The Loser | by Isaac7525

By the time the duo arrived at the given address, the sun had actually begun to rise over the mountain. 827 Rue de Blaunches was a small building nestled between a corner store and a craftsmen's place. The corner store had only just opened, the old lady running the building flipping the sign to indicate its status of approach. 

The craftsmen's store had already begun to buzz with the sounds of clockwork and machinery. Whoever was inside either had lots of work to attend to, or they had a passion for their craft, almost to the extent of waking up before the sun was up.

The front of the building appeared casual, almost to an eerie extent. In contrast to the harsh winter temperatures, whoever owned the establishment favored floral quantity over convenience. 

Lining the narrow path leading to the front door were lots of flowers. Half of them were buried beneath the thick white snow. On the contrary, the taller flowers extruded past the snow, stretching to the sky in an attempt to soak in as much sunlight as they could before the quickness of the winter's day snatched such an opportunity. 

Aizawa was the first one to approach the door, refusing to knock and silently peering through the window. For the most part, the entire establishment was dimly lit. In what the man could see through the window, the outlines of numerous house-hold objects and other accommodations were clearly visible. Even as more of the sun granted visibility, the inside of the house wasn't something Aizawa could so easily access by sight. 

At that moment, Aizawa's hand shifted to the wooden door. The surface had been slightly chipped; the wooden surface of the door was either mottled by the environment, or the lack of maintenance from the owner. With a tinge of hesitance, the dark-haired man knocked on its surface. He silently looked back at Leo, the skinny man, now dressed in attire more suitable for the cold, tensed inexplicably as he stared at the darkened window. 

"Are you sure anyone even lives here?" Leo, remaining in his spot. 

Aizawa remained silent, his observant demeanor never ceasing, even for a moment. His hands slowly trailed over the chips on the doors surface, the rough and jagged texture reminding Aizawa of the possibility of getting a splinter. Considering the medical approach of the time, he might get thrown into an institution for something as small as that. 

After a moment, he looked back at Leo and blinked. "I don't entirely think so, but I wouldn't reject another possibility."

Leo shifted his hands to his pockets, silently fidgeting with them from view as he continued to probe Aizawa. "Who knows how old that suitcase was." 

Upon hearing his statement, Aizawa once again entered a period of silence. He turned back to the door, before taking a hold of the doorknob. When the cold metal greeted his warm palms, the man tensed slightly. After closing his eyes and taking a breath, he silently opened the door. 

The only sound aside from his heart pounding in his ears was the door squeaking as it allowed the duo entry to the establishment. They were greeted with a dark, narrow hallway with insufficient lighting on both sides. Strangely, the kerosene-powered lamp above the door was on. Upon noticing this, Aizawa looked back at Leo.

"The light's on, someone's probably here." 

Leo's boots crunched against the snow as he silently made his way to the entry of the house, slowly creeping up the wooden steps and brushing his boots off on the carpet. After everything was done, he finally looked back at Aizawa. The duo made their way forward, AIzawa the most vigilant and hyper-aware of the two. 

When they rounded the first corner, Leo noticeably tensed upon seeing the living room. This part of the house was obscured from view from the outside. In the corner of the room, the fireplace was on. The light from the fire seemed to ease them both, but this sudden tranquility was abruptly shattered the moment Aizawa looked to the floor. 

The carpet in the middle of the room was noticeably ajar, revealing something underneath. In the fireplace's light, Aizawa quickly made out an object: a metal handle bolted into the wood.

"What the…" Aizawa mumbled as he knelt down, wrapping his hands around the metal. This time, it wasn't like the door handle outside. It was warm, as if something—or someone—had previously made contact with it. Without wasting any time, Aizawa instinctively pulled at the handle, dislodging the portion of floor from the rest of it.

The sound of grinding gears and machinery were muffled underneath the floorboards, an audible sign of something transpiring. Aizawa and Leo both watched as the floor raised on its own, revealing a passageway that descended into darkness. Unlike the manor, this was a drop down. In the dim lighting, Aizawa quickly made out what appeared to be a ladder. 

…

In the Mother Nature cathedral, Humphrey silently led Shinso down the stairs behind the altar. As they entered the dimly lit corridor, Shinso immediately looked towards the ongoing surgery on the Tremebrus. The creature resembling a female had been killed for this process to prevent issues. The lifeless Tremebrus had been slumped onto the table. 

A large light shone overhead the creature, revealing everything transpiring. Shinso saw that a large portion of its chest had been sliced into and removed. Inside, numerous bodily organs and systems were silently operated on, either being rearranged or removed. At that moment, one of the doctors made a small incision, severing the heart of the Tremebrus from the rest of its body. She removed the organ and placed it on a metal tray alongside the other organs which had been dealt with.

Some of them seemed to move and pulse as if still alive. Seeing this, Shinso shivered slightly. 

"It seems surgical operations aren't your cup of tea?" Humprey teased, leading Shinso down the hallway. 

The indigo-haired boy swallowed the bulge in his throat and spoke up, his voice low. "What do I do to become a Pollinator?" 

The dark-skinned man chuckled as they came to a door at the end of the small hallway. It had a dark surface with green marking inscribed into the wood. A metal nameplate hung at about Humphrey's height, with his name branded into it with an italic font. 

He silently opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Shinso entry. "Allow me to explain." 

The inside of the office smelled of something pleasant, though the location of such a scent was unbeknownst to him. Sitting on Humphrey's desk was a plant similar to the one he had seen earlier that night. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth. 

Lining the shelves on either side of the desk were similar plants, all possessing sharp teeth and a carnivorous attitude. 

As if sensing Shinso's weariness, Humphrey scoffed. "Don't worry, that scent you smell keeps them calm." 

He walked behind his desk before opening a drawer and removing a large metal case. The inside was filled to the brim with different files. They were all tan in color, some of them in better condition than others. 

"You mentioned you're a Seeker, correct?" Humphrey asked, cocking an eyebrow as his bulky hands shuffled through the numerous files.

"Y-yes," Shinso replied with a nod, alongside a smile that twitched around the edges. 

At that moment, Humphrey took out a particular file from the set. He placed it down on the desk in front of Shinso, silently gesturing for him to take it. The indigo-haired boy let out a low, shaky breath as he grasped the file and opened it. 

Inside the file was a small stack of papers, all messily arranged. Alongside the papers were a noticeable amount of photographs. 

"Heh, we're one of the few organizations to specialize in owning a camera," Humphrey gloated, smiling as he observed Shinso's actions. 

Shinso began to shuffle through the papers, his eyes scanning over the miscellaneous information scattered across what seemed to be volumes worth of information. One of the papers, a sheet with a dirty, almost ancient-looking texture, gravitated his attention. He looked up at Humphrey, cocking an eyebrow. 

"What's this?" He asked, raising the paper to grant the man a view. 

Upon seeing the paper, Humphrey closed his eyes and sharply drew a breath. "One of our more recent troubles; it's plagued us for months now." 

"Recent? …" Shinso inquired, feeling a surge of puzzlement. 

"This looks ancient."

"Not ancient, just dirty," Humphrey took the paper and scanned its contents. 

"Across the kingdom there's been a large scale of robberies, acts that even our echelons fail to properly track," His hands tightened around the edges of the paper, slightly wrinkling it. 

"Whoever these thieves are have been stealing everything from food, clothing, even a few potions from our stash." 

At that moment, Shinso's body tensed slightly. He knew well that Cathrine and Carter had stolen the potions from the Mother Nature church. But ratting them out and giving specific locations shatter any semblance of trust between the two of them and him. 

"Do you have any leads?" Shinso asked, leaning forward.

Humphrey nodded his head, taking the file back from Shinso and looking deeper into its contents. After a few seconds, he removed a set of two photos. Both of them were blurry, as if taken in a frenzy. The boy took the photos and closely analyzed them. In the photos, he could faintly see the bodies of two of the figures.

One of them was a woman with light-colored hair, a monocle on her eye, and wearing a more gentlemanly outfit. The other person was a man with freckles, his hair medium length—almost obscuring his eyes. He was clad in a casual shirt and pants more habitual of an ordinary person in the kingdom. 

Shinso suppressed his emotions upon closely investigating the figure's appearances. They bore a close resemblance to Catherine and Carter, but they also had some noticeable changes to their clothing and accessories. Is this some sort of disguise on their end?

He looked back up at Humphrey and sighed. "What makes you think they're suspects?" 

"Clarice, the leader of our division specializing in criminal investigation and photography, captured this scene shortly after a robbery was reported in that particular location." 

His hands rapped on the edge of the desk as he continued explaining. "When we took the photos back to the cathedral, we ran a spirituality test on them, but only this one appeared positive for containing some sort of ill intent." 

Hearing his words, Shinso audibly gulped. "You said you failed to track them down, why? You have clear-cut evidence right here," he picked up the photographs holding them up to the light. 

"Because any form of divination fails. We can't track them down, we can't lure them out, we'll have to resort to other methods of knowing such information." 

At that moment, Shinso began to concentrate. His brows furrowed as he gazed into the photos, the black and white hues gradually turning brighter and more vibrant. Using his newly honed vision, he silently assessed the photographs of the duo. 

His eyes widened when he caught sight of the spiritual aura of the photographs. They were black, similar to the captain's aura. 

After quickly reverting his vision to normal, Shinso looked back to the captain and sighed. "Since we can't find those criminals in the meantime, are there any things I could assist you with?" 

"Actually, yes," Humphrey clasped his hands together, looking towards Shinso with a now concerned expression. 

"I recommend you get some sleep; you look awfully tired." 

…

Stepping out into the fresh morning sun, Shinso raised his hands over his eyes to filter it out. As he stepped down the cathedral stairs, he suddenly collided with a figure. He was sent down onto his rear, and he let out a grunt of pain from the collision. 

"Shinso?" A feminine voice called out, ringing with obvious concern. 

The boy lowered his hand, gazing at the figure. She had black hair tousled into a messy bun, rounded glasses, and a round face. It was Ayumi!

"Y-you recovered that quickly?" Shinso stumbled to his feet, feeling a wave of shock wash over him. 

"Yeah, Carter and Catherine gave me a concoction after some physical training. Even Mr. Ryujin stopped by a little while earlier." 

"That's…good to hear," Shinso rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"I heard about all the shit that happened last night," Ayumi suddenly said. "How's Isaac doing?" 

At that moment, Shinso sighed softly, his voice lowering. "That's…hard to answer." 

"Why?" Ayumi's brows furrowed. 

"Today he'll either have some surgery or we'll send him to the medical place downtown."