The Poly Archives

by WisteriaDrawz

Summary:

I love the Magnus Archives, and thanks to The Archives Simulator, this now exists :)

Chapter 1: Welcome To The Institute

---

 “Welcome to the Magnus Institute”, Elias said extending his hand to the new employee. Their name was Yuki, and they were 32 years old originally from the United States. They had long black hair that was put up in a bun, with brown eyes. Yuki wore black dress pants, a white collared shirt, and a black vest, complimenting their pale skin fairly. Yuki hesitated a little bit before they reached and took his hand, lightly yet firmly shaking it.
Elias smiled and asked, “Can you come in for a weekend tour and start first thing Monday morning”?

 Yuki nodded and replied, their voice showing it was a little energetic, yet calm, “Of course, what time do you want me here”? Elias let go of their hand and as they both pulled their hand away, he spoke, “Preferably about 9 in the morning tomorrow and 8 Monday. I’m going to have one of the Archivist Assistants show you around and help you get settled for your first day. Do not worry, they are mostly harmless”.

 

 Mostly? That made Yuki freeze up a little bit. Elias laughed slightly, “I’m kidding, they’re all mostly easy to get along with. However, I do have to ask you not to mind Jon’s behavior. He can be a bit cold and snappy at times, especially with new people. Get on his good side, and things should be fine”. Yuki processed that for a minute. “Alright, will do”, they replied. Elias went quiet before getting an idea. “Actually, please wait here”, he said before rising from his seat and going to the door.

 Elias opened the door and walked out, leaving Yuki with her thoughts. What was he doing? They had no idea, but they had to stay put. Soon, Elias returned with a tall man with black hair who wore a yellow collared shirt and khakis. “Yuki”, Elias said and Yuki turned to them. They stood up as Elias said, “This is the one to show you around the Institute tomorrow.” Tim smiled, teeth showing. “Tim Stoker, nice to meet you”, he said as he extended his hand, fun. Yuki can’t help but notice the small gap in his teeth, it’s kind of adorable.

 

 Yuki softly smiled took his hand and shook it. “Yuki McDaniel”, they spoke. Tim’s smile widened a little bit as he said letting off their hand, “Cute name”. Yuki went a little red and Elias cut in, “Tim, they haven’t even started yet, please do not try and scare them off”. Tim replied, “I won’t, don’t worry, they’re safe with me”. Something then caught Tim’s attention: there, on Yuki’s ring finger, was a wedding ring. Tim didn’t ask about it, though it was on his mind. Soon, Elias sent Tim back to work and Yuki left the Magnus Institute. It was a nice day out in London, and with plenty of daylight hours left, Yuki made their way to South Bank. South Bank is a location that they’d frequently go to, to either get out of their flat or now ex-husband.

 In a way, it was like a sanctuary for them away from their former life. They were well educated, having gone to university for their degree in majoring in psychology and minoring in journalism, and for a while had a decent jobs. However, it ended when they got divorced and left the United States, for some sort of altered closure. Nonetheless, they got adjusted to London very quickly. Walking down the sidewalk, looking at the water while thinking about the job interview. They didn’t expect to get the job so quickly, usually, they either waited or got rejected.

 

 This felt like a new start for them. They soon stopped and just leaned against the railing blocking off the waters, just watching. They soon felt something tap on their shoulder, unaware they were there for hours. Yuki flinched and turned to see who it was, and it wasn’t anyone she already knew. It was a taller man, about 6”1 with Yuki being 5”8. The man was a chubby fellow, with chin-length ginger hair, foggy blue eyes that were complimented by thin circular glasses, and wore a blue jumper with a collared white shirt poking out from the collar of his shirt and bottom of the jumper. Yuki looked up at him, and asked, “Can I help you”?

The fellow spoke, “Hi, I’m sorry, but are you the new person of the Magnus Institute”? Yuki tilted their head to the side. “Yeah?”, the responded confusedly. The fellow kindly smiled as he said, “Nice to meet you, I saw you exiting earlier and didn’t have time to say hi. I’m Martin, one of the archivist assistants”. Oh fun, another colleague. “Nice to meet you, I’m Yuki”, they replied. “I don’t think I've seen you around London before, are you just settling here?”, Martin asked.

 

 "You can say that, yes”, Yuki started, “I’m from the United States”. Martin rose a brow, and asked, “Really? Where are you from”? “I’m from Amarillo, it’s a city in Texas”. Martin listened intently, nodding softly. “I see, how long have you been here?”, he asked. Yuki went quiet to think about that before replying, “Just a few weeks, I’ve been trying to get settled in and find work before I was recommended by someone in the coffee house to come here, claimed to have come to the institute for something, though I can’t remember who he was, or what he came for”. Martin’s eyebrows furrowed, processing that information. “I see”, he spoke. He looked down and noticed that they were fidgeting, fidgeting with the very ring on their finger, trying to pull it off.” If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you here in London?”, Martin asked. Yuki pulled off the ring and spoke as she looked at him, “I don’t want to bore you with my sob story”.

 “You don’t have to say if you don’t feel comfortable with saying”, he reassured. That gave Yuki a gentle smile on their face. “Thanks, Martin”, Yuki said, turning back to the water. Martin watched them as they looked down at the ring, bitterness in their eyes. Yuki spoke, the coldness leaking into her voice, “Just know my reason is to get a new start”, as they chunked the ring into the London lake. Martin watched, wide-eyed and concerned. The ring hit the water with a plop and sank fairly quickly. “Yuki?”, Martin started, trying to divert the conversation by saying, “Do you perhaps have any plans for dinner? I’d like to take you out to dinner just to maybe get to know each other a little bit better”.

 

 This felt like a date proposition. They were conflicted, do they say no or yes? It was a thought, but to not be rude, they finally spoke, “Sure, where did you have in mind”? Martin smiled and said, “There’s the local pub we could maybe head to if you’d like”. Yuki stifled a smile and they said, “That sounds like a good idea”. Martin looked at the waters for a moment before turning back to Yuki. ”You’ll like it here, Yuki. It might be a lot different than where you were originally from, but I reckon you’d be quite chuffed with the place, The Magnus Institute and London as a whole”. Yuki smiled a bit at that. Martin made them feel welcome, and so did Mr. Bouchard, but Tim, Tim isn’t yet confirmed. Nonetheless, they felt that nothing could go wrong.

 They went out with Martin and had a great time. They found out that he was interested in poetry, and Yuki revealed their own hobby which is sticker making. At the end of the night, they exchanged numbers and Martin offered to walk Yuki back to their flat. Yuki agreed and once they got to her flat, Martin said to her, “I guess I’ll see you Monday”? Yuki nodded and said, “Yeah, and, thanks for tonight”. Martin can’t help but smile. “You’re welcome, Yuki”, he said before he left. With it just being Yuki, they walked to their flat door and pulled out their key. Upon unlocking the door, they turn in for the night

Chapter 2: The Tour

Summary:

Yuki's getting a tour from the hot colleague of the Magnus Institute. What can go wrong?

Notes:

FINALLY THIS IS DONE!!! Now imma be working on my BSD fics a little bit to get them out of hiatus. I hate formatting so when I have the capacity to, I'll go back and fix the wonky formatting of this that can at LEAST be better than what y'all are seeing now. Chapter separations are kinda visible but again, wonky ;-;

Also if you understand the references made in this chapter, good for you :) have a cookie 🍪

At around 7:50 the following morning, Yuki woke up to her alarm beeping. She groggilly pressed snooze and sat up, popping her back. She had time before having to get to the Magnus Institute for Tim to show her around the place. Tim, the image of his very being replayed through Yuki’s tired mind as she got up and ready. Did Yuki intentionally start thinking about Tim? Heavens no, but was she complaining? No, almost like she was okay with the intruding thoughts. However, she, under all circumstances, did not take a liking to her attractive colleague. All she had to do was get through this tour, and she wouldn’t have to see Tim until Monday.
Yuki dressed herself in a white button up shirt, a light yellow jumper, black jeans and her pair of black chelsea boots . If she was going to be meeting up with a colleague over the weekend, the most she can do is start off by looking presentable if she’s going to be working with Tim for a while. She did find it odd that she was trying so hard to make a good second first impression, though she assumed it was a force of habit. Yuki was always the type of person to try and make sure that she was on good terms with Tim, so at least she’ll know she isn’t entirely alone in this new job.

It was about 8:31 when she walked out of her flat, locking the door behind her before going to the Magnus Institute. So many thoughts rushed through her head. What if she said the wrong thing? What if Tim felt forced to do this and already disliked her? So many things can go wrong and it was all a lot. She soon snapped out of it and kept on her way. She took in the scenery of London, being able to walk to the workplace was something she enjoyed yet never got to do much back in the US. It felt nice to stretch her legs on a day like this. She got to the institute building at around 8:55, Tim at the entrance, waiting for her. As usual, he wore what seemed like a button up, though now it just seemed more of a Hawaiin shirt. It honestly fit his personality, and Yuki knew this only having met him yesterday.
“Morning”, Tim said with a smile. Again with that small gap in his tooth, why is he so cute when he smiles? Sure he kind of looks like he had a doritio like build, but Yuki wasn’t complaining. “Morning”, she replied. Tim looked her over before he said, “Not bad, you’re one time”. What was that supposed to mean? Was that an insult or compliment to her earliness? “Is that a bad thing?”, Yuki asked. Tim chuckled and said, “Not at all, means you took this seriously”. Again with the gap in his teeth- why is he so cute? “It would be wrong if I didn’t”, she said. Tim nodded and said, “Anyways, Elias is here doing some things in his office, so we can just walk in and the doors are unlocked. Are you ready?”.

“Ready as I’ll ever be”, Yuki replied. Tim led her into the building. They spent the next hour or so walking around the institute. When they got to the institute library, Tim spoke, “If you need another place to get away from work that isn’t the break room, here is a good option. Don’t mind the book contents, the person who the books came from was an oddball”. That piqued her interest entirely. “Oddball you say?”, she asked. Tim nodded. “The man they came from was Jurgen Leitner. We don’t know much about him, but we are looking into things”. “I see… What exactly do some of the books entail?”, Yuki questioned. Tim paused to think about that for a minute, responding, “For one, there is a book quite literally named “Book.”, one that is quite literally filled with spiders, things on toxic relationships and manipulation, the classic things one could enjoy”.
Where was the sarcasm in that? All she could do was nod along, trying to understand. The tour soon ended 25 till 11 and the two were soon at the entrance of the institute again. “Thank you for showing me around”, Yuki said as they walked out. Tim beamed, “You’re welcome, glad I could help”. She gave a smile back to him. That’s when Tim got the best idea of 2015. “Hey, do you want to go out for lunch?”, he asked. That caught her off guard, like excuse me? Was this another Martin scenario, but this time with him instead of the teddy bear that is Martin? Yuki replied, “I’d love to”. “Great!”, Tim exclaimed, “There’s this diner I frequently go to for lunch, do you want to go there?”, Tim asked. Yuki nods and Tim leads her down the street. She stayed by his side most of the time, the two making small talk. “Hey, I was waiting until after to ask, but what happened to your ring?”, Tim asked. She saw this coming too well and didn’t want to lie.

“Oh, that '', she started, “I got rid of it”. Tim tilted his head a little to the side, asking, “May I ask why? You don’t have to tell me if-”. Yuki cut him off, “No, no, I don’t want to lie to you, besides I already told Martin so it wouldn’t be right to not tell you. Just, do keep this between just you, me and Martin, okay”? Tim nods and Yuki takes a breath. This wasn’t especially easy for her to confess to, considering she only just met Tim. However, there was just something about both him and Martin that made it easy for her to tell. “I was married for a short while, five years nearly before coming here. My ex had a bad downfall in the marriage. Cheating, yelling, gaslighing, the normal negative traits for an awful person. I’m alright, I left as soon as I could from Texas and now I am here”.
Tim looked like he was listening. He was listening, because his eyes were widened in shock but soft with empathetic guilt. His lips pressed together as Yuki finished talking, and then he spoke. “I’m sorry to hear that, Yuki. You did a good thing in leaving, no one deserves that form of a relationship”. Yuki gave a small smile, though she couldn’t help but think that he said that out of some pity. “It’s fine”, she says. When she looks, she sees they already were at the diner. Lunch was overall peaceful, and they both had a great time, getting each other’s number in the process. Once things were all done and paid for (Tim definitely talked Yuki into letting him pay because Tim), they walked out. These lot ended up heading to the park for a little walk.

Tim let Yuki ask any questions that she may have had even after the tour. She paused to think about that, remembering something specific Elias told her. “I do have one question”, she starts to question, “Mr. B-... Elias, brought someone up when I first got hired. Who exactly is Jon”? Tim nodded, replying, “Jon is the Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute. He deals with the recording of statements and has us assistance deal with the follow ups and further investigations of statements given. Is there anything else Elias brougt up about him”? Yuki nods, “Is he cold and snappy as Elias makes him out to be, or is that just an overstatement”? Tim fails to stifle a chuckle. “You can say that. He’s just a serious fellow, just make sure you don’t do anything that would tick him off or annoy him and you should be set”.
“I see, thank you”, Yuki said. Just as Tim was about to speak, it started to rain ever so slightly. Tim was about to suggest that they stop the hangout for the day when he saw Yuki’s eyes light up as she gazed into the rainy sky. Tim got an idea, and he got out his phone and shielding it from the rain, he asked, “Do you know how to dance”? Yuki looked back at him and she raised a brow. “A little, why?”, she questions. It was at that moment that Tim started playing a song off his phone. Not a fast energetic song, more like a slowish type song. He extended his hand and smiling with the gap in his teeth, he asked, “May I have this dance”? That made Yuki red, but she did in fact take his hand. This definitely was something she wanted to cross off her bucket list, and now she can say she in fact danced in the rain with a person.

After the song was over, Tim walked Yuki to her flat and the two parted for the weekend, looking forward to seeing each other on Monday.

Notes:

Good thing know one blew this :)

Chapter 3: First Day

Summary:

Yuki's first day at the institute! Let's see how it went

Notes:

I really need to update my BSD fics later l

Anyways if you know who was mentioned at the end of this, congratulations, if not then next fic will explain in more detail

I still suck at formatting ;-;

 Monday came faster than Yuki could expect it. Her alarm clock went off and she got herself up and ready for her first day at the Magnus Institute. They put on their binder for the day and then a black button up, rolling up the sleeves to her elbows. She got into a pair of black dress pants, socks and shoes before going downstairs. They don’t really drink coffee, let alone eat breakfast, so they just picked up her phone and bag (which contains your standard belongings plus pepper spray, you never know) and walked out of the house. Getting their keys out, she locked the door and made her way to the Magus Institute. The morning was fair and the streets bustled with people on their morning commute. They arrived at the institute a few minutes before they’d be considered late. She clocked in and arrived at her desk. Already, they can see files on the desk, each with a variant of numbers. Fun, already being put to do further investigations amongst the statements.

She picked up one of the files and examined the statement number, #8729749. They opened the file and read the statement. It was of a Sylvanna Winchester, regarding a series of circumstances at her past job prior to termination. Her curiosity piqued while reading the written statement. The statement was originally given November 4th, 2013, being a few pages long, per usual statement length. They read the statement over a few times before feeling something tap on her shoulder. She jolted and turned fast, they were met with a woman around her height. She had chestnut skin, her hair put up in a nice bun that complimented her curly hair. The woman had coal colored eyes and circular glasses with black wired frames. Her clothes consisted a white turtleneck sweater with a dark rose colored coat. Another assistant, here we go.

 “Hi, you must be the new girl”, she said, her voice melodic and sweet. Yuki nods, internally processing her voice. “Yeah, that’s me, hi”, she said, causing the woman to smile. “My name’s Sasha, Tim and Martin told me a bit about you”, she said. Yuki’s face flushed a little. Martin and Tim spoke of her already? What did they say? Did Tim blab about their divorce? So much could be assumed, and all they reply is, “I see, well it’s nice to meet you Sasha”. Sasha looked at the file that Yuki held, tilting her head curiously. “Hey, if you ever need help with any case processing, you can come to one of us and we can help you”, Sasha recommended. Oh my God, the internal gay panic. “Will do, thanks”, they said. Sasha gave a nod before walking off. That left Yuki to handle this statement alone. She noticed a sticky note on the folder, and they gently removed it to view what was written on it. The handwriting was extremely illegible. All they could make out is “- Jon'' written at the corner of the sticky note.

 Their eyebrows furrowed and exhaled. They looked and immediately locked eyes with the one and only Martin. They just walked over to him, holding the sticky note, and spoke, “Hey uhm, could you decipher this”? Yuki handed over the sticky note and Martin’s brows furrowed trying to read it. “I can’t really read this, I suggest going to Jon seeing he was the one who signed it '', Martin said. Jon, the Head Archvist of the Magnus Institute, the one that Yuki was warned to not make mad. Martin handed them the sticky note and taking it, she said, “Thank you”, and turned to start walking to Jon’s office. Approaching the door, Yuki can faintly hear Jon’s voice. They couldn’t tell if Jon was busy, but they made a good call in waiting till they heard Jon’s cold and tired voice say “End recording”. That’s when she lightly knocked on the door. Jon spoke, “Enter”, and Yuki hesitantly opened the door.

The Archivist was sitting at his desk, first looking down, then looking up. He saw Yuki and his regular cold and tired expression faded away. The man was a little bit lighter than Sasha, appearing olive. His hair and eyes were coal colored, with some streaks in his hair. He wore black framed glasses, a green vest over his collared white shirt, and they couldn’t see yet, but he wore black pants and brown dress shoes. “Oh, you must be the new assistant”, he said, standing up. He was about the same height as Yuki, which was really adorable. “Yeah, and you must be Jon”, she replied. Jon nodded, glancing at the sticky note in Yuki’s hand. Yuki cleared their throat and spoke, trying not to mess up, “I can’t interpret what you wrote and I was told to come to you with this”. He held out his hand and Yuki handed him the sticky note. Jon looked and read the sticky note. He seemed indifferent when it came to the reason why they came to him about this. “I want you to see if you can find anything from the corporation that Ms. Winchester worked at. I have Tim and Sasha trying to see anything about her brother and previous husband”, he said, handing the sticky note back to them.

“Thank you”, Yuki said as she took the sticky note back. Jon nodded, asking “Is that all”? Was it all? They thought for a moment before replying, “Yes, thanks again”, then turning to exit. Jon simply watched as they walked out and closed the door behind her. He sighs and turns to what he was about to do next. Yuki walked back to their desk and got to looking into the case. Mrs. Winchester, according to the research found, Mrs. Winchester used to work at McNillard and Son’s, a furniture shop at the edge of London. In 2014, about a year after the statement was given, McNillard and Son’s closed down due to “business regulation errors''. Apparently some things of the public’s concern happened in the back of the warehouse, so it had to be shut down. Yuki glanced up from her research and saw that on the desk was a black notebook. On it was a sticky note that had the following written in eligible print, “Write down anything useful from the cases in here, we recently learned Jon likes it when leads are written down and not verbally spoken. - Martin”.

That is so adorable, oh my gosh- but they have to keep it together. Yuki delicately removed the sticky note and set it aside. They opened the notebook and sure enough, there was another sticky note. This time the text was written in slightly messy print, reading, “Martin forgot to write this down, so I’m helping him in saying that me, him, and Sasha are going out for lunch and want you to join us. Thought it would be nice to get you more acquainted with us :) - Tim <3”. A heart. Tim wrote a bloody heart at the end of that, and Yuki just went a little red as they gently removed the sticky note and just stuck it to her work laptop. Yuki wasted no time in getting to write everything she found out in the first page. Her findings took up that and a half page, a little summary at the bottom of the back of page one. Once that was done, she moved to do research on another statement. They must have lost track of time, because she heard footsteps approaching her.

They didn’t look up until they felt something tap on her shounder. She didn’t flinch as bad, thinking it was Sasha. But, when she looked, it was actually Martin. “Hey, Yuki, would you like to join me and a few colleagues for lunch?”, he asked. Yuki lost track of time, was it already 11? “Oh, of course”, she said standing up. Locking her laptop and picking up her bag (small purse), she clocked out for lunch before following Martin to the entrance. There stood Sasha and Tim waiting for them. “There you are”, Tim teased, “We have never seen someone so invested in a case that they completely zone out”. Yuki went red with embarrassment. Sasha chuckles, “Don’t worry Yuki, it happens to the best of us”. First Tim shown her around the institute and took her out for lunch, then the sticky note, now teasing? What’s next, he’s gonna kiss them while it rains, after their next rain waltz? So much stuff on a Monday morning is happening and Yuki just stood there, taking a breath to collect herself.

They lead her to, you guessed it, the same diner Tim brought Yuki after the tour of the institute. The atmosphere was nice today. As they waited and even while eating, they chatted a lot, Sasha and Yuki learning more and more about each other. Tim sat next to Yuki the whole time, and he couldn’t help but smile hearing them talk. He had the urge to say and do something, but he held back for now just so it wouldn't scare or creep Yuki out. Time flies when you’re having a blast, and soon they go back to the institute after things are done and paid for. Clocking back in upon entry, Yuki went to her desk to continue looking at statements. When 5 o’clock rolled around, Yuki had her desk tidied up and had her research shown and noted down by Jon, who had thanked her once both the Winchester and the Applegate Ranch statement was examined and looked into. On the walk home, Yuki stopped by South Banks again to view the waters.

Leaning against the railing, Yuki thought about her day and her colleagues. Sasha was nerdy and sweet, Tim was gorgeous and a tease, and Martin… he tries his best and it shows. Yuki didn’t realize it, but while thinking about them, they started to smile. Their voices and conversations put her mind at ease. It was really slow, but they soon realized that maybe they were feeling some sort of way when it came to her colleagues, including Jon. This revelation was a lot for her, especially since they only just met. It wasn’t like the feeling was mutual, though she hoped it were. After about 20 minutes, they just turn to head home. It was a long day and she wanted to lay down and just sleep. The commute home was peaceful, nothing much occurring. That was, until Yuki felt like someone was following her. When they turned to see if her suspicions were true, they caught sight of a woman who did not look normal.

The woman was a thin, pale lady. She had long brown matted hair, wore a red dress, and… holes. Holes that resembled hives on her body, all over. She had… no eyes? The lady’s gaze was freaking them out, and they turned and ran fast. The unknown lady just stared on, not moving from where she was for a while. Yuki made it home and immediately locked the door behind them. The lady was horrifying. Did she follow them? They hoped not. They had to go to Jon about this tomorrow, they needed to. She can’t just keep this to herself, maybe Jon could help, they hoped. She wished she had Jon’s number so she can tell him now, but they just had to wait until they saw him tomorrow. They were going to eat, but the lady was too horrific so she just sat down to watch something on TV before bed. Even so, the hive lady haunted her dreams.

Chapter 4: Worns

Notes:

I LEARNED HOW TO FORMAT!!!

The day started as usual and Yuki got to work at the same time yesterday. They got dressed in a similar outfit to yesterday, but they had their hair tied back in a ponytail today and not a bun. Today, she was going to Jon’s office later in the day and tell him about the woman who was following her.

However, that wouldn’t happen as Jon was stressing out. She figured that she could just wait, and so she just got to work once clocked in.

She had gotten notes over research on a cursed bayonet. She was doing research on this case with Martin, and the research she did was all leading up to a dead end. The supposed pawn house of where the bayonet had come from was non-existent. She wrote that down and let out a soft exhale as she went to the next point she needed to research. Once again, he found nothing. This seems like a crazy person’s statement. He felt someone tapping on their shoulder, and when she looked, there was Martin.

“Hey, were you able to find anything out?”, he asked, talking about the case number.

Yuki nodded and said, “Yeah, Mr. Alexander may be delusional. The date of the bayonet purchase was entirely incorrect correlating with when Breekon and Hope closed down before the supposed events. Please tell me you found something about the case”.

Martin listened and exhaled, shaking his head.

“No, it seemed like his grandson had passed away a day before his supposed claims, so this was just Mr. Alexander either misremembered the events, or it was not even an occurrence to begin with”, he stated.

“Great…”, Yuki said as he wrote this down.

Martin watched and spoke with a reassuring smile.

“Hey, these happen sooner or later”, he reassured. He was right, and he knew it. In Yuki’s mind, they started to think about the follower yesterday. Who was that and why was she… eugh, hive-like?

However, that wouldn’t happen as Jon was stressing out. She figured that she could just wait, so she just got to work once clocked in.

She had gotten notes over research on a cursed bayonet. She was researching this case with Martin, and her research was all leading up to a dead end. The supposed pawn house of where the bayonet had come from was non-existent. She wrote that down and exhaled softly as she went to the next point she needed to research. Once again, he found nothing. This seems like a crazy person statement. He felt someone tapping on their shoulder, and when she looked, there was Martin.

“Hey, were you able to find anything out?”, he asked, talking about the case number.

Yuki nodded and said, “Yeah, Mr. Alexander may be delusional. The date of the bayonet purchase was entirely incorrect correlating with when Breekon and Hope closed down before the supposed events. Please tell me you found something about the case”.

Martin listened and exhaled, shaking his head.

“No, it seemed like his grandson had passed away a day before his supposed claims, so this was just Mr. Alexander either misremembered the events, or it was not even an occurrence, to begin with”, he stated.

“Great…”, Yuki said as he wrote this down.

Martin watched and spoke with a reassuring smile.

“Hey, these happen sooner or later”, he reassured. He was right, and he knew it.

In Yuki’s mind, they started to think about the follower yesterday. Who was that and why was she… eugh, hive-like? In the years she has been on the face of the Earth, she has never encountered something so… horrifying.

Martin saw how Yuki fell silent. That was a bit odd, he thought as he he spoke.

“Yuki?”, he asked.

They looked back at him.

“Did you say something?”, he asked.

“Are.. are you okay? You’re acting a little weird”, he stated with evident concern.

Yuki froze a little. Was she found out that soon? She can’t tell him, she doesn’t know if he would believe them.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just, thinking about the case further”, she lied.

Martin nodded, though reluctant to believe her.

“Alright, come to me if there’s something on your mind, okay?”, he recommended with a soft smile.

Is it a crime to be so adorable so early in the morning? Yuki nodded, taking his words in.

The day went on at is, days turned into four weeks, all of which weekends were spent with the other archive assistants, and eventually got Jon out with them. The bonds were strong, and they were their friend. Martin brought up trying to get Jon to hang out with them, which would be a challenge, but he knew he could manage.

The following Monday, Martin didn’t come in to work, or the next. Rumor was he had some sort of stomach bug. Concerning. That meant there would need to be more help for the investigation, which was something Yuki could do. They looked into and researched many cases throughout the week, one repeated follow-up caught Yuki’s interest, case #0020312, from Julia Montauk. As much as it was a disturbing case, Yuki enjoyed the follow-ups. Something about the descriptions… it isn’t able to be described as anything but a hyperfixation, and no one asked any questions.

At the end of Monday’s workday, Yuki went to Jon’s office to give him the follow-up investigation notes, both for the cases unrelated to and #0020312. Like always, he knocked before entering. Hearing Jon’s faint voice of approval, they opened the door and walked in. Jon looked up at him, his face was strict but it softened seeing Yuki.

“Yuki”, he started and Yuki could immediately see the different demeanor he had, “What did you find out”?

Yuki had his notes labeled with tabs for easier reference. He opened the notebook to the Julia Montauk follow-up notes and handed them over. Jon took the notebook and read them over. Yuki can see Jon's facial expression shift from awe to contentment in a matter of seconds while reading his notes. They quietly wondered if his expressions were masking his true thoughts, but that thought went away and was replaced by something else.

That worm lady. That horrendous, hole-filled lady who has been repeatedly stalking her in the past, but heard nothing of for a while now. They started getting suspicious about something. Martin is out, and she hasn't seen the worm lady in a bit. Did she have anything to do with Martin being out? They sure hoped not, he loved hearing him ramble on about his poetry. Nothing more, nothing less, just him missing her friend.

Still, who was that lady?

“Yuki”, Jon spoke, snapping his fingers a few times.

Yuki broke out of their daze and looked at him.

“Yes, Jon”?

Jon’s eyes furrowed a bit in worry.

“You seemed out of it, is everything okay?”, he asked.

Oh great, are they going to have to lie to Jon too? Maybe they can finally be honest about what they say, hopefully, Jon wouldn’t see her as some other crazy person.

“…there is something I would like to talk to you about”, she admitted.

Jon motioned to the seat in front of his desk, and Yuki wasted no time in seating themselves down. Yuki took a breath, evidently nervous about this.

“Before I tell you, do you promise to hear me through before you speculate and judge?”, she asked, adamant.

Jon nodded his head, giving them a green light to begin.

With heavy hesitation, Yuki spoke, “I was being followed by something… that I presume **is not human”.

Jon rose a brow. He seemed interested, so Yuki continued.

“It started about four weeks ago, on my first day here at the institute. The general work day has been fairly tame, and there weren’t many odd things going on until my commute home. On my walk home, it felt like someone was watching, following me. I turned to look over my shoulder, and that’s when I noticed a woman with messy brown hair, a red dress…. and no eyes, her body withholding many holes. Jon, when I tell you that this woman looked like she was a walking hive, I mean it whole-heartedly. She didn’t move, she just stared at me, with holes where her bloody eyes were supposed to be. That’s when I turned and ran home. She didn't chase after me, she just…. *stared* at me. Watching my every single move until I was out of her sight”.

Her tone then shifted to a slight plead.

“Jon, I swear to you, I am not making this up. The job and what we deal with on a day-to-day basis isn’t getting to my head, I *KNOW* what **I saw, and believe me, I would’ve said something sooner, but I just couldn’t”.

Jon’s eyes were wide, brows furrowed with worry as he listened to them talk. Once Yuki was quiet, his facial expression shifted to a softer, yet cold look.

“Prentiss”, he muttered.

Jon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before letting off.

“I believe you, Yuki. This lady you described to me was established in a case that we previously discussed in case #0140912, the name given under no doubt was Jane Prentiss. Now, has she been following you as of recently?”, he asked.

Yuki nodded and she added.

“If it wasn’t every other day, it would be every single night while I am walking home from here. Jon, this may seem off-topic, but I do not believe that Martin is simply under the weather. I haven’t seen this…. Jane Prentiss lady in two nights now, and that alone is giving me suspicion that she is responsible for Martin’s absence”.

Jon went silent as if he was processing this. As much as he really didn’t like Martin, he couldn’t help but be worried.

“…I see. Thank you for coming to me about this, Yuki. Do keep an eye out and let me know if you see Prentiss. The last thing we need is for this to escalate”, he said.

Yuki nods, feeling some relief knowing Jon is helping him out.

“Thank you Jon”, they said.

Jon nodded. He was thinking about something, Yuki wasn’t sure of what. He got an idea, and his demeanor softened a good bit.

“Hey, uhm… I was thinking, maybe would you like to come with me to get something for dinner? Y-you don’t have to, it… it was just an idea”, he said.

Yuki’s eyes widened a little bit hearing him. Was it THAT easy to try and win his friendship over? Was he actually befriending them? Either way, Yuki felt herself smiling ever so gently.

“I’d love to”, they replied, to which Jon’s eyes lit up a little and he himself smiled.

The two clocked out and left the building. Dinner went well, not much really occurred. Jon walked him back to his flat, which was a really kind gesture. Yuki saw the changes Jon made whenever they were hanging out together, and it was a good improvement than the shut off and cold man she knew.

Once they got to Yuki’s flat, Jon turned and looked at them.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at work, okay?”, he asked.

She nodded, a soft smile on her face.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow”.

Chapter 5: Temporary Discontinuation

Hey guys!

So, this isn't the update for this I wanted to post for this work. But, I wanna be honest when I say this is for the best.

I'm temporarily discontinuing this work for now for a few reasons.

The first reading is regarding my ex girlfriend. They were the reason why I even began this in the first place. They introduced me to TMA and it just kinda is hard to work on this when I still haven't disconnected her from this. It honestly still hurts since I'll probably never get closure from it, so I need to stop for a while I heal. Idk when I'll come back to this, but I will definitely.

The next reason is I wanna get my Bungo Stray Dogs fics updated. BSD is a huge interest and I have two active fanfictions that I wanna work on. I have a specific plot I'm gonna add to The Next Steps and I have more trauma to dump into that and A New World, so those need my attention.

I hope y'all understand and stick around for my other work, and not just this fic. I appreciate anyone and everyone who is reading this <3

- Yuki