Takeshi sat in his dimly-lit bedroom. He was sitting at his desk, staring up at a bulletin board with a load of cut-out news articles, pictures, and sticky notes.
One of the articles caught his eye. He stared at it. "The case that started it all. The assassination of the Murakami Family. All but Kouta were murdered. Killer was never found."
< "I'm telling you!! It wasn't me!! I saw it, there was a ghost!! It killed everyone!!" >
Takeshi leaned back in his chair. "Maybe you were telling the truth after all. An entire family killed by a ghost."
Takeshi looked at his computer. He typed in 'Murakami Family'. News articles from several years back popped up on the screen. Takeshi scrolled through them. "I remember when the news got out about the Murakami Family murders, it was a huge scandal. I was pretty much a rookie back then so I wasn't let in on much, but after Kouta was proved innocent the entire case was put on silent."
Takeshi read an article that read; 'MURAKAMI FAMILY DEAD! KILLER IS UNKNOWN!!'
Takeshi scrolled down. "Murakami Ryuji (33) was one of the most powerful and influential figureheads in Japan. That's it? No information at all…?"
Takeshi turned off the computer and got up from his seat. He went to his kitchen for a cup of coffee. He leaned against the countertop and took a sip. "Kouta's vector has to do with taking the vectors of those he kills…" He took another sip. "If a spirit of some sort killed his family then that would make Kouta the killer's killer."
Takeshi took another sip of coffee. "Did the spirit turn Kouta into an esper? If so, then how did he kill it in the first place? It wouldn't have just left him alive if it killed the whole family. That means that Kouta was already an esper beforehand."
Takeshi's eyes widened. "Wait…! So Murakami Ryuji was also an esper!" He set his coffee down. He put a hand to his mouth. "So how did a mere spirit kill him? Don't tell me…! It was a setup?!"
—
Kouta walked outside to the place near the now-destroyed TPD HQ building. He stood near a lamppost when he was approached by a familiar face. He looked at Kouta. "Am I late?"
"No, I just got here. You're a student of Master Yu right? Quan."
"Yeah. Seemed like he took a liking to you."
"Not really. He just knew my grandpa."
Quan stared out at the crime scene. "I've gotta say, you've gotta be one crazy guy to do something like that."
"I just did what I had to. Come on."
The two of them started walking.
Kouta gave Quan a look. "You're already wearing black…"
"Is it a problem?"
"No. It's just a weird coincidence." His eyes glowed. "Were you really sent here by Master Yu?"
"Yeah."
Kouta's eyes stopped glowing. "Then, welcome to Sakugami."
In the lot where there used to be Jikai's warehouse, there was now a grand mansion.
Yumi and Akane were already there, sitting on the steps. "Kouta!" Yumi exclaimed.
"Hey."
Yumi gave him a quick hug. "I missed you."
"It's only been three days."
"Still."
Akane walked up. "Another new member?"
Quan held a hand up. "Yo. Quan Parker."
"I'm Akane, and this is Miyazaki Yumi."
Yumi waved. "Hello."
Quan nodded.
"Are you… American?"
"Yeah. My mom came here because she was in the military. She was killed by terrorists years ago. After that I wandered the country for a few months and met the monks. They took me in and raised me."
Yumi put a hand to her mouth. "That's so sad…"
A white van pulled up to the lot. Ryoto and Saki came out. Han too.
Han was obviously avoiding Saki. He slid next to Kouta. "Hey… what's wrong with that woman…? She's crazy!"
Kouta nodded. "Uh huh."
"That's it…? It's like you're not even concerned."
"I'm not. Everyone knows by now."
"Ehhh…"
Taku suddenly appeared. "Woah, this place is amazing!"
Ryoto slung his bag over his back. "They did this in three days?"
Kouta nodded. "The workers in the underground are usually espers. It's not surprising if they get the job done quicker than normal."
"How much was this?" Saki asked.
Kouta shrugged. "I didn't think too much about the price. All I know is that we're down to about 400,000 yen."
"THAT'S IT?!!" everyone exclaimed.
Kouta started walking towards the front doors. "We've gotta get to work."
A limousine pulled up in front of the lot. Everyone paused to see who it was.
Kouta turned around. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot."
The driver got out of the car and walked around to let out the passenger. Ezra came out and handed him some money. "Thank you. This is yours."
The driver bowed. "It's my pleasure, Ms. Fullbring."
"Who is… that?" Taku asked.
Ezra smiled when she saw Kouta. She jogged over to give him a hug and kiss. "Hey Kouta. Nice place you've got here."
"Yeah. This is the last thing my grandpa left me. So I wanted to make it special. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Ezra Fullbring."
Ezra waved. "Nice to meet you all."
Yumi was in shock. "G-G-Girlfriend…?!"