Kouta was in a luxury high-rise building. The floor he was on served as a restaurant for the wealthy. He was sitting at a table near a window with a beautiful young woman, Ezra Fullbring.
Ezra was twenty-two years old, she had white hair that hung to her shoulders, light blue-green eyes, and a delicate expression that screamed innocence.
Ezra stirred her drink slowly as she gazed out into the city at night. "So, why did you ask me to join Sakugami? Why me?"
Kouta sipped on a glass of water. "You're one of society's elites. You have the connections, the money, the charisma. It just seemed logical. Besides, we've been going out for a while now right?"
"Yes... but if anyone finds out that I joined a family from the Underground, I'll be disowned. My father won't like it."
Kouta put his hand on the table. "This is bigger than that. I need you there with me. When I take over this city."
Ezra took a sip of her drink. "It's true... the TPD has been smothering us ever since the incident two years ago... I'd like it if they were knocked down a peg or two. Tokyo needs more... freedom." She looked at him. "But would I really have to wear all black? And don't you sell... you know... illegal drugs?"
"Not anymore. But that's where you come in. Your family is known for their ownership over several pharmacy chains around Tokyo. If you sell something, the people will believe it."
"And what is that something Kouta?"
"A drug that can halt esper powers."
Ezra's eyes widened. "What? Why would you do that?!" She said in a whisper.
"I've noticed a lot of people are afraid of becoming an esper. They're afraid of the TPD, the Underground, the ghouls. It's the perfect market. And you don't have to publicly claim Sakugami. You can be our private benefactor the entire time."
Ezra smiled a little. "You're crazy, you know that?"
Kouta smirked. "You're one to talk."
—
Miyazaki Ima. The mother of Sakugami member Miyazaki Yumi.
She'd lost her daughter two years ago and hadn't left the house since. She quit her job, shunned her social life, and crowded herself in her house, all alone. She'd sent her ex-husband, Miyazaki Taro, on a mission to retrieve her daughter, but he's never come back since.
Ima was watching a random program on her television when there was a knock at her door.
She looked up at it with droopy eyes. She got up, covered with a pink blanket and opened the door. "Who is it?"
A man smiled. "Good evening. Kurihara Takeshi. Detective."
Ima turned to sit back down. "Oh... I remember you... okay. So what is it?"
Takeshi walked in, keeping his hands in his pockets. "I want to ask you about your daughter. Have you seen her recently?"
Ima shook her head sadly. "Haven't seen her in over two years."
"I see. That's a shame."
He pulled out a picture of Kouta. "Have you seen this boy before?"
Ima took a side look at the photo. "That's... Murakami... Kouta." She frowned. "He's the one who took my daughter away from me...! If I ever see him again... I'll...! I'll...!"
Takeshi sighed and walked away while Ima went into a quiet rage. He pulled out a smartphone and tapped the screen a few times. He put it to his ear. "Kozan? It's Takeshi. I'm interrogating Miyazaki Ima right now. She knows who Kouta is, but she doesn't seem connected. If anything she wants him dead. Uh huh... yeah but..." He sighed and pulled out a pistol. "You know I don't like doing the dirty work for you. It's not my style."
pow!
A gunshot echoed through the house.
Takeshi put the gun away. "Yeah, I know, I know, it's my job. But I still think it's a little much." He shut the door on his way out.
Ima, who was sitting back on the couch staring up into space, had a bullet hole in the middle of her head. Tears streaked down her face as the light left her eyes. "Yu...mi..."
—
Kouta stepped outside from the entrance of the high-rise building into the rain. He started walking down the sidewalk. "It rains a lot these days..."
Purple lightning struck the ground.
Kouta looked up to see a shinigami flying above. It moaned loudly, scaring away any nearby pedestrians.
Kouta calmly looked up at it.
This shinigami was all black. It didn't have a face, only the dark emptiness under its ragged hood where a head should be.
It started crackling with purple lightning.
A black, bony hand reached out and shot lightning at Kouta.
Kouta dodged and flew up at the monster.
The shinigami tried swiping at Kouta only to find its arm blown off. Out of shock it bolted back, but Kouta thrust his arm through the ghoul's chest.
Kouta dropped to the street. He looked at his hand. Purple lightning crackled just slightly.
A giant screen on the side of a skyscraper was showing commercials. It switched to the news.
Kouta watched it. Its light cast a glow on himself and the street as puddles of water formed on the ground.
Kouta's eyes widened.
On the screen were the words: LOCAL YOUNG WOMAN KILLED IN ASAKUSA.
The reporter spoke. "A few days ago, a young woman by the name of Sato Kasumi was killed by gunshot in a local Q-Mart, officials say that the killer was likely someone connected to the Iwasaki High incident that occurred some years ago."
The reporter continued talking, but Kouta had already stopped listening.
He was staring up at the screen, looking at his childhood friend's body with a white covering on her face.
Kouta was shaking. "What... am I looking at?"