This was not how Hinode had thought he’d die. He’d thought he’d go out dramatically, with fashion. Blood and death everywhere. Or, well, of a heart attack from consuming too much sugar.
Out of all the possibilities, Hinode hadn’t thought he’d die like this. On his knees like a dog and beaten an inch of his life by humans. Not even corrupted or possessed humans, at that.
No, these humans were just that—human. Humans in a gang that liked to kill others who saw them dealing drugs, but still furless, tailless monkeys that could be intelligent at times. Taking that into account, he probably wouldn’t die, but still…
It didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t make any sense. Ordinary humans—no matter how many of them there were—couldn’t defeat an Investigator. Again, Hinode would like to say, it didn’t make any sense.
A hand gripped his hair tightly, snapping Hinode out of his thoughts and probably yanking out a few strands of hair. He groaned softly through split lips and a heavy tongue.
It hurt. Everything hurt, and Hinode couldn’t even do anything about it because Investigators weren’t allowed to use their powers when non-Investigators were around. Stupid laws and stupid death.
A gravel-raspy voice crooned next to his ear, “Hey now, where’d all that bravado from before go? Come on, speak up, pretty.”
“Fuck you,” Hinode managed to slur out.
He was rewarded with a strike to his face for his efforts. “I think, our little friend wants to go swimming.”
There was a nervous titter from several of the members of the group. When Hinode glanced at them, they looked unsure. Hinode guessed it was because, while beating someone up was one thing, killing a person was a whole different matter.
The human who’d grabbed his hair dragged Hinode along to the edge of the pier, laughing at their gang as they did so.
“What?” she asked them. “You scared? It’s not as if anyone will know we did it. On the other hand, it’s riskier if we let him live. He might blab, you know?”
Hinode gave a wet, choking laugh. “What is this, a movie? Just toss me in and be done with it.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Aliza, wait—!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Bones snapped back into place and wounds scabbed over rapidly. He refused to move though and continued to sink into the murky depths of the water. Water filled Hinode’s lungs as he breathed slowly, burning like there was a fire in his chest. He watched through hazy eyes even as salt stung his eyes. When, finally, the gangsters moved away from the pier, Hinode closed his eyes and waited for someone to pick him up. Gods, he was craving sugar…
***
“Hey, wake up.” Hinode was prodded back into awareness by an unfamiliar voice. “I know you’re not dead. We Investigators can’t die that easily.”
Hinode heaved a sigh and opened his eyes, eyeing the man hovering over him with a glare. The other Investigator frowned back. “Get up. The president wants to see you.”
“And you are?” Hinode asked, rolling his eyes at the rudeness of the man.
The Investigator sighed deeply, pulling Hinode to his feet. He said, “Codename, ‘Gleam.’ Investigator number, ‘184735.’ You?”
Hinode glanced at Gleam’s head of golden hair and decided he knew where the other got his codename from. “Sugar. 49118.”
“…you’re Sugar? The Investigator with the 100% success rate and record for the number of Cases solved? The Sugar that can solve a Case in a minute flat? The hell were you doing in the ocean?”
Hinode looked at Gleam in annoyance. “Shit happened, that’s what.”
“Does it have to do with the rumors about humans managing to hurt Investigators? The reason you were in the ocean, is it because of the humans?”
“Maybe you do have some use in you,” Hinode said appraisingly, a little surprised. “You’re asking all the right questions. That’s right. I didn’t believe it at first when the rumors began, but after this, I can’t ignore it anymore.”
“So, humans really are—?”
“It looks like it.” He began to walk, face set grimly. “Come on.”
***
The entire population of the headquarters were in disarray. Investigators desk workers alike were running around like headless chickens; they were all either yelling at each other or doing their best to help.
“Boss! A Malevolent appeared—”
“—another Investigator was injured—!”
“The humans—”
“—we managed to narrow down—”
“—has President sighed the—”
“Fuck, where is that damn paper when you need—”
Hinode’s eyes darkened, and he pushed his way towards President’s office. Somewhere along the way, he lost Gleam. There was a trill and a white blur hit against his chest, rebounded, and then flew up to land on Hinode’s left shoulder.
“Hello, Supreme,” Hinode greeted the bird. “How do you do?”
Supreme was a long-tailed bushtit Hinode had picked up in a Case. Its full name was actually ‘Supreme Overlord Cotton-candy Ball.’ Hinode had named it, and it was an excellent name, no matter what anyone said about it. Supreme was a smart bird—not as smart as a human, maybe, but smart enough to understand words and act upon them.
It chirped, holding onto Hinode’s damp jacket as he speed-walked down the hallways and into the elevator. He didn’t wait for anyone and pressed the button leading to the top floor, where Hinode knew President would be awaiting him.
The lift halted with a ding, the doors sliding open not a second later and he strode out and into the hallway. There were noticeably fewer people about on this floor; it was to be expected, as this was where the elites were. When Hinode reached the end of the hall, he didn’t hesitate to barge into President’s office without even a knock.
“Aphelion, you wanted to see me?” he called.
President swung around on his chair dramatically, fingers steepled against each other and face grim. ‘Sugar. You’re late.”
Hinode snorted, closing the door shut behind him and beginning to strip off his wet clothes. Supreme made a noise of complaint but obediently flew off his shoulder and onto a bookshelf.
“You try being beaten up and thrown into the ocean. We’ll see how well you fare, brother dearest. I demand sugar.”
“We’re at work, Sugar,” Aphelion chided, not unkindly. “Call me President.” Nevertheless, he held out a lollipop for his younger brother. “You know where the clothes are, go change.”
Aphelion and Hinode. President and Sugar. Brother and brother. Neither of them is human. It was an open secret in the Arcane world that the workaholic president of the Investigators doted on his younger brother—the world-famous ‘Sugar.’
Hinode grunted, taking the lollipop, and sticking it in his mouth before stomping over to rummage through the chest of clothes his brother kept solely for this reason.
“It was humans,” Hinode said, collapsing onto the couch afterwards. “The rumors you asked me to look into are true. Somehow, select humans really are managing to injure Investigators; that includes me.”
Aphelion nodded grimly. “I expected as much. You know what’s happening?”
“I do. I’m not the world’s best Investigator for nothing, Aphelion.” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees. “Ephemeral Dreams.”
An eyebrow was raised at Hinode. “The game?”
“The game,” Hinode confirmed with a nod. “Somehow, the Malevolents are using it to do something to the humans. What, I don’t know either, but this information is the most we—I’ve—managed to gather.”
Six months ago, the world’s first CSIG (Complete Soul Immersion Game) was released. The player could lay down in a pod and start the game, and it would seem like their actual body was inside the game. The game, Ephemeral Dreams, was an instant hit. You could go to the Eastern Lands to become a cultivator, exorcist, martial artist and more; you could go to the Western Lands where Holy Magic and demons ran rampant; you could even go into space and travel the worlds.
But… four months after the release, some humans began to be able to hurt Investigators. Not kill, not yet, but injure. ‘Humans can injure Arcanes.’ The Arcane world was sent into an uproar and the Investigators were thrown into a frenzy as they tried to desperately figure out what was going on. And now, Hinode had managed to trace back the source of their problem back to Ephemeral Dreams.
Aphelion pursed his lips. “This is extremely troublesome.”
“Understatement of the century,” Hinode drawled, slumping back against the couch. Supreme cocked its head at them from its bookshelf curiously.
“So what do we do?” Aphelion asked; Hinode didn’t answer, so he pressed forward. “You’re the planner between us, Sugar. What do we do?”
Hinode’s lips thinned, purple eyes closing shut. “…I’ll figure something out.”
sugar…cute…🤭
theres a lot of questions but its only ch1 so i should wait 🙂
thank you for the chapter 💖
ohh~! it’s very interesting so far! the genre and tags are my favorite tropes ✨
thanks for the chapter <3
Oh, sweet! Starting with a sugar addicted and his Cotton-candy ball. You have a great naming sense. ☺
How cute ~
Thank you for the chapter 🥰