Chasing a White Rabbit to a Mad World

Takes place Tuesday afternoon, the eighteenth week.

It's been a while since anyone had last seen Rider. His suitcase and most of his belongings were gone and no one ever did got around to getting his contact info. He didn't leave a note or message. He simply left, most likely flying off on his Jub Jub Bird with his assistant.

The dorm room was rather quiet without him around and Team MNRC was at the moment only Team MNC.

"He left without a word..." Mirai said bitterly. "And Ren and Honne, of course, have found no clue as to where he could possibly be."

She had been talking to herself on her bed, her curtains drawn and her books spread open. The one she was solely reading was the story about the rabbit who got skinned. The tale that Rider had used to block whatever it was he was hiding. Mirai gripped her fan.

Her hand came to her pendant, a gesture she did to comfort herself, and she looked at her scroll. Of course, there was no messages from him. She picked it up and tried to send a voice message, doubting he'd answer a call. If the phone let her through to send the message, she'd clutch her fist and speak, each word laced with venom.

"Idiot. I thought I didn't have to chase you anymore," she said to the phone. "And when I turn my back for a second, you're gone."

She slammed her fist on the mattress of her bed.

"You're forgetting something, though," she would continue. "I can align the fragments of chaos. I can find the footprints and find your trail. Just give me hint. Any. Or so help me, when I find you, I will never forgive you, you incompetent excuse of a teammate!"

In this town born of dust and clay
Never known what may lay
Against time the rabbit shall fight
Beyond his days and through sleepless night
And only he and the lizard shall know

Tick tock lies in deep
On this town of ours where none can sleep
Wandering in this land of madness of ours
Nevermore shall go the hours....

The poem was named "The Inaba White Rabbit". It was written by an anonymous writer, and it was found by Mirai's servants.

Mirai looked at the poem there in her bed, reading it over and over again as she tried to link one thing to the other. From her hair, she plucked one long strand of hair, letting it glimmer in the faint light. She flipped through her book until she came to a blank page at the front. Slowly activating her aura, she traced a circle of ice on the book, five prominent points set up and she spun one end of the hair here.

"Let's begin the assembling," she said. "Starting with the most obvious."

Rider hadn't leaked the poem out for nothing and Mirai could only conclude that it linked to his location. The rabbit, of course, referred to him and the lizard to Ai. A town of dust and clay...the dust stuck into her head.

"A town near dust sources, perhaps..." she said. "But that doesn't thin out my choices too much..."

She called up Honne, the one who had found the poem.

"Good day, Lady Mirai. How may I help you?"

"I need more fragments..." Mirai said plainly. "Is that all the information you've got so far? Also, can you look up close by towns with dust mines, quarries or sources? I know it's a bit general, but I want to start with that."

"Very well, Mirai," Honne said through the phone. "May I ask, however, why you're so eager to find Mr. Blanc?"

Mirai was silent for a while.

"He's rude, that's why," Mirai said. "First moment I met him he's been nothing but an amusement and pain. And he's still like that. It's about time I gave him a lesson or two about how to treat a lady. He's almost as worse as Rayden."

She hung up and sat there again. Mirai stood up and put a robe over her sleeping dress and walked over to Rider's area of the dorm, hoping something could catch her eye and give her more pieces to work with.

Rider never did have much stuff. He had a variety of coats and jackets and many books on mechanical work and dust sciences, but other then the imprint of his chair's wheels on the carpet flooring, Rider left little behind except for a book of riddles and poetry that had fallen into the space between his nightstand and his bed.

The book had a little index card in place of a book marker and on it several notes were written.

Every story has a beginning.
Every beginning starts with a sentence.
Every sentence starts with a word.
Every word begins with a letter.
Every letter begins a story.

"Of course," Mirai's voice trailed as she left the card and went back to the poem her assistants found. Taking her scroll she viewed the message and she untied the golden thread of hair from the imaginary wheel and set it down on the poem vertically.

"It was so simple I completely overlooked it," Mirai muttered as she spelled out the letters: INABA TOWN.

Her eyes narrowed as she let out a satisfied hum. "The chase is on."

With that, Mirai opened the curtains of her bed in hopes to get either Rayden or Caster's attention.

"I think I've found him," Mirai said.

When Mirai opened her curtains Rayden was in the middle of serving everyone lunch. With Rider gone Rayden had been taking care of the teams meals as best as he could. Though he was adequate at cooking the food, he could not compare with the level of meals Rider would prepare after having only practice cooking simple meals for himself as opposed to serving multiple people.  Wearing his civilian clothes along with a plain grey apron Rayden turned and faced Mirai. "Milady I still believe Mr. Blanc wouldst prefer to be alone at this time. If he did not feel that way he would not have gone alone with nary a word of warning." This could also be some elaborate trick to cause Milady more problems. "But if thou wishes to search for him I would accompany thee." Serving the last of the food Rayden turned to Caster whom had been oddly silent this entire time. "Mr. Caster what dost thou say? Dost such a trip with milady and myself interest thee?"

"I don't care if that stupid rabbit wants to be alone, had some important matter, or is simply just trying to play a joke," Mirai said as she opened her new armoire dresser and tried to pick among her clothes. "The point is he left without a word. Without permission. Without telling anyone. Without telling me, the team leader. And Rayden, you know very well I have to make him pay for that."

Of course, as much as Mirai said this, she knew there was a reason that went much deeper than that, but she if she realized it, she'd deny it in an instant.

"So Caster, are you coming with us, or not? This is a team matter, after all."

At the same time, she had Ren and Honne search thoroughly for an accurate description of the so-called "Inaba Town" and the swiftest way to travel to it.

1,034,134,134 results for "Inaba Town".

192,343 location results for "Inaba Town".

666 results for city location results for "Inaba Town".

13 results for city locations near dust quarries for "Inaba Town"

1 result for city locations founded on dust profit for "Inaba Town"

As Ren and Honne gradually manage to narrow down the possibilities through careful searching. They begin to close in on the location. First the world. Then a continent. Then a country. Then a kingdom. Then an island. Then an area. Then finally.... a wagging finger.

A chibi picture of a little girl's head with a blank face and pink hair wearing what looks like a visor. A little hand is next to it positioned in a pointed finger wagging at the viewer of the screen.

A little speech bubble is off to the side saying "I was careless but you won't get closer".

Static....

A white rabbit with a breakfast pastry for a body running in place in the middle of the screen with a rainbow trail following it....

Though the pair would manage to find the general area before Ai stopped them, it looked like Rider's assistant has gotten her guard up and won't allow another slip up ever again. Any further attempt would result in more mocking and humiliation.

Mirai's eyes narrowed at the information Ren and Honne had forwarded to her. Closing her scroll, her eyes narrowed.

"The pieces are enough to start reassembling them," she told herself softly.

From what Mirai could tell, they'd have to cross waters to get to the island in question. She wondered if it would also be possible to use a train to get to the area itself. She'd hunt for clues to finding Rider from there.

"My excuse slip for the team still holds valid," she told Rayden and Caster. "So we go without worrying about processes. As for travel, Ren and Honne have narrowed down the location a bit. If the area permits, I'll have a private jet ready to fly us there."

Mirai twirled her fan in one hand.

"I'll pay for all your expenses if that's going to be trouble. If you'll come along, though, you should pack."

She didn't wait for an answer. Mirai swiftly left for the bathroom, got herself ready and came out in a light blue dresscovered with a blue coat. When they'd go outside, she'd cover her head with a pale blue bonnet.

It didn't take long for the team to arrive at the location after Mirai's assistants managed to pinpoint before being abruptly stopped by a completely untraceable source. Mirai pulled some strings and the groups traveled to an island. The island seemed rather large, almost big enough to call itself a country. The group arrived in a province. They find themselves surrounded mostly by greenery in a simple village located a few miles off the fishing shores. The village seems to be highly reliant on ocean trade as many of the men are dressed as fishermen.

As they surveyed the area Rayden stayed close to Mirai and kept his hand on Chevalier's pommel in case he needed to spring into action at any time. "Milady, I am not entirely sure about this place. Did Ms. Honne and Mr. Ren provide any information regarding the reputation of this place?" Rayden's sense of unease was only increased by the fact that they came here looking for a man who seemed to have so many secrets, some possibly darker than most.

Mirai was glad they were fortunate enough to pinpoint a small village, but even so, to find Rider directly would take a little questioning. She pinched her chin.

"They couldn't get that far," Mirai told Rayden flatly. "But in all honesty, I couldn't care less."

She looked at Rayden, lifting her eyebrows a bit satisfactorily and smiling.

"You'll protect me, won't you?" she said quiet enough so Caster wouldn't hear her. She placed two hands on Rayden's armored one for a short moment before letting go and walking ahead.

"Who to ask..." Mirai said aloud. She moves along, her hair flowing behind her and her bonnet tied on tightly so the wind doesn't blow it away.

If she sees someone whose not too busy, she'll go up to them and ask: "Excuse me, would you have happened to see a male faunus with white rabbit ears in a wheelchair?"

It'd be blunt and straight. Mirai just wanted to get on with the searching.

The first person Mirai would spot would be a woman with a small child out on an errand.

"A faunus in a wheelchair?" she would ask tilting her head. "No, I don't think I've met anyone in a wheelchair around here. Most of the men here are able and we don't have many faunus around here."

And of course things wouldn't be as easy as that... Mirai thought to herself.

She looked back on the other two.

"We're going to be here a while, I can assume," Mirai told them. "Rayden, while you handle the luggage, Caster and I should find our arrangements on where to stay. In a few hours it will be dark and we need a place to sleep and eat. I only hope there's an inn appropriate enough."

She looked around in hopes to find something favorable.

Just then Mirai could overhear a conversation coming from a pair of old men.

"The ghost of a lizard?"

"Aye. They say people have been seeing the ghost of a lizard that had died long ago. She had short pink hair and empty eyes like the woman in that picture."

"You mean the picture of the woman who died eighteen years ago?"

"Yeah. They say he ghost has come back and haunts Sharkfin Town at night."

"But why? She has no relation to this village other then that photo we found."

"I'm not sure but eye witnesses say they see her purchasing fish during the late night sales."

"Wh-what?"

Mirai's ears pricked to the sound of the ghost of a lizard, Rider's assistant immediately coming into mind. As casually as she could, she walked over to the pair of old men, waving out her fan to cover half her face.

"Excuse me," she said in her usual aloof manner. "I couldn't help but overhear about there being a ghost here? My allies and I have just come to the village, sightseeing and all, and I happen to be fond of tales and the like. If you're okay with it, care to tell me more about this tale and the sightseeing?"

"Huh? Oh, okay," one of the old men said. "Well little girl, there is this strange rumor in this village for a few years now. Almost a decade in fact. They say that at night people have been seeing a girl resembling a woman who had died a long time ago. Her face is blank and lifeless and appears from place to place at inhuman speed. The scary thing is that she would be there but no one ever realizes it. She's like a Zashi Warashi spirit you know. Can just be standing there for hours. People would count the heads present, realize they had an extra person, and not even realize the girl was the odd one. It's scary you know?"

"Oh wait, I think I have a picture here," the other old man murmured as he flipped through his newspaper. He showed Mirai a newspaper article on the rumor feature a picture of the picture the so-called ghost is said to look like. Minus the visor, it was a spitting image of Ai, Rider's assistant.

"She shows up every other night and just casually buys groceries," the old man continues. "She hasn't showed up in the last few months but she started to again last night so it's got us all riled up a bit."

Another fragment found in the sand, Mirai thought to herself.

Mirai nodded at the men as she waved her fan.

"Thank you. That sounds like an amusing story," she said. "I've heard of Zashi Warashi spirits before, too. Anyways, I'd love to see where she shows up myself. Know where it is specifically where she's been seen? Also, I'd love to know if there are any good inns or places my comrades and I will be staying in the village overnight, without a doubt."

"Many grocer merchants have claimed to see her at night shopping for sales," the old man replies. "She's just there one moment and disappears from the village altogether the next second. Even though she's in plain sight, she's so blank and emotionless that it's hard to realize she's even there."

"Excuse me, how much is this fish?" a girl's voice came from behind the old man.

"Oh, sorry there miss," he apologizes turning around, his back to Mirai. "Uh, I'll give it to ya for this much."

"Thank you."

The old man nods and turns back to Mirai just as Ai walked away and disappeared into an alleyway.

"So anyway it's been scary because she acts so natural that no one realizes she was there until it's too late. And nobody in all of Sharkfin know her before..... before......"

As realization dawned over the old man's face, the two literally frozed in shock, their mouths gaping wide.

"WAS THAT HER??"

"WHY DID SHE SHOW UP IT'S TOO EARLY!"

"IT MUST BE BECAUSE YOU WERE HAVING A SALE ON SALMON!!!"

Mirai's eyes widened upon seeing Ai who swiftly disappeared into the alleyway.

"Excuse me," Mirai said as she darted away to follow her. She shouted to Rayden and Caster. "Rayden, Caster, this way!"

Mirai, trying to run as fast as she could in her dress, rushed to the alleyway in hopes to find her, Rosemary who was now the same color as her dress, at her side.

Don't disappear now...! she thought. You're my only lead!

Mirai manages to see Ai's tail going around a corner. Following her still, Mirai spots the lizard tail go around another corner. The girl was fast if nothing else. The group continue chasing after the lizard faunus until finally they exist an alley leading to outside of the village boundaries. The only thing up ahead is trees and rocks. The forest seems to slope up gradually and if they looked at the local map they'd see a mountain was situation just behind Sharkfin Town. It was known as Mt. Inaba. The pink haired girl had completely disappeared.

"Curses!" Mirai said as she lost track of Ai. She waited for Rayden and Caster to catch up with her, as breathless as she was now to have been chasing someone in the dress she was wearing.

She sees the mountain ahead, wondering what could possibly lie there. She clenched her fists.

I'm not giving up that easily, rabbit... Mirai thought to herself.

She hears Rayden and Caster's footsteps behind her and she stands there waiting.

Caster had agreed to come on their search for Rider, of course. He was part of the team and there was no way he would miss it. However, his head had been buzzing before their investigation had started.

He had grown as a performer, with minimal combat experience and nothing special to fight for. Each of his teammates, however, seemed so much different. They had a past that seemed so mysterious to him. Caster, however, was the son of two students run away to the circus, raised with nothing fancy but all he needed. It somehow made him feel inferior, as if he had something to prove to them.

Suddenly Caster was snapped out of his thought by Mirai calling for them. His eyes shot to the girl Mirai seemed to be casing after and he nooded, sprinting forward. When they came to the spot were the girl had disappeared Caster frowned, clenching a fist. 'Damn it! If I wouldn't have been so stupid I could have caught her!'

"Mirai, I think I can find her." he stated with a swallow, in his head nervous that she would be disappointed with him, yet only mad at himself.

Mirai was looking up ahead towards the mountain, unaware really of Caster's presence until he spoke. Her eyes lit up with Caster's suggestion, but she kept herself calm.

"You can?" Mirai said. "I saw her earlier...she's right in front of me but I hardly noticed her until she was practically out of my sight. But I don't think she showed up right now by coincidence. She wanted to be seen..."

Mirai clutched the skirt of her dress in frustration of herself, but let go. She turned back to Caster while waiting for Rayden to appear.

"So, can I hear how your little proposal?"