Author's Note: We get to see Alfred and Baby Florence again. I didn't know how I was going to do this, but it all came to me as I kept writing. If you happened to be reading the side story, Wonderland Bites, you might recognize a familiar name. If not, you're going to see that name many more times. I think we might see the new neighbor again. I love how this is being posted the day before Alfred's birthday. You can call this an early birthday present if you like. Next week, we're going to check in on Kiku, Kuro, and Sena. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Two: Angophora:
Alfred could see what was going on in Asia and Europe. Usually, he doesn't get involved unless it affected him. But this time, things are different. And that reason couldn't even walk yet. Let alone run away.
Today, the American man held his daughter to his chest as he looked out his living room window. There was a U-Haul parked across the street. So they finally managed to get that house sold. Alfred is usually on top of these. He guessed that he got too wrapped up with the baby and the other him to notice.
"Look, Baby Flo," he said. "We're getting new neighbors." Alfred watched as the movers took furniture into the house. It all looked modern with a hint of vintage to it. Alfred looked down at his daughter.
"Let's go meet who it is," he said. Baby Florence cooed in his arms. Alfred nuzzled her little face as he walked out of the living room.
A black woman with a curly ponytail stretched her neck from side to side. It was nice to get out of Seattle for a change. Her job transferred her over to DC. Not her first choice but she needed a change in scenery.
"Oh careful!" she said to one of the movers as they carried an oak stereo cabinet into the house. "I just had that fixed up." The mover nodded as he and his associate carried the stereo cabinet into the house.
"Hey!" she heard someone shout. The woman turned to see a big American man with a baby in his arms slowly jogging over to her. She cocked her head to the side. He stood inches away from her.
"Hello?" she asked. The man stopped to catch his breath.
"Hey there," he said. "I'm Alfred and this is my daughter Florence." Alfred inched the baby closer to the woman's face.
"Say hi. Say hi," he whispered to the child in his arms. The woman looked at the pair with a confused look on her face.
"Oh, we live across the street," Alfred was quick to say. He motioned over to the house behind him. It finally clicked in the woman's brain.
"Oh!" she said. "Nice to meet you!"
"What's your name?" Alfred asked.
"Regina," his new neighbor said. "I moved here from Seattle." They watched as the movers walked carried in a black and white pool table. Regina turned and looked at her house.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked.
"Sure," the American man said.
"I came here because of work," Regina said. "I'm sorry I don't have anything to offer."
"No, it's fine," Alfred said. "What do you do?"
"I restore artwork," she said. "Mostly paintings."
"Oh," he said. "Are you working on anything now?"
"Yes," his new neighbor said.
"Can I see?" the American man asked as he leaned forward.
"No, it's in progress," Regina said. "I can't let it get damaged under any circumstances." She noticed Alfred pouting as he looked disappointed.
"But I can show you what I have worked on in the past," the new neighbor said. "Here." She reached into her pocket for her phone. Regina paused.
"Hm," she said.
"What?" Alfred asked.
"I just got a new job from a client," Regina said. "Excuse me." She tapped the notification on her screen.
"What does it say?" the American man asked. She waved him off as she read the message. A confused look came over her face.
"They want me to restore paintings by an artist called Juzo Oze," Regina said. Alfred cocked his head to the side.
"Who's that?" he asked.
"I… I don't know. This is the first time I've heard of him," she said. She looked up at her new neighbor.
"The boss said that the client gave us a huge sum of money," Regina said. She turned the phone to him. Alfred leaned in for a look. His jaw dropped.
"Is this real?" he asked.
"Yeah," Regina said. "The check cleared and everything."
"Wow," was all the American man said. He sat back on the couch, looking shocked. Baby Florence cooed in his arms.
Alfred couldn't let it go. Who was this Oze Juzo? His old nosiness reared its ugly head. So when Baby Florence was asleep, Alfred sat down at his laptop. He opened up Google and typed in Oze's name. Several strange links to articles popped up on the screen. Mostly art blogs singing his praises. Seemed like a good place to start. Alfred clicked the first link he saw.
Meanwhile, Regina looked through the messages on her phone. The client didn't leave a name. The boss told her they didn't leave much information either.
"They wanted to remain anonymous," he said over the phone. "I didn't ask questions."
"Anything I need to know about the paintings?" Regina asked.
"Just that they are being donated to the Freer Gallery," the boss said.
"Okay," she said. "Is there any information about the artist in question?" There was a pause on the other line.
"Hello?" Regina asked.
"Not really," the boss said. His tone told her everything that she was thinking. Suddenly, something told her that she shouldn't take this job.
"When are the paintings going to arrive?" she asked.
"Tomorrow morning," the boss said. Regina pressed her lips together.
"Great," she lied.
Across the street, Alfred came across some rather interesting pieces of information. Not much was known about the Oze. There were some people that claimed they knew him personally. However, this was the internet. Who's to say that they were really telling the truth?
The real kicker was the artwork itself. Dark doesn't begin to cover it. Alfred got chills looking at it. How could something so terrifying be so beautiful at once? The American man found himself unable to look away. Image after image gave him goosebumps. He couldn't stop scrolling.
It was only Baby Florence crying that snapped him out of it. Alfred about jumped in his chair.
"Huh?!" he asked. He looked down at the clock on his laptop. Two in the morning? Had it really been that long? It didn't feel like it. Alfred took a breath. Right. He had a baby to look after. This was going to have to come later.
"Coming, sweetie!" Alfred shouted. He got up from his desk and walked down the hall.
Still, there are some things you don't forget so easily. Oze Juzo is one of those things. Alfred made his way to Kiku and Sena's house a few weeks later. He rang the doorbell. How was he going to go about this? The American man figured he would dive in and ask. That would make sense.
But when the door opened, a confused look came over Alfred's face.
"Um…Hello?" he asked. The person at the door looked like Kiku but it wasn't him. That black kimono looked so elegant. A cold smirk came across his face.
"Hello," the man said in a low voice. Alfred looked over at the address. Yeah, this was the right place.
"Uh… who are you?" the American man asked.
"Ah, you must be Kiku's friend," the Japanese man said.
"Who are you?" Alfred asked again. The man in the black kimono cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, where are my manners?" he asked. The man took a bow.
"My name is Kuro," he said. "Learn it well. Nice to meet you." Alfred didn't know what to make of the situation. Who was this Kuro guy and why was he at his friends' house?
"Cool. What are you doing here? Are Kiku and Sena in?" Alfred asked as he tried to look into the house.
"No," Kuro said.
"Where are they?" the American man asked.
"Out," the dark Japanese man said. "Did you need something?"
"I think I should come back some other time," Alfred said. He turned to leave.
"No, no!" Kuro said. "Come back. What do you want?" The American man froze. Something inside of him screamed at him to run. But his curiosity got the better of him.
"What do you know about Juzo Oze?" Alfred asked. Kuro raised an eyebrow at him.
"Why do you want to know about him?" he asked.
"Um… I don't know," the American man said. The man in the dark kimono perked up for a moment.
"Come inside, my friend," he said. Kuro walked back into the house. Alfred stared looking confused. This had to be a trap. So just in case…
Alfred shot off a quick text and went inside.
Washington D.C.
Regina came to work the next day. She wrapped her scarf around her neck. This was week three of the restoration project. Something about these paintings had her unsettled. She still didn't know anything about Oze Juzo. No one gave her any information. What was there to give? Not much was known about the artist in his youth. The first painting she had to restore was Hanako Beach. On the surface, it looked so simple. But something about the red and black drew her in and unnerved her.
It would only get worse from there.
"Good morning," the receptionist at the desk said. Regina kept her head down as she walked by. She used her card to gain into the building.
Hanako Beach was already in the Arthur Freer gallery. It was quite a hit. Though, it drew in a strange crowd. Soon, came another painting.
The Long Hall. A little girl stared down an endless dark hallway. Only the child's skin stood out in the darkness. Her black dress blended in with the black. Her left hand gripped the white doorframe. Something about the painting unsettled Regina. But she couldn't look away. When the work was down, the painting's power fully came out. Regina didn't want to look at it anymore. She was happy to see it go away.
Now, there's a third painting that needed to be restored. It came in this morning. In truth, Regina was not ready for this.
She made it to her office. The package was already waiting for her. The wrapped-up painting sat on her desk. Regina forced herself to put on a professional look on her face. She took in a deep breath. Might as well get this over with.
Regina ripped away the paper wrapping. The color black greeted her instantly. Already, she knew she wasn't going to enjoy this. Still, she had a job to do. Might as well get it over with.
The paper fell to the floor. Regina's jaw dropped.
Red overpowered the black on the canvas. At first, the image is hard to make out. It looked like smudged fire all over the surface. Regina narrowed her eyes.
"What the hell?" she asked. She kind of could make out a shape. Regina believed that she was looking at a woman. A pit of unease formed in her stomach. If there wasn't a huge sum of money attached to this project, she would've quit right away.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Regina's stomach dropped as she could predict what was coming next. The art restorer set the painting down on her desk.
"Hello?" Regina asked. "Yeah. I just unwrapped it." She looked at the painting on her desk. It seemed to be staring intently at her back. Regina took small steps away from it.
"Yes, I am about to get started on it," she said. She didn't sound too comfortable about that. Maybe she could pass it off to someone else.
"Listen, do you find something off about these paintings?" Regina asked. "You know, like they're cursed or something." She paused as she listened.
"Why would I think something like that? Oh, no real reason. It's just… what?" Regina frowned as she listened.
"Yes. Yes, I understand. I was just thinking out loud. Huh?" A puzzled look came across her face.
"Really?" She listened as her boss kept talking. She frowned at what she heard next.
"What? More paintings from Oze? How many does the client have?" Regina sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Fine. I will get on that soon. Anything else? I understand. Thank you." The art restorer hung up her phone and sighed. She looked over at the painting on her desk. As much as she didn't want to do this, a job was a job. Still, Regina couldn't help but feel that this painting was going to consume her soul if she wasn't too careful. She said a quick prayer to herself and got to work.
Tokyo, Japan.
"What do you want to know?" Kuro asked. Alfred stiffened on the couch. Something didn't seem right about this man. He wore his friend's face but the demeanor was off. What was he doing here? Why invite him in so easily? Remembering Baby Florence at home was motive enough to try and come back alive. He was going to have to be careful about this.
"Who exactly is Juzo Oze?" Alfred asked.
