Chapter Thirty Five - Operation Find Wish! (And DJ Shang)

"Okay, Troops! Let's begin operation Find Wish!"

"And D. J. Shang!"

"...and D.J. Shang."

"Do I really need to be a part of this?"

"YES!"

North stared glumly at the three excited, expectant faces glaring at him. Well Xavier and his fake fiancée Savannah looked happy and expectant. Rush just glared at him, but he was fidgeting like a child who's mean big brother was dangling a lollipop in front of him, just out of reach. "I still think this is all coincidental. Granted this Shang guy probably exists, but Wish is a Vocaloid."

"You said it yourself that Wish might not be an A.I. but an avatar," Xavier reminded him. He turned to face the holograph screen, which had been enlarged to it's maximum size. "Let's review the facts! February 7th at 5:23pm; I took a image shot and short vid of a girl in what appears to be a maid uniform adapted for cuteness..."

"I really don't think you need to go into her weird taste in clothing," North stated. He received more glares.

"Ah! My old High School used to have it's School Festival in February, perhaps that was the reason she was wearing it," Savannah suggested reasonably.

"Outside of school?"

"Well it is sort of adorable and it's not often students get to play, you know," Savannah crosses her arms and one leg over the other.  North may not have known Savannah for long, but he was already aware by her body language that the little hellion was basically daring him to respond to her words.  He did not feel tempted.

"Can we get back on track please!?" Xavier begged.  He then coughed and adopted the more authoritative tone.  He didn't pull it off well, North thought he sounded more like a little kid forced to stand up in front of adults to recite a poem.  He snickered behind his hand at the thought.  "Anyway, on further inspection of this photo, I noticed what she was wearing on her wrist."  He enlarged the image and enhanced it to reveal a beaded mostly white bracelet save the one black bead at its centre.

"My bracelet," Rush murmured in a oddly satisfied tone.

"Exactly!" Xavier declared.  North didn't mention that bracelets resembling the one on the superstar's wrist were practically adorning at least 20% of the general populace right now.  "So our Wish look-a-like is one of Rush's fans.  Then on February 9th at 7pm, a new music video was uploaded by Wish."

"And D.J. Shang!"  Savannah added, excitedly.

"...and D.J. Shang," Xavier allowed, before continuing.  He paused the video on screen and enhanced the Vocaloid's image, focusing on her wrist.  The bracelet on the 3D model's wrist appeared chunkier than normal, but there was no mistaking that it was a white beaded bracelet with a black bead at its heart.  "I believe that this evidence concludes that Wish is an avatar rather than a A.I."

"It concludes that the creator of Wish is probably a Rush fan, avatar or programmer," North muttered under his breath before saying aloud; "So what's your plan, Captain Xavier?"

Xavier reddened a little over this nickname, then offered a wicked grin.  North's eyes narrowed as he noticed similar looks upon Savannah and Rush's faces (if the latter's could be called a grin, rather than slightly upturned lips and intensely smiling eyes).  The large man almost shrivelled beneath their gazes.

The doorbell rang disrupting their attention, allowing the manager to once again breathe.  Rush huffed in a sulk as he rose to go answer it.

"I don't think it will do any good," North told them.

"Pu-leezze!"  Savannah leant towards him, her tiny hands placed upon his knees as she stared up at him with such pitiful and pleading eyes, puppies were no longer competition for her. "Help us find D.J. Shang!"

"And Wish!"

"...and Wish," Savannah added, tilting her head softly to one side.  North fidgeted, captured as he was by her potent stare.  "With your resources and contacts, I'm sure you can do it!"

"Fine!"

"Yay!" She and Xavier said in unison before jumping up together like little kids and high-five-ing.

"What a happy little gathering," a voice dripping with sarcasm with a touch of venom declared as the clicking of heels was heard in the apartment.  "And to think that I was not invited."

Rush ignored her and sat back down to return his attention to the Vocaloid and the unknown girl from the station.  North, more wisely, shut the screen down, earning a glare from Rush.  There was a silent, tense air for a few moments.  "Ah, Honor, this is my fiancée, Savannah Cross," he said, hoping the introduction would help break the atmosphere.  "Savannah, Honor Harlow."

"Hello," Savannah greeted, cordially.

Honor's eyes lit up after hearing the name, but the glint was cruel amusement.  "Fiancée, huh? Dante will be upset upon hearing the news. He thought you both hit it off swimmingly." North recalled that the actor, who was under the same manager as Honor, was one of Savannah's potential partners. His hellion's eyes burned with cold fury. The girl had been thinking of tactfully leaving the star studded couple to some alone time, but instead decided to 'demurely' sit so close to North, she might as well have been sitting in his lap.

"Dante was nice enough," she nearly purred, "but there was just something about North that had my full attention." Yes, my ability to turn into a door mat, he thought, Ah and let's not forget my contacts and resources.

"What do you want, Honor," Rush asked, coldly.

"Darling, there's some details that need to be discussed, about the wedding," Honor said, sweetly.

"There's nothing to be discussed," Rush stated.

"But the guest list on your side..." she pressed. The man's aura almost visibly shed bouts of frigid air.

"There is nothing to be discussed."

"Trouble in paradise?" Savannah whispered, softly in North's ear.

"More than you can ever imagine," North muttered beneath his breath, thinking about Rush's broken elevator* of a childhood and this marriage which had been forced upon the man. He sighed, suddenly resolved to find Wish, if she existed. If meeting the person behind the Vocaloid would make Rush happy, even for just a few moments, it was sure to be worth it... right?

"Ugh, what is that?" Honor said suddenly. Eyes turned to the direction in which she pointed, to fall upon the painting upon the wall, which they had all noticed, but not mentioned. It was a fairly green scene, with trees that appeared to have grown wild, without the touch of a maintenance robot and an array of brightly coloured blooms clearly planted with no thought to the aesthetic. There were small people dressed in the clothing of a different era.. perhaps a different world and were grouped mostly in couples, with the exception of a man in a dark outfit, decorated by thin patterns of silver and wearing a top hat. Despite the fact he was not too prominent in the image, there still appeared to be a devilish expression upon his face.

"Painting," Rush stated, a genuine smile upon his face. "Found it online."

***

"Hey," the small high schooler said aloud as he searched another stack of finished paintings to one side of the classroom. "Has anyone seen my painting? The one of the green park?"

His classmates, all in various states of mess in their white and paint stained overalls, looked at each other, before shaking their heads. Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair, he had planned to give that to Leilei today.

"Ah," a girl piped up, waving her paint coated brush about, splattering her neighbours a bit. "There was that Prank which sold off some pieces. I lost two of my paintings."

"I lost a sculpture," came a sulky voice.

"Pfft," The girl's friend laughed, cruelly.  "Who in their right mind would want to buy his painting?!"

***

"What were you thinking?" Honor sneered.  "It's hideous!  Take it down at once!"  Savannah glanced at the painting.  She kind of liked it, I mean, sure it was out of the ordinary, but it had a life of its own and drew a viewer in.  Besides, she'd always had a secret fondness for bright colours.

"No." Rush told her in a manner that tempted no comeback.

Honor, however, seemed so offended by the picture, that she failed to hear the warning tone of his voice.  "We are to be married and I will be living here with you as your wife.  And as your wife, I have a right to say what is placed on the walls.  Take it down!"  Savannah found herself almost instinctively trying to crawl behind North's firm back, despite the fact that there was no gap between it and the sofa they sat upon.  She noticed Xavier creeping around to the other side of him.  Rush stood up, towering over the woman hissing at him, his brows furrowed between his eyes, which no longer held their usual lazy warmth.

"Get out," Rush demanded.  The cold was emanating off of him in vast waves, even Savannah shivered despite being nearly plastered against North's warm frame.  Honor finally realised she had pushed the man too far.

"Darling...!" She pleaded.  But he simply used his bulk to usher her towards the door.

"Oh and there will be no wedding," he stated, before shutting her out  of his apartment.

There was a stunned silence for a moment, before screaming was heard in the corridor.  "What the hell!  We'll see what my daddy has to say about that!  Rush! You bastard!  Open this door right now!"

North groaned.  Why did Rush insist on making things difficult for him?

*Author's note; I was undecided if they had rollercoasters in this world. Then decided that they were too strait laced and boring so... no. Altered the phrase to 'broken elevator' expressing 'ups and downs' instead!