A few days have passed, the Anderson family finally gone over the disbelieve of the fact that Victor was a Harvester and attacked them, even purposefully left Jeffrey in the fire to have someone inform Chifuyu about the situation. Victor's actions damaged his family's name, causing a few small rumours to start spreading and the family's reputation moderated. Taylor and Eve moved to settle at a new home bought by the Clark family as an apology, leaving their old home to be destroyed and planned to be rebuilt.
"I haven't seen that kid for a few days now..." Taylor mumbled as he tidied papers in his new office, referring to Chifuyu who he hasn't seen ever since the day of the incident.
"Morning, old man~" Chifuyu opened the door of the office, making Taylor pause.
"Speak of the devil..." he mumbled in amazement, what great timing he thought. "Sorry, kiddo. But we won't be able to solve cases for a few days, my documents were all burned in the fire and it would take some time to sort the cases at the station." Taylor told Chifuyu.
"I get it... I'm not here for that, le boss..." Chifuyu rolled his eyes as he sat down on the sofa in the room, "This new office looks just like your old one," he said, everything was placed exactly the same as Taylor's old office, including the sofa he's currently sitting on.
"It's a habit and it's better for me to know where everything is too, changing up will make me confused." Taylor sighed as he continued to tidy his papers.
"Looks like you're thinking ahead, eh, old man~?" Chifuyu sneered.
"Very funny..." Taylor grumbled, "Where have you been these last few days?" he asked him.
"I had something to take care of, c'est tout. Nothing much," Chifuyu averted his eyes, but Taylor somehow could understand that Chifuyu took a few days to get rid of his pain and depression for the betrayal he recently experienced.
"Whatever you say, sir..." Taylor shrugged, decided not to ask Chifuyu about it.
"Anyway, are the two Harvesters in prison still available? Or even just one of them?" Chifuyu asked Taylor.
"They are available, why?" Taylor furrowed a brow.
"I have to know where the professor is, I want to put an end to him before he could kill more people." Chifuyu responded in a solemn tone. "We can finish this troublesome case while we wait for the papers," he added.
"Agreed, let's get going." Taylor agreed to Chifuyu's idea, and the two of them left the house to go to the police station.
Taylor had made a call beforehand to take one of the Harvesters, the Russian to an interrogation room and Taylor reached the interrogation room with Chifuyu.
"Is Doctor Teresa here?" Chifuyu asked Taylor.
"She's not right now, why?" the senior detective was confused of Chifuyu's sudden question.
"I'll be right back," Chifuyu walked further down the hallway towards Teresa's lab, then came back with a syringe in his hand, that Taylor quickly noticed to be half-way filled with the U067 serum.
"What are you-?!"
"I'm not interested in wasting time," Chifuyu stopped Taylor from questioning him, then walked into the interrogation room to face Ruslan Makarov. "Good morning, Makarov-san." Chifuyu smirked to the Russian.
"We meet again, huh, Tsuguha?" Ruslan smirked back, while Taylor watched the two through the glass.
"Seems like even the Harvesters couldn't take down a Japanese brat like me, huh?" Chifuyu snickered, "Now, would be so kind to tell me where the professor is?" he bent down as he questioned Ruslan.
"He's far from here, I can tell you that." Ruslan scoffed.
"Wrong answer," Chifuyu turned cold in an instant, he launched a merciless kick to Ruslan's abdomen and injected a half dose of the serum from the small syringe in his grip into Ruslan's neck as soon as Ruslan was unconscious, pushing the serum in with his thumb before throwing the syringe aside.
"He did give him a chance... but, still..." Taylor thought, seeing how aggressive and heartless Chifuyu was towards the Russian.
"Wakey-wakey~" Chifuyu's voice was the first thing Ruslan heard when he slowly gained his consciousness a few moments later. "You're finally awake, monsieur." Chifuyu smiled to his sadistically when Ruslan looked up to him, Ruslan quickly noticed that his vision was blurry and his emotions were all over the place.
"W-What did you do to me?" Ruslan asked him.
"Nothing at all, looks like my kick was too hard for you." Chifuyu smirked, he looked ill-hearted and menacing. Chifuyu could see it, it was visibly shown on Ruslan's face that he was becoming terrified of him. "I'm going to repeat my question, Makarov-san. Where is the professor?" Chifuyu repeated his question.
"I... I can't tell you that," Ruslan responded.
"Oh? Are you more terrified of the professor than me?" Chifuyu tilted his head.
"N-No, I promised I won't tell an enemy where he is." Ruslan corrected him.
"Promised? Oh, please." Chifuyu rolled his eyes, "Come now, I was really close with Professor Morgan, I miss him and would really like to see him again. You know about it, right? That I was his favourite? Surely the professor too wants to see me," he smiled, the menacing kind that only his enemies see.
"He's... H-He's..." Ruslan was shaking and tripping on his words, "He's at the west edge of Paris, a building in the middle of a field." He suddenly blabbered out in Russian, which surprised Chifuyu to make a confused face.
"What was that?" Taylor asked from outside the room, his voice filtered because of the small holes on the room's window.
"At least, Tsuguha won't understand me, right?" Ruslan kept his eyes down, sweating as Chifuyu moved away.
"He's at the west edge of Paris, a building in the middle of a field." Chifuyu told Taylor, his accuracy made Ruslan raise his head in shock, looking up to see Chifuyu sneer to him. "Judging by your reaction, looks like I got my answer." He smirked in satisfaction.
"W-What-?!"
"Nice try, Gospodin Makarov. But unfortunately for you, I'm fluent in the Russian language~" Chifuyu grinned scornfully, "Do svidaniya, ser~" he bowed to Ruslan with a smirk on his face, in his Alabaster fashion before he walked out of the room.
"Are we going there?" Taylor asked Chifuyu.
"Évidemment," Chifuyu scoffed, "Your son was threatened at the original facility, but when I investigated there a week ago, there was no sign of any work done there in the last 3 years. Looks like your son was only taken there to be threatened, and maybe the professor did the same thing to the rest of the victims while he already moved to another building. I checked the original building again this morning, and there's no sign of the professor there. Which means this building this Russian mentioned is the only place Professor Morgan can possibly be right now," he explained.
"I'll gather my men," Taylor said.
"No," Chifuyu stopped him, "I'm going alone," chills run down Taylor's spine when he saw the look in Chifuyu's eyes.
"Why?" Taylor asked him.
"I don't think bringing men is going to help the situation, that'll just make the professor more likely to run away. He knows who I am, he must've still 'adored' me judging by his sick and twisted mind." Chifuyu rolled his eyes in the end, "It'll be much less of a hassle to handle him if it's me, and he might still have his armed guard dogs following him around." He added.
"He has vicious guard dogs?"
"Stupid, I'm talking about security guards." Chifuyu growled.
"Either way, I'm not letting you go alone. At least, I'm going with you, just me." Taylor insisted, "I'll wear a bulletproof vest if you want me to," he added, Chifuyu clicked his tongue as he looked away before sighing.
"Fine... only you, old man." Chifuyu reluctantly agreed, "I'll meet you back here in 20 minutes," he added.
20 minutes later, Taylor exited the police station to see Chifuyu had changed into his Alabaster attire, which made it clear to him that they were about to enter a serious situation.
"Let's get going, vieil homme." Chifuyu fixed his glove, "We could take your car until the border, then we might have to continue on feet the rest of the way." He added.
"Alright, let's get going." Taylor nodded.
During the 20-minute ride to the border, it was silent and Taylor was receiving grave ambiances from the 17-year-old sitting next to him. It was the first time Taylor is seeing Chifuyu so serious for a good amount of time, but it was somehow expected since he's about to face who tortured him after 3 years.
"Aren't you cold?" Taylor broke the silence.
"I'm fine," Chifuyu gave a short response, without a doubt he was still in his serious state.
They reached the border and parked the car, they stepped out onto the snow and Chifuyu sighed to watch the steam of his breath evaporate and fade into the cold air.
"Are you good, old man?" he turned to Taylor.
"I'm alright, kiddo." Taylor smiled, to brighten up the mood before they started walking further through the border. Their soft footsteps on the snow dominated the silence as Taylor followed Chifuyu, looking down to see the footprints Chifuyu left on the snow.
"Get down," Chifuyu suddenly raised his hand to Taylor and the two of them crouched down.
"What's going on?" Taylor asked in a whisper.
"Wait here for a little," Chifuyu whispered back, then he went to the right swiftly and Taylor heard short groans of pain. "The coast is clear," Chifuyu called out to Taylor, letting Taylor rise to see two men on the ground.
"Security guards?" Taylor approached Chifuyu, who bent down to examine one of the men.
"The two are working for the professor, looks like we came to the right place." Chifuyu quickly noticed the familiar logo on the security guard's uniform, then took the pistol in the security's belt. "There might be more up ahead, and probably much more at the building itself." He told the senior detective.
"Whatever happens, I have your back." Taylor nodded, and Chifuyu stopped to stare at him for a few seconds.
"Sure," he turned his back to Taylor after and continued walking, leaving Taylor paused in confusion before he ran to catch up.
"Was he hiding his embarrassment just now???" He thought in utter perplexity, "That was unexpected, but adorable... I never seen that side of him before," he continued to talk to himself in his head.
They reached the building sooner than they expected and there were guards outside the entrance, which indicates there also be guards inside.
"A vehicle is parked there; I'm assuming the professor is in there." Taylor whispered to Chifuyu; they were squatting behind a bush.
"We have no choice but to barge in, but we have to be quick, every second can lead to the professor escaping." Chifuyu added, "We have to go head on, are you ready?" he turned to Taylor.
"I'm ready whenever you are," the senior detective nodded.
The two jumped out and the rush into the building started with Chifuyu leading the way, the two took down every security guard they come across as they sped through the hallways in search for the professor. It was clear that the professor was aware of intruders, because a good group of guards were sent when they almost reached the main lab. Taylor was struggling, and had a bullet graze his shoulder.
"Old man!" Chifuyu quickly finished the last security guard with a merciless kick.
"I-I'm fine, it's just a scratch." Taylor was holding on his wound; it was bleeding and his blood was soaking into his clothes. Chifuyu jolted when he heard a noise from the laboratory at the end of the hallway, and he sprinted to kick open the door. He slowly lowered his leg as his eyes met with a middle-aged man's, his short height, lab coat, and round glasses were unmistakeable.
"Subject 004??" the man gasped.
"It's been 3 years, huh, professor?" Chifuyu smiled, it was sadistic, masking his hatred towards the man in front of him.
"Oh my gosh! You remember me! It's really you, Subject 004!" Professor Morgan appeared amused and overjoyed to see Chifuyu, "You should've told me if you were coming, I wouldn't have to send out those guards to scrape your flawless face and exhaust you." He approached Chifuyu, as Taylor staggered and reached the door of the room to lean against the wall.
"This is the professor?" Taylor thought, out of breath.
"Oh? Who is this gentleman?" the professor saw Taylor, "Oh, you're the senior detective, aren't you? Hello, I'm the mastermind you address as the Reaper~" he waved to Taylor at the end, which shocked him.
"Chifuyu wasn't kidding, this man really is crazy..." he was perplexed.
"Anyways~, you've grown to tall and stunning, Subject 004." The professor couldn't care less about the detective and turned back to Chifuyu, "Have you seen the fruits of our teamwork? My serum turned out amazing and it was all thanks to your assistance, you were such a good boy~" he pats was all smiles towards Chifuyu, blind at the fact that Chifuyu's smile at the moment was sadistic.
"Your serum surely is one of a kind, professor. Too incredible to exist in fact,"
"Right~?!" the professor grinned, "Say, why don't you help me again? I have much more ideas, and with your help; I am sure they're possible. You and I can be the founders of so many incredible creations! With your amazing body and knowledge, you can give me so much data." He suggested excitedly, sickening in Chifuyu's eyes.
"Is he for real right now??" Taylor was in disbelieve; he didn't expect this level of insanity from the professor.
"Now that I'm looking at you, your eyes are really pretty. I've been thinking of attempting to create a human eye mounted with technology," Professor Morgan was admiring Chifuyu's ocean-blue eyes, slowly reached his hand out to touch Chifuyu. "Your body is just fascinating, Subject 004. Give every part of you to me, you can start with your eye-"
"Please, don't touch me." Chifuyu grabbed the professor's wrist before his fingers could land on Chifuyu's cheek, lowering it down then he tilted his head slightly, his earring swayed. "Professor, do you really think I would let you continue your wicked acts? Because if you do, you're utterly wrong." He told the professor.
"Huh?" the professor was genuinely confused as Chifuyu took out the pistol he took earlier from under his cloak, then aimed it pushed it against the professor's forehead.
"Chifuyu??" Taylor didn't expect Chifuyu's desire to kill the professor.
"I've had enough of your existence; you've murdered my family, all because you wanted me." Chifuyu's smile faded, unmasking his true emotions at the moment, his eyes and tone of voice sent chills to the two near him. "I'm sick of you, I'm sick of being your little pet. Go to hell," Chifuyu hissed, using his bandaged hand where his knuckles were broken, he fired a bullet through the professor's head. The professor dropped to the floor, dead and Chifuyu threw aside the pistol.
"You..." Taylor was at a loss for words.
"Sorry about that, maybe I should've told you to stay back." Chifuyu turned with a smile, but Taylor approached him and wiped the blood splatter on his cheek with a handkerchief.
"It doesn't suit you," he said as he puts his handkerchief away, "I saw a phone down the hallway, I'll call backup." He added.
"Y-Yeah," Chifuyu was speechless, then he looked down to his blood-stained hand. "It doesn't suit me, huh...? Well, I have blood on my hands now, there's nothing I can do about it." He thought.
Taylor was waiting for back up that he called at the entrance of the building, under the roof but just enough for the snow to blow in. Chifuyu walked out to join Taylor after washing his hand, and Taylor stared at him in melancholy when he noticed the sorrowful expression on Chifuyu's face.
"Hey," Taylor spoke with a tender voice as he pulled Chifuyu to hug him, patting and rubbing his back. "It's over, okay? There, there..." he told him, and Chifuyu gritted his teeth.
"I'm just so angry... What did my family do to deserve to get murdered?" his eyes were glistening, and Taylor could feel him start to quiver.
"I know, Chifuyu... it really is unfair; but you need to accept that, it's all in the past now. I'm sure your family don't want to see you trapped in the darkness of your past like this," Taylor tried to convince Chifuyu, his words made his tears unbearable and they poured down from his blue eyes, he quickly hid his face on Taylor's shoulder as he silently wept. "I-Is he-?? Is he crying right now??" Taylor was paused in shock.
"I'm so sick of this... It hurts..." Chifuyu raised his hand to clench the back of Taylor's coat, shaking and inaudibly sobbing.
"When I first spoke to Chifuyu, he was boorish and hateful; impish and demeaning, others don't matter to him and he avoids emotional investment with other people, that now I know is because of his past ordeals. Then, he's also vigilant and thoughtful. And now, he's right here; crying on my shoulder..." Taylor thought as he slowly lifted his hand to pat Chifuyu's head, trying to comfort him. "For someone who he considers nothing more than an accomplice, I never expected him to show his weakness in front of me. There's just always something enigmatic about him, regardless of his two-faced nature. I still believe, that there's so much I don't know about him. I just don't... understand him... or maybe I never will..." he thought as he sighed heavily, letting Chifuyu cry as much as he needed to.
"Sorry..." Chifuyu moved away after a few minutes, covering his swollen eyes with his arm after wiping tears away.
"Feeling better?" Taylor gently ruffled his hair.
"Yeah... Thanks, old man..." Chifuyu nodded, kept his face down with his arm covering his eyes.
"Oh, Jeffrey and Emma are here." Taylor saw a police car leading two armour vehicles approaching.
"That's great," Chifuyu said as he turned away and placed the hood of his alabaster cloak over his head, walking out to sit down outside the building and out of the way, in a foetal position and his face hidden on his folded arms.
"He's acting like a little kid right now..." Taylor thought, he had watched Chifuyu move away. "This is the first time I'm seeing him act like a moody teenager, because of his self-reliance and mature way of thinking, I often forget that he's only 17." He stared at Chifuyu for a few moments before walking out to approach Emma and Jeffrey, who stepped out of the police car that led the two other vehicles.
"What's the situation inside, Mr. Anderson?" Emma asked Taylor.
"Only the Reaper is dead, the rest are unconscious." Taylor responded, "There is a room with a few containers of the U067 serum, I want them brought out to be destroyed permanently with the existing rest later. Please secure them carefully," he added.
"Understood," Emma nodded, "Alright, move in! Hurry!" she led her men inside the building.
"Is he okay?" Jeffrey's eyes were on Chifuyu when he approached Taylor.
"He's fine, but it's best to leave him alone for a little." Taylor smiled as he sighed.
"Did something happen in there?" Jeffrey was curious.
"Something like that..." Taylor came to remember the way the professor treated Chifuyu, calling him by number and saying sick-minded things, saying that he wanted his body to experiment on.
***
In the span of a few days, The Reaper was finally announced dead and his crimes had already come to an end, every last drop of the U067 were burnt and destroyed permanently with Teresa's professional assistance. It was now recorded to be one of the biggest and longest serial killer cases to put to an end, but it was kept unannounced who they receive assistance from, wished by the boy who finished the case himself. After 3 years in this hunt for this absurd mastermind-serial killer, the police station threw a celebration by giving days off for the officers and detectives involved in the case.
"Bonjour, old man~" Chifuyu stepped into Taylor's office, then sat down on the sofa next to the door.
"It's finally over, huh? Did you get your justice?" Taylor was sitting behind his desk, but stopped what he was doing to chat with Chifuyu.
"To be fair, I served myself justice." Chifuyu looked away, "But at least, the terror for the Japanese here is over. Even the two boys I took to Lucas's orphanage got back with their mother," he added, smiling at the end.
"You're right," Taylor nodded in agreement.
"Did you forget, old man~?" Chifuyu rested his chin on his hand, and Taylor furrowed a brow as a question. "From the very start, I only cooperated with you because of this case, right?" Chifuyu smirked slightly.
"And...?" Taylor was getting a hint of what Chifuyu is trying to say, but he was uncertain.
"The case has finally ended, which means my work here is done." Chifuyu's smirk widened, and it struck Taylor.
"O-Oh, right... I see..." Taylor looked down to his desk, "I completely forgot about that, he only agreed to work for me because of this case." He thought as his head slumped.
"I'll be heading back to Japan soon anyways; the flight is in a few days." Chifuyu said as he stood up to approach Taylor, "It was great working with you, old man." He extended his hand to the senior detective with a smile on his face.
"Yes, thank you so much for your help, kiddo. I couldn't imagine what we would do to finish this case without you," Taylor shook Chifuyu's hand, with a satisfied smile. "You won't be coming back here, huh?" he sounded disappointed.
"I definitely would if I could, old man. But I might have a lot of things to take care of back at my homeland," Chifuyu shrugged as he smiled, "Because of that, I brought something for you to keep." Chifuyu reached into his coat and took out his small polaroid camera.
"Your camera?" Taylor remembered Chifuyu used that camera to take evidence pictures a few times.
"Exactly, I want you to keep it for me." Chifuyu grinned as he handed the camera to Taylor, "But be sure to keep it safely, I won't be happy if you break it, I can even feel if you do from Japan." His grin turned playfully eerie.
"Okay, okay..." Taylor sighed, "Does that mean, this is good-bye?" he asked hesitantly.
"No, no... I'll keep coming until the day of the flight comes," Chifuyu snickered, "What? Are you sad I'm leaving~?" he sneered.
"Of course, I am..." But Taylor's genuine sad response made Chifuyu's sneer disappear instantly, "You're not just my assistant, you've become someone more..." Taylor was looking down gloomily.
"Hey, old man." Chifuyu's voice turned gentle, it was his comforting voice that Taylor is hearing for the first time.
"Yes?" Taylor looked up.
"I'm not going to make the same regret twice, so I'm going to tell you my thoughts just this one time." Chifuyu sighed as he placed his hand behind his neck, but raised his head and gave Taylor a grin. "You remind me so much of my dad and I would like to thank you for that, you made me feel like he's still with me, my dad that I look up to so much. Merci," Chifuyu said with a sincere smile, Taylor was stunned.
"Is that why... he doesn't bother to hide his weakness to me that time...?" he was flabbergasted, remembering Chifuyu had cried in front of him and on his shoulder.
"Don't look at me like that..." Chifuyu looked away with his face slight red, sulking for no reason.
"Then, I'm glad..." Taylor chuckled and patted Chifuyu's shoulder, "If I made the weight on your shoulders lighter a little, then that's enough for me. It already makes me happy," he smiled to Chifuyu, it was the same smile his father and Adam used to give him.
"Why are you all so annoying..." Chifuyu's head slumped, he gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists.
"W-Wait, are you mad?" Taylor pulls away his hand from Chifuyu's shoulder.
"I am..." Chifuyu doesn't sound angry in the slightest, but Taylor was still scared when he watched Chifuyu walk away to leave the room. "Hehe, I'll come again tomorrow, le vieillard." He grinned to Taylor, making him more confused.
"Y-Yeah, see you tomorrow." Taylor waved helplessly before Chifuyu closed the door, then silence followed and Taylor sighed heavily. "He's so unpredictable... but, what he said earlier..."
"You remind me so much of my dad and I would like to thank you for that, you made me feel like he's still with me, my dad that I look up to so much..." Chifuyu's smile from moments ago repeated in Taylor's head.
"Really... I'm relieved he hasn't been bothered around me..." Taylor smiled by himself.
***