CHAPTER 20
Teruo
Teruo had rarely skipped his morning exercise, but he didn’t feel like doing any of it this time. He wasn’t exhausted; he’d managed to recover, but he had a fitful sleep due to today’s trip to the Onmyōryō.
He didn’t know what to expect. He’d more or less gotten used to Shinji’s unseen world, but perhaps that was because it remained unseen to him.
It put a distance between knowing about it from Shinji and actually seeing it with his own eyes.
Shinji had told him in the past that whenever there was a large amount of reiryoku, even non-supernaturals could see it and interact with it.
He wavered between excitement and cautiousness.
Teruo sat up and stretched, then went to the bathroom to freshen up. Out of habit, he grabbed a suit and then put it back in and opted for a linen shirt and trousers.
He walked down the stairs toward the living room where Mochi was slapping a toy mouse around while Dango sat on the sofa, belly up.
He managed to pet Mochi’s back for a moment before she sprang at full speed to the other end of the room.
Dango was always down for a good belly rub, and she stretched with a long meow as Teruo caressed her soft fur.
The savory smell of breakfast drifted from the kitchen, and Tero walked in just as Shinji was placing the last few pieces of food in a bento box.
“Morning.” Shinji smiled, sweet and gorgeous.
Teruo kissed his lips. “Should’ve woken me up to help.”
“Once in a while, you need to let me take care of you.” Shinji put the lid on the box. “I made it for when you finish the bloodwork. Who knows how long the analysis of your healing powers will take.”
A little glow of energy hovered around Shinji’s body as he quietly fumed about it for a few moments. Teruo wasn’t too happy either that they ended up exactly in the situation they'd been trying to avoid this entire time, but it was better than doing nothing.
The glow of energy dispersed, and Shinji suddenly smiled at him.
“Can’t wait for you to see the castle,” he said. “I think you’ll like it.” But before Teruo could reply, Shinji’s face turned serious, and he stared at the floor. “I guess we’re doing this.”
Teruo gently cupped his cheek. “This is the best outcome we could’ve hoped for. It could’ve been worse.”
“Yeah, it could’ve.”
“Come on,” Teruo said, picking up the bento box, then wrapping a hand around Shinji’s waist. “The faster we finish, the quicker we get back home to unwind and enjoy some time together. The next week will be a very long one.”
Shinji let out a soft sigh and followed Teruo to the car.
Although the sky was overcast, the heat and humidity made their shirts stick to their backs, and Shinji didn’t lose the opportunity to complain about the weather and blast the air con while he drove toward Higashikurume.
It frustrated Teruo that, because of him, Shinji couldn’t use his spiritual energy to keep cool.
That was the one thing Shinji always boasted about and it was obvious he struggled with it after using his energy freely his entire life.
Just a bit more, Teruo thought to himself. Only a little more until Nakajima Kazuya learned the technique and it would all go back to normal.
Teruo leaned back against the passenger seat, buzzing with nervous energy. He was curious to find out what was behind those inconspicuous doors that he’d only seen once. Shinji dropped details every now and then, which made the whole thing seem quite extraordinary, if a tad unbelievable.
Soon, they reached the neighborhood in Higashikurume where the castle was located inside a dimensional bubble. When he thought about it, he realized it must be an incredible effort to keep an entire building plus the people inside hidden but still accessible. Onmyōji were on a whole other level.
Shinji parked at the storage building with white walls and plain double doors.
Teruo saw the pattern: the Onmyōryō seemed to like using such types of buildings as hiding places for their business because this area resembled the style of their first crime scene pretty well.
It was a good strategy because no one thought twice about storage buildings.
“Ready?” Shinji asked.
“Yep.”
They walked toward a man dressed in plain light-colored clothes, with a beige cap on his head. Shinji pulled out his supernatural ID along with a stamped piece of paper.
Shinji pointed to Teruo. “Commissioner Horiuchi Shinobu approved his entrance into the castle.”
The guard read the paper and nodded. That seemed easy enough, Teruo thought. Then the man placed his palms together, and a strong wind whirled around them before turning the storage doors into a karamon gate.
“Whoa!” Teruo exclaimed. “Okay, I’m impressed.”
Shinji grinned and entwined their hands. “Wait until we go inside. And I’ve got a surprise for you,” he added as he led Teruo through the main gate.
When they stepped into the courtyard, Teruo’s jaw dropped.
The castle was enormous, five stories high, and spanned into the distance.
The blend of colors hit Teruo, and for a moment he thought it was smoke, but he realized that was the reiryoku, the spiritual power all supernaturals had.
There were lots of hues of red, blue, green, white, golden, purple, orange and more, glowing thanks to the slight dimness inside.
Above them was a sky of deep space with stars, nebulae, and planets.
“Is that thing real?” Teruo asked.
“No, it’s made-up. You like it?”
“It’s absolutely stunning. All of it is… I have no words. And it’s fucking huge. Just how big is this bubble dimension?”
“About one square kilometer.”
“Holy shit.”
“It’s the only governing supernatural body for the metropolitan area plus the neighboring prefectures, so it houses a lot of departments and employees. Plus a few training grounds at the very back. They’re not visible from here.”
Teruo leaned in and whispered, “Should we be worried about the supernaturals with green energy?”
“No.” Shinji shook his head. “Those are earth kitsune. The colors overlap, remember?”
“Right.”
But what shocked Teruo the most were the ghosts.
Translucent white bodies, but pretty well defined, they were walking—or in some cases floating—around casually.
A few passed by him, and Teruo shivered from their cool auras.
Their presence unnerved him for a little and he almost expected them to attack him, but all they did was throw him curious glances before going about their business.
It was peculiar to know that these people had died, their spirits stayed behind, and now worked for a supernatural organization like it was the most normal thing.
It is normal for them. He was the odd one here.
“This is what you see every day of your life,” Teruo murmured.
“Yes,” Shinji said, squeezing Teruo’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“It’s… overwhelming.”
Shinji smiled reassuringly. “It takes a while, but you’ll get used to it.” Then he tilted his head and grinned. “Remember, I said I had a surprise?”
“You mean besides all of this?” Teruo rotated his hand at everything.
“Look ahead.”
Teruo stared toward the main entrance further away from them, and his eyes widened when he saw who was approaching on the cobblestone path. “Keiko!” he exclaimed.
Last time he physically saw her was on an autopsy table, but he’d always tried to focus on the image of Keiko when she was still alive whenever they interacted in writing. She still had her pajama gown on, the one she died in, and her long hair looked the same.
Her lips were stretched in a huge smile, eyes glinting with excitement, and she flew right to him, giving Teruo a hug that chilled his entire body. But despite the coldness of her ghostly aura, he could feel the warmth of her embrace.
“You can see me!” She didn’t go through him, which surprised him even though he knew she was getting better at it.
Teruo carefully placed his palms on her back, but he couldn’t quite hold her as his palms went through her body. It was a strange sensation as though a mist of ice shards stung his hands.
“I’m so happy you can finally see me!” she exclaimed again.
“Me too.” Teruo smiled. “You look well,” he said before his brain caught up with it. That was a strange thing to say to a spirit. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive.”
“Don’t apologize.” Keiko waved her hand. “I feel comfortable in my own skin. Ghostly skin, but still. Will this be a usual thing now?” she asked as they walked toward the entrance. “You visiting the castle?”
“We don’t know yet,” Shinji answered. “I’m still surprised they’re letting him in.”
“They can’t miss the opportunity of experimenting on this fine specimen,” Teruo said, gesturing at himself.
Keiko chuckled but looked slightly alarmed, which was exactly how Teruo felt.
Since they were already here and ready for whatever Horiuchi had in store for him, panicking at this point was counterproductive.
He focused on the large number of cats walking around, some of them with harnesses on, but no leashes.
After he was done with the blood work, he was going to pet a few of them.
They passed through a barrier of energy at the entrance, which pulsated when Teruo walked in.
The interior was a large reception area that linked a number of corridors and elevators.
The ceiling had an intricate design of wooden beams, but modern chandeliers hung from it, and the white walls were adorned with corner wooden boards.
A woman in a suit approached Shinji. Just as he was showing her the ID and document for Teruo, Commissioner Horiuchi Shinobu arrived. They exchanged greetings, and Shinji suddenly stiffened, his earlier enthusiasm dimming.
“How are you feeling, chief?” Horiuchi asked.
“Overwhelmed, but all right.”
She guided them to a tall desk, where Shinji showed the documents for the third time and the clerk typed them into the computer.