The members of M.O.N. were more than a little antsy as they watched their boss, Kuroko Smith, intently study the document before her. This morning, the Chief had dropped them a case, telling her that it took top priority. To see Smith acting so serious was more than a little unnerving to the girls. This wasn't her 'acting' serious, this was full on 'work mode' Smith.
It was early in the morning, and some of their coworkers were watching the office T.V., catching up on the morning news. As Smith's eyes roamed the document in her hand, Doppel, their resident Shapeshifter, leaned back on her makeshift 'hair chair', focusing her hearing on the sound of the television, finding the news to be far more interesting than watching her boss read.
What she heard, however, caused her to grimace, as the news anchor began speaking.
"This morning, another group of young men were found dead in downtown Asaka. Investigators have confirmed that this is the work of the serial killer, who authorities have named the 'Hawk'. The autopsies of past victims show that the killings were primarily performed with the killer leaping onto his victims from above. It has also been confirmed that these men had connections with the Yakuza, and people are beginning to suspect that this could be the work of an Extraspecies. Others believe that this is the work of an extreme vigilante...as all the victims had a criminal history. The Chief of Police..."
She droned on, but Doppel shivered. It would make sense that the Chief would call Monster Ops in to deal with this. If the culprit was indeed an Extraspecies, then it would be in everyone's best interest to bag him before tensions rose. It was hard enough dealing with racists who wanted to cause trouble...this would be fuel to their stupid fire.
She was shocked when the chief suddenly walked into the office, which was a bit cramped due to Tionishia's size, as well as the fact that there was more than three people. He was a muscular man, with his most distinguishing features being the trimmed moustache above his lip, and his slicked back black hair, complete with a blue suit and dark blue tie.
After greeting each of them, he made his way to Smith's desk, and dropped his serious expression, adopting a rare look of worry when Smith looked up from the file.
"This is...rather worrisome, Chief."
He nodded in agreement, his face a mix of frustration and worry.
"I know. This new killer has become the constant talk of the offices. Whoever they are, they aren't amateurs. The only thing that we can confirm is the method of killing, and according to the doctors, this guy is well versed. We also got one of those Yakuza's swords with some blood on it. They put up a fight. their killer was better though. Barely any lacerations...almost all wounds made to kill. Until I can confirm that this is the work of a human, I can't have my guys patrol and hunt this bastard down. I can only enforce a curfew."
Smith nodded, knowing that this wasn't something she should joke about, not that she could. Normally the cases she worked on, (usually involving her favorite host, Kimihito.), were harmless little shenanigans. But this was actual murder. If this wasn't handled carefully, years of friendly human/extraspecies relations could fall apart.
Nervously crinkling her bag of chips, Tionishia asked, "How are we going to find this person?"
With narrowed eyes, Zombina said, "Maybe I can bite one of the victims? If they reanimate, they could describe the killer to us."
The Chief, surprisingly, didn't immediately shoot this down, showing how desperate he was.
"Perhaps, but after the stunt Lala pulled with your tooth, the authorities are watching you a little more closely. Besides, their brains would still have to be functional, and we find the victims hours after death."
Seeing the Chief sigh morosely, Manako silently got out of her seat and offered it to the man, who gratefully nodded as he sat down, his head in one hand, his elbows on the table as he looked over to the side. The girls' heart went out to the man as he whispered, "Why here? Why in 'my' city? With my little girl here?"
It had come as a shock to the members of M.O.N. to learn that their Chief was in fact Papi's father, his wife being the harpy who was...'ahem'...flashing, after coming to visit her daughter and take back her picture. The poor bicycle cop was still a little shaken after that incident.
This was yet another reason Smith was taking this matter seriously. She cared a lot about the members of the Kurusu household, and though they didn't fit their killer's choice of victims as criminals, even residing in an area where there was an active killer was operating was far from good. She prayed that Kimihito managed to stay out of this psycho's way.
Meanwhile
In a rather run down apartment, a young man stepped out of his restroom, applying a bandage to his right shoulder. It was already sporting some red, but within a few minutes, the wound would stop bleeding, and would be gone in a couple of hours.
Stab wounds usually did.
With a groan, he sat on his couch, pressing a few buttons on the remote and glaring at the T.V. as he saw the headlines for the news channel. The glare hardened as he listened to the anchor lowkey implicate an Extraspecies in the recent murders.
(They're getting faster. Last time it took them a day and a half to find the crime scene. Looks like they are starting to figure out where I operate.)
A moment later, his pocket vibrated, and he fished out a cellphone, where the message, "Bosses are getting antsy. Perhaps you should lay low.", was displayed on the screen, causing him to scowl.
He was quick to send back, "Can't. They're getting bolder in their attempts. I just need a little more time."
A moment later, another message popped up, "They say you're pushing it. Stay safe."
This caused him to sigh and mutter, "After everything I've done, 'they' are the ones pushing it."
He then took a glance at the clock and swore. It was almost time for him to go to his day job. Great, now he was going to have to work on no sleep. and a still healing stab wound. With a growl, he made his way to his closet to search for suitable clothing. If he was fast enough, he could at least grab a coffee before his shift started at Libido Doujin.
At least they had merged with an up and coming café.
