CHAPTER 15 #2
Horiuchi leaned back in her chair, let lips twisting sideways as she considered the next words.
“There are seals placed on their bodies. On the chest, above the heart, where the core of the spiritual energy is. And, depending on each extractor, throughout the body, too. The seals are linked to a special chamber that monitors them—the seals, not the people. None of the seals appear to have been broken yet.”
“But if the seals haven’t been broken then how is this person killing if their powers are locked?” Teruo asked.
“Here’s the thing: the seals are just energy, so they don’t have a timestamp, even if they’re monitored in real time.
I suspect there’s someone who has been temporarily deactivating and reactivating the seals.
But we can’t tell if it’s true or not and can’t check it against the period of the time when the victims were killed. ”
“Why can’t you?” Teruo asked. “You have an entire supervising process for the seals, but no way to narrow the timeline down?”
Horiuchi raised her palms in a shrug. “Chief, seals aren’t video cameras.
They can’t have a timestamp. We know there’s something wrong with them if they disappear, grow dimmer, glow brighter, flicker, things like that.
But they don’t have the time and date on them.
I wish they did, but it’s just spiritual energy. ”
“Yeah… makes sense…”
A chill crept over Shinji’s spine. “Then we’re not just dealing with a rogue extractor, but an accomplice too.
Someone who is helping them from inside the castle.
A supernatural who understands seals and has easy access to them.
It can’t be the unaccounted extractor, so—” Shinji looked at the photographs.
“One of these two has help from within the Onmyōryō.”
“Precisely,” Horiuchi said. “Which is why the councilors are so wound up. We’re working on figuring out who it is.
The job of monitoring the seals inside the chamber usually falls on shamans and Onmyōji,” she explained to Teruo.
“It’s a rotating responsibility and we’re going through each person to see whether they have anything linking them to the victims or one of these two extractors. ”
The room fell into heavy silence, and Teruo was the one to break it. “We’ll split the work into two. Shinji, Nakagawa and I will focus on the suspects. You track down whoever is tampering with the seals, and fast.”
“Is Nakagawa the young detective on your team?”
Teruo narrowed his eyes. “Yes, why?
“You can’t tell her anything about our supernatural world. Nothing at all.”
Teruo scoffed. “Respectfully, ma’am. I wouldn’t have tried, anyway. She’s not gonna believe me. I barely believed Shinji when he told me and I could actually see his reiryoku. But I will need to tell her something. I won’t kick my detective off this case.”
“Let’s stick with ‘special agents whose cases are classified’,” Horiuchi said. “It’s not a lie, because that’s what they are, but you’ll skip the supernatural part. And you can put me down as the one who provided the suspects’ photographs.”
“I was about to argue about chain of custody and other things,” Teruo said. “But I’m guessing this won’t go through a normal trial.”
“You’re correct,” Horiuchi said. She drummed her fingers on the wooden desk, then added, “So, on an unrelated note, I’ve put a protective detail on your house. Just to keep an eye out for the killer and for anything else that might happen.”
Shinji’s mouth opened. “You’re spying on us?”
“I said ‘protective’ detail. He’s not there to spy.”
“Is that who I found the other night on my neighbor’s roof?” Teruo asked.
“Yes,” Horiuchi confirmed. “Again, protection.”
Teruo folded arms over his chest. “It better be. If he sets foot inside our house or so much as peeks through a window, I’ll make him regret it.”
Horiuchi let out a short chuckle. “Are you sure you want to threaten a powerful, supernatural agent?”
“What’s he gonna do? Wave his magic at me? I’ll kick his ass before he’s got the time to do that.”
A loud snort escaped Shinji and he covered his mouth. There was nothing more amusing than seeing Horiuchi’s surprised face at Teruo’s threats.
“Superintendent Yoshida has repeatedly told me you’re one of a kind, but I didn’t believe him,” Horiuchi said.
“You better believe him,” Teruo retorted. “He’s not wrong.”
Horiuchi tilted her head, considering him. “Can’t tell if you’re brave or reckless.”
“He said the same thing.” Teruo gestured toward Shinji and grinned. “Guess I’m quite the specimen,” he added proudly, puffing his chest a little.
Shinji shook his head, but couldn’t help smiling. “It wasn’t a compliment, sir.”
“I’m taking it as one,” Teruo announced.
Reaching underneath the table, out of sight for Horiuchi, Shinji held Teruo’s hand and squeezed.
Then he looked at Horiuchi. “Speaking of seals. Ma’am, I would like to ask for a favor.
I know I’m not really in a position to do that, but it’ll help us manage the situation and eliminate the need for a protective detail.
” His stomach tightened into a knot as he felt Teruo’s eyes on him.
“I want my spiritual energy to be sealed. I’ve thought about it, but hesitated to ask because the Onmyōryō didn’t know about the situation.
Well, now you know. This will stop me from hurting the chief. ”
His eyes met Teruo’s, who had a pained but resigned look on his face.
“Sergeant,” Horiuchi said, “I understand the reason for this decision, but are you sure?”
“Yes. I know I won’t be able to use my gate for a while.”
“That won’t be all you lose,” Horiuchi continued, tapping a nail against her knuckle. “There’s a shortage of Shinigami right now, so we need all the registered Shinigami to operate their gates. It’ll be tough to get approval, and if you do, your jurisdiction will be offered to another Shinigami.
Teruo opened his mouth to speak, but Shinji squeezed his hand again. “It’s okay. I’ll get a new one assigned.” This was about keeping Teruo safe. It was all that mattered.
“You’re forgetting the most important thing,” Horiuchi added. “You’ve got two spirits linked to you. Once the seal is in place, you’ll lose that link. The man, he’ll be assigned to another Shinigami to decide his fate. But Ms. Ishikawa Keiko… she’s a whole other issue.”
Shinji’s heart hammered painfully against his ribs. Horiuchi was right. He’d been so focused on doing something, he’d forgotten he would lose Keiko. “Why is she an issue? She can continue to help us with the case as usual.”
“No,” Horiuchi said, her voice firm. “Ms. Ishikawa has a strong emotional connection with another detective here.” Horiuchi glanced at Teruo.
“Your colleague, Koga Megumi.” She looked back at Shinji.
“I know what happened a few months back. Yoshida told me. Therefore, I won’t leave Ms. Ishikawa without a Shinigami to keep an eye on her. ”
That was like a punch in the gut and Shinji felt betrayed that the superintendent told Horiuchi about it, but he couldn’t really blame him.
Back then, Keiko’s presence affected Megumi so much that Shinji had feared for Megumi’s life.
Horiuchi was right that a strong emotional connection made it worse for spirits attached to living people.
“So, then what does it mean for Keiko?” Shinji asked, dreading the answer.
“She’ll either cross over to the other side or remain confined within the walls of the castle until your reiryoku is unsealed.”
Shinji blew a breath. Fuck. The air felt thick and suffocating.
“There has to be another way,” Teruo said. “Keiko has become an important member of our team. She has helped us. She deserves more than being locked up inside the castle.”
“I cannot, in good conscience, let that happen. When Sergeant Miyazaki decided not to send her to the other side, she became his responsibility. If he cannot be responsible, then there isn’t anything else we can do.”
“There are lots of ghosts roaming the streets,” Teruo argued. “I’m not seeing you do anything about them.”
“With all due respect, chief,” Horiuchi said.
“You can’t actually see the ghosts. I assure you, we’ve doubled the effort to manage them.
Besides, Ms. Ishikawa isn’t like the other ghosts.
She isn’t mindlessly haunting the streets.
She’s spending a lot of time interacting with living humans, interacting with objects too.
I’ve seen her holding markers in her hand without dropping them. ”
“Aren’t the ghosts working at the Onmyōryō doing the same?” Teruo insisted.
“They are, and they seldom leave the castle premises without someone escorting them. We don’t take the presence of spirits lightly.”
“I-I understand,” Shinji muttered. His mind reeled. He’d been so sure about this decision, but now…
For Teruo’s sake, he needed to do this, but for Keiko’s sake, he couldn’t.
He stared down at his hands, which were glowing faintly again. He hated himself. He was so useless, so out of control. The weight of this decision pressed down on him, making his chest feel unbearably painful.
Shinji forced himself to look at Horiuchi. “I’ll talk to Keiko. I want to be honest with her. I’ll give you an answer afterwards.”
He pushed himself up from his chair, bowed and thanked Horiuchi, then hurried out.