"Hmmm so you want to find Doctor Gareth and have a talk with him about these incidents that he's involved with?" Mr Oshiro thought about what Douma said but there was something lingering at the back of his mind. The man wasn't that convinced.
"Yes I believe we can't let him off that easily. It's about time he owns up to his mistakes." Douma replied with much confidence.
Mr Oshiro looked up at the ceiling thinking about Douma's plan and how it could contribute to their investigation.
"Cryptic Sanctuary won't be causing trouble anymore. Akira was caught minutes after the building caught fire and Mr Moikawa was found yesterday hiding downtown."
Douma was glad to hear that. About time the authorities took a firmer approach on handling the situation. For years people had been living in fear for the worst, his friends being one of them and they had suffered a lot from these incidents.
"We also happened to dig deeper into the history of Cryptic Sanctuary, turns out it was named by the daughter of the founder many years ago. She found joy in dissecting small critters..." Mr Oshiro paused he found it disturbing but thought it might be worth sharing.
That wasn't surprising to Douma, most of the people working there were just as sadistic as their founders.
"Anyways back to the topic." Mr Oshiro cleared his throat, he wanted to keep it as quiet as possible at the lobby of Atlas so nobody around them would find it irritating.
"Look I'm not saying your plans are irrelevant in this matter but finding Doctor Gareth isn't going to be easy. We haven't seen him in years! But I can give you a clue as to where he could possibly be." When Douma heard that he glanced at the files Mr Oshiro was holding. It just so happens that he might have read up about the same topic on Doctor Gareth's disappearance.
Which means Atlas was still going to find him no matter what. So moreover they should let Douma go about this final part of the investigation.
"We suspect he's somewhere in Kyoto, Nagasaki or Yokohama. These are the last places where he was last seen. One of Doctor Gareth's last research works was done in Kyoto when he was studying about the adaptation of water lilies in the ponds. Take this with a grain of salt, we can't guarantee he's residing in these places I mentioned."
"Alright got it." Douma decided that since Doctor Gareth was actively working on his research work in Kyoto under Atlas' acknowledgement, he'll start searching there.
"Kyoto it is then."
"Oh really?" Mr Oshiro was shocked by Douma's quick response. "Who are you going with? Perhaps you need to conduct this investigation with a group-"
"I've got just the right team."
~~~
"Alright where are we gonna start searching for Doctor Gareth? We don't know anything about his whereabouts or his current status in Japan. For all we know he probably moved out or something." Shinobu followed Douma who was getting closer to the train station with the tickets in his hold.
"It's worth a try, he was last seen in Kyoto." Douma replied.
Yushiro walked briskly beside them. He peeped at the three tickets in Douma's possession to make sure they were heading to the right destination.
"I sure hope we'll get something out of this." Shinobu said in a concerned tone.
"Was there any thought put into this plan? It's so abrupt, I just recovered from a week-long muscle ache." Yushiro rubbed his back hoping that his bones and muscles were in their proper place. He was hesitant on checking in fear that he needed to spend another week recovering at home again while his friends got to go outside and hangout with each other.
"Well I'm more concerned about the state of this trip."
"Big deal! You've got your concerns and I've got mine!"
Shinobu crossed her arms and turned a deaf ear to Yushiro's whining.
"Do you still have the evidence Shinobu?" Douma asked.
"Yep I still kept these pictures and reports." The violette responded. After the events the authorities gathered all the evidence including the documents that Shinobu had. She kept some just in case.
It was still a little early and the train would only be arriving in the next half an hour or so. The three friends stood there on the platform waiting patiently for their journey.
"Kyoto is going to be so relaxing during Fall. They must be getting all the decorations ready!" Shinobu squealed.
Douma thought about the things he could look forward to during his time in Kyoto, besides sight-seeing there's got to be something that he will cherish even after the trip. As he thought about it, he glanced at Shinobu and Yushiro who were most likely thinking about the trip as well. Then he got an idea.
"Hey Shinobu, is there a place in Kyoto that you've been meaning to visit?"
The violette's face lit up when she saw just how interested Douma was about this trip just as she was. "Yes it's a place where we can dine in and enjoy the scenery. Kibune is very popular among locals and tourists for the design of the restaurants. Hearing the flow of the river while enjoying our meal feels like listening to a melody."
"I like your enthusiasm Shinobu!" Douma smiled, the violette could tell he was excited by that wide grin. "I'll take note of that." Now that was one way to get Shinobu's delightful attention, he wanted her to have a great time. This trip was the best way for him to form a closer bond with her.
"That sounds interesting. I'm all for a relaxing experience with nature." Yushiro replied.
Shinobu smiled slightly, trying to hide it from any one of them. So Douma was keen on taking her to places that she dreamt of visiting, seems like her dream was about to come true and Shinobu couldn't help but look away from the blonde to mesmerize his efforts in secret.
A few minutes later, the train arrived and everyone on the platform got ready to hop on aboard to their destination that awaited them.