Diamond Jubilee
The two of them exchanged glances, something passing between them that he could not quite read, but felt certain was reluctance, possibly surprise. He looked down at the coffee growing cold in the cup before him so he would not have to meet their gaze.
"Mister, I don't know how to tell you this, but ten years is a long time, there's not going to be anything we can do for you."
He looked up again and found both girls staring back at him sympathetically. What he didn't need right now was the pity of schoolgirls.
"I thought that would probably be the case," he replied, trying to keep the sense of defeat out of his voice. "Thank you for looking, though."
The first of the girls shrugged, reaching across the table and picking up the photograph again, looking down at the girl depicted within, her blunt fringe, her eyes gazing straight ahead.
"Was she someone close to you?"
He shook his head instinctively.
"Not close. Just… someone I let down."
There had been a spike in time particles that led them to 2011, a trail the Time Mazine had followed through corridors of impossibility. He had left Sumire and Geiz to do their own thing, hoping to find some thread connected to Akane, to what Akane had become, but all he had found was the aftermath of a confrontation a year prior that had not involved either Akane or Spade, but instead could be traced back to the momentary presence of Kadoya Tsukasa.
Asmodeus Flight, he thought in passing, recalling a particularly nasty devil in Jewish myth that had possessed the means of lifting a person out of their skin and holding them in the sky so that they might see all the world around them. That was what he needed right now, some method of gaining an overview of the situation. That was why he had come here, he supposed, this crowded coffee shop, an audience before these two schoolgirl detectives, their reputation preceding them.
All these places were the same regardless of their differing liveries and unusual patrons: Dionysus in Faun's, Diana in Starbucks, and the fallible idiot god-emperor, Nero in Caffè Nero.
The second girl pulled a lollipop from her lips, and as she spoke, she seemed sincere, although such sentiment still rankled him.
"I hope you find her soon," she said, her voice surprisingly deeper than Tsukuyomi had expected. "I'm sure that, wherever she is, she knows you're looking for her."
Now in their senior year of high school, the two girls, Queen and Elizabeth, were notable not only in Futo City, but further abroad. Over time, he had come to accept that the world was made up of many colourful characters, many of whom had fallen through the cracks; schoolgirl detectives, or fugitive soldiers from the near future like himself and Geiz, it made no difference really.
The past year in Futo must have been something, he thought, turning to look out beyond the plastic table on the promenade at which they sat, the wind farm in the distance so small it looked like pin-wheels driven into the sand on the shore.
"Have you been in Futo long, mister?" Queen asked.
He shook his head.
"No, not long. Long enough to hear about you, to hope that you might be able to help, but that's about it."
Elizabeth placed the photograph back down on the table.
"We're pretty good with this stuff usually, this is the first time we've not been able to help someone." She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's exam pressure."
"Maybe we're losing our touch," Queen said with concern.
Tsukuyomi smiled, turning back, reaching for his coffee.
"You're not losing your touch, don't worry. I presented you with an impossible scenario. Of course, you wouldn't be able to track down a schoolgirl from ten years ago, I was asking for too much."
He turned again to look at the wind farms, the coffee untouched.
"If anyone's at fault here, it's me. I should have done my homework."
He nodded slowly, more to himself than to the two girls sitting on the opposite side of the table, and did not turn to look back at them this time.
"Thank you for your help though," he said at last, without much feeling. "I appreciate you at least looking into this."
"I'm sorry we couldn't be much more help," said Elizabeth, her tone heartfelt.
He shrugged.
"Like you said, I'm sure she knows we're looking for her."
