As Jin had instructed, Noel arrived at Yabiko under the guise of getting Kagura's help to find her 'missing' sister. She had followed the script she concocted for the questioning, making the process go smoother than she expected—until the part where she had been held inside a room while they verified her story. Having been trapped pacing around, she had little else to do but wait and think. Not to mention, Lambda deserved an apology for being left by herself for longer than promised.
At the very least, that was all over now.
Carefully, Noel stepped off from the wooden landing platform. A stream of people passed by her to board the docked ship. "Eep!" She reflexively clutched her travel bag after something moved her dress. But upon realizing a child had simply run past her from her blind spot, she relaxed.
After she pulled the strap of her bag over her head, she was all set to begin her long walk back home. The church sat so far that very few of the townsfolk visited it. But as more people moved in and the town grew in size, that could change in the future. Perhaps one day, the world might even forget about the history behind the former sacred grounds.
With the sun still high in the sky, life in the town showed no signs of slowing down. Loaded carts being wheeled around, voices trying to stand out in the crowd, winds carrying a fresh breeze—it all helped to liven her mood up as she traveled on the stone road leading to the exit gates. Some sunlight was much needed after being stuck in an interrogation room and spending her night sleeping on the return trip.
Her boots kicked a pebble in her path. She watched it tumble, finding herself following it as she walked down the stairs. When she reached the final step, she looked up. A figure not usually seen around here had caught her attention.
He went up to her, having seen her first. "Noel, was it? Almost mistook ya for yer sister."
"H-hello, sir!" Of all the people to bump into, she did not expect to meet one of the Six Heroes. "Is there anything I can assist you with today?"
"No need fer the stiff formalities, kid." Jubei laughed. "Say, is Lambda here with ya?"
"Oh. I'm afraid not." His question got her curious. "Um, can I ask why you're looking for her?"
Pressing a bundled fist to his chin, he nearly mumbled his reply. "Ah, well…I need ta ask somethin' from Kokonoe. Ya can kinda see how I'm in a pickle here. There ain't exactly a fat chance she's gonna answer ta my call, so I figured I'd ask yer sister ta patch me through."
"Right…" She could try speaking on his behalf, but she didn't want to pry into his business. Come to think of it, she had recently spoken to the professor but only when she had visited them in person to check on Juusan. Apart from a signal transmitter to Sector Seven, the church remained isolated from other means of remote contact. "Then, would you like to come with me? I'm heading home right now."
He declined by shaking his head, a wry smile forming at the same time. "Go on ahead. I'll swing by tomorrow. Gonna need ta rest my feet 'cause I ain't exactly the spring chicken I used ta be."
"You must've been on a long journey… I can't imagine traveling by myself like you do," said Noel, feeling sympathy for him. But the delay meant she had time to prepare for a guest to arrive at the church.
"Ha ha, it ain't half bad once ya get some know-hows under yer belt."
Ready to part ways, she opened her mouth to speak again. But something caused her voice to get lodged inside her throat—it was a short, passing feeling, over in a mere millisecond.
"Ya good there, Noel?"
"I…I'm fine." While she answered him, half of her mind searched to find an explanation for the strange throb. Not wanting to concern Jubei, she perked up. "W-well, I better get going! I'll see you later."
The questioning look on his face didn't disappear completely. "…Take care on the way, kid."
A quick word of thanks later, she hurried away.
Once alone, her pace slowed down to allow herself to think. "I felt something like that before… A Phenomenon Intervention? Mm, that can't be right…" A creeping wariness took hold of her. She hadn't detected any changes in her surroundings—or at least, she hadn't noticed any. Her most urgent concern, however, was identifying who had been Observing them and why. But the person could have done something by now if they meant to harm her or Jubei, she reassured herself. A seasoned hero like him would have been alerted too.
Not letting an unfounded sense of paranoia occupy her, she continued heading down the smaller street cutting through a residential district. The exit should be past this area.
Inevitably, her thoughts wandered to her sisters. Those two always found a way into her worries, more so now with one of them currently in an unknown location. Simply knowing where Juusan had gone would help put her mind a little more at ease.
Noel's eyes, cast at the ground, only raised themselves when they caught sight of movement. Like a fleeting image, the frayed end of a bright red coat disappeared around an alley corner.
"Is that…?" The color lingered in the reflection of a puddle before disappearing altogether. And she knew only one person who wore something like that.
Not a moment spared, Noel took off after it. "Juusan, wait! It's me!" Her sister had to know that it wasn't safe to be wandering around right now. Her return couldn't have been more badly timed.
The view of the narrow road in front of her bobbed as she charged forward. She made a sharp turn. "I said wait—Ow!" What force she put behind her run all bounced right back at her when she was suddenly stopped by a wall of some kind. Losing her balance, Noel felt herself fall.
But a gloved hand snatched her arm, catching her. The same hand then pulled her forward until she could stand on her own two feet.
Heart still racing but grateful for the save, she breathed out, "Th-thanks." But the smile she had faded when she realized she had chased after the wrong person. Noel gave the man a stare from head to toe, surprised by his mismatched eyes and stark hair color. "Oh, uh…"
As soon as she got a proper look, Noel struggled to find what to say. Sensing the intensity of his gaze as he towered over her, the embarrassment of mistaking a stranger for her sister was pushed aside. She dipped her head in apology. "I'm-I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone I knew!"
"No—look, it's all good! D-don't stress about it."
"Huh?" He seemed to be a wild ruffian type of guy, so hearing him say that made her stand straight again. To her shame, she had let herself get nervous based on his appearance despite his actions earlier. "Th-then, I'm glad we're both all right! Ha ha…"
"Yeah." The man turned around abruptly, giving no time for her to speak again "Don't follow me, got that?"
Watching him walk further away by the second, something inside her clenched itself. The sight of his back made her want to reach out and ask why he was in such a hurry to leave.
But not wanting to disrespect his wish, Noel straightened her sleeve and prepared to pick up on her journey. In the meantime, the encounter left her wondering about the man. Nobody could ever forget someone who looked like that. If they met each other again—
A pulse coursed through her body the second she set a foot forward, sending her heart racing again. A cold sweat began to gather on her skin.
Noel spun in place, trying to find the Observer that had attempted to perform another Phenomenon Intervention. This time, she was sure it had been done solely on her. Despite knowing she could not be affected by them, the fact that it happened again put her on edge.
Staying motionless, she waited. The sound of her own breathing grew louder in her ears.
But nothing else happened. All the windows sat empty or with curtains drawn. On the tiled roofs, pigeons rested atop and seemed unaware of her presence. Slow and steady, clouds crept their way in front of the sun. No matter where she searched, she saw not a single person.
Another minute crawled by before Noel let go of the strap to her travel bag. She slowly took a step, almost expecting the interference to come back a third time.
"…"
When a gust of wind gently rustled her clothes, breaking the stillness, she felt more confident about moving. Her feet carried her back onto the path home faster than she realized.
Author's Note: In the time between posting the previous chapter and this one, I decided to do revisions for the first eleven chapters to clarify and/or change certain aspects, with some getting bigger overhauls than others.
Chapters 3 to 7, and 11 were the ones I did the most significant changes. The content in 1, 2, 9, and 10 is mostly the same, apart from some tweaking here and there. Looking back over a year later since completing them, certain parts were kinda rough or wonky lol. In the future, I might do revisions like this for later chapters. Or I might not. We'll see. Anyways, thank you for the feedback in the early chapters!