the point of putting me in these if you were just gonna free me?" Due to the identical appearance between this 'Abyss' Lumine and Lumine herself, the detective had, in the moment, assumed that his assailant had come back to mock him. "Are you trying to reduce your sentence or something? And why are you—"

Wearing different clothes, he was about to say. But before he could, it struck him.

"Wait, hold on, you..." he squinted his eyes in the Traveller's direction. "... You aren't her at all, are you?"

His intuition was telling him that this Lumine was not, in fact, the one he'd had a certain encounter with just moments prior. Despite it obviously being strange that they looked and sounded the same — they even shared a name — his trusty intuition had never failed him before.