The trees blurred past as the team journeyed from central Tokyo to Koenji, expecting to arrive within 20 to 30 minutes, traffic permitting. They opted for an unmarked minivan to stay inconspicuous, as there'll be five of them on this journey. Yushi was behind the wheel, with Rei in the passenger seat, his smug grin a stark contrast to his twin's scowl in the back, arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"Don't look so glum Ren," Rei teased as he looked at his twin's pouting face through the rearview mirror. "I won this seat fair and square. You were hoping to cheat with your power anyway."
"It's not my fault I got distracted and pulled out paper instead of rock," said the pouting twin. "You only managed to win 'cause the spirit climbing into the car scared the shit out of me. The only reason I ended up seeing her was because you put the spirit-seeing goggles on me! YOU CHEATED!"
Iori let out a nervous giggle as the two redheads erupted into a shouting match. Positioned in the middle seat, he acted as a buffer between Ren and Yukiko—the latter currently squeezed against both him and the window. She seemed oblivious to the chaos around her, lost in a daze that was likely due to the weak suppression talisman Yushi had chosen to place on her. Iori wasn't entirely sure why he'd requested the chief's permission to bring her along, but it felt right. If they were going to find the culprit and her missing body, she deserved to be there. That being said, being looked at as crazy by the team was a first considering they have been so accepting of everything he has said so far.
"Iori," Yushi's gentle voice distracted him from his thoughts, "you okay back there? Ren is not squeezing you, right? We told him to lose weight but…"
"Hush, you asshole," Ren spat back at him, "This is muscle. MUSCLE. M-U-S-C-L-E!"
"Yes, yes," Placated Rei, "you are pretty, brother."
"You-"
"We're here!" Iori exclaimed, just as Ren looked ready to leap out of his seat and strangle Rei. While the freshman enjoyed the occasional comedic spectacle of their sibling squabbles, getting pulled over by Koenji's traffic patrol was not on his agenda today. Reaching over to Yukiko, he opened the door and slid out, then offered a hand to help the spirit down from the vehicle.
As Koenji is a well-known neighbourhood in Suginami, the main police station is part of the Suginami Police Station. Iori craned his neck as he took in the multi-story structure of the urban Japanese police facility. Despite its towering height, the neutral colours made it seem very welcoming to those in the community. While he was busy taking in the building, the double doors leading to the lobby swung open, and a man with glasses wearing a similar outfit as Chief Maiko walked out.
"Detective Huang," He jovially called out and bowed to the golden-eyed man, "It's been a while. I didn't realise you were branching out from your special unit and now working on missing cases?"
Yushi offered a polite chuckle and shook his head slightly. "It's been a while, Mr. Taki," he replied with a professional composure that made Ren fake a gag, prompting a small giggle from Iori. "Unfortunately, this missing person case is tied to one of our investigations, so we had no choice but to pursue it further."
"Let me introduce you to our team." Without turning, he pointed a thumb at the twins. " The one with the permed red hair is Takishima Rei and the spiky one is Takishima Ren. Both are our best field detectives that we have and they will be helping out with the case as well. The tiny guy is Iori, he is our…junior trainee."
Junior Trainee? Iori gave a deadpan expression. Since when did I agree to that?
"Welcome," Mr. Taki said, bowing once more to the group. The team mirrored his gesture with respectful bows of their own. "We have the files you need. Please, come this way."
The twins immediately followed the Koenji's Chief while Yushi fell back to walk side by side with Iori who was staring at the dazed Yukiko. He watched as the boy bit his lip nervously and tried to get said spirit to walk with him so that they could go in together.
"Would you like to stay with her?" Yushi whispered. "The chief might scold me for it later, but I can let you keep her company out here."
"Is that alright?" Iori asked, hesitating as he stopped dragging the poor spirit along. "I know you can't remove the talisman because you promised the chief. It just doesn't feel right to leave her alone out here."
Yushi nodded, understanding his concern. "Just keep an eye on her. The talisman should be strong enough to keep her aware but immobile. However, for my peace of mind—especially since the perp is still out there—here."
The detective slipped a string charm around Iori's neck, leaning in a bit closer than necessary. Discreetly, he tucked a paper man under the boy's collar, creating a spiritual leash as an extra precaution. This way, no matter where Iori went, Yushi would be able to track him down. Given the boy's temper, it was best to keep this arrangement under wraps; otherwise, he might unleash a hissing fit and claws. Straightening up, he watched as the younger male examined the charm.
"What's this?" Iori suspiciously asked.
"A little protective charm," Yushi said, tousling the smaller man's hair and marvelling at its softness. "It's a bit stronger than a regular paper talisman, but make sure to stay out of trouble."
"I know!" Iori huffed out petulantly before he watched the detective smirked and ran to catch up with the twins and the Koenji's chief. He then grabbed Yukiko's arm to drag her slightly under the shade of a big tree near the building.
Glancing back at the two figures beneath the tree, Yushi muttered a barrier mantra under his breath, watching as an invisible shield materialized around them. He wasn't about to take any chances, and fortunately, the brunette was too preoccupied to notice the barrier taking shape.
"Protective, aren't you?" Mr Taki teased out, a foxy grin on his face. The taller detective glanced at the grin and ignored him, quickly entering the building.
"You are wearing the glasses Yuuji gave you, aren't you?" Yushi dryly responded. "I was wondering why you suddenly had glasses, you old fox."
The elder gentleman let out a hearty laugh, his glasses glinting in the light and drawing shocked glances from others in the building who is not used to the site. The twins sighed; they knew this old man was always eager to tease their lead detective. Mr. Taki was well aware of the team's work, thanks to his close friendship with Chief Maiko, and in return, he often received specialized tech gadgets from Yuuji as gifts. Despite how he looks, this man was a devoted enthusiast of the paranormal.
"I think this is the scariest spirit I've seen in a while!" the older man exclaimed excitedly, prompting sweat droplets to bead on Ren and Rei's foreheads. With the glasses, he was able to see Yukiko as soon as he met them at the front of the office. "It's also fascinating how she resembles the missing girl from the file you want to investigate. But I do have a question: where is the body?"
Immediately switching to a professional tone, he directed his question at Yushi.
"Let's get into a more private setting and I will explain," Yushi deflected the curious questioning. "Is this the room?"
"Yup, just make your way in and I will make us some tea."
With a casual wave, Mr. Taki headed over to the refreshment area near the meeting room, which he had guided Yushi and the twins to. Inside the room, copies of the folders have been created with any information they may need about Ayuzama Yukiko. The twins immediately started flipping through any information they may have, while Yushi slowly walked towards the window and looked down at the giant tree outside of the building where Iori was sitting with the spirit.
"All information that Iori managed to get out of the spirit seems to check out with the personal information that is in her folder," Rei reported as his eyes continued to scan the opened file.
"Orphaned; she has been living alone since the age of 15, with only a distant aunt providing supervision," Ren drawled, pacing the room with his copy of the file in hand. "She had good grades and was accepted into the Economics program at Hitotsubashi University. She also had solid friendships, and it was her friends who reported her missing when she didn't show up for graduation."
Yushi hummed, his gaze fixed on Iori's distant form but his mind is digesting the information that the twins have provided.
"She was an innocent girl that her attacker decided to attack that night," the golden-eyed male commented. "She doesn't seem to be the type of girl that will be looking for trouble in dark alleyways. And now, she is being used by someone to collect souls for their dark rituals."
He watched as both Yukiko and Iori conversed. It seemed like the spirit had adjusted to the suppressing talisman. She seems to bewaving her hand enthusiastically to a giggling Iori. Despite his initial fear at the start of the case, said the boy seemed to have settled and had accepted that maybe Yukiko was not that scary.
The door to the meeting room opened.
"Hope you didn't have to wait long," Mr. Taki said as he reentered the room, balancing a tray with four cups of steaming green tea. "I see you both haven't changed at all. You haven't even taken a break from your journey, and yet you're already diving into the file."
The twins gave sheepish smiles before thanking the old man for their tea.
"So, can you tell me what's going on? Why is Ayuzawa Yukiko a spirit when we haven't even received any reports of a dead body? As it stands, she is still considered missing." Mr Taki continued as he took a seat at the meeting table.
"We've been tracking a lead on a series of deaths," Yushi explained, doing his best to summarize the team's work over the past few months. "The only clue we have is a vision that Ren experienced, where the spirit responsible for these deaths indicated that it would strike again."
"And by spirit, I am assuming that it was Miss Yukiko?"
Yushi nodded.
"Yet she hasn't been exorcised by you?" Mr. Taki asked with curiosity. "Don't you usually act first and ask questions later? What changed?"
Yushi turned back to glance at Iori through the window, while the older officer hummed in amused understanding.
"Then why are you here?" Mr. Taki finally inquired.
"Miss Yukiko mentioned that she didn't believe she was solely responsible for the murders," Rei interjected. "She said that in exchange for the string of killings, the perpetrator would find her body and give it peace. We came here to gather more information about it."
"There is no more information," Mr Taki sighed dejectedly as he stared at the youthful picture of said young girl, which was a big contrast to the eyeless spirit he saw earlier. "After months of searching for no lead, her aunt stopped looking and thanked us for our effort."
"What?" Ren yelled out in confusion.
"She did not give our team any explanation and has refused to discuss further about it," Continued the older man as he massaged his neck.
"Could she have paid the guy who assaulted her to wait for Yukiko to come home and carry out the deed?" Rei speculated.
"Should we bring her in for an interview?" Ren asked Yushi.
"No need," Mr. Taki waved off their questions. "Her aunt is currently in the morgue, waiting for her family to collect her. She committed suicide a couple of days ago and was found by her neighbour. It seems the reasoning stems from the loss of her niece and issues at work."
"Was there no further interrogation conducted?" Yushi asked, to which Mr. Taki sadly shook his head.
"I could give you the case file, but beyond what I've already shared, there hasn't been any progress."
"We could—" Rei began, but Ren's sudden, tight grip on his arm stopped him mid-sentence.
Rei's eyes widened as he watched his twin's gaze turn glassy and unfocused, just as it always did when he was caught in the throes of a vision. While his face doesn't provide any hint of what he is seeing, he can see the muscles of his body tightening with tension as if he is being held back from something. A couple of seconds passed before he let out a gasp, "Iori, run!"
Yushi's head whipped toward the recovering twin just as he felt the talisman he had placed on Yukiko ignite. A sharp gasp escaped him as pain seared through his chest—the barrier around the tree had collapsed, shattered by an immense surge of resentful energy. Outside, his eyes caught the moment Yukiko incapacitated Iori with a swift strike before seizing him and vanishing into the shadows.
"Fuck!" Yushi cursed.