CHAPTER 23 #3
But Shinji wasn’t done. “How many others did this man force into creating seals? Tamura Hiroshi was just handling object-related seals, wasn’t he?
So, who made the blood contracts? Are they involved?
Are they dead? Have they been executed to be silenced?
” Shinji startled when Teruo placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Then he continued, “Must be nice to take advantage of your positions of power while the rest of us fear for our lives. Tamura Hiroshi was just doing his job, and he ended up dead. The team of field agents who were forced to arrest him did their jobs and ended up dead.” Shinji waved his arm in the general direction of the exit.
“How many of the lay judges knew about the situation? Did the wife know?” His voice raised with every word but he didn’t care that Horiuchi was his superior officer anymore.
“You’ve been obstructing this investigation from the beginning instead of finding out what’s going on.
The moment Kawasaki Mariko received a suspicious amount of money, you should’ve already looked into it. ”
Horiuchi drummed her nails on the wooden TV stand. “We’re not trying to make the rest of you fear for your lives…”
“Respectfully, that’s bullshit, and we all know it,” Shinji said. “Or have you forgotten that you closed down all the healing rooms in the entire castle just to see what effect my reiryoku has on Teruo?”
She nodded slowly. “That was not my best decision.”
“It was a life-threatening decision,” Shinji retorted.
“Ma’am,” Teruo intervened. “What we’re getting at is that you need to make real changes to avoid something like this from happening again. The powers that you all possess, they on a whole other level, and you need to make sure they’re not used to do so much harm anymore.”
Horiuchi let out an exhausted breath. “I agree, but it’s not that easy to do.”
“Of course it is.” She gave him a skeptical look and Teruo continued, “You were promoted as the commissioner at the TMPD even though you’re an outsider.
You got a non-supernatural anomaly like me inside the castle with no issues.
You were named the current leader of the extractors, and you managed to get access to the necessary information to figure it out—after a little encouragement from us.
” He paused letting the words sink in. “You have the means. So find a way.”
Horiuchi looked between the two of them with a tentative smile. “You’re both driven by strong convictions and relentless persuasion.”
“Careful there, commissioner. I might think you’re complimenting us,” Teruo teased.
“We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?” Horiuchi turned toward Shinji. “I hope fixing the chief’s healing problem will help me atone for my mistakes.”
“Perhaps. I’ll need to see it done first,” Shinji said. “That and the rest too.” He pointed at the seals.
A heavy silence lingered between them for a long moment before Teruo broke it. “I’ll need you two to leave. If Takeda is still in the area, you can’t put yourselves in danger.”
“I’m leaving,” Shinji said.
“I’ll help gather all these seals, and I’ll leave too,” Horiuchi added.
“One last thing,” Shinji told the commissioner. “I’m going to send the ghosts away. Their misty auras are too strong, and Mrs. Kawasaki can’t locate Takeda.
Horiuchi gave her okay, and Shinji walked out first, Teruo close behind. Nakagawa, Mariko, and Mr. Tamura were still outside, and Shinji sent Nakagawa to the rest of the search party, then called one of the Onmyōryō’s ghosts to him.
The man floated down and greeted Shinji with a small bow. “How may I assist?”
“Tell the rest to leave the area,” Shinji said. “Keep only about a dozen or so. Your auras are very strong.”
The man nodded in understanding. “Will do.”
“Remain by Mrs. Kawasaki’s side. She’s under arrest, but she’s the only one who can stop Takeda.” Shinji turned to Mariko. “Please, continue to search for her. Expand the area because she’s clearly not around here anymore. We’re counting on you.”
Mariko had a devastated and resigned look on her face, but she quietly agreed.
She didn’t seem eager to run away, but he also wasn’t sure of what sort of things her father told her or what type of reaction Mariko would have once she located Takeda.
Mr. Tamura threw Shinji a glare of indignation and then left along with Mariko and the other ghost, heading to a small street opposite the leader’s house.
“I could’ve kept an eye on Mrs. Kawasaki,” Teruo said.
“No. Please, don’t stay near the ghosts. We don’t know what their auras will do to you.”
Teruo shrugged. “I was able to stay near Keiko and Tamura.”
“These ghosts searching the area are powerful spirits in the Onmyōryō’s employment. Their ghostly mist is something else entirely. Please…”
Teruo smiled gently. “Okay. I’ll help the commissioner gather evidence from the leader’s house, then go check the other victims.” He cupped Shinji’s cheek, stroking softly.
I can tell there are some dark clouds looming over your mind right now.
I wish we could talk properly, but I promise we will when we get home, okay? ”
Shinji sighed and held Teruo’s hand, placing a kiss on his wrist. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“If I don’t get back to HQ on time, I’ll see you at home, okay?”
“Okay.” He squeezed Teruo’s hand, then they parted.
He decided to take the public transportation back to the headquarters and headed in the direction of the train. Once he was far enough from Teruo, he summoned Keiko. Moments later, she floated down next to him.
“Still can’t find her,” Keiko said. “Are there any supernaturals left around here?”
“Tough to tell. This area has a very dense supernatural population, and I’m not sure they managed to get to everybody in time. Then there are those who might be returning home from work as we speak and aren’t aware of the danger.”
“She might be hiding her reiryoku, too,” Keiko added.
“I’m unsure she’s doing that. She has used her powers in the past few hours. Doing extractions and hiding powers at the same time is very taxing. It’s possible she escaped, and we’re searching for nothing.”
“Damn…” Keiko groaned. “Should I keep trying?”
“I’m not sure.”
Shinji wiped sweat off his forehead. They made a left and walked down a winding road with stone fences on each side and rich green branches providing much-needed shade. It was rather empty, with only a few people home—most supernatural judging by the way he sensed their spiritual powers.
There was a crossroad in front and a woman abruptly ran out from the corner of a building, bumping right into Shinji.
“Don’t go there!” she warned. “There’s an extractor on the street. I warned the Onmyōryō!”
She was an employee based on the amount of information she knew. Shinji told her to keep running, but he remained in his spot, focusing his senses.
Sickly warm and cloying, like heat trapped under his skin, Takeda Fuyumi’s reiryoku emanated from around the corner.