Convergence

by Cronomon

"Extra, extra, read all about it! The Minami family heirloom has been stolen!" A story told through interactions, observations, and misinterpretations. AU.

"Intruders! Sound the alarm!"

There were a lot of things in Rin's life that had led up to this moment, but if you asked her, the most important one was probably a few hours ago when Nico had suggested, hey, let's go steal some cool stuff from the castle.

And maybe also when Rin had said, sure, sounds good.

But anyway what was done was done and the past was in the past so here they were, racing through the endless corridors, bells ringing and dogs barking and guards everywhere shouting as the pair weaved and dodged and tumbled, trying desperately to find an exit.

"Don't let go of the bag!" Nico shouted as she feinted right and darted left around a particularly heavyset guard. "If they don't have any evidence that you took stuff they can't accuse you!"

"Roger that!" Rin replied. She twirled out of the grasp of another guard and followed her partner down a separate hallway.

To their relief, at the very end of the carpeted floor was a large window, colored a faint blue with the brightening sky outside. Best of all, no guards intercepting them, although there was a very large crowd of them right on their tails.

"Home free," Nico crowed regardless, and Rin knew they were safe.

Tucking their chins to their chests, the thieves crashed through the window, rolled with the impact against the grass below, and made a dash to the woods beyond.

The shouting behind them faded, and eventually Rin assumed that they were no longer being chased after with torches and pitchforks. She slowed down to a trot, realizing that Nico was already slumped against an oak tree and panting for breath.

"Another success." The other girl grinned and winked, holding up her bag of loot triumphantly.

Rin beamed back. "All in a day's work! Or a night's, I guess? Morning?" The early sun was just beginning to rise, rays of light filtering weakly through the thick branches of the forest — they'd definitely spent too much time figuring out how to get into that ridiculously fancy castle.

Nico, apparently only now noticing the arrival of day, cursed silently and scrambled to her feet. "We took too long. I gotta get going-."

"I'll come too! We got lots of stuff, I'll bet it's worth tons." Rin's eyes lit up. "Imagine how much we could get for it!"

"That's only if we can trade it in the first place," Nico reminded her sharply.

Rin frowned. "Nozomi wouldn't let us down like that."

"Not her." Nico rolled her eyes. "But the castle guards definitely saw us, and by now they'll be searching the whole town for us and these jewels. We need to move quickly unless we want all that effort to be for nothing." She'd already slung her bag over her shoulder and begun marching away before the last word left her mouth.

Rin perked up, delighted that the concern wasn't even concerning in the first place. "Is that all? Aw, we can handle a few snoopers, and besides, the castle's full of jewels. They won't miss any of these measly li'l things."

#

"Extra, extra, read all about it! The Minami family heirloom has been stolen! That's right, a priceless necklace, right from under the castle's nose — only two copper bits! Ah, that's the spirit, thank you kindly, ma'am!"

Umi tipped her hat gratefully at the departing woman, and then grabbed another newspaper from the pile cradled in her left arm, waving it wildly as she shouted her advertisement once more.

"You heard it here first, folks! Minami family heirloom stolen!"

#

"Maki… what's done is done. It's regretful, but the robbers could be anywhere by now, we just can't spare the time searching for nothing-."

"It's not nothing if it's important to you," Maki replied stubbornly. As mature as she was trying to be, her bottom lip still stuck out in a pout, and her eyebrows were drawn together in a childishly unhappy expression.

Kotori had to hide a giggle behind her hand — it was at times like these that she forgot Maki wasn't part of the family by blood.

"It's alright," she assured the other girl gently. "I'm alright. Really. What kind of princess would I be if I let the kingdom fall apart just because some jewels went missing?"

"Not missing, stolen," Maki asserted. "And not just some jewels, but your heirloom. Those girls broke in and took something precious to your family, and you're asking me to just let them get away with it?"

Kotori smiled ruefully. "There isn't much we can do now regardless. I appreciate your concern, but there are bigger things we should be worrying about right now."

"Kotori-."

"You know my mother is in your kingdom now, speaking to your parents about the terms of your wardship here. That leaves the responsibility of the throne to me, but I can't do it without your support."

Maki fidgeted almost guiltily under the gaze of Kotori's sheer affection.

"You'll help me out, won't you?" The princess' words were soft, hopeful, and it was all Maki could do to not scream out her undying loyalty right then and there.

Instead, she took a deep breath, and affirmed, "For you, anything."

#

Maki pressed a gold coin to the blonde's palm and hissed, "Don't you dare let a single word of this get out. You are simply to find the thieves, get the heirloom, and come back. Understood?"

"Clear as day the first six times you told me," Eli responded dryly. She grasped the coin tightly and dropped it in her pocket, an airy smile on her face. "Don't forget, you're talking to-."

"The greatest and grandest detective in all the kingdoms here and to come," Maki finished. She eyed the woman irritably. "Heard it the first dozen times, don't worry."

#

Honoka flapped open the newspaper and arched an eyebrow at the headline. "So that's what all the commotion's about, huh?"

"Thieves are common in this town, but it's the first time anyone's ever tried to steal something from the castle," Hanayo confirmed. She filled a glass with amber liquid and slid it to the adventurer, who downed half of it in one swig. "They actually got away with it too."

Honoka hummed, tapping her foot against the bar stool as she skimmed through the article. She took another sip of her drink and sloshed it in her mouth for a moment. Then she suddenly slammed the newspaper down, a new conviction shining in her eyes. "Not bad!" she declared. "I want to meet them!"

#

Nozomi let out a low whistle as she inspected the silver-and-green necklace. "You guys sure are idiots, huh?"

"I didn't know it was important," Rin protested. "It just looked pretty!"

"That's probably why it was important. You've got the whole town in an uproar."

Nico growled impatiently. "Yeah, we get it, family heirloom and whatever. Look, will you take it or not?"

With an apologetic smile, Nozomi dropped the necklace back on the counter and shook her head. "Sorry, Nicocchi, no can do. I don't exactly fancy getting arrested, you know?"

"But it's fine to leave us hanging?"

"Aw, come on, I'm already going out on a limb letting you guys trade in the other stuff. The heirloom's way too obvious. Why don't ya just drop it somewhere and let it become someone else's problem?"

Nico scowled. "Because what if someone even worse comes along and picks it up?"

#

"And that's why we need you to hold on to it for a bit, Kayo-chin!"

"E-ehhh?"

Nico lunged forward to cover the girl's mouth, ever cautious even though they were currently in the storage room of the bar. "It's only until tonight," she explained. "We'll be back to pick it up. Just— I dunno, hide it somewhere until then, okay?"

Hanayo was clearly reluctant. "But-."

"Aw, don't worry, Kayo-chin," Rin cut in. She straightened her back and thumped her chest proudly. "Just trust in us! We won't let anything bad happen to you!"

#

"Now, what kind of person would I have to be to steal the most precious and priceless treasure in a kingdom?" Honoka folded her arms against her chest, deep in thought as she walked down the crowded cobblestone roads.

To her, the answer was obvious enough.

"Either a hero or an idiot, I guess!"

#

Eli strode into the building, nodding amicably at the bartender. "Per chance, you wouldn't have happened to see a couple of young girls pass through here, would ya?"

"I see lots of girls come and go," Hanayo answered slowly. "You'll have to be a little more specific."

Eli offered a toothy smile. "About yay high. One's got orange hair, the other black."

"… No. Can't say I did."

Eli hummed quietly and glanced around the bar. Hanayo shuffled her feet. A minute passed without a single spoken word between the two.

"That so?" the detective finally replied.

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately, indeed." Eli's easygoing tone suggested anything but. "Well. If you do happen to see them around, give me a shout, would you?"

"Of course. Anything for the kingdom." The words were barely out of Hanayo's mouth before she realized her mistake.

A lopsided grin grew on Eli's face, and Hanayo felt her stomach drop to her feet.

But all the detective did was wave the newspaper in her hand, mention, "You're sure in the loop, aren't you?" and then tip her hat again and leave.

Even so, it took ten minutes after the blonde's departure for Hanayo's heart rate to return to normal.

#

The sun's rays disappeared over the horizon, and Nozomi twisted her key, locked the shop, and turned to head off.

It hadn't been a bad day in the least — she'd managed to sell off some of the jewels Nico and Rin had brought her without any suspicion on her customers' part, and even better had been able to throw off the blonde detective who had been snooping around. She was looking forward to seeing how all the events would play out tonight and tomorrow.

As she headed down the town's most popular street, mostly empty now that the sun had set, a flash of red bows and orange hair caught her eye.

Slowing her pace, Nozomi watched the two girls scurry into the darkness of an alley. Moments later, the door of a nearby bar creaked open, and another girl slipped out and followed them into the shadows.

Rather than waiting to observe, Nozomi only shook her head and continued on. One would hope that the thieves who'd managed to steal the Minami family heirloom would be a little more careful in their movements.

#

Now, nightfall wasn't an uncommon time to enter a bar — rather, Umi would have thought that it'd be the busiest time of all for such a place. She always looked forward to stopping by after work for a quick chat with the bartender and a chance to soothe her hoarse throat after hours of yelling on the streets. Thus, she was surprised to walk in and find the place empty, with even the counter left unattended.

Odd. She was sure that the sign outside confirmed that the establishment wasn't closed yet, and more so, the door had been open… She stiffened when the possibility that something terrible might have happened to Hanayo crossed her mind.

But, glancing around the room, there was no sign that a struggle had taken place. Had Hanayo perhaps been threatened? Kidnapped before she had a chance to cry out? Umi's hands clenched into fists and she was seconds away from dashing back out to find the police when the very girl she'd been afraid for appeared at the door.

"U-Umi?"

"Hanayo!" In a only a few seconds Umi had crossed the room and grabbed Hanayo's shoulders, concern overpowering any kind of reasoning in that moment. "Are you alright? Did something happen? You never leave the bar without some kind of notice or warning…"

Hanayo's hands were fidgeting and she was avoiding Umi's gaze, but otherwise there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her. She looked up and forced a shaky smile. "Sorry to worry you, Umi. Nothing happened. I'm okay."

Umi frowned. Her hands dropped to her sides, but when she spoke her tone was as stern as ever. "Hanayo, you know that if there's something troubling you, I'm always willing to listen."

"I-it's nothing, really-."

"Hanayo."

Umi's voice was serious, but Hanayo heard the kindness underneath and realized she couldn't stop trembling.

"I… I think I…" Hanayo swallowed thickly, struggling to get her thoughts together. Umi took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly, and Hanayo tried to steel herself. "I think I'm an accomplice…"

"What do you mean?"

Hanayo took a shaky breath. "Umi… can you keep a secret?"

#

Perched on the roof right over where Hanayo was telling her story, Eli tapped her chin thoughtfully, mulling over the information the bartender had just revealed.

"Well, if that's the case, there's only one place those two would be heading for…."

#

"Okay, so that should be the princess' bedroom."

Rin squinted her eyes. "That one on the right?"

"Yeah. I guess one good thing about this is that we already know the layout of the place," Nico commented only moments before a caped girl dropped down in front of them from who-knows-where with a smile only the sun would be able to match.

Rin yelped and, in her surprise, dropped the heirloom. Nico dove for it, but the newcomer scooped it up just as swiftly.

"Like I said," the girl boasted, "heroes or idiots. And only idiots would return to the scene of the crime."

#

"HEY, GIVE THAT BACK, IT'S OURS!"

"WELL, LIKE, TECHNICALLY IT'S PRINCESS MINAMI'S, BUT, YOU KNOW, ALSO OURS, I GUESS."

"SHUT UP, RIN."

"NYEHH, IF IT'S YOURS, WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER AND TAKE IT?"

Kotori watched from her bedroom window as three girls she'd never seen before ran back and forth across the yard.

The caped one had apparently stolen something from the other two — upon closer observation, and judging by everything they were screaming, it was actually the heirloom, to Kotori's surprise — and now they were playing an endless, and very loud, game of tag for it.

Inference gave Kotori reason to believe that the smaller girls were the thieves from last night, but as to who the caped girl was and what she wanted, the princess had no idea.

She wondered idly when she should intervene.

#

Unscheduled night visits were one thing, but when they were from the commoners of the town it was something else entirely. What with Kotori's request not to be disturbed while she was in her room, Maki had been called to the throne room to meet a pair of girls who claimed to have urgent news for the princess.

Maki narrowed her eyes as she took in the sight. There was a mousy girl in a bartender suit, staring at the tiled floors and shaking to no end, and beside her was a taller girl dressed in the plain, brown garb of a paperboy. Neither of them seemed to be particularly comfortable standing before royalty, but Maki supposed she couldn't blame them.

"Relax," she advised. "You came bearing news, and I am here to listen. What do you have to say?"

A few moments of silence passed. Maki's eyebrow twitched, and the taller girl quickly elbowed her friend, who whimpered pitifully.

"I-I… um…." The bartender's voice was barely audible.

"Speak up. You don't have anything to be afraid of in here."

Rather than do so, however, the girl only turned to her companion and whispered something that sounded an awful lot like, "You said you could keep a secret!"

The papergirl responded in a steadier voice, although just as soft, and patted the girl's back comfortingly. Apparently giving in, the girl turned back to Maki, meekly lifting her gaze to meet the princess'.

Maki's heart softened just a little at the sight, and she smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging way. But what the girl said next made all traces of that smile disappear.

"T-the heirloom," the girl managed to stammer out. "It's about the Minami heirloom…"

Before she could say anything else, a guard burst into the room, cutting off the girl and drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"Intruders! In the yard! They have the heirloom!"

#

Hidden in the shadows of the castle walls, Nozomi heard shouting in the distance and watched as Honoka stopped in her tracks. Behind the caped girl, Nico and Rin had slowed down as well, all three of them frozen when they realized what was coming.

"Rin, we're getting out of here," Nico ordered, but even as she spoke Rin was lunging forward and reaching out, and in the next instant she was once again in possession of the necklace.

Bewildered, Honoka whirled around, only to see the cat-eyed girl grinning and sticking her tongue out.

"Let your guard down," Rin teased.

And just as Nozomi had expected, despite the imminent danger, Honoka was smiling back.

#

Eli dashed into the yard, surprised that none of the thieves had taken the opportunity to run away but figuring it made her job easier all the same.

"Stop!" she commanded. "Surrender yourselves and no harm will come to you!"

At the same time, another voice cut shrilly through the air. "Honoka?"

Rounding the corner on the opposite end of the yard were three people Eli wouldn't have thought to see together: the princess who'd hired her, the papergirl, and the bartender. It was the bartender who had called out, and, upon hearing her voice, the caped girl in the middle of the yard paused and turned with a cheerful beam.

"Oh, Hanayo! I wasn't expecting to see you here. What's up?"

"Kayo-chin?" Across from Honoka, the cat-eyed thief seemed to recognize the girl as well. "Why're you here?"

"You weren't turning us in or anything, were you?" Nico spoke bluntly, and the bartender visibly winced.

Rin made a face and seemed about to say something, but at that point Maki finally noticed Eli, grimacing when the detective waved amicably at her.

"Greatest and grandest, huh?" the princess called dryly.

Eli raised one shoulder in a shrug, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the thieves. "I mean, I did find the heirloom. Technically."

#

"And here I thought we'd agreed that we wouldn't do anything about it." Kotori leaned out the window, finally deciding to make her presence known.

Maki's horrified face when she turned around was admittedly amusing, but Kotori quickly offered a smile to ease her fears. If anything, she was grateful and honored that Maki had worried so much for her.

"Although I must say," she continued, now turning her gaze to three girls in the center, "it was very kind of you all to go through the trouble of returning it to me."

"Returning?" Umi was the one who spoke, brow furrowed.

Nico crossed her arms against her chest, looking begrudgingly impressed. "Hmph, so the princess is actually a pretty capable person, huh?"

Umi eyed the thieves suspiciously. "If you were returning the heirloom, then why would you go through all the trouble of approaching Hanayo at nightfall and sneaking into the castle yard?"

"Uh, sure, the people who literally just broke into the castle will definitely go knocking on the front door with a stolen, priceless necklace, that's clearly the safest course of action for us." Nico's tone was scathing, and Umi frowned.

"I knew Rin-chan must have been planning something like that!" Hanayo exclaimed, looking to be on the verge of tears. "Rin-chan isn't a bad person! B-but I… I almost got her in trouble…."

At the sight of her crying friend, Rin rushed over, hugging the other girl tightly as she babbled, "No, no, no , it's not Kayo-chin's fault at all! I should've explained more about what was going on. It's my fault for not trusting you more, Kayo-chin! I'm really, really sorry!"

"But…!"

Eli cut off the pair's tearful reunion to point at the only remaining thief. "What I'm curious about is who she is and what she's doing here."

Honoka blinked obliviously.

"I would've thought that part was obvious," a new voice rang out, and the ninth girl entered the scene.

#

Nozomi smiled charmingly at her audience. "Honoka's just an idiot, plain and simple, you know?"

Honoka laughed, not looking particularly fazed by the comment. "Aw, Nozomi, you wound me." She flashed what might have been supposed to be a reassuring grin. "I'm just here because I thought it'd be fun!"

Maki sighed. "An idiot it is, then."

"But more importantly," Nozomi went on, stepping forward further in the yard, "Niccochi, Rin, don't you two have something to return?"

At Nozomi's words, Nico let out a loud cough, and Rin released her hold on Hanayo to salute comically before scampering over to the princess' window. Kotori's gaze was kind, and Rin dipped her head apologetically as she offered the heirloom.

"For you, princess. We're sorry for the trouble we caused."

Maki glared at Nico. Nico scowled in return, but after a moment grudgingly added, "Yeah. Our bad."

"We sold the other stuff though," Rin mentioned as an afterthought, unaware of Nico's frantic gestures for her to shut up. "So we can't really return those."

"You little-." Maki growled.

Kotori cut her off. "I suppose it's regrettable, but your situations must have been desperate if you would go so far as to infiltrate the castle. What's important to me is that you returned this necklace, and for that, I thank you."

"Even though they're the ones who stole it in the first place?" Eli muttered.

"I'd rather not make a big fuss out of this," Kotori admitted. She turned to Umi, who stiffened when she realized she'd attracted the attention of the princess. "I might be asking too much, but do you think you could keep all of this out of the press? The only thing the people need to know is that the heirloom has been safely returned."

Umi bowed deeper than any of the others would have thought possible. "I-if the princess requests this of me, I will do everything in my power to fulfill it!"

Kotori hid a giggle behind a hand. "Your cooperation is greatly appreciated."

"Well, I'm glad that's settled." Nozomi clapped her hands, once again drawing the others' attention to herself. "All's well that ends well, yeah? Good that everyone and everything worked out!"

"And who exactly are you?" Maki asked, not even bothering to hide her impatience at this point. "Going around acting like this was all a part of your grand scheme or something. Don't you think that's kind of suspicious?"

Nozomi shrugged, waving a hand dismissively. "Aw, it's no big deal. I'm just your average broker. Nothing more, nothing less." Her unreadable smile was ever present on her face. "Besides, I wasn't scheming anything — it's all just stuff the cards told me about. You know?"

#

And the next day, it was almost as though nothing had changed.

"Extra, extra, read all about it! Minami family heirloom has been mysteriously returned! That's right, folks, slipped in and slipped out, all in a day! Read it here first! Minami family heirloom returned!"