Written for lustershipping week, Day 1 prompt: Curiosity

This idea for this stems from thinking about how Masumi and Yuzu might have met if, for whatever reason, Himika didn't bring the LDS trio to duel against You Show. Since Masumi's father is a jeweler, and Yuzu has some concerns about her bracelet, this seemed a realistic way for the two of them to meet.

Tucked away on the outskirts of Maiami City was a small jewelry store. It was never a busy place; few shopped there unless they prided themselves on supporting local businesses or were looking for something unusual that wasn't available in the larger, more well-known chain stores. Regardless, it did well enough for itself. The owner was talented in his craft, and those that knew of him said that few could rival his understanding of precious gems and metals. One of those few was the owner's daughter, who was currently running the shop, impatiently waiting for closing time.

Masumi was uneasy. Something was amiss at school – several teachers, including her favorite, had been out sick for some time now. But nothing added up: the students had received no direct word from the supposedly sick teachers, no emails regarding their assignments, no indication of when they would be back. What illness could be so serious to keep them out of contact for so long, and furthermore, if a serious illness was circulating through LDS, surely there would be some sort of public health announcement warning about the particular illness, and informing the students and faculty of the symptoms to watch out for? And there were rumors. Rumors that whispered of the vanished, of kidnappers and even murderers; of a plot against the school itself. Some of those in authority seemed to know something more – there always seemed to be something weighing heavily on their minds and they would talk amongst themselves in low, nervous tones, stopping abruptly when they noticed Masumi (or another student) watching them.

It frustrated and worried her, although she hid it under a sharp and aggressive tongue. She was not the type to sit idly by or let people keep secrets from her, especially when something serious was going on. She wanted to take advantage of the day off to go investigate what she could, but she had promised her father that she would look after the shop while he worked in the back to catch up on production. She wished she hadn't, especially since not a single customer had walked in that day. She had been especially restless since her friends had called her earlier that day, with the results of their own investigations, which they had conducted at Masumi's request (although perhaps they would not have called it a request, per se…). Yaiba and Hokuto confirmed her fears: the teachers had not reported in sick, were not in the hospital, and were not at their homes. She wondered how they were able to find this out with so much certainty so quickly.

"Turns out, if you butter up Sawatari, make him feel important, and give him some freshly-baked pie (did you know Hokuto could cook?), you can get him to do almost anything for you. Since he's not above using his influence to get things, it was surprisingly easy to get access to records," Yaiba informed Masumi. Hokuto had apparently also gotten in contact with the family of one of the teachers, who he somehow convinced to tell him the truth: the teacher in question had been missing for several days. Something was definitely wrong, and Masumi was going to find out what. But first, she had to run the shop until closing time. It wouldn't be long now, only an hour more…

The shop door opened, announcing the first customer of the day. Masumi snapped herself from her musings and focused on the person entering the store. Masumi had a talent for reading people, a useful skill when it came to dealing with customers. The person who entered the store was a girl about her own age – a rather pretty one, Masumi noted idly – who loosely held a small scrap of paper in her hands. She appeared greatly distracted, confused, and uncertain, which dulled her beauty somewhat, – not that I care, Masumi thought – and looked around at the shelves without really seeing them, as though looking for someone. It was evident that this girl was not here to purchase anything. Masumi had to wonder why the girl was here, but at least she provided a distraction from the restless thoughts that had plagued Masumi all day. The girl suddenly brought the paper up to her eyes and narrowed them, clearly reading what was written there.

"Can I help you with something?" Masumi asked.

"Oh!" the girl jumped slightly, as if she hadn't realized that anyone else was in the room. She looked up at Masumi, with an embarrassed blush. "Is this Kotsu Jewelers? I was directed here by…"

"Yes, it is. What are you looking for?" Masumi cut her off. She knew that it wasn't good practice to be rude to customers, but she had never been a patient person, and the girl didn't seem interested in buying anything anyway.

"I was told that the owner of this store was an expert in gemstones," the girl replied. She sounded a little put off by Masumi's rudeness, but the confirmation had cause the uncertain tone in her voice to fade. "I was wondering if he could help identify one."

"My papa could, yes. However, he is busy right now." Masumi flipped a loose strand of hair behind her head. "But I'm not just here for show, after all."

"Oh…alright," the girl said, with a note of hesitation. She approached the register counter where Masumi stood. The girl paused upon reaching the counter, and Masumi noticed the bracelet the girl was wearing. The girl moved to take it off, but as her fingers closed around it, she stopped. Her fingers still curled around the bracelet, she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as one might do before taking a great risk. Masumi watched in silence, curious about her strange behavior, which Masumi found she could not read or make any sense of. The girl's grip and jaw tightened, and in a single graceful motion, she pulled the bracelet off and set it on the counter, opening her eyes the instant her fingers left it. "…Can you tell me what kind of gem these are?"

Masumi wanted to say that it would be a simple task, but the words died in her throat as she stared at the bracelet. She had never seen anything like it before, and as the daughter of a jeweler, that was a rare thing. She gently picked up the bracelet to get a better look at it, and pulled out her magnifying glass. The bracelet had two loops, juxtaposed so they formed an X. A pink gem sat at the center of each of the intersections. It reminded Masumi of something, but she couldn't quite place it – maybe something she had seen in a science classroom once. But she did not linger on the shape of it, because there was something far more unusual about this bracelet.

Masumi could not identify what it was made of.

The loops were metal, of that she was certain. But it was not silver, nickel, titanium, or any metal she could identify – perhaps it was an unusual alloy. Masumi was not as good with metals as she was with gems, so she could herself a pass for failing to identify it. But for a gem to be a complete mystery to her…that was a strange and curious thing. The gems were bright pink in color, real and certainly not plastic, and while several gems could achieve that color, none seemed to fit. It was nearest to spinel or sapphire, but something was off about it. It's odd, Masumi thought, I can usually tell a gem just by looking closely at it…but…

"Well?" the girl asked. The annoyance in her voice ran hollow. It was almost as if she was afraid of what Masumi would answer. This piqued Masumi's curiosity more. Why was the girl afraid? Did she fear the answer, or did she fear that the answer was unknown. Just what was this bracelet to make the girl react this way?

"Just a moment!" Masumi said. Maybe it was the disappearances of the teachers still weighing on her mind, but she was starting to be affected by the girl's fear. It was silly, it was just an unusual bracelet, that's all. Not being able to identify the material was unusual, but that didn't mean anything, right? "Papa!" she called to the back room, "You should come see this!"

A few tense moments passed before her father emerged from the back room. He looked at her questioningly, and Masumi handed him the bracelet, informing him that the girl had brought it in, wanting the gems to be identified. He began examining the bracelet closely, speaking out loud as he did so.

"Spinel, perhaps? No…that can't be right. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. Where did you get this?" He looked up, addressing the girl. At the question, the girl's eyes hardened.

"I don't know. I've had it as long as I can remember, and my dad wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked him about it. He claimed that I've had it since I was born, which is complete nonsense! Babies don't come out of the womb wearing bracelets!" she exclaimed.

"Hmm…well, that makes things more difficult, not knowing where it came from. There doesn't appear to be any indication on the bracelet itself, either. May I ask why you want the gemstones identified? Are you planning on selling it?" Masumi's father asked. The girl shifted uncomfortably and shook her head.

"No…nothing like that. It's just…something weird is going on with it. You might not believe me, but sometimes…well, sometimes the gems…they glow." The uncertainty had returned to her tone. She looked like she was about to continue, but cut herself off. Masumi didn't know what to make of it. The girl wasn't lying, or at least she seemed to believe that she was telling the truth, but just what was she saying? It looked as though there was more to the story that she was reluctant to tell. Masumi decided to confront the girl about it, but then her father spoke.

"I have never heard of such a thing, but there are many strange things in this world. I have instruments in the back that I can examine this more closely. It won't take more than an hour, I think. Would you mind waiting for a bit while I take a look? The process won't damage it at all."

"Alright." The girl nodded.

"I'll have this back to you before the store closes," he promised. "In the meantime, Masumi can keep you company. She could stand to hang out with more girls her own age, after all. She only ever hangs out with those two boys."

"Papa!" Masumi protested. She knew he meant well, but she wished he didn't harp on her choice of friends so much. Then again, Yaiba and Hokuto had accidentally broken a few things when she invited them over, so she knew why her father didn't like them.

"So…your name is Masumi? I'm Yuzu," the girl said after a few moments of silence after Masumi's father had left the room. Her eyes drifted to the pin on Masumi's shirt. "You go to LDS?"

"Yes." Evidently the girl – Yuzu – was going to want to make small talk. "Do you? I haven't seen you before."

"No, I go to You Show."

"I can't say I've ever dueled someone from there before. It's a tiny school, isn't it?" Masumi asked Yuzu.

"It is, but it's a good school regardless!" Yuzu exclaimed indignantly at Masumi's slightly disparaging tone.

"Is that so? Well, if you think you can take me on, then I would welcome a challenge," Masumi replied. Yuzu still seemed distracted, so Masumi didn't believe that she would really get a good duel out of it, but there was nothing better to do. She raised her duel disk, preparing to fight, when suddenly her father appeared at the door.

"Masumi, what have I told you about dueling in the shop?"

Oh. Right. Yuzu wasn't the only one who was distracted, apparently. "Sorry, Papa." He left, and Masumi turned back to Yuzu. "Some other time, then." But Yuzu didn't appear to be listening. "…Not that you could really duel in that state you're in." Masumi noted. This got Yuzu's attention.

"Eh?! What do you mean by that?" Yuzu demanded.

"You're too distracted," Masumi said definitively. "You keep looking around, like something is going to jump out at you at any moment. Something is weighing on your mind, clouding your perceptions and judgement. You can't have a duel like that, you have to give it your all." Some small part of her told her she was being hypocritical, that her own worrying over Professor Marco and the others was distracting her, and that she may be hindered in a duel as well. But she ignored such thoughts. She wasn't as bad off as Yuzu, anyway. Yuzu needed to hear this – although, Masumi wasn't sure why she was so invested in helping a girl she had just met…it just wasn't like her.

"I know perfectly well how…" Yuzu began indignantly, but Masumi interrupted her.

"It's that bracelet, isn't it? What's really going on with it?" Yuzu bristled.

"That's none of your business."

"Isn't it? You brought it here, after all."

"I…!" Yuzu started, then stopped and looked down at the floor, as if coming to a realization. "I…suppose you're right," she said quietly and reluctantly. "I just don't know what's going on!" she cried, her voice growing louder. "I don't understand any of it!"

The words hung in the air and Masumi was caught off guard how they resonated with her, echoing her own frustrations. She knew Yuzu must be talking about something entirely different and unknown to her, but she could relate to that feeling more than anything, how angry it made her to not know what was happening…but expressing that to Yuzu was another matter. Masumi was never quite good with things like this. She had aimed to get Yuzu to back down on her pride, but Masumi found that it was difficult for her to do the same. "So…" Masumi began, slightly awkwardly, "that bracelet…what does it…?"

"Sometimes I think my friend is playing a trick on me," Yuzu interrupted. Masumi wasn't sure if she had heard the question at all, or just took the invitation to continue. She seemed to be talking to herself more than Masumi. "But other times I think it can't possibly be him. Or even that it's just a figment of my imagination." Yuzu paused, and Masumi just listened, unsure what Yuzu was talking about, then Yuzu demanded, maybe of Masumi, maybe of just the air, "Just what am I supposed to think when that guy disappears every time that bracelet glows!?"

Disappears?! Masumi's eyes widened. Does she…could she have something to do with it…?

"I don't know why I'm telling you this," Yuzu said, as though suddenly realizing Masumi was still in the room. "You're just an easy person to talk to, I guess."

Masumi found that almost as shocking as the bracelet making people disappear. She opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't know what she was going to say. She was saved by having to respond by her father reentering the room, bracelet in hand, with a frown on his face. He looked at Yuzu and shook his head.

"This bracelet is something else. I can't identify it – I would need to take a sample to do that, and maybe even then…" He trailed off. Yuzu looked worried, and Masumi was starting to understand why.

"Papa…" Masumi hesitated, hardly believing that she was saying this. "Is it possible that the bracelet is…magic of some sort?" Her father turned to her, looking thoughtful.

"I would not discount the possibility," he said gravely. "I…this is not my area of expertise. In fact, I have never dealt with magic before, and I am not entirely sure that such a thing exists. But this…this might convince me otherwise." He turned to Yuzu. "I know many jewelers, and in fact I know of a few who claim to have knowledge of the magical properties of jewels. If you wish, I can get into contact with some of them and invite them here to take a look at your bracelet. You can of course hold on to it until they arrive – it may take some time."

"Alright." Yuzu nodded, a determined look on her face. "I want to know. I want to know what this bracelet is."

"Then I will contact those I can as soon as possible," he said, and handed the bracelet back to Yuzu. He turned to go, then stopped and said to Masumi offhandedly, "Masumi, you should take her number so you can contact her when I get word back and when they arrive. And it's around closing time, so once she leaves, don't forget to start closing up shop." He left.

"Right. Yuzu, can I…have your number, then?" Masumi had not missed her father putting the responsibility of contacting Yuzu on her, and she knew exactly why he had done it. He wanted her to have more friends that weren't Hokuto and Yaiba, and he hoped that putting the two girls in semi-regular contact with each other would spark a friendship. Masumi wasn't too pleased with her father's pushing, but they did need to be able to contact Yuzu, so she had to ask.

"Ah! Yeah, sure, here, I'll write it down for you!" Yuzu spoke quickly, almost embarrassed. Masumi wasn't sure why, then noticed a slight flush to Yuzu's cheeks. Was…Yuzu blushing? More importantly, was she blushing too? There certainly was some heat on Masumi's face…but no, that was ridiculous. It was just warm in the room, that was all.

"Thanks," Masumi said. She was not blushing. Not at all. Not in the slightest… "Oh, you'll…need mine too I suppose." She wrote the number quickly, bending her head down to hide her reddening cheeks from Yuzu. This is stupid, Masumi thought, why am I being like this all of a sudden?

"Thank you," Yuzu said, trying to hide a blush of her own. "I'll hear from you soon, I guess." She put the bracelet back on her wrist, and took the scrap of paper with Masumi's number on it, then turned and left without another word.

Masumi shook her head. She didn't have time to stand around and stare after Yuzu. She had to close up the shop and then meet up with Hokuto and Yaiba to see if they had any new leads since this morning and…but she had a lead, didn't she? Yuzu had said that the bracelet made someone disappear…

Her mind made up, Masumi quickly took care of the shop and dashed out the instant she was done. She was in luck, Yuzu was still in sight, turning around a corner as Masumi spotted her. Masumi quickly followed, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. The boys would understand if she skipped meeting up with them to follow a girl they had never met around town, right? If they didn't, well…hopefully Masumi would have enough information to make it up to them.

At first Yuzu just seemed to be heading home, nothing suspicious about her behavior at all, and Masumi started to have her doubts. What am I doing? Yuzu isn't the kind of person to make teachers at a rival school disappear. But I just met her, it could all be an act, I don't know what she's like. But she wouldn't have mentioned people disappearing if she was responsible, right? But then…no. Maybe it's an accident and she can't control it, maybe it's something entirely different…maybe…

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU KEEP FOLLOWING ME?!" Yuzu shouted angrily, cutting off Masumi's thoughts. Masumi panicked. She thought she had been effective about hiding from Yuzu's sight, but apparently not. How was she going to explain herself now? She needed time to think…but then a boy stepped out from the alleyway ahead, and Masumi realized that Yuzu hadn't been talking to her at all. Relief swept over her as Yuzu began arguing with the boy, or rather yelling at him while he spoke quietly. Masumi crept closer to the pair of them.

"What do you mean by all this? Following me around, disappearing suddenly and reappearing? Is that you, Yuuya, is this some kind of joke?" Yuzu demanded of the boy. He hesitated before answering her, clearly not expecting such hostility.

"…Do you not remember me? Did they do something to you, Ruri? How did you escape?"

"What is that supposed to mean?! Who is Ruri? Yuuya, if this is a joke, it's not funny, so knock it off! I've had it with this!"

"You…" the boy's eyes widened, coming to a realization. "You really aren't Ruri, are you? I'm sorry…I just thought that you were…someone who was taken from me." Yuzu's angry expression softened into one of sympathy mixed with confusion.

"So…you aren't Yuuya then? You look like my friend and I…look like yours…who was taken from you? Where was she taken? Why?" Yuzu asked, far less demanding this time. Masumi's breath caught in her throat. If this boy's friend had been taken, did that mean that the teachers had been kidnapped as well? Was that what was behind the disappearances?

"She was taken by Aca…No, stop!" He ended with a shout as Yuzu's bracelet suddenly shone with a bright light. Masumi was astonished. Yuzu's bracelet really did glow, and that boy really was disappearing before her eyes! She hadn't thought that Yuzu was lying, but…she hadn't fully believed her until this moment. The light faded, and Yuzu was left with a mixture of surprise and frustration on her face.

"What the hell was that?" Masumi asked, forgetting momentarily that she was trying to hide her presence from Yuzu. "Your bracelet…it really…" Yuzu looked over at Masumi, startled.

"Masumi? Why are you…?" Yuzu started, but was cut off as a boy came around the corner, with a few small children in tow. A boy that looked rather like the one that had just disappeared, Masumi noticed. Their voices rang out:

"Big sister Yuzu!"

"There you are!"

"You took off without telling anyone, the Principal was so worried!"

"Where have you been all day, Yuzu?"

"Yuuya?" Yuzu asked, looking more confused. "But…" She turned to Masumi, with a desperate look in her eyes, and asked "You saw me talking to that guy, right? You saw…?" She didn't seem to be able to finish, but Masumi, always good at reading into a person, understood what Yuzu was asking.

"Yes, I did. He looked a lot like this one, but he's not the same. There's no way he could have changed clothes that fast anyway," Masumi informed her. It was true, the boys, while they looked nearly identical, there was such a difference in their manner. The second seemed merely worried for Yuzu, the first had seemed…more desperate, more haunted, and truly afraid about the fate of his missing friend.

This seemed to reassure Yuzu, and she turned back to the newly arrived group, who were now staring at Masumi. The youngest three were whispering amongst themselves.

"Who's she?"

"I don't know."

"Look, she's from LDS!"

"Why is big sister Yuzu hanging out with someone from LDS?"

"Did she really run off earlier to spend time with some friend we don't know?"

"And from LDS too? What is big sister Yuzu doing? Aren't we good enough for her anymore?"

"Don't say that! You know she's not like that, Futoshi! I'm sure she has a good reason for it…"

Yuzu appeared to have heard them and looked as though she was struggling to come up with an answer for them, so Masumi intervened.

"My name is Masumi. I'm here because I'm investigating the disappearances of several of LDS elite." Yuzu looked at Masumi sharply, with surprise on her face.

"Disappearances?" she asked.

"Yes, several teachers have gone missing – officially they're out sick, but I have reliable information otherwise." Masumi's eyes narrowed. "And I will find out what's going on no matter what. That's why I was so curious about your bracelet. And with what that boy just said, about his friend being taken – I will find him again, and find out just what he knows about this." Yuzu and the others were looking at her, a little taken aback – either by her brusque manner or what she was saying, she didn't know. "Yuzu. I'll call you when my father hears back from his contacts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to find." She turned around and began quickly walking away.

"Masumi!" Yuzu called after her. She stopped and turned back. Yuzu ran up to her.

"I wanted to say thank you," Yuzu said, "for taking a look at my bracelet, and…for helping me work through some things. I'm glad that I ended up meeting you today…I hope that we'll see each other more from now on." She smiled. Masumi was sure that her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't sure that was a bad thing, either. "See you, Masumi!" Yuzu said cheerfully, before turning and walking back to her friends, who immediately pressed her with questions, and they walked off together. Masumi stayed, rooted to the spot as she watched Yuzu leave, certain now that her life had changed this day. A few moments passed, and Masumi turned and walked the other way.

She had a few things to tell Yaiba and Hokuto.